They were heard screaming at each
other for 2 hours. Nothing new.
Then they heard the gun go off.
Both barrels.
A crime of passion.
Yeah.
Just look at all the passion
on that wall.
This is a done deal.
All but the paperwork.
Did the kid see it?
What?
The kid?
What kind of question's that?
We'll be real glad when we get rid of
you, Somerset. Always these questions.
"Did the kid see it?"
Who gives a fuck?
He's dead.
His wife killed him.
Anything else has nothing
to do with us.
Detective Somerset?
I'm Detective Mills.
Just get in town 20 minutes ago,
they dump me here.
Look...
Mills?
- Let's find a bar. Sit and talk...
- I'd like to get to the precinct.
Not much time for
this transition thing.
I had a question,
when we spoke on the phone.
Yeah.
Why here?
I don't follow.
Well, all this effort
to get transferred.
It's the first question
that popped into my head.
Same reason as you. Or the reason
you had before you decided to quit.
You just met me.
Maybe I don't understand the question.
It's very simple.
You actually fought
to get reassigned here.
- I never saw it done that way.
- Thought I'd do some good.
It'd be great if we didn't start out
kicking each other in the balls.
- You're calling the shots.
- Yes.
I want you to look and
I want you to listen. Okay?
I wasn't guarding a Taco Bell.
I've worked homicide 5 years.
- Not here.
- I understand.
Well, over the next 7 days, Detective,
do me the favor of remembering that.
SE7EN
MONDAY
MONDAY
Yeah.
Okay.
Say it again?
I thought we moved here
to get away from tractor pulls.
Serpico's got to go.
Well, you might want
to get rid of this little...
crusty, this eye, Serpico.
- Did you get it?
- Got it.
Good.
Coffee?
Nothing's been touched.
It's all like I found it.
What time was death established?
Like I said...
I didn't touch anything...
but he's had his face
in spaghetti for 45 minutes.
Wait. No one bothers
with vital signs?
Did I suffer? This guy ain't breathing
unless he's breathing spaghetti sauce.
- That's how it's done here?
- Excuse me, Detective.
He's sitting in his own piss and shit.
If he wasn't dead he would've stood up
- Alright.
- Thank you, Officer.
Thank you.
I wonder.
What was the point of the conversation
you were about to get into?
Don't know. How many times Barney Five
found dead bodies that weren't dead.
Drop it.
Somebody phone Guinness.
I think we've got a record here.
Better Homes and Gardens.
Spaghetti Sauce
Who said this was murder?
No one.
Guy's heart must be the size...
of a canned ham.
If this isn't a coronary...
well...
I don't know.
Whoops.
How about that.
We had this case once...
guy dead on the ground...
knife in his back.
Murder...
right?
Fuck!
Anyway, big insurance policy involved,
yeah? So the guy...
took the tip of the blade...
stuck it in his own shoulder blades.
He must've screwed up
'cause there was...
- multiples back there.
- Please be quiet.
Wait a minute.
What?
Got a bucket here.
What's in it?
Oh God!
Fucking vomit.
Any blood in it?
I didn't see any.
Help yourself.
Are you thinking it's poison?
Oh, wonderful. Very moody.
Think it's poison, Somerset?
You girls have got forensics
waiting outside.
We might not fit.
There's room. Light's the problem.
How are you?
Det. Mills, go help the officers...
question the neighbors.
What?
And send in forensics.
He's dead.
Thank you, Doctor.
You saw my files,
the things I've done?
Nope.
I did door-to-doors and walked
the beat. I did that shit...
a long time.
- And?
- My badge says...
"detective".
That's the same as yours.
Look, I made a decision.
I had to consider
the integrity of the scene...
not whether you were getting
enough time on the field.
Hey, man...
Just don't jerk me off. That's all
I ask. Don't jerk me off.
He's been dead...
a long time, and not from poison.
Oh, man.
How can you let yourself go like that?
It took 4 orderlies just
to get him on the table.
- How'd the fat fuck fit out his door?
- Please. Obviously he was a shut-in.
Look. See how big this stomach is?
And the strange thing is,
it stretches.
Look at the size of the
cardiac orifice, where the food...
I see that, but it means
nothing to me.
Okay, he's got lines of distention...
across the duodenum.
The interior wall's ripped open.
This man ate till he burst?
He didn't really burst. Not all the
way. He was hemorrhaging internally.
There was a hematoma
in the rectus and...
- the transverse abdominous muscles.
- He did die by eating?
Yes and no.
What about these bruises here?
I haven't figured that out yet.
Gun pressed against his head?
Pressed hard enough.
Fuck, yeah.
On the front, flush with the muzzle.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we have ourselves a homicide.
Killer put a bucket beneath him,
kept on serving. Took his time too.
Coroner said it could have lasted
more than 12 hours.
Victim's throat was swollen,
probably from the effort...
and there was a point
when he passed out.
That's when the killer kicked him...
- and he burst.
- Sadistic fucker.
When you want somebody dead,
you drive by and shoot.
You don't risk the time
it takes to do this...
- unless the act itself has meaning.
- Come on.
Somebody had a problem with a fat boy
and tortured him. Simple as that.
In the grocery bags...
we found 2 receipts. So,
the killer stopped and went back...
to the supermarket.
So?
Man, it's his thing.
I've been out in the rain all day.
- This is beginning.
- We've got...
one dead guy, not three.
No motive.
Don't start that big brain of yours...
cooking on this, alright?
I'd like to be reassigned.
Whoa.
What are you talking about?
This can't be my last duty.
It'll go on and on.
You're retiring in 6 days.
You've left unfinished
business before.
Those cases were taken as close
to conclusion as possible.
- And if I may speak freely?
- We're friends here.
It's his first assignment.
I knew it. This is not
my first assignment, you dick.
It's too soon.
