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Post by marysara1 on Dec 19, 2022 21:06:29 GMT
Maybe you shouldn't mention Lana (since her daughter Cheryl did the same thing)
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Post by topbilled on Dec 20, 2022 0:26:22 GMT
Maybe you shouldn't mention Lana (since her daughter Cheryl did the same thing) |
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Post by Lucky Dan on Dec 20, 2022 1:25:00 GMT
Maybe you shouldn't mention Lana (since her daughter Cheryl did the same thing) Write your story the way you see it. If you have access to a story editor or manuscript appraiser, take advantage of them, but be true to your vision. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 20, 2022 14:31:12 GMT
Thanks for the feedback. I put it into the outline because I figured people would guess what the inspiration for the story was...but it's a small point that I can easily take out. Write your story the way you see it. If you have access to a story editor or manuscript appraiser, take advantage of them, but be true to your vision.
The Gloria Dawson characters appears in another episode, at the beginning of season two. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 20, 2022 14:53:10 GMT
010 Santa's Slay
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
It’s the holiday season, and Nick Kring is appearing as Santa for the twenty-fifth year in a row at a downtown department store. We see him asking kids what they want for Christmas, while their parents look on. He needs to use the restroom and must take a break. He puts up a sign that he will be back soon. Then, he goes down the hall to the lavatory. As he rounds the corner by the men’s room, someone knocks him out and drags him inside.
A few minutes later, another man comes out of the restroom wearing the Santa suit. His name is Fritz Cooper. He goes back down the hallway and sits where Nick sat in the store’s winter wonderland area. He removes the sign that Nick put up, and he motions to the first kid in line. It’s a bratty boy who almost seems too old for this type of thing. But Junior eagerly hops on Santa’s lap and Fritz listens to what is on his wish list. It soon becomes obvious the boy does not want to get off Fritz’s lap. Fritz notices a little girl patiently waiting at the front of the line, and he needs to hear what she wants.
Eventually, the bratty boy’s parents pull him off Fritz and take him out for a spanking. The girl at the front of the line is about to step forward, but an announcement comes over the intercom that the store is about to close. The girl’s nanny, Eudora Hawkins, says they can come back tomorrow. But Fritz insists there is time to do this now, which makes the girl very happy. Miss Hawkins tells little Melissa to hurry and go sit on Santa’s lap.
Fritz is most eager to hear what Melissa wants in the way of presents. She rattles off a bunch of things she would most like to receive. She’s a very sweet little girl and not at all spoiled like most of the other kids. Fritz makes a mental note of everything she asks for, before there is a final announcement on the intercom. The store is now closed. Miss Hawkins says they have to go now. Melissa gives Fritz a peck on the cheek and hops off his lap. As she and Miss Hawkins exit, Melissa looks back and waves bye-bye at the nice Santa.
In the next scene Fritz tries to leave the store, but an officious floor supervisor named Elwood Hughes requires that he go to the staff area and punch his time card. Fritz pretends to go do that, but is actually looking for a way to escape before someone finds out that the real Santa has been bound and gagged in the men’s room. At the same time, we see Jude who came in to buy a gift for Sister Agnes.
The cashier, a recent trainee, is having trouble wrapping Jude’s gift. Elwood Hughes sees this and steps in to help, because the store is no longer open and all customers must leave. In the background, we see Fritz sneak out. Elwood is soon getting tangled up in the mess of ribbons and paper the cashier foolishly spread all over the place. Jude gets a chuckle out of this. While they figure it out, Jude needs to use the restroom. He will be right back and goes down the hall.
Next as Jude enters the men’s room, he hears someone a faint cry for help in one of the stalls. He decides to look in, and he finds Nick Kring, the real Santa bound and gagged. He quickly unties the poor man and asks who did this to him. But Nick doesn’t want to say anything about it or press charges, as that would not be in the spirit of the season. Jude reminds him that what someone has done to him is not in the spirit of the season.
Meanwhile, Fritz is outside on the sidewalk making a call on his phone. He contacts a partner and says he now knows what Franco Rossi’s daughter Melissa wants for Christmas.
We cut to some quick scenes where Fritz’s partner, a strange looking man with a bulbous nose named Rudolfo, is helping Fritz get presents Melissa asked for, from stores that are still open. They are running out of money, but Fritz insists this is the only way to get inside Rossi’s home tonight. The salesclerks in the other stores think they are buying these last minute presents for needy children, and they are given extra coupons and special deals. For a minute Fritz is really getting caught up in this and feels like he really is Santa.
That evening, Fritz (still dressed in the Santa costume) visits the Rossi penthouse. Melissa lets him inside since she recognizes him from earlier in the day when she and the nanny visited Bloomingdales. He has the one present she wanted most, a very hard-to-find doll. As she takes it from him and opens it near the tree in the living room, Fritz has a flashback where he gets orders from a client to take out gangster Franco Rossi. We now know that Fritz is a professional killer.
As the scene continues, Fritz is visibly touched by how happy the doll makes the little girl. In a voice over, he admits it’s a shame he is here to eliminate Melissa Rossi’s father, who is sleeping upstairs. Fritz then sends her on a phony errand to the kitchen to get some carrots for his reindeer outside, so he can head upstairs and kill Franco Rossi.
But he only goes up a few steps when she returns quickly with a plate of cut carrots. Miss Hawkins helped her slice them earlier, and they were waiting on the counter in the kitchen. Fritz continues to play along with her, trying to create another opportunity to get upstairs.
But she rambles on and on as little girls do, and during this conversation he learns from Melissa how much her father means to her. She says that it was a miracle her daddy got out of prison recently to spend Christmas with her and Miss Hawkins. She is hoping her daddy marries Miss Hawkins, because her real mommy is dead.
Suddenly Fritz gets all choked up. He remembers being without his parents for Christmas, because his mother died and his old man had been in jail too. He realizes he can’t go through with the murder and leaves under the pretext of getting those carrots to Rudolfo, he means Rudolph.
As Fritz exits the building to meet Rudolfo his partner outside, he bumps into Nick Kring, the Santa he knocked out earlier in the men’s room at Bloomingdales. Nick says he’s the real Santa. He leads Fritz around the corner as a light snow begins to fall. Nick says he has a special gift for Fritz. It is a sleigh that will take him to the North Pole, where he can do more productive things during the year to get ready for next Christmas.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 21, 2022 14:44:16 GMT
011 Acts of Violence and Contrition
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Todd Lavery is a young man who works in an ad agency downtown. He married his high school sweetheart Karen when they were in college and both are around 25. They are expecting a baby any day. We learn they previously had a miscarriage two years ago. But she is now nine months along with the second pregnancy. She and Todd consider this child a miracle baby; it means everything in the world to them.
While Todd works late hours on an important account, Karen spends time with her sister Ellen who lives in the apartment across the hall. Ellen is an unmarried high school art teacher who is dating a science teacher named Kip Dugan. Kip comes around frequently, but it is obvious to Karen that Ellen and Kip are wounded from past relationships. Karen encourages Kip to ask Ellen to marry him, but he can’t quite build up the nerve. His clumsiness on the subject only frustrates Ellen.
Meanwhile, Ellen sees that Karen is troubled by something and it is not Todd’s late hours. Ellen has invited Karen over for dinner, but while Kip is finishing the steaks, Karen becomes ill and needs to get back across the hall to rest. They help her, and soon Karen is feeling a little better. But while resting in bed, Karen tells Ellen that the pregnancy has become very hard on her. She also admits that she has kept the dangers of the pregnancy from Todd who wants a child more than anything.
That weekend, the two couples are present when Todd’s boss Arthur Logan and his wife, Gladys, renew their vows at Holy Name Cathedral. The Logans are also celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Jude is in attendance too, because Gladys and Jude’s mother were best friends. Since Jude’s mother was institutionalized, Gladys has made a point to stay in touch with Jude.
In the church hall, Gladys is talking with Jude about the last time he saw Kathryn (his mom). Jude says it’s been awhile, but his mother’s birthday is coming up soon and Uncle Jim is flying in from San Diego to see her at Oak Haven. Gladys knows Jim, and we can tell by her sarcastic remark that Jim is a pain in the neck.
Jude smiles. Arthur motions Gladys over to speak with Father Delacruz and Sister Agnes. At the same time, Kip finally gets the nerve to ask Ellen to marry him. She says yes. But their moment is interrupted when Karen suddenly goes into labor.
In the next scene, several hours later, we learn that Karen had a little girl. But the delivery was extremely difficult, and she died at the hospital shortly after giving birth. When Dr. Lynn Cushing tells Todd what has happened, Todd is in shock and cannot believe it. Ellen and Kip try to comfort him, but Todd is too absorbed in his grief. We see him go back to the apartment. He finds reminders of Karen and the life they had together at every turn. He grabs a gun they kept for protection and he goes back to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Next, we see Todd beyond distraught as he enters the hallway where Dr. Cushing’s office is located. He corners Cushing and says he cannot go on without his wife. He has completely snapped and kills the doctor. Then, he takes off. In the sequence that follows, Jude and Marty hunt Todd down, and he is eventually surrounded after a chase through the city.
