Reckless (2014): Season 1, Episode 2 - Parting Shots - full transcript

Previously on Reckless...

I see a yankee lawyer in expensive shoes

who doesn't know how to work a Southern jury

or a Southern D.A.

Assistant D.A.

He wants to appoint you city attorney.

There's a few dirtbags on the force.

Generally, it's a good department, but...

Hey, you don't have a warrant!

Well, at least you don't
have to call a lawyer.

I should've ended it a long time ago.



It's over when I say it's over.

They have a tape.

It's footage of you

and three other men

having sex on a police car.

They must've slipped something into my beer.

- You got a boyfriend?
- I do.

He's a homicide detective, Preston Cruz.

The missing footage.

Preston.

Mmm.

So...

Are we doing this?

Yeah, we're...



We're definitely doing something.

You want to be my boyfriend?

Just so you know, if...

If you're joking, I'm not.

Does this look like I'm joking?

Does this mean that I
have to give you one, too?

- Give it back.
- No.

- Give it. Give it.
- No.

Give it back.

Where'd you get this?

It was anonymously delivered.

Did you have any

idea that Jamie's boyfriend was part

- of the sex ring in the department?
- There's no sex ring.

This was an affair between
two officers that got

way out of hand.

Preston Cruz is one of my best officers.

We found the sex tape footage
on Terry McCandless's computer,

and Preston wasn't in it.

Lee Anne is saying that
these guys drugged her.

She wasn't drugged.

Okay, look, as city attorney,

I represent this department

and these officers.

I got to know who sent me that drive.

I'll have our I.T. Guy run it.

- I'll make you a copy.
- I already did.

I hope you settle this thing, Roy.

Just.. give Lee Anne some
money, make it go away.

We'll see. All right,

I have to be in court. Day three

of the Benjamin custody hearing.

You're kidding. That mess?

Yeah. Well, I'm representing the father.

He has shared custody now,
but he's asking for sole.

You ever think about getting
full custody of your girls?

Oh, no. I wouldn't put
'em through the courts.

So I just... make it work.

- You do better than that.
- All right.

I've resigned from the preservation board,

I've given up chairing the
Children's Hospital gala

because I really want to focus
on raising my son right now.

My sister is the finest mother I know.

This case is shameful.
He's tearing his family apart.

Here comes Mr. Benjamin!

Mr. Benjamin, do you
think a son is better off

living with his father?

Is your ex-wife an unfit mother?

When are you gonna get divorced?
Are you gonna keep the children?

What a circus, huh?

All these reporters.

I'm sure you called 'em,

told 'em where to stand,

had Cathy's makeup done to look

just the right amount of natural.

And your client arrived in a town car.

That doesn't look very
good on the 5:00 news.

Cole, you recently
changed jobs, correct?

I opened my own investment firm.

I wanted to make my own hours,

so I can spend more time with Marshall.

And what do you and Marshall do together?

Fishing, biking, movies.

Um, I coach his soccer team.

He phones me every night
for help with his homework.

Can't Cathy help him?

Uh...

She usually has a few drinks.

Um, she also takes sleeping pills.

Sometimes he calls me to take
him to school because he can't

wake mommy up. Uh, once,

we had to call the paramedics,
and that's when I knew

Marshall would be better off living with me.

I haven't had a drink in
eight months. Or pills.

I go to A.A. Meetings twice a week.

But, Mrs. Benjamin,

who takes care of Marshall
on those evenings?

Uh, his babysitter.

And my sister.

Who babysits on Sundays when the
girls have the day off, correct?

I-I'm frightened in the house alone.

I started having trouble

sleeping because Cole worked late so much.

I needed help babysitting because he could

never be there to stay with Marshall.

It's just been me looking after
Marshall since he was born.

It's like... divorcing me

and being away from Marshall

finally got Cole to pay
attention to his son.

Tell me, did your wife

have a drinking problem when you first met?

No.

Isn't it true, Mr. Benjamin,

that Cathy started drinking
about the same time

that you began an illicit
affair with your secretary?

No, I didn't have an affair.

Cathy imagined that.

Is this young woman in the
front row your secretary,

Erica Tanner?

