| The Ladies' Man
Summary from official site, www.duesouth.com via Wayback Machine Years ago, Ray arrested Beth Botrelle for killing her husband, a police officer. Now that she's about to be executed, Ray is having doubts. Disregarding orders, Fraser and Ray follow a trail that leads to police corruption. Hours away from the execution, they race the clock to save an innocent woman. Years ago, Ray's first case made sensational headlines. The rookie cop arrested Beth Botrelle for murdering her husband, a Chicago Police Detective. In just two days, Beth will be executed, and Ray's conscience is bothering him. It's just a little thing, but he screwed up in the evidence gathering that night. He tells Fraser he knows she's guilty: Beth was in the shower washing off her husband's blood when he arrested her. Still, he'd feel more comfortable if there were no loose ends. At the murder scene Ray picked up a blood-soaked piece of paper and put it in his pocket, corrupting the chain of evidence. Ray never read it. After the arrest, he turned it over to a senior officer, Detective Sam Franklin, who said he'd take care of it. Franklin put it in a numbered evidence bag. When it didn't come up in court, Ray assumed it was unimportant. Now he'd like to know what it was. If he knew, maybe he'd feel better. At the evidence lock-up, Fraser and Ray find the bag, but it's definitely not the same piece of paper. Someone's covering something up. No one wants the case reopened. The woman was convicted of killing a
cop. She deserves to die. End of story. Except for that one piece of paper
nagging at Ray's conscience. States Attorney Robert Bedford, who worked
with Botrelle on a crime commission, warns them off the case. He's running
for Governor and he doesn't want them drawing any political heat.
Written by John Krizanc
Regular Cast Fraser, Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Lt. Welsh, Huey, Dewey Guest Stars BETH BOTRELLE - Dixie Seatle
Unofficial Transcript The Ladies Man [Scene: daylight; snow on the streets; Fraser and Ray walk along a shoveled sidewalk, Dief bounding along in front of them. Ray is irritated by trash on the sidewalk.] Ray: Empty can, garbage can. How hard is the equation? I mean, I don't get it. How hard is that? Look at this. Box. You put one box in the other box, then you take it to the dump, or wherever. How hard is it? Fraser: You know, I sympathize with your sentiments, Ray, so you'll have to forgive me for asking, but when did you become so interested in neatness? Ray: This is not about neatness, Fraser. This is about the-the nut, the bone core of what keeps the city ticking. Little things. You don't chuck stuff in the street. You stop at a red light, you go at a green light. I mean, if you cannot agree on the little things, I mean how are you gonna manage the big stuff? Fraser: An interesting question, Ray. My father used to-- Ray: Look-look... I'm not looking for an answer here, Fraser, this is one of them whatchamacallits. Fraser: Rhetorical questions? Ray: Yeah. I mean, think about those countries where they cut your hand off for stealing. I mean, you think they keep stealing? No. Why? They got no hands. Fraser: Are you proposing that we cut people's limbs off for littering? [Shouting in the distance: Let go of the gun!] [Gunshot] [Shouting in the distance: Stop!] [Fraser and Ray run to a uniform cop staggering out of an alley] Fraser (to the cop): Are you all right? Cop: Guy tried to get my gun! He's got a knife, like a big one, like the kind you see in the movies. He ran down the alley. Fraser (to the cop): Cover the corner. [Fraser and Ray warily head down the alley, Ray continuing to verbalize his point.] Ray: When I was six, I made this mask out of a paper bag and I lit it on fire. Almost burned down the entire house. My dad was gonna skin me alive. Fraser: Did he? Ray: No, but the uh, the threat was there. See? That's my point. No threat, no danger. No danger, anarchy. How do you wanna work this? Fraser: I think I can see an entrance to the back of the alley through the building. Dief! [Fraser heads off; Ray cautiously makes his way down the alley, gun drawn.] [Ray is jumped when he reaches the edge of a dumpster. Struggle ensues, Ray winds up with a huge knife at his throat, and barely has possession of his gun.] Assailant: Give me your gun! Ray: You don't want my gun. Assailant: Don't tell me what I want. I know what I want, I want what I need. I need what I need, I need your gun! Ray: Why don't you go buy a gun. Assailant: If I could afford to buy a gun, I wouldn't need to buy a gun. Do you have any idea the cost of maintaining a single family dwelling in the greater Chicago area? No, you probably live in an apartment. Me, I want to put down roots. Pay for a new roof, a little pink insulation... so give me the gun! Ray: What are you gonna do with the gun? Assailant: I'm gonna rob the credit union bank, y'know, just before closing. Ray: You think that's a smart idea, telling me what you-- Uhn-- [Ray makes a move, elbow to the assailant, struggle ensues. Ray gets free, but the assailant has the gun-- pointed at Ray. Fraser appears beyond the assailant.] Fraser: Excuse me. [Assailant takes a quick glance at Fraser, but the gun is still pointed at Ray.] I don't think you want to do this. You really want to shoot a man? [Fraser slowly makes his way closer.] Assailant: Sometimes. [Gun is still pointed at Ray, but Assailant is glancing back and forth between Fraser and Ray.] Fraser: You realize it's a felony. Assailant: I don't care. Ray: He doesn't care, Fraser. [Ray's expression is intense.] Fraser: You'll go to prison. Assailant: I don't care. Ray: He doesn't care, Fraser. Fraser: Or you could be attacked by a wolf. Assailant: In prison? Fraser: No. Right now. [Dief leaps from the top of the dumpster onto the Assailant, who falls to the ground, losing his grip on the gun. Ray has hold of the man immediately, and