Backstrom (2015) s01e13 Episode Script

You lied to me, Lieutenant Backstrom.
When? Always and every time since the day we met.
Do you know what these are? L-lies? No, the truth.
You see this number? I-I can't really read it, your hand is shaking so much.
It is a blood-alcohol level of .
06.
That's legal.
You showed me an alcoholics anonymous chip to prove you were sober.
Your cholesterol is through the roof, your heart oversized, your lungs congested, and yet you still smoke cigars.
- I'm cutting down! - You know what this is? Okay, why do you keep showing me things and asking me what they are? It is my official recommendation to the chief of police that you be relieved of active duty due to your imminent and inevitable death.
And what are you planning to do with that? Because the hippocratic oath prevents me from shoving it up your ass, I intend to deliver it to chief Cervantes today.
- Deb, we - No more lies.
I have tried to help you, and you've treated me like a fool.
Sorry to interrupt.
We got a dead indigenous body under a bridge.
What's up, Dr.
Deb? Ah, your last case.
Good day to you.
Why did Dr.
Deb say this is your last case? You're in some kind of trouble or something? What the hell is he doing here? Oh, Captain Rocha was found with the dead body.
Oh, lord, if it turns out that Rocha committed this murder, yea verily it shall come to pass that I shall live in service to thee and repent of my ways forever and ever, amen, shalom, inshallah - Please.
- Hare hare.
Do not waste god's time with prayers like that.
So Rocha's not the killer, huh? - No.
- Damn.
Captain Rocha says that the victim was his confidential informant.
Rocha, you're only a cop on the reservation.
Otherwise, you're just a guy in what mostly looks like a janitor's uniform.
The victim's name was Jeremy Chase.
He's 20 years old.
He had a wife and kid.
And he's dead because he was helping me.
Yeah? Looks like he learned his lesson.
Captain Rocha said that the victim was still alive when he got here.
So, were there any last words? Well, that's the thing.
I'll only tell you Jeremy's last words if you promise to include me in the investigation.
Gravely arrest Rocha on a whole bunch of charges.
What? Obstructing justice, blackmailing a peace officer, being a dick.
Lieutenant is right.
Captain Rocha is withholding information in a homicide investigation unacceptable.
It's my fault this kid got killed! I got to be a part of the investigation! What's wrong with you guys? Niedermayer, you're up.
Yes, Lieutenant.
Uh, this is the vehicle that the victim arrived in, and then another vehicle joined him.
We're taking the tracks right now.
But judging by the width of those tracks, the second vehicle was either a truck or a 4x4.
Now, this right here shows me that the victim was leaning against his car.
His face shows me that he was struck two to four times, but open-handed, by a very strong man.
His nose is broken.
Now, here's the interesting part.
He was stabbed here once, but it nicked the common iliac artery which indicates a blade length of 8 inches.
So he would have lost consciousness in 10 minutes.
He'd be dead within 15 minutes.
This artery stuff You're saying the killer did this on purpose? I don't think it was a lucky hit.
Then we're looking for somebody who's very, very good with a blade.
Oh, one more thing.
After the victim was stabbed, he was kicked in the back hard enough to leave a blueprint and rupture a kidney.
Everyone knows Indians kill Indians, so we're looking for an especially mean one who loves using a knife and wears boots Which is all of the men and half of the women.
- Everett? - Oh, no.
If you were here on official business, you would have said "Lieutenant," which means you're here as Rocha's girlfriend and not as the head of the civilian oversight committee, and I don't have to listen to you.
Look, Jesse's sorry he tried to make a deal.
Make a deal? Blackmail.
He's sorry that he tried to blackmail you, and he wants you to know the victim's last words.
Okay.
"Rock bottom.
" "Rock bottom"? You're already looking for first nations suspects, correct? If by that, you mean Indians, then yes.
Captain Rocha has the respect of every reservation in the pacific northwest, including wabacooche reservation.
You love saying "Captain" 'cause it's higher up than Lieutenant.
Stop that.
Well, I'll have you know that I am a real lieutenant and he's just an Indian captain.
So Apples and Indians, Amy.
Apples and Indians.
Jesse's a real cop.
Wait.
Why did you say the wabacooche reservation? Captain Rocha said the killer's a meth dealer from the wabacooche reservation.
