Real Detective (2016) s01e07 Episode Script

- (pastor): We all have
a secret sin.
(people agreeing)
A sin that
only God knows about.
(people cheering)
- (narrator): I learned pretty
quickly in this case
that nothing's what it seems.
We're all looking
for the same thing, the truth.
- Praise him, praise him
- Alleluia ♪
- (narrator): I'm just drawn
to seek the truth
and I will work
tirelessly to find the answers.
That's just who I am, and
obsessive people are like that.
I wanted to control this case.
I like to have control.
I didn't.
You're not in control.
Floyd had a secret life.
Those that were
closest to him didn't know
he had this secret life.
Things with the Floyd case
weren't adding up.
Something about Floyd's life
was off,
and I needed to find out what.
(theme music)
(narrator): I came onto work
at 4 o'clock.
A call came in between 4 and 5.
I took a call
from an officer on scene.
He said we were picking up
a homicide.
We had a deceased subject in
his home.
Asked who was up
and it was me.
It was a very nice middle-class
residential neighborhood,
not some place where we would
normally see a homicide.
I knew it was
gonna be different.
It was one of my first homicides
as a young detective.
♪♪♪
The stench was overwhelming.
It was pungent. It was foul.
It was inescapable.
Something that just wouldn't
go away.
- (male detective):
Who called it in?
- Victim's mother.
She gave us permission
to be here.
Hadn't heard from her son
in about 10 days.
Sent a patrol car over,
went around back,
saw flies in the window.
Name's Floyd Robey, 50s.
Looks like his throat
was slashed.
- Anyone hear anything?
- Nothing yet.
Looks like the killer took the
time to cover the front door,
like he knew people would come
looking for the victim.
- What about these wipe downs?
- Whoever did it was trying
to cover their tracks.
There's more in the garage.
- (narrator): We knew that
there was a robbery involved.
His mom said
his car was missing,
but we couldn't see
any forced entry.
He had allowed
somebody in his home.
It was a brutal,
personal attack.
He had a gaping wound
to his neck,
and his head
was almost cut off.
- Well, Maroni,
it's your first time as lead.
don't screw it up.
(chuckles)
- I wasn't planning on it.
- (narrator): I was the only
female on the homicide unit,
but I wasn't naive
to think that
my gender wasn't a factor
in getting me in the unit.
I didn't care.
That's where I wanted to be.
My mindset was
I'm not just a girl,
I'm not a token in your unit.
I can do this job
as well or better than you.
As a young detective coming in
that unit,
I felt like I had
a little bit to prove.
It's a man's world in here.
You know, if you can't hang
with the guys and give back
and take and have thick skin,
then you're not gonna make it.
- Do I know you?
Oh, you're my wife, right?
- Very funny.
I got a body. I'm the lead.
- It's about time.
So I'll see you in a month?
- Yeah.
- (narrator):
I was newly married
and trying to start a family.
I didn't have much of a life
outside of this job.
Male or female,
it's a privilege to be selected
to the homicide unit.
In particular, I was
a young officer, I didn't have
a lot of time on the street,
which, you know,
in the department doesn't
give you a lot of credibility.
Like, well, she didn't spend
any time on the street,
she's not a real policeman.
I felt like I had a little bit
to prove.
- (Maroni): Mrs. Robey?
- Mm-hmm.
- Can you think of anyone
who might have wanted
to hurt your son Floyd?
(Mrs. Robey sighing)
- He was quiet.
(sighs)
He was a church-going man.
- Church?
Where's that?
- Uh
First Union
just up the street here.
Hmm.
Nice congregation.
Pastor was a good man.
(sighs)
Floyd went every Sunday.
- Praise him, praise him ♪
Praise him
- Alleluia ♪
Praise him ♪
- When can I go see my boy?
- I would advise against that,
Mrs. Robey.
(small sigh)
I don't think that
that's something
that you're gonna want to see.
- None of this makes any sense.
Floyd had a good job.
He never bothered anybody.
(sobbing)
I can't believe my baby's dead.
Promise me;
promise me you will find
the person who did this.
Promise me.
- I promise you.
I will find out
who did this.
You leave it with me.
- (narrator): Why did I make
a promise to her?
It's almost like
she looked me in my eyes,
and I felt her pain.
