Ripped By mstoll
That's not gonna make her get here any faster.
- Maybe not, but it'll prove my point. - Which is?
Which is if she'd taken Boylston Street like I said...
...she would have been here 10 minutes ago.
Well, she may not have the letter.
I went to see the department doctor a week ago. I was fine then.
I'm finer now. It's just taking them too long to clear me for duty.
Okay. Look, I know how badly you really wanna get back to work.
But I must admit that it's been really nice having you here, and I'm sad you're leaving.
Me too.
So sad.
You couldn't be happier if I told you I had magically turned...
...all the lettuce into beer.
- Make it happen. We'll find out. - Oh.
You should consider buying some luggage. Everybody thought I was homeless.
Bags don't show dirt.
I'll take that.
It's not in here.
Ma, is this everything?
Yeah.
Look, I understand you're disappointed.
But the doctor must think that you need some more time to heal.
No, I need to go back to my own apartment and my job...
...so I can feel like a grown woman.
A grown woman who uses garbage bags for luggage.
But I see your point.
Lie down. I'll get you some snacks.
What am I supposed to do all day?
Lay here and dream about a world with no salad?
You could read magazines, and you could let your mom take care of you.
Okay, but as my best friend and a doctor, will you do me one favor?
- Anything. - Put me in a medically induced coma.
- Heh. I'm going to the market. - Just one little coma.
Is it really too much to ask?
You'd have better luck asking me to give you OxyContin.
Can I have some of those, then?
Hell of a way to get my attention, Rick.
Well, thanks for coming, Vince.
As if I had a choice. I've barely seen you since high school.
You tell me you're dying and I'm the only one you can trust with your final request.
Well, what can I say? You won the last-request competition.
- Heh. Who came in second? - Guy in Cell Block D.
Listen, Vince, uh...
...I've got six months left.
Tops.
I don't wanna die with my son still thinking...
...that I set the fire that killed his mother and his sister.
- I am a cop, not a hypnotizer. - I did not set that fire.
Even if that's true, Rick, you have exhausted all your appeals.
I don't care about the courts.
Listen to me.
My son only knows me as this selfish, lying fall-down drunk.
But that's not who I am anymore.
I'll call him, see if he'd be willing to come by, say goodbye.
He won't. He doesn't wanna hear from me.
After I got locked up, I wrote him a letter a week, sometimes two.
He never responded.
Years ago, the letters started coming back with no forwarding address.
Listen to me, Vince.
The only way my son will see me...
...is if he knows I did not set that fire, which I did not.
I swear it.
You seem like you've gotten your act together in here.
Sometimes, prison does that for people.
Write another letter.
I'll find Jason. I'll take it to him myself.
You were the smartest guy in the neighborhood, and you've been a smart cop for a long time.
Vince, all I'm asking...
...is that you just take a look at my case. Give it two or three hours.
And if you're not convinced, then just walk away.
Don't give it another thought.
I'll take a look.
But no promise about what happens after that.
Thank you.
And then she wanted to massage my feet.
Well, that's very nice.
Yes, when I was 3. Now it's just a little weird.
You almost died. She's your mother.
She's just having some kind of a post-traumatic response.
Come in.
Sorry to bother you on a Saturday night.
What a surprise. Thank you.
Barolo 2009. What's the occasion?
We're looking over a case from a while back.
I was hoping you'd be willing to look at yesterday's science through today's lens.
- How old is old? - Fifteen years.
Double homicide, arson.
- Rick Sullivan. Oh. Killed his wife and child. - Did you get your medical release letter yet?
- No. - Sorry.
Oh, Vince. Come on.
The department rules are clear.
No business until you've got a doctor's okay to return to duty.
It's a file that I'm reading at home.
No, someone else's home.
Technically, it's department business.
You were in the drug unit 15 years ago. This isn't your case.
No. And I'm annoyed at myself for saying yes, I would do it.
But it's hard to tell a dying man to buzz off.