I'll release Rocha.
Paquet! You won.
Your work here is done.
That's your creepy smile.
What just happened? Good seeing you, Amy.
You bellowed, Lieutenant? I need you to dig up some information on the financials of the sheriff of wabacooche county.
Do you have a warrant? Do I need a warrant? Uh, w-what am I looking for here? You're looking for evidence of payoffs to the sheriff from the criminal element in the drug trade.
Wait, we're we're talking about Sheriff Blue Backstrom of wabacooche county? Y-your father? Don't rub it in.
Go! Go! You know, I was perfectly fine not speaking with my mother, and you had to go reopen that whole can of worms.
Been making up for lost time like I'm 10.
"Don't be a thief, val.
"You should use your brain to be a lawyer, val.
When do I get to meet your boyfriend, val?" Pbht, like I got a boyfriend.
What do I need a boyfriend for? I'm young and beautiful and horny.
Look, I'm sure Dr.
Deb was just bluffing.
He wasn't bluffing.
That was one angry hind These are burned.
I know.
I'm not blind.
Listen, can't you demand a second opinion? What does the police union have to say about it? There's got to be an appeal process or Ooh, you know what you should do? You should call Dr.
Deb's medical credentials into question and get him fired, huh? Lou was right.
You should become a lawyer.
It's the man who stole your woman.
Should I let him in? Jeremy had a new baby and a wife.
He needed money.
Then he got sucked into muling for a meth distributor named Edgar Norwest.
I caught Jeremy, and I talked him into working with me in return for immunity.
So it was you who arranged to meet under the bridge? And Norwest must have caught on and got to Jeremy before I did.
And Norwest, he likes to use a knife? Leaving a guy to bleed to death knowing who killed him? That's Norwest's signature move.
He boasts about it.
There's 11 murders that match the M.
O.
You know, if I'd been under that bridge 10 minutes earlier You probably would have gotten sliced and diced up, too.
Look, Norwest is using the Indian reservations throughout the whole pacific northwest to distribute into nearby towns.
It's weird my dad never stopped him.
Yeah, well, you know your old man.
He doesn't care what Indians do as long as they do it on the reservation.
What about other towns and counties? Yeah.
Norwest has white lawyers.
Name is Kritko Expert in Indian rights.
He keeps whitey away.
Huh.
You'll fold me into the case? Yeah.
Sure thing.
Start tomorrow.
We're good, you and me, about everything? You mean about Amy? I mean Amy.
Bros before hos.
Get some sleep.
Come on, chief.
No, you cannot take a team up into wabacooche county.
I have compelling testimony from an Indian cop that the murderer is an Indian from wabacooche county.
What you do in that situation is, you have the sheriff of cooch county make the arrest.
I have reason to believe the sheriff is taking payoffs from the murderer.
You have evidence? He's a terrible person.
Hating your old man isn't evidence.
Paquet! You want evidence? I'll give you evidence.
And by the way, there's an envelope on my desk from Dr.
Chaman.
Do not open it.
Come in.
Hello, chief.
Please tell chief Cervantes what you've discovered about Sheriff Backstrom's finances.
Oh, well, there's no indication that he received, uh, cash, gifts, properties from Oregon, United States, or offshore.
He still lives in the same house he paid off Oh and his vacations are very few and far between, and they're cheap Dismissed.
Traitor.
You need to stop fixating on your father and convince Dr.
Chaman to withdraw that envelope.
You know, I've got a couple months' vacation time coming to me.
I'd like to request one.
- To cooch county? - Do I really need to tell you where I'm gonna go on my vacation? What about the murder? The thing to do in that situation is to have the sheriff of cooch county make the arrest.
You know, it seems to me you're more interested in getting your father on some corruption charge than apprehending a murderer.
I'm so sorry.
I'm on vacation right now, and you keep talking shop.
If I read that envelope while you're on vacation, I may have to tell old Blue to take away your gun and badge.
I'll send a postcard.
You know, when I hired you to drive me, I didn't ask you to bring along your mommy.
Not my idea.
God, you guys really did grow up in the sticks, didn't you? Pretty much.
Everett, that guy in there, he says he knows you.
Oh, great.
So much for sneaking in and out of town without being noticed.
