[A man (Joey
Paducci) walks into a church]
[choir loft;
Vecchio and Father Behan are standing at the door while
women walk by]
Father Behan:
‘Tis a miracle, surely. We’ve never had so many people
wanting to join our choir. You’ve done a fine thing,
Raymond.
Ray: Ah, think
nothing of it, Father. I just pulled out my little black
book, made a few calls, and they were happy to oblige.
[grabs woman going
by] Oh,
Ursula, thanks for coming.
Woman: Yeah,
yeah, take a hike.
[pushes
him]
Ray
: All right, we’ll talk later.
[Ursula knocks into
a woman, and pushes another aside]
Ursula: Out of
my way.
[sits]
Hi, Benton.
Woman 1: This
is my chair. I sit here every week.
Woman 2:
[next to
Fraser]
Well, this week it’s mine.
Woman 3: Would
you like to try my pitch-pipe?
Fraser: Oh,
well, thank you for the offer, but, I’m--
Woman 4: Didn’t
I see you at the singles dance the other night?
Fraser:
Actually, I’m not part of this congregation. My friend and
I just stopped by to pay Father Behan a visit. Or so I
thought.
[Fraser turns
around, looking for Vecchio, and accidentally bumps a
woman]
Fraser:
Sorry.
[Fraser sees
Vecchio give him a thumbs-up & a smile]
Father Behan:
He did volunteer for this, didn’t he?
Ray: Oh,
absolutely, Father. You know how it is with Mounties. Any
excuse to burst into song.
Choir mistress:
All right, ladies. And Constable Fraser. Turn to hymn
598.
[All stand as organ begins to play. Music: ‘O Perfect
Love’ by Dorothy Gurney & Joseph
Barnby]
[Joey goes to light
a candle, pulls out a handful of spare change; sighs, puts
change back in his pocket and does not light the
candle]
[Frannie arrives in the choir
loft]
Ray: Oh God.
Sorry, Father.
[Frannie makes her
way toward Fraser in the front row]
Francesca
: Excuse me.
Father Behan:
That is your sister, isn’t it?
Ray: Uh, yes,
it is, Father.
Father Behan:
Oh, God.
Francesca
: Excuse me.
[bumps into Fraser,
knocking his hymnal out of his hands to the church floor
below]
Francesca: Oh,
Benton! What a surprise! You sing too?
Fraser: Uh, so
I’m told.
Francesca: How
nice! [to Woman
3] Move it or lose your
foot!
[pews; two men
kneeling]
Tommy Cabrini:
I’m only asking for the same terms your father gave
me.
Frank Zuko: My
father was a very generous man. I’m sure he’s in heaven.
[they
sit] Look
at this. [flexes his
hand] I’m
playing pick-up, I got the ball, some real estate broker
charges me and practically breaks my arm.
Cabrini: We go
back a long way. I’ve been doing business with your family
for forty years. I made good every time. This isn’t
right.
Zuko: Are you
accusing me of being unjust, Tommy?
Cabrini: No,
no.
Zuko: Good.
Because I would hate to think that I had failed to earn
your respect.
Cabrini: I’ll
take the deal. Deal’s fine.
Zuko: Yeah, if
that’s what you want.
[they walk down the
aisle, passing Joey]
Zuko: Wanna
shoot some baskets on Saturday?
Cabrini:
Me?
Zuko: Yeah,
you.
Cabrini: Sure,
Mr. Zuko.
[Joey watches as
Zuko puts money into the poor box]
[choir loft,
singing]
Francesca:
[talking through
the music] So I was having my nails done the other day
when it hits me like a ton of bricks. This guy is never
going to come to you, Francesca. Nothing that good ever
comes to you. The way I see it is, you want the best, you
gotta take it.
[Fraser sings
loudly] So
I say to myself, Ask him out. To which I reply, What if it
goes badly? I mean, what if we go out to dinner and I
have, like, food stuck between my teeth or something and
he turns off to me? So then I say, Ask him out for drinks.
[Fraser sings
louder]
But then I remember. He’s a Mountie, stupid. He doesn’t
drink. I mean, sure it’s dark in the movie theater and
everything, but you know, there could be people around
and...yadda
yadda.
[Joey uses a tool on the poor box]
Francesca
: So the way I see it is, why do we have to play these
games? I mean, we’re both adults. We both know what we
want. So...
[music
stops]
Francesca: You
wanna have sex?
[crashing organ
chord; shocked stares; a woman yells as Joey
runs]
Woman:
Ahh!!
Help! Thief! Thief!
Fraser: Oh,
darn. Uh, excuse me.
[Fraser leaps over
the edge of the choir loft, lands in the aisle, and runs
out the door of the church, saluting an elderly lady on
the way out]
Francesca:
[to Woman
1] He had
an appointment.
[Fraser stands on
the steps of the church, looking for the thief, who has
disappeared]
[27th
precinct; Fraser is examining the poor box]
Ray: Will you
forget about it, Benny? Father Behan said there was less
than forty bucks in there. If you want, I’ll give him the
money right out of my own pocket.
