The Closer (2005–2012): Season 7, Episode 6 - Home Improvement - full transcript

NARRATOR:
Previously on The Closer:

You say that your responsibility ended
the moment Turell left your custody.

But in a civil trial...

the jury may very well
decide that you behaved...

with a callous disregard
to the suspect's life.

If the city attorney thinks...

- that he is losing this case...
- He could settle.

And you will be
entirely on your own.

So, what should I do?

For your own sake,
get your own attorney.

GAVIN: And two waters coming up.



Thank you, Mr. Baker.

Oh, call me Gavin, please.

Oh, I'm sorry
about those labels.

I tell our managing
partner it's vulgar...

but the other
firms are doing it...

and apparently
we're all lemmings.

So let's review
this civil suit. Okay?

- Okay.
- Okay.

Plaintiff's attorney,
Mr. Goldman...

states that while you had a
black gang member, Turell Baylor...

in police custody, he
was granted immunity...

in exchange for his testimony
about a double homicide.

The DA made that
grant of immunity, not me.

Someone else creates problem,
police get sued. It's why I'm here.



Uh, Goldman goes on
to suggest that, quote...

"finding you could neither arrest
nor detain Turell Baylor," end quote...

you dropped him off at his residence
in front of several men from his gang...

knowing they
intended to kill him. Hm.

Mr. Baylor was later
found beaten to death...

by a person or persons unknown.

- Hm. Sounds exciting.
- It's not, really.

Hm. Mr. Goldman finishes
with, quote, "Chief Johnson...

knowingly circumvented
the Criminal Justice system...

by appointing herself judge,
jury, and executioner." End quote.

And...

Thoughts?

Do you think the Baylor family
could actually win this case?

It depends.

As a former city attorney,
I can tell you that L.A...

often avoids court
costs by settling cases...

more ridiculous than this one.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Tell me something,
Chief Johnson.

What do you think
happened to Mr. Baylor?

I have no idea.
I didn't kill him.

You ever hear of
murder by proxy?

Gavin, I had nothing to do
with Turell Baylor's death.

Well, that's good
news, isn't it?

So why don't you just give me
your 45-second version of events.

Um, it's all in here.

I'm sorry, I must
have been vague.

Allow me to rephrase.

Tell me from your point of view
what happened to Mr. Baylor.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Sorry. Um...

- May I get this?
- No. Go right ahead. It's your money.

What? Money? My
money. What do you mean?

Sitting there costs
you $10 a minute.

You wanna spend it on your phone,
be my guest, I'll make an espresso.

When Sharon Raydor
recommended you...

she said you weren't
gonna charge the first hour.

Which I spent studying the Baylor
family filings and associated motions.

You're on the clock now.

You don't wanna cooperate,
stick with your city attorney...

and save yourself
my $25,000 retainer.

Twenty-five thousand dollars?

Gavin Q. Baker. The
Q stands for "quick."

Should've known Raydor would send
me to the most expensive lawyer on earth.

- Litigation costs money.
- We can't afford to pay it.

We can't afford not to.

What about our house,
and our retirement?

We're not looking for a house. Just
come with me, sit with the guy and talk.

- You talk to him.
- Calm down.

- I have to go.
- Look.

- I'll take the bottle and...
- No.

For $10 a minute,
I'm keeping the water.

[DOORBELL RINGING]

[GABRIEL MUTTERS INDISTINCTLY]

Somebody must have
locked the gate, or...

I can't find my tennis
shoes. Are they in your car?

I don't think so. You
want me to go look?

No, no.

I wasn't planning on anyone
dying in the Himalayas today.

- Let's just get to it.
- Okay. Uh...

The owners of this house,
Ron and Debbie King...

are putting in a
new retaining wall.

Two hours ago, 911 got a
call from a building inspector...

who'd come to check it out. That's
him over there in the orange vest.

- Nice dress, by the way.
- Really?

Do I look like the Queen of
England? That's how much money...

you need to be a
police officer these days.

So, what? The contractor
dug up a body? Is that it?

Uh, well, it's more like
he re-dug up a body.

Let's just keep moving
around the side here.

BRENDA: These stairs. When I
find out who took my tennis shoes...

