I Am the Night

It is hard raising a mixed-race child.

Who's Fauna Hodel, Mama?

You. You're Fauna Hodel.

I'm leaving. I'm gonna find my real family.

What brings you to Los Angeles?

I'm visiting my grandfather.

I've never met him.

Well, that will interesting.

You... You're the one that wrote that article

about Dr. George Hodel? - George Hodel? Yes.

You were right about him. Got to keep looking.

Your grandfather is a very dangerous man.

Stay away from him.

Pat!

There you are!

Come on!

Girls, your cousin is here!

Patta's here!

What are you doing here?

He asked me to come, Tina.

It's probably just a mix-up is all.

Tina can take you on the bus.

The number 71 will take you up there.

I don't want to go all the way across town.

I got plans tonight.

How you gonna be so mean to your cousin?

It's gonna take two hours to get there, Big Momma.

Oh come on, Tina. Don't be a flake!

I'll get lost.

Why you gonna leave her stranded like that?

Of course you're gonna take her.

Yes, Big Momma.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Oh, no, no, no. Not today, ma'am.

I paid, I paid. Open this goddamn door.

No, no. She does... You never pay. I have money.

How do you know she don't have any money?

- Get off my bus! - I have money!

- I'll pay for her. - Get off my bus!

- I said I'll pay for her. - Unless you gonna pay.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

You should see the other girl. I kicked her ass.

Not a scratch on her.

So, uh, what are doing here?

Eating grapes off the wallpaper?

Janice Brewster on the slab. Plus 400 words.

Better late than never.

But I got something so much better than this garbage, Peter.

It's gonna blow your hair back.

I got an anonymous phone call last night.

You'll never guess who it's about.

Who?

Dr. George Hodel.

Nuts.

- No, it's Dr. George Hodel. - Ah shit, Jay, that...

I am telling you, I got a feeling...

- You know... -...something is up.

This call means something.

There's a crack.

Okay Jay, first of all, that trial was 10 lifetimes ago.

And second, you already tried this.

He walked. End of story. - Okay, but what if the...

What if the phone call has new information?

What if she has n-new information?

You want me to mess around with a libel case

that nearly took down an entire paper?

I'd like you to mess around with the truth, Peter.

Because this... this... It is the truth.

I know it's the truth. - Oh, y... oh, you know it?

Okay, but Hodel's daughter, Tamar...

Is that her name?

She took it back, Jay, in the end. Am I right?

That's what they said. Then I couldn't find her.

They shipped her off to a convent. Yeah.

Mm. What if this phone call was Tamar Hodel?

And what would she say? We got to find out.

I am not jumping in a bag of snakes with you, Jay.

I am not doing it. You ain't a kid anymore, Jay.

You know that stunt you pulled? You didn't just screw yourself.

You know that? Decent guys got shit-canned because of that.

Of course... Of course I know that!

Joe Kline drank himself to death.

- God, of course I... - Are you friggin' kidding me?

You don't think I know that every day?

It is so easy for you.

It is so easy.

I lost my entire life...

And th... and those guys,

yeah, they got... they... They got screwed, fine, sure.

But I...

But I was telling the... What was right, Peter.

And then they string me up as a liar and a faker forever?

What f... what game are we in?

If I could just...

If I could just prove it...

No. No.

-...even... even a... even a... - No.

But... But even just a part of it.

- No. No. - Even just a part of it.

No. A thousand times no.

You can't prove it.

You already tried.

You can't.

Come on, Jay. Power never changes.

You run with those dogs again, they'll bury you 10 feet deep.

It's got nothing to do with right or wrong or the truth.

You got to remember who runs this city.

Justice in this town is a protection racket.

You can't fix it because it's already fixed, man.

The fix is in, and it's not gonna change.

George Hodel? Are you kidding me?

It was all some far-out stuff, Jay.

I mean, his daughter...

She came across twitchy, hysterical,

like the Salem witch trials.

Right?

She accused him of that murder, that crazy murder.

I mean, Hodel might be a lot of things,

but he sure as hell isn't the bogeyman.

Go on.

Come on, let's go home.

Ain't nobody here.

Hello?

Hello?

Dr. Hodel?

Dr. Hodel?

But he told me to come.

Come on, let's go home.

This is bullshit. Ain't nobody here.

Come on. We got someplace else to be.

I don't understand.

Tina, he asked me to come here.

Patta, come on.

Terrence Shye!

Hello!

Hey, hey.

I am good. - Good, good.

This is my cousin, Pat. I mean Fauna.

She in from Nevada for a few days.

She's staying with us.

Hey. Hey, Fauna.

Hi.

This is Nero.

All right, Fauna.

- Jodie! - You know, I love me a cousin.

Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up.

What you mean by cousin?

She my cousin.

How she gon' be your cousin?

Her mama is my auntie. So we cousins.

Yeah, but she ain't...

She black. She mixed though.

No she ain't. There ain't no way.

With them eyes? - Hey, man, leave her alone.

Ain't no colored girl. Let me see your hands.

I've got my birth certificate.

$10 to see it.

Shit.

I'll give you more than $10 if you want to give me a kiss.

- Leave her alone. - Come on, now...

- No. - ...don't play hard to get.

No.

I need it for one room.

Look, he got three jobs and still can't get a room.

- He can't get a job. - He can't get a job.

Do you have the education?

I got the education, miss.

Well, then I don't know what your problem is.

- And you have a job? - Yes. I'm working.

Oh, we're working too. Congratulations. And I'm paying my rent.

- Are you? - -I'm trying.

I love your hair.

Thanks.

All that relaxer and hot comb? You don't need it.

"I-I-If any white man in the world says"

give me liberty or give me death,

the entire white world applauds,

but a black man says exactly the same thing,

"th-then he's judged a criminal and treated like one."

Now you just stealing that from... How you doin'?

You gonna act like you don't hear me now?

Hey, come sit by me, sister.

Come on.

Ignore that fool.

Need a drink?

No, thank you.

I've seen it change too many people.

Starts in laughter, ends in tears.

Well, what are you doin' here?

Flashing your birth certificate around,

it seems like hard work.

Well, it's... it's a long story.

I'll give you three sentences.

Well, uh...

I found out I'm adopted.

My white family, or at least my white grandfather,

he's here in Los Angeles.

I've come to find my real mother who gave me up.

Or my father.

Well, that's more than three sentences.