Tommy (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 12 - Cause of Death - full transcript

Previously on Tommy...

BLAKE: Some of you know Vincent Siano.

A little while ago, Vincent told me

he was looking into the death
of Arturo Lopez.

Then he disappeared.

COOPER: They found a body in the fire.

It was doused with an
accelerant, probably gasoline.

It's Vincent. I just know it.

I have asked for an ethics
inquiry as to whether or not

Chief Thomas has violated

the city's conflict of interest rules.



The hearing is called to order.

MILT: She's going down.

It's her own making.

She's going down
or she's being taken down?

PRESIDENT: And when you
learned that Chief Thomas's son-in-law

was one of the spa's client offenders,

what was the chief's reaction?

She asked me to remove his name
from the list of people

submitted for prosecution.

Absolutely nothing
that he just said is true.

BLAKE: The coroner's report is out.

The fire victim was an African
American male in his 60s.

It's not Vincent.

Where is he?



The Ethics Commission has recommended

to the Police Commission
you be dismissed.

- Effective when?
- Immediately.

Dear fellow Angelinos,
this has been a difficult week

in Los Angeles law enforcement.

Abigail Thomas, whom I appointed

just a few months ago as chief of police

following a rigorous search,
has been removed from office

on the recommendation of
the city Ethics Commission.

Let's be clear.

Nothing is more important to me

than your trust in our city's public...

- Whoa, hold it.
- WOMAN: The rest of the line is

"public servants and institutions."

I can read the line. I just need to speak

with the deputy mayor, so can
we clear the room, please?

Thank you.

(DOOR CLOSES)

This ethics thing was supposed
to be a brushback pitch.

Now she's out. What the hell's going on?

She's been a thorn in your side
since she arrived.

Accept the gift.

I'm onto my third chief in two months.

How is that a gift?

We had to hire Tommy
to address a perceived problem

with sexual misconduct in the department.

Now sexual misconduct
is no longer an issue.

Her misconduct is.

No, you can't convince me
that she interfered with

the prosecution of her son-in-law.

Even you have to admit
that that woman is not corrupt.

So...

it was a setup.

Hmm?

What difference does it make? She's gone.

Jonathan Lovell have
something to do with it?

Why Lovell?

He's got hidden cameras in the
bedroom of his Malibu beach house.

Took pictures of me and Blake
while we were in there,

and then some thug tried
to threaten her with them.

- Wow.
- Is that the extent of your observation?

I tell you he's running a honey pot

out of his beach house,
and all you've got is "wow"?

You are effectively seen
as a divorced man,

so I don't think a sex scandal
tears off any bark.

The man threatened
somebody that I care about,

and he may be responsible
for kneecapping Tommy.

This is not how I want things to run.

Talk to the D.A.

The Feds.

Open an investigation.

See what that does for you.

When did you become a blushing bride?

This is exactly how things run.

You know that better than anyone.

- Obviously Santos lied.
- The guy worked for Vice

for what, 15 years?

Plenty of chances for him to go sideways.

BLAKE: We figure someone blackmailed
Santos into saying you intervened

to keep him from
arresting your son-in-law.

Question is who, and how do we prove it?

Here's where I have a problem.
BLAKE: If we can show

the Ethics Commission that he gave
false testimony,

they'll have to overturn their decision.

I hate to be a lawyer again,
but the only witnesses

to what happened between you and Santos

are you and Santos.

And-and why is that a problem?

It's "he said, she said." Hard to prove.

I think we need to get
at the reason for the lie,

the crime they're covering up.

The connection between
Arturo Lopez, Edward Wilson,

Vincent Siano and Lovell.

If we can discover
why they made Santos lie,

it'll be easier to prove he did.

What do you think?

No, I can't help you. I'm done.

KEN: Uh,

done meaning...?

Done. Finished.

BLAKE: Are you really just gonna

- let them chase you away?
- No, no, no, no.

I'm gonna accept reality.

Ma'am, what's happened is
a perversion and a crime.

Not just what happened to you

but blackmail, obstruction of justice,

maybe even murder.

Something needs to be done.

Talk to the chief of police.
You know where to find him.

LOVELL: Good morning.

Jonathan Lovell and Len Egan
to see Chief Cooper.

I'll see if he's available.

LOVELL: We wanted to
welcome you to your new position.

I'm just filling the chair
until the new chief gets it.

We're letting people know,
the ones that matter,

that the job should be
yours; they'll listen.

Why would you do that?

