7

We're Gonna Make Some Big Decisions in Our Little World… We Don't Make Mistakes, We Just Have Happy Accidents… Even If You've Never Painted Before, This One You Can Do...In Painting, You Have Unlimited Power. You Have the Ability to Move Mountains. You Can Bend Rivers.

Summary for Tuesday, May 9: Abe can’t let it go that he let Bronski go, the Receptionist wants closure, Dr. Paulette readies to leave, and Doug is about the same as yesterday and the day before.

Doug puts the last stool on the bar. Arlene bounces by and says goodnight. Doug tells her she was great. “Oh, Arlene,” he says. She stops at the door and turns to Doug. “Uh... I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your set tonight. I hope you’ll be back.” Arlene smiles and waves cheerily. As the door closes behind her, Doug hides his head in his hand. He goes to the bar and pours himself a cup of coffee. He sips with deliberation.

At the station, Abe sits in his office staring at a case file. He’s still wearing his fishing shirt and hat. Roman walks by, doubles back, and asks Abe if he wants to tag along on a lead in a shoplifting case. Abe is puzzled, “Shoplifting?” Roman tells Abe he should get some rest, maybe put on a fresh shirt. Bronski’s probably back in the motherland by now. The case is closed as far as they’re concerned. Abe pounds the desk. He looks Roman in the eye. “Nothing has been closed here.” Abe calms down a little. “I’m a homicide detective Roman. The first murder in this town in a year happened last month. There were three more murders within two weeks. And the man responsible has escaped.” Abe shakes his head. He looks back at Roman standing in the doorway. He tells Roman to go get his shoplifter.

Stormy arrives at GCC. There’s a ladder in the middle of the room. He wonders who else has been here, then remembers that his landlord mentioned doing some repairs while he's gone. He flips the switch in the back office but the lights don’t come on. More flippings of the switch aren’t persuasive. He attempts to review his vision board, but can barely see anything. He finds a working lantern in a closet and looks over the board. He circles the name Dr. Paulette. She's still the only real lead he has. He wonders why Bronski entered his office the other night. He's clearly connected to Dr. Paulette. He draws a line between Bronski and Dr. Paulette. He sits at his desk and notices his security camera tapes are gone. Every one of them. He turns one of his monitors to Days, finds a blank tape, inserts it and hits record. Chad gets spooked by Harold and accidentally breaks the figurine he bought for Abigail.

The Receptionist sits on a crate down at the docks. He looks around at the empty buildings, the water, the trash. There's no evidence of any recent human activity. The Receptionist speculates that everyone has moved on. “But where?” He wonders why Bronski came to Global. He’s sure Stormy’s “research” wasn't all on the level. And can't believe Bronski showing up at the office was pure coincidence. Why does the LPD seem content with catching Bronski? Surely he wasn't a one man operation.

In their car, Bronski and Samuel follow a road winding through grassy hills. A mountain range is visible in the distance. They crest a hill and take in a large lake below. Bronski says it looks like a painting. The kind they show you how to make on television. A deer darts across the road. Samuel pulls the wheel hard. The car slides off the road into the ditch and collides with a tree.

The Receptionist is asleep on a crate at the docks. Abe walks over to him and kicks his foot. The Receptionist wakes and shields his eyes from the sun. It’s Abe! “Time to get to work,” says Abe.

Dr. Paulette reads the paper in Berkeley Plaza. Her face goes pale when she sees the story about Bronski’s escape. She stuffs the paper in a nearby trash can and finds a payphone. She dials and waits. No answer. She runs off.

Bronski crawls from the smoking crumpled car. He stumbles around to the driver side. Samuel won’t wake up. He looks around. He takes Samuel's bag and limps toward the road. He raises his fisted arm and extends his thumb.

Abe agrees with the Receptionist that the department has no interest in getting to the bottom of the murders. Bronski may have committed them but he was just a thug. He didn't know anything about art. The Receptionist wonders, why art. Abe drinks from a can of soda. He says it's all a racket. Drugs. Art. Real estate. Maybe even architecture. Abe crushes the can in his hand and throws it to the ground. The Receptionist tells Abe his view of the world is dark. Abe adjusts his hat and says he's been around and seen a lot. He doesn't uphold the illusions. Illusions are excuses to do whatever you want and that’s BS. The Receptionist asks what else there is. Abe says, “You’ve got it backwards. The question is what else isn't there.” Abe says they should take another look around. “Four murders happened around here and there’s bound to be some overlooked evidence.” The sun is going down. Abe pulls out a flashlight. He says he always carries a spare and tosses his flashlight to the Receptionist as he pulls another from his other pocket.

Bronski sits on the side of the road. Headlights approach. The car pulls up next to him. The driver sees the wreckage in the background and asks if there’s anyone else. Bronski shakes his head no. Just a busted up car and one lucky deer. He says he needs a lift into town to call the police. The driver pops open the passenger door and Bronski grimaces as he pulls himself in. They’re back on the road. Bronski says he’d like to hear the radio if it’s not a bother. The man reaches to turn on the radio and Bronski grabs his wrist. In his other hand Bronski brandishes a gun. He aims it at the driver and says they’re going to play nice and do as told.

At her apartment, Doris rips through drawers of clothes and throws some in a suitcase on the bed. She unlocks a desk drawer and pulls out a gun safe. She opens the safe and removes a handgun. She holds it in the moonlight and checks to see that it’s loaded. She readies herself like something could happen at any moment.

Bronski directs the driver to turn down a gravel road. The road winds through the trees and stops at a cabin. Bronksi waves the driver out with the gun. Bronski follows the driver to the cabin. He tells the driver to knock. Bronski breaks a window in the door and reaches in. He steps back and motions the driver to enter. Bronksi orders the driver to keep quiet and sit in a chair. Bronksi binds his wrists and feet with a clothesline. He lights a lantern and sets it on the table. Bronski rolls into bed and tells the driver goodnight.