Motive (2013–2016): Season 1, Episode 4 - Against All Odds - full transcript
The killer: Sarah Muller, a grocery store clerk who is going through a messy divorce and custody battle. The victim: Shawn Mitchell, a high powered lawyer, who was killed by a single stab wound to the abdomen in a late night break-in into his house. On the surface, the crime looks like a robbery gone bad, although the only thing that was stolen among a houseful of expensive items was a purse with a few dollars and a cell phone. As the Homicide detectives focus their investigation on people like Shawn's wife, Deana Mitchell, and Shawn's clients, especially the disgruntled ones like Jack Carlin, who have motive, they may not find the killer unless they focus on a mother who is barely making ends meet, who will do almost anything to retain custody of her daughter except accept help from her soon to be ex-husband, and who believes she can use her position at the store to get herself out of her financial predicament. Angie becomes distracted on this case by a personal issue, namely the arrest of Manny for public disturbance and extensive damage to property.
You gotta be kidding.
I'd be an idiot to take this deal.
Final offer.
It's not an offer, it's rape.
I'm doing you a favor.
- Ah, to hell with you!
- Gentlemen...
To hell with both of you.
How dare you talk to us like that?
We pay your salary.
No, I'm a mediator,
not a babysitter.
This deal could have saved
both your companies.
You, you don't even have enough
money to finish this building.
But you know what, I am...
I am beyond caring.
By this time next week
you'll both be bankrupt
and you'll be somebody
else's headache.
I am done.
Good luck to you
both, gentlemen.
The audit?
No, I'm taking a
bath on this.
Damn you.
Hey, counselor jackass!
Alright, we'll do it your way!
Why are you up and about?
Oh, I got bored.
Wanted to give my new
knee a test drive.
Do you want me to bring
these by later today?
No, no, no, I'm fine.
Okay, thank you.
Are you sure?
If you're going to nag me,
you'll have to marry me.
Just lost his wife last year.
Poor guy lives all alone now.
It has its moments.
Except for the microwave pizza.
I'm kind of new to
the neighborhood.
You ever try that Italian place
over on third for dinner?
I'm usually home nights.
I've got to help my daughter
with her homework.
Oh.
Okay, sure.
Will that be everything?
Uh... Lottery ticket.
$5.00 more
for the mega bonus?
Why not? It'll keep the
others in my car company.
That'll be
$16.35, please.
Whew.
Hey.
Didn't you wear that
suit yesterday?
That's an astute
observation, detective.
You didn't go home?
Why are you so fresh
at 4:00 A.M.?
'Cause I know how to apply eyeliner
and drive at the same time.
What do we got?
We have a 42-year-old male.
Shawn Mitchell.
Stab wound in the abdomen.
They said the wife
took a sleeping pill,
woke up to the sound
of breaking glass,
came downstairs
to find her husband dead.
Empty spot in the knife rack.
We're still looking.
1x04
Against All Odds
We found a strip of torn leather
that snagged on that back door.
Jacket?
No, looked like a piece of glove.
So no prints.
Perfect.
You notice the
scratches on the door?
Yeah, somebody jimmied
their way in.
This party must have
made quite a racket.
Well, the noise woke the wife up.
She's in the other room.
Bit of a mess right now.
What?
I know that tone of face.
What?
Nothing was stolen,
except her purse.
TV, stereo, Rolex, all
present and accounted for.
That's a hell of a lot of effort to
go to to steal a purse containing...
$32, some credit cards
and a cell phone.
Cell phone?
Yeah, we'll put a trace on that.
And by "we," I mean... Oh, right.
Uh, I'm on it.
Great.
Just when I thought I was going
to get a full night's sleep.
Aw, what happened to the fireman?
All spark and no flame.
That's too bad.
Got a prelim cause of death
for you-- one stab wound.
Judging by the amount
of blood in the kitchen,
I'm guessing the blade
nicked an artery.
I'll know more later, but the
angle and depth of the wound
could indicate a weak blow.
A woman?
Mm.
Hey!
We got a tracker on the phone.
Let's go.
Police! Freeze!
Finders keepers.
Amy!
Do you know what time it is?
Where were you, mommy?
You go back to bed.
I had to go pee.
I looked in your room
and you were gone.
Mommy had to run a quick errand.
I got scared.
I was gonna call dad.
I told you not to call your
father without my permission.
I'm sorry.
Mommy's sorry.
I'm just tired.
Bitch.
Not much hope for forensics now.
Wife's phone, wallet, including
cash and credit cards.
Some thief.
Why kill for a purse
and then dump it?
I don't know, panic?
No, you don't believe that
any more than I do.
I don't.
Bitch.
Yeah, I heard you the first time.
- Where'd you get this?
- Found it.
Where?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Sweetie, I know how this works.
You piss me off, so I haul you
in, then you get a warm place
to crash for the night.
Hey!
20 bucks.
10.
My kid cleaned me out.
Take it or leave it.
Okay.
You owe me the rest.
Deal.
Bastard.
Get away from her.
Go easy.
Sweetie, go play in
the living room.
Where's Mrs. Rinehart?
She fell down.
She fainted.
Low blood sugar.
Luckily, Amy called 911.
Baby, I'm so sorry.
Why didn't you call me?
I did.
Still forgetting to
charge your phone?
You leave our daughter home alone
with a complete stranger--
She's a neighbor.
Yeah, what if something
more serious had happened--
You're not a part of
our life anymore.
That was your decision.
Right, well,
I divorced you, not her.
Hey, you can barely
make ends meet here.
I'm just trying to help.
I don't want it, and
I don't need it.
Then we'll continue
talking through the lawyer.
I love you, honey.
Good night, dad.
There.
There's where I found the bag.
Did you see who tossed it?
Nah.
These are wheelchair
tracks in the mud.
Yeah... And these.
You see that?
Yeah. There's tire marks.
They're shallow.
I don't know, bald tires?
Let's see if we can
get an impression.
Rusty scratches on the back door.
Forensics say it was probably
cracked with a crowbar.