We think you're the best man.

I've also spoken to some
members of the City Council.

Once your selection is formalized,

they will deliver the votes
to fund 500 new officers

for the department.

The officers your predecessors
failed to get, you'll have 'em.

It's a game changer, Coop.

You get to remake the department.

They're gonna name a building after you.

I don't believe the LAPD has had
an African American chief

in what, 20 years?

- Time to change that.
- What's the cost?

- No cost.
- Oh, there's always a cost.

All we're asking is an assurance

that you share our vision
for the department.

And, uh, what vision is that?

One that looks to the future,
doesn't dwell on the past.

The past, like the murder
of Arturo Lopez?

If that's the example you choose.

Coop, sheriff closed that case,
shut it tight.

I heard.

There are lots of issues

facing the department
that are way more pressing

than the already investigated
death of Arturo Lopez.

You know the department
better than anyone.

You're respected by every division.

The job should've been yours years ago.

Come on, now.

Do either of you know

anything about a journalist

named Vincent Siano?

Who?

The name doesn't ring a bell.
Why do you ask?

Just curious.

Like I said,

I'm not the chief.

If I become chief, that's
a different conversation.

I guess we'll talk then.

Hmm.

Why would you let those two
step a foot into that office?

If I hide, they'll think I'm afraid.

You and I have both been here
long enough to know that

men like that don't let you do the job.

You've got to play their
game, or you get played.

Santos.

Go ahead.

You feel good about yourself,
lying about the chief like that?

What they got you on?
Some pimp paying you off?

Hooker giving you freebies?

Leave me alone, man.

You're a lying scumbag,
and I'm gonna prove it.

I'm gonna perp walk you myself.

You got nothing.

The boss lady's going down, okay?

Get used to it.

Hey, Dad.

- Hey. Mm.
- Mm.

(MICHAEL SIGHS)

I'm so sorry, babe.

Oh, you didn't have to come. I'm fine.

You might fool someone else with that.

So, what are you gonna do?

Go back to New York,
look for another job?

I thought I would stick
around here for a little while.

- Oh, you would?
- Yeah.

You know, be a grandmother.

What about your work?

I think I am done with the cop thing.

(MICHAEL LAUGHS)

- That's funny to you?
- I'm sorry. I've known you

for almost 30 years, and that is
the last thing in the world

I thought I'd hear from you.

I have always put my work
before everything else.

And what did it get me?

Lied about and kicked to the door.

KATE: You got to be the first
woman chief of police in Los Angeles.

That's something.

Federal judge ordered
the mayor to hire a woman.

I was nobody's choice.

They made that clear to me

from the moment
I walked through the door.

Well, if you knew that going in,
why'd you take the job?

I thought I could change their minds.

I was wrong.

She said she was done?

Sounded like she meant it.

(SIGHS) Well, with what they did to her,

- I am not surprised.
- So what's gonna happen?

Are you chief? What about Vincent?

What about the guy who threatened me?

What are we gonna do about that?

I'm just acting chief
until a new one is named.

Will that be you?

You let me worry about that.

You keep your heads down,
deal with what's on your desks.

There are powerful forces at work here,

so we got to be careful.

What does that mean?

It means trust me and do your jobs.

- What about Vincent?
- I'll open a missing persons file.

In the meantime,

stay in your lane.

Do you trust him?

I don't know who I trust.

It could take weeks before
a missing persons investigation

turns anything up.

What do you think we should do?

Get out of our lane.

ASHLEY: That guy who threatened you...

I ran his drawing through
a facial recognition program,

just to see what would happen.

- KEN: And?
- There were hundreds of hits.

The program's not meant
to work with a drawing.

- It needs a photo.
- What if we could get one?

- How would we do that?
- This guy knew where Vincent and I

were supposed to meet
the night he disappeared.

Probably because he had Vincent's
cell phone; he read the texts.

BLAKE: Yeah, but he also knew

when I was going home
the night he threatened me.

He couldn't wait
in my building all night.

He had to know when I was there.

He must have hacked your phone.

It's not that hard; he'd be able
to read your texts, e-mails,

and track you, as long
as your GPS was on.

Could he still be tracking me?

Probably.

So, if your phone showed
you were somewhere

that got his attention...

He might show up.

We need to look at Santos.

I could talk to guys he's worked with,

go over some of his cases.

Internal Affairs has
investigated Santos twice.

He's not 100%, but they
didn't find anything

that justified charges.

- They didn't look hard enough.
- Maybe.

