[insects chittering]
[car approaching]
[brakes squeaking]
Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
[car doors open, close]
[dog barking]
[whispering] Someone's home.
Supposed to be on vacation.
Fuck it, we're here now.
- What are you doing in my house? - [Wendy] Kyle?
- Dad. Mom! - Go.
[siren chirps]
[helicopter whirring]
House smelled of death the second we opened the door.
The rook is still in the bathroom coughing up lunch.
I don't know if it's about these two or about the kid.
What kid?
I thought he was dead until he took a breath.
The paramedics have him.
Hey, I hear you're leaving the department.
Is that true, Joe?
Yeah.
Man, you're not even 50.
What, you hit the lottery or something?
Sometimes you just know.
You should... should go canvass.
[siren wailing]
[reporter on TV] A man in Larchmont took his dog
on their normal morning stroll, something he'd done for years.
Only this time he found himself being drawn into
what can only be called a very gruesome scene.
On his walk, the man noticed
that Nicholas and Wendy Gervich's front door
was left partially open.
Being friends with the owners of the home,
he decided to investigate.
Once inside, he found two people murdered
and their son brutally beaten.
- Damn shame. - While we can only speculate
what really happened in this house last night...
- [Drew] San Diego? - No.
Heard about that.
- Damn shame. - That's what I said.
[chuckling]
You still back there watching the game?
Well, the Padres lost. I got caught watching the news.
- Lloyd, you know nothing good comes from the news. - [Lloyd] That's right.
- I have to get this ready before Marcus gets here. - [doorbell rings]
- [door opens] - [Anthony] Hey, hey, hey.
- Hey, family. - Ha! What's up, Drew?
- [Drew] What's going on? - Look at you, boy. You looking good.
- No, no, you looking better. - Okay, I'll take that.
- What's up, gorgeous? - [Tisha] Hey, bro.
- Come here. Come on, now. - Which way we gonna go?
- How are you doing? - [Drew] Good to see you.
Pastor, I'm sure I can find that scripture for you no problem. Okay?
All right, bye.
[all chattering]
- Hey, how are you doing? - Who were you talking to, the pastor?
- Apparently. - [Drew] What's up, bro?
What's up, man? What's up, Dad?
- Hey, son. - How you feeling?
I'm all right.
- Hey, baby. - What's up, Mom?
- I'm good. - Hey, Terry.
[Terry] The food looks good.
- What's up, Tisha? - How are you?
Lloyd, Marcus is gonna be late for his own party.
Has anybody talked to Marcus?
[Anne] Four years sober.
I just keep waiting for it to slip away.
- [phone buzzing] - But I keep reminding myself
to stay focused
on my greatest good.
[people clapping]
Marcus, would you like to join in?
Uh, sure.
You all know I've had trouble staying sober.
Um...
but I think I finally found a reason to pull through.
That's good, Marcus.
Would you care to let us know the reason?
- I got a new job. - Oh.
Yeah, my dad got me this great new job.
I'm gonna be driving buses for the city.
So hopefully, I'll get my shit together.
[chuckles]
[line ringing]
Uh, hey, Wanda, it's Eva returning your call.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Hey.
[door closes]
Yo, Marcus. Hey, where were you, man?
- You know. - Oh, that's right. All right. Got you.
Eva. Hey, how you doing?
- Uh, Tisha's in here waiting on you. - [Eva] Got to go.
- Okay. - [Anthony] She's a nurse over at the Cathedral.
Tish and she are good friends. They're good friends together.
- Mm-hmm. - Eva, this is Marcus.
Marcus, this is Eva.
- Hi. - Hey.
No, no, this is the brother. This is the brother that Tish was telling you about.
Oh, uh, Tisha just said I was here for dinner.
- She did? - Mm-hmm.
Okay, come on in. Food... Food's ready. It's hot.
It's ready.
- Now, Eva? - Mm-hmm?
Can you do me a favor? Can you not tell Tish
about this moment that we just had out here?
Oh, I'm gonna get you in trouble.
[chuckles]
Thank you.
[all laughing, chattering]
[laughing, chattering continues]
- She's really nice. - [sports chatter on TV]
And Tish told me that she invited her here to meet you.
But yet here you are in a room full of men that you already know.
Uh, can y'all tell your mother to mind her business?
Uh, excuse me, son. You are my business.
You're my baby.
So does anybody want to help with the dishes?
Nobody? Really?
Pop?
- [Lloyd] Hey, Marcus. - Yeah?
Would you please get your old daddy a beer?
Oh, my goodness, you too, Pop?
Yeah, Marcus. Get your dad a beer.
[chattering]
- [Lloyd] Be cool. - [chuckles]
What's up, y'all?
Hey.
[Marcus] Oh, man, that food was good.
[clears throat]
You know what? Let me go see if I can find some more dishes, okay?
[Eva] Mm-hmm.
You have a good time tonight?
Yeah, I did.
- My mama can burn. - Mm-hmm.
[Marcus] You?
So you're starting a new job tomorrow.
You nervous?
Little bit, yeah.
Some advice?
Try not to think about failing.
Just let things flow.
Hey, yo, Terry.
[Terry] Huh?
Terry!
[Terry] Coming, coming, coming. [grunts]
Hey, give that to Pop. I'm, uh, gonna help out with the dishes.
You don't do dishes.
Dry-snitching. You must be the baby brother.
I like her.
- Oh, yeah, I'm... - [Eva chuckles]
[both clear throat]
You know, for the record,
I don't have anything to do with the whole set-up thing.
- Blind date... - I can tell.
- You've been avoiding me all night. - No, I wasn't avoiding you.
I just didn't want you to feel pressured.
I appreciate that.
That's the worst feeling.
You being pressured?
Yeah, I feel like that all the time.
By who?
Me.
Tish, um, had a lot of nice things to say about you.
I should have figured something was up.
Tish talks a lot.
She does.
[both laugh]
Yeah.
Did Tish tell you anything about me?
I mean, no. Like I said, you were a complete surprise.
Did she tell you anything about me?
Life's been hard for you, but you keep trying.
I lost my two oldest brothers to LA life.
One to drugs, the other to gang violence.
- I'm sorry to hear that. - Mmm.
I kind of gave up on brothers
who were trying to get themselves together,
until I realized we're all trying to get ourselves together.
I haven't dated in a while.
It's hard when you nurse,
and I want to find a good brother.
And now I sound desperate.
- So now I'm shutting up. [chuckles] - No, you...
[chuckles]
Let me ask you something.
Are you always this honest?
Surprises are for birthdays and Christmas.
Not when you're trying to get to know someone.
Hmm.
Go.
So, uh, I guess this is good night.
Or this is when you ask me for my number.
555-6433.
Tish gave it to me when we were...
She texted it to me when we were cleaning up the kitchen.
Of course she did.
- Yeah. Told you she got a big mouth. - Yup.
You should use it.
Yes, ma'am.
- I should go. Mm-hmm. - All right.
- Hey, get home safe. - I will.
- Bye-bye. - Good night.
Good night.
[door opens]
I can drive, man.
Let me drive. You're drunk off your ass.
- I'm gonna get him home. - You're gonna take him?
Yup, I got it. I got it, Pop.
No, no, you're going with Marcus.
- Here you go. - All right then, you got him?
- Yup, I got him. - Love y'all.
It ain't cool getting drunk like that in front of Marcus.
- All right. I love you, Pop. - It's all good.
- Mm-hmm, you too. - Goddamn.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Don't throw up on my walkway.
Uh-uh, uh-uh.
- I love you, man. - Hey, I love you too.
You're not here much, are you?
[sighs]
I stay at Rhea's most of the time.
She won't stay here.