Fraser: Look at
the gouge marks around the hinges, Ray.
Ray: No.
Fraser: The
thief loosened the fittings before he pried the lid.
Ray: Okay,
forty bucks and a new poor box.
Fraser: Judging
from the striations in the wood, I’d say he must have used
some kind of specialized tool.
Ray: Benny,
It’s a three dollar lock and a ten dollar box. What do you
want to do, call in Scotland Yard?
Fraser: Given
the angle of insertion, I’d say he is probably
right-handed.
Ray: You see,
now that is the break that we needed. Let’s go nail the
right-handed bastard.
Fraser: Now,
you’ll notice this rough indentation in the wood made when
the lid was pried open?
Ray: No, I
won’t.
Fraser: It
indicates the implement had a curved head and a sharp
point. You know, it rather brings to mind a hook used for
sock-eye salmon.
Ray: Hey,
Elaine! Get me a list of all the salmon fisheries in the
greater metropolitan area, will ya?
Elaine:
What?
Fraser: Never
mind, Elaine, I believe Ray was just mocking me.
Ray: Ah, yes, I
was.
Fraser: We’re
not looking for a hook, Ray, I was referring to the shape
of the implement’s head. Now the distance from the mark to
the rear indicates that the implement was at least six
inches long, with sufficient heft to loosen the hinges.
Aha.
Ray: No, okay?
No “ahas,” no “uh-huhs,” no
“interestings,” no “look at
this Ray” because I’m not gonna look.
[Fraser touches the
box and tastes his finger]
Fraser: Left a
waxy residue.
Ray: Fraser,
this is a petty theft,
okay? We’ll
fill out a form, if I can find the damn thing, and if
someone returns the money, we’ll bring it back to the
church.
Fraser: Oh,
I’m not interested in the money, Ray, I’m after the
thief.
Welsh:
Vecchio. St Michael’s. Somebody robbed the poor box. Look
into it.
Ray: I’m
already on it, sir, and I even found some waxy
residue.
[Fraser looks at
Vecchio; Vecchio shrugs]
Welsh: Seems a
prominent member of the congregation is concerned we’re
not gonna give attention to the theft since there was a
small amount of money involved.
Fraser:
Detective Vecchio was just pointing out the basic
injustice of that, sir.
Welsh:
[to
Fraser] I
have to ask you this. Don’t you have a job of your
own?
Fraser: Oh,
yes, sir. But I had the early shift this morning.
Welsh: And you
have nothing better to do with your life than hang around
here and help us solve crimes?
Fraser: No,
sir.
Welsh: Hmm. All
right, start with this concerned citizen.
[hands Vecchio a
file]
Ray: Frank
Zuko? We’re running errands for Frank Zuko now?!
Welsh: You have
evidence to put Mr. Zuko behind bars, Detective?
Ray: No,
sir.
Welsh: Because
if you do, there’s a pack of feds who would love to have
that information passed on to them.
Ray: I realize
that, sir.
Welsh: You want
the papers getting the impression that we don’t care
enough about certain communities to pay attention to their
concerns?
Ray: No,
sir.
Welsh: Go show
the flag. [to
Fraser] Any movies, dates, anything like that?
Fraser: I
recently joined a choir, sir.
Welsh: Oh,
good, good. That’s good.
[goes into his
office]
Fraser: This
Mr. Zuko, he’s an acquaintance of yours?
Ray: Yeah, you
could say we’re
acquainted.
[large residential home; doorbell rings; Zuko opens the
door]
Ray: Detective
Vecchio, twenty-seventh.
Zuko: Ray. Good
to see you.
[offers hand; Vecchio ignores it, but Fraser
shakes]
Fraser: Benton
Fraser, RMCP.
Zuko: Come on
in.
[home office; girl sits at a desk,
drawing]
Zuko: You know,
it’s a great old neighborhood. One of the
last. I mean,
I would hate to see that kind of a criminal element creep
in. You know, when my father was...well, we all know what
my father was. But-but one thing you could say for the
man, he made sure the neighborhood was safe.
Daughter: I
made you a picture, Daddy.
Zuko: Let me
see, honey. Oh that’s beautiful. Why don’t you run and
show Mommy, okay?
[kisses
her]
[girl exits; Zuko
motions Fraser to shut the door]
Ray: Out of
respect for your little girl, I don’t say anything. But
let’s not start reminiscing about the good old days of
extortion and intimidation, okay, Frankie?
Zuko: PR’s not
your strong suit, is it, Detective?
Ray: I’ve just
got a couple of questions. How much money did you put in
the poor box?
Zuko: I don’t
know. A hundred, I guess.
Ray: The man in
the assembly, you got a description?
Zuko: Nope.
Barely noticed him.
Ray: You know,
it just blows my mind. How one guy can pull off a heist of
this magnitude.
Zuko: You know,
I’m ignoring your tone because we have a history. But
don’t push it. This may seem penny-ante to you, Vecchio,
but somebody did commit a crime here.
Ray: You figure
a guy who stole, what, a hundred and forty bucks is a
serious threat to the community and should be
prosecuted?
