" Piece of shit's whacked." " Try the celly again." "And it ain't no piece of shit." "The alternator's a little temperamental." "Well, maybe the battery's dead, like this phone." "Look, it ain't the battery." "It's the alt..." "Hey, this is like one of them Scream movies, huh?" "More like Boyz N the Hood." "I'm gonna jet to that phone." "One of my dogs'll hook us up." "I know you ain't leaving me here all alone." "Hey, look, you'll be safer in here." "Be back in three, all right?" " All right." " Give me some love." "Ain 't nobody home, Leave a message," "Hey, Luis, pick up the phone, dog." "Hey, wake up, man." "Damn." "Fucking lazy-ass punk, motherfucker man." "Paco!" "Oh, my God!" "Who the fuck is it?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello!" " Where you from?" " Your mama's pussy, bitch." "Paco!" "Paco!" "Paco, no!" "No!" " Let's go." " No!" "No!" "No!" "Miss Chenowith gave us her account of your activities at the crime scene." "Crime scene?" "So you're saying it was arson?" "What's your story, Mr. Fisher?" "The house is empty." "I wanted to show Brenda where I hung out as a kid." "I don't know why he wanted to show it to me." "Can you tell us what you did while you were there?" "Walked around, looked at things." "You really expect us to believe you broke into an abandoned house just to walk around?" "Okay." "We fucked." " You were there for an hour or so?" " Tops." "Could you walk us through what the two of you did for that hour?" "We made love." "Could you please be as specific as possible?" "Just to establish a timeline." "Well, he went down on me for a while." "He's really good at it." "I don't exactly remember the specifics." "He was in a state, like he had a lot of aggression to work out." "She said that I was aggressive?" " Man, she should talk." " Then he fell asleep." " What happened then?" " We were exhausted, so we left." "I left to meet somebody." "He was just waking up." "I don't know what he did." " Can I go?" " I think we have everything we need." " Thank you for your cooperation." " Peace out, guys." "Well, yeah, she left first, I left right after that," "Are you aware that the property was purchased by Kroehner Service?" "Yes, Matt Gilardi said they were planning to open a cheap cremation place and put us out of business." "Was that the point where you called him a "greedy Nazi fuck"?" " Is that correct?" " Yes, that is correct." "You think I set the fire?" "Well, you have to admit it does seem like a beneficial turn of events for your business." " So, what, do I need a lawyer?" " Not yet." "You're free to go." "Actually, one more thing." "Do you know where your sister was on the night of the fire?" "No, why?" "I understand she had a run-in with the law recently." "A missing foot." "If she is developing a pattern of acting out subsequent to her father's death..." "Claire had nothing to do with that fire." "How do you know?" "I knew passing the health department inspection was too good to be true." "It just meant something else would go wrong." "Great, there goes a month's profit." "We can live without air conditioning." "Plenty of people do." "Yeah, people in the Third World." "We can't run a business without air conditioning." "If we lose any more funerals Kroehner won't have to take us over." "We'll be bankrupt." " How much?" " Central air, three grand easy." "Guess what." "Gilardi tipped the cops off." " Think I'm a suspect." " That's ridiculous." " Where's Claire?" " School." "I hope." "Do you know where she was before the fire?" "Why, what is it?" "Oh, dear God, they don't think..." "Oh, she couldn't have." "Good news, bad news." "Compressor's fine." "Bad news is, your pneumatic actuator assembly is shot." "Normally, I could do it in a day, but with this heat wave, give me five days." " Five?" " What's it gonna set us back?" "Shouldn't debt you more than 3700, parts and labor." "Our 10:00." "Tell them we'll have air conditioning." "Three days." "He would have been 21 next week." "We were gonna buy him a new bed." " Now we're buying him a coffin." " Three in the morning." "He shouldn't have been out with that girl in that neighborhood." "It's the worst thing that can happen, to lose a child." "We lost