The Fix (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 10 - Making a Murderer - full transcript

Previously on "The Fix"...

Maya Travis, will you marry me?

I'm not hearing a yes.

- I have to protect this family.
- What is it?

Papers making me a controlling partner

- in your trust.
- What?

He almost died because of you.

All you are to my husband
is political cover.

That's a shadow.

Somebody else was in the storage unit

when Jessica made these tapes.



She was gonna kill me.

Training at a gun range
like a bloody assassin.

You actually might be innocent.

My dad tried to warn me,

and I should have listened.

Wait. I need to say his name.

Let's start over.

Daddy!

Wake up.

I need pancakes.

Okay, baby. I'll be right there.

Oh.

Can I have more syrup?

Hmm.



"May I have more syrup?"

May I have more syrup?

Mm-hmm.

- Good morning, son. You're up early.
- Mornin'.

Yeah, I wanted to swim before
I had to go give lessons.

Mm.

One of these days
you're gonna have to get

me up on that surfboard.

We'll get you a stunt double.

Oh, please. I got skills, man.

Mr. Johnson.

I'm Detective Vincent North.

Uh...

Can we speak to you in private?

Sure. Come on.

Let's run down to the beach.

Daddy will be right with you, sweetheart.

What is it?

Mr. Johnson, I have some very bad news.

Jessica Meyer was killed this morning.

What?

I'm sorry.

No.

She...

But I was making breakfast for her.

She... She's supposed to be here, but...

She was at the beach
preparing to meet a client.

Cause of death appears to be
blunt-force trauma,

and we believe she was murdered.

What? No.

No, not my baby.

No, no, no.

No.

No!

Look, we're gonna need you
to come down to the station

and answer a few questions.

Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson?

Hello.

Rough night?

What happened to you?

Oh, I, um...

...stubbed my toe.

Look, we need to talk off the record.

And I would appreciate

you telling the cowboy to stand down.

I do not need another shiner.

Oh, he's not here.

Ooh. No?

Which is none of your business.

No, it's not.

- Get to the point, Wolf.
- Right. Um...

You know, it's the damndest thing.

I actually think Sevvy Johnson
is innocent.

- That's what you came here to tell me?
- Mm-hmm.

- Goodbye.
- No, no, no, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait.

I'm serious.

I don't think Sevvy killed Jessica.

There is nothing I hate more
than an innocent client.

I mean, the guilty ones,
if they end up in jail,

hey, that's probably where they belong.

But the innocent ones,
they keep me up at night.

They burrow into my brain,
haunt my every thought.

The innocent ones torture me.

So I'm here, hat in hand,

asking you to talk to me.

Come in.

Doctor said you should take it easy.

Work from home?

We'll see.

It's a big day for us.

What do you mean?

We talked about this.

Effy, what did you do?

It's the perfect time to announce

you're running for D.A.

I told you I'm not ready.

Well, they're here.

So get ready.

Matthew,
did you think you were gonna die?

Why did Maya
Travis' stalker go after you?

Look, we're talking about
a deranged individual.

I have no idea why he did what he did.

Uh, sources say you're making
an announcement today?

No. No announcement.

I just want to thank CJ Emerson
for saving my life.

She's the one who should be
getting the attention today,

not me.

Thank you.

See, the key...

is milk.

Gives the eggs a nice fluff.

You're stalling.

You know, I'm only telling you
this because

I know you won't let
an innocent man go to jail.

I don't think he's innocent.

Yet.

Now, we both agree

this conversation never happened.

Why?

Because everything that I'm about
to say to you is privileged.

And I know how much you care
about legal ethics.

Well, you got to work with me here.

Cone of silence.

So, tell me why you're supposedly

so convinced Johnson didn't do it.

Our trip to Vegas yielded some
very interesting information,

namely Jessica was practicing
to kill Sevvy.

Even hired a private shooting instructor.

She was scared of him.

Maybe she wanted to protect herself.

She look scared to you?

Then why take a secret trip to Vegas?

I think she had an agenda,

and I think someone was helping her.

What?

Nothing.

No... I showed you mine.
Now you show me yours.

I watched the tapes Jessica made again,

and I thought I saw something...
a shadow.

Someone was in the storage
locker with her.

- I am almost positive.
- Oh, I knew it!

It doesn't mean that person
killed Jessica.

It just means there's more to the story.

You know what?

Let's figure this out.

Together.

Whatever we find,

I will not hesitate to use it
against you in court.

Ditto.

Yeah?

Brianna, thanks for coming.

Your assistant said it was urgent.

Well, she's prone to hyperbole.

Please, come in.

Did you happen to see
Chief Deputy Collier

smiling for the cameras this morning?

I did.

Rumor has it he tried to hire you.

