Three Men and Adena

"Three Men and Adena" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 3, 1993. The episode was written by executive producer Tom Fontana and directed by Martin Campbell. In the episode, Pembleton and Bayliss have a 12-hour limit to elicit a confession from Risley Tucker for the murder of 11-year-old Adena Watson. The episode takes place almost entirely within the confines of the police interrogation room with the three actors. Tucker was played by actor Moses Gunn, in his final acting role before his death in December 1993. "Three Men and Adena" was seen by 7.08 million households in its original broadcast, which was among the lowest-rated network shows on that evening. However, the episode received positive reviews; it is considered one of the classic Homicide episodes, and ranked number 74 in an Entertainment Weekly list of the 100 greatest television moments. Tom Fontana won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode's script. Plot summary Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) prepare to interview Risley Tucker (Moses Gunn), an elderly arabber. Bayliss is convinced Tucker murdered 11-year-old Adena Watson, but Pembleton is less confident. Since they have already interviewed Tucker multiple times, the court will not allow him to be bothered anymore if he does not confess after this interview, and the detectives have only twelve hours to elicit a confession before Tucker walks free. Pembleton starts off acting friendly while Bayliss, who has taken the Watson case very personally, is more aggressive. Adena used to work for Tucker, taking care of his horse. Pembleton brings up Tucker's alcoholism, but Tucker said he gave up drinking because he used to black out, insisting he hasn't had a drink in sixteen months. Tucker also insists he hadn't seen Adena for three days before she died, but Bayliss shows him she had soot on her skirt that matched soot from Tucker's barn, indicating she was there the day she was killed. During a moment of anger, Bayliss nearly presses Tucker's face against a hot pipe on the wall, but Pembleton stops him. Tucker still angrily insists he did not kill her, and he agrees to submit to a polygraph test. When Bayliss leaves, Pembleton speaks to Tucker in a soft and comforting tone, trying to get Tucker to trust him.