The Murders (2019) s01e05 Episode Script

1 - I'm doing the best I can.
- Are you? Because it feels like we have the same argument at least once a month.
Only because you're pushing too hard.
Chris is getting suspicious.
I don't care.
You made promises to me.
Give me a little more time.
Please.
Maybe we should just tell him everything.
Jake, don't! It'll ruin him! Don't! Jake! Thanks for the call.
You want me to follow you out? No, I'll take it from here.
It's not your problem anymore.
Go ahead and light up your siren.
[SIRENS BLARING.]
[RAPS TOP OF CAR.]
Thanks.
At least you picked a friendly district to get tanked in.
It was all a big misunderstanding.
They said you were holding three guys at bay with a pool cue.
Where's your car? All I need is a breakfast sandwich, a cup of coffee, and a shower.
I'll figure out the car later.
Well, we can take care of the first two at a drive through, but the closest thing you're gonna get to a shower are the wet wipes in the glove box.
Chen called.
We got a homicide.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
Um, keep canvassing the area.
A forklift driver found a lone barrel on the dock at the start of his shift.
He assumed it was from the day before and loaded it on the truck.
Things went sideways after that.
[VOMITING.]
How's that breakfast sandwich? Everything is fading Everything is fading Everything is fading A strap came loose.
Sent three of the drums onto their side, spilled what's left of buddy onto the ground and my shoes.
- Where did the drums come from? - They fill them here.
Ethan Ridley.
I manage the warehouse.
Oh Oh, my God.
Eyes on me, Ethan.
- Don't look over there.
- Yeah.
Any idea who filled the drums? Our shippers.
We have three.
It would have been Murray.
But that drum, that one there, it's not ours.
- You sure? - Yeah.
It looks like it was spray painted the same colour.
The bottoms of ours are red, this one's blue.
How'd it wind up at your warehouse? You tell me.
I really don't know.
Thank you, gentlemen.
You've been very helpful.
Kate, there you are.
It came straight from the Coroner's office.
I've got cause of death for your vic.
Let's hear it.
Based on the burns to the lips, esophagus and lungs, your vic drowned in the contents of the drum.
He went into the barrel alive? If the drum hadn't been knocked over, he would have completely dissolved.
Can you establish a time of death? In the 40's a killer named George Haigh used sulphuric acid to dispose of six victims.
He dumped the bodies in 45 gallon oil drums and waited two days for them to dissolve.
Based on what's left of this guy, I'd say it happened about 12 hours ago, between 11:00 and 2:00 last night.
I found an 8mm film strip submerged in the body fat.
A film strip? Why didn't that dissolve? There's enough degradation to ruin the image, but plastics and organics react differently.
That's why you can buy drain cleaner that's 95 percent sulphuric acid in a plastic bottle.
Oh, I saved the best for last.
- What is it? - It used to be his tibia.
That was inside his leg.
He got the implant two years ago after a motorcycle accident.
The serial number gave us his name.
Our victim is Jake Merridew, a programmer at the Cottonwood Cinema, lives with his dad.
Would have been the perfect crime if it went according to plan.
Find out where to buy oil drums and sulphuric acid and follow up with forensics on the film stock.
- [PHONE RINGING.]
- What's wrong? My son's school.
We should start at the vic's house.
You two.
Community day is next week and the chief is looking for volunteers from the department.
A couple hours of community outreach.
That sounds right up Kate's alley.
That's a great idea, Nolan.
Yeah.
I need a coffee.
So what's this about Nolan getting in a bar fight in another district? I don't know where he goes between shifts, but he seems fine.
I'll assume it's a rumour.
Jake's father leaves keys with me in case of emergencies.
What can you tell me about Jake? He programmed films at the Cottonwood.
He was good people, so was his dad.
I've lived beside them for ten years.
Sam will be devastated.
- How can I reach him? - He's in Chile right now.
He travels a lot.
He works in mining.
When did he leave? About a week ago.
I can give you his cell.
Did you notice anything unusual about Jake recently? Or anything different around the house? No, it's a pretty laid back street outside of Tom Watson.
