Kill Switch (2008) - full transcript
A troubled detective travels to Memphis in order to track down a pair of serial killers.
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[children] Happy birthday, Daniel.
Happy birthday, Jacob.
[laughter, chattering]
[woman] I can't believe
the twins are ten.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Jacob's it!
One... two...
[girl] Wait up, Daniel!
We want to hide with you.
Slow down.
[woman] Oh, they're outside
playing hide and seek.
[gasps]
It's cake time.
Let's get them
young 'uns in here.
[children screaming]
[woman] What?
[woman] Jacob! Daniel!
[screams]
Daniel! Daniel, my baby!
[woman sobbing]
Jacob, call an ambulance!
Jacob!
[woman whimpering]
[sirens wailing]
- [man] Where's the bomb squad?
- [man 2] Suitin' up!
[man] Clear these people out of here!
Let's move, we've got
less than four minutes!
[shuddering] Help me.
Oh, God, it hurts.
My name is Jacob.
It's gonna be OK.
I'm gonna fix this.
Don't touch it, all right?
I promise you, we're gonna disarm this
right away, you hear me?
Somebody give me
a fucking blanket up in here!
Looks like Billy Joe for sure.
He's got C4 sewn up
in her chest.
Not like him to leave it
out in the open.
No, he's flipping the MO man,
trying to fuck with our heads.
- It's him.
- Yeah.
And you know what?
He up there watching us right now.
[police siren whooping]
[Jacob] How's the view?
What the fuck
are you doing in my place?
Uh-huh. The door was open and by
the looks of the decor around here,
- it don't look like it's your place.
- Yeah, well, Granny just checked out.
Difference between you and me is,
you like to prey on
the weak and innocent,
but I like to prey
on sick people like you.
[grunts]
[yells]
Listen to me.
Which colour wire do I cut?
The one that says "fuck you" on it.
Which wire, hillbilly?
Get up!
[groans]
Come on!
Ready to talk? Huh?
Which wire, hillbilly?
Which wire?
Get up!
Ready to talk to me?
Come on, white trash!
[shouts] All right! OK.
OK.
All right, our suspect
is ready to cooperate.
I got it narrowed,
yellow or black?
[man] Try pink, asshole.
Hillbilly, we cut
the yellow or the black?
[spits, coughs]
- Yellow or black wire?
- Cut the black one.
Cut the yellow, partner.
Cut the fucking yellow!
[exhales]
[man] We're clear.
All right, bitch, assume the position,
you're under arrest.
Get up against the wall,
give me your hands.
Fuck you!
[screams]
- [man grunts]
- [Jacob] Oh, hell no, Storm.
I think I dropped something.
You see anything
on the street down there?
Hey, looks like he got the hiccups.
Somebody get that guy
a glass of water.
Hey, you getting any closer
to cracking the Grifter's code?
Closer? I don't know about that, man.
This guy's smart, but I'll get him.
You hear CDLU got that scumbag
Billy Joe Hill an appeal?
Why does that not surprise me?
He's not gonna walk now, is he?
If he does, he will kill again
right quick and that's the truth.
- What are you doing here?
- I missed you.
You must have
been here a long time.
I was in your office earlier.
It's kind of creepy.
What's with all the astrology
charts and ciphers?
I bet it's the Grifter case.
You got that right, darling. See...
...in homicide, we sometimes
have creepy guys
we gotta work and
this particular guy is kind of creepy.
He's killed four people
in five months.
You work too hard.
Well, you drink too much.
I have to work.
[children, echoing] Happy birthday,
Daniel. Happy birthday, Jacob.
[children yelling]
One...
Two...
[boy cries out]
Three... four...
- [laughing]
- [Jacob] Five... six...
Seven... eight...
Nine... ten.
Ready or not, here I come.
- [knife slashing]
- [woman] Jacob!
[rap music playing]
[woman] Hi, baby.
Lookin' for a date?
- [heel cracks]
- Oh!
[thunder claps]
[baby crying]
- Do you need help?
- Could you?
Appreciate that. Very Christian of you.
Can never figure these things out.
No problem.
Been though this drill before.
[recording of baby crying]
- [gasps]
- [recording of baby slows]
[man] The moon is cloaked in blood.
Amends must be made.
In a time of great degeneration,
when no one has ears to hear
and no one speaks
the ultimate truth.
But I have heard the truth.
I seen the peaks.
I seen the valleys.
I seen the land all around this world.
And I seen the light.
I seen it.
[woman whispering] Do it again.
[whispering continues] Do it again.
You shut your mouth!
Shut your dirty mouth.
[man] Looks like
the Grifter's at it again.
Night shift picked her up.
She wasn't just murdered,
she was punished.
- You find the cipher?
- Yeah, over here.
What else you got, Ice?
Cause of death was the result
of massive blunt force trauma.
Yeah, in other words,
she beat to death.
There's one interesting thing
about these cases.
He likes to take his time with some,
others, like this poor girl,
he makes it real quick.
You know what
I'm starting to think, Ice?
It almost seems like he manipulates
the time of death,
like he's watching the clock
or something.
Do me a favour, pull up
the time of death for each victim.
Junkie for sure.
- Ain't they all?
- No, not all.
Just talked to the uniform who
canvassed the area where she was found.
Her name's Jessica.
Worked the kerbs some but mostly
did outcall from that dive, Mojo Blues.
- Uh-huh.
- [cell phone rings]
- Hello? Yes, sir.
- [Jacob] What else, brother?
Hard to tell if there was rape.
She was hooker by trade.
Got a caesarean scar.
Must have had at least one child.
She was headed down a one-way path
- no matter how you look at it.
- Yeah.
Hand me some cotton swabs,
brother, with some alcohol.
See now, look at that.
That's the astrological symbol
for the full moon.
Our man really trying to tell us
something, ain't he now?
That's the captain.
He wants a sit down.
Starting to get a lot of heat
from the press.
[Jacob] Yeah, I'm sure he is.
- [guitar playing]
- [dog barking]
These boys can play good.
Yo, check this.
You look familiar. Cop, right?
Let me ask you something.
You know a girl called Jessica Trimble?
I seen her, she worked
this place for johns.
I never talked to her
except to take orders.
If you never talked to her,
how you know her name?
I watch the news.
I seen you a bunch of times.
You some hot shot, huh?
Yeah, baby, I'm a hot shot.
Look, I need some help.
Them two knew her.
The tall one's named Leon.
- Who's this dude?
- He pimped her.
All right. Listen, this Leon...
Did you ever have sex with him?
And I'm not asking
for the reasons you think.
Yeah, he ain't that smart,
but he's all right in that department.
- Baby, what's happening?
- You got people waiting out front?
I ain't need no people out front.
- I think you do.
- Lord have mercy.
Here's how it is, man. We're the police,
we come in, ask questions,
we canvass areas,
we politely do our job, you know.
Now, I got some questions
about Jessica Trimble.
Either I'm going to arrest you
and take you downtown
or you'll talk to me now.
Guess you want to talk to my fist.
[grunting]
[glass shatters]
You're dead!
[choking]
Get up! Get up!
Batter up.
[Jacob] Now it's my turn.
Come on!
It's a double play.
Strike one.
Strike two.
And he's out!
Still wanna play?
[Jacob] Give it your best shot!
[grunts]
- [coughing]
- [woman] Leon, stay down.
[Jacob] My man, Leon.
You ready to answer
my questions yet?
- [groans] Fuck you!
- [Jacob] No, fuck you.
[yells]
Now, let me ask you something.
[cries out]
- Now...
- [gags, yells]
when was the last time you saw the girl?
Fuck you, bitch.
[yells]
Gonna ask you one more time,
when was the last time you saw the girl?
- [yelling]
- [teeth grinding]
Motherfucker.
- Two days ago.
- Good.
- [yells]
- Now [ believe your ugly ass.
I'm going to question you downtown.
Knocked my teeth out.
I'm going to kill you!
Uniforms on their way. Kill them first
then you come kill me, all right?
Come with me,
I need to take your statement.
- [gags]
- [phone dialling]
- You're one tough cop, honey.
- [gun cocks]
- [gun fires]
- [gasps]
[man] Hey, Leon!
Get that motherfucker, man!
[screams]
[woman] Look out!
- [sirens approaching]
- Shit!
[grunts]
Fuck this!
[yells]
- Let's get out of here.
