Major Crimes (2012–2018): Season 2, Episode 2 - False Pretenses - full transcript

When Rusty receives a threatening letter, D.D.A. Rios demands his relocation to a new foster home. Raydor must decide the best way to keep Rusty safe without jeopardizing the progress he has made. A double homicide investigation leads the Major Crimes team to serial thief.

(GLOVE SNAPS)

- (POLICE SIREN WAILING)
- (POLICE RADIO CHATTER)

Good morning.

No caffeine.
I'm on a cleanse.

Awhat?

A cleanse.
You know, like a diet.

Rid your body of toxins,
lose some weight.

- What do you eat?
- You don't.

You just drink a lot of
this special juice here.

It tastes great.

Look.
I got a physical coming up.



Well, (CHUCKLES) that's not an exam
that you have to study for.

Never mind.

Sanchez.

I brought you some coffee.

SANCHEZ: Oh, great.
Thank you, sir.

Yeah.

So, what are we looking at?

Well, the maid showed up
this morning

like every Monday.

She found two bodies,
and called 911.

No signs of a break-in,

so murder-suicide
most likely.

PROVENZA: Well, murder-suicide
usually solves itself.

Where's everybody else?



Tao and Sykes are upstairs
with the dead shooter

who's the home owner, sir.

His victim is female,

shot in the back of the head.
Through here.

Yeah.

Are we talking husband, wife?

Boyfriend, girlfriend?

Brother and sister,
according to the maid, sir.

- The maid.
- In here.

Claudia.

She has a key to the house
and she knows the alarm code.

Which, according
to the alarm company,

hasn't been set since, uh, Saturday.

Well, Claudia said that
the sister, Janet,

had been visiting.

And she argued
with her brother a lot.

What was the fight over?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

SANCHEZ: She thinks it was
about Janet's husband.

Because her English
isn't so good,

it was difficult
for her to understand.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

But Mr. William would
never do something like this.

Where's the first body?

Right this way.

MAN: Her license says
her name is Janet Bloom,

31 years old, from Arizona.

From the looks of things,

she was moving pretty fast
when he shot her.

Do you see these streaks?

When she hit the floor,
she slid a good six inches.

Jeez.

Why do I keep putting
myself through this?

- EMMA: Lieutenant Provenza.
- Yes.

Good morning, lieutenant.

Yeah.

Is it bad?

Well, I've seen worse.

Anyway, I was just going
upstairs with the suicide.

You're welcome to join me.

Well, well, maybe
I should look.

(GASPS)

Her face is missing, lieutenant.
You said...

I said that I had seen worse.
And I have.

He has.

Emma,

if you're going to continue
to come to the morgue

and to the crime scenes

you have got to
get used to it.

Uh, here.

Let me help you.

Oh, thanks.

This way.

Here.
I got you a coffee.

Seriously?

Thank you. Mm...

I didn't have time
to stop on my way in.

- How did you know?
- I'm a detective.

Excuse me, detective.

So, DDA Rios, since...

Since it appears

that we won't need
a conviction in this case,

there is another
potential deal

that I would like to
discuss with you.

Is this about Phillip Stroh?

Has the Special
Circs committee

reviewed your new brief yet?

Lieutenant, I understand
you're concerned about

our material witness.

If you people don't withdraw
a recommendation for death

Rusty will be forced
to take the stand.

And he'll have to talk about
stuff that

we're trying
very hard to help him forget.

I can't handicap my case
worrying about

how it'll affect
a teenage prostitute.

Not to mention

how it will look
to the people of California

if I offer a deal
to a serial killer.

Oh, God!

Seriously, seriously.

You have got to keep
your voice down.

Now, just stand here.

Quietly.

Meet William Edwards, 35,

single and a big sports fan.

But maybe not a legal
gun owner.

The one that was in his hand
is not registered to him.

Kendall?
Time of death?

Both bodies are
coming out of rigor,

so we're looking
at 24 to 36 hours.

So Saturday night
or Sunday morning.

Suicide?

It looks right.

The guy shot himself lying down.

Kind of weird.
But it takes all kinds.

