The Afterparty (2022) s01e07 Episode Script
Danner
1
Call me a waiter, because I'm 'bout
to put it all on the table, all right?
Now, did I lie to Captain tonight?
Yes, I did.
Did I also lie to you? - Mm-hmm.
- Also yes.
But you are my booski wooski.
You my everything.
No, no, no.
Don't you do that to me right now.
I am this close to cracking it.
You are gonna lose your badge.
Okay, the system is messed up.
- Okay, I'm lost.
What's happening? - That's why I'm doing this.
Oh, uh, Danner's not supposed to be on this case.
- They're sending somebody else.
- That's crazy.
That's good for you, right? That means she can't arrest you.
- I don't think that's how it works.
- I think it is, 'cause⦠- Hey.
- â¦she's not supposed to be here.
Hey, Zoë.
- Uh, how'd it go in there? - What are you guys listening to? Lis We're listening to Xavier's music.
Kinda remembering-him-by-it kinda thing.
- Ooh.
- Wait.
Don't tell me⦠⦠you actually like Xavier's music? - God, no.
- Oh, no.
Have you heard the love ballads? Have you heard "Pussy Hole"? - Oh, that's lovely.
- The title kinda turned me off.
Have you ever heard his song "Orgasm"? - No.
How's that go? - Ooh.
- How does it go? - Yeah.
The man, he makes hits, right? - About that, uh that mix CD⦠- Oh.
I should have given it to you.
Yeah, I didn't have the guts.
I wish I'd known.
You know, maybe things would have been different.
Maybe.
Hey, thanks for sticking up for me in there.
- You know, that was really sweet.
- What? How would you know that I stuck up for you? - Bec Uh, because - Because, um How did - How did he hear? - We were listening.
How? When I came in there before, I put my phone in there, and I called Yasper so we're able to listen to everything.
- Look at these.
- Oh, my God.
- That's gutsy.
- I guess.
So, they're talking right now, and you can hear them in there? Mm-hmm.
Do you wanna listen in? - Yeah.
Could I? - Yeah, okay.
Uh, Yasper, go and give Zoë your headphones now.
I don't want to.
It's getting to, like, a good spot.
Can you give her the headphones so that Zoë and I can listen together? Maybe you should listen to mine.
- What you think about that? That cool? - He did it on his own.
I believe this belongs in your earhole.
Thank you.
- You're afraid of my mouth germs? - Your saliva.
- That's where most of the germs live.
- Well⦠- Enjoy.
- Thank you.
- I can't⦠- Oh, my God.
What are they saying? - They're still fighting.
- Can you give a sec? - I can't even hear from that side.
- Just one second, pal.
Aldrin Germain? The "ringer"? The detective they're bringing from LA? Yeah? I know him.
So what? Everybody knows him.
He solved the La Brea Tar Pits murders.
They're making a limited series out of it.
A-list cast.
Clearly an awards play.
No! I mean I know him.
We were in police academy together, down in LA.
Before I learned how screwed-up it all is.
What are you doing? I never thought I'd be a cop.
Don't tell your story now.
But my dad was a cop.
His dad was a cop.
But I was Daddy's little girl.
And he didn't want me to be a cop.
He said it wasn't a girl's job.
And when my dad died, everything changed.
And I decided I wanted to help people the way my dad did.
So I joined up.
And my dad was right.
It's a real boys' club.
- Right behind you.
Right behind you.
- Okay.
I know you're behind me.
Okay.
All right, let's go.
Go, go, go.
One way or another, I kept up just fine.
Over.
Under.
Over.
Under.
Under.
Under.
Germain was the golden boy.
Fast, smart, a real climber.
Literally.
Dang it.
Come on, Mad Dog.
You got this.
Get up that wall.
- Mad Dog? - Come on.
Okay.
All right.
Yeah.
You all right? - Yeah, thanks.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- Thanks for having my back.
- Oh, yeah.
Well, you know, we all gotta finish the whole thing under time, or else they make us run it again, so⦠Right.
Listen.
Three doors down you can get a Hey, Danner.
Nice form on those push-ups.
Man, you dropped to your knees.
I saw you.
Night, gentlemen.
Hey, hey, come on.
Come have a drink with us.
- Really? - Yeah, we need a designated driver.
Ah, damn, I forgot to put a car seat in my car for you, Little Bill.
Sorry.
Honor.
Ethics.
Commitment.
It wasn't easy, but I finally made it.
And remember, what you did yesterday is not nearly as important as what you will do today.
Because the people out there depend on you.
Don't let them down.
I was a part of something.
I was finally gonna help people.
So, you say the package was stolen from the front porch? Yeah, I ordered it online.
It was a microwave egg pod cooker.
Cooks eggs perfectly.
Does all the work for you.
I have one myself.
- When did this happen? - Uh, two days ago.
We'll do everything that we can to locate it.
And I'm just telling you, honey, when you get that in your life, it is going to step your brunch game up times ten.
Everybody's gonna be jealous of your deviled eggs.
Lady, let's be honest, we're not gonna find your egg ball.
- Pod cooker.
- Thank you, Danner.
Look, packages get stolen.
Unless we catch the guy in the act, not really much we can do.
- You know, it wasn't a guy.
- What's that? I know it was a girl.
I caught her with my new doorbell camera.
Oh, neat.
Can I see? Oh, is that green hair? Ma'am, do you think we can get a copy of this video? Oh, I posted it online right away.
The whole world has it.
Mm-hmm.
I don't understand.
Why didn't you, uh, call us when it happened? I didn't think you'd do anything.
But then I found out I need a police report in order to get them to send me a new one.
Right.
187.
187.
Viewridge Drive perimeter.
Did she just say 187? Oh, yeah.
Homicide.
- Whoa.
- Holy shit.
Well, listen, Viewridge Drive is just the next street over.
Okay.
I'm sorry for the cursing.
Oh, I don't give a fuck.
Let's go.
Come on.
What are you doing? I I'm coming.
This much police presence, must be somebody famous.
But not that famous.
Uh, maybe a writer? Danner.
Kleyes.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
I need you to guard the perimeter.
No one in or out.
We get gawkers, send 'em packing.
Yes, sir, we're on it.
But whose house is this? Pretty sure that's not information you need to know to do your job.
But let me guess, guy on the porch, okay, husband of the deceased? Perimeter.
Now.
Some fancy pants gets killed in the middle of the day in a low-crime neighborhood.
Nine times out of ten, it's a domestic.
Mm-hmm.
Husband comes home, catches his wife cheating, gets nuts with a rake or a swimming pool thing or something like that.
But here, the husband isn't under arrest.
Sitting on the porch crying.
Doesn't add up.
You say something? Why don't we split up and really work the perimeter? Mmm.
