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Post by topbilled on Dec 10, 2022 23:00:29 GMT
I thought it might be interesting to share some fiction I've been writing. If there are typos and plot inconsistencies, I welcome the feedback.
So here's an explanation. I am envisioning this series for television, but I am writing the outlines for each episode as short stories, and I think they could also be put together as chapters in a novel (maybe). But I prefer this being a project for TV, since I'm a TV junkie. The title is Jude Anthony.
I will explain which shows have inspired me in writing about Jude's life. Kojak is an obvious inspiration, since I like the dark tones of that series and the gritty on-location filming in a big city. The Streets of San Francisco has also inspired me for the same reason. I would even say Hunter has inspired me, particularly the friendly relationship the detective has with his captain. And finally, some film noir has inspired me.
I am setting it in Chicago since my mother's family is from there and I spent part of my life there. I also chose Chicago because I like the history of that city and I find it interesting how crimes emanate from the hub of the city out into the rural areas, and I know some of those rural areas well.
The main character is a lead detective named Jude Anthony. He's a Catholic like I am. He sometimes practices the religion and sometimes becomes a lapsed Catholic like me. He has a troubled relationship with both his parents like I do. He's 39 and not married when the series starts though there is a woman he knows that he has an up-and-down relationship with, whom he eventually marries as the series progresses.
Jude is joined by other cops at a downtown precinct. One is a female detective named Amanda who has her own liberation issues. The other is a younger male detective that Jude mentors. But they are all mentored by an old Irish captain who has seen it all, but is still shy of retirement. As the series develops, we see these cops function as a surrogate family for each other, while Jude is also mending fences with an institutionalized mother and a long absent father who boomerangs back into his life. So there is a lot of gritty crime drama, but there are family elements and melodramatic angles and romantic angles that play out.
Another element I wanted to include is the local community, the population around the precinct. The priests, nuns, teachers, children, drug dealers, businessmen, politicians, lawyers, pimps and prostitutes that get mixed up in these crimes. Some of them become informants and have a close personal relationship with Jude. That makes them part of Jude's extended surrogate family.
Originally I was designing it as a five season series but there were too many points I wanted to make about certain individuals and issues in society so it has turned into a six season series. It will not go beyond six seasons because I truly believe that when TV shows go past five or six years, they start to repeat things too much and I want this to remain fresh and insightful all the way through.
If you join me for this journey, you will read some very heartfelt stories, some very shocking stories and some very humorous stories.
Season 1: Episodes 001-024
Season 2: Episodes 025-049
Season 3: Episodes 050-071
Season 4: Episodes 072-093
Season 5: Episodes 094-115
Season 6: Episodes 116-138
I will post a few of these each week, and I think I can get through all of them in a few months. Then they will be here in this thread for others to find and comment on. Again, these are the outlines...not the actual scripts, which I will be writing later. Thanks.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 10, 2022 23:04:43 GMT
 (c) 2022-2023 Jarrod McDonaldSeason 1 IndexA Picture Is Worth a Thousand Deaths Danny One Way Ticket to Freedom The Lost Get Found OutThe Case of the Missing Murder Victim What If We Could Kill the Rude Ones? The Policeman’s WidowFather’s WifeSugar and ViceSanta’s SlayActs of Violence and Contrition Jim’s GirlShadows of the PastBirdie and Bobo The Mastermind’s Error Brenda Fairchild and Her Son LonnieThe Long and Deadly Night Breakfast at Birdie’sEcho in the DarknessTiger’s Out Right by RitaThe Day Ida Driscoll Had a BarbecueNightmare Maker, Part 1
Nightmare Maker, Part 2 |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 11, 2022 15:35:11 GMT
001 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Deaths
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
As the series begins, we meet Jude Anthony, a no-nonsense lieutenant who has been on the police force for almost twenty years. He’s 39 and grew up on the streets of Chicago. Jude is respected by his superior, Captain Colm O'Reilly, and the other officers, but he’s a bit unorthodox sometimes in how he solves cases. Everyone gives him space to be himself, and in exchange, he is fiercely protective of the men and women who work alongside him, as well as the people on the streets who are trying to live a better life. But if someone commits murder or serious crimes, he will bring them to justice.
In the very first episode, he is investigating Adam Brewster-- a young 25 year old man that was picked up at the scene of a recent murder. The victim was a beautiful woman named Mina. While speaking with the police psychologist, Adam says he doesn’t like talking about killing. He’d rather talk about fishing, which is his favorite thing to do. The shrink continues to ask questions about Mina Davenport. As Adam starts answering more of the questions, he has flashbacks of a murder involving another beautiful woman. Jude and the shrink realize Adam may have been responsible for two murders, maybe even more, since Adam is combining details from different unsolved cases.
However, Adam doesn’t recall ever meeting those women. The only thing he remembers is a blurry looking symbol, but he can’t quite make it out and the details are sketchy. The psychologist thinks Adam has been brainwashed to kill these women, and after the grisly acts are over, he reverts to his original self and has no memory of what he’s done or what happened just before the murders.
After speaking with his attorney, Adam is willing to undergo hypnosis to find out what has really happened. Of course, he fears there may have been a series of murders.
During a hypnosis session, Adam mentions the blurry symbol again. But while hypnotized, the image is clearer and comes into focus. He is able to give a full description of it. Jude and the shrink believe the image is a trigger. In the next scene Jude mentions this to Captain O’Reilly, who thinks it is just a trick so that Adam can use an insanity plea in court. But Jude feels there is more to it.
We cut to the next day. Jude is trying to figure out what the image means. During a drive down a random street in the business district, he sees a delivery van with that symbol painted on one of its doors. The symbol is a logo used by a business that has a controlling interest in a popular nightclub.
In the next scene Jude goes to The Blue Flower, the name of the nightclub. This is during the afternoon while the club is closed and a few workers are setting up for the evening customers. While there Jude meets the manager who says the place is owned by Jonathan Brewster. Jonathan Brewster is Adam’s estranged father. Jude is taken up to the office and meets Jonathan Brewster. Jonathan tells Jude he wasn’t aware his son was in trouble with the law. They haven’t spoken in five years.
Jonathan then mentions that his brother Lyle, from whom Jonathan is also estranged, has taken on the paternal role. In fact, Lyle lets Adam live with him and indulges him too much. As Jude asks a few more questions, we learn that Lyle married Jonathan’s ex-wife, who is Adam’s mother. This means Lyle is not only Adam’s uncle but his stepfather too.
We cut to Lyle Brewster’s home. We reveal that he is the one responsible for controlling Adam’s mind. Lyle has had Adam programmed to kill a woman every time he sees a certain picture (the image of a blue iris).
Meanwhile Jude is now back at the precinct, talking with Captain O’Reilly and the shrink. He says that at first there seemed to be no pattern to the murders. But then he learned they are all linked by the fact that the victims were employed at The Blue Flower, owned by Jonathan Brewster.
Jude goes to see Lyle Brewster the next morning. Lyle doesn’t deny the fact that he and Jonathan have been at war for many years. Jude finds out that their feud started because an inheritance was not doled out evenly. The trouble between them increased when Adam’s mother Marian left Jonathan for his brother Lyle, after Lyle seduced her.
At the same time that this conversation is occurring we cut to Adam in another session with the shrink. He realizes he is a pawn caught in the middle of a deadly game. He just wants it all to end.
In the next part, Jude is leaving Lyle Brewster’s home on Oak Street, when Adam shows up to confront Lyle. Marian is there and she can see how rattled her son is. Jonathan also shows up, driven in one of his vans, since his car wouldn’t start. Adam sees the image of the flower on the side of the van. It triggers him.
He pulls a gun out and shoots. His latest and final victim is his mother. Lyle realizes what has happened as Adam drops the fired weapon. Jonathan rushes over to Marian and holds her as she dies in his arms. Adam snaps out of his trance and is shocked to learn he killed his mother. He takes off, running down an alley. Jude hurries off after him.
