[♪♪♪]
[GROANS]
[GASPS]
Jay?
This is gonna sound strange,
but I don't remember anything from last night.
Jay?
[♪♪♪]
Oh, my God.
[CHATTERING]
[SIRENS WAILING]
Detective Jay Burgess, one of the heroes
from the Charleston Police Station fire, is dead.
Police apparently received a 91 1 call from an unidentified woman
who spent the night at Burgess' house.
Police aren't yet saying if foul play was involved.
We will continue to bring you more as this story unfolds.
Sue Share for Channel 8 News.
[♪♪♪]
Detective, can you tell me what happened?
Do you have any idea how Jay died?
My wife and I watch you almost every night, Ms. Shelley.
Thank you.
TVN says you're the number one news reporter in Charleston.
My, my. Yes, I've been very fortunate.
Um, I was asking you--
Truth be told, I'm surprised CNN or Fox hasn't scooped you up yet.
I bet you end up on one of those national broadcasts.
Because it's the same everywhere, isn't it?
It's just easier for people to hear bad news
when they're looking at a pretty face.
Look, I'm just trying to understand here. Um...
Do you think Jay died from respiratory failure
or heart attack?
Actually, Ms. Shelley, we were hoping you could tell us.
This isn't exactly your first brush with this type of incident, is it?
Sorry, I'm Bill Alexander, Ms. Shelley's attorney.
Your station manager said that I'm at your disposal as long as you need.
Thank you.
Quite frankly, I was surprised that Sam thought I needed an attorney,
but now I'm actually glad that he suggested it.
Well, since we're all here,
why don't we go into the interrogation room.
Just to be clear, I'm not just giving a statement.
I mean, this is an interrogation,
so you see me as some sort of suspect.
Well, shall we?
CLARK: How well did you know Jay Burgess?
He had given me a lead on a story, that was it.
When?
Five years ago, right after the fire.
Were you intimate then? You don't have to answer that.
No, I wasn't.
Not until you got the story. Again.
No. Not at all.
He did hit on me,
but I heard he was a player and I just wasn't interested.
Not that kind of girl? BILL: That's completely unnecessary.
And then yesterday, out of the blue, he called.
[♪♪♪]
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
Ahem. Britt Shelley.
Britt, it's Jay Burgess.
Oh, Detective Burgess, it's been way too long.
Yeah, it has.
BRITT: Said he had another story for me. A big one.
But he needed to tell me about it in person.
My partner on the force, Patty, passed a few weeks back.
It's hit me hard, harder than I expected.
Um, I'm sorry to hear that.
It just got me thinking about life and how short it is,
and, you know, if a man can right the wrongs that he's done,
well, he should try, you know, before it's too late.
BRITT: I don't know if this means anything or not,
but I remember a man watching us while we were there.
Had you ever seen this man before? BRITT: No.
No, I thought maybe he was a fan.
A fan.
Or maybe he recognized Jay from the police station fire.
Just the way he was looking at us was so careful not to look at us.
It was strange.
I'm guessing you'll help our sketch artist come up with a rendering?
Probably. Great.
Mighty convenient, though, a guy watching you at a bar
and you happen to notice and then Burgess happens to die.
You know, I'm a reporter.
That's what I do. I'm trained to focus on details.
Mm-hm.
Is that why you left the bar? Because of this man?
No.
You know what, straight up, Britt, if, um--
I prefer to talk about this in private.
Is it all right if we go to my apartment? It's up the road.
You know what, all I wanna do is talk.
Scout's honor.
CLARK: So, what was this big secret?
Okay.
Actually, I never found out. Everything after that is cloudy.
What do you mean, cloudy? BRITT: I don't remember anything.
I can't remember a thing.
CLARK: You can't remember what?
Remember taking your clothes off? No.
Getting into his bed? No.
So you can't remember having sex?
That's the thing. I don't know that we did.
I know what it looks like, but I don't think--
Yeah, you weren't interested because you're not that kind of girl.
All right, I don't think I should allow my client to continue.
I don't understand how one glass of wine
could knock me out like that.
One glass. It doesn't make any sense.
[♪♪♪]
Wait a minute.
Oh, my God.
The date-rape drug.
That's the only possible explanation.
Okay, I get it that you're playing the good cop, bad cop thing,
but blink if you hear me.
Oh, we hear you, Ms. Shelley. We hear you fine.
You just don't believe me.
You don't believe me at all.
[♪♪♪]
Look at this.
MAN [ON TV]: As the investigation into the death of Jay Burgess continues...
Not another story about Jay's death.
I know you were big heroes,
but how much more is there to say? A lot.
The woman he was with last night was none other than Britt Shelley.
From the news? Yeah.
No. Unfortunately, I took a shower this morning,
so we felt it unnecessary to test for rape.
I have no recollection of being violated.
REPORTER: Were you intoxicated, Ms. Shelley?
BRITT: No. I did submit a urine sample this morning
to test for so-called date-rape drugs.
These substances tend to disappear quickly from the body,
so it's unlikely, at this point, that anything will be detected.
She thinks she was drugged? I guess so.
You're interested in this because Jay was your friend?
Or you wish you could unretire from the force and solve this juicy little mystery?
Doing that would require you to be sober.
Don't start, Miranda.
I can see why you're so fascinated in all of this.
I mean, the idea of Britt Shelley
waking up next to Jay's cold, dead body.
It's not like I care one way or another,
but you really can't escape the irony, can you?
No, you can't.
I wonder if Candy's watching.