him years ago." " We'll see to it that Paco..." " His name is Manny." " His gang name was Paco." " He goes by Paco." "And he wasn't lost, he was assassinated." "We'll see to it that he has a dignified service." "We've been to three funeral homes." "No one will take us." "We don't turn people away here." "But sometimes when families lack the funds necessary or insurance..." " I got money." " We don't want your money." "If your son is willing to finance..." " He's not our son!" " He's a gang leader." "Alvarado Kings." " Don't you read the papers?" " My name is Powerful." "Paco's gonna have a fat-ass funeral whatever it costs." "We got mad cash, so long as you all can do it up right." "Now, can you all do it up right or should we move on?" "If you'll excuse me." "Nate will show you flower arrangements, which might be to your liking." "Lilies are always nice." "Federico, I need your help, your expertise." " I've got a really tough one upstairs." " Decomp?" "Crispy critter?" "Gunshots, no facial damage, cut and dried." "The family wants a traditional Mexican funeral." "Okay." "What's a traditional Mexican funeral?" "But there's this other guy, the deceased's gang leader." "And what does this have to do with me?" "I was hoping you would talk to them for me." "With me." "What, because I'm Latino, I know about gangs?" "Well, you probably know more than I do." "And why's that?" "Well, I just assumed that maybe somebody in your family might..." "No, no one in my family." "Never." "I've worked here for years, and you don't know a damn thing about me." " That's not true." " You own an atlas?" " An atlas?" " Yeah, because if you did you'd know there's 2400 miles between Puerto Rico and Mexico." "You're Puerto Rican?" "Look, Federico, I'm sorry." "I just assumed..." "We can't afford to lose this funeral." "And I'm afraid if Nate and I are the point of contact, we will." "This is our blue opal, 20 gauge aluminum and copper with a light blue, sovereign velvet interior." " It's nicer than our car." " It's beautiful." "It's not good enough." "Mrs. Bolin, if this is the casket you want for your son, you should have it." "He is your son." "Hey." "Where you from, dog?" "One moment, please." ""Where you from?" Like, where my parents were born?" "San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico." ""Where you from?"" "As in, what gang I belong to?" "Yeah, I'll tell you what gang I belong to." "The gang that's gonna help you bury your friend." "The gang that's gonna be there for you and your cholos when every other home doesn't wanna deal with your bullshit." "Your friend is dead, man." "Now, do you want me to help you or you just wanna go heads-up?" "It's good." " I don't like it." "It's dangerous." " Not if we let Rico handle everything." "David, we are so white." "If we step in, we will totally fuck up." "Language." "I'm more worried whether Claire started that fire." "Why would she?" "To help us out?" "She hates us." " Is Brenda a vegetarian?" " She'll eat anything." "Did you know the night dad died, Claire was high on crystal meth?" "Oh, my God, isn't that a horse tranquilizer?" "No, it's speed, really nasty speed that makes you crazy." "If there are things you don't want me to hear go talk about them in another room." " I assume she drinks." " I can call and tell her to cancel." "No, I've been looking forward to this." "I have some errands to run." "I'll pick up a nice chardonnay while I'm out." " What errands?" " I can give you a list if you'd like." "You guys, this kid at school today got busted for having a taser because he showed it to his friends at lunch." "What an idiot." "There were like six cops." "It was absolutely hilarious." "What?" "No, it's not really a gang funeral." "It's..." "They needed a home, we needed a body." "Everyone wins." "Yeah, right." "Who you gonna call when the bullets start flying?" " Anyone but you." " Oh, you damn straight." "Claire's gonna need a lawyer." "A good one." "Look, if she set that fire, she'll do what's right." "I'll see to it." "What's right is getting her top legal counsel and having her plead the Fifth." "I don't care what you do, just keep her out of the system." "She'll be eaten alive." "Any chance you