Yeah, it's a good idea.
Homicide.
Yeah.
This has to be the dumbest I don't know why they partnered me with him.
Tricia! Trish! Hey, girl.
Heya, Danner.
It's been a minute.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, they let you out of the lab now, huh? So, uh, what's the 411? I hear it's not a domestic.
No, husband's the one who found her.
Wife's name is Uma something.
Husband's Vaughn.
He's a TV writer.
I knew it.
Whole thing happened at the front door.
They got it on the doorbell cam.
Girl in a blue hoodie is on the front porch stealing a package.
Can't see her face, of course.
Wife opens the door, then bam.
Blue hoodie? Did she have green hair? How'd you know that? Holy shit.
All right, let's talk to the housekeeper, see if she's seen that blue hoodie before.
You know what, let's run down their close contacts just for shits and gigs.
- Detective Germain, sir? - Jesus.
- Sorry for interrupting.
- Yeah, what is it, Officer? Oh, Mad Dog Danner.
Still on the beat I see.
- Definitely on the road to detective.
- Mmm.
Not as fast a road as you've been on.
You just went "bloop.
" Shot right up there.
Yeah, you know what? It's a closed crime scene, so⦠But I have some information I think might be helpful to you.
Okay, Mad Dog.
Dazzle me.
I've been working on some package thefts going on in the neighborhood.
And I have footage here of a microwave egg pod cooker being stolen.
They cook the eggs perfectly every time.
That's from a doorbell cam at a house about two blocks away from here.
- Where did you get this? - Online.
The homeowner posted it.
Blue hoodie.
Green hair.
Could be this person that we're looking for.
Well, I'm impressed, Danner.
A lot of guys around here don't really give a shit.
Just wanna swagger around, as if a gun and a badge is gonna make up for them having a tiny pecker.
Look at you, hmm? Conning your way onto a crime scene.
Going the extra mile.
Mad dogging it.
I like that.
People depend on us, and I don't wanna let 'em down.
Besides, I don't have a pecker.
Just gonna have to take your word for it.
Check this out.
- Wha-What? What? - Think that might be your girl? Well, blue hoodie, green hair.
Looks white to me.
I mean, right right to me.
Well, who knows? Maybe we can get lucky and pull one of the license plate tags from your video.
- Mm-hmm.
- Nice work, Danner.
Pros will take it from here.
Think I can get my phone back? Uh, Detective, I need my phone.
Detective? You know I can't come in here without the blue "foot-y" things.
I need the blue bootee Oh, you ain't gonna put your bootees on? You not following protocol? Well, then I won't follow protocol.
Danner, what does this have to do with this case tonight? - How is this relevant? - This is so much tension.
It totally relates.
Just let me finish.
We don't have time.
- This is important.
- What are they saying? Yas, we'll tell you.
We'll We'll tell you.
- I'll be over here.
- Anyways⦠Why the hell are we in Echo Park? This is way out of our area.
I ran the partial license plate on that car in the video.
- Got an address.
- Didn't Germain say he'd handle it? I know.
I wanna help out.
Mad dogging it.
Oh, shit.
Oh! Ow, ow, ow.
- That's hot.
That's so hot.
- That's the car.
That's the car right there.
Hold on.
There's latte on my gun.
There's latte.
Have you ever shot that thing? Not in the field, no.
But I did get pretty drunk at my cousin's wedding and unloaded a clip into a pile of decorative pillows.
Needless to say, the bride was not thrilled.
Are you sure you're not from Florida, man? Arizona.
It's like the Florida of the West.
Do it.
LAPD.
Is this your car, sir? Uh⦠Go, go, go, go, go! They're in an alley.
Headed towards the alley.
Copy that.
I'm in the car.
Freeze! Slow down! You better stop.
I could do this all day.
I used to run cross-country.
Freeze! Freeze! Drop your weapons and put your hands up.
Against the fence.
Hands in the air.
The The pot.
I have a prescription.
Girl, don't nobody give no damn about no pot.
- You have any weapons? - No.
Don't mess with me, pal.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, partner.
Come on now.
We just trying to talk to 'em.
Men, right? They get the chasing, they start wanting to fight like a grizzly bear.
What are you doing walking around with these marijuana bongs? - What's your name? - Willow.
Is that from the movie or the tree? Um, movie, actually.
My mom really liked it for some reason.
Val Kilmer was fine as hell in that movie.
What was his character's name? Uh, Madmartigan? Yes.
And he helped Willow.
Some people call me Mad Dog.
And I'm here to help you.
Put your hands down.
"Valerie.
" Who's that? Your girlfriend? My mom.
You two must be really close, huh? Well, a-actually, she passed last year.
I'm sorry to hear that.
It can be tough.
So tell me, what have you been doing in Studio City? Um, shit.
Uh, look, my dad and I don't talk anymore.
It's on me to pay for my sister to go to school.
She's, like, a genius or something.
So I've been doing food deliveries.
And, yeah, I-I did steal the package off the porch a couple days ago, but it was just a dumb egg cooker.
Wait.
Hold up.
Did you call it dumb? It is not dumb.
I just didn't think the cops would care.
It's a victimless crime.
You know what isn't a victimless crime? Murder.
Murder? Wha What are you talking about? Look at her in there.
Just pouting.
Terrified.
Like an adorable castoff from an X-Men movie.
It's a good get, Danner.
Thanks.
But I don't know.
She says she wasn't in Studio City yesterday.
And I kinda believe her.
Ah, we got her on camera.
This thing's a slam dunk.
Yeah, but there's something that's just not right about it.
- Hey, you wanna help me question her? - Really? You wanna add me to the case? No, this is still my case.
But, uh, I just figured I'd show you a thing or two, stuff they don't show you in training.
You wanna be a detective, right? Do Black women tie their hair up at night? Uh, I You should know the answer to this.
- And it is a yes.
- The answer is yes.
Follow my lead.
I didn't sell the pod cooker thing yet.
Can I just give it back? Look, I don't care about some stolen packages, okay? What I do care about is the wife of the producer of one of the best goddamn cop shows I've ever seen, whose only crime was opening the door while you were stealing her package.
- So you killed her.
- I-I didn't kill her.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I swear.
Well, then why did we find your prints at the scene? No! No, no, no.
That's impossible.
No, no.
There's pictures on Instagram.
Uh, my boyfriend and I went to this, like, stupid art thing in Eagle Rock.
It's nowhere near Studio City.
Check it, @willowywave.
I don't like social media.
Brings out the worst in people.
I like Facebook though.
Connects you to people from the past, who thought you might've been a dork in high school.
- Please! - Oh, found it.
Yeah, that's a big old painting on a wall.
And look at that.