I'm here. You can say that
shit to my face. Captain?
It's too soon for you.
Captain...
Can we talk in private?
This is a personal thing--
Just shut up, Mills.
I don't have anyone else...
to put on this and you know it.
This is Metro...
- you don't just get to swap.
- Give it to me.
He wants out, fuck him.
See you, have a nice time.
Give it to me.
I'll put you on something else.
Go on, Mills, just go on.
I'm sorry, old buddy,
but it looks like you're stuck...
cleaning up the fat man.
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
MURDER HAS A NEW UPTOWN ADDRESS!
ATTORNEY FOUND MURDERED
Quiet down.
Alright, calm down. Calm down.
Quiet down.
Here's how it'll work:
I'll answer questions for 10 minutes
and 10 minutes only.
Ask those questions in a calm, sane,
orderly fashion or I will leave.
Detective? Detective?
- Can I have a moment?
- No.
I won't discuss the details of this
investigation, so don't bother asking.
What you got for me?
Nothing yet, boss.
Why don't you guys go get
a coffee, huh?
We have this breaking story.
Let's go downtown where attorney...
Eli Gould was found murdered today.
District Attorney Martin Talbot
is taking questions from reporters.
That's ridiculous and offensive.
There is no conflict, and any claim
there could be is irresponsible.
Now hold on.
I just met with law enforcement
officials and they...
assured me that they have their
very best men on this.
This will be the very definition...
of swift justice.
GREED
Pardon me, George.
Somerset.
Come in.
You heard the news?
Nope, haven't heard.
Eli Gould was found
murdered this morning.
Someone broke into his law firm
and bled him to death.
Wrote the word "greed"
on the floor.
- Greed?
- Yeah, in blood.
Mills is heading the investigation.
Excuse me. Excuse me.
Don't do that, please?
Good for him.
What will you do...
with yourself out there, Somerset?
Oh, I'll work, maybe on a farm.
Fix my house.
Don't you feel it?
Don't you feel that feeling?
You're not going to be a cop anymore.
That's the whole idea.
I don't think you'll leave.
Hell, you can't leave all this.
Guy's out walking his dog.
Gets attacked.
His watch is taken, his wallet.
And while he's lying...
on the sidewalk helpless...
his attacker stabs him in both eyes.
This happened last night
about 4 blocks from here.
I read about it.
I don't understand anymore.
It's the way it's always been.
- Maybe you're right.
- This work is what you're made for.
I don't think you can deny that.
Maybe I'm wrong.
The coroner sent this down for you.
Found them in
the fat boy's stomach...
mixed in with the food.
Looks like little pieces of...
- plastic.
- Set them on that desk.
They were...
fed to him.
Lord.
GLUTTONY
This was found behind the refrigerator
in the obesity murder scene.
"Long is the way
And hard, that out of hell
leads up to light."
It's from Milton.
"Paradise Lost."
Alright...
I'm confused.
It means that this is beginning.
GLUTTONY
This was behind
the same refrigerator...
written in grease.
There are 7 deadly sins, Captain.
Gluttony...
greed...
sloth, wrath...
pride, lust...
and envy.
Seven.
Hold on.
This is not even my desk.
You can expect five more of these.
Wait a minute.
I can't get involved in this.
Somerset.
He wanted it.
Damn!
I'm all over it.
Where to?
Far away from here.
- Just a few things to look up.
- Okay.
Sit where you'd like.
How's everybody?
Hiya, Smiley.
George, the cards are getting cold.
Duty calls.
Gentlemen? Gentlemen...
I'll never understand.
All these books...
a world of knowledge right here...
and what do you do?
You play poker all night.
Hey, we got culture.
Yeah, we got culture
coming out of our asses.
How's this for culture?
CHAUCER
CANTERBURY TALES
DANTE
THE DIVINE COMEDY
VICTIM FORCED MUTILATE HIMSELF
You may want to check these books re:
deadly sins.
Dante's Purgatory
The Canterbury Tales
was crimson with his blood:
Even children slain!
You know, Smiley...
you'll really miss us.
I just might.
PLAN OF DANTE'S INFERNO
The Earthly Paradise
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Fucking Dante.
Goddamn poetry-writing fagot
piece of shit.
Fucker.
Good work, Officer.
Thank you, Lord.
Oh, oh, sorry.
I'll move in a second.
- You want your chair?
- You go ahead.
Yeah?
Phone.
Package deal.
Comes with the office.
Mills.
Honey...
You okay? Something wrong?
You dingleberry, I told you
not to call me here when I'm working.
Yeah. Why?
Why?
Okay.
It's my wife.
Sorry?
She'd like to speak to you.
This is Detective Somerset.
Well, yes, it's nice
to talk to you too.
I appreciate the offer, but...
Well, in that case I'd be delighted.
Yes, thank you very much.
Bye.
Honey, what...?
Well?
Sorry?
I'm invited to late supper
at your apartment. I accepted.
At my... How's that?
Tonight.
Hello, men.
- Hi, loser.
- Hi, idiot.
That's Tracy. Tracy...
Hello.
Glad to meet you.
I've heard a lot about you.
Except your first name.
It's William.
Well, it's a good name...
William.
William, I'd like you to meet David.
- David, this is William.
- Alright, I'll be right back.
- How are the kids?
- Good. They're in the room. Come in.
Aw, good dogs.
How are all the good dogs?
How are you, pretty?
Smells good.
Yeah, I mean, thank you.
Please have a seat, if you like.
- Would you like a drink?
- No. Thanks. I'll wait.
Throw that anywhere.
Excuse all this mess.
We're still unpacking.
I hear you were
high school sweethearts.
Pretty hokey, huh?
You know something?
On our first date I knew he was...
- the guy I'd marry.
- Really?
He was the funniest guy I ever met.
Really.
It's kind of rare nowadays.