GABRIEL: Perhaps
you misplaced them.

- No. Somebody took them.
- Okay. Somebody took them.

[WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY OVER POLICE RADIO]

So this was the new wall here.

How'd they tear it down?

Oh! Sugar!

GABRIEL: Oh, you okay, chief?
- Oh, I'm fine.

Careful. Watch your step.

Okay. Tell her, Mike.

TAO: The contractor never
pulled a permit in the first place.

So when the city inspector
came to check out the footings...

it had to be torn down.

Found something
not up to code, chief.

Two trash bags slapped
together with duct tape.

Yeah. Duct tape. That's
just never a good sign.

KENDALL: Okay. It's a guy.

Good shape, except his head's
beaten in. Not finding a wallet or ID.

Name's probably
Doug Underhill. Ha, ha.

- Don't. Don't.
- Or Phil Upland.

[ALL LAUGHING]

GABRIEL: Guys.
- Okay. Turning off the camera.

BRENDA: Are you sure, Buzz?

You don't wanna miss
all that great victim humor.

Families of the deceased just
love victim humor. Juries too.

Maybe we could get
another lawsuit going.

- Maybe we could just do our jobs.
- Okay.

In order to dump a body here last
week, you'd need to know the contractor...

was digging a hole
in the backyard.

Which would mean
our primary suspects...

would probably be the
owners of the house...

Mr. and Mrs. King.

And you have the
contractor, his crew...

and I don't know, a couple
of the neighbors, I guess.

Maybe they're connected. Let's
roll his prints, find out who he was.

TAO: Fingerprints?

What makes you think
he has a record, chief?

Someone bashed his head in,
buried him underneath a retaining wall.

I'm guessing he wasn't the
most popular person on earth.

Maybe he was a lawyer. Heh.

Detective Sanchez, let's
find that contractor, please.

PROVENZA: Chief Johnson,
meet the incredibly uncooperative...

Mr. David Romano.

I can get my wall inspected if you
move those bags, what's taking so long?

Dead bodies buried in your
home improvement project.

Mr. Romano, did you skip the
permit process on that retaining wall...

because you had
someone in mind to bury?

Look, I haven't been
waiting here for hours...

to answer stupid
questions like that.

- Ooh... DAVID: Now,
I'm behind schedule...

and if you're not gonna
help me, I'm leaving.

Mr. Romano, I need to talk to you.
You cannot just walk away from me.

Well, I never.

Sir. I said I wanted
to talk to you.

[CAR LOCK BEEPS]

Mr. R... Mr. Romano, drop those
keys or I'm going to arrest you.

Arrest me for what?

Ooh. I'll start with felony rudeness
and work our way out from there.

Maybe add illegal burial and
interfering with a police officer.

Don't you need a warrant?

Not for what's in plain sight. Plus
your truck is illegally parked, sir.

This is enough to hold you for 48 hours,
what would that do to your schedule, huh?

How is business, by the
way? Any clients gone missing?

Maybe I should
dig up more stuff.

See what else I can find.

Here's my work folder. Call
everyone. I got nothing to hide.

And all contractors
carry duct tape.

What about your workers?
Hired anybody new lately?

You don't know what's
going on in the building trade.

I don't have jobs for my
crew, much less strangers.

If things are so slow, why
didn't you bother to get a permit?

The city has laid off
so many inspectors...

it takes a month
to get one out here.

[KNOCKING ON WINDOW]

Unless there's a complaint.

I'm citing you for violation 106
of the L.A. city building code.

Your job here is red-tagged
until you file a permit.

[KNOCKING ON CAR DOOR]

Oh!

[GROANS]

Don't let him go anywhere.

AFIS identified our victim
as a Mr. John David Dale...

and I think we're gonna
have a lot more suspects.

More? We already have too
many suspects as it is. Why more?

Well, Mr. Dale was a
registered sex offender.

Lived in that house right
up there with the red awning.

- A sex offender?
- Mm.

Sure you don't wanna just
cover him up and call it a day?

- What was he registered for?
- Rape of a minor.

Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza,
escort our victim to the morgue.

Detective Gabriel, please
ask Hollywood Division...

to help round up some
of Mr. Dale's neighbors.

