i really hated yesterday, snyder, and then today came along.
i tried to commit suicide.
what's so funny?
who are you gonna believe? me or the fucking fish?!
good.
this guy hasn't been active for over two years.
 we think he's either dead or in jail on some other charge. this is probably a copycat.
bite yourself.
he always rearranges the bodies, but this is out of character. he has never left them in such a crude position. usually it's more romantic with their arms around each other, kissing, their mouths open, their tongues touching.
where are the thumbprints?
one his one hers?
what's that?
were these open or closed when you got here?
hmm.
it has never been revealed to the public that the thumbprint killer retrieves the slugs.
i don't fucking need this.
have you checked the tenants of that building?
leaving them like this, he must have been angry at them for some reason.
where would they keep their vacuum cleaner.
i'll bet you a hundred bucks, snyder, there is no bag in that vacuum cleaner.
he vacuumed the house and took the bag.
okay.
our best hope is if someone in there saw something.
yes.
you fucking asshole!! i'm in the middle of a fucking murder investigation!!
goddamit!!
my soon to be ex-husband's scumbag lawyer is trying to show me how painful she can make my life if i don't give them what they want.
the doctor was a couple years ago. this one is my stupid mistake.
what about the mental anguish i went through being in close proximity to him. who's gonna pay me for that?
yes, we do. i was the one who paid for everything while we were married, and now i'm being asked to give him a bonus for spending time with me when i've already paid for it in the first place.
jesse.  darling?.  you know the best thing that could happen to me right now? that you get hit by a truck and die.
fuck it. it felt good.
that's a dead end, he bags the gun.
he ziplocks a one gallon plastic freezer bag to his wrist over the gun. bang. bang. a little bit of plastic is carried by the first slug, the ejected shells go into the bag and it limits the powder residue. i hear you were looking for me.
so far they are mr. and miss normal.
that's blackmail.
that's also blackmail.
do you know what he did to me?
i was so stupid. while we were married, while i paid for him to live, the son of a bitch fucked every woman he could get his hands on. he fucked my friends, he even fucked a cousin of mine. everyone knew but me, and they were laughing at me behind my back. he made me look like an idiot. i was a joke.
and what?
i made him an offer. i'm not going to give him one red cent more.
i couldn't live with myself if i did.
please, these are my cases. nobody knows them like me. don't give them away and don't give the thumbprint killer to the fbi. he's killed people in twelve other states, let them fuck up those investigations. this one's mine.
yeah.
i can take care of myself.
what is wrong with me? what is wrong with me? what is wrong with me?
did you choose them because of where they lived or how they looked or what jobs they had? or did you just pick them because at the instant you saw them, you had decided to kill someone? the side door was perfect. no one could see you pick the lock.
how did you know where they were in the house?
it's darker tonight than it was on your night. but still how did you manage not to bump into the furniture? did you have a little light? that would be too dangerous. i'll bet you were in the house before.
so i should ask the neighbors if they saw a meter reader around the house or a telephone repairman or someone from the gas company.
once again, how did you know where they were? did you check the rooms before you found them? she had his semen in her vagina, they had just made love, did you hear them or was there a light on?
and when did you bag the gun? because even though i'm sure you're an expert at it, there's still a chance of noise from the plastic.
was the door open or did you have to open it?
were they asleep or awake? was the light on, or did you turn it on? because i know you, you wouldn't risk a shot in the dark.
too bright. what if it wasn't that light that was on, but this one?
that's better.  what thrill do you get by killing people? is it sexual, is it hate, is it power? do you feel remorse? probably that part of your brain doesn't exist. do you have emotions of love or affection or joy? or have you learned to fake them so you won't stand out in a crowd.
what if these are stuck closed because you yanked them closed? which means they were open when you came into the room.
if mr. and miss normal made love with the curtains open and the lights on, someone in that building noticed them and may have seen you.
was that what you were angry about?
thank you for your time.
i'm sorry.  .  i was about to knock. i'm detective atwood with the chicago police.
are you a photographer.  mr. baffert?
i don't know if you're aware but there was a murder.
did you happen to see anything unusual or suspicious that night around that house? anything at all?
here's my card, if you hear anything or remember anything.
may i speak to him?
did the victims ever leave the curtains in the bedroom open?
here's my card, could you ask your roommate to call me when he gets back, the people at that number will find me any hour of the day or night.
it's tracy. can you carve out some time for me tonight?.  i'll be home in an hour and a half. i'll see you there.
hi.
great idea.
i did something like that except i was the one who took the test. it wasn't math, a friend of mine was a theology major and needed a second language to get into the master's program.
isn't that what all theology is based on?
oh yeah.
no, she realized very quickly there wasn't enough money in religion for her, the last i heard she'd written a diet book that was very successful.
for me too.
i'd like that. the money is in the usual place.
i like you too, larry. send me a bill for the dress and the shoes.
good-night.
hi.
thanks and thanks for meeting me here.
that doesn't help me does it?
my father does nothing for nothing.
no desk.
one five.
how much more?
try and get a number out of them first. i want to know what ballpark i'm playing in and if it's a lump sum, is it less than something that's paid in installments.
i'd like to get this done as soon as possible.
yeah.
where are you parked?
i'm down the street. call me as soon as you have something.
