Major Crimes s02e02 Episode Script
False Pretenses
_ _ Morning.
No caffeine.
I'm on a cleanse.
A what? Cleanse.
You know, like a diet.
Rid your body of toxins, lose some weight.
What do you eat? You don't.
You just drink a lot of this special juice here.
Tastes great.
Look, I got a physical coming up.
Well that's not an exam that you have to study for.
Never mind.
Sanchez.
Brought you some coffee.
Oh, great.
Thank you, sir.
Yep.
So what are we looking at? Well, the maid showed up this morning, like every Monday, found two bodies, and called 911.
No signs of a break-in, so murder-suicide, most likely.
Well, murder-suicide usually solves itself.
Where's everybody else? Tao and Sykes are upstairs with the dead shooter, who's the homeowner, sir.
His victim is female, shot in the back of the head-- through here.
Yeah.
Are we talking husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend? Uh, brother and sister, according to the maid, sir.
- The maid? - In here.
Claudia.
She has a key to the house, and she knows the alarm code.
Which, according to the alarm company, hasn't been set since, uh Saturday.
Well, Claudia said that the sister, Janet, had been visiting, and she argued with her brother a lot.
What was the fight over? ¿Sabes por qué estaban peleando? Creo que estaban peleando por el esposo de Janet.
- She thinks it was about Janet's husband - Pero como mi inglés no es muy bueno, - but because her English - fue difícil para entender.
isn't so good, it was difficult for her to understand.
El señor William nunca podría hacer algo como esto.
But Mr.
William would never do something like this.
Ah.
Where's the first body? Right this way.
Her license says her name is Janet Bloom, And from the looks of things, she was moving pretty fast when he shot her.
See these streaks? When she hit the floor, she slid a good 6 inches.
Oh, geez.
Why do I keep putting myself through this? Oh, oh, Lieutenant Provenza? Yes?! Good morning, Lieutenant.
Yeah.
Is it-- is it bad? Well, I've seen worse.
Anyway, I was just going upstairs to the suicide.
You're welcome to join me.
Well-- well, maybe I should look.
Her face is missing, Lieutenant! You said-- I said that I had seen worse, and I have! He has.
Emma, if you are going to continue to come to the morgue and to the crime scenes, you have got to get used to it.
Uh here.
Uh, let me help you.
Ohh, her face is missing.
This way.
Here.
I got you a coffee.
Seriously? Thank you.
Mmm.
I didn't have time to stop on my way in.
How did you know? I'm a detective.
Excuse me, detective.
So, DDA Rios, since, um, since it appears that we won't need a conviction in this case, there is another potential deal that I would like to discuss with you.
Is this about Phillip Stroh? Has the special-circs committee reviewed your new brief yet? Lieutenant, I understand you're concerned about our material witness.
If you people don't withdraw a recommendation for death, Rusty will be forced to take the stand, and he'll have to talk about stuff that-- that we're trying very hard to help him forget.
I can't handicap my case worrying about how it'll affect a teenage prostitute.
Not to mention how it will look to the people of California if I offer a deal to a serial killer.
Oh, God! Oh, God! Seriously-- seriously! You have got to keep your voice down.
Now, just stand here-- quietly.
Meet William Edwards-- and, uh, a big sports fan.
But maybe not a legal gun owner.
The one that was in his hand is not registered to him.
Kendall, time of death? Both bodies are coming out of rigor, so we're looking at So Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Suicide? Looks right.
The guy shot himself lying down.
Kinda weird, but it takes all kinds.
Looks like he was doing pretty well for himself.
Expensive watches, designer clothes.
A Porsche in the garage.
Find a note? No, sir.
We're still looking.
Have you checked the laptops? They're password-protected, so it'll take a moment to figure out their log-ins.
Cracked 'em! Her middle name, his birthday.
Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.
Um I'll see what I can find.
Thank you, Mike.
Detective Sykes, you were saying? Right-- uh, Dr.
Edwards was a cosmetic dentist, owned his own practice.
Office manager said he was extremely successful, and his credit report backs that up.
According to his Facebook page, he was gay, single, and his last status update was "Decaf-- what's the point?" Actually, it's caffeine we should do without.
It's a drug.
Seriously.
Anyone else think that it is odd that Dr.
Edwards had both his and his sister's laptop in his room? Well maybe something on Janet's computer started the argument.
Text messages from Edwards' phone to his sister about her divorce, ma'am.
Rios, why are you still here? Waiting for you guys to confirm murder-suicide.
And I-I can't find my keys.
