Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016–2017): Season 2, Episode 7 - Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders - full transcript

An American teen who went partying in Tijuana ('TJ') with a girlfriend went missing, is then found in a public place, not the murder site, ritually painted red, and with links to a drug trade. With several cases following, none identical, overburdened Mexican police liaison Roberto Calderon puts the team on the trail of a beach based cartel surfer-bikers-gang La Huesuda. To both's horror, this compromises the cover of Jack's son Ryan Garrett as infiltrated DEA agent, and it's a race against time to get his son back to his undercover operation.

Over 68 million Americans

leave the safety
of our borders every year.

If danger strikes,

the FBI's
International Response Team

is called into action.

♪♪

Welcome to Mexico, señor.

All you hear about
growing on San Diego

is how dangerous T.J. is.

But all -- I mean,
this place rocks!

Oh.
Thanks for inviting me.



You only turn 18 once.
We might as well do it right.

True that.
And about time

you finally invited me
down here with you.

You know, I was waiting
for the right time.

I wanted you to have
the best experience ever.

Well, speaking of...

Look what I got.

Where the hell
did you get that?

This guy was passed out in the
bathroom with it in his hand.

Whoa, hey!

You need to slow down.

You're crazy.
No way!

I'm in T.J. with my best friend,
and I'm ready to party!

Oh.



It's okay.

Oh.

Breathe.

It's almost over.
You're okay.

Oh.

Roxy?

Promise you're not gonna
tell anyone at school.

Roxy?

Roxy?

Roxy?

This isn't funny.

If you're trying to scare me,
it's working.

What?

Lee Kern, an 18-year-old
high school senior

from San Diego, California,
was identified as the victim

when Federales found
his cellphone

still in his possession
in Delgado Square

completely covered
in red paint.

They immediately contacted
the U.S. Consulate,

who, in turn,
asked for our help.

What's the preliminary
C.O.D.?

It's hard to tell
with all the red paint,

but his neck was sliced
at the carotid.

Religious iconography
aside,

do you think
there's a message here?

Persecuting him for his sins,
making him a martyr.

Martyr or not,
it's clearly someone

wanting to make a statement.

Yeah, whoever it was,
they weren't shy.

Agreed. The hanging
in a public area

and the red paint scream someone
is looking for attention.

Yeah, but from whom?
Cops, locals, tourists?

Jack, seems Lee wasn't alone.

Border patrols sent this.

Meet Roxy Bental -- also 18 --
a classmate of Lee's.

Boyfriend-girlfriend?

Yeah, from the look
of Lee's social media page,

more like friends ringing in
Lee's 18th birthday T.J. style.

Yeah, road-tripping there
is like a rite of passage

for American kids since
the drinking at is 18.

Yeah, but most kids
return home safely,

like Roxy did last night.

Border Patrol has he crossing

back into the U.S.
at 11:43 P.M.

So Lee ends up dead,

and Roxy skips back
across the border.

Does that smell funny
to you guys?

About to get stinkier,
actually.

Roxy has a SENTRI card.

Isn't that for
frequent border-crossers?

Yes, it's issued by
U.S. Customs to U.S. citizens

for quicker crossing
in and out of the country.

Seems Roxy not only made
the pilgrimage to T.J. weekly,

each time, it's with
a different guy

as you can see here.

So why would a teen girl
go back and forth

over the border so often?

Maybe she's a drug mule.

Well, as long
as there's demand,

this is gonna keep happening.

I mean, there were
843 drug-related murders

of foreigners
in Mexico last year.

So did these kids get mixed up
in the drug trade?

Once we're on the ground,

Simmons and I will check
the crime scene.

Mae, you take a look at the vic.

Clara, you have
a chat with Roxy.

We're not about to let
the murder of an 18-year-old

high school student
go unpunished.

♪♪

There's an old
Mexican expression that says,

"They tried to bury us.

They didn't know
we were seeds."

I talked
to Officer Calderon.

He said they lost six officers
in the past month.

Well, the cartels,
they I.D. officers

coming to and from
crime scenes,

they target them
for investigating.

And sometimes
their families.

You see why the masks are
a necessary precaution.

Mm-hmm.

I'm Officer Roberto Calderon.
Gracias for coming.

Matt Simmons.

Thanks for having us.

Local store owner
saw the body this morning

while opening up.