Wha What is that? A Pegasus or a unicorn? - Pegacorn.
- Okay, a pegacorn.
But you know what is crazy is, um, she's wearing a red hoodie, not a blue one.
See? I didn't do it.
I'm telling you the truth.
What? You think there's some other green-haired girl wearing a blue hoodie that just happened to be in the area? Yeah, but it seems kind of weird, you know.
Like, driving all the way to Studio City, change your clothes, kill somebody, drive all the way back, change your clothes Mad Dog! - Stop.
- You all right? You know, why don't you go find us some coffees? Well, I already had some coffee, like, a hour ago Well, I would love one.
Yes, sir.
Look, I don't think you meant to kill anybody, okay? You were high, feeling anxious, she surprised you, you lashed out.
If you admit that, this whole thing will go a lot easier for ya.
Danner? I was just wondering if you wanted sugar or cream or⦠Full-fat goat milk.
Dusting of cocoa.
Damn, that sounds like you want me to go to a coffee shop.
I was talking about You said coffee, like⦠All right, then.
Something was off.
And not just his foo-foo-ass coffee order.
Fingerprints.
I knew it.
How you gonna leave fingerprints when you're wearing gloves, hmm? But why wear gloves that time, and not the day before? Zoom in here.
Kleyes, does this woman look surprised or confused? Okay.
Well, I think she looks confused like she might have recognized the killer.
This might be a copycat.
Yep, let me look at this other video.
It's probably a copycat.
You talking to me? New Linkin Park.
It freaking rips.
While my partner focused on his air-drumming skills, I went looking for answers.
Sorry to bother you during such a, uh, difficult time.
No.
No, it's, uh, quite all right.
There's always time for law enforcement.
I-I'm I'm a huge supporter of Of what you guys do.
I'm sure you're aware of my television show, Marshall Law? Yeah.
Thursdays, 9:00 p.
m.
after Burden of Ruth.
Terrible time slot.
Comedies are at 9:00.
Adventures at 10:00, but they don't listen.
Um, Detective Germain said that you've made an arrest? Yes, a suspect has been apprehended.
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
That's such a relief.
You can imagine this whole thing has been very overwhelming for me.
Hopefully, this will bring a little closure, you know? Um, I was just trying to, you know, tie up some loose ends.
I'm the type that likes to, like, cross the t's, dot the I's.
I even dot the j's How can I help you? I was wondering, um, do you know if there was anyone that had a grudge against your wife? I thought it was the package thief.
The woman with the green hair? Well, that's what everybody's thinking.
I just want to be extra sure it's not a copycat.
Not someone who may have saw the video uploaded to the Internet and, uh, thought, "Hey.
I could do that.
" And pretend to be a package thief.
Are you saying that the case is still open? All cases are open until there's a conviction.
- Am I a suspect in my wife's murder? - That is not exactly what I I know how this thing goes.
I write Marshall Law.
This is in pretty much every episode.
I told him, I was on set at the time of the murder.
I was making my television show, coaxing some actor out of his trailer, 'cause he was complaining about his call time.
Well, my wife died, Gary.
I was with you instead of at home! - I need you to bring it down.
- Hours later You're at ten.
Need to be down at five.
I will calm down.
I discovered my wife⦠- No! No! No.
- ⦠dead in the dining room.
I'm not saying that you are a suspect, okay? And here's why.
The killer wore gloves.
They didn't want their fingerprints to be found anywhere, all right? You live here, your fingerprints are everywhere.
Why would you wear gloves? Hmm? I just wanna know.
Is there anyone who would've wanted your wife gone? Hello? Vaughn? Hi.
- Hey.
Hey.
- I'm so sorry.
Mmm.
Okay.
Mmm.
Okay.
- Is this a bad time? - No, no.
Uh, please.
Uh, this is Tatiana.
She's the costumer on Marshall Law.
Nice dress.
As well as, uh, Waikiki Medical, uh, and Fire, most recently.
This is, uh, Detective Uh, actually, I'm not a detective yet.
Uh, I'm Officer Danner.
But Detective Germain sent you? You know, uh, I ought to let you guys get to it.
I just wanna say I'm sorry for your loss.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, uh⦠- I really do like that dress.
- Oh, thanks.
Our rules say you can't touch me, Bishop Marshall.
Well, you should know by now that I play by my own rules.
Get off me, puerco.
No puerco for me.
But if you wanna make a frittata, you're gonna have to bust some huevos.
The next day, I visited the set of Marshall Law, the show that was basically everything wrong with how TV portrays police and crime in a corny-ass 44-minute package.
Cough up the details.
Okay, okay.
I'll talk.
You better be telling me the truth, ese.
Otherwise, I'm gonna alert my backup, and they're gonna give you a piece of the action.
Uh, sorry.
Uh, I'm not supposed to be here.
I'm looking for Tatiana.
And also, this is not how law enforcement works at all.
It's not like that.
You're really not doing a good job.
Is there a rewrite somebody didn't tell me about? - Cut.
- Hey, what are you doing here? Could I get you over there with the other background, please? I'm not a - I'm actually looking for Tatiana - Tatiana.
Got it.
Your costume looks just fine.
Well, this is not a costume.
This is my uniform.
Oh.
Uh-oh.
Real cop.
Let's go.
Come on.
I love that.
Love method acting.
- Ma'am, can you remove your hand? - Hey, I love extras.
Let's go.
Okay.
Did you just tap my ass? Oh, problem with your costume? No.
Why does everybody think I'm one of these actors? Oh, wait.
Uh, she's a real cop.
Good to see you.
Is this about Vaughn's wife? So sad.
Well, I'm sorry to be disturbing you guys at work, but I just wanted to know, where were you guys around lunchtime on Tuesday? - We all eat under the tent.
- I - Mmm.
- Tuesday is chili day.
- Mmm, chili day? - Mm-hmm.
I bet it's interesting in here after lunch.
But Tatiana's a vegan, so she always makes a salad.
Oh, so you you don't sit under the tent with everyone else? Uh, no, no.
I was.
Giant salad, under the tent.
Anyways, so you guys eat lunch together? Every day? The whole crew? Even Vaughn? Was Vaughn there too? No.
Vaughn always takes a nap in his trailer during lunch.
Glad he got some rest, though.
'Cause a few hours later⦠Poor thing.
Probably hasn't slept since.
Ah, these are some nice hoodies here.
Does he, um, come in here often? No, we usually just show him pics.
He did come in on Monday, remember? To borrow some stuff for a costume for his nephew or something.
- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, what did he take? Uh, why? Is he a suspect? I'm just being thorough, that's all.
You know what? I will let you guys get back to reinforcing that cultural stereotypes that y'all do.
Okay.
All right.
