Cold Case

He flings him into the ropes,

and, oh, a devastating clothesline.

Hey, Timmy.

Your dad's here.

Do I have to go?

What's up, buddy?

Ready to hang with your old man?

What do you expect, Mick?

You blow him off every other weekend.

What do you expect when you bad-mouth me the way you do?

Oh, you think I'm the reason you two have problems?

"Bring your dad to school day"--

he didn't even bother asking you

'cause he knew you wouldn't show.

Is that true, Timmy?

* Tommy used to work on the docks *

* Union's been on strike *

* He's down on his luck *

* It's tough *

CROWD (chanting): Machine! Machine! Machine!

* So tough... * Machine!

You know, I would've came to your school

if you'd told me about it. It's no big deal.

Already had another dockworker there anyway.

You give Ma the money you owe her?

What are you gonna do, break my thumbs or something?

I'll take care of it.

* She says we gotta hold on *

* To what we've got *

Look at your Machine now!

Looks like he broke down.

You want more?

You want blood?!

* We'll give it a shot *

* Oh... *

CROWD (chanting): Garbage! Garbage! Garbage!

* Livin' on a prayer *

Look at that.

Can bend his arm and everything.

These are pretty cool dolls, huh?

They're wrestlers.

* Oh, oh, livin' on a prayer *

Like to see them unload a cargo ship.

Mom says dockworkers are dirty.

And wrestlers ain't?

Wrestlers are the coolest,

strongest guys on the planet.

* We used to make it talk, so tough *

What, so you'd like me better

if I throw on some tights, go prancing around a ring?

Shut up, Dad.

They're cool.

* We gotta hold on to what we've got *

* It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not *

* We got each other and that's a lot *

* For love *

* We'll give it a shot *

* Oh... *

* We're halfway there... *

CROWD (chanting): Machine! Machine!

The new WIC Heavyweight Champion...

Machine! Machine!

...Mick "The Machine" Malone!

Yeah!

* Livin' on a prayer... *

.44 Magnum.

Traded in during an anonymous Guns for Groceries program.

It's... a cannon.

A lot of groceries for this thing.

Ballistics got a hit.

The gun killed a Mick Malone, June of '86.

A dockworker.

Killed at the pier.

Yeah, Mick had a reputation for busting kneecaps

as low-level muscle for the Longshoreman's Union.

Dangerous moonlighting.

FigureMick's death was related.

But keep reading.

Mick was also a wrestler for the WIC, indie circuit.

That where Humpty Dumpty comes in?

Bear Jacobs.

Gun's registered in his name.

We pulled him from a match.

You mean he doesn't dress like that all the time?

Waitin' forever.

80 buck purse I missed out on tonight.

Well, you got bigger concerns, Bear.

You found my baby!

Where was she? You're pretty excited

to own a gun with a body on it. A body?

Hell you talkin' about?

Mick "Machine" Malone.

In the WIC together.

I didn't kill Mick.

Only wrestled him a couple of times.

Crowd loved him.

Then how do you explain

this whole you owning the gun situation?

I ain't had her

since March of '86.

And I know exactly where she went.

Hey!

You report the gun stolen, Bear?

Wanted to find the son of a bitch myself.

Guy was a jobber to the mid-carders.

Hired toeteat every night?

Jumped around the circuits.

Only got work 'cause he could do a Commie accent.

Cold War saved his ass.

Who was this guy?

Red Scare.

Don't know his real name.

Remember where you were when Mk got killed?

Twenty-some years ago?

Where were you?

It's not my gun that killed a guy.

June 16, 1986.

Probably at the Traffic Light.

Dated a waitress there. Sapphire.

Well, Bear,

your new ring is going to be a holding cell

till she vouches for you.

Might want to call for some extra clothes.

Gets chilly downstairs.

Hey, when I get out,

you gonna give me my gun back?

Yeah, I'll have it gift wrapped for you.

Mick "The Machine" Malone.

Twenty-eight.

Murdered June 16, 1986.

Baby-face of the WIC.

Baby-face? Good guy.

Would've headlined against other heels as the fan favorite.

Lil apparently was

a Hulkamaniac back in the day.

You like that nonsense?

Oh, it distracted me for a few hours every Saturday.

Hmm.

Assigned talked to some wrestlers back in '86,

and Lance Kotrola, WIC's promoter.

Well, Mick's last match was ten days before he was killed,

against "Sweet" Sil Tavern.

Well, Mick had a nine-year-old son, Tim, with ex-wife, Rachel.

Night Mick was murdered, she was with Tim at the hospital.

Did a midnight shift at the local diner.

I'll reach out to the son,

see what he knows.

Let's pay Lance a visit, too.

Might know who the Red Scare was.

Hey, uh, either of you heard from Vera?

Uh, think he's tracking down Bear's alibi.

: Yeah.

Supposed to have breakfast with him,

but the dude never showed.

Left him a couple messages myself.

He's probably just hungover somewhere.

You know what's going on with him?

Whatever it is, he's keeping it to himself.

You were at the hospital

the night your dad died?

Broke my arm playing football.

Got a cast, nothing big.

Your dad ever mention a wrestler named Red Scare?

Red Scare?

Nah.

I thought he got killed 'cause of something he did down here.

We're just looking into a wrestling connection.

Wrestling brought us closer.

Brought us all closer.

Look what I got for you, buddy.

Bill "The Thrill"!

Awesome!

Yeah, don't look now,

but someday that's gonna be a Mick Malone doll.

I mean, wrestler.

Yeah, you wish, Dad.

Oh, I wish?

Where did you learn that move?

I've been getting in the ring a little bit.

Going to this wrestling school.

No way!

That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.

It's the coolest thing I've ever done.

But you're still unloading cargo?

Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to quit my job.

You know, maybe someday, right, buddy?

Yeah.

I can't tell who's the adult between the two of you.

Look, wrestling's honest work.

It beats debt collecting.

That's not saying much.

What happens if you get hurt in the ring?

Nah, it's fine.

It's all for show.

Nobody really gets hurt.

Anyways, here.

It's, uh...

it's from my first match.

It's not much. I'm just a jobber now,

but I'll get more if I stick with it.