While he is at large, Todd has memories of meeting Karen in high school, then when they were married during college. There are also scenes of the miscarriage they had suffered two years ago, and then the most recent pregnancy. He realizes she was not well and was enduring a risky pregnancy. Finally, he knows the truth, that it was not the doctor’s fault and he then remembers he killed the doctor, which until now, he was too numbed by his grief to acknowledge.
This culminates in a stand off on the bridge overlooking the Chicago River, where Todd is about to jump off. With help from Father Delacruz, Jude and Marty talk Todd down. Todd gives up the gun, and Marty handcuffs Todd and reads him his rights. They put Todd in the back of the squad car. The priest is sitting beside Todd, and Todd asks Father Delacruz to hear his full confession about murdering Dr. Cushing. He wants the priest to give him penance.
Before going to the precinct to be booked, Jude takes Todd to the hospital to see his infant daughter, since he has not seen her yet. Todd remarks how much she looks like her mother and asks that the baby be named Karen. As he’s taken away, his sister-in-law Ellen, who is now engaged to her boyfriend Kip, says they will raise the little girl.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 22, 2022 15:36:54 GMT
012 Jim's Girl
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Jude gets a visit from his mother’s brother. Uncle Jim Novak is a retired cop in his late 60s. Jim used to live in Chicago, but he moved to San Diego not long ago. He comes back to see Jude and Captain O’Reilly when he gets bored at his retirement village, Sunny View.
The captain is afraid to tell Jude that Jim didn’t adapt to changes in law enforcement, and if he hadn’t retired, he would have been forced out. But Jude is able to see the captain is right. Still, everyone likes Uncle Jim.
Jim means well, and they humor him. And every so often, when Jim shows up and sticks his nose into a case, he helps them see things from an angle they hadn’t considered. Jim also likes to flirt with Amanda, and says if he was younger, he’d really make a play for her! Marty hears this. Given the fact that Marty has been developing feelings for Amanda and can’t cross the line while they’re working side by side, this is awkward for Marty.
Today, Jim is going on at the coffee shop about an unsolved case that happened when Jude was born. Jude has heard bits and pieces of it before, but not the whole story, apparently. Jim hands Jude some old photographs he found in boxes he had shipped to San Diego and is carrying with him on this trip. Jim says it is the anniversary of Lana Smith’s death. He is obsessing about her murder and what basically became a cold case.
In the next scene, Jim has gone to the bank and Jude is back at his office. Jude looks over the photographs Jim gave him, as well as some old reports and news articles he had Amanda dig up. As he studies all these items on his desk, he begins to see what really happened. The past begins to play out in front of him.
In flashbacks, we learn that Lana Smith was a hooker in her late 30s. She had become involved with Jim during his first year on the force, when he was 23. Despite the age difference, their respective lines of work and her other clients, they have a torrid affair. In fact, Jim was so deeply in love, he tried to get her to quit hooking and marry him.
But one night, when he was supposed to meet her at a restaurant, she never showed up. He was called back on duty and learned she was murdered in a back alley. He was eager to find her killer, something he failed to do because of conflicting eyewitness testimony. The scene then returns to the present.
Jim has come back from the bank and he’s sitting in a chair across from Jude’s desk. He has been trying to fully explain the items on Jude’s desk. But Jude puts everything back into a folder and sets it aside. He has to work on some other cases. Uncle Jim would rather keep discussing Lana Smith, but he can see Jude is busy and leaves.
As Jim exits the precinct, we go with him, following him around the city. He goes to places in Chicago that he used to visit with Lana all those years ago. He is hoping he might find some people from the old days that remember her. But he is coming up empty-handed. Too many years may have passed.
Meanwhile, back at the precinct, Jude is questioning a man named Hector Smith about a burglary. Hector is an old, sick man who was implicated in a recent break-in at a medical clinic down on the waterfront. Hector admits he took some meds, but they were not for him. They were for a friend. Jude doesn’t quite buy it.
We then cut to Jude’s place later that evening. Uncle Jim is staying with him, and when Jim finds out that Jude questioned Hector earlier, he gets upset. He can’t believe Jude did not put two and two together. Hector Smith is the brother of Lana Smith. Jude says that Smith is a very common name, and how was he supposed to know that Hector was related to the woman in those old photographs.
Jim berates Jude for not thinking like cops did in his day, where everything was connected to everything else. Jim explains that the man Jude questioned earlier today could lead them to clues in finally solving Lana’s murder. Jude thinks this is all a bit much, but he remembers what Captain O’Reilly said that sometimes Uncle Jim’s instincts are good. So he humors him.
It’s getting late, and Uncle Jim needs to go upstairs and get some sleep. Before he goes up, he reminds Jude that tomorrow is Kathryn’s birthday (Kathryn is Jude’s mother). This is one of the main reasons Jim flew back. He plans to go to Oak Haven, the city mental institution where Kathryn Anthony has been locked up for thirty years.
Jim will spend part of the day tomorrow with her. He advises Jude to take some time off and go to Oak Haven with him. Jude wasn’t considering doing that. It’s been a long time since he’s gone to see his mother. She is usually in a catatonic state and it’s difficult for Jude to see her like that.
However, the next day arrives, and Jude does go with Jim to Oak Haven. On their way in, they see Hector Smith leaving. Jude questions the director of Oak Haven, a man named Spencer Hobbes, about Hector’s being here. Hobbes says that Hector works with some of the patients, including Ms. Anthony.
Next, we see Jim and Jude visiting Kathryn. She is in a trance-like state. Jim realizes that Kathryn is on a different medication than the last time. Jude thinks Jim is making too big a deal of it all. But when Jim brings this to Hobbes’ attention, Hobbes seems surprised. That is not what Ms. Anthony had been prescribed to take. Jude then recalls the meds Hector Smith took from the waterfront clinic and figures they’re the same ones that are being given to his mother.
In the next part, Jude and Uncle Jim go undercover at Oak Haven. They are waiting for Hector Smith to return and give Kathryn more of those same drugs. Jim is having fun, because it reminds him of the old days when he would be on a stakeout. Jude is having fun too, though he doesn’t admit it, because he’s bonding with Jim. Soon, Hector comes in and begins to give Kathryn Anthony more of the stolen drugs. They move in and nab him. But he insists that Kathryn needs these meds. They help her forget what she did all those years ago.
In a flashback, we see Kathryn confronting Lana Smith. Kathryn, who was always fiercely overprotective of Jim, had gone to demand Lana break things off with Jim. When Lana refused, they argued and Kathryn pushed Lana down a flight of stairs that accidentally killed her. Hector came in and helped Kathryn cover it up. Her guilt drove Kathryn to a mental institution. And Hector has been helping her all this time.
We then cut to the next day. Jim spends a few more hours with Kathryn before he has to go back to San Diego. He thinks about Lana and the love he lost. Then he looks over at Kathryn, touches her hand and says she will always be his girl.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 23, 2022 14:44:01 GMT
013 Shadows of the Past
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Clifford Knox is a widowed criminal justice instructor who once taught Jude and Amanda at the police academy. He is about to retire from his job. Jude, Amanda and Captain O’Reilly have been invited to a banquet honoring Cliff’s years of distinguished service. During the special dinner, they meet Dara Montgomery, a young woman on Cliff’s arm.
It is learned that she and Cliff began dating four months ago and soon spent a lot of time together, despite their age difference. Cliff tells everyone he’s planning to marry Dara. He asked her in the car on the way to the banquet, and she said yes. They’re congratulated.
When Cliff meets Captain O’Reilly the next day for lunch, we learn more about Cliff’s life, and how he was incredibly lonely when his wife Joan died eighteen months earlier. Joan was from a well-to-do family and the money she left Cliff meant he could have retired sooner, but he needed work to keep his mind off his grief. That is, until Dara came along.
The captain remarks that Dara bears an uncanny resemblance to Joan. Cliff says that is what drew him to Dara the first time they met. Off to the side in a separate chat, Amanda asks how Dara how she met Cliff. Dara says it was kind of funny. She had shown up at his doorstep one afternoon, lost and looking for directions. Amanda guesses that it must have been fate, that Dara and Cliff were meant to connect. Dara agrees.
Later in the afternoon when he returns to his office, Captain O’Reilly has Marty bring some old files to him. After perusing the documents in the folders, the captain calls Jude and Amanda in for a chat.
In the next scene, the captain expresses concern about Dara Montgomery and thinks they should have her investigated. Jude would like to know what crime she is suspected of—is it the crime of being engaged to a friend of the department? Amanda laughs, but O’Reilly is not in the mood for levity, and he shows Jude and Amanda reports of an old kidnapping case that happened more than thirty years ago.