But you're not gonna
do more than they did.

I want you on the detail.

I need people around me I can trust.

I'm not sure I'm staying on the detail.

Chief, you know how I feel about you.

I'll work for you anytime, anywhere.

But if I stay, it's like I'm saying

what they did to the boss is all right.

And it is not.

They pushed her out with a lie;
you okay with that?

No. But I've seen a lot
of things in this department

I'm not okay with.

I didn't quit before. I'm not gonna now.

I decided a long time ago
that I can do more

inside this building than outside.

What about trying to fix this?

Getting the boss her job back?

She's got to want it.

From what I hear, she doesn't.

MICHAEL: Right before we got married,
you told me

you were a cop to the bone,
and I had to deal with it.

Yeah, I was barely out of my teens.

And, if I remember correctly,
you told me you were only ever

going to work in the theater.

- (CHUCKLES)
- How long you been killing

them zombies now?

Difference is we both
kind of knew I was lying,

and you were telling the truth.

I blame it on my dad's friends.

Why them?

Well, after he was killed,
all the guys in my dad's squad

would come to the house,
check on me and Mom.

Bring us food, slip me money,
make us laugh...

I mean, as much as Mom
was laughing in those days.

(CHUCKLES): I-I loved those guys.

They were my heroes.

And all they ever talked about

was how great it was to be a cop.

Powerful thing for a kid to hear.

But what they didn't say,
because they didn't know,

was that it would be different for me.

Cops look at women differently.

And the better I did,

the higher I rose,
the harder those looks became.

So it's complicated.

So was our marriage.

You see how that turned out.

We ended the marriage,
not our relationship.

We didn't give up on that.

We stayed in there,

raised a brilliant,

strong, occasionally difficult daughter.

This has been really hard on me, Michael.

Why are... (LAUGHS SOFTLY)

Whose side are you on?

I don't give a damn about
the LAPD or who the chief is.

As far as I'm concerned,
these people don't deserve you.

But I also know you're a fighter.

One of the strongest I've ever met.

I don't want the fight you remember

to be the one you walked away from.

♪ ♪

You get the text?

Yeah. I'm just writing you back.

BLAKE: If we're right,

the guy who's tracking me
will intercept that.

Now we wait.

(EXHALES)

(SOFT FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

- Dad left.
- Hmm.

We thought you were napping.

I didn't sleep last night.

(GRUNTS): Ooh.

Do you understand what I'm doing?

No, I don't.

For as long as I can
remember, you told me

that I was a bad mother because
I spent too much time at work.

I have a chance now to start over,

to have a real relationship
with you and Luna.

That's not something
you ever said you wanted before.

Uh, maybe I was wrong.

(CHUCKLES)
Now you're saying you're wrong?

After all these years
telling me that this job

is bigger than you
and that helping people

and working for justice is the
most important work there is,

now you're saying,
"Oops, not so much, my bad"?

That's not what I'm saying.

I-I know how much you've been through.

I'm not trying to make this worse.

But you got to understand what you mean.

As a symbol.

Honey, I am just a person.

I never wanted to be a symbol.

I know, you didn't, and it's not fair

to ask somebody to be, but you are.

To who?

Your granddaughter.

I don't know. Luna barely knows me.

Luna knows who you are.

Do you know how much this means?

Like, she-she lives in a city

that has never had a female mayor.

In a state that has never had
a female governor.

In a country that...

(CHUCKLES)

don't even get me started on that one.

(EXHALES)

You are the one that is telling Luna

doesn't have to be like that.

I love you.

And nothing you decide
is gonna change that.

But doesn't mean
it won't change some things.

♪ ♪

- Hey.
- What?

- BLAKE: It's him. Get the picture.
- KEN: Oh, God. Um...

BLAKE: Hurry.

Hurry.

H-He's not facing the right way.

- There. Get it.
- Uh, there's a problem.

- It-it won't...
- What's wrong?

- It... Oh, there we go.
- (CAMERA BEEPS)

(SIGHS)

Where'd he go?

He must have gone inside.

It's okay. I'll get him
on his way back to his car.

I-It'll be better.

Hey! (SHOUTS)

Give me the camera.

- Hey! Let go...
- Don't!

- Camera.
- Yeah. No problem.

Okay. Take it.

- Are you okay?
- Yes.

(ENGINE STARTS)

Go to hell,

you bastard! (COUGHING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(BRAKES HISSING)

Whoa.

(SIRENS WAILING)

The guy you were chasing

was killed on impact.