That's textbook B&E.
Yeah, so why leave this, then?
I could pay three months rent
with that watch.
Maybe the killer freaked
after the murder.
Might've heard the
wife approaching.
Yeah, let's see if she's
in any shape to talk yet.
The CSI guys
will be leaving shortly.
We're sorry for your loss.
Shawn... was a good man.
I'm sure he was.
This was a thief, or a... A robber.
If Shawn hadn't come downstairs,
then-- it was just odd
that nothing was stolen
except the purse.
Did anyone have a
grudge against Shawn?
No.
No. No one would ever--
but somebody did.
I'm so sorry to do this to
you, but we need to work fast.
So you came downstairs,
you found Shawn.
Did you hear anything after that?
There was a sound, um...
a-a lawn mower?
At 3:00 A.M.?
Muffler? Old car, maybe?
And through the front window,
there was a red light.
One red light?
Moving away, and then it was just...
gone.
I'm sorry, that's
all I can remember.
Hey, what did you find out?
So much for the
immediate neighbors.
Nobody saw or heard anything.
And they are really not happy
with me for waking them up.
Yeah, well, someone
ran out of this house
after committing a
messy, noisy murder.
Then they drove off in an older
model car with a crappy muffler,
busted tail light, bald tires.
Maybe.
Maybe sounds right.
We gotta go wider, let's
canvas the neighborhood.
Coin toss for the coffee run?
Yes.
- All right, call it.
- Heads.
I am so sorry.
I will take a latte, please.
Quad Americano.
Five sugars.
It's gonna be one of those days.
Hi.
We're not actually open
for another few minutes.
Oh, that's okay, I'm not shopping,
except for information.
That's a cute sweater.
There was a murder a
couple blocks away,
so we're checking in
the neighborhood,
seeing if anyone saw anything
suspicious around 3:00 A.M.?
We're not open till 8:00.
- 9:00 on Sundays.
- Oh.
You live in the neighborhood?
Mm-mm.
Okay, well, here's a picture
of the guy who was killed.
You recognize him?
No.
Are you sure?
Might have been a customer?
Yeah... sorry.
All right.
Here's my business card.
If you think of anything,
give me a call?
For sure.
Have a good day.
You son of a bitch!
A subpoena?
No, no, not here.
Not here.
She's my daughter.
Just keep your voice down.
You think you can take
her away from me?
It's up to the court
to decide, all right?
Why are you doing this?
- I'm a manager here.
- To get back at me?
I can book off days,
I can work nights.
I can be there for her.
I am handling things fine!
You're never home.
Because I am working my ass off!
Then let me pay for
a real babysitter, okay?
Not some old lady
who has fainting spells.
Think you can erase what
you did by throwing money at it?
That's not what this is.
It's Amy I'm thinking about.
And I'm not?
She's fine.
She's a kid.
She's our kid, and she deserves
more than what you can give her.
You're out of control.
I've got a business to run here.
I'm going to fight this.
You can't afford to.
Yeah, I know.
I was taken in by
his calendar photo.
But give me a break.
Standing there in front of
that shiny fire truck
with those blue eyes, and those pecs...
Ooh, what about Mr. November?
Hmm, thought about it, but I
think Vega's more his type.
Oh, well, I'll be
sure to pass that on.
See, here it is.
The celiac trunk was nicked.
It's the main artery
of the stomach.
Yeah, that would account
for all the blood.
You know what the sad thing is, a
couple of millimeters to the right,
the guy might've lived.
What about defensive wounds?
Hmm, just the usual superficial
bruising consistent with a struggle.
No skin under the nails.
No one else's blood on him.
Did you find the murder weapon?
No, but there's a chef's knife
missing from the kitchen.
That tallies.
The blade, approximately
seven inches long.
Due to the ragged nature
of the entrance wound,
at first, I thought
it was serrated.
Or jostled during a struggle.
Or the killer had trembling hands.
Huh. So, frightened.
Didn't intend to kill?
Hmm.
Manny keeps changing
my cell phone ring.
He thinks it's funny.
Kids... glad
I don't have any.
Flynn.
Seriously?
Okay, yeah, I'll be right there.
News?
Yeah, all bad.
Thanks, Betts.
See ya.
Where is she?
In the interview room.
Please tell me we had a good
reason for bringing her in.
Would you believe a million of 'em?
Give the credit to eager beaver.
What is this?
Take a look.
An insurance policy
on Shawn Mitchell?
Why wasn't this part of
the rest of the financials?
It was just taken out last week,
barely made it through the system.
So the grieving widow
is now a millionaire.
This is the first
time I've seen this.
Really? Wow.
This insurance policy payment is
on your joint bank statement.
He never mentioned it to you?
Who actually reads
their bank statements, do you?
I do.
I told you, I had no idea Shawn had
taken out extra life insurance.
Well, even so, I'm still confused
about these other amounts, you see?
Over the last few weeks, there's
several withdrawals of $500.
And that adds up to
quite a chunk of change.
Again, I don't know.
It wasn't me.
Did Shawn gamble?
You know, maybe he had
a thing for the horses?
No. And before you ask,
he didn't take drugs.
You read my mind.
None of this makes any sense.
That's what I think, too.
So you can see why
we're struggling here.
I swear to you
I don't know anything else.
We loved each other.
We were together since high school.
Why would Shawn keep
secrets from me?
I thought you should
take it easy on your knee.
What, you're my doctor now?
I can take 'em back.
I'm only joking.
Come in, come in, come in.
I got a hot pocket
in the microwave.
You hungry?
No thanks.
You sure you're okay back there?
Yeah, I'm fine,
Mr. Ashburn, you just rest.
Yeah, I'm just not buying
the wife as guilty.
I mean, it's just not adding up.
I thought the forensics supported
the idea of the female killer.
Yeah, but not this female.
Why would she kill her husband,
steal her own purse,
drive half a mile away,
dump it, drive back, call 911.
Doesn't make sense.
Hi.
Spill it, Skippy.
You tracked the money.
Those regular withdrawals
from Mitchell's account?
