Voudon

Cagney and Lacey Fanfic based on characters created by Barbara Avedon and Barbara Corday.

- 1984.

It was foggy: everything was cold and clammy. The last of the snow lay in black hard piles in the train yard. She lost her footing in the mud and snow and slid, out of control, almost 20 feet down the bank and onto the tracks. Jenners sped up, losing his scarf as he disappeared around the nearest boxcar. She waited, gun drawn, before swinging around the corner of the boxcar. There was nothing to be seen but her own breath and rows of boxcars. He could be anywhere. She knew he was going to have to leave the way he had come - eventually. She was patient: she would wait. The fugitive, however, was not so patient. She turned - someone was breathing hard and running back up that damned bank. Mary Beth Lacey cursed softly under her breath as she turned to pursue him. The fugitive was about to turn the corner and disappear down a warehouse alley, when he was tackled by someone leaping from behind a large dumpster. Both figures landed hard and rolled in a large puddle of brown slush. Christine Cagney, also waiting patiently, had nailed him.

They had cuffed the fugitive, read him his rights and returned his scarf.

CAGNEY (Her jeans are wet and she is swatting at the slush on her leather bomber jacket.)

Great. This thing will never come clean.

LACEY

Chris - over there.

He had been watching the whole incident. There was a large gash on his forehead and his clothes had been torn. He didn't look frightened. He didn't look aware of anything at all.

CAGNEY (crouching down to speak to him)

Hey, there. What happened here? You hurt?

Thus it was that the two detectives left with two people in tow. One a suspect in a robbery and the other the key to a question they had yet to ask.

SAMUELS (He is looking at an open file folder while addressing the two detectives standing before him.)

Looks like you two had a busy evening. Good collar on Jenners (Chris and Mary Beth smile at each other). His prints were found at the scene and witnesses have picked him out of the line up. He won't be pulling any more robberies for quite a while, thanks to you two. (He smiles at them - dropping the manila folder on top of a small pile of folders on his desk and picks up another file from a larger pile.)

SAMUELS

The coroner's office is very interested in the other fellow you found last night.

LACEY

He died?

SAMUELS

That's for you to find out. Seems like (looking in the folder) Mr. Jacques Duvalier was pronounced dead at Mt. Sentinel hospital last year. His body disappeared from the morgue. Which explains why no one has seen him until you two found him -apparently alive - last night.

CAGNEY (leaning on his desk and gesturing with one hand)

Lieutenant, either there's been a mistake or some kind of hoax, but the man we took to the emergency ward last night was very much alive.

LACEY

Excuse me sir, but wouldn't it be simpler just to ask Mr. Duvalier what has happened? If he's alive, there's obviously been a mistake.

SAMUELS

Good idea, Detective, and you can ask him if you find him. His wife was very upset when the hospital phoned her - she thought he was dead. She and her son identified him as her husband and then - no one knows how - he disappeared by the time she had filled out the paper work. (sliding the file folder over to Lacey) Find him detectives, and find out what happened. Like I said - the coroner's office is interested in the case. Was it a mistake or is there an impostor out there committing fraud?

Cagney turns- raising her eyebrows at Lacey as they both turn to leave.

SAMUELS

Wait a minute you two. I'm not finished. I have another assignment for you. (this time he hands a file to Cagney). Major Cases has requested two detectives. Two women. One a blonde.

CAGNEY (instantly suspicious)

Why?

SAMUELS (carrying on with his own train of thought)

Either of you heard of Bobby Shaunessey?

CAGNEY

The Irish Rocket? Who hasn't? (Lacey hasn't, but keeps this information to herself)

SAMUELS (shakes his head fondly)

Greatest center the Rangers have ever had. More hat tricks than anyone else in the NHL. Well, seems someone has been trying to shake Shaunessey down. He came to us instead of paying up and Major Crimes is running a sting. They'll be putting a wire on him. Cagney - you're his bodyguard. You'll be at the meetings posing as his girlfriend. Major crimes wanted a female who could fit in with the other hockey girlfriends - (waves his hands dismissively) you know the type.

