Major Crimes (2012–2018): Season 6, Episode 7 - Conspiracy Theory: Part 2 - full transcript

Previously on "major crimes"...

Last night, while traveling
home from a work session,

my mother, Bonnie Pearl,
was assassinated in her car.

Our, uh, primary
suspect was Erik Walsh.

You think I was involved
because that bitch cost me

everything I own.

Stan is Bonnie's sole heir.

My mother was a
vicious, ruthless machine

who'd destroy anything
and everything in her path.

Aiden... he fired me

and said I couldn't
use him as a reference.



If I leave here today
without your signature

and a check covering
two months of Gus's pay,

you have no idea how
ugly this is going to get.

Craig Curtis is the one
you should be investigating.

We have a new location
opening in Hollywood tonight.

Consider yourselves invited.

For the past month,
there have been dozens

of incoming calls about tackles

designated by the
cities "burbank/dallas sa"

with no phone numbers listed.

I think we found our Dallas.
And her name is Vanessa.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪



Okay, what happened?

Front door was unlocked
when we got here.

No sign of forced entry,

but, as you can see,
her place was trashed.

Another dead woman
with links to tackles.

Kendall?

She has slight
petechia and cyanosis.

See the bluing of
her eyelids and lips?

To me, that suggests
asphyxiation.

Goes with this thin
indentation around her neck.

It was too thin for Vanessa
to have been strangled by hand,

but a plastic bag
could have done it.

If someone were
able to tie the bag

around her head
and hold it the...

- Commander!
- Whoa!

Are you okay?

Yeah.

I just, uh...

I just needed to sit down.

Buzz, buzz, uh, let's
get her some water.

Uh, Nolan, uh, call Andy.
Tell him to come pick her up.

Yes, sir. No, I don't need
anyone to pick me up.

No, no, no, no, no.

I am the incident commander,

and I will not have you
collapsing in my crime scene.

Now, you are overdoing
it. I will call paramedics.

They can be here in 10 minutes.
T-This is nothing, lieutenant.

This is a reaction to
the new medication

my doctor put me
on. Thank you, buzz.

Now, there are
two coasters here.

Are we thinking that Vanessa
sat down with her killer?

You don't have to do...
That's my theory.

And we found a blue stem from
a broken glass near the couch.

As if her hand couldn't let
go of what it was holding.

Shards of the same color
blue are in the victim's fist.

Uh, she gripped
the glass with her left hand

and the couch with her right.

Like she's
glued in place.

There's two coasters here.
Where is the other blue glass?

I'll check the kitchen.

Okay, okay. If Vanessa,
aka "burbank/dallas sa,"

was being suffocated,

why didn't she
just drop the drink

and then try to protect herself?

Uh, her
muscles tensed up, sir.

Maybe another
assailant held her down.

Another phantom accomplice,
like Bonnie's second shooter?

I don't believe that.

Well, she has a router,

but no laptop, notebook, iPad.

The killer... Took her devices?

Couldn't find her
wallet, either, or her cell.

Someone may have
grabbed her purse, too.

Again, just like Bonnie Pearl.

Add to that pattern...

Vanessa seemed
unafraid of her killer.

I mean, she served
her murderer a drink.

Time of death? The
body's in full rigor.

Well, no shit, Sherlock.
She's stiff as a board.

Uh, with liver temp,

I'd say earlier...
Between 11:00 and 3:00.

Well, now we know
why she wasn't protesting

in front of tackles
this evening.

If she died before
the restaurant's grand opening,

then everyone who
attended it is still suspect.

Uh, sir, lieutenant
Flynn will be here in 10.

Uh, did someone
mention the missing books?

This table behind the
sofa looks like it had

a complete row of books
on it until very recently.

Missing books? What
was our killer trying to find?

Or hide.

Vanessa has four purple glasses

and four green
glasses, just like these.

But I only found two
blue ones in the cupboard.

Well, the third blue glass
broke in Vanessa's hand.

The fourth one walked out
the front door with our killer.

Your life is at stake,
you put up a fight.

And Vanessa just sat there.

Why?

Because she was
stunned... A lot.

There are 15 areas on the
back of her body and neck

where she was
shocked by a stun gun.

Stun gun? Why is there no...
but there are no burn marks.

I was just about
to say that, cami.

Oh, go ahead.

Well, there's no reason
to say it now, is there?

Why is there no physical
evidence of this stun gun?

The newest stun
guns don't leave marks

above the skin's surface.

We don't have the
newest stun guns?

Ours are about 10
years out-of-date.

Technology advances faster
than the l.A.P.D.'S budget.

Also
when I magnified

this area of the victim's neck,
I found subcutaneous bruises,

each exactly 1
1/2 inches apart...