REPORTER [ON TV]: As Channel 8...
Poor Jay.
Police have not indicated whether foul play was involved...
Did you know him when you were a DA?
I knew everyone personally when I was a DA.
But Jay and I were friends. You're not going to the funeral.
The story is a little sordid. You don't know where it might lead.
And with your nomination pending-- No, no, I won't go to the funeral.
I can't have my name linked to it right now.
When the coroner releases his report,
it will help shed some light on what actually happened.
I wonder if this has to do with that big story she covered
about the police station fire five years ago.
Ms. Shelley, doesn't this remind you of the story that made your career
about a certain arson investigator, Raley Gannon?
There were no drugs in that case. There were similarities.
I don't think it's a stretch to say you buried Mr. Gannon in the media.
If he happens to be watching this right now,
what do you think might be going through his head?
There you have it, folks.
The mystery continues,
and we will bring you more as this story unfolds.
[♪♪♪]
Thank you for sending that attorney over, Sam.
No problem. Did he help?
He was fine.
I wanted to let you know I'm gonna come in to work tomorrow.
Shouldn't you wait until you feel better?
Come on, you know me.
Work's the only thing that's gonna make me better.
I would love to have you back at work tomorrow.
Trust me, we're dying without you.
Hey, you need me and I need to work, so it's a win-win, right?
Yeah, it would be.
Problem is the suits upstairs have a different take on this.
They're afraid the public's had their fill of scandal and the people of Charleston
might not appreciate seeing you on TV again so soon.
So, what?
I'm just supposed to sit on my couch and watch someone else do my job?
Give it a couple of days, let it shake out. See what's what.
Are you home alone tonight?
You don't have much in the family department.
But you shouldn't be alone.
Yeah, no, I, um, have a friend over here taking care of me.
I'm fine, don't worry.
Good night.
[♪♪♪]
[BEEPING]
Yeah. Oh, thanks. WOMAN: Here you go.
This is the sketch of the guy she said she saw at the bar.
The phantom stalker.
Right.
Come on, this guy is totally nondescript.
This could be a picture of my landlord.
Does she seriously expect us to believe that's a real guy?
Come on.
Reporter is turning out to be a pain in the ass.
Thought she'd be too upset to take a drug test.
Much less go public.
Well, if she's planning any more surprises,
we'll be the first to know.
[ALARM BEEPING]
[♪♪♪]
[BRITT SCREAMING]
MAN: Shut up. Get up, get up.
Turn it off!
I don't know who you are. Shut up!
Shut up and turn it off! I don't remember anything.
What are you doing?
Get up. Get up.
BRITT: Help! Shut up. Shut up.
Raley Gannon?
What are you doing? Tell me about Jay Burgess.
Tell you what? What happened last night?
I have no idea. Did you kill him?
Did I--? Did you kill him?
Are you--? Did you kill him?!
Did you kill him?
Are you out of your mind?
Look, if you could just loosen up these ropes,
I will tell you whatever you want to know.
You think you can bargain with me? Interesting choice.
Oh, come on, it's really uncomfortable.
Switching tactics. Expressing frustration.
Do you have any idea what I have been through?
Attempting to elicit sympathy. Strategy number three.
Rounding out the performance with acting defiant.
You ran the victim playbook in under 60 seconds.
Congratulations.
You get a big A for actress.
Cut the crap and answer me.
[♪♪♪]
What do you wanna know?
So, Jave, let's talk motive.
Why does a beautiful, successful reporter
kill a playboy cop?
I don't really think it's all that complicated.
Burgess has a thing for her, calls her up, asks her out.
Maybe she knows he's a "love them and leave them" type of guy.
Maybe she doesn't.
Either way, they meet,
he whispers all the right things in her ear and she falls for it.
Thinks they got some kind of real connection.
She's a loner, so letting him in emotionally, that's a big freaking deal.
They do the deed and he goes back to his old self.
Maybe even laughs at her gullibility.
She's pissed. She feels totally betrayed.
She snaps. Waits for him to fall asleep, she kills him.
And she sets it up to look like a crime she once reported on--
No. No, no, she did that after the fact
because she figured it would probably throw us off.
I should've known when I saw the empty bottle of Scotch.
It didn't make any sense. What didn't make sense?
I hate Scotch,
and I'm not exactly in the habit of drinking myself into oblivion.
I like to be in control.
I believe that.
So why would Jay slip me the drug at the Wheelhouse,
then make it look like we drank at the apartment?
Someone else had to have done it.
All right.
That's enough for now.
I'll sleep on the bed.
You get the floor.
[BOTH GRUNT]
Word of advice, never look in the direction
you're gonna strike before you strike it.
Always follow a kick in the groin with a shot to the chin.
Wow. Not surprising that you know so much about hand-to-hand combat.
Don't you get why I brought you here?
Because you killed Jay Burgess
and you wanna know how close the cops are to figuring that out.
I just needed to make sure that you were telling the truth.
Now I know what happened to you
and what happened to me aren't isolated incidents.
What are you talking about? Think it through.
Five years ago, someone arranged for me to wake up next to a dead body.
Two nights ago, someone did the exact same thing to you.
I think we were set up by the same person.
The question is, who and why?
[♪♪♪]
You need some help?
You got it.
I forgot to tell you.
I saw on the news that cop who died, he was your dad's partner, right?
Yeah, for almost 1 0 years. When was the last time you saw him?
Jay? Um...
A month ago.
Dad's funeral.
He was actually really, uh-- Really upset.
