Oh, morning, Garret. Hey, Jordan.
What you got there?
It's Abby's 17th birthday tomorrow.
I have no idea what to get her.
What does she want?
Last time I got a definitive answer to that,
it was a Barbie Dream House and a pony.
How about a tattoo? That's not funny.
Okay, what do you usually get her?
Well, her mom makes a list, you know, clothes, records.
Records?
Fine, CDs, whatever.
It's just that she's been hanging out with a bunch of losers
and her grades are slipping.
She brought home a "D" in chemistry the other day.
What if I got her a chemistry set?
You could also send her to military academy.
Hey, my dad got me a chemistry set when I was her age.
Look how I turned out.
Yeah. Wow.
Excuse me, Dr. Cavanaugh.
Oh, morning, Grace. I was just on my way to the morning meeting.
That won't be necessary.
There was a warehouse fire in Southie last night.
One body recovered. Have fun.
Excuse me, Grace?
It's Dr. Yakura in the workplace.
Cool. Dr. Yakura.
Listen, not that burn victims aren't fascinating cases,
but come on, I got two decomps last week, and now this?
There are no bad cases, only bad coroners.
You read that on a coffee mug somewhere?
What can I tell you? Mondays are a bitch.
They sure are.
Can you grab that two-inch, throw it up?
Watch your step.
There's a lot of debris.
What are you doing here?
They think it's a gas and match job.
Turns out to be arson, we got a homicide.
Your guy's straight ahead.
Place looks abandoned.
Yeah, it was a junkie hangout mostly.
The victim was the first firefighter on the scene, an off-duty guy, actually.
Saw the smoke, ran in, saved a crackhead upstairs and went back in.
Never came out.
Well, that must be our hero over there.
Yup.
Hey, you okay?
Where was that when he needed it?
I hope for his sake it was quick.
Smoke inhalation usually takes you out before you look like this.
Well, we got an ID, or should I take some dental molds?
No, we know who the guy was.
Fireman James Donnelly.
What engine company?
Uh, 34.
I got to go. I got to get back.
Hey, ho, hey.
You okay? Let's get some fresh air. Come on.
That better? Yeah.
The air in there is still pretty toxic.
I know him.
Him?
Jimmy Donnelly.
He was my best friend.
Jordan, you can't autopsy your best friend.
It's unethical.
I caught the case.
Yeah, and you can hand it off.
You should hand this off.
Jimmy and I always looked out for each other.
I'm not gonna let him down now.
Mother of God.
The stuff that nightmares are made of.
Well, there's something you don't see every day.
I'll flip you for it.
No way. I saw him first.
But I have seniority.
You could arm wrestle.
Oh, my God.
It's Uncle Ha Ha.
He's your uncle?
Well, at least that gets the ID out of the way.
Channel 52, Uncle Ha Ha's Happy Hour.
He was one of my earliest influences.
Now, why doesn't that surprise me?
How did he die?
That's what I'm about to find out.
No way! He's my case.
Now, why don't you both share, hmm?
Surely there's enough Uncle Ha Ha for everyone?
Fine.
Before you cut him, can I just have...
You don't have to do this, you know.
I do have to do this.
Why?
Jimmy wasn't just a friend.
Oh.
More than that.
Look, I'll be fine.
Case number 011598.
James Xavier Donnelly.
Adult Caucasian male.
Body shows 95 percent full thickness, third-degree burns.
An artifactual skull fracture is consistent with internal steam pressure.
His head exploded. He was already gone by then.
Jeez, Jimmy, what the hell were you thinking?
Firefighter?
It's like you had to prove something.
You really didn't. It was just stupid.
Oh... Damn it!
I'll get these.
He was never even a macho guy, you know?
When he joined the department, I mean, no one was more shocked than me.
Dr. Cavanaugh?
What's going on here?
You assigned this case to me.
And instead of letting me know you have a serious conflict of interest,
you just went ahead anyway.
I know he was a friend of yours,
but that's all the more reason you should want this done right.
Take the rest of the day off. You're done.
It's okay.
I called her for your own good.
As a friend, I couldn't just stand there...
Friend? You don't know the meaning of the word.
Morning, Lily.
Hi, Dr. Macy.
Something wrong?
I'm just feeling a little mortal, you know?