It looks like he was doing
pretty well for himself.

Expensive watches,
designer clothes.

A Porsche in the garage.

Did you find a note?

No, sir.
We're still looking.

Have you checked the laptops?

They're password protected,

so it'll take
a moment to figure out

their log-ins.

I cracked them.

Her middle name.
His birthday.

Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.

Uh... I'll see what I can find.

Thank you, Mike.

Detective Sykes,
you were saying?

Right.

Dr. Edwards
was a cosmetic dentist.

He owned his own practice.

The office manager said
he was extremely successful.

And his credit report
backs that up.

According to his
Facebook page

he was gay, single

and his last status update was,
"Decaf, what's the point?"

Actually, it's caffeine
we should do without.

It's a drug.

Seriously.

SHARON: Anyone else think
that it is odd

that Dr. Edwards had both his

and his sister's laptop
in his room?

Well, maybe something on
Janet's computer

started the argument.

Text messages from
Edwards's phone to his sister

about her divorce, ma'am.

PROVENZA: Rios,

why are you still here?

I'm waiting for you guys to
confirm murder-suicide.

And I can't find my keys.

SHARON: These text messages
make it sound like

Janet's husband was
physically abusing her

and that she sought safety
with the brother.

How'd that work out?

Why haven't we put out
a press release?

Tied this murder-suicide
up with a bow?

Because we still
have loose ends.

Like what?

Gun is registered
to someone else.

PROVENZA: And our female victim

was in the middle of
a very messy divorce.

Julio, I just found
a string of e-mails

between Janet and her husband.

He was in town this weekend
to try to patch things up.

And get this, they had
plans to eat together

Saturday evening,
same night as the murders.

Maybe Edwards got angry
with Janet

for going out with her
wife-beating husband.

SHARON: So Dr. Edwards
saves his sister

from a bad relationship
by killing her?

The husband wrote Janet an e-mail
saying he'd be at the

Ramada in West Hollywood
until tomorrow.

If you're not busy.

Oh, uh, I will go look

and check if the
husband is still there.

Right.

Loose ends.

They're not the same.

Something wrong?

The pictures of the
victim's house on Facebook

do not sync up with my video
of the crime scene.

MORALES: Good morning, everyone.

I hope you weren't planning
on leaving early today.

Now what?

MORALES: Your supposed suicide.

William Edwards's left wrist.

Do you see the small abrasion
on the bone?

There's no blood.

The cut is post-mortem.

Correct.

I think the victim's wrists
were restrained

with handcuffs
removed after death

which is why the cut
didn't bleed.

SHARON: But if he was cuffed,

wouldn't we see
bruising on his wrists?

Not if the cuffs were padded.

Padded handcuffs?

Or leather restraints.

Maybe he liked it
rough in the bedroom.

Guess Edwards forgot
his safe word.

MORALES: Oh. And I found at least
four cotton fibers

in Dr. Edwards' mouth,

so somebody was trying
to keep him quiet

before he died.

Ramada says the husband
hasn't checked out yet.

Maybe we should get him
some room service.

Yeah, we'll give him
a ride across town.

Come on, Sykes, you can drive.

Captain?

Edwards posted a lot of photos
of his house on Facebook.

But when Buzz compared
these pictures

to the crime scene video,
they didn't match.

For instance, online

you can see
Edwards arranged

his baseball collection
differently.

Today, it's all out of order.

And we found his laptop
on his dresser.

All the other pictures,
it's on his desk downstairs.

Laptops are designed to
move around and all, but...

Maybe we should
talk to that maid again

and show her those pictures.

Better yet, maybe we should
take her back to the scene.

BUZZ: Captain Raydor?

This is a very strange letter
sent to Rusty, care of DCFS.

Careful how you take it.

Oh, God.

SHARON: "Dear Rusty,

Greetings.

I've been
following the Phillip Stroh case

in the news.

You must be under
a lot of pressure

as such an important
witness against him.

On the bright side, at least
you're no longer hunting

for tricks on
Sunset Boulevard.

So many young boys who work
the streets end up dead.

