ALMOND AMY_GAZANIAN AUCTIONEER BACKSTROM CHRISTINA_ROSE COMMITTEE_MEMBER DAVID_KETTERING DR_DEB GAZANIAN GRAVELY HENRY_HAN KETTERING LINDSAY_HAN MARCUS_LESTER MOTO NIEDERMAYER PAQUET VALENTINE WAYNE_COMBS YOUNG_WOMAN BACKSTROM Upon taking my position at the rear of the establishment, I heard gunfire... AMY GAZANIAN Lieutenant Backstrom? BACKSTROM Yes, Madame Chairperson? AMY GAZANIAN You are simply reading from your statement. BACKSTROM That’s because my statement is what happened. AMY GAZANIAN The veracity of your statement is exactly what this committee is questioning. We’d prefer if you put it aside and answered our questions. BACKSTROM Shoot! AMY GAZANIAN On March twenty fifth, you lethally shot a man named Eugene Lawrence Visser. Forensic evidence indicates that you then shot yourself in order to justify your use of deadly force. Do you deny this allegation? BACKSTROM Which allegation? “Shot a man” or “shot myself?” AMY GAZANIAN You know we have the power to find you in contempt? BACKSTROM I did not know that. Did you know that a shooting panel found that I conducted myself with valor? AMY GAZANIAN Gunpowder residues indicate that you were shot at point blank range yet you state that Eugene Visser was “at least twenty five feet away.” You can’t have it both ways. AMY GAZANIAN So you should stop messing around and tell us how the forensic evidence could be incorrect. Not behave in a way which suggests that you are guilty of excessive force, perjury, and tampering with evidence. AMY GAZANIAN Any one of which means job loss, criminal proceedings, and prison time. Is there a problem, Lieutenant? AMY GAZANIAN Everett? AMY GAZANIAN Can he hear me? DR DEB I believe so, Ms... AMY GAZANIAN Gazanian. DR DEB Detective Backstrom’s fiancée? AMY GAZANIAN Ten years ago. Believe me that ship has sailed DR DEB Your heart rate appears stable but we must transport you to the hospital to rule out a cardiac event. GAZANIAN Everett had a heart attack? MOTO Is the Lieutenant okay? Because we need him at a crime scene. AMY GAZANIAN He had a cardiac event. BACKSTROM I’m fine. DR DEB You are not fine. Your body has made a decision your conscious mind refused to make. BACKSTROM Yes, my body decided it hates the low carb, no sugar diet you put me on. Let’s go, Moto. AMY GAZANIAN He needs to go to the hospital. MOTO I’m sorry but I take my orders from the Lieutenant. DR DEB Stop! You are leaving AMA. MOTO Nice ride. BACKSTROM If you’re the Grim Reaper. ALMOND It’s a sixty four. My father had one just like it. BACKSTROM Was he a preacher or a pimp? GRAVELY The vehicle is registered to Jason Allen Rose, age twenty three. NIEDERMAYER Shot out with a large caliber weapon. Techs found a bullet hole in the dash, non lethal amounts of blood and a pair of high heels. No driver. ALMOND Some kind of botched kidnapping? GRAVELY We should lock down a perimeter. Search cars headed out of the area ALMOND Where’s he going? BACKSTROM It was a girl. She took off her shoes to run away. Maybe we should try to find her. NIEDERMAYER Cold and dead. BACKSTROM Find Jason Rose, ask him how long ago his one night stand took off with his car. NIEDERMAYER Lieutenant? The victim is male. GRAVELY Look past the pink. BACKSTROM I require penile verification. BACKSTROM Wow. That’s definitely a male. Packing heavy, too. GRAVELY Cause of death? NIEDERMAYER Exit wound, left chest. A through and through gunshot, again, from a distance. BACKSTROM What’s with them? NIEDERMAYER Psychologically, bangs can be an expression of doubt. A half raised curtain, concealing what she lacks the courage to reveal. GRAVELY Or it’s just a haircut. What’s it got to do with anything? BACKSTROM I’m declaring this a hate crime against the gays. GRAVELY Not “the” gays. Just gays. NIEDERMAYER Cross dressers are not necessarily homosexual. GRAVELY It’s too early to declare this a hate crime. BACKSTROM Gravely! This was a man hiding behind a curtain at half mast, pretending to be a woman. Everybody hates when a penis pops up out of nowhere, especially some unsuspecting dupe who never knew what he she he GRAVELY Penises generally go with “he.” BACKSTROM And this particularly generous penis makes it a hate crime. AMY GAZANIAN Nice to see you recovered so quickly from your heart attack. BACKSTROM Don’t give me another one. GRAVELY What heart attack? AMY GAZANIAN Everett feigned a coronary to avoid finishing his testimony. BACKSTROM It was an actual life threatening asthma attack. Deb gave me an inhaler. GRAVELY Lieutenant, until you testify, the District Attorney cannot prosecute any of our other cases. BACKSTROM There’s more to policing than convictions, Gravely. AMY GAZANIAN I’d have sworn that protecting the public by putting bad people in jail is pretty much the whole job. GRAVELY That’s why you called it a hate crime. So it takes precedence over a Civilian Oversight investigation. BACKSTROM It is a hate crime. How dare you suggest I’d put my own small worries ahead of the gays. AMY GAZANIAN There was a hate crime? BACKSTROM Yes! The gay half of this city is living in fear. GRAVELY You do know that “half” means fifty percent? BACKSTROM The world seems half gay to me. Have you ever kissed a woman? GRAVELY It’s called college. AMY GAZANIAN And summer camp. MOTO That’s hot. They turn to see Moto facing them MOTO I apologize. Detective Almond wants you to know that the victim’s aunt is here. AMY GAZANIAN I understand if you have to prioritize a hate crime, Everett. But eventually you have to appear. CHRISTINA ROSE Jason’s mother was my sister. She and her husband died in a plane crash when Jason was ten, so he came to live with me. ALMOND I’m sure he was grateful. CHRISTINA ROSE He was. He was like a son to me. It was just the two of us. BACKSTROM No man in your life? CHRISTINA ROSE Don’t you dare suggest that the reason Jason was gay was that I never married. BACKSTROM So Jason was homosexual? CHRISTINA ROSE Jason would have described himself as pansexual. BACKSTROM So massively gay. Elton John gay. Which explains the bangs. Bisexuals basically lie to everyone. ALMOND Can you tell us about Jason’s life when he presented as a woman? BACKSTROM Why? ALMOND Because he died as a woman. CHRISTINA ROSE Jenna first appeared around the time Jason was sixteen. You have to understand, for his generation, it’s not a drag show performance. The world is a stage. Last year, he started his own blog. BACKSTROM A blog! There’s another motive for murder right there. CHRISTINA ROSE Why? Everybody who ever met Jason loved him. BACKSTROM Are you speaking literally? ALMOND Would you say Jason had a lot of sexual encounters? CHRISTINA ROSE In the past. He was young. ALMOND “In the past?” What changed? CHRISTINA ROSE Recently, he’d been settling down. Seeing a nice man named Marcus. They were getting serious. BACKSTROM I’m a blogging, stud muffin. Who’s more likely to kill me? Hashtag Buttboy136 or the man I’m supposed to love and cherish? ALMOND We’re very sorry for your loss, ma’am. We’ll find whoever killed your nephew. PAQUET I’ve found the Jenna Rose blog very informative. Like this tutorial: “How to Make A Smoky Cat Eye.” GRAVELY Yes, I see that. PAQUET She did reveal many personal details about her wheres and whens. Her final comment was this: “Bye bye, Bling. Sad face emoticon, happy face emoticon.” GRAVELY Maybe she had a stalker? PAQUET Her blog was seeing heavy traffic. Close to a hundred grand page views per day. It will take time to sift through that many suspects. I have used her computer and cell phone messages to make a list of her likely sexual partners. PAQUET This is the special one Aunt Christina was talking about. PAQUET The two had many texts and sexy snapperchats. GRAVELY Marcus Lester, also known as “Maura Less.” PAQUET Americans. They make sex so complicated. In Europe, a man in chiffon is just another man. GRAVELY Or maybe another bridesmaid. PAQUET Exactly. MOTO I think you got confused. Who sits in the back of a car, like it’s a limo or something? MOTO Like I’m here to drive you to some fancy party instead of a crime scene? It’s rude, is what it is. BACKSTROM I know. This “Driving Miss Daisy” situation is embarrassing to both of us. You know what you need to do? Get out of uniform and