He lives next door, complains about everything.
Music too loud, too much smoke from your barbecue, you name it.
He and Jake were always at it.
Okay.
Uh, thank you.
I'm gonna need that number.
Drop off the keys when you're done.
Found cocaine and vitamin K in the desk drawer.
Ketamine? This was stashed with the drugs.
Weird place for a photo.
Who's the mystery woman in the photograph? Good question.
Well, there's a neighbour we should question.
He had a running dispute with Jake.
I need a shower.
Oh, I know.
But first things first.
First things first.
But not because you said so.
Jake taught his dog to shit on my lawn.
For a whole year I put up with it.
There's no dog at Jake's house.
A rogue car took care of him for me.
It was a hit and run.
Jake was found dead two nights ago.
Well, I guess he got what was coming to him.
You filed several noise complaints against him last week.
Because I could hardly hear myself think.
Like, he'd crank up the bass on his stereo just to piss me off.
So you went over to confront him? Yeah, but I didn't get the chance 'cause he was arguing with some girl on his front porch.
What did she look like? White, tall, brownish hair.
Do you recognize this woman? That's her.
She was really laying into him, so I just went back to enjoy my beer.
When was this? The night before last.
Okay, I'm gonna need to know your whereabouts last night between 11:00 p.
m.
and 2:00 a.
m.
Oh, that's easy.
I was talking on the phone with my mom.
At 2:00 a.
m.
? She lives in Australia.
Hey.
Everything okay with your son? He got in a fight at school.
Emily's there now.
Sounds like a juvie case in the making.
Not on my watch.
You got anything? Drugs maybe, but not much.
You? I pulled this from the Cottonwood site.
They screened an Italian horror film last month.
24 Omega.
In it a victim is murdered by way of "white shotgun".
I'm guessing you don't mean that literally.
He put a body in a barrel of acid and it disappears.
Seem familiar? Looks like we found our connection to the barrel.
Let's catch a matinee.
Oh, theatre's closed.
Detective Kate Jameson.
This is my partner, Detective Nolan Wells.
I need to ask you a few questions about one of your employees, Jake Merridew? When was the last time you saw him? Uh, he worked the screenings last night.
When did he leave? I don't know, but my wife might.
I own the place, she runs it.
I left around 10:00.
Has something happened? Do you store any 8mm film prints here? Or maybe have one go missing? No, we gave up on film a few years ago.
8mm sounds more like a home movie.
Jake have any problems with staff? Customers? No.
What's this all about? Jake was found dead this morning.
Honey, everything okay? Can you excuse me a minute? Nolan, that's the woman from the photo.
The same one that was ripping him a new one at Jake's house.
Jake left around 11:30, after the late show.
And you? I didn't get out of here until after 2:00 a.
m.
I was going through old posters for a charity drive with Brody, one of our ushers.
How would you describe your relationship with Jake? He was a good programmer.
Your relationship was strictly professional? Yes.
He kept an old photo of you.
Any reason he would have that? You didn't know Jake had it? - Can I see it? - Certainly.
It's down at the station.
Only eight people saw 24 Omega.
Plus any other staff that worked that night.
What'd you turn up? Well, Alicia's hiding something.
She claims she's got no idea how Jake got that photo.
She have an alibi? She was working late with one of the ushers.
Hmm.
Follow up on that.
A tiny place like this? If there was any animosity between Jake and Alicia, the staff would know.
Are you really not gonna pay for that? The rest of the staff start shift in an hour.
We'll circle back then.
Alicia asked me to help out on a poster drive raising money for charity.
I couldn't really say no.
You were with her the whole time? She's a control freak.
What did the staff think about Jake? He was a good guy.
A lot of fun.
He threw these after parties and Alicia turned a blind eye as long as he cut her in.
Thanks.
24 Omega was Jake's favourite film.
We screened it a couple times, but subtitled horror isn't really a draw.
You work those screenings? Front cash.
Pretty dull shift.
What happened the night Jake died? He showed up with a DJ and a few kegs.
Chris heard, freaked out and fired him.
No one thought that could ever happen, but Alicia intervened.