Zuko: What’s
the matter with you, Ray? Huh? Your mother doesn’t live in
this community? Your sisters don’t walk home past that
church every night? You think some guy who robs the church
is going to think twice about mugging the women in your
family? Or mine?
Ray: Let’s not
compare your family and mine, okay,
Frankie? Cause
we don’t walk down the same block.
Fraser: Um. I’m
sure Detective Vecchio shares your concerns, Mr. Zuko,
after all, as you just pointed out, this is his
neighborhood, too.
Zuko: Canadian,
right?
Fraser:
Yes.
Zuko: Well,
then you do understand. I mean you come from one of those
nice clean cities where they have no graffiti, no garbage
on the streets, and people treat each other with respect.
Right?
Fraser: Well,
yes, I suppose so. Although it’s been my experience that
many people live their lives thinking that they’re
respected only to discover that they’ve been merely
feared. And fears can be overcome. We will find the
thief.
Zuko: Thank
you, Constable. I’d be very grateful if you did.
Fraser:
Ray?
Zuko: You still
play basketball, Ray? You
oughta come down to the gym on
Saturday. Work off some of that pasta.
Ray: I don’t
think so,
Frankie.
[outside the
house]
Ray: His father
Carl ran the extortion rackets for over thirty years on
this side of town.
Fraser: You
think he’s like his father?
Ray: Is he more
legit than his father? He can afford to be. When I went to
school with Frank, we used to play pick-up basketball
together. There was this one kid, Marco
Matroni, couldn’t make a
basket to save his life. No matter whose side he was on he
always managed to lose the game, and Frank didn’t like
losing. So one day, a couple of Frank’s buddies held him
down while Frank drilled a basketball into his face for
about a half-hour. Marco just lay there choking on his
blood. He never came near the court again.
Fraser: You
know, we had a schoolyard bully in Tuktoyaktuk once.
Sometimes, at night, I can still remember him coming into
the classroom swinging that otter over his head. There was
just no reasoning with him.
Ray: And I
thought we had nothing in common.
Fraser:
Bindlestitch.
Ray: You know,
you gotta stop swearing in Eskimo.
Fraser: No, a
bindlestitch is a tool used by a shoemaker for lifting
laces off of the leather. Our poor box thief used a
bindlestitch and the waxy residue - shoe polish.
Ray: You’re
making this stuff up, right?
Fraser:
No.
[they get into the
Riv, as Zuko & Charlie watch them from inside the
house]
Charlie
: We’ve been all through the neighborhood and no one saw
anything.
Zuko: Follow
him. He’ll find the guy.
[street (corner of
Harlem & Beaumont)]
Ray: But we’re
not really tracking a criminal, what we’re tracking here
is Pinocchio’s dad.
Fraser:
Geppetto was a woodcarver,
Ray.
Ray: He was
not!
Fraser: Well,
yes, that’s how he made Pinocchio, out of wood.
Ray: Then who
was the shoemaker?
Fraser: I have
no idea.
Ray: Sure you
do, the Brothers Grimm, the poor old shoemaker, can’t feed
his wife, little elves help him make shoes...
[Vecchio and Fraser
stop in front of a closed shoe repair shop]
Fraser: There’s
very little dust in the windows. They can’t have been out
of business for long.
Ray: I
distinctly remember reading about shoes made by
elves.
Fraser: The
heavy machinery is still here. If he intended to open a
new shop, he would have taken it with him. My guess is he
didn’t have that option. He took what he could carry, and
left.
Ray: You mean
to tell me you have no recollection of shoe-related elf
stories?
Fraser: Ray, I
would tell you if I did.
[they walk past the repair shop and go into...]
[...a lingerie
shop]
Fraser:
Hello?
Saleswoman:
I’ll be right out.
[Fraser goes to speak to what he thinks is a
person]
Fraser:
Excuse me, I, oh, uh--
[realizes it’s a
mannequin, backs away, and bumps into another
mannequin]
Fraser: Ray,
maybe you should conduct this interview.
Ray: It’s
molded plastic, Benny. It’s not going to lunge out at
you.
Fraser: You
mean this? Well, if you think I’m embarrassed, you’re
sorely mistaken.
Ray: Oh yeah,
that’s why you’re turning the color of your uniform.
Fraser: Don’t
be ridiculous. It’s just hot in here, that’s all.
Saleswoman:
Could I help you?
Fraser: Yes,
ma’am.
Saleswoman:
Nice boots.
Fraser: Thank
you. Um... My name is Constable Fraser and this is
Detective Vecchio. We would like to ask you a question
that is unrelated to either underwear or breasts.
Ray: Ah, yes we
would. Do you know who used to run the shoe repair next
door?
Saleswoman:
Yeah, Joey. Nice guy.
Ray: Yeah, does
he have a last name?
Saleswoman:
Uh...I think it started with a P. He used to come in here
for coffee sometimes. Sort of sweet and shy.
[to
Fraser]
Which personally I find very sexy.