As they look over the information, they learn that Cliff and his wife Joan had a daughter that was taken from them when she was two years old and she was presumed to have died in some cabin where the kidnappers were hiding, that caught fire. Captain O’Reilly wonders if the little girl, who was named Nancy, somehow survived, and if she is now Dara Montgomery.
As Jude and Amanda look into what happened when the cabin burned down, out in a rural town south of Chicago called Irwin—we see a man named Norris Griggs visiting Cliff. He furnishes proof that Dara is indeed Nancy Knox, and that Cliff has been sleeping with his long-lost daughter.
Cliff can’t believe this. Griggs is the one who set the diabolical plot in motion, and he blackmails Cliff to pay a large sum of money. Otherwise he will tell people that know Cliff, who Dara really is. And that will embarrass Cliff and ruin his reputation.
In the next scene, Cliff meets Dara and tells her what he has learned. She knows Griggs and admits she has been working with him. She explains she is an actress from New York, and that because of her resemblance to Joan Knox, Griggs figured he could use her to bilk Cliff out of his late wife’s money. But after Dara met Cliff and started to like him, she hated the idea of deceiving him.
She insists she did not know Joan Knox was really her mother. She would never have slept with Cliff if she knew he was her father, and for all she knows, Cliff and Joan may not have been her parents. This could be a trick that Griggs is playing on both of them. Cliff thinks they need to get a blood test done.
The next day a DNA test is conducted discretely at a nearby hospital, and it verifies Griggs’ claims that Cliff is Dara’s father. Dara is sickened to think Griggs knew this all along and she was used in such a disgusting way. Dara goes to pack her things and move out of Cliff’s house. But Cliff wants her to stay, just in a different bedroom. Dara goes to confront Griggs at his hotel room.
They have a fight where he knocks her out. She wakes up, just as Jude and Amanda burst in. Dara is dazed, and she turns to look at what the police see—it’s Griggs’ body lying next to her on the floor. The landlord heard a shot and notified the police.
In the next scenes, Dara admits to Jude her part in the plot with Griggs to defraud Cliff. But she says she was misled as well. She did not know she had been kidnapped as a child and that Cliff was her father. She mentions the DNA test that she and Cliff recently had done. But as angry as she was after they got the tests back, she swears she did not kill Griggs. Soon she is released on bail, posted by Cliff.
The captain and Jude figure that Cliff is the one who killed Griggs in a rage, but he was too smart and removed all traces of having been at Griggs’ hotel room. Meanwhile, Cliff is having memories of his relationship with Dara. He is obsessed with her, but he knows he cannot have her. While she sleeps in the bedroom down the hall, he goes to check on her, and he looks at her longingly. Just a few days ago they had been in love and engaged to be married. He still can’t wrap his brain around how it’s all changed.
At the precinct the next morning, Jude learns that Griggs was one of the original kidnappers who managed to get away when the cabin in Irwin burned down all those years ago. Apparently, Griggs gave little Nancy Knox to a friend in New York who was an actress. She renamed her Dara and brought her up as her own child. She encouraged Dara to become an actress like she was. Dara grew up thinking Celia Montgomery was her mother.
Jude meets with Dara later that day at Grant Park. In exchange for helping to get a confession out of Cliff, he says the department is willing to drop the fraud charges against Dara. She has flashes of Cliff coming into Griggs’ room and wielding a gun. She tried to stop it, and Cliff pushed her out of the way, causing her to fall and hit her head. Though she blacked out before the murder occurred, she knows Cliff did it.
Dara reluctantly agrees to take the department’s offer and tells Jude she will cooperate. In the next part, she calls Cliff and asks him to meet her on the pier. She says she needs to get out of town, and she wants him to go with her, where they can start over and nobody will know they are father and daughter. Cliff drives to meet her.
On the pier he is calling her Joan, saying he remembers their wedding day. Then, he flashes back to the time when Nancy was taken from them. Dara can see how painful this is, but with the wire on under her blouse, she gets him to admit he killed Griggs. He says Griggs had it coming for what he had done to little Nancy.
Jude and the captain move in to arrest him. But Cliff pulls out a gun and puts it to his head. Dara asks him not to do it, but he sees Jude and O’Reilly approaching and it’s the only way out for him at this point. He pulls the trigger. We cut to Dara’s reaction as she screams out ‘Daddy!’ In the next shot, Jude and the captain reach them at the end of the pier. The captain leans down to check Cliff’s dead body, while Dara covers her face, not wanting to look. Jude comforts her as a violent wind dies down.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 24, 2022 14:03:08 GMT
014 Birdie and Bobo
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Birdie Conwell, the bag lady who first appeared in ‘Father’s Wife’ has a friend named Millie Joles. Like Birdie, Millie spends most of her time on the streets. Millie has more severe mental issues and doesn’t fully live in reality. Lately, she’s been spending time with Bobo Pierce, the homeless wino who appeared in ‘What If We Could Kill the Rude Ones?’ and ‘Father’s Wife.’ Millie met Bob at the public library on Randolph Street one day. Bobo is fond of Millie and says if he had money, he’d marry Millie. It’s fun for them to fantasize about it.
Millie thinks Bobo is sweet but tells him that under her perfectly collected exterior beats the heart of a wild woman. She insists she’s really a coldblooded murderess. Bobo says he can make her forget about all that. Maybe if she did just one more small murder, Millie says, she will have all this out of her system for good and they can settle down. She wants Bobo to help her pick out her last victim.
In the next scene, they bump into another homeless person on the corner, a guy named Buster Turner. Bobo and Millie strike up a conversation with Buster. What they don’t know is that while Millie has delusions about being a killer, Buster actually is one. Also, Buster is friendly with Birdie, and he suspects that Birdie has feelings for Bobo. Birdie denies it, but Buster thinks he’s right. He will kill Millie so Birdie can have Bobo for herself.
That evening, we have a strangely comical scene in an alley where Millie and Buster both meet with intentions of murdering each other. But of course, Buster is more experienced at this sort of business. He is stronger and overpowers her. After Millie is dead, Birdie comes down the alley with her shopping cart and realizes what Buster has done. Buster is running off, and Birdie sees him. She kneels down by Millie and says a prayer for her soul. Then Birdie leaves to get the police.
At the precinct, Amanda is working the graveyard shift. Birdie comes in and takes a seat on the other side of Amanda’s desk. She tells Amanda what she saw in the alley a few blocks away and everything she knows about Buster Turner. However, Birdie is having problems with her meds. Because Birdie’s speech is slurred Amanda thinks she is drunk and not making sense. This gets Birdie very angry and she storms out in a huff.
Birdie then goes to Holy Name Cathedral to pound on the church doors. She wants Father Delacruz’s help. Sister Agnes steps outside her residence to stop the noise and is not pleased to see it’s Birdie making another disturbance. Birdie demands to see the priest, but Agnes says he is away at a conference. She also thinks Birdie is drunk and tells her to go home and sleep it off. Birdie walks on and bumps into Bobo who is panhandling down on Rush Street. Bobo is almost caught lifting a watch.
A few hours later, the sun is coming up. Birdie has gone with Bobo to a pawnshop where he tries to get some money for the watch he stole. Bobo feels the price being offered makes the pawnshop owner the real thief. Birdie is waiting patiently for Bobo to finish this transaction. She realizes Buster was right; she is stuck on Bobo. But she still thinks Buster killing Millie was wrong, even if Millie was sick in the head.
After she and Bobo leave the pawnshop they sit on a park bench to eat a breakfast sandwich they found in a dumpster outside a fast food restaurant. Bobo can see that Birdie is a lot kinder and gentler than Millie was, and that Birdie is no killer. In fact, Birdie seems like too much of a real lady to be on the streets with the rest of them. Birdie persuades Bobo to help her bring Buster to justice for killing Millie. Especially since the police don’t seem to be doing anything about it.
Meanwhile, at the precinct, Amanda gets information about Buster’s other crimes after doing some checking with an informant she uses. Jude has come in with his morning coffee, and she fills him on Birdie’s midnight visit and what’s been happening. She realizes what Birdie was trying to tell her and there is a body in an alley somewhere nearby. Jude will take a drive and see what he can find. Soon, he comes across Millie’s body. But Buster is nowhere to be found.
At the same time, Bobo and Birdie have found Buster in another alley trying to kill a different homeless woman named Vonda. Vonda is younger than Birdie. Bobo brawls with Buster, while Birdie helps Vonda escape. The owner of the corner market, Lewis Harper, is opening his store and he sees what is going down. He hurries inside and phones the police. Jude just happens to be driving that way and takes the call.