Oh, it's okay I told him we came to see my mother at the retirement home.
You mean the retirement trailer park? Is that really why you came? - Yeah.
- Hmm? Plus, I need you to promise me promise me That you won't tell Blue that Valentine is his son.
Why don't you tell him the other reason? What other reason? I believe you should visit the place where your mother's ashes were scattered.
Wh-why? Uh, so that you can tell her you forgive her for committing suicide and leaving you all alone with Blue.
You're in on this? If I have to make peace with my mother, why shouldn't you make peace with yours? Everett? Why are you bringing a great, big rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition with you? I am on vacation.
I plan on doing a little hunting.
Now could we go, please? Rock Bottom Hey! Where are we going? Rocha's informant's last words were "rock bottom.
" Understandable he felt that way, since he was bleeding to death and all.
No, it's not a feeling.
Rock bottom is a literal place.
Hey, yeah, for me, too.
The rock bottom I'm talking about is a low-lying strip of land next to a creek or a river.
And you're gonna check the place out? No, I'm gonna arrest a meth dealer and a murderer, and I'm gonna put a corrupt sheriff on trial.
That way, the chief can't can me just because I've got high cholesterol.
Now, if I see anything scary, we're gonna sneak out of here and come back with the cavalry.
There he is Edgar Norwest.
- Hey, what do you got? - Shh! Okay.
Okay, so what do we do now? What do we do now? We get the hell out of here.
What? Call in air strikes.
Hey.
That's your guy, isn't it? And what looked like a ton of meth.
Listen, if we wait for the cavalry, it could all be gone.
We are outnumbered.
I need backup.
Okay.
Now there's only one.
Shoot him.
What? Concoct a story.
I'll back you up.
That's crazy.
You said he stabbed the boy and god knows who else.
Shoot him.
Come on.
Do it.
I can't.
Valentine! No! No! No! Freeze! FBI.
Freeze, or I'll ice you.
This is native land.
Even the FBI has to ask permission to come here.
I'm pretty sure the FBI can do whatever the hell they want.
No way you're a fed.
And what the hell is he? Portland police bureau.
This is Indian land! Valentine! Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head.
I mean it.
I will not miss the next time.
Like I did that time.
Totally on purpose.
Give me that.
Go cuff Norwest.
How do you know my name? Slap them on till they hurt, behind his back.
I know how to work handcuffs.
These aren't the gay, fun-filled, furry-lined kind, okay? He slips out of these, you're gonna get a lot more than a spanking.
Promises, promises.
Yikes.
Is that the murder weapon? Stand him up.
We got to get out of here.
A lot easier to shoot him.
You're gonna wish you had.
Really? Gas again, Valentine? It's oil.
This thing burns more oil than gas.
Who are you guys really? I told you already Portland police bureau, special crimes.
Let me go.
I'll give you $10,000.
Really? You hear that, Valentine? He wants to give us $10,000.
What do you think? I think he's lying and that he's gonna hunt us down and kill us with his big knife.
This is cooch county.
Don't you got to turn me over to Blue Backstrom? Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? 'Cause you're paying him off.
Everybody knows you can't pay off Blue Backstrom.
Everybody knows you can't transport meth across cooch county without Blue getting a cut.
Blue's a rattlesnake.
I stay out of his way, he stays out of mine.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me.
God! I heard you were in town.
We're here on an official police operation, dad.
Dad? He's your dad? Okay.
What sort of official police operation, son? I'm transporting a fugitive to the city of Portland, okay? So just go be about your business.
This is cooch county, son.
It's all my business.
Especially a handcuffed Indian in a communist car you got here.
Listen to me.
That son of a bitch takes me into custody, you're gonna find me at the pearly gates.
I don't know your religion, but going around stabbing people in the spleen typically doesn't lead to heaven.
Pearly gates is an abandoned Mercury mine.
- What? - Yeah.
It Yo, uh, tombstone, I got a question for you.
Does everything in your county have a funny little name? I'll bet you've been called a few funny little names yourself.
Here's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna abide by the law, gonna argue our respective cases in front of judge Nunn.
She'll tell us what'll happen after that.
Yeah, I'm so sorry, dad.
I can't make it.
Just not dressed for court.
It's cooch county, son.
We don't stand on formalities.
I want my lawyer.