Soon Jude has Adam cornered in an alley. Jonathan catches up to them. He helps Jude talk his son into giving up. Adam finally surrenders and he tearfully hugs his father, before he is put into a squad car. Jude gets a call that one of the other officers has arrested Lyle who admitted to being responsible for Adam’s brainwashing.
In the last scene, it is a few weeks later. Jonathan comes to the state mental hospital to see Adam, who is allowed a visit with him. Jonathan is now talking to a little boy, since Adam has regressed. He promises Adam they will soon go fishing like they used to do, before the trouble started.
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Post by Moe Howard on Dec 11, 2022 17:07:56 GMT
Era? We talking 60s, 70's or going back further?
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Post by topbilled on Dec 11, 2022 21:48:29 GMT
Era? We talking 60s, 70's or going back further?
I spent a few years in Chicago in the early 1990s, so it is probably more that era...but I am not really setting it in a specific year. |
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Post by Moe Howard on Dec 11, 2022 23:46:56 GMT
I haven't read it yet. I wanted to get a feeling for the time frame before I did. The girl detective is a bit of a clue....but I didnt want to be too presumptuous.
I lived in Chicago for a year or so. Bounced around, lived in the MILs condo off the lake for a few months, then moved out near her in Berwyn. Cicero was next door, plenty of crime history there.
NOW, I'll read it.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 12, 2022 16:02:52 GMT
002 Danny
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Sister Agnes is a well-respected nun at Holy Name Cathedral, located a few blocks from the precinct. She oversees the church’s high school. She is a very influential person in the life of Jude, who attended classes there when he was a teenager. On this day Jude is doing rounds when he stops by the office, because he had received a message from the old nun. As they have coffee, Sister Agnes asks about his job. Then she tells him about another former student, two years younger than Jude, named Danny Lambert.
It is said that Danny is back in the area. He has taken a job as a bartender at a nearby watering hole called Biggie’s Bar & Grill. Sister Agnes would like to see Danny, for reasons of her own which she does not divulge. She feels a nun would look out of place in a bar. She asks Jude to stop by after his shift and just check on Danny. Jude agrees to do this for her, especially since he and Danny used to be pals and he’d like to know what Danny’s been up to all these years.
In the next scene it is later in the afternoon, and Jude’s shift is over. Per his promise to Sister Agnes, he stops in at Biggie’s. He is greeted by Biggie Bigelow, the owner of the establishment. Biggie is a dwarf with a Napoleon complex. He likes correcting Danny behind the bar. Danny needs this job and puts up with it. Danny has seen Jude come in and recognizes him. Jude asks Biggie if he can have a word with Danny for a few minutes. Biggie, who is mindful of the fact that Jude and others from the precinct like to come here and spend a lot of money, obliges. He tells Danny to take five.
Danny and Jude step on to the back patio. Danny lights a cigarette and offers Jude one. Jude tells Danny he no longer smokes. Danny can’t say the same. Danny is glad to see Jude and Jude says he heard from Sister Agnes that Danny was back. He asks what Danny’s been up to. Danny admits he was in prison for a stretch, but Biggie his boss doesn’t know this. Jude will keep this info on the down-low. Jude asks if Sister Agnes knows about Danny’s incarceration. Danny nods yes. Sister Agnes often visited him. Jude reacts.
In the next scene, it is two in the morning. The bar has just closed and Danny’s shift is over. He walks around the corner and down an alley where he meets a man named Herb Vinson. It is revealed that Herb is a guy that Danny did time with behind bars, and he just got out too. Herb has a heist planned, but Danny wants no part of it. Herb says Danny will go along with the plan, or else the old nun will be killed.
We cut to the precinct at 9 a.m. Jude is there. He has been looking at information he requested on Danny’s incarceration. It seems Danny went down for robbing a liquor store and spent five years in prison. In the next scene Jude goes to the church. After Jude leaves, Danny comes in to talk to Jude. Danny meets officer Amanda Fallon. She’s heard about him from Jude and says Jude stepped out but will be back later. She can leave a message. But Danny says there’s no message and exits.
We cut to the office at Holy Name Cathedral that Sister Agnes shares with the priest, Father Delacruz. Jude comes in and says he spoke to Danny yesterday. But why didn’t she tell him that Danny had been away in prison? Sister Agnes says she didn’t think it was relevant. Jude says stuff like that is always relevant. Agnes wants to know how Danny is doing. Jude says they had a nice talk, but Danny still seemed to be unsettled and his boss Biggie wasn’t make things easy for him.
Around noon, after Jude’s come and gone, Sister Agnes gets another visitor. This time it is Biggie. She called him over here to talk to him about Danny’s employment. She says Jude told her that Biggie has been hard on Danny. She wants Danny to succeed. Biggie wants to know why it’s so important to her. She sidesteps this question and has him assure her that he won’t fire Danny for no good reason, to give him a chance, a second chance if necessary. Biggie says he’s not running a charity and if Danny proves himself a hit with the customers there won’t be problems.
That night Danny is working behind the bar at Biggie’s. Amanda comes in after her shift for a drink. Biggie thinks Amanda is attracted to Danny and likes interacting with him. This makes Biggie jealous, since he has a not so very disguised crush on Amanda. Another regular customer kids Biggie that he doesn’t stand a chance with Amanda. Number one because of his height, and number two because Amanda seems more interested in other guys, like Danny.
After Amanda goes, Biggie calls Danny into the back room office. He says Danny is not cutting it and will be done after his shift tonight, no matter what Sister Agnes says. Danny doesn’t like being treated this unfairly for being nice to Amanda. He says he’s not finishing his shift and storms out.
In the next scene Danny has gone off to meet Herb, his friend from prison. He says he is in on the heist, because he tried to go straight and the straight life doesn’t work for him. Herb is glad he came to his senses.
There is a series of short scenes with them in a van, and we see them wearing masks as they hold up an armored truck outside a jewelry shop. The driver of the truck is shot and killed by Herb, but Danny is an accomplice. They race off as the jewelry store owner calls the police.
The next day Sister Agnes has been watching the news. She goes to the precinct to talk to Jude. She fears Danny has been involved in the deadly heist, since Herb was caught and unmasked and she remembers Danny talking about a cellmate with that name when she visited him at the penitentiary in Joliet. Jude admits he also suspects Danny but so far Herb has not ratted on Danny. Probably because Herb is hoping Danny will help him somehow evade justice.
Sister Agnes needs to return to the church. Father Delacruz is off today and there is an issue at the school she needs to go deal with. Jude will be in touch. We go with the nun back to the Catholic school.
Agnes talks to the lead teacher who functions as the principal when Agnes is away. It is an incident involving a troubled kid. Agnes asks the teacher where the kid is now. The teacher sent the boy to wait outside her office. Very well, Agnes says, and she heads to her office. As she opens the door and steps inside she sees not a fifteen year old boy but Danny. Danny said he sent the boy back to class because what he did was nothing in comparison to what Danny’s done.
Agnes closes the door and prays with Danny. He admits he was in on the stick up last night but that he did not kill the armored truck driver, Herb did. Agnes says Danny is still responsible for his part in the crime and he has to turn himself in. She goes to the phone to call Jude. Danny takes out a gun and tells her not to make that call. Agnes says she is going to make the call no matter what, and she doesn’t believe Danny will shoot her. He doesn’t have it in him. He realizes she’s right. He sets the gun down and cries in her arms.
The next scene is a day later. Jude comes by the school. Agnes is on the playground with the teachers and kids. She notices Jude and they walk to her office. As they walk together, they discuss Danny turning himself in yesterday afternoon with Agnes’ help.
After they’ve reached her office, Agnes says she plans to go visit Danny again in Joliet, once he’s settled in. Jude figures she cares about Danny like she would any guy that was under her supervision here. But Agnes says Danny means more to her than anyone else. She closes the door and admits Danny was a son she had out of wedlock, that she gave up before becoming a nun.