The same distance between
two prongs on a stun gun.

Now, watch this.

I got this from a
deputy at county.

See? It fits.

And each time the
stun gun was fired,

the young lady's
muscles contracted

almost 20 times per second.

So our murderer attacked
Vanessa from behind,

managed to zap her

while still getting a
plastic bag over her head.

What a way to go,
especially if the killer

was someone she trusted
enough to let in the house.

Well, the murderer
may have contacted her

before dropping by.

Her cellphone's missing,

but we can still check
her incoming calls.

Her texts, however...

Let me talk to our intel
guys, see what they can find.

Oh, and the last person I
want notified of Vanessa's death

is her lawyer, Stan Pearl.

No more impromptu
press conferences.

♪♪

So, what now, lieutenant?

Well, we get the police
in Dover, Delaware,

to notify her relatives,

find out if they know
something that we don't...

And then we talk to the rest of
the former tackles employees.

The last time I saw
Vanessa was with you.

She said she was gonna
protest with us at tackles last night,

but, not surprisingly,
she never showed.

Why "not surprisingly"?

Sh-she doesn't like
that kind of attention.

We had to beg her to come

to the press conference
at Bonnie's office.

Also, it feels like she's
taking Bonnie's death

harder than the rest of us.

She's not responding
to our calls. Commander.

How are you feeling?

Much better, lieutenant.
The extra rest helped.

Thank you. Yeah, you see?

Sharon raydor slept in,

and the world didn't
implode. I mean, I get it,

because her own family
life was so screwed up,

and Bonnie was
like a mom to her.

So, what does Alex have to
say? Very tough, but very loving.

Well, she doesn't know
about Vanessa yet.

Not sure how she'll take it. Of
course, the murder was so horrible,

and we're all having trouble
wrapping our minds around it.

Did Vanessa go
back home to Dover?

Is she dropping out of the suit?

Uh, no.

No, the reason why

you haven't heard
back from Vanessa is...

No. No.

No, no, wait.

We are very, very sorry.

Vanessa died yesterday at home.

We found her
last night around...

Oh, my god.

She finally did it?
She killed herself?

Why would assume she
committed suicide, ma'am?

Because a little bit
before we were fired,

she got really...

Really depressed.
She had insomnia.

The doctor ended up
prescribing her an antidepressant.

And this one night,

she ended up taking
all the pills at once.

Vanessa Blaine
attempted suicide?

Okay, this is not
a good surprise.

We need to find out
everything we can

about what was going
on in Vanessa's life

right before she was fired.

Well, chief
Mason's still working

on getting cloud
backups on her devices.

Brin was living
with her at the time

and came home
earlier than expected

and ended up having to
drag her all the way to the E.R.

Brin was Vanessa's roommate?

Yeah.
Well, no, not exactly.

Brin couldn't afford
a place of her own,

so Vanessa agreed to
put her up for a while.

Brin is miss September.

From the tackles
calendar. Right.

She's not
a suspect, is she?

Do you murder a good friend

just because she
kicks you off the sofa?

Or shoot your attorney
who's suing your ex-employer?

Vanessa said she
needed to be alone.

Brin was angry that she had
to find someplace else to stay,

but was even more worried

that Vanessa would try
and hurt herself again.

They had known each
other before tackles

from this acting class that
they had taken together.

Vanessa was an actress?

Yeah, can you believe
it... A beautiful young girl

moves to Los Angeles, seeking her fame and fortune.
That's why she hated being a face of the lawsuit.

Will wonders never cease? Vanessa
worried it would damage her acting career.

Here she is, commander.

Vanessa Blaine has
one credit, a TV movie...

"great white shark attack 4."

They had to do number
four because "shark attack 3"

left so much of the
story up in the air.

Vanessa was an aspiring
Hollywood actress.

And who have we met in this case

who has an interest in starlets?

I don't recognize
her at all, but, you know,

these girls start to blend
together after a while.

Why, what did this
Vanessa girl say about me?

Well, not much these days.

She died yesterday afternoon

after someone used a stun
gun on her several times

while holding a plastic
bag over her head.

I g... I get why Erik
Walsh would kill Bonnie,

but why Vanessa?

You saw how he
treated the actress

in that viral video.

He's a monster.

Okay, so?

So, we found your eBay account

with a list of movie props you
sold. Yeah, to pay my damn rent.

And you know what we
found on that list, Erik?

Stun guns, just like
the ones you used

in your 2011 hit
"sudden vengeance."

Now, is it possible
that you held on

to one of those stun guns,
you know, as a keepsake?

Guys, those stun
guns are props, fakes.

I would never let a live weapon
on a set while I was directing.

Safety issues... My
safety in particular.

Yeah, well, since you're in
the business of storytelling,

we should probably
check that. Look!