Y'all have a good day.
I love your hair.
It kind of reminds me of Wendy's.
You know, from the burger place? - I get that all the time.
- Yeah, it's so cute.
Hey.
What the hell do you think you're doing questioning the husband of the deceased? Showing initiative.
- Mad dogging it.
- No.
It's not fucking cute this time.
Listen, we just announced the arrest of the killer.
The stoner punk chick.
Willow? No, no, no, no.
Look, I found something.
I think she's innocent.
She is a thief.
She is a drug user.
She did it, end of story.
She's willing to take a deal right now, rather than risk the jail time.
And you're gonna fuck up my clearance record with this crap.
Plus, Vaughn was super impressed with me and wants to make me a consultant on the show.
So don't mess it all up! But don't you wanna make sure that you got the right person that you're putting in jail? I thought you wanted to be a homicide detective.
'Cause shit like this is not gonna get you there.
You're looking for a, uh, homicide detective? I don't know you.
I don't Cool.
You know why I call you Mad Dog? Because you need to be put down.
Oh, man.
"You need to be put down.
" - You need to shut the fuck up.
- Okay.
Danner.
I hear you're not being a team player.
What? No.
No, I'm just trying to do what's right.
In this department, we need to have each other's backs.
You think he was having an affair? Mama, there was a look between him and that costume designer.
I know that look.
Why are you chasing this? What do you think you're gonna get out of it? I don't know.
But Germain thinks he is Bishop Marshall.
Always right, you know.
Breaking all the rules.
Taking out punks.
It's way more complicated than that.
You've been an officer six years, and they haven't made you a detective yet.
Maybe your dad was right.
You could go back to teaching.
Ma, I gotta go.
Bye.
This guy's not gonna crack.
Chief, take a walk around the block.
I'll get him to talk.
He can't see you.
He knows I'm here.
This show sucks.
I just couldn't let it go.
Uh, excuse me.
Are you Willow Landy's attorney? Can I help you? Yes.
I have something I'd like to talk to you about.
Check out this video.
So, I told him everything I knew.
Wait, so you think Vaughn saw the video, borrowed a costume from his set, then he probably added some socks or something to his chest.
Pretended he was the package thief.
He hid his face from the camera, killed his wife⦠⦠because she found out about his affair.
He wore the same costume, but he added gloves.
Not to hide fingerprints, but because he didn't have a tattoo on the back of his hand.
Now, see, Willow has "Valerie" in that first video on the back of her hand.
That's her mom's name.
Valerie.
Look, I I'm sorry I know it sounds crazy, but please don't give up on this girl.
Okay? Talk to some of his workers on his show.
He borrowed a costume for his nephew.
He don't have no nephews.
He got one niece that is pretty burly looking but not a nephew.
Fine.
I'll look into it.
Thanks.
But please don't tell anybody you heard it from me.
- I don't even know you.
- Great.
He's totally gonna tell everyone.
And he did.
They reassigned me to the records room.
No chance for advancement.
Oopsie-daisy.
Thanks for being a team player, sport.
But it was worth it because Willow's case was dismissed.
Pink.
I like it.
My lawyer told me you're the reason I got out.
That guy cannot keep a secret.
Yeah.
No, seriously.
Thank you.
You're the only one who listened to me.
Anyway, I want you to know I'm giving the egg pod cooker back.
I promise.
Keep it.
Mrs.
Pattendole already got a new one.
Besides, you deserve a good deviled egg.
Cool.
I've really never had one.
- You never had a deviled egg? - No.
Girl, let me tell you something.
They are delicious.
You get that deviled egg, cut the boiled egg in half, right? - Okay.
- Then you scoop out the yellow part.
You put that in a bowl, you stir that up, and you add your seasonings and spices.
You know, garlic, salt, a little paprika⦠You sprinkle that on top, and then I like to get the oil of bell pepper.
- Then you wanna put some olives - Danner! What happened to Vaughn? Did he go to jail? No.
Not enough evidence.
I I would have quit, but I couldn't let that fucking game win, you know what I'm saying? So I moved up here for a fresh start.
No more baggage, new department.
- So I have - Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
So your So your point is what, that Aniq is innocent? - I don't know.
- You don't know? Oh! But what I do know is if we don't solve this case before Germain gets here, Aniq is going down whether he did it or not.
- Just like he tried to do with Willow.
- No.
I actually think you've gone soft on Aniq because you think of him as some sort of kindred spirit or whatever.
But he's been playing you the whole time.
Maybe.
I knew it.
Your boy's been listening in illegally without consent.
He's been trying to hear what everyone else said so he could get his alibi straight.
One second.
Hey, Aniq.
Yeah, it's Culp.
Ya busted.
Oh, no.
- What? What, what, what, what? - Oh, no.
I'm screwed.
What happened? What happened? - Aniq, hey.
Look.
- I can't - I still don't think you did it.
- Well, thank you very much.
Maybe you can visit me when I'm in prison.
Don't know if they'll let you bring a little file - Come on.
- You gotta tell me what happened.
You can't just leave.
Just like it's Don't think like that, okay? Let's just breathe.
You and Chelsea were on the stairs.
You'd have seen someone go up before me.
It doesn't add up.
Okay.
Remember how you said that the thing you like the most about escape rooms is that they make you feel lost and hopeless and and stuck? But eventually, everyone finds their way through.
You said that.
So sweet.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hey.
You know, I've I've never seen a sunrise.
The view.
We're in the middle of, uh, some Thank you.
Okay.
Aniq, I will admit, has done some things that make him seem not innocent at all.
- But - Danner, Danner.
When you hear the clomping of hooves, think horses, not zebras.
Is this a riddle? You know I'm good at riddles.
Usually, the simplest answer is the right one.
And in this case, it's Aniq.
But if you hear the clomping of hooves in Tanzania, nine times out of ten, it's zebras.
Oh, my God.
Your theories are so convoluted.
Or they could be breaking out of the zoo.
Did you see Madagascar with Chris Rock? They had all them animals You think the TV producer dressed up as a woman and acted like a package thief to kill his wife? To do that, he would have needed her to open the door at the exact same moment that he was about to steal the package.
- It doesn't make sense, honey.
- Hmm.
- It does make sense.
- What? - That's it! - What's it? What? I know who killed Xavier! Oh, and how they did it.
- I solved it, Culp.
I solved it.
- What? Who? Okay, we just gotta tie up a few loose ends like the wig and Jennifer 2.
There are no time for loose ends, okay? You either solved it, or you didn't.
You know, there's one person that I didn't interview that probably has the answers that I need.
Mommy! - Maggie? What are you doing here? - Twice in one night.
Okay, I I can explain everything.
Hey, honey.
Can you hum your quiet song? - Yeah.