We didn't chase him. He attacked us.

You provoked him.

Fortunately, the other driver
only has minor injuries.

KEN: All we did was
try to take his picture.

We had to do something.
You weren't doing anything.

Obviously, you have
no idea what I'm doing.

For the record,
I was trying to keep you safe.

TOMMY: Hey.

- Everybody okay?
- BLAKE: Fine.

- Thanks.
- Good.

- COOPER: How'd you get here?
- I called Diaz.

- I called her.
- I asked him to bring me.

Oh, great. I'll grab some
snacks; we can throw a party.

Can I talk to you a minute?

Please.

Go home. Try not to kill anybody.

What did she say on the way over?

Nothing. Didn't say a word.

Thank you.

'Kay, before you say anything,

there's something I got to tell you.

The dead guy is named
Howie Ford, an ex-cop.

You know him?

Uh, mostly for having a bad reputation,

but the artist's sketch that
we put together looked like him,

so I called Len Egan.

Your private security buddy.

Well, Ford and Egan worked together.

I wanted to ask Egan what was going on.

This was the night before your hearing.

And?

Egan surprised me.

Took me to meet Milt Leakey
and Jonathan Lovell.

What did they have to say?

That, uh... that you were going down.

They didn't say how, but they knew.

And they offered me the chief's chair.

They offered it again today.

Wow. You know, a heads-up
would've been nice, Coop.

You want the chair that bad?

It's not... It's not that.

Yeah? Then what is it?

I've seen eight chiefs come and go.

When I see one on the way out,
I-I got into the habit,

I guess, of standing aside.

Survival instinct.

But, uh... I shouldn't have
done that with you.

I should've said something.

I'm sorry.

Anything else you want to clue me in on?

I got nothing but time.

No.

It's not like I don't understand

the instinct to protect yourself.

I spent most of today
curled up in a ball,

hoping everybody
would just leave me alone.

Ken and Blake said you're done.
Is that true?

I was thinking as much,

uh, but I got an earful
from my family about it.

Then I started thinking
about what they did.

And, you know... (LAUGHS SOFTLY)

- What?
- I just got seriously pissed off.

I've seen some dirty plays in my day.

- This was the worst.
- Right?

- Uh, yeah.
- I mean... (STAMMERS)

Has anyone ever successfully appealed

an Ethics Commission ruling?

Not in my time.

You could ask the mayor to reappoint you.

Legally, he can do it, within five days

of the commission's decision.

Oh, that'll never happen.
It's too politically ticky.

That leaves the commission.

You have to show that Santos lied

because somebody, probably Egan,
put him up to it.

But Egan is working for Lovell,

so it's Lovell, really,
that I have to get to.

Seems that way.

So, what are the odds
of pulling that off?

(CHUCKLES)

Slim to none.

Great.

Told you we have a problem.

Maybe.

You said if I testified,
she would go away.

Cooper would work with you.

That's why I agreed in the first place.

I thought you did it to keep us
from talking about the kickbacks

you've been taking
from Russian sex traffickers.

You told me you would keep
Cooper from investigating that.

Maybe you were stupid
to listen to me, then.

Hey, if they figure out what
went down, we're getting busted.

Prison is not an option.

(PHONE VIBRATES)

- What?
- EGAN: Ford is dead.

Police have the car
and whatever was in it.

Cooper and Thomas just had a sit-down.

We're not out of the woods.

(KNOCKING ON GLASS)

Close the door.

I talked to Chief Thomas last night.

Here's what we want you to do.

KEN: "We"?

Meaning the two of you?

Yes. Both of us.

They found a camera in
the back of Ford's car.

I think Ford was doing
surveillance for Egan

and probably Lovell,

- so let's see what they found.
- Sure.

Now, we still don't know
why Vincent Siano

wanted Edward Wilson's autopsy report,

so let's dig into Wilson.

Uh, apparently he has a sister
that lives in Atwater Village.

Uh, Georgia Wilson.

- Let's see what she can tell us.
- I'm on it.

We're doing DNA testing

on Ford's car to see
if Vincent was in it.

It's a long shot, but
we're gonna give it a try.

In the meantime,

I want you to lay low, for real.

Egan and Lovell know that
you tangled with Ford.

I don't think they'd try anything,

but I don't want to take any chances.

No worries there.

LOVELL: Well,
this is certainly an unexpected visit.

I'm sorry. I probably should've called.

What can I do for you?