You should try cleaning up every now and then.
You feeling good about yourself, huh? [grunts]
- Yeah, I guess. - Hmm.
You're sober. You got a job.
Shit is looking up, man.
- You're sounding jealous. - [chuckles]
I guess Mama praying to Jesus and his cousins finally worked.
You know, you like a cat.
Black cat. [chuckles]
You got nine goddamn lives.
You ain't happy for me?
Marcus, sit down.
I think if I keep looking up, I'ma throw up.
You know...
it's like you and I traded places.
I lost my job, man.
The gas company? That job's for life.
Corporate bullshit.
Me and some folks got caught in the middle.
It's been a few months now.
You'll come through.
I gotta do more than come through.
Rhea broke up with me.
Drew Jr. needs books for college, man.
These bills, they're coming out of my ass right now.
You know, like, shit is real rough right now.
Like for real, this shit is rough.
Look.
I'ma be honest,
nobody really liked Rhea anyway.
So you might have made out on that one.
[both chuckle]
As soon as I get paid, I'll hit you up with some money.
When you get paid,
you're gonna have your fair share of people to pay back.
[both laughing]
- That don't mean I can't help you. - Oh, there you go.
[chattering on TV]
Reggie Jackson.
Hank Aaron?
Damn, you got a Derek Jeter rookie card?
Where you get these? You got these for Daddy?
'Cause he's gonna lose his shit.
I'm holding them for Stacy.
Stacy-and-Al Stacy?
Drew, you know those cats are trouble. They always have been.
Man, they ain't never did wrong by me.
Helped me out a time or two.
Some crackhead walked into the barbershop
and sold it to him for pennies.
He googled some of 'em.
Saw that they was worth something.
He didn't wanna keep 'em at the shop.
Worth a lot?
Oh, yeah. Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Man, I'm just helping him out, bro.
This ain't nothing.
You're helping out somebody you need to stay away from.
It's my first day tomorrow. I don't want to screw it up.
You good, bro?
Yeah. Yeah, I'll be all right.
Mmm.
Hey, Marcus?
You gonna holla at that ol' girl?
Eva.
You see how fine she is?
- I ain't letting that slip by. - [chuckles]
Love you, big bro.
All right, I love you too, man.
Mmm, shit.
[door closes]
[sighs]
[alarm ringing]
[grunts]
[groans]
[alarm stops]
[sighs]
[brakes squeaking]
[no audible dialogue]
[phone chimes]
[Marcus] All right, let me get this straight.
You honestly want me to believe
that you haven't dated anybody in two years?
Mm-hmm.
The last dude was just as bad as the last dude before him.
I was tired of last dudes.
[laughs] Damn. That's funny.
When was the last time for you?
What you mean, dating somebody?
"What you mean, dating somebody?
I mean, I had some things with some women and..."
[both laugh]
All right, look. Since you're being honest,
I'ma be honest and just let you know. I'ma confess.
- Okay. - All right.
- I'm... I'm a born-again virgin. - [laughs]
I'm as clean as the driven snow. Seriously.
There is no such thing.
- Hi, y'all good? - Yeah, everything's good.
- May I have some more water, please? - Yes, yes.
Thank you.
Can I ask... y'all celebrating something?
Why do you ask that?
Because the vibe between you two is strong.
It's... You both seem in love, in a good place.
I'll be back.
- The vibes. - The vibes.
- Look, it's a vibe. - It's a vibe.
- Yeah, but you know what? She's way off. - [laughs]
Because my girl, she's gotta be rich
and have one of them big ol' Megan Thee Stallion booties.
- 'Cause my virginity don't come cheap. - Okay.
- You know what I'm saying? - Mm-hmm.
And you ain't rich, so, hey.
So, hey. You been looking at my booty.
I made sure you were the right person, that's all.
- That's all it was. - You're so stupid.
Shit, let me check that shit out again.
[phone buzzing]
[buzzing continues]
[R&B music playing softly on speakers]
[grunts]
[Marcus] Good morning.
Morning.
I made breakfast.
I see. It looks good. What you want?
Why I gotta want something?
'Cause normally you break off some eggs, some toast maybe.
- But this? - It's breakfast.
That's all.
Okay.
Can we go dancing this weekend?
- My friend's having a party and... - I knew you wanted something.
You know I can't dance, E.
You gonna have me looking like a damn fool with two left feet.
Come on. You can't say no to someone who cooks for you and loves...
likes you.
[chattering on TV]
[sighs]
I... I'm sorry... I...
Normally, when a woman says that type of shit to me,
- I pull away. - Marcus,
I know that maybe that was a little premature...
My brothers are the only people with a key to my house.
And I'm tired of you waking me up to let you in after you get off work.
I want you to know that I want you here.
If I take this, you ain't getting rid of me.
That is the point.
[sighs]
I love you.
I guess that means we're going dancing this weekend.
Oh, no, it don't.
[laughing]
[reporter on TV] Tonight, we'll investigate
the still-unsolved Gervich murders.
A son survives, and the question...
Did you hear about this?
Poor kid comes out of a coma after three months.
His parents were killed.
[reporter 2 on TV] Kyle, you survived a horrendous event.
These nightmares you're having, are they about the attack?
In my dreams,
I still see my dad.
[Kyle sighs]
We're...
collecting baseball cards again like we used to.
[reporter 2] A tragic attack on an innocent family
leads to heartbreak in the aftermath.
Kyle Gervich, the survivor of a home invasion,
remembers his father and mother, who were shot and killed.
Tonight at 10:00, Vernon Nelson will bring you an interview...
[Eva] It's a damn shame something like that could happen.
Ugh, I'm gonna be late, you're gonna be late.
We'll talk about dancing when you get home tonight.
I love you too.
[door opens, closes]
[no audible dialogue]
[Stacy] She wrote that tell-all on who she slept with,
who she was making bread off of.
That's when she crossed the line.
Hey, look, you're sucking dudes off, just shut the fuck up.
That's what I'm saying. She had to make sure that that paper was right.
She just better be glad that it wasn't me she was talking about.
Bitch, you better be glad.
Definitely better be glad that it wasn't you.
'Cause if it was, she would've had him stuck up...
[all laughing]
Hey, yo, Al here is a captain of the save-a-ho industry.
- [Marcus] Yo, what up? - [Drew] Stupid, bro, stupid.
- What up, bro? - What's up, D?
Oh, shit, you in trouble, D.
Nah, nah, it ain't like that.
But, D, let me holla at you real quick.
Cop a seat, bro.
Nah, nah, nah. It's about Ant. Right quick.
Yo, bro, everything all right?
Yo, what happened with Ant?
Nothing. I just ain't wanna talk in front of them.
Yo, you still got them baseball cards?
If you're thinking about talking me into
giving them cards to Pop, I can't do that.
They were stolen.
- Hey man, how you know that? - It was on the news.
The parents were murdered. The boy survived.
They showed a picture of him and his father
holding that binder I saw at your crib.
- That can't be right, Marcus. - I saw it with my own eyes, D.
If you still got 'em, you need to give 'em back to Stacy
and stay the fuck away from those two before shit goes left.
The cops ain't gonna know that they came from Stacy.
- Stacy got the cards from the... - From the crackhead, I get it.
But if they start looking for him, it could lead back to Stacy.
How you know Stacy ain't lying about where he got the cards from in the first place?
- What makes you think that Stacy lying, bro? - Come on, man.
Al's been a stickup kid since I was a shorty.
And Stacy's still in the drug game even though he got the barber shop.
Wow. You can straighten up, but they can't?
Somebody ran up in them white folks' house
and murdered the mother, murdered the father,
and beat that little boy with a goddamn baseball bat.