- Okay.
You fucking ball sack.
"You are a 6'3" turd in a leather jacket!"
Did I also lie to you? - Mm-hmm.
- Also yes.
But you are my booski wooski.
You my everything.
No, no, no.
Don't you do that to me right now.
I am this close to cracking it.
You are gonna lose your badge.
Okay, the system is messed up.
- Okay, I'm lost.
What's happening? - That's why I'm doing this.
Oh, uh, Danner's not supposed to be on this case.
- They're sending somebody else.
- That's crazy.
That's good for you, right? That means she can't arrest you.
- I don't think that's how it works.
- I think it is, 'cause⦠- Hey.
- â¦she's not supposed to be here.
Hey, Zoë.
- Uh, how'd it go in there? - What are you guys listening to? Lis We're listening to Xavier's music.
Kinda remembering-him-by-it kinda thing.
- Ooh.
- Wait.
Don't tell me⦠⦠you actually like Xavier's music? - God, no.
- Oh, no.
Have you heard the love ballads? Have you heard "Pussy Hole"? - Oh, that's lovely.
- The title kinda turned me off.
Have you ever heard his song "Orgasm"? - No.
How's that go? - Ooh.
- How does it go? - Yeah.
The man, he makes hits, right? - About that, uh that mix CD⦠- Oh.
I should have given it to you.
Yeah, I didn't have the guts.
I wish I'd known.
You know, maybe things would have been different.
Maybe.
Hey, thanks for sticking up for me in there.
- You know, that was really sweet.
- What? How would you know that I stuck up for you? - Bec Uh, because - Because, um How did - How did he hear? - We were listening.
How? When I came in there before, I put my phone in there, and I called Yasper so we're able to listen to everything.
- Look at these.
- Oh, my God.
- That's gutsy.
- I guess.
So, they're talking right now, and you can hear them in there? Mm-hmm.
Do you wanna listen in? - Yeah.
Could I? - Yeah, okay.
Uh, Yasper, go and give Zoë your headphones now.
I don't want to.
It's getting to, like, a good spot.
Can you give her the headphones so that Zoë and I can listen together? Maybe you should listen to mine.
- What you think about that? That cool? - He did it on his own.
I believe this belongs in your earhole.
Thank you.
- You're afraid of my mouth germs? - Your saliva.
- That's where most of the germs live.
- Well⦠- Enjoy.
- Thank you.
- I can't⦠- Oh, my God.
What are they saying? - They're still fighting.
- Can you give a sec? - I can't even hear from that side.
- Just one second, pal.
Aldrin Germain? The "ringer"? The detective they're bringing from LA? Yeah? I know him.
So what? Everybody knows him.
He solved the La Brea Tar Pits murders.
They're making a limited series out of it.
A-list cast.
Clearly an awards play.
No! I mean I know him.
We were in police academy together, down in LA.
Before I learned how screwed-up it all is.
What are you doing? I never thought I'd be a cop.
Don't tell your story now.
But my dad was a cop.
His dad was a cop.
But I was Daddy's little girl.
And he didn't want me to be a cop.
He said it wasn't a girl's job.
And when my dad died, everything changed.
And I decided I wanted to help people the way my dad did.
So I joined up.
And my dad was right.
It's a real boys' club.
- Right behind you.
Right behind you.
- Okay.
I know you're behind me.
Okay.
All right, let's go.
Go, go, go.
One way or another, I kept up just fine.
Over.
Under.
Over.
Under.
Under.
Under.
Germain was the golden boy.
Fast, smart, a real climber.
Literally.
Dang it.
Come on, Mad Dog.
You got this.
Get up that wall.
- Mad Dog? - Come on.
Okay.
All right.
Yeah.
You all right? - Yeah, thanks.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- Thanks for having my back.
- Oh, yeah.
Well, you know, we all gotta finish the whole thing under time, or else they make us run it again, so⦠Right.
Listen.
Three doors down you can get a Hey, Danner.
Nice form on those push-ups.
Man, you dropped to your knees.
I saw you.
Night, gentlemen.
Hey, hey, come on.
Come have a drink with us.
- Really? - Yeah, we need a designated driver.
Ah, damn, I forgot to put a car seat in my car for you, Little Bill.
Sorry.
Honor.
Ethics.
Commitment.
It wasn't easy, but I finally made it.
And remember, what you did yesterday is not nearly as important as what you will do today.
Because the people out there depend on you.
Don't let them down.
I was a part of something.
I was finally gonna help people.
So, you say the package was stolen from the front porch? Yeah, I ordered it online.
It was a microwave egg pod cooker.
Cooks eggs perfectly.
Does all the work for you.
I have one myself.
- When did this happen? - Uh, two days ago.
We'll do everything that we can to locate it.
And I'm just telling you, honey, when you get that in your life, it is going to step your brunch game up times ten.
Everybody's gonna be jealous of your deviled eggs.
Lady, let's be honest, we're not gonna find your egg ball.
- Pod cooker.
- Thank you, Danner.
Look, packages get stolen.
Unless we catch the guy in the act, not really much we can do.
- You know, it wasn't a guy.
- What's that? I know it was a girl.
I caught her with my new doorbell camera.
Oh, neat.
Can I see? Oh, is that green hair? Ma'am, do you think we can get a copy of this video? Oh, I posted it online right away.
The whole world has it.
Mm-hmm.
I don't understand.
Why didn't you, uh, call us when it happened? I didn't think you'd do anything.
But then I found out I need a police report in order to get them to send me a new one.
Right.
187.
187.
Viewridge Drive perimeter.
Did she just say 187? Oh, yeah.
Homicide.
- Whoa.
- Holy shit.
Well, listen, Viewridge Drive is just the next street over.
Okay.
I'm sorry for the cursing.
Oh, I don't give a fuck.
Let's go.
Come on.
What are you doing? I I'm coming.
This much police presence, must be somebody famous.
But not that famous.
Uh, maybe a writer? Danner.
Kleyes.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
I need you to guard the perimeter.
No one in or out.
We get gawkers, send 'em packing.
Yes, sir, we're on it.
But whose house is this? Pretty sure that's not information you need to know to do your job.
But let me guess, guy on the porch, okay, husband of the deceased? Perimeter.
Now.
Some fancy pants gets killed in the middle of the day in a low-crime neighborhood.
Nine times out of ten, it's a domestic.
Mm-hmm.
Husband comes home, catches his wife cheating, gets nuts with a rake or a swimming pool thing or something like that.
But here, the husband isn't under arrest.
Sitting on the porch crying.
Doesn't add up.
You say something? Why don't we split up and really work the perimeter? Mmm.
Yeah, it's a good idea.
Homicide.
Yeah.