Yes.

Is she your lover?

Now...

She's my girlfriend, yes.

Then I would say that
Cathy didn't imagine anything.

Daddy!

Hey, buddy! What you doing here?

What a nice surprise. Come here.

- How was school?
- Remember my spelling test?

- Yeah.
- I aced it.

What about "autumn"?

F-a-l-l.

- Nice.
- Hey, honey.

We have to go, okay?

All right, Marsh,

I'll see you soon, okay?

- Be good.
- Hey, Marsh, you hungry?

Want to get a bite to eat? Maybe some pizza?

We don't stand a chance, do we?

Look, Cole, I understand.

I could barely get through
the day after my divorce.

Not seeing my kids.

This is not over, and we are gonna fight.

Someone sent this to the city attorney.

We need to find out who.

Wh-what is it?

New footage from that tape we
found on McCandless's computer.

I want to know where it came from.

Someone out there is distributing this

without my knowledge,
and I want it shut down.

- You got it?
- Yep. Yeah. Yes, sir.

All right.

Ma'am, this is an active crime scene.

Cathy asked me to come. I'm her lawyer.

Let her through.

My favor yankee lawyer.

My least favorite police officer.

I could change your mind if
you just give me 20 minutes.

I heard it was about five minutes.

So what's the motive here? Robbery?

This wasn't a robbery. It
was an assassination attempt.

There's two surveillance cameras

over the front door facing the street.

Let's get all the footage
from the last couple weeks.

- Let's go.
- Yes, sir.

Where's Cathy?

Just keep this wrapped
up and it should be fine.

Jamie. Thank you so much for coming.

Of course.

I just keep thanking God
that Marshall wasn't here.

He wanted to stay at Olivia's.

Have a sleepover with his cousins.

I almost said no.

Cathy, I came as soon as I heard.

What are you doing here?

What do you mean? How could I not?

Cathy, my God,

are you all right?

I'm fine, Cole.

Where's Marshall?

He was sleeping at Olivia's,

if you were worried.

I am worried,

for him and for you, too.

I called Dr. Morris.

He's headed over, and I've also looked
into hiring some private security.

Mr. Benjamin, Detective McCandless.

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Uh, of course, officer.

I think it might be best

if you came with me down to the station.

Husband's the first suspect,
Roy, you know that.

- Where's my client?
- He's being questioned.

Get up, Cole, we're leaving.

- He's not leaving.
- Is he under arrest?

Do you even have one shred
of evidence against him?

Then he's leaving.

Come on.

- Darling, I was so worried.
- I'm okay.

Do they really think you had
something to do with this?

I would never, ever harm Cathy.

She's Marshall's mother. He loves her.

Cathy's into something I don't know about.

We have to get Marshall out of there.

All right, just take a beat.

Tomorrow we will ask the
judge for a continuance,

and then we'll go from there.

All right?

Baby, can you come
out here for a second?

Is that what they make you wear?

It's old-school.

I don't want you working there.

Arliss, I can look after myself.

Oh, yeah? Like you did
at the police department?

I got it.

If I ever see that cop boss
of yours, I swear to God,

I'll choke him with my bare hands.

Why you leaving so early?

Got to go see my lawyer.

Baby?

What did they do to you?

I told you.

They sent pictures of me around the station.

They... said things about me.

When I complained, they fired me.

They ask you for sex?

That deputy chief... did he touch you?

No.

Lee Anne!

I don't believe you!

We have three things we're suing for.

Sexual harassment, wrongful termination

and defamation of character.

Several people were in that sex tape,

but you were the only
officer who lost your job.

Wrongful termination.

And the way they sent around
this tape, forwarded e-mails

saying lewd things about you,
that's classic defamation.

But if they drugged me...
Isn't that a criminal offense?

I showed the tape to a friend
at the solicitor's office.

He says they can't press criminal charges

just based on the tape.

So, what does that mean?

Honestly, without evidence
that you were drugged,

I think the tape hurts our case.

I can see us making a
motion to have it dismissed.

That it's compromised
because there's missing footage.

So no one would ever see it?

No one... like your husband?

You haven't told him about it?