She needed a promise from me
and I felt at the time --
maybe because I was cocky,
maybe because I had
something to prove --
and based on my instincts
at the time,
that I was gonna do that.
But there was a stretch of years
where I kicked myself in the ass
for ever saying that.
And it was too late when
I realized I made a mistake.
- (male detective): Can't you
get it any faster?
This is a murder investigation.
You should have
the warrant by now.
OK.
(sighing) Supposedly,
Robey's phone provider
and bank haven't received
the warrant.
So it's gonna take a while
before we get those records.
- Do these footprints look like
they belong to the same
person to you?
- It's hard to tell.
They're both partials.
- Robey was nude
when we found him.
But he's 300 pounds.
Do these look like the prints
of a 300-pound man to you?
- What are you thinking?
- I don't know.
It's just there is
something off about it.
Oh! I found out
Floyd worked at Fort Knox.
- You don't think anybody
would be that stupid, do you?
- There's a lot of stupid people
in the world.
(phone ringing)
As unrealistic as it would seem
that someone would rob
Fort Knox,
we decided to pay
Floyd's office a visit.
- (Maroni): Floyd
ever talk about
anything personal with you?
- Floyd was
a pretty private guy.
Last time he was here though,
he did seem
bothered by something.
- Well, was it work related?
- I ain't really sure.
He did seem really upset.
- Did you ever ask him
what was wrong?
- No. Not like
he'd say either way.
- (narrator): Floyd Robey's life
was a big mystery to me.
And his only friends
were the people
that he knew at his church.
The pastor liked Floyd a lot.
He respected Floyd
and spoke highly of Floyd.
Couldn't be more surprised that
he would end up the way he did.
- (pastor): Everyone
at First Union liked Floyd.
He was our brother in Christ.
- Did he ever come
to the church with anyone?
Maybe someone
you hadn't met before?
- No.
(sighs)
I can't tell you how much of
a shock this is for all of us.
- Any outreach programs,
contact with the community,
that kind of thing?
- Well, we always have
a few outreach programs, but
- You remember something?
- Well, we did do some work
within the corrections system.
Inmates?
- Do you think
that might be related?
- (sighing) I doubt it.
Floyd wasn't a part
of that type of work.
He did other stuff.
- I'd like to speak with
some of the members
of your congregation,
see if any of them can
shed some light on this case.
- Detective
this church is the rock
this community leans on.
Best if you let me talk
to my people first.
- I'm investigating
a murder, Pastor.
- I understand.
But you have a better chance
of getting information
out of my people,
if I reach out first.
(crickets chirping)
- (male detective): I got a list
from Floyd's mother
about things that went
missing from his house.
His SUV of course,
Sony PlayStation--
- Every single guy
have one of those?
- Apparently not the guy
who robbed Floyd.
Rings, other jewelry,
some of his clothes.
The motive does look
like robbery.
- But that cut on Floyd's throat
was so violent.
I mean, doesn't that seem
a little more personal
to you than your average
robbery?!
Has Floyd ever been
robbed before?
(distant phone ringing)
(typing on keyboard)
Floyd pressed charges
against a David Brown.
Says here in the system
that they used to be roommates.
- What was the charge?
- Robbery!
Brown stole Floyd's car,
some jewelry and
a Sony PlayStation.
- You got to be
kidding me!
- Look.
Brown got out of prison a few
days before Floyd was murdered.
(doorbell ringing)
(knocking on door)
- Can I help you?
- (narrator): David Brown
was the obvious choice.
We just had to do
a little digging
to find the truth.
- It's just
David makes
some bad decisions sometimes.
- I'm just looking to ask David
some questions.
When you see him,
will you just please tell him
that we're looking for him?
- He's got a bit of a temper.
I can tell him, but
I don't know
how he's gonna respond.
- Look, this is serious.
Floyd Robey is dead.
Will you just please tell David
to get in touch with us?
David Brown was a concern for me
because his girlfriend says
she hadn't seen him, and he had
a history of violence.
- (pastor): We're gonna be
having a service for Floyd.
His mother will be here,
so I want it to be special.
That's it!
(indistinct chatter)
- I'm sorry
to bother you, Pastor.
I just wanted to follow up
on something.
- I've spoken to everyone. They
all seem quite shell-shocked
by the events, and no one seems
to have any helpful information.