can snoop around and find out their game plan?" "I don't know." "I already interfered once." " Are you guys pulling out or what?" " Yeah, in a minute." "Well, let's go." "Fucking fags, man." "Keith." "Keith!" " Say it again." " What?" "I said, say it again." "The next time you call someone a fucking fag you make sure that fag isn't an L.A.P.D. Officer." "You got that?" " You understand me?" " Yeah." "Now, you got my badge, file a complaint." "I dare you." "You get your punk ass out of here, fucking bitch." " Tore his ass up." " I don't think he meant anything by it." "Do you hate yourself that much?" "This is some fucked up way to make a living." "You know that?" " How's your day, man?" " You don't wanna know." "You ever see sunlight?" "Or you gotta avoid it?" " Hey, you checking out my dick." " I was not." "I'm just fucking with you, man." "Hi." "A gift from my parents." "They'll freak when they find out." " You're an hour early." " Really?" "Yeah." "Not quite as Addams Family as I'd expected." "Dave and I used to play Addams Family when we were kids." "I was usually Gomez." "He was always Lurch." "The kitsch factor is substantial." "Hence your well-developed sense of irony, I suppose." " It's hot in here." " Do I hear voices?" " Look who's early." " It's a pleasure to see you again." "I'm so glad you could make it, dear." "Champagne." "How festive." "Thank you." "Excuse me, I'm knee-deep in marinara." "I'll go chill this." "Nate, give Brenda a tour." " She hates me." " Why do you say that?" "Because it's true." "What's the matter?" "Afraid Mommy might see?" "Okay, okay." "Can we not turn tonight into psych 101?" "Because trust me, we'd never make it through the evening." "Somebody's defensive." "Nate, it doesn't matter if your mother likes me or not." "I don't care." "What's that shit?" "Oh, hell no." "No." "Hey, how come you don't call your bone daddy?" "Still pissed at him, right?" "Hey, I'm feeling you, man." "What gives him the right to get up in your world?" "You know, be so...?" "So fucking self-righteous?" "That's what I'm saying." "You don't call him nothing, but he went off on you." "Yeah." "I think he's got a problem with that stress-management shit." "Hey, or maybe he's one of them rage-aholics." " I mean, that boy went off." " Just because some kid calls him a fag." " It's so unnecessary." " Well, he called you a fag too." " So?" " So, what'd you do?" "Nothing." "And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself." "They said therefore unto him, "Art not thou one of his disciples?"" " He denied it and said, "I am not."" " John 18:25." "No wonder he went off on you, man." "You know?" "Hey, bury me naked, please." "It's a shame Diane Arbus is dead." "She could take some fucking great photographs in here." " What's the matter with you today?" " Nothing." "I just have a lot on my mind." " I don't wanna bore you with it." " Thank you." "Come here." " Why?" " Just do it." "What's wrong?" "I'm about to become an undertaker, and I'm scared to death of it." "A huge corporation wants to put us out of business and I'm worried my sister's not only a crackhead, she's an arsonist." " There's a lot of sadness in this house." " It's a funeral home." "No wonder you ran away." "You channel other people's pain, you know that?" "My father called it a gift." "It is a gift." "Oh, God!" " Oh, God!" " Guess dinner's ready." "So, what's it like to be interrogated?" "Did you flash your crotch like Sharon Stone in that movie?" " Claire." "They just keep asking the same question different ways to trip you up." "That's cool." "Was it fun?" "I bet it was kind of fun." " Not really." " Think they'll wanna interrogate me?" "No." "Nate, will you say grace?" " Wouldn't David rather?" " Please." "Thank you, Lord, for our health and bounty through Christ." "Amen." "What, are you on crack?" "Squash?" "Mom, Nate and I have been working on a business plan to figure out how we're gonna fend off Kroehner." "Business plan?" "Your father never had a business plan." " Yeah, that's part of the problem." " We'd like to go over it with you." "I don't need to see it." "It's your business, not mine." " Is there sauce for the pasta?" " I'll get it." " Brenda, what do