Jude promises to keep this between the two of them. But he feels she should tell Danny the truth the next time she sees him. She will consider doing that. If, God willing, she has enough courage. Before Jude returns to work, he offers to go with Agnes the next time she visits Danny in Joliet. She thanks Jude for offering, and for all his help. As he leaves to head back to the precinct, he looks back as she she starts to light a candle. He wonders if this place is her prison.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 13, 2022 15:54:58 GMT
003 One Way Ticket to Freedom
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Gloria Dawson is an old girlfriend of Jude’s. She is accustomed to being in the news because she is a well-known actress who is followed everywhere by the paparazzi. She is currently making a movie here in her hometown of Chicago. She’s often been called the Lana Turner of her generation. And she loves giving autographs to fans.
But today Gloria is getting a different type of publicity. She has just been arrested for murdering her abusive producer boyfriend.
Jude was not the arresting officer, since he had the day off. He goes down to the precinct to see her, and he offers to help Gloria in any way he can. Gloria is grateful to see him after all these years, but she does not need his help. Her lawyer is going to take care of everything. She says she killed Mark Ashton in self-defense. But after Jude talks to the arresting officer, female detective Amanda Fallon, he realizes things don’t add up.
Meanwhile, Gloria has arranged for her 18 year-old daughter, Becky, to go to college in Paris. In fact, she recently bought a one-way ticket for Becky, whose flight is tomorrow. Jude and Amanda realize in talks with Becky that the teenaged girl is probably the one who committed the murder.
That evening, Jude takes Gloria out on a date and they discuss old times. But Jude is also trying to get Gloria to confirm the daughter’s guilt. Eventually, Gloria breaks down and admits that Becky was nearly raped by Mark Ashton the night of the killing. But Gloria still insists Becky did not shoot Mark.
In a flashback, we see that Gloria is lying. The night of the murder, she was out on an errand, and while she was away Mark made moves on Becky. Becky managed to hit him over the head with a vase and temporarily knocked him out. She then ran to get her mother’s gun in a bedroom nightstand, kept there for protection.
Gloria happened to return to the hotel room and she horrifyingly watched Becky fire the gun and kill Mark. At the end of the flashback, she has promised her daughter she will take the blame, because she feels guilty for bringing such a predator into their lives in the first place.
Back in the present, we can see that Jude is not entirely buying Gloria's version, but he doesn't want to press her anymore and they continue with their date. It ends with a kiss in front of the door to Gloria’s hotel room. But Jude does not go in with her and spend the night there.
The next morning, Jude is at the precinct. A new forensics report shows that there is a smudged print belonging to Becky on the gun. Gloria did not quite succeed in wiping the gun clean and putting her own prints on the weapon. Jude has to go and pick Becky up at the airport just before her flight is due to take off for Paris.
Gloria is seeing Becky off at the gate and as Becky walks down the ramp to board the plane, Jude shows up with Amanda. Gloria pleads with them to let Becky go to Paris. “Lock me up instead. Punish the mother, not the child.” But Jude cannot do that. Amanda goes on to the plane to retrieve Becky, and Gloria tells Jude how much she despises him for ruining her daughter’s future. She can’t believe she even wanted to be with him last night. Jude reacts.
In the next scene, Jude is driving them all back to the precinct so Becky can be booked. Gloria is offering emotional support to her daughter in the backseat. The car pulls up in front of the precinct and as they walk Becky inside, reporters snap pictures and ask Gloria if she is going to resume her career as an actress, now that everyone knows she was not responsible for killing Mark Ashton.
Gloria says her real career is being a mother, and right now her role to help her daughter through this. But Gloria does stop to give a nice old lady an autograph.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 14, 2022 7:31:51 GMT
004 The Lost Get Found Out
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
A man named Bruce Seavers ran out on his family years ago. He was suspected of having pulled off a major robbery, where a valuable diamond was taken and never returned. Bruce comes back to Chicago, because his older brother Ned is dying. We learn that Ned Seavers is a friend of Jude’s, and he worked for the police department until cancer forced him to take an extended medical leave.
Jude visits Ned at the hospital when he gets the chance, and he has flashbacks of when he and Ned would go to the shooting range together; and when Ned and his deceased wife would invite Jude over for dinner and set him up with female neighbors who were also single.
Meanwhile, we see Bruce at his hotel room, visited by his and Ned’s Uncle Willie. Willie meets Estelle. She’s Bruce’s dimwitted but pleasant wife whom he married down in Florida. She wears a gorgeous diamond necklace that Bruce recently gave her as a first year anniversary gift. Willie notices it and tells Jude. They think it’s from the rock that was stolen and cut.
Jude bumps into Estelle at the hospital while Bruce is having a reunion with Ned inside Ned’s room. Jude tells Estelle that the diamond necklace she’s wearing is probably from an old heist. She takes it off and gives it to him because she doesn’t want to wear anything that might be stolen. If Bruce cut the stolen diamond and this is just a piece of it, she has no idea where the rest might be.
When Estelle goes in to meet Ned, Bruce sees she is not wearing the necklace. He gets upset when he learns she handed it to Jude as evidence. Bruce says it was a mistake to come back here. We see that Uncle Willie wanted Bruce back in town, supposedly to help return the diamond and clear the family name. But this has opened up old wounds.
Next, Estelle goes to see Jude at the precinct, and he tells her about the time Ned was still working as a detective. He explains that Ned had been the arresting officer when Bruce was apprehended for the diamond robbery several years ago.
The case against Bruce was dropped, because of insufficient evidence and an eyewitness that altered their story. Despite that, the incident drove a wedge between the brothers and caused Bruce to move to Florida to start a new life. In flashbacks, we see that Bruce was guilty of stealing the missing diamond, and this crime has been weighing on him ever since. But he was working for someone else—Uncle Willie! When Estelle returns to the hotel room, she and Bruce argue. She doesn’t care about his past; she loves him and wants to have a future with him.
Later at the hospital, just before the priest comes in to give Ned last rights, Bruce reveals to Ned and Uncle Willie where he stashed the rock. Estelle’s necklace was purchased from a legitimate source and not cut from the stolen gem. Jude is getting out of the elevator and on his way down the hallway, because he was notified that Ned will not make it through the night. Jude bumps into Willie, who discretely excused himself from Ned’s room and is getting into the elevator. He is on his way to get the diamond from Bruce’s hiding place, which he feels belongs to him.
We cut to Ned’s room as Jude enters. Bruce is ready to turn himself in and tell Jude everything. But when Jude comes in, a very ill Ned says he stole the rock and that he had set up his brother. Jude does not believe Ned's version of events. He knows Ned would never have become a crooked cop. He can see this is Ned’s wish to give Bruce a second chance and Estelle the kind of life she deserves. The priest then shows up and gives Ned last rights, before Ned passes away.
After Ned is declared dead, Bruce admits his guilt to Jude. He repeats where he stashed the diamond, which they realize Uncle Willie has gone to retrieve. Jude heads to the place where the diamond is hidden and on his way calls for backup.
In the next scene, we see Uncle Willie with his hands on the diamond. But Jude and his men have surrounded Willie and tell him to give it up. Willie pulls out a gun and starts shooting. The officers fire back. Jude takes Uncle Willie out with a bullet to the chest, and as Willie goes down the big diamond falls out of his hand and rolls on the ground to where Jude is standing.
In the last scene, we learn Uncle Willie is dead. Estelle promises to wait for Bruce to get out, but he tells her to divorce him and go back to Florida. She won’t do that, because she loves him. The last shot is Bruce being booked while Estelle puts the diamond necklace back on that Bruce actually bought and paid for.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 15, 2022 17:13:31 GMT
005 The Case of the Missing Murder Victim
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Andrew Yates, a well-regarded composer and music professor at DePaul University, has been stabbed and left to die on the floor of his study. His best friend, Elliott Sinclair discovers Yates’ lifeless body. Elliott goes to call someone, presumably the police. But he’s really calling Yates’ estranged wife Priscilla who lives somewhere else. She doesn’t seem too broken up about the news.