Ray: Yeah, do
you know what happened to him?
Saleswoman:
Yeah, he went out of business about six months ago. It was
too bad. He came in about two weeks before that to get
something for his wife. He had it all picked out but
couldn’t come up with the cash, so we worked out a deal. I
don’t think his wife liked the camisole. She left him,
took the kid. Real sad.
Ray: You know
where he is now?
Saleswoman:
Girl who works here said she saw him going into one of
those cheap hotels over on
Diversey.
Fraser: Is she
here?
Saleswoman: No,
she’s on vacation. Anything else I can do for you?
Fraser: Yes,
you said that you did a deal for the camisole?
Saleswoman:
Yeah. Yeah, he made me this.
[she unties her blouse and reveals a black leather
corset]
Fraser: May I,
uh...
Saleswoman:
Sure.
Fraser: Thank
you.
[he leans into her chest and examines the corset from a
few inches
range]
Fraser:
[mutters]
Ah, yes, it’s very beautiful...leather.
[steps
back]
Thank you kindly, ma’am.
Saleswoman:
You’re very welcome.
Ray:
[aside]
How do you get away with that?
Fraser: With
what?
Ray: You know
damn well with what!
[Vecchio and Fraser
exit to the street]
Fraser:
Hand-stitched. Very delicate work.
Ray: Yeah, it
had quality written all over it.
[Fraser and Vecchio stop, turn around, and walk in the
opposite
direction]
[shop; Frannie comes out of fitting room]
Francesca: I’ll
take it. But I’ll need it altered for tonight.
Saleswoman: Oh,
I don’t know. We’re kinda backed up right now.
Francesca:
Look, I’ll pay anything, understand? This is worth any
amount of
money.
[Diversey Street]
Fraser: Well,
we know he took his tools. He’s bartered his services
once, chances are he’s still doing it.
Ray: So now
what? We go up and down
Diversey until we find
Cinderella with freshly soled shoes?
Fraser:
Yes.
Ray:
Great.
[inside a boarding
house]
Rose
Maclung: You want to see
my shoes?
Fraser: Well,
yes ma’am, I would, if-if you wouldn’t mind.
Rose
Maclung: Why should I
mind, it’s best offer I’ve had in years.
[Fraser inspects
them]
Fraser: Very
nice, very nice indeed.
[to Vecchio]
Machine made, not recently repaired.
[room; Vecchio
inspecting high heel]
Transvestite:
You’re welcome.
[line-up of women,
very excited at Fraser’s enterprise]
[Vecchio tries to get a lady’s shoe off, and she hits him in the head with a newspaper]
Ray
: Hey!
[street]
Ray: She’s all
yours.
Fraser:
What-Ray, you don’t wanna...all right.
[older woman is on
her hands and knees, cleaning the steps]
Fraser: Excuse
me, ma’am. No,
please, ma’am, stay just where you are.
[examines her shoes as she looks at him like he’s crazy]
[hallway of boarding
house]
Woman: He moved
in a few months ago. He a friend of yours?
Fraser: Ah, no,
but I’m familiar with his work.
Woman:
[knocks]
Mr. Paducci, you have callers.
[silence]
Woman: I’m sure
he’s in there.
Fraser: Could
you open it please, ma’am?
[she opens door; the
room is empty but the window is wide open]
Fraser: Thank
you kindly. [he
steps onto the
windowsill]
Ray![to
woman]
I’ll see myself out.
[Fraser jumps down
from the second story, landing in an alley; he chases
Joey; Riv pulls up & Vecchio jumps out.]
Ray: All right,
freeze! Up against the wall!
[Vecchio pats down
Joey and comes up with a pointed implement]
Ray:
Spindlebint, I
presume.
[27th
precinct]
Elaine:
[holding
bindlestitch]
Rumplestiltskin. Didn’t he use
one of these?
Gardino: No,
dwarfs don’t make shoes, they hide under bridges.
Huey: Those
are trolls.
Elaine: So who
made shoes?
Huey:
Glinda, the good witch in the
Wizard of Oz.
Gardino: No,
that was magic; they were slippers, not shoes.
Elaine: I
always wanted a pair of ruby slippers. I used to try on my
mother’s high-heeled shoes, standing in front of the
mirror, clicking my heels together, and say, “There’s no
place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no
place like home.”
Gardino: Me,
too. [Elaine gives
him a
look]
What?
[pause]
Well, I wanted to be the Tin Man.
[pause]
I’d dress up like the Tin Man, my sister
would dress up like Dorothy.
[pause]
I almost never played with my sister.
[to
nobody]
What? Oh yeah, coming.
[exits]
[Vecchio’s desk; Fraser typing Joey’s
statement]
Joey Paducci:
It’s nothing fancy, you know, but I’m making a living.
Anyways, one day these wise guys pay me a visit, they tell
me I’m not paying my neighborhood association dues. Fifty
bucks a week. I mean, maybe that doesn’t sound like much,
but I got overhead, you know, an apartment, a wife who
likes to go out...Anyway, six months later, it’s up to
sixty-five, then eighty-five, then a hundred...
