The Closer (2005–2012): Season 4, Episode 13 - Power of Attorney - full transcript
Brenda investigates the murder of a young woman who had just recently moved to Los Angeles. The crime was interrupted by the police who were answering a prowler call. They arrest a suspect, Chris Dunlap, whom they find hiding up a tree, but he has already called his lawyer Philip Stroh and refuses to say anything. As they look deeper into the case, they realize that there have been a string of rapes of young blonde women - mostly new arrivals - and in every case, Dunlap had made a delivery to their homes. Stroh has defended Dunlap before and offers to plea bargain this time around. In return for a lighter sentence, Dunlap will identify his partner in the crimes. He also wants to see all of the evidence they have accumulated. Brenda is dead set against both the deal and letting Stroh look at the evidence but she is overruled by the DA. When Dunlap identifies his partner, it throws everyone for a loop.
6A-47. We are Code 6
at the prowler complaint.
Take this side.
Around back! He's running!
Forty-seven requesting
assistance. We are in foot pursuit.
Subject is white, male,
wearing dark clothing.
I need a perimeter set up. And be
advised, we have not cleared the house.
Come on.
6A-32 requesting paramedics.
We've got a woman down in the house.
She's gone.
Come on. Go, go.
Come on. Come on.
Thank you. Evening, gentlemen.
Have we been in the house yet?
No, the dog handlers don't want
to contaminate the crime scene
before the K-9
search is complete.
So in the meantime, we got Tao
and Sanchez knocking on doors.
Flynn wrote up a search warrant.
We found a judge a few
blocks away that will sign it.
Well, that's lucky.
What happened?
The neighbor over there called in a
prowler around 10:30 this evening.
Responding officers
knock one time,
see the suspect run from
the back of the house.
They call it in,
set up a perimeter.
Additional unit arrives, enters
through the back of the house
to search and clear it,
finds the body inside.
Paramedics pronounced
her dead 10 minutes ago.
Who is she?
Jessica. Jessica-something.
She only moved in a
couple of months ago.
She seemed like a
real nice young woman.
We kept meaning to
ask her over for dinner.
All units, stand by. We have an
alert at the back of 632 Devon.
Hands! Show me your hands!
Get down on the ground now!
SID's got a 15-minute ETA. Watch
out for the popcorn there, Chief.
So, it looks like she
was on her laptop,
probably heard a sound,
put the TV on pause to listen.
Then she saw her intruder
and bolted from the couch.
He grabs her here. Now,
she's in pretty good shape,
so she puts up some kind of a
struggle and then tries to escape.
So he grabs her hair
at the back of her head...
So she was running away.
Right, and then flung her
around onto the coffee table,
giving her that
gash on her head.
Then, pins her down and...
Tore off her
underwear. Yes, I see.
The officers who found her said
that they found that pillow there on
her face, like she had been smothered.
Probably used it to keep her quiet
when they knocked on the door.
Then why did he run?
She was updating her Web
page, Chief. Check it out.
It's the last thing she wrote.
"Missed home today
but I'm better now.
"Unpacked some pictures,
put them out. Feels good.
"Gonna be strange celebrating
without Mom's strawberry cake tomorrow,
"but I like it here,
"and only two
more weeks until..."
Two more weeks until what?
Two weeks till her fiancé joins
her. It's in her birthday card.
"Jess, started
packing my things.
"Can't wait for the move.
Miss you. So proud.
"Happy Birthday. Love, Pete.
"PS, Sally wants her
tummy scratched."
Sally must be their dog.
Her name's Jessica Goodall.
She's from Joplin, Missouri.
And tomorrow, she
was going to turn 30.
Did someone open
this door? It's unlocked.
Well, we all came in the back.
Maybe Jessica forgot to lock it.
A woman who just
moved here from Missouri
does not forget to
lock her door at night.
Maybe she opened
it for her attacker.
Chief, I found
the point of entry!
Or not. You know what?
I'm tired of these slip-ups.
Whether it's the coroner, the
paramedics or one of our officers,
open a door before we've had
a chance to document the scene
and you've let in the defense.
Sergeant Gabriel, please find out
who came through here, and quickly.
Thank you.
You see this?
He cut the screen around the edge
from right to left, nice and square,
and he climbed in
over that counter.
- She must have left it unlocked.
- I find that hard to swallow.
But even if she hadn't locked the
window, how would our intruder know that?
You can't see the
lock from outside.
Chief, they're bringing the suspect
out front for the field show-up.
Thank you.
"This person is in temporary
custody as a possible suspect only.
"And the fact that he is in
custody does not indicate guilt."
Even though he looks like
hell from hiding in a tree.
All right, all right.
"The purpose of
the confrontation
"is either to eliminate or
identify him as the perpetrator."
- Chief.
- Lieutenant.
Let's go. Come on.
Mr. Evans?
Is this the man you saw
approaching your neighbor's house?
Well...
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
He seemed a
little... A little taller.
I wasn't wearing my glasses. My
wife was there and she saw him.
Maybe we should be
talking to your wife, then.
Well, she's gone
to work already.
She's a nurse
on the night shift.
- All right. Thank you. Lieutenant.
- Thank you, sir. Right this way.
Lieutenant Provenza, please
arrange to have a lineup
with Mrs. Evans
as soon as possible.
Who are you?
His name is Chris Dunlap.
He's 27, he lives in Burbank, at
least according to his driver's license.
That's all we have to go on,
'cause he hasn't said a word.
Well, I just read the
little cretin his rights.
I ran his name. Dunlap
was arrested two years ago
for exposing himself to an
8-year-old girl in a public restroom,
and then arrested
again nine months ago
for molesting his cousin's 13-year-old
daughter while she took a shower.
- Wasn't convicted on either charge.
- Yeah, well, then he must be innocent.
Sorry, Chief. This took a
little longer than I thought,
but I went ahead
and enlarged a map
of the three-square-mile
area around the victim.
In the last six months,
there's been seven other rapes.
Two occurred in
the last 20 days.
Of those seven,
six match your point of entry
through an unlocked bathroom window.
Screen's cut right to
left, just like this one.
All the vics blonde, in
their 20s, and living alone.
All right, Commander Taylor,
would you please pull those files
and see what physical
evidence was collected?
Lieutenant Tao, let's run a
credit report on Mr. Dunlap.
Let's see if we can wrap
this up tonight. Thank you.
Hi, Chris. I'm Deputy Chief
Brenda Leigh Johnson.
It looks like you got pretty
scratched up climbing that tree.
I'd like to have somebody
come take a look at you,
but first we need to talk.
Chris, something really
terrible happened tonight.
And I want you to know that
I don't think it was intentional.
In fact, I'm certain what happened to
that poor young woman was an accident.
Her name was Jessica.
She just moved
here from Missouri.
She was looking forward to her fiancé
joining her in a few weeks with their dog.
Today was her birthday. She
was gonna be 30 years old.
And now she's not.
I need to know how you met her.
Chris, listen to me.
I have a witness who will identify you
as the person she saw in Jessica's house.
Minutes later, you were seen running
from that house by a police officer.
Put that together with our
dogs, who are never wrong,
finding you in a tree
three blocks away,
and people are gonna start
jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
Now, if you have an explanation
for what happened tonight,
- I need you to tell me.
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Okay, what? What? About what,
Chris? What are you sorry about?
- Detective, why are you interrupting me?
- His lawyer's here.
You already called your lawyer?
You must be Chief Johnson.
Phillip Stroh. Pleasure to meet you.