In the alley, Birdie and Vonda are hiding behind some large empty boxes as Bobo punches Buster. But Buster gets back up and punches Bobo. Birdie runs out from behind the boxes and hops up on Buster’s back. For a woman her age, she suddenly has superhuman strength. This is a matter of life and death, and she tries to choke Buster to help Bobo, but Buster throws her off. Then, as Bobo goes to take another swing, he gets a pain in his chest. He is having a heart attack and collapses. The sound of Jude’s squad car is heard approaching.
In the next part, Birdie runs over to Bobo who is on the ground and begs him not to die. Buster takes off, but he doesn’t get too far because Jude is pulling up in front of the corner market. Jude hops out and pulls out his gun. He tells Buster to freeze, but Buster keeps running. Jude doesn’t fire, because there are people in the way. Buster is still running and he juts out into the middle of the street and ends up hit by an oncoming car.
The last scene takes place at the precinct. Birdie and Vonda the other homeless woman are giving statements about what Buster did. Amanda admits she should have listened to Birdie earlier, but Birdie should not have tried to take matters into her own hands. She could have died. Birdie asks if they’ve gotten any word on Bobo. Amanda calls the hospital and learns from a nurse that Bobo will be okay. Amanda then takes Birdie and Vonda to the hospital to visit Bobo.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 25, 2022 15:43:30 GMT
015 The Mastermind’s Error
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
An elusive killer who goes by the name Sylvester sends cryptic messages to the precinct. In the opening scene of the episode, we learn that Jude just received the latest one, and it doesn’t give the department much to go on. Jude tells Captain O’Reilly it’s been a week since Sylvester’s latest murder and he knows another victim is being targeted. The captain is frustrated that there doesn’t seem to be any pattern or motive behind the killings. They know absolutely nothing about Sylvester. They don’t even know what he looks like.
Meanwhile, we see Birdie and Vonda taking a room at the motel Sugar runs. Birdie has begged and pleaded with Sugar for one of the back rooms. Apparently, Birdie was kicked out of her place, because she was sneaking Vonda in late at night, and the management told her to stop. But since Vonda was almost killed by Buster, Birdie feels a responsibility to Vonda. There is quite an age difference between them. Birdie is in her early 50s and Vonda is in her late 20s. Some might even see them as mother and daughter.
Sugar thinks Birdie acing like a mother hen to Vonda is endearing in a strange way. But she says Bobo definitely cannot stay with them, when he gets released from the hospital. Birdie says Bobo is already out of the hospital and he’s back on the streets where he likes to be. Sugar reacts.
In the next scene, there is a young girl at the motel named Misty who is jealous of Vonda, because she knows Vonda is prettier than her. She complains and asks Sugar to toss Birdie and Vonda back out on the streets. But Sugar feels sorry for them and tells Misty she could end up like that someday. Besides the room has been paid for. A visiting missionary priest named Father Thomas who met Birdie and Vonda this morning paid for their room till the end of the week.
We then cut to Holy Name Cathedral where we see Father Delacruz meeting with Father Thomas in the parish office. Father Thomas is only staying for the week, and supposedly he is going to South America on a new mission. He will be giving the sermon this Sunday, so he and Father Delacruz finish going over that. Afterward, Father Thomas asks Father Delacruz about Birdie and Vonda. Father Delacruz is surprised Father Thomas knows them and says Birdie has a colorful history around the downtown area.
Meanwhile, back at the precinct, Jude and Marty figure out that Sylvester’s next target is going to be a northern European dignitary named Nils Magnuson. Magnuson is staying at the Drake Hotel, and Jude drives over to see him and warn him of the danger he’s in.
In the next scene, the diplomat is convinced Jude is right and that his life may be in jeopardy. On the way into the hotel, Jude happened to see posters advertising a show at the Goodman Theatre starring local actor Ralph Beecher. Jude sends Marty downstairs to get a copy of the poster. When Marty comes back with it, Jude shows it to Nils Magnuson who doesn’t understand.
Jude then explains that there is quite a resemblance between Magnuson and Beecher. With stage makeup, he believes Beecher could be passed off as Magnuson. Beecher is not performing tomorrow, and he owes Jude a favor. With the captain’s permission, Jude wants to pass Ralph Beecher off as Nils Magnuson during a convention tomorrow morning. They can catch Sylvester this way and minimize any danger Magnuson might face.
Soon we have learned that while the captain did not like the plan, he okayed it and that Beecher has agreed to do this favor for Jude (he will be wearing a bullet proof best in case Sylvester gets by police and takes aim at Beecher posing as Magnuson). At the hotel suite that evening, Beecher is learning how Magnuson speaks and walks. The likeness is so similar that when Jude comes by to check on them, even he is fooled. (Note: this will be a dual role played by the same actor.)
We then cut back to Sugar’s motel. Birdie and Vonda are watching a game show when there’s a knock on the door. It’s Father Thomas who comes in. He is not wearing his clerical outfit. He’d like to talk with Vonda for a bit. Birdie does not want to leave but Thomas gives her some cash to go to Mr. Harper’s corner market and buy him a lottery ticket. She says this is considerably more than what a ticket costs. He says she can keep the change.
Birdie leaves, and we see her go to Harper’s market. She buys one ticket and uses the rest of the money on soda, candy and chips. A short time later, she has returned to the motel. When she enters the room, she comes in on the tail end of the priest having sex with Vonda. Father Thomas quickly gets dressed and he gives Birdie more money to keep her mouth shut. Then, he goes. Vonda wants half the money, which Birdie gives her. But Birdie is going to keep the lottery ticket, since it has her lucky number on it.
The next morning, Birdie has gone down to the church to see Father Delacruz. Sister Agnes tells Birdie that the priest is very busy, but Birdie insists it is urgent. She goes into the office, and she tells Father Delacruz that Father Thomas had sex with Vonda last night. Father Delacruz and Sister Agnes don’t believe her. Birdie raises her voice and doesn’t like being called a liar. She can bring Vonda over here to prove it. But Father Delacruz instead goes with her to the motel to speak to Vonda.
When they return to the room, they find Vonda has been killed. Apparently, Father Thomas came back for more and things got out of hand. Sugar is summoned, and she calls Jude. But Jude is busy down at the Drake with Beecher pretending to be Magnuson. During the convention, a shot rings out. It comes from a man in the back of the room who runs out a side door, through a nearby kitchen. Jude and Marty chase him.
Back at the motel, Amanda shows up to investigate what happened to Vonda. Birdie and Father Delacruz have found a photo ID left behind with Father Thomas’ picture on it. We then cut to the man running through the kitchen at the Drake hotel. Eventually, Jude and Marty corner him. Jude wants to take Sylvester alive, and a bullet to the knee brings him down.
As Jude and Marty run up, the camera moves in. It’s the same man who passed himself off as Father Thomas. His real name is Thomas Sylvester.
In the end, Father Delacruz is helping Birdie move back into her old place. Of course, she’s sad that Vonda won’t be with her anymore. She tells Sugar and the girls that she’s going to miss them, but she’ll be back around. She might just give some of them a run for their money and steal their customers away if they’re not careful! They never seen her all dolled up, and in her day she was a looker.
As Father Delacruz helps Birdie carry her bags down to his car, Jude pulls up with Amanda. They want to thank Birdie and the priest for helping ID Sylvester and making sure he’s behind bars for many years to come. Birdie says she’s a lucky woman. She has people who care about her and she has a lottery ticket in her pocket with her lucky number on it. They encourage her to see if she won anything. But she is superstitious and can only do that once the planets are in correct alignment. She tucks it in her pocket, and they all laugh.
We then cut to Lewis Harper’s corner market a day later. Birdie is checking the ticket with the winning numbers. It ends up being worth five dollars, so she buys another five tickets for next week’s drawing. She tells Mr. Harper if she wins a million she is going to buy his store so he can retire. And she will also give some of it to charity, to those missions in South America that have all those nice priests asking for donations.
We follow her out of the store, just as Jude is going by in the squad car. She holds up the five new lottery tickets and flashes a smile. He honks and drives on.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 26, 2022 16:42:35 GMT
016 Brenda Fairchild and Her Son Lonnie
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
Brenda Fairchild, a middle-aged woman, is getting odd phone calls in the middle of the night. Brenda is documenting all this on a notepad, and we see that she has received several of these bothersome calls in the past week. She looks at a picture of her son on the mantle and says she will put a stop to this soon.
The next morning, we see Brenda arrive at the precinct to speak to whoever is in charge. Jude is out investigating another matter, so the captain has Amanda meet with Brenda. Brenda hands over the page torn from her notepad and explains to Amanda that she has been receiving unwanted calls and that she changed her number, but the person managed to get a hold of her again.
Amanda looks at the list of calls and asks Brenda what she’d like to be done. Brenda is wondering whether she should file a restraining order. Amanda tells her how the process is usually carried out, but if these are calls from an anonymous person, how will she know who to put the order against. Brenda implies she knows who it is, but won’t go any further. She has another appointment and needs to think over what Detective Fallon has told her. As she leaves, Amanda writes up a report and attaches the record of calls Brenda provided.