you do for a living?" " She gives massages." " Shiatsu." " Now, what exactly is that?" "It's a Japanese bodywork technique that involves pressure to points on the acupuncture meridians." "Well, how interesting, acupuncture." "That's the pins, right?" " Yes." "The pins." " So you stick pins in people." "I use my thumbs, wrists, elbows." "So you stick your thumbs in people?" "No." "At least not as part of my job." " I hope you stay for dessert." " It's peach cobbler." "Yum." "This is a nice box." "That Federico is a good salesman, huh?" "I'll say." "You know what the markup is on one of these?" "Thirty-two hundred." "Hey, can I get like a nightlight up in here?" "I don't like the dark." "Well, then you shouldn't have gone and gotten yourself shot." "Shit, that's cold, man." "Mr. Powerful and his entourage are here." " I'll be right there." " Who were you talking to?" "Myself." "David, why did you stop going to church with me?" "I've been going to a different church with a friend of mine." "That cop?" "The black man?" "Don't be a pussy." "Yes, Mom, that cop, the black man." "I love you, Paco." "Oh, God." "You all right?" "I look like a fucking Bible salesman." "I look like you." "Man, what's up with this whack-ass music?" " I'm not sure about the music." " Yeah, it blows." "What about the "Ave Maria"?" " Perfect." " Perfect." "Honey?" "God, no." "No, please." "No, no, no." "No!" "It's like a mad scientist lab in here." "How can you live here?" "Better than a Turkish prison." "Most days." " Jesus." " Told you." " Did you ever kill anybody?" " I don't know." "Shot at a few." "Everybody thinks I burned down this house across the street." " Did you?" " What do you think?" "What's it like to shoot a gun?" "You wanna try some time?" " Come down to East Los, be down." " Are you serious?" "Because I will." "You're some kind of tough, little bitch, huh?" "You didn't hear your road dog calling for help on your machine." "You ain't gonna spend the rest of your life wondering why you didn't pick up the phone the first time it rang." "You're hurting me." "You don't know shit, little girl." "Don't waste my time." "This one right here is my first one." "After that, man..." "I mean, I got me this one right here when I got jumped in." "Check it out." " That's very intricate." " Yeah." "And this one." "This one took me three weeks to heal." "Watch out." "That's the shit, huh?" " Can I help you?" " Hi, it's so good to see you again." " How have you been?" " Fine." "So sad." "I read about Manuel's death in the Times." "I had to pay my respects." "Oh, it's heartbreaking." "The riots..." "I mean, the uprising was supposed to increase the peace and all we have are more dead children." "Did you know him?" "Oh, I feel I know all these innocent victims." "This is not a good time." "If you'd like to forward a card to the family..." "Well, maybe I could just stay a few minutes." "A card." "I'll do that." "You should have seen my baby, so happy such a smile that could break your heart." "What kind of God lets a baby like that get caught up in all that shit?" "Drugs." "Guns." "Death." "Mrs. Bolin, I'm not gonna tell you that it's all gonna be okay." "But it just takes time." "This is as bad as it gets." "I have nothing to live for." "You have your husband." "You have you." "You have the memory of that little baby." "You have to keep that alive." "My father died on Christmas Eve." "And there's so much I never said never knew about him." "But he's a part of me." "And Manny will always be a part of you." "Why didn't God take me instead of my boy?" "I don't know." "You gotta apologize to your boy Keith." "Otherwise, you're just a born bitch." "You're speaking like this at your funeral?" "Damn straight." "I say whatever I goddamn please." "I've been to a ton of funerals." "You seen one, you seen them all." " Even mine." " No gunfire, no fights." "Nah." "No Sharks, no Jets." "Just like any other funeral." " You let down, huh?" " A little." "A Detective McBride just called." "They made a determination of the house fire." " They termed it "cause unknown."" " So they ruled out arson." "No, they just can't tell." "Either way, the case is closed." "Which doesn't rule out the possibility