- [groans]
[man] Detective King!
[Jacob] Two suspects ran down
that alley, one's wounded.
All right, we'll go get 'em.
[Jacob] Call the medic.
Another man down here.
Yes, sir.
Detective Anderson,
this is Frankie Miller.
She's FBI.
I've been assigned
to look into the Grifter case.
Grifter. Damn the press
and their nicknames!
- Jacob know about this?
- Listen to me.
I'm giving this woman permission to go
wherever or speak to whoever she needs.
King's got a hell of a track record.
We're just interested
in seeing how he does it.
You keep this transition smooth
or it's going to get ugly.
Ugly?
OK, give us your damn briefing.
At this point, we don't know
why he chooses victims.
What we do have is a series of gruesome
murders committed with brute force.
- Body count as of today is five.
- What's this guy's marker?
He carves an astrological symbol
in the body.
On several occasions he's left
a letter near the body or on the body,
symbols, ciphers, that type of shit.
- Jacob has it partially decoded.
- But not completely.
Where the hell is Jacob, anyhow?
[Storm] He had every intention of
being here but something came up.
Kind of makes us
look like assholes, don't it?
- [muffled music]
- [indistinct chatter]
Thanks, man.
[♪ Order Of Assassinz:
Keep It Bumpin']
Which one?
The brunette in red.
Her boyfriend just got bounced.
She's so loaded on X
she didn't even notice.
Set it up.
Your boyfriend's just down
that alley over there.
OK, thanks.
[man] Need a ride?
Where's your boyfriend?
[woman screams]
[children, echoing] Happy birthday,
Daniel. Happy birthday, Jacob.
[girls] Wait up, Daniel!
[faint knocking on door]
You're mine, boy.
[woman] Jacob!
[knocking on door]
Hey, sorry about the hour.
Man, I'm a night owl. You want a drink?
Trying to quit,
but one drink would be all right.
[exhales]
- What's on your mind, baby?
- Lot of heat coming down.
The captain's pissed.
The FBI's been assigned to the case.
That don't mean shit.
We walk a fine line.
But Jacob, I need this pension.
Baby, you ain't have
nothing to worry about.
Ain't nobody going to get your pension.
Thanks, Jacob.
I probably seem real paranoid
right about now.
So you give me a call
if you hear anything else, all right?
What's going on, partner?
- Another one of the Grifter's victims.
- Uh-huh. Where the body?
Down there, follow me.
Celine was first on the scene.
- Is that right?
- Mm-hmm.
[Storm] Why is the crime scene
always on the top floor?
- Morning, sunshine.
- [Celine] Morning, Detectives.
[Storm] How you doing?
[Celine] Better than that guy.
Detective King?
Frankie Miller, FBI.
Oh, Lord have mercy.
Folks downtown tell me
you'd be coming, and uh...
they kinda wanted me to cooperate.
Well I'm not here to get
in the way, mostly observe,
possibly offer
some of my own expertise.
I'd love some, you know,
because I can see at your age
you probably got a lot more
expertise than we do. Lots more.
Know what I mean?
- What's happening, Crystal?
- How you doing, Mr King?
I'm doing fine. Keeping busy?
[Crystal] I'm doing all right.
- You take care of yourself now.
- Yes, ma'am.
I guess this wasn't
the place he was killed.
No, sir. You look at them drag marks.
Definitely not.
Can you just back up just a little bit?
Give me a second.
It's your world.
The lacerations around the neck there.
Looks like he was choked
with a garrotte.
Lord have mercy.
See the carving on the hand?
That's a sesquiquadrate.
It's a forewarning to back off.
Two murders in two days.
Our man's on the move.
[Jacob] Take a look
at that mirror placement.
You know, there was a mirror
at the Jessica Trimble crime scene.
[Jacob] Exactly.
Now check this out.
As you can see,
the body drag marks of his heels
are on top of the drag marks
from the mirror.
It's like a play for him.
- Nice.
- [Jacob] Yeah.
There was also a mirror
at the Marshall crime scene.
He do it like this every time.
[Frankie] I handled a homicide once.
She handled a homicide once. One time.
Get that photographer to come back
and bag his shoes.
I want her to take photographs of these
drag marks and the carving on this body.
Will do.
Ya'll stick around, I'm sure
this girl can entertain you,
wouldn't you say, Storm?
She is very entertaining.
You staying?
Nah. I hate the smell
when they pop the liver.
You girls have a blast.
If it gets too strong in here,
crack a window.
Agent Miller, would you like a copy
of this report sent to your office?
Thanks, that would be appreciated.
[Frankie] Once had this case in a
dumpsite. Nightmare. Trash everywhere.
We just had to...
[gagging]
- Sweet.
- [Frankie coughs]
You sure you're alright?
- [door closes]
- I'll be fine.
[distant shouting]
I thought this place was abandoned.
The lower floors still have
some tenants, drug fiends.
We already interviewed them.
Where are you going?
To make sure everything's fine.
Agent Miller, I don't think
we should get involved in this.
Half the time the women
don't even press charges.
You did or you didn't! Tell me
or I'm going to cut you open!
Please, Lupe, you just
smoked too much crack, OK? Relax!
Step away from her, put the knife down!
Who the fuck are you?
Federal agent. Put the knife down!
- Put the knife down!
- He's high. Please don't shoot him!
You going to shoot me, cop?
No one's going to shoot anyone.
Put the knife down
and we'll talk about this, OK?
She's been fucking around.
I'm not good enough for her.
[sobbing] It ain't true, Lupe.
You lying whore!
You think I don't see things?
I know what's going on
behind my back!
- They're lying to you! [screams]
- Hey!
Put the knife down
or I put you down.
So shoot me, see if I give a fuck!
You didn't have that badge and gun,
you wouldn't be looking me in the eye.
- [grunting]
- [woman shrieking]
You OK?
You didn't have to hurt him.
You OK, baby?
[woman] I'm so sorry.
Told you so.
Bartender said the victim
was a promoter, Lance Myers,
liked to pay cash, liked to change
locations every few weeks.
He says, and I quote, "I never saw
a more dedicated businessman,
always showed the kids a good time.
He the best boss I ever had."
Show the kids a good time.
Shit, that's rich.
This fuck is a registered
sex offender.
Who pays his employees in cash.
I need statements from
everybody right quick, you hear?
Hey, Lightning, you figured out
the code yet?
Man, I'm real close
on this cipher, baby, real close.
[Frankie] Gentlemen, I need
to interview you about Billy Joe Hill.
Detective Anderson, you're first.
The captain says that
your cooperation is expected.
You ain't got nothing to worry about.
How's your tummy, sweetheart?
Heard you lost your lunch.
I was hoping we could talk
in a place a little more...
A little more romantic, perhaps?
A little less sterile.
That little incident
at the crime scene...
You're not used to fieldwork, are you?
I've done my share of fieldwork,
mostly profile stuff.
And you're asking us the questions?
We're talking about
the psychology of murder, detective,
not just the investigation. It's not
for you to decide whether I'm qualified.
Oh, please.
What was your involvement
in the Billy Joe Hill arrest?
Were you there when King
made the arrest?
All right, look, this guy's
a real piece of work.
A vet who was dishonourably
discharged after Desert Storm.
He's trained as a medic but also
as a small arms and explosives expert.
You can't be thinking
this guy's gonna walk.
He already has. It wasn't our call.
The witness refused to testify
and the Supreme Court overturned it.
They found the excessive force
used by Detective King unconstitutional
and the DNA evidence to be suspect.
- That animal should be put to death.
- Right.
[man] Here you go, Mr Hill.
Well, ain't this
a sweet kick in the ass?
Shit.
- You got me my knife back.
- Why not?
You're a citizen again, Mr Hill.
Call me Billy Joe.
- Where's Detective King?
- Headed out.
Said he'd be at the morgue.
- Is he avoiding me?
- [scoffs] You wish.
Listen, sport, you better slow down.
I don't know what they taught you
up there in DC,
but you better make damn sure
you know what the hell you're doing.
- [door opens]
- [Jacob] Ice man!
What's going on, baby,
you all right?
Starting to see you
more than the wife.
This my guy?
Man, what a shame.
Pretty, pretty young girl
like this, end up like that.
That ain't right. Where my guy?
Lightning, take a look around.
I'm up to my ass in dead bodies.
And he's at the back of the line.