I demand to be transported with my fugitive.
Fine with me.
You want to be handcuffed together? What methamphetamine, your honor? I don't see any methamphetamine.
Go to rock bottom.
You'll see it.
- I can't do that.
- Why? - Because, like you, I'm white.
And rock bottom is on the wabacooche first nations reservation.
Show me on a map.
You had no right to be there without an invitation from the wabacooche reservation tribal police.
Did you have that permission, Lieutenant Backstrom? Sheriff Backstrom, you got a dog in this fight? Norwest here is a murderous son of a bitch who owns the tribal police.
Now, if you want my opinion My client was kidnapped at gunpoint from Indian land, shot at by a civilian.
There is no warrant for his arrest and no probable cause to hold him.
I do not appreciate being interrupted.
Where are we? Deadwood? Norwest is a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Portland, your honor.
You got a warrant? No.
No, I don't.
But I don't need one.
I mean, look at him.
He's covered in neck tattoos.
- Guy's bad news.
- That's racist.
I got to let the bad-news, murderous son of a bitch go.
Thank you, your honor.
Thank the lieutenant, who grossly mishandled the legal niceties.
Beer.
Coming up.
I heard you quit drinking.
It's beer.
Beer is not drinking.
If you'd have kept your nose out, Norwest would be in jail right now.
Judge Nunn is willing to issue me a warrant for your arrest.
Kidnapping.
I told her it wasn't you who did the kidnapping, but your spunky little gay fella.
By "spunky" you better mean badass, old man.
Do you mind? Go on, spunky.
Norwest will now go to ground on the reservation till we all forget about him.
You, that judge, and that lawyer conspired to figure out a way to let Norwest go and make it look legal.
Why the hell would I do that? "Why?" He's running a big meth operation.
Nothing goes on in this town that you don't have under your thumb.
He keeps his operation on the reservation.
It's not my concern.
He's paying you off.
Get out of my county, Everett.
Lou's spending the night at the trailer park with her mother.
Good for her.
It's on the way to the interstate.
I say we pack up, we pick her up, and we get the hell out of cooch.
That's exactly what Blue wants us to do run.
What are we staying for? You promised me a part in this investigation.
Yeah, then I remembered what happened to the last guy you worked with He got gutted like a fish.
Rocha, no.
Get get off! You think anybody would care if I choked the life out of you? Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey, get off of him! Let's all settle down here.
What's going on here? What are you guys doing here? Well, we figured you were coming up here for Edgar Norwest.
Alone.
- Plus tangling with old Blue.
- Yeah, and if you mess up, you lose your job, what happens to us? Wait, I thought we decided not to say that part.
No.
Saving your jobs is the part that makes it sound true.
You had Norwest in custody? He was alone.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Ha.
You took him from rock bottom? Bold move, considering it's Indian land.
Yeah, Blue and his cronies let him go, but I came away with this.
Whoa.
Is this the murder weapon? That's your job, "noodlemayer.
" Where is Norwest now? Hiding out at the reservation.
That's okay, 'cause Captain Rocha - can still go get him.
- Now you need me? Go to hell, the whole bunch of you.
We'll give you sole credit for the collar.
That easy? What do you get? The main reason the lieutenant is here is not for Edgar Norwest.
Then what is it? I want to bust my dad on corruption charges.
I never heard any rumors about Blue Backstrom being a crooked cop.
That's how good he is.
Then what do you suggest? Take Moto.
He'll help you arrest the guy.
I'm a good man in a fight.
Unh-unh.
No white guys on the reservation.
What? "White guys"? If you're not an Indian, you're a white guy.
All right, why don't you take Moto, and he'll just He can go with you to the reservation border, just as backup? You don't trust the lieutenant That's understandable, but you can trust us.
Okay.
Let's go.
- Wait! Right now? - Yeah.
Staking out the lawyer was a waste of time.
Be patient.
Right.
That's Kritko.
Is he drunk? He looks hurt.
Mr.
Kritko.
Are you all right? Who are you? Portland police bureau.
Looks like you've been assaulted.
I'm fine.
Thank you for your concern.
What the hell was that? My guess is, he saw the light.
Probably decided to resign as Norwest's lawyer, Norwest took exception and gave him a good ear twist.
John.
Detective Gravely.