that Claire set that fire." "She didn't do that, Nate." "Well, what if she did, Mom?" "Pretending it didn't happen is not gonna help." "I'm sorry about last night with Brenda when you walked in on us." " I know what you're talking about." " Where have you been?" " None of your business." "When did this become a police state?" "I need an Altoid." "The original sin wasn't eating the apple." "It wasn't questioning authority." "It was not giving God the chance to give his side of the argument." "It was just taking the serpent's word as gospel." "It was not going back to God and saying, "Hey, what gives?" "He said you are lying to us."" "It was just assuming that God lies." "I'm sorry about the other day." "Aren't you gonna say, "Hey, man, I'm sorry too for revealing my dormant psycho side and scaring the shit out of you"?" "You really think I hate myself?" " Good to see you, David." " Hi." "I know where you are." "I was there." "I'll wait for you because I love you." "But I'm not moving backwards for anybody." "I'm not asking you to move backwards." "I'm just asking you to be patient and a little calmer." "Do you have any idea what I put up with on my job every day?" "How many times the word "fag" has been written on my locker?" "How many times I wonder going into a dangerous situation if I'll get back up?" "We were stepped on yesterday, David." "And I did something about it because I am tired of it." "When you get tired of it, you let me know." " Morning." " Hi." "You think I should make a peace offering to your mother?" "No, that'll just make things worse." "I brought it up yesterday." "She nearly bit my head off." "Oh, Jesus." "It's no accident you guys are undertakers because you take every fucking feeling you have, put it in a box and bury it." "Better that than examine every fucking moment until the joy is drained out of it." " Come here." " No." "Just do it." "Sex does not solve everything, Nate." "You wouldn 't have to worry about us," ", while you're working and we're out of school," "Right, The family that plays together, stays together," "And it'd be a groovy way to find out exactly what's wrong with this country," "I'd be able to see all the injustices firsthand," "Look, kids, everything you say makes sense," ", and it would be marvelous if we could go, But there's one," "Claire, are you okay?" " No." " Well, do you wanna talk about it?" "Sure." "My pimp's threatening to beat me up because I can't turn enough tricks." "What's worse is, he's threatening to take away my smack." "It's hell." " Why do you have to be such a bitch?" " Why do you assume I'm in trouble?" "Like you guys are such shining examples." "Jesus." "She's right, Mom, Do you want Chris to pump gas all his life?" "And Tracy to wait on tables in some sleazy strip joint?" "Kroehner is going to keep strong-arming our suppliers undercutting us, stealing funerals." "We're never gonna be able to compete in terms of size or market presence." "Where we can compete is quality of service, integrity." " We'll give them the human touch." " It all sounds good to me." "Is this over?" "But we have to get our message out." "We'll need to market and promote." "Replace outmoded equipment and install computers." "Fine." "In order to make this all work, we'll need a significant financial investment." " How much?" " Ninety-three thousand." "You want me to give you $93,000 from your father's life insurance?" "Nobody else is going to do it." "We're still paying off a bank note Dad took out years ago." "We hate to ask, Mom, but we're desperate." " Of course, you're not obligated." " I know that." "When do you need it?" " You sure, Mom?" " But it's not a loan." "I'm now an investor in Fisher  Sons." "We'll establish a fair percentage of equity and rate of return." "I can invest in either my boys or tech stocks." "Anything's better than the track." "David, I'd like it if you'd come with me to church every once in a while now that your father's gone." "I shouldn't have to go alone." "Okay." "Well, that was weird." "It gets weirder." "There was a message on my machine from Gilardi." "He wants to meet with us today." "Hey, dog." "Getting ready to throw some blows?" "If you were me, Paco, what would you