make a name for yourself. MOTO Fine with me. BACKSTROM When are you scheduled to appear before Civilian Oversight? MOTO Tomorrow. But since I didn’t see anything it won’t take long. BACKSTROM You know, one way to get out of uniform is to see things that need to be seen. MOTO That’s heavy. There’s Niedermayer. NIEDERMAYER Jason Rose was driving at approximately forty miles per hour in the westbound lane when NIEDERMAYER A thirty thirty bullet smashed through the window, grazed the victim’s ear and penetrated the dashboard, coming to rest in the engine block. NIEDERMAYER Jason crashed into the guardrail. When he saw the assailant approaching on foot, he exited the vehicle and fled down the embankment toward the river. NIEDERMAYER The killer shot again. We don’t know how many times. He picked up the casings. But one bullet hit Jason in the back and penetrated the heart, killing him instantly. BACKSTROM How much artistic license are you taking here? MOTO He’s copying you, Lieutenant, only with forensics instead of people. BACKSTROM So I was right. It’s a hate crime. NIEDERMAYER No. BACKSTROM Someone hunts down a boy dressed as a girl with generous genitalia and kills her. How is that not a hate crime? NIEDERMAYER Hate crimes tend to be close up, brutal, and symbolic. This was detached, a killing from afar by a sniper on a lonely road. NIEDERMAYER The victim was either chosen at random or specifically hunted. BACKSTROM Or, you got it all wrong, Know It All. MOTO If it’s not a hate crime, then the Lieutenant can’t stall Civilian Oversight anymore. NIEDERMAYER If it wasn’t a hate crime, Lieutenant, what would it be? BACKSTROM Robbery. There’s a key broken off in the glovebox. Where did you find the car keys? NIEDERMAYER We didn’t. BACKSTROM Because the killer threw them away after failing to get into the glove box. Then traffic stopped and he took off without whatever’s inside. NIEDERMAYER We’ll get a locksmith— BACKSTROM We don’t need a locksmith. NIEDERMAYER It appears to be some sort of soda bottle, silver plated. BACKSTROM That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever seen. NIEDERMAYER Possibly Jenna’s “bling” that she had to say goodbye to? That was an awesome piece of deduction, Lieutenant. BACKSTROM Slain for a gay artifact. Definitely a hate crime. MOTO And a botched robbery? Niedermayer nods his head. VALENTINE Oh! I was hoping you’d get assigned to Jenna Rose’s case. BACKSTROM You know him her? VALENTINE Know of, maybe.You think there’s someone out there targeting men who dress like women? BACKSTROM They call them “transgenders.” VALENTINE No. Transgender involves changing more than your clothes. VALENTINE Is this evidence or something? BACKSTROM Maybe. You recognize it? VALENTINE I recognize it for free. For a hundred bucks, I’m a font of information. VALENTINE Behold the world famous platinum plated soda bottle given to Joan Crawford as a Christmas present from her fourth husband, Alfred Steele. It’s legendary in certain circles. BACKSTROM You mean gay circles. VALENTINE What other circles are there? BACKSTROM So it’s the Homosexual Holy Grail! Exactly what one gay would kill another gay for. VALENTINE Can I borrow it? BACKSTROM Why? VALENTINE Candlelight vigil for Jenna downtown. I’m on the prowl. Nothing makes men hornier than death. I’ll give you your hundred bucks back. BACKSTROM It’s evidence in a homicide investigation, not a magnet for butt hookups. I’m coming to the vigil. Undercover. VALENTINE That is not possible. BACKSTROM Why? I can be a bear. VALENTINE A) No, you can’t. B) Having you in the room will cramp my style. If I see you, I’ll point at you and scream “cop!” BACKSTROM What if I bring somebody for you? VALENTINE I wouldn’t risk it. I have very high standards. MOTO That thing you did at the crime scene today... NIEDERMAYER The reenactment of the murder? MOTO Can you do it again? For when the Lieutenant shot Visser. NIEDERMAYER Not really. The evidence is congruent with too many permutations. MOTO You’re saying nobody really knows what really happened? NIEDERMAYER Yes. The Lieutenant’s story is at variance with