Your client has your number
on his speed dial, Mr. Stroh?
I've represented Chris before.
- Just this way?
- Yes.
Last number dialed, 11:47 pm.
Son of a bitch called his attorney
when the dogs had him up in the tree.
What is the world coming to?
Ham omelet?
Chief, I just spoke to the nurse.
She's on her way in for the lineup.
- Scrambled egg whites and turkey bacon.
- Thank you, Buzz.
I went over Chris' financials.
He's got no current credit cards,
no loans, no leases, no
bank accounts, no job.
Other than his cell phone,
he's practically off the grid.
Yeah? Thanks, Buzz.
Well, speaking of his
cell phone, I dumped it.
The little creep hardly uses the
thing. I mean, other than the call
that he made to his attorney
last night, from up in the tree,
there's a few calls to a delivery
company, a few more to a temp agency,
and then there's a whole
bunch to an address in Burbank,
which happens to
be his mother's house.
Well, if he didn't have a job
and he didn't have any money,
- what was he having delivered?
- I'll find out.
Prelim from the autopsy confirms
that Jessica Goodall was
not sexually assaulted.
Well, that's because the
cops knocked on the door.
The bastard didn't
have the time.
Also, Dr. Morales, he cut her
nails, put them under the scope,
didn't find any skin fragments,
so she didn't scratch the guy.
- What about prints?
- They lifted 37 from inside the location.
They're trying to
exclude Jessica's now.
We should know more
by the end of the day.
Also, I spoke to the coroner's assistant.
Swears he never used the front door,
that he came around
back like everyone else.
- Still tracking down the paramedics.
- Excuse me.
Mr. Stroh, what are
you doing in here?
- Sorry. Looking for the vending machines.
- If you're hungry, sir,
you could take the
elevator to the first floor.
Public vending machines are in
the same place they've always been.
Yeah, and you can't just go
wandering around these halls.
My mistake.
You know, that's the same lawyer
that got Chris' other charges dropped.
Morning, Chief.
I've been combing through the files of
the six previous rapes, like you asked.
They're getting more
violent and more frequent.
The girl he raped before this,
he tied to a bedpost, then
he knocked her around.
- What about physical evidence?
- No prints, no DNA anywhere.
- How did he manage that, I wonder?
- He must have worn a raincoat.
Hey, Chief, get this. You know
the company that Chris was calling?
He wasn't expecting any deliveries.
He works there. He's a deliveryman.
Excuse me, Chief. Mr. and
Mrs. Evans are here.
- I set them up in the electronics room.
- Thank you, Buzz. We'll be right there.
Lieutenant, would you please get
the delivery logs for these companies?
If Chris Dunlap was anywhere in
the vicinity of any of these women,
I wanna know about it. Sergeant.
Chris? Ready for the lineup?
Just step down the hall. Thanks.
Mr. Stroh, I'm sure you
know how these things go.
I'm gonna introduce you to the witness,
but you're not to ask her any questions.
- Is that clear?
- I know the process, Chief.
Hey, Mr. Stroh.
Phil. I'm just curious.
You defended Chris for molesting
a 13-year-old family member,
and you got the
charges dismissed.
And now looks like the same
guy has murdered someone.
How do you feel about that?
Well, first of all, it doesn't look like
Chris murdered this young lady to me.
And if you're asking
about his previous case,
obviously, the state couldn't
prove their allegations.
So, if you have a problem
with the legal system...
No, I don't think the Sergeant
was talking about specifics,
just about how you, as a human
being, justify defending child molesters.
All right.
Most criminals, they do their time
and when they get out of prison,
they go on about their
lives anonymously.
Sex offenders are registered
until the day they die.
They're branded, like animals.
Now, if the state is going to punish
them more harshly than other criminals,
then it also assumes a special burden to
prove their continuing threat to society.
It's my job to make sure the
state demonstrates that threat.
So, Sergeant,
if your charmingly phrased accusation
really does have something to do
with how defending suspected
sex offenders makes me feel,
the answer is,
it gives purpose to my life.
Now, I'd like to hear what
your eyewitness has to say.
- Wouldn't you?
- Absolutely.
Lieutenant Provenza, would
you please escort Mr. Evans out?
- Thank you.
- Yes, ma'am. This way.
Hello, Mrs. Evans. I'm Deputy
Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson.
- Thank you so much for coming in.
- Right out there.
This is Mr. Stroh.
He's an attorney.
- Yes. How do you do?
- Mrs. Evans.
Any problem with the
selection, Mr. Stroh?
No, looks fine to me.
All right, then. Mrs.
Evans, you take your time.
Let us know if there's anyone here
that you recognize from last night.
Okay.
Number one, step
forward. Turn to the right.
Again. Again. Step
back to the wall.
- Number two, step forward.
- No.
Turn to the right. Again.
I remember he was slim
and he had dark clothes.
Step back to the wall.
But he had a T-shirt underneath.
I remember the white at his neck.
- Number three, step forward.
- No. No, he wasn't Hispanic.
Turn to the right.
If you have a
phone, take it out.
Turn it off. Put it back.
Number four, step forward.
Turn to your right.
Again. Again.
- Back to the wall.
- I don't know.
He was tall like number five,
- but not as large.
- Five, step forward.
- I'm 6'2". Was he closer to my height?
- Hey! Quiet.
- Chief, can I talk to you?
- Yes.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you
please take Mr. Stroh to Interview 1
when we're through here?
Mrs. Evans, thank you
so much for your help.
Okay, Chris made deliveries to
every single one of these victims
days before they were attacked.
That's how come he knew their
bathroom windows were unlocked.
He unlocked them himself. Four.
Six.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you please
keep Mr. Dunlap company for a moment?
Mr. Stroh, I need
to talk to you.
- I'm arresting your client.
- For what? Trespassing?
Chris Dunlap works as a deliveryman,
Mr. Stroh. Are you aware of that?
You said that the state
has a special burden of proof
when it comes to sex-crime
cases. Well, here it is.
Your client was in Jessica Goodall's
house delivering a dishwasher
four days before
she was murdered.
He delivered a
mattress to Lauren Clark
three days before she was
tied to her bed and brutally raped.
He delivered a refrigerator
to Rebecca Howl
- five days before...
- Circumstantial.
Six rapes and one murder,
all at the same point of entry,
a bathroom window your client
opened when he made these deliveries.
Take this to a jury, and your
client faces the death penalty.
- I want to make a deal.
- You want to make a deal?
Well, just to satisfy
my curiosity, Mr. Stroh,
what kind of deal
would you like to make?
I don't know. You get the DA to
agree, and Chris will do eight years.
What could you possibly give me
that would merit reducing your
client's sentence to eight years?
The name of the other guy.
It was his partner who raped those
women and murdered Jessica Goodall.
And for eight years, Chris
will give you his name.
This may surprise
you, Mr. Stroh,
but we're very close to finding
Chris' partner on our own.
- Really?
- So, if you'd like me to talk to the DA
about giving you
any kind of a deal,
I suggest that you have Chris Dunlap
tell me something I don't already know.
And it had better be good.
Chris Dunlap, you are under arrest
for murder and six counts of rape.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you please
take him downstairs to booking?
Thank you. Have a
nice day, Mr. Stroh.
Now his lawyer says
there's another guy.
I know you don't like it, but I think
you've got to consider the deal.
It's not right to let Chris Dunlap
walk after only eight years
just to get this other guy.
- What does Pope say?
- He agrees with me.
Really?