- I appreciate that, Pastor,
but I am going to have to speak
to your members eventually.
Did Floyd ever mention
a roommate to you
named David Brown?
- I never knew
Floyd had a roommate,
and I've never heard
of David Brown.
- Can I ask you something?
How well do you really
know your members?
- I know my people, Detective.
- Could it be possible
that someone in your church
knows more than they're saying?
- Yes. It's possible.
♪♪♪
(cell phone ringing)
- This is Maroni.
- (male detective): Maroni,
been trying to reach you
for the last hour.
- I was at First Union.
Why, what's happened?
- We found Floyd's SUV
on Clover Street, near downtown.
Lab's going through it now.
- I'll be right there.
- (male detective): They found
hair from multiple people.
Now, the neighbor told patrol
that whoever was driving
was driving erratic.
Also, I ran David Brown
through CODIS.
- David Brown's in CODIS?
- His DNA is on record
because of his robbery charge.
- Well, that was fast.
- It cost me tickets
to a U of L game.
- Hmm poor boy.
And then we have him
at the scene of the crime.
- No news yet,
but it would be surprising
if we didn't.
They were roommates.
Pretty sure we're gonna find
his DNA in this truck too.
- (narrator): David Brown
finally called us.
Says he has something very
important to talk to us about.
And it involves Floyd Robey.
As a female detective
interviewing homicides,
I've never felt disrespected.
I've actually felt like
they respect me more.
And a lot of people
that I deal with,
they were raised
by their mothers.
And they may look at me like,
"I can pull one over on her
'cause she's a girl,"
but they'll never
disrespect me.
- (Maroni): You pay rent?
- No, Floyd was good to me.
You know, he knew I needed help,
so he helped me out is all.
- (Maroni): Is that why
you stole from him?
- (Brown): I can explain that.
Floyd lied to me, OK?
Made me real angry
- (Maroni): About what?
- Don't matter now,
but he lied.
So, uh
I took his truck
and some other stuff.
- What other stuff?
- Sony PlayStation
and, uh, some jewelry.
But he forgave me.
- Well, he pressed charges.
- Yeah, but I called him
from jail and he forgave me.
And I give most of it back.
Floyd and I were close till
this guy started coming around.
- What guy?
- Black dude, kind of built.
Never liked that guy.
Thought he was trouble.
- You have a name?
- No, I can't remember.
Floyd didn't really
introduce me to him.
- Hmm. Look, I'm gonna be
straight with you.
We have your DNA
at Floyd's house.
And I'm gonna assume we're gonna
find it in the truck too, so--
(knocking on door)
Just a minute.
Floyd was dead ten days
before we were called, yeah.
- Keep reading.
- David Brown was
still in prison
at the time of the murder.
He got out three days
after Floyd was killed.
Brown's not our guy.
(frustrated sigh)
I was working around the clock
on Floyd's case,
and the promise
that I made to his mother
was starting to weigh on me.
You don't realize
how much stress
you carry in homicide
or law enforcement.
So on top of the job, my husband
and I were trying to have a baby
which was emotionally draining.
I was lucky in the fact
that I was married to a cop
who understands
the demands of the job.
You only realize
how much you want something
when you know
you can't have it.
I just thought, "Why not me?
Everybody else can, why not me?"
(stall door opening and closing)
(faucet water running)
I was the only female
that was
in the homicide unit
at the time.
It's not like I could share this
with anybody.
(sigh)
- (male detective): Explain
to me why we're going back here.
- Floyd's mother called.
She said she was
cleaning out the place
and she found something.
We're gonna go check it out.
What?!
- I know you, Maroni.
Don't take the job
home with you.
- How can I not?
Her son is dead.
I made her a promise,
remember?
Mrs. Robey?
- Yes.
- You said you found something.
- Yeah. I I was cleaning
and I saw it back there.
- Mrs. Robey, maybe you should
go wait by the car.
- No, I'm staying right here.
What is it?
Oh!
- Mrs. Robey, will you please
do me a favor
and wait by the car?
- Oh! Oh!
- How did we miss this?
- (narrator): I felt like
I didn't want her
to have to relive that.
You know, she was already
in this horrific crime scene
having to smell the stench
that we did,
knowing it was her son's,
you know
place of death.
- Let's get this tested.