So how did no one
notice a body being strung up

in a popular place like this?

Even Delgado Square slows down
for a small window of time

between night and day.

Whoever did this
must have known that.

Might even
live around here.

It's not easy getting
a body up that high.

Corpse with a slit-open neck
would have painted this tree

and everything underneath it
with blood.

Yeah, or it would have
bled dry.

But there's none of that here.

This isn't
the original crime scene.

The question is
where's the primary,

and who would be
brazen enough to do this?

All the roads in Mexico
lead to the cartels.

Whoever this kid was,
he unfortunately

came across them,
did something to piss them off,

and paid the price.

Are you aware
that the FBI believes

you're smuggling drugs from
Mexico into the United States?

Because I am.
And I stand by my conviction.

I'm not a puppet

of the United States
of Special Interests.

What are you
talking about?

The pharmaceutical companies
might have you and the feds

in their back pocket,
but not me.

So you're not smuggling
recreational drugs.

No. No, no,
I'm not a criminal.

I'm an entrepreneur.
I provide a much-needed service

for senior citizens who can't
afford prescription meds.

So you're buying
prescription meds in Mexico,

bringing them into America,
for what reason,

out of the kindness
of your heart?

No. But I'm charging
pennies on the dollar

compared to what
Big Brother charges.

Hmm.

And all the different boys
who follow you there

and tag along,
do they get a small percentage

of your up charge?
No.

Then why bring them?

Because every frat boy
with his liquid courage

has a tendency to hit on me,
and if I've got some arm candy,

they tend to leave me alone.

And what about Lee?
Did he know why you invited him?

Of course not.

But he was having
such a good time

until he ran off on me.

Ran off?

Yeah, he
was blowing chunks.

And so I told him
I'd be back in a minute,

I covered him with
my jacket, and then I ran off.

When I got back,
he'd gotten up and split.

Why did you leave him?

'Cause the pharmacies
were closing.

And I've got customers
with serious health issues

that can't afford
to miss their daily dose.

Knowing Lee, he stumbled back
home and is sleeping it off.

Lee is dead.

What?

No, that's impossible.

You're lying.

I wish that I was.

Listen,
I need you to think.

Is there anything
he could have done or said

that would have led someone
to want to murder him?

Murder?

No.

No, not that I can think of.
We were just having a good time.

No, he did say that
there was a guy

passed out
in the bathroom

with a bag of coke
in his hand.

Lee took it.

How much coke?

I don't know.

Like, um,
a sandwich bag full.

I threw it out.

That can go for a pretty penny
on the streets.

I need the name of that bar.

Yeah, of course.

Of course.

This is my fault.

This is my fault.

If I hadn't have
brought him down there,

then he wouldn't be dead!

Thank you for allowing me to
assist you, Examiner Granado.

I should thank you.

We're so understaffed
and overworked.

I can use an extra
pair of hands.

After all these years, it's
still not easy to see the dead.

And especially
this young.

So much life ahead of him.

Well, the cut is clean.

It's not jagged, so the blade
wouldn't be serrated.

The C.O.D. is
an exsanguination due

to the cutting
of the carotid.

It was a quick death.

Like the way
you bleed an animal.

What kind of blade
do we think did this?

The path of the wound
tapers off as if it's curved.

Like what?

When I was a kid,
I would spend my spring breaks

at my grandparents' house,
and they had a garden.

And so I was always
there to help plant.

And my job was
to cut all of the weeds.

So my grandpa
would give me...

this.

A sickle?

Sí.

Can you hand me
the tweezers?

Thank you.

It looks like somebody has been
playing in the sand box.

Roxy said
she left Lee here.

Arterial spray.

This is our
primary crime scene.

There's also a trail
of blood -- ends abruptly.

So whoever did this must have
a vehicle they're moving him in.

That explains how they got
Lee's body up in that tree.

Tie a little rope
to a bumper,

you got yourself
an instant winch.

The owner any help?

He said it's too many kids
come through here

to remember any one face.

He prays that American kids
stop coming down here.

They're too much trouble.

Officer Calderon,
we believe whoever did this

transported the body
in some kind of vehicle.

Unless you got a plate number,

it would be almost
impossible to find it.

We got traffic cameras
at the border,

but not across the city.

I've seen this before --
La Horca.

Mm-hmm.
The Gallows Cartel.