John, Blue Backstrom tore that lawyer's ear off and drove him out of town.
Welcome to cooch county.
What happened? We got a big problem.
Rocha's not answering his phone.
Looks like you tried to get on the reservation.
Tribal cops turned me away no white guys.
They kicked my ass.
Norwest has got him.
Rocha's in trouble.
I'm checking to see if Captain Rocha's cellphone is still broadcasting his GPS.
Norwest's lawyer left town late last night.
He'd been roughed up.
Norwest beat up his lawyer? Ear torn off? How did you know that? That's my dad's signature move when he wants to get someone to leave town.
Hold on a second.
Sheriff Backstrom assaulted a lawyer? I've been trying to tell you people, but all you see is the noble, old-cowboy sheriff.
I got it.
Here are the coordinates.
That's in the middle of nowhere.
On or off the reservation? Miles from the reservation.
Plausible deniability.
Yeah.
His location hasn't changed in over an hour.
Niedermayer, you and Moto get up there.
- That's a good job.
- Yeah.
Be careful, guys Vests and guns.
All right, so Captain Rocha? He's been stabbed.
We've got you.
That's a lot of blood, Niedermayer.
It's the common iliac artery.
Then he was kicked? I'm gonna have to reach in there and plug the artery.
Otherwise, he's gonna bleed out.
Okay, do it.
It's gonna cause a lot of pain.
The shock could kill him.
I don't see you got much choice.
I apologize, Captain Rocha.
Afternoon, everyone.
Captain Rocha still in surgery? Going on three hours.
That means they're still fighting for him.
He's got a chance.
So, the knife work was consistent with the killing of Jeremy Chase.
It had to be Norwest.
It had to be.
See, he nicks the artery.
And he leaves him in the middle of nowhere to die.
I should call Amy Gazanian.
Why? Because she would really like to know.
Those things are gonna kill you.
You gonna make me quit? Twist my ear off? Why ain't you up with the rest of your people? Maybe you're hoping the man dies, considering he's the one that took Amy away from you.
I haven't had Amy in years, dad.
How could anyone take her away from me? She came back to Portland.
You had a chance to set your life right.
She chose another man because you're a common drunk.
Oh, no.
I'm not common.
I'm spectacular.
Rocha dies, this becomes a murder in my county.
Now, I'd appreciate it if, uh, y'all get the hell out of the way and, uh, let me do my job.
How come you you never told me that mom killed herself? I thought it would be better for you if she died in childbirth.
My whole life, I believed that you hated me because I killed my mother.
And you let me believe that.
I'm you.
Oh.
I'm a cowboy.
I live the cowboy way Staunch, loyal, upright, and true.
I'm a man of rectitude and of few words.
Well, there's another trait I didn't pass on to you.
I have a wife who I loved and a bunch of cowboy sons, and then she gets pregnant again for the last time a mistake.
She has a boy.
And I look at him And I think "That's no son of mine.
" And then I realize, "oh, wait a minute.
She cheated on me.
" Aah! Damn! So that's a "no"? I hate you because I believe in doing the right thing and being a good man, and you don't believe in anything You never have.
"Doing the right thing"? I protect innocent people from bad people by putting bad people in jail.
Oh.
Or forcing them out of town.
Whatever has to be done.
Norwest stabs a cop in my county? That crosses a line.
Whatever it takes, huh? Oh, he'll never do anything bad to anybody else again.
That's why I became a cop to help good people.
You don't even believe in good people.
Why did you become a cop? I'll save you some time to compete with me.
You lose again.
Little man in big boots, making everyone do what he wants.
Big man in a little pond.
Your son Everett Backstrom is twice the cop you are.
And you should be proud of him.
Who do you think you are? Well I'm Louise Finster's son.
- Valentine.
- And I'm your son.
So what you have here is two sons telling their old man to go to hell.
It's impressive the way he just walks away.
A real cowboy.
Yeah.
But he broke the first rule of being a cowboy.
Don't talk too much.
Your dad out and out admitted he'd killed Norwest? Might as well have.
Well, how do you know the body's buried here? Norwest told me where dad gets rid of the bodies.
That's certainly intimidating.
Am I gonna get cancer here? Uh, I-if you don't drink the water, touch the soil, or breathe the air, you should be fine.