Ray: Did they
threaten you?
Joey: Who was
to threaten? I’m not stupid. Pretty soon I can’t afford to
pay for the phone, or the utilities, I fall behind on the
rent. So I go to Zuko, I-I-I tell him I need some relief.
He says to me, the payments are strictly voluntary. I get
back to my place and the front window’s broken. Five
months later I’m out on the street, and my wife...I can’t
blame her. So when I saw Zuko stick that hundred in the
box, all I could think was “That’s my money.” I just
wanted some of that back. That’s fair, isn’t it?
Ray: Maybe. But
it’s also against the law.
Fraser: Could
you identify these men?
Ray: Ah. You
know Benny, there’s nothing illegal about a voluntary
neighborhood association. I’ve been down that path too
many times.
Joey: I just
wasn’t brave enough to do something, you
know? He took
my business, he took my family, man, he took my life. I
shoulda done something. I
shoulda done something.
[St. Michael’s
church]
Father Behan:
Joey Paducci. I don’t know him.
Ray: Frank Zuko
does.
Father Behan:
Him I know. It’s a sin to wish people ill and I don’t, but
if I do, I confess it.
Ray: Father,
Paducci’s being arraigned. If
you don’t come down and sign a complaint it’s not gonna
stick.
Father Behan:
Why would I want to do a thing like that?
Ray: Because he
stole from the church.
Father Behan:
You said he was destitute, didn’t you?
Ray: Yes, but
that doesn’t have anything to do with anything.
Father Behan:
Well, then, who do you think poor boxes are
for?
[confession
booth]
Francesca:
Forgive me, Father, for what I am about to do.
Priest: This
isn’t about the Mountie again, is it?
Francesca: I
know, I know, but this time, I’m gonna do it.
Priest:
Francesca, I can’t keep forgiving you in advance for
something that never
happens.
[Fraser’s apartment
hallway]
Ray: The safest
place for him right now is exactly where he is, behind
bars.
Fraser: Well,
I don’t think we can keep a man in jail without charges,
Ray. [to
neighbors] Mr. Mustafi,
Mr. Campbell.
Ray: Yeah,
well if he’s out on the street,
Zuko’s coming after him and I
know Zuko. He needs to make an example out of Joey.
[Dief is lying in
the hall]
Ray: Do you
always leave your door wide open?
[Fraser’s apartment;
it’s full of expensive furnishings]
Fraser: Excuse
me, can you tell me what’s going on?
Mover: Yeah, I
made a few decisions in your absence. If you want anything
moved around, speak now or forever hold your peace.
Fraser: I’m
sorry, I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I didn’t
order any furniture.
Mover:
[reading from
clipboard]
Fraser, Benton. That you?
Fraser:
Yes.
Mover: You live
at 221 West Racine, apartment 3J?
Fraser: Yes,
but you see, I didn’t--
Mover: Right.
You want to make a decision about this
credenza?
We’re on the clock.
Ray: I really
like your style, Benny.
Fraser: It’s
not my style, Ray, it’s
Zuko’s.
Mover:
[to
movers]
The credenza goes there.
[to
Fraser]
Tip’s taken care of. Enjoy.
Ray:
[on cell
phone]
Phil, it’s Vecchio. Where’s Joey Paducci? ...Oh, great.
Thanks. [hangs
up] He was
bailed out over an hour ago. He’s definitely a dead
man.
Fraser: “I’d be
grateful.” Zuko’s
words.
[indoor basketball court; Zuko and several others
finishing a
game]
Zuko: Kenny!
Kenny! Come on, you and me to twenty.
[Kenny
hesitates]
Zuko: Come on,
I’ll spot you three.
[Zuko shoots a
basket]. Three-one.
[Kenny reluctantly
joins him; Zuko elbows Kenny hard and knocks him down;
Zuko scores; cronies chuckle]
Zuko: Didn’t
foul you, did I?
Kenny:
[pause]
No.
Zuko:
Three-two.
[Fraser
enters]
Zuko: Hey,
Constable Fraser! Care to shoot some hoop?
Fraser: Oh, no,
no. I’m afraid I would scuff the floor.
Zuko: The
floor? Forget the floor. Here, shoot.
[Zuko throws ball
to Fraser, who catches it; he closes his eyes, holds up a
finger to test the wind, opens his eyes, bounces the ball
once, shoots – nothing but net]
Zuko: Hit the
showers, Kenny.
Kenny: See you
Tuesday.
[Fraser removes
Stetson and jacket and belts and places them on a
chair]
Zuko: Come on
Constable. I’ll tell you what, you get the first
shot.
[Zuko and Fraser
talk as they play]
Zuko: You like
the furniture?
Fraser: Well,
there is quite a lot of it.
Zuko: You need
a bigger apartment.
Fraser: No, I
don’t think so. As a matter of fact, that is one of the
things I came down here to talk to you about. You see, as
a police officer I’m forbidden to accept gifts.
Zuko:
Really?
Fraser:
Yes.
Zuko: The
officers I know never mentioned that. I just wanted to
show my gratitude to you.