You know, it was actually kind of weird to see him like that.
Listen, honey, I'm not gonna be home for lunch today.
You're not working through again? I'm afraid so. I'm sorry.
Okay, we're done. All done.
Good job, buddy.
[LINE RINGING]
[♪♪♪]
Eggs?
You-- You kidnap me, you interrogate me, and now eggs?
I told you.
I needed to know what really happened.
I wanted to make sure that-- I was telling the truth.
And now you are.
Fine, don't eat. I don't care.
The beard's new. So?
It suits you. It's very menacing.
I got you some clothes.
Can't have you going to town dressed like that.
People will get suspicious.
Hm. Well, if this whole kidnapping thing doesn't work out for you,
you could always become a personal shopper.
You said you thought what happened to you five years ago
and what happened to me the other night were somehow related.
Our stories are similar, especially considering they both involve Jay.
Charleston's a very small town.
Jay knew everybody, everybody knew Jay.
So it's not surprising he could've been involved in both situations.
Second of all, only one element is really the same.
We both woke up next to a dead body.
That's a pretty big one element, don't you think?
I will admit there is that one glaring similarity,
but all the other circumstances are different.
You got drunk and had sex with a drug addict.
Nobody slipped you anything in your drink.
Actually, I always suspected that somebody did.
Don't look at me like that. This is the way I look
when someone tells a story that strains credibility.
I don't care. That's what happened.
Someone slipped you the date-rape drug?
Apparently, it's not just for women anymore.
Okay. Who?
Yeah, well, that's where it gets complicated.
Ahem. I'm listening.
Okay. The police station fire.
[PEOPLE SCREAMING]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
[♪♪♪]
Candy, are you all right? I'm fine, Jay, I'm okay.
[ALL COUGHING]
[SIRENS WAILING]
Help her.
Ground floor's clear. The basement?
I don't know.
George? All right, we better check.
You can't go back there. Candy, stay here.
JAY: Pat, let's go.
Raley. Get out of here. Get back, okay?
Jay, George and Pat went back in there.
We got three cops inside. Hey, bring him out. Let's go.
Bring him out. Put him on the ground.
Easy, easy. Is he breathing, Jay?
JAY: I don't think he's breathing. RALEY: Get out of here.
Pat, Jay, get out of here.
RALEY: I was the investigator in charge.
All the evidence suggested that Cleveland Jones,
the one fatality, had actually set the fire.
Seemed like just desserts.
I just had a few loose ends to wrap up.
It wasn't my story,
but I do remember my boss waited a while for that arson report.
Yeah, because I was waiting on Jay.
RALEY: Come on, Jay, I came all the way down here to get it.
JAY: Yeah, I know, man. I can't do the report
until I finish the investigation. I can't finish until I get the Jones file.
Look at this place. I can't even find a frigging pen.
His autopsy said cause of death was actually a skull fracture.
I'm not clear whether he got that before or after the fire.
Any idea? He didn't get it before.
Maybe he hit his head when he was trying to get out.
Really, man, who cares, you know?
I mean, the guy was in a revolving door to juvie.
I mean, armed robbery, assault. But not arson.
So he learned a new trick at juvenile hall.
I just need this file and then I can close the case.
Raley, I know you're trying to do your job,
but I'm trying to get out of here early.
Yeah, I know. Your party. Yeah.
This place that I'm house-sitting, it's huge.
It's worth it to come by to see this monstrosity.
Jay, I can't. Everybody's gonna be there.
George, Pat, Candy.
It's that Haley's got this thing-- Bring her.
I can't. She's going away.
She's going to visit her sister. I told you that.
Yeah, I just forgot.
It's perfect, though. Why don't you just come by for a drink?
I tell you what, you come by for a drink,
I will find the file, I will bring it to the fire house
first thing in the morning. What do you say?
You're gonna bring it to me? Yeah.
Why do you care so much if I come?
It's just, you know, since the fire, I'm feeling a little sentimental.
Might be kind of nice to have the whole gang together.
Okay. All right. Heh, heh, heh.
I'll see you later. Hey, can you pick up Candy?
She needs a lift.
Always something with you, isn't it?
See you. Yeah.
You look good, Raley. Happy.
Do I? I guess I am.
You look good too. New dress?
Not any newer than last time you saw it.
You lost weight? Ten pounds, actually.
Yep, another one of Jay's free-for-alls.
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
[POP MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Don't play with your food, just drink it.
RALEY: They'll let anybody in there.
George. PAT: Hey, glad you made it.
Hey, Pat. Hey, where's our gracious host?
Jay's right over there. Where do you think?
[GEORGE CHUCKLES]
Well, I'm empty. Raley? No, thanks.
Suit yourself. I'll take one.
I'm down with that.
[PEOPLE CHEERING]
Your friend thought you might like this.
I hear you're a fireman. I like firemen.
Look, thanks for the drink, but I'm engaged.
Oh, yeah?
Are you sure?
[CHUCKLES]
That's not usually the response I get, but yeah, I'm sure.
Last week I priced out minivans.
I got it.
But there's no reason why we can't talk, is there?
I mean, at least take the drink.
Cheers.
[♪♪♪]
So the girl who walked out on the terrace, you didn't know her?
Never seen her before in my life.
And she turned out to be a-- Yeah.
Wow.
I never knew that she pursued you.
You never knew a lot of things.
Okay, so she gave you a drink,
you took a couple of sips, and then what?
And then I have no idea.