Priscilla asks if her husband was murdered, and Elliott thinks so. Priscilla Yates agrees it’s tragic, but there’s no reason she can’t benefit from this and stick it to Yates’ mistress, Lacey Marsh, who took Yates away from her. She asks Elliott to move the body to Lacey’s place, and make it look like murder. Elliott isn’t sure he should do this. But Priscilla reminds him that he dislikes Lacey just as much as she does.
While Elliott is on the balcony talking to Priscilla, Yates’ butler Lexington comes out of his room. He discovers Yates on the floor of the study and calls the police. He then tells the female guest in his room that she will have to go, and he walks her out and down to the elevator. While they’re gone, Elliott comes in from the balcony. He picks up Yates’ body and carries it out through the kitchen. He then takes it down the freight elevator to his car in the underground garage. Meanwhile, the butler has returned to the apartment and discovered the body is missing.
Later, when Jude and two of his officers get there, Lexington tells them that he discovered the body, left for a few minutes, and when he came back Mr. Yates had disappeared. Jude and Amanda Fallon check all the rooms in Yates’ penthouse but they turn up nothing. The other officer, Marty Fredericks, who is new to the department goes and questions the neighbors.
Jude begins to wonder if there really was a murder. Maybe someone else found Yates and took him to the hospital. As Amanda and Marty phone various medical center emergency rooms, Jude questions the butler some more. According to Lexington’s excellent description, Jude learns that Andrew Yates had a very specific scar on his right shoulder. Meanwhile, none of the calls to the hospitals have been successful in tracking down Mr. Yates.
Soon another killing has been reported at a high rise a few blocks away (at Lacey Marsh’s address). Amanda finishes going over Yates’ apartment as Jude and Marty go to the second location. Before Jude and Marty get there, we see Elliott Sinclair has laid Yates’ body out on Lacey’s living room floor. He hears someone unlocking the door and he goes out a window and down the fire escape.
Lacey Marsh comes in, and she is with another one of her married lovers, Sebastian Cunningham. They discover Yates’ body, and she convinces Sebastian to help get rid of it. He is a nervous, balding man who knows that if he gets implicated in a murder and his wife found out, he would lose his meal ticket. But Lacey really needs his help and promises to make it worth his while.
Sebastian can’t refuse Lacey when she talks like this. He knows who the victim is, but he didn’t know Lacey was involved with Yates. Lacey tries to downplay her relationship with Yates and says he was practically stalking her. She also tells Sebastian she didn’t murder Yates, but she thinks his wife Priscilla must have done the deed and is trying to pin it on her.
Soon, they are taking Yates, whose body they have stuffed into a bag used for one of Lacey’s fur coats, down the elevator. They drive it over to Priscilla’s place. While Lacey distracts Priscilla in the hallway, Sebastian sneaks Yates inside and puts him on the bedroom floor. Sebastian gets out of Priscilla’s place, and Priscilla ends her argument with Lacey in the hallway and goes back inside. As Lacey and Sebastian go towards the elevator they hear a scream come from Priscilla’s apartment. Obviously, Priscilla has just found Yates’ body.
Back at Lacey’s place, the landlord has let Jude and Marty inside. Jude thinks the call he received about a murder was from the landlord, but it wasn’t. It was really from Elliott Sinclair who is long gone. There is no body, but there are traces of blood on the carpet and smudges on the tiled area near the front door. Obviously, someone dragged the body out. The landlord claims he did not see anything.
Just then, Lacey and Sebastian return to her place. They pretend not to know a body was reported as having been killed inside her apartment. Sebastian is acting very guilty, which Jude notices. Sebastian admits he’s married and needs to get home to his family. Marty takes down Sebastian’s number, and says the police will be in touch if they have any more questions. Sebastian leaves, and Jude asks Lacey about her relationship with Andrew Yates. She doesn’t deny she was romantically involved with him, but insists she did not kill him.
We then cut to Jude’s favorite coffee shop on the corner. He jokes that a Murder Fairy is taking evidence before they’ve had a chance to investigate anything. Amanda pays for her drink and goes back to the precinct. Jude and Marty get some espresso and sit down. They develop a theory about the missing bodies.
We learn more about Marty. It’s his first week on the job, having transferred from another precinct. When he asks Jude about Detective Fallon, Jude deduces that Marty finds Amanda attractive. Dewey Jackson, the guy behind the counter comes over to wipe a nearby table. Jude says he hasn’t seen Sonja, the owner, lately. Dewey says Sonja will be back from her honeymoon tomorrow. Jude reacts.
They’re interrupted when yet another homicide is reported in the vicinity. Jude and Marty hurry to a different penthouse apartment (Priscilla Yates’ address). They’re determined to get there before any more corpses can mysteriously vanish. This time, they do find the victim.
Priscilla says she had an altercation with her husband’s mistress in the hallway, and when she came back inside, her husband’s dead body was in the bedroom. As Jude checks the corpse, he sees a scar on the right shoulder. This corresponds to what the butler detailed earlier, which confirms it is Yates’ body.
Priscilla says Lacey must have murdered Yates and then had someone help her dispose the body here at Priscilla’s. Just then, Elliott Sinclair shows up, and he is surprised to see Yates’ body here. He thought the body was at Lacey’s, where he put it earlier. He tries to act like the death is new to him. But Jude recognizes Sinclair’s voice as the one who called to report the murder at Lacey Marsh’s.
Jude wants Mr. Sinclair and Mrs. Yates to come to the precinct with him for more questioning. He sends Marty back to pick up Lacey Marsh and to round-up Sebastian Cunningham. Jude then calls Amanda at the precinct and has her get Yates’ butler Lexington.
The next scene takes place in the conference room at the precinct. Captain O’Reilly is there. All the parties in the case are present and blaming each other. Jude draws a diagram on the board, and he figures out how the body got from point A to point B to point C. It is now at point D, in the morgue with the medical examiner.
The M.E. calls during this meeting and tells the captain that the death was accidental. Andrew Yates must have tripped and fallen on a letter opener, which is what stabbed and killed him. The captain gives them all the news about the cause of death, and he scolds everyone for making each other look guilty of murder. Then he says that with the exception of the butler, they are all guilty of obstruction and he has Jude arrest them.
They all have good lawyers and are soon released on bail. Later, Jude’s in his office listening to a song that Yates composed, which had been given to him by the butler. Jude is trying to like it. But who enjoys this stuff? The captain comes in and says it is a favorite composition of his.
The next day, Jude is on his way to work when he stops to get a cup of coffee from Sonja’s. He says she broke his heart, getting married without telling him. She laughs and says he only loves two things—a good cup of coffee and being a cop. She doesn’t know about the case of the missing murder victim, so he tells her about Andrew Yates’ death. It’s such a far-fetched story, she thinks he made it up. He needs to go but wonders when he’ll meet her new husband. She is now busy with another customer, a fussy tourist who likes his coffee a certain way. As Sonja watches Jude leave, she looks at her wedding ring.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 16, 2022 15:25:45 GMT
006 What If We Could Kill the Rude Ones?
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Mickey McLaughlin is a widower, aged 50. He has been giving people rides in this city for almost thirty years. First as a cabbie, and now as a driver for one of those services that offers rides on a phone app. The money is good. Since his wife died, it’s all he does each day. He likes driving people from place to place. But in his opinion today’s customers are not as nice as they used to be. In fact, they are ruder than ever.