throws him to the hood of a car, holding the gun in the man's face.] Ray (shouting to the Assailant): Do you want this gun bullet by bullet, or do you want me to pound it in to your head? [A man in a suit, a Bystander appears just behind and to the side of Fraser.] Bystander: Excuse me, what are you doing? Ray (shouting to the assailant): Tell me, do you want it?!? Bystander: This is my car. Ray: Come on, tell me! How much do you want it? Tell me! Bystander (to Fraser): Is this guy crazy? Fraser (looking at Ray, concerned): No. He's a police officer. Ray (still shouting at the assailant): How much do you want it? Tell me! Bystander: He's scratching the paint. Assailant (frightened now): You can't kill me! Fraser: Ray. Ray: I can't kill you. You don't think so? Fraser: Ray... Look at me... Look. At. Me. [Ray responds to the command in Fraser's voice; turns his head to Fraser.] Fraser: You're not gonna kill this man. Ray: Why not? That's what I do. Fraser: It is not what you do. Ray: You talk to me in two days. I guarantee you I've killed someone. [Ray pulls back a little from the assailant, then stands on the hood of the car, looking down at the man. Scene fades.] [Scene: A type of tavern/restaurant. Ambient lighting. Ray is hunched at the bar, a balding bartender hovers. Fraser approaches with some food from a small buffet.] Fraser: Ray, there's a selection of dates, apricots, prunes, figs and two cheese sticks. Ray (soft groan): Mm. Look at that, [hand shaking] look at that. I'm just... I'm just... I'm pressed straight up against some... I... I don't know what. Bartender: Breakdown? Ray: Mhm. No. I just... I gotta get my um... Bartender: Head? Ray: Screwed on right and I'm just... Fraser: As you know, Ray, I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father-- Ray: And have remained. Fraser: Indeed. And over the course of the long hunt for the murderers, I would often picture myself; picture the moment when I came face to face with them. And in every scenario I would concoct, I would exact revenge in like kind. Bartender: Like kind? What does that mean, like kind? Fraser: Well, it means I would see myself killing the killers. But the impulse to murder, no matter how justified, was dulled by time and reality. Ray: What if it's out of your hands? Then what? Fraser: It's never out of your hands. It's your decision. Ray: Not in this case. Bartender: I don't follow. Ray (exhales heavily and shows them a newspaper): Beth Botrelle gets a needle stuck in her arm in two days. I was the arresting officer. I took the call. [Flashback to the Botrelle house, the crime scene. Ray, in uniform, cautiously roams the dark house with his flashlight.] Ray (voice-over as the flashback continues): My first big case. Door was open. I was a rookie. No backup. It was dark. Quiet. [Ray stops to check his hair in the big living room mirror.] Then I saw him, laying there. In the blood. [Ray looks queasy at the sight of the body and the blood.] There was a piece of paper near the body. I picked it up. [The paper is soaked in blood.] Then I heard a noise. [Sounds of a shower.] Ray (in the flashback, nervous): Okay, you're good. You're good. [He's panting and sweating as he approaches the bathroom door. Bloody footprints cover the white bathmat.] Ray (in the present, doing the voice-over): It was the shower. There was all this steam, and... and... there she was. [Beth Botrelle, fully clothed, is standing in the shower, cowering against the shower wall, soaking wet.] [Flashback ends, and they are back in the tavern] Ray: See, I'm the first in a long chain. I'm the first in a long chain that leads to somebody gettin' killed, OK? [Pause.] Let me tell you somethin'; there's a, there's a big difference between the uh... you know, the uh... Bartender: The abstract. Ray: The abstract and, and, and, and, the abstract and-- Bartender: And reality. Ray: Hey, do you mind? [Bartender leaves them alone.] And reality. You know, it's.. it's.. it's like this, Fraser. I mean, when it comes right down to it, the question is: Could you pull the switch? [Pause.] Look. I had this, um, dog once. This crazy little mutt, and um, he got hit by this car, and, it didn't kill him, but he's laying there on the ground. Lot of pain, and he's looking up--up at me, you know, to help him... I get... I couldn't look at him. I could not look at him. I put him in the car, and I drove him to the vet. I drove him to the vet and I got the vet to give him the needle. [Pause.] Just... (sighs) I know what I gotta do. Fraser: What's that? Ray: Look her in the eye. I gotta... look her right in the eye. [Scene cuts to the outside of the prison; death penalty protesters outside, lots of noise, camera news crews...] Reporter: Beth Botrelle's lawyer, Carolyn Sherman, is a daily visitor to the prison. Clemency from the governor is now Beth Botrelle's last and only hope. [Ray, Fraser and Carolyn Sherman enter the prison] Sherman: Against my better counsel, Beth has consented to see you. [They proceed down a cell block. Prisoners ogle them from their cells as they pass.] Prisoner: Ooh, I love a man in uniform. Sherman: I can’t prevent this, but I can impose one condition. Prisoner 2: I bet you got ways of making me talk. Sherman: Anything said between you, remains between you. Agreed? Fraser: Understood, Yes. Prisoner 3 (walking through the cell block, approaches Fraser): Oh, are you a real Mountie? Fraser: Uh, yes ma'am, I am. Prisoner 4 (pushes Prisoner 3 to the floor): Never mind her. I wanna taste your musical ride. Fraser (to Prisoner 4): I see. Thank you. Fraser (to Prisoner 3, helping her back up):Excuse me, ma'am, are you all right? Prisoner 3: Yes, yes. Can you really sing? Fraser: Ah... Well, I can, yes. Prisoner 3: Oh, please? Fraser: Oh, all right. [Sings]
Prisoner (to Ray): Hey, sweetheart. [Prisoner grabs Ray and yanks him to the bars] Ray (yanking free): Fraser! Fraser: Just about finished, Ray.