His bookie or his pusher?
They went to a Martin Kane.
You know him?
He's a full-time slimeball
part-time P.I.
This is just the break
you've been looking for.
Husband suspects wife
of fooling around.
Hires a P.I. to track her.
Catches her doing the nasty
with some other dude.
She takes out a new
insurance policy,
but before her husband can sue
for divorce, she pops him.
Cue a million dollar payday.
You want me to put a
bow on it for you?
Hey, Marty, what are you watching?
Do you mind?
I'm working.
Well, that is a cute couple.
Would you believe
brother and sister?
Guy's wife hired me.
Suspected he was getting
a little on the side,
but not even I guessed this one.
I didn't think it was possible to
have any less respect for you.
Oh, I'm crushed.
Now, do you mind?
Shawn Mitchell.
He hired you.
You owe me big time, Marty.
You're a vampire.
I've been called worse
today, believe me.
I make one mistake two years ago.
You're never going
to let me forget it.
Why did Mitchell hire you?
You're asking me to divulge
privileged client information.
You're not a doctor, Marty.
You're barely a P.I.
Nice.
I'll do it.
Don't tell you haven't
had that fantasy.
All right, all right.
I took a job keeping
tabs on the wife.
Did he think she was
cheating on him?
What? No.
He thought someone
was going to kill her.
Who?
A client of his, Jack Carlin.
So, our victim was getting threats
they'd go after his wife.
Did you get a name?
Yeah, Jack Carlin.
He's on his way up.
What time is it?
Is it lunchtime?
Uh, it's 10:00.
- I'm starving.
- You need a coffee.
I need a coffee.
What the hell?
Tell me I'm dreaming.
Uniform brought him in.
What did you do?
He got into a fight.
Broke a few items in a store.
Oh, my God.
Are you okay?
I'm fine.
All right, then, come with me.
What the hell were you thinking?
You do not have the right
to remain silent.
Spill it.
Look, I'm sorry.
Who started the fight?
He called crystal a slut.
Who did?
Oh, I see. Him.
And why is he not here?
He ran away.
Did you break any bones?
No.
How bad is the damage?
I told you, I'm fine.
To the store!
I don't know, the owner was screaming
about a couple of grand or something.
Oh, this is great, 'cause I didn't
want to pay this month's rent anyway.
The store should have
insurance, right?
I don't see what the big deal is--
Do you not see the
gun in my holster?
- Hey, Manny, how you doing?
- Excuse me.
Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?
Yeah, kind of.
Jack Carlin's here,
with his attorney.
You all right?
Yeah.
Mr. Mitchell recently negotiated a
merger between your construction firm
and a national competitor, correct?
So?
For the record, that's a "yes"?
Yes.
Even I can see by these numbers, you
kind of got screwed in the deal.
For the record,
define "screwed."
Looking past the mandated audit
and the sale of assets on hand,
there's a whale
of a non-compete agreement.
Ouch.
Somebody bent over.
May I remind you, detectives,
my client is here to be
questioned, not insulted.
My bad.
I'm sorry.
But, Jack, you busted a few heads along
the way to get what you want, right?
Allegedly.
Ventriloquism.
That is a really neat trick.
Let's just take a little
stroll down memory lane.
Extortion, attempted bribery of a
civic official, aggravated assault.
None of which my client
was ever convicted of.
So, you never
threatened Mitchell's life?
Think carefully before
you answer that.
It's all right, yeah.
Maybe the deal wasn't the
greatest, but in this economy,
even I have to settle
for what I can get.
So you didn't say,
"If you don't make me happy,
you and your family
won't live to regret it."
Which, you know, aside
from the lousy grammar,
pretty much sounds
like a death threat.
I don't know.
People say a lot of things.
Doesn't mean you have to
take 'em literally.
Right?
Like when I say 15 to 20, it
might actually be 12 to 15.
But what's a few years
between friends, right?
All right, all right.
I might've said something like...
threatening.
But I didn't kill anyone.
I'm a businessman, detective
Flynn, I'm not a moron.
Well, you're taking
this rather well.
Yeah, I am, aren't I?
That could be our killer
walking out the door.
Yes, it could.
And you're all about
a personal connection.
I am.
So, we're in agreement.
Well, even if I want to arrest him,
we don't have enough to charge him.
You know, I can tell
your heart's not in it.
Our victim was afraid for his
wife's life, too, not just his own.
So, what are you saying, Mitchell's
not the target, just friendly fire?
Well, I'm not saying,
I'm just thinking out loud.
Was it a robbery gone bad?
Or was it a targeted hit?
Then why steal the purse?
Exactly.
Exactly what?
I don't know.
I got a match on the DNA
from that glove fragment.
Looks like we got
a new player in the game.
I put out an APB.
Unis have already spotted the car.
Hey, good work, Lucas.
Nice.
Um... excuse me?
Wh-what about your son?
Lock him up.
It'll teach him a lesson.
Hey. Sarah, right?
Yeah.
So I checked out
that Italian place.
It's pretty good, and
they serve lunch.
I know you said you have to be
home nights for your daughter.
I don't know.
Come on, you gotta eat sometime.
Today's not really a good day.
Oh, yeah?
I just had one of those, too.
Some idiot popped my car window.
Didn't even steal anything.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Hey, it's not your fault.
Point is, you can't let
this stuff grind you down.
You know, it's never as bad
as you think it is.
- Yeah, well...
- It'll get better. It always does.
Oh, my God.
What's going on?
Is that your car out there?
Yeah, is there some problem?
Are you Derek crane?
What's this about?
You're under arrest.
For what?
For the murder of Shawn Mitchell.
What?
Hi again.
Fresh patch job.
Whoa, you smell that?
What's that?
Cigarettes.
Those were the days.
I wouldn't know.
You never smoked?
Nope.
Never?
Negative.
Hmm.
Check the tail lights?
Yeah.
Yeah, they're working.
Tires aren't bald either.
Can't ever be easy.
Well, what were you expecting?
A bloody knife.
Bloody knife.