forensics. MOTO What do you think happened? NIEDERMAYER I wasn’t there. Have you been summoned? MOTO Yeah. The Lieutenant is hinting that I go in and back up his story. NIEDERMAYER I’ve never known Backstrom to hint. But he knows an eyewitness account trumps forensics every time. MOTO Think I should help him out? NIEDERMAYER If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? MOTO Yeah. NIEDERMAYER You could argue the same applies to the truth. It exists, regardless of the perception of a witness. MOTO I know you’re trying to help me but it’s really not working. NIEDERMAYER This is Niedermayer. DAVID KETTERING Like an open flame, Jenna always glowed in her own light. Her beauty wasn’t just on the outside. It came from the goodness within... BACKSTROM Attaboy. Play the insider card. NIEDERMAYER Insider? BACKSTROM C’mon, Niedermayer. Confirmed bachelor. Dresses like GQ. Reads poetry and likes string quartets. GRAVELY First priority, find Marcus Lester. Second, talk to any other former lovers. That’s David Kettering, a.k.a. Mabel Stirrups. NIEDERMAYER That guy’s on the list too. That’s my informant. Who lives in my basement. GRAVELY You live on a barge. BACKSTROM Why are Millennials so literal? I paid him two hundred dollars for a tip, so make sure I get reimbursed. You two do Kettering. And by do, I mean don’t. BACKSTROM You had a relationship with my murder victim? VALENTINE No, we had sex. You want details? BACKSTROM You’re on the list of suspects! VALENTINE Then remove me! Look. You can trust me to tell you the things you need to know. And, more importantly, not tell you the things you don’t need to know. Who did you bring me? VALENTINE I am intrigued. CHRISTINA ROSE Is that you, Detective Backstrom? CHRISTINA ROSE Thank you for coming. It’s good to know that you not only care about catching the killer but about Jason as a person. YOUNG WOMAN Is it true that murders have to be solved in the first 48 hours? BACKSTROM That’s for regular cops, not the Special Crimes Unit. YOUNG WOMAN Even a hate crime? BACKSTROM This case is in fact NOT a hate crime. BACKSTROM Hate crimes are traditionally personal, brutal and symbolic. This was a botched robbery. The killer was after this! GRAVELY That’s evidence! You can’t carry it around in a dirty man purse! BACKSTROM This evidence is flypaper. Watch our gay killer stick. VALENTINE You look like somebody took a cowboy and turned him into a model. NIEDERMAYER Okay, well, thanks. VALENTINE I’m Gregory Valentine. You were brought here for me. Surprise! NIEDERMAYER Backstrom’s Valentine? VALENTINE It’s okay. I’m his tenant, not his He makes a gesture which indicates “love interest” NIEDERMAYER I know. I work for Backstrom. I’m Sergeant Peter Niedermayer. VALENTINE Thank you for my hot police cop! NIEDERMAYER I think you have the wrong impression. BACKSTROM What’s the word from Lipstick Yeti? NIEDERMAYER He has an alibi. BACKSTROM Not our fly. NIEDERMAYER And as soon as he knew I was a cop, he wouldn’t tell me where to find Marcus Lester. VALENTINE Would my impression be more accurate if I get that Sasquatch to tell me where to find Marcus Lester? BACKSTROM Absolutely. NIEDERMAYER Lieutenant, you know I’m not gay, right? BACKSTROM We’ll know in a second or two... BACKSTROM Well, you’re gay now if you want to help solve this case. MARCUS LESTER Jason and I were in love. BACKSTROM Until he cheated on you and you killed him. MARCUS LESTER Right. It’s always the wife. BACKSTROM You’re the wife? Isn’t the pretty one usually the “wife?” GRAVELY You were aware Jason had several other sexual partners? MARCUS LESTER There’s physical fidelity, and emotional fidelity. It’s only the latter I care about. MARCUS LESTER Jason and I had plans to get married. What more do you need as proof of commitment? BACKSTROM Maybe... this? MARCUS LESTER Is that what I think it is? GRAVELY It was in Jason’s car the day he was murdered. Do you know where he got it? MARCUS LESTER Not from me, that’s for sure. BACKSTROM I’m a rat faced podiatrist in love with a beautiful boy who gets fabulous gifts from better men. What do I do to keep him close? I get