Prisoner 3: Ohhhh. Guard: That's enough. Get back to the range. [Fraser, Ray, and Carolyn Sherman continue down the cell block.] Prisoner 3 (calling after them): Ohh. Mmm. Yeah. My name's not Katie! [Fraser, Ray, Carolyn Sherman enter a room, where Beth Botrelle sits at a table.] Sherman: Beth, this is Constable Fraser of the RCMP. Beth: Hey, the British wore coats like that during the War of Independence. Minutemen picked them off like it was a turkey shoot. No wonder you lost an empire. Sherman: And this is, uh, Detective-- Beth: Yeah. I know him. I couldn't forget him. Sherman: Beth, are you sure you wanna do this? Beth: Yeah, sure, I'll talk to him... alone. Sherman: Beth, I'm not sure if... Beth: Alone, alone, alone, alone, alone. Sherman: Very well. [Fraser and Carolyn Sherman leave the room, and stand just outside the door.] Sherman: I loathe this place. Fraser: Hmm. You know, in the middle ages, they would often open a hole in an accused person's torso, into which they would pour molten lead as uh, an encouragement to confession. So I suppose, if you viewed it in a favorable light, you could consider this a form of progress. Sherman: Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable? [Back in the room with Beth and Ray. Ray has yet to look her in the eye. Instead, he looks off to the side, down toward the table.] Beth: So, you're looking for forgiveness? [Ray still does not meet her eyes.] Ray: Is that what you think? Beth: You know, people visit me for a limited number of reasons. You're not Press. You're not family. If it's not a pardon you're looking for, what is it? Ray: I'm just here because I uhm.. Beth: You're just here because... I'm here? Because I'm here? Because I'm queer? Ray: Kinda nutty, huh. Beth: Actually, I'd say I'm fairly well adjusted, considering. Ray: You got a point. [Pause as she looks at him, considering. He still has not looked her in the eye.] Beth: You can rest easy, Kowalski. They took me to the death room four times. One time, the needle pricked my skin before the call came and they had to stop. I would prefer they killed me. Ray: Because you killed him? [Brief flashback of Beth kneeling over her husband's body, picking up the bloody gun. Flashback ends.] Beth: I loved him. [Ray's eyes finally meet hers.] Beth: It's not your fault. Any cop could have taken that call. Ray: I know that. Beth: Yeah, so don't let it wear on you... [she pauses.] I know how hard it is. I was a cop's wife for ten years. Ray (softly): I know. Beth: Yeah... So let your conscience be clear, Officer Kowalski. [Another brief flashback to the night of her husband's shooting; her kneeling over the body, still holding the gun. Flashback ends.] Beth: I killed him. [Their eyes are locked together. Beth smiles eerily.] [Scene-- cut to Ray and Fraser leaving the prison, walking out the door to the car.] Fraser: Are you all right? Ray: I am good. I'm good. I'm great. [Pause as he gets to the driver's side of the car. Fraser is on the passenger side, and they talk over the roof of the car.] She's lying, Fraser. She's gonna die, and she tried to make me feel better. Fraser: How do you know she's lying? Ray: I know when somebody's lying, Fraser; she's lying. She did not kill her husband. [They get in the car; scene ends.] [Back at the tavern, Ray and Fraser are seated at a table. The bartender approaches.] Bartender: Throw some of this down the old food tube. Boost you right up. [Bartender sets a glass of something brown and thick in front of Ray, and puts his hand on Ray's shoulder.] Ray: What is that? Bartender: It's a little concoction of my own devising. I call it Despondency. It's got Wind Flowers, a little bit of dried cuttlefish, but the main ingredient: St. John's Wort. Ray: What, you want me to eat something that's got warts in it? Fraser: No, I believe it's Wort W-O-R-T, Ray. It's an herb renowned for its medicinal qualities. [Bartender nods in agreement.] Bartender: Gotta respect a guy who knows his roots. Ray: Well, I'd respect you, if you were to take your Despondency and give yourself a colonic. We're talkin' here, okay? [Bartender leaves.] Look, Fraser, it was an open and shut case. Number one: her fingerprints were all over the trigger. Number two: she had threatened to kill him in public. Number three: she could not account for her movements on the night in question. The whole thing was over in a week. Fraser: What about the piece of paper? The one you said you found near the body? Ray: A little piece of paper is not gonna change the outcome, Fraser. In forty-eight hours, she's dead. Fraser: Indulge me. Let's just follow the paper trail. Ray: Follow the paper trail. [Flashback to the scene of the shooting. Ray picks up the bloody piece of paper. The flashback continues, with Ray and Fraser's present day voice-overs.] Ray: Okay, I found the paper near the body. Fraser: And did you read what was on it? Ray: No. I heard the shower. I shoved it in my pocket and I carried it with me to the bathroom. Fraser: And after that? Ray: Everybody else showed up; the backup. And eventually I gave it to Detective Franklin. Fraser: Who was he? Ray: The primary investigator. He bagged it, tagged it and that was it. [flashback shows the paper going into an evidence bag.] Detective Franklin (in the flashback): Don't worry about it. [and Franklin labels the bag, then shows it to Ray.] OK? [Flashback ends, Ray and Fraser are at the table in the tavern, Ray slouched in his seat, head in his