I mean, that level of...
commitment.
Oh, don't worry.
I won't wear it to the dinner table.
No matter...
how often I see guns,
I just can't...
get used to them.
Same here.
- Why aren't you married, William?
- Tracy.
What the hell?
I was close once.
It just didn't happen.
It surprises me.
It really does.
Well...
Anyone who spends a significant amount
of time with me finds me disagreeable.
Just ask your husband.
Very true.
Very, very true.
How long have you lived here?
Too long.
How do you like it?
You know...
takes time. Settle in...
it'll be good.
Well, you get numb after awhile
There are things to any city...
Subway.
It'll go away in a minute.
This real estate guy.
Fucking piece of...
Sorry, honey.
He shows us the place a few times,
I think he's good.
He's efficient.
Tracy really likes him.
Then I start wondering why he'll only
bring us here 5 minutes at a time.
We found out the first night.
The soothing, relaxing...
vibrating home, huh?
I'm sorry.
Yeah, alright, laugh it up.
I don't know why you're laughing.
Alright, already.
He had to get into the building...
before the office closed.
Gould would have been working late?
I'm certain. He was the biggest
defense lawyer in town.
- Infamous, really.
- Body was found on Tuesday morning.
The office was closed on Monday.
So he could have gotten in on Friday.
Laid low till the cleaning crew left,
then had...
his way with Gould Saturday, Sunday,
maybe Monday.
Look.
Gould was bound, right arm free.
He was handed a butcher's knife.
Check out the scale.
A pound of flesh.
"One pound of flesh"
"No more no less
No cartilage...
No bone....
only flesh". "Merchant of Venice."
Didn't see it.
"This task done...
And he would Go Free".
I tell you that chair was...
- soaked through with sweat.
- Of course.
The killer wanted Gould
to take his time...
deciding which cut....
to make first.
Imagine it.
There's a gun in your face.
Which part of your body
is expendable?
The love handle.
Cut along the side
of his own stomach.
Let's take a fresh look at these.
The corpse is there, but...
Look through it.
Edit out your initial shock.
The trick is to find one item,
one detail and focus on it...
until it's an exhausted possibility.
I'll get another beer. Beer?
Wine, please.
He's preaching.
Punishing.
The sins were used
in medieval sermons.
- used as teaching tools.
- Yeah. Like in...
- "The Parson's Tale," and Dante.
- You read them?
Yeah.
Parts. Remember in "Purgatory"...
Dante and his buddy climb up the hill
and check out all the sinners?
- The Seven Terraces of Purgation.
- Yeah, right.
But there pride comes first,
not gluttony.
For now let's consider...
the books as the killer's inspiration.
The sermons were about atonement
for sin.
These murders are like
forced attrition.
Forced what?
Attrition's when you regret your sins,
but not because...
- you love God.
- Because there's a gun in your face.
No fingerprints.
Nope.
- Totally unrelated victims.
- Yep.
And no witnesses of any kind.
Which I don't get...
because the fucker
had to get back out.
In any major city, minding
your own business is a science.
In rape prevention, the first thing
they teach you is never cry for help.
Always yell, "Fire!".
Nobody answers help.
Holler "fire," they'll come.
That's fucked up.
He must have left
another puzzle piece.
You know what? Thank you for talking
this out, but I must sleep.
Walk the dogs.
This is just to satisfy my curiosity.
- I'm leaving at the end of the week.
- Shit. No, wait.
Gould's wife. She was out of town
at the time.
- So this means she saw something.
- What if it's a threat?
I put her in a safe house.
She wasn't too happy about it.
What if it isn't what she has seen...
but what she's supposed to see
but hasn't had the chance?
Yeah, okay. What?
I don't know.
But that's the one thing.
I'll sign us in.
Must see Mrs. Gould.
Mrs. Gould?
Mrs. Gould, I'm sorry.
I truly am.
I don't understand.
I need you to look at each photo...
very carefully.
Look and see if there's anything
strange or...
out of place, anything at all.
I don't see anything.
Please, I can't do this right now.
Okay.
It's got to be now.
There may be something we missed.
Wait.
What?
Here.
This painting, it's upside down.
- Your men didn't move this?
- No.
Those shots were taken
before forensics.
Nothing.
There's got to be something.
- He moved the screws to rehang it.
- Yep.
What the fuck is that?
Switchblade.
Goddamn it.
There must be something.
He didn't paint the fucking thing.
No, he's fucking with us,
that's what he's doing.
See this, this is us.
Just wait a minute.
- Somerset's climbing on the furniture.
- Wait a minute.
You're kidding me.
Call the print lab.
Oh, man.
Honestly...
have you ever seen anything like this?
HELP ME
The swell pattern tells me
that they're not...
the victim's fingerprints.
I don't know, man.
I say he's whacked enough.
It doesn't fit.
He doesn't want to stop.
Who knows.
Freaks out there doing their
evil deeds they don't want to do.
"The voices made me do it".
"Jodie Foster made me do it".
It can take...
so maybe you guys want to cross...
your fingers somewhere else.
You meant what you said to Mrs. Gould,
didn't you?
About catching this guy.
Wish I still thought
the way you did.
Tell me what the hell it is
you think we're doing?
Picking up the pieces.
We're collecting all the evidence,
taking all the pictures and samples...
writing everything down...
noting the time things happened.
That's all?
That's all.
Putting everything into neat piles
and filing it away...
on the off chance it'll be needed
in the courtroom.
Picking up diamonds
on a deserted island...
saving them in case we get rescued.
Bullshit.
Even the most promising clues
usually only lead to others.
So many corpses roll away unrevenged.
Don't try to tell me you didn't
get that rush tonight.
I saw you.
We're getting somewhere.
THURSDAY
THURSDAY
Wake up, Glimmer Twins.
We got a winner.
He uses the name Victor.