Cagney knows all right. They needed a blonde did they? Cagney is leaning over Samuels's desk again, looking like she definitely has something to say. Lacey is watching Cagney closely. Her own face is a study in restraint.

SAMUELS (noticing nothing amiss)

Lacey, you'll be backup - You'll be in the area, but not part of the meeting. Back up in the van, of course, will be recording everything. You two meet with Major Cases this afternoon. That's all.

Samuels waves them out as he picks up his ringing phone. Lacey picks up both folders. She grabs Chris at the same time, dragging her out the door. Cagney continues watching Samuels over her shoulder as Mary Beth hauls her out. Mary Beth closes the door after them.

CAGNEY (outraged, slams herself down into her chair and immediately jumps up again, gesturing at Samuel's office. Her voice is at least an octave higher than normal.)

A bimbo! Mary Beth. They want a bimbo!

LACEY

I thought you wanted to work on Major Cases. So we're being assigned for the wrong reason - it's still a great assignment.

CAGNEY

Me! A bimbo!

LACEY

(Getting her purse from her drawer and going to the coat tree and picking up both their coats.)

Get your purse. Com'on. We have to go and interview Duvalier's wife….or widow. Maybe we can find this dead-again guy.

Chris is still glaring but she retrieves her purse, slams the drawer and takes her coat from Mary Beth as she steams by on her way to the door. Mary Beth follows. She is not looking forward to the ride in the car.

ISBECKI (He has been watching in uncharacteristic silence. He turns to Petrie.)

Call a woman a bimbo and she gets insulted. But let me tell you Marcus, give me a bimbo any day.

Petrie looks at him for a long moment and then goes back to work. Some things just take longer than a lifetime to explain to someone who doesn't get it the first time around.

The small apartment has gradually filled with people of all ages. All are curious relatives who have come to see the two female cops interviewing Marie Duvalier. Her eldest son Marcel is acting as an interpreter. Christine has been standing in the background listening to the chatter of the crowd. She has neglected to mention her own ability to speak French.

MARCEL

Again, Detective Lacey, Maman says it is simple. He was dead. Now he is alive. (He spreads his hands) Alas, no one knows where he has gone.

The crowd murmurs. The old woman nods solemnly in agreement as her son speaks. Lacey strongly suspects Mme. Duvalier is quite able to speak for herself. She again addresses the older woman.

LACEY

Madame Duvalier, we found your husband last night. Now we are trying to find him - to bring him home. Is there anything you can tell us that will help us find him? Any place we might look to find him? Any friends who might know where he is?

MARCEL

No. She knows none of these things. Detectives, she is old and has been through a great ordeal. My father was dead. No one can explain where he is now.

LACEY

Does your father have a habit of disappearing? Was he ill?

MARCEL

I told you! He was dead, not ill. No one knows where he is. (quietly) Please, detectives, leave this matter alone.

LACEY

Mr. Duvalier, your father may be in trouble!

MARCEL

My father is dead. Please leave us, Detectives. Leave us to this renewed grief.

CAGNEY

I'm telling you, Mary Beth, those people were scared.

LACEY

But a zombie! This is New York, Christine.

CAGNEY

They were talking about zombies and bokors - bad men who make zombies. And Marcel wasn't telling you everything, Mary Beth. Madame Duvalier is a very frightened woman. (emphasizing the point with her finger.) His family sounded just as happy not to see him again.

A loud rapping by her head makes Mary Beth jump. Lacey rolls down her window.

BEAUVOIR

Bonjour, Detectives. (He extends his hand to Lacey in introduction). Jean Beauvoir. I was in the apartment just now and I believe I can be of assistance.

CAGNEY

You know where Duvalier is?

BEAUVOIR

I can take you to his grave.

LACEY

His grave?

CAGNEY

The guy we are looking for is very much alive. I have his very real blood on my jacket sleeve.

BEAUVOIR

You asked me where he is. I have told you what I know.