And those cards are connected to that family.
Y'all looking kind of heated over there.
All good?
[Drew] Yeah, everything's good, bro.
[laughs]
Yo, I heard you. All right, man.
- All right. - [Drew] Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
- I love you. All right. - I love you too.
Yup, appreciate that.
[chuckles]
Stacy hook you up? You need it.
Nah, I'm good.
[Al] Get that old-man beard looking all tight.
You sure, bro?
[line ringing]
[Anthony] Hello.
Yo, what's up? It's Marcus.
Hey, what's up, big bro?
You been talking to Drew?
Okay, you know what, I can tell by your tone
you know he's in deep trouble.
Nobody wanted to say anything to you
because of everything you've been going through, so...
He ain't been doing nothing stupid, has he?
Nah.
Me and Terry, we just been kicking him a little money.
It's not much money, but it's enough to keep him afloat.
And he seems like he's good?
You know he likes to keep things inside.
But it doesn't seem like there's something deep going on.
Why you ask?
Look, um... Ah, it's just, uh...
I'm just a little worried about him is all, you know.
Everybody's always so focused on me, and...
Well, luckily, he's not as off-the-chain as you used to be either.
- [laughing] - Right?
Yeah.
Should we be worried?
Nah, nah, nah. I just wanted to check in.
Make sure everything is, you know...
- You sure? - Yeah.
How are you and Eva?
- Eva's good. - Eva's good?
- Yeah. - [laughing]
Well, y'all two should come by the crib sometime for some dinner.
Just us and the ladies.
- We could do that. - All right.
- All right, man. - All right, man. Love you.
Love you too, bro.
[music playing on radio]
[music stops]
[car door opens]
What's up, D?
What up?
So you think that was a smart move?
Asking me if shit is bad
around niggas that you think may have it bad for me?
I need you to know how serious this is.
Look, man, I know you being sober and all gave you a conscience...
Going to jail gave me a conscience. Being sober means I live with it.
Drew, just go online and pull up the news segment.
If Stacy did what you said, Marcus,
remember this is Al and Stacy that we talking about.
- I know. - If I give those cards back,
they're gonna think that I can't be trusted.
Then what?
You remember what happened to Bob Cat?
They never found him.
If you think they did that,
then let the police deal with it.
Don't fuck around and get us caught up in something, man?
All right?
Come on, man. [chuckles]
Mm-hmm.
You look good, bro.
- You still can't play ball. - [chuckles]
So your girl dresses you now, huh? [chuckles]
[Vernon] And what I've heard from every neighbor that we've spoken to,
is that this was a loving family.
A family that would do whatever they could
to help people in need. And they did not deserve this tragic, brutal end.
[Rick] Any idea if the police are close on any suspects?
[Vernon] That's the sad part, Rick.
There was no trace of evidence left behind,
which makes the police think these were cold, calculated invaders
who may have done this before.
There's hope that someone will stop these criminals
before they kill again.
Reporting live, I'm Vernon Nelson for KRAC.
God, what a terrible position to be put in.
To snitch?
Yeah.
Would you be good knowing someone
who might have been involved?
I hope I ain't ever put in that situation.
Would you?
How you doing? Um, I have information on the Gervich home invasion.
[no audible dialogue]
Tell Nate I'm gonna let them sit for the night. Give them something to think about.
- Copy that. - [engine starts]
[siren wailing]
[helicopter whirring]
[Marcus] Hey, man.
Leave that other team alone, the purple and gold.
All right? That's the way.
[phone buzzing]
Hey, what up, D?
[Drew] Yo, Al and Stacy got arrested.
- Really? - I need to know that they ain't being taken in
because of you.
Me? You said I was overreacting, so I fell back.
All right.
All right, man.
Why'd you keep me here overnight, Officer Blue Over Black?
So why'd you keep me overnight?
You ever watch reality cop shows on TV?
[sighs, blows raspberry]
We separate you. Then we ask questions.
Then we shake you up to see if the answers jibe.
At least you started with the truth.
Good, your turn.
I want you to think back maybe three months ago.
Tell me your whereabouts three months ago
- on the night of the 16th. - Hmm.
My guess, Chops.
Chops.
You know, try to have a few drinks,
hang out with the ladies.
But I do remember it was crowded that night.
So we, um, probably took off maybe 11:30?
Actually, maybe like 11:00, 11:15?
You were in a club all night?
[Al] In and out. You know,
some of the ladies like to hang out outside.
Do all their, like, videos and shit.
What'd you think a handsome cat gonna do?
I'ma be in and out. [laughs]
[Al] Um, but I don't know, man.
I don't really remember. It was a while ago.
Three months?
Had a few drinks...
[Al] And we usually go as a crew.
And we usually run into a bunch of people we know.
We always bump into folks that we know.
And for some reason, we didn't bump into anybody we know that night.
- [Al] Nobody was there. - Hmm.
So we bounced early. I had to work.
I had to start cutting early the next morning.
Got out of there like... what did I say before?
11:30, 11:15? Something like that.
You work at Dillaman's Department Store.
What gave it away?
Mr. Gervich ate at Dillaman's Café a lot.
He valeted when he did. He left his tickets in his door panel.
I don't know that, man.
I don't go to Al's job. I got my own shit.
Look, man. A lot of people eat lunch at Dillaman's.
Lunch time is a very busy time.
And even if I did see that dude, I wouldn't remember him.
I see a lot of faces in there.
So you don't know him?
[Al] I don't know him.
And you don't know me
unless you been to Chops.
[Joe] So it was just you and Stacy at Chops that night?
[Al] Nah, it was me, Stacy, and Drew Cowans.
He can vouch for us. He's here, right?
- [Anthony] Got it. Yeah. - [Terry] Got it?
[Lloyd] Hey, you guys wanna head over to the Advent with me tonight?
Hear what kind of lies Andrew is gonna be telling?
The worst ever. The absolute worst.
If it wasn't for him, I'd have never met your mama.
Really?
You think Marcus might wanna come?
No, no. Marcus is all cuddled up, Dad.
- All cuddled up. - Mmm.
- He good. - Yeah?
- Yes, sir. - Yes.
Good, good, about time he found some peace of mind.
- [both] "Peace of mind." - [knocking on door]
- [laughing] - Mm-hmm.
Looking for Drew Cowans.
Detective Joe McDonald, LAPD.
I'm his father.
Nice to meet you.
Just need to ask him a few questions
about Al Edwards and Stacy Griffin.
- Why? - And you are?
I'm his older brother. Why are you at this house?
[Joe] This is the address he put down for his, uh, former job.
Former?
He hasn't worked in six months.
[hip-hop playing in car]
[Lloyd] That's my son.
Yeah, but before you put a hand on him,
you need to tell me what your gonna speak to him about.
- All right. - No, hey.
- Hey. - You need to tell me
- what you gonna speak to him about. - Daddy, what's going on?
[Lloyd] Drew, these men are here to talk to you.
- Drew Cowans, you're under arrest. - Under arrest?
Your friends Al and Stacy implicated you
in an investigation regarding a home invasion
- that occurred about three months ago. - A home invasion?
What the fuck you talking about? Get off me! Daddy!
- [Lloyd] I got it. Don't worry. - Daddy, I ain't do nothing!
I know you didn't. What are you talking about? A home invasion?
- The Gervich family. - The Gervich family, you mean
that husband and wife that got killed
- and the little boy survived? - [Joe] Yes, sir.
My son didn't have nothing to do with that.
My son didn't have anything to do with that!
[officer] Calm down!
I'll call your mother. I'm going to call your...
Dad, Dad!
If you kill my fucking daddy, I swear...
I swear to fucking God!