In the episode’s opening sequence, it is early one morning. Mickey picks up a college student named Barry Givens. Barry has a 7 a.m. class and cannot be late. He’s already been late to class the last few times and is on the professor’s bad side. He keeps looking at the time on his phone and tells Mickey to step on it. Mickey is going as fast as he can but they keep hitting red lights. Barry feels Mickey is purposely slowing down on the yellows instead of speeding through them. Mickey resents this. When they hit another red light, Barry starts cussing at Mickey. Mickey has enough of Barry’s attitude and tells the punk to get out of his car. Now.
But Barry, who still needs to get to class on time, refuses to get out. He demands that Mickey continue driving him to the campus. Mickey has pulled off and parked along the sidewalk. He won’t drive the vehicle forward, and things escalate into a shouting match. Mickey then reaches into the glove compartment where he keeps a pistol for protection. He takes the gun out and aims it. He tells Barry to get out or he’s going to shoot. Barry doesn’t get out, so Mickey shoots him dead.
In the next scene it is a little while later. Mickey has driven to some abandoned warehouse. He is still shaking from what happened. It’s a miracle nobody heard the shot. He puts the pistol back inside the glove compartment, then gets out and opens the back door where Barry is lying motionless in a pool of blood. It had all happened so quickly, but now Mickey is no longer shaking. He sort of likes how it makes him feel. He stood up to this rude jerk and feels powerful.
There is a series of quick shots of Mickey taking Barry out of the backseat and dragging him to a dumpster. Mickey is over 6 feet tall and strong. He hoists the bloody body up and shoves Barry inside the large metal container. Then he closes the lid and walks back to the car. He still has all the blood to clean. He spots a dirty towel on the ground near the dumpster and goes to get it. He then starts wiping the backseat area clean. He needs to hurry because there are other people needing rides.
We then cut to the precinct. Jude has shown up for work and hears a secretary in the outer room telling Amanda about how her car broke down. She was planning to use an app to get a ride, but those rides cost a lot so she walked to the precinct.
In his office Jude learns from Captain O’Reilly that the newly elected mayor, Ainsley Crandall, is promising the media some reforms which will affect the police department. Jude did not vote for Crandall, but O’Reilly did, feeling that since they came from the same neighborhood, they have much in common. Jude knows Crandall married into money and likes to forget about the working class neighborhood he and O’Reilly came from!
We go back to the warehouse where Mickey dumped Barry’s body. A vagrant named Bobo Pierce, half-drunk, is now there. Bobo walks a bit hunched over. He opens the trash bin to look for uneaten food that might have been thrown away. He discovers Barry’s bloody body and it’s a shock for him. Maybe the stuff he’s drinking is stronger than he thought.
Next Bobo the bum is walking down an alley behind the warehouse and is nearly hit by Marty driving by on rounds. Bobo takes Marty to where he found the body. Marty had just picked up a bagel at Sonja’s coffee shop and kindly gives it to Bobo. Jude shows up a short time later and looks at the body. He helps Marty get a statement from Bobo.
The following day we see Mickey again driving in the gold coast area. He receives a notification that there is a customer waiting to be picked up at Bloomingdales, near the side entrance on Walton Street. He texts the customer that he is on his way.
This is intercut with Jude at the precinct telling O’Reilly that the body in the dumpster yesterday has been identified as Barry Givens. The kid was attending college here, but is from Ohio originally. Amanda comes up and says the parents were informed. O’Reilly is about to have a meeting with Mayor Crandall and would like more info. He asks if a motive’s been determined in the killing. But Jude says he and Marty haven’t been able to figure that out yet. O’Reilly reacts and tells Jude to keep him posted on any developments.
We then go back to Mickey. He’s picked up Myra Chatsworth, a woman that lives on Oak Street not far from Bloomingdales. She only has one bag with her and could easily have walked a few blocks. When Mickey jokes that Myra, who is on the plump side, could have used the exercise, her defenses go up. She says something scathing to him about his own weight. He takes offense at this but keeps driving.
Soon they arrive outside her walk-up apartment building. There is no one else around. She tells him his customer service is abominable and is not going to tip him. He swears at her and she wants to know his ID number because she’s going to report him to the company that runs the app. He refuses to give his ID to her and hollers at her to get out. She says she is not getting out till she gets his ID. He studies her for a moment in the rearview mirror then eyes the glove compartment.
We cut to the warehouse where Mickey previously disposed of Barry. It is a little while later and he is now disposing the body of Myra Chatsworth, the shopper who wouldn’t tip. This time Mickey is quicker cleaning up the back seat. He decides he should probably stock up on towels in case this becomes a regular thing. He drives back to Bloomingdales and using some money he took from Myra’s purse, gets a nice fancy set of towels. The cashier thinks he is buying them as a present for his wife, which he lets her believe.
We then have another scene of Bobo the homeless guy finding Myra’s body in the dumpster. He really needs to stop drinking so much. This time he walks to the precinct to ask for Marty. Amanda goes to find him. Marty is just about to clock out and give the secretary, whose car still isn’t fixed, a ride home. But when Marty learns Bobo found another body, he can’t leave. So the secretary decides to use the app for a ride since it’s raining outside.
We go back to Mickey being notified of another customer seeking a ride. It’s not the secretary, but a businessman requesting to be picked up at the Wrigley building. The guy is headed to the airport, and it’s several miles to the main terminal at O’Hare.
Meanwhile Marty has gone with Bobo to the warehouse. He sees Myra’s body in the dumpster and calls Jude. Again Jude shows up. Jude is now starting to suspect Bobo since it seems coincidental that Bobo is finding these bodies, killed the same way and left to rot in the same bin. But Marty points out that Bobo has a bad back and no way could such a guy have been able to hoist the bodies up and into the bin. Plus Bobo doesn’t seem like the violent type and he has no gun. Jude is getting a call from O’Reilly who is with the mayor and wants to know if there’s any news. Jude tells him another body was found.
As Myra’s body is taken off to the morgue, Jude heads off to meet with O’Reilly while Marty takes Bobo to Sonja’s to get another bagel. We cut back to Mickey still driving the businessman to O’Hare. On the way the businessman argues with Mickey about not using the carpool lane. We see Mickey pull off the expressway, into a quiet neighborhood, down an alley and to a complete stop. He reaches for the glove compartment. The guy asks what he’s doing. He has a plane to catch! Mickey aims the pistol and fires.
Every time Mickey kills someone he says ‘You don’t have manners!’ then bang, and that’s it. He feels he is on a personal crusade to get rid of rude passengers. He takes the businessman’s body back to the warehouse in the downtown area where he previously disposed of Barry and Myra. This time Bobo sees him as he is leaving. But it’s dark and Bobo doesn’t get a good look at him. Bobo does see a sign in the back window of the car advertising the app (a fictional version of Uber or Lyft).
The next day Jude is assuring Captain O’Reilly and Mayor Crandall that he is working on solving the case. He mentions the description that Bobo gave re: the car he saw dropping off the latest victim’s body in the warehouse. Jude also mentions the name of the app that Bobo noticed. O’Reilly wants a security camera rigged up in the abandoned warehouse since they are now dealing with a serial killer who will probably be back with another body. Jude reacts.
Meanwhile the news outlets have picked up on the killer driver whose identity is not known. Everyone’s afraid to use the app now, and the city is in a state of panic. Jude is being blamed for not locating the driver. And during a press conference it seems as if O’Reilly might throw Jude under the proverbial bus to score points with the mayor, but O’Reilly stops short of doing that and says Jude is a very competent law enforcer. Jude is glad that O’Reilly still has his back. Sonja watches the news conference on a TV screen at the coffee shop.
The following day, Mickey is picking up some tourists from out-of-town at the train station. They’re not aware of a killer driver on the loose. But everyone in this group is very pleasant and not once does Mickey have to even think about reaching over to the glove compartment.