[♪♪♪]
RALEY: The next morning I woke up,
we were naked,
[GASPS]
and she was dead.
I found Jay.
Since we were kids, Jay was able to think fast.
She's a junkie, nobody's gonna miss her.
You know this girl? Yeah, I've seen her around.
Hey, be cool, don't worry about it. We're gonna take care of it. All right?
And he promised me that everything was gonna be just fine.
I just woke up next to a dead body and Jay Burgess promised me
that everything was gonna be just fine.
Yeah, but I don't get it.
Why didn't you include this in your statement
that you thought somebody had drugged you?
I wanted to. Candy convinced me not to.
Candy?
Okay, just to be clear, we're talking about Cassandra Mellers,
who's about to be confirmed as the youngest female federal judge in the country?
Yeah, we called her Candy. She's an old friend.
Yeah, at the time she was the Charleston DA. Talking to you--
Would've seriously jeopardized her career. I know.
We'd always relied on each other.
I'm telling you, I don't remember.
She must've put something in my drink.
That may be true but the problem is it will be hard to verify.
Then I'll take a drug test.
Look, Raley, say you were drugged.
Chances of the date-rape substance
remaining in your system this long are slim.
By asking, you're casting suspicion on yourself.
You're admitting you don't remember
what happened. I don't.
Which will make people wonder if you have something to hide.
Now, look at it the other way.
Say you don't ask for the test.
In the meantime, the girl's death is ruled an accidental overdose.
That's it. It's over.
You'll be in the clear.
I know, I know.
[♪♪♪]
I wish it were different.
You know, this story, it wasn't originally my beat.
But then I started investigating and Pat Wickham, George McGowan,
no one told me this.
You don't believe me?
Not like I give a damn what you think. Because you have moral standards.
What is that supposed to mean? I came clean fast.
Pat and George made sure the investigation stayed under the radar.
My life might've actually gotten back on track.
Until ace reporter Britt Shelley
decided to build a career on my story.
BRITT [ON TV]: Things get worse for fire inspector Raley Gannon
as pressure mounts for his resignation.
Police are questioning Gannon's coworkers
in connection with the death of Suzi Monroe.
The coroner has not released his report.
Mr. Gannon remains the only person of interest in this case.
[♪♪♪]
Get dressed.
Ms. Shelley, this is Bill Alexander, your attorney.
This is the third time I've tried to reach you this morning.
The police called.
The coroner's office is going to announce
Jay Burgess' cause of death, and when that happens
they may want to speak to you.
Would you please call me and tell me where you are? Thanks.
MIRANDA: George. GEORGE: What?
You have company. PAT JR.: Hi, Miranda.
What are you doing here, Pat?
Look, can we make this quick, please? We have to be at the club.
I'll meet you there.
George, we need to talk.
What are you so jumpy about, Pat?
Jay's gone and nobody gives a damn about your little secret.
You do, George. If you don't, you really should.
Get a grip.
Britt Shelley's attorney can't find her.
I bet she skipped town.
Think about it. She's a reporter, she thinks someone drugged her.
She'll start to put things together.
Things about me, things about you.
[♪♪♪]
George?
CLARK: Yeah.
Okay, thank you.
Britt Shelley's tox report.
No date-rape drug. Surprise, surprise.
We gotta find this woman, man.
She lies, she bails. She kills.
I just heard from the coroner.
You called it.
Jay Burgess got drunk and someone smothered him in his sleep.
This case is now officially a homicide.
Take my car back to Charleston. What?
I'll figure out how to pick it up.
Come on, let's go. You gotta get out of here.
Fine. But for the record, you have no right to blame me.
For following the wrong story, or screwing up my life?
What do you mean, the wrong story?
You know what, all the evidence pointed to you.
I will not apologize for doing my job.
You accused me of murder.
When the autopsy came back, I reported it was an overdose.
It didn't matter. By then nobody trusted me anymore.
You're not just talking about your coworkers, are you?
You're talking about that girl. Haley.
I tried to get an interview with her--
We weren't just dating. We were engaged.
Raley, I got a lead and I followed it.
Exactly.
And who gave you that lead?
Five years ago, Jay did, right? Mr. Everything's Gonna Be Fine.
That is how I first met him.
He came to me with your story and told me he was sure you killed that girl.
How did you know that I met him? Don't you get it?
Don't you see the big picture here?
I've had five years to put this together.
I've looked at it from every angle,
and along the way, I found out a few things.
One, the party house, it didn't belong to any friend.
Jay rented it under a fake name so it couldn't be traced to him.
Two, the girl, Jay had known she was a drug addict for years.
And three, after realizing one and two,
it seemed obvious that Jay must have contacted you.
My point being that you missed the real story.
That Jay Burgess carefully orchestrated all of it.
Getting you to blast my face on the news
was just the final nail in the coffin.
It just-- It doesn't make sense.
I mean, why would he try to screw up your career
and risk ruining his own?
That's exactly what I wanted to know.
And I could only think of one thing.
The Cleveland Jones file.
[♪♪♪]
[SIGHS]
So, what do you think would be in that file
that could possibly be so terrible?
I wish I could tell you.
After I lost my job, the arson investigator
that took over the case closed it.
If he did get the Cleveland Jones file,
he didn't include it in the final report.
And then, heh, he bought a car and a new house
and took his wife on a cruise to Mexico.
So you think Jay paid him off? Someone did.
Until yesterday, I always thought Jay acted alone.
Then it hit me that Jay must have had an accomplice.