His real name is Theodore Allen.
Homicide found his prints
at the scene.
He's got a long history
of serious mental illnesses.
He got a very strict
Southern Baptist upbringing.
Somewhere along the line
they fell short.
Victor dabbled in drugs, armed robbery
and assault, spent time...
in prison for the attempted rape
of a minor.
His lawyer made sure that didn't
last long. By the way...
the lawyer was Eli Gould,
the "greed" victim.
We'll stop this today,
ladies and germs.
Victor's been out of circulation for
awhile, but we've a residence for him.
- You're not buying this?
- Doesn't seem...
Like our guy, does it?
You tell me.
Our killer seems to have
more purpose.
You ever take a bullet?
Never in my thirty-four years,
knock on wood.
I've only taken my gun out...
Never pulled the trigger.
Not once.
You?
Yeah. No, I never took a bullet,
but...
I pulled my gun once.
Shot it once.
- Really?
- It was my first one of these.
We were a secondary unit.
I was pretty shaky going in.
I was a rookie.
We bust open the door looking for this
junkie, the fucker opened fire on us.
One cop got hit in the arm.
Christ, what was his name?
It spun him like a top... no, Well,
more, you know, more like slow motion.
I remember...
riding in that ambulance...
and, well...
he died right there.
Right there.
Christ, what was his fucking name?
SWAT goes before dicks.
They love this.
Police!
Clear!
Good morning, sweetheart.
Get up now, motherfucker. Now!
Get up, you sack of shit.
Oh, fuck me.
Dicks!
You'll want to come
take a look at this.
Dicks!
Jesus.
Victor?
- What the hell?
- It's just Victor.
- Call an ambulance.
- What the fuck?
Hearse, I'd say.
Call for forensics.
Get your people out.
No one touches anything.
It's like a frigging wax sculpture.
Sloth.
Aw, man.
Goddamn.
Those pictures were dated 3 days ago.
This must be the first.
Look.
It's dated exactly one year ago today.
I got a hair sample. I got a...
stool sample. I got piss. I got...
fingernails.
He's laughing at us.
You got what you deserved.
He's alive! Cocksucker's alive!
Guns down!
Guns down!
Emergency on that ambulance!
- He's playing games.
- Aw, no shit.
We must forget our emotion.
- We must focus on the details
- I feed off my emotions. How's that?
Are you listening to me?
Yes, I can hear you.
- Excuse me.
- What are you doing?
- Closed crime scene. Leave.
- I got a right to be here.
I'm a U.P.I. photographer.
I got a fucking right to be here.
- Get out! Jesus.
- Fucking jerk.
I got your picture, man.
- I got your picture.
- Yeah, yeah.
Detective Mills.
M-I-L-L-S. Fuck off.
- You can spell!
- Fuck you!
How they get here so fucking quick?
They pay police for the information.
And they pay well.
Hey man, I'm sorry.
They piss me off.
It's okay.
It's impressive to see a man
feeding off his emotions.
by the muscle and spine deterioration.
Blood tests show a smorgasbord
of drugs in his system.
Even an antibiotic, probably to keep
the bedsores from infecting.
Now, has he tried to speak
or communicate in any way?
Even if his brain were not mush,
which it is...
he chewed off his tongue long ago.
Doc.
Is there absolutely no chance
that he might survive?
He'd die of shock right now if you
shone a flashlight in his eyes.
He's had as much pain and suffering as
anyone I've encountered, give or take
and he still has hell
to look forward to.
Good night.
Hello, William.
It's Tracy.
Tracy?
Everything okay?
Yeah. Yes, everything's fine.
Where's David?
He's in the other room.
He's in the shower.
I'm sorry to call you like this.
Oh, it's all right.
What can I do for you?
I need someone to talk...
to. Do you think you could meet me...
somewhere, maybe tomorrow morning?
I don't understand.
I feel stupid calling, but...
you're the only person
that I know here.
There's no one else.
If you can...
just give me a call, okay?
I have to go now.
Good night.
Good night.
FRIDAY
FRIDAY
I mean...
you know this city so well.
You've been here...
so long.
It can be a hard place.
I don't know why I asked you to come.
Why don't you talk to him about it?
Tell him how you feel.
I can't. You know,
I can't be a burden.
Especially now.
I'll get used to things...
you know?
I wanted to talk to someone...
who's lived here for a long time.
I mean, upstate, it's
a completely different environment.
Did David tell you that I teach
fifth grade? Well, I did.
Yeah, he mentioned it.
I've been going around,
looking at schools...
but the conditions here are...
horrible.
What about private schools?
I don't know.
Tell me what's really bothering you.
David and I are going to have a baby.
Oh, Tracy. I...
I don't think I'm the one...
to talk to...
- about this.
- I hate this city.
I had a relationship once...
it was very much like a marriage.
We got pregnant.
This was a long time ago.
I remember getting up one morning
and going to work.
Just a day like any other, except
it was the first day after I knew...
about the pregnancy.
And I felt this fear...
the first time ever.
I remember thinking...
how can I bring a child
into a world like this?
How can a person grow up
with all this around them?
I told her I didn't want to have it.
And over the next few weeks...
I wore her down.
I want to have children.
I can tell you now that...
I know... I mean...
I'm positive that...
I made the right decision.
But not a day passes
that I don't wish...
that I had made a different choice.
If you don't...
keep...
the baby, I mean,
if that's your decision...
don't ever tell him you were pregnant.
but if you choose to have the baby...
then spoil that kid...
every chance you get.
That's...
about...
all the advice I can give you, Tracy.
I must go.
William.
Thank you.
Gluttony Greed Sloth Envy
Wrath Pride Lust
Victor's landlord said there was cash
in the mail box...
the first of every month.
Quote:
"I never heard a single complaint
from the tenant...
in apartment 306, and nobody
ever complained about him.