CAGNEY

Why are you really here, Beauvoir?

BEAUVOIR

I am a houngan. A voudon priest.

CAGNEY

Voodoo?!

BEAUVOIR

I prefer voudon, Detective. Those people up in that apartment are afraid that Jacques has become a zombi. I don't happen to believe that is what happened in this particular case.

CAGNEY

In this particular case?

BEAUVOIR

Detectives, there are many happenings that cannot be explained without invoking the spirit world. I myself have seen many of these things. However, I believe what happened to Jacques can be….other wise explained. I do not like my people to be afraid. So. I place myself at your service.

LACEY

How can you help us?

BEAUVOIR

I suggest you attend one of our voudon ceremonies. They are open to the public and it might help you to understand our community. Then, if you are still interested, I will show you where Jacques lies buried.

CAGNEY

How do you know where he is buried?

BEAUVOIR

Tonight, Detectives.

CAGNEY

Come off it Beauvoir! Cut the cryptic mystic routine!

BEAUVOIR

I will answer any of your questions - after you open your eyes, Detectives. Tonight.

Beauvoir leaves. The two detectives look at each other.

CAGNEY

Right. Like I'm going to a voodoo ceremony.

LACEY

Sounds like a good idea to me, Chris. (At Chris' look of disbelief) Chris, he's the only lead we have. Besides - it might be interesting.

Chris nods curtly in response, turns the ignition and pulls the car sharply away from the curb.

Zombies are a curious phenomenon. All agree that bokors make zombies. Few know how. Spirit possession is one explanation: others talk of a drug that is spread over the threshold of an entrance - a drug that enters the bare feet of the unfortunate victim. Still others say the victim actually dies - only to be resurrected by a bokor using drugs and mind control. All agree that a zombie is stolen from the grave and resurrected by the bokor as a slave with no volition.

No zombies have previously been reported in New York City.

LACEY

So Doctor, you're saying that Duvalier was in a deep state of narcosis - that he was drugged?

CLARK

That's only one explanation. The point is that a brain scan and cardiogram showed no signs of life. I declared him dead on that basis.

CAGNEY

How do you explain his disappearance? Did he just wake up, open the morgue fridge from the inside, hop off the tray and saunter out the door?

CLARK

(dryly) Hardly, Detective. His body was stolen.

CAGNEY

He was alive. (It is quite evident that she is getting very tired of explaining this to people.)

CLARK

I have yet to be convinced, Detective. My records show he was dead. If he wasn't dead, the machines weren't able to detect any activity. Either way, he didn't walk out on his own.

CAGNEY

So. A conspiracy to spirit (if you'll excuse the expression) a dead or heavily drugged man out of the hospital?

CLARK

Apparently.

CAGNEY

Doesn't it bother you, Doctor, that a living man may have been declared dead? What if he hadn't disappeared? What would have happened?

CLARK (dryly)

Someone would have noticed during the autopsy.

CAGNEY

Thank you, Doctor, for that reassurance.

Cagney snaps her notebook shut, turns on her heel and walks out the door. Lacey has not been enjoying this conversation. Thoughts of being buried alive can be disquieting - unfounded, perhaps, but definitely disturbing.

LACEY

Thank you Doctor. We'll contact you if we have any more questions.

CLARK

I'll look forward to it.

His eyes were a very intense green. He was also muscular and quite good looking, if somewhat small for a hockey player. She decided that it was the dark hair, high cheekbones and the eyes that made him attractive. He also had the easy charm exhibited by men who are used to success -especially success with women. Based on all the information available, Cagney disliked him instantly.

They had been introduced. Everyone on the team knew their roles and the Major Cases men had left. The sting was set for tomorrow night. Cagney, Lacey and Shaunessey were alone in the room.

SHAUNESSEY (raising one eyebrow and grinning.)

So, you're a bodyguard?

CAGNEY

We are detectives. Being a bodyguard is only one of the things we do.

SHAUNESSEY

Really? This could be much more fun than I thought.