Fraser: No. I
understand. I understand. It’s just that even if I were
able to accept such a gift, it might end up reflecting
badly on you.
Zuko: Upon
me?
Fraser: Oh yes.
You see, some people might get the mistaken impression
that you wanted Mr. Paducci found for your own purposes,
and that I had somehow aided you in that endeavor.
Zuko: I don’t
see how anyone can read that into it. But hey, if it
bothers you, don’t keep it. Donate it to your favorite
charity.
Fraser: Well,
I’m afraid...that would be against the regulations as
well.
Zuko: You’re a
hard man to thank, Constable.
Fraser: Father
Behan is dropping the charges against Paducci.
Zuko: Oh, I
guess today is Mr. Paducci’s
lucky day.
Fraser: Isn’t
it? As a matter of fact, before Detective Vecchio could
drop the charges against him, Mr.
Padducci’s bail was posted
anonymously through an attorney.
Zuko: I love
this neighborhood. So many good Samaritans. Next basket
wins.
[Fraser gets the
ball & shoots, scoring]
Zuko: No,
foul!
Fraser: Um,
actually I don’t think that was a--
Zuko:
Charlie?
Charlie:
[head in
newspaper]
He fouled you, Mr. Zuko.
Zuko: Best ref
in Chicago.
[Zuko rushes the
basket and hits Fraser hard, knocking him down, Zuko
scores]
Zuko: Game.
Nice try, Constable.
[helps him
up]
Fraser: Thank
you. Mr.
Paducci is prepared to make restitution. That satisfies
the church.
Zuko:
Constable. You’re aware of who I am, aren’t you?
Fraser: Well,
if by that, do you mean have I heard the stories?
Yes.
Zuko: Yeah,
well, let’s say they’re all true. Something you probably
haven’t heard, is that I really do love this neighborhood.
And when somebody hurts this community, they hurt
me.
Fraser: By that
logic, you could say if someone hurt Mr. Paducci, they
hurt me.
Zuko: Well
then, you would be standing in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
Fraser: I see
logic is not one of your hobbies.
Zuko: Thanks
for the game, Constable.
Fraser: Good
day. [to
others]
Good day. Good day,
sir.
[Joey’s room; Joey is
packing]
Ray: I used to
buy gumballs over there. Big fat ones for a nickel apiece.
Now my nephew buys them for a buck fifty.
Joey: The price
of doing business. Welcome to Mr.
Zuko’s neighborhood.
[knock
knock
knock; Vecchio approaches door
with his gun drawn]
Fraser:
[voice]
It’s me, Ray.
[Fraser
enters]
Ray: What did I
say? Was he swinging an otter over his head or what?
Fraser: You
were right, Ray. There wasn’t much reasoning with
him.
Joey: Well,
I’ve always wanted to see New York.
Ray: Yeah, well
you can forget about it. If
Zuko’s got a contract out on
you, he’s going to have this neighborhood sealed up
tighter than a drum. You’ll be lucky to make downtown
Chicago alive.
Joey: Well, so
what am I supposed to do? Stay here and wait ‘til he comes
and kills me?
[silence]
Ray: Jimmy
Venuto! His sister was in a
hit-and-run accident down on the south side! I caught the
driver! Let’s hope he’s got a good memory.
[dials cell
phone]
[bus station]
Jimmy: I got a
946 going nonstop to Philadelphia, how’s that?
Ray: That’s
great, Jimmy, thanks.
Jimmy: Ray,
it’s nothing.
We put him on here with the packages. Everybody knows you
can’t board a bus in this neighborhood, you gotta go
downtown. [to
Joey] So
you, you just get in the john, and you stay there until
you reach Philadelphia.
[exits]
Joey: Thanks,
Ray. [walks
away]
Ray: He’ll be
okay. Thank God I remembered Jimmy, huh?
[Fraser sees
reflection of Jimmy getting into a car]
Fraser
: I thought you said he worked all night.
Ray: He
does.
[Jimmy’s car drives
away]
Ray:
Venuto! Oh, no!
[Music: ‘Eia, Mater’ performed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir]
[sedan]
Charlie:
[into
radio]
They made us. Go!
[men carrying guns
get out of car and run towards buses]
Charlie:
Son-of-a...
[Joey gets to the
open door of a bus; bus driver raises a gun and shoots;
Joey blocks the bullets with his suitcase]
Fraser:
Joey!
[Joey crawls
underneath the bus as the gunman runs off]
Thug : Get the shoemaker!
[inside the bus
station, Fraser dodges gunman’s bullets; unaware that thug
follows him]
[outside among the buses, thugs and Vecchio look for
Joey]
[inside; pursuit, Fraser crashes through a glass door,
sustaining cuts on his face; in a hallway, Charlie and two
men appear; two more men arrive behind Fraser]
Charlie:
[to
thug] Get
the car. [to
Fraser]
Got a message for you from Mr. Zuko.
Fraser: I take
it this message is not in writing.