Especially if you've known him for 50 years.
You're a very good man, Vince.
Yes, and a bit of a hard-ass when it comes to some of your closest friends.
It's a day or two. You'll be fine.
I went through the file. DA had a strong case against him.
Rick was a broke alcoholic. His wife had an insurance policy worth 750,000 bucks.
The clincher is the arson report.
They found acetone in his pants.
The same accelerant that was used to start the fire.
When we were kids, Rick would give you the shirt off his back.
He took a lot of hits protecting his sisters from his dad.
If the science says he did it, he did it. All I promised him was a fair look.
Well, I guess we should get started.
And when I say "we," of course, I mean the two of you.
Because I'm not cleared for duty. So...
Good luck. Good night.
Sleep well.
I did not see that coming.
- Thanks for coming in on a Sunday. - No problem.
I just figured while Maura's looking at the forensics...
...it wouldn't hurt to take another look at the shoe leather.
I was just sitting here for a minute.
Like we talked about, better than leaving it empty all the time.
- Table is packed anyway. - Where'd they come from?
I brought up the archives in case we needed them.
- Do you know them well? - Never even met the wife.
Saw Rick and his daughter in the park a couple of times.
- A cute kid. - Yeah.
So I've been through the interviews with Rick. Over five days, he never once changed his story.
He said he got drunk and blacked out like most nights.
Came to coughing up smoke in the yard.
The son, Jason, was lucky that tree was outside his window.
- I doubt it felt lucky at the time. - Yeah. Were you able to track him down?
He's married with a baby. They live in Dedham.
- Gonna talk to him? - Not unless we find something.
Kid's been through enough. If we don't get traction, we're gonna do this for one day.
We're not looking to overturn the conviction, just looking for doubt.
Maura wants to talk to me.
Well, I'm all set here. I'll let you know if I find anything.
I was thinking about going over to Rudy's...
...and picking up your favorite pastrami sandwich.
Uh-huh.
Hello? I mean, I usually mention Rudy's...
...and you're at the front door with car keys in your teeth.
- What are you doing, Ma? - Just wondering what's grabbed your attention.
Uh...
I was just reading this fascinating article.
"Ten ways to please my man and make him happy as a clam...
...with a candle."
Well, that's a new one.
It's fascinating stuff.
Huh.
The candle or the clam?
I'm sorry. You were saying something? Before?
Yeah. Um... Ahem.
I was gonna go to Rudy's and pick us up some sandwiches.
Oh, really? Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love that.
All right, I'll be back in a bit.
- Thanks. - Least I could do.
- So? - So I looked over everything.
The burn pattern and depth of charring indicate a fire that burned unusually hot.
So I took another look at the victim's autopsies.
ME said they died of smoke inhalation.
In 1999 that was the catch-all term used to describe inhalation-type death.
Five years ago, a study out of Johns Hopkins demonstrated that some SI cases...
...are actually deaths from breathing superheated air.
How hot is superheated?
It instantly sears your airways, causing death long before smoke and flame.
What does this mean for Rick?
The fire in the Sullivan home was too hot to be caused by acetone alone.
The arson unit determined that acetone was the only fire accelerant...
...and the DA's case hinged on that point. - They were wrong.
- I thought you'd be more pleased. - Oh, I'm...
I guess I was pretty sure I'd be walking away from this.
Well, my findings do not absolutely exclude Rick as a suspect.
No. But it's enough to make me glad I didn't tell him I wouldn't help him.
Thanks. I'm sure Rick would say thank you if he could.
Well, I'm glad, but I'm doing this for you.
I have confirmed these are the most up-to-date lists...
...on flash points and flame temperatures for flammable chemicals.
Great. I'm ready to get started.
Thank you for doing this on the weekend. I need your expertise to run this fire simulation.
No problem. I'd much rather be here than at home...
...being mad at myself for not going sightseeing.
Using the crime-scene photos, I created a digital replica...
...of the Sullivan house, focusing on the hallway.