hands.] Ray: I contaminated the evidence. Fraser: Procedure would suggest that it had been... disturbed, yes. Ray: I forgot about that. I forgot about that until right now. Look, careers are wrecked over things like that. What happens to me? I get promoted. Fraser: Ray, you mustn't be so hard on yourself. You were young. It was your first situation. There was blood on the floor. There was a corpse. It could happen to anybody. Ray: You ever make a mistake like that? Fraser. No. But that's not important. What's important is that we need to know what was on that piece of paper. Ray: A woman is sitting on death row 'cause I screwed up. [Pause... then Ray calls across the room to the bartender] You got any of that, uh, Despondency? Bartender: You know I do. Ray: OK. Bring me a jumbo. To go. [Abrupt scene change-- Ray is walking through the squad room of the 27th. There is cheering, and Dewey is hanging a sign with a big 2 on it.] Ray: What the hell is that? Dewey (to the squad room at large): Two more days, and it's wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Ray: Take it down. Dewey: What's your problem? Ray: Take it down [Dewey just looks at him.] I said, Take it down! [Ray shoves one hand toward Dewey, the other reaching for the sign. There is a scuffle. Huey tries to break them up.] Huey: Knock it off! Welsh: What's going on? What's going on? [Welsh gets between Ray and Dewey and separates them.] Welsh: Come on, it's not the middle ages. You wanna celebrate this thing, you do it private. [Attention is drawn to the television and a report on the Beth Botrelle execution.] Reporter: And the countdown continues toward Friday's execution of convicted cop killer Beth Botrelle. Bedford: No one gets any pleasure from what's going to happen here, but people should let the state get on with the business of dispensing justice. That is the will of the people. Welsh: What is this, a paid political advertisement? Turn it off. [Dewey does as told, turns off the television, but speaks to everyone after.] Dewey: Am I missing something here? She killed one of us. She killed a cop. And she's getting what she deserves, all right? The big sleep. End of story. Huey: Are you trying to become a colorful personality? Dewey: Screw you, Jack. Welsh (to Fraser): Botrelle was a good cop, Constable. Kill a cop, eight years or not, people are gonna remember. [Camera shifts to Ray] Franklin: Not easy, is it. [Ray turns and sees Franklin behind him.] Ray: Inspector Sam Franklin. Franklin: Good to see you, Ray. Ray (quietly): Good to see you. Franklin: Come on, walk me down the hall. Ray: What the hell are you doin' down here at the 27th? Franklin: I'm just here passing on the new regulations for petty cash accountability. [They both chuckle as they move out into the hallway.] I was in the area, so I thought I'd pop my head in, see how you were holding up. Ray: (Sighs) Truth? Not so good. Franklin: Ray, I know it's hard. Maybe you should take a few days, get out of town till this is over. Ray: I don't want you to think I'm off my nut... but I'm not so sure she did it, Sam. Franklin: Come on, Ray. You know she did it. Ray: No, I do not. I mean there's... Franklin: Come on, I know what you're going through. Jake Botrelle and I worked together. He was a hell of a guy. I thought I'd be the first one to lead the cheer when his killer was taking the walk. Come on; all we can do now is feel sad. Ray: What happened to that piece of paper? Franklin: What paper? Ray: That-- the-- the-- that piece of paper that I gave you. Franklin: It was bagged, tagged, like everything else. Listen Ray. You and I-- we did a hell of a job. That's all you gotta think about. You keep thinking about all this other stuff, it's gonna make you crazy. You gotta let it go. Ray (starts to speak, hesitates, then...): Right. Franklin: Come on. Take care of yourself. You need to talk to someone? Call me. [Ray sighs; watches Franklin walking away; almost goes after him, but hesitates, then turns back toward the squad room.] [Scene shifts to an office that holds evidence log books; it's richly decorated-- possibly Bedford's office?] Woman (to Fraser): I had land acquisitions right next to the aboriginal spirit walks. Can you believe it? Fraser (chuckling with her): No, I can't. Woman: Oh, you must come to the art institute. I'm giving a lecture on the geopolitics of post-colonial Burmese puppet theater. Fraser (both still chuckling): Oh, you scamp. Woman: Yeah, I'll just get the evidence logs. I'll be right back. Fraser (still softly laughing): Thank you. [The woman leaves to get the logs.] Ray: Friend of yours? Fraser: Ah, yes. I mean, well we share-- we share some common interests. Inuit throat singing, for example. As a matter of fact-- Ray: Yeah, yeah. Hold on the story. [Ray points to a photograph on the wall.] There's the man. Fraser: You know, we used to watch his, uh, movies at the cinema in Dawson Creek. Few were more surprised than we, when he actually became president. Ray: Not Reagan. The guy beside him. That's uh, Jake Botrelle, everybody's favorite cop. Fraser: And who's this? [Points to a man shaking Reagan's hand in the picture.] Ray: Uh, that's our fearless State's Attorney, Robert Bedford. Known to his intimates as uh, 'Ordinary Bob'. Made it big after the Botrelle case. Keeps it up, he's gonna make governor. [Woman returns with a log book.] Woman: Here it is. [Then turns to Fraser]: You know, we really must go for bark tea sometime. Fraser: Oh, that is an inspired idea. Woman: Oh [giggling again.] Ray: Hang on, where's the evidence? Woman: Oh, it's not here. After five years, they move it across town into storage. Which is stupid, but it's government. I could call ahead and get you a time? Fraser: I'd appreciate that. And I am looking forward to that bark tea. Woman: Yes! [And she and Fraser are giggling together again.] Okay! [The woman backs out of the room, and Fraser is still quietly laughing even after she's gone.] Ray: Look for evidence bag twenty-six. Fraser: Twenty-six... ha...ha... [Ray gives him an irritated look and Fraser finally stops the chuckling and looks for the log entry.] One pair of sunglasses. There is no reference to a piece of paper. [Fraser snaps the log book shut, nearly catching Ray's fingers.] Sorry. [Scene changes to the evidence storage facility] [Two men are leaving the evidence storage area as Ray and Fraser enter. Fraser gets a whiff of one of them as they pass in the hall.] Fraser: hmm. Bay Rum cologne. [They reach the guard's desk.] Ray: I'm detective uh-- Guard: We're closed. [He's eating a sandwich.] Ray: Well, you don't look closed. Guard: Well, we are closed. Very closed. Ray: Since when does evidence lockup-- Fraser: Ray-- Ray-- (then to the guard): Thank you kindly, sir. [They turn the corner and duck into the women's room. A second later, the phone on the guard's desk rings.] Guard: Security... right... right away. [Guard leaves his desk, and Ray and Fraser come out of the women's room. Ray takes the sandwich off the guard's seat to reach the buzzer to let them in the evidence lockup area. Guard returns, sees his sandwich is moved; he knows they got in.] [High atop the tall shelves in the middle of the numerous rows, Ray and Fraser rummage through boxes.] Ray: So what you're saying is basically nothing is in the right bag? Fraser: Yeah. There does seem to be a pattern, and the contents of every fifth bag has been switched. Ones with six, two for seven, and so on up to twenty, and the pattern repeats itself. So I think the piece of paper should be in bag one-hundred-eleven, marked eyebrow pencil. Ray: Eyebrow pencil. Eyebrow pencil. I saw that, I saw that! [Fraser looks around warily, alerted by some noise; Ray continues to search the box, and comes up with the right bag.] Ray: How'd you do that? Fraser: Someone's just entered the building. [Two goons run down the end of the row of shelves.] Goon One: Yeah, this way! Goon Two: Down here. [Back at the shelf Ray and Fraser are on.] Ray: This don't look like the same piece of paper. Fraser: It's two men, heading this way, carrying weapons. [They jump onto the shelf top, then leap from shelf to shelf. At the end of the rows, they jump down into a pile of empty boxes, then scramble out an exit door. The door closes right before the goons get there.] Goon One: Come on! Goon Two: It's locked. [Scene ends.] [Scene: Welsh's office. Bedford has Ray in there, Welsh stands aside, looks on. Fraser stands outside the office door, anxious.] Bedford: Detective Kowalski, Lt. Welsh tells me you've more than lived up to your promise as a rookie. As a matter of fact, he tells me you're one of his finest officers, which dismays me. It dismays me, because I can't have anyone from the CPD making public statements that uh-- inflame the situation. You know what I mean? Ray: I'm not sure. Bedford: Am I not getting through to you, Detective? Ray: I'm really not sure, sir. Bedford: All right. Let's cut the nail. Carolyn Sherman is one of the finest defense attorneys in the state. You have been talking to her. You have been talking to her client. You have been requesting evidence from the Botrelle case. See, in my eyes, this is not a good thing. Ray: It's not official, sir. Bedford: I hope it's not personal. You have a job to do. I expect you to do it. Ray: I just wanna do what's right. Sir. Bedford: I'm suggesting you're not. Now, this woman was sentenced, by the people, to be put to death, with cause. That's our mandate. Personally speaking, she deserves it. Now, the longer we drag this thing out, the more negative PR we attract to one of the greatest cities in America. Ray: So we should kill her to avoid any bad press. Sir. Bedford: You're a smart-ass, huh. [Ray nods his head, very sarcastically, still defiant.] Bedford: I'm gonna make this very simple, Kowalski. Drop the Botrelle case. That's a direct order from the State's Attorney. Bedford (to Welsh): Lt., it would be a good thing if you, uh, learned to control your men. [Bedford leaves Welsh's office, sees Fraser just outside the door.] Bedford (to Fraser): What do you do? Fraser: Uh-- Well, sir, I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father, and-- [Bedford walks out, so Fraser stops explaining.] [Welsh, Ray and Fraser in Welsh's office.] Welsh: Detective, I have never met anyone with as great a capacity to piss off people, as you. Ray: Just people I don't like, sir. Fraser: Well, no actually, Ray, even people you do like. I mean, if you think about Sandor, who you beat about the head-- Ray: Fraser! (Then, to Welsh): Lt., don't shut me down on this, I'm close. Welsh: All right, look. You got sick days comin'. Take a couple. Go home. What you do on your own time is your business. All right? [Ray and Fraser turn to leave.] Oh, detective? Find something. [Ray and Fraser give Welsh identical finger-gun-wagging gestures of agreement.] [Ray and Fraser back in the squad room, then walking the halls