The best tenant I've ever had."
- End quote.
- A landlord's dream.
A paralyzed tenant with no tongue.
Who pays the rent on time.
I'm sick of this waiting.
This is the job.
Why aren't we out there?
Why must we sit here rotting,
waiting till the lunatic...
does it again?-
"Lunatic" is dismissive.
Don't make that mistake.
Come on, he's insane. Look.
Right now he's probably dancing around
in his grandma's panties.
Yeah, rubbing himself
in peanut butter.
How's that?
I don't think so.
His luck'll run out.
He's not depending on luck.
We walked in there exactly 1 year
after he tied Victor to the bed.
One year to the day.
- He wanted us to.
- Don't know that for sure.
Oh, yes, we do.
This note he left...
his first words to us.
"Long is the way, and Hard,
that out of hell...
Leads up to Light."
Fuck him. So what?
He's right, so far.
Imagine the will it takes to keep
a man bound for a full year.
To sever his hand and to use it...
to plant fingerprints.
To insert tubes into his genitals.
This guy's methodical, exacting...
and worst of all, patient.
He's a nut bag.
Because the fucker's got
a library card doesn't make him Yoda.
You got money?
I got 50. Fifty bucks.
I propose a field trip. Come on.
We'll make a list.
At the top we'll put "Purgatory"...
"Canterbury Tales," anything relating
to the 7 deadly sins.
- Ask yourself.
- Wait.
What would he study
to do the things he's done?
What are his interests now?
Jack the Ripper, for instance.
- Where are we going?
- Library.
Coupons. Coupons.
Free coupons. Discount--
Discount coupons.
They must have had about 50 health
violations during the last inspection.
Sit across from me?
I don't want people thinking...
we're dating.
Give me your money.
I'll give you this, but
I ought to know what are we doing.
Somerset. How you doing?
Didn't expect a menage-a-trois.
It's not a problem. Sit down.
Only for you do I do this,
so it's a big risk.
- So we're in this fair and square.
- It's a deal.
About an hour.
Yep. Help yourself.
That was money well spent.
Yeah.
Alright.
Telling you this, I'm trusting you
more than I trust most people.
Good, 'cause I might punch you.
It's probably nothing, but even so,
it's no skin off our teeth.
The guy in the pizza parlor
is a friend from the Bureau.
Who, stinky man?
For years, the FBI's been hooked into
the library system, keeping records.
- Assessing fines?
- No, monitoring reading habits.
Look.
Certain books are flagged.
Books on, say, nuclear weapons...
"Mein Kampf".
Anyone who checks out a flagged book
has his library records fed to the FBI.
Wait. How is this legal?
Legal. Illegal.
These terms don't apply.
You can't use the information
directly. It's just a useful guide.
It might sound silly, but you can't
get a library card without an ID...
and a current phone bill. See?
- So they run our list.
- Precisely.
If you want to know who's reading...
"Purgatory", "Paradise Lost"
and "Helter Skelter"...
the FBI's computers will tell us.
It could give us a name.
Of a college kid writing
a term paper...
on 20th-century crime.
At least you're out of the office.
Get a haircut.
How do you know this?
I don't.
- Neither do you.
- Exactly.
"Divine Comedy".
"History of Catholicism" A book
called "Murderers and Madmen".
"Modern Homicide Investigation".
"In Cold Blood".
"Of Human Bondage". Bondage?
It's not what you think.
The Marquis de Sade.
- Marquis de Sade.
- Whatever.
Works of St. Thomas Aqua something...
Saint Thomas Aquinas. There.
He wrote about the seven deadly sins.
Is that it?
Yep.
- Let's try it.
- Jonathan Doe?
Whatever.
We're sure about that name, are we?
You were, you saw it. John Doe.
You want to go back, I'll go back.
Let's take a look at him.
Talk to him.
This is crazy.
We'll just talk to him.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you
happen to be a serial killer?"
You do the talking.
Put that silver tongue of yours
to work.
You've talked to my wife?
Retarded.
Charlie's fucking Angels.
A name off a computer.
Mills.
- You hit?
- No.
He's going down!
Fifth floor!
Police. Is there a back way out?
Lock your door.
Get out of the fucking hall, please.
Get down!
Get the fuck down.
Goddamn it.
Get out of the fucking way. Clear.
Where are you going?
- I'm going in.
- No, no. Wait. Wait.
What? He fucking shot at us.
You can't go in.
- We need a warrant.
- We got probable cause. Come on.
Think about it. Think
how did we get here?
- I can't tell anyone about the Bureau.
- Get out of the way.
We have no reason to be here.
Would you listen to me?
- Get off, get the fuck off me.
- Alright, I'm sorry.
Just pay attention a minute?
With a hole like this,
we won't be able to prosecute.
The fucking guy'll walk.
That's what you want?
By the time we clear a warrant...
Fuck that.
We need a reason to knock on
this door.
Think about it.
Okay?
Okay, okay.
You're right. I'm all fucked up.
When you're right, you're right.
Well...
no point in arguing anymore.
Unless you can fix that..
You stupid son of a ...
How much money we got left?
So, yeah, I noticed...
this guy going out a lot...
when the murders were happening,
so I...
So you called Det. Somerset?
- She called Somerset.
- 'Cause this guy...
was creepy and shit,
and one of the murders...
- happened right over there.
- I told you the rest.
Got everything?
Have her sign. You must sign.
Good.
You did good.
- I did what you said.
- Here.
You get something to eat.
Everybody stay outside.
Victor.
Wild Bill's Leather
Fuck.
LUS
Somerset!
- What?
- We had him.
What are you saying?
The fucking photographer in...
the fucking stairs.
We had him and we let him go.
You're sure this is him?
Yep. Good. Get it out.
No pay stubs. No appointment books.
No addresses. Just this receipt.