Yeah, well, this place will do that to you.
My clown died.
I'm sorry?
Uncle Ha Ha.
Oh, the guy with the TV show. Yeah, I heard he was here.
When I was a kid I would beg my mom to get him for my birthday parties,
but we weren't rich or anything, so...
So no Uncle Ha Ha.
Nope.
Let me ask you a question.
What did you want for your birthday when you were 17?
Boobs.
Why do you ask?
Well, it's just my daughter's 17th is tomorrow...
You have a 17-year-old daughter?
Yeah.
Oh, wow, you must be the coolest dad.
Uh...
When you were her age, do you think you would have appreciated a chemistry set?
Sure, I could have made my own drugs
instead of buying them from my brother's friends.
I'm kidding.
So you're gonna get her a chemistry set?
Not anymore.
Got any suggestions?
She likes music, right?
Well, yeah, if the stuff she listens to you can call music.
You know, the only way you're gonna figure this out
is if you open up your mind and let your daughter in.
That's very Zen, Lily.
Eastern thought has been very beneficial to me in this time of mourning.
Over the clown?
So, music?
It's worth a shot.
Thanks for your advice.
Anytime, Dr. Macy.
Jimmy, he was a brother to everyone in the company.
He was a crappy cook.
I think we're all still getting over his Hungarian goulash.
But...
He was one hell of a fireman,
and he's in a better place now.
And hopefully he'll save a spot for the rest of us.
And, Pat,
you should be proud of what your son's done.
He's a true hero.
He was a good kid, Pat.
Yeah.
Should we go talk to him?
I think he just needs some time alone.
Yeah, don't we all.
I'm sorry, Jordan.
I know how you two felt about each other.
Get away from me.
Who invited him?
No one invites Blackie Conroy.
How come he's even breathing free air?
Cops could never make anything stick.
Head of the Irish mob and they can't pin anything on him?
I don't know. Why don't you ask a cop?
Speaking of cops...
Jordan.
Hello, Max.
Eddy. How's it going?
It's all right.
Jordan, can I talk to you for a minute?
If you came here to apologize, you picked a really lousy time.
I just wanted to tell you before you heard it someplace else.
Yeah, what's that?
Yakura's autopsy on Jimmy Donnelly.
She ran his hands for accelerants.
There was gasoline all over him.
I went back, I did some digging.
There's evidence linking Jimmy to three suspicious fires in the last seven months.
I don't believe you.
He set the fires.
Look, there's 50 drunk firemen in here
who believe Jimmy Donnelly's a hero.
Now, I'd watch what I was saying if I were you.
You're full of it, Eddy.
It's all right here in your own report.
Top of the morning to you, too, Jordan.
"No known source of accelerants in all three of the previous fires.
"The discreet execution of the job points to a professional. "
Yeah, so?
So the fire that killed Jimmy was a torch job, gasoline and match.
Not very discreet. Did he switch methods?
I don't know. I wasn't there.
Well, what about the guy he saved?
This Mitch Platt.
What, the crackhead?
He was a witness.
Who carries on conversations with the insects on his skin.
Jordan, I know this is hard to accept.
Your friend was an arsonist.
He set a fire, he died in it.
Case closed.
How convenient for you.
No, Jordan. Convenient for you
and all the rest of the people who seem to sleep better at night
thinking Jimmy Donnelly is some kind of a heroic martyr.
Trust me, the more you dig into this thing,
the harder it's gonna be to keep him up on that pedestal.
I want the truth, that's all.
Fine.
Be prepared to live with it.
Hey, Mitch.
Who the hell are you?
Jordan Cavanaugh. I'm from the Medical Examiner's office.
Am I dead?
No, not yet.
Seems like you got nine lives working for you.
Crack hasn't killed you.
You even survived a burning building.
I'm Super Duper Man.
Of course,
you had a little help with the fire.
The fireman.
Yeah, the guy who saved your life.
I wanted to shake his hand, but by the time I got done coughing,
he was already headed back in the building.
Why did he go back in?
I don't know.
Maybe he wanted to talk to the guy in the leather jacket,
guy with the bloody nose.
What did he look like?
Like he got his ass kicked.
And the fireman?
He went back in, Bloody Nose came out.
Fire got real big.
Then the fire trucks came, police, everything.