of the precinct.] Ray: Now what? Fraser: We need to find out everything we can about Jake Botrelle. If his wife didn't kill him, somebody else did, and they must've had a reason. Ray: Uh-- Crime scene videotapes. Were they in any of the boxes? Fraser: I didn't see them, I'm sure we won't get a second look. But I do have another source. Ray: Good... Oh, first things first. Let's uh, pull the files. [They enter a file room, with a female uniform on duty.] Uniform: Oh, yeah, I knew Jake. Everybody loved Jake, especially the ladies. Wanna know why? Fraser: Why? [She rummages through file cabinets for them.] Uniform: Sincerity. He had it down. You couldn't tell that he didn't mean a single word he was saying, or that as soon as you were out of his sight, you were out of his mind. [She hands them a stack of files.] You're lucky. If anyone was in charge around here, we'd have gotten rid of those a long time ago. Fraser: Thank you kindly. [Scene cuts to Ray and Fraser at Ray's desk.] Fraser: This is Botrelle's daytimer. And there's several entries with a single reference: Mermaid. Is that standard police nomenclature? Ray: I don't know no clature from my elbow, but uh, the mermaid? That is not uh, standard cop talk. Fraser: And here's a monthly payment reminder to Callahan's. Does that mean anything to you? Ray: Uh. Sounds like a bar. [Huey and Dewey approach.] Huey: Still investigating the victim. Fraser: Is that not standard procedure in a homicide investigation? Dewey: Well, if it's an unsolved homicide, yes. But we know the murderer in this one, so what's the point? Ray: The point is... walk on. That's all, just walk on. Get outta here, okay? [They walk away.] Thank you. [Welsh approaches.] Welsh: Detective, how're ya feeling? Ray: I'm fine. Welsh: No, no, you don't look too good. Ray: No, I'm fine. Welsh: No, no, you look sick. You should go home. Ray: Right. I'm sick. [scene ends] [Scene: Ray at Franklin's place.] (knocking) Franklin: Coming.... (opens the door). Ray! Ray: Am I uh, interrupting uh, anything? Franklin: You bet, look at me. (holding a dishtowel.) Come on in. I've been offered a job, you know. Chief Investigator for Phalanx Insurance. Hmph. Ray: Never thought you were, uh, the type to retire. [They sit at a table and Franklin pours them a drink.] Franklin: Well, uh, after the Botrelle case... well, can't say I lost my nerve, exactly. But if it could happen to him... [Ray tosses the evidence bag on the table.] Ray: Found it. But I don't think that's the same piece of paper. What do you think? Franklin: How'd you get it? Ray: Evidence locker. Franklin: (laughs) You broke in? Ray: You think that's the same piece of paper? Franklin: If it was in the bag... Ray: Well, yeah, it was in the bag, but uh-- Franklin: But what? You remember something about a piece of paper eight years ago? Listen to yourself, you're losin' it. Ray: Look. I think that Bedford suppressed the evidence. Franklin: Bedford's an ambitious bastard, yes, but that's as far as it goes. You tell me something. Why would he rig a trial that he already had red-handed? Ray: Look. I don't know. But that is not the same piece of paper that I found eight years ago and that is not the same piece of paper you put in evidence bag number twenty-six. Franklin: Well, if you're sure about that, we better move forward now, 'cause the clock is ticking on that woman. Ray: No. n-n- we don't have nothin' solid yet.... Jake ever talk about, uh, Mermaid? Look, uh, it showed up in his notebooks a lot. Franklin: Who knows. He was called Jake the Make. Maybe it was one of his women. Ray: He had some bad habits? Franklin: There were rumors about him and Bedford's wife. I never believed them. [Scene slowly shifts to Fraser in Carolyn Sherman's office-- Sherman's voice begins before the actual scene change.] Sherman: What exactly are you looking for Constable? Fraser: Well, I'm not exactly sure, to be perfectly honest with you. There are certain questions that we have that may be answered by the crime scene tape. Sherman: And those that aren't? Fraser: I was hoping that you'd be able to help us. For instance, why didn't the subject of Detective Botrelle's philandering arise in court? Sherman: Because it didn't help our case. Every step down that road led to a witness who would testify that Beth threatened to kill him in public. At some point, you cut bait and run. Fraser: But it might have provided another party with a motive. Sherman: No physical evidence placed anyone else inside the house. Fraser: Do you believe she's guilty? Sherman: That's an irrelevant question. The only real question is do I think she should die. [Pause.] Constable, if you're actually on to something, be quick about it. It'll be a matter of academics in less than thirty hours. [Cut to a short scene of Beth Botrelle in her cell. She's shaky and scared, and she runs her hands over her face.] [Scene-- the 27th. Dewey is making a sign with a big "1" on it, humming Frere Jacques.] Dewey: It's all over but the crying! (holds the sign up for the squad room to see.) [cheers throughout the precinct] Officer's voice heard above others: It's about time! [Officers continue to cheer and high-five, as Welsh watches on, concerned.] [Cut to scene at Ray's apartment. Ray is lying on the couch as Fraser comes in.] Fraser: You there, Ray? Ray: Mmhmm. (muffled). Fraser: Carolyn Sherman gave me the crime scene videotape. I'm not sure it's going to be all that revealing. (puts the tape in, seats