- Get off me, man! - Get an ambulance here now.
[Drew] Open the fucking door!
[Joe] Let him down. Put him down.
Get the fuck out of here, man.
What happened?
Cops came to the house looking for Drew.
It's about that murder.
That, um, that fucking home invasion.
Drew's a suspect?
[Terry] It was Al and Stacy.
They must have lied about something
that got Drew brought in.
Drew's in custody.
Where's Mama?
She's in there with Daddy.
Look, why don't you be with your brothers?
I'll check in with you later, okay?
Marcus, you know anything about how Drew got caught up in all this shit?
Hanging with Al and Stacy.
Hanging with someone isn't a good enough reason
- to bring him in for murder, Marcus. - Okay.
Watch it, we're here for Dad.
- It's Drew. - Look, look.
Look, why don't you all both go home, get some sleep,
I'll stay with Mama the rest of the night.
- Are you sure? - I'll let you know if anything changes.
- Bro, I can stay here with you. - No, I got it. Get some rest.
Love you too.
[whispering indistinctly]
[monitor beeping]
[beeping continues]
Hey, boy.
Hey, Pop.
How you feeling?
Yeah, had my ticker attack.
[chuckles]
It's funny how
all the beating up my body took
when I was working at the post office...
never thought that I'd get laid out
just 'cause a policeman come to the door.
Hey, man. What you gonna do?
- You just getting old. - Ain't nobody old.
I don't know what you're talking about.
[chuckles] Where's your mama at?
She's right over there sleeping.
[Della] No, I ain't.
I can hear you fools.
[grunts]
So y'all hear, uh, anything about Drew?
No, ma'am, not yet.
"Della, I ain't gonna let nothing stress me out."
You old lying ass.
[both laughing]
Look, you old man. Since Marcus is here,
- I'm gonna go stretch my legs, okay? - Mm-hmm.
[Della] All right. [kisses]
You behave yourself. [chuckles]
[footsteps departing]
[door opens, closes]
Just when we get you out of trouble,
hell's come knocking again.
No, Pop.
You ain't got to worry about none of that.
Yup. I think I'll just rest my eyes a bit.
- Hey, baby. - Hey, Ma.
So is he asking for me already?
- Nah, he fell asleep. - [chuckles]
- How are you holding up? - [sighs]
Oh, baby, I'm tired.
I just can't believe that
Drew got pulled into this.
I mean, that he got dragged into this bullshit.
I know, it's...
It's crazy.
Ma, I got something to tell you.
Okay.
I need you to hear me out, okay?
All right.
All right, you remember the story about
that family that got killed in that home invasion?
Yeah, it was on the news.
This is gonna sound crazy, but...
So, I saw their son on TV,
and he was talking about these stolen baseball cards that his father got for him.
Yeah, Marcus, I know all that. Just get to the point. What?
Now, you remember, uh, the night we were at the house
and Drew got really drunk, right?
Now, that family, I think they got killed
the night before or something like that?
- That's the night I drove Drew home, right? - Mm-hmm, right.
I saw those cards on Drew's coffee table.
Oh, Marcus, are you trying to say
that Drew killed those people?
No, I'm not saying that.
I'm saying I saw those cards on his coffee table.
But listen, he told me that Stacy got the cards
from some crackhead at the barbershop,
and he was giving them to Drew to just hold them for safekeeping.
But I saw those cards.
Baby, I'm sorry, but right now,
with my son in jail and my husband in that hospital room,
I can't wrap my mind around anything that's being said, Marcus.
Just like I didn't want to believe
when everybody said that you killed Tooley.
I don't want to hear this right now.
Good night, Marcus.
- Ma. - Baby.
I said good night, son.
Yes, ma'am.
- I'll call you later. - Okay.
[siren wailing]
[Joe] Okay, so, tell me what you know about these people.
Have you seen them before?
No.
It looks like a beautiful white family.
The parents were murdered.
And...
everybody in here thinks it was somebody Black who did it.
So...
right now, there's a hunt.
Are you comfortable with that?
No, I have no control over that.
Actually, you do.
If you tell me that you were involved
and you tell me that you know who else was involved...
nobody else has to get hurt.
Like I said, I really hope you find who did that to them people.
Okay.
Okay. You can go now.
Well, what about Al and Stacy?
It's 5:00.
I spent spent so much time here with you that I forgot
to tell the guys up front that they could cut 'em loose.
So?
So they're here for the weekend.
Hmm. Because you think they did it.
Because it's an ongoing investigation, Andrew.
Right.
[sighs]
I just never thought I'd end up in an interrogation room.
I don't know bullshit.
This is my brother's territory.
So you're saying you think your brother may have something to do with this?
[no audible dialogue]
[door opens, closes]
[chuckles]
- [Lloyd] You okay? - [Drew] Yeah.
- Huh? - [Drew] Yeah. You all right?
Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
So why'd they keep you overnight?
No idea. Have a seat, Pop.
[Anthony] Yeah, sit down, Daddy.
- You're good? - Yeah, all right. We good. We good.
[grunts]
- Well, they asked me some questions. - Mm-hmm.
- I told them where we were that night. - Mm-hmm.
And then they let me out.
Hmm.
Well...
Della wants to sue the city.
And I agree.
It'll cost us a bit, but we can come up with it.
We would do this one. We'd mortgage the house.
- No, no, no, that's not... - No... Hmm?
That's not necessary, Pop.
We need to focus on you getting your strength back.
Yeah, but come on, Drew, I mean, the only thing
that's gonna really make him better is if we clear your name.
I'm fine. We're fine.
All right?
- All right, boy. - All right, Pop.
Look, this thing's gonna blow over. All right?
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
- Father God, we come to you in the name of Jesus. - [Della] Mm-hmm.
Lord God, we want to thank you for the food that nourishes...
And thank you God, Jesus, thank you for people coming to the end of prayers
when it's time to eat this food on the table.
We thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Amen.
- Thank you, Jesus. I'm just saying. - Baby.
Seriously, man? I mean, y'all do recognize
I'm the one that keeps this family together.
With my good words to the Lord, that's me.
- Why don't you just let me finish my prayer? - It's long.
- It's long? - It's long.
Look here, Daddy's gonna starve.
- That's true. - Okay, so let the church say...
[all] Amen.
Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
[chattering]
All right, Pop. Did the doctors say when you can go home?
They said they've got a couple more tests to run to make sure he's okay,
- but, um, it should be end of the week, right? - Thank you for telling us, Daddy.
- You're welcome. - [Anthony] Why?
Why are you saying when he's right there?
- She asked a question. - [Anthony] Not to you.
I can't with you, bro. I can't with you.
Eva, it sure is good to have you here.
Oh, I'm so glad to be here.
It's been a long time since Marcus brought someone home as nice as you.
I agree.
[all laughing]
I ain't the only one to say it.
Hey, Drew, uh, what time Rhea coming?
- We took a break. - [Della] Mm-hmm. "Break."
She wasn't good enough for you anyway, if you ask me.
Probably called the police to see if she can get the money.
- [laughing] - [Della] Mm-hmm.
[Lloyd] What is it that that woman has ever done
to make you hate her so?
Well, if she was anything like Tish or Loren or Eva,
which she is not,
I wouldn't have a problem with her.
Tish, you gotta do for Drew what you did for Marcus.
- [Lloyd] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. - [Della] Yeah.
Drew, what kind of women you like?
Hey, babe, what you doing? You pimping people out up in this house?
- [Tish] It's not what it is. - I might date Eva.
[all] Uh-oh.
- [Anthony] Shots fired. - [Drew] It's a joke.
It's a joke. It's a joke.