He's still smarting from that
stupid inquiry after the mall shooting.
No one's letting him forget it.
He managed to delay everything yesterday
while we hunted through Dunlap's life,
but if we don't find this creep's partner,
if this other partner even exists...
Well, if he doesn't exist,
then whatever deal Dunlap's
lawyer makes goes away.
At the very least, you put
your suspect away for life.
Or if the other guy's real,
then you get his name
and take him off the streets.
Chris Dunlap walked
into these women's homes.
He assessed their vulnerability.
They probably tipped him
after he chose them as victims.
He's a monster. He deserves
to go away for the rest of his life.
Now, if this other guy is really
out there, then he's dangerous.
The longer you wait, the more
likely he is to disappear forever
or attack again.
Look, it's not a fair deal,
and I know this isn't how you
like to hand off cases to the DA,
but, honey, hey, at
the end of the day,
it may be necessary.
Chief, Lieutenant Provenza and Tao
got a warrant to search Dunlap's place
to see if we could find
anything that might tip us off
to this mysterious second man.
And Sanchez is talking to a kid
who does deliveries with Dunlap.
He's kind of a long shot,
but he does have a juvenile
conviction for burglary, so, who knows?
Chief, if you ask me,
they're playing us.
They're making up a SODDI
defense so they can buy more time.
- Making up a what?
- SODDI. "Some other dude did it" defense.
But considering our witnesses
couldn't ID the suspect,
we may be wrong. I don't know.
Chief Johnson, any luck?
We haven't found Chris' partner
yet, if that's what you're asking.
May I speak with
you for a moment?
I tried explaining things to the
Deputy DA, but I can't hold him off.
He's, like, half a block
away, and he wants the deal.
- For eight years?
- I don't like it, either,
but it has to be this way.
Bring back the suspect. Get his lawyer.
I'll be back in a minute with the DDA.
I'm sorry.
Detective Sanchez, any chance the
guy who made deliveries with Chris
- might be his partner?
- I'm sorry, Chief. The alibi's good.
He did say that Chris asked to use
the bathroom a lot during deliveries,
which is against the rules.
And that he liked to look
at the customers' pictures,
the ones in the frames.
Co-worker said it was creepy.
Commander, where are we
with the rest of the victims?
We've been going
through the rape files.
Five of the victims either
can't remember what happened,
or never saw the
assailant's face.
Apparently, he wore a mask
or something, pantyhose.
- What about the sixth victim?
- Lauren Clark.
She saw him. Never
ID'd him from the books.
Dunlap wasn't in the books.
- You want me to bring her in?
- Yes.
But we're supposed to
evaluate her state of mind
before we put her
through that, so, no, not yet.
Sorry, Chief, but there's
nothing where Chris Dunlap lived
that would point to the
so-called other partner.
But he's awfully strange.
He lives in the attic
at his mother's house.
Very little furniture, a mattress
on the floor. Oh, hold on.
Lots of lingerie catalogs.
And a big wad of cash
stuffed in one of his shoes.
Close to $5,500.
Yeah, now, we asked
the mom about it,
she said she's helping him
to save up to fix his face.
- What?
- Plastic surgery.
Yeah, mommy seems to think that
her little boy needs to be better-looking.
And got all the brochures, too.
You know, Botox, rhinoplasty.
Chief. Chief, I finally
spoke to the paramedics.
They said that they went through
the back door of Jessica's house
to get the body, that they
never touched the front door.
- Chief Johnson?
- Yes?
- You remember DDA Garnett.
- Yes. Just one second, please.
Sergeant, what do you think
this is, on Jessica's front porch?
Looks like popcorn.
None of our guys went out this
way, so who tracked it outside?
Our officer chased
Chris out the back door
while the murderer
walked right out the front!
- Chief Johnson.
- Yes?
Your office, please.
Now that you have confirmed the
existence of Mr. Dunlap's partner,
I don't have to tell you, in
the interest of public safety,
we are compelled to act.
- I don't agree to the eight years.
- It's not up to you.
Let's be clear here, Garnett.
For the record, you are
insisting on making this deal
despite the fact that the LAPD
needs more time to investigate.
Good, you understand. So I
shouldn't have to explain it again.
Can we get on with it, please?
The DA's office is willing
to consider the eight years
if your client will tell us
who his accomplice is,
assuming said accomplice
actually committed the murder
and the sexual assaults.
And here I thought you were close to
finding said accomplice on your own.
I don't like being
manipulated, Chief Johnson.
Mr. Garnett, you can have the name.
But now my client wants probation.
- What?
- Sir, there's a murderer at large.
- Then you'd better hurry.
- You are an officer of the court
and therefore obligated
to aid in the capture...
I am well aware of my
obligations, Chief Johnson,
in particular, as they
relate to my client.
Now, he has some very
important information
that should be passed on to you,
but I need to know he's
getting the best deal possible.
And how do we convince you
that eight years is reasonable?
- Show me your evidence.
- We are not doing that.
Convince me that you have
something substantial against him.
I am not opening up my case.
- He's got no incentive to give...
- There is no way!
If you do, I'll talk to him. Maybe
we can reach a compromise.
- Compromise?
- Someplace in the middle.
- It is eight years, or there's no deal!
- Hold on one second.
Mr. Stroh, could you excuse
us for just one moment, please?
Thank you.
I refuse to put my
evidence on display here.
Excuse me? What evidence? As
far as I can tell, you don't have any.
The investigation is
barely 24 hours old.
To be manipulated
into a plea agreement
- for probation at this point is ridiculous!
- You wanna know why I'm reduced
to this possibility? Because
you haven't found me a killer.
We need some time to go
through the old cases. A few days!
With an active rapist on the loose,
a guy who just murdered someone?
No way.
I think this is a mistake.
And you are the reigning
expert on mistakes, Chief Pope,
but this can't be one of them.
Now, do I do this with her or without?
Victim four, Kim Stansbury,
raped January 12.
Do you have any physical evidence
linking my client to the scene?
No.
- No blood, no semen, no hair?
- No. No. No. Same as all the rest.
- Any fingerprints ID'd to my client?
- Not yet.
Any victim IDs or independent
witnesses that can place him at the scene?
No, but we do have him
delivering a refrigerator to her
six days before the incident.
Victim five, Rebecca Howl, raped
January 20. Any physical evidence?
We have him delivering a
refrigerator to her five days before.
Victim six, Lauren Clark.
Should I assume the
same as the preceding five?
Actually, she says she
can identify the assailant.
Interesting.
But do you have any blood, semen,
hair, or any other physical evidence?
No.
All right, lastly,
Jessica Goodall.
Anything?
Other than the fact that
your client was seen running
from the back of the victim's
house by a Los Angeles police officer
and found hiding in a
tree 30 minutes later, no.
Okay. Thank you.
I will discuss this with Chris,
and, if he's in agreement,
I'll write up the proffer to state that,
in addition to the details of the crimes,
he will reveal the
name of his partner.
- We can meet in the morning, and...
- No.
We're doing this tonight.
You've got five hours, sir.
Fine. Mr. Garnett.
Chief Johnson.
- This is the right thing to do.
- Not for Jessica Goodall.
Excuse me.
Chief Johnson. Stroh is here.
- You ready?
- As I'll ever be. What's the offer?
His client gives up the name.
We split the difference, four years.
This accomplice
has a methodology.
He's not gonna strike again while
we have Chris Dunlap in custody.
We have time to look for him.
We're gonna find the guy a lot
faster once we know his name.
Can we just execute
the deal? Please?