You were arrested four years ago
for b&e and served eight months.
If my boss finds out
about this, I'm screwed.
Lucky for you, you don't have to
think about working for a living
for a few years.
What do you think?
Well, repeat offender, this time
murder, I'm guessing 12 to 15.
I told you, I don't know
how my glove got there.
They were stolen from my
car a couple nights ago.
Yeah, that's weird, 'cause I don't
see a report of that crime.
Didn't you want
insurance to pay for that?
I was gonna pay for
the window myself.
Stay under the radar.
I've been clean for years.
I've got a steady job now.
Yeah, as a security guard.
Oh, the irony.
You look a little shaky.
Does he seem shaky to you.
You want a cigarette?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Sorry, there's no smoking in here.
What else was stolen from your car?
Nothing.
Sorry?
Nothing.
Look, what do you want from me?
We want the truth.
Come on, Derek, work with us here.
You see how this looks.
A mysterious thief breaks into
your car, leaves the CD player,
doesn't go through your gym bag,
leaves five bucks in quarters
in your cup holder.
Man, I sure hope
your alibi makes more sense.
By the way,
your son is still in lock-up.
Uh-huh.
I just thought that I'd
mention it to you because...
Yeah, you wait till you have
kids of your own someday.
It's funny that you should say that
because Mary and I have actually been--
No, no, see Europe first.
There he is.
Freeze it.
Can you fake that?
No, sir-ee.
The timecode is a burn-in, which is
then synched with the master clock
at the security company,
which, in turn, is synched
- with the world time server--
- So, no. - No.
Unless our boy can be two places at
once, there's no way he murdered Shawn.
What is it with this case?
Who breaks into a car
and steals only the gloves?
Someone with very cold hands.
Unless they were after
something else.
But nothing else was stolen.
Yeah, just like at
the Mitchell house.
Exactly.
And we thought that murder was
the result of a failed robbery.
No, no, no, you thought that murder
was the result of a failed robbery.
What if it wasn't?
But it was.
A robbery, I mean.
No, I mean,
what if they didn't fail?
What if the thief got
exactly what they came for?
- Hey, Lucas.
- Hey.
Is Derek crane still
in the building?
Just checked out.
Okay, get him on his cell phone 'cause
I got one last question for him.
Hey.
Good news.
That cute guy, Derek, not a killer.
Oh, good.
Were you two, uh...?
No, no.
Um, I have a young daughter.
It's a really crazy time
for me right now.
Oh, I hear you.
I raised my kid by myself, too.
Hey, did Derek tell you his car got
broken into a couple of nights ago?
I think he mentioned it.
Then there was
that terrible murder last night.
It's so strange, 'cause it seems
like such a nice neighborhood.
Yeah, well, sometimes,
you just never know, I guess.
Are you any closer
to catching the killer--
Oh, my God, I used to love
this cereal when I was a kid.
It's full of sugar, it's crap,
but they didn't care back then.
Sorry, you asked me
something about the case.
You know what's weird?
The murdered man's
wife-- well, widow now--
she's a customer at
your store, too.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
You probably know her.
God, small world.
I just hope we find that crowbar.
Crowbar?
Yeah, the one the killer used to
break into the victim's house.
Amazing thing about forensics is
we can track the scratches back
to a specific crowbar,
just like tracing bullets to a gun.
Gotta love technology, right?
Excuse me.
So I just got word
she's on the move.
Unis got a tail on her.
I know you didn't have time
to get a warrant for this.
I just used my charming smile.
Fair enough.
Deana Mitchell nine days ago.
Roll that back?
What's she buying,
is that a lottery ticket?
Mm-hmm.
Find Derek.
Ange, he's buying
a lottery ticket.
That's two for two.
We got her?
Make sure the unis hang back.
I don't want to spook her.
Done.
Now we're going to go get that.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
I have to go home and make dinner.
Listen, Sarah.
I'm a single mom, too.
It's been a long day.
I'm exhausted, you're exhausted,
so let's--let's talk this through,
one mother to another, okay?
There's nowhere to run, Sarah.
I know you didn't
mean to hurt anybody.
Things just got out
of control, right?
Nobody was supposed to die.
You found out your store sold
that winning lottery ticket.
And after a week when no one claimed
the prize, you did what I did,
you checked out the
security footage.
You didn't have just one motive,
you had seven million.
There were only three customers
who paid the extra five bucks
for the mega bonus that day.
I tried Mr. Ashburn first.
You sure
you're okay back there?
Yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Ashburn.
You just rest.
But he wasn't the winner.
What about Derek?
How did you know he kept the
lottery tickets in his car?
He mentioned it, joked about it.
Then
you spotted the gloves.
I was stupid.
I hadn't even thought
about fingerprints.
I wiped down the car
and took the gloves.
And you used them
at your next stop?
I needed to find out
where she lived.
Sorry, can I see some I.D.?
It's a new store policy.
No problem.
Who's there?
What the hell are you doing?
Come here!
Wait... Hold on.
Okay, just calm down.
Listen, I know that
you're upset, all right?
Just put the knife down.
I just want to talk to you.
Stay away from me.
Look, it's just a purse, okay?
It's not worth this, believe me.
Get out of my way.
Shawn!
Shawn!
What's going on?
Shawn!
What was that?
Shawn?
What's going on?
All that money.
I just didn't want to lose Amy.
Sarah, what did you do with
the knife and the gloves?
I threw them away,
different parts of town.
And the lottery ticket?
She had the winner.
Didn't even check her numbers.
You didn't cash it.
I was afraid.
All the blood.
Seven million bucks.
What a waste.
I was in that cell
for, like, hours.
Yeah, that was kind of the point.
Where the hell have you been?
Hey, you watch your mouth.
That store owner decided
not to press charges,
so you're free under
my recognizance.
Lucky you.
My life sucks.
Someday, you'll understand, or you'll
resent me for the next 40 years,
then you'll just
stick me in a home.
Now you're talking.
Look, I don't always know
the right thing to do,
but anything I do
is done out of love
because I want
what's best for you, okay?