And that accomplice killed him--
Because he was gonna finally tell me the truth.
Do you have a phone? No.
Of course not.
You do.
You took my purse?
Needed to make it look like you left on your own.
Oh. Good. That will go over well with the cops since they love me.
Who are you calling?
Well, if I was following the wrong story,
maybe it's not too late for me to get the right one.
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
BRITT: Hi, Sam, it's me.
What are you doing? Where are you? I didn't skip town.
I don't think you understand how serious this is.
Oh, yeah, no, I do. I'm trying to get to the bottom of it now. That's why I'm calling.
It's about the police station fire. What about it?
I don't have the details yet,
but Jay Burgess' death relates back to it.
SAM: And you know this how? BRITT: I'm gonna need your help.
Track down the paperwork on Jones, the guy that started the fire.
Don't bother looking at the fire investigation report. It's not there.
SAM: Okay, listen to me, Britt.
Sam, you gotta trust me on this. This is really good.
I'm gonna save my ass. I'm gonna break open a huge story.
Yeah, from where? Jail?
The coroner's report came back Jay Burgess was murdered. It's official.
They've actually issued a warrant for your arrest.
You gotta turn yourself in.
Britt, are you listening to me?
BRITT: Um, yeah. Yeah, I heard you.
You got her? Got her.
You'll want these. Directions.
I don't understand why you won't come.
What happened to me is confirmation of what happened to you.
If we go to the police-- You kidding?
I don't trust the cops anymore. I sure as hell don't trust you.
You destroyed my life. You think I'd give you the chance to do it again?
I listened to your story.
You clearly have selective memory.
Back when I was reporting on you, I begged you for an interview.
I gave you the opportunity to tell your side, but you wouldn't.
Shut up. No.
You lay low and let things pass by.
Just shut up. No, you should've fought back!
You should've fought. If not for yourself, for your fiancée.
You have no idea how much I wanted to fight for her!
No idea!
Raley, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
[♪♪♪]
I know exactly why I'm alone.
What's your excuse?
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[ENGINE STARTS]
[CAR DRIVES AWAY]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[♪♪♪]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[SCREAMS]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[GRUNTING]
[♪♪♪]
Damn it!
[BRITT COUGHING]
[GASPS]
RALEY: It's okay.
PAT JR.: So are you guys close to catching her?
Um, I mean, Jay was my dad's partner,
so he was kind of like a father to me himself.
Yeah, we understand. Really.
We got an APB out on her.
Every cop in the state is on high alert. Great.
Good.
Ahem. You know, she comes across as very earnest and innocent,
but, um, my father always told me that those were the most dangerous type.
Just that...
Okay.
[♪♪♪]
Britt, are you okay?
I should take you to the hospital, I think you're still in shock.
No.
I'm fine, it's just a little cut.
RALEY: Guessing you couldn't see who--
Two men, black Mercedes, that's all I could tell.
Your station manager, you think maybe his phone was bugged?
Not his, probably mine.
The fact someone knows I'm looking for the Jones file and tried to kill me
means we're getting close to something.
Those guys after you think you're dead. Works in our favor.
Gotta be another way to figure out what's in that file.
Oh! Oh. It's okay.
I'm sorry. I'm--
I, uh...
I just need a minute.
[♪♪♪]
Britt?
[KNOCKING]
Britt?
BRITT: Ahem. Hey, Raley? RALEY: Yeah?
Less menacing?
What?
You going somewhere?
Yeah, Jay's funeral.
Um...
Well, I was thinking we've been going about this the wrong way.
What do you mean?
There must be someone who knows what was going on with Cleveland.
He must have been close to somebody.
[♪♪♪]
Hey, why don't you let me ask the questions.
Why?
You're sure he'll open up if you woo him with your wily feminine ways?
No, because I'm a good reporter and collecting information is what I do for a living.
Thank you so much for that backhanded, sexist non-compliment.
Oh.
Can't you read?
RALEY: Mr. Jones, you probably don't remember me.
We met years ago. I was investigating the fire that killed your son.
I remember you.
Like I said then, he set it, he died,
and sometimes justice has a way of taking care of itself.
We're not sure that's what happened. Either way, the boy died.
We're not sure that he had to.
I'm Britt Shelley, news reporter.
I know who you are.
I got a TV.
Right now it's telling me you're the one that killed that hero policeman.
BRITT: All the more reason I need your help.
I believe someone's trying to frame me for murder.
They think I know a secret about your son's death.
Send me away and neither of us will find out what it is.
It can't be easy.
Losing a child.
Cleveland was no child.
I couldn't keep up with all the times that boy was in and out of jail.
Rape, robbery.
Pretty sure he had his very own personal cell. Heh.
Last time I saw him I told him I wasn't gonna bail him out no more.
Next thing I get a call from the police telling me he was dead.
What was the name of the officer who called?
I don't remember.
You must have been in shock.
JONES: Not really.
Sure wish I got back the lighter, though.
Cleveland really loved that thing. Heh.
The lighter? Yeah.
My daddy bought it for him.
It had this...
This picture on it of a half-naked girl, she was, like, wearing a...
What was it? A red bikini. Heh, heh.
Every time Cleveland saw that thing, he would-- He would laugh. Heh.
Didn't come back with his stuff, though.
I asked the cops about it and they said they never saw it.
The day that your son died, he was arrested.
Do you know what for?
I don't know.
He used to like to hang out with his loser friends
down in Hampton Parkway.
I wouldn't be surprised if they got him defacing property.