All right. Mr. Stroh. Chris.
You've read the statement
and agreed to provide testimony
as to the truthfulness of the
facts within this document?
Four years for the name,
provided we can verify its validity.
Mr. Stroh, maybe it's my ears,
but for the life of me, I can't
hear what your client is saying.
- Chris.
- Yes, I'll testify.
Good. Would you
sign this, please?
Thank you.
Okay, you state here
that you were charged
with finding women on your delivery
that would best fit your partner's type.
- Is that correct?
- Yes.
He... He likes blonde hair.
So you would unlock the windows
and watch them for a few days?
To make sure there were no
roommates or boyfriends, right.
And once you were sure?
He'd pick a night. We'd go in
together. I'd watch the street, and he'd...
He'd be with them.
You state that you've
never actually participated
in any of the sexual
assaults yourself...
- No. No.
- That you acted only as lookout
for your partner, and in return,
he compensated you monetarily.
- Yes.
- How much?
- $1,500 apiece.
- Wow, that's a lot.
I'm sure you must have
been worth it, though.
In fact, if we weren't talking
about rape and murder,
sounds like you'd
make an ideal employee.
Now comes the hard part,
and you had better tell the whole
truth and nothing but, so help you God,
or this deal for four
years goes away.
What's the name of your partner?
It's okay, Chris, go ahead.
- It's him.
- Excuse me?
- What the hell?
- It's Mr. Stroh. He's the...
- Chris. Chris, this is not funny.
- What? What? Did something change?
Enough! That's it!
You, outside now!
Just when you
thought you heard it all.
Would you mind telling me
what the hell's going on in here?
Chief Johnson, I am
as shocked as you are.
Believe me. I explained to him very
specifically what he needed to do.
If you're pulling some
kind of a stunt, so help me.
I was thrilled with four years.
In fact, I think it's what
he deserves. I told him so.
I can promise you it's
not gonna get any better.
I don't know what to tell you,
except that I can't represent
him if he's accusing me of this.
No. No. You wrote
up this proffer, sir.
We are not going anywhere
until we get a name.
All right. Hold on. Hold on.
Now, Chris, just so we are perfectly
clear, this deal that you just signed...
Where's Mr. Stroh?
What did he say to you?
Well, he said you should
get yourself a new lawyer,
- for starters.
- What?
- Frankly, I don't blame him.
- I don't understand.
'Cause this game you're playing
- is a waste of everyone's time.
- But he promised me
that if I kept my mouth shut,
- he'd take care of everything.
- All his hard work,
- you're ruining it.
- No, I swear...
Chris! If this is some crazy
attempt to get a better deal,
you are climbing up
the wrong tree, again!
And if you don't straighten
up, and right this second,
instead of four years, you're
looking at the death penalty!
Do you understand me?
I'll ask you one more time.
What is the name of your partner?
- It's... It's Mr. Stroh.
- That's it. We're through here.
No, wait! Wait! I'm
telling you the truth!
He just wanted to see what you
had on us before I talked to you.
Why would he need to do that?
He wanted to make sure you
didn't have any evidence on him.
- Good God.
- I swear. I swear.
I swear, I wanted to tell you
everything from the very beginning.
But Mr. Stroh, he said
that if I ever was caught,
I was supposed to
call him right away.
And when that girl got hurt
and when the police came,
he told me... He told me
to run out the back door,
and when I couldn't get away,
I did what he told me to do.
'Cause Mr. Stroh, he told me...
He said that even though I
hadn't done anything as bad as him,
that I would go to jail
for as long as he did
if I admitted anything
before I got a deal.
Why did you do
those things for him?
He saved me from jail.
And he wanted to
help me with my face.
So when he asked me to use
my job to help him find these...
I didn't want to let him down.
So I found a girl.
I found a really pretty
girl that I knew he'd like,
and I unlocked the
window, and we went in.
And the money, you
can find it in my room.
I'm saving it up 'cause my mom
says she can make me handsome.
Hey... So, wait,
is... Is that it?
Do I... Do I...
Do I get my deal?
You have anything
to say, Mr. Stroh?
I guess I'd have
to say he's crazy.
I mean, he sounded so convincing,
he almost had me believing him.
But, come on, let's be
honest. That story is absurd.
Yes, it is. Mr. Garnett,
it seems to me
that your presence here
could be a conflict of interest.
If you stay, you risk
being called as a witness.
Seems strangely self-destructive
of Chris, don't you think?
Knowing that a lie would ruin
his chances to walk in four years?
True. He blows his deal.
But you can't use anything
he said against him.
Or against me, for that matter.
Because,
unfortunately for Chris,
even if he was telling the truth,
even if I was an accomplice,
in order to have his
statement admitted in court,
you'd need some sort
of corroborating evidence
linking me to at least
one of these crimes.
And, as you and Mr. Garnett
made abundantly clear earlier today,
you have no such evidence.
So, if I'm not mistaken,
we're through here.
We have a witness, Mr. Stroh.
Your sixth victim, Lauren Clark.
She says she can make an ID.
Right. I forgot about her.
- You bringing her in?
- Yes, we are.
So is there anyone you'd like
to call? Your lawyer, perhaps?
No. That's very considerate
of you. Thank you.
But since I am a lawyer,
I think I'll be just fine.
And my advice to me would be to
wait.
So, I'll wait. Right
here, if that's okay.
Miss Clark, I'm Deputy
Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson.
Thank you so much for
coming down here so late.
No, that's okay. It's just scary
thinking that I might see him again.
- My stomach's in knots.
- I understand.
Why don't you have a seat here?
Now, I wanna tell you that
none of these men in the lineup
can see or hear you. Okay?
You're perfectly safe here.
You just take
your time, all right?
- Ready to go, Chief.
- Okay.
I'm sorry. Wait. What
if I know one of them?
Who?
Him, number 2. I don't
remember his name.
- You know him?
- Yeah,
he stopped by my
work a few hours ago.
He's a lawyer. Phil, I think.
And he said I'd probably
be coming down here tonight.
Is that bad?
He can't tamper with a
witness in his own case.
Six hours ago, it
was his client's case.
He'll say he was
questioning her,
which, at the time, he
had every right to do.
He knew where she worked. He
couldn't have known that without...
Without looking at our files.
Remember the part where you
insisted that we show him everything?
You ever make a deal
with the devil, Mr. Garnett?
This is probably what it's like.
Thank you, Sergeant.
Chief Johnson.
Did the search warrants served at
my home and office get you anywhere?
No.
But you had plenty of time to
dispose of anything incriminating
while our investigation
was focused on your client.
I'll admit to being mildly interested in
how you managed to rape seven women
without getting a mark on you.
How about I didn't
rape seven women?
Oh, I'm sorry. Six.
One you just murdered.
For which your former client
may now be facing life in prison.
Well, he's obviously
a dangerous guy.
Criminally immature.
But his next attorney
will probably throw out
most of what you've done here.
I'm sorry for wasting
so much of your time.
I really should have
mentioned meeting Miss Clark
when I left this afternoon,
but it totally slipped my mind.
She didn't seem
terribly bright, did she?
Pretty, though.
Mr. Stroh,
you may think you're walking
away from this a free man,
but I assure you, you are in more
trouble than you could possibly imagine!
I hope that's not a threat.
I would hate to have to
bring a lawsuit against the city
for violating my civil rights.
I know your accomplice. I
know the women you raped
- and the woman you murdered.
- I don't know what you're talking about.