They mark their territory.

Roxy said that Lee
lifted a bag of cocaine

off of some guy who'd
passed out in the bathroom.

What if he was a member
of La Horca?

Like I told you,
all roads lead to the cartels.

What do you got, Mae?

Well, the victim's
carotid artery was severed

with a sickle.

A farmer's tool?

Give the man a prize.

Interesting choice of weapon
for the cartels.

I also found some traces
of sand on Lee's body,

a possible
secondary transfer.

Sand?

La Horca's one of the cartels
vying for supremacy in T.J.

They love to surf.

Maybe the transfer
is from one of their hangouts

near Aguila Beach.

Great.
Let's roll.

I'm sorry, I can't go.

I got called
to another crime scene.

Please proceed without me.

I'll catch up when I can.

You check the house.

You got this?

Yeah, I'm good.

Uh, psst. Carlos.

Jack Garrett, FBI.

They're a little...

protective of me.

Maybe they have
good reason to be.

You got big cojones,
my friend.

I'm not your friend.

Seen him?

Why? Did you lose him?

He's dead.

Uh...

Where you been
for the last 24 hours?

Right here, partying.

With plenty of witnesses
to support my alibi.

House is clean.

What about the sand?

Scraped this off
one of the boards inside.

Can I offer
you guys a beer?

Una mamacita
to keep you warm?

Mi casa es su casa.

Cole?

Cole?!

Yeah?

You got someplace
better to be?

You know this agente?

Yeah.

Yeah?

I did four years...

at Lompoc
'cause of this Fed.

Hmm.
Don't recall.

All you dirt bags
look the same to me.

Shh, shh!

Stupid move, Cole.

It seems you need your
boyfriend here to protect you.

Come on, let's get him
out of here.

Up, up, up.

Next time, duck, Fed.

Why didn't I get
a deconfliction notification

from FBI Headquarters
that you were here, Ryan?

Because it was on
a need to know basis, Dad,

and you didn't need to know.

Well, if I did, we wouldn't
have blown your cover!

I've been in Tijuana
the last three months,

deep cover, as biker Cole Dabb.

What does La Horca believe
you bring to the table?

Security.

With this biker gang I got,
we've done some small drug runs

into El Paso to prove ourself
to Hector and his cartel.

And we are just weeks away
from the big shipment

that will take them
all down.

So us crashing Hector's party
compromised all that.

Yeah.
Yeah, but that's on me.

I should have never
looked away from Dad.

I think -- I think I was just
shocked that he was there.

It's all right,
it's a rookie mistake.

I should know better.
Yes, you should.

But the fight
was a nice cover.

Okay, so what now?

Well, we have
a backstop plan.

What's a backstop plan?

If things go sideways
in an undercover investigation,

there's a contingency plan
to save cover.

So what is it?

Sorry, Mae.
It's above your clearance level.

Oh, well, I really
need a promotion then.

But, Dad, I need to
get back out there now.

They'll assume
we're interrogating you,

so we have until morning before
La Horca becomes suspicious.

And right now, I need
your expertise on Tijuana.

I thought that's what
the local police were for.

We thought so, too,
but right now, they're fighting

too many wars
on too many fronts

to worry about us
and our problems.

So we need you.

What do you got?

We know all crime in Tijuana
leads right back to the cartels.

Yeah.
They're like an octopus.

They have their tentacles
in everything.

But this -- this kid's death
had nothing to do with La Horca.

How can you be
so sure of that?

Because even the smallest crimes
have to be blessed by Hector,

their leader,
and this wasn't.

Well, the forensic evidence
supports what Ryan's saying.

The sand is free
of any organic materials,

which means it didn't
come from the beach.

Then where
did it come from?

A sand bag.

Wet sand or dirt
with organic materials

can rot and decompose.

It creates a problem with mold
and mildew and unpleasant odors.

And so they filter all of that
out in the store-made sand bags.

Yeah, sand bags are typically
associated with flooding,

but they can be used
to hold things down.

A sickle, a sand bag,
and a vehicle.

If this wasn't La Horca,
who was it?

And who'd be so bold as to do
this in the cartel's territory?

Guys, we got another body.

We have an I.D.?

American businessman
Robert Miller.

Where?

That's the thing,
just like last time,

there are two crime scenes.