An hour later Amanda is still on duty when a young woman comes into the precinct claiming she is Nikki Lundak. Her number is the one that has been showing up on calls to Mrs. Fairchild, which she freely admits. She explains that she does not get off work until very late, and that is the only time she can get in touch with Mrs. Fairchild.
Amanda shows Nikki the list of calls and says Mrs. Fairchild does not wish to be bothered, and Nikki’s excessive calls are causing a nuisance. Nikki says she didn’t realize she called Brenda so often, but in the past, Brenda always seemed willing to talk to her. Amanda says according to Mrs. Fairchild that is not what has been happening, and she is probably going to get a restraining order. At this point, Nikki gets very upset.
Nikki says she has been calling Brenda because she is pregnant with the unborn child of Brenda’s son Lonnie. She wanted to know what to do about the baby, since Lonnie is dead. Amanda can see Nikki has had a rough time with all this, but she says there are others who might assist Miss Lundak better. Before Nikki goes, she says Brenda wanted to get rid of Lonnie a few months back. Amanda reacts and writes this down. Nikki leaves because she has somewhere else to be.
After Nikki goes, Amanda tells the captain about her recent visits from Brenda and Nikki. Jude comes in and is brought up to speed. The captain wants Jude and Marty to do some investigating to see if Brenda Fairchild was responsible for the disappearance of her son Lonnie. Amanda’s checking the database. There was no known murder at Brenda Fairchild’s address.
The captain wants to be kept up to date on the investigation. He is off to another get-together with his wife’s family, which he once again failed to get out of attending. It is said his wife is Filipina and one reason the captain hates these functions is because most of his in-laws speak Tagalog and he can’t understand a blasted thing they’re saying.
The captain then exits the precinct. Outside, he is picked up by a car his wife Nenita is driving. They are going to a party for one of her cousins. He says he wants her to speak English today, and he will not eat any of that spicy food her relatives make and spend hours on the toilet. Nenita gives a nervous laugh, and they take off. She drives with a heavy foot and he tells her to slow down.
Back inside the precinct, Jude and Marty are heading out on separate but coordinated investigations about Brenda Fairchild and her son Lonnie. They will be in touch with Amanda who will hold down the fort.
We cut to Jude a short time later driving down the street where Brenda lives. He stops at one point to see Brenda, but she’s out. Instead he speaks to a neighbor who knows the Fairchilds. The neighbor scoffs at what Nikki said and claims Lonnie is still very much alive, though he admits people haven’t seen Lonnie in a while. He thinks Jude might find some answers at a club on the north side of the city. Jude reacts.
On the way to the club, Jude calls the precinct to tell Amanda what he’s learned. After the call, Amanda reaches out to Marty to see if he is able to find Brenda and talk to her. But he is not having any luck. Amanda suggests going to the church, since Brenda is very religious.
In the next part, Marty has found Brenda coming out of Holy Name Cathedral where she just attended daily mass. Marty asks if they can talk. She thinks they have tracked down Lonnie. Marty says not yet. They walk to Sonja’s coffeeshop where Marty buys the woman a hot drink. As they sit down, Brenda says her son moved out when Nikki went off the deep end. According to Brenda, Nikki is making up a story about foul play. Nikki’s also making up a pregnancy. Marty reacts.
Brenda needs to get home and do some chores. She thanks Marty for the coffee and goes. Marty returns to the precinct to tell Amanda what Brenda said.
At the same time we cut to Jude outside the club. He sees a poster that advertises a singer. The image on the poster is Nikki. He steps inside to talk to the manager, but the manager doesn’t like cops and won’t really answer any of Jude’s questions about Nikki.
We cut to Brenda’s place. She is tidying up when the neighbor pops by. The neighbor tells her about his recent chat with Jude and how he heard that Nikki believes she is pregnant. Brenda laughs. She can see she needs to fully convince the police about Nikki. She calls Amanda at the precinct and asks Amanda to come by.
In the next scene Amanda has left Marty in charge at the precinct, so she can come visit Brenda. After Amanda enters, Brenda consults her notepad and finds the page where she has a different number written down. Brenda then makes a call to that number. We see that it’s the office of the club on the north side. The manger’s assistant picks up and Brenda hands the phone over to Amanda who learns Nikki works there.
Amanda hangs up after the call ends, and asks Brenda what this proves. Brenda then tells her to dial the same number and this time, ask if Lonnie also works there. Amanda is confused but does as she’s told.
We cut to Jude returning to the precinct. He speaks to Marty and learns Amanda went to Brenda’s place.
Back at Brenda’s, Amanda has just finished talking to the manager’s assistant at the club again. She thinks she now understands. She asks if Brenda is going to follow through on the restraining order against Nikki, and Brenda says she is still thinking about it. But she may have no choice now, if that loon is saying all those crazy things about Lonnie being dead and about being pregnant. Amanda leaves and goes back to the precinct where she tells Marty and Jude what she has learned.
The next day, Lonnie comes by his mother’s apartment for a visit, and Brenda seems to have become quite ill. At her bedside, he learns from Brenda that Nikki came to see her about the baby. Nikki must have put something in her food when she wasn’t looking.
Lonnie goes to the precinct and asks to see the captain. But it is said the captain called in sick, because of some stuff he ate the day before.
Marty asks Lonnie to wait and goes to get Jude and Amanda. They are happy to finally meet Lonnie. Amanda describes the time she met with Nikki Lundak and Jude recalls seeing Nikki’s poster at the club.
Marty brings in a report that Jude wants to see. Jude scans it and tells Lonnie that his mother did not go through with her wish to put a restraining order on Nikki. Lonnie says Nikki somehow contacted his mother recently, which coincides with when she became ill.
Jude senses there is something strange going on, so he and Amanda go with Lonnie to check on Brenda at her apartment. When they arrive, Brenda is doing a bit better. She is making some soup and is chopping onions and celery at the kitchen table with a large knife. She sets the knife down and puts the diced veggies into the pot. As she stirs the pot, she asks Lonnie if he told the officers the truth. Lonnie didn’t do that yet. Brenda then explains to Jude and Amanda that she is afraid of Nikki showing up again.
Meanwhile, Jude has had Marty go to the club to try to get more info on Nikki. While there Marty sees a new poster that is being put up outside. Unlike the one Jude saw that only featured Nikki’s likeness, this one has both Lonnie and Nikki on it, and it’s advertising a drag show. Marty takes a photo of it with his phone and texts it to Jude.
Jude sees the texted photo and shows it to everyone. Amanda verifies that the woman in the poster is the person that came to the precinct recently. Lonnie then gets upset, grabs the knife off the table and lunges at Brenda. There is a scuffle, and Jude jumps in. Amanda helps Jude get the knife away from Lonnie. Together they subdue him.
Jude arrests Lonnie and reads him his rights. When Lonnie says he understands his rights, he is now talking in Nikki’s voice. As Nikki, Lonnie tells his mother that she is a backwards transphobic woman. Then he is led out. Brenda is embarrassed and tells Amanda she is sorry all this had to happen. Maybe her son can get the help he needs.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 27, 2022 15:38:20 GMT
017 The Long and Deadly Night
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
While on surveillance with his two fellow detectives, Jude learns Marty Fredericks is having an affair with Amanda Fallon. It started after Marty’s wife was killed, but they have kept it quiet. Captain O’Reilly has also found out about the affair through the grapevine, and he asks Jude about it the next morning in Jude’s office with the door closed.
The captain is concerned, but Jude says Marty and Amanda are both single consenting adults. It shouldn’t matter as long as the two do their jobs. But the captain says there have been rumors that Marty and Amanda’s relationship is a bit tense sometimes, and he worries these romantic issues might distract everyone.
Again Jude says the detectives in the precinct are professionals. Marty and Amanda can sort out their personal problems on their own time. The captain supposes he’s right and alludes to some problems he’s having with his wife Nenita who’s trying to bring some relatives over from the Philippines.
Jude reminds the captain of a time before O’Reilly met Nenita two years ago. This was when the captain and his first wife Berenice had separated and were divorcing, because the captain was an alcoholic. If it weren’t for Nenita, the captain may not have had a reason to get sober and stay sober. The captain knows Jude is right, and also that Jim has told Jude too much about the ‘good old days.’
However, the captain says that while Nenita gave him a chance to start over, it was really due to the grace of God that he sobered up. There were days when his integrity was almost compromised. The captain doesn’t want Amanda and Marty to compromise their integrity on the force. But Jude doesn’t think that’ll happen, and they’ll maintain professionalism.