And with the help of every
law-enforcement agency
in the county of Los Angeles,
which, as of today, will become
a permanent fixture in your life,
I will hunt relentlessly to tie you to
these crimes until the day you die.
Really? What is it you
hope to accomplish?
To see you on trial
for murder, Mr. Stroh.
Well, then,
you must feel terribly disappointed in
the way things have turned out here.
Look on the bright side, Chief.
- At least it's over.
- It's not over.
It is.
English-SDH
at the prowler complaint.
Take this side.
Around back! He's running!
Forty-seven requesting
assistance. We are in foot pursuit.
Subject is white, male,
wearing dark clothing.
I need a perimeter set up. And be
advised, we have not cleared the house.
Come on.
6A-32 requesting paramedics.
We've got a woman down in the house.
She's gone.
Come on. Go, go.
Come on. Come on.
Thank you. Evening, gentlemen.
Have we been in the house yet?
No, the dog handlers don't want
to contaminate the crime scene
before the K-9
search is complete.
So in the meantime, we got Tao
and Sanchez knocking on doors.
Flynn wrote up a search warrant.
We found a judge a few
blocks away that will sign it.
Well, that's lucky.
What happened?
The neighbor over there called in a
prowler around 10:30 this evening.
Responding officers
knock one time,
see the suspect run from
the back of the house.
They call it in,
set up a perimeter.
Additional unit arrives, enters
through the back of the house
to search and clear it,
finds the body inside.
Paramedics pronounced
her dead 10 minutes ago.
Who is she?
Jessica. Jessica-something.
She only moved in a
couple of months ago.
She seemed like a
real nice young woman.
We kept meaning to
ask her over for dinner.
All units, stand by. We have an
alert at the back of 632 Devon.
Hands! Show me your hands!
Get down on the ground now!
SID's got a 15-minute ETA. Watch
out for the popcorn there, Chief.
So, it looks like she
was on her laptop,
probably heard a sound,
put the TV on pause to listen.
Then she saw her intruder
and bolted from the couch.
He grabs her here. Now,
she's in pretty good shape,
so she puts up some kind of a
struggle and then tries to escape.
So he grabs her hair
at the back of her head...
So she was running away.
Right, and then flung her
around onto the coffee table,
giving her that
gash on her head.
Then, pins her down and...
Tore off her
underwear. Yes, I see.
The officers who found her said
that they found that pillow there on
her face, like she had been smothered.
Probably used it to keep her quiet
when they knocked on the door.
Then why did he run?
She was updating her Web
page, Chief. Check it out.
It's the last thing she wrote.
"Missed home today
but I'm better now.
"Unpacked some pictures,
put them out. Feels good.
"Gonna be strange celebrating
without Mom's strawberry cake tomorrow,
"but I like it here,
"and only two
more weeks until..."
Two more weeks until what?
Two weeks till her fiancé joins
her. It's in her birthday card.
"Jess, started
packing my things.
"Can't wait for the move.
Miss you. So proud.
"Happy Birthday. Love, Pete.
"PS, Sally wants her
tummy scratched."
Sally must be their dog.
Her name's Jessica Goodall.
She's from Joplin, Missouri.
And tomorrow, she
was going to turn 30.
Did someone open
this door? It's unlocked.
Well, we all came in the back.
Maybe Jessica forgot to lock it.
A woman who just
moved here from Missouri
does not forget to
lock her door at night.
Maybe she opened
it for her attacker.
Chief, I found
the point of entry!
Or not. You know what?
I'm tired of these slip-ups.
Whether it's the coroner, the
paramedics or one of our officers,
open a door before we've had
a chance to document the scene
and you've let in the defense.
Sergeant Gabriel, please find out
who came through here, and quickly.
Thank you.
You see this?
He cut the screen around the edge
from right to left, nice and square,
and he climbed in
over that counter.
- She must have left it unlocked.
- I find that hard to swallow.
But even if she hadn't locked the
window, how would our intruder know that?
You can't see the
lock from outside.
Chief, they're bringing the suspect
out front for the field show-up.
Thank you.
"This person is in temporary
custody as a possible suspect only.
"And the fact that he is in
custody does not indicate guilt."
Even though he looks like
hell from hiding in a tree.
All right, all right.
"The purpose of
the confrontation
"is either to eliminate or
identify him as the perpetrator."
- Chief.
- Lieutenant.
Let's go. Come on.
Mr. Evans?
Is this the man you saw
approaching your neighbor's house?
Well...
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
He seemed a
little... A little taller.
I wasn't wearing my glasses. My
wife was there and she saw him.
Maybe we should be
talking to your wife, then.
Well, she's gone
to work already.
She's a nurse
on the night shift.
- All right. Thank you. Lieutenant.
- Thank you, sir. Right this way.
Lieutenant Provenza, please
arrange to have a lineup
with Mrs. Evans
as soon as possible.
Who are you?
His name is Chris Dunlap.
He's 27, he lives in Burbank, at
least according to his driver's license.
That's all we have to go on,
'cause he hasn't said a word.
Well, I just read the
little cretin his rights.
I ran his name. Dunlap
was arrested two years ago
for exposing himself to an
8-year-old girl in a public restroom,
and then arrested
again nine months ago
for molesting his cousin's 13-year-old
daughter while she took a shower.
- Wasn't convicted on either charge.
- Yeah, well, then he must be innocent.
Sorry, Chief. This took a
little longer than I thought,
but I went ahead
and enlarged a map
of the three-square-mile
area around the victim.
In the last six months,
there's been seven other rapes.
Two occurred in
the last 20 days.
Of those seven,
six match your point of entry
through an unlocked bathroom window.
Screen's cut right to
left, just like this one.
All the vics blonde, in
their 20s, and living alone.
All right, Commander Taylor,
would you please pull those files
and see what physical
evidence was collected?
Lieutenant Tao, let's run a
credit report on Mr. Dunlap.
Let's see if we can wrap
this up tonight. Thank you.
Hi, Chris. I'm Deputy Chief
Brenda Leigh Johnson.
It looks like you got pretty
scratched up climbing that tree.
I'd like to have somebody
come take a look at you,
but first we need to talk.
Chris, something really
terrible happened tonight.
And I want you to know that
I don't think it was intentional.
In fact, I'm certain what happened to
that poor young woman was an accident.
Her name was Jessica.
She just moved
here from Missouri.
She was looking forward to her fiancé
joining her in a few weeks with their dog.
Today was her birthday. She
was gonna be 30 years old.
And now she's not.
I need to know how you met her.
Chris, listen to me.
I have a witness who will identify you
as the person she saw in Jessica's house.
Minutes later, you were seen running
from that house by a police officer.
Put that together with our
dogs, who are never wrong,
finding you in a tree
three blocks away,
and people are gonna start
jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
Now, if you have an explanation
for what happened tonight,
- I need you to tell me.
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Okay, what? What? About what,
Chris? What are you sorry about?
- Detective, why are you interrupting me?
- His lawyer's here.
You already called your lawyer?
You must be Chief Johnson.
Phillip Stroh. Pleasure to meet you.
Your client has your number
on his speed dial, Mr. Stroh?
I've represented Chris before.
- Just this way?
- Yes.
Last number dialed, 11:47 pm.
Son of a bitch called his attorney
when the dogs had him up in the tree.
What is the world coming to?
Ham omelet?
Chief, I just spoke to the nurse.
She's on her way in for the lineup.
- Scrambled egg whites and turkey bacon.
- Thank you, Buzz.
I went over Chris' financials.