Mexican authorities
found his car

at a parking lot
just outside the dog track.

That's probably
where he was abducted.

And the we found his body staged
under a bridge in Tijuana.

Clara, Simmons, see what you can
find from the abduction site.

Mae, you and Ryan
come with me.

No, I can't show
my face out there.

Then you won't.

Well, staging
is clearly similar.

He's also painted black.

His carotid is sliced upon,

and he's been
left out in the open.

Yet significantly
more gruesome.

Unsub removed his arms.
The violence is escalating.

Yeah, but he
didn't pose him.

So the religious connotations
of the first body

are most likely coincidental.
Agreed.

He's sliced, gutted,
bled out, and dismembered

before being coated with
black paint postmortem.

I mean, it's almost like
he was dipped in a vat.

How can you tell
when the body was painted?

Well...

the unsub painted
over dried blood,

so the body bled out
before being painted,

which tells us something
about the unsub's ritual.

Like?

Well, all the mutilations
and the force-feeding of cigars

and I smell beer, too,
it's postmortem.

So this isn't about
the victim suffering.

There doesn't appear to be
any malice towards them.

Lee Kern's body was displayed
in a public square

for everyone to see,
Robert Miller is under a bridge.

Given the conflicting settings,
it doesn't appear

that the unsub is trying
to make a statement.

Not a consistent one,
at least.

Go.

Hey, Jack, the front left tire

on the vic's vehicle
was slashed.

Yeah, the unsub
probably ambushed him.

That indicates
a highly-organized attack.

And, Jack, we also found
something else interesting.

Shoot.

Well, whatever vehicle
they're using

to transport the bodies

is leaking fuel
in its own tire track.

Yep.
I found it here, too.

Gas.

Peanuts.

Well, whoever's doing this
has converted their vehicle

to be eco-friendly.

And we didn't see it
in the alleyway

at the first kill
because we were at the scene

almost 24 hours after
the fact and it dried.

Monty, you there?

I am, indeed.

And it seems that
the eco-friendly craze

is still pretty small
there in Tijuana.

So let me see
what I can dig up.

Are you able to find
a connection between the vics?

No, in fact, other than
them both being American,

it seems they couldn't be
any more different.

Lee Kern was a high school
senior from San Diego,

Miller was from
Flagstaff, Arizona,

who was an engineer for
BTL Petroleum Industries.

Wait, he works for
a Mexican oil company?

That's correct.

Could this be
eco-terrorism?

Guys, come here.

Or is it the cartels?

I thought you said La Horca
wasn't involved in this.

Right, La Horca, but there are
other cartels in Tijuana

vying for power, and their
mutual enemy is Big Oil.

Big Oil?

Yeah, a few years back,

the cartels started
tapping into the oil company's

main line and siphoning off
large amounts of oil to sell.

To combat this,

the oil companies
brought in mercenaries.

It's been a war
ever since.

Like this place doesn't have
enough problems already.

But the different cartels
don't agree on anything

except their mutual hatred
for Big Oil.

So maybe this wasn't
just a message.

Maybe it was
a blood sacrifice.

A blood sacrifice?

Yeah, think like
an animal sacrifice,

only the cigar and the beer
were the offerings.

Okay, but to whom?

When I saw the offerings,
I started thinking

how the cartels used to
commonly go to black magic

looking for protection
or favor.

Of course!
Like in 2003, there was

this American college student
who was abducted

in a border town
by local dealers.

He was killed as part
of a human sacrifice

to protect a large drug shipment
going out the next day.

So Officer Calderon was right,
this was the cartels.

Just not the way
we thought.

So this has nothing to do
with someone running afoul

of Mexican drug dealers.

But may have
everything to do with

the cartels'
black magic rituals.

They employ
a spirit guide.

It's one part voodoo doctor,
one part priest,

and the rest,
all devil worship.

He's the number one guy
in these parts,

his name is Julio Salazar --
A.K.A. El Cuco.

If he's not behind this,
he knows who is.

Where can we find him?

-You're kidding me.
-No.

When El Cuco is not
doing black magic rituals,

he's giving palm readings
to tourists

or selling occult
paraphernalia to the locals.

I mean, just the idea
that he's getting this close

to innocent people on a daily
basis makes my skin crawl.

Yeah, well, wait till
you meet him.

He's got the charm
of a rattlesnake.