- [chattering on TV] - [Eva] It's good to see your dad getting better.
It is.
[phone chimes]
Who are you avoiding?
Terry wants me to come to Bible study.
I got too many sins for that.
Oh, well. Let me take you to the water.
- Ain't mad at that. - [chuckles]
[phone chimes]
[dishes clattering]
[dog barking in distance]
You ain't got no real cereal, bro?
That is real cereal.
And I need my key back.
I knocked. I called a couple of times
after you left the hospital last night.
You ain't pick up.
Went to bed early.
You don't want to know what happened with me at the police station?
I figured you ain't wanna talk about it.
Nothing happened.
Not a goddamn thing.
And that ain't good.
They let me go early.
But they kept Al and Stacy over the weekend.
[exhales]
You lied, bro.
About what?
You told me you ain't snitch.
Cops said the only reason that they brought me in
is because Al said that the three of us
was together the night of the home invasion.
But they let me out.
Which mean, Marcus,
whoever gave them that information didn't say shit about me.
So if Stacy bought them cards from somebody in the shop,
he tells the truth, this all blows away.
But that ain't going to happen, is it?
Al and Stacy pulled that home invasion.
- I was with them. - Drew!
Man, they talked me into going along with 'em.
Said it would be an in-and-out thing.
That Gervich... he had some money at the crib.
We get there and, uh...
Man, Al goes in there, man, and he shoots up the fucking place.
Fucks up that little kid, man.
I go in there after,
and, uh... [breathes heavily]
...I see the...
I see the husband and wife.
How was I supposed to know they was gonna go in there and kill those people, man?
I'm broke, Marcus.
[sniffles] Man, I've been broke for months.
They said that they'd done this before.
That it was an in-and-out thing, man,
that they rarely hurt anybody.
All I did was drive, Marcus. That's it.
They ain't let me do anything because I'm too new to this shit, man.
Why you let them talk you into doing that, Drew?
Did you make the call?
Man, did you make the call, Marcus?
If I did, it would have been to protect you, Drew.
From getting caught up in Stacy and Al's shit.
Yeah, well, that's what the fuck happened, man.
Go to the cops.
Fuck that.
What you trying to do? Hmm?
You trying to send Dad to the grave?
He barely survived your shit, nigga.
I see you got company.
What up, Eva?
[door opens, closes]
You knew he was involved?
[Eva sighs]
[Pastor Thomas] Let's give God the glory.
[congregation clapping]
Now I planned to talk about family and connection,
and being there for your family,
But I'm sure that after 20-plus years,
you've heard different versions of the same speech over and over again.
So instead, I'm gonna turn the pulpit over
to someone who has served this church well.
Welcome, Assistant Pastor Terry Cowans.
[clapping, cheering]
- Did you know about this? - I did.
[Terry] Thank you, Pastor Thomas.
Good morning, everyone.
[all] Good morning.
- Good morning, family. - [all] Good morning.
- Mama. [chuckles] - Baby.
Today I want to talk about embracing your loved ones...
with the utmost care during trying times.
- [no audible dialogue] - [Terry] Letting your faith lead you and them
when the path in front of you seems to be at its darkest.
Sure, we have angels that protect us.
God's love is always surrounding us.
But who do we protect?
Who are we responsible for?
Fellowship, a family...
coming together when times get hard.
How are we doing this with each other?
[Lloyd] So Terry did good, huh?
Yeah, yeah. [chuckles]
The pastor said he's gonna do another sermon.
Oh. [chuckles]
Oh, I wish I could have seen that.
- I don't. - [Lloyd] Oh, listen to you. Listen to you.
You ain't worth a quarter.
[all laughing]
Now look, um, I need you all to make sure...
you look out for Drew.
You hear?
Don't let this get him down. Okay?
- We'll do what we can. - No, no.
Do everything you can.
Hmm?
Yes, sir.
Marcus Cowans.
Yes?
Detective Joe McDonald. Homicide.
You shouldn't have went to my parents' house.
It's the only address I had for Drew.
So what you doing here?
I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about an anonymous tip
that was called in about the Gervich case.
It's the reason we brought your brother in.
Why you coming to me?
I just told you.
You have any evidence on Drew and his friends?
It's an active investigation, Marcus.
Pick up a piece here, pick up a piece there.
Picking up pieces.
That's the same shit the cops did
when they tried to hit me up in my case.
- Can't trust y'all in these situations. - I understand.
That's why I try to be thorough.
Thorough isn't harassing family members.
Try telling that to the victims' family.
That's a shitty way to try to get info.
Had to take a leap.
Don't take a leap. Solve the case.
[line ringing]
Hi, it's Eva. I can't take your call right now.
But please leave your name, number, and a message.
And I'll call you back as soon as I can. Thank you.
- [phone beeps] - Eva, it's, uh... it's me.
It's been two days. Will you please call me back?
Maybe somebody at your job figured out what you been doing.
It wasn't anyone at my job.
Or my crib, Drew. Do you know why?
'Cause I don't fucking talk to nobody about what Stacy and I do.
No one except for him.
And he ain't saying shit.
So the question is, homeboy...
- Who'd you tell? - Look, man, don't put this shit on me.
We're putting it on someone.
Cops on us. Our names are in front of this.
Maybe this did find its way to us through y'all.
You say that you don't be talking to nobody. Doesn't mean that people
- don't see the shit that you be doing. - Don't nobody be seeing shit, D.
However it got started, this is gonna be a problem.
Then we get rid of the stuff at the house.
Everything.
Jewelry, whatever we found, the cards.
That's a lot of money to just fuck off.
- Versus our lives in prison, which one sounds better? - Let us think about it.
Just, um, chill, till we figure some things out.
We'll hit you.
We need to make a move on this sooner than later.
I'm serious, man. Y'all fucking around. Make moves on this shit, nigga.
You think he told?
I think all this shit started from when Marcus came in here.
And I told your fucking dumbass not to give him those cards.
- Thank you. - See you soon.
See you.
Hey, what's up, Greg? You good? How's everything?
[sighs] Well, thanks for coming, Anthony.
So, um, Mr. Carruthers wanted me to come out and talk to you.
And the old man,
he's got, uh, people in law enforcement,
and they said that your brother got pulled in on that family that was...
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Drew didn't do that.
I mean, yeah, he got pulled in, but...
I'm... I'm confused. What's this have to do with me, though?
Um, Mr. Carruthers is an old guy,
and he thinks about
what other people say and think.
I'm sorry.
Fired me from my fucking job, man.
What...
You know what?
You should sue them motherfuckers.
[chuckles] I ain't got no money
to be trying to sue some rich old white man.
I'm just praying that Drew ain't got shit to do with this.
I mean, I could...
I mean, you think Drew had something to do with this?
- [phone buzzing] - That's your phone.
Okay.
Oh. Hello.
Yes, ma'am.
Ah, good. Okay. Yep, we're on our way.
- Finally some good news. - What's up?
- There he is. - [all laughing]
- Come on, come on with yourself. - There he is!
- What's up, Dad? How you doing? - Hey. What's that?
- You sure look old, Daddy. - Oh, man, ain't nobody talking...
- Good to see you, man. - That's because all y'all driving me crazy.
No, I don't need that. I don't need it.
- You get in it. - [laughing]
- Thank you, man. Appreciate it. - You're welcome.
- I'm all right. - You good?
- Yeah. Your mama get home yet? - No, she's not home yet.
- The game's on though. Yeah. - The game's on?
Well, what we waiting for? Why y'all walking so damn slow?
You the one walking slow.
[sports chatter on TV]
Your mama and I are talking about mortgaging the house.
Get you a lawyer.
Pops. Y'all can get me 12 lawyers.