He's got no current credit cards,
no loans, no leases, no
bank accounts, no job.
Other than his cell phone,
he's practically off the grid.
Yeah? Thanks, Buzz.
Well, speaking of his
cell phone, I dumped it.
The little creep hardly uses the
thing. I mean, other than the call
that he made to his attorney
last night, from up in the tree,
there's a few calls to a delivery
company, a few more to a temp agency,
and then there's a whole
bunch to an address in Burbank,
which happens to
be his mother's house.
Well, if he didn't have a job
and he didn't have any money,
- what was he having delivered?
- I'll find out.
Prelim from the autopsy confirms
that Jessica Goodall was
not sexually assaulted.
Well, that's because the
cops knocked on the door.
The bastard didn't
have the time.
Also, Dr. Morales, he cut her
nails, put them under the scope,
didn't find any skin fragments,
so she didn't scratch the guy.
- What about prints?
- They lifted 37 from inside the location.
They're trying to
exclude Jessica's now.
We should know more
by the end of the day.
Also, I spoke to the coroner's assistant.
Swears he never used the front door,
that he came around
back like everyone else.
- Still tracking down the paramedics.
- Excuse me.
Mr. Stroh, what are
you doing in here?
- Sorry. Looking for the vending machines.
- If you're hungry, sir,
you could take the
elevator to the first floor.
Public vending machines are in
the same place they've always been.
Yeah, and you can't just go
wandering around these halls.
My mistake.
You know, that's the same lawyer
that got Chris' other charges dropped.
Morning, Chief.
I've been combing through the files of
the six previous rapes, like you asked.
They're getting more
violent and more frequent.
The girl he raped before this,
he tied to a bedpost, then
he knocked her around.
- What about physical evidence?
- No prints, no DNA anywhere.
- How did he manage that, I wonder?
- He must have worn a raincoat.
Hey, Chief, get this. You know
the company that Chris was calling?
He wasn't expecting any deliveries.
He works there. He's a deliveryman.
Excuse me, Chief. Mr. and
Mrs. Evans are here.
- I set them up in the electronics room.
- Thank you, Buzz. We'll be right there.
Lieutenant, would you please get
the delivery logs for these companies?
If Chris Dunlap was anywhere in
the vicinity of any of these women,
I wanna know about it. Sergeant.
Chris? Ready for the lineup?
Just step down the hall. Thanks.
Mr. Stroh, I'm sure you
know how these things go.
I'm gonna introduce you to the witness,
but you're not to ask her any questions.
- Is that clear?
- I know the process, Chief.
Hey, Mr. Stroh.
Phil. I'm just curious.
You defended Chris for molesting
a 13-year-old family member,
and you got the
charges dismissed.
And now looks like the same
guy has murdered someone.
How do you feel about that?
Well, first of all, it doesn't look like
Chris murdered this young lady to me.
And if you're asking
about his previous case,
obviously, the state couldn't
prove their allegations.
So, if you have a problem
with the legal system...
No, I don't think the Sergeant
was talking about specifics,
just about how you, as a human
being, justify defending child molesters.
All right.
Most criminals, they do their time
and when they get out of prison,
they go on about their
lives anonymously.
Sex offenders are registered
until the day they die.
They're branded, like animals.
Now, if the state is going to punish
them more harshly than other criminals,
then it also assumes a special burden to
prove their continuing threat to society.
It's my job to make sure the
state demonstrates that threat.
So, Sergeant,
if your charmingly phrased accusation
really does have something to do
with how defending suspected
sex offenders makes me feel,
the answer is,
it gives purpose to my life.
Now, I'd like to hear what
your eyewitness has to say.
- Wouldn't you?
- Absolutely.
Lieutenant Provenza, would
you please escort Mr. Evans out?
- Thank you.
- Yes, ma'am. This way.
Hello, Mrs. Evans. I'm Deputy
Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson.
- Thank you so much for coming in.
- Right out there.
This is Mr. Stroh.
He's an attorney.
- Yes. How do you do?
- Mrs. Evans.
Any problem with the
selection, Mr. Stroh?
No, looks fine to me.
All right, then. Mrs.
Evans, you take your time.
Let us know if there's anyone here
that you recognize from last night.
Okay.
Number one, step
forward. Turn to the right.
Again. Again. Step
back to the wall.
- Number two, step forward.
- No.
Turn to the right. Again.
I remember he was slim
and he had dark clothes.
Step back to the wall.
But he had a T-shirt underneath.
I remember the white at his neck.
- Number three, step forward.
- No. No, he wasn't Hispanic.
Turn to the right.
If you have a
phone, take it out.
Turn it off. Put it back.
Number four, step forward.
Turn to your right.
Again. Again.
- Back to the wall.
- I don't know.
He was tall like number five,
- but not as large.
- Five, step forward.
- I'm 6'2". Was he closer to my height?
- Hey! Quiet.
- Chief, can I talk to you?
- Yes.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you
please take Mr. Stroh to Interview 1
when we're through here?
Mrs. Evans, thank you
so much for your help.
Okay, Chris made deliveries to
every single one of these victims
days before they were attacked.
That's how come he knew their
bathroom windows were unlocked.
He unlocked them himself. Four.
Six.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you please
keep Mr. Dunlap company for a moment?
Mr. Stroh, I need
to talk to you.
- I'm arresting your client.
- For what? Trespassing?
Chris Dunlap works as a deliveryman,
Mr. Stroh. Are you aware of that?
You said that the state
has a special burden of proof
when it comes to sex-crime
cases. Well, here it is.
Your client was in Jessica Goodall's
house delivering a dishwasher
four days before
she was murdered.
He delivered a
mattress to Lauren Clark
three days before she was
tied to her bed and brutally raped.
He delivered a refrigerator
to Rebecca Howl
- five days before...
- Circumstantial.
Six rapes and one murder,
all at the same point of entry,
a bathroom window your client
opened when he made these deliveries.
Take this to a jury, and your
client faces the death penalty.
- I want to make a deal.
- You want to make a deal?
Well, just to satisfy
my curiosity, Mr. Stroh,
what kind of deal
would you like to make?
I don't know. You get the DA to
agree, and Chris will do eight years.
What could you possibly give me
that would merit reducing your
client's sentence to eight years?
The name of the other guy.
It was his partner who raped those
women and murdered Jessica Goodall.
And for eight years, Chris
will give you his name.
This may surprise
you, Mr. Stroh,
but we're very close to finding
Chris' partner on our own.
- Really?
- So, if you'd like me to talk to the DA
about giving you
any kind of a deal,
I suggest that you have Chris Dunlap
tell me something I don't already know.
And it had better be good.
Chris Dunlap, you are under arrest
for murder and six counts of rape.
Sergeant Gabriel, would you please
take him downstairs to booking?
Thank you. Have a
nice day, Mr. Stroh.
Now his lawyer says
there's another guy.
I know you don't like it, but I think
you've got to consider the deal.
It's not right to let Chris Dunlap
walk after only eight years
just to get this other guy.
- What does Pope say?
- He agrees with me.
Really?
He's still smarting from that
stupid inquiry after the mall shooting.
No one's letting him forget it.
He managed to delay everything yesterday
while we hunted through Dunlap's life,
but if we don't find this creep's partner,
if this other partner even exists...
Well, if he doesn't exist,
then whatever deal Dunlap's
lawyer makes goes away.
At the very least, you put
your suspect away for life.
Or if the other guy's real,
then you get his name
and take him off the streets.
Chris Dunlap walked
into these women's homes.