What about the skull fracture? A what?
Skull fracture. Didn't they tell you?
[♪♪♪]
So the question is, how did Cleveland get the skull fracture?
Why didn't the cops tell his father?
Who interrogated him?
Jay, George and Pat.
They claimed he was fine when he left the room.
The next thing they know the station was on fire.
Well, Jay's dead.
Pat Wickham died a couple of months ago, that leaves George.
Most likely suspect.
How'd he know Jay was gonna come clean?
Well, I'll be sure to ask him. I gotta get going.
Hm. Hey, while you're gone, I'm gonna do a little research.
I saw a computer in the motel office.
Are you kidding? You're not going anywhere. There's a warrant out for your arrest.
The last thing you need is hanging out where people recognize you.
So you want me to sit here and watch television all day?
That's why we got a room with cable.
[♪♪♪]
[BEEPS]
Can you clear my schedule? I've decided to go to Jay's funeral.
[OFFICER SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
OFFICER: Left. Left. Hup.
Left, left, left.
PRIEST: God bless and peace be with all of you.
GEORGE: Thank you. It was a beautiful service.
COP 1 : Miss you around the station. Thanks for coming.
Coming from Atlanta, I hear. COP 2: Yeah.
George.
Raley.
It's good to see you.
I was so hoping you'd be here.
Candy, I'm so sorry about Jay. Me too.
I missed you. I tried to find you, but you didn't leave much of a trail.
I just needed not to be found for a while.
Congratulations on the nomination. Thank you.
I can't say I'm surprised.
It means a lot to me.
CLERK: Judge Mellers.
Forgive me, but you do have another appointment.
I'm sorry, Raley,
I have to-- It's okay.
I know this may not be the time or the place,
but I'm not gonna get another chance to say this and it's always bothered me.
After Suzi Monroe died,
maybe I didn't advise you well about the drug test.
Maybe...
Maybe I made a mistake.
If you need anything... I mean it, anything.
Thank you.
Take care.
Raley.
George McGowan. It's been a while.
Jay would've appreciated that you, uh, came out of hiding for this.
No doubt.
I heard you've been doing well lately. I fell in love.
With a woman? Or money?
[CHUCKLES]
Well, I guess that the marriage didn't exactly work out as I planned.
Too bad.
Add one more thing to your list of regrets, huh?
Something on your mind, Raley?
Yeah, there is. Jay's murder.
[♪♪♪]
May I help you, ma'am?
Yeah, I was wondering if I could use your computer.
Actually, we have an entire business center set up right there.
Thanks.
You might need to plug it in first.
I don't know any more about Jay than you do.
Apparently, that newswoman killed him after they got back from the bar.
How you know he met her at a bar first? I don't remember that in the news.
He told me he was going to do it.
He was thinking of retiring, gonna convince her to do a story on him.
That really why? Yeah.
Or did he want to get something off his chest?
Like what?
[♪♪♪]
RALEY: Hey, Pat.
Come here.
Do you have any idea what Jay might've wanted to tell a reporter?
No, no. I have no clue.
RALEY: Hey.
BRITT: Let's see.
Fried shrimp.
And-- And salad?
That's what you got?
I thought you'd want-- Fried shrimp, good call.
So did you talk to George? Yeah.
Both George and Pat Jr. looked like they had something to hide.
Well, you may not be wrong. Read that.
What, you went out? Oh, come on, just read it.
It says here that five years ago in Hampton Park
Pat Wickham Jr. was attacked.
Must be how he got the scar.
His dad said he got it in some bar brawl.
The kid never seemed like the type.
And Hampton Park, that's where Cleveland Jones used to hang out.
Some coincidence.
So you think we should go talk to Pat Jr.?
Absolutely.
God, I always hated that park.
Full of dealers and junkies.
Haley cut through there on her morning run.
I begged her to find another route.
Um...
You know, I've actually been meaning to say something to you about that. I...
I realized that my story is what caused you to lose that relationship with her.
And I just--
I just want you to know that I am truly, truly sorry.
Yeah, well, I guess I've been telling myself that for the past five years.
That it was all your fault.
If you hadn't kept my face in the news,
there wouldn't have been so much pressure.
And she and I, we would've been okay.
Truth is, I know it's not that simple.
You know, you said that I should've fought.
If not for myself, then for my fiancée. Raley, I should--
The thing is, it was Haley who begged me not to fight.
She wanted it to just all go away on its own.
What did you want?
I wanted her to stay.
I wanted to make her happy.
Heh. And she left anyway.
She couldn't stick it out.
She wasn't like you.
She wasn't a fighter.
[♪♪♪]
Yeah, got it.
All right, Raley Gannon just surfaced at Jay Burgess' funeral.
Any idea where he'll turn up next? Yeah, boss gave me an address.
Well, judge, I have to say it's an honor to meet you.
I think the whole city is excited about your pending nomination.
My wife keeps telling me it's a great leap for Southern women.
Thank you.
So you're wondering why I asked you here.
Well, yeah.
I hear you have family in Columbia.
Yeah, my wife's sister and some cousins.
You've been inquiring about transferring to the Columbia P.D.
I know a lot of people.
Some of whom may be able to make that happen.
Bypassing the usual bureaucratic channels and such.
Well, that would be--
I would be much obliged.
But in return I need to ask something of you.
Off the record, do you understand? Yeah.
I was hoping not to get involved in this, but circumstances are such that...
it seems unavoidable.
I need you to tell me everything about the Jay Burgess investigation.