him pregnant. GRAVELY Jenna was a convincing female, Lieutenant, but not BACKSTROM You were going to buy a Chinese baby! MARCUS LESTER No. We were planning to adopt. BACKSTROM Same thing. MARCUS LESTER We were consulting with lawyers. They did a complete investigation into our relationship. GRAVELY Can we have your permission to speak with them? GRAVELY I hate questioning lawyers. BACKSTROM I need somebody better anyway. GRAVELY Better? What’s that supposed to mean? ALMOND Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. ALMOND God has a grand design. But still, we’ve been granted the power of decision. You decided which pair of shoes to put on this morning, didn’t you, son? ALMOND Christ! ... will help us with these decisions. He will be the guide. ALMOND Luke, eleven nine. Jesus told us: “Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will open for you.” All you need to do is ask. MOTO You’re pretty good at that. ALMOND Next time, come early. MOTO Backstrom needs you to go talk to the victim’s attorneys. ALMOND On a Sunday? Why me? MOTO He said Asians are terrified of black people and missionaries, and you’re both. Come on. HENRY HAN Jason and Marcus were very serious about adopting a child. LINDSAY HAN When we heard Jason was dead our first thought was that poor Marcus might kill himself. HENRY HAN Is that why you bring a minister with you on these calls? ALMOND I’m actually BACKSTROM Marcus is holding up just fine. Perhaps a little too fine. In fact, we have to wonder... HENRY HAN You don’t suspect Marcus of killing Jason, do you? That’s just not possible, right Lindsay? ALMOND Ma’am? I know that sometimes people don’t want to point fingers. LINDSAY HAN I would say, like most of us, Marcus has a dark side. BACKSTROM You mean a dark side, aside from the side where he dresses like a woman? BACKSTROM You’re hiding something. Your bangs betray you. LINDSAY HAN Pardon me? LINDSAY HAN What’s he doing? ALMOND Lieutenant? BACKSTROM Vintage! You also favor pearls and pink dresses and red lipstick. ALMOND That is interesting. HENRY HAN What’s interesting? ALMOND It appears that Jenna appropriated your wife’s personal style. BACKSTROM She didn’t appropriate you too, did he? And you didn’t kill Jason for inappropriate appropriation of your husband, did you? HENRY HAN What? LINDSAY HAN Are you insane? I would never do that. And I liked Jason BACKSTROM No, you didn’t. Gay boys always date Asians in high school, before they accept their gaiety and break their hearts. LINDSAY HAN You know we’re lawyers, don’t you? BACKSTROM Asians or fatties. Or both! How much did you weigh at age sixteen? One eighty? One ninety? HENRY HAN I need to ask you to leave. Now. ALMOND You know if you don’t speak to one of us here, we’ll have to ask you to accompany us downtown. LINDSAY HAN Pastor Almond, we will speak with you. But he has to go wait in the car. MOTO So what happened? ALMOND He was right. She dated a boy in college who came out of the closet and broke her heart BACKSTROM and now this one sleeps with her husband. ALMOND No. She slept with him. MOTO Wait. She was a lesbian? ALMOND Her husband never knew about it. She’d like to keep it that way. She only told me because I’m a minister. You did that on purpose. BACKSTROM Did she admit giving him the silver soda pop? MOTO Who’s the she now? ALMOND The lawyer, and she didn’t. But I’d appreciate you not using my sacred calling this way in the future. BACKSTROM Why? God doesn’t want you solving crimes? Drive. AMY GAZANIAN Good morning. BACKSTROM Oh my God, will you stop chasing me? AMY GAZANIAN Not until you complete your testimony on Visser. BACKSTROM I would except, and Gravely will back me up, we are hot on the trail of a... AMY GAZANIAN Everett, you have a tell. It’s not subtle. When you’re guilty, you avoid. You’re avoiding. BACKSTROM Is this about the time I borrowed twenty bucks from your purse without telling you? AMY GAZANIAN Yes, Everett. You got me. AMY GAZANIAN Good. Come in and pay the rest of your debts or I’ll have to ask the Chief to suspend you for not answering a summons. PAQUET It sounds good to