That fireman, he okay?
He died.
Oh, man. Now I feel bad.
I was just sitting there on the curb.
I should have been helping that guy out.
I think you just did.
Thanks.
Ooh, do I smell a sweetie?
It's my daughter's birthday. This is her favorite.
Rosie's Bakery, Inman Square, Chocolate Orgasm.
I'm not even gonna ask how you just did that.
We should all be so lucky to have a little Chocolate Orgasm on our birthday, eh?
Well, until she's 18, it's a fudge cake.
How old is she now? Seventeen today.
Really?
You just keep your hands off my cake.
Seventeen, eh?
God, I remember my salad days like they were yesterday.
Well, what did you want for your 17th?
Leopard-skin trousers and unlimited sexual favors.
And what'd you get?
Besides those?
From your parents, Nigel.
Oh.
Me dad drove me to the Navy recruitment.
Sounds like not a moment too soon.
Well, I have to admit, whether he knew it or not, he made a man out of me.
That's me dad.
Tough love. That's the ticket. I believe in that.
So I should force her to join the Navy?
Dr. Sanders, pick up...
Worked for me.
Dr. Macy, Dr. Sanders
and Dr. Vijayaraghaven - satyanaryanamurthy are at lunch, so I...
Who?
Bug.
Oh. Carry on.
Well, they're both at lunch, and Uncle Ha Ha's wife is here to ID the body.
Let me guess, she's the Bearded Lady?
Dr. Macy.
Fire eater?
Well, should I have her wait?
No, I'll talk to her. You have the file?
Right here.
He wasn't very old. What did he die of?
No one knows.
He's a mystery shrouded in greasepaint, clad in size 22 shoes.
Hmm.
She's in there.
That's Auntie Ha Ha?
Yeah.
I'm in the wrong line of work.
Hey. I pulled the James Donnelly autopsy photos as requested.
Great, where are they?
Oh, yes!
But they're only the tip of the iceberg.
What do you mean?
Well, you said you were looking for signs of an altercation, right?
Yeah. Well, 'cause of the condition of the body,
there weren't any signs of bruising, superficial wounds, etcetera.
So what's the iceberg?
Follow me.
I noticed something a little wonky about our friend's head.
Donut? Thanks.
Now, both you and Dr. Yakura signed off on the skull injury as interior steam pressure,
but look at this.
I blew this little detail up to 20 times magnification.
Now, that is the head wound there.
Look at these fractures.
Straight-edged, not jagged.
He was hit. Right.
And judging from the severity of the wound and the location,
I'd say that a fire was the least of his worries.
Now, could it have been from falling debris?
Yeah, possibly.
No, there was nothing near the body. No beams, no large objects.
Well, he was hit with something.
You sure there was nothing there?
Thanks, Nigel.
The fire extinguisher from the warehouse.
Jordan, I told you, the case is closed.
The impact wound on the left side of Jimmy Donnelly's skull.
Looks like your closed case just opened back up.
He was murdered.
What is it about clowns?
What isn't it?
They're only here to make us happy, right?
You're buying into the propaganda.
They're scary as hell.
The greasepaints, the capering,
the barely contained rage inherent in all their antics.
Well, speaking of greasepaint, maybe that explains this nasty rash here.
You think it was anaphylaxis that killed him?
Mmm, according to Lily, he'd been wearing this stuff for 20 years,
and his lungs look okay.
The brain's a different story.
Looks like there's some real degeneration of the cortex here.
Alzheimer's?
No, a different pattern.
Check out his heart.
It's huge.
Give me a hand.
It's over a kilogram, three times the normal size.
You see these lesions?
Tumors? Could be.
We'll take a section and send it to toxicology.
Let's find out why the laughter died.
Not that way.
Yeah.
How'd you track me down?
Actually, I'm here to see you, Pat.
It's about Jimmy.
What about him?
He was murdered.
What?
Someone hit him over the head.
Now, do you have any idea who would want him dead?
No.
Jim was a good kid. Nobody'd want to do anything to him.
The police seem to think that he was setting fires.
Jimmy would never hurt a living person.
Now, you gotta know that, Jordan.
Is it true?
Why?
He's dead and buried. Let him rest in peace.