say to Gilardi?" "What would you do?" "If I was you?" "Shit, if I was you, I wouldn't own a fucking funeral home." "But all right." "All right, say I'm doing my thing, selling my shit." "Some punk ass tries to clock me from my corner." "You know what I say?" "I say, "Peep this, motherfucker!" "5:00, you near me, my corner or my shit I'll cut your fucking stomach, watch your guts spill out." "I'll let you live until you slowly bleed to death in front of your fucking kids."" "Feel your heart racing?" "Because when the other guy feels like that, you won." "Come on, David." "You gotta stand up, man." "You gotta step up." "Yeah, you stepped up." "Look what happened to you." "That's right." "For 20 years, I lived my life like a man." "When are you gonna start?" " You lowered your offer." " What can I say?" "The market fluctuates." "Thanks, but we don't see a need to align ourselves with Kroehner right now." "Okay." "I'll make it simple." "You accept our offer by the end of the day or I'll make it my personal mission to bury you by the end of the month." "David, you in on this suicide mission?" "David?" " You just threatened my family." " Let's not be melodramatic." "What do you expect us to do, run and hide?" " Sell and be grateful?" "Pack up and move?" " Lf you're smart." "You have the Kroehner organization behind you." "And what do we have?" "You." "One day when your mind isn't on Fisher  Sons I will find you or someone you love." "I'm not saying anyone is going to die." "There are tragedies far worse than death." "Things you couldn't even dream of, you spineless, candy-ass, corporate fuck." "Just give me a reason." "It's your decision." "Are we really worth the trouble, Mr. Gilardi?" "Lunch is over." "Get lost." "Are you deaf?" " What the fuck was that?" " I think I'm gonna throw up." "Hi." "I hope you like fancy bath stuff." "I went a little crazy at the Beverly Center." " Thank you." "This wasn't necessary." " Yes, it was." "I'm afraid you might not have seen me in my best light the other night." "I saw more of you than I cared to." "Okay." "Look." "I'm not a very traditional person." "And I don't really know what's happening between me and Nate but every once in a while I get a glimpse of things maybe working out for us and I'm really sorry about what happened." "Be careful with him." "He's a lot more fragile than he'd like to think." "Aren't we all?" " Well, thank you." " My pleasure." "Are the Fishers around?" " You need David?" " All of them and you too." "Just tell me what you're unhappy with." "Just get them, all right?" "Will you join us?" "Merciful Jesus please bring rest and peace to our fallen brother son friend Manuel Paco Bolin." "May he live with you forever in your lightened truth." " Almighty Father." "Amen." " Amen." "We also wanna thank the Fishers who lost a father and husband." "Lord bring peace to them in their grief as you have in ours." "We'll miss you." "Hey, let go of me, you fucking fag." "I gots to go." "Jesus, you're just a kid." "So are you." "Hey, David." "Don't be a bitch." "Shit." "Now, I know why you wanted to go bowling instead of a movie." " I was state champion in the Youth For Christ Bowling League when I was 17." " You're gonna beat the pants off me." " That's my intent." "I got a college degree, and I still cannot figure how this scoring works." "Hey, you fellows together?" "Yeah, we are." "That's cool." "Hey, Bren, the door's unlocked." " Brenda?" " In the bedroom." "I'm just here to deliver a pizza, ma'am." "I don't want any trouble." "I got your tip right here." "Whoa." "Where's my pizza?" "Mom asked me to tell you that the lavender bath scrub was delicious." "She's not supposed to eat it." " What's with all the candles?" " I'm burning up." "Burning up for your love." "What?" "What?" "You like some guy enough to have his name burned in your flesh." "I would have done a lot more than that for him." " What's up with you?" " I had a really weird day." "Poor baby." " Mom, are you okay?" " Fine." "Can I ask you something?" "And you promise to tell me the truth?" "Maybe." " Did you set that fire?" " No." "No, I would never do anything like that." "I may have swiped that foot, though." "Dinner's almost ready."