Ticking Clock Page #3

Please don't. Please.

Come on. No. Come on. No. No.

- Everything all right?

- It's fine. Fine, thanks.

Doesn't sound fine.

Piece of cake.

- There you go. You're all set.

- I don't know how to thank you.

I do. Dinner tonight. And you're buying.

On a teacher's salary? I don't think so.

I guess it's on me then.

All right, that's more like it.

Anne Brighton, please.

Deceased? Sorry for your loss.

Hello. May I speak to Anne Brighton, please?

I see. Did she leave a forwarding address?

- Hello?

- Hi. Is Vicki home?

You must be Louis.

I'm Shelly, her roommate.

Nice to meet you.

Sorry. Vicki's not here.

She's not?

No. She told me to tell you that she's sorry,

but she couldn't make it.

Why is that?

Tell you the truth, she's very insecure.

She panicked. She got nervous

about going out with a guy she just met.

Well, can you at least tell me

where she went?

She's gonna kill me.

The Griffin Room. It's about eight blocks

that way. You turn left on 3rd.

Hey! Hey, wait!

- Hey, there.

- How you doing?

I'll have a... I'll have what the lady's having.

You got it.

Hi.

- Is this seat taken?

- It is now.

It is a crime how we treat our teachers.

So, where do you teach?

Washington Elementary.

Really? I knew someone there.

- A teacher?

- No, a student, actually.

- A little boy.

- Who?

A little orphan boy.

He played a bit rough with a stray cat.

Teacher told on him.

Sent him back to his group home.

Yeah. He didn't much like it there.

Hey, you all right?

I have to go to the restroom. Excuse me.

- Hey!

- Hey!

It was a mangy, old stray.

No one was going to miss it.

It was a f***ing cat!

No.

No.

God, please.

You're too late.

He's got a gun!

Look, I can't talk right now. I got

a whack job with a gun down at the Griffin.

Gordo! It's me!

I know who the hell it is.

I can't talk right now. I got to go.

No, no, Gordo, no!

It's me they saw with the gun!

I tried to stop him!

What are you talk... What? Who? Who?

The same guy that killed Felicia. I tried...

He murdered again!

He's gonna kill another one in 48 hours.

Louis, where are you?

I... I...

I can't stop him.

Every time I try, he just disappears.

Where are you? I'm gonna come get you.

I can't come in! I can't!

They won't believe me!

Louis! If you run, I can't help you!

Louis!

Damn it!

Hicks, police! Come on out!

Hicks!

- Bedroom clear!

- Clear!

- Clear!

- Clear!

To the right!

Backyard clear.

Nobody home.

No, he's not crazy at all.

He'll claim he was tracking the killer,

re-creating his diary.

Jesus Christ. Could there be more?

Other unsolveds?

You know, Hicks warned

that there would be other killings.

I'm on it.

Hey, Marty. Louis Hicks.

Hey, buddy.

Remember that thing

I kept your name out of?

Yeah.

You said to call

if I ever needed to borrow one.

Four door okay?

Brother, as long as it's got four wheels,

I'm good.

In local news,

a woman was brutally murdered

in the Griffin Room bar downtown.

Eyewitnesses report seeing an armed man

flee the premises on foot.

Police are urging anyone with information

leading to the capture and arrest

of the suspect

to call the urgent...

- Hello?

- Hey, Hicks? Kayla Pierce.

Hey.

I ran the DNA sample.

And?

And the blood on the cloth and the blood

off the kid's prints, they're an exact match.

What kid?

Right.

It's an exact match? Are you sure?

Well, as far as I can tell.

Could a father and son

have the same DNA?

Well, all men have a copy

of their father's Y chromosome,

but this is more than that.

I mean, this looks like the same person.

Or I guess it could be a twin,

but it would have to be an identical twin.

I mean, a fraternal twin wouldn't do.

Is there room for error?

There always is. It's not a perfect science.

I mean, normally, DNA are compared

at only a few spots along the sample.

I could run more tests.

That'd be great, Kayla. I owe you one.

You owe me a lot more than that, handsome.

See you.

Trinity Home for Boys.

Now move on! Go!

- May I help you?

- I sure hope so.

They said to speak to Polly,

second office on the left.

Come in.

Hi. I'm Polly, the overworked

and underpaid social worker.

Louis Hayes. I'm with

the Community Brotherhood Project.

- Mr Hayes, have a seat, please.

- Thank you.

I'm here on behalf of one of your kids.

James Keech?

Why is that?

Well, we run a corporately sponsored

Big Brother outreach programme.

James' name came up

as a possible candidate.

James? Really?

You seem surprised.

Perhaps someone applied on his behalf?

No. No living family.

Where did you say you worked again?

Community Brotherhood Project.

Part of the mayor's

new joint-outreach initiative.

Right. Yeah, I've heard of that.

Don't you think

James could benefit from some guidance?

Yes, of course. He's a very bright kid.

Aptitude scores, especially in math.

Well, when he cares enough

to apply himself.

It's just... I'm not sure that he's ready.

His social skills aren't terrific.

He can be a handful.

I think there are other kids that would

be much more suitable...

Well, it sounds to me like this is the one kid

that would benefit most from our mentoring.

May I take a look at his file?

You know, it's just words on paper.

Come with me.

I have to warn you,

he's been returned by every foster family

we've managed to place him with.

And he's getting to that age where,

well, let's face it,

even the best of them

get less adorable as they get older.

Let's just try and stay positive.

See if the kid's not due for a change of luck.

I like your attitude.

I wish the rest of my colleagues

thought that way.

- You wait here. I'll go get him.

- Of course.

James? There's a gentleman here

from the Community Brotherhood...

Come on. He's very nice.

- James, this is Mr Hayes.

- You could call me Louis.

James, Mr Hayes is our guest.

Hi.

Can you give me a moment

alone with him, please?

Sure. I'll be right over there.

Hey, buddy, how old are you?

What the f*** you want, mister?

- Well, I asked to meet you.

- What for?

Well, I run a Big Brother programme.

We go to group homes, take kids on trips.

You know, stuff like that.

- Why?

- Just for fun.

Is there anything special you'd like to do?

Really?

Try me.

It's what he wants.

And how am I going to gain the boy's trust

if I can't deliver?

Look, Mr Hayes, I have to ask.

Why this child?

Well, couldn't you ask that

of any one of them?

That's a good point,

but he's had a very tragic childhood.

Both his aunt and mother

were murdered four years apart.

- How?

- Horribly.

His mother was torn apart.

Dissected and left in a bathtub.

The police found him, a baby,

in the apartment with her.

He had been there for hours with the body.

If someone hadn't called in

an anonymous tip,

he might not ever have survived.

- They ever catch the killer?

- Not as far as I know.

James went to live with an aunt.

It was a less than ideal situation.

Drugs, domestic abuse.

He went into foster care, and right after,

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