Look, I want to let him rest a hero as much as you do,
but someone killed him, and we're never gonna find out who that was
if we keep pretending Jimmy was something he wasn't.
Why was he setting the fires?
Pat.
Doing it for me.
For you?
I always liked the ponies, you know that.
God help me, I started laying bets with Blackie.
Next thing you know, I'm in deep.
How deep?
85 large.
Oh, for the love of God, Pat.
Some of Blackie's guys, they come over to the house, they start making threats.
Jimmy went over there to straighten things out.
No more threats.
What did he do?
He agreed to do a few torch jobs for them to pay off my debt.
I begged him to stop.
But if he was working for Blackie and paying off the debt,
why would they want him dead?
Eddy, it's Jordan.
Jordan, can I talk to you later, please?
No, this is too important.
Look, I think Blackie Conroy killed Jimmy.
Jordan, I said not now.
He had him on the payroll doing arson jobs.
Jimmy wanted out. Jordan...
No, it all makes perfect sense.
Jimmy was a liability,
so that piece of garbage Conroy offed him so he wouldn't talk.
Oh, my ears are burning, Jordy.
I take it you and Blackie know each other.
Way to go, Jordan.
Like I was supposed to know you and Blackie Conroy were having a tea party.
I mean, what the hell was he doing in there, anyway?
I was asking him, as a cooperative private citizen,
to assist me in my investigation.
So you are looking into Jimmy's murder?
Look, either you tell me what the hell is going on here,
or we're gonna have to keep meeting like this.
Well, why don't you tell me what is going on here?
What is it with this Jimmy guy?
We were friends, okay? Friends?
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm just trying to understand.
Look, we grew up on the same block together.
He was a couple years younger than me,
kind of a geeky kid, a little sensitive.
He was always getting beaten up,
so I just started looking out for him.
We used to have these races,
you know, all the kids on the block, down to the liquor store and back,
and I was always pretty fast.
So I'd give him a head start, try to let him beat me.
Letting him be a man, huh?
Yeah.
Well, neither of us had moms at home,
so maybe we just needed each other.
We used to sit up on the roof of his apartment building,
talk for hours.
He had these pigeons and...
Just having someone safe to talk to,
maybe he kind of gave me a head start, too.
That's why I got to find out what happened to him.
Otherwise, I'm just leaving him in the dust.
Come here for a second.
What?
Well, we found out that Blackie Conroy
brought in an ex-con out of Jersey named Ray Hanrahan.
To off Jimmy?
Well, to take over his gig.
The guy's got three arsons on his record.
Yeah, but did he kill him?
I don't know yet. We're still trying to find the guy.
We got him on a security camera
at a diner near the warehouse an hour before the fire.
But after that, the guy's gone.
Blackie paid him to get scarce.
We got APBs from Maine to Florida.
There's nothing more to be done.
But I want you to promise me you're gonna leave this alone, trust us to catch this guy.
I can't do that. Why not?
It doesn't make sense.
Why would Jimmy run back into that warehouse to get killed?
And why would Hanrahan wait around inside a burning building to kill Jimmy?
When we catch the guy, we'll ask him, okay?
Well, I'm sorry. I can't wait around for that.
So what did you find out?
About what?
Uncle Ha Ha. How did he die?
We don't know yet. Nothing seems to fit.
We've ruled out a heart attack, stroke, aneurysm.
His medical records don't point to anything?
Well, that's just it, there aren't any to speak of.
The man hadn't had a check-up in 35 years.
Well, who needs a check-up when you have that much love in your life?
Uh-huh.
Well, as far as we can tell, he didn't seem to smoke,
and there's no sign of alcohol or drug abuse.
Of course not. He was Uncle Ha Ha.
Well, actually,
he was Sydney Mendelbaum and he was born and raised in the Bronx.
What are you doing?
Big pimpin'. What does it look like?
I borrowed some of your CDs. I hope you don't mind.
I wanted to see what you were listening to these days.
Oh.
So, what's going on?
Oh, it's about tonight.
Yeah, we have reservations at 7:30.
I know, but Kyle got tickets to go see Ludacris.
Abby, it's your birthday.
I know. That's why I thought you'd be cool with letting me go to the concert instead.
Well, no, I'm not cool with it.
We have dinner reservations at Yang Chow's.