With his injury,

he's so insecure about...

sexual... things.

Stuff he can't do anymore.

I keep telling him I love him,

it's all I care about, but...

I'm afraid if he knew
about Terry or the tape...

I don't know what he'd do.

Maybe you should watch it.

You may recognize something
in it that could at least

give us a hint about... when it happened.

Does anything look familiar?

- Lee Anne...
- I remember that dress.

I wore it the night we went out for
Terry's birthday about three months ago.

If only we could find that missing footage.

Maybe there's something
in it that they're hiding.

Maybe evidence that she was drugged.

The PD must have a computer forensics guy

who pulled all this stuff.

Those I.T. Guys...

They know where all the bodies are buried.

You think you could find him?

Cozy up to him?

Cozy up to a computer geek?

That's like whispering sweet
nothings to a hermit crab.

Looks like you had
one hell of a morning.

You want to talk about it, son?

Oh, not really.

I seem to remember advising you to...

keep this out of the courts.

Get the parents together,
work out an amicable solution.

Well, they're not amicable.

And you knew it.

Otherwise, you'd have
taken the case yourself.

No Carolina judge is going to
give sole custody to the father.

Dec, I believe Cole.

I believe that that boy

would be better off living with his dad.

Roy, the shooting changes everything.

You have to settle.

Your 12:00 is here.

Uh, send him in.

Settle.

We'll talk about it.

What's there to talk about?

You're a junior partner.

You need to trust me on this.

Okay?

- Afternoon.
- Detective Cruz,

thank you for coming in.

What am I doing here, Roy?

Please, take a seat.

As you know, there's been a lawsuit

filed against the police department

by one of your former coworkers,
Lee Anne Marcus.

Yeah, I'm aware of it.

Well, the internal affairs
investigation yielded a file

of recorded footage, and it's...

a party of several officers

taking turns having sex with Lee Anne

on the hood of a squad car, and

I'm interviewing all
the men in that footage.

I'm not in it.

You may want to rethink that answer.

Does Jamie know about this?

No.

But you're gonna tell her, huh?

She is my opponent.

I don't know what I'll tell her.

Yet.

I don't think I'm gonna
answer any more questions

until I talk to my union rep.

Detective Cruz?

If Jamie finds out about this,
she will depose you.

I want to see the security footage

from Cathy Benjamin's house.

I prefer e-mail to in-person communication.

I prefer not to work with egghead freaks,

but sometimes we got to compromise.

Sorry.

Freeze that one... right there.

Don't touch.

Now, there, freeze that nighttime shot.

There's a car parked here,
just out of frame, see?

This is the back end, some kind
of old caddie or something.

But in this one,

it's only just the front
end, you see? It's like...

It's like this guy knows
exactly where to park

so the cameras won't catch it.

Maybe it's a neighbor.

Zoom in.

With Kentucky plates?

I'm gonna get somebody to run the car.

Seriously?

Don't move! Don't move!

Bathroom. Hands up!

- Let me see 'em!
- Come on, man.

You ain't got nothing
on me, man. Let me go!

Get down!

Hey, easy, brother.

Now, show me your hands!

I didn't do nothing.

Might want to get dressed, sweetheart.

You all right in there?

We're good.

I swear to God, man.

Swear to God, you don't got nothing on me.

Come on.

- Come on, man! Easy.
- Come on, on your feet.

Hey, easy.

All right, come on, come on.

Van Larson, you're under arrest

for the attempted murder of Cathy Benjamin.

Can I get me a cup of that coffee?

It looks like you had a
little trouble at Kentucky

State Prison, Van, with the skinheads.

And let me tell you,

the skins over here at Broad River...

They're gonna know all about it.

Attempted murder.

You'll go down hard for that.

Unless you want to tell me who hired you.

Well, I don't want to
serve in a level three.

You get me a level two... I'll talk.

Level two.

It was all anonymous.

They didn't want me to know nothing.

I don't even know how they got my number.

When did he first make contact?

About two weeks ago.

- By phone?
- It was two phone calls.

One to ask me,

one to set up a drop location
just outside of town.

This idiot used some kind of electronic deal

to disguise his voice.

I said no.