He assessed their vulnerability.
They probably tipped him
after he chose them as victims.
He's a monster. He deserves
to go away for the rest of his life.
Now, if this other guy is really
out there, then he's dangerous.
The longer you wait, the more
likely he is to disappear forever
or attack again.
Look, it's not a fair deal,
and I know this isn't how you
like to hand off cases to the DA,
but, honey, hey, at
the end of the day,
it may be necessary.
Chief, Lieutenant Provenza and Tao
got a warrant to search Dunlap's place
to see if we could find
anything that might tip us off
to this mysterious second man.
And Sanchez is talking to a kid
who does deliveries with Dunlap.
He's kind of a long shot,
but he does have a juvenile
conviction for burglary, so, who knows?
Chief, if you ask me,
they're playing us.
They're making up a SODDI
defense so they can buy more time.
- Making up a what?
- SODDI. "Some other dude did it" defense.
But considering our witnesses
couldn't ID the suspect,
we may be wrong. I don't know.
Chief Johnson, any luck?
We haven't found Chris' partner
yet, if that's what you're asking.
May I speak with
you for a moment?
I tried explaining things to the
Deputy DA, but I can't hold him off.
He's, like, half a block
away, and he wants the deal.
- For eight years?
- I don't like it, either,
but it has to be this way.
Bring back the suspect. Get his lawyer.
I'll be back in a minute with the DDA.
I'm sorry.
Detective Sanchez, any chance the
guy who made deliveries with Chris
- might be his partner?
- I'm sorry, Chief. The alibi's good.
He did say that Chris asked to use
the bathroom a lot during deliveries,
which is against the rules.
And that he liked to look
at the customers' pictures,
the ones in the frames.
Co-worker said it was creepy.
Commander, where are we
with the rest of the victims?
We've been going
through the rape files.
Five of the victims either
can't remember what happened,
or never saw the
assailant's face.
Apparently, he wore a mask
or something, pantyhose.
- What about the sixth victim?
- Lauren Clark.
She saw him. Never
ID'd him from the books.
Dunlap wasn't in the books.
- You want me to bring her in?
- Yes.
But we're supposed to
evaluate her state of mind
before we put her
through that, so, no, not yet.
Sorry, Chief, but there's
nothing where Chris Dunlap lived
that would point to the
so-called other partner.
But he's awfully strange.
He lives in the attic
at his mother's house.
Very little furniture, a mattress
on the floor. Oh, hold on.
Lots of lingerie catalogs.
And a big wad of cash
stuffed in one of his shoes.
Close to $5,500.
Yeah, now, we asked
the mom about it,
she said she's helping him
to save up to fix his face.
- What?
- Plastic surgery.
Yeah, mommy seems to think that
her little boy needs to be better-looking.
And got all the brochures, too.
You know, Botox, rhinoplasty.
Chief. Chief, I finally
spoke to the paramedics.
They said that they went through
the back door of Jessica's house
to get the body, that they
never touched the front door.
- Chief Johnson?
- Yes?
- You remember DDA Garnett.
- Yes. Just one second, please.
Sergeant, what do you think
this is, on Jessica's front porch?
Looks like popcorn.
None of our guys went out this
way, so who tracked it outside?
Our officer chased
Chris out the back door
while the murderer
walked right out the front!
- Chief Johnson.
- Yes?
Your office, please.
Now that you have confirmed the
existence of Mr. Dunlap's partner,
I don't have to tell you, in
the interest of public safety,
we are compelled to act.
- I don't agree to the eight years.
- It's not up to you.
Let's be clear here, Garnett.
For the record, you are
insisting on making this deal
despite the fact that the LAPD
needs more time to investigate.
Good, you understand. So I
shouldn't have to explain it again.
Can we get on with it, please?
The DA's office is willing
to consider the eight years
if your client will tell us
who his accomplice is,
assuming said accomplice
actually committed the murder
and the sexual assaults.
And here I thought you were close to
finding said accomplice on your own.
I don't like being
manipulated, Chief Johnson.
Mr. Garnett, you can have the name.
But now my client wants probation.
- What?
- Sir, there's a murderer at large.
- Then you'd better hurry.
- You are an officer of the court
and therefore obligated
to aid in the capture...
I am well aware of my
obligations, Chief Johnson,
in particular, as they
relate to my client.
Now, he has some very
important information
that should be passed on to you,
but I need to know he's
getting the best deal possible.
And how do we convince you
that eight years is reasonable?
- Show me your evidence.
- We are not doing that.
Convince me that you have
something substantial against him.
I am not opening up my case.
- He's got no incentive to give...
- There is no way!
If you do, I'll talk to him. Maybe
we can reach a compromise.
- Compromise?
- Someplace in the middle.
- It is eight years, or there's no deal!
- Hold on one second.
Mr. Stroh, could you excuse
us for just one moment, please?
Thank you.
I refuse to put my
evidence on display here.
Excuse me? What evidence? As
far as I can tell, you don't have any.
The investigation is
barely 24 hours old.
To be manipulated
into a plea agreement
- for probation at this point is ridiculous!
- You wanna know why I'm reduced
to this possibility? Because
you haven't found me a killer.
We need some time to go
through the old cases. A few days!
With an active rapist on the loose,
a guy who just murdered someone?
No way.
I think this is a mistake.
And you are the reigning
expert on mistakes, Chief Pope,
but this can't be one of them.
Now, do I do this with her or without?
Victim four, Kim Stansbury,
raped January 12.
Do you have any physical evidence
linking my client to the scene?
No.
- No blood, no semen, no hair?
- No. No. No. Same as all the rest.
- Any fingerprints ID'd to my client?
- Not yet.
Any victim IDs or independent
witnesses that can place him at the scene?
No, but we do have him
delivering a refrigerator to her
six days before the incident.
Victim five, Rebecca Howl, raped
January 20. Any physical evidence?
We have him delivering a
refrigerator to her five days before.
Victim six, Lauren Clark.
Should I assume the
same as the preceding five?
Actually, she says she
can identify the assailant.
Interesting.
But do you have any blood, semen,
hair, or any other physical evidence?
No.
All right, lastly,
Jessica Goodall.
Anything?
Other than the fact that
your client was seen running
from the back of the victim's
house by a Los Angeles police officer
and found hiding in a
tree 30 minutes later, no.
Okay. Thank you.
I will discuss this with Chris,
and, if he's in agreement,
I'll write up the proffer to state that,
in addition to the details of the crimes,
he will reveal the
name of his partner.
- We can meet in the morning, and...
- No.
We're doing this tonight.
You've got five hours, sir.
Fine. Mr. Garnett.
Chief Johnson.
- This is the right thing to do.
- Not for Jessica Goodall.
Excuse me.
Chief Johnson. Stroh is here.
- You ready?
- As I'll ever be. What's the offer?
His client gives up the name.
We split the difference, four years.
This accomplice
has a methodology.
He's not gonna strike again while
we have Chris Dunlap in custody.
We have time to look for him.
We're gonna find the guy a lot
faster once we know his name.
Can we just execute
the deal? Please?
All right. Mr. Stroh. Chris.
You've read the statement
and agreed to provide testimony
as to the truthfulness of the
facts within this document?
Four years for the name,
provided we can verify its validity.
Mr. Stroh, maybe it's my ears,
but for the life of me, I can't
hear what your client is saying.
- Chris.
- Yes, I'll testify.
Good. Would you
sign this, please?
Thank you.