Even though you think I'm trying to
kill all the joy in your young life.
So, two things.
One, I love you.
Two, no more destruction
of private property.
I can't believe I even
have to say that to you.
Yeah.
And I got you
a part-time job.
You did what?
What does it pay?
Nothing. It's community service,
a condition of your release.
- You know, having a cop for a
mom is, you know... - Awesome.
I'm cooking tonight.
What do you want,
Thai? Indian? Pizza?
Yeah, pizza.
I'd be an idiot to take this deal.
Final offer.
It's not an offer, it's rape.
I'm doing you a favor.
- Ah, to hell with you!
- Gentlemen...
To hell with both of you.
How dare you talk to us like that?
We pay your salary.
No, I'm a mediator,
not a babysitter.
This deal could have saved
both your companies.
You, you don't even have enough
money to finish this building.
But you know what, I am...
I am beyond caring.
By this time next week
you'll both be bankrupt
and you'll be somebody
else's headache.
I am done.
Good luck to you
both, gentlemen.
The audit?
No, I'm taking a
bath on this.
Damn you.
Hey, counselor jackass!
Alright, we'll do it your way!
Why are you up and about?
Oh, I got bored.
Wanted to give my new
knee a test drive.
Do you want me to bring
these by later today?
No, no, no, I'm fine.
Okay, thank you.
Are you sure?
If you're going to nag me,
you'll have to marry me.
Just lost his wife last year.
Poor guy lives all alone now.
It has its moments.
Except for the microwave pizza.
I'm kind of new to
the neighborhood.
You ever try that Italian place
over on third for dinner?
I'm usually home nights.
I've got to help my daughter
with her homework.
Oh.
Okay, sure.
Will that be everything?
Uh... Lottery ticket.
$5.00 more
for the mega bonus?
Why not? It'll keep the
others in my car company.
That'll be
$16.35, please.
Whew.
Hey.
Didn't you wear that
suit yesterday?
That's an astute
observation, detective.
You didn't go home?
Why are you so fresh
at 4:00 A.M.?
'Cause I know how to apply eyeliner
and drive at the same time.
What do we got?
We have a 42-year-old male.
Shawn Mitchell.
Stab wound in the abdomen.
They said the wife
took a sleeping pill,
woke up to the sound
of breaking glass,
came downstairs
to find her husband dead.
Empty spot in the knife rack.
We're still looking.
1x04
Against All Odds
We found a strip of torn leather
that snagged on that back door.
Jacket?
No, looked like a piece of glove.
So no prints.
Perfect.
You notice the
scratches on the door?
Yeah, somebody jimmied
their way in.
This party must have
made quite a racket.
Well, the noise woke the wife up.
She's in the other room.
Bit of a mess right now.
What?
I know that tone of face.
What?
Nothing was stolen,
except her purse.
TV, stereo, Rolex, all
present and accounted for.
That's a hell of a lot of effort to
go to to steal a purse containing...
$32, some credit cards
and a cell phone.
Cell phone?
Yeah, we'll put a trace on that.
And by "we," I mean... Oh, right.
Uh, I'm on it.
Great.
Just when I thought I was going
to get a full night's sleep.
Aw, what happened to the fireman?
All spark and no flame.
That's too bad.
Got a prelim cause of death
for you-- one stab wound.
Judging by the amount
of blood in the kitchen,
I'm guessing the blade
nicked an artery.
I'll know more later, but the
angle and depth of the wound
could indicate a weak blow.
A woman?
Mm.
Hey!
We got a tracker on the phone.
Let's go.
Police! Freeze!
Finders keepers.
Amy!
Do you know what time it is?
Where were you, mommy?
You go back to bed.
I had to go pee.
I looked in your room
and you were gone.
Mommy had to run a quick errand.
I got scared.
I was gonna call dad.
I told you not to call your
father without my permission.
I'm sorry.
Mommy's sorry.
I'm just tired.
Bitch.
Not much hope for forensics now.
Wife's phone, wallet, including
cash and credit cards.
Some thief.
Why kill for a purse
and then dump it?
I don't know, panic?
No, you don't believe that
any more than I do.
I don't.
Bitch.
Yeah, I heard you the first time.
- Where'd you get this?
- Found it.
Where?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Sweetie, I know how this works.
You piss me off, so I haul you
in, then you get a warm place
to crash for the night.
Hey!
20 bucks.
10.
My kid cleaned me out.
Take it or leave it.
Okay.
You owe me the rest.
Deal.
Bastard.
Get away from her.
Go easy.
Sweetie, go play in
the living room.
Where's Mrs. Rinehart?
She fell down.
She fainted.
Low blood sugar.
Luckily, Amy called 911.
Baby, I'm so sorry.
Why didn't you call me?
I did.
Still forgetting to
charge your phone?
You leave our daughter home alone
with a complete stranger--
She's a neighbor.
Yeah, what if something
more serious had happened--
You're not a part of
our life anymore.
That was your decision.
Right, well,
I divorced you, not her.
Hey, you can barely
make ends meet here.
I'm just trying to help.
I don't want it, and
I don't need it.
Then we'll continue
talking through the lawyer.
I love you, honey.
Good night, dad.
There.
There's where I found the bag.
Did you see who tossed it?
Nah.
These are wheelchair
tracks in the mud.
Yeah... And these.
You see that?
Yeah. There's tire marks.
They're shallow.
I don't know, bald tires?
Let's see if we can
get an impression.
Rusty scratches on the back door.
Forensics say it was probably
cracked with a crowbar.
That's textbook B&E.
Yeah, so why leave this, then?
I could pay three months rent
with that watch.
Maybe the killer freaked
after the murder.
Might've heard the
wife approaching.
Yeah, let's see if she's
in any shape to talk yet.
The CSI guys
will be leaving shortly.
We're sorry for your loss.
Shawn... was a good man.
I'm sure he was.
This was a thief, or a... A robber.
If Shawn hadn't come downstairs,
then-- it was just odd
that nothing was stolen
except the purse.