[thugs grab Fraser from behind; another thug puts on his brass knuckles; sound of a punch connecting]
[outside; Joey is
crawling under the buses; Vecchio jumps on top of the
buses and runs on the
roofs]
[inside; thugs hold Fraser and beat him while Charlie
watches]
[outside; Vecchio jumps down on a thug just before the thug can shoot Joey; Vecchio pushes him to run]
Ray
: Come on, come on, go,
go!
[inside; thugs kick Fraser to the floor and walk away;
Charlie pulls a handgun and points it at Fraser’s
head]
Charlie: Here’s
the message. [cocks
gun]
[Fraser swings his
left leg and rolls sideways, kicking the gun away; Vecchio
and Joey appear; Charlie runs off; Vecchio and Joey kneel
beside Fraser]
Ray: Benny, you
okay?
[27th precinct]
Elaine: How
many of them were there?
Fraser: More
than were necessary.
[Elaine touches a
cotton swab to Fraser’s cut lip; their faces are quite
close]
Fraser:
Ah--
Elaine: That
hurt, didn’t it?
Fraser: Yes,
quite a bit.
Elaine:
Sorry.
Fraser: Were
there any prints off of the handgun?
Elaine: No. No
serial number. Does this hurt?
[touches a swab to
his cheek]
Fraser: Yes.
Yes. Yes.
Elaine: How
about this?
[touching a swab to
his bare chest]
Fraser: No.
That’s an old scar.
Elaine: How’d
you get it?
Fraser: I’d
rather not say...Someone struck me with a sea otter.
Elaine: Hmm. I
guess that’s what happens in a country with gun
control.
Fraser: Oh, I
believe he shot the otter first.
Elaine: Oh.
That’s just cruel.
Fraser: Uh yes,
but you see, strictly speaking, he did adhere to the law,
because swinging a live otter is illegal in the
Territories.
Elaine:
Ah.
Fraser:
Indeed.
Elaine: So
there’s nothing the police could do about it?
Fraser: No.
Although they did, uh, change the law, after that, uh,
incident.
Elaine: Good
thing.
Fraser: It’s a
very good thing.
[Elaine moves away;
both look
glassy-eyed]
[Welsh’s
office]
Welsh: Any line
on the shooter?
Ray: I got
Paducci going over mug shots right now, sir.
Welsh: What
about the guys that roughed Fraser up?
Ray: All
imported talent. They’re probably halfway to California by
now.
Welsh: Really
like to tie Zuko to this.
Ray: What about
protective custody for Paducci?
Welsh: State’s
Attorney isn’t going to do it. There’s no indictment
against Zuko. And if we lock the shoemaker up we’ll have
to keep him in solitary confinement for the rest of his
life. Leave him out on the street under surveillance, and
we eat up the entire district’s budget in thirty days. All
Zuko has to do is wait. You know, I hate to say it, but
Mr. Paducci had the right idea.
Ray: Look, we
can’t just throw him back out on the street.
Welsh: All
right, I’ll shuffle some paperwork. We’ll keep him in
holding for 48 hours.
Ray: All right.
Thanks, Lieutenant.
[interrogation
room]
Ray:
Anything?
Joey: No.
[shuts mug book
with a snap]
Fraser:
Protective custody?
Ray: 48 hours
in holding.
Fraser: What do
you want to do?
Joey: You guys
know of anybody with a place in the islands?
[break room]
Ray
: Here, you wanna cup of coffee?
Fraser: No,
thanks, Ray.
Ray: How ‘bout
a cup of tea?
Fraser:
No.
Ray: Hot
chocolate?
Fraser: No, I’m
fine.
[Vecchio hits
vending machine hard, then sits next to Fraser; then,
after a moment...]
Ray: Marco
Matroni. The kid Zuko worked
over with the basketball? Two guys held him down while
Zuko dribbled the ball over his face. I’m talking like
this thing happed twenty years ago and I remember it like
it was yesterday.
[pause]
So the kid hits the concrete, right? And he
looks up at me with those eyes. Those eyes that say ‘Help
me. Call the cops. Do
something.’ I
just stood there while Zuko rearranged his face. I didn’t
try to stop it. I didn’t say a word. When I got home that
night, I felt like I was 80 years old. I
shoulda done something,
Benny.
[indoor basketball court; Zuko and two bodyguards shooting
baskets; Vecchio enters. Vecchio holds his jacket open,
showing that he has no
gun]
Ray: Come on,
Frankie. Whadda ya say? You
and me, one on one.
Zuko: Oh is
that so, Ray?
Ray: Yeah, come
on. You and me.
Zuko: You think
you can take me on?
Ray: Hey, I
don’t think,
Frankie. I
know. I’m gonna kick your ass.
Zuko: Go get me
a cappuccino, huh?
Ray: Yeah, go
on and get yourself a cappuccino, too, boys. We’re gonna
be a little while.
[bodyguards exit;
Vecchio bolts the door]
Ray: We go back
a long way, you and me, Frankie. And we got some
unfinished business to attend to. You remember Marco
Matroni?
Zuko:
Who?