Okay, you state here
that you were charged
with finding women on your delivery
that would best fit your partner's type.
- Is that correct?
- Yes.
He... He likes blonde hair.
So you would unlock the windows
and watch them for a few days?
To make sure there were no
roommates or boyfriends, right.
And once you were sure?
He'd pick a night. We'd go in
together. I'd watch the street, and he'd...
He'd be with them.
You state that you've
never actually participated
in any of the sexual
assaults yourself...
- No. No.
- That you acted only as lookout
for your partner, and in return,
he compensated you monetarily.
- Yes.
- How much?
- $1,500 apiece.
- Wow, that's a lot.
I'm sure you must have
been worth it, though.
In fact, if we weren't talking
about rape and murder,
sounds like you'd
make an ideal employee.
Now comes the hard part,
and you had better tell the whole
truth and nothing but, so help you God,
or this deal for four
years goes away.
What's the name of your partner?
It's okay, Chris, go ahead.
- It's him.
- Excuse me?
- What the hell?
- It's Mr. Stroh. He's the...
- Chris. Chris, this is not funny.
- What? What? Did something change?
Enough! That's it!
You, outside now!
Just when you
thought you heard it all.
Would you mind telling me
what the hell's going on in here?
Chief Johnson, I am
as shocked as you are.
Believe me. I explained to him very
specifically what he needed to do.
If you're pulling some
kind of a stunt, so help me.
I was thrilled with four years.
In fact, I think it's what
he deserves. I told him so.
I can promise you it's
not gonna get any better.
I don't know what to tell you,
except that I can't represent
him if he's accusing me of this.
No. No. You wrote
up this proffer, sir.
We are not going anywhere
until we get a name.
All right. Hold on. Hold on.
Now, Chris, just so we are perfectly
clear, this deal that you just signed...
Where's Mr. Stroh?
What did he say to you?
Well, he said you should
get yourself a new lawyer,
- for starters.
- What?
- Frankly, I don't blame him.
- I don't understand.
'Cause this game you're playing
- is a waste of everyone's time.
- But he promised me
that if I kept my mouth shut,
- he'd take care of everything.
- All his hard work,
- you're ruining it.
- No, I swear...
Chris! If this is some crazy
attempt to get a better deal,
you are climbing up
the wrong tree, again!
And if you don't straighten
up, and right this second,
instead of four years, you're
looking at the death penalty!
Do you understand me?
I'll ask you one more time.
What is the name of your partner?
- It's... It's Mr. Stroh.
- That's it. We're through here.
No, wait! Wait! I'm
telling you the truth!
He just wanted to see what you
had on us before I talked to you.
Why would he need to do that?
He wanted to make sure you
didn't have any evidence on him.
- Good God.
- I swear. I swear.
I swear, I wanted to tell you
everything from the very beginning.
But Mr. Stroh, he said
that if I ever was caught,
I was supposed to
call him right away.
And when that girl got hurt
and when the police came,
he told me... He told me
to run out the back door,
and when I couldn't get away,
I did what he told me to do.
'Cause Mr. Stroh, he told me...
He said that even though I
hadn't done anything as bad as him,
that I would go to jail
for as long as he did
if I admitted anything
before I got a deal.
Why did you do
those things for him?
He saved me from jail.
And he wanted to
help me with my face.
So when he asked me to use
my job to help him find these...
I didn't want to let him down.
So I found a girl.
I found a really pretty
girl that I knew he'd like,
and I unlocked the
window, and we went in.
And the money, you
can find it in my room.
I'm saving it up 'cause my mom
says she can make me handsome.
Hey... So, wait,
is... Is that it?
Do I... Do I...
Do I get my deal?
You have anything
to say, Mr. Stroh?
I guess I'd have
to say he's crazy.
I mean, he sounded so convincing,
he almost had me believing him.
But, come on, let's be
honest. That story is absurd.
Yes, it is. Mr. Garnett,
it seems to me
that your presence here
could be a conflict of interest.
If you stay, you risk
being called as a witness.
Seems strangely self-destructive
of Chris, don't you think?
Knowing that a lie would ruin
his chances to walk in four years?
True. He blows his deal.
But you can't use anything
he said against him.
Or against me, for that matter.
Because,
unfortunately for Chris,
even if he was telling the truth,
even if I was an accomplice,
in order to have his
statement admitted in court,
you'd need some sort
of corroborating evidence
linking me to at least
one of these crimes.
And, as you and Mr. Garnett
made abundantly clear earlier today,
you have no such evidence.
So, if I'm not mistaken,
we're through here.
We have a witness, Mr. Stroh.
Your sixth victim, Lauren Clark.
She says she can make an ID.
Right. I forgot about her.
- You bringing her in?
- Yes, we are.
So is there anyone you'd like
to call? Your lawyer, perhaps?
No. That's very considerate
of you. Thank you.
But since I am a lawyer,
I think I'll be just fine.
And my advice to me would be to
wait.
So, I'll wait. Right
here, if that's okay.
Miss Clark, I'm Deputy
Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson.
Thank you so much for
coming down here so late.
No, that's okay. It's just scary
thinking that I might see him again.
- My stomach's in knots.
- I understand.
Why don't you have a seat here?
Now, I wanna tell you that
none of these men in the lineup
can see or hear you. Okay?
You're perfectly safe here.
You just take
your time, all right?
- Ready to go, Chief.
- Okay.
I'm sorry. Wait. What
if I know one of them?
Who?
Him, number 2. I don't
remember his name.
- You know him?
- Yeah,
he stopped by my
work a few hours ago.
He's a lawyer. Phil, I think.
And he said I'd probably
be coming down here tonight.
Is that bad?
He can't tamper with a
witness in his own case.
Six hours ago, it
was his client's case.
He'll say he was
questioning her,
which, at the time, he
had every right to do.
He knew where she worked. He
couldn't have known that without...
Without looking at our files.
Remember the part where you
insisted that we show him everything?
You ever make a deal
with the devil, Mr. Garnett?
This is probably what it's like.
Thank you, Sergeant.
Chief Johnson.
Did the search warrants served at
my home and office get you anywhere?
No.
But you had plenty of time to
dispose of anything incriminating
while our investigation
was focused on your client.
I'll admit to being mildly interested in
how you managed to rape seven women
without getting a mark on you.
How about I didn't
rape seven women?
Oh, I'm sorry. Six.
One you just murdered.
For which your former client
may now be facing life in prison.
Well, he's obviously
a dangerous guy.
Criminally immature.
But his next attorney
will probably throw out
most of what you've done here.
I'm sorry for wasting
so much of your time.
I really should have
mentioned meeting Miss Clark
when I left this afternoon,
but it totally slipped my mind.
She didn't seem
terribly bright, did she?
Pretty, though.
Mr. Stroh,
you may think you're walking
away from this a free man,
but I assure you, you are in more
trouble than you could possibly imagine!
I hope that's not a threat.
I would hate to have to
bring a lawsuit against the city
for violating my civil rights.
I know your accomplice. I
know the women you raped
- and the woman you murdered.
- I don't know what you're talking about.
And with the help of every
law-enforcement agency
in the county of Los Angeles,
which, as of today, will become
a permanent fixture in your life,
I will hunt relentlessly to tie you to
these crimes until the day you die.
Really? What is it you
hope to accomplish?
To see you on trial
for murder, Mr. Stroh.
Well, then,
you must feel terribly disappointed in
the way things have turned out here.
Look on the bright side, Chief.
- At least it's over.
- It's not over.
It is.
English-SDH