Little Murders Page #9

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- I don't know. It was in the other wing.

- Thank God.

- Kenny!

I've got a leaking shopping bag!

- [Carol] Lock the door, goddamn it!

- [Kenny] I opened it!

[Gunshot]

Fags!

[Phone Ringing]

- Hello?

- [Heavy Breathing]

Haven't you read

the newspapers lately?

You don't have to call anymore.

Patsy's dead.

[Ringing]

- Hello?

- [Man] I don't know what to say.

I'm terribly sorry. But what can we do?

The world's gone crazy.

Mm-hmm.

[Kenny]

I should have been a girl.

Girls have it easy.

They're better at studying.

They're not forced to play ball.

They don't have to have a job.

I really could've handled it.

You.

- And you, outside.

- [Whimpering]

That's the crop, Lieutenant.

[Carol] Alfred, look who decided

to pay us a visit. Lieutenant Practice.

Can I have a glass of milk, please,

Mrs. Newquist...

and a cookie?

Of course, dear.

Jesus Christ, I'm depressed.

There's gotta be some logical explanation

to this whole business.

You've got nothing to be ashamed of.

Don't worry. You'll figure it out.

Listen, I really came by to return this.

I don't know what got into me this afternoon.

- I gave it to you. Keep it.

- I can't hang onto a $250 check.

I know your heart was

in the right place, Mr. Newberg...

but it's not gonna help us find

your son's murderer any quicker.

It's Newquist, and it's

daughter this time. Keep it.

- Never know when you can use it.

- Here, drink this. You'll feel better.

Carol, are you giving

money away again?

Every time we pass a policeman,

he hands him five dollars.

Well, I want the boys on the beat to know

that someone still has faith in them.

[Whimpering]

Oh, boy.

I wasn't like this

six months ago, was I?

[Exhales]

Wasn't I a lot more self-confident?

Jesus Christ, the way I used to

walk in on the scene of a crime.

Like I owned the goddamn world.

Can I have a little scotch in that milk, please?

- Oh, sure.

- A piece of cheese on that cookie?

- Oh, sure.

- There's gonna be a shake-up, you know.

When there's 345 murders

and none of'em get solved...

somebody's gotta be elected fall guy.

How about a piece of ice

like a good fella?

Somewhere there's a logical pattern

to this whole business. There has to be.

I didn't ask for butter

on that cookie, just cheese. Thank you.

And those goddamn vigilante groups...

black against white, white against black.

Whatever became

of human dignity?

For Christ sakes! Only one piece of ice?

Let's get it right, huh?

What kind of cheese is that?

Sharp cheddar?

You should know by now with my stomach

I can't take sharp cheddar.

Goddamn it!

Will you shape up?

Sooner or later there's a pattern.

Sooner or later everything falls into place.

I believe that.

If I didn't believe that...

I wouldn't wanna wake up tomorrow

morning and see the sunrise.

Goddamn it! Is this what I asked for?

I want some cooperation!

[Gunshot]

Every crime has its own pattern

of logic. Everything has an order.

If we cannot find that order,

it's not because it doesn't exist...

but because we have incorrectly examined

s-s-some vital piece of evidence.

Let us examine the evidence.

Number one:

In the past six months, there have been

345 homicides committed in this city.

The victims have ranged

various-s-sly in age...

sex, social status and-and color.

Number two:
In none of these homicides

have we been able to find the motive.

Number three:
Consequently,

all 345 homicides remain unsolved.

So much for the evidence.

A subtle pattern begins to emerge.

What is this pattern?

What is it that these 345 homicides...

have-have-have, uh-uh-uh...

have in common?

They... They have in common three things:

A:
They have nothing in common:

B:
They have no motive:

And C:
They remain unsolved.

Now when a case does not gel, it is often not

because we lack the necessary facts...

but because we've observed

those facts incorrectly.

Following normal routine,

we look for a cause.

Had we looked for effect, we would

have found our answer that much sooner.

What is the effect

of 345 unsolved homicides?

The effect is...

[Cackling]

Lack of faith

in law enforcement personnel.

That is our motive.

The pattern is complete.

We are involved here

in a far-reaching c-c-conspiracy...

to undermine our most basic beliefs

and sacred institutions.

Who's behind this conspiracy? Once again,

ask the question, who has the most to gain?

People in high places.

Their names would astound you.

People in low places.

Concealing their activities...

beneath the cloak of poverty.

People in all walks of life...

left wing and right wing...

black and white,

students and scholars.

A conspiracy of such

ominous proportion...

that we will never, never

know the whole story...

and we'll never be able

to reveal all the facts.

[Gasps]

We are readying mass arrests.

I'm gonna see that you people

get every possible break.

If there's any i-i-information

you'd like to contribute at this time...

it would be held

in s-s-strictest confidence.

I strongly advise against any of you

trying to leave town.

[Alarm Ringing]

[Alarm Stops]

[Carol]

What's left?

What's there left?

I'm a reasonable man.

Just explain to me...

what have I left to believe in?

Oh, I swear to God,

the tide is rising.

Two hundred and fifty dollars.

Give me, give me, give me.

We need honest cops!

People just aren't being

protected anymore!

We need a revival of honor and trust.

We need the army!

We need a giant fence around every block in

the city... an electronically-charged fence!

And anyone who wants

to leave the block has to get a pass...

and a haircut and can't talk

with a filthy mouth.

We need respect

for a man's reputation!

TV cameras. That's what

we need... TV cameras...

in every building lobby, in every elevator,

in every apartment, in every room.

Public servants

who are public servants!

And if they catch you doing

anything funny, to yourself or anyone...

they break the door down

and beat the sh*t out of you!

A return to common sense.

We have to have lobotomies for anyone

who earns less than 10,000 a year.

I don't like it, but it's an emergency.

Our side needs weapons too.

Is it fair that their side

has all the weapons?

We have to protect ourselves

and steel ourselves.

It's freedom I'm talking about,

goddamn it! Freedom!

[Gasps] There. There's a fox loose

in the chicken coop.

Kill him! Kill him!

I want my freedom.

Ah, you gotta get me my freedom!

[Panting]

[Door Opens]

[Door Closes]

[No Audible Dialogue]

Aren't they beautiful.

Look, Carol, they're flowers.

When I was 12 and a half, my mother and

father used to cart the whole pack of us...

out to the country and we would

picnic near the flowers.

There were so many more flowers

in those days.

We'd pick every last one.

Bring them all back to the city.

No one else does the cleaning up

around here except me.

[Imitates Rifle Shot]

[Alfred]

Use it.

What do I wanna use it for?

I've only been in analysis four months.

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