This is well-maintained.
No signs of it being picked.
Can you pick it? Uh, maybe.
Fresh tire tracks.
Animal tracks, too.
Coyote, possum, buzzard.
Look at that.
Fox scat, possum, lots of birds.
Who are you? Daniel Boone? They're all carrion tracks, Almond.
Lieutenant?! That's Edgar Norwest.
Well, somebody emptied an entire shotgun into him, - both barrels.
- Why's he naked? Well, he was clothed at the time he was killed.
How do you know that? There's fibers in the wounds, so he was stripped after death.
Probably find his clothes in the back of the mine.
The best way to dispose of human remains is to open the corpse up, leaving it for scavengers.
Three days, there's nothing left.
How do you want to handle this? Niedermayer, you stay here.
Make sure this body doesn't get eaten any more than it already has and take some photos of the area.
Almond, you're with me.
You know, we have regular A.
A.
meetings in my church.
Eh, it won't do any good.
I'm toast, Almond.
Dr.
Deb is gonna pull my physical.
Well, keeping your job is not the only reason to get help.
You gonna leave poor Niedermayer out there all night? I haven't decided who to call.
I'm you.
Just kidding.
But I do have sympathy for your dilemma.
Really? But you believe Blue killed Norwest? Then call the state police.
I don't have much evidence.
You're not looking to convict here.
You're looking to open an investigation.
Okay.
So what would you do? Norwest was a murderer.
If Rocha lives, he may be brain-damaged.
So, you're saying my dad was right to kill him? We both know cops who have crossed the line.
You and me have done it ourselves.
So you think I shouldn't accuse my father? I want you to consider the matter of your immortal soul.
My what? Your soul.
If you turn in your father, you should do it for the right reasons.
Not because it's your last chance and you hate him.
I see what you're doing.
Devil's advocate.
A man turns on his own father, he'd better be certain in his heart.
Yes.
This is Lieutenant Everett Backstrom with the special crimes unit of the Portland police bureau.
I want to report a murder in wabacooche county.
No.
I can't call the sheriff's office.
We have evidence the sheriff might have committed the murder.
We have tire tracks, bootprints, GPS evidence that indicates that Sheriff Blue Backstrom was present at the time and place the victim was murdered.
Sheriff Backstrom, I have to inform you that you are under investigation for the murder of Edgar Norwest.
You are hereby suspended, and I am asking you for your gun and your badge.
I also require your boots.
You want my boots, get yourself a damn warrant.
So, this is where mom's ashes were scattered.
Now what? Say a prayer.
Tell her how you're doing.
Dear, mom, this is your son Everett.
I just want to let you know That because of me, dad is being investigated for murder.
So what? Hello, Mrs.
Backstrom.
It's very nice to meet you.
My name's Gregory Valentine.
And I am your son's brother.
Wish we had flowers.
Yeah.
The bowl my mom made for me.
It's beautiful.
Everett! Thank you.
Hey, mom.
Listen.
I know that there's no afterlife or god or heaven or hell, but if, on the off chance, I'm wrong and you can hear me, will you please send me some kind of sign that I did the right thing? That's what I thought.
My name is Everett, and I'm an alcoholic.
Hello, Everett.
I I'm also partial to prescription medications, gambling.
I suppose I should throw in nicotine, food, porn.
And I've been known to lie, especially to, uh, try and keep my job.
Right? I'm you, and I'm an alcoholic.
I'm me, and I'm an alcoholic, and I just wanted to share with you how I've recently hit bottom.
It all started When I got called up to lead this elite unit of cops.
I got a promotion.
And, uh, the unit was very successful.
They're pretty okay.
They support me.
It's the first time in my life that I feel like I've been a part of a team.
I recently discovered I had a brother.
A woman that I loved A woman that I love recently came back into my life.
I stood up to my dad A man who beat me and belittled me my entire life.
I went to the place where my mother's ashes were scattered.
And I felt something.
I guess, when I talk about it all like that, it just sounds pretty good.
But I've never felt worse.
I hit rock bottom.
I'm you.
I'm you.
I'm you.
I'm everybody, I guess.
And I'm here because I am powerless over my addiction.
And my life, which suddenly means something to me has become unmanageable.
Bravo.
Bravo, I say.
So now what?