These text messages make it sound like Janet's husband was physically abusing her and that she sought safety with the brother.
How'd that work out? Why haven't we put out a press release, tied this murder-suicide up with a bow? Because we still have loose ends.
Like what? Gun is registered to someone else.
And our female victim was in the middle of a very messy divorce.
Julio.
I just found a string of e-mails between Janet and her husband.
He was in town this weekend to try to patch things up.
And get this-- they had plans to eat together Saturday evening.
Same night as the murders.
Maybe Edwards got angry with Janet for going out with her wife-beating husband.
So, Dr.
Edwards saves his sister from a bad relationship by killing her? Husband wrote Janet an e-mail saying he'd be at the Ramada in West Hollywood till tomorrow.
If you're not busy? Oh, um, I-I will go look and check I-if the husband is still there.
Right.
Loose ends.
They're not the same.
Something wrong? The pictures of the victim's house on Facebook do not sync up with my video of the crime scene.
Morning, everyone.
Hope you weren't planning on leaving early today.
Now what? Your supposed suicide.
William Edwards' left wrist.
You see the small abrasion on the bone? There's no blood.
The cut is postmortem.
Correct.
I think the victim's wrists were restrained with handcuffs removed after death, which is why the cut didn't bleed.
But if he was cuffed, wouldn't we see bruising on his wrists? Not if the cuffs were padded.
Padded handcuffs? Or leather restraints.
Maybe he liked it rough in the bedroom.
Guess Edwards forgot his safe word.
Oh, and I found at least four cotton fibers in Dr.
Edwards' mouth, so somebody was trying to keep him quiet before he died.
Ramada says the husband hasn't checked out yet.
Maybe we should get him some room service.
Yeah, we'll give him a ride across town.
Come on, Sykes.
You can drive.
Uh, Captain? Edwards posted a lot of photos of his house on Facebook, but when Buzz compared these pictures to the crime-scene video, they didn't match.
For instance, online, you can see Edwards arranged his baseball collection differently.
Today, it's all out of order.
And we found his laptop on his dresser.
All the other pictures, it's on his desk downstairs.
Laptops are designed to move around, but-- Maybe we should talk to that maid again and show her those pictures.
Better yet, maybe we should take her back to the scene.
Captain Raydor? This is a very strange letter sent to Rusty-- care of DCFS.
Careful how you take it.
Oh, God.
"Dear Rusty, greetings.
I've been following the Phillip Stroh case in the news.
You must be under a lot of pressure as such an important witness against him.
On the bright side, at least you're no longer hunting for tricks on Sunset Boulevard.
So many young boys who work the streets end up dead.
Make sure you are right with the Lord, and pray that He remains forgiving to sinners like us, because our fate is not always in our own hands.
Sincerely, an old friend.
" Well assuming this is Phillip Stroh intimidating our witness and not some nut playing a prank-- Phillip Stroh is too smart to write this himself.
But he's a lawyer in jail.
From what I've read, it wouldn't be the first time he's traded favors to have a felon give him a hand.
We could toss Stroh's cell, check who he's close to at County.
I agree.
Meanwhile, Rusty should have extra protection.
I can talk to my office about relocating him.
- What? - Um, that's not an option.
If you're concerned for his safety-- So, this is what I get for being honest? Sharon, I didn't have to show you this letter.
Relocating Rusty right now would be an overreaction.
Whoever wrote this letter addressed it to the Department of Children's Services.
They don't even know where Rusty lives.
Should we wait until someone shows up at your front door before taking it seriously? Well, why don't I send this letter to Prints and see what they come up with, ma'am? Fine.
We'll start there.
And I'll need a writing sample.
Wait-- you think I wrote this?! The defense will suggest that you did.
I have to rule it out.
Don't be ridiculous, Emma.
The defense can get a subpoena-- I said I want a writing sample from Rusty.
Copy this letter-- print and cursive.
Excuse me.
Captain, the victim's husband is on his way up.
I'm going to your electronics room.
Good idea.
He's with Lieutenant Provenza and Detective Sykes.
Uh sorry.
Also, Lieutenants Flynn and Tao are meeting the maid at the crime scene and want me to go with them.
Good.
Thank you, Buzz.
Don't be concerned about this witness-protection business.
It's not gonna happen.
Okay.
I won't worry about it, then.
At all.
What a liar.
My wife has no legal reason to complain at all, and if Janet wants me gone, fine.
She's just got to say so.
But I never touched her.
I understand, Dwayne.
I do.