The shop is halfway
between the kill sites

and where the unsub has been
bleeding out their victims.

El Cuco definitely needs
blood for his rituals.

Could be why we didn't find all
the blood at the crime scene.

So he's collecting them
at a secondary location

for ritualistic purposes.

All right, everybody
follow my lead.

Ryan, you stay back,
cover our six.

FBI.

His eyes are gone.

This definitely looks
like black magic.

Yeah, well, black magic
is treated differently here

than it is in the States.

Yeah, superstitions have a long
tradition in Mexican culture,

so spells to the locals
are like prayers to us.

All right,
let's go through this.

The third victim
is Julio Salazar,

killed in the same manner
as the first two.

His neck was slashed
with a sickle,

and like the second victim, he
had cigars stuffed in his mouth.

But this time,
his eyes were removed.

Yeah, it looks like the same
killer, but if it was,

why wasn't the body painted
in the same manner?

Yeah, the body wasn't
dipped in a vat

like the other ones,
or even moved.

All the blood confirms that this
is the primary crime scene.

But if this is
another blood sacrifice,

how does it fit the pattern?

Or why does it deviate?
I mean, the first two kills

were clean and precise,

and this one just seems
angry and rushed.

And how are these
victims connected?

In under 12 hours, we have three
murders with similar M.O.s.

But if his spells provided
protection to the cartels,

then why kill him?

Because the unsubs
weren't tied to the cartels,

more likely an individual driven
to make black magic sacrifices.

For their own protection?

Maybe. Certainly feels like
a spree-oriented kill.

The killers seem
to be deviating.

Their pace is increasing.

Yeah.
But to what end?

And for whom?

Go ahead, Monty.

So with pollution
and war over oil in Tijuana,

a few locals have
converted their diesel engines

to run on food oils.

Five people have registered

their biodiesel engines
with the DMV.

I was able to find four of them,

and they have confirmed
alibis with the police.

But the fifth one is M.I.A.

You got a name?

Miguel Gonzalez, 40.

Essentially
fallen off the planet.

Access to his address
has been blocked,

but I put in a call
to the Tijuana DMV

to figure out why.

That seems like
a person of interest.

What else have you found?

Robert Miller's employer
laid him off nine months ago.

However, he's been
crossing the border into Mexico

from his home in Arizona, where
he's married with two kids.

He could have just been
searching for other employment.

Maybe, but, strangely,
he had his severance check

forwarded to an address
in the village of Narvado

on the outskirts of Tijuana

instead of his home in the U.S.

All right, Mae,
you stay with the body

until the local authorities
arrive.

Monty, get me an address
for Miller.

You got it.

Why don't you guys
head to Miller's,

and I'll catch up
with you later?

Are you okay, Dad?

Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine.

I'll see you in a bit.

Okay.

Agent Jack Garrett.

Section Chief Cruz, Jack.

Mateo, long time,
no speak.

What can I do for you?

I think you know
the answer to that.

The director's not happy.

We're handling it.

You pulled you son
from a high-profile

undercover operation
and have yet to pull the trigger

on the backstop plan.
Why?

Since we have no
local assistance in the area,

Ryan's knowledge
on the ground has been

an integral part of
the I.R.T.'s investigation.

Cut the bull, Jack.
You had no right to pull him.

His cover was blown.

It was compromised, okay?

You're trying to buy time,
and we don't have any.

You've got to put the backstop
plan in motion ASAP.

Look, I understand he's
your son, but duty calls.

Copy.

Good.

I'll tell the director that
there will be no more delays.

We got the call.

How did you come upon
such darkness?

Some clues and some profiling
led us to his door.

You know him?
Sí.

He's the Don of Darkness,
but from the looks of it,

he got what
he had coming to him.

Probably got double crossed
by his bosses in the cartels.

Why do you say that?

Who else would dare kill
a priest of such dark power?

Maybe someone who needs
or wants that power.

Ryan, perimeter's clean.

No signs of blood
or struggle anywhere.

All right.
Let's take a look inside.

Hola.

My name is Ana Sofia.

I speak English,
if that's easier.

-Great.
-Mama?

Why are these people here?

They're just here
to ask a few questions.

But why don't
you go to your room,

and I'll tell you
all about it later.

How about that?
Yeah?

Please, come in.

What's going on here?