me. MOTO But I didn’t see it with my own eyes. It’s not my own words! PAQUET So make it your own. PAQUET Backstrom is your superior, yes? MOTO Yeah. PAQUET Then you do what he tells you to do. What is the problem? MOTO I guess, when you put it like that... I just hope you’re right. PAQUET I am always right. You’re welcome. MOTO Hey. ALMOND You heard my sermon. Eighth Commandment tells you, “You shall not bear false witness.” What Backstrom’s asking you to do... It’s perjury. MOTO Niedermayer says the truth is the truth, whether I saw it or not. ALMOND The Bible versus Niedermayer. No contest. There are better ways to get out of that uniform. MOTO Tell me one. ALMOND Do good work. Don’t complain. Take your responsibilities seriously. MOTO I’ve done that! It got me nowhere. This is my chance now. ALMOND This isn’t a chance, Moto. It’s a temptation. Big difference. PAQUET The victim’s computer has software to track her blog visitors. I’ve selected the repeaters and identified their IP addresses. GRAVELY How do you connect an IP address to a person? PAQUET You need a few hundred warrants. BACKSTROM Next! PAQUET I have also been tracking Jenna’s bling. It was first auctioned in New York in nineteen seventy eight, after Ms. Crawford's death, and again in nineteen ninety two in Miami, when bids topped twenty thousand grand. BACKSTROM Why would the Gay Holy Grail leave Miami Beach for a town that’s half heterosapien? PAQUET The legitimate auction trail is cold. Rumors say it circulated in the Portland black market this year. AUCTIONEER The next item up for auction: nine hundred count toddler baseball caps. Cotton poly blend. VALENTINE If you’re gonna stay, you have to be quiet and keep your hands down. BACKSTROM That silver soda phallus is the most likely motive for Jason Jenna’s murder. AUCTIONEER One hundred. Do I hear one hundred? BACKSTROM Two fifty! VALENTINE Stop it! I don’t want baby hats BACKSTROM It was on the black market. Nothing is on the black market without you knowing about it. hundred on the hats! VALENTINE I bought the soda for a steal. I had a buyer, some old queen, but instead I gave it to Jason. BACKSTROM Gave it to him? Were you in love? VALENTINE In love? C’mon! How long have you known me? BACKSTROM This qualifies as one of those things I need to know. VALENTINE I was doing a favor for a very powerful but closeted friend who Jason... BACKSTROM Black as in Afro American? PAQUET Black as in the illegal sales of stolen property. GRAVELY What was that? BACKSTROM ... insert verb here. VALENTINE That’s funny because “insert” happens to be the exact verb. Jason got the bottle, my friend got silence, everybody’s happy. BACKSTROM The old queen... he the type who’d kill to get what he wants? VALENTINE You tell me, you already talked to him. All that’s gonna cost you another hundred bucks. AUCTIONEER Hats sold, to number one eight six! COMMITTEE MEMBER Officer Moto? KETTERING I was binge watching the second season of Homeland the day Jenna was killed. BACKSTROM But you were waiting for the silver bottle, right? “Bye bye bling, sad face, happy face.” KETTERING Yeah.I was gonna buy it. I never had the chance. BACKSTROM A gun registered in your name is the same caliber weapon that killed Jason Rose. KETTERING I’m from Idaho! Everybody hunts, even men in dresses. BACKSTROM I’m you. I can get the bottle for free. KETTERING Then why would I tell you she was coming over in the first place? I didn’t do anything. BACKSTROM You taught Jenna how to dress like a girl. KETTERING She was my protégé. BACKSTROM You don’t look anything like an actual female. Jenna was gorgeous.The student surpassed the master. KETTERING Yeah. ‘Cause this rich Japanese lawyer bitch took her shopping all the time. KETTERING Shut up! BACKSTROM I’m an angry, hirsute Buffalo Bob, too ugly for the in crowd, no matter how much money I’m willing to spend DR DEB To minimize an esophageal edema, you will receive an anti corticosteroid inhaler. Which means that when the Chief asks if I prescribed you an inhaler... BACKSTROM ... you’ll tell her the truth. Thanks, Deb. BACKSTROM Did I have a heart