Did anyone have a
grudge against Shawn?
No.
No. No one would ever--
but somebody did.
I'm so sorry to do this to
you, but we need to work fast.
So you came downstairs,
you found Shawn.
Did you hear anything after that?
There was a sound, um...
a-a lawn mower?
At 3:00 A.M.?
Muffler? Old car, maybe?
And through the front window,
there was a red light.
One red light?
Moving away, and then it was just...
gone.
I'm sorry, that's
all I can remember.
Hey, what did you find out?
So much for the
immediate neighbors.
Nobody saw or heard anything.
And they are really not happy
with me for waking them up.
Yeah, well, someone
ran out of this house
after committing a
messy, noisy murder.
Then they drove off in an older
model car with a crappy muffler,
busted tail light, bald tires.
Maybe.
Maybe sounds right.
We gotta go wider, let's
canvas the neighborhood.
Coin toss for the coffee run?
Yes.
- All right, call it.
- Heads.
I am so sorry.
I will take a latte, please.
Quad Americano.
Five sugars.
It's gonna be one of those days.
Hi.
We're not actually open
for another few minutes.
Oh, that's okay, I'm not shopping,
except for information.
That's a cute sweater.
There was a murder a
couple blocks away,
so we're checking in
the neighborhood,
seeing if anyone saw anything
suspicious around 3:00 A.M.?
We're not open till 8:00.
- 9:00 on Sundays.
- Oh.
You live in the neighborhood?
Mm-mm.
Okay, well, here's a picture
of the guy who was killed.
You recognize him?
No.
Are you sure?
Might have been a customer?
Yeah... sorry.
All right.
Here's my business card.
If you think of anything,
give me a call?
For sure.
Have a good day.
You son of a bitch!
A subpoena?
No, no, not here.
Not here.
She's my daughter.
Just keep your voice down.
You think you can take
her away from me?
It's up to the court
to decide, all right?
Why are you doing this?
- I'm a manager here.
- To get back at me?
I can book off days,
I can work nights.
I can be there for her.
I am handling things fine!
You're never home.
Because I am working my ass off!
Then let me pay for
a real babysitter, okay?
Not some old lady
who has fainting spells.
Think you can erase what
you did by throwing money at it?
That's not what this is.
It's Amy I'm thinking about.
And I'm not?
She's fine.
She's a kid.
She's our kid, and she deserves
more than what you can give her.
You're out of control.
I've got a business to run here.
I'm going to fight this.
You can't afford to.
Yeah, I know.
I was taken in by
his calendar photo.
But give me a break.
Standing there in front of
that shiny fire truck
with those blue eyes, and those pecs...
Ooh, what about Mr. November?
Hmm, thought about it, but I
think Vega's more his type.
Oh, well, I'll be
sure to pass that on.
See, here it is.
The celiac trunk was nicked.
It's the main artery
of the stomach.
Yeah, that would account
for all the blood.
You know what the sad thing is, a
couple of millimeters to the right,
the guy might've lived.
What about defensive wounds?
Hmm, just the usual superficial
bruising consistent with a struggle.
No skin under the nails.
No one else's blood on him.
Did you find the murder weapon?
No, but there's a chef's knife
missing from the kitchen.
That tallies.
The blade, approximately
seven inches long.
Due to the ragged nature
of the entrance wound,
at first, I thought
it was serrated.
Or jostled during a struggle.
Or the killer had trembling hands.
Huh. So, frightened.
Didn't intend to kill?
Hmm.
Manny keeps changing
my cell phone ring.
He thinks it's funny.
Kids... glad
I don't have any.
Flynn.
Seriously?
Okay, yeah, I'll be right there.
News?
Yeah, all bad.
Thanks, Betts.
See ya.
Where is she?
In the interview room.
Please tell me we had a good
reason for bringing her in.
Would you believe a million of 'em?
Give the credit to eager beaver.
What is this?
Take a look.
An insurance policy
on Shawn Mitchell?
Why wasn't this part of
the rest of the financials?
It was just taken out last week,
barely made it through the system.
So the grieving widow
is now a millionaire.
This is the first
time I've seen this.
Really? Wow.
This insurance policy payment is
on your joint bank statement.
He never mentioned it to you?
Who actually reads
their bank statements, do you?
I do.
I told you, I had no idea Shawn had
taken out extra life insurance.
Well, even so, I'm still confused
about these other amounts, you see?
Over the last few weeks, there's
several withdrawals of $500.
And that adds up to
quite a chunk of change.
Again, I don't know.
It wasn't me.
Did Shawn gamble?
You know, maybe he had
a thing for the horses?
No. And before you ask,
he didn't take drugs.
You read my mind.
None of this makes any sense.
That's what I think, too.
So you can see why
we're struggling here.
I swear to you
I don't know anything else.
We loved each other.
We were together since high school.
Why would Shawn keep
secrets from me?
I thought you should
take it easy on your knee.
What, you're my doctor now?
I can take 'em back.
I'm only joking.
Come in, come in, come in.
I got a hot pocket
in the microwave.
You hungry?
No thanks.
You sure you're okay back there?
Yeah, I'm fine,
Mr. Ashburn, you just rest.
Yeah, I'm just not buying
the wife as guilty.
I mean, it's just not adding up.
I thought the forensics supported
the idea of the female killer.
Yeah, but not this female.
Why would she kill her husband,
steal her own purse,
drive half a mile away,
dump it, drive back, call 911.
Doesn't make sense.
Hi.
Spill it, Skippy.
You tracked the money.
Those regular withdrawals
from Mitchell's account?
His bookie or his pusher?
They went to a Martin Kane.
You know him?
He's a full-time slimeball
part-time P.I.
This is just the break
you've been looking for.
Husband suspects wife
of fooling around.
Hires a P.I. to track her.
Catches her doing the nasty
with some other dude.
She takes out a new
insurance policy,
but before her husband can sue
for divorce, she pops him.
Cue a million dollar payday.
You want me to put a
bow on it for you?
Hey, Marty, what are you watching?
