The Night Of

So the writer tells me the main character of the show is a cop

who gets his legs blown off in Afghanistan, comes back,

gets fitted for those carbon-compound kangaroo feet...

Like that Olympics guy who shot his girlfriend in the can...

And gets back on the job.

So, like what? Goes bouncing around after the bad guys?

Apparently that's the whole point.

RoboDouche.

I told him, "Hey, you want to do something original?

How about a series with a cop who doesn't give a shit?"

Punches out, comes home,

has dinner with his family, bangs the wife,

and sleeps like a log.

You write a show like that,

and the job will throw you a parade.

Am I right, Dennis?

What the fuck you still doing here?

What, do we gotta have another party for you?

Picking up some last things.

Go home. Hit the links.

Get the hell out of here.

This is nice.

Yeah, it's okay.

The night of October 24th,

did you encounter the defendant and Andrea

on West 87th Street?

I don't think I want to answer that question.

You kind of have to, Mr. Williams.

Not true, not true. It's called the Fifth Amendment.

You're concerned about self-incrimination?

What for? I ain't do nothing.

Then do us all a favor and answer the question.

I don't think you right on that.

But... I mean, no disrespect...

But, yes.

Tell her.

Yeah, I saw them.

Were you alone?

No.

Why did you tell the detective you were?

I misremembered.

You misremembered, that's why?

Not because you were afraid of this person you were with?

Is the Fifth okay here?

No. That train's left the station, Mr. Williams.

No. I'm not afraid of him.

Him?

Duane, dude's name is.

Duane Reade.

Yeah. And is that a curse or what?

Bacon come to snatch your ass up,

talking 'bout "What's your name, nigga?"

You like, "Duane Reade."

And they like, "Oh, you trying to be funny, motherfucker?"

Blam, blam, blam! "Once again, what's your fucking name?"

Right?

Thank you, Mr. Williams.

You got it.

Mrs. Weiss?

No questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Duane Reade. Where do you presently reside?

The Cave.

Do you mean Cavendish State Penitentiary?

That's what I said.

How is it you find yourself there?

They say a burglary. I say trespassing.

I didn't leave with nothing.

Isn't that because the police apprehended you

before you could get out the door with the Fujitsu TV you were carrying?

That's what they say.

Was this your first arrest for burglary?

I don't think so.

I don't either.

Because it was your 14th.

And you assaulted seven of these 14 homeowners with a knife.

One Mr. Cuatro... Do you remember him?

That was self-defense.

Dude come running up on me. I had to fight for my life.

Mr. Cuatro was 78 years old and on an oxygen tank.

Did you bring the knife with you?

No. Got it from his kitchen.

A five-inch steak knife, according to the police report.

And you were arrested in the same manner on September 20th, 2012,

in possession of another steak knife.

Did you bring that one with you?

Again, that was trespassing.

It was aggravated sexual assault.

But my question is where the knife came from.

The lady's sink, I think.

Like with Mr. Cuatro and the others here,

you used a knife that was there.

That's your MO?

A shrug won't do, Mr. Reade. We need to hear an answer.

Okay.

Yeah.

Trevor Williams, you know him?

Yeah, I know him.

He testified you didn't say anything

when you encountered the defendant and Ms. Cornish

outside her residence with him.

He said you just stood there...

I'm going to Sharanda's, man.

...silent, watching them go inside.

I know they got some weed over there, too.

What were you thinking about, I wonder?

Any questions, Mrs. Weiss?

No questions, Your Honor.

Why isn't she questioning these guys?

To say to the jury she's not concerned about them.

But she is.

You're leaving me alone with the undertaker?

You'll be fine.

Psst!

What's going on here, Mr. Day?

She threw a lit cigarette next to the gas pump I was standing at.

I put it out.

Is that how people usually put out cigarettes,

on someone's car window?

I know guys put it out in their mouth.

Just before you put it out, you knocked on the window,

like people do to say "Roll it down."

And we saw that she didn't roll it down.

Do you think she might have been afraid of you?

Oh, no one's afraid of me.

I am. After what you said to me at the mortuary, remember?

Am I right, that's inadmissible?

That's "heresy," right?

Something like that.

Disregard Ms. Kapoor's last statement.

This is an order of protection issued against you by your wife, Michelle.

Yeah, that's before we got back together.

Oh, that's good.

I'm happy for you both, you managed to resolve that somehow.

What about this 911 call she made

saying you were threatening her with a knife?

The police come out,

by then she'd calmed down, that was that.

This is one forgiving woman.

I never did nothing to her.

To who?

Who we talking about, my wife.

So, you're done filling your hearse at this point,

but you're not leaving.

You're just... I don't know what you're doing.

Just waiting?

Resting.

Now you're finally leaving just as they do.

Are you following them, Mr. Day?

No.

Where are you going, then?

My whereabouts are my business.

Oh, be a sport and answer the lady.

Home.

To Michelle?

To my other residence.

An SRO hotel for men on 135th Street.

Is there something wrong with that?

No. It's just, if you'd gone home to Michelle

or a hotel with working security cameras, unlike this rooming house,

we'd be able to verify where you went that night.

But we can't.

She doesn't listen to me, you know? I know.

You look amazing, amazing.

One. We're calling you as a witness.

So while you're up there, you can explain

how you didn't kill your stepdaughter.

Two. I don't work out enough,

so the next time you threaten my family,

it'll be one of my clients who pays you a visit.

He's from New Jersey.

Arms out.

All right, go on.

Arms out.

Please raise your right hand.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth?

Yeah.

My condolences, Mr. Taylor, and my apologies,

but there are certain things only you can clarify for us.

How would you describe your relationship with your stepdaughter?

Not great, to be honest.

Honesty is why we're here.

How come it wasn't great, if you know?

The drugs mainly.

Her drug use made our relationship difficult.

Hers with her mother.

Frankly, mine with her mother.

An addict's net casts wide.

Her mother, your wife, Evelyn, died last year, I was sorry to learn.

How long were you married?

Two years.

And how did Andrea feel about it?

Like a lot of kids feel about second marriages.

Seeing her mother happy... I assume she was happy...

Didn't make her daughter happy?

No.

Was the age difference an issue?

What is it, about 20 years?

It didn't help. Andrea, I mean.

It didn't matter at all to Evelyn, or me.