You know, his mother never
should have had to see that.
- We screwed up.
What do we have here?
- (narrator): Something about
Floyd's life was off,
and I needed to find out what.
- Anything?
- Maybe.
I found these
with the video tapes.
Letters, correspondence
to prison inmates.
- Inmates?
- Yeah, seems like
Floyd was a bit of a pen pal.
- Well, Brown was
an ex-con, now this.
What's the tie-in?
- Well, the pastor said
they did outreach programs.
I'll look into the letters, see
if any of these inmates were out
when Floyd was murdered.
You get on the video tapes.
- There's got to be
like 20 of them.
- Yeah. At least.
Floyd corresponded with a lot
of ex-cons. Are you sure
he wasn't involved
in your outreach program?
I found letters.
- I'm positive.
After you called,
I looked at my files,
and Floyd wasn't a part of
any of the work we did
for the prison system.
- You ever been
to Floyd's house?
- Never.
Detective
can I ask you a question?
- Seems like I'm always the one
asking the questions. Shoot.
- You go to church?
- Do I believe in God?
Jesus? That kind of thing?
Yeah.
Do I go to church?
On special occasions.
- Floyd was a beacon of life
for this church.
You dig, and you might find
something that could
hurt a lot of people.
- Do you know something that
you're not telling me, Pastor?
- I've told you what I know.
- I'm just trying
to solve a homicide.
I'm just looking
for the truth.
- Sometimes, the idea
we hold of someone
is more important
than the truth.
That's all I'm saying.
(leaves rustling)
- (narrator): I made
a promise to Mozelle,
and I knew
if I didn't come through,
I would fail her.
Promises are final.
Promises
are real.
I don't take them lightly.
I just don't.
♪♪♪
I promised her success.
I promised
successful resolution
to her son's case.
It wasn't coming to fruition.
What is it?
What am I not seeing?
- Did you know
about the letters?
- (narrator): I asked Mozelle
about the letters;
she had no idea
what I was talking about.
So I was at a dead end.
- What's that?
- (woman): These just came in
for the Robey case.
- Thanks.
Phone records, about time.
(knocking on door)
- Hey, you need to see this.
- I just got the phone records.
- Trust me,
they can wait.
(Maroni sighs)
- Hey.
- Hey
- What are you doing here?
- Is that?
- Yeah. That's David Brown.
That's Floyd's voice, right?
It's Floyd's house.
- Huh?
- What are you doing, B?
- Floyd's been keeping secrets.
He's gay!
- There's more
to it than that.
We have 20 tapes,
over 8 hours long;
you know how many
suspects that is?
- (narrator): And there
were other videos
of Floyd having sex with men
or receiving
or giving oral sex to men.
We have an overwhelming number
of potential men
in Floyd's life.
Which of these men would
make such a personal attack on
him? We were kind of inundated
with potential suspects.
Where do we start
trying to identify these guys?
- Maybe robbery
wasn't the motive.
- Maybe it was
the afterthought.
- A lover's quarrel?
I mean those letters to the
inmates makes sense to me now.
I think Floyd
was into bad boys.
- Which could have
got him killed.
- Maybe jealousy?
I mean looking back,
those letters are suggestive.
- Based on what I've seen
from the tapes
maybe Floyd pushed
his sexual desires too far.
Way too far.
A guy got pissed off.
He had enough.
He killed him.
- Could be any one.
- Yeah.
- Mrs. Robey, I need
to ask you some things.
They might be
uncomfortable.
Do you think that Floyd
ever kept anything from you,
you know, about the kind of man
that he was?
- My Floyd
was an upstanding citizen.
- That is not--
That's not what I meant.
- What did you mean then?
- I just mean that sometimes
you think you know someone
and you don't.
- Detective I know my son.
- I'm not saying
that you don't, but--
- You remember what you said
to me the first time we met?
You know what's it like
to lose a child
to something
as unnatural as murder?
- No. No, I don't.
Look, I am doing everything
that I can to solve this case.
- Now you promised me
that you will find
the person who did this
not ask me
if I know who my son is.
I know my son.
- (narrator): It ate at me that
I couldn't give her the answers
that she was looking for.
But there's nothing
I can do about it.
I will never play
with someone's emotions again
because it's so powerful.