The captain goes back to his office and Jude comes out to check a message with one of the dispatchers. At the same time Marty goes over to Amanda’s desk as she is getting off duty. They try to act platonic while also discussing where to meet for lunch. Jude walks by and says everyone knows they’re seeing each other. And Sonja has a great sandwich and pasta salad special at the coffee shop. Then it’s settled. Amanda will meet Marty at Sonja’s later. And Amanda will see Jude tonight, since they are continuing surveillance from the previous night.
There’s a scene at the coffee shop at lunchtime. Amanda has arrived early, and she tells Sonja that things are serious with Marty. Marty has asked her to move in with him. Sonja wonders what Jude will think of it. Hopefully not what he thought about Sonja and Marek, Amanda says. He didn’t like that at all. Sonja reacts.
Just then Marty and Jude come in. Jude wants to go over details of tonight’s stakeout. As he saunters up to the counter to order, Sonja wants to know what Jude actually has against her husband. She says he hasn’t even met Marek yet. To which Jude replies, any guy who goes out of town on business as much as Marek Dembrowski does is not his idea of someone Sonja deserves. She doesn’t know whether to take that as a compliment, so she just takes his order instead.
We then cut to the stakeout that evening. Jude is with Marty and Amanda at a warehouse by the waterfront. They are monitoring the activities of a businessman named Ernesto D’Amico. Ernie is a mob boss but usually stays clean. He has a tangled history with another mob boss named Antonio Salerno. But tonight Ernie is supposed to be checking a new shipment of drugs sent up from South America.
Meanwhile, something has apparently happened during the time between lunch at the coffee shop and now. It is clear that Marty and Amanda fought, because while remaining professional, they are acting a bit tense with one another. Jude senses there is a lovers’ quarrel going on, but Jude is focused on Ernie’s meeting with one of Salerno’s men.
We see the man show up, and it’s clear this guy is working the angles with both D’Amico and Salerno. We do not give this middleman a name just yet, nor do we show his face (we keep it enshrouded in shadows). This is because we do not want the audience to know who he is until later—but the man Ernie D’Amico is meeting tonight is Marek Dembrowski.
The meeting between D’Amico and Marek ends,. They seem to have reached some sort of deal and Marek drives off. Jude admits to Marty that he doesn’t know who the new guy (Marek) is. Meanwhile, we see Amanda at a separate lookout post. Her cover as a hooker is blown when one of Sugar’s girls (Misty) recognizes her as a cop and asks about the get-up she’s using.
D’Amico takes advantage of Amanda’s cover getting blown. Meanwhile, Marty wants to go in and rescue Amanda, but Jude tells him to wait. Jude says Marty needs to think like a cop, not as a boyfriend. Maybe Amanda can get D’Amico to incriminate himself.
In the following scenes, we see D’Amico has convinced Amanda to get into his car with him. Marty thinks D’Amico is kidnapping Amanda and getting away. Marty steps in front of the car and starts shooting. D’Amico’s driver swerves to miss hitting him, and Marty dives into the water to avoid being hit. At the same time, D’Amico has opened his window and fired a shot at Marty. It is unclear as the scene ends whether Marty was hit, by either the car, or else by D’Amico’s gunfire.
In the next scene at the precinct we learn that Marty was indeed shot and was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital. Jude and the captain are questioning Ernie and his driver with Ernie’s lawyer present. The lawyer says this was all a misunderstanding. Ernie was simply giving Amanda Fallon a ride, not knowing she was an undercover officer. Jude laughs at that, since it’s a new lie and he thought he had heard it all.
Supposedly Ernie shot at Marty because he thought Marty, who was dressed in plain clothes, was one of Antonio Salerno’s men and he was firing in self-defense. This reminds Jude to ask who the other guy was that Ernie was originally meeting at the warehouse (Marek). Ernie refuses to divulge that information except to say it’s a business associate. The captain agrees with the lawyer that they do not have anything to really hold Ernie on, but they reserve the right to ask him more questions later and he is not to leave town.
After Ernie D’Amico, his driver and lawyer leave, Jude and the captain discuss these latest developments. Amanda is at the hospital waiting for Marty to get out of surgery. She will call when there’s news. Jude admits that Marty screwed up the stakeout because of his feelings for Amanda. Now D’Amico knows for sure he is under surveillance.
The captain goes into his office and closes the door. He is thinking about Marty and looks out his window across the street at Biggie’s Bar and Grill, where he used to spend a lot of time with Jim. He’d really like a drink. He’s pulled out of this reverie, as the door to his office suddenly opens. It is Nenita with some spicy Filipino food. He says that stuff gets him sick, and he’d like it if she learned how to make hamburgers. She is not paying attention and unpacks a picnic basket on his desk.
We then cut to the hospital waiting room. Amanda is talking to Marty’s parents, but she is unable to tell them about her relationship with their son. Or how this had compromised Marty’s safety during the recent stakeout. She goes back to the precinct to see Jude and Captain O’Reilly. The Fredericks promise to call if there’s news about Marty’s condition.
In the next scene, Amanda is in Jude’s office. She tells Jude and the captain that Marty is still being operated on and his parents will phone with any updates. In the meantime, she has decided to take a break from the police force. Jude and O’Reilly tell her that while the case against D’Amico is compromised, she is not to blame for it. It is no reflection on her abilities as an officer. She appreciates that but feels she is too distracted about Marty. She goes to her desk to get something while a call comes in from the Fredericks. Marty’s out of surgery, and he will be okay. Amanda is glad, but she still needs some time off.
The next day, Jude visits Marty in his hospital room. Jude tells him that Amanda is on an indefinite leave of absence. They agree with O’Reilly that she should not be shouldering the blame. Marty is the one who feels responsible for what happened with D’Amico.
We then cut to a scene at Sonja’s coffee shop. Sonja is finishing a shift and handing things over to Dewey, just as Amanda is driving up outside. A young thug who has entered the shop pulls out a gun and says it’s a stick-up. Sonja instructs Dewey to hand the man whatever cash he wants. As the man goes behind the counter, pushing Dewey aside to get at the money in the register, Amanda comes in and sees what is going on. In a matter of seconds, due to her quick thinking, Amanda foils the robbery and hauls the guy down the street to the precinct.
In the next scene, Marty is watching the TV news with his parents in his hospital room. Jude, Captain O’Reilly and the others are also watching the news on a screen in the precinct. A black female reporter named Ashley Clark is interviewing Amanda, Sonja and Dewey about the botched robbery. As Ashley congratulates Amanda for her work as a police officer, Amanda says she is proud to be a cop. She can’t think of doing anything else.
At the end of the episode, Captain O’Reilly is glad to hear from Jude that Marty will have a speedy recovery. He will be back to work next week. O’Reilly is also happy to hear from Amanda that her leave of absence is over. She and Marty are going to try to just be friends and coworkers, not lovers.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 28, 2022 16:04:03 GMT
018 Breakfast at Birdie's
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
A woman who had been convicted of the death of her first husband is out on parole due to a technicality, and her second husband tells Jude she will kill him next. Jude speaks to the parole officer, who assures him that Meredith Crenshaw has agreed not to go anywhere near Roy Crenshaw. But as Meredith gets settled and adjusted to life in her new apartment, we see that she is obsessing about Roy. She has proof that he helped her kill her previous husband, a man named Galen Forsythe. She is sore that she took the rap for it, and Roy's been free the whole time.
The proof Meredith has is a video on her phone that shows Roy helping her kill Galen. She likes to replay it and think of how she can hold this over Roy. Suddenly, Meredith's thoughts are interrupted when an elderly neighbor woman knocks on the door.
It’s Birdie Conwell, and she has come to introduce herself. Birdie gives Meredith the low-down on how section eight housing is here, and all about the landlord, a man named Stu Casey who cannot be trusted. Birdie knows how to handle Stu, and Meredith appreciates the advice. Birdie asks Meredith if she’s eaten breakfast. Meredith ate and is running late for a doctor’s appointment.
As Birdie watches Meredith leave, we see Stu coming down the stairwell. He doesn’t believe Birdie’s toilet needs fixing again, but he humors her and goes with her to her apartment to check it out. Birdie is happy she has another person to talk to. She asks Stu if he’d like to join her for breakfast. She has plenty of extra oatmeal.
We then cut to Meredith at her check-up. She seems to have some sort of history with the physician examining her, a man named Dr. Trevor Lowery. She tells him she hasn’t been feeling well, probably from the stress of adjusting to life on the outside. She’s experiencing a shortness of breath and pains in her side. He is going to run some tests.
When Meredith returns for a follow-up appointment a day later, she gets the news that she is terminal. Dr. Lowery shows her the results of the tests he ran, and she can’t believe it.
With the knowledge she has a deadly disease, Meredith decides to make her last days good ones. She is taking the medication Lowery is giving her, but the pain is increasing. It soon becomes unbearable, and she decides to take her own life. While replaying the video of Roy on her phone, she decides that before she ends her life, she is going to get even with Roy for letting her take the fall for Galen's murder six years ago.