If the cops think I'm guilty, they're gonna keep coming after me.
The question is, do you think I did it?
No.
That's all that matters then, Pop.
Still smart to get you a lawyer.
Yeah, you see, Marcus got experience with these things.
Need to listen to him.
Pop, you already stressed out from your helping out Marcus.
I don't wanna be a burden.
Since when did you start making decisions for me?
- [sighs] - [Lloyd] Be quiet so we can watch the game.
I got something to do. I'll see y'all later.
- [Anthony] You out? - [Marcus] Yeah.
Be safe.
All right, bro.
[door closes]
Yeah, I'm worried about him too.
He okay?
Yeah, I mean, he got a lot on his mind, but he's good.
He's a lot stronger than he used to be, Dad.
Getting you a lawyer, boy.
Hey, how you doing? Uh, I'm looking for Eva Dylan.
I'm a friend of hers. Uh, she works here.
[chattering]
Um, never mind.
Uh-uh, Marcus. Come on.
Tish, Tish. I got this.
- Are you sure? - Yes, Tish. I got this.
I ain't gonna ask if you got my calls,
'cause I'm pretty sure you got all my messages.
You knew there was a chance your brother may have been involved
and you kept it to yourself. There was nothing to talk about.
Eva, I was just trying to figure out what was going on.
You understand by not telling me, you put me at risk?
I didn't know enough to tell you anything.
I mean, come on, Eva. You know how crazy this type of shit is.
Everything you've been through with your brothers.
One of them is dead because of shit like this.
Everybody suffers.
This kind of thing consumes you.
You think I don't know that?
I'm the one who called in the anonymous tip on Al and Stacy.
But not on your brother?
I was trying to protect my brother from all this shit.
You gonna fault me for that?
I'm not gonna question your choice.
I was blind to a lot of shit my brothers did.
So you just do what you gotta do.
As long as it don't come back to you, huh?
Thanks, man.
[pop music playing on speakers]
[Stacy] Hey, you're out late.
[bartender] Good to see you, man.
[Stacy] I know, I know, I know. I owe you a drink.
It's all good. I don't even need
- to ask this from you. - [Stacy] How's the night going?
- It's going all right. It's a little slow. - Slow?
Should have been in here Tuesday. They got this...
Where's that... No, the...
- I know who you're talking about. You talking about Karen? - Mm-hmm.
[Al] Hey, homey. Let me holla at you.
Oh, you on one? Huh? 'Cause you think you know shit?
You ask him about some baseball cards?
I know what your brother told you.
- Al, back up, man. - But he ain't so innocent.
Look, man, we don't want no shit with this dude.
You talk to the cops, Marcus?
[Stacy] Dumbass, don't do this shit right here.
Shut the fuck up.
Second your little brother steps in the joint, he's dead.
- Al! - So maybe,
you want to rethink this, huh?
- [grunts] - Yo, what the fuck, man! Come on!
Al!
[grunting]
- Oh, shit. Whoa, whoa! - [gun cocks]
Whoa.
What's up?
You better fucking kill us.
Because if you don't, I'm gonna find you
- and I'm gonna finish this shit. - [gunshot]
We can finish it now, motherfucker.
Okay, okay. We'll see you.
Anyone in your family wanna talk to the cops,
you tell 'em Drew killed that family.
- [Stacy] Hey, what the fuck! Come on. - Huh? You heard me?
Drew killed those people!
- [Stacy] Come on! - Tell 'em that. You'll get yours.
Let's go, man. Come on. Let's go!
The fuck?
Why? Why?
[Anthony] Marcus, Marcus.
Well, then, what do you want us to do?
Why'd you even do the thing in the first place?
- You could have just came to your family. - You ain't got no money.
- What are you talking about? - Okay, it's not about that...
He called in the anonymous tip just to protect your Black ass.
I wasn't a part of the robbery, Ant, that's what I tried to tell Marcus.
But you were there!
You know what? I just figured out something.
You made that call, 'cause by helping me, it makes me look like
- a piece of shit, just like you. - Hey!
[sighs] Those assholes do not get to put their hand
on anybody in the Cowans family.
You understand me?
Do you fucking understand me?
Heard you, man.
So we gonna go talk to 'em.
- Let's go. - No, we're not doing that.
- So now you're protecting them? - No.
I'm trying to keep this shit from getting crazier than what it already is.
I'ma go talk to 'em tomorrow.
Drew, you need to stay away from both of 'em.
You right, T.
But do you think they really gonna listen to you and Ant?
Come on, man.
- Let him go, T. - After what they did to you,
- you wanna let him go down there? - [Marcus] Let him go.
They're his friends, right?
So if they beat him up, then we can go to the cops.
Then Drew can tell the police everything they need to hear.
And this will all go away.
Look, I'ma call y'all
as soon as I talk to 'em tomorrow, all right?
Drew, Drew. Drew, don't go around there screwing with these guys.
Just go there, and tell 'em to leave Marcus alone,
and put these motherfuckers in your rearview. All right?
All right.
- Ant. - [Marcus] Hey.
Don't do nothing stupid.
[whispers] Al told me you killed that family.
[scoffs]
You of all people should know, Marcus, that when shit is falling apart,
you don't want to go down alone.
In a week,
if they get desperate, they're gonna say that your ass was there.
How does it feel to be a fucking snitch?
Mind your fucking business.
[Stacy] I know. You ain't got to say it. You ain't got to say it.
You told Marcus I killed that family?
Yo, man, what the fuck! Back the fuck up!
[laughs] Yeah, I did.
I was sick of his bullshit.
Boy, you better calm your ass down.
Nigga, how stupid are you?
The cops interviewed us.
And we all told them the same damn thing.
They don't have any evidence to know that it was us.
If they had more, they would have held us.
[Al] Oh, shit.
Maybe it wasn't your brother who left the tip.
Maybe Drew here bitched up.
And now his ass is trying to set us up.
Call the cops to keep himself clean. Is that what you did?
And risk pissing you off?
And get my own self stuck up? Come on, man.
Outside of Stacy, I ain't putting anything past anyone, especially you.
I know what most of you two crazy-asses gone and done
in the past few years, and I ain't said shit.
So I don't know where you get off thinking that you can't trust me?
Did your fucking dumbass not hear me outside?
Man, who the fuck are you talking to?
I don't fucking trust nobody!
And if it ain't you, then someone's gonna be put down.
Whether it be your junkie-ass brother,
who I heard was taking dicks for bags,
- or whoever the fuck it is. I don't give a fuck. - Calm the fuck down.
Drew.
If Marcus is behind this shit, your ass got decisions, bro.
Because it's all three of us against every-fucking-body
or it's you against me and Al.
Yeah. You think this is funny. Okay, clap all you want.
Nobody fucks with my family.
[gunshot]
Whoa. You gonna do me like that?
- Hmm. - When all this shit is your fault?
Shut the fuck up!
Shut the fuck up! [echoes]
[car doors open, close]
Fuck!
[glass shattering]
Wait. What are you guys doing in my house?
- Dad? - Go.
Dad. Mom!
[Wendy] Honey, what's wrong? Nicholas. Kyle. God...
[screaming]
[clattering]
- [Wendy screams] - [Stacy] Stay the fuck down!
- [blows landing] - [shouting]
- [Wendy screams, sobs] - [gunshots]
[Stacy] Yo, what the fuck are you doing?
[Drew] Search the house. I'll take care of the kid.
So why didn't you tell us about it when you first found out?
Honestly, I just had a hard time
wrapping my head around what I knew.
[Terry] What you doing back here, man? I thought you went home.
I, um...
I thought this through.
I shouldn't go talk to Al and Stacy alone.