I don't know this girl Vanessa.

And you said she died
when? Yesterday afternoon?

Because I was working all
day around maybe 300 people.

Working where?

West Hollywood, off sunset.

Can we get an address?

Or a cross street?

It's a Starbucks, okay?

I can't afford an office.

So I go there every
day, and I use their Wi-Fi

to send e-mails to producers
and studio executives

begging for one more chance,
even if it's just television.

My barista, Theo,
can vouch for me.

He worked a double yesterday.

Well, we'll make sure
that we chat with Theo.

In the meantime,
why don't you, uh...

Write it all down for us, Erik.

If our former
movie director

really was at the office,

then aren't we left
with our suspects

from the grand
opening of tackles?

Who each had time
to murder Vanessa,

clean up, and head to Hollywood.

Buzz, would you
please review your film

from the opening
of tackles last night?

Sure.

♪♪

Other than a lot of
chanting from the protestors

and a lot of ogling
from guys in the crowd,

the only suspicious
thing might be...

These holsters, which
I didn't really notice

at the time. Is that a stun gun?

Yeah, one of the new ones,
too. Doesn't leave a Mark.

These security
goons at tackles

work directly for Craig Curtis?

Yes, and they're
definitely over 30.

Amy and cami, I think it's time

to notify Mr. Curtis about
Vanessa Blaine's death

and make sure he brings
a little security with him.

Yes, commander.

♪♪

Rusty.

Hey, Andrea. Long time no see.

Were you expecting him? Yeah.

Uh, this will only
take a minute.

Good, because
you're on the clock.

Excuse me.

Uh, is Andrea pissed at me?

Well, I told her that
we broke up. Oh, I...

You told her why, too, I guess?

Does everybody
here just hate me now?

No, not everyone.

Look, I have something for you.

This is yours.

Inside is a great
reference from Aiden

and two months' severance pay.

It's not as much as you
could've gotten in a lawsuit,

but the recommendation will
help you to get a better job.

And in the event that
a future employer calls,

Aiden has agreed
to speak about you

in the most positive
way possible.

You went to talk to Aiden?

About what? This.

Gus, I talked to him
about this, obviously.

Oh, my god. Hey.

What Aiden did
to us was immoral,

but what he did
to you was illegal.

No one can be fired for...
For not sleeping with the boss.

And I said leave it alone. I
don't want to get paid for...

Oh, man. This is embarrassing.

Oh, so... so you'd...
You'd rather be struggling

to pay your bills and waiting
tables at a diner, Gus?

No, but I-I feel like i'm
being bought off for... for sex.

It's gross. Gross? Okay,
well, just so you know,

when I was being bought off for
sex... Rusty, that is not what I meant.

I never made 10 grand, ever.

So if that's what
this check is for,

then that must've been
some spectacular sex, Gus.

Look, if... if you
won't do it for yourself,

do it for the other people
that Aiden treated this way.

Other people? What other people?

Oh, y-you think that
you're the only guy

that Aiden ever
hired or promoted

for reasons not related
to job performance?

Aiden agreed to give you
the reference and the check

because if you
sued him, suddenly,

a lot of other people
just like you, Gus,

would start coming
forward, and that would not...

Stop. Just stop!

Stop.

I get it.

I was an idiot.

And the answer you
were looking for before...

Was twice.

I slept with Aiden twice.

And t-t-the second
time was only because

I... I wasn't sure
how to say "no."

Yeah, well, it feels like
you couldn't say "no"

the first time, either.

♪♪

I hope that recommendation

helps to put your
career back on track.

♪♪

I'm
sorry it upset you.

I was never very good
at making you happy.

Anyway, I have to go. Excuse me.

♪♪

We hit the jackpot.

After my guys cracked Vanessa's
six-digit pin on her phone,

they cloned her disk
image onto this device.

Now we have access
to all the victim's

texts, calls, and photos.

When did Vanessa
last back up her phone?

Three days before her murder.

Three days?

That means that we won't
have any texts from the killer

saying that he's gonna
stop by Vanessa's house.

Probably not, but we
got a lot of back and forth

between Vanessa
and Bonnie Pearl.

Sometimes Vanessa would even

reach out to Bonnie in
the middle of the night.

Vanessa had trouble sleeping.

So she texted her attorney?

Well,
Alex snow said that

out of all the women
involved in the lawsuit

that Vanessa was
closest with Bonnie,

even if they argued
a little, ma'am.

No, I think that Bonnie
Pearl was more of a...

Maternal figure.
- Exactly.

Every Wednesday morning
for the last two months,

Bonnie would send Vanessa a text

reminding her of
her 4:00 appointment.

"Don't forget about 4pm.
You're stronger than you think."

And then a smiley-face emoji.

