Welcome back to Boardwalk Empire! Where all the killers will totally kill you.

As Sophie Tucker (or BE's version of Sophie Tucker, what up Kathy Brier?) sings about making a brand new start, we see a kid race across town to deliver coffee and sandwiches to Nucky and his men -- Mickey Doyle, Owen Sleater, and Manny Horvitz -- who are busy interrogating some poor schmoe tied up to a chair in what looks like an abandoned house. Nucky's not angry at this "Nate." Some people steal. It's what thieves do. Manny's acting like the muscle here, so he towers over Nate while Nucky gets to play the good cop. Nucky recaps the situation for us: Nate and an "unknown accomplice" robbed Mickey's warehouse while Mickey was out back taking a crap. Nucky asks Mickey what a thief does. Mickey looks confused at this pop quiz before responding, "Uhhhh, steals things?" Correct. Nucky then asks what does a warehouse does. Well, it stores stuff, per Mickey. So of the two of them, the thief and the warehouse-owning numbnuts who left his place unlocked while he took a dump: who was not doing his job?

Mickey gets Nucky's point. So Nucky tells Nate he's not angry at him. Nate is BEYOND grateful for this and starts to breathe a sigh of relief. Idiot. Nucky then asks Nate for the name of his accomplice, and he gets it easily: one Rowland Smith. Nucky tells Manny to untie Nate and then cheerfully goes to leave, then pulls a total Columbo, all "Oh, wait one more thing: Manny, shoot this guy in the head before you leave." Looks like Nucky's over that whole half-a-gangster phase. (Okay, I cheated and already knew this from all the posters for Season 3.)

So Nucky exits, and Manny's like, "Certain people you do not steal from." The BANG, he's dead, as we cut to an artfully contrasting idyllic shot from outside the Cape Cod style house, seagulls squawking, and WE GET IT.

Lots of happenings at the Thompson mansion, with Margaret instructing the servants as they go about preparing for some kind of an event, and since the nanny is busy correcting Teddy's pronunciation of "Auld Lang Syne," we can guess it's a New Year's Eve party. Both Teddy and Emily talk about when "Daddy" will be getting home, which causes something of a twinge on Margaret's face. Teddy tunes the wireless so he can better hear reports of "aviatrix" Carrie Duncan. Yes, a LADY flying an airplane. She'll be embarking on her journey to be the first woman to cross the States in the air, leaving from Cape May tomorrow morning (bitchy butler Philip: "Just as soon as she's done bobbing her hair"). Margaret leaves for a meeting, and as she does, she passes someone carrying a sphinx decoration. Gonna be QUITE a party.