- Keep looking!
- Wait, look at this.
This was under the bed.
His only source of funds?
We got his money. I like it.
Wait. You won't believe this.
We haven't found a fingerprint.
Not one.
Right. I don't believe you.
Keep looking.
We could use some more men.
I'm doing my best.
- What're you getting?
- There are 2,000 notebooks here...
and each notebook
contains about 250 pages.
What about the killings?
"What sick ridiculous puppets we are,
what a gross stage we dance on.
What fun, dancing and fucking.
Not a care in the world.
Not knowing that we're nothing.
We are not what was intended."
Wait, there's a lot more.
"On the subway today, a man came up
to start a conversation.
He made small talk, a lonely man
talking about the weather and things.
I tried to be pleasant...
but my head began to hurt
from his banality.
I almost didn't notice...
but I suddenly threw up all over him.
He was not pleased...
and I couldn't stop laughing".
No dates.
Placed on the shelves
in no discernible order.
Just his mind poured out on paper.
Looks like a life's work.
With 50 men reading in 24-hour shifts,
it'd still...
- take 2 months.
- I know.
Phone? Phone? Phone? Phone?
People, quiet!
I admire you.
I don't know how you found me,
but I was surprised!
I respect you law enforcement
officers more every day.
Well, I appreciate that, John.
- I tell you--
- No, listen:
I'll be re-adjusting my schedule
in light of today's setback.
I just had to call and express my
admiration. Sorry I had to hurt...
one of you, but I had
no choice, right?
You'll accept my apology? I'd like to
say more but that'd ruin the surprise.
Got it.
Everybody back to work.
You were right.
He's preaching.
These murders are his sermons to us.
Look, we know him. We know him.
We know him.
Who's the blonde?
Looks like a pro.
Maybe.
She caught John Doe's eye.
Wild Bills' Leather
- He came and collected it last night.
- Last night?
- Yeah.
- This man?
John Doe, easy name to remember.
He had a limp.
- What was this job you did for him?
- I've got a picture.
One sweet piece, actually.
I thought he was a performance artist.
You know the sort of guy that...
pisses in a cup on stage and then...
drinks it.
Performance art.
Right.
I think I undercharged him.
- You made this for him?
- I've made...
weirder shit than that.
They found the blonde.
The picture!
The picture!
Fucking pigs.
- I need you to move.
- I'll come out, but you guys...
Get the fuck out of the booth.
I've been in this cage the whole time.
Come on, this way.
-Can you do something about the music?
-We're looking for the guy.
You from homicide?
You better see this.
Get this thing off me.
Oh God, get it off of me.
Get him out of here, now!
I want to hear it again.
Tell me again.
You heard nothing strange,
saw nothing strange.
He asked me if I was married.
- I saw a gun in his hand.
- Where was the girl?
The what? What?
The prostitute. Where was she?
Someone comes to your establishment...
they want to go downstairs,
get some oo-la-la. Whatever.
They got to come to you. Yeah?
Yeah.
You didn't see anyone?
With a package? A knapsack?
Something under their arm?
Everybody that comes in there's got
to be a package under their arms.
Some guys are carrying suitcases
full of stuff.
She was just sitting on the bed.
Who tied her down? You or him?
Do you like what you do for a living?
All these things you see?
No, I don't.
But that's life, isn't it?
He had a gun. And...
he made it happen.
He made me do it.
He put that thing on me.
And he made me wear it.
Then he...
told me to fuck her.
And I did. I fucked her.
Oh, God! Oh, God!
Oh, God, he had a gun in my mouth.
The fucking gun was in my throat.
Fuck.
Oh, God. God.
God, help me.
Please, please, help me.
This won't have a happy ending.
- It's not possible.
- We catch him, I'll be happy enough.
If we catch John Doe and he turns out
to be the devil...
if he's Satan himself...
that might meet our expectations.
But he's not the devil.
He's just a man.
You know...
You bitch and you complain
and you tell me these things.
If you think you're preparing me
for hard time...
thanks, but...
But you got to be a hero.
You want to be a champion.
People don't want a champion.
They want cheeseburgers...
- play lotto and watch TV.
- How did you get like this?
I want to know.
It wasn't one thing,
I'll tell you that.
Go on.
I don't think I can continue to live
in a place...
that embraces and nurtures apathy
as if it was a virtue.
You aren't different or better.
I didn't say I was. I'm not.
Hell, I sympathize.
I sympathize completely.
Apathy is a solution.
I mean, it's easier to lose yourself
in drugs than it is to cope with life.
It's easier to steal what you want
than to earn it. It's easier...
to beat a child than to raise it.
Love costs. It takes effort, work.
We talk about mentally ill people.
We are talking about fucking crazies.
- No, we're not.
- Yes, today.
No, we're talking about
everyday life here.
You can't afford to be this naive.
Fuck off.
See, you...
You should listen to yourself.
Yeah. You say that...
the problem is people don't care.
So, I don't care about people.
Nonsense. You know why?
You care?
Want to know-- Damn right.
You'll make a difference.
Whatever. The point is that...
you're not quitting
because you believe...
these things you say.
You want to believe them...
because you're quitting.
And you want me to agree with you and
say "You're right, it's all fucked up.
It's a fucking mess. We should all go
live in a fucking log cabin."
But I won't.
I won't say that.
I don't agree with you. I do not.
I can't.
I'm going home.
Thank you, though.
I love you.
So much.
I know.
SUNDAY
SUNDAY
What's your emergency?
Could you repeat that?
I've done it again.
PRIDE
What have we got?
Sleeping pills.
Glued to one hand.
Telephone glued to the other.
You see what he did?
He sliced her up.
Then he bandaged her.
Call for help and you'll live.
But you'll be disfigured.
Or put yourself out
of your own misery.
Come on.
He cut off her nose.
