Okay, now that I’ve been thinking about it some more…
Here’s the lame and obvious version: Francine was tired of being abused by her ultra-famous, ultra-wealthy husband and used some of that wealth to hire a hit man to take him out and make it look like an accident.
The problem with this take? It ignores all of the shady characters and circumstances surrounding Archie’s murder. There are too many moving parts that don’t fit into this neat, tidy narrative.
For example, there’s the NFL factor and another obvious version. A hack private eye would say, Duh, somebody wants to throw the Super Bowl. What better way than killing the Birds’ star player? It takes him off the field, shakes the confidence of the team.
The problem with this theory is that Archie’s death seems to have had the opposite effect on the team. They’ve been galvanized into winning this one for Archie, and the city is more Eagles-crazy than ever. And it also ignores the other shady circumstances and characters.
Mickey Bernstein, for one. Unless he’s moonlighting as a hit man, what’s his role in all this? Why was he speeding to the crime scene before anyone knew it was a crime scene? What do we know about Mickey?
We know that Mickey Bernstein is a bagman for the Sables. We know he was headed to Archie’s body before anyone officially reported it. We know that he lobbied the commissioner and possibly even the mayor to run this investigation. All of this speaks to someone who (a) knew about the crime in advance, and (b) wants to completely control the investigation of said crime.
But why?
Now I’m starting to think this does have everything to do with the Super Bowl. Sometimes the obvious and lame theory is correct, because crooks and killers are often obvious and lame.
I need to see if this theory has legs…
Transcript of Cooper Lamb’s phone call to Red’s Bar and Grill, Atlantic City
COOPER LAMB: Let me speak to Red, please.
BARTENDER: I don’t know anybody named Red.
LAMB: Let’s not do this again, sparky. Put him on.
BARTENDER: Fine, whatever.
LAMB: Don’t stop being you.
RED DOYLE: Yeah, what’s the good word, Cooper?
LAMB: I was hoping you could tell me.
DOYLE: It’s a s---show here, if I’m being perfectly honest. All of the heavy guys are jittery. I feel like I’m talking all of them down off the ledge. It’s like I’m a friggin’ therapist instead of your friendly neighborhood bookie.
LAMB: And that’s exactly why I’m calling. Who has the most to gain from the championship game being delayed?
DOYLE: Nobody. This whole thing sucks and it’s freaking everybody out.
LAMB: Come on. You telling me there’s no angle to be played with the delay?
DOYLE: This isn’t like throwing a fight or something, Lamb. It’s too public. Everybody knows what happened.
LAMB: Yeah, but once you place a bet, there’s no changing it. I mean, that’s the first thing you told me once we started doing…uh, business together.
DOYLE: That’s right. Except in this case, the game was pushed back a week, and whenever you go past seventy-two hours, all bets are literally off. So people can adjust their wagers accordingly. Look, I know you’re working some private-eye angle here, but I just don’t see it. If there were a way to make some bank from this whole mess, believe me, I’d be doing it.