Make sure you are right
with the Lord,

and pray that He remains
forgiving to sinners like us

because our fate is not
always in our own hands.

Sincerely, an Old Friend."

Well, assuming
this is Phillip Stroh

intimidating our witness

and not some nut
playing a prank...

Phillip Stroh is too smart
to write this himself.

But he's a lawyer in jail.

From what I've read,
it wouldn't be the first time

he's traded favors to have
a felon give him a hand.

SANCHEZ: We could toss Stroh's cell.

Check who he's close to
at county.

I agree.

Meanwhile, Rusty should
have extra protection.

I can talk to my office
about relocating him.

- What?
- That's not an option.

If you're concerned
for his safety...

RUSTY: So this is what
I get for being honest?

Sharon, I didn't have
to show you this letter.

Relocating Rusty right now
would be an overreaction.

Whoever wrote this letter,

addressed it to the Department
of Children's Services.

They don't even know
where Rusty lives.

Should we wait until someone
shows up at your front door

before taking it seriously?

SANCHEZ: Well, why don't I send
this letter to prints to see

what they come up with, ma'am?

Fine.

We'll start there, but...

And I'll need
a writing sample.

Wait, you think I wrote this?

The defense will suggest
that you did.

I have to rule it out.

Don't be ridiculous, Emma.

The defense can get
a subpoena.

I said I want a writing
sample from Rusty.

Copy this letter.

Print and cursive.

Excuse me.

Captain, the victim's
husband is on his way up.

I'm going to your
Electronics Room.

Good idea.

BUZZ: He's with Lieutenant Provenza
and Detective Sykes.

Uh... sorry.

Also, Lieutenants Flynn
and Tao are meeting the maid

at the crime scene
and want me to go with them.

Good.
Thank you, Buzz.

Don't be concerned about this
witness protection business.

It's not gonna happen.

Okay.

I won't worry about it, then.

- At all.
- MAN: What a liar.

My wife has no legal reason
to complain at all.

And if Janet
wants me gone, fine.

She's just got to say so.

But I never touched her.

I understand, Dwayne.
I do.

And we want to hear
your side of things.

So let's start with

what the two of you did
on Saturday night.

We went to dinner.

That's why I came back

to L.A. It was to try
and make things right.

But she was still so angry.

We got into
everything again, in public,

and she stormed out
before the food came.

And after that?

I found her crying
in the parking lot.

She doesn't want to even sit
at the same table with me.

So I dropped her off
at her brother's place.

That's it.

Yesterday, I tried to call
her a few times,

but she never picked up.

I figured I'd let
her cool off some.

(LAUGHS) And then
you people showed up.

Shame we weren't at your
house 2 months ago

when you and Janet
last fought.

AMY: When you put her in the ER.

Do you think this is what
she's still mad about?

The person that did this,
he is not me.

Well, he's got
your fingerprints.

I lost it that one time.

That never happened before.

Oh, that's what guys
like you always say.

It was an accident.
I lost control.

I didn't mean it.

Look, I love Janet.

And what I did, I regret it.

But she wasn't some
innocent flower.

People don't care about
the things she did to me.

Oh. So she had it
coming, is that it?

And you gave it to her.

I bet it made you feel
like a man, huh?

- Crushing her face like that?
- That's not what I mean.

You're putting words
in my mouth.

How about I'm sorry
I'm a wife beater.

Because that's what you are
and you know it!

You push me one more step...

Oh, there's the real Dwayne.

Now, you're not arguing
with your wife anymore

boy-o. Now you're
threatening a police officer.

You calm down and sit.

Sit down!

Now you pull
yourself together

or I'll put you someplace
where that can happen.

Now, let's...

Let's get back to Saturday.

Your dinner goes to hell
and you drive Janet home.

Did you walk her to the door?

No.

No. Her brother hates me.

He wants me out of her life.

I wonder why?

When you dropped her off,
was he there, Janet's brother?

A car was in the driveway.

Uh... not his,
but a silver Accord.

Did you see the driver?

No.

I assume it was some guy
he picked up.

You know, he's gay.

What's this got to do
with me and Janet, anyway?

I don't think
he knows she's dead.