That's what we're hoping
you can tell us.

Simmons, Clara.

Robert Miller is your husband,
Arturo is his son?

Sí.

Is this about
his other family?

So you know about them?

I only discovered it
a few months ago

when his job sent over
some paperwork

listing his wife in Arizona.

And what happened when
you confronted him about it?

He admitted it,
and we fought.

But...

my son needs
a father, so...

we're managing.

But you're here
for another reason.

What did Roberto do?

I'm sorry,
but your husband

has been the victim
of a homicide.

Dios mío.

Mrs. Miller, you didn't
know about your husband's

other family for years.

Is it possible that
he had other affiliations,

relationships that
could have led to this?

My husband gambled,
and he drank, and...

God knows what else, but...

he always kept
a roof over our heads,

and he never
laid a hand on me.

Or my son or anybody else.

But you do know something,
don't you, Ana?

What is it?

A shrine
to the Grim Reaper?

No.

La Santa Muerte --

patron saint of those
who've been left behind.

Left behind by whom?

By God.

Ana, did you have something to
do with your husband's death?

I was so angry.

I prayed for bad things.

But I didn't mean
any of them.

I was so upset.

You prayed here
at this altar?

Yeah.

And at the Tijuana
mobile altars.

Mama?

If you need anything,
I'll be with my son.

The La Santa Muerte following
is one of the largest

belief systems in Mexico.

They've got 12 million
followers.

Right, but both
the Catholic Church,

who views it as an evil
offshoot of Catholicism,

and the local police,
who see it as a belief system

for the lower class,
have outlawed and denounced

the faith's practice.

Outlawed it?

Yeah, there are
no churches.

I mean, its followers
have to set up prayer altars

like these that are either
mobile or easily dismantled

so the local police don't
find them and destroy them.

Well, isn't it true
that if you ask for something

from La Santa Muerte,
you have to offer her

something in return?
Yes.

Like a metaphysical
quid pro quo.

Is the unsub doing this
because they want something

from La Santa Muerte,
and if so, what is it?

The colors strewn
across the altar,

they're the same colors

that the first two victims
were painted.

Yeah, this is more
than just superstition.

We're looking at
a La Santa Muerte practitioner

or a fanatic.

Hey.
All right, Monty.

Everyone's here.
Go ahead.

Okay, La Santa Muerte
is highly adaptable

to the individual believer.

Not only do they
not have any churches,

there's also no bible, either.

Followers have spells
that have been handed down

from generations
through word of mouth.

I found one ex-member
who wrote a blog

that outlines
some of the spells.

Can you link any of them
to the murders?

What seems to be consistent
here is that two of the three

murders have been
blood sacrifice spells

designed to restore
an absent loved one.

So the unsub
lost someone.

And this is all a personal act
to get that person back.

Turns out the colors have
a power structure to them.

Red is the lowest, then black
is a little bit more powerful.

Gold is king.

Lee Kern was the first,
and he was red.

Yeah, and the red spell
asks for the bloodletting

of someone young.

So the sacrifice of Lee Kern
should have satisfied

the saint and returned
the unsub's loved ones.

But, clearly, it didn't.

So then the unsub tried
to cast a stronger spell.

Exactamundo.

The color black asks for
the bloodletting of a sinner,

so the display of Robert Miller
should have worked, too.

But it didn't, either.

Therefore, the unsub felt
he needed more power

and tried to absorb it
by killing the occult priest,

Julio Salazar.

And now with the most
powerful color left,

they believe that they will
get their loved one back.

What does the gold
sacrifice entail?

Taking the heart from
a person of authority,

but unlike the others,
the victim must be alive,

aware during the ceremony.

So this grief-induced
spiritually-motivated unsub

is out there right now looking
for someone who fits that.

Someone like an officer
of the law.

We got a La Santa Muerte altar
near Delgado Square...

...back of a green, rusted
seventy-nine Ford pick up truck.

License plate number
B D 4 2 2 5 C.

This vehicle looks familiar.

Will the owner of this vehicle
please step forward.

As you know, it's against the
law in Tijuana to worship La
Santa Muerte in public

Stop!

Raise your hands up!

Stop!

Drop your weapon!

Officer Calderon is missing.

He was on
a disturbing the peace call

for a La Santa Muerte altar.

He ran the plates, and they
belong to Miguel Gonzalez.