Well, at the Ethics Commission hearing,

there was a fraudulent testimony given.

Oh?

Yes. The testimony that got me fired.

I'm starting to believe
that you were behind it.

Were you?

(LAUGHS)

No.

Curious accusation.
Why would you make it?

Because I think it's true,
and I wanted to see your face

when you denied it.

I've done nothing I need
to explain or apologize for,

but I do think your
departure is for the best.

How can you say that?
You don't even know me.

How long have you been in L.A.?
Two, three months?

This is my home.

I understand it.

And I don't think you do.

- What don't I understand?
- Movie studios,

the beaches, the palm trees...
that's for tourists.

What L.A. is, really...

is a place of business.

And business needs calm, predictability.

You are a disruptor.

Milt Leakey's Paleolithic,

but he understood when to stay his hand.

You, on the other hand, push and push

for some abstract idea
of what you think of as justice.

(CHUCKLES)

It's destabilizing.

You know, uh...
I really should thank you.

Why?

Because now I know what I got to do.

I'm gonna get my job back,
so I can put you in jail.

(CHUCKLES)

- Really?
- Yeah.

Yes.

I'll see you in headquarters.

Guess who was just in my office.

What did she want?

She was trying to get a rise out of me.

I don't think she's got anything solid.

Well, smart money says
she comes here eventually.

The mayor's the one
who can reinstate her.

That was my thought. Do me a favor.

Make sure Buddy doesn't get
sentimental when she comes by.

Thank you for talking to me, Ms. Wilson.

Uh, I'm a little confused.

This is about my brother's death?

Edward Wilson, yeah.
We're looking into it.

The detectives told me his case
was closed three years ago.

What are you looking into?

There's another case that touches on it.

Can you tell me a little bit
about your brother?

Uh, sure. Um, he had
a pretty hard life, poor guy.

Addiction issues put him on the street.

Although the last couple years,

he was turning things around;
um, he got clean at last,

and he was working.

Um, scab construction sites,
nonunion jobs.

Where'd he live?

In shelters, mostly.
He was saving for a place.

Um, sometimes he would just
sleep at the site

where he was working.

Anything from that time strike you

as particularly unusual?

Well, the whole thing was pretty unusual.

Um... Edward dropped out of sight.

We figured he'd relapsed.

And then this detective
showed up and told us

that Edward's body had been found

and he was a victim
of this serial killer,

the Crenshaw Fireman.

- Hmm.
- There was one thing.

What was that?

Edward spent all his time
on the Westside.

He loved the beaches.

He would never come east
if he could help it.

I can't figure out
how he ended up on Crenshaw.

The detective told us
it was one of those things

we would just never know.

Who was the, uh, detective?

The famous one. He wrote the book.

Egan.

BUDDY: Tommy,
what happened to you was a travesty.

I didn't know that the ethics process

could be perverted like that,
and I am so sorry.

If you really feel that bad,

there are things you can do to fix it.

Reinstatement is tricky.

Uh, technically, it is within my power.

Nothing technical about it.
You can reinstate me.

Oh, we'd need a reason...
something pretty substantial

and that's easily explained.

Otherwise, it's preferential treatment.

Which is what got you in
trouble in the first place.

That's not what I'm asking for.

What I need is your help.

Ask.

We think this goes all the way
back to Arturo Lopez.

- Huh.
- A journalist

named Vincent Siano was looking
into the Lopez murder.

He dug up something
about Jonathan Lovell.

The journalist disappears.

We start looking into that,
the commission fires me.

I think, if we can figure out

the connection between Arturo
Lopez and Jonathan Lovell,

which is, I believe,
what got the journalist killed,

I think we can
crack this thing wide open,

and I can get my job back.

If you're asking me
if I know anything more

about Arturo's death
than what's in the report,

then the answer is absolutely not.

I don't know anything.

But you know the kinds of things
Arturo did, the illegal work.

Ah, am I aware of illegal activity

that he may have engaged in?

Maybe.

Anything would help.

Tommy. Talking about corruption

is like eating potato chips,
okay? Once you start,

it's kind of hard to stop.

DOUG: Say Buddy gives
you something on Arturo.

If it comes out, which it will,
there'll be questions.

What else does he know?

Why didn't he say something before?

Boom. Some prosecutor's

talking obstruction of justice.

It's complicated and I'm sorry.

What are you mayor of?

Excuse me?

What do you want this city to be?

One run by you

or run by Lovell?

Lovell doesn't run this city.

He got me fired,
tried to appoint my successor.