Find out how popular he was.

Detective Sanchez, please
invite the King family for a visit.

Make sure they
bring their little girl.

Tao, let's get warrants...

go over every inch of
property. Victim's house too.

- What are we looking for?
- Victim was bashed in the head...

so I'd say blood. And
plenty of it. Thank you.

[GROANS]

MORALES: It had to be murder.

You can't inflict this kind of damage
on the back of your own head.

Even harder to tape yourself
in a trash bag after you're dead.

How long since he
shuffled off to Buffalo?

Not sure. He's well preserved.

- Where did you find him?
- Under a retaining wall.

- And when was the wall put up?
- A week ago last Tuesday.

So today's a Friday.

Which means Mr. Dale
has been dead for...

- I'd say 12 days.
- Very scientific.

Unlike the two of you,
he's well preserved.

And a good thing too, because his body
provides a pretty clear map of the attack.

These three circular wounds.
Is that a hammer blow?

A ball-peen hammer. Yes.

This one up top? Pretty
light. Didn't hurt him too badly.

This one, a little heavier
blow. Still no fracture.

Last one knocked him down.

But these wounds
are fairly superficial.

The hammer didn't kill him.

Then what did?

Sharp force trauma
at the base of the skull.

Never saw a wound
like that before.

Lots of weight behind it. I
should do a cast of it for you.

All I can tell you about the murder
weapon is that it's conical in shape.

Pointy at the top,
widening towards the base.

Sounds exactly
like my second wife.

Uh... All right. Let's review.

- Guy's hit three times with a hammer...
FLYNN: Then falls flat on his face.

And there are abrasions
on his palms and knees.

And then he tries to crawl away.
Over a rough surface. And then...

Someone shoved
a cone in his head?

- What kind of cone?
FLYNN: Don't know, chief.

Provenza's waiting for a cast
of the wound to be finished.

But the doctor said that
Mr. Dale bled out. So you're right.

Somewhere there's a big mess.

TAO: We didn't find blood
in the hole, yard, patio...

or in the Kings' house or the victim's.
Whoever bagged Dale used gloves...

so there's no prints
on the duct tape.

- I checked with the victim...
- Sorry.

I checked with the victim
of Mr. Dale's sexual assault.

She was his cousin. And as
far as a sexual assault goes...

their family stopped
talking to him and let it go.

Explains why he was dead for
12 days and no one reported him.

A conical weapon.

Maybe it's a tool from
the construction site?

Lieutenant, did you find a
funnel or anything like it?

No. Well, I did see
some party hats.

And if you turn them upside down,
they would have the proper shape.

But they were made
out of cardboard...

Uh, chief, I'm not sure you have
enough suspects on your board.

Not only was Mr. Dale a
registered sex offender...

Hollywood Division
says the local schools...

put his picture up on
their public notice boards.

Plus, the house next door
to where you found him...

has an excellent view
of the Kings' backyard.

And it's for sale.

Meet the owners.

Chief Johnson, Greg
and Malin Turner.

Greg. Malin. Thank you
for helping us out today.

Commander Taylor tells
me y'all are moving away.

When we can sell our house. Been
on the market for over six months.

I have a sweet job
offer in Chicago.

Advertising company.

We're not moving to Chicago
if we can't sell our home.

And that's the real story.

You see, Greg and Malin
have been having open houses.

Open houses?

Where potential buyers walk
through your house and your backyard?

- Realtor suggested them.
- Not counting neighbors...

we've had maybe 200
potential customers stop by.

Buyers, Greg. We're looking
for buyers, not customers.

- Two hundred.
- Only need one.

Not counting neighbors, all
could have seen the construction.

And the hole dug
for the retaining wall.

So we can now expand our list of
suspects to include Google Earth.

I'm sorry. We're just riffing.

Don't suppose you
noticed anything unusual...

in the Kings' backyard recently?

- No.
- Not really.

The contractor pulled the wiring
so you can't see over there at night.

It's, like, dark.

And were you familiar
at all with the victim?

- You mean, Joe Blow?
- Greg.

Oh. Sorry. That's what
everyone called him.

Could be we weren't...

you know, as nervous about the
guy because we don't have kids.