To spite her face.
And he did it very recently.
Listen...
I've decided to stay on
till this is done.
One of two things'll happen.
Either we'll get John Doe...
or he'll kill 7 and this case
will never end.
Don't do me any favors. Thank you,
but I got it.
I'm asking to be your partner a few
more days. You'd be doing me a favor.
You knew I'd say yes. We're here.
Your wife called.
Get an answering machine.
Detective?
After this I'm gone.
- No big surprise.
- Detective!
You're looking for me.
Don't fucking move.
On the floor.
- Stay back.
- On the fucking floor.
I know you.
Now. Get down.
Get down on your stomach.
You piece of shit. Now!
All the way. All the way...
fucker. Down.
Faster.
Faster, fucker. Now.
Nose on the ground.
Jesus Christ. What the fuck is this?
I'd like to speak
to my lawyer, please.
Goddamn it.
He cuts the skin off the tips of his
fingers. That's why we couldn't...
find 1 print in his apartment.
Seems he's done that for a while.
What about the bank accounts?
The guns?
So far everything is a dead end.
No credit history.
No employment records.
A 5-year old bank account
opened with cash.
We've tried tracing his furniture.
All we know about him...
is that he's independently wealthy...
well-educated...
and totally insane.
Because he's John Doe by choice.
- When can we question him?
- You can't. He goes to court now.
There's no way he'd turn himself in.
It doesn't make any sense.
There he sits.
It's not supposed to make any sense.
He's not finished.
He's pissing in our faces
and we're taking it.
You know what I'm saying.
For the first time ever,
you and I are in total agreement.
He wouldn't just stop.
So what the fuck, man?
He's 2 murders away
from completing his masterpiece.
We'll wait for his plea.
My client says there're 2 more bodies.
Two more victims hidden away.
My client says there're 2 more bodies.
Two more victims hidden away.
He will take Detectives Mills and
Somerset to these bodies, only them...
and only at 6 o'clock today.
Why us?
He says he admires you.
It's part of the game.
If they don't accept this offer,
these bodies will never be found.
Frankly, I'm inclined to let them rot.
We've got him.
Downstairs, locked up. Done deal.
He'll get his free room and board,
cable TV.
My wife doesn't even have cable.
Why are we discussing this?
No. Something stinks. And this one--
You. In your $3,000 suit...
and that smug smile on your face.
Dealing for that piece of shit.
I don't like it.
The law requires me to serve...
my clients and their interests
as best I can.
We don't make deals here, Mr. Swarr.
My client informs you that...
if you do not accept,
he'll plead insanity.
Let him try it.
I'd like to see it.
We know with the extreme nature
of these crimes I'd get him off...
with such a plea.
I won't let this conviction slide.
If you do accept under
his specific conditions, he'll sign...
a full confession,
plead guilty right now.
It's your case.
Make a decision.
Full confession.
I'm in.
It must be both of you.
If he were to claim insanity...
this conversation is admissible.
That he's blackmailing us
with his plea.
My client wants to remind you,
The press'd love to find out
the police weren't concerned...
about finding and burying them.
If in fact there are 2 more dead.
The lab report came.
They did a quickie on
Doe's clothing and fingernails.
They found blood from Doe's fingers,
blood from...
the woman who's face he cut off,
and blood from...
a third party...
as yet unidentified.
You'd be escorting an unarmed man.
Let's finish it.
If John Doe's head splits open
and a UFO flies out...
I want you to expect it.
I will.
If I accidentally shaved off a nipple,
would it be covered by workman's comp?
I suppose so.
If you were man enough
to file a claim...
I'd buy you one out of my own pocket.
I keep coming home late,
my wife'll think something's up.
You know...
Yeah.
What?
Will this wind hurt us?
Who are you, John?
Who are you really?
What do you mean?
At this stage, what harm can it do
to tell us about yourself?
Doesn't matter who I am.
Who I am means absolutely nothing.
Stay on your left up here.
Where are we heading?
You'll see.
We're not just going to pick up
That wouldn't be shocking enough.
You've got newspapers
to think about, yeah?
Wanting people to listen...
you can't just...
tap them on the shoulder anymore.
You have to use a sledgehammer.
Then you'll get
their strict attention.
But the question is:
Why're you so special
that people should listen?
I'm not special.
I've never been exceptional.
This is, though. What I'm doing.
My work.
Your work, John?
Yes.
See, I don't see anything special
about it, John.
That's not true.
No, it is true. And the funny
thing is, all this work...
in 2 months, no one'll care,
or give a shit, or even remember.
You can't see the whole complete
act yet.
But when this is done...
when it's finished...
it's going to be...
People will barely be able
to comprehend.
But they won't be able to deny.
Could the freak be more vague?
As far as master plans go...
I really can't wait for you to see.
It's going to be something.
Know what?
I'll be standing next to you.
So when this thing happens,
be sure and let me know.
Don't want to miss it.
Oh, don't worry.
You won't.
You won't miss a thing.
What's so exciting?
It's not too far now.
I've tried to figure something in my
head. Maybe you can help me out.
When a person is insane,
as you clearly are, do you know...
that you're insane?
Maybe you're reading...
masturbating in your own feces...
Do you just stop and go:
"Wow, it's amazing how fucking crazy
I really am"?
You know? Do you guys do that?
It's more comfortable
for you to label me insane.
It's very comfortable.
It's not something I would expect
you to accept.
But I did not choose. I was chosen.
Whatever.
I don't doubt that you believe that.
but it seems that you're...
overlooking a contradiction.
Meaning what?
Glad you asked.
If you were chosen...
that is, by a higher...
power...
and if your hand was forced...
it seems strange to me
that you'd get such enjoyment.
You enjoyed torturing those people.
That doesn't seem to fit
with martyrdom, does it?
John?
I doubt I enjoyed it more than Det.