This has to be the dumbest I don't know why they partnered me with him.
Tricia! Trish! Hey, girl.
Heya, Danner.
It's been a minute.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, they let you out of the lab now, huh? So, uh, what's the 411? I hear it's not a domestic.
No, husband's the one who found her.
Wife's name is Uma something.
Husband's Vaughn.
He's a TV writer.
I knew it.
Whole thing happened at the front door.
They got it on the doorbell cam.
Girl in a blue hoodie is on the front porch stealing a package.
Can't see her face, of course.
Wife opens the door, then bam.
Blue hoodie? Did she have green hair? How'd you know that? Holy shit.
All right, let's talk to the housekeeper, see if she's seen that blue hoodie before.
You know what, let's run down their close contacts just for shits and gigs.
- Detective Germain, sir? - Jesus.
- Sorry for interrupting.
- Yeah, what is it, Officer? Oh, Mad Dog Danner.
Still on the beat I see.
- Definitely on the road to detective.
- Mmm.
Not as fast a road as you've been on.
You just went "bloop.
" Shot right up there.
Yeah, you know what? It's a closed crime scene, so⦠But I have some information I think might be helpful to you.
Okay, Mad Dog.
Dazzle me.
I've been working on some package thefts going on in the neighborhood.
And I have footage here of a microwave egg pod cooker being stolen.
They cook the eggs perfectly every time.
That's from a doorbell cam at a house about two blocks away from here.
- Where did you get this? - Online.
The homeowner posted it.
Blue hoodie.
Green hair.
Could be this person that we're looking for.
Well, I'm impressed, Danner.
A lot of guys around here don't really give a shit.
Just wanna swagger around, as if a gun and a badge is gonna make up for them having a tiny pecker.
Look at you, hmm? Conning your way onto a crime scene.
Going the extra mile.
Mad dogging it.
I like that.
People depend on us, and I don't wanna let 'em down.
Besides, I don't have a pecker.
Just gonna have to take your word for it.
Check this out.
- Wha-What? What? - Think that might be your girl? Well, blue hoodie, green hair.
Looks white to me.
I mean, right right to me.
Well, who knows? Maybe we can get lucky and pull one of the license plate tags from your video.
- Mm-hmm.
- Nice work, Danner.
Pros will take it from here.
Think I can get my phone back? Uh, Detective, I need my phone.
Detective? You know I can't come in here without the blue "foot-y" things.
I need the blue bootee Oh, you ain't gonna put your bootees on? You not following protocol? Well, then I won't follow protocol.
Danner, what does this have to do with this case tonight? - How is this relevant? - This is so much tension.
It totally relates.
Just let me finish.
We don't have time.
- This is important.
- What are they saying? Yas, we'll tell you.
We'll We'll tell you.
- I'll be over here.
- Anyways⦠Why the hell are we in Echo Park? This is way out of our area.
I ran the partial license plate on that car in the video.
- Got an address.
- Didn't Germain say he'd handle it? I know.
I wanna help out.
Mad dogging it.
Oh, shit.
Oh! Ow, ow, ow.
- That's hot.
That's so hot.
- That's the car.
That's the car right there.
Hold on.
There's latte on my gun.
There's latte.
Have you ever shot that thing? Not in the field, no.
But I did get pretty drunk at my cousin's wedding and unloaded a clip into a pile of decorative pillows.
Needless to say, the bride was not thrilled.
Are you sure you're not from Florida, man? Arizona.
It's like the Florida of the West.
Do it.
LAPD.
Is this your car, sir? Uh⦠Go, go, go, go, go! They're in an alley.
Headed towards the alley.
Copy that.
I'm in the car.
Freeze! Slow down! You better stop.
I could do this all day.
I used to run cross-country.
Freeze! Freeze! Drop your weapons and put your hands up.
Against the fence.
Hands in the air.
The The pot.
I have a prescription.
Girl, don't nobody give no damn about no pot.
- You have any weapons? - No.
Don't mess with me, pal.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, partner.
Come on now.
We just trying to talk to 'em.
Men, right? They get the chasing, they start wanting to fight like a grizzly bear.
What are you doing walking around with these marijuana bongs? - What's your name? - Willow.
Is that from the movie or the tree? Um, movie, actually.
My mom really liked it for some reason.
Val Kilmer was fine as hell in that movie.
What was his character's name? Uh, Madmartigan? Yes.
And he helped Willow.
Some people call me Mad Dog.
And I'm here to help you.
Put your hands down.
"Valerie.
" Who's that? Your girlfriend? My mom.
You two must be really close, huh? Well, a-actually, she passed last year.
I'm sorry to hear that.
It can be tough.
So tell me, what have you been doing in Studio City? Um, shit.
Uh, look, my dad and I don't talk anymore.
It's on me to pay for my sister to go to school.
She's, like, a genius or something.
So I've been doing food deliveries.
And, yeah, I-I did steal the package off the porch a couple days ago, but it was just a dumb egg cooker.
Wait.
Hold up.
Did you call it dumb? It is not dumb.
I just didn't think the cops would care.
It's a victimless crime.
You know what isn't a victimless crime? Murder.
Murder? Wha What are you talking about? Look at her in there.
Just pouting.
Terrified.
Like an adorable castoff from an X-Men movie.
It's a good get, Danner.
Thanks.
But I don't know.
She says she wasn't in Studio City yesterday.
And I kinda believe her.
Ah, we got her on camera.
This thing's a slam dunk.
Yeah, but there's something that's just not right about it.
- Hey, you wanna help me question her? - Really? You wanna add me to the case? No, this is still my case.
But, uh, I just figured I'd show you a thing or two, stuff they don't show you in training.
You wanna be a detective, right? Do Black women tie their hair up at night? Uh, I You should know the answer to this.
- And it is a yes.
- The answer is yes.
Follow my lead.
I didn't sell the pod cooker thing yet.
Can I just give it back? Look, I don't care about some stolen packages, okay? What I do care about is the wife of the producer of one of the best goddamn cop shows I've ever seen, whose only crime was opening the door while you were stealing her package.
- So you killed her.
- I-I didn't kill her.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I swear.
Well, then why did we find your prints at the scene? No! No, no, no.
That's impossible.
No, no.
There's pictures on Instagram.
Uh, my boyfriend and I went to this, like, stupid art thing in Eagle Rock.
It's nowhere near Studio City.
Check it, @willowywave.
I don't like social media.
Brings out the worst in people.
I like Facebook though.
Connects you to people from the past, who thought you might've been a dork in high school.
- Please! - Oh, found it.
Yeah, that's a big old painting on a wall.
And look at that.
Wha What is that? A Pegasus or a unicorn? - Pegacorn.
- Okay, a pegacorn.