Did he?

Yeah. Ask your deputy mayor.

He knows all about it.

What you run is an expression of you.

What it is is who you are.

So I guess the real question is:

Who are you, Buddy?

I think you have your answer.

Okay.

Thank you for your time.

(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

I told you, she personalizes things.

What's this?

About Lovell appointing a new chief?

- Ah, it's a distortion.
- No.

Don't you evade me.

Did Lovell have a hand in this?

A hand?

Sure.

What, you think he's gonna go away

because you're mad at him?

Don't worry. I got it under control.

Oh, you got it under control.

Did Jonathan Lovell have
a journalist killed in my city?

Did that really happen?

I don't know anything about that.

Wait here.

Don't talk to her.

Why? Because Lovell wouldn't want me to?

Lovell's held off because he believes

you will work together again
when this is over.

But if you flip on him,

he won't go quietly.

He'll come after you.

Then God help you.

Let him.

(DOOR OPENS)

Tommy?

(CLEARS THROAT)

Arturo was the master
of the building codes.

Okay? If you had substandard
construction work

you needed overlooked, he knew
the inspectors you could pay off

to look the other way.

Now, a few years back, there was
some trouble at a development

on the Westside that,
uh, Lovell helped finance.

It was called Sunset Palace.

Now, I'm not sure what happened,

but Arturo helped Jonathan
with... something.

Thank you.

That's a help.

Well, it better be.

This might have just cost me my job.

Okay. What do we got?

It starts with Arturo Lopez.

KEN: Lopez was arrested.

Says he wants to talk
to prosecutors about corruption.

But then he's killed
by two thugs in prison.

The sheriff's report blames it
on Lopez being a pedophile.

BLAKE: But then Vincent,

who's a good reporter and
thinks there's a story,

visits the killers' families,

discovers they live in brand-new homes,

so he thinks that they
were paid to kill Arturo.

He investigates.

And asks you to get the autopsy
report for Edward Wilson.

ASHLEY: Last victim of a serial killer

known as the Crenshaw Fireman.

But then Vincent disappears.

DIAZ: Edward's a recovering addict

working scab construction jobs
on the Westside.

No connection to Arturo Lopez.

Meanwhile, Howie Ford
starts following Blake.

Ford, who works for Len Egan,

the former detective who
caught the Crenshaw Fireman

and wrote the book on him.

- Which he gave me.
- But who also works

for Jonathan Lovell.

TOMMY: The mayor told me

that Arturo helped Lovell
on a, uh, development

called the Sunset Palace.

Is it possible Wilson worked on it?

There's no way to know.
He was a scab worker.

They don't keep records on those.

What would that have to do
with the Crenshaw Fireman?

- Got me.
- (PHONE VIBRATES)

- Hey, Cooper, what's up?
- COOPER: Just heard.

The lab found Vincent's DNA
in Ford's car.

He was in there. Can't prove it yet,

but there's no doubt in my mind:
Ford killed him.

All right. Thank you.

They found Vincent's DNA in Ford's car.

DIAZ: See?

- That makes no sense to me.
- Why not?

You found footage of Ford

up in the hills near the fire, right?

Yeah, but the person who
was found in the fire

was not Vincent.

DIAZ: That's what doesn't make sense.

What's Ford doing stomping around a fire

with Vincent dead in his car?

What's the point of that?

Unless the coroner made a mistake

and the victim is Vincent.

Except coroners don't make mistakes,

not with I.D.s.

No, they don't make mistakes...

What you thinking?

Do you have a copy of the autopsy report

- for the fire victim?
- Sure.

TOMMY: We had a case in New York,

cop poisoned his wife,
tried to bribe the coroner

to say it was natural causes.

Would've worked
if the coroner went for it.

What are you looking for?

The name of the coroner.

Jacob Fulton.

- Ring a bell?
- BLAKE: Jacob Fulton.

I talked to him. He... he did the autopsy

for Edward Wilson.

DIAZ: The same guy that I.D.'d

the fire victim I.D.s Wilson?

- That's no coincidence.
- No, it's not.

Everybody, stop what you're doing.

Put your hands by your sides.

I'm Chief Donn Cooper with the LAPD.

I need everyone's cooperation.

There was a body, a victim
from the fire in the hills,

brought here a few days ago.

- Who here worked on that body?
- I did.

Has it been claimed, or is it still here?

I want four of you on this.

Nobody touches it or gets close.

Excuse me. What's this about?