Mills would enjoy time alone with me...
in a room without windows.
Isn't that true?
How'd you like to...
- hurt me with impunity?
- That hurts my feelings.
I would never.
You wouldn't only because
there's consequences.
It's in those eyes of yours, though.
Nothing wrong with a man
taking pleasure in his work.
I won't deny my own personal desire...
to turn each sin against
the sinner.
Wait a minute, I thought all you did
was kill innocent people.
Innocent? Is that supposed
to be funny?
An obese man.
Disgusting man who could barely stand.
You'd point him out to your friends
so that they'd join you in mocking him.
If you saw him while you ate,
you couldn't finish your meal.
Then the lawyer. You had to
secretly thank me for that.
This is a man who dedicated
his life...
to making money by lying with every
breath he could muster to keep...
murderers and rapists...
- on the streets.
- Murderers?
- Murderers, like yourself?
- A woman...
so ugly inside that she
couldn't go on living...
if she couldn't be beautiful outside?
A drug dealer. A pederast, actually.
Let's not forget...
the disease-spreading whore.
Only in a world this shitty...
could you say they were innocent
and keep a straight face.
But that's the point.
We see a deadly sin
on every street corner...
in every home and we...
tolerate it.
We tolerate it because it's common.
It's trivial.
We tolerate it morning,
noon and night.
Well, not anymore.
I'm setting the example.
And what I've done will be...
puzzled over...
and studied...
and followed...
forever.
Yeah.
Delusions of grandeur.
You should be thanking me.
Why's that, John?
Because you'll be remembered
after this.
Realize, Detective, the only reason
that I'm here now...
is that I wanted to be.
No. We would have got you eventually.
Oh, really?
So what were you doing,
biding your time? Toying with me?
Allowing 5 "innocent" people
to die until...
you felt like springing your trap?
What was the indisputable...
evidence you were going to use on me,
right before...
I walked up to you and put my hands
in the air?
John. Calm down.
I remember us knocking on your door.
That's right.
And I seem to remember
breaking your face.
You're only alive
because I didn't kill you.
Okay. Sit back.
- I spared you.
- Sit back.
Remember that when you
look in the mirror...
for the rest of your life...
or should I say for the rest
of what life I allow you...
to have.
Sit back, you fucking freak!
Shut your fucking mouth!
You're no messiah. You're a movie
of the week. A fucking tee shirt...
at best.
Don't ask me to pity those people.
I don't mourn them any more than the
Is that to say, John, that what
you were doing was God's good work?
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Do you see those high-tension towers?
That's where we're headed.
I see it. 9 o'clock,
and follow that road.
There sure as shit is no ambush
out here.
No fucking nothing out here.
They'll come up behind us in about
I want you to go way up.
In thirty seconds, bank east
on my mark. Thirty seconds.
I'll get him.
Get out.
Slowly.
Stop.
Stay.
What do you got?
A dead dog.
I didn't do that.
What time is it?
Why?
I'd like to know.
It's close.
Let's go take a look.
It's this way.
Down. Down. Down.
Watch him.
There he goes.
It's good we have
some time to talk.
The guy in red.
Keep the crosshairs on him.
A van's coming down the road.
From the north.
Be ready for anything.
Wait for my signal. Wait for me.
Get out!
Out!
Jesus Christ, man. Don't shoot.
Step away.
Turn around. Hands on your head.
What's going on?
Why are you here?
I'm delivering a package
for this guy, David.
Detective...
David Mills.
Get it. Slowly.
A guy paid me $500
to bring it out here.
He wanted it here at exactly
Put it down.
We got a box.
We got a box.
Call the bomb squad.
Bomb squad. We got a box.
Face the van.
Hands up.
Turn.
Okay. Go.
Off you go. Go.
I'm sending the driver out on foot.
He's headed north, along the road.
Have him picked up.
Oh, I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm going to open it.
When I said I admired you,
I meant what I said.
It's blood.
You've made quite a life for yourself,
Detective.
- You should be very proud.
- Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit.
California, stay away from here.
Stay away from here, now.
Don't, don't, don't come in here.
Whatever you hear, stay away.
John Doe has the upper hand.
Here he comes.
- Throw your gun down!
- What?
- I wish I could have lived like you.
- Shut up.
What the fuck you talkin' about?
Do you hear me, Detective?
I'm trying to tell you how much...
I admire you and your pretty wife.
What?
Tracy.
- What'd you fucking say?
- It's disturbing...
how easily a member of the press
can purchase...
information from the men
in your precinct.
What the fuck?
Throw your gun down!
I visited your home this morning...
after you left.
I tried to play husband.
I tried to taste the life
of a simple man.
Throw it away!
It didn't work out.
So...
I took a souvenir.
Her pretty head.
- What's, what's he talking about?
- Give me the gun.
What's goin' on over there?
Would you... Put the gun down.
I saw you with the box.
What was in the box?
Because I envy your normal life.
Put the gun down, David.
It seems that envy is my sin.
- What's in the box?
- Not until you give me the gun.
What's in the fucking box?
He just told you.
You lie! You're a fucking liar!
Shut up!
That's what he wants. He wan--
He wants you to shoot him.
No! No. You tell me.
You tell me that's not true.
- That's not true.
- Become vengeance, David.
She's all right. You tell me.
Become...
wrath.
Tell me she's all right!
If you murder a suspect, David...
you just throw it all away
and he knows it.
- She begged for her life, Detective.
- Shut up!
She begged for her life...
and for the life of the baby
inside of her.
He didn't know.
Give me the gun, David.
If you kill him...
he will win.
Oh God!
Oh God!
Well, we'll take care of him.
Whatever he needs.
Where you gonna be?
Around.
I'll be around.
Ernest Hemingway once wrote:
The world is a fine place
and worth fighting for."
I agree with the second part.