Maybe one of you can go with me.
You ain't gotta do this alone.
That's what we're here for.
Love you, man.
Always here for you.
[scoffs] Seriously.
- [laughing] - [Terry] Y'all two, man.
Yeah, Marie says she'll take over the next few days. Yeah.
Hey, uh, let me call you back.
All right, bye-bye.
- Good morning, my love. - Good morning, sweetheart.
- How you feeling this morning? - I'm good, I'm good.
You know, you should go in, 'cause that place falls apart without you.
No, we're not in tax season, so we're good.
And who told you to come in here without me, huh?
Look, I ain't no invalid.
Although, I did feel a little tired
when I was trying to make it over to turn on the radio.
Could you help me just turn on the radio?
Oh, so now you need me, huh?
- Mr. I Ain't No Invalid. - [both laughing]
You know, you ain't no badass just 'cause you're turning on the radio.
I'm the one who had a heart attack.
- That you did. - Yeah.
- You want some coffee? - Huh? Yeah.
[newscaster] ...Stacy Griffin and his friend Al Edwards were found murdered
this morning at Stacy's barber shop.
Sources say police at the scene seem to strongly believe
that it was an armed robbery gone wrong.
...killed both men, then proceeded to ransack the shop.
So far there's been no witnesses.
Now, both men have been in and out of trouble...
[newscaster continues indistinctly]
[phone buzzes]
[bell tolls]
[phone buzzes]
Hello.
Hey.
Why'd you get involved with this shit, Drew?
I got desperate.
And I was broke.
I saw how much Marcus was costing the family, man. I didn't want to add to that.
It was dumb.
And you're lucky that you weren't there last night.
[scoffs]
I think Marcus did a really good thing
calling in that tip.
So... So don't be too hard on him about that,
especially since he was trying to protect you.
I won't. [sniffles]
- I'ma take a shower. - Yeah, I'm gonna lay some clothes out for you, all right?
- All right. - Hey, um, wait a minute.
[Drew sniffles]
[breathing heavily]
Listen, those dudes being dead might not be such a bad thing, bro.
Okay?
[sniffles]
[exhales]
Well, at least what had happened to you wasn't on the news, Drew.
- Yeah. - No, it still don't stop them nosy-ass neighbors
- from talking. - Mm-hmm.
You know the word had got out.
Mom, I don't care what people saying now.
I got y'all. If I didn't, I probably...
- Did anybody hear from Marcus? - No.
What, he didn't call none of y'all?
- Hey, you talk to him? - I'll try him again. I'll try him again.
[line ringing]
[phone buzzing]
[buzzing continues]
You know, Marcus is probably still mad that Al and Stacy attacked him.
Hmm. Yeah I would be, too.
What do you think really happened with those dudes?
Well, I think it's like Mama said.
Bad catches up with bad people.
I'm just glad I ain't go talk to 'em.
Shit.
I might have been there when they got shot.
Drew, baby, let me talk to you for a minute.
Yes, ma'am.
What happened?
I told Mama and Daddy that that lawyer might not be a bad idea.
Coming, Mama.
Terry, let me ask you this, bro.
Knowing what you know about what Drew did, does that bother you?
A lot.
I pray on it every night.
But praying doesn't change everything.
[Marcus] Hey, what's up, baby?
- Hey, Marcus. - Hey, what's up? I miss you.
Marcus, have you been drinking?
Eva, Drew's homies, Al and Stacy, they...
they got killed.
Police say it was a stickup or some shit.
What do you say?
Some dirty niggas, E. Could have been anybody.
But I know Drew was at the house with Anthony when it happened.
I know that for sure.
- I just wanna talk to you, baby. - Marcus, I don't have...
I wanna talk to you.
- I don't... - I just gotta talk to you.
I gotta tell you something. Okay?
And hopefully, it will make you understand
why I tried to protect my brother.
All right?
Tish, she ain't tell you everything about me.
I was accused of murder too. But I ain't kill nobody.
Dude's name was Dwight Tooley.
He owed me some dope money. I went to collect.
We got into it. Shit got ugly. He hit his head.
Next thing I know, police is arresting me for assault and battery.
And then two months later, he dies of a brain aneurysm.
- An aneurysm can happen at anytime. - Exactly.
It's the same shit my lawyer was trying to say,
but the family, they wasn't trying to hear me doing a year for assault,
so they got the judge to up my sentence to manslaughter.
They said if we didn't get into the fight, then he wouldn't have died.
They put years on my sentence.
Years I ain't deserve.
E, if my brother got anything to do with this,
that's never gonna sit well with me, ever.
But I don't want to lose you to this, E.
I don't want to lose you to this shit. I don't want to lose you to nothing.
I'm so sorry this happened to us.
I love you so much.
Come back to me, baby.
God... No, I can't.
- Come back to me. - I can't. Not with this...
Not with this going on.
[horn honks]
[sighs]
[Marcus] Really?
Got a nigga picking you up that quick?
If that's what you think,
then you never got how much I cared about you.
He's my cousin.
[car departs]
[knocking on door]
[knocking continues]
What are you doing here?
I'd like to talk to you about your brother.
- [high-pitched ringing] - [Marcus] You're telling me the same gun
that killed Stacy and Al, is the same gun
- that killed the Gerviches? - [Joe] Yeah.
Doesn't mean the gun didn't belong to either of 'em.
But it wasn't a murder-suicide.
Someone else wanted them shut down.
- [ringing fades] - Instead of you following leads, you drop over here with coffee?
[chuckles] Yeah, with good reason.
Those bullets led me back to the night
that they were all brought in.
Most importantly, Drew.
Why is that?
Because of how he talked about you.
He... He mentioned me?
He never mentioned you by name, but uh, wow, you know,
once he started tearing you apart, he... he couldn't stop.
How could you know he was talking about me? He's got three brothers.
Only one's an addict and did jail time.
He covered everything.
Like what?
He said he felt like he was living your life
now that shit had gotten better for you.
He lost his job, he lost his girlfriend,
he was being dragged into a bullshit murder charge,
which he... he wasn't mad about.
But when I asked him if he was living two lives,
boom.
He went into his brother.
If you think Drew's behind all of this,
then fucking arrest him.
[sighs] That would be a waste of time.
The more missteps you make in a homicide case, the more messy it gets.
And I don't... I don't fucking do messy.
Like you being here right now ain't messy?
You know... [clears throat]
...my mother told me when I was a kid that
the biggest Christian was probably the biggest sinner
and that the second they took Jesus into their heart,
that's when they could only see in black and white.
You know who else is super judgmental?
Addicts who get clean.
The anonymous caller
was someone who wanted a reward.
Someone who wanted to do right.
There was no reward being offered, Marcus.
What you trying to say?
You think it was me?
I'm just trying to see where the puzzle pieces fit.
I'm sorry, bro. It wasn't me.
My first year as a detective,
I knew that if I could get information
from a murderer's wife, I could close the case,
but every time I tried to talk to her, she shut me out.
I mean, he was abusive, but she was...
she was ride or die.
So one day I waited for the husband to leave and, um...
I remember I brought her a carton of her favorite cigarettes.
And within 20 minutes of sitting on her couch,
she told me everything, because I just happened to show up
right after he put hands on her.
When people have information
that they really wanna share,
they're hoping that somebody will coax it out of 'em.
It is my job to catch them at the right time.
Ain't none of that shit my concern.
Drew was with my brother, Anthony, that night.
- So I guess you came here for nothing. - I disagree.
I think you know more than you're letting on.
Too bad I don't smoke.
Well, most alcoholics turn to coffee
when they quit drinking.
All right.
[exhales]
Does Drew own a .45?