CAGNEY

Dream on, Shaunessey. If you'll excuse us, we have work to do.

Shaunessey reaches out to touch Cagney's elbow. She turns to face him.

SHAUNESSEY

Sorry. I acted like a jerk. I'm a bit nervous, I guess. These guys are nobody to fool around with.

LACEY

We'll be right there with you, Bobby. Nothing will go wrong.

CAGNEY

It will be fine. Trust me. We'll take good care of you.

SHAUNESSEY (lowers his head and then looks back up at them)

Thanks.

(to Chris)

What do you think about getting together tonight - just to go over things?

CAGNEY

Good try, Shaunessey. See you tomorrow.

Mary Beth and Chris were seated in a covered courtyard in New York. It would have been very easy to believe they were in Haiti. The night had the soul of a drum beat. Rattles maintained a staccato rhythm as dancers swirled around the fire - muscles and faces gleaming with sweat. The dancers' faces were blank. Shadows cast by the fire played on the roof and reached out hypnotically past the dancers and into the watching crowd. Faces lit from below by candles and the fire took on the eerie cast of wooden masks the two detectives had seen only in museums.

Without warning the beat broke, the synchronicity of the three drums shattered - the deeper drum beating irrevocably, incessantly and hypnotically. One of the dancers broke from the rest: her body jerking spasmodically; her hands raised to the sky. The loa - the spirit they had been invoking - had arrived. The small woman whirled frenetically around the fire - lifting men much larger than herself - tearing glass with her teeth and swallowing the shards. At the end, she knelt before the fire, invoking an unknown spirit in an ancient tongue and grabbed a burning piece of wood in each hand. She raised the burning brands to the sky and then slowly lowered them to her lips, licking each glowing faggot in turn. She broke off a coal with her mouth, as if savoring the flavor, before spitting the still burning ember to the ground. Finally she collapsed - fell to her knees, raised her hands to the sky and collapsed into the arms of Jean Beauvoir - the houngan. Her lips and arms were unmarked.

Two hours have passed. The air is stifling. The drums beat on: the dancers continue to whirl in an attempt to invoke another loa to the circle. Both detectives have been gripped by an experience so powerful - and so impossible in their world - that they are both shaking.

CAGNEY

I need air.

LACEY

Air would be good. Let's go.

They had reached an unvoiced consensus to wait until the next day to interview Beauvoir.

CAGNEY

Mass hypnosis. I don't know, Mary Beth. But there is no way that woman ate fire.

LACEY

I don't know Chris. The mind can be very powerful. Harvey says that it is very well documented that people walk on fire, nails - glass and suffer no ill effects.

Cagney is irritable. It isn't just the conversation -although she definitely found the topic irritating. Her head was throbbing. She felt like she had a fever. And her stomach was definitely feeling off. She hadn't felt well for a couple of hours.

CAGNEY

(mumbling) I worry about Harvey sometimes. Why does he know all this stuff, anyway?

Lacey is driving. She looks straight ahead.

LACEY

Harvey happens to have an inquiring mind, Christine.

They drive on in silence for a while.

CAGNEY

Mary Beth, I don't feel so good.

Mary Beth looks over at her partner. Chris is now huddled in her seat - sweating and looking confused.

Unhhh… (this from Cagney as a spasm of pain grips her abdomen.)

Lacey pulls the car over and opens the passenger door to examine Chris. She checks her partner's pulse. It is racing. Mary Beth lays her hand on Chris' forehead - she is burning up. Chris is now barely conscious.

LACEY

Chris? Chris, are you still with me?

CAGNEY (hallucinating)

Got to go get them, Mary Beth.

She struggles to get the car door open, then falls back in her seat, unconscious.

LACEY

Central, this is car K-13. We have a 10-13 -officer down. - At Essex and 47th street. Are there any paramedic units at this location? Do you copy Central? I repeat. We have a 10-13.

RADIO

We copy K-13. Negative on the paramedic units. Can the victim be moved? Over.