Maybe he's just a good actor.

Let's hold him.

See if anyone we come across
drives a silver Accord.

Oh, and you know what?

Amy, let's put out
that press release

that Chief Taylor is
so anxious about.

The one confirming
murder-suicide?

- That's the one.
- But cap...

You heard the captain, Sykes.
Please.

Just do it.

BUZZ: It's like I thought.

She says the baseballs
are out of order.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

He always kept them
by the year they were signed.

Okay, great.

Anything else?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

These don't go here.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

BUZZ: She says he kept these things
on a shelf in the closet.

MIKE: Mm. What do we have here?

Stems and seeds.

Rolling papers.

A lighter.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

She doesn't want us to think
Dr. Edwards was a bad person.

Yeah, fine.

Did he keep anything else
in the box?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

A little money.
Always.

MIKE: So someone cuffed Dr. Edwards
and robbed the place.

His sister came home early.

ANDY: Our guy shot her and then
came back upstairs.

He shot Edwards.

He put everything back and made it
look like a murder-suicide.

God.

But he took the cash
and the drugs.

Could you ask her if she ever
saw Dr. Edwards with a gun?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

No.

Maybe we should pay
the registered owner a visit.

- He's in the neighborhood.
- (DOORBELL RINGS)

- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I feel great.

I haven't eaten anything
in a few days.

It's these juices I've been
drinking. They're amazing.

They got kale, Gingko Balboa.

- Biloba.
- What?

Gingko Biloba.

- Native to China.
- (DOORBELL RINGS)

Anyway, it's incredible.

And no headache
from losing the caffeine.

Exactly. Yeah.

And don't take
no for an answer, okay?

Mm-hm. Good.

Hey, look, I've got to go.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Bye.

What's up?
Can I help you?

Are you Stewart Ness?

- Yeah.
- (PHONE RINGS)

One second.

(LAUGHS) Sorry. Hello.

Just work.
It's crazy right now.

What do you do, Mr. Ness?

I run a gossip site.

Online.
Who's screwing who.

- (PHONE CHIMES)
- Oh. Whoa!

- This is gonna be huge.
- Give me that.

And that.

Hey.

What are you doing?

Do you own a 9 millimeter
handgun, Mr. Ness?

What?

No.

(STAMMERS) I don't.

Wrong answer.

Try again.

L... Look, I lost it.

Well, we found it, and look
what it's been up to.

Oh, my God.

- Yeah.
- Listen to me.

You grab your keys
and lock your door

because I heard a rumor
you're taking the afternoon off.

RUSSELL: It's creepy.

But I get anonymous letters
threatening me all the time

worse than this.

EMMA: But you're in law enforcement.

The boy is
a material witness in...

A material witness
in a murder trial.

I'm well aware.

Out of curiosity,
what do you suggest we do?

I know it's emotional
for Captain Raydor,

but if we were dealing
with a gang case here,

the boy would be put in

witness protection
immediately.

This is just another attempt
to get him out of my custody.

Yes.

Because you know very well
that living in your house

could compromise
his testimony.

If he wasn't living with me,

you wouldn't even
have his testimony.

The minute you put him
in foster care

he will be gone.

Look, Russell.

Phillip Stroh has
successfully defended

countless child molesters
and rapists.

People who owe him
their freedom.

He has manipulated
loyalties in the past

to commit terrible crimes.

Proper witness protection
is the only way to make sure

Rusty stays safe.

Excuse me, DDA Rios,

who's gonna pay for that?

Who's gonna pay for what?

Rusty's protected
witness status

and everything
that goes with it?

Who's gonna pay for that?

Well, in order for the
DA's office to pick up the tab,

the letter would have to be
more overtly threatening.

But the underlying aggression
behind this letter is the issue.

The wording of this letter
never rises to the level

of actionable witness
intimidation.

And I don't have anything
in my budget marked

for when the DA overreacts.

Yes, captain?

While I agree that relocation
would be too expensive,

I do believe extra protection
is warranted.

Which is why you carry
a badge and a gun.

Did you run the
original of this letter

for prints and DNA?