This is the simulation for 100 percent acetone.
Exactly as I expected.
The flame temperature doesn't rise above 390 degrees.
That's just not hot enough to generate superheated smoke.
Any thoughts on what it could be?
Hmm. Let's try ether.
Its flame temperature is high, about 3500 degrees.
It's too hot.
That would result in more charring than what we saw in the crime-scene photos.
There are no hardwood floors in their house.
It's all carpet and linoleum.
Wait a minute.
It's not that the chemist didn't find the other accelerant.
It's that he misunderstood what it was.
- I'm sorry. - The answer we need, it was in this report.
- Hey. - About Korsak's case...
How about "Hello, how are you?"
Hello. And about Korsak's case...
- What do you know? - Frankie, there's no time for that. Listen.
Rick was a suspect because he had motives to kill his wife.
One, she was having an affair. Two, she had a life-insurance policy.
- Okay. - Well, motive was moved...
...to the back burner when they found acetone on his pants.
Which means that no one confirmed who Tanya's boyfriend was.
So he couldn't be eliminated as a suspect.
How do you know any of this? You haven't...
Just find the boyfriend.
- Hey. Hot pastrami. - Oh. Could think of nothing else.
The original chemist tested 38 materials inside the Sullivan home.
Drywall, door sills, fabric, foam, plastic...
- Are you gonna list all the materials he tested? - Yes.
This is usually when Jane says, "Get to the point."
Before she's overcome with an urge to strangle me.
I miss her.
The chemist found substantial amounts of acetone...
...as well as traces of other chemicals that he discounted as burn-off.
The stuff left behind from everything that melted?
Yes. One of those discounted chemicals...
...was toluene, a solvent.
It would only have been present as a burn-off if the Sullivans had hardwood floors.
- They didn't. - Exactly.
The DA was wrong about there being only one fire accelerant.
Which is why we need to retest Rick's clothes for toluene.
If you don't find any, how does that prove Rick didn't set that fire?
The acetone in toluene had to have been poured from one container.
Otherwise, we would be seeing two burn patterns, not one.
So it would be impossible for Rick to get splattered with one chemical and not the other.
When we test his jeans, if there's no toluene?
We have forensic proof that Rick is innocent.
Wow.
On a scale of one to 10, how happy are you you didn't tell him to buzz off?
Homicide cases, Tanya Sullivan and Becky Sullivan.
Right.
These aren't your cases. They're not even open.
I know. Just grab the files for me, will you?
Sure. Just as soon as I get the okay from the lead detective and the DA.
Two signatures, easy peasy.
That's B.P.D. 2410 and 2413.
- What? - I need the files now.
Everything is time-stamped. Once I get the forms...
- You will. - Then you'll get the files.
- A guy is dying in prison. - We're all dying, Vince.
- Come on. Do the right thing here. - I am. I'm following rules.
So forms, procedures and time stamps are more important than justice.
- Didn't say that. - Yes, you did.
Don't forget to wash it first.
But it says prewashed. Really?
Hello.
Evidence Lockup won't play ball and give us the jeans.
We need the evidence to get permission. But we need permission to get the evidence.
Talk about a catch-22.
Smitts won't budge at all?
He doesn't know the meaning of the word.
He ate a rule book and it got stuck in his colon.
That's not how digestion works.
I know. You asked me to be delicate when I say, "That guy's got a rule book stuck up his..."
I got nothing.
Well, there's gotta be someone who can go over this guy's head.
No one's gotta put their ass on the line for Rick.
So after all this, it comes down to a heartless bureaucracy?
Yeah. I guess it does.
Tanya Sullivan had a boyfriend?
Uh, I mean, if...
If she had a boyfriend...
...then that would be a new lead. Am I right?
"If Rick not guilty." That should say "isn't guilty."
Uh, the real arsonist had a motive. The real arsonist had a motive.
Those are my good cloth napkins.
Can't you just write on a piece of paper like a normal person?