Wow.

Bonnie Pearl didn't
seem like the emoji type.

"You're stronger
than you think."

Was Bonnie talking about

the attempted suicide
or the lawsuit, ma'am?

It's hard to say, but
where was Vanessa going

every Wednesday at 4:00 P.M.?

If her cell's location
services was on... It was.

Let's see what that tells us.

Amy, were you able to convince

Craig Curtis to
speak with us again?

He's getting a visitor's
badge downstairs with cami

and a massive
security guy he calls tick.

Tick? I assume tick
is his given name.

Unknown, but he was asked

to surrender his stun gun
before coming upstairs.

I held on to it for...
Safety reasons.

We can call up morgue photos
and see if this fits the profile

of the weapon used
on Vanessa, ma'am.

This
is beginning to feel

like déjà vu, detective Paige.

What am I doing here again?

You know, there are easier
ways to find out if a guy's into you.

Like, do you have a
card or something?

You're not my type.
Oh, no? Why's that?

You're too far
over 30.

And a sense of humor,
too. Ooh, I love it.

Hey.

Oh, sorry, tick. You
need to wait outside.

But, uh, help yourself to
the break room next door.

You have the right
to remain silent...

Commander, this stun
gun has a distance of...

1 1/2 inches between prongs.

That's just like
one of the new stun guns

that morales showed
us in the morgue.

We'll need more than
matching stun guns

to connect Curtis
to Vanessa's murder.

And Bonnie was shot in the
head. Curtis could've hired

this oversized dirt bag to off Vanessa. Curtis:
Here I am. I've been read my rights. Again.

You mind telling me
what this is about?

The Miranda warning
shouldn't make you feel special.

We have to give it to
everyone who talks to us

in this building.
Oh, my god.

You guys lie to people
even when you don't need to.

It centers us.

We have bad news,

and we, um, wanted
to inform you in person.

Really? Bad news? What bad news?

One of your former
employees... Vanessa...

Died yesterday afternoon.

We found her after the grand
opening of your new restaurant.

Vanessa's d...

What, was it suicide?

Murdered... Asphyxiated
in her own home.

Not before the
killer used a stun gun

15 times on Vanessa's body.

Guess who we know who has access

to as many stun
guns as he wants.

Oh, come o... w-why would
I do something like that?!

Because Stan Pearl told
you that he would reach

a much better
financial arrangement

with tackles than his
mother ever would.

And Vanessa refused to
settle, so let's ask ourselves,

who benefits from
both these murders?

Okay, and then
let's ask ourselves,

where was I yesterday afternoon?

Oh, that's right. The answer
is here, with you guys.

Yeah, where were you before
that, between 11:00 and 3:00?

I... I was
working out in the morning,

and then I was getting ready
for my opening that night,

so I had a two-hour
pep talk with bill Landon.

Dr. Bill Landon... One
of your top investors?

Yeah, well, he's
also my life coach.

And yesterday, I
needed a little help

getting pumped up
for the red carpet.

I don't know if this
is the exact weapon,

but it matches up with the
one that attacked Vanessa.

It's a
circumstantial step.

It's still a long
way from murder.

We need to confirm your
session with Dr. Landon himself.

Yeah, well, good luck
getting ahold of him.

He's doing a seminar
in salt lake city.

Commander, I think we found
Vanessa Blaine's weekly appointment.

♪♪

Every Wednesday afternoon
for the past two months,

Vanessa shows up inside this
circle 12 miles from her house.

Within here, we have
a parking structure,

a restaurant, a drug store,
and a medical building.

Four stories of doctor's offices
occupied by two dermatologists,

an ent specialist, an
internist, a proctologist,

a surgery/outpatient
center, and Dr. Jane cross,

a psychologist whose
website says she specializes

in the after effects
of sexual assault.

Now, we checked
with Dr. Cross's office,

and they would not confirm
why cross was seeing Vanessa.

Ye gods. She was raped.

Maybe that's why
Vanessa tried to kill herself.

And why she said that
no financial settlement

would ever be enough.

So if we accept this theory,

how does it fit with
our pattern of facts?

Well, it explains
why Craig Curtis

let a bunch of other women
go from tackles all at once...

To cover up what he'd done.

Is there a police report

of this supposed
sexual assault? Uh, no.

Vanessa Blaine could've
been raped two years ago.

Curtis can't be
arrested on a theory.

We just can't let this
asshole walk out of here.

What other choice do we have?

Craig Curtis might have
raped and murdered Vanessa,

but all we can prove
is that he fired her.

Which, in itself, is
not an arrestable offense.

But what we can
do, starting now,

is protect everyone else
involved in this lawsuit,

including Vanessa's
psychologist,

who may very well know
the name of our rapist.