And we want to hear your side of things.
So, let's start with what the two of you did on Saturday night.
We went to dinner.
That's why I came back to LA, was to try and make things right.
But she was still so angry.
We got into everything again-- in public.
And she stormed out before the food came.
And after that? I found her crying in the parking lot.
She doesn't want to even sit at the same table with me.
So I dropped her off at her brother's place.
That's it.
Yesterday, I tried to call her a few times.
She never picked up.
I figured I'd let her cool off some.
And then you people showed up.
Yeah, it's a shame we weren't at your house two months ago, when you and Janet last fought.
When you put her in the ER.
Think this is what she's still mad about? The person that did this-- he is not me.
Well, he's got your fingerprints.
I lost it that one time.
That never happened before.
Ohh! That's what guys like you always say.
"It was an accident.
I lost control.
- I didn't mean it.
" - Hey.
Hey! Look, I love Janet.
And what I did, I regret it.
But she wasn't some innocent flower.
People don't care about the things she did to me.
Oh.
So she had it coming, is that it? And you gave it to her.
Bet it made you feel like a man, huh? Crushing her face like that? That's not what I mean.
You're putting words in my mouth.
How about, "I'm sorry I'm a wife beater"? - You don't know what you're talking about! - 'Cause that's what you are, and you know it! You push me one more step! - Ah, there's the real Dwayne! - Hey! Hey! Hey! Now, you're not arguing with your wife anymore, boyo.
Now you're threatening a police officer! You calm down and sit! Sit down! Now, you pull yourself together, or I'll put you someplace where that can happen.
Now, let's let's get back to Saturday.
Your dinner goes to hell, and you drive Janet home.
Did you walk her to the door? No.
No, her brother hates me-- wants me out of her life.
I wonder why.
And when you dropped her off, was he there-- Janet's brother? A car was in the driveway.
Uh, not his, but a silver Accord.
Did you see the driver? No.
I assumed it was some guy he picked up.
You know, he's gay.
What's this got to do with me and Janet, anyway? I don't think he knows she's dead.
Maybe he's just a good actor.
Let's hold him.
See if anyone we come across drives a silver Accord.
Oh, and you know what? Amy, let's put out that press release that Chief Taylor is so anxious about.
The one confirming murder-suicide? - That's the one.
- But, ca-- You heard the Captain, Sykes.
Please-- just do it.
It's like I thought.
She says the baseballs are out of order.
El señor William siempre las organizaba por el año en que estaban autografiadas.
He always kept them by the year they were signed.
Okay.
Great.
Anything else? Señora, ¿podría observar el cuarto y decirme si todo está bien? Estos no deben estar aquí.
These don't go here.
Pertenecen en una repisa en su clóset.
She says he kept these things on a shelf in the closet.
Mm.
What do we have here? Stems and seeds rolling papers a lighter.
Por favor, era buena gente.
No quisiera que ustedes piensen mal del señor.
She doesn't want us to think Dr.
Edwards was a bad person.
Yeah.
Fine.
Did he keep anything else in the box? Señora, ¿qué otras cosas guardaba en esa caja? Sí.
Guardaba un poco de dinero.
A little money-- always.
So, someone cuffed Dr.
Edwards and robbed the place.
His sister came home early.
Our guy shot her and then came back upstairs.
Shot Edwards, put everything back, and made it look like murder-suicide.
God.
But he took the cash and the drugs.
Could you ask her if she ever saw Dr.
Edwards with a gun? ¿Él tenía una pistola? No.
Maybe we should pay the registered owner a visit.
He's in the neighborhood.
Are you okay? Yeah.
I feel great.
Haven't eaten anything in a few days.
It's these juices I've been drinking.
They're amazing.
They got kale, ginkgo balboa.
- Biloba.
- What? Ginkgo biloba-- native to China.
Anyway it's incredible.
And no headache from losing the caffeine.
Exactly.
Yeah, and don't take "no" for an answer, okay? Mm-hmm.
Good.
Hey, uh, look, I got to go.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Bye.
What's up? Can I help you? You Stewart Ness? Yeah.
Mm.
One second.
Sorry.
Hello.
It's just work.
It's, uh, crazy right now.
What do you do, Mr.
Ness? I run a gossip site online-- who's screwing who.
Oh.
Whoa! Oh, this is gonna be huge.
Gimme that.
And that! Hey! What are you doing? Do you own a 9-millimeter handgun, Mr.
Ness? What? No.
I-I-I don't.
Wrong answer.
Try again.
I, um look, I-I lost it.