But you know what is crazy is, um, she's wearing a red hoodie, not a blue one.
See? I didn't do it.
I'm telling you the truth.
What? You think there's some other green-haired girl wearing a blue hoodie that just happened to be in the area? Yeah, but it seems kind of weird, you know.
Like, driving all the way to Studio City, change your clothes, kill somebody, drive all the way back, change your clothes Mad Dog! - Stop.
- You all right? You know, why don't you go find us some coffees? Well, I already had some coffee, like, a hour ago Well, I would love one.
Yes, sir.
Look, I don't think you meant to kill anybody, okay? You were high, feeling anxious, she surprised you, you lashed out.
If you admit that, this whole thing will go a lot easier for ya.
Danner? I was just wondering if you wanted sugar or cream or⦠Full-fat goat milk.
Dusting of cocoa.
Damn, that sounds like you want me to go to a coffee shop.
I was talking about You said coffee, like⦠All right, then.
Something was off.
And not just his foo-foo-ass coffee order.
Fingerprints.
I knew it.
How you gonna leave fingerprints when you're wearing gloves, hmm? But why wear gloves that time, and not the day before? Zoom in here.
Kleyes, does this woman look surprised or confused? Okay.
Well, I think she looks confused like she might have recognized the killer.
This might be a copycat.
Yep, let me look at this other video.
It's probably a copycat.
You talking to me? New Linkin Park.
It freaking rips.
While my partner focused on his air-drumming skills, I went looking for answers.
Sorry to bother you during such a, uh, difficult time.
No.
No, it's, uh, quite all right.
There's always time for law enforcement.
I-I'm I'm a huge supporter of Of what you guys do.
I'm sure you're aware of my television show, Marshall Law? Yeah.
Thursdays, 9:00 p.
m.
after Burden of Ruth.
Terrible time slot.
Comedies are at 9:00.
Adventures at 10:00, but they don't listen.
Um, Detective Germain said that you've made an arrest? Yes, a suspect has been apprehended.
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
That's such a relief.
You can imagine this whole thing has been very overwhelming for me.
Hopefully, this will bring a little closure, you know? Um, I was just trying to, you know, tie up some loose ends.
I'm the type that likes to, like, cross the t's, dot the I's.
I even dot the j's How can I help you? I was wondering, um, do you know if there was anyone that had a grudge against your wife? I thought it was the package thief.
The woman with the green hair? Well, that's what everybody's thinking.
I just want to be extra sure it's not a copycat.
Not someone who may have saw the video uploaded to the Internet and, uh, thought, "Hey.
I could do that.
" And pretend to be a package thief.
Are you saying that the case is still open? All cases are open until there's a conviction.
- Am I a suspect in my wife's murder? - That is not exactly what I I know how this thing goes.
I write Marshall Law.
This is in pretty much every episode.
I told him, I was on set at the time of the murder.
I was making my television show, coaxing some actor out of his trailer, 'cause he was complaining about his call time.
Well, my wife died, Gary.
I was with you instead of at home! - I need you to bring it down.
- Hours later You're at ten.
Need to be down at five.
I will calm down.
I discovered my wife⦠- No! No! No.
- ⦠dead in the dining room.
I'm not saying that you are a suspect, okay? And here's why.
The killer wore gloves.
They didn't want their fingerprints to be found anywhere, all right? You live here, your fingerprints are everywhere.
Why would you wear gloves? Hmm? I just wanna know.
Is there anyone who would've wanted your wife gone? Hello? Vaughn? Hi.
- Hey.
Hey.
- I'm so sorry.
Mmm.
Okay.
Mmm.
Okay.
- Is this a bad time? - No, no.
Uh, please.
Uh, this is Tatiana.
She's the costumer on Marshall Law.
Nice dress.
As well as, uh, Waikiki Medical, uh, and Fire, most recently.
This is, uh, Detective Uh, actually, I'm not a detective yet.
Uh, I'm Officer Danner.
But Detective Germain sent you? You know, uh, I ought to let you guys get to it.
I just wanna say I'm sorry for your loss.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, uh⦠- I really do like that dress.
- Oh, thanks.
Our rules say you can't touch me, Bishop Marshall.
Well, you should know by now that I play by my own rules.
Get off me, puerco.
No puerco for me.
But if you wanna make a frittata, you're gonna have to bust some huevos.
The next day, I visited the set of Marshall Law, the show that was basically everything wrong with how TV portrays police and crime in a corny-ass 44-minute package.
Cough up the details.
Okay, okay.
I'll talk.
You better be telling me the truth, ese.
Otherwise, I'm gonna alert my backup, and they're gonna give you a piece of the action.
Uh, sorry.
Uh, I'm not supposed to be here.
I'm looking for Tatiana.
And also, this is not how law enforcement works at all.
It's not like that.
You're really not doing a good job.
Is there a rewrite somebody didn't tell me about? - Cut.
- Hey, what are you doing here? Could I get you over there with the other background, please? I'm not a - I'm actually looking for Tatiana - Tatiana.
Got it.
Your costume looks just fine.
Well, this is not a costume.
This is my uniform.
Oh.
Uh-oh.
Real cop.
Let's go.
Come on.
I love that.
Love method acting.
- Ma'am, can you remove your hand? - Hey, I love extras.
Let's go.
Okay.
Did you just tap my ass? Oh, problem with your costume? No.
Why does everybody think I'm one of these actors? Oh, wait.
Uh, she's a real cop.
Good to see you.
Is this about Vaughn's wife? So sad.
Well, I'm sorry to be disturbing you guys at work, but I just wanted to know, where were you guys around lunchtime on Tuesday? - We all eat under the tent.
- I - Mmm.
- Tuesday is chili day.
- Mmm, chili day? - Mm-hmm.
I bet it's interesting in here after lunch.
But Tatiana's a vegan, so she always makes a salad.
Oh, so you you don't sit under the tent with everyone else? Uh, no, no.
I was.
Giant salad, under the tent.
Anyways, so you guys eat lunch together? Every day? The whole crew? Even Vaughn? Was Vaughn there too? No.
Vaughn always takes a nap in his trailer during lunch.
Glad he got some rest, though.
'Cause a few hours later⦠Poor thing.
Probably hasn't slept since.
Ah, these are some nice hoodies here.
Does he, um, come in here often? No, we usually just show him pics.
He did come in on Monday, remember? To borrow some stuff for a costume for his nephew or something.
- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, what did he take? Uh, why? Is he a suspect? I'm just being thorough, that's all.
You know what? I will let you guys get back to reinforcing that cultural stereotypes that y'all do.
Okay.
All right.
Y'all have a good day.
I love your hair.
It kind of reminds me of Wendy's.
You know, from the burger place? - I get that all the time.