You sure I can't help?

Not that you need any lessons.

All you need to do is relax.

Why aren't you going to that
new specialist until Friday?

Because my symptoms
have already gone away,

and it is less urgent...

than the dead body
I have in the morgue.

What's going on there?

Uh, well, uh, the prep is done.

Now the lasagna
just needs to bake.

No, I mean your
phone keeps ringing.

You keep declining. Is it Gus?

You must be psychic.

Yeah.

I won my first
settlement conference...

A severance pay

and a letter of recommendation
for Gus from Aiden.

And don't worry, I
wasn't playing lawyer.

Just bluffing like crazy

while Aiden took a moment
to... Consider his past.

So Gus isn't the first
person he's done this to?

Well, what are the odds?

Anyway, after
considering his options,

Aiden signed a fantastic

letter of recommendation,
written by me,

and two months' severance.

When I gave it all to
Gus, he got mad at me.

I'm sure that Gus
will come around.

Who cares?

Um... look what
came in the mail.

♪♪

Your college diploma.

Your college diploma.
Oh, my god, rusty.

You did this in three
years.

I am so proud of you.

I never could have
done it without you, mom.

Hey, what's going on?

♪♪

Look.

Oh, wow.

Congratulations, kid.

Thanks, Andy.

- Hey, mom.
- Yeah.

- Are you okay?
- Yes, I am incredibly okay.

I'm, uh...

I'm so happy.

This is everything
that I wanted for you.

It's everything I dreamed about.

I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.

Don't apologize, mom. I...

I almost cried
myself there, so...

Hey, there's a lot going on.

Now if we could
just keep you safe...

We'll keep him safe.

As safe as a future
attorney can be.

Oh, my son, the lawyer.

After three more years of work.

Oh. Oh!

Oh, my gosh.

You know, I've never
felt this challenged and...

This is the happiest I've...

I've ever been in my entire life.

I have...

I have three children
through college

and a perfect husband.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Oh, rusty.

You guys just
totally screwed me.

Some of the girls are
dropping out of the lawsuit

because you told them they
could be raped and killed?

Are you deliberately trying
to destroy my whole case?

We are already investigating
two murders related to tackles.

These young women
need to be warned.

Why the hell didn't
you tell me Vanessa,

my client for god's
sake, had be murdered?!

Why didn't you
tell us that Vanessa

was the victim of
a sexual assault?

Because I didn't
know until you started

asking all these girls about it!

Your mom knew.

She was encouraging
Vanessa to get support.

Well, mom kept things from me.

Always too busy jetting
off to god knows where

to interview some
nobody waitress.

Any girl let go from tackles

and you can bet Bonnie Pearl was
there. Any girl? These women were over 30.

His mother didn't teach him
very well. Wasn't enough to call

and ask if they'd like to
be included in the case.

No, she had to
look them in the eye.

Stan, it is possible
that Vanessa's rape

caused her murder.

That's why it is so important

that we read all of Bonnie's
notes regarding tackles.

You guys honestly
think I'm gonna help you?

A-after the
way I've been treated?

Buzz?

I have news reporters following
me around... Julio, the commander

wants us to turn
up the heat a little.

Asking me if I offed my mother!

Oh, maybe they're on
to something, Stanley.

Where were you
before the protest

at the Hollywood
tackles opening?

I'm sorry? At your
office? At lunch?

Murdering Vanessa
at her house? Where?

Murdering Vanessa,
what?! Why would I do that?!

Because Vanessa would
not come to terms with Craig,

and Craig was not
gonna pay anyone out

until everyone
agreed not to sue.

Your mother even had
a nickname for her...

"burbank/dallas sa."

Sa as in... Settlement
agreement?

Vanessa
blocked your big pay day.

She was never going to settle

after being fired
and then raped.

You hid that from us
until you could kill her!

That's bullshit,
and you know it!

I-I'm not a murderer
or a rapist, either!

Me, a rapist?

What happens
to your civil case...

- Commander?
- Yes?

Dr. Cross, the psychologist

who was treating
Vanessa, is downstairs.

Want me to go get her?

Yes, please, Wes. Bring her to my office. But
I'm warning you... they're all handwritten

in an illegible form
of chicken scratch.

I'll go to the firm
and get them,

but what I find...
- No, no, no, no, no.

You're
not leaving our sight.

Have your mother's
notes brought over here.

Well, I need a phone.

Please?

God. It's so annoying.

Why didn't mom tell
me about the rape?

Vanessa didn't
want anyone to know,

and she had to be
convinced to come see me.

Over the years,
Bonnie used me to help

with lots of sexual assault
cases from her practice.

Bonnie...

Bonnie was a great
voice for women,

and silencing her
like this is a tragedy.

It is.

It really is.