Jake could do no wrong in Alicia's eyes.
He worked hard, but he was arrogant.
Never had a conversation that wasn't about himself.
Did Alicia pay him any special attention? Meetings after hours, arriving at work together, anything like that? Jake was always in her office with the door closed.
Thanks for your help.
Apparently, Jake and Alicia had a lot to talk about.
Meetings alone in her office more often than not.
They were having an affair.
I wonder if the husband knew.
Of course he knew.
Do you think that's enough for murder? We get a confession from Alicia about the affair, we got motive.
The police are questioning my staff.
Gathering evidence.
It's not good.
You're overreacting.
If you were in danger we'd take care of it.
You need to get me out of this mess.
Have you told me everything I need to know, Alicia? So I was able to get your car back.
You got your keys? [MESSAGE ALERT.]
I wasn't that drunk.
Is that Chen? Looks like someone left me a voicemail.
[CANS CLATTER.]
I guess I was that drunk.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh, Lord I've been waiting for this moment for all my life Oh, Lord Well, if you told me you were drowning I would not lend a hand I've seen your face before, my friend But I don't know if you know who I am There's something I have to take care of back at the station.
We'll pay Chris and Alicia a visit in the morning.
Hey.
Thank you.
I can't identify the origin of this text.
The sender's probably using phishing software which masks the source but shows a legitimate number.
The file was created a few weeks ago.
So it's not connected to my current case? The only clue you've got to go on is the material.
Do you know what the song is about? Some say it's about witnessing a crime, others say it's about committing one.
It could be a tip? Or a threat.
Thanks.
Am I good to use this? I couldn't find anything.
If you have any other tech crime needs, I'm here.
Seventh floor.
[RINGING.]
You've reached the campaign headquarters of Rita Gallo, candidate for mayor.
She looks forward to your support in the upcoming election.
Please leave a message.
Hey, guys! Hey.
Hi.
You must be Emily.
I'm Kate.
It's nice to put a face to the name.
Looks like you've got your hands full.
Goodnight.
One second.
So what's this about you getting in a fight at school with Kevin? You can tell me.
He called you and Mom dykes.
Hey, look.
Anyone who speaks to you like that, their opinion doesn't matter.
I'm proud of you for standing up for what you believe in.
Your technique needs a little work.
Okay? We spoke with your staff.
They gave us a very different take on your relationship with Jake.
I've been advised to say nothing.
We respect your right to silence, but we know Chris fired Jake and you stepped in.
We also know that a film you screened recently contained a scene that mirrors Jake's death.
[DOOR OPENS.]
This interview is over.
Jesus.
Cue the attorney.
Mrs.
Bennett, you're free to go.
That woman is a prime suspect in our murder case.
She lawyered up 'cause she's got something to hide.
He's not a lawyer.
He's a government agent.
Alicia Bennett is in witness protection.
95 percent of people in witness protection have priors.
They're all dirty.
How am I supposed to ignore that? Your job isn't to piss and moan about how bad you've got it.
Find another way.
She was having an affair with the victim.
Without hard evidence she's off limits.
And be careful how you go about it.
Her husband doesn't even know her past.
If she can hide that from him, what else is she hiding? Sit down.
What're you doing, man? My job? Not how it looks from where I sit.
I know you and Leah are having marriage issues, but you can't bring that stuff to work.
I don't wanna bench you, so deal with it.
Talk to someone.
Whatever it takes, man.
I'm focussed on the case, alright.
Why is she in protection? Information on that is sealed.
All I know is that she's seen some dark days.
Get out.
Find me a witness I can hold.
He got into trouble.
Yeah, that was a bad - Thanks, Melanie.
- Thanks, Melanie.
We should do something for Jake.
That's a good idea.
Like a wake or something? Yeah.
He would have liked that.
Kegs and a DJ, two of his favourite things.
Look, I don't like to talk ill of the dead, but Jake was a prick.
He thought he owned the cinema.
Who knows how many people he pissed off? Okay, he could be abrasive at times, but for the most part he was funny as hell.
He was a good guy, Mel.