Yes, and we are waiting
for the results.

Good.

When you know more,
we'll talk again.

Thank you, Emma.

Bye-bye.

We have an actual murder
to discuss.

Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.

That's all the time I have
to spend on

Rusty Beck in a trial

that won't take place
for another year and a half

if we're lucky.

Meanwhile, tell me

why we're still working
this murder-suicide?

Because it's not closed.

Of course it is.

It says so right here
on this press release

that you had me put out
for the 11 o'clock news

and tomorrow's paper.

That was designed
so whoever committed

these murders will think
they got away with it.

Great.

Are we at least
close on anyone?

We have two suspects,
and one gun.

ANDY: Does it look familiar?

I was robbed...

Okay?

About a month ago.

And this guy, he took it

along with a bunch
of other stuff.

Did you fill out a police report
for this robbery?

- No.
- Why not?

(LAUGHS) It's complicated.

I'm in a relationship, and...

Anything?

Too soon to tell, ma'am.

This guy was supposed to be,
you know, a one-time thing.

ANDY: The guy who robbed you?

Yeah.

My boyfriend was out of town.

Look, I really don't want him
to find out about this.

Start cooperating
with us right now

or we'll tweet the media
how this gun left your house.

Maybe your fellow gossipmongers
might be interested?

Start digging
through your life?

Does it sound fun?

Or you could just start by
telling us where you met this

"one-time thing."

On Dude Ranch.

It's a social app.

Away to hook up
with, well, men.

You sign in on your phone

and it shows you
pictures of all the guys

in your area
looking for a little action.

Can I have Dr. Edwards's
cell phone, please?

I downloaded the app
in case I was ever on my own

and had some time to kill.

It's not like it's a crime.

And it's super easy.

You find someone you like
and you send them a message.

It's called a whip.

And if they like you,
they whip you back

and you see what happens.

That's it?

The gays, they have it made.

MIKE: So you found this guy?

No.

He found me actually.

His profile pic was just
a photo of his chest.

It was kind of hot.

Anyway, he said he lived
in the neighborhood.

Afterwards, though, l...

I decided he must have been
parked nearby,

looking for a guy
with a nice house.

Mike.
What are you doing?

I'm downloading Dude Ranch.

Go on.

Keep going.

So, uh, you told this guy
to come over?

Yeah.

And he was cute too.

I mean, like
Ryan Gosling cute.

Mid-twenties, brown hair,
brown puppy dog eyes.

Well, Janet's husband is
looking less

and less likely every minute.

Dr. Edwards does not have
Dude Ranch on his phone.

Well, then the killer
might have deleted it

because the app is
still on his laptop.

And then,

all of a sudden,

he shoved me to the floor

really hard and threw on
some handcuffs.

I was freaked.

I didn't know
what he was gonna do.

I was... I told him,
I was like

I'm not into rough stuff,
but...

He just laughed.

And that's when he started
packing up my things,

along with the gun.

After he left, I called my
assistant for help

and, well,

I deleted the app, and just

tried my best to forget
the whole thing.

Except I may have saved
a copy of the chest photo.

I'll show you
if you give me my phone back.

Why would you save
his picture?

I told you.

He was kind of hot.

Oh!

See?

The Dude Ranch people finally
got back to us this morning.

And according
to their database,

the photo Mr. Ness

showed us has been used
as a profile pic

under 11 different names.

What kind of information do
they ask of their new members?

MIKE: I downloaded the
free version yesterday,

and all I had to do
was submit a screen name.

I'm Mr. Clean.

So, for all we know,

there are 11 different
screen names

for the same guy.

I found three more robberies
with the same M.O.

In the last month alone.

He hits in Pacific Palisades
and Hancock Park.

The victims met the
assailant online, ma'am.

Whoa! I've been tapping this prompt
on Dude Ranch

to ride the range, looking
for our suspect.

Ride the range?

It expands the search
for dudes

beyond your immediate area.

And look at this.

One of the new profiles
that just popped up

has that same shirtless photo.

- Fantastic.
- LonelyBoy310.

It says he's 8.2 miles away.

Mike. Can you use this app
to triangulate his position?