And most of what we heard
about John was, like, gossip.

We don't even know what
he's supposed to have done.

Twelve years ago, when he was
19, Mr. Dale raped a 14-year-old girl.

Oh.

Not good.

Maybe why the Kings never
let their daughter play by herself.

Debbie had to run to the
airport a couple of times...

and she asked me
to watch Kayla for her.

And she was really,
really paranoid...

about not letting Kayla go in
their backyard without an adult.

Paranoid in what way?

How would you like your kids
playing in front of a child rapist?

That monster should've never
been allowed in our neighborhood.

How are you so well acquainted
with Mr. Dale's criminal record?

The Megan's Law Website.
You type in your address...

and a big blue dot shows
up where sex offenders live.

Shouldn't have to
explain that to the police.

You found out Dale was
living behind you when?

About a year and a half ago.
He moved in after his mother died.

I don't know what she was
thinking, leaving him that house.

Ever confront Dale?
Argue with him...?

This is enough! We get read our rights
and hauled to the station like criminals.

With our child! Kayla
shouldn't be here.

Your daughter is being supervised
by specialists in our child care center.

So don't worry about her.

Did Mr. Dale ever approach
Kayla or try to talk to her?

No. And as much as I hate the
idea that completely innocent people...

like us might need a lawyer,
I'm close to calling one.

Get your wallet out, sir.

That's an expensive
alternative...

- to just cooperating with...
- Mr. Dale was the criminal. Not us.

If you'd been buried in his
yard, I'd have him under arrest.

- But that's not what happened.
- Let me make this clear to you.

We never spoke to the guy. Our
daughter never spoke to the guy.

We never set foot on his property.
And he sure as hell never came on ours.

And he never,
ever, touched Kayla.

If he had, if he had even laid
one finger on my little girl...

- Ron. That's enough.
- No. No. No.

You wouldn't dig him up, I'd
have beaten him to death...

and dropped him off
in front of the station!

Sit down, Mr. King.

Now I'm invoking
my right to counsel.

Better make
yourselves comfortable.

If you even try to
leave, I'll arrest you...

for the illegal disposal
of human remains.

Wait. What about Kayla?

We don't leave children alone
with suspected felons, Mrs. King.

- Can't let her do that.
- I demand to see Kayla.

- I demand to see our daughter!
- Where is Kayla?

She won't know what's going on.

[SCREAMS]

That's what I'm supposed to do if
he ever comes into our backyard.

But if he stops to talk to
me in his blue car, I have this.

[WHISTLE BLARES]

KAYLA: And then
I'm supposed to run.

Did you take Mr. Dale away?

Or is he gonna
stay under the wall?

What would you like us to do?

- Um... Can I think about it?
- Sure.

My office is not a good place to bring
children while interviewing their parents.

What are you doing right
now that's so important?

Losing weight is not just about
eating boring, terrible food.

It's also about exercise.

This is the time that I try
to set aside to ride my bike.

I mostly exercise at home.
Can you just hurry, please?

I can't ever have anyone over
because all my friends know about him.

So I guess you should
take Mr. Dale away.

Does not having your
friends over bother you?

KAYLA: No. I get bothered
because my mom gets so upset.

She told Mr. Dale she'd kill him if
he ever came back to our house.

Mr. Dale came to
your house? When?

You can trust her.
She's police like me.

I saw him in our backyard.
Daddy fought with him.

Fought with him, how?

Mr. Dale was shouting at
Mr. Romano for being so loud...

and that's when Mom and Dad
ran out and told him, Mr. Dale...

if he came back,
they'd kill him.

And did you ever see him again?

No. Not until
Mr. Romano dug him up.

How did you even
know he was there?

That, Kayla, is an
excellent question.

Huh.

- Hey, Fritzy.
- Hey.

- Hi.
- Hi.

So you're, uh...

- You're making dinner, huh?
- I am.

Friday night. Just
thought maybe we'd go out.

We need to save to
pay for this attorney.

So no more
restaurants or take-out.

Oh, well, that's a great idea.

Six years after the trial is over,
you'll have enough to hire your lawyer.

Sooner than that.

I made some other changes today.

FRITZ: Huh.

So you know, there's a limit to how
many nights a week I can eat clam linguini.