So, ordinarily,

everything Vanessa told
you would be privileged,

but since her murder...

It's horrible.
Horrible, horrible.

If Vanessa opened up to you
during her recovery process,

especially if she said
anything about her attacker,

that could be extremely helpful.

Though not
necessarily admissible.

You have to understand, the
attack was not very long ago,

and she was in my support
group, not one-on-one therapy.

Some women need time

to fully absorb what happened,

especially when they
knew their attacker

and feel that they're
somehow partly to blame.

So she knew her rapist by name?

Yes, but she
never identified him.

Though she did finally agree

to describe the
details of her assault.

Which were?

She accepted an
invitation from this man

to join him in his hotel
room for a glass of wine,

to watch the sunset.

To her, it was a
spur-of-the-moment thing.

When you say
"spur of the moment,"

did they just run into
each other by accident,

or was this someone
she knew from tackles,

like a... a customer
or a supervisor?

All she said about her rapist

was that this was a
guy that she trusted,

and there was no hint of
sexual advance beforehand.

So Vanessa went
up to his room...

And before she finished
her glass of wine,

she started to feel woozy.

She was drugged?

She didn't lose consciousness,

but she had to lie down.

That's when he tied
her up to the bed.

God.

He gagged her with a
hand towel and kept saying...

"Trust me" over and over

until he was done.

And then what?

Then he ordered her a taxi.

And they say chivalry is dead.

What is it, buzz?

Bonnie Pearl's
assistants are here

with her notes and
files... Two mail carts full.

I've heard enough.
Yeah, me too. I'll help.

Did Vanessa confide any of this

to her friends after the
fact or call the police?

No.

She thought because she
worked as a tackles model,

the police would think
she was asking for it.

I tried to convince her

that a work wardrobe
never legitimizes rape,

but like so many women
who suffer sexual assault,

she internalized the trauma.

So she didn't identify the guy,
but what about a description?

Height, weight,
race, hair color?

No.

The name of the hotel?

I'm sorry.

All I can say for sure is
that he was no stranger.

As for what Bonnie
knew, I have no idea.

And we won't know, either,

because Bonnie
was shot in the face.

Unless Bonnie, the lawyer,
wrote it all down somewhere.

He tied Vanessa up. They were very
close in some ways... Bonnie and Vanessa.

He had rope with him in
his hotel room. And drugs.

Doesn't sound spontaneous to me. But I don't
think they shared the same concept of justice.

Well, we don't know
the name of our rapist,

but he did give us
one identifying feature.

And that would be?

He is definitely not a beginner.

♪♪

I guess your phone is broken?

I didn't answer your
zillion texts and calls

because I'm mad
and I was at work.

Well, I just want to say
i-I'm sorry and thank you,

and... and it's all clear
now what happened.

And t-the recommendation
and the money will help,

a-and you didn't have to
do all that. No, I did, Gus!

Aiden destroyed my relationship,

which was incredibly
important to me.

He backed me into a corner...

He didn't back
you into a corner.

He fully explained to you
why he was taking me to napa.

Oh, what, he said that to you?

When he fired me.

He said that you'd come
by to pick me up at work

and that he'd
dare you to tell me

that the promotion was
only because he wanted to...

You know...

You just let me go knowing that?

No, Gus...

Without even, like, a heads up?

If I were that
important to you...

Was it, like, some kind of
test? No, no, it wasn't a test.

You were just... you were so...

Excited about napa.

And I... And yes,
I-I behaved badly

when you told me
about the promotion.

I just... I didn't want
to hurt your feelings.

And this is better? Nothing?

Nothing is better than
hurting my feeling? No. Gus...

Now we have nothing!
Look, here's the problem.

The Gus that I
knew... I love that guy.

And... and...

You look like him and
you sound like him,

but you are not him,

because the guy
that I knew that...

Rusty... The guy that...
the guy that I thought I knew

never would have
hurt me like this.

Rusty, I am that
guy that you knew.

And I love you, too.

I promise, you can
trust me, but please...

Please... let's
just try and fix this.

♪♪

Was Aiden the first time
you slept with someone else,

or was it just the first time
you decided to tell me?

How do I know that there
aren't 10 more aidens out there?

Or 20?

♪♪

Oh, my god.

See, I don't know
how to trust you again.

And here is... Here is
the whole truth, Gus.

If I could... I
would forgive you.

I just don't know how.

♪♪

I can't say this
is the start of a pattern,

but back when he was
playing football in college,

a cheerleader named
Natalie Reed accused Curtis

and four of his fellow
teammates of gang rape.

So our famous restaurateur

also has experience
in sexual assault.

Natalie
claimed the players

slipped her some sort
of drug before the attack.

Then how come we never
heard of this previous rape before?