Oh, he at the back of the line?
And I thought I might have some
preferential treatment, you know?
Lightning, do you know
why I became a pathologist?
You're a coroner, man.
Don't get carried away with the title.
- [Frankie] Clever.
- [Jacob] Oh, Lord have mercy.
You like a bad rash, man,
you just keep coming back.
Yeah, look,
can I talk to you for a bit?
- Sure enough.
- I'm going to the coffee machine.
- What you scared of?
- I ain't scared of nothing.
- The quicker I get through this...
- The quicker I get you out of my life.
No, the quicker we can back
to investigating the case at hand.
- Tell me what you need.
- I was hoping we could talk
- in a place a little more...
- More charming?
This is police work.
Come on up here, meet my girl.
[clears throat] Fine.
Look, I'm just going to get
straight to the point.
There's questions in regards to evidence
gathered in the Billy Joe Hill case.
Well, that should all be
detailed in my report.
Well, I'm sure it is
but we still need to talk about it.
Ah. Tell you what, you tell me
specifically exactly what you want
to know about
and I'll give it all to you.
[cell phone rings]
Yeah.
You joking.
Lord have mercy, the fuck.
All right, I'll get back to you.
So, um, your boy Billy Joe
just got out.
Within one hour,
he done killed three more people.
[whispers] How you like that?
[Jacob] I got it, baby.
You decoded the latest cipher?
I broke the code.
The soul you kill
is the soul you keep.
At the edge of space
is the true religion.
I can read the words,
I just don't know what he's saying.
Hey, excuse me.
I got a kind of a long shot
here for you.
Um... This individual is a poet.
I mean, at least he thinks he is.
Do you recognise any of this?
Nothing I've seen before, sorry.
Uh-huh. Well, he does like
these astrology things
and this kind of poetry
concerning the arcane
and the occult and, I mean, you know
where I could find that here?
That's not my job.
Check the directory.
Uh-huh, I guess being polite
ain't your job either.
[phone rings]
[intercom beeps]
[woman] The library will be
closing in five minutes.
We're closing. Any luck?
Hell yeah, man,
I got all kinds of luck.
Well, like I said, we're closing.
All right, man, I'm just...
getting ready.
I'm fittin' to put
all this shit away now.
Never mind, I can do it
quicker than you can.
Man, you so nice
all of a sudden, huh?
- Southern Death Threat.
- What's that?
That line you wrote down,
it's from their song.
- That's what you're looking for?
- Where do you think I can find them?
A shit hole club on Western.
All About Eve.
Play the same crappy songs
every night.
Bunch of them are astrology nuts.
Man, you've been a big help.
Have a good night.
You sure I can't
put this shit away for you?
Hello. [chuckles]
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
- Fuck you, man!
- Fuck you!
What are you gonna do
about this, man?
What the fuck are you
gonna do about it?
[men shouting]
That'll be five-fifty. Thanks.
What you need, honey?
- I'm looking for somebody.
- Aren't we all?
Yes, ma'am, I suppose we are.
What the name of the band?
Southern Death Threat.
You like 'em?
- Uh...
- Are you an agent?
- Maybe.
- They got a demo coming out.
I helped write some of the songs.
That's what I do.
I write. Screenplays mostly,
some songs.
You know, man,
I like lyrics, you know.
I mean, that's what I'm interested in.
The Edge of Space,
did you write that?
Hell no.
Uh-huh. Well, I like that lyric.
Who wrote that?
Really? It's Lazarus who wrote that.
He's deep into the signs of astrology.
Sickest fuck you'll ever meet.
Uh-huh. Where he at?
The fifth Beatle over there,
that's Lazarus.
Hey!
[grunts, yells]
[man] Get out of the way!
Out of the way!
Hey, you can't come back...
- Wow! Ow!
- Hey!
Hey, man, stop that guy!
That's my car!
[people screaming]
[door creaks]
[panting]
Fuck.
You know I'm gonna get you.
[man] He went that way.
This is car 12, do you read?
- [woman] Copy, detective.
- Shots fired.
- [woman] What's your 20?
- 57 Poplar, fourth floor.
I need backup, I need cars now,
I need cars now.
[woman] Roger that.
- [elevator dings]
- Get back! MPD.
Close the door!
[woman, muffled] No, no, no, no!
[screaming]
I just want to talk. Let her go.
[woman] No!
- [woman screams]
- [gun fires]
Get out the hall! Get out the hall!
Get out of the way!
Out of the way!
All my life I searched
for a worthy adversary,
someone who understands me,
someone who appreciates my work.
You're the one.
You think?
Love is law and I ain't finished yet.
You know, buddy, we can
make this over right now.
[Jacob] I'm your adversary, all right.
[grunting]
[sirens approaching]
I got you now.
For sure.
You listen careful.
I can speak in tongues.
Language of the gods.
I can speak any language,
ancient or otherwise.
Egyptian, Sanskrit, Hebrew.
I can channel spirits, good and evil.
Make them do my bidding.
I have not chosen you.
But you have been chosen...
...to walk with me.
I will walk with you,
through forests,
through castles of gods.
Angels...
...demons...
...monsters.
But I will shield y'all
until we get where I am.
[laughs]
[inhales]
Whereas once I was blind...
[whispers] ...now I can see.
Hallelujah.
[toilet flushing]
Good morning.
Damn, you were something else
last night, lady.
[giggles] Yeah, I know.
- Oh, you know.
- Good morning.
Morning.
[woman giggles]
[Billy Joe growls]
- Come here.
- [squeals]
Where you going, little girl?
What ya doing?
[both moaning]
[laughing]
What'd I find down here?
- Ow! Ow!
- Shh!
Get the fuck off me!
Get the fuck off!
Shut up.
I would've killed you last night,
but you were so alive, sweet...
...fresh.
Don't you move.
[woman screams]
[Frankie] Hello?
Agent Miller.
[clears throat] Sorry about
the late notice, I know it's...
Pretty damn rude.
This investigation is being supervised
by my agency. We have ultimate authority
over everything relating
to the Grifter case, understand?
- Hmm.
- I'll take that as a yes.
You can do whatever you want.
Now, let's get on with it.
Pepe, bring in 42!
You've examined each of
the victims from the very first?
-Yes.
- And the count to date is five?
Six. Three females and three males.
And each death was the result
of blunt force trauma, a beating?
-Yes.
- No inconsistencies with the wounds?
Only inconsistency
is the amount of trauma
between the female
victims and the males.
- The women were beat less?
- No, he toys with the females more.
They receive much more trauma.
Are you aware of why
we're interested in this case?
Want the truth?
I'm sensing envy on your part.
Wrong. Unfortunately,
it's not that simple.
[man whistling]
It's the first male victim.
He's a little ripe.
The flesh found
underneath the fingernails
matches the DNA from
the second female victim, right?
- Makes sense, don't it?
- Well, it does and it doesn't.
Fingernails are used by
a female in a defensive manner
- but not by a man.
- To hell with the text books,
a man would do what it takes
to defend himself: scratch, kick, bite.
I've seen it all.
Don't seem strange to me, girl.
Well, the sample we got
made it seem strange.
Under which fingernail
was it recovered?
Right index finger.
I'm gonna need a photo of that finger.
- Why?
- Just get it done.
I'll have someone around
by tonight for it.
[woman] Hey.
What happened to your arm?
Nothing.
- I wanted to talk to you.
- OK.
Nights has an opening.
Nights always has openings.
I was thinking of maybe changing
shifts, something different.
Just wanted to check in with you first,
see what you thought.
This move, it'll help me
become a detective.
Like you.
No, you should go for it.
Thought you went back
to Washington, little lady.
- What would make you think that?
- 'Cause you're out of work.
Jacob damn near got
this thing solved.
Jacob has a possible suspect,
nothing more.
I got a little bit more
than that, you see.
I made out with his wallet.
Inside, I found a necklace.
I'm just waiting for confirmation,
but my guess is
the DNA from this matches
the dead prostitute, Jessica Trimble,
and an individual named Lazarus Jones
who's a convicted sex offender
that has been wanted
by state parole for a long time now.
- That's why he's the lead dog.
- [phone ringing]
Better take notes.
When was this booked?
Why didn't I get the lab reports?
I just like to keep shit kind of
close to my vest, you know.
- That's not protocol.
- I'm not too good at protocol.