Wait. What other changes?

- I stopped the newspaper.
- You stopped the newspaper?

It's just more to clean
up. You never read it.

Like you ever clean
it up. I read the paper.

I also use it to keep track
of all the baseball scores...

across the entire
country. You can't just...

OPERATOR: No service at this location.
- What's wrong with the phone?

- Oh, I cancelled the land line.
- You what?

You need to be more
reasonable about this.

We both have cell
phones. It's crazy.

All this we're spending on luxury
items when we haven't bought a house.

You haven't wanted to
look at a house in years.

All our credit cards are
attached to this number.

What about my sponsor?
What about my friends from AA?

I got an idea, honey.

They can all call me on my
confidential FBI cell phone.

You make all these changes.
You don't tell me about it.

Not only is it disrespectful,
but you're not gonna...

Oh, honey. What channel
are you looking for?

You turned off the cable.

I didn't turn off
the cable. I just...

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

cancelled those extra
channels we never watch.

That you don't watch. You don't read
the paper, you never answer the land line.

- I'm on the phone.
- You don't care what we eat...

as long as you
have a chocolate bar.

That is a terrible
thing to say. Terrible.

This phone call is about a sex
offender who was murdered...

and buried in Hollywood Hills.

A little more important
than what's on TV.

Yes, Detective
Sanchez. I'm sorry.

Um, what did you find
out about the contractor?

He was telling the truth, Chief.
He never applied for a permit...

to build anything
at the King place.

This is ridiculous.

Hang on. What?
What is ridiculous?

We can hire the attorney
without starving ourselves...

isolated from the modern world.

I am not spending the money.

Then you'd better get it from the
city. Because I am not living like this.

As a matter of fact...

why don't you go talk to
your buddy Pope about it?

- Uh, chief?
- Yes, I'm sorry. I'm here.

Look, if the contractor never
pulled a permit for the retaining wall...

then how did the inspector know
to come by and have it dug up?

Mr. Romano said something
about a complaint, didn't he?

Oh! Oh, no. No. No!

- Chief? Are you okay?
- Oh, I'm fine. I'm fine.

Want us to find the
inspector for you?

Oh, yes. Please. What
was his name again?

Chief Johnson, meet
our hero from yesterday.

Mr. Raymond Aguirre.
City building inspector.

Mr. Aguirre. Thank you so much
for taking time to see us today.

Well, I'm glad to
help the police.

Though I have to wonder why I
was given my rights in the elevator.

Oh, it's just a new city policy.

We have to Mirandize everyone
who comes in the building nowadays.

Don't let it make
you feel too special.

I just wanna let you know,
I've never taken a bribe. Ever.

Oh.

That's good.

Uh, Detective Gabriel, would
you please escort Mr. Aguirre...

to our visitor's
conference center?

I'll be with you all in just one
moment. Thank you so much.

After the Kings made bail, why'd
you order surveillance on their house?

They're suspects and
invoked their right to counsel.

Not everybody who asks
for an attorney is guilty.

Tell me about it.

You and Captain Raydor
say I need my own lawyer...

but no one's offering
to help me pay for it.

Look, Will. Can't you talk to
the union and see if they...?

- You're management. Union can't help.
- The city? Can't they do something?

- Yeah. Like that'll happen.
- I shouldn't surrender...

my life's savings to defend
myself when I am completely...

100 percent innocent.

Fine. I'll ask the mayor if he can
find the money to help you out.

In the meantime...

if I'm paying SIS overtime
to sit on the Kings' house...

I'd like evidence that
connects them to this case.

Besides lying about
the fight with Mr. Dale?

And finding him buried
in their backyard?

- Yes. Besides that.
- Well, how about this, then?

The victim was 6 feet
tall, over 200 pounds.

How do you think his body
made it up those stairs in the night?

That's not evidence.
That's logistics.

I will ask the mayor to help
you, and in exchange for that...

you will either re-arrest the Kings
by 6 p.m. or end the surveillance.

AGUIRRE: I don't have enough
time to do my job properly anymore.

City cut back on the department.
We lost some people...

when they were arrested for taking
bribes, which I've never done. Ever.