(crying)
I felt like she probably did
lose hope,
and that she kind of
gave up on me.
I don't know
where this is coming from.
I don't cry. I never cry.
I couldn't tell her
the truth about her son.
But I think she knew.
It's not just
that Floyd was gay;
he had this double life:
the Floyd
that he wanted people to see
and who he really was.
But what we found
was Floyd had a secret life.
Closest family members,
the people he spent every
Sunday with in his church,
they had no knowledge of this.
In investigating homicides,
you start
close and you work your way out.
You get the most early on
from those that are closest
to the victim. And we didn't
have that in this situation,
because they weren't aware
of this secret life.
We started reviewing Floyd
Robey's cell phone records,
calling the last couple
of people
that he had talked to.
A girl identified herself
as Erica Smith.
- Hi, I'm Detective Maroni.
I'm sorry to bother you.
Do you know Floyd Robey?
- Yeah, I know Floyd.
I heard what happened to him
on the news. Shame.
- It's just that your number
was the last number he called.
Do you remember talking to him?
- No, not me.
I never called Floyd.
Probably my boyfriend, Charles.
- Charles have a last name?
- Patterson. We all go
to the same church, First Union.
I introduced
Floyd to Charles.
- Thank you.
- (narrator): Charles Patterson
is the last person
that called Floyd Robey
and the only person of interest
at this point.
So we did some research
on Charles Patterson,
and we found that
he'd been in prison for
a previous robbery charge.
We found
he had a juvenile record.
Again, petty thefts,
stolen cars, that kind of thing.
You sure you've never been
to Floyd Robey's house?
- Like I said,
Floyd and I were
brothers in Christ,
but I've never been
to the guy's house.
We only talked
on the phone
and saw each other
here at church.
That's it.
- Do you know
a David Brown?
- Black dude, kind of
kind of built.
- Guy lived with Floyd.
Heard of him through Floyd.
- Did you know
Floyd was gay?
- I didn't get
into any of that with him.
I mean, that's his business.
- So, did you know
he was gay or not?
(Charles chuckles)
- I mean I knew, but
wasn't my thing.
I'm not gay.
- Did Floyd ever talk to you
about the videos he made?
- I only talked
on the phone,
talked about his problems,
and I told him,
you know, man up
and deal with his issues.
- Floyd had issues?
- Yeah, relationship stuff.
Look
the way I see, it wasn't
none of my business.
- Floyd reached out to you and
that was none of your business?
Doesn't sound
very Christian of you.
- Jesus works in
mysterious ways, Detective.
- So you have never been
to his house?
- Like I said,
no ma'am, never.
Swear to God.
Is that all?
- (pastor): I'll see you
up front.
Look, I know
what you're thinking.
- What am I thinking?
- Charles is a decent man.
He's had a rough time in life,
like most men from these parts.
But he's trying.
- Pastor, I live in a world
where most people lie.
And a good man is dead.
So I am sorry
if I don't share your sentiment
for rehabilitation.
- (narrator): I didn't care
about Charles' past.
I didn't feel safe
in his presence.
It was just a feeling
that I got, an aura about him.
I was pretty sure at that time
I was talking to Floyd's killer.
(car engine revving up)
- Any results from DNA
on the bloody t-shirt we found?
- (male detective):
No, it's gonna take a while.
(phone ringing)
- Charles Patterson denies ever
being at Floyd's place.
And we have
no way of proving that he was.
- What are you thinking?
- I started looking
into murders with similar MOs.
Andrew Turner,
big guy, had his throat slashed,
and he was robbed.
He was murdered
in Jeffersontown.
Charles Patterson
lived in Jeffersontown.
- At the same time?
- I don't know.
I need to talk to the detective.
- (narrator): I looked through
the crime scene photos,
which were eerily similar to
the Floyd Robey case.
I wanted to see where
Andrew Turner was killed
with my own eyes.
- (Maroni):
Thanks for taking the time.
- (man): No problem.
I did find it strange
getting a call about this case.
- I'm working a homicide.
Suspect used to live
in Jeffersontown at one point.
- Maybe related.
It's good thinking.
You all got a name?
- Suspect's name
is Charles Patterson.
- "Patterson."
No, the name don't ring a bell.
But I can say for certain
that his name did not come up
with this murder.
- Talk me through the case
one more time.