Well, he hasn't pulled the trigger,

if that's what you're wondering.

Although, I did give him
some damn good advice.

What was that?

I'm done with freebies.

All right.

Here is $237.

Down payment.

There's more where that came from.

Tens of thousands more.

Let me tell you the strategy
I laid out for Matthew.

It'll work for you, too.

Hey, Starry.

Hi.

I don't want to talk to you.

Either of you.

Uh!

You have every right to be pissed,

but aren't you just a little bit curious

about what we're doing here together?

Okay.

What's this about?

It's about the tapes Jessica made.

We think somebody may have been with her.

Wasn't me.

I didn't even know about them.

Could have been a friend.

Someone she was seeing on the side.

If Jessica was cheating on my dad,

do you think she would have
told me about it?

What does this mean?

We think whoever was helping
Jessica may have killed her.

- I don't think that.
- Well, it's not much of a stretch.

It's... I think that the person

may be a part of the puzzle.

But could it be your mother?

I know she was trying to help Jessica.

No, my mom didn't care about Jessica.

She saw her as an obstacle
to my dad's money.

That's it.

And the second she had a chance,

she had him sign everything over to her.

What are you talking about?

- My dad didn't tell you?
- No.

If he goes to jail,

my mom gets control of his entire estate.

I don't want to fight today.

I'm not here for that.

I'm sorry about the other night.

I feel like...

I don't know.

I feel like nothing's like
what I thought it was.

It never is.

I find that every time I blink,
the world shifts.

Did you ever love me, Jules?

I mean... really love me?

Desperately.

You know everything, don't you?

Yeah.

I'm sorry things ended this way.

- Charlie, Maya Travis.
- Bay Crab hand roll?

Maybe later.

So, this is everything
Buck got on Julianne.

When you were trying to set her up?

When we were investigating,

like you and I are doing right now.

Julianne has an alibi.

She was Vick Marshall's house
at the time of the murder...

on camera.

Well, tapes can be faked.

- Or did you forget?
- Mm.

Anyway, she could have hired
someone to do it.

Did Buck find any unusual expenditures?

No, but she could have set aside

small amounts of cash for months.

So, your theory is that
Julianne killed Jessica

so that Sevvy would end up in prison

and she could get his money?

The woman is a master manipulator.

We need to get inside Julianne's house.

Well, get a search warrant.

You would love that, wouldn't you?

She's one of my key witnesses.

It would destroy her credibility.

So would a Murder One charge.

I don't think we'll find anything,

but we should look.

Give me a couple hours. I have an idea.

Okay.

You're working with Ezra Wolf?

Very unofficially, yes.

- Maya, you know you can't trust him.
- I don't.

But I need to know who that shadow was.

And if Jessica really was
planning on killing Sevvy,

that makes me question everything.

Even whether he did it?

Even that.

I need to know the truth, whatever it is.

Julianne?

She lied to the police multiple times,

and she had motive.

Follow the money.

I guess it's possible.

- I need a favor.
- Sure. Anything.

I really shouldn't even be asking this.

Maya, I am a grown-ass woman.

Just spit it out.

It's not exactly legal.

Quick, quick.

Jump on my back.

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

Hey, look, here comes your sister.

- Star!
- Hey, Peanut.

What are you doing here?

Star's gonna take care of you
for a few days.

Daddy's got some grownup things
to take care of.

Why don't you go gather your stuff?

Thank you.

Of course.

She's my sister.

I love you, Star.

Sunny can stay with me
as long as you need.

You ready to go?

All right.

Big things are afoot, people,
and we're gonna be prepared.

I've been working with someone,
who shall not be named.

Suffice it to say that
I have reason to believe

Sevvy Johnson's nightmare
is going to end.

He is going to go free.

I have decided that the time is right

to prepare a motion to dismiss.

As you know, this motion needs to be...

- Ezra!
- Charlie.

The D.A.'s making some
announcement about Sevvy's case.

- What?
- Thank you, everyone,

for gathering on such short notice.

As District Attorney of Los Angeles,

I pride myself on the integrity
of my team and our mission.

_

Unfortunately,
the murder of Jessica Meyer

has been tragically mishandled.

Despite my personal misgivings,

I allowed Chief Deputy
D.A. Matthew Collier

to bring Former Deputy D.A. Maya Travis

onto the Jessica Meyer case.

What's become clear is that
both Mr. Collier and Ms. Travis

have a personal vendetta
against Mr. Johnson...

a vendetta that has blinded them

to the truth surrounding
this horrific crime.

Any future investigation
will be done by people

who have not been tainted
by this disaster.

I have no choice but to drop the
charges against Severen Johnson.

I am going to dismiss this case.

Son of a bitch.

You stole my thunder.

You have got to be kidding me!