- Took files out of the box, didn't you? - What do you mean? What does he mean?
Not many.
I should be mad that you ignored department policy...
...but sometimes your blatant disregard for rules works to my advantage.
Apology accepted.
Jane was right. Tanya Sullivan got arrested a few weeks before the fire.
She was in an altercation at a bar but the charges were dropped.
- I tracked down every witness in the report. - Anybody got a good memory?
One person remembered Tanya was with a guy who went by Sal.
- Short for? - Salvador Briglio.
He's older now but the description still matches.
How'd you get him? - I cross-referenced variations of the name Sal...
...with parking tickets issued near the bar where Tanya got arrested.
So he's a regular?
Five to six nights a week. He ran his mouth off a lot too.
One person overheard Sal warning Tanya to sleep with one eye open.
He said he was gonna kill her and her loser husband.
- How long before the fire was that? - A few weeks.
It was probably a breakup fight. Tanya told him to get lost.
I bet he hated losing Tanya to a drunk like Rick.
The year of the fire, Sal worked at a full-service marina in Falmouth.
Guess what's used in deck paint and boat maintenance.
- Acetone and toluene. - Yup.
I think this could be our guy.
I was impressed with your work yesterday.
I just hit some computer keys. You did the hard part.
I'm thankful I don't wear that getup anymore. Polyester chafes like you wouldn't believe.
- Is it pure polyester? Not even a blend? - Pure.
Detective Rizzoli. Great to have you back at work.
Oh, no. I'm not back at work.
Well, you look fantastic anyway.
Thank you, Nina.
You look not like you at all.
Yeah. What's the vibe you're getting?
Stuffy? Uptight? Professional?
Wait a minute. That's my suit.
What do you mean "stuffy"? That's my blouse.
I didn't think you'd mind. I've never seen you wear this.
Well, because it isn't an outfit. That blouse is evening wear.
The suit is for work, which is why the skirt is knee-length.
Or at least it's supposed to be.
Okay. Jane, what's really going on here?
What do you mean?
Why are you dressed like a flight attendant?
First off, I'm dressed like a librarian. I'm wearing glasses on a chain for God's sake.
- Have you ever checked out a book? - Have you ever been on a plane?
That scarf you're wearing screams:
"In the event of a water landing...
...your seat cushion can also be used as a flotation device."
- Is that better? - Much.
Good. I gotta be 100 percent librarian if I'm gonna pull this off.
Pull what off?
What just happened?
Wow, I haven't heard the name Tanya Sullivan in years.
- Were you romantically involved with her? - Sure. I was with a lot of women back then.
Tanya was arrested at a bar a few weeks before she died.
You know why?
- Long time ago. - Fifteen years.
But a lot of people still remember your fight with Tanya. What was it he said?
"I'll kill you. I'll kill you both. You and that loser."
And my personal favorite, "Sleep with one eye open, you bitch."
It's pretty vivid stuff, Sal.
I was a hothead. I said a lot of stupid stuff.
- Sounded pretty mad. - I treated Tanya like a queen.
Her husband treated her like garbage.
But she cuts me loose so she can work on her marriage.
- Look where that got her. - Yeah, let's look where that got her.
She burned to death in the middle of the night with her 7-year-old daughter.
You knew her kids were in the house? Did you care?
I didn't know, because I didn't do this. I wasn't there.
- Yeah, where were you? - On a fishing boat...
...with four other guys 24/7 for a week.
Names and numbers.
I don't even know why you bother with this, man.
- Excuse me? - Rick Sullivan set that fire.
And nobody who knew him has any doubt about that.
Sit tight, Sal.
Thanks.
His alibi is airtight. He was 40 miles offshore.
The Susan Marie.
I'm sorry. You okay?
We've got a guy in jail for a crime we don't think he committed.
Pretty far from okay.
Thanks.
DA's at a fundraiser in Cambridge.
I'll talk to him, and you try and wrangle the other signature to get the jeans.