If he stays online,
I should be able to get within...

About 200 feet away.

Two... Wait a second.

Wait, wait, wait.

Now I'm 210.

Let's go this way.

MIKE: Okay, 200,

190, 185.

We're getting close.
Amy?

All right, Julio.
Whip him.

Everyone
keep your eyes peeled.

(WHIP CRACKING SOUND)

All right, we got a guy across
the street from you,

wearing a gray t-shirt.

I see him.

I got him. I got him.
Flynn,

come around the block.

He's on the south east
corner in a small crowd.

See if the witness
can identify him.

Copy that.

My God.
That's him.

I have an ID.

If you guys pick the
same guy as Stewie here.

Hey, LonelyBoy310.

What, get him off me.

What is this?
Come on!

- Don't resist.
- Get off of me!

- Come on.
- All right.

Turn him around, Mike.

Is that your car, sir?

Yeah. So what?

So what?

So you're under arrest,
Tyler Allen.

That's what.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can

and will be used against you
in a court of law.

You have the right
to an attorney.

If you cannot afford one,

one will be appointed for you
by the state.

(SOFT POP MUSIC PLAYS)

- Hey.
- Hey.

I didn't know you were
gonna be home so late.

I waited up for you.

Did you get something to eat?

Yeah. I just heated up
some leftovers,

thanks.

So...

Did you hear anything from
prints or DNA about my letter?

Um, not yet.

Okay. Okay...

...I've been
thinking about this...

Wait.

My number one job here

is to make sure
that you are safe.

Hey, I'm safe, okay?

You have no idea
how safe I am.

Listen, though.

What kind of killer writes
his victims in advance?

That's like
a James Bond villain.

It's completely stupid because
it puts everybody on guard.

And besides all that,

I can take care of myself,
as you know.

I do know that.

You can take care of yourself,
but these letters are designed

to intimidate people
so that they won't testify.

And I would feel better

if I drove you
to school tomorrow

and had patrol pick you up

and bring you to work
afterwards.

Really?
I mean, really?

Is it not bad enough

that I have to spend
all summer in school?

Doing all this extra study work
with Buzz

which I'm not complaining about,
because I know

he's helping me out for free,
and is mostly nice about it.

But I spend so much time
with you guys already.

And what's the point
of my having a car

if you take me everywhere?

Well, it's just while
we wait until the lab results

from the letter come back.

If you don't mind.

Well, you're asking me?

So it sounds like
I have a choice?

That would be misleading.

Fine.

Drop me off at school tomorrow
like I'm 7 years old.

And I'll wait
until I see the squad car

before I walk out the door,
like last year.

Is that the deal?

It is.

And I thank you
for your understanding.

Okay. Whatever.

MIKE: We kept a close eye
on our suspect overnight.

Provenza says Mr. Allen drew
a good public defender.

Roland Jennings.

Good morning.

Yeah, I've sat across
from him several times.

He knows what he's doing.

Your searches
turn up anything?

Prescriptions in
Tyler Allen's apartment...

...in the names
of the people he robbed.

So he's not a genius.

And in his car?

A pair of padded handcuffs.

Seriously?

Did they have
Edwards's blood on them?

Not a trace, but Allen
doesn't need to know that.

He's the guy.

SHARON: And if Mr. Jennings
is a decent lawyer,

he'll deal on the four
reported robberies as one crime.

Wait, wait, wait.

These robberies don't include
the one at Edwards's house.

If they did include that one,
Emma, even Tyler Allen,

our suspect, would know
what we're up to.

I want double homicide.

And these other robberies
are the way to get it.

Just deal as you
normally would.

Please, I promise you,
we're on the same side.

Come on. Come on. Let's go.

Ah, the ladies.

Jennings,
this is DDA Rios.

DDA Rios and I have met.

Huh. And this is Captain Raydor.

I was just... Thank you.

I was just asking
the lieutenant here

who, well, has been
investigating homicides

since before I was born,

why Major Crimes is working

a bunch of
no-account robberies?

No account robberies?

Oh, I wouldn't call them that.