I know this is highly irregular,
but I'm worried that someone may be wrongfully blamed for this.
And I can't let that happen again.
[♪♪♪]
RALEY: He's home.
Let's wait a minute, see if a light comes on.
I think I should be the one to go talk to him.
I've been thinking. Hm?
You should really try and make a transition to a bigger market.
You're beautiful, you're smart.
You're number one in Charleston, but that's what, a few thousand viewers?
It's nothing.
If you went national, you'd be seen by millions.
I have had a couple of big offers. Really?
Yeah. So, what's the problem?
Well, for one, in a big market the competition's tougher
and the expectations are higher.
So what? So, what if I can't hack it?
I mean, I don't have some big, happy family to fall back on.
My parents are dead and there's nobody else.
So if I take a big job and fail at it, then how would I support myself?
So your concern is financial security?
Well, yeah.
You'll have to be smart. Yeah.
And cautious. Exactly.
And gutless. What?
No, I'm serious. No guts, no glory.
You're not going for the glory, so really, who needs the guts?
Did you just insult me?
[DOOR CLOSES]
It's almost 11:00 at night. Where's he going?
I don't know. Let's find out.
[♪♪♪]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
RALEY: What is this? BRITT: It's a gay club.
Out here?
You think it's easy being gay in the South?
Especially if you're a cop.
PAT JR.: Hey. Hey.
Hey there. Hey, how's it going?
Haven't seen you in a while.
RALEY: Hey, fellas. You don't mind if I talk to my friend, do you?
What are you doing here? Following me?
No, I'm not, but we need to talk to you.
Who's we?
Are you with her? Hi.
Mr. Wickham, we were wondering if you could help us.
What exactly really happened to your face?
My face?
Why? Raley knows I got into a fight.
Nice story. Try again, Pat.
Look, the truth always comes out. Better if you just tell us now, talk to us.
Tell us about the police station fire. Screw off.
What about Hampton Park? Nobody knows about any of that.
Just don't go there, please.
[TIRES SCREECHING]
RALEY: Get down!
[GRUNTS]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
BRITT: Get in the car, get in the car.
[BRITT SCREAMS]
BRITT: Go, go!
Well, you're lucky.
That bullet barely nicked you.
Yeah, well, it still hurts. I know.
That's a nice necklace. Thank you.
It doesn't exactly seem like your style.
It's not.
Then why do you wear it? Sentimental.
From your parents? Mm-mm.
Old boyfriend? No.
My bosses gave it to me after I won number one three years in a row.
There you go. Thank you.
You're welcome.
So I get it now. Get what?
Why you'll never leave your job at the station.
Financial security my ass.
You, my friend, are seriously full of crap.
So is that your version of small talk or foreplay?
I've seen you in action.
With Louis Jones, Pat Jr. You're a great interviewer.
You could go anywhere and be a star.
Says the man whose TV only gets three channels.
But you won't.
Because you need to stay.
Your parents are all gone. You avoid getting close to people.
You'll never quit, you'll never try something else
because your job is the one true long-term relationship you've got.
[♪♪♪]
[LIGHTER FLICKING]
You look deep in thought.
I was remembering when we met.
[CHUCKLES]
God, you were so unattainable.
Sailing high above with the socialite crowd,
barely knowing peons like me even existed.
When you agreed to marry me, I-- I couldn't believe it.
And I couldn't figure out why.
You were a hero, George. Every girl wants a hero.
And I fell in love with you.
Are you still?
[SIGHS]
The, uh-- The night you told me the truth about the fire...
something just changed.
Everything that I thought you were and everything I thought you could be
was based on a lie.
And I felt betrayed.
[SNIFFLES]
And I knew I'd never let you betray me again.
I'm sorry, George.
[♪♪♪]
Hey, did you see this? What?
Pat Jr.'s attack happened five years ago.
September 1 4th. So?
So the police station fire happened five years ago, September 1 5th.
Cleveland Jones was at both.
Cleveland was a redneck.
And rednecks aren't fond of the gay population.
And cops aren't too fond of rednecks who beat up cops' kids.
Do you think Pat Sr. beat up Cleveland?
Or George, or Jay, or all of them.
[♪♪♪]
Pat, please don't forget to fix the stroller today.
Oh, my God. Pat?
They're here for me. It's all right.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Should I stay? I'm fine, honey.
Are you sure? Yeah, go ahead, it's okay.
Are you gonna leave too?
You guys wanna come in?
I know why you ran.
It must have been hard living a lie all these years.
It's not like I had a choice.
[♪♪♪]
Um...
My father and George used to tell homo jokes around the dinner table.
And I used to laugh along.
And one day my dad caught me in my bedroom with a friend.
And if my mom hadn't stopped him, I swear to God, he would've killed me.
Secrets cost you a lot, huh?
Your freedom, integrity, even your face.
Cleveland Jones did that, didn't he? In the park.
Him and two of his friends.
They used the end of a bat like a pile driver in my mouth.
The surgeons did the best they could but...
Wasn't good enough for your dad, was it?
Yeah, maybe he still loved me.
Maybe.
He showed you some mug shots?
Yeah, Cleveland was the only one I recognized.
BRITT: What did he tell you he was gonna do?
He just said that he and his friends were gonna take care of it.
His friends? You mean George and Jay.
They didn't want me testifying in a trial.
So they just wanted to make sure that Jones confessed.
How did the police station fire happen?
I really don't know.
I was in the hospital for weeks, I was in pain, I was on meds.