LACEY

Roger on that Central.- suspected poisoning. Over

RADIO

Car K-13 - Proceed to St. Michael's - we will alert them to your arrival. Over.

LACEY

Car K-13 proceeding to St. Michaels under lights and siren. Over.

Lacey belts her unconscious partner into her seat, plants the bubble on the roof, and pulls the car onto the road under siren. There is a stretcher waiting when the arrive at St. Michael's.

She grabbed him by the collar almost before he had the door open.

LACEY

Alright, Beauvoir, I want some answers now! Ya hear me?

It was 3A.M. The pounding at the door had woken him from a sound sleep.

LACEY

I just left my partner in the hospital. Eh? What exactly did you put in her drink tonight. (shaking him slightly) Eh?

BEAUVOIR

Is Detective Cagney OK?

LACEY

She'll be fine, no thanks to you. They've pumped her stomach. She'll stay in the hospital over night for observation. What did you give her?

BEAUVOIR

Detective Lacey, I promise you, I did not poison either of you. Please calm down. Maybe I can help. What were her symptoms?

Lacey lets him go. He's right. It didn't make sense he would invite them to such a public place to poison either of them. It was too obvious - he was a voudon priest, he would be far better at deflecting suspicion. Still, he was the only one she knew who might help figure this out.

LACEY

Fever, headache, severe cramps, and hallucinations until she blacked out.

BEAUVOIR

Do you know how long she felt this way?

LACEY

She didn't mention anything until she was quite ill in the car. I didn't notice anything.

BEAUVOIR

You said hallucinating? (Lacey nods). I won't mislead you, Detective. I don't know for sure what poisoned Detective Cagney - but I do have a good idea. There is a poison manufactured from feeding datura - a very deadly poison - to beetles. The dung from these beetles is crushed and used as a much milder poison. The effects are quite severe while they last, but there are no long-term effects. The victim recovers quite quickly. It is usually given as a warning.

LACEY

So, just find whoever has the beetles and we've got our poisoner.

BEAUVOIR

No. It's not that simple. The beetles feed on a tree that won't grow in New York. It is a commonly know poison that is sold only on the black market. You visited the Duvalier's today. Did you and your partner eat or drink the same things this afternoon or this evening?

LACEY

I've been over this. I had tea this afternoon. She ate and drank nothing at the apartment. She had a scotch tonight at the ceremony. I had a coffee.

BEAUVOIR

The poison is alcohol soluble. She was poisoned at the ceremony. (kneeling beside her) Detective Lacey, not everyone knows - or believes - that you are investigating a disappearance. It is rumored that you are really immigration police. And it was only a warning, Detective. There are many more potent poisons available to anyone who had wanted to harm either of you.

(Lacey gets up to leave. She has the information she needs - although many more questions still remain unanswered. He escorts her to the door.)

By the way Detective, are you still interested in seeing Jacque's grave?

Lacey turns to face him.

LACEY

I'll get back to you on that. Thank you Mr. Beauvoir. Goodnight.

Lacey gets into the squad car for the last time that night. Beetle turds. Chris was going to love that.

She still wasn't feeling a hundred per cent, but it was over - beetle turds! She concentrated on tonight. Chris looked one more time in the mirror and shook her head to get the full effect of the dangling earrings, the garish makeup and the tight dress. There was definitely no room for a gun holster. She'd have to keep her purse close by.

LACEY

You look just….wonderful Chris. Bobby'll never know what hit him.

CAGNEY

He should be so lucky.

The music was loud, the smoke hung heavily in the air and most people were well on their way to a good time. Neon signs that advertised mostly American beers - and of course Guinness - hung on the walls. Photos of Jack and Bobby Kennedy were prominently displayed - as was a signed poster of Bobby Shaunessey himself. There was a dart board on the far wall and a pool table in the back. You could order real fish and chips from the kitchen and on a good day you could even order green beer. It was an Irish pub.