Why don't you just test them now?
Oh, I know. Get it all out. Rules, policy, blah, blah, blah.
No. Right now, I'm so grateful...
...that you're so stubborn you don't care about getting fired.
I could get fired?
Department rule 110 section 27. Officers on medical leave... Whew.
You learned a lot studying for that test.
This is... This is just between us, right?
How did you get Smitts to give you the jeans?
What? You didn't see the wall calendar with the sexy women chewing on their glasses?
Last month was the librarian.
No? And you call yourselves detectives.
- There is acetone on Rick's jeans. - You knew that per the original test.
However, there are no other chemical signatures that can connect him to the fire.
Specifically, toluene.
If acetone didn't get on Rick, where'd it come from?
I pulled up his medical records. The night of the fire...
...Rick was taken to the ER, treated for nausea and stomach pains.
- From smoke inhalation. - I thought so until I read the lab results.
Rick has a condition called alcoholic ketoacidosis.
- Can you take Maalox for that? - Heh. Not quite.
Heavy drinking caused his body to produce an excess of acetone.
The only way for the body to rid itself of acetone is through urination.
Paragraph two.
The test sample contains a strong concentration...
...of acetone, uric acid and ammonia.
- Urine? - Correct.
So the acetone on his pants isn't from starting a fire.
Can't wait to see the DA's face when I show him this.
That our proof that Rick Sullivan didn't kill his family is that he pissed his pants.
Jason Sullivan? Sergeant Detective Korsak, Boston Homicide.
Did something happen to my wife? My son?
No, they're fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.
- What's this about, then? - Your father.
Hope you've come to tell me that he's dead.
No, there's new evidence that could exonerate him.
Is this new evidence gonna bring back my mother or sister?
I know that's a terrible loss.
- It's not something I believe your father did. - Just leave me alone, sergeant.
- I know it's hard to take it in. - What's hard to take was having a father...
...who drank away his paycheck and tried to kill his family.
You want me to believe he didn't do it? You show me the guy who did.
Hey, Ma.
Hi. How come you're dressed like a flight attendant?
Librarian.
Playing dress-up. It's kind of strange, but...
...you know, when you're bored and have...
I went to headquarters, Ma. I had to help out Korsak.
You, uh, really love your job, don't you?
When are you gonna get it?
I love what I do.
This came for you two days ago.
- Is that from the department doctor? - Yeah.
You hid this from me?
I wasn't ready for you to go back.
Well, that's not your decision, Ma.
I know, and I hate it. I hate this whole thing.
I hate the fact that you have a job where you can get hurt so easily.
I don't even know if I'm cleared.
I steamed it open.
No.
You can go back in two days.
Yes! Oh, Ma. Thank you.
Oh, yeah, wonderful news.
- Oh, Ma. - Just wonderful.
I'm ready.
Well, I'm not, Jane.
I fixed you up, and now you're gonna go back out there. I'm gonna stay here and worry.
Not tonight.
Okay? Come on. Tonight it's just you and me.
All right?
And we'll watch a movie. And we'll sit here on the couch.
And you can massage my feet if you want to, even though I hope you don't.
Come on. What do you wanna watch?
I'm gonna go make some grilled cheese.
I love you, Ma.
Well, you're only saying that because you're getting your way.
Heh.
Do you understand what I just said?
I might be able to convince the DA to overturn the conviction.
Did you talk to Jason?
Yes.
What'd he say?
All right.
Don't get me wrong, Vince. I'd love to get out of here. It's just that...
...the only jury I care about is my son. If he still thinks I'm guilty, then I'm guilty.
But I appreciate it.
Thank you.
You're a better man than I remember.
- That was the DA. - They'll reopen the case?
If we come up with more than 15-year-old jeans. Come up with anything?
I talked to a lot of people that didn't like Rick.
Bartenders, owner of the liquor store, people he owed money to.
- Any of them look good for the arson? - No, all regular people, working stiffs.