Uh, because
it wasn't prosecuted, sir,

and it was kept
out of the press.

Curtis was about
to win the heisman.

Which would make
him not only an mvp,

but, perhaps, a very
famous alumnus,

meaning millions of
dollars in future donations.

I talked to the old defensive
coordinator for Craig's team

who had... Trouble with the
way things went down back then.

And, according to Natalie's mom,

who's still crying
about it, by the way,

her daughter ended up taking

an $80,000 settlement
from the school.

To keep her from reporting
the assault to the police.

And buy her silence,

and it worked,
too... For a while.

Until Natalie
jumped off the center

of tampa's skyway
bridge three years later.

And, unlike Vanessa's,

this suicide attempt
was a success.

She did leave a note, though,

accusing Craig Curtis
and his friends of rape.

Her mother e-mailed us this.

Curtis is good for
these murders. He is.

But can we prove it?

Well, we may not
have the exact stun gun

or the weapon that
murdered Bonnie,

but her files will help.

Bonnie had discovery
requests from fired waitresses

from all of Craig
Curtis's restaurants.

And it turns out that Stan
Pearl was telling the truth.

Bonnie Pearl
traveled quite a bit

over the last couple of months,

visiting various cities
with tackles restaurants.

Yes, but was that
for her tackles lawsuit,

or was she trying to find out
who raped Vanessa Blaine?

Curtis was notified
of her murder.

Maybe we should
see how he reacts

to hearing about
her sexual assault.

Oh, I agree.

But we may get more of
an unguarded response

if we surprise Mr. Curtis
in his natural habitat.

♪♪

Aww. Hey, cutie.
Welcome back to tackles.

Uh, hello, ma'am.

"Ma'am"? So formal. I like it.

You officers want
the bar or a table?

We are so not hungry.
Is Craig Curtis in?

Oh, uh, Craig doesn't like
to talk to people when he's...

We're l.A.P.D. We don't
care if he wants to talk with us.

We want to talk with
him. Understand?

Wow, okay.

No need to be rude.

You guys know
about Vanessa's rape?

That's... That's a
surprise, actually.

Oh, are we not supposed
to know about that?

Like we weren't supposed
to know about Natalie Reed?

Oh, come on. That...

You have any idea
how long ago that was?

Yes, and in case
you were wondering

about Natalie, she's still dead.

You mention Natalie Reed
again, this conversation is over.

You want to talk
about Vanessa, fine.

Yeah, she called me
right after it happened.

She was... Well,
she was drugged.

She was scared out of her mind.

Why would she contact you?

Because I just told
you, she was scared.

She wanted me to protect her.

You know that taking
care of these girls

is a serious part of my job.

Until they turn 30.

When'd you get this
call from Vanessa?

Can you put a date
to it? Yeah.

Was part of taking
care of Vanessa

firing her a month later?
- Her contract expired.

I couldn't make
an exception for her

without causing a
bigger headache.

Who raped her? You
know, she wouldn't say.

Probably because she knew I
would do something to the guy.

Here. It was, uh,
the 19th, 11:27 P.M.

I'm sitting on the tarmac,
flying back from Vegas,

she calls me,
she's crying so hard,

I could barely understand
her. Mm, is that what you said

after you and your friends
gang-raped Natalie?

All right, you know,
shut your mouth, bitch!

You don't know what the
hell you're talking about!

Sit down right now.
No, no, no, no, no.

It's okay, Wes. Let
the big man hit the girl.

Go for it, asshole. You're gonna
talk to me like that in my place, huh?

For the last time, sit down.

♪♪

Hey, what the hell's going on?

Drop your weapon!

You sit your ass down.

♪♪

Back up. Back it up.

I never raped anyone in my life!

And I didn't kill
Vanessa, either.

You know, I do have
an alibi for that day.

Ask bill Landon.
He'll back me up.

Mm, your friend Dr. Landon's
a little hard to get on the phone.

Yeah, maybe you
could help us find him.

I'm sorry it's taken me a
while to get back to you.

I was holding a
seminar in salt lake,

then a full-day retreat
in Santa Barbara,

and now we're off to one
of Vicky's charity galas.

We fight for animal rights

because they can't
fight for themselves.

She'll be feeding us to
a pack of rescue dogs

if we're not done
in five minutes.

We understand your time
is precious, Dr. Landon.

Oh, everyone's time is
precious, commander.

It's one of the things we
teach in the Landon method.

Do you have somewhere my wife
and son can wait while we chat?

Oh, right through here.

Dad, don't over-explain.

We need to wrap this up
in two minutes. I heard five.

Seth is right. This is
not a workshop, bill.

Sorry.

Oh!

See, Seth, uh,
manages my schedule.