Do you mind?
I'm working.
Well, that is a cute couple.
Would you believe
brother and sister?
Guy's wife hired me.
Suspected he was getting
a little on the side,
but not even I guessed this one.
I didn't think it was possible to
have any less respect for you.
Oh, I'm crushed.
Now, do you mind?
Shawn Mitchell.
He hired you.
You owe me big time, Marty.
You're a vampire.
I've been called worse
today, believe me.
I make one mistake two years ago.
You're never going
to let me forget it.
Why did Mitchell hire you?
You're asking me to divulge
privileged client information.
You're not a doctor, Marty.
You're barely a P.I.
Nice.
I'll do it.
Don't tell you haven't
had that fantasy.
All right, all right.
I took a job keeping
tabs on the wife.
Did he think she was
cheating on him?
What? No.
He thought someone
was going to kill her.
Who?
A client of his, Jack Carlin.
So, our victim was getting threats
they'd go after his wife.
Did you get a name?
Yeah, Jack Carlin.
He's on his way up.
What time is it?
Is it lunchtime?
Uh, it's 10:00.
- I'm starving.
- You need a coffee.
I need a coffee.
What the hell?
Tell me I'm dreaming.
Uniform brought him in.
What did you do?
He got into a fight.
Broke a few items in a store.
Oh, my God.
Are you okay?
I'm fine.
All right, then, come with me.
What the hell were you thinking?
You do not have the right
to remain silent.
Spill it.
Look, I'm sorry.
Who started the fight?
He called crystal a slut.
Who did?
Oh, I see. Him.
And why is he not here?
He ran away.
Did you break any bones?
No.
How bad is the damage?
I told you, I'm fine.
To the store!
I don't know, the owner was screaming
about a couple of grand or something.
Oh, this is great, 'cause I didn't
want to pay this month's rent anyway.
The store should have
insurance, right?
I don't see what the big deal is--
Do you not see the
gun in my holster?
- Hey, Manny, how you doing?
- Excuse me.
Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?
Yeah, kind of.
Jack Carlin's here,
with his attorney.
You all right?
Yeah.
Mr. Mitchell recently negotiated a
merger between your construction firm
and a national competitor, correct?
So?
For the record, that's a "yes"?
Yes.
Even I can see by these numbers, you
kind of got screwed in the deal.
For the record,
define "screwed."
Looking past the mandated audit
and the sale of assets on hand,
there's a whale
of a non-compete agreement.
Ouch.
Somebody bent over.
May I remind you, detectives,
my client is here to be
questioned, not insulted.
My bad.
I'm sorry.
But, Jack, you busted a few heads along
the way to get what you want, right?
Allegedly.
Ventriloquism.
That is a really neat trick.
Let's just take a little
stroll down memory lane.
Extortion, attempted bribery of a
civic official, aggravated assault.
None of which my client
was ever convicted of.
So, you never
threatened Mitchell's life?
Think carefully before
you answer that.
It's all right, yeah.
Maybe the deal wasn't the
greatest, but in this economy,
even I have to settle
for what I can get.
So you didn't say,
"If you don't make me happy,
you and your family
won't live to regret it."
Which, you know, aside
from the lousy grammar,
pretty much sounds
like a death threat.
I don't know.
People say a lot of things.
Doesn't mean you have to
take 'em literally.
Right?
Like when I say 15 to 20, it
might actually be 12 to 15.
But what's a few years
between friends, right?
All right, all right.
I might've said something like...
threatening.
But I didn't kill anyone.
I'm a businessman, detective
Flynn, I'm not a moron.
Well, you're taking
this rather well.
Yeah, I am, aren't I?
That could be our killer
walking out the door.
Yes, it could.
And you're all about
a personal connection.
I am.
So, we're in agreement.
Well, even if I want to arrest him,
we don't have enough to charge him.
You know, I can tell
your heart's not in it.
Our victim was afraid for his
wife's life, too, not just his own.
So, what are you saying, Mitchell's
not the target, just friendly fire?
Well, I'm not saying,
I'm just thinking out loud.
Was it a robbery gone bad?
Or was it a targeted hit?
Then why steal the purse?
Exactly.
Exactly what?
I don't know.
I got a match on the DNA
from that glove fragment.
Looks like we got
a new player in the game.
I put out an APB.
Unis have already spotted the car.
Hey, good work, Lucas.
Nice.
Um... excuse me?
Wh-what about your son?
Lock him up.
It'll teach him a lesson.
Hey. Sarah, right?
Yeah.
So I checked out
that Italian place.
It's pretty good, and
they serve lunch.
I know you said you have to be
home nights for your daughter.
I don't know.
Come on, you gotta eat sometime.
Today's not really a good day.
Oh, yeah?
I just had one of those, too.
Some idiot popped my car window.
Didn't even steal anything.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Hey, it's not your fault.
Point is, you can't let
this stuff grind you down.
You know, it's never as bad
as you think it is.
- Yeah, well...
- It'll get better. It always does.
Oh, my God.
What's going on?
Is that your car out there?
Yeah, is there some problem?
Are you Derek crane?
What's this about?
You're under arrest.
For what?
For the murder of Shawn Mitchell.
What?
Hi again.
Fresh patch job.
Whoa, you smell that?
What's that?
Cigarettes.
Those were the days.
I wouldn't know.
You never smoked?
Nope.
Never?
Negative.
Hmm.
Check the tail lights?
Yeah.
Yeah, they're working.
Tires aren't bald either.
Can't ever be easy.
Well, what were you expecting?
A bloody knife.
Bloody knife.
You were arrested four years ago
for b&e and served eight months.
If my boss finds out
about this, I'm screwed.
Lucky for you, you don't have to
think about working for a living
for a few years.
What do you think?
Well, repeat offender, this time
murder, I'm guessing 12 to 15.
I told you, I don't know
how my glove got there.
They were stolen from my
car a couple nights ago.
Yeah, that's weird, 'cause I don't
see a report of that crime.
Didn't you want
insurance to pay for that?
I was gonna pay for
the window myself.