That evening, Meredith takes a fatal dose of the medication before going to sleep. The next morning, Stu Casey the landlord finds the door slightly open and comes in. He's an opportunist who usually snoops around and finds things to hold against his tenants. He realizes that Meredith has no pulse and calls the paramedics. He then reads a note Meredith wrote and left on her nightstand. It is addressed to the police, and Jude will see it when he and Marty investigate her death.
The note says she recorded a video on her phone of Roy helping her kill Galen, her first husband. It also says she hid the phone inside her apartment, but it doesn't say where. While the ambulance is on its way, Stu searches through her things to find the phone. He discovers it just as the paramedics pull up. He puts it into his coat pocket, then goes to meet the emergency team and show them into Meredith's apartment. Birdie comes out of her doorway to see what all the commotion is.
In the next scene, Meredith has been pronounced dead. Jude and Marty are there, and they have read her note. They are looking for the phone but can't find it, because Stu has taken it back to his place. We watch Stu with Meredith's phone. He plays the video on it, and immediately realizes its value. He puts the phone in a shoebox in his closet, where he will keep it and use it to blackmail Roy Crenshaw.
Meanwhile, Jude and Marty have gathered all the evidence they can find and return to the precinct. In addition to the note, another important item they've retrieved from Meredith’s bedroom is the medication she was taking.
At the same time Stu wastes no time going to an address a few blocks away where Roy lives. He says that Meredith told him where Roy's apartment was located. He comes inside and informs Roy about the video on the phone proving Roy helped Meredith kill Galen Forsythe. Roy doesn't believe Stu at first, then realizes Stu has too much info about how the murder happened six years earlier. He knows Stu must be telling the truth about the existence of a video. He asks how much Stu wants in exchange for Meredith's phone and the video. But Stu is cagey and says he needs to think about it. He will be in touch.
Roy is not going to let Stu string him along. So in the middle of the night, he breaks into Stu’s apartment and chokes him in his sleep. He will spare Stu's life if Stu hands over the phone, but Stu refuses. Roy then kills him and ransacks the apartment to make it look like a burglary. Roy is still looking for Meredith’s phone. Finally, as the sun comes up, Roy locates it inside the shoebox where Stu had stashed it.
Roy plays the video and sees the incriminating evidence. Just then there is a knock at the door. It's Birdie. She wanted to drop her rent off. She asks Roy who he is and where Stu might be. Thinking fast, he says he is Stu's brother, but that Stu is not home. Birdie wasn’t aware Stu had any living relatives.
Roy takes the rent payment from her and walks her back to her place. She asks if he would like to join her for some breakfast, and he realizes he hasn't eaten anything so he says yes. In the next scene, after Roy finishes some oatmeal he leaves. But Birdie feels something wasn't right. She goes back to Stu's door, which Roy left unlocked, and she goes inside. Moments later she discovers the landlord's lifeless body. She calls Amanda at the precinct and tells Amanda what she’s just found. Amanda instructs Birdie not to touch anything.
Jude and Marty return to the apartment building, and Birdie shows them Stu's dead body. She gives them a description of the man who had breakfast with her. They realize it matches Roy Crenshaw. The landlord’s apartment is dusted for prints, and Roy’s are found all over the place. Captain O’Reilly has a warrant is issued for Roy Crenshaw’s arrest.
In the next scene, we’re back at the precinct. Marty and the captain discuss the fact that Roy seems to have disappeared. Jude gets off the phone with a doctor at the women’s prison where Meredith had been incarcerated. The doctor confirmed that Meredith had a series of medical issues, but none of them were life threatening.
Amanda then comes in with a forensics report that was run on the medication found at the apartment. It is learned that Meredith Crenshaw was taking a drug that caused a severe allergic reaction and was basically killing her. Jude wants Marty to pick up the doctor who recently treated Meredith.
Meanwhile, we see Roy down along the waterfront area. He looks at the video one last time, and then throws the phone into the lake. He also has a flashback of helping Meredith kill Galen Forsythe. There are other scenes he remembers, too—when Meredith was convicted, when Meredith got out on a technicality, and lastly when he realized Meredith would hold this video over his head forever, so he contacted Dr. Trevor Lowery and the two men made a deal. Lowery’s half-brother was Galen Forsythe, and he wanted to make his sister-in-law and patient, Meredith, pay for killing Galen. What Lowery doesn’t know, however, is that Meredith didn’t do it alone, that Roy was also his brother’s killer.
We cut back to the precinct. Dr. Lowery is sitting in the conference room with Jude, Marty and Captain O’Reilly. Lowery says when he examined Meredith Crenshaw, he found she had a blood disorder and did not have long to live. He hands over medical records and tests that seem to verify what he is saying is correct. Jude has no choice but to let him go. As Lowery leaves, Jude and Marty decide to tail him.
In the next scene, Lowery has received a call from Roy. He drives down to the waterfront to meet him. Lowery tells Roy he was questioned by the police, but Jude can’t pin anything on him. Roy then gets a call from a friend and he steps away to take it. The friend tells Roy there’s a warrant for his arrest. While Roy finishes this conversation a hundred yards off, Lowery sees a phone in the water, caught in some floating debris. He recognizes it as the one Meredith had in his office recently. He bends down to fish it out of the water. He tries to see if it will work. Soon the video is playing where Roy and Meredith are killing Galen.
Roy comes back after finishing his call, and he says the cops are looking for him. Lowery asks what he’s going to do. Roy has no intention of going to jail. Just then, Roy sees Meredith’s phone in Lowery’s hand. He realizes that Lowery knows the whole truth now. Roy lunges for the phone and the two men struggle on the dock. Roy is trying to choke Lowery the way he choked Stu Casey the landlord. At the same time, Jude and Marty move in, with guns drawn and tell them they’re both under arrest.
In the last scene, Jude and Marty stop by the apartment building to thank Birdie for all her help with the case. She says they could both show their gratitude by staying for a while and joining her for breakfast.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 29, 2022 16:00:58 GMT
019 Echo in the Darkness
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
In this episode, we learn that Jude periodically visits Sugar at the motel for police business. Her real name is Maureen Marland, and she used to be a heroine addict, when Jude first met her a few years ago. During that time, Sugar has stopped doing drugs, even though she is sometimes tempted to start up again. Jude knows she has a lot of dangerous clients, and we reveal that she’s given Jude important information over the past few years to bust many criminals.
Sugar’s been known to offer Jude a freebie every now and then. But while he likes her, he never takes her up on such offers…maybe because it’s a line he can’t cross, since it would compromise any investigations.
At the beginning of the episode, one of the other girls at the motel needs to talk to Sugar. Her name is Misty (seen in ‘The Mastermind’s Error’ and ‘The Long and Deadly Night’). Misty confides to Sugar she witnessed a murder the night before. Misty tells Sugar the culprit knows she’s a witness, and that person isn’t going to let her live to see another day.
Sugar is worried for Misty’s safety, and she tries to get a word to Jude who is out on an assignment. Next, Sugar talks to Birdie who is digging through the trash in the alley, and she learns that Birdie also witnessed the same killing last night. But unlike Misty, Birdie doesn’t go around broadcasting it.
Later that evening, while Sugar is entertaining a client, Misty has gone missing. Sugar knows that someone took Misty. The next morning, Jude is down at the pier and a few cops are fishing Misty out of Lake Michigan. Jude learns that Sugar tried to reach him the day before, and he goes to the motel.
In the next scene, Sugar has totally unraveled. She already knows Misty is dead when Jude comes to tell her. She says she has no idea who did it, but that Misty predicted her own death. Jude apologizes for not getting back in touch sooner. Sugar rails at him and tells him to get out. Misty is dead and nothing can change it—certainly no empty words from Jude.
As Jude leaves, Sugar has a flashback of a time when Misty first came to her for a job. She and Misty always shared a strong bond. More than the type of bond Sugar has with the other girls at the motel. Out of the flashback Sugar looks at a picture of Misty and cries.
Meanwhile Jude has gone to the coffee shop. He orders his usual brew. He tells Dewey he used to smoke and espresso is his drug of choice now.
At the same time, we see a street kid named Goodie show up at the motel. He goes up to Sugar’s room and gives her the drug she needs. She’s back on heroine. She can’t find any cash to pay him, but he had another type of payment in mind anyway. She is almost too strung out to have sex with him. Another hooker that Sugar sometimes works with named Tiffany comes in and helps.
We cut to Birdie arriving at the precinct. She tells Amanda and Marty that a kid has been bringing drugs to Sugar. Birdie tells them about Goodie who is someone they’ve never heard of before. Birdie says that punk should be called No Goodie. Amanda gives Birdie some money for her information, and Marty walks her out. The captain catches sight of this and reminds Amanda and Marty this is no charity mission. But Amanda says Birdie just provided them with what may be an important lead. The captain reacts and tells them to fill him in.