Then I started thinking about the money.

One little job, I could
start all over again.

Yup.

Just kill someone's mother,
and you're on your way.

We request a continuance
while my client recovers,

and we request a temporary
suspension of all the father's

visiting rights until such
time as the police determine

who is behind this shooting.

That is outrageous.

Judge Kress, there are people shooting up

Cathy Benjamin's home.

Okay, the boy should be removed immediately

and placed with his father.

That's prejudicial.

She's hired round-the-clock security.

You're being prejudicial.

Taking away his visiting rights
with no evidence whatsoever.

You are assuming guilt, Jamie.

I am inclined to agree with
Ms. Sawyer here, counselor.

Of course you are.

I beg your pardon.

You're a woman,

and you all think you got the
market cornered on parenthood.

Are you suggesting that my gender

makes me incapable of the impartiality

that is my duty,

my responsibility as a jurist?

Mr. Rayder, you are verging on contempt.

I apologize, Your Honor.

In light of the security
measures taken by the mother,

I believe, at this time,

the child should stay with her.

I will grant one visit
per week to the father

until this matter is resolved.

Yeah.

Roy...

I don't want to hear from you, Jamie.

I am sick of your tricks.

This is not a trick.

My client was almost killed.

And who stands to benefit
the most from her death?

Your client.

Can I tell you something?

Can I stop you?

I think your personal
feelings about being away

from your own children are
clouding your judgment.

You have too much empathy for your client.

Ah, yankees.

Your all-purpose insult.

You know, you are too blunt, Jamie.

What am I supposed to say?

Nothing. Or "bless your heart".

that's what we say when
we don't like something.

That's ridiculous. You were perfectly blunt

with the judge.

You know, it's the south. You don't
just say whatever pops into your mind.

And you do not know me well enough

to say something like that to me.

How you doing?

What's this all about?

Open it.

Can you explain that?

This could jeopardize our whole operation.

I told you what happened here.

I needed to do this to earn their trust.

He told me you'd make sure I got

cut out of any footage that got sent out.

No, we did. We cut you out.

Someone sent the missing footage to Roy.

Jamie might find out about this.

She might see this.

Well, you can't tell her
about your undercover status.

You can't tell anyone.

What about the lawsuit?

The lawsuit's just a distraction.

Terry McCandless and his boys are into

so much worse than that, and we
are this close to catching them.

You have to stay the course on this.

That's why I'm here.

I know.

Be safe out there.

You want some?

You shouldn't eat without
washing your hands.

I've noticed you before.
You're very punctual.

Eat your lunch every day at 11:30.

You work around here?

I work at the police department.

You're a policeman?

I just... work with the computers.

Kind of a forensic investigator... person.

Do you think you could
help me with my computer?

Just for a minute?

Um...

I disinfect the keyboard every day.

Sorry.

It keeps giving me this warning message.

You smell nice.

I got something about our shooter.

Van's phone bills indicate
there were two calls

from a Charleston area code cell phone.

Belongs to a local woman.

Turns out she's from the same town

Van came from in Kentucky.

Let's bring her in.

I'll file a petition with the judge.

What are we looking at?

She should get back to us

within a few days at most and...

Erica Tanner?

Yes?

You're under arrest

for soliciting the murder of Cathy Benjamin.

What? What are you talking about?

These officers will escort you,
in handcuffs or not.

This is insane.

- Come with us, ma'am.
- Cole?

- No, wait a second. Let's talk about this.
- Step back.

- Step back, sir!
- Let her go.

- Let her go.
- Cole!

The press will have a field day with this.

She needs my help.

No, you cannot be connected to this.

You have to keep your distance.

For Marshall's sake.

Do you think she could have done this?

That's what I was going to ask you.

Same, on the rocks.

This is a cop bar.

I'm the cops' lawyer,

so maybe you can give me a flyer.

If you came here looking
for info on Erica Tanner,

you ain't gonna get it.

Actually, I came to talk
about Lee Anne Marcus.

So why do you think

she got fired and you didn't?

Hmm?

It's not against department policy

for two cops to date.

Not if one them's married to someone else.

That Jamie is gonna come at you, Terry.