However, that night on one of his last runs, he picks up drunken sailors in front of a bar. They’re very unruly in the backseat, and Mickey pulls over, grabs his pistol and blasts all three of them to kingdom come. Again Bobo sees Mickey getting rid of the bodies. There is more blood than usual. Mickey is having a hard time getting the back of the car clean with those new towels he bought at Bloomies. Mickey hears a noise when Bobo drops his whiskey bottle. Mickey realizes there is a witness. He retrieves his pistol and shoots at Bobo in the dark.
Bobo hasn’t been hit but falls to the ground anyway because of his drunkenness and losing his balance. Mickey doesn’t realize a newly installed camera is recording everything. We cut to Jude at the precinct with Marty and O’Reilly. They are watching a live feed and know they now have their man. The secretary steps in and says she is clocking out. She is using the app because she needs a ride to the mechanic’s garage where her car was repaired and is ready to be picked up.
While looking at the live feed, Jude realizes that Mickey is responding to a notification to pick up the secretary outside the precinct. He is not going to let her get that ride.
We cut back to Mickey, now pulling out of the warehouse. He is on his way to the precinct to pick up his next passenger. Before he reaches the precinct, he gets a notification that the customer has been waiting too long for him and is very upset. Mickey knows how to handle angry customers. He races as fast as he can to the precinct. As he pulls up in front of the precinct, the angry customer, soaked from the rain, gets in. It’s not the secretary. It’s Jude.
Jude tells Mickey he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. What kind of service is this, etc. He is overly rude to Mickey. Mickey hasn’t pulled away from the curb yet. He begins to reach for the glove compartment, But then in the rearview mirror, he sees Jude now pulling a gun on him. Jude tells Mickey to turn off the motor. They’re not going anywhere, except into the precinct. Mickey’s under arrest.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 17, 2022 16:34:40 GMT
007 The Policeman's Widow
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
The precinct receives a visit from Gail Barkley. Gail’s husband once worked with Captain O’Reilly, Jude and Amanda. We learn from something the captain says that Ted Barkley was slain in the line of duty a year ago.
Gail has come back to the city to finalize the sale of her home. Before she returns to her new life in Albuquerque, she wants to see the man who was sent up for murdering Ted. The captain advises against it, and so do Jude and Amanda…but Gail is determined to speak to Percy Boles.
In the next part, Gail goes to the penitentiary in Joliet to see the convicted felon. During their visit, Percy swears to Gail he did not kill her husband. He gives her the name of another man nobody has ever heard of, as being the real culprit.
When Gail returns to Chicago late that afternoon, she stops at the precinct to tell the captain what Percy Boles said. O’Reilly will have Jude and Amanda look into it but his demeanor indicates that he feels Boles was feeding Gail a line.
In the next scene Gail has left, and it’s awhile later. Jude and Amanda are in the captain’s office, reporting what they’ve found out. The name that Boles gave to Gail, Ron Ennis, is a man that has never even had a traffic ticket. But Amanda thinks it is still possible Boles might have had dealings with Ennis in a way that led to Ted’s death.
The captain is on his way to a family dinner with his wife’s in-laws, which he failed to get out of attending. He tells Jude and Amanda to keep digging, because Gail deserves proper closure. As the captain heads off, Gail calls Jude to ask what he and Amanda found out. He tells her about Ennis not having a record.
Gail is in her hotel room. After she finishes speaking to Jude, she dials a realtor, some guy named Skip Haskell, whom she will meet in the morning. As the call ends, we see that the realtor is working for Ennis, the man that Boles claimed killed Ted Barkley.
An hour later, Gail is dressed up and meets Amanda for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. They catch up on old times, and we learn that Ted was a big time practical joker and like a big brother to Amanda. He was always full of life, until the last few months before his death, when something was weighing heavily on his mind. Amanda promises Gail they will find out the truth about Ted’s death.
As Amanda walks Gail back to the hotel, we see a shadowy figure follow them. It is Ennis. Amanda has to report back to the precinct, since she is working an extra shift tonight. She leaves, and Gail goes up to her room and draws a bath. Later, when Gail gets out of the bath, she learns that someone broke into her room and stole something out of her purse.
In the next scene, Jude has gone over to make sure Gail is all right. Gail has been talking to hotel security, and Jude takes over from here. He learns that none of Gail’s money was stolen, just the key to the front door of her and Ted’s old house. Gail calls the realty company to make sure they have another key, but the answering service tells her that there is nobody who works for Property Professionals by the name of Skip Haskell. Jude asks Gail if she’d like him to go with her out to the house in the morning, but she doesn’t want to trouble the department any further. She can handle this herself.
But we see that when Jude gets back to his car, he calls Amanda at the precinct. He wants to know if Marty turned up anything on Ron Ennis, but Amanda says no.
The next morning Gail leaves the hotel and takes a ride share to the house she and Ted lived in for many years. Another man gets in beside her and puts a gun to her ribs. It’s Ennis. The driver has a voice Gail recognizes. It belongs to Skip Haskell, the man who posed as the realtor on the phone yesterday.
We then cut to the precinct. The captain arrives and is looking for Jude and Amanda. Marty tells him that they got a lead on Ennis and went off check something out. The captain doesn’t look well. He tells Marty his wife’s relatives use a lot of exotic spices in their foods and he’s probably going to be sick all day. Marty reacts.
We go back to Gail. As the car drives towards the address of Gail’s old home, Ennis tells her that her husband was on the take. He says Ted Barkley stole a bunch of cash and hid it someplace in the house that Gail is selling. Half of that money belonged to Ennis. Gail refuses to believe this. Why would her husband get involved in a shady operation with thieves? He was a good, honest cop. It makes no sense to her.
Ennis says Gail’s husband had mounting debts and sought him out. Gail remembers a surgery and medical bills not covered by the insurance, but she can’t believe this would have caused Ted to be on the take. Ennis tells her she better believe it, because it’s exactly what happened.
They are getting off the expressway and entering the neighborhood where the Barkley house is located. Gail reaches inside her coat pocket and pulls out her cell phone to call Jude. But Ennis grabs the phone out of her hand and throws it out the window. He wants her to cooperate. He’d really hate to have to kill her. Next, they turn down the street where Gail used to live. She asks Ennis if he killed Ted. He doesn’t deny it.
She asks if Boles was in on the murder. Ennis doesn’t answer. But Skip Haskell pipes up. In the rear view mirror, he says Percy Boles was sick the day it happened and not with them. Gail asks why they let an innocent man take the fall for her husband’s killing. Skip says it was either Boles or them.
In the next scene, they pull up at the house. Skip stays in the car, and Ennis forces Gail to go to the front door with him. She says she doesn’t have the key. It was stolen. He hands it to her, revealing he’s the one who broke into her hotel room last night. She asks why they needed her if they had the key, and he reminds her there is a security alarm to turn off once the lock is opened, and she knows the code. She pretends she does not remember the code, because it’s been so long since she was here. He isn’t buying and presses the gun hard against her and tells her she has five seconds to remember. She knows he means business. She quickly enters the code and disarms the system. And they go inside.
As soon as they enter, Jude hollers at Gail to get down. He has been waiting for them to arrive. Shots are exchanged. Gail hides behind an easy chair, and Ennis tries to dodge the bullets and make his way to the basement where the money is hidden. He reaches the door to the basement, and as he opens it, one of Jude’s bullets gets him and he falls down the stairs. Jude helps a stunned Gail out from behind her hiding spot. At the same time, we see Amanda outside with Skip, pulling him out of the car and arresting him.
It all happened so fast that Gail can scarcely believe it’s over. When they get out to the front lawn, Gail thanks Jude and Amanda for saving her life. She wants to know if there is money stashed in the basement, since that is what Ennis seemed to think. But before Amanda can say anything, Jude interrupts and says no. He is lying to protect Gail. He doesn’t want her to know her husband really was a crooked cop. They have recovered the stolen loot, and it wouldn’t do Gail Barkley any good to think less of her late husband.