When Jude comes into the precinct a short time later, he also learns what Birdie said about Goodie. Jude thinks Goodie might be a new grifter that recently blew into town.
That evening, as Jude is driving home from work, he sees Sugar on the street. She is strung out again and doesn’t know it’s him. She thinks it’s another random customer. He takes her back to his place and tries to sober her up. She is angry and tells him to stop trying to run her life. She still blames him for not preventing Misty’s death. She then breaks down and admits that Misty was her kid sister. They were half-sisters. They had the same mother, who was also a whore.
We cut to the alley behind the motel. Birdie is there again with her shopping cart. A streetlight is out and it’s very dark. Birdie stops rummaging when she hears a girl come out the back of the motel with a shadowy figure following her. They are fighting about something. Birdie tries to get a closer look. She is able to see that it’s Tiffany, the other hooker who works with Sugar. The fight quickly escalates, and the guy hits Tiffany over the head with a beer bottle and kills her instantly.
As Tiffany falls to the ground, Birdie sees who the guy is—it’s Goodie. He hears an echo of sound from behind the dumpster where Birdie has hidden. She has hit her knee on the side of the large bin and covers her mouth to keep from screaming out in pain. But Goodie doesn’t get a chance to find her behind the dumpster, because someone else pulls up needing a fix.
Birdie waits until the coast is clear and hurries to the precinct where Amanda is working the graveyard shift. Amanda listens to what Birdie has to say, then calls Jude at home. As Jude learns what’s going on from Amanda, we see Sugar in the background; she’s sleeping in the next room. Jude hangs up and gets ready to meet Amanda at the motel. He looks in on Sugar before he leaves and doesn’t wake her.
We then see Jude arriving at the motel. Quickly he and Amanda discover Tiffany’s body. Back at Jude’s apartment, Sugar wakes up. But she is in a hallucinatory state and needs more heroine. She goes on to the street having called Goodie to meet her at a specific corner. Goodie doesn’t show up, because Jude and Amanda have located him not far from the motel and are arresting him.
At the same time, Sugar gets a drug off a stranger but it’s bad stuff and she collapses. A young woman finds her and takes her to the hospital emergency room.
At the precinct, Jude finishes booking Goodie for the murders of Misty and Tiffany. Amanda has given Birdie some hot cocoa. Then decides to take Birdie to the apartment building where Birdie lives. As Amanda and Birdie exit the precinct, Jude’s phone rings. He learns from a secret informant that Sugar was hospitalized, and he drives over to see her.
The next morning Jude is back at the precinct. Goodie is awaiting transport to the county jail. He tells Jude he was doing a job for someone in the state penitentiary. He’s willing to make a deal and tell Jude everything. Is Jude interested?
We then cut to a scene at the penitentiary in Joliet. We know by seeing the tattoo on his arm that it’s Tiger, Sugar’s ex-pimp. Tiger has received a visitor. It’s the person who found Sugar and took her to the hospital. She goes by the name Echo. She says Sugar almost overdosed last night. Tiger reacts. Echo saved Sugar, because Tiger needs her to live. When he gets out— and he intends to get out real soon— he wants to have the pleasure of killing Sugar himself.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 30, 2022 16:17:18 GMT
020 Tiger's Out
Outline written by Jarrod McDonald, c) 2022
We start this episode at Sugar’s hospital room. She is going to be released later this morning. It has been a week since her collapse on the streets. Jude has been calling and checking on her, and a drug counselor has come by named Eugenia. Eugenia is Amanda’s cousin, and is an ex-drug addict who counsels people that have been appointed to her through the court system.
Eugenia previously worked with Sugar when Sugar had a drug-related arrest awhile back, and now Jude has asked Eugenia to check on Sugar again. At first, Sugar resents this.She tells Echo that she is sick of Jude and Eugenia and all the other do-gooders breathing down her neck.
When Sugar is released a few hours later, it is Echo who drives her back to the motel. Sugar doesn’t know what she would have done without Echo during the past week. As Sugar gets settled in at the motel and learns what’s gone on with the other girls during her absence, we see Echo making a call to Tiger who answers on a burner phone, in his prison cell. She says Sugar is out of the hospital. Tiger can’t wait to be ‘reunited’ with her soon.
At the precinct Jude and Amanda learn from Eugenia that Sugar hasn’t made a move recently without Echo. Jude would like to know more about Echo. Marty and Amanda hits the streets to do a little questioning. We have a short scene where Marty bumps into Birdie and Birdie tells him what she knows about Echo. Her opinion is that Echo cannot be trusted. It isn’t what Echo has done but something about the vibe she gives off that Birdie finds suspicious. Later, when Amanda meets Echo outside the motel, she gets the same impression.
In her office, Sugar learns that the owner of the motel is coming in from southern India tomorrow. Sugar has been trying to get cash together during the past few months to buy out Aadi Thakker, so she can run the place herself. She is stressed, when she learns from Thakker on the phone that someone else has made a better offer. When Thakker arrives tomorrow, he will give Sugar the chance to beat the offer. After she hangs up the phone, Sugar tells all of this to Echo who just came inside after talking with Amanda.
Meanwhile, we have scenes at the penitentiary in Joliet. A fire has been started in the laundry room, and in the ensuing pandemonium, there is a prison break. The warden soon learns that three men have made a getaway and one of them was Tiger. The warden is on the phone with Captain O’Reilly, who relays the news to Jude. The media is also on the scene at the prison, where the fire is now under control.
We cut to Tiger and the other two criminals having made their escape. The three are holed up at some abandoned farm outside Chicago. The other two go by the names McArdle and Lemmons. They were in on an old job together and stashed some loot in an abandoned farmhouse, but when the money is missing, McArdle turns on Lemmons. Lemmons is hit in the side with a bullet, and as he fires back, he kills McArdle. Lemmons is bleeding badly. He’ll die if Tiger doesn’t help get him to a doctor. There is supposedly a retired doc just up the road.
Tiger puts Lemmons in the car and on the way to the doc’s house, delirious from pain, Lemmons reveals where he had the money moved. It’s in a shed back at the abandoned farm. Tiger then stops the car and shoves Lemmons out. He turns the car around and goes back for the money at the farmhouse, which he will need when he gets to Chicago. Lemmons is laying in a ditch dying when Sheriff Hank Vickers drives along and finds him. The sheriff takes Lemmons to the nearby doc, but Lemmons dies from his injuries. As he takes his last dying breaths, he manages to tell the sheriff about the money and Tiger.
Back at the precinct in Chicago, Jude and the captain receive a call from Sheriff Vickers who is now at the abandoned farmhouse. The sheriff says there is no sign of Tiger who took off for the city with the loot. Jude thinks he knows where Tiger is headed, to Sugar’s motel. That night, Jude, Marty and Amanda do surveillance on the motel, but there is no sign of Tiger.
Sugar is aware that Tiger has escaped and she is on pins and needles, tempted to take drugs again. Echo goes to get her some heroine, but then a voice inside Sugar tells her to pick up the phone. In the next scene, Eugenia has shown up to help her. When Echo returns and realizes she no longer has a hold on Sugar, she sneaks back out. But Amanda is right there to arrest her for possession of drugs.
Early the next morning, the Indian owner of the motel shows up and so does the other person interested in buying the place. It’s a guy named Puli, who is working for Tiger. Sugar admits she cannot match Puli’s offer, and Thakker decides he is going to sell to Puli, who’s buying the place for Tiger.
Just then, Sugar realizes that she recognizes Puli, and that he’s one of Tiger’s old buddies. She hasn’t seen Puli in years. But she knows he is probably still in cahoots with Tiger.
At the same time Birdie shows up causing a scene and Sugar uses this as an excuse to step out, supposedly throwing Birdie out. The minute they get outside, Sugar learns that Birdie was pretending to be drunk and disorderly because she knew that Sugar must have been in danger. Jude and Marty are there and they will talk to Birdie later about interfering with police business.
Amanda drives Birdie, Sugar and Sugar’s girls to a safe place, while Jude and Marty nab Puli and force him to take them to Tiger, who is hiding out in a rundown apartment. Puli tries to give Tiger a chance to flee, but while Marty keeps Puli check, Jude bursts into the apartment with his gun drawn. Shots are exchanged, and he is able to take Tiger down by wounding him. Jude is with Tiger when Tiger dies in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
We cut to the precinct. Sugar is there with Amanda and Eugenia. They learn that Tiger died, when the captain takes a call from Jude. Sugar is relieved. At the same time Marty brings Puli into the precinct to book him. It all seems to be over now, and Sugar is grateful to the police.
Dissolve to the next day. Sugar is back at the motel. Thakker turns up and realizes he made a mistake negotiating with Puli, who was working for Tiger. Thakker agrees to sell the motel to Sugar her at the original price. As they sign the paperwork with a lawyer, Birdie pops in and comments that Sugar will now be more legit.
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