- Well, that's where
we found the body.
Black male, 60s.
Name was Andrew Turner.
Murdered in his home.
The throat was slashed.
- Motive?
- We think robbery.
Never caught who did it.
- Suspects?
- A few but they all alibied.
I don't know what else
to tell you. It's cold now.
- You mind if I take a look
at the Murder Book?
- Yeah, I can pull it for you.
(vehicles honking)
♪♪♪
(phone ringing)
- Taylor here.
- (Maroni): Taylor, get this.
Charles Patterson
lived three doors down
from Andrew Turner
at the time he was murdered.
If we can match Charles's DNA
from the soda can
to the bloody t-shirt,
we have got our guy.
- Maroni, we got a problem.
- What's that?
- Just got a kid
come into the station.
He claims to have
killed Floyd Robey.
He wants to confess.
- (Maroni): You and Floyd
were a thing?
- (kid): We were together. He
would pay me for sex and stuff.
That is until Charles
and me got close.
Floyd found out and he was angry
so I stabbed him.
- How did you stab him?
- With a knife.
- I got that. How many times?
- I only remember one time.
- Where?
- In the chest.
- (Maroni): How old are you?
- (kid): 16.
- Say you did kill Floyd;
you're 16,
you're thinking you'll be
charged as a minor, right?
- I mean I am!
I will be, right?
- (Maroni): No, sir.
No, this is capital murder.
You'll be charged
as an adult,
which could mean
the death penalty.
Just by the looks of you,
I don't think
for one second
that you killed that man.
You want to tell me
what's really going on?
- (narrator):
I called him on his bluff.
He's very small in stature, uh,
there's no way he would
have overpowered Floyd Robey.
I figured Charles Patterson
put him up to this.
- OK
Thanks.
- What's that?
- DNA report
from the bloody t-shirt.
- Please tell me.
- DNA belongs to Floyd Robey
and another man.
Also, both the shirt
and the soda can match.
- Charles Patterson?
(man exhaling)
(sigh)
♪♪♪
(indistinct chatter)
(handcuffs clinking)
(handcuffs clinking)
You lied to me, Charles.
You have been
to Floyd's house.
We have your DNA
at the crime scene.
You might want to start
telling me the truth.
- Yeah. OK.
I've been at Floyd's.
Don't mean I killed the man.
Floyd and I were
brothers in Christ--
- Don't you say it.
Don't you dare say it.
I can go to the DA
with what I have,
and I can charge you
with murder.
- Why don't you then?
You ever think that maybe
if Floyd wasn't into
all that sex stuff,
maybe he'd be alive today?
- (narrator): I knew who did it,
and I knew how much evidence
we had at the scene.
I knew the DNA from the can
came back
as a positive match to the
bloody t-shirt in the garage.
But we needed more.
- Hey.
- He's right,
you know. The DA will
never give me an arrest warrant
based on DNA alone.
It just proves
that he was there;
the rest is circumstantial.
I'm in out of my depth.
- OK, you're just gonna
have to walk
through this case.
Don't run. It ain't a race.
- The footprints!
♪♪♪
Look, we have footprints
and shoe prints
we weren't able to match
to anyone. Not even Floyd.
(door opening)
(door closing)
Mr. Patterson,
I'm gonna need you to take
your shoes and socks off.
Is there anything you want
to say before we do this?
- Charles Patterson's footprint
was a positive match.
It was enough to charge him.
Charles Patterson
is a manipulator,
a user, and a predator.
On paper, the motive
for the murder was robbery,
but I think Charles Patterson
was trying to hide
a secret of his own.
I really felt
he used Floyd.
Seems a lot of men used Floyd.
I was lucky
I got to keep the promise
I made to Mozelle.
When I closed the case
and Charles went to prison,
I felt like a weight
had lifted off my shoulders
and I felt redeemed,
like this black cloud
went away.
and I could breathe again.
♪♪♪
Mozelle is an amazing woman.
Mozelle, thank you
for not giving up on me,
and I'm so sorry
for your loss.
I made a promise to Mozelle.
Fortunately, it worked out.
Had it not, I would have
carried this with me forever,
until the day I die.
♪♪♪
- Stand up. Push on that weight.
Step straight down.
Put your weight on it.
Step straight up.
Go ahead and
sit down again.