Uh, your client preyed
exclusively on gay men,

so his offenses could be looked
at as hate crimes.

And due to recent events,

the LAPD is
extremely sensitive

to accusations of prejudice.

Mm-hm. Right.
Go on.

SHARON: In addition to being gay,

each one of the
four victims ID'd

Mr. Allen as their assailant.

Now put that with prescriptions
in the victims' name

ending up in your
client's possession.

Oh, and the handcuffs
in his trunk.

Okay. Okay.

So given your evidence,
and the potential media heat,

you're willing to
deal here because...

We want to, you know,

spare the victims
from testifying.

Something I wish we did
more of around here.

And what kind of sentence

are you looking for
on these robberies?

Two years each, consecutive.

That's a little steep, isn't it?

These robberies
sound more like

aggravated
burglaries to me.

No one was injured,
no break-ins.

And even if your version
of events is correct,

my client was invited in
by each of the...

EMMA: Lucky for him.

Otherwise, we wouldn't be
sitting here

bargaining over the sentencing.

Oh, well, the state just let
a lot of people out of prison

who did much
worse things than this.

Two years apiece, concurrent.

No. I said 8 years.

Four.

Four is tops.
Concurrent.

Well, a deal has got to give us
something too, Rios.

And if you don't want
your witnesses in court,

any other robbery charges

that may turn up are
included in these four counts.

Fine.

If he gives it all up today.

And providing his Statement
of Facts proves

that these were not hate crimes.

Here are the bullet points.

Have your client
look that over.

MAN: Hypothetically,
Mr. Allen is amenable.

I know you have
some questions,

but if your offer
should be refused,

you can use nothing
he says here against him.

SHARON: Oh, of course.

Where do you want me to start?

Tell us about yourself.

You were promoting a club.

No, that was just
for quick cash.

I'm not a robber.

I'm a musician.

I've been out here about a year
and it's rough finding gigs.

No one is hiring for sessions
and I got to eat, you know?

That's how all this got started.

I was just trying to get by.

Anyway, I found this app for
my phone called Dude Ranch.

It's used primarily
by gay men.

Yeah, but this wasn't
a hate crime thing.

Jennings told me
what you said.

Look, I only robbed those people
because I needed the money.

Nothing else.

I see. So...

You initially
used this app solely

as a way to meet other men?

- Yes.
- Oh.

And then, one night I was
cruising Dude Ranch

and this guy hit me up,

we texted
and he said to come over.

So I did.

And there I was
in this big house

with all this nice stuff.

Stuff he didn't need,
believe me.

And after fooling around,
he fell asleep,

I started poking
around his closet

just wishing I had
clothes like him.

And then I found
this collection of watches.

Really expensive,
like 20 of them.

I mean, who needs
20 watches?

So I took one.

And I bet he still doesn't
even know it's gone.

But I was able to pay
my rent that month.

So you realized rich,
gay men were easy targets?

No, no, it's not that
they were targets.

It's like most of them have
like five of everything,

so they'd never call the police.

And I only did this a few times.

And how would you do it?

You have to say it.

No lying or no deal.

I'd drive into
a nice neighborhood

using the app
to look for people.

If someone was into me,
I'd hit them up,

tell him I lived
a few streets away.

Usually they'd invite me over.

That establishes his M.O.

But why aren't they
dealing on the murders?

They are.

- SHARON: Go by yourself?
- Just watch.

Where did you park
your Accord?

The driveway.

And when did you start
using the handcuffs, Tyler?

Every time
after the first guy.

Look, maybe that sounds weird,
but I had to be safe.

You know, some of these guys
were bigger than me.

I'd always make sure
he was alone,

make sure he wasn't
expecting anybody.

We'd talk.

I'd play my part

and then... I'd pin the dude down
really quick and cuff him,

leave him there
while I took his stuff,

and then buy a new
pair of cuffs the next day.

Okay.

So now we need you to describe

all of the things
that you stole.

TYLER: Only watches,
jewelry, computers.

Cash if they had it.

That's not all, is it?

Okay. Okay.
Sometimes drugs.