You personally, all guns blazing.

She's gonna paint you as a sexual predator,

lured Lee Anne into unsavory sex games,

filmed them and showed 'em to his buddies.

Now, is that who you are?

Yeah, sure.

Lee Anne was the hottest piece of ass

in the department, and she knew it.

From day one, she flirts.

She gets that primo spot
in the evidence room.

No riding around

in smelly cars for her,

putting her sweet ass in danger, nuh-uh.

She's so nice, so understanding.

She's all "let me help you out.
Let me hear about your problems"

and before you know it,

you get to wantin' her.

That's when she backs off.

"Oh, no, no, no, no,
my poor, poor husband,

he was, he was wounded in Iraq."

I was in Iraq. I did three tours.

I wasn't unlucky enough
to get myself blown up.

And I sure as hell wasn't stupid enough

to let myself go all
crazy for Lee Anne Marcus.

Guys were sick over her.

One guy had to take a leave of absence,

he was so in love.

She tortured these guys.

That's why she got fired.

All right.

So give me something, one
thing you have on Erica Tanner.

Do me a favor, Terry.

Then you're gonna owe me one.

The calls to the shooter were
made from Erica's cell phone.

Guy's from her same town.

A little place called Burgin, Kentucky.

Pretty circumstantial.

She's claiming she lost
her phone for a few days.

Of course, the exact same
days the calls were made.

Were you gonna check
her phone's GPS records?

I mean, maybe her cell
wasn't in her possession.

Hey, I already requested 'em.

Let me know what you find out.

The Benjamin custody
case takes a turn today

with Cole Benjamin's girlfriend

and executive assistant
Erica Tanner arrested...

Does this surprise you?

Nothing surprises me in this case.

Poor Roy. I bet he's spitting nails.

What's the deal with you and Roy?

What do you mean?

I just... you talk about him a lot.

I have all these cases against him.

You sure you don't have

a thing for him?

I want you, Preston.

I'm happy.

Me, too.

Mm...

Thanks for meeting me here.

I guess cops really do like donuts.

I told you, I'm not a cop.

Sure, you are. You fix their computers.

I bet you know all their secrets, right?

What kind of secrets you interested in, Vi?

Maybe it's your boss, Jamie
Sawyer, that's interested.

I'm a paranoid germophobe

with high-functioning asperger's.

If someone's following me, I'm gonna notice.

The sanitizer was a nice touch.

Here. Now you'll never run out.

Why me?

What do you want to know?

The sex tape... in the Lee Anne Marcus case.

There's footage missing.

We think maybe the cops cut it out.

We want to know,

do you have it or have you seen it?

I-I might know something,

but I signed a confidentiality agreement.

But... wait.

There is someone who's seen it,

the missing footage.

Maybe you could ask him.

Who?

You got time for one more table?

I just seated a guy.

Okay.

You sure can rock a uniform.

Can I take your order, sir?

Don't be like that.

Kitchen closes in two minutes.

Coffee and scrambled eggs.

You know how I like 'em.

I put the order in. Can you do the rest?

Please?

My husband's picking me up.
He hates when I'm late.

I'm not sharing the tip.

You running out on me, or was I supposed

to come back here for a little quickie?

I swear to God, if you show

your face here again, I'll report you,

and that won't look too
good for the lawsuit.

Hey, I know you don't hate me.

You're blushing just looking at me.

I mean, you're ready.

All I got to do is look at you.

We had something.

Yeah, we did.

Till you decided to share
me with your buddies.

I was drunk.

Come on. We all were, Lee Anne.

I need you. I miss you.

I have to go.

Hey, you gotta put a stop to this thing.

This lawsuit will kill me, and you, too.

Oh, good, you're here.
I need help picking out shoes.

I got something on the Lee Anne case.

Do you want to do shoes
first or information?

Info. Always.

I.T. Guy made me like a
hooker in Sunday school,

but he did throw me a bone.

The cops don't know anything.

They never seen any missing footage,

but there is someone who did.

Who?

Roy.

Someone sent it to him
anonymously on a finger drive.

He's had it all this time.

I think you need the kick-ass heels.

Yeah.

I got those GPS
records on the Benjamin case.