This case has been
a nightmare from Day One,

and it's gone downhill from there.

- And the fact that you don't see that...
- Oh, come on! How can you...

You can't just dismiss my case
without consulting me.

I don't need your permission
to do anything!

That wasn't a press conference.

It was a character assassination.

Well, I call it like I see it.

This isn't about us, and you know it.

It's about you and your election.

You might win.
Voters don't know any better.

But the people in this office do.

And after that move that
you pulled today,

not one of them will respect you
because you're a coward.

My move is the one you forced me to make!

Feel free to step aside.

I will have someone else
go to court and dismiss.

This is still my case. I'll handle it.

I can't believe Wiest,

throwing us under the bus like that.

But that's exactly what

you were planning to do to me, isn't it?

- What do you mean?
- Effy told me your plan.

You wanted to use me for cover
if the case fell apart

so you'd be in the clear to run for D.A.

- Maya...
- Don't come to court with me.

I don't want you there.

The D.A.'s office just
held a press conference.

They're dismissing the case.

They can't do that.

There's nothing we can do.

We lost.

I think it's time for you
to find a place of your own.

There has been yet
another bombshell development

in the murder case against
movie star Sevvy Johnson.

All parties are due in court
within the hour

where prosecutors are expected
to make a motion

to dismiss charges against
the embattled actor.

D.A. Alan Wiest swears
that the investigation

into Jessica Meyer's
murder will continue.

Hey, Dad.

You ready?

Yeah.

Don't want to be late.

Can you drive to court?

I'm feeling a little keyed up.

We taking the Maybach?

- Mm-hmm.
- I guess I can make the sacrifice then.

Couldn't pass up a chance to gloat.

Oh, I just wanted to say I wish
it hadn't gone down this way.

I really wanted to beat you
in a fair fight.

Since when are you
interested in a fair fight?

You ready?

About the S.I.D. investigation,

Loni told you you were a target...

total B.S.

Wiest made the whole thing up.

Great day, my man.

I always knew it was coming.

All rise.

Department 125,
Superior Court of Los Angeles

is now in session.

Judge Song presiding.

Be seated.

Calling the case of
People v. Severen Johnson.

We're here on a People's motion
to dismiss...

Your Honor.

I'm sorry to interrupt,

but before you go any further,
I'm firing my lawyer.

- I'm going pro per.
- Sevvy, wa...

I want to represent myself.

Your Honor, I'm changing my plea.

I plead... guilty.

Your Honor, we just need a minute here.

Just... we just need a minute.

What are you talking about?!

What the hell are you doing?!

I had this!

Are you out of your mind?!

I had to do the right thing.

This whole time...

"I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

Now all of a sudden, you're guilty.

You're protecting someone, aren't you?

Who is it?

Sevvy, I can't let you do this.

You can't stop me.

I'm not gonna give this up.

I'm gonna find out the truth.

You fought to the death
for me over the years.

And you've even been a friend
when I needed one.

Okay.

This is my choice to make.

And I've made my choice.

It's done.

You did it.

You got him.

Did I?

Sevvy Johnson is gonna spend
the rest of his life in jail.

That's been our dream for eight years.

I know.

Somehow I just feel hollow.

You think you're gonna know
how you'll feel

when you get what you want,

but it doesn't always work out that way.

Maya, I'm sorry.

About everything.

For awhile, I, uh...

I think I lost sight of who I really am.

But I've decided I'm not
gonna run for D.A.,

and I'm resigning as Chief Deputy.

I'm gonna back into the court room.

You were right.

This is where I belong.

_

I have to go.

What are you gonna do?

I don't know.

I thought I might find you here.

What are you doing with my mom's diary?

We found it in your duffel bag
at Julianne's.

I wish I'd had it eight years ago.

Things might have turned out
a lot differently.

Help me understand, Gabe.

Why did you kill Jessica?

Is that her signature?

When your mother decided
to divorce Mr. Johnson,

she left certain items with us
for safe keeping.

After she died, we retained them.

Now that you're 21,
we are releasing them to you.

You may open the envelope.

We'll itemize the contents of
the box as you remove them.

One envelope, containing HH Bonds.

One pearl necklace in a velvet case.

One green journal.

Hey.

Are you okay?

I saw you from upstairs.

I don't know.

What's going on?

That's my mom's.

Oh, my God.

Is that the part where he choked her,

or he punched her for coming
home late without calling?

Does he do those things to you?

It had been going on for months.

He'd hit her or shove her.

Didn't feel bad,
didn't try to make up for it.

Jess thought about leaving him, but...

that didn't work out well
for my mom, did it?

Was it your idea
or Jessica's to kill him?

I don't even know.

It's like we just said
we should do this, and...

suddenly, we were really doing it.