The following morning, Gail is at the precinct saying her goodbyes before she leaves town. Her flight isn’t until the evening, but she plans to go back to Joliet to speak to Percy Boles once more. The captain reminds her that while Boles may have been innocent of Ted Barkley’s murder, he will remain in the penitentiary for another crime, though it is a less serious offense and carries less jail time. Gail still wants to see Mr. Boles again. Jude offers to go with her, but Gail needs to do it alone.
We then cut to the Joliet prison a few hours later. Percy Boles says he didn’t ever expect to see Gail again. She says she has spoken with his lawyer. She found out that he will get out in seven months with good behavior. She has decided not to sell the house. If he continues to behave himself and is granted parole, she will be back next summer to rent the house to him, at a reduced rate. She wants him to have a fresh start. She knows Jude lied about her husband’s criminal activity, and to make up for it, she wants something good to come from this whole situation. Percy tells Gail she’s a real classy lady.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 18, 2022 19:00:24 GMT
008 Father's Wife
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Jessica Fisher is 33, and her husband Darwin is about to turn 50. While she seems faithful, she is carrying on with her husband’s son, Chris. Chris is 25. Together, they are plotting to kill Darwin and do it so gradually that everyone will consider it a natural death. Every morning Jessica intercepts the Indian maid who is about to serve Darwin his coffee. She insists on taking her husband’s first cup to him. The maid doesn’t know Jessica is stirring in small doses of arsenic.
We cut to Jude at Sonja’s coffee shop. He is stirring packets of sweetener into his espresso. He asks when he’ll have a chance to meet Sonja’s new husband. Sonja explains Marek is on the road a lot as a traveling salesman. She is deeply in love with her husband, even if she hasn’t seen him much since the honeymoon. In fact, she sees Jude more these days than she sees Marek.
Back at the Fisher mansion, we have a scene with Darwin talking to Kavita the maid about his wife’s behavior. He has started to suspect that Jessica is up to something. Next, he catches her kissing his son on the patio. We can be sure that he will do something about it.
A few days later Jude talks with Sister Agnes who has come by the precinct. She says there is a bag lady named Birdie Conwell who is making things awkward at Holy Name for Father Adrian Delacruz, the church’s new young clergyman. The nun hopes someone could speak to Birdie and tell her to stop bothering the priest.
In the next scene, Jude has sent Amanda to handle it. Birdie is outside the parish office waiting to speak to Father Delacruz. Amanda manages to convince Birdie that the priest is very busy, and the relationship she thinks she has with him is in her head. Amanda seems to get through to Birdie, and Sister Agnes and Father Delacruz are both relieved. Father then goes off to hear confessions.
The first confessor is Darwin Fisher. He says he has been hurtful to his wife Jessica. It’s because she’s having an affair with his son, unaware that he knows. The priest reacts then absolves Darwin of his sins. Darwin then leaves. The next person who enters the confessional is Birdie Conwell. She doesn’t really have any sins, but hopes the nice priest can meet her for coffee tomorrow at ten a.m.
Meanwhile, at the Fisher residence, Jessica realizes someone has been increasing the amount of arsenic she was giving Darwin, and then switching her drinks with his. She is very weak. Kavita comes in and notices how ill Mrs. Fisher is. Shortly after this, an Indian doctor friend of the maid’s is at the house giving Jessica something that will help her get better. Darwin arrives home and finds out Jessica was poisoned.
It would seem Darwin Fisher is genuinely concerned about Jessica’s condition. As Dr. Patel drives off, Darwin confronts his son in front of Jessica. He says it is obvious Chris poisoned Jessica. This is for Jessica’s benefit so she can begin to doubt whether she should trust Chris. Darwin then says he knows Chris and Jessica are having an affair, and if Chris loved Jessica, he has a strange way of showing it by poisoning her.
The next morning, we’re at Sonja’s coffee shop. Birdie Conwell is angry at another vagrant, a guy named Bobo (who first appeared in ‘What If We Could Kill the Rude Ones?). Bobo does not believe Birdie about how she knows Father Delacruz. Sonja asks Birdie and Bobo to go outside, but Birdie gets more agitated when Bobo teases her and calls her Dirty Birdie. She throws a chair at Bobo, which hits him in the head.
Sonja checks to see if he’s okay, while her assistant Dewey tries to subdue Birdie. Bobo is fine. He says he and Birdie are friends and this is how she shows her affection. Birdie spits in his face, while Sonja rings Jude. Jude can hear Birdie in the background and sends Amanda over to handle it.
In the next scene, Amanda has brought Birdie to the precinct to cool off. Birdie is in the cage, and it looks like Sonja is going to press charges for disorderly conduct. Bobo refuses to make incriminating statements against Birdie, which makes Birdie like him again. Bobo says if he had money, he’d get Birdie out of the cage. Birdie knows he would. They’ve been friends for a long time. But Birdie wishes Bobo would believe her about how she knows Father Delacruz. He says he believes her now.
While that discussion is going on, Captain O’Reilly gets a call from Darwin Fisher who would like to report an attempted murder at his estate. The Captain and Jude drive out to the Fishers, where they learn what’s been going on. Darwin says he called the police, because he wants them to know his son caused harm to his wife under direct orders from his first wife.
According to Darwin, Chris pretended that he wanted Jessica to try and kill Darwin, but the real goal was to kill Jessica because that is what Lilith Fisher wanted. And now Darwin says Chris flew out of the country to his mother’s villa in Rome, because he had been found out.
The captain says that if this is true, there isn’t much they can do about it. Darwin wants Lilith in jail, not his son. Jude says their job is to carry out justice, not family vendettas. Darwin claims Lilith Fisher will be flying to Chicago next week to host a charity auction in Chicago. He believes the police should speak to her. The captain and Jude react.
Back at the precinct, Father Delacruz arrives to see Amanda. Apparently, Bobo went to the church and told him about Birdie’s tirade at Sonja’s when the priest failed to meet her for coffee. He also told Father that Birdie is being held by police. Amanda explains that unless Sonja drops the charges, Birdie will remain in custody until a judge can see her.
The priest asks Bobo to show him where the coffee shop is, and they go. Birdie tells Amanda to mark her words—Adrian Delacruz is going to get Sonja to drop the charges. She’ll be out of here in time to have dinner down at the mission. Amanda reacts.
In the next scene, Father Delacruz is at the coffee shop introducing himself to Sonja while Dewey keeps Bobo out. The priest says Birdie is not crazy and did not mean any harm. They had an appointment for coffee, which he forgot about. And that probably set her off. Sonja doesn’t understand why Father would defend that woman, but apparently, he has his reasons. She agrees to drop the charges providing Birdie stays away from her business.
We then cut to the precinct a short time later. Jude and the captain are back from the Fishers. They tell Marty what happened. Amanda gets off the phone with Sonja and finds the key to let Birdie out of the cage. But before she does, she warns Birdie to stay away from Sonja’s. Birdie says that will be easy to do, since Sonja’s coffee tastes like rat poison.
Birdie then leaves and meets up with Bobo out front. They walk off to the mission for a hot meal. Father Delacruz returns to the precinct and thanks Amanda. She says he should thank Sonja. Jude comes out of the captain’s office and meets the new priest. They’ve both heard a lot about each other from Sister Agnes. Jude is curious about why Father went to bat for a bag lady. He says he feels partially responsible for her. She used to be married to his father.
A week later, Birdie is settling into new lodgings that Father Delacruz and Sister Agnes have arranged for her. At the same time, we see Lilith Fisher has arrived in Chicago. She is settling into her hotel suite when Jude and Marty show up to question her.
Lilith denies everything Darwin said and claims she hasn’t had contact with her son in months. She says Chris is still at the mansion with Darwin and Jessica. She also says Jude is being deliberately misled by Darwin, and he’s the one who’s trying to kill Jessica and is using their son to pin it on her.