Turns out Erica didn't have her phone.

And you're gonna be very interested

to hear where it was located.

Can you send me what you have?

You didn't get it from me.

Mrs. Benjamin, have you ever
been to Burgin, Kentucky?

I've-I've never heard of it.

I am showing you plaintiff's
exhibit number eight.

It's a photograph taken
by surveillance cameras

at a gas station in Burgin,
Kentucky three weeks ago.

Now, is this you?

Is this your car?

That is your license plate, correct?

Yes.

Now, did you know

that Cole's girlfriend
Erica Tanner is from Burgin?

No.

Does she ever come to your home?

Sometimes she picks up Marshall.

Has she ever left her cell phone there?

Not that I know of.

Your Honor, I would like
to introduce into evidence

Erica Tanner's cell phone
GPS tracking records.

It shows that two phone calls were made

from Ms. Tanner's phone to Van Larson,

the man who has been arrested

for the shooting at the Benjamin home.

A man from Burgin, Kentucky.

The GPS records prove

that Ms. Tanner's cell phone was actually

in Cathy Benjamin's home on the days

those phone calls were made.

So I must ask.

Mrs. Benjamin, have you
ever spoken to Van Larson?

Of course not.

Well, in his confession,

Mr. Larson stated that his instructions

were to open fire the moment

the lamp in the parlor window went out.

Now, didn't you turn out that light?

Didn't you send the signal

- to shoot while you hid in the dark?
- Objection!

Didn't you orchestrate the
murder-for-hire plot yourself

Objection!

to make it look like
Cole's girlfriend did it?

To get revenge against her? Did you not?

Order!

Order!

You don't understand.

You don't know what it's
like in a town like this,

with all these people always looking at you,

and thinking that you're perfect.

And then it all disappears,
and you're all by yourself,

and you've just got this
little boy looking at you,

wondering why his daddy
isn't living at home anymore.

I just...

wanted my family back.

I just wanted my life back.

No further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin, counselors,

I am not here to rule on
matters of crime and deceit.

I am here to decide what
is best for a little boy.

In light of what I've heard today,

I will be ruling in favor of the father,

Cole Benjamin.

Mr. Benjamin will have

sole custody of his son Marshall,

beginning immediately

until such time as the court can discern

the real cause for the shooting

at the home of Mrs. Benjamin.

This case is concluded.

The witness is dismissed.

Nice win, Roy.

Well, thank you.

Look, I need to talk to
you about Lee Anne's case.

Can I come by your house tonight?

Well, it'll have to be after 9:00.

I have a drinks date.

I guess I still need a lawyer.

Bless your heart.

You'll have to find someone else.

Right this way, Mrs. Benjamin.

Remind me never to get divorced.

Remind me never to get married.

__

Almost there.

Are you ready?

You ready for your toast?

Hold on.

Ready.

To daddy.

For his big win today.

Cheers.

We're proud of you, daddy.

Well, thank you, sweetheart.

We'll see you on Saturday.

I will be there to get you guys.

I love you.

Love you, too!

Mm-wah!

Right back at you.

All right, you girls need to go to bed.

- All right?
- No, we won't.

Oh, yes. Right now.

No!

Listen to your dad, and go to bed.

- Good night.
- Good night.

Let's make this short.

Short and sweet.

I want to see the missing footage.

How long have you had it?

About two weeks.

I didn't show it to you because...

Well, my judgment was clouded

by my personal feelings.

The footage is upsetting, and...

I was trying to find the
right way to tell you.

What the...?

What did you do?

The last time I looked at it, it was clear.

What was clear?

Preston was there.

I mean, he was on camera
in the missing footage.

He's one of the men... touching Lee Anne.

Might even be the cameraman.

That's good, Roy.

That's almost as good as me.

I'm telling you the truth.

Without proof.

Ask him. Ask Preston yourself.

Ask Knox.

He's seen it.

Jamie...

You want to play dirty?

That's fine.

But I warn you:

You're playing with the best.

Next time you touch my wife, I'll kill you.

What's wrong? Are you all right?

Take your clothes off.

Take them off.

I want to be with you.

Baby, baby.