No.
Whether you believe me or not, this is my last fucking case.
I...
I've really grown tired of this shit.
Because at some point...
most of the cases I've had...
they end with either a Black man holding a gun in his hand
or inside the chalk lines.
Fucking wearing on me.
It's eating me alive. It makes it hard to fucking sleep.
How's that for oversharing?
All right.
[sighs]
How do you sleep, Marcus?
Yeah.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[phone buzzing]
[buzzing continues]
Finally, my brother calls.
Tell Mama and Daddy I'll be by for Sunday dinner.
Now you're talking. Sound like you're serious too. You're gonna really be there?
You gonna be there? [chuckles]
- All right, bro, later. - All right, I love you, brother.
[no audible dialogue]
[Belinda] You really don't watch reality shows?
- [both] No. - [Belinda] I've learned a lot from them.
How to center myself, not depend on a man,
- get myself out of debt. - [Tisha] Okay, wait a minute. I thought you said
Skanks on the Boulevard was your favorite show.
- Mm-hmm. - [Tish] Please tell me what in the hell you learned from that?
Well, all of those women overcame their situations.
[Loren chuckles]
You know, people who watch reality shows usually end up jobless.
[mouthing word]
- [toilet flushes] - [chattering, arguing]
[Lloyd] Terry.
What was that John Wayne movie you used to like
when you was a kid? Um...
- [Terry] Stagecoach. - Stagecoach. That's it. That's it.
[laughing]
You used to say, "When I grow up,
I want to be a white cowboy."
- [all laughing] - Did I say white?
[Lloyd] Yeah, you said white. Well, that's all you saw on TV then.
- [Terry] I said I wanted to be a white cowboy? - [Lloyd] White cowboy.
You good?
Yeah.
Bad shit happens, Marcus.
Sometimes you're on the giving end,
sometimes you're on the receiving.
Hmm.
Which end were Stacy and Al?
The end of unnecessary bullshit.
We good?
[chattering, laughing]
[Lloyd] Oh, here they come. Here they come.
Okay.
- Terry, go ahead, say the grace. - [Terry] Yes, sir.
Dad.
- [whispers] Marcus... - Come on, man. I'm only gonna say something like...
- You know, why don't we get Marcus to pray? - [Lloyd] Okay, Marcus.
No, I usually keep my prayers to myself,
or my AA group.
Baby, you've been drinking again?
[laughs]
You sure know your son, huh?
It's been a rough few days, Mama.
Can I talk to you outside?
- Mm-hmm, yeah. - [Lloyd] What's going on now?
[Anthony] Drew.
Excuse us.
[sighs]
I'll wait.
Wait for what?
What's going on here?
You'll see.
[door opens]
Come on, we out.
Did I do something? What's going on?
He's drunk. I don't want you to see that shit,
and I don't wanna stick around to hear that, all right?
Do you think he'll say something about you?
Why don't you take the car?
Let me go back and hear what happens.
Okay? I'ma call you.
[door opens, closes]
She ain't family and I didn't want her to see
Marcus make an ass out of himself.
So go ahead, bro.
You know, I really thought I found some light
when I met Eva.
When you got me that job driving the bus, Pop,
yeah, I really thought...
I turned the corner.
That all went to hell once I seen that boy on TV.
Son, we already talked about this.
What little boy?
[Marcus] The Gervich boy.
He was on TV talking about this, uh,
collection of baseball cards that his father had for him,
and how they was stolen.
Marcus, why are you bringing that shit up, man? Hmm?
- This shit is over, bro. - Watch your mouth, boy.
Watch your mouth. You still at my table.
[Marcus] I asked you where the cards from.
You said Stacy gave 'em to you for safekeeping.
I didn't know if he was telling the truth 'cause with those dudes,
you can get caught up in something you can't say no to.
But I wanted to protect you.
So I called in that anonymous tip.
[Drew] Nigga, you drunk. Mama, he drunk.
Look at him. It's embarrassing,
coming in the house drunk like that, lying and shit.
- [Lloyd] Drew. - That's embarrassing, Daddy.
- It's fucking embarr... - [Lloyd] Hey, Drew.
What is Marcus saying here?
Don't you lie to me.
He was with Al and Stacy the night those people got murdered.
[Della] Wait a minute, son.
You were with Al and Stacy
the night that they murdered those people?
Goddamn it, boy!
You gave me those cards to hold and you lied to me!
- Della, Della... - What do you mean? You knew about this?
Lloyd, he gave me the cards. He asked me to hold them, 'cause he said
Stacy was gonna try to pin the murder on him.
- Wait a minute. - [Della] But he swore to me
- that he didn't have anything to do with it. - [Lloyd] Do you know...
[Della] Are you that low that you would take another person's life?
Did we not teach you anything, boy?
- [Lloyd] You knew about this? - Yes, Lloyd, I knew!
Well, what did you do with the cards?
I burned them, Lloyd.
When you went into the hospital, I burned them.
Why didn't you tell me about it?
'Cause I was trying to save our son.
- "Save our son"? - Man, why are you doing this?
- Save your son? What about saving your... - Man, shut the fuck up!
And you brought our mom into this?
Why you doing this, man?
That cop said that the same gun that killed that family
killed Al and Stacy, nigga.
No, no, no.
A .45, like the one you own!
Drew.
What in God's name did you do?
[Lloyd] Son. Come on.
Come on, baby.
[sniffles]
So I guess... [sniffles]
I guess I'm the black sheep now, right?
- Huh? - No.
Are you happy, huh? Are you fucking happy?
- [all screaming] - [grunting]
[shouting]
[screaming, crying]
[grunts]
[Anthony] Stay the fuck down. Stay down.
[grunts]
Don't get up, bro. Don't get up.
- [Lloyd] It's not that bad. - [Marcus groans]
[Lloyd] She... She call 911?
[Terry] Yeah, she called. She called. Tisha!
- [Della sobbing] - Okay, it's okay. It's okay.
It's okay, boy. I love you.
You're gonna be fine.
You did good. You did good. You did right.
[melancholy piano music playing]
[siren wailing]
[music continues]
[no audible dialogue]
[music continues]
[sniffles]
[monitor beeping]
Morning.
[gasps] Marcus.
Marcus. Oh, baby.
[Marcus] Hey, Mama.
[Lloyd] Hey, boy.
Hey, there. Hey, there. Hey, there. Hey, there.
Hey, boy. [laughing]
- That's my boy. How you feeling? - I'm all right.
- You all right? - Yeah.
- [Lloyd] Yeah. - Baby.
[Lloyd] He's gonna be all right.
- He's gonna be all right. - [knocking on door]
Morning.
May we help you?
Here to have a conversation with your son.
- Marcus, who is this? - That's the cop who arrested Drew.
What you doing here?
[sighs] Marcus, I, um...
I'ma keep this simple for you.
If your brother's attempt to kill you
had anything to do with the Gerviches...
Nobody gives a damn about the Gerviches.
...he might not get charged with a home invasion.
But filing charges will make sure
that he pays for this in some way.
- If you press charges... - [Della] So you want him to do your job.
- [Anthony] Mom, Mom... - Just do your own goddamn job and leave us alone!
Della, stop it.
Yeah. If Drew did this crime,
- then he's gonna have to pay. - Really, Lloyd?
- Really. - Dad, calm down.
- Don't "Dad" me. - Do we need to do this?
- Stay out of it! - We do not have to do this.
- [Della] Lloyd! - [Terry] Everybody calm down!
- Ma, Ma, Ma, Pop. - [Lloyd] How can I? Don't tell us to calm down.
Y'all, stop.
It's my family.
It's my brother.
[downtempo pop music playing]
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