I know. I hate that restaurant.
You want to go someplace else, fine. Just tell me where.
To the concert.
We've been going to Yang Chow's since you were five years old.
You know, there's something called tradition.
Oh, like I'm supposed to get all misty over the memories?
Sitting there eating greasy Peking Duck,
listening to you and Mom fight World War III?
Well, fortunately for you, it's just me this year.
This has nothing to do with your mother and me.
That's not what my shrink says.
And you know what she also told me? She told me that
I don't have to blame myself anymore for everything falling apart,
'cause it turns out it wasn't my fault at all, it was yours.
Are you done?
Now, you listen to me.
You're going to Yang Chow's whether you like it or not.
You're gonna sit your 17-year-old ass down in that chair.
We're gonna celebrate your birthday the same as always.
Is that clear?
Big plans tonight?
Cup of ramen and Star Trek fan fiction.
I'm working on a chapter
where Captain Janeway is forced to mate with a Borg.
That would be so sad if you weren't so happy.
Speaking of which...
Working late?
No, I just... I found some classic Uncle Ha Has.
This was the farewell show.
Really?
And they say reality TV is bad.
Surreality is far more disturbing.
His was an inspired madness.
On that we can agree.
Madness.
What? Watch the clown.
Inability to coordinate muscle movements.
No longer registering pain.
The skin rashes.
Race you to the crypt.
Bingo.
Gummas in the frontal lobe.
You check for spirochetes?
There's a concentration of them near the ganglia. I was right.
Uncle Ha Ha was an insane, syphilitic clown.
He must have been walking around untreated for 20 years.
He found a way to make VD pay, and for that we should salute him.
There's a bigger issue here, you know.
I hear you.
And I say when we publish to the journal, we do it as a team.
I'll even take second position.
Not that.
What?
Who's gonna tell Lily?
Jordan. We weren't expecting you.
I was just...
Is he around?
Yeah, he's in the kitchen.
You're free to come in, but not with those.
I know you don't like to upset him, and I respect that.
Really?
I haven't noticed an awful lot of respect from you.
I thought I heard the door. What's going on, Jordan?
The other guy in the building was Ray Hanrahan, one of Blackie Conroy's thugs.
You know this for a fact?
Eddy confirmed it.
So what do you want me to do about it?
I want you to come to the warehouse with me.
Just walk through it. If there's nothing there, I'll leave it alone.
Max.
Won't take but an hour.
Jeez, that poor kid.
Yeah, I think about him in those last few moments.
Best if you don't.
Okay, let's get this over with.
Who do you want to be, Jimmy or Hanrahan?
I'll be Hanrahan.
I'm Jimmy.
This is the last fire I set.
I don't care about finesse anymore. I just want out.
I pour the gasoline, throw the match.
Debt's paid. I'm leaving.
I can't let you. You know too much.
I grab the fire extinguisher.
What's a fire extinguisher doing in the middle of an empty warehouse?
Jimmy brought one just in case.
Or maybe he didn't come here to set a fire at all.
Maybe he came here to stop it.
I'm putting out the fire as best I can.
I set this fire. I'm not letting you put it out.
Someone else is in the building.
It's the junkie.
You get out, but your conscience won't let you leave me to die.
I come back to get you. It's still my job.
And this is still mine.
It all makes sense.
Could you give me a hand with this?
Where did the fire inspector determine the fire started?
Right over there, point of origin.
Then what's this?
Second point of origin.
The accelerant on Jimmy wasn't from setting the fire.
He was set on fire.
Hanrahan's a thorough guy.
But the building's already on fire. Why set another one?
Doesn't make sense.
He didn't want anyone to find the body.
Why not?
Jimmy can connect Blackie to the arsons.
They wanted to obscure his identity.
But if Jimmy's dead, he can't squeal on Blackie.
And if the fire's blamed on Jimmy, everybody wins.
Everybody except Jimmy.
Then that's it.
I see someone has already set the fire.
Fire goes out, I don't get paid.
I'm not gonna let you stop me.
That's when we fight. I hit you with the fire extinguisher.
Help!
Then I hear the junkie.
I come back to save you.
You're already dead. I didn't mean to kill you, but what's done is done.
I take off my jacket, put it on you.
So, if Hanrahan died in the fire...