Are you Dr. Jacob Fulton?

Yes. What about it?

Dr. Fulton, we're ordering
a second autopsy

on the fire victim's body.

If it's a man named Vincent Siano,

and I'm pretty sure it is,
you're on the hook

as an accessory to murder.

(QUIETLY): Oh, God.

I think you know the best thing
is to tell us everything.

Do you have children?

Yeah, we both do.

I hope yours are healthy.

My son has cerebral palsy.

It's, uh, expensive.

Did Len Egan know that you needed money?

Yes.

He brought the body to me

and asked me to falsify an identification

for a lot of money.

Do you know who it really is?

I have no idea.

This, uh, Vincent person, I suppose.

Did Len Egan ever come to you before?

Say with the body of a
man named Edward Wilson?

You know about that?

This just keeps getting better.

Yes. Uh, he brought me Wilson's body

and said it... he needed it marked up

to look like a victim
of the Crenshaw Fireman.

I'd worked that case,

so I knew what
the identifying features were.

- Did he tell you why?
- No.

Just that it had to be done.

And that I would be paid.

Did you determine what had
actually killed Wilson?

I never did an examination.

It looked like the body had been crushed.

S-Some kind of building collapse, maybe.

There was plaster dust all over it.

Why?

They went to the coroner.

EGAN (OVER PHONE): I heard.

If he flips, it's over.

It's not good.

You said we were gonna be all right.

Yeah, well, it's possible I was wrong.

You screwed me. You and Lovell.

I can't go to prison.

What are you gonna do about it?

Listen, I got bad news, boyo, okay?

It's every man for himself now.

You lying sack of...

Hello, Len.

My client's not waiving his rights.

He will not answer any questions
pertaining to the charges.

Okay. We'll just talk and
he can chime in if he wants.

Here's what we see.

Jonathan Lovell used
Arturo Lopez to approve

substandard work at the
Sunset Palace development.

Homeless man named Edward Wilson
would work there occasionally.

One night when he was sleeping there,

part of the building
collapsed and killed him.

COOPER: And Lovell
didn't want that known.

Bad publicity, liability.

So he made a deal with you

to make Edward Wilson

into the last victim
of the Crenshaw Fireman.

That is what Arturo Lopez was
gonna tell the prosecutors.

Then he got killed.

I don't think that's what
was supposed to happen.

I think you really just
wanted to scare him,

but they killed him.

So when the reporter Vincent
Siano started looking into that,

your buddy Howie Ford

killed him, took his body
up to the hills and burned it.

And then your coroner friend
put a fake I.D. on the body

so that nobody would know
what happened to him.

COOPER: That's on you.

All of it.

You can't put anything on me.

Don't help them.

The guy you want...

is Howie Ford, but he's dead.

Your people killed him. No case.

Well, our techs analyzed his camera.

Cameras are like phones now, I guess.

They follow you wherever you go.

It geotagged visits that
Ford made to your office,

and then wherever he went afterwards.

That's evidence.

Circumstantial.

- A win's a win.
- We're done.

How long were you a cop?

Uh, I can ask him that, right?

27 years.

I read your book, the one you gave me.

Fake victim aside,
that was a good collar.

You were a first-rate detective.

- I did okay.
- I liked how you, uh,

dedicated the book
to the guys in your division.

That was nice.

They're good guys.

It's funny.

I'm like you, in that...

I mean, we're-we're not cops anymore.

But I was thinking, it doesn't matter

if they take away your uniform,

'cause if you're a cop,
you're a cop, period.

It's in your blood, it's in your bones.

It's not something

that can be removed.

We both know

you're going to prison
for the rest of your life.

Don't listen. She doesn't know that.

Cop to cop, is she right or am I right?

Right now, this very minute,
you have a choice,

maybe the last real choice you get.

You can be a cop one more time,
let the guys in your squad

remember you
for the best person you were...

or you can walk away,

and just be another scumbag in prison.

What do you say, Egan?

(WHISPERS)

Okay.

NEWSMAN: In a startling turn of events,

famed former LAPD detective
Len Egan pled guilty to...

NEWSWOMAN:
In a statement, Egan implicated

developer Jonathan Lovell, saying...

NEWSMAN 2: Egan confessed
to coercing LAPD Vice Squad

Chief Rascal Santos into
giving false testimony

in the ethics hearing
of disgraced Chief...

NEWSWOMAN 2: A warrant
has been issued for Santos,

though he remains at large.