That night at the charity auction all the Fishers are present. Another attempt is made on Jessica’s life. Coffee that has been poisoned is intended for Jessica, but instead is consumed by Chris. When the killer realizes the mistake, and Chris collapses, we learn that Darwin Fisher is indeed guilty. At the end, Darwin has been arrested and Chris’ life is saved. Lilith will stay in Chicago and look after her son. She intends to fight Jessica for the mansion. And Kavita has thrown out all the coffee and is only serving tea now.
In the last scene, Jude goes to Sonja’s and finds Dewey behind the counter. He learns that Sonja is with Marek who is back home. Dewey will make Jude his usual brew, but Jude says nobody can make it the way Sonja does. He’ll just take tea today. As he sits down, he sees Father Delacruz treating Birdie to some tea, also.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 19, 2022 21:02:13 GMT
009 Sugar and Vice
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Detective Marty Fredericks has a roving eye, and this has been a constant source of tension in his marriage. He insists he has been faithful, but his stay-at-home wife Laura doesn’t believe him. The fights they’ve been having are getting serious. It is no secret they are on the brink of separating. Their relatives know it, their neighbors know it, and Marty’s coworkers at the precinct know it.
One night after work, Marty goes home and gets into another quarrel with Laura. He storms out and ends up at the neighborhood bar where he meets a prostitute named Sugar. After a few drinks, they head to a motel where she always takes her customers, and they have sex. We learn she has a violent pimp named Tiger she’s having problems with. She also has a history with Jude and asks Marty how Jude’s been.
The next scene takes place back at the Fredericks apartment. Laura has let someone inside, and it has escalated to violence. She is struggling to get away. We do not show who the attacker is (just the person’s hands and arms and a tattoo of a tiger). The last thing we see is the person strangling her. Marty goes home around two a.m., after his escapade with Sugar. He is still hung over and climbs into bed with Laura. He does not realize she is lying next to him dead. He wakes up a few hours later and discovers her lifeless body.
We then cut to the aftermath of Marty discovering Laura was murdered. It looks like he did it. Jude and the captain are at the apartment investigating. Marty’s alibi is Sugar, but with his mother and father present, he doesn’t want to admit he was cheating on his wife with a hooker. Due to all the circumstantial evidence at the scene of the crime, Jude has no choice but to arrest Marty. The captain believes Marty did not kill Laura, and he promises Marty’s folks they will find the real killer.
Soon Marty is out on bail, posted by Mr. & Mrs. Fredericks. He has been placed on suspension while the investigation into Laura’s death continues. This is something Captain O’Reilly tells the media.
In the meantime Jude has found an earring in the Fredericks place belonging to Sugar. When Jude asks Sugar about it, she insists that she never met Laura Fredericks. But she does tell Jude something Marty has not mentioned yet—that she and Marty had sex the night of the murder. Maybe her earring fell off and caught on his jacket and he took it home with him. Jude says that is possible but highly unlikely. He advises Sugar to stay close, because he may need to talk to her again.
Shortly after this, Tiger the pimp visits Sugar. He says he knows Jude was around to see her. She says one of her earrings was found at the Fredericks apartment. She guesses that Tiger stole it from her and planted it there. He says she guessed right.
If she cooperates with him, he will provide an alibi for her. If not, she is going to fry for a murder he committed. He is teaching Sugar a valuable lesson about what happens to girls who try to run their businesses without him. He leaves, and we see Sugar quickly pack a few things.
Not knowing how to prove her innocence, and afraid for her life while Tiger remains free, Sugar skips town. Her disappearance convinces Captain O’Reilly that she’s guilty and Marty has been set up. We then see Sugar on a bus outside Chicago. She realizes she has to go back and deal with Tiger. She can’t let him scare her off.
A short time later Sugar has called Amanda, because she doesn’t like how judgmental the captain and Jude get. She arrives at the precinct and tells Amanda that Tiger is the killer. She agrees to help the police bring him down.
In the next part, the captain and Jude have been brought up to speed, while Amanda tells Marty about the latest developments. Sugar is outfitted with a wire, before she goes off to meet Tiger about some money he claims she owes him.
During the conversation, Sugar gets Tiger to repeat that he killed Laura Fredericks. But then he realizes she’s wearing a wire and he decides to make an example out of her in front of the other girls at the motel. She is able to get away and as she runs on to the street, Jude and the captain close in and nab him. Tiger realizes he can’t get away and he surrenders. They arrest him as Sugar looks on. When Tiger gets into the squad car he calls Sugar a worthless whore and says he’ll get even with her.
In the last scene, we see Marty putting flowers at Laura’s gravesite. Amanda is with him. As they walk back towards the car, we learn the charges against Marty were dropped and he has been allowed to return to duty. The car drives off, and the camera zooms in on the headstone, which says ‘beloved wife.’
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Post by marysara1 on Dec 19, 2022 21:03:08 GMT
003 One Way Ticket to Freedom
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Gloria Dawson is an old girlfriend of Jude’s. She is accustomed to being in the news because she is a well-known actress who is followed everywhere by the paparazzi. She is currently making a movie here in her hometown of Chicago. She’s often been called the Lana Turner of her generation. And she loves giving autographs to fans.
But today Gloria is getting a different type of publicity. She has just been arrested for murdering her abusive producer boyfriend.
Jude was not the arresting officer, since he had the day off. He goes down to the precinct to see her, and he offers to help Gloria in any way he can. Gloria is grateful to see him after all these years, but she does not need his help. Her lawyer is going to take care of everything. She says she killed Mark Ashton in self-defense. But after Jude talks to the arresting officer, female detective Amanda Fallon, he realizes things don’t add up.
Meanwhile, Gloria has arranged for her 18 year-old daughter, Becky, to go to college in Paris. In fact, she recently bought a one-way ticket for Becky, whose flight is tomorrow. Jude and Amanda realize in talks with Becky that the teenaged girl is probably the one who committed the murder.
That evening, Jude takes Gloria out on a date and they discuss old times. But Jude is also trying to get Gloria to confirm the daughter’s guilt. Eventually, Gloria breaks down and admits that Becky was nearly raped by Mark Ashton the night of the killing. But Gloria still insists Becky did not shoot Mark.
In a flashback, we see that Gloria is lying. The night of the murder, she was out on an errand, and while she was away Mark made moves on Becky. Becky managed to hit him over the head with a vase and temporarily knocked him out. She then ran to get her mother’s gun in a bedroom nightstand, kept there for protection.
Gloria happened to return to the hotel room and she horrifyingly watched Becky fire the gun and kill Mark. At the end of the flashback, she has promised her daughter she will take the blame, because she feels guilty for bringing such a predator into their lives in the first place.
Back in the present, we can see that Jude is not entirely buying Gloria's version, but he doesn't want to press her anymore and they continue with their date. It ends with a kiss in front of the door to Gloria’s hotel room. But Jude does not go in with her and spend the night there.
The next morning, Jude is at the precinct. A new forensics report shows that there is a smudged print belonging to Becky on the gun. Gloria did not quite succeed in wiping the gun clean and putting her own prints on the weapon. Jude has to go and pick Becky up at the airport just before her flight is due to take off for Paris.
Gloria is seeing Becky off at the gate and as Becky walks down the ramp to board the plane, Jude shows up with Amanda. Gloria pleads with them to let Becky go to Paris. “Lock me up instead. Punish the mother, not the child.” But Jude cannot do that. Amanda goes on to the plane to retrieve Becky, and Gloria tells Jude how much she despises him for ruining her daughter’s future. She can’t believe she even wanted to be with him last night. Jude reacts.
In the next scene, Jude is driving them all back to the precinct so Becky can be booked. Gloria is offering emotional support to her daughter in the backseat. The car pulls up in front of the precinct and as they walk Becky inside, reporters snap pictures and ask Gloria if she is going to resume her career as an actress, now that everyone knows she was not responsible for killing Mark Ashton.
Gloria says her real career is being a mother, and right now her role to help her daughter through this. But Gloria does stop to give a nice old lady an autograph. |
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