- Yeah, it's so cute.
Hey.
What the hell do you think you're doing questioning the husband of the deceased? Showing initiative.
- Mad dogging it.
- No.
It's not fucking cute this time.
Listen, we just announced the arrest of the killer.
The stoner punk chick.
Willow? No, no, no, no.
Look, I found something.
I think she's innocent.
She is a thief.
She is a drug user.
She did it, end of story.
She's willing to take a deal right now, rather than risk the jail time.
And you're gonna fuck up my clearance record with this crap.
Plus, Vaughn was super impressed with me and wants to make me a consultant on the show.
So don't mess it all up! But don't you wanna make sure that you got the right person that you're putting in jail? I thought you wanted to be a homicide detective.
'Cause shit like this is not gonna get you there.
You're looking for a, uh, homicide detective? I don't know you.
I don't Cool.
You know why I call you Mad Dog? Because you need to be put down.
Oh, man.
"You need to be put down.
" - You need to shut the fuck up.
- Okay.
Danner.
I hear you're not being a team player.
What? No.
No, I'm just trying to do what's right.
In this department, we need to have each other's backs.
You think he was having an affair? Mama, there was a look between him and that costume designer.
I know that look.
Why are you chasing this? What do you think you're gonna get out of it? I don't know.
But Germain thinks he is Bishop Marshall.
Always right, you know.
Breaking all the rules.
Taking out punks.
It's way more complicated than that.
You've been an officer six years, and they haven't made you a detective yet.
Maybe your dad was right.
You could go back to teaching.
Ma, I gotta go.
Bye.
This guy's not gonna crack.
Chief, take a walk around the block.
I'll get him to talk.
He can't see you.
He knows I'm here.
This show sucks.
I just couldn't let it go.
Uh, excuse me.
Are you Willow Landy's attorney? Can I help you? Yes.
I have something I'd like to talk to you about.
Check out this video.
So, I told him everything I knew.
Wait, so you think Vaughn saw the video, borrowed a costume from his set, then he probably added some socks or something to his chest.
Pretended he was the package thief.
He hid his face from the camera, killed his wife⦠⦠because she found out about his affair.
He wore the same costume, but he added gloves.
Not to hide fingerprints, but because he didn't have a tattoo on the back of his hand.
Now, see, Willow has "Valerie" in that first video on the back of her hand.
That's her mom's name.
Valerie.
Look, I I'm sorry I know it sounds crazy, but please don't give up on this girl.
Okay? Talk to some of his workers on his show.
He borrowed a costume for his nephew.
He don't have no nephews.
He got one niece that is pretty burly looking but not a nephew.
Fine.
I'll look into it.
Thanks.
But please don't tell anybody you heard it from me.
- I don't even know you.
- Great.
He's totally gonna tell everyone.
And he did.
They reassigned me to the records room.
No chance for advancement.
Oopsie-daisy.
Thanks for being a team player, sport.
But it was worth it because Willow's case was dismissed.
Pink.
I like it.
My lawyer told me you're the reason I got out.
That guy cannot keep a secret.
Yeah.
No, seriously.
Thank you.
You're the only one who listened to me.
Anyway, I want you to know I'm giving the egg pod cooker back.
I promise.
Keep it.
Mrs.
Pattendole already got a new one.
Besides, you deserve a good deviled egg.
Cool.
I've really never had one.
- You never had a deviled egg? - No.
Girl, let me tell you something.
They are delicious.
You get that deviled egg, cut the boiled egg in half, right? - Okay.
- Then you scoop out the yellow part.
You put that in a bowl, you stir that up, and you add your seasonings and spices.
You know, garlic, salt, a little paprika⦠You sprinkle that on top, and then I like to get the oil of bell pepper.
- Then you wanna put some olives - Danner! What happened to Vaughn? Did he go to jail? No.
Not enough evidence.
I I would have quit, but I couldn't let that fucking game win, you know what I'm saying? So I moved up here for a fresh start.
No more baggage, new department.
- So I have - Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
So your So your point is what, that Aniq is innocent? - I don't know.
- You don't know? Oh! But what I do know is if we don't solve this case before Germain gets here, Aniq is going down whether he did it or not.
- Just like he tried to do with Willow.
- No.
I actually think you've gone soft on Aniq because you think of him as some sort of kindred spirit or whatever.
But he's been playing you the whole time.
Maybe.
I knew it.
Your boy's been listening in illegally without consent.
He's been trying to hear what everyone else said so he could get his alibi straight.
One second.
Hey, Aniq.
Yeah, it's Culp.
Ya busted.
Oh, no.
- What? What, what, what, what? - Oh, no.
I'm screwed.
What happened? What happened? - Aniq, hey.
Look.
- I can't - I still don't think you did it.
- Well, thank you very much.
Maybe you can visit me when I'm in prison.
Don't know if they'll let you bring a little file - Come on.
- You gotta tell me what happened.
You can't just leave.
Just like it's Don't think like that, okay? Let's just breathe.
You and Chelsea were on the stairs.
You'd have seen someone go up before me.
It doesn't add up.
Okay.
Remember how you said that the thing you like the most about escape rooms is that they make you feel lost and hopeless and and stuck? But eventually, everyone finds their way through.
You said that.
So sweet.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Hey.
You know, I've I've never seen a sunrise.
The view.
We're in the middle of, uh, some Thank you.
Okay.
Aniq, I will admit, has done some things that make him seem not innocent at all.
- But - Danner, Danner.
When you hear the clomping of hooves, think horses, not zebras.
Is this a riddle? You know I'm good at riddles.
Usually, the simplest answer is the right one.
And in this case, it's Aniq.
But if you hear the clomping of hooves in Tanzania, nine times out of ten, it's zebras.
Oh, my God.
Your theories are so convoluted.
Or they could be breaking out of the zoo.
Did you see Madagascar with Chris Rock? They had all them animals You think the TV producer dressed up as a woman and acted like a package thief to kill his wife? To do that, he would have needed her to open the door at the exact same moment that he was about to steal the package.
- It doesn't make sense, honey.
- Hmm.
- It does make sense.
- What? - That's it! - What's it? What? I know who killed Xavier! Oh, and how they did it.
- I solved it, Culp.
I solved it.
- What? Who? Okay, we just gotta tie up a few loose ends like the wig and Jennifer 2.
There are no time for loose ends, okay? You either solved it, or you didn't.
You know, there's one person that I didn't interview that probably has the answers that I need.
Mommy! - Maggie? What are you doing here? - Twice in one night.
Okay, I I can explain everything.
Hey, honey.
Can you hum your quiet song? - Yeah.
- Okay.
You fucking ball sack.
"You are a 6'3" turd in a leather jacket!"