himself next to Ray on the couch, to watch.) Ray: And I got a piece of paper that is not the real piece of paper... And I suppose you'd like a cup of that, uh, bark tea (pets Dief who is on the couch with them.) Fraser: Oh, yes, I'd love some, thank you. Ray: Yeah, well, I don't have any. Fraser: Oh well, another time. Ray: Okay (focuses on the tape now playing.) [Fraser sees the ring Ray's coffee cup leaves on the papers on the coffee table.] Fraser: Ray, look. Ray: What, I'm a pig? Fraser: No, no, not that. Here... (rewinds the tape to show similar coffee cup ring stains.) Fraser: I think we'll may be able to prove that this piece of paper is not the piece of paper that you found underneath the body. Ray: Huh... Fraser: Here it is, see that? It's a partial stain. Look there. The coffee table? Three overlapping pieces of paper, three partial stains. Like this... [Tape playing showing the papers with the coffee cup stain.] Fraser: Three overlapping pieces of paper, three partial stains. Ray: Right, now look at the time code. That means, that that piece of paper was in the kitchen an hour after the crime. This is the proof, we have the proof. Fraser: I think we do, yes. (notices dust on Ray's coffeetable.)You know, Ray, you really ought to consider dusting. Ray: I'm a slob. [Fraser looks up, sees the hole drilled in the ceiling for the bug. Then makes a bug motion with his hands and begins to buzz.] Ray: Okay, so I'm a pig and a slob, and I have an infestation. [Fraser motions no, buzzes and does his bug-hand-gesture again.] Ray: Huh? [Fraser points up again, buzzes again, and does his bug gesture again.] Ray: Oh! [Pause, and then both speak with exaggerated tones for the benefit of those listening.] Ray: Uh, those guys from the Trib sure thought that I was, uh, full of it. Fraser: And uh, and you are supposed to meet them within the hour, aren't you? Ray: Uh, yes I am. At the, uh, at the Gladstones, behind the corner of uh, Shuster and Wayne. Fraser: I believe that's, uh, Wayne and Shuster, isn't it, Ray? [Cut to Ray and Fraser on a rooftop, watching the alley by the corner of Wayne and Shuster to see who they trap. A car slows down, is about to enter the alley.] Fraser: There we go... backing up... he's turning in. This is it! [They run down behind the car, Fraser goes around, Ray jumps onto the roof, comes down over the hood, stands up... gun drawn, aimed at Huey and Dewey in the car-- their guns are drawn too.] [Cut to all of them outside of the car.] Huey: What the hell are you guys doing here? Ray: What are you doing here? Dewey: We got a tip there was a drug deal going down. Ray: Somebody's playing games with us. Fraser: The piece of paper. [Fraser and Ray go running out of the alley.] Dewey: Want a lift? Fraser: Uh... Not in that car, thank you kindly. [Fraser and Ray arrive at Ray's apartment building. They pass two men in the hall, they get to Ray's apartment, it's trashed.] Fraser: The paper? Ray: Gone. [Fraser sniffs.] Fraser: That man we passed in the hallway? I've smelled him before. At the evidence lockup. [Back at the station, Ray and Fraser at the computer and searching files, looking for the goon.] Ray: Here we go. Sergeant Eddie Polito. Twenty year, uh, veteran. Currently in charge of evidence and seized property. This is the guy? (Fraser has found his computer file.) Fraser: I think so. In 1989-1990 Officer Polito worked undercover with Officer Drop Robertson, under the direction of Detective Jake Botrelle on Project Neptune for the State's Attorney's office's investigation into Union corruption on the waterfront. An investigation headed up by Robert Bedford. [Pause.] Neptune. Mermaid. Ray: Connection? Fraser: Other than they both have maritime associations, I have no idea. [Huey and Dewey approach.] Dewey: You guys investigating other cops now? You want a job in IA, why don't you apply to IA. [Ray gets up and into Dewey's space.] Ray: Look. This is personal. You wanna get in the middle of it? That's fine with me. You wanna be filled in? 'Cause I'll fill ya in. Dewey: (laughs) Maybe another day. Tough guy. [Dewey backs off and walks away.] Shout from the squad room: Hey, it's Bedford. Turn it up! Turn it up! Bedford (on TV): Let us pray. Not just for Beth Botrelle, but for America as well. Reporter (on TV): Is it true you'll be running for governor? Bedford (on TV): I don't think this is the time to be discussing that. I will say that my faith in and love for this country, has never been stronger. Thank you. Ray: The body's not even cold and he's running for governor. [Fraser and Ray walk the halls of the station, Ray carrying Fraser's Stetson.] Fraser: That may have provided us with the opening we need. Ray: How so? Fraser: Well, now that the rumor of his seeking the governorship is confirmed, he'll be walking on eggshells until such time as Ms. Botrelle is dead. It'll make him vulnerable. Now, what if we can trap him into talking about that piece of paper on tape? That should-- [Ray starts to go up the steps] Ray, Ray, Ray-- Ray: Oh [Rejoins Fraser, going in the right direction] Fraser: That should give us all the evidence we need. Ray: Well, we can't meet him, and if we try to call him, he's gonna have us off the street in no time flat. Fraser: Exactly. So it'll have to be someone he could trust. Ray: I know the guy, I'll talk to him. [Fraser heads in the opposite direction.] Where are you going? Fraser: To find a Mermaid. Ray: Here [he tosses Fraser his Stetson.]