None of them would have set the fire.
Still, Jane's right. Somebody had to have a motive to kill Rick and his family.
I'll recanvass, talk to the neighbors.
Maybe time loosened up a few tongues.
Sorry, we didn't buy the house until after the fire.
Yeah. In fact, the fire was a blessing of sorts.
You know a woman and her daughter died in that fire?
Ah. That's not what my husband meant.
It's just that, well, we drove by the day after just to check it out.
To see if there was potential to rebuild and maybe make a better offer than the insurance.
Yes, but when we got here, we saw the sign in the window of the house next door.
Yeah. No realtor, just a number. In fact, the seller didn't even negotiate.
Just accepted our offer over the phone.
- The owner wanted to make a quick sale. - I guess.
He never even showed up to the closing. Remember?
He just gave our lawyer a power of attorney.
You remember that guy's name?
Melvin Tuttle.
He's got a few felony assault and battery charges...
...but mostly drug stuff for cooking and selling crystal meth.
Field interrogation observation reports show...
...Melvin was associating with a local biker gang, the Devil's Scorpions.
Sounds like a typical outlaw biker drug operation.
- The Scorpions supply the chemicals. - And Melvin cooks the meth.
Still, it doesn't explain why Melvin sells his house and takes off right after the fire.
Unless he was responsible for it in some way.
We'll never know.
Six weeks after the fire, Melvin Tuttle was stabbed to death...
...in Jacksonville, Florida.
Melvin Tuttle might have burned the house down. But why?
I don't think he did.
Come on. The guy takes off to Florida, and he's dead six weeks later?
I'm betting he ran because somebody was after him.
How long until Melvin's file gets here?
Jacksonville's digging it out. Said they'd overnight it to us.
Well, we can keep working while we wait.
Is it possible they were in business together?
I can recheck the forensics and see if I can identify...
...any meth by-products in the Sullivan house.
We need to nail down a connection between Rick and Melvin Tuttle.
Yeah. And figure out why someone wanted them both dead.
I'm gonna go back and work with Frankie and Nina.
I'll see you tomorrow at B.P.D., detective.
See you tomorrow.
You got anything?
The drug unit has plenty on Melvin Tuttle.
- Nothing on Rick Sullivan. - Phone records and incident reports?
- We're still checking. - There's nothing yet.
I didn't wanna break the rules and show up early.
- What have you two been doing? - Looking at old drug unit surveillance videos.
We pulled ones where Melvin was tagged.
We're looking for signs that he and Rick knew each other.
- Any luck? - Not so far.
Okay. Let's look at the next one.
This is three days before the fire.
That's the 1310. Headquarters for the Scorpions.
They are not too happy with Melvin.
Wait. Pause that.
Is that Rick's truck?
Nina, run a DMV check on Rick Sullivan.
DMV doesn't keep records that far back.
I'll check the Department of Revenue.
- What? - Massachusetts charges a road tax...
...on all vehicles. Enjoy that when you buy a car.
Rick drove a red Chevy 1500.
Okay, that's a Ford.
Nina, pull up the exterior crime-scene photo from the fire.
Hmm.
Rick's red pickup truck in his driveway.
It's almost the same color as Melvin's.
They live next door to each other and own red pickup trucks.
So someone wanted Melvin Tuttle dead.
When they went to kill him, they burned down the wrong house.
Ma, today should be an easy day.
Yeah, you're just saying that for my sake.
No, I'm not, really. We're waiting on a homicide file from Florida.
All I'm gonna do today is paperwork. That's it.
You ready, Ma?
I feel the same as I did on your first day of school.
Sending you out into a world where I can't be there to take care of you.
And I was fine that day. I'm gonna be fine today.
No, you came home missing a front tooth fighting with that Murphy boy.
Well, he started it. Besides, that tooth was loose anyway.
Oh...
You could always take care of yourself, Jane.
Go ahead. Go knock them dead.
I'm a homicide detective, Ma. They're already dead.