Anything that happened that night, no one ever talked to me about it.
RALEY: You never bothered to tell anybody else about what you knew?
They had gotten revenge for me one way or another.
I owed them something. I owed them.
And you just filled in one lie for another, huh, Pat?
Well...
it's over now.
Hey, what are you gonna do? You can't--
Well, it's like she told you before. The truth always comes out.
All you have control over is how.
Don't.
CAND Y: Thirty-eight years. CLERK: Ma'am?
CAND Y: Thirty-eight years I've been dreaming about making my name in the law.
Other girls were playing Barbie and dress up.
I was pretending to be Clarence Darrow or John Jay.
After tomorrow, I bet some little girl will be pretending to be you.
Maybe.
[♪♪♪]
Pat Wickham Jr. shot twice at close range late this afternoon.
Police are calling Britt Shelley a person of interest.
What?
According to Wickham's wife, Shelley was last seen with her husband.
We gotta do something.
I've got an idea, but we have to split up.
Okay.
[♪♪♪]
Press conference in 30 minutes. I'll be ready.
Good luck, judge. Thank you.
This is it.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Miranda?
[CHUCKLES]
I knew you'd show up.
I'd go with the long ones.
My clerk let you in.
Thank you for trusting me. I don't trust you.
I trust Raley, and he told me you have a story to tell me.
I know who killed Jay Burgess,
Pat Wickham Jr. and Cleveland Jones.
Please.
Believe it or not, I'm actually kind of relieved.
You need to come clean, George.
Yeah, I guess so.
Five years ago Cleveland Jones attacked Pat Wickham Jr. in Hampton Park.
Pat Sr. wanted justice, but he didn't want his son's sexual orientation to come out.
So he and Jay pick Cleveland up.
The three of you were gonna beat him until he confessed.
But things didn't go according to plan, did they, George?
One of you, doesn't really matter which,
bashed the kid's skull until he was dead.
To cover their tracks, the cops started a fire.
Blaming Cleveland for it.
Then pretended to be victims themselves and helped everyone get out.
Became heroes. Yeah.
I guess everything would've been fine if I just let it rest.
But you couldn't, could you? No, I couldn't.
The cops knew the only way to avoid being exposed was to shut Raley up.
One way or another.
The girl at the party.
And then you found Suzi Monroe and you sent her to hit on me and drug me.
Done anything for a fix. She'd hump the couch.
RALEY: And you made sure she OD'd.
Yeah. We'd been around long enough. We knew how it was done.
When Raley woke up, they told him to keep quiet.
But Jay made sure it became big news.
Jay and me.
My newscast distracted the public and assured that Raley would lose his job.
Then Jay bribed the new arson investigator to close the case.
So if all this is true, who killed Jay? George did.
Pat Sr.'s death really shook Jay up,
so Jay called George and said he wanted to come clean.
But George couldn't let that happen.
So he had Jay killed and framed me for the murder.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
You're right about everything, except the last part.
I didn't kill Jay.
Actually, I thought that you had murdered him and Pat Jr. for revenge.
And that you came here today to kill me.
[♪♪♪]
I'm a good judge, Britt. Maybe even a great judge.
So believe me when I tell you
sometimes the end really does justify the means.
[GUNSHOT]
[MAN GROANS]
No.
Oh, my God.
You were there, weren't you?
Whoa.
What's going on?
BRITT: You hadn't just gotten to the station when the fire happened.
You had been there for a while. Watching the interrogation.
You were in the room when they killed Cleveland Jones, weren't you?
Put the gun on the desk, face down on the floor, now. Do it now!
On the floor.
BRITT: You know every cop in the city.
Wait a minute.
But these guys, they're different.
You and these guys go way back.
You grew up together. Right?
That's why you wanted to be there
when they interrogated the bastard that hurt Pat's son.
Maybe you started with good intentions.
Maybe you thought you'd just come and prosecute him yourself.
But instead you stayed
and watched Jay, George and Pat pummel him to death.
You knew that if Raley found out, your career would be over.
You couldn't let that happen.
So that's where the cover-up began.
First it was Cleveland.
And then it was Suzi Monroe.
And then Jay.
And now it's my turn, right?
Well, I'm impressed.
They say many highly successful people
are actually functioning lying psychopaths.
You are so very convincing.
RALEY: She sold me, that's for sure.
Britt, you okay? Yeah.
RALEY: You have been looking out for someone all these years.
But it wasn't me, was it?
[♪♪♪]
COP 1 : Let's go, judge.
This all your handiwork? COP 2: Get moving.
Yeah, I learned a few things about hand-to-hand combat.
RALEY: Thank God you're okay.
MAN: Hey, come on. WOMAN: Just a second.
Okay, I'll let you know.
Hi. Hi.
God, I'm starving. Who was that?
Fire chief. Offered to give my job back.
That's great. Yeah, well, let him stew for a while.
Crab sandwich.
Meatball hero. Heh-heh-heh. Nice work.
So how did it go at the station?
Great. They want me back at work too.
With a hefty raise and hour-long specials,
new big office, my own assistant.
That sounds like a good offer. Yeah, it is.
I told them I wanted to think about it.
I wanna check out some of the national networks first.
That's a great idea.
Yeah, well, don't get too excited.
I kind of just wanna explore my possibilities, you know.
Maybe I don't need the Charleston station quite so much anymore.
At least as a long-term relationship.
No?
So, what do you need?
Don't tell anybody, but I kind of have a thing for clean-shaven firemen.
[♪♪♪]