Great, thanks. OK,
the DNA test results confirm it.
Lazarus Jones is the Grifter.
Where are you going?
Well, I'm going to go to his address.
Y'all can come if you want
to see what you can see.
Storm, put out an APB.
[chuckles] Show him
what you got, little lady.
Do you mind telling me
where we're going?
- Is that his license?
- Sure enough.
The address is legit,
but no doubt he's long gone.
Did you tell the uniforms?
Why would I tell the uniforms?
I need that crime scene preserved.
Besides, we the detectives.
- [knocking on door]
- [Jacob] Lazarus Jones, MPD.
We're clear.
Like I said, he's long gone.
Jesus Christ.
Lazarus, FBI!
We just want to talk!
Jacob!
- [sirens whooping]
- [dispatch on radio, indistinct]
Something ain't right, man.
Something ain't right.
Why would he bring the body here?
We should have moved faster. We had him.
Yeah, we had him.
That guy was gone the second
he dropped his wallet in that alley.
Man, I'm telling you, I think
I just about got this cracked.
Lazarus is spelling out divinations.
He's telling us the future
with his astrological riddles.
He's timed his killings
on lunar phases.
On his last victims
he carved the full moon,
the waning gibbons, the third quarter.
Next, is the waning crescent.
That's tonight.
What did [ tell you?
He gonna kill tonight.
Mm-hmm.
Do we know where?
We close, baby.
There's a constellation
called Ariadne's Crown.
It has nine stars in it.
I believe these stars somehow correlate
to the locations of the killings.
- Mm-hmm.
- I just need to figure out how.
Listen, I'm gonna go home
and spend some solitary time
trying to figure this out.
Keep the Fed busy, will ya?
[Storm] Don't you worry.
I can handle that.
- [Celine] Working that Grifter case?
- I am.
- Getting close to catching him?
- I definitely am.
He was using the distances
between the stars
in this constellation
of Ariadne's Crown
and mirroring that
over the city of Memphis
to a scale that he made up himself.
If you look at this here,
and I trace all of the murder sites...
...we place this over
this diagram of Ariadne's Crown
that I found in his den.
As you can see
there's two stars missing.
His next kill is one
of these two locations.
Now, once I cracked the latest cipher,
I knew it could only be one place.
[woman screaming]
[Daniel] Jacob, run!
Jacob, run!
- [man grunting]
- [Daniel screaming]
[woman] Daniel! Jacob!
Jacob!
[man grunting]
[screaming]
- Ow! God damn you!
- [gasping]
Bitch.
A courier just dropped this off
for you, Agent Miller.
Thank you.
Got the wrong impression of him, kid.
- Jacob's a good man.
- That's your opinion.
You ever hear the case about
the Cannibal of South County?
No.
That was the first case
Jacob and I did together.
I studied his file.
I don't remember that case.
Well, I fucking do. Seven days
and seven nights, searching non-stop
until we finally cornered that bitch
in an apartment on the South Side.
- And?
- He was inside.
I wanted to call for backup
but Jacob wouldn't let me.
Said we had to move fast.
[chuckles] But that's typical Lightning.
- I was like you, I doubted him.
- [Frankie] You went in without backup?
[Storm] You're damn right.
Didn't need none.
I had his back and he had mine.
I was scared. I ain't even
gonna lie to you, I was scared.
This man was not only a killer,
he was a motherfucking cannibal.
And what happened?
Well, we moved in, real slow,
being real quiet.
Shit, we were so quiet,
you could hear a rat piss on a cat.
And then Lightning,
he stood there real calm
and opened the door,
just cracked it open real slow
and then we saw him
with his back towards us,
kneeled down, over a dead fucking clown.
A clown?
Yeah, some guy he ripped
from a local carnival.
Still in full make-up.
He was bent over him,
chewing on him.
Eating his flesh and sucking his bone
like it was the last barbeque rib
at Rendezvous.
[laughter]
- Shit.
- Right in front of you?
Right in front of us.
I was shaking and I called out,
"Freeze, motherfucker!"
And Jacob, he's standing there
like ice running through his veins.
Gun covering down,
hammer starting to ease back.
This guy turned around real slow,
blood all over his mouth
where he'd been eating this damn clown.
Son of a bitch. Then what?
He just stood there,
real calm like it didn't make
no difference that we was even there.
And then he slowly holds this arm out
towards us like he's offering it to us.
- You're kidding me.
- Nah, I wouldn't bulishit you.
He had this arm in his hand,
blood all over his fucking mouth,
- and you know what he said to us?
- What?
Does this taste funny to you?
- [men chuckle]
- [sighs]
I get it. He was eating
a clown, very funny.
Wait, Jacob's DNA was found under
the fingernails of the latest victim.
- I like that one.
- Good. OK?
Lazarus Jones, MPD, you're under arrest.
Put your hands in the air.
I said put them in the air, boy!
Do it!
- [grunts]
- [screams]
Y'all get outside! Go on!
This is car 12, I need back up.
Shots fired.
[yells]
[Jacob] I'm gonna beat you silly.
Ready, baby?
[yells]
[Jacob] You're a real tough guy.
You like to beat helpless women?
Slam them?
Slap them?
Punch them?
Like this?
How about that?
That all you got?
That feel good to you?
[shouts]
[Jacob] This is fun!
How's that feel?
[panting]
[Jacob] Come on.
Wanna piece of me?
OK, baby.
Take your best shot.
Feel that?
Come on!
You like to break bones, right?
[screaming]
I think your arm's broken.
[Jacob] You just broke a rib.
- Ooh, there goes another one.
- [screams]
That's right.
- Oh, your knee hurts?
- [screaming]
Oh, let me see what
I can do about that.
- Enough, Detective King,
- We got it. We got it.
Book this guy and get
Storm to take his confession.
- He's the Grifter.
- [Lazarus screams]
My arm, you fucker, my arm!
[Storm] It just don't add up.
Maybe I'm just not getting it.
The facts are the facts.
The lab results just came in.
DNA found on the dead barmaid's
fingernails matches Jacob.
Bullshit. That can't be right.
Facts are all pointing in one direction.
I mean you saw it,
he had a fresh scratch on his arm.
And Lazarus has disappeared,
that is if he even exists.
[thunderclap]
Look, I'll agree to something
that I would rather die than admit.
He is a genius but I believe he uses
the same genius to catch the bad guys
to hide his own criminality.
Jacob killed that barmaid.
Missy, you done lost your damn mind.
It's the perfect murder.
The killer investigates his own crime
and pins it on a serial killer
he's already investigating.
- [floor creaks]
- [shouts]
[Jacob] You know the sick thing is,
you killed her to get to me.
All you had to do was call
my motherfucking name.
Let's get this over with.
Yeah, you gonna bend over and
I'm gonna stick my size 14 up your ass.
[chuckles]
[yells]
Come on!
Just like old times,
ain't it, Billy Joe?
Want some more?
Come on, motherfucker!
Come on!
[Jacob] You like knives, right?
[spits]
Where you going, boy?
No appeal this time.
[Jacob] Get up, hillbilly.
Come on.
Come on, hillbilly.
[snarls]
[screams]
You gonna regret this.
Here it comes, motherfucker.
Here it comes!
[screams]
[blood gurgling]
You've killed me.
No, you don't look dead yet.
- Lie down.
- [coughs]
I'll see you in hell.
Now you look dead.
[police sirens blaring]
Storm, come on. Let's go.
Jacob?
Jacob!
Jacob?
It's Celine. She's dead.
Jacob?
He's gone.
Good job, thanks.
[Jacob] "Storm, I'm sorry about Celine.
Billy Joe killed her and
I took care of him my way.
He won't be up on appeal.
You've been a great partner.
I know my methods
are unconventional, but hell,
that's how I caught Lazarus.
Take his confession for me, would ya?
I'll look you up one day. Jacob."
I just got off the phone
with your captain.
He said Jacob booked Lazarus
about two hours ago.
He confessed to everything,
including framing Jacob.
- Here's Papa!
- Papa, Papa.
- Whoa!
- Papal!
[speaking foreign language]
- For Alexei.
- [gasps]
- Sasha?
- [speaks foreign language]
[speaking foreign language]
[speaking foreign language]
[♪ Dane DeViller, Steve Smith
and Sean Hosein: Homeward Bound]
Mm-hmm!