Stay under the radar.
I've been clean for years.
I've got a steady job now.
Yeah, as a security guard.
Oh, the irony.
You look a little shaky.
Does he seem shaky to you.
You want a cigarette?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Sorry, there's no smoking in here.
What else was stolen from your car?
Nothing.
Sorry?
Nothing.
Look, what do you want from me?
We want the truth.
Come on, Derek, work with us here.
You see how this looks.
A mysterious thief breaks into
your car, leaves the CD player,
doesn't go through your gym bag,
leaves five bucks in quarters
in your cup holder.
Man, I sure hope
your alibi makes more sense.
By the way,
your son is still in lock-up.
Uh-huh.
I just thought that I'd
mention it to you because...
Yeah, you wait till you have
kids of your own someday.
It's funny that you should say that
because Mary and I have actually been--
No, no, see Europe first.
There he is.
Freeze it.
Can you fake that?
No, sir-ee.
The timecode is a burn-in, which is
then synched with the master clock
at the security company,
which, in turn, is synched
- with the world time server--
- So, no. - No.
Unless our boy can be two places at
once, there's no way he murdered Shawn.
What is it with this case?
Who breaks into a car
and steals only the gloves?
Someone with very cold hands.
Unless they were after
something else.
But nothing else was stolen.
Yeah, just like at
the Mitchell house.
Exactly.
And we thought that murder was
the result of a failed robbery.
No, no, no, you thought that murder
was the result of a failed robbery.
What if it wasn't?
But it was.
A robbery, I mean.
No, I mean,
what if they didn't fail?
What if the thief got
exactly what they came for?
- Hey, Lucas.
- Hey.
Is Derek crane still
in the building?
Just checked out.
Okay, get him on his cell phone 'cause
I got one last question for him.
Hey.
Good news.
That cute guy, Derek, not a killer.
Oh, good.
Were you two, uh...?
No, no.
Um, I have a young daughter.
It's a really crazy time
for me right now.
Oh, I hear you.
I raised my kid by myself, too.
Hey, did Derek tell you his car got
broken into a couple of nights ago?
I think he mentioned it.
Then there was
that terrible murder last night.
It's so strange, 'cause it seems
like such a nice neighborhood.
Yeah, well, sometimes,
you just never know, I guess.
Are you any closer
to catching the killer--
Oh, my God, I used to love
this cereal when I was a kid.
It's full of sugar, it's crap,
but they didn't care back then.
Sorry, you asked me
something about the case.
You know what's weird?
The murdered man's
wife-- well, widow now--
she's a customer at
your store, too.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
You probably know her.
God, small world.
I just hope we find that crowbar.
Crowbar?
Yeah, the one the killer used to
break into the victim's house.
Amazing thing about forensics is
we can track the scratches back
to a specific crowbar,
just like tracing bullets to a gun.
Gotta love technology, right?
Excuse me.
So I just got word
she's on the move.
Unis got a tail on her.
I know you didn't have time
to get a warrant for this.
I just used my charming smile.
Fair enough.
Deana Mitchell nine days ago.
Roll that back?
What's she buying,
is that a lottery ticket?
Mm-hmm.
Find Derek.
Ange, he's buying
a lottery ticket.
That's two for two.
We got her?
Make sure the unis hang back.
I don't want to spook her.
Done.
Now we're going to go get that.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
I have to go home and make dinner.
Listen, Sarah.
I'm a single mom, too.
It's been a long day.
I'm exhausted, you're exhausted,
so let's--let's talk this through,
one mother to another, okay?
There's nowhere to run, Sarah.
I know you didn't
mean to hurt anybody.
Things just got out
of control, right?
Nobody was supposed to die.
You found out your store sold
that winning lottery ticket.
And after a week when no one claimed
the prize, you did what I did,
you checked out the
security footage.
You didn't have just one motive,
you had seven million.
There were only three customers
who paid the extra five bucks
for the mega bonus that day.
I tried Mr. Ashburn first.
You sure
you're okay back there?
Yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Ashburn.
You just rest.
But he wasn't the winner.
What about Derek?
How did you know he kept the
lottery tickets in his car?
He mentioned it, joked about it.
Then
you spotted the gloves.
I was stupid.
I hadn't even thought
about fingerprints.
I wiped down the car
and took the gloves.
And you used them
at your next stop?
I needed to find out
where she lived.
Sorry, can I see some I.D.?
It's a new store policy.
No problem.
Who's there?
What the hell are you doing?
Come here!
Wait... Hold on.
Okay, just calm down.
Listen, I know that
you're upset, all right?
Just put the knife down.
I just want to talk to you.
Stay away from me.
Look, it's just a purse, okay?
It's not worth this, believe me.
Get out of my way.
Shawn!
Shawn!
What's going on?
Shawn!
What was that?
Shawn?
What's going on?
All that money.
I just didn't want to lose Amy.
Sarah, what did you do with
the knife and the gloves?
I threw them away,
different parts of town.
And the lottery ticket?
She had the winner.
Didn't even check her numbers.
You didn't cash it.
I was afraid.
All the blood.
Seven million bucks.
What a waste.
I was in that cell
for, like, hours.
Yeah, that was kind of the point.
Where the hell have you been?
Hey, you watch your mouth.
That store owner decided
not to press charges,
so you're free under
my recognizance.
Lucky you.
My life sucks.
Someday, you'll understand, or you'll
resent me for the next 40 years,
then you'll just
stick me in a home.
Now you're talking.
Look, I don't always know
the right thing to do,
but anything I do
is done out of love
because I want
what's best for you, okay?
Even though you think I'm trying to
kill all the joy in your young life.
So, two things.
One, I love you.
Two, no more destruction
of private property.
I can't believe I even
have to say that to you.
Yeah.
And I got you
a part-time job.
You did what?
What does it pay?
Nothing. It's community service,
a condition of your release.
- You know, having a cop for a
mom is, you know... - Awesome.
I'm cooking tonight.
What do you want,
Thai? Indian? Pizza?
Yeah, pizza.