Mary Beth was seated alone at a table by the fireplace. She was nursing a ginger ale and listening to the conversation five tables away. Her mike was working well. They were getting what they needed for a conviction.

Chris and Bobby were seated at a table with three large men - Smilin' Jack Andrews and his bodyguards. The three men had been drinking heavily - Chris and Bobby only appeared to be under the influence. Cagney was hanging all over Bobby - doing a great job of keeping an eye on the situation - all the while being invisible. Who would feel threatened by the blonde hanging on Bobby's arm? Andrews had introduced his two body guards - everyone had laughed when Bobby introduced Chris as his body guard - but it had worked. She had been able to stay at the table. Andrews had made his move. He had put it all out on the table. All Bobby had to do was hang back a little, miss the net a few times and he'd be a rich man. Turn the deal down and he would meet with an unfortunate accident. A career ending accident. They had what they needed and any minute now the Major Cases squad would be moving in to take over.

Smilin' Jack was a nasty drunk. He also had a terrific left. The waitress was busy delivering another round to their table when she was given a shove from behind and landed, along with the drinks, on the table. Jack had the offender in a head lock and was applying his left hook very effectively almost before all of the wasted beer had landed.

The bar erupted. Many joyously joined in. It was a little early in the evening for a bruhaha, but it was, after all a Friday night and everyone was ready for a bit of fun. Bobby and Chris looked at each other. They couldn't see Lacey through the crowd. Events moved quickly. A fist connected on Bobby's jaw and someone made a grab for Cagney. Chris had a wicked elbow that dealt effectively with the groper. She leapt to Bobby's defense, landing a good punch into his assailant's stomach giving Bobby a chance to free his arms and land a good punch of his own. They barely had time to grin at each other before each was again fully occupied - Bobby by a huge man who was shouting something about the "bloody Rangers" and Chris by the groper who had now recovered from the elbow to his gut and was back for more. Cagney landed another punch to his stomach. Bimbo eh? This was definitely more fun than she'd had in at least a week.

Lacey had lost track of the others, but she was dealing with trouble of her own. The man who had been watching her and pestering her all night had finally made his move. He was now on the floor rubbing his jaw and she was looking down at him, very pleased with herself. She had little time to savour her victory, however: two other combatants hit her from behind. Mary Beth found herself under the table, unhurt and planning on staying that way.

The evening was about to get even more interesting. The sound of sirens broke through the din of the fighting.

Mary Beth, her wrist in a tensor bandage, looks contrite. Cagney, with a shiner and a swollen lip, does her best to look apologetic.

SAMUELS (speaking to the paper he is holding)

Four thousand dollars damage! Four thousand dollars!

Neither detective answers him. It was clear he had much more to say.

SAMUELS

Cagney, we convinced both officers to drop the assault charges, but Williams - did you really need to break his nose?

CAGNEY

Lieutenant, the man needs a refresher course in frisking - he had his hands in places-

SAMUELS

Alright, alright, I don't want to hear it.

-a broken pool table? How can you destroy a pool table, Cagney?

CAGNEY

Lieutenant, I'm sure that table was cracked before Bobby and I jumped on it. (lamely) Things were pretty wild by then. We didn't expect most of the room to follow us up there.

SAMUELS

I am very glad that Major Cases is picking up the tab, detectives. (closes the file and looks at them)

You both did good on this case. Major Cases may find it a bit expensive, but you brought the case home, girls. Good work. (smiles) I'm glad Bobby stayed clean. I love watching him play.

ISBECKI (dropping a paper on Cagney's desk)

They found your dead guy. He's living with his cousin in Rochester.

CAGNEY

What? Duvalier?

LACEY

His cousin in Rochester?

CAGNEY

That's it. No body - no death - no crime. I'm putting "probable deep narcosis" as explanation for his supposed death. Case closed. (she gets up to get a cup of coffee)

LACEY

Chris -

CAGNEY (puts up her hand)

No, No, you're right, Mary Beth. Let's tell the truth. He was dead. He is now alive but he disappeared and turned up in Rochester as a zombi. How? Well, there's a little bit of a hitch because no one will tell us how. But, we, New York's Finest will leave no rock - or beetle - unturned in our search for the truth.