[♪ Dane DeViller, Steve Smith
and Sean Hosein: Assets]
---
[children] Happy birthday, Daniel.
Happy birthday, Jacob.
[laughter, chattering]
[woman] I can't believe
the twins are ten.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Jacob's it!
One... two...
[girl] Wait up, Daniel!
We want to hide with you.
Slow down.
[woman] Oh, they're outside
playing hide and seek.
[gasps]
It's cake time.
Let's get them
young 'uns in here.
[children screaming]
[woman] What?
[woman] Jacob! Daniel!
[screams]
Daniel! Daniel, my baby!
[woman sobbing]
Jacob, call an ambulance!
Jacob!
[woman whimpering]
[sirens wailing]
- [man] Where's the bomb squad?
- [man 2] Suitin' up!
[man] Clear these people out of here!
Let's move, we've got
less than four minutes!
[shuddering] Help me.
Oh, God, it hurts.
My name is Jacob.
It's gonna be OK.
I'm gonna fix this.
Don't touch it, all right?
I promise you, we're gonna disarm this
right away, you hear me?
Somebody give me
a fucking blanket up in here!
Looks like Billy Joe for sure.
He's got C4 sewn up
in her chest.
Not like him to leave it
out in the open.
No, he's flipping the MO man,
trying to fuck with our heads.
- It's him.
- Yeah.
And you know what?
He up there watching us right now.
[police siren whooping]
[Jacob] How's the view?
What the fuck
are you doing in my place?
Uh-huh. The door was open and by
the looks of the decor around here,
- it don't look like it's your place.
- Yeah, well, Granny just checked out.
Difference between you and me is,
you like to prey on
the weak and innocent,
but I like to prey
on sick people like you.
[grunts]
[yells]
Listen to me.
Which colour wire do I cut?
The one that says "fuck you" on it.
Which wire, hillbilly?
Get up!
[groans]
Come on!
Ready to talk? Huh?
Which wire, hillbilly?
Which wire?
Get up!
Ready to talk to me?
Come on, white trash!
[shouts] All right! OK.
OK.
All right, our suspect
is ready to cooperate.
I got it narrowed,
yellow or black?
[man] Try pink, asshole.
Hillbilly, we cut
the yellow or the black?
[spits, coughs]
- Yellow or black wire?
- Cut the black one.
Cut the yellow, partner.
Cut the fucking yellow!
[exhales]
[man] We're clear.
All right, bitch, assume the position,
you're under arrest.
Get up against the wall,
give me your hands.
Fuck you!
[screams]
- [man grunts]
- [Jacob] Oh, hell no, Storm.
I think I dropped something.
You see anything
on the street down there?
Hey, looks like he got the hiccups.
Somebody get that guy
a glass of water.
Hey, you getting any closer
to cracking the Grifter's code?
Closer? I don't know about that, man.
This guy's smart, but I'll get him.
You hear CDLU got that scumbag
Billy Joe Hill an appeal?
Why does that not surprise me?
He's not gonna walk now, is he?
If he does, he will kill again
right quick and that's the truth.
- What are you doing here?
- I missed you.
You must have
been here a long time.
I was in your office earlier.
It's kind of creepy.
What's with all the astrology
charts and ciphers?
I bet it's the Grifter case.
You got that right, darling. See...
...in homicide, we sometimes
have creepy guys
we gotta work and
this particular guy is kind of creepy.
He's killed four people
in five months.
You work too hard.
Well, you drink too much.
I have to work.
[children, echoing] Happy birthday,
Daniel. Happy birthday, Jacob.
[children yelling]
One...
Two...
[boy cries out]
Three... four...
- [laughing]
- [Jacob] Five... six...
Seven... eight...
Nine... ten.
Ready or not, here I come.
- [knife slashing]
- [woman] Jacob!
[rap music playing]
[woman] Hi, baby.
Lookin' for a date?
- [heel cracks]
- Oh!
[thunder claps]
[baby crying]
- Do you need help?
- Could you?
Appreciate that. Very Christian of you.
Can never figure these things out.
No problem.
Been though this drill before.
[recording of baby crying]
- [gasps]
- [recording of baby slows]
[man] The moon is cloaked in blood.
Amends must be made.
In a time of great degeneration,
when no one has ears to hear
and no one speaks
the ultimate truth.
But I have heard the truth.
I seen the peaks.
I seen the valleys.
I seen the land all around this world.
And I seen the light.
I seen it.
[woman whispering] Do it again.
[whispering continues] Do it again.
You shut your mouth!
Shut your dirty mouth.
[man] Looks like
the Grifter's at it again.
Night shift picked her up.
She wasn't just murdered,
she was punished.
- You find the cipher?
- Yeah, over here.
What else you got, Ice?
Cause of death was the result
of massive blunt force trauma.
Yeah, in other words,
she beat to death.
There's one interesting thing
about these cases.
He likes to take his time with some,
others, like this poor girl,
he makes it real quick.
You know what
I'm starting to think, Ice?
It almost seems like he manipulates
the time of death,
like he's watching the clock
or something.
Do me a favour, pull up
the time of death for each victim.
Junkie for sure.
- Ain't they all?
- No, not all.
Just talked to the uniform who
canvassed the area where she was found.
Her name's Jessica.
Worked the kerbs some but mostly
did outcall from that dive, Mojo Blues.
- Uh-huh.
- [cell phone rings]
- Hello? Yes, sir.
- [Jacob] What else, brother?
Hard to tell if there was rape.
She was hooker by trade.
Got a caesarean scar.
Must have had at least one child.
She was headed down a one-way path
- no matter how you look at it.
- Yeah.
Hand me some cotton swabs,
brother, with some alcohol.
See now, look at that.
That's the astrological symbol
for the full moon.
Our man really trying to tell us
something, ain't he now?
That's the captain.
He wants a sit down.
Starting to get a lot of heat
from the press.
[Jacob] Yeah, I'm sure he is.
- [guitar playing]
- [dog barking]
These boys can play good.
Yo, check this.
You look familiar. Cop, right?
Let me ask you something.
You know a girl called Jessica Trimble?
I seen her, she worked
this place for johns.
I never talked to her
except to take orders.
If you never talked to her,
how you know her name?
I watch the news.
I seen you a bunch of times.
You some hot shot, huh?
Yeah, baby, I'm a hot shot.
Look, I need some help.
Them two knew her.
The tall one's named Leon.
- Who's this dude?
- He pimped her.
All right. Listen, this Leon...
Did you ever have sex with him?
And I'm not asking
for the reasons you think.
Yeah, he ain't that smart,
but he's all right in that department.
- Baby, what's happening?
- You got people waiting out front?
I ain't need no people out front.
- I think you do.
- Lord have mercy.
Here's how it is, man. We're the police,
we come in, ask questions,
we canvass areas,
we politely do our job, you know.
Now, I got some questions
about Jessica Trimble.
Either I'm going to arrest you
and take you downtown
or you'll talk to me now.
Guess you want to talk to my fist.
[grunting]
[glass shatters]
You're dead!
[choking]
Get up! Get up!
Batter up.
[Jacob] Now it's my turn.
Come on!
It's a double play.
Strike one.
Strike two.
And he's out!
Still wanna play?
[Jacob] Give it your best shot!
[grunts]
- [coughing]
- [woman] Leon, stay down.
[Jacob] My man, Leon.
You ready to answer
my questions yet?
- [groans] Fuck you!
- [Jacob] No, fuck you.
[yells]
Now, let me ask you something.
[cries out]
- Now...
- [gags, yells]
when was the last time you saw the girl?
Fuck you, bitch.
[yells]
Gonna ask you one more time,
when was the last time you saw the girl?
- [yelling]
- [teeth grinding]
Motherfucker.
- Two days ago.
- Good.
- [yells]
- Now [ believe your ugly ass.
I'm going to question you downtown.
Knocked my teeth out.
I'm going to kill you!
Uniforms on their way. Kill them first
then you come kill me, all right?
Come with me,
I need to take your statement.
- [gags]
- [phone dialling]
- You're one tough cop, honey.
- [gun cocks]
- [gun fires]
- [gasps]
[man] Hey, Leon!
Get that motherfucker, man!
[screams]
[woman] Look out!
- [sirens approaching]
- Shit!
[grunts]
Fuck this!
[yells]
- Let's get out of here.
- [groans]
[man] Detective King!