Why do you think I quit? Melanie, can you jump on cash? Turkey on white for you.
Thank you.
And a Hot Angie for me.
Do you even know what's in that sandwich or do you just order it for the name? Why do you ask questions that you already know the answer to? What'd I miss? Meg pulled a license plate off the car in the background.
You see that? It was registered in the 90's to a guy named Phil Knowles.
Guess what Phil did for a living? He was a low budget film producer.
This image was pulled from one of his production stills.
She was an actress? In her old life.
She had a small part in a B film called "Alien Chase.
" Jake must have discovered it in his work as a programmer.
That, and her real name.
What if they weren't having an affair? What if Jake was blackmailing her? That would be one hell of a motive for her or Chris.
Chen said if we wanna question her, we need something concrete.
[STARTS CAR.]
The police may want to talk to you.
I just needed you to know.
I don't even know you.
I'm still me.
But before that I was someone else.
So you've just been lying to me all these years? I was doing what I was told.
I wanted to tell you so many times, but I was afraid I was gonna lose you.
I'm tired of living this lie.
Who did you testify against? Nikolay Kozlov.
They offered me a deal to either testify or go to prison.
Why you? He was my husband.
You're married? In my past life.
So you being an only child, your-your parents deceased, how far back do the lies go? - Chris, I love you.
- No, don't.
I don't wanna hear it.
[DOOR OPENS.]
What's this about? We have a warrant to search the premises.
Piracy.
Is this a joke? A distributor claimed you screened an illegal copy of the film 24 Omega.
Let's go.
It's you and me then.
Jake found out your real name was Sonja Dresden, didn't he? To him it was blackmail, but to you it was the end of the world.
I was an actress back then.
Jake was always screening obscure movies and then one day there was my face staring back at us.
But a different name in the credits, which led him to discover your first husband, crime boss Nikolay Kozlov.
I thought he ran a restaurant.
He had money.
A lot of it.
Whenever I'd ask about that, he'd tell me not to worry.
I tried to ignore it.
I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong.
One night I had forgotten something at the restaurant and stopped by after hours.
I saw them torturing a guy.
I didn't know what to do.
I was paralyzed.
I confronted Nikolay and he turned on me.
Fractured my jaw, broke three ribs.
It was a side of him I'd never seen.
I was afraid, and young.
I felt trapped.
Until federal agents approached you and offered you a way out? Yes.
At first Jake promised me he would keep my secret.
Swore that I was safe, but over time he started to use it against me.
You should have told your handler your identity was compromised.
They would have relocated me.
I'd never see Chris again and I would have lost everything.
So you had to kill Jake.
It was self-defense.
No.
I would never have killed him.
Do you have any idea what it's like to lie to everyone? To never be able to just tell the truth about what you've done? And then suddenly one person knows the real you.
You've got an 8mm editing machine upstairs.
It's Jake's.
I need you to see something.
Could have been what the ketamine was for.
Alicia insists she has no idea these women were being filmed or who they are.
Look at that floor.
Let me see the photos from Jake's house.
That floor's a match to the one in Jake's home.
So what are they? Victims or conquests? They're out cold.
My guess is he didn't go through all that trouble to take their clothes off just to photograph them.
And whoever was on that film strip, the killer was determined to get rid of it with Jake's body.
We need to start matching bodies and faces.
Great.
So we can ID his victims and start treating them like suspects.
Jake had over 900 friends.
This could take a while.
See the bracelet on number nine? Let's start there.
Okay.
Christine Hall.
Look at the bracelet.
That tattoo could be a match for number four.
Wait a second, we know her.
Yvonne Seo.
She works concession at the Cottonwood.
There was nothing between us.
Jake tried, but I shut him down.
Tried how? What do you mean by that? Even if it doesn't seem important, any detail might help.
We screened the movie The Fog at one of his parties, ran out of popcorn so he set up a makeshift bar and asked me what I'd give him for a drink.
And? I mean, he's my boss, so I told him I wasn't really into that, but in a joking way so he knew we were still cool.
He got it, backed off, served me whatever I wanted.
But then I woke up on the projector room floor with no memory of the night before.