There aren't enough
inspectors to issue approvals...

let alone go hunting
for illegal building.

So Mr. Romano, Kings'
contractor, took advantage...

- to start work without your knowledge.
- Yes, without my knowledge.

Wait a minute. Mr. Romano
never even applied for a permit?

No. It's short-sighted for the owner to
let a contractor start building that way.

If the Kings ever wanna sell their
home, disclosure laws will require them...

to tell potential buyers that
they built without permits.

Disclosure laws.

So just so I understand, you're
saying that no one in your office...

ever knew that Mr. Romano built
the wall in the Kings' backyard?

Can you cut me a break?

Don't have means to
check on building like this.

Then how did you
know to inspect it?

Excuse me?

You had no paperwork.
Never visited it.

A few days after a man was buried
there you turn up at the Kings' house?

Demand that the wall
covering his body be torn down?

I didn't just show up.
And I wasn't bribed either.

- I was responding to a complaint.
- From who?

I'm not supposed to, um,
give that information out...

to anyone at any
time for any reason.

- I'll never tell.
- Okay.

Um... There are two
ways you can contact us.

One is with the tip line.

The other's by sending
an e-mail, like this one.

"To whom it may concern. My
neighbors are building a wall...

not only does their
contractor start too early..."

Very common complaint,
we get it all the time.

"He doesn't have a
permit in the front yard..."

I don't know why people
even care about that.

"Could you check on this for
me? Sincerely, John David Dale."

And that was
dated four days ago.

Well, that is extremely unusual.

- Why is that?
- Because when he wrote this...

he was buried beneath the retaining
wall he was complaining about.

Thanks for seeing me
on such short notice.

Not a problem, not a problem.

I have a closing statement
to write for this week...

and I work most
Saturdays anyway.

- Water?
- No. Thanks.

- We still have a bottle from yesterday.
- Good. Good. Good. Good.

[SIGHS]

- What's up?
- What's up.

Well...

Just dive right in.

Okay. I need a huge favor.

Mm-hm.

Look, I want to
pay your retainer...

from money I inherited
from my parents...

but I want my wife...

- to think it came from the city.
- I see.

Well, I sympathize
with you. I do.

But I like to be completely
honest with my clients.

She's never gonna be
completely honest with you.

There's a difference between
my lying to her, and her...

Hold on. Hold on. Look,
nobody's asking you to lie.

Oh. Well, then, maybe I'm confused.
What exactly is it you want me to do?

You're supposed to
be a very good lawyer.

Which means you
should be able to clearly...

and simply explain
things to my wife...

in a way she completely
misunderstands.

[SCOFFS]

That's her.

[SIGHS]

Look, if you do decide
to take Brenda's case...

it'd be great if you swung
by her office and talked to her.

Preferably tonight, I would like to
watch some television when I get home.

Hey, honey. What is it?

Uh, the parking lot at the
grocery store. Where are you?

An open house? Where?

You're not at work today?

Pope gave most of my division the
rest of the day off. Overtime issues.

- So I thought we'd look at houses.
- Heh, really?

Buying a house. That'll help us
cut back enough to hire the attorney?

Oh, well, I spoke to Pope
about that, like you suggested...

and he said he's
going to look into it.

Still, honey.

This looks like a little more
house than we can afford.

Oh, I don't know about that.

It's a buyer's market. It's
only two and a half million.

Oh. Only two and a half million.

I met the owners, and
they're desperate to sell.

Hi, there. Hi. Conner Ellis. I'll
be showing the house today.

You guys looking for
a new place to live?

We are. I'm
Brenda. This is Fritz.

We're both doctors, so
we're pre-approved for loans.

Mind if we start in the backyard? In
my free time, I just live to be outside.

- And, Fritzy, here, is a griller.
- A griller? I'm...

- I'm a griller. From way back.
- So if the backyard isn't right...

we might as well not
look at the rest. May we?

Oh, sure. Come this way, doctor.

It's a beautiful day to look at
some of the outdoor features.

And the owners keep
everything super nice.

Gardeners come twice a week.
Pool is perfectly maintained.

Mind if we head out on our
own? Get the feel of the place.

- Sure.
- Oh, my goodness, it is so romantic.