Then where's Jimmy?
He came home the other night.
I thought I was seeing a ghost.
I told him he should stay the night, at least get some sleep.
He looked like hell.
But he said it's too dangerous for me.
He's still thinking about me.
You got to tell me where he is.
He's gone, Jordan. Just leave it at that.
I know you want to protect him, Pat, but he's got to turn himself in.
The only people in this world that know it wasn't Jimmy in that coffin
are sitting at this table.
It don't need to go further.
We can't do that, and I don't think you can do that, either.
It's the least I can do.
By the grace of God, it wasn't Jimmy in there.
He got a second chance, and we should all be glad for him.
For what?
For living his whole life as a fugitive, assumed names, watching his back?
You really want that for your son?
Instead of jail? Yeah, I do.
You were always his friend, Jordan.
Don't let all this change that.
No.
Nothing ever could.
All I need is the cause of death and both your signatures,
and then they can come and take him.
Cause of death?
Yeah, line eight, like always.
This really is Dr. Sanders' case.
He should probably...
Okay.
Cause of death.
There you go.
He died like he lived.
Lifestyle can be a factor.
"Enlarged aortic valves and pericardium due to tertiary syphilis. "
Oh, that is so beautiful.
It is?
He died because his heart was too big.
Want something to eat?
No, thanks.
What do I do now, Dad?
Well, you don't necessarily have to do anything.
So you agree with Pat?
That's not what I said.
I said it's one choice.
So I should call the cops?
You know what you need to do, Jordan.
My opinion's got nothing to do with it.
You're right.
I'd better go.
I think I need to be alone for a while, figure this out.
Detective Winslow, please.
The old man said you were on to me.
Jimmy.
Just didn't seem right to leave without saying goodbye.
Like I did to you.
You were going to college. You had to go.
It's not like we really hung out in high school anyway.
I didn't have to blow you off like that.
I guess I've always been pretty bad with goodbyes.
Just hopping on a bus seemed a lot easier, you know?
Do I ever.
Are you really gonna go through with this?
Blackie Conroy was gonna kill me.
Didn't leave me much of a choice.
You think I'm scum, too.
No, I'm just trying to put this all together.
The fires, they were always property, Jordan,
not people.
I told Blackie that I was done.
There's no such thing as a clean start, though, Jimmy.
What am I supposed to do, turn myself in?
Face all those people who trusted me?
I could stand up for you.
I know you will. You always did.
I'm better off dead,
for everyone's sake.
You know I'm gonna have to call the cops, right?
I figured, yeah.
Just give me a head start?
You got a half hour.
Well?
Well, I laid it out for my captain.
And?
He's not buying it.
What's not to buy?
Well, Hanrahan's only real family was Conroy's gang,
and they sure as hell aren't calling him in missing.
So it's not a big priority.
Or maybe I just didn't sell it very well.
I would have thought you, of all people,
would be chomping at the bit to get this guy.
I don't know.
Maybe I'm less worried about him than I am about you.
What's that supposed to mean?
I know how you feel about rats.
I know what it must have taken for you to turn him in.
So now I'm a rat. Great.
There are times when you care about somebody,
you got to do what's best for them, even if they don't know it.
My dad stopped blaming you a long time ago.
I was the one that couldn't let it go.
Maybe we should just both cut ourselves a break, huh?
I'm not quite done kicking myself just yet.
You, on the other hand,
maybe it has been long enough.
Thank you, Eddy.
I won't forget this.
Just don't make a habit of it.
You okay?
She never showed.
Abby. We were supposed to have dinner for her birthday.
Oh, that's right.
I'm sorry.
Is she all right?
I don't know.
I have no idea where she is, who she's with.
All these years, you watch this person grow up,
and when they finally do...
You don't even know them anymore.
How bad does that suck?
Sucks pretty bad.
I feel like I'm losing her, Jordan.
If you have any words of wisdom, I'm all ears.
Unfortunately,
losing people is a subject I kind of know a lot about.
Don't let go.
No matter what.
Let's just hope I have some say in the matter.
I'm schlepping this damn cake around all day. We are so beyond cake.
I'm not.
Help yourself.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Yeah, it is, isn't it?
Go ahead, make a wish.
Not in the mood.
Then I'll put in a good word for you.
Thanks.