LACEY

Are you finished?

CAGNEY (sitting back at her desk)

Yes.

LACEY

Fine. I was going to say that Beauvoir was going to show us a grave. Who's in that grave?

CAGNEY

I don't care.

(she puts her head down on the desk and then looks up again).

OK. Maybe I do care. Lets go to the graveyard and find us a grave - or better yet a zombi. Why not? This case just keeps getting better. (she gets up and heads for Samuel's office) We'd better get an exhumation order. Just in case.

The moon was full, throwing eerie shadows in the dark night. There were black clouds scudding across the sky and bare tree limbs banging together in the wind. The headstone was small and almost hidden by last year's weeds. There was no name etched in the stone. The two detectives and Beauvoir stood waiting in the cold. The crew was raising the casket. The chains holding the casket gleamed in the moonlight and the winch screeched as the casket rose slowly in the night. The detectives and the voudon priest moved forward for a better look as the lid was pried open. No body. Just three small bags. Chris opened a bag and poured the diamonds into her palm. The other bags were also filled with diamonds. Part of the mystery had been solved. Thieves had used the grave intended for Duvalier - unless of course, zombies hoarded diamonds.

SAMUELS

Looks like Major Cases is taking over this one, detectives. But you did good. The diamonds are most likely from a heist made over five years ago. Major Cases may be able to tie the jewels to a guy they've been trying to nail for some time. Those rocks could have stayed in the ground forever. So. You found your missing man and you uncovered a stash from an unsolved jewel heist. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Cagney and Lacey are smiling broadly. Praise did not come every day.

SAMUELS

Now, about that robbery collar - Jenners. Turns out his lawyer managed to get the lineup i.d.'s thrown out as evidence. That leaves only the one witness. The D.A. needs a stronger case. Go back out there and find some more witnesses (he tosses a file across the desk to them). Go back out there and make this one stick.

Yes Lieutenant.

Yes sir.

Some cases just never ended. Cagney and Lacey turn and leave the office. It is almost quitting time.

LACEY

We still don't really know what happened to Duvalier, Chris. Let alone who poisoned you.

CAGNEY

He was not dead. He is alive. The machines made a mistake or he was in deep narcosis. There was no crime. Samuels has closed the folder on this one, Mary Beth. I don't know how else to explain it. Do you?

LACEY

What if someone was messing with this Duvalier? What if someone did drug and abduct him. That is a crime, Chris.

CAGNEY

Yes it is a crime. If it's true. But we have no way to prove it. No one will even discuss Duvalier with us. The coroner has an explanation. His family is happy. Duvalier won't talk. We could say that Duvalier may have been drugged. He did disappear for a year. Not even Beauvoir believes he was drugged, Mary Beth. Yes there are loose ends. But we have to move on. Case closed.

LACEY

And your poisoner?

CAGNEY (thoughtful)

I don't know. Someone disgruntled with immigration. (pausing) Maybe someone warning us off the case, Mary Beth. I'm not saying there's nothing there. It's just time to quit, for awhile anyway.

LACEY

(letting it go for now. As Cagney signs them out)

What are you up to tonight?

CAGNEY (her face lights up)

I, Mary Beth, am going to a hockey game.

LACEY (coyly)

Let me think - A Ranger's game?

CAGNEY (grabbing her coat)

(nodding) Unhuh

LACEY (getting her own coat)

Going with anyone in particular?

CAGNEY (laughing)

You're not being very subtle, for a detective, Mary Beth. Yes, I'm going out with Bobby after the game. He has very nice eyes, Mary Beth.

LACEY

And a great right hook. I hadn't noticed his eyes. (pauses) He is the hat trick king, I hear.

CAGNEY (laughing again)

I'll let you know, Mary Beth. I'll let you know.

The two detectives walk out of the squad room together, laughing.