Look, I was gonna
stop all this

as soon as I landed a steady
gig somewhere, I promise.

It was never my plan to
become a career criminal.

It was, you know, survival.

Do you need anything else?

No.

This document
confirms your agreement.

To serve a total of four years
for all these robberies.

I've included the names
and addresses...

RUSSELL: So I assume one of those
robberies includes the house

where he stole
the murder weapon.

It does.

EMMA: If you would put your
signature at the bottom,

we'll set a court date
for next week

and we'll get this
in front of ajudge.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Is that it?

There is one more thing.

You just confessed to
robbing Stewart Ness.

And in the stolen
property report

that he filled out,
it lists this gun.

LAWYER: What the hell is this?

You can't add gun charges
to these robberies.

SHARON: We found this weapon
that your client stole

at the scene of an
attempted robbery,

matching his M.O. In Venice

where we also found
a double homicide.

What?

Wait, l... No, I read
about that in the paper.

They said
it was a murder suicide.

Oh, well, sometimes
the press gets it wrong.

MIKE: Where were you
last Saturday night, Mr. Allen?

LAWYER: Don't answer that.

And the handcuffs

that you had
in the back of your car.

The victim tried
to get out of them.

It wore the skin off his wrists.
It left blood.

Really?

TYLER: I'm not a murderer.

Tyler, shut up.

He is.
This are new charges.

We want to see
the evidentiary basis.

- You guys have all this wrong.
- Tyler!

- Tyler.
- What do we have wrong, Tyler?

If it wasn't a murder,
what was it?

- Panic.
- Tyler.

Panic.
It wasn't murder.

- It was panic.
- That's enough.

That's more than enough.
Detective Sanchez.

Wait. No, wait, wait.

Wait.

Look, that woman that came
into the house, she scared me.

I didn't mean to
shoot her at all.

No, but after you killed her,
you went upstairs to a man

that you robbed and handcuffed
and you shot him in the head!

You left behind the laptops
you were stealing.

And the gun, because
you wanted your murder

to look like suicide.

And I'm wondering,
do you remember,

did Dr. Edwards beg
for his life

before you blew
his brains out?

Is that why you stuffed
something in his mouth

so you wouldn't have
to hear him scream

while you killed him?

That sounds deliberate,
not panicked.

What do you think,
Mr. Jennings?

You got an offer in mind?

How do you feel
about death row?

Hey, lieutenant?

Did you make
the death notification

to Janet's husband?

Oh, yeah.

I gave old Dwayne
the good news, no alimony.

You know, he cried his eyes out.

If he treated her better,
she'd still be alive.

Hey, Andy, about this cleanse...

I think I figured out

where all your energy is
coming from.

Yeah, I told you,
it's the Gingko Balboa.

And the caffeine.

No way.
Give me that.

It's right there.
Fourth ingredient.

What?

The cute girl in the health
food store...

- She said that the...
- (LAUGHS)

Oh, I'm glad my trying to
improve my health amuses

- you guys so much.
- (LAUGHING)

Cynical jerks.

MIKE: Gingko Balboa. (LAUGHS)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hey, guys.

- Any news?
- Yes and no.

They found eight traceable
prints on the envelope.

Which came back to four
post office employees,

your DCFS supervisor, Cynthia,

you, a partial from
the captain, and Buzz.

That's it?

So no bad guys.
Isn't that a good thing?

No, it is not.

Because whoever
wrote this letter

is taking serious precautions
to cover up their identity.

So now what?

Does that mean that

you're not gonna have
to send me away, are you?

No.

But until we've had
a chance to discuss

extra security
with Chief Taylor,

you can't take the car
to school,

hang out with your
friends afterwards,

without a police
officer present.

I'll arrange to have him
to be picked up by patrol

or one of us until...

Until it's sorted out.

"Sorted out."

So... What you're saying is
I'm grounded.

Until the trial.

So for the rest of my life.

But...

In the meantime,
I live with you, for sure?

You do.

Well...

I'll deal then.

(SIGHS)

It doesn't do much good to say

that he'll understand
some day.

But it's all I have.

He doesn't need to understand.

He needs to stay safe.
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