attack? Am I gonna die? DR DEB Chest pain, racing heart, a feeling of impending doom. DR DEB What you have been experiencing is called a panic attack. BACKSTROM The body makes a decision? DR DEB Exactly. I beg of you, Backstrom. Change your ways. Reform. Start with telling the truth about what happened when you shot Visser. BACKSTROM You can’t talk about that. It’s patient confidentiality. DR DEB I can talk about it to you as your doctor. If you go in and tell the truth just once you will find a huge burden will be lifted. BACKSTROM I’ll lose my job. DR DEB It’s just a job. BACKSTROM The Oversight Committee. DR DEB I can give you a pass for today with the caveat that you go home and carefully consider BACKSTROM Nah. Maybe these bruises will buy me some sympathy. GRAVELY You’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer. DR DEB To minimize an esophageal edema, you will receive an anti corticosteroid inhaler. Which means that when the Chief asks if I prescribed you an inhaler... BACKSTROM ... you’ll tell her the truth. Thanks, Deb. BACKSTROM Did I have a heart attack? Am I gonna die? DR DEB Chest pain, racing heart, a feeling of impending doom. DR DEB What you have been experiencing is called a panic attack. BACKSTROM The body makes a decision? DR DEB Exactly. I beg of you, Backstrom. Change your ways. Reform. Start with telling the truth about what happened when you shot Visser. BACKSTROM You can’t talk about that. It’s patient confidentiality. DR DEB I can talk about it to you as your doctor. If you go in and tell the truth just once you will find a huge burden will be lifted. BACKSTROM I’ll lose my job. DR DEB It’s just a job. BACKSTROM The Oversight Committee. DR DEB I can give you a pass for today with the caveat that you go home and carefully consider BACKSTROM Nah. Maybe these bruises will buy me some sympathy. PAQUET Lieutenant— BACKSTROM I have to— PAQUET You were right. BACKSTROM About what? PAQUET Sometimes you said the victim was hated for being gay, other times you said he was hunted for a robbery.Turns out he was both. One IP address began to show up on the victim’s blog only recently three days before death, but over one hundred times. BACKSTROM A stalker, tracking over shares. “Bye bye, bling.” PAQUET It’s a man named Wayne Combs. Ex military, served a five year sentence for assaulting a gay soldier. BACKSTROM Tell Gravely to bring him in. I gotta take care of Civilian Oversight. PAQUET Okay. Good luck with that. BACKSTROM Dr. Deb says I should tell the truth. PAQUET Doctors are for sore throats and sniffles. This is real life. AMY GAZANIAN Thank you for coming in. I understand you were injured in the line of duty today? BACKSTROM I’m fine. I’m ready. What do you want to know? AMY GAZANIAN Our investigation is closed. BACKSTROM I don’t even get to explain my side of the story? AMY GAZANIAN Officer Frank Moto stepped forward with an eyewitness account, which corroborates your official statement. The Committee thanks you for your time. AMY GAZANIAN Were you actually about to tell us the truth? BACKSTROM The moment has passed, we will never know. AMY GAZANIAN You’ll be in front of the Committee again. Take care of yourself, Everett. BACKSTROM Amy? She hears something in his voice that turns her around BACKSTROM You know I never killed anybody before. I promise you, God’s truth, the shooting was justified. AMY GAZANIAN Everett, I’d like to believe you’re telling me the truth but one thing I’ve learned over the years is that you don’t really do that. BACKSTROM I can tell the truth just as well as you can. She nods, knowing they are about to embark on the cutting but playful exchange that reveals the dark humored simpatico these two had in the first place BACKSTROM You haven’t aged well. AMY GAZANIAN You were ten times better looking fifteen years ago. BACKSTROM Your rack looks like two tennis balls dropped in a pair of sweat socks. AMY GAZANIAN Your brother slipped me the tongue at your grandma’s funeral! BACKSTROM I was the one who bet him you’d go for it. AMY GAZANIAN Ha! Gotcha. Total lie. You’d never dare another man to take a run