Ray: Junior
high. You bounced a ball off his face until it was
mush?
Zuko: Oh yeah.
Marco. I remember Marco. God! We had some good times, huh?
Poor old Marco. You know, I heard his family moved
away.
Ray: Yeah, you
know I heard that, too. You know, even then you owned the
neighborhood, Frankie. And even then you were a
coward.
Zuko: Me? I’m
not the one who stood around and watched his friend get
his face get beaten in.
Ray: You know,
you’re right, Frankie. I just stood there.
[Vecchio punches
Zuko, knocking him down]
Zuko: You just
got yourself dead, my friend.
Ray: Is that
so? Then how come I’m not the one who’s bleeding on the
floor? Huh?! You want a piece of
me?!
[Vecchio picks
Frankie up off the floor and throws him against the
wall] Come
on. Take your best shot! Come on, you’re a big man,
Frankie, come on!
[punch]
Zuko: You think
your badge is gonna protect you? You’re not that smart,
are you?
Ray: You see a
badge? I ain’t wearing no badge, Frankie. It’s just you
and me. My hands are behind my back. Come on take your
best shot! Come on! No? No? How about my belt. Wanna use
my belt? [Vecchio
pulls off his
belt] Wrap
it around your fist and you can hit me with it. Come on.
No? No?! Hit me with it! Come on!
Zuko: How long
you think you got to live, man? You think you’ll last the
night?
Ray: I don’t
see anybody in here but you and me. But I see that door
and only one of us is walking out of it.
Zuko: You’re
crazy.
[Zuko gets up and
Vecchio punches him]
Ray: I’m not
crazy. All right? I’m not crazy. I finally got smart. I
should have done this to you twenty years ago. Now get up,
you little worm. Get up!
Zuko: You got a
problem, okay, man?
Ray: No, you
got a problem. You got a problem cause you’re going one on
one with a guy you got 20 pounds on and there ain’t nobody
to hold me down. All you got is your guts, man. Which
means you got nothing.
[pushes him to the
floor]
Last chance. Go ahead.
Zuko: Go to
hell.
Ray: I didn’t
think so.
Zuko: You’re
not gonna to walk very far.
Ray: Down the
block’s far enough, cuz. You
know, I’m going to enjoy telling this story. It’s the kind
of story that people like to tell over and over
again.
Zuko: Yeah,
like somebody’s going to believe you.
Ray: Check your
face. Everybody’s going to believe me. You know it’s going
to be pretty hard to instill fear in people when they’re
laughing at ya. Of course... You know, I could just as
easily forget about it. You see, because I’ve got one of
those memories. I can remember things that happened twenty
years ago, and sometimes I forget what I had for
breakfast.
[Vecchio walks
towards the door]
Zuko:
Don’t.
Ray: Don’t
what? Don’t tell? Is that what you want? You want to make
a deal with me? All right, here’s the deal. You call off
the hit on Joey Paducci. You let him open up his shop and
you leave him alone. You do that and this never happened.
It’s just between you, me and the basketball.
Zuko: You go to
hell.
Ray:
[advancing] You
go to what? Did you tell me to go to hell? Is that what
you said? Oh, that’s a shame,
cuz. Cause this deal is only
good till I get to the door.
[Vecchio walks
towards the door]
Zuko:
Deal!
Ray: Why should
I trust you?
Zuko: I give
you my word.
Ray: Then I
give you mine.
Zuko: I didn’t
say nothing about you being safe.
Ray: I didn’t
ask for that.
[exits]
[Zuko notices
Charlie standing at the rail of the second floor
balcony]
Zuko: What are
you looking at?
Charlie:
*Nothin.*
[exits]
[Riv]
Fraser
: How are you?
Ray: Scared to
death.
Fraser: It’s
probably wise.
[hands Vecchio his
gun]
[Vecchio’s
house]
[Vecchio in his pajamas; looks at his gun lying on a
bedside table; picks up the gun, removes the clip, puts
the gun in the drawer, and locks it. He lies back in the
bed,
thinking]
[Fraser’s
apartment]
[Fraser seated on the floor, in sweat pants,
reading]
Robert Fraser’s
Diary: When I took him in, his eyes were pure hatred.
As the door to the prison slammed shut behind me, I could
still hear his voice and the words he spit out at me:
‘I’ll find you, Fraser, if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll
track you down and kill you wherever you go.’
That night in
my cabin I lay there and thought about fear and what it
does to a man. How it eats his insides out and takes the
best from him. I listened to the wind make the ice floes
creak outside, and the wolves bay, and a thousand other
sounds of the winter night. And as I listened to my heart
beat, I released the fear inside me, little by little,
until it was no longer there. And then I closed my eyes
and slept soundly until
morning.
[Fraser puts the journal down; picks up a plastic package containing a new door lock, looks at it, then tosses it to the floor. He blows out the lantern, and the room darkens. He lies down stiffly...]
[...the door opens and Frannie steps in & drops her
coat -- she is wearing only a leather
corset...]
Francesca:
Don’t be afraid.
[Fraser sits
up...]
End