NEWSWOMAN 3: A statement
from the Ethics Commission,

which announced that,
in light of the new evidence,

they would reconsider the dismissal of...

And I have every expectation
that the Ethics Commission will

reverse its decision and restore
Chief Thomas to her post.

REPORTER: And you think
that's the right thing to do?

Absolutely. Absolutely.
I'm very much looking forward

to working with Chief Thomas again.

- REPORTER: Thank you.
- They just voted. She's back.

Oh. Good for her.

This is bad for you.

You know that, right?

Everyone in town thinks
you helped Tommy get Lovell.

I did. And I'm glad people know that.

You have a trust deficit now.

You are a snitch.

If you don't do some serious
repair work on your reputation,

you're gonna end up
teaching urban politics

at USC, telling 19-year-olds
about your glory days.

Doug. (CLEARS THROAT)

We've been together a long time. Right?

And I would not be in this
position if it wasn't for you.

I owe you.

You're fired.

(LAUGHS SOFTLY)

Why?

Oh, I don't want to hear it anymore.

I'm not gonna be that kind of politician.

What kind are you gonna be?

Guess I'll find out.

(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

(PHONE CHIMES)

Hey. Diaz just called.

She's on her way.

Just give me a sec.

What's that?

Just a photo of Vincent I had framed.

Mm.

He was a good guy.

You did right by him.

Thanks.

Come on. She's on her way.

(QUIETLY): Okay.

Feel good to be back?

Honestly, I just want to get to work.

Mrs. Gates, I missed you most of all.

Of course you did.

Hey. Welcome back.

Thank you. For everything.

- Ah.
- Any sign of Santos?

He's still in the wind,
but we'll find him.

- Where's Lovell?
- (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

LOVELL: Chief Thomas.

Good morning.

Told you I'd see you in headquarters.

Enjoy the moment.
You've earned it. It won't last.

Oh, no?

We've been in touch with
the Department of Justice.

I have a number of things to say
on issues of interest to them.

Prominently, your friend the mayor.

The D.A.'s office will be

getting a call from them shortly.

They'll want to work out an arrangement

that's amenable to all parties.

We'll see. In the meantime,
you're gonna be charged.

LAWYER: Mr. Lovell has
agreed to turn himself in

to his local division tomorrow.

His passport, which he's turning
over as a good-faith gesture.

And mostly so he won't leave the country.

- Thank you.
- (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

There's some press downstairs.

They want to catch Lovell leaving.

I told a couple of outlets you'd
make a statement afterwards.

Chance to get you
back out there right away.

Sure.

REPORTER: Mr. Lovell, over here!

(REPORTERS CLAMORING, CAMERAS CLICKING)

I'm gonna talk to these guys.

BLAKE: I told the Tribune

they could have the first question,

since they were Vincent's paper.

Gun!

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

- You okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

(ALARM SOUNDING, PEOPLE MURMURING)

BLAKE: Commander Santos
apparently waited outside

until Mr. Lovell was
about to leave the building.

They were both pronounced dead
at the scene.

- Uh, Blake? Blake?
- (REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Blake, this feels an awful lot
like suicide by cop.

Is this theory being considered?

I can't get into specifics,

but it's certainly something
being discussed.

- Uh, Blake...
- Alice.

Mr. Mayor.

What are you doing here?

I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

I'm fine, thanks.

That was a hell of a way
to come back to the job.

Yu gonna give a statement

- at the press conference?
- Yeah.

Yeah. I'll come up with you.
If you don't mind.

- Sure.
- Just want to make sure everyone knows

you have my full confidence,
which you do.

You know, it took me a while to see it,

but I think you and me
make a pretty good team, Tommy.

Okay. Let's do it together.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Chief, there's a call.
They say it's urgent.

Okay. Give me a minute?

Yeah, I'll wait.

This is Chief Thomas.

WILDER: Chief. Meredith Wilder
at the Department of Justice.

I wanted to let you know that

based on credible information
we've received,

we're opening an investigation
into Mayor Buddy Gray.

We'd like to make it a joint
effort with your department.

What, uh, information have you received?

Since this is confidential, I'd
prefer to discuss it in person.

Sometime in the next couple weeks?

Sure, I can do that.

I'll have my assistant
set it up. Talk to you soon.

Thanks.

♪ Exactly what you are ♪

♪ Just keep your head held high... ♪

Trouble?

Eh, just the usual.

- Ready?
- Let's do it.

♪ To keep the world from dying ♪

♪ It's not too late ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. ♪