And then Vicky makes sure that
any attempts at being profound

only occur in front
of a paying audience.

It's wonderful,
though, don't you think?

Working with your family?

Oh, yeah, mostly. But,
uh, this is one detail

in which they can
both remain uninvolved.

So, you'd like to know if
Craig was really with me

on the afternoon the young
woman from tackles was murdered?

Yeah, that would be helpful.

Well, short answer is "yes."

I had a roughly
two-hour talk with Craig,

helping him release
expectations.

Let me explain. See...

When Craig first came
to me, he was depressed,

suffering from an injury that
not only ended his career,

but destroyed the life
he'd planned to live.

Oh, and this guy
planned, practiced,

sacrificed for a dream he'd
cherished from childhood.

And this incredibly
human ability

to see beyond the curve,
like, to look ahead of today,

well, that can morph from
one of our greatest strength

into a debilitating
weakness, and why?

Well, because very often,
we arrive at the future,

only to discover that,
uh, it just isn't there.

That instead, we've
entered a space

where no amount of
planning, no sacrifice,

no hope will manifest
our expectations.

And in this situation, we
must adapt, adapt, adapt,

and find another
way to love our lives.

There is no goal
greater than this.

Love your life right now.

Which just happens to be
the name of my new book.

I'm gonna leave a copy with you.

"Love your life right now."

Available next week on
Amazon and in bookstores.

So, after he
lost his football career,

you helped Craig love his life

by opening a
tits-and-ass restaurant?

I don't create
dreams, detective.

I just turn them into reality.

You know, you'd be
surprised how often people let

unidentified, misdirected
anger, resentment,

and, yes, fear ruin their lives.

What did Craig have to be
afraid of, if he's so innocent?

Well, fear of the
lawsuit, of course,

fear of failure,

fear of the harsh
judgment of others.

Harsh judgment? From what?

Letting young
women go from a job

just 'cause they
hit 30, that's, uh...

It's right on Craig's brand,

but from a human standpoint,
it's hardly endearing.

Bill!

Are you talking
alibis or the method?

Those galápagos penguins
aren't gonna save themselves.

And part of loving my life

is keeping my spouse
happy right now.

So anything else?

Doctor, when's your next

intensive seminar
in Los Angeles?

Later this week. You can
register on our website.

And feel free to pass
those around if you want to.

We'll call you if we have
any more questions, sir.

Lieutenant?

Questions such as the
long-term effects of guilt.

Oh, I could talk about
guilt for hours. Oh, no, no.

Well, I specialize
a bit in guilt myself.

Oh, right through here.

Are you really gonna
pay good money

to hear this guy talk all day?

No, I just want to make sure
he'll be around if we need him.

We found something. Buzz?

I'm working on it.
I'm working on it.

- See?
- Thank you. Okay.

This is a map of all
15 tackles locations.

Now, the receipts
that buzz and I found

confirm that over
the past two months,

Bonnie traveled to every
single one of these cities.

Looking through Bonnie's files,

we didn't find any actual
names of women she spoke to,

but we did discover
three more double cities

with the initials "s.A."
Scribbled by them.

As in "burbank/dallas
sa," a.K.A. Vanessa Blaine.

Yes, ma'am, but no real
phone numbers or names.

But there is a San
diego/miami sa,

an indianapolis/tampa sa,
and a las vegas/atlanta sa.

"S.a." doesn't stand for
"settlement agreement."

It stands for "sexual assault."

That would explain why
Bonnie didn't write down

Vanessa's name or phone
number in her call logs, too.

She wanted to keep
the sexual assault quiet

until she'd found other victims.

Because Vanessa's rapist was,

obviously, very
experienced. Oh, my god.

Bonnie and
Vanessa weren't killed

because they were suing
Craig Curtis for damages.

No, they were murdered

to conceal a pattern
of sexual assault.

And we need to identify
all these other women

before they end up dead, too.

♪♪

♪♪

Are you feeling
light-headed again?

No, I'm fine. It's just...

I-It's just what?
Y-You can tell me.

I-I can't believe I'm
saying this, but...

And I know it's a lot to ask...

But if anything
were to happen...

Sharon, nothing is gonna happen.

No, I know. But
I-I need to say this.

If anything were
to happen, please,

please look after my children.

Of course.

But y-you're gonna be here.

But if I'm not, if something
bad were to happen...

Look, remember,

my own ticker isn't
what it used to be.

We'll be... Two injured hearts

beating as one. Oh, god.

That sounds like a... A
bad country-western song.

Look, the kids will
be fine. I promise.

How did I get so
lucky?

I think because you
finally gave in, really.

♪♪

What?

I've been so happy in my life,

but walking through
that door to see

yet another doctor
could change everything.

Not everything.

♪♪

Never everything.

Okay.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