But here's the thing.
I found Miguel, and he's dead.

Who was
driving the truck?

Impound records show
that Alma Gonzalez

has reclaimed
the car three times.

Gonzalez?
Any relation to Miguel?

Yeah, brother and sister.

Well, why was the truck
towed in the first place?

Because it had a La Santa Muerte
altar in the bed.

The altars are illegal,
so the police destroy them

and impound any vehicle
associated with them.

And Alma has a long history of
violations, and even arrests.

The last one, only two months
ago by Officer Calderon

for erecting and displaying
La Santa Muerte altars.

Probably had the sand bags
to hold down the altar

in the back of the truck.

It must have busted open,

transferring some sand
to the victims.

Alma's connection
to La Santa Muerte and Miguel

make her our prime suspect.

According to public records,
Alma and her sister, Teresa,

were left a family-owned
business a year ago.

Wait a minute.
There's another sibling?

So what if the black magic
priest's murder

felt like a different kill

because they're
two different unsubs?

Alma and Teresa
are working as a team.

Together, they drive around
T.J. in a pickup truck

with a Santa Muerte altar,
looking for their next victims.

To find someone young,
they went to Tijuana's

most popular bar district.

They needed a sinner, so they
found a gambler at a dog track.

And needing
a man of authority,

they lure a police officer
in with their altar.

So the family biz
is a salvage yard,

which he signed over
about a year ago today.

Wait, why would
he sign it over?

Miguel applied for a U.S. Visa,
but was denied,

so he did what millions
of other people do

in search for a better life --
he hopped the border illegally.

He didn't make it,
did he?

No, and his absence
has been absolutely devastating

to his sisters.

They're about to lose
the salvage yard to bankruptcy,

which explains why I wasn't able

to access the address
through the DMV.

The truck's being held up
in a probate court case.

So they haven't heard
or seen their brother

in over a year.

The anniversary of his
disappearance is their trigger.

So the sisters believe
that by performing this ritual,

they can bring their brother
Miguel back to them

and he'll fix everything.

And they needed Officer Calderon
alive to perform it.

We better hurry before
he runs out of time.

Ryan, you hang back.

Anyone tries to get in
or out, stop them.

FBI! Drop the weapon!

Move away
from Officer Calderon!

We know
what you're doing.

How your brother, Miguel,
went to the States

to make a better living.

And once settled, he was
going to send for you both,

but he never did.

Because he couldn't.

You see, he made it across,
but he didn't get far.

Mentirosos!

We're not lying, Alma.

You are!

Miguel is in America.

But Teresa and I, we broke
our promise to La Santa Muerte.

We stopped displaying our altar
because we were afraid of

la policia,
so she's punishing us.

Keeping Miguel
away from us,

taking our business
and our home, too!

With this final sacrifice,

we'll satisfy La Huesuda
and return Miguel to us!

No, no!
It's too late for that.

I'm, sorry.

Miguel is dead.

You'll never see Miguel again.

No!

I pity the sisters.
Their grief, it just...

it twisted a faith that offers
real hope and guidance to many.

You also offer hope.

The way you fight for your
people against monumental odds.

The world can use more men
like you, Calderon.

Gracias.

Good work, Dad.

Couldn't have done it
without you, son.

I don't know about that.

Look, now that it's over,
I need to get back under.

Why are you taking
the toughest,

most dangerous road
there is in the Bureau?

You cast
a really large shadow.

I have to make my own way
if I ever hope

to step out of it,
become my own man.

Yeah, I get that.

But at what price?

The exact same price
you've been willing to pay

your entire career.

I'm asking you to see me
as a fellow agent,

not as your son.

That's easier said
than done.

I know you're worried.

But you know the deeper
my cover, the safer I am.

This backstop plan's
gonna give me

even more credibility
with La Horca.

Ryan, you remember
when you were little

and we used to
go to that lake

and fish all day?

Yeah.

Yeah, you'd start a fire.

Fry up some perch or catfish
that we'd caught.

We'd just watch the stars
and talk.

Some of the best times
of my life.

Yeah, me too.

But when this is over,
you owe me a fishing trip.

Habla Inglés?

His name is Cole Dabb,
and we got him on possession,

intent to distribute,

assault and battery
of a federal agent.

We tried to extradite him,
but we couldn't.

He's your problem now.