If you think so, darling.
Excuse us, Conner.

Certainly. Take your time.

So tell me, doctor, what
are we looking for out here?

Uh, drag marks or
wheel barrow tracks.

Huh.

Hey, hon?

Look what I see.
Right next door.

The ruins of a retaining wall...

under which someone like a
murder victim could be buried.

Don't you need a warrant?

It says "open house." Open.

Oh, look. Isn't it beautiful,
honey? Let's take some pictures.

Oh, my.

Don't hurt yourself.
I got it. I got it.

You're not gonna tell me you're
into garden gnomes, are you?

No, but I would like to meet the
little fellow who used to live here.

FRITZ: Why are you interested in a gnome?
- He saw the murder.

Up close and personal.

- What are you looking at?
- Oh, the grout between the tiles.

What about it?

Father told her if there are cracks in
the grout, the house could be moving.

- You know? Earthquakes.
- Oh, no. We'd have to disclose that.

He's right. California Civil Code 2079
requires property owners to disclose...

any problems with the
house before selling.

A building inspector was talking to
me about it today for about an hour.

Everything all right
with the tile then, doctor?

Oh, it looks like this side's
recently been cleaned with bleach...

but I'm sure I can get what I
need, with the proper lighting.

- Anything else you'd like to disclose?
- Don't you want to see the rest?

Let's get the bad
news over with first.

There was rain damage
last year. It is all fixed.

And the owners had termites
four years ago. But they tented.

Megan's Law registrant
lived behind us. Died recently.

- Parking across the street...
- Uh, Megan's Law?

- A sex offender lives close by?
- Lived. Lived. Past tense.

He died. Last week. Thank God.

He kept me from selling
this house for months.

- Anyway. Uh, street parking is...
- Thank you, Conner.

Which way is the
master bedroom, please?

FRITZ: It's one of
my wife's little quirks.

First thing she needs to know is if
there's enough room for her shoes.

CONNER: Shoes are,
they're very important.

Yeah. Yeah.

Uh, you finding everything
you want in there?

BRENDA: I am.

In fact, I think I'm ready to make
the owners an offer right now.

GABRIEL: You have
the right to remain silent.

Anything you say will
be used against you.

You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney...

- one will be appointed.
- We can afford one.

- We don't need one.
- Before y'all start interrupting...

saying things you'll regret,
I wanted to show you...

all these spots here, on your
jeans and your sneakers...

they're from the bleach
that splashed on you...

while you were cleaning
blood off your patio.

And...

Our lab sprayed the grout
between the tiles on your terrace.

And it tested positive
for blood residue.

In a few days, we'll have
a DNA match of our victim.

And that is enough to
arrest you both for murder.

- Wait a minute.
- No. No, Greg.

- Wait.
- Don't try to protect me.

- We have... We...
- I did it.

- Honey. Like, no. MALIN: Greg.

GREG: No.
- I have to tell her.

Malin's right, Greg.

If you don't explain
exactly what happened...

we cannot help you.

I told Greg when he came home.
We should have called the police.

You were defending yourself.

- She has nothing to explain.
- Let's put it behind us, honey.

They already know
most of the story anyway.

Look, John Dale, he must
have been watching us...

waiting for times
when I would be alone.

If only we had known he
was, like, you know, a rapist.

Greg, be quiet. I mean, let me
tell her what happened. Please.

Anyway, about two weeks
ago, I went into our backyard.

And there he was.

John David Dale.

Waiting for me. And he tried...

He tr... He tried.

He tried to rape her.

And all Malin did was try to stop
him. She didn't mean to kill him.

When I got home, Malin
was still really upset.

I just wanted the
dude off our property.

So, you know, I'm sorry
about the illegal burial.

But it was, like, very
spur of the moment.

Really? Because it seems a
bit better organized than that.

We found this
stuff at your house.

According to Greg's credit cards,
he bought the wheelbarrow...

and everything in it, the
day before you claim...

Mr. Dale tried to rape you.

- The outdoor bleach. And the trash bags.
- Box of 50, two missing.

The same ones that
Mr. Dale was stuffed in.

And the duct tape matches what
was used to close the bags up.

- The ball-peen hammer.
SANCHEZ: Which exactly fits...