at me. Never. I can always tell when you’re lying. BACKSTROM The shooting was justified. I maybe mucked it up after but it was one hundred percent justified. GAZANIAN It’s a nightmare seeing me again. It opened up a whole box of awful for you. Am I right? BACKSTROM Absolutely not. ALMOND Wayne Combs. Red blooded cowboy type. Strong and silent. GRAVELY The bullet recovered from the dashboard of Jenna’s car matches the rifle we found at his place. BACKSTROM I’m a latent homosexual hillbilly and I find a boy on the Internet who’s prettier than a real girl BACKSTROM Now I’m going to prison for life. Might change my whole take on man sex. WAYNE COMBS I’m a soldier.Fire team leader, Operation Desert Storm. I been in worse kinds of hell than you can imagine. BACKSTROM I’m you. A good soldier. A good planner. Careful BACKSTROM I have it all worked out. Location. Lines of fire.Target. Objective. BACKSTROM I knew that bottle would be in that car and I wanted it. I’d kill the girl to get it, too. WAYNE COMBS She wasn’t a girl. BACKSTROM Because I’d never kill a girl... WAYNE COMBS That’s right. BACKSTROM Meaning, you knew it was a boy. Boy like that deserves killing. WAYNE COMBS You said it, not me. BACKSTROM You winged her. She crashed. And she ran. BACKSTROM If this was really about the soda bottle, you wouldn’t have bothered to chase her. BACKSTROM Meaning the bottle was payment. The point was to kill Jason.Why? I’m you.I have no grudge against her. BACKSTROM I suggest you talk to a lawyer. WAYNE COMBS Why? BACKSTROM Because a lawyer will advise you to tell us who hired you to kill Jenna Rose. That way you can avoid execution. BACKSTROM Just give me a sign. This guy? WAYNE COMBS No. BACKSTROM Him? WAYNE COMBS No. WAYNE COMBS No. GRAVELY Who then? You’re Jenna Rose. Who wants you dead? BACKSTROM This guy wants me dead. It’s him. Right, Wayne? BACKSTROM You gotta say it. WAYNE COMBS That’s the man who hired me to kill Jenna Rose. GRAVELY Henry Han? You’re under arrest for the murder of Jason Rose. BACKSTROM She lives in another world, nothing to do with me. This wasn’t a robbery.It was an assassination. You were hired to kill her. ALMOND You perjured yourself. MOTO I called it as I saw it. ALMOND Then you did not see the situation clearly. MOTO The situation I see is the Lieutenant catches bad guys. ALMOND He catches bad guys by putting himself in their heads. You know why he can do that? MOTO He’s a bad guy. But he catches worse guys and that’s a high calling ALMOND I wouldn’t say Backstrom’s a bad guy. But the man should come with a warning because he’s not exactly a good guy either. MOTO Being good isn’t about following rules, Detective. We’re all still here. Because of me. We pulled a murderer off the street because of me. And all our old cases are back on the books because of me. ALMOND Your intentions are good— MOTO No, no. I’m talking about my actions. Someday you’re gonna wonder if you can count on me, and now you know, you can. VALENTINE What are you doing? Cocaine? ALMOND I already knew that. The Lieutenant makes his own choices. You have to make your own choices too, not just follow in his steps.That goes for all of us. YOUNG WOMAN We’re so happy the cops finally found the killer. I mean, it was the scariest thing. VALENTINE Thank you thank you thank you! Talk about a charm. This thing is black magic. Ask me how lucky I got tonight. Ask me. Ask me! BACKSTROM Quiet. I’m doing Serenity. VALENTINE Oh, I see. Dragon breathing BACKSTROM Do you ever dress like a woman? VALENTINE That’s the thought you can’t fight when you meditate? Me in a dress? BACKSTROM How do you look, as a girl? VALENTINE I’m a beauty. Cheekbones and attitude. BACKSTROM The body makes a decision the conscious mind refuses. VALENTINE I’m glad you caught Jason’s murderer. He was a really good guy. And girl. BACKSTROM Show your thanks by giving me my share of that thing when you sell it. VALENTINE What if I don’t want to sell it? BACKSTROM I’m you. Eventually I get tired of everything and everybody and sell them out at a profit. VALENTINE You have the same disease. BACKSTROM Everyone does.