[Scene: The prison; Fraser, Beth Botrelle, and Carolyn Sherman] Beth: Mermaid? Fraser: Mhmm. Beth: Mermaid. (sighs.) No, nothing springs to mind. Sherman: Constable Fraser found the reference in your husband's journal. Fraser: I thought perhaps it might be one of his contacts? Beth: Well... Y-you could ask State's Attorney Bedford. Jake was his, um, chief investigator into waterfront corruption. So, he-he would know better than me. He-- He called Jake, the night that he died. Fraser: Do you happen to know what they talked about? Beth: No. No, he didn't talk about his business. Fraser: I don't imagine he ever mentioned a Callahan, or Callahan's? Beth: Callahan's? Fraser: Mhmm. Beth: Yeah, Jake ran up a bunch of charges on our credit card, and I thought it was a bar. We had one of our biggest fights about that. Fraser: It wasn't a bar? Beth: No. No, it was a storage place. (sighs.) It was the only time he was telling the truth. [Pause.] Is this of any use? Fraser: I hope so. Beth: Yeah, me too. [Pause.] I um. I lied the other day to Officer Kowalksi. I didn't kill my husband. Fraser: He knows. [Scene ends.] [Scene: Ray and Franklin in Ray's car.] Franklin: You ask me to save a woman who killed a cop. Ray: She didn't do it, Sam. I know it. Franklin: Come on, Ray, what do you got? Ray: (Sighs.) We think Jake Botrelle was having an affair with Bedford's wife. That uh, piece of paper that I found at the uh, scene, had something to do with it. He knew that this case would make his career, so he destroyed the evidence that could disqualify him from the case and uh, kill his family image at the same time. Franklin: No. Bob wouldn't do that. Ray: Sam, come on. Power? Ambition? People do crazy things. Besides, she's guilty anyway, right? Franklin: So, what do you want me to do? Ray: Set up a meeting. [Scene shifts to Callahan's storage facility. It's dark, and the manager leads Fraser, Huey and Dewey to Botrelle's storage area.] Manager: Hasn't been opened in years. [He turns on a light.] You sure this is okay? Huey: Oh, absolutely. Dewey: It's really strange that the warrant department would run out of forms like that, huh. It's unlike them. Huey: Botrelle's. [They've arrived at Botrelle's locked area, and the manager unlocks it. They see an attaché case. Huey starts to open it.] Dewey: Probably his love letters. [Opened, they see envelopes of money and a notebook.] Huey: Ooh, love that writing paper. Dewey: Whoa! [Fraser picks up the notebook, flips through it.] Fraser: There. Dewey: What? Fraser: I found a mermaid. [Scene cuts to evidence lockup. Ray and Franklin are hiding behind one of the shelves as Bedford walks toward them, not having seen them yet.] Ray (softly): What did you tell him? Franklin: I just said we had to talk. I hope you're right about this, Kowalski. Ray: Yeah; you, me, and uh, Beth Botrelle. [Quick scene of Beth Botrelle being led down the cell block to the death room.] Ray: You're up. [Ray turns to give Franklin the tape recorder, but Franklin puts his gun in Ray's face.] Franklin: Move. [Franklin moves them out of hiding and in the hallway where Bedford is approaching.] Bedford: Hey, what's goin' on here? Franklin (gun still trained on Ray's head): Sorry, Bob. You woulda made a good governor. You know, mostly you always got what you wanted. But not this time. It's my turn. [Franklin pulls Ray's gun out of his shoulder holster, so he has one gun pointed at Ray, and Ray's gun pointed at Bedford. Then Franklin's goons arrive from around another corner.] Goon (to Bedford): Far enough. [Quick cut to Beth Botrelle walking into the death room, very shaky.] Bedford: Sam? What the hell is going on here. I don't understand. Franklin: It's not that complicated. Why don't you give it a try? Fraser: Why don't I take a stab at it? [Fraser emerges from the corner, too.] [Quick cut to Beth Botrelle being strapped in, in preparation for the lethal injection.] Fraser: Beth Botrelle did not kill her husband. He committed suicide. A suicide that was prompted by a phone call from State's Attorney Bedford [Quick cut to the death room; blinds are drawn for the witnesses to the execution. Beth Botrelle's gurney is lifted for viewing, Beth strapped to it.] In which Jake Botrelle learned he was to be indicted in a kick back scheme. [Death room: The doctor brings the needle closer to Beth.] The piece of paper found under his body was a suicide note. A note that also implicated his partner in the crime, Inspector Sam Franklin. [Clock in the death room shows it's ticking toward midnight.] Ray: You really like these dramatic revelations, don't you, Fraser. Fraser: Not really, Ray. Actually all this exposition makes me feel a little thirsty. Ray: Mmm. Franklin: This scheme was gonna be my big payoff. And no one's gonna take it away from me. Fraser: Are you willing to kill all of us for it? [Quick cut to Beth Botrelle, watching the clock-- less than a minute. ] Franklin: I was willing to let a woman die for it, so why not kill the three of you? Fraser: Only three? Look again. [Backup surrounds them in droves-- SWAT, Welsh, Huey and Dewey included. Franklin hands Ray the guns, then pats his cheek. Cut to death room; the clock clicks on midnight, Beth's eyes widen-- the red phone finally rings. End scene.] [Scene: Inside the Botrelle house; Ray and Beth walk through the night of Jake Botrelle's suicide.] Beth: You were frightened? Ray: Uh. Yeah... uh, no... I wasn't... uh, frightened.... and then, and then I bumped him, and then, and then I pulled my gun out, and I... and I... and I... 'cause I didn't know. I didn't, uh... Beth: And was here... he was... he was lying here. [She points to the spot where he was found.] Ray: Yeah... Look, we don't have to uh-- Beth: No. Please. You just-- you keep going, please... Ray: I kneeled down, and I uh, picked up the piece of paper and I um... Beth: And you didn't read it. You didn't read it, did you. Ray: No. No. 'Cause I... I... heard um... Beth: You heard the water running. [They walk back down the hall to the bathroom.] Beth: So the water drew you here... Ray: Yeah. But the uh, the door wasn't closed all the way. Beth: So you opened it? Ray: I pushed it open, yeah. Beth: And where was I? Ray: There. [He points toward the shower.] Beth: And the water was running. [They leave the bathroom and stand in the hall.] Ray (softly): I'm sorry. Beth: No. Ray: I am. I'm so sorry. Beth (tearfully): No. [She cups his face with one hand, then kisses his cheek.] Beth: Thank you, Officer Kowalski. [They embrace.] [Ray comes out of the house; it's dark. Fraser and Dief have been waiting for him. Fraser, Dief and Ray all get in the car, Ray behind the wheel. Ray sniffles, then begins to cry in earnest. Fraser puts a hand on the back of Ray's neck in comfort as Ray sobs harder. Scene ends.] **End** |