[Jacob] Two suspects ran down
that alley, one's wounded.
All right, we'll go get 'em.
[Jacob] Call the medic.
Another man down here.
Yes, sir.
Detective Anderson,
this is Frankie Miller.
She's FBI.
I've been assigned
to look into the Grifter case.
Grifter. Damn the press
and their nicknames!
- Jacob know about this?
- Listen to me.
I'm giving this woman permission to go
wherever or speak to whoever she needs.
King's got a hell of a track record.
We're just interested
in seeing how he does it.
You keep this transition smooth
or it's going to get ugly.
Ugly?
OK, give us your damn briefing.
At this point, we don't know
why he chooses victims.
What we do have is a series of gruesome
murders committed with brute force.
- Body count as of today is five.
- What's this guy's marker?
He carves an astrological symbol
in the body.
On several occasions he's left
a letter near the body or on the body,
symbols, ciphers, that type of shit.
- Jacob has it partially decoded.
- But not completely.
Where the hell is Jacob, anyhow?
[Storm] He had every intention of
being here but something came up.
Kind of makes us
look like assholes, don't it?
- [muffled music]
- [indistinct chatter]
Thanks, man.
[♪ Order Of Assassinz:
Keep It Bumpin']
Which one?
The brunette in red.
Her boyfriend just got bounced.
She's so loaded on X
she didn't even notice.
Set it up.
Your boyfriend's just down
that alley over there.
OK, thanks.
[man] Need a ride?
Where's your boyfriend?
[woman screams]
[children, echoing] Happy birthday,
Daniel. Happy birthday, Jacob.
[girls] Wait up, Daniel!
[faint knocking on door]
You're mine, boy.
[woman] Jacob!
[knocking on door]
Hey, sorry about the hour.
Man, I'm a night owl. You want a drink?
Trying to quit,
but one drink would be all right.
[exhales]
- What's on your mind, baby?
- Lot of heat coming down.
The captain's pissed.
The FBI's been assigned to the case.
That don't mean shit.
We walk a fine line.
But Jacob, I need this pension.
Baby, you ain't have
nothing to worry about.
Ain't nobody going to get your pension.
Thanks, Jacob.
I probably seem real paranoid
right about now.
So you give me a call
if you hear anything else, all right?
What's going on, partner?
- Another one of the Grifter's victims.
- Uh-huh. Where the body?
Down there, follow me.
Celine was first on the scene.
- Is that right?
- Mm-hmm.
[Storm] Why is the crime scene
always on the top floor?
- Morning, sunshine.
- [Celine] Morning, Detectives.
[Storm] How you doing?
[Celine] Better than that guy.
Detective King?
Frankie Miller, FBI.
Oh, Lord have mercy.
Folks downtown tell me
you'd be coming, and uh...
they kinda wanted me to cooperate.
Well I'm not here to get
in the way, mostly observe,
possibly offer
some of my own expertise.
I'd love some, you know,
because I can see at your age
you probably got a lot more
expertise than we do. Lots more.
Know what I mean?
- What's happening, Crystal?
- How you doing, Mr King?
I'm doing fine. Keeping busy?
[Crystal] I'm doing all right.
- You take care of yourself now.
- Yes, ma'am.
I guess this wasn't
the place he was killed.
No, sir. You look at them drag marks.
Definitely not.
Can you just back up just a little bit?
Give me a second.
It's your world.
The lacerations around the neck there.
Looks like he was choked
with a garrotte.
Lord have mercy.
See the carving on the hand?
That's a sesquiquadrate.
It's a forewarning to back off.
Two murders in two days.
Our man's on the move.
[Jacob] Take a look
at that mirror placement.
You know, there was a mirror
at the Jessica Trimble crime scene.
[Jacob] Exactly.
Now check this out.
As you can see,
the body drag marks of his heels
are on top of the drag marks
from the mirror.
It's like a play for him.
- Nice.
- [Jacob] Yeah.
There was also a mirror
at the Marshall crime scene.
He do it like this every time.
[Frankie] I handled a homicide once.
She handled a homicide once. One time.
Get that photographer to come back
and bag his shoes.
I want her to take photographs of these
drag marks and the carving on this body.
Will do.
Ya'll stick around, I'm sure
this girl can entertain you,
wouldn't you say, Storm?
She is very entertaining.
You staying?
Nah. I hate the smell
when they pop the liver.
You girls have a blast.
If it gets too strong in here,
crack a window.
Agent Miller, would you like a copy
of this report sent to your office?
Thanks, that would be appreciated.
[Frankie] Once had this case in a
dumpsite. Nightmare. Trash everywhere.
We just had to...
[gagging]
- Sweet.
- [Frankie coughs]
You sure you're alright?
- [door closes]
- I'll be fine.
[distant shouting]
I thought this place was abandoned.
The lower floors still have
some tenants, drug fiends.
We already interviewed them.
Where are you going?
To make sure everything's fine.
Agent Miller, I don't think
we should get involved in this.
Half the time the women
don't even press charges.
You did or you didn't! Tell me
or I'm going to cut you open!
Please, Lupe, you just
smoked too much crack, OK? Relax!
Step away from her, put the knife down!
Who the fuck are you?
Federal agent. Put the knife down!
- Put the knife down!
- He's high. Please don't shoot him!
You going to shoot me, cop?
No one's going to shoot anyone.
Put the knife down
and we'll talk about this, OK?
She's been fucking around.
I'm not good enough for her.
[sobbing] It ain't true, Lupe.
You lying whore!
You think I don't see things?
I know what's going on
behind my back!
- They're lying to you! [screams]
- Hey!
Put the knife down
or I put you down.
So shoot me, see if I give a fuck!
You didn't have that badge and gun,
you wouldn't be looking me in the eye.
- [grunting]
- [woman shrieking]
You OK?
You didn't have to hurt him.
You OK, baby?
[woman] I'm so sorry.
Told you so.
Bartender said the victim
was a promoter, Lance Myers,
liked to pay cash, liked to change
locations every few weeks.
He says, and I quote, "I never saw
a more dedicated businessman,
always showed the kids a good time.
He the best boss I ever had."
Show the kids a good time.
Shit, that's rich.
This fuck is a registered
sex offender.
Who pays his employees in cash.
I need statements from
everybody right quick, you hear?
Hey, Lightning, you figured out
the code yet?
Man, I'm real close
on this cipher, baby, real close.
[Frankie] Gentlemen, I need
to interview you about Billy Joe Hill.
Detective Anderson, you're first.
The captain says that
your cooperation is expected.
You ain't got nothing to worry about.
How's your tummy, sweetheart?
Heard you lost your lunch.
I was hoping we could talk
in a place a little more...
A little more romantic, perhaps?
A little less sterile.
That little incident
at the crime scene...
You're not used to fieldwork, are you?
I've done my share of fieldwork,
mostly profile stuff.
And you're asking us the questions?
We're talking about
the psychology of murder, detective,
not just the investigation. It's not
for you to decide whether I'm qualified.
Oh, please.
What was your involvement
in the Billy Joe Hill arrest?
Were you there when King
made the arrest?
All right, look, this guy's
a real piece of work.
A vet who was dishonourably
discharged after Desert Storm.
He's trained as a medic but also
as a small arms and explosives expert.
You can't be thinking
this guy's gonna walk.
He already has. It wasn't our call.
The witness refused to testify
and the Supreme Court overturned it.
They found the excessive force
used by Detective King unconstitutional
and the DNA evidence to be suspect.
- That animal should be put to death.
- Right.
[man] Here you go, Mr Hill.
Well, ain't this
a sweet kick in the ass?
Shit.
- You got me my knife back.
- Why not?
You're a citizen again, Mr Hill.
Call me Billy Joe.
- Where's Detective King?
- Headed out.
Said he'd be at the morgue.
- Is he avoiding me?
- [scoffs] You wish.
Listen, sport, you better slow down.
I don't know what they taught you
up there in DC,
but you better make damn sure
you know what the hell you're doing.
- [door opens]
- [Jacob] Ice man!
What's going on, baby,
you all right?
Starting to see you
more than the wife.
This my guy?
Man, what a shame.
Pretty, pretty young girl
like this, end up like that.
That ain't right. Where my guy?
Lightning, take a look around.
I'm up to my ass in dead bodies.
And he's at the back of the line.
Oh, he at the back of the line?