But you wanted to make it
look like self defense.

Yeah, so we knew we needed proof

of what he was doing.

And we... we needed witnesses
who would back us up.

Julianne and Ben Mitchell.

Yeah.

Tell me about the tapes, Gabe.

You were with Jessica when
she made them, weren't you?

They were my idea.

And whose idea was it for Jessica

to kill Sevvy with his own gun?

She knew about the gun in the nightstand.

I just said that
that could be a good way.

And right when we were ready to
do it, they took some trip.

He did some kind of magic therapy,

and she decided that their relationship

was better than ever,

like the therapy fixed him or something.

But you didn't believe that.

You think he didn't have
good times with my mom?

He did.

Months even.

Then it would always happen again.

But Jessica thought he really changed.

That morning, I just
wanted to talk to her.

I just... wanted to try
to get her to see.

I don't want to talk about this anymore.

We had a plan. You can't just back out!

- He's not gonna stop.
- He has stopped!

For how long?

Look, Gabe, the plan is off, okay?

I'm telling you, he's changed.

You can't actually think that!

You don't see him the way that I do.

So, what, you're all good now,

and that's all that matters?

What about my mom?

I'm... I'm sorry about
what happened to her.

- I am, but...
- He murdered her!

Just stop, okay?!

Look, it was a stupid plan,

- and it's not...
- No.

- We're supposed to make things right!
- No, it's not going to...

- And I'm not gonna stop!
- No. Yes, you are!

It's over. I'm calling him.

No!

I didn't go there to kill her.

I just lost control.

When I saw her lying there,
I knew what I had to do.

Sevvy's towel was in my car.

He had played tennis the day before.

Sweat was all over it.

But she didn't deserve to die.

She didn't deserve to die.

I'm so sorry.

I can't let this stand.

I'll file a motion to vacate the plea.

No, you won't.

You didn't kill Jessica.

I killed Cassandra.

I killed Nancy.

- That's over.
- No.

No, it's not.

Gabe finding out the truth
about his mum...

that's what started this.

You know about the diary.

In the trial eight years ago,

I kept waiting for it to come out,

waiting for her words to damn me.

Gabe never should have seen that.

But he did.

How did you figure out it was him?

I opened a letter from the lawyer.

I thought it was for me.

When I saw he'd gotten the diary,

everything made sense.

The jacket showing up
after the bail hearing,

my DNA at the scene.

Gabe...

Gabe would have been able to do that.

I need you to understand...

this is my fault.

Gabe murdered the woman you love.

Because I murdered his mother!

But you didn't kill Jessica.

But I may as well have done it
with my own two hands.

Don't you see?

Everything that's happened...

everything...

everything that happened...

is all my fault.

So please, I-I'm begging you.

Let it stand.

Nine years ago, Sevvy Johnson
murdered his wife Cassandra

and her friend, Nancy Weeks.

Today, he pled to guilty to
the murder of Jessica Meyer.

Mr. Johnson will spend
the rest of his life in prison,

which is where he belongs.

Today, justice was finally served.

I hope this brings the victims' families

some measure of peace.

Mm.

She'll never be able
to live with herself.

Why? Because she beat you?

Well, she won, but she didn't beat me.

There's a big difference.

Look, I came here because I feel bad

about what happened to your investigator.

Let's not rehash the past.

I called you to talk about the future.

My firm needs fresh blood,

and I hear you're in need of a job.

- So, you want me to work for you?
- I do.

Why would I do that?

My undeniable charm.

You want to screw over Wiest.

Maybe.

A little bit.

Also, you...

you're good.

You really think you're worth this much?

Every penny.

Welcome to Wolf and Associates.

Snacks for the drive.
Why don't you put them in the back seat?

Okay.

- Go in and check your room.
- Okay.

- Hi, Julianne!
- Hi, honey.

We're leaving.

- Star...
- No.

I'm taking her away from you,

away from this entire screwed up family.

I want her to have a fighting chance

at something normal.

Everything I have ever done

was for you and your brothers.

Is that what you tell yourself?

I want you to be happy, Star.

I really do.

Got everything.

Hey, you, come here. Give me a hug.

I'm gonna miss that face.

All right, kiddo. Let's go.

Thank you for coming.

Maya said that I should.

Son, I don't have the right to ask...

How are you gonna call me "son"
after all this?

...but I need you to make me a promise.

Promise me you'll make it
mean something, son,

and that you'll put the weight of this

where it really belongs... on me.

I need you to hear that

and know that I'm sitting here
for the rest of my life

because I understand what I took from you

and the pain I've caused you.

Promise me that you'll make
this mean something.

Live your life.

How am I supposed to do that?

Just wake up every day and s-start again.

I did the right thing?

Yeah.

You did.

Yes.