he took all those pictures. he took everything.
i'll look.
shoot me!!!
that chiropractor, alvin griffin, who sold meeks his steroids, he might know where he is.
what about a warrant to search his house? get me in the door and he'll talk to me.
i took your advice and told my lawyer to settle.
none of these is the woman in the van.
sorry.
it doesn't like any of the other choices.
nothing personal, snyder. he's not part of our team.
i think i have all the pieces on the thumbprint killer, i'm just not looking at them the right way.
every babysitter i ever had loved me.
what's that?
it could have been tracked in by a friend.
is the clay rare, is it difficult to get?
and this is the only incongruity you were able to find in the whole house.
no, sigy, it doesn't. it does give me an excuse to ask someone some new questions.
you remember me?
would you step out of the car, please, i want to talk to you.
so mr. baffert, what is that you have to tell me?
really? because i was driving around and i got this sudden feeling that you had something to tell me about the murders.
that's disappointing. because when i left you the last time we talked, i felt i had missed a clue that was right in front of me that would solve this whole case.
didn't you tell me you were an amateur potter, that you made bowls and vases?
are you positive? because we found potter's clay on the carpet of the murder house and i was sure you said to me that you worked with clay, that you made pots.
maybe that was it. the stewardess upstairs said the victims kept their curtains open when they made love. could i see some of the pictures you took of that couple?
what is your job here? what do you do?
you have to be pretty smart for that, don't you?
then be smart, mr. baffert. you lied to me right there at the end. i'll be watching you. and when you want to tell me the truth, you know how to get in touch with me.
see you later, alligator.
goddamit.
good. goddamit!, that guy knows something.  he almost told me and then something happened.
i don't think it's that simple.
lights don't work.
we have a dead woman in here.
i thought you were behind me.
snyder, meet mona.
do that outside.
meeks did this.
meeks is a steroid freak. this refrigerator was always full of steroids. mona was alvin griffin's niece, receptionist, lover and keeper of the keys.
well, the steroids are certainly gone.
meeks thinks alvin turned him in.
let's go see what's in the rest of the house.
snyder, this is alvin griffin.
yes?
yeah, go ahead.  he can't get that, can he?!
never. how long can you stall them?
i need two days. wait two days before getting back to them. if they call, tell them it's a big number, i'm thinking about it.
and the picture he wanted.
 tell him i couldn't find it.
'are we there yet?' , are we there yet?' , you sound like a child. we're playing a hunch.
if it didn't, it wouldn't be called a hunch.
look where? please tell me. everyone knows who meeks is and is looking for him. the chiropractor was the last link to his old life that i know of. the only way we'll find him, now, is if someone turns him in or we trip over him at a bus stop. on the other hand, detective snyder, no one knows who the thumbprint killer is or where he is. however, i have a fucking hunch this guy baffert does. i have two days to play that hunch. if you feel like you're wasting your time with me, i'd be happy to do it alone.
my husband wants five million dollars.
bad news?
why?!
no. she would have said that.
good thinking, tonto.
shit! she just 86'ed you too.
is she in?
good.
you promised if i settled my divorce i had three days on the thumbprint killer. i have the rest of today and tomorrow left.
you promised you would keep them out of it for three days.
this is my case, what you're doing is fucked. but since i can't stop you, and she won't, here's a tip. james baffert, you should stake him out, he knows something.
then what's the problem? you do that and i'll tail baffert.
good luck. later i suppose you'll fill me in on what i'm supposed to be doing around here. i'm confused.
hello.  oh, yes, yes. put him through.  hi, this is detective atwood speaking, thanks for calling. yes, your roommate said you were in tokyo.  anything, if you saw anything at all it might be helpful.
camera flashes?
that's why he poses them.
nothing.
you've been very helpful. this answers a lot of questions for me. thank you very much, mr. struber.
would that be, mr. baffert?
thank you very much.
snyder, meet me at baffert's apartment with a search warrant.  listen to me, this is what you tell the judge.
mr. baffert?.  mr. baffert?
do you have any idea when he'll be back?
thank you.
goddamit, snyder. knock.
we may have gotten lucky. this is the moving company's work order and.  ) .  it looks like this is the address where they're taking baffert's stuff.
at home in bed.
i was home in bed, why should i have to prove that?
why, i didn't want jesse dead, i loved him, i hated what he was doing to me.
you can't actually believe i would do that.
i will be happy to answer any questions after we check out this address.
this is the answer to the thumbprint killer, snyder, and this is where i'm going and you're not going to stop me.
i believe you would.
it would be nice if you could come with me, but if you do and it goes bad, they'll burn your ass. so this never happened.
you've come down in the world, mr. baffert.
meeks?!!
yeah.
thanks, tom.
i like my ass too much for that.
so the whole point of this piece of paper was to give me meeks.
why? who moved him, where did they move him to, and why did he give me meeks?
i'm going to go to the bathroom and think about this.
detective atwood.
who is this?
you want something from me if you don't tell me who you are i'm going to hang up.
mr. baffert?!
you don't sound like you.
where are you?
my father was very disappointed i was born a girl and he let me know that. i've spent my whole life trying to prove him wrong.
wait. you promised to tell me where you are.
why would he be interested in that?
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