I was so stupid.
I shouldn't have let myself get that drunk.
I need to show you something.
It could be upsetting.
Okay? Do you recognize this? Where did you get that? We found it in Jake's possessions.
I didn't wanna believe it.
This was taken without your consent? When I woke up everything felt wrong.
I just tried to forget it.
I was warned about him.
- I should have never - Warned by who? Melanie Gram.
She used to work here.
We know Jake hurt a lot of women.
You wouldn't be the only one.
Look, it's personal and I took care of it.
Took care of it or took care of him? My life's pretty hard right now.
Do you think I'd go and make it worse by killing that creep? Well, maybe you knew he was dangerous, and you were worried about who else he might hurt.
I'll tell you what I did.
I quit the cinema and I loved working there.
Must have been pretty serious for you to quit a job you loved.
I've had guys cross the line before.
It makes you question everything.
I worked the late show one night and no one showed up to the screening, so Jake pulled out a bottle of bourbon and we all did shots while the film played out.
Just a little fun.
Next thing I know, I'm waking up on the floor of the projector booth.
I knew something was wrong.
I wasn't that drunk.
You file a report? A report? The only reason you believe me is because a guy is dead, and you think someone hated him enough to kill him.
I told Alicia and even she didn't help me.
Wait, Alicia knew? We know about Nikolay Kozlov.
Do you know how much work it takes to relocate someone? Not to mention the thousands in tax payer money? So just walk away and pretend we never had this conversation.
We got a media scrum at 4:00 p.
m.
I'm dropping names if you don't give me something - to rule her out.
- She's not a killer.
She likes her comfort and she wouldn't risk that.
The victim knew her identity.
That's reason enough for Alicia to murder Jake.
- What're you talking about? - Jake Merridew.
He was blackmailing her.
Another employee said that Jake raped her, Alicia covered it up.
From where I'm standing, it sounds like she's kinda desperate.
After what she experienced, the abuse from her husband, the threats, what makes you think - that she can't escalate to murder? - [LAUGHS.]
Is that what she said? That she's a victim of her husband? Not the full story, I take it.
Alicia's the kind of person to take the easiest way out.
She was up to her neck in that business and she knew exactly what her husband was doing.
Look, I wouldn't believe anything she says, but I'm telling you, she's not good for this.
There's no way she would get her hands dirty.
How much did Jake blackmail from you? $30,000.
$30,000? What were you thinking? I did it for us.
I love you, Chris.
Love isn't enough.
I don't see a way through this.
I'm sorry.
New theory.
Can't trust Alicia as far as we can throw her.
If that's true, then everything is back on the table.
We start with the most important part of the statement.
Her alibi.
Worked late with Brody.
He verified it.
Let's look into Brody, see if he was covering for her.
He was effusive about Jake.
Hey, I got this weird message on my phone you ever get any anonymous tips or anything like that to your cell? Sure, yeah.
I give out my card to someone, it gets passed around.
This Brody kid's been working at the Cottonwood a while.
Three years.
Nolan.
Brody's dating Melanie.
Melanie, who told Alicia about the sexual assault.
And if she told Brody I can only imagine how he'd react.
It could explain why she's missing from the home movies, because you know Jake would've filmed her.
Her film strip was meant to disappear with Jake.
Brody's not the one covering for Alicia.
She's covering for him.
Your alibi, working late with Brody, didn't stick.
So who are you covering for? Him or you? Whatever happened between Brody and Jake, I had nothing to do with that.
We know Melanie confided in you about Jake assaulting her.
Sounds like you had plenty to do with it.
I can't connect Brody to an oil drum purchase, but I found another Andrews that works out of that warehouse.
Relative? I'm looking into it.
I miss the old fashioned cases.
Couple of bullets traced back to a gun, maybe some gun shot residue thrown in for good measure How did you not die of boredom? We do have residue.
The driver.
He was upset about his shoes.
We found trace amounts of sulphuric acid on the bottom of your shoes.
So? I walked through a puddle.
We know Melanie was one of Jake's victims.
That must have been hard for you to swallow.