- several wounds on the victim's
skull. BRENDA: I don't know.

Doesn't it seem coincidental
that this should happen...

right when your neighbor's
yard was being dug up?

Giving you the perfect
place to bury Mr. Dale?

[LAUGHS]

You're, like, suggesting that
we, like, murdered the guy?

Why would we do that?

Maybe because living so
close to a sex offender...

made your home
impossible to sell.

Except Mr. Dale's name couldn't
be removed from the website...

- until he was declared dead.
- For that, you needed a body.

You didn't have it.

You'd sent a letter of
complaint to the city inspector...

in regards to the illegal
wall where you'd buried him.

And then, poof. They dug him up.

And that is our version
of how Mr. Dale died.

So, what do you think, Greg?
Are we on the right track?

- No. No, no, no.
- Uh... Well...

He tried to rape me. I was
alone. And I defended myself.

Okay. Let's see
if that's possible.

PROVENZA: You asked your
gardeners, who come twice a week...

to take away this perfectly
good lawn ornament.

They were surprised,
your gardeners...

because you cleaned him
up before throwing him out.

Turns out, the wound in the
base of our victim's skull...

goes exactly with the tippy-top
of this little gnome's hat. Heh.

GABRIEL: You know
what it looks like?

It looks like you struck Dale
several times with the hammer...

- not realizing how heavy it was.
- Especially for a slip of a girl like you.

And when you realized that Mr. Dale
fell down and only broke his nose...

you grabbed the nearest
object you could find...

- and you shoved it into his head.
- I was panicked.

- And defenseless. And
alone. BRENDA: Okay.

If you could show me how you
picked up that little garden gnome...

all by yourself, then
I'll take your word for it.

[GRUNTING]

Lift with your legs. Lift
with your legs, babe.

BRENDA: If it makes
you feel any better...

I had to have my
husband help me with it too.

I can get it.

[GROANS]

Oh.

What I don't understand is why
you went back into Mr. Dale's house...

and wrote the e-mail when you
could've called and complained?

We thought you might,
like, recognize our voices.

- I'll take that as your confession.
- Greg, you idiot.

Hold on. Wait. I just figured
out what we should have said.

Is there any way we could, you
know, like, start our story over?

No. Because, "like, you
know," you're under arrest...

for murder in the first degree.

Chief Johnson.
The lawyer is here.

- They called a lawyer?
- No, no. Your attorney's here.

Oh. Oh?

Okay. Um...

Let me take care of
our guests here first...

but, Buzz, would you mind
removing our little friend here?

BUZZ: Sure thing, chief.
- Thank you. Gives me the creeps.

- Gavin. Hello. GAVIN: Hello.

To what do we owe the honor?

I just wanted to drop by and tell you
how good it was to meet you yesterday...

and how honored I am
to be representing you...

- in this Turell Baylor
business. BRENDA: Oh, no, no.

No. Not yet.

Look, you're a great
attorney and all that...

but we haven't figured out
how we're gonna pay you.

- That's been taken care of.
- Huh?

The retainer. And
you, Chief Johnson...

uh, you personally, will
not be paying me a dime.

- I won't?
- As long as we don't go to trial.

But as we say in my profession:

"We'll double-cross that
bridge when we come to it."

Uh-huh.

- Oh. I'm sorry. Excuse me. One second.
- Sure.

- I thought I said no more overtime.
BRENDA: Oh, Will, thank you so much...

for getting the city to
pay for my attorney.

You have no idea how
much this means to me.

- You really don't.
- Oh, uh, well, you're welcome.

Thank you so much, Will.
Really. Thank you with all my heart.

Ahem. I'm just... I'm
glad it got managed.

So, uh... Good work.

Good work.

Flight risk.

[CHUCKLES]

All right, then.

Thanks to Chief Pope,
we are in business.

Yeah. All thanks to Pope.

Um, since I'm here, why
don't we just, very quickly...

- establish some ground rules. Okay?
- Okay.

Okay. I think, as
a general policy...

fewer things will go wrong if we
all agree, from this moment on...

to be completely
honest with each other.

How about this?

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth, so help me God.

So help me God.

[LAUGHS]

[English - US -SDH]