Don't be a smart-ass.
All right. I can't move my arms. Let me go.
- I know. Mwah. - Aah! Oh.
- I love you. - Ahh.
- Well, I love you too. - See you tonight.
Hey, Janey.
Good to have you back, officially.
Yeah, we missed you.
I missed you guys.
It's good to be back.
Okay. Um...
Did that file come in from Jacksonville?
Two motorcycles were seen leaving the Tuttle murder.
Witness saw a gold stripe on the gas tank and cowboy saddlebags on one.
No description of the other bike.
And I found this in the organized crime unit files.
What are the chances two motorcycles look like that?
Depends. We've gone to the gold stripe and saddlebag store?
Henry Blade Vallenhurst.
Huh. He was president of the Devil's Scorpions.
I doubt burning down the wrong house would stop him from killing Melvin.
Jacksonville Homicide said there were two motorcycles.
He had an accomplice.
So the question is, who did he trust enough to help him kill Melvin Tuttle?
Hmm.
Florida is coming for you, Blade.
For the murder of Melvin Tuttle.
- You're talking out your ass. - Well, my ass...
...found two calls you made from a motel in Jacksonville when Melvin was murdered.
We sent your photo down to the locals.
One person identified you.
He even remembered your scorpion tattoo.
We know you didn't do it alone. Further research...
...turned over another collect call from the same room, same date.
From this guy, Robert Kincaid. Fellow Scorpion.
He's doing 10 years in Walpole on a drug beat. He turned down an offer to testify against you.
And he won't say anything now.
We thought the same thing.
However, we managed to convince him what a solid case Florida had against him.
It seems like your pal Kincaid can't really stomach the idea...
...of 2200 volts of electricity popping his eyeballs out of his head.
So I made him an offer.
His life for yours.
Now, here's the thing. I don't really care about Melvin or Kincaid.
I care about the fire that killed Tanya and Becky Sullivan.
So you own up to what you did.
You confess to setting the Sullivan house on fire.
You're not following.
Okay.
And as much as I hate it...
...Florida can't execute you if you're doing life here.
That damn red truck.
What were the odds?
Yeah, what were the odds?
You just have to walk me through what happened.
My father's innocent.
He's been telling the truth.
Thank you.
The DA filed a motion to overturn the verdict.
What does that mean?
In two days, your father will be a free man.
Okay.
Cheers.
So is my mother boycotting my big send-off?
No. She actually went out dancing, but she sends her love.
- I'm sorry. Did you say she went dancing? - I did. She is.
Hold on. Where? With who?
- She didn't say. - You didn't ask?
Angela is a grown woman.
Yes, but she can't be out clubbing in the middle of the night.
It's 9:30.
Don't hassle me with details. My mother is missing.
Okay.
I know that it's scary, but Angela has to leave the nest and spread her wings.
That's good advice if we were talking about a cockatoo, which we are not.
My mother has dated two men her entire life.
Both of whom I knew very well. She doesn't know what men are like.
What if she leaves her drink unattended and somebody puts something in it?
I think we all know how that turns out, don't we?
I can't believe you brought that up.
I can't believe you're not concerned.
Do I need to pull up your booking photo?
I think we both know that your mother is okay.
Yeah.
- So you're just gonna wait up for her? - Well, I can't sleep now.
Well, I was going to give you a goodbye present when you left tonight...
...but apparently...
Mm.
You got me luggage.
They're made with 3-ply durable plastic, and they have a ziplock and handles.
It's perfect.
I was gonna get you a stick with a bandana on the end of it.
But then I thought that was too hobo chic.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
So should we order a pizza? Might be waiting up for a while.
Well, you don't have to. I'm sure you're exhausted.
Know what, I doubt I could sleep either.
What time is it now?
Nine-thirty-six.
What time do we start calling hospitals?
Not until later. After 10.
Ten-oh-five.
Raising my mother is a lot harder than I thought.
Ripped By mstoll