Dude, I told you to stop doing this.
- It's an art film.
- Yeah, you keep saying that.
Whoa.
What the hell? - It's hot, right? - No.
You asshole, that's Melanie.
Relax.
You weren't together then.
- Why didn't you tell me? - It was ages ago.
- I forgot it happened.
- Did you drug her? Whoa.
Chill out, man.
You have no problem selling me the K, don't act like you don't know what it's for.
How could you do that to her? She was all over me.
Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's be clear about something here.
We're in this together.
I have nothing to do with this! No, you just make money from it.
You sold me the drugs, I film the girls, we both enjoy the footage.
I'm sure you don't want Melanie to find out about your little side hustle here.
So you say anything, she's my first call.
Guess who the resident drug dealer was at the Cottonwood? Provided ecstasy for all their parties? Who's idea was it to drug Jake, yours or Brody's? After everything you've sacrificed to stay out of prison, are you really gonna let this guy take you down? Chris left me.
There's nothing you can threaten me with now.
I'm sorry to hear that.
But don't throw your life away just because you feel like you don't deserve one.
I had no idea what Brody was planning, but I could tell there was something off with him that night.
Brody.
Jake left his keys on the counter.
What's wrong with him? Oh, he he had too much to drink.
Where are we going? I'm gonna get him home safe.
Then don't you need these? Uh, probably.
Does this have to do with Melanie? Oh, Sonja.
So pretty.
Get him out of here.
I could tell that he was gonna get even, I just didn't know how.
When I heard Jake was dead I was relieved.
So you alibied Brody.
Yes.
But I didn't kill Jake.
You looked the other way, and then you helped cover it up.
That makes you an accessory after the fact.
It wasn't my business what he did.
Well, that's a nice story, but you enabled him.
Fostered the perfect storm for him and your girl.
You gotta really hate yourself.
I couldn't let him drag me into that.
So you figured you'd stash an oil drum where your cousin works, ship Jake across the country never to be seen again.
I wasn't gonna go down for what he did.
He was gonna say I was involved.
That's because you were.
Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies And I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh, Lord And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life Oh, Lord I you feel it coming in the air tonight? Oh, Lord What're you still doing here? Not gonna wrap itself.
I don't wanna hear about you waking up in the back of a squad car again.
Understood.
And I didn't hear it from Kate, either.
She covered for you.
Abby's making her lasagne tonight.
Look, I know your marriage problems can't be easy.
Come on over and take your mind off things.
I gotta get through this.
It can wait.
It was the lasagne, right? You just can't say no.
Can't say no.
Hey.
You ready? Yeah.
I had to bail my partner out of something this week.
I probably shouldn't be talking to you about Nolan.
This is a safe place, Kate.
Whatever you share with me is protected by client confidentiality.
Nolan making your job difficult? No.
If anything, seeing him like this makes him more human.
It's tough to let someone see us when we're struggling.
It takes real courage.
I see you sitting on this couch and that takes courage.
Um I made a mistake my first week in homicide.
I left my firearm on the back seat of the cruiser.
Someone broke in, stole the gun.
It was later found at a murder.
My partner wanted to protect me and tried to cover it up.
Detective Michael Huntley tried to protect you the way you're protecting Nolan? This was different.
He planted evidence on our lead suspect.
That's why we were at the apartment the night he died.
All because of my mistake.
I got him killed.
I'm the reason he died.
Okay.
That we should talk about.
Next time on The Murders.
The victim, Tyler McCraig, bodyguard to rapper, Christopher Russell Green, AKA - Lil Rex.
- I understand you witnessed a shooting.
I ain't telling you shit.
A member of your team was killed by someone trying to shoot you.
You want to gamble they won't get your girlfriend next.
Thoughts about who would go after your brother? DB Kane is in town for a gig.
He's got a beef with Lil Rex.
Enough to kill him? If these two kill each other, there's a thousand other kids waiting to take their place.
Wow, hip-hop has changed.
It's gone far enough.
He's never going to forgive you.
And if I don't take care of this, who will? You're cool there, Rex? These things, one way.
Not if your dead.
Hey!!