And I thought I might have some
preferential treatment, you know?
Lightning, do you know
why I became a pathologist?
You're a coroner, man.
Don't get carried away with the title.
- [Frankie] Clever.
- [Jacob] Oh, Lord have mercy.
You like a bad rash, man,
you just keep coming back.
Yeah, look,
can I talk to you for a bit?
- Sure enough.
- I'm going to the coffee machine.
- What you scared of?
- I ain't scared of nothing.
- The quicker I get through this...
- The quicker I get you out of my life.
No, the quicker we can back
to investigating the case at hand.
- Tell me what you need.
- I was hoping we could talk
- in a place a little more...
- More charming?
This is police work.
Come on up here, meet my girl.
[clears throat] Fine.
Look, I'm just going to get
straight to the point.
There's questions in regards to evidence
gathered in the Billy Joe Hill case.
Well, that should all be
detailed in my report.
Well, I'm sure it is
but we still need to talk about it.
Ah. Tell you what, you tell me
specifically exactly what you want
to know about
and I'll give it all to you.
[cell phone rings]
Yeah.
You joking.
Lord have mercy, the fuck.
All right, I'll get back to you.
So, um, your boy Billy Joe
just got out.
Within one hour,
he done killed three more people.
[whispers] How you like that?
[Jacob] I got it, baby.
You decoded the latest cipher?
I broke the code.
The soul you kill
is the soul you keep.
At the edge of space
is the true religion.
I can read the words,
I just don't know what he's saying.
Hey, excuse me.
I got a kind of a long shot
here for you.
Um... This individual is a poet.
I mean, at least he thinks he is.
Do you recognise any of this?
Nothing I've seen before, sorry.
Uh-huh. Well, he does like
these astrology things
and this kind of poetry
concerning the arcane
and the occult and, I mean, you know
where I could find that here?
That's not my job.
Check the directory.
Uh-huh, I guess being polite
ain't your job either.
[phone rings]
[intercom beeps]
[woman] The library will be
closing in five minutes.
We're closing. Any luck?
Hell yeah, man,
I got all kinds of luck.
Well, like I said, we're closing.
All right, man, I'm just...
getting ready.
I'm fittin' to put
all this shit away now.
Never mind, I can do it
quicker than you can.
Man, you so nice
all of a sudden, huh?
- Southern Death Threat.
- What's that?
That line you wrote down,
it's from their song.
- That's what you're looking for?
- Where do you think I can find them?
A shit hole club on Western.
All About Eve.
Play the same crappy songs
every night.
Bunch of them are astrology nuts.
Man, you've been a big help.
Have a good night.
You sure I can't
put this shit away for you?
Hello. [chuckles]
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
- Fuck you, man!
- Fuck you!
What are you gonna do
about this, man?
What the fuck are you
gonna do about it?
[men shouting]
That'll be five-fifty. Thanks.
What you need, honey?
- I'm looking for somebody.
- Aren't we all?
Yes, ma'am, I suppose we are.
What the name of the band?
Southern Death Threat.
You like 'em?
- Uh...
- Are you an agent?
- Maybe.
- They got a demo coming out.
I helped write some of the songs.
That's what I do.
I write. Screenplays mostly,
some songs.
You know, man,
I like lyrics, you know.
I mean, that's what I'm interested in.
The Edge of Space,
did you write that?
Hell no.
Uh-huh. Well, I like that lyric.
Who wrote that?
Really? It's Lazarus who wrote that.
He's deep into the signs of astrology.
Sickest fuck you'll ever meet.
Uh-huh. Where he at?
The fifth Beatle over there,
that's Lazarus.
Hey!
[grunts, yells]
[man] Get out of the way!
Out of the way!
Hey, you can't come back...
- Wow! Ow!
- Hey!
Hey, man, stop that guy!
That's my car!
[people screaming]
[door creaks]
[panting]
Fuck.
You know I'm gonna get you.
[man] He went that way.
This is car 12, do you read?
- [woman] Copy, detective.
- Shots fired.
- [woman] What's your 20?
- 57 Poplar, fourth floor.
I need backup, I need cars now,
I need cars now.
[woman] Roger that.
- [elevator dings]
- Get back! MPD.
Close the door!
[woman, muffled] No, no, no, no!
[screaming]
I just want to talk. Let her go.
[woman] No!
- [woman screams]
- [gun fires]
Get out the hall! Get out the hall!
Get out of the way!
Out of the way!
All my life I searched
for a worthy adversary,
someone who understands me,
someone who appreciates my work.
You're the one.
You think?
Love is law and I ain't finished yet.
You know, buddy, we can
make this over right now.
[Jacob] I'm your adversary, all right.
[grunting]
[sirens approaching]
I got you now.
For sure.
You listen careful.
I can speak in tongues.
Language of the gods.
I can speak any language,
ancient or otherwise.
Egyptian, Sanskrit, Hebrew.
I can channel spirits, good and evil.
Make them do my bidding.
I have not chosen you.
But you have been chosen...
...to walk with me.
I will walk with you,
through forests,
through castles of gods.
Angels...
...demons...
...monsters.
But I will shield y'all
until we get where I am.
[laughs]
[inhales]
Whereas once I was blind...
[whispers] ...now I can see.
Hallelujah.
[toilet flushing]
Good morning.
Damn, you were something else
last night, lady.
[giggles] Yeah, I know.
- Oh, you know.
- Good morning.
Morning.
[woman giggles]
[Billy Joe growls]
- Come here.
- [squeals]
Where you going, little girl?
What ya doing?
[both moaning]
[laughing]
What'd I find down here?
- Ow! Ow!
- Shh!
Get the fuck off me!
Get the fuck off!
Shut up.
I would've killed you last night,
but you were so alive, sweet...
...fresh.
Don't you move.
[woman screams]
[Frankie] Hello?
Agent Miller.
[clears throat] Sorry about
the late notice, I know it's...
Pretty damn rude.
This investigation is being supervised
by my agency. We have ultimate authority
over everything relating
to the Grifter case, understand?
- Hmm.
- I'll take that as a yes.
You can do whatever you want.
Now, let's get on with it.
Pepe, bring in 42!
You've examined each of
the victims from the very first?
-Yes.
- And the count to date is five?
Six. Three females and three males.
And each death was the result
of blunt force trauma, a beating?
-Yes.
- No inconsistencies with the wounds?
Only inconsistency
is the amount of trauma
between the female
victims and the males.
- The women were beat less?
- No, he toys with the females more.
They receive much more trauma.
Are you aware of why
we're interested in this case?
Want the truth?
I'm sensing envy on your part.
Wrong. Unfortunately,
it's not that simple.
[man whistling]
It's the first male victim.
He's a little ripe.
The flesh found
underneath the fingernails
matches the DNA from
the second female victim, right?
- Makes sense, don't it?
- Well, it does and it doesn't.
Fingernails are used by
a female in a defensive manner
- but not by a man.
- To hell with the text books,
a man would do what it takes
to defend himself: scratch, kick, bite.
I've seen it all.
Don't seem strange to me, girl.
Well, the sample we got
made it seem strange.
Under which fingernail
was it recovered?
Right index finger.
I'm gonna need a photo of that finger.
- Why?
- Just get it done.
I'll have someone around
by tonight for it.
[woman] Hey.
What happened to your arm?
Nothing.
- I wanted to talk to you.
- OK.
Nights has an opening.
Nights always has openings.
I was thinking of maybe changing
shifts, something different.
Just wanted to check in with you first,
see what you thought.
This move, it'll help me
become a detective.
Like you.
No, you should go for it.
Thought you went back
to Washington, little lady.
- What would make you think that?
- 'Cause you're out of work.
Jacob damn near got
this thing solved.
Jacob has a possible suspect,
nothing more.
I got a little bit more
than that, you see.
I made out with his wallet.
Inside, I found a necklace.
I'm just waiting for confirmation,
but my guess is
the DNA from this matches
the dead prostitute, Jessica Trimble,
and an individual named Lazarus Jones
who's a convicted sex offender
that has been wanted
by state parole for a long time now.
- That's why he's the lead dog.
- [phone ringing]
Better take notes.
When was this booked?
Why didn't I get the lab reports?
I just like to keep shit kind of
close to my vest, you know.
- That's not protocol.
- I'm not too good at protocol.
Great, thanks. OK,
the DNA test results confirm it.
Lazarus Jones is the Grifter.
Where are you going?
Well, I'm going to go to his address.
Y'all can come if you want
to see what you can see.
Storm, put out an APB.
[chuckles] Show him
what you got, little lady.
Do you mind telling me
where we're going?
- Is that his license?
- Sure enough.
The address is legit,
but no doubt he's long gone.
Did you tell the uniforms?
Why would I tell the uniforms?
I need that crime scene preserved.
Besides, we the detectives.
- [knocking on door]
- [Jacob] Lazarus Jones, MPD.
We're clear.
Like I said, he's long gone.
Jesus Christ.
Lazarus, FBI!
We just want to talk!
Jacob!
- [sirens whooping]
- [dispatch on radio, indistinct]
Something ain't right, man.
Something ain't right.
Why would he bring the body here?
We should have moved faster. We had him.
Yeah, we had him.
That guy was gone the second
he dropped his wallet in that alley.
Man, I'm telling you, I think
I just about got this cracked.
Lazarus is spelling out divinations.
He's telling us the future
with his astrological riddles.
He's timed his killings
on lunar phases.
On his last victims
he carved the full moon,
the waning gibbons, the third quarter.
Next, is the waning crescent.
That's tonight.
What did [ tell you?
He gonna kill tonight.
Mm-hmm.
Do we know where?
We close, baby.
There's a constellation
called Ariadne's Crown.
It has nine stars in it.
I believe these stars somehow correlate
to the locations of the killings.
- Mm-hmm.
- I just need to figure out how.
Listen, I'm gonna go home
and spend some solitary time
trying to figure this out.
Keep the Fed busy, will ya?
[Storm] Don't you worry.
I can handle that.
- [Celine] Working that Grifter case?
- I am.
- Getting close to catching him?
- I definitely am.
He was using the distances
between the stars
in this constellation
of Ariadne's Crown
and mirroring that
over the city of Memphis
to a scale that he made up himself.
If you look at this here,
and I trace all of the murder sites...
...we place this over
this diagram of Ariadne's Crown
that I found in his den.
As you can see
there's two stars missing.
His next kill is one
of these two locations.
Now, once I cracked the latest cipher,
I knew it could only be one place.
[woman screaming]
[Daniel] Jacob, run!
Jacob, run!
- [man grunting]
- [Daniel screaming]
[woman] Daniel! Jacob!
Jacob!
[man grunting]
[screaming]
- Ow! God damn you!
- [gasping]
Bitch.
A courier just dropped this off
for you, Agent Miller.
Thank you.
Got the wrong impression of him, kid.
- Jacob's a good man.
- That's your opinion.
You ever hear the case about
the Cannibal of South County?
No.
That was the first case
Jacob and I did together.
I studied his file.
I don't remember that case.
Well, I fucking do. Seven days
and seven nights, searching non-stop
until we finally cornered that bitch
in an apartment on the South Side.
- And?
- He was inside.
I wanted to call for backup
but Jacob wouldn't let me.
Said we had to move fast.
[chuckles] But that's typical Lightning.
- I was like you, I doubted him.
- [Frankie] You went in without backup?
[Storm] You're damn right.
Didn't need none.
I had his back and he had mine.
I was scared. I ain't even
gonna lie to you, I was scared.
This man was not only a killer,
he was a motherfucking cannibal.
And what happened?
Well, we moved in, real slow,
being real quiet.
Shit, we were so quiet,
you could hear a rat piss on a cat.
And then Lightning,
he stood there real calm
and opened the door,
just cracked it open real slow
and then we saw him
with his back towards us,
kneeled down, over a dead fucking clown.
A clown?
Yeah, some guy he ripped
from a local carnival.
Still in full make-up.
He was bent over him,
chewing on him.
Eating his flesh and sucking his bone
like it was the last barbeque rib
at Rendezvous.
[laughter]
- Shit.
- Right in front of you?
Right in front of us.
I was shaking and I called out,
"Freeze, motherfucker!"
And Jacob, he's standing there
like ice running through his veins.
Gun covering down,
hammer starting to ease back.
This guy turned around real slow,
blood all over his mouth
where he'd been eating this damn clown.
Son of a bitch. Then what?
He just stood there,
real calm like it didn't make
no difference that we was even there.
And then he slowly holds this arm out
towards us like he's offering it to us.
- You're kidding me.
- Nah, I wouldn't bulishit you.
He had this arm in his hand,
blood all over his fucking mouth,
- and you know what he said to us?
- What?
Does this taste funny to you?
- [men chuckle]
- [sighs]
I get it. He was eating
a clown, very funny.
Wait, Jacob's DNA was found under
the fingernails of the latest victim.
- I like that one.
- Good. OK?
Lazarus Jones, MPD, you're under arrest.
Put your hands in the air.
I said put them in the air, boy!
Do it!
- [grunts]
- [screams]
Y'all get outside! Go on!
This is car 12, I need back up.
Shots fired.
[yells]
[Jacob] I'm gonna beat you silly.
Ready, baby?
[yells]
[Jacob] You're a real tough guy.
You like to beat helpless women?
Slam them?
Slap them?
Punch them?
Like this?
How about that?
That all you got?
That feel good to you?
[shouts]
[Jacob] This is fun!
How's that feel?
[panting]
[Jacob] Come on.
Wanna piece of me?
OK, baby.
Take your best shot.
Feel that?
Come on!
You like to break bones, right?
[screaming]
I think your arm's broken.
[Jacob] You just broke a rib.
- Ooh, there goes another one.
- [screams]
That's right.
- Oh, your knee hurts?
- [screaming]
Oh, let me see what
I can do about that.
- Enough, Detective King,
- We got it. We got it.
Book this guy and get
Storm to take his confession.
- He's the Grifter.
- [Lazarus screams]
My arm, you fucker, my arm!
[Storm] It just don't add up.
Maybe I'm just not getting it.
The facts are the facts.
The lab results just came in.
DNA found on the dead barmaid's
fingernails matches Jacob.
Bullshit. That can't be right.
Facts are all pointing in one direction.
I mean you saw it,
he had a fresh scratch on his arm.
And Lazarus has disappeared,
that is if he even exists.
[thunderclap]
Look, I'll agree to something
that I would rather die than admit.
He is a genius but I believe he uses
the same genius to catch the bad guys
to hide his own criminality.
Jacob killed that barmaid.
Missy, you done lost your damn mind.
It's the perfect murder.
The killer investigates his own crime
and pins it on a serial killer
he's already investigating.
- [floor creaks]
- [shouts]
[Jacob] You know the sick thing is,
you killed her to get to me.
All you had to do was call
my motherfucking name.
Let's get this over with.
Yeah, you gonna bend over and
I'm gonna stick my size 14 up your ass.
[chuckles]
[yells]
Come on!
Just like old times,
ain't it, Billy Joe?
Want some more?
Come on, motherfucker!
Come on!
[Jacob] You like knives, right?
[spits]
Where you going, boy?
No appeal this time.
[Jacob] Get up, hillbilly.
Come on.
Come on, hillbilly.
[snarls]
[screams]
You gonna regret this.
Here it comes, motherfucker.
Here it comes!
[screams]
[blood gurgling]
You've killed me.
No, you don't look dead yet.
- Lie down.
- [coughs]
I'll see you in hell.
Now you look dead.
[police sirens blaring]
Storm, come on. Let's go.
Jacob?
Jacob!
Jacob?
It's Celine. She's dead.
Jacob?
He's gone.
Good job, thanks.
[Jacob] "Storm, I'm sorry about Celine.
Billy Joe killed her and
I took care of him my way.
He won't be up on appeal.
You've been a great partner.
I know my methods
are unconventional, but hell,
that's how I caught Lazarus.
Take his confession for me, would ya?
I'll look you up one day. Jacob."
I just got off the phone
with your captain.
He said Jacob booked Lazarus
about two hours ago.
He confessed to everything,
including framing Jacob.
- Here's Papa!
- Papa, Papa.
- Whoa!
- Papal!
[speaking foreign language]
- For Alexei.
- [gasps]
- Sasha?
- [speaks foreign language]
[speaking foreign language]
[speaking foreign language]
[♪ Dane DeViller, Steve Smith
and Sean Hosein: Homeward Bound]
Mm-hmm!
[♪ Dane DeViller, Steve Smith
and Sean Hosein: Assets]