Well, we found it.
And look what it's been up to.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
Listen to me.
You grab your keys and lock your door, 'cause I heard a rumor you're taking the afternoon off.
It's creepy, but I get anonymous letters threatening me all the time worse than this.
But you're in law enforcement.
The boy is a material witness in-- A material witness in a murder trial-- I'm well aware.
Out of curiosity, what do you suggest we do? I know it's emotional for Captain Raydor, but if we were dealing with a gang case here, the boy would be put in Witness Protection immediately.
This is just another attempt to get him out of my custody.
Yes, because you know very well that living in your house could compromise his testimony.
If he wasn't living with me, you wouldn't even have his testimony.
The minute you put him in foster care, he will be gone.
Look, Russell Phillip Stroh has successfully defended countless child molesters and rapists-- people who owe him their freedom.
He has manipulated loyalties in the past to commit terrible crimes.
Proper Witness Protection is the only way to make sure rusty stays safe.
Excuse me, DDA Rios.
Who's gonna pay for that? Who's gonna pay for what? Rusty's protected-witness status and everything that goes with it-- who's gonna pay for that? Well in order for the DA's office to pick up the tab, the letter would have to be more overtly threatening.
Then what are we even discussing here? But the underlying aggression behind this letter is the issue.
The wording of this letter never rises to the level of actionable witness intimidation.
And I don't have anything in my budget marked "For when the DA overreacts.
" Yes, Captain? While I agree that relocation would be too expensive, I do believe extra protection is warranted.
Which is why you carry a badge and a gun.
Wha-- Did you run the original of this letter for prints and DNA? Yes, and we are waiting for the results.
Good.
When you know more, we'll talk again.
Thank you, Emma.
Bye-bye.
We have an actual murder to discuss.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
That's all the time I have to spend on Rusty Beck and a trial that won't take place for another year and a half, if we're lucky.
Meanwhile, tell me why we're still working this murder-suicide.
Because it's not closed.
Of course it is.
It says so right here on this press release that you had me put out for the 11:00 news and tomorrow's paper.
That was designed so whoever committed these murders will think they got away with it.
Great.
Are we at least close on anyone? We have two suspects and one gun.
Look familiar? I was robbed.
Okay? About a month ago.
And this guy he took it, along with a bunch of other stuff.
Did you fill out a police report for this robbery? No.
Why not? It's complicated.
I'm in a relationship.
And - Anything? - Too soon to tell, ma'am.
this guy was supposed to be, you know, a one-time thing.
The guy who robbed you? Yeah.
My boyfriend was out of town-- Look,really don't want him to find out about this.
Start cooperating with us right now, or we'll tweet the media how this gun left your house.
Maybe your fellow gossip mongers might be interested, start digging through your life.
Sound fun? Or you could just start by telling us where you met this, uh, "one-time thing.
" On Dude Ranch.
It's a social app.
A way to hook up with well, men.
You sign in on your phone, and it shows you pictures of all the guys in your area looking for a little action.
Could I have Dr.
Edwards' cellphone, please? I downloaded the app in case I was ever on my own and had some time to kill.
It's not like it's a crime.
And it's super-easy.
You find someone you like, and you send them a message.
It's called a whip.
And if they like you, they whip you back, and see what happens.
That's it? The gays-- they have it made.
So you found this guy? No.
He found me, actually.
His profile pic was just a photo of his chest.
It was kinda hot.
Anyway, um, he said he lived in the neighborhood.
Afterwards, though, I-I decided he must have been parked nearby, looking for a guy with a nice house.
Mike, what are you doing? I'm downloading Dude Ranch.
Go on.
Keep going.
So, uh you told this guy to come over? Yeah.
And he was cute, too.
I mean, like, Ryan Gosling cute.
Mid-20s, brown hair, brown puppy-dog eyes.
Well, Janet's husband is looking less and less likely every minute.
He asked if I was alone Dr.
Edwards does not have Dude Ranch on his phone.
Well, then the killer might have deleted it, because the app's still on his laptop.
And then a-all of a sudden, he-- he shoved me to the floor really hard and threw on some handcuffs.
I was freaked.
I didn't know what he was gonna do.
I-I-I was-- I told him, I was like, "I'm not into rough stuff," but he-- he just laughed.
And that's when he started packing up my things, along with the gun.
A-after he left, I called my assistant for help.
And well, I-I-I deleted the app and just tried my best to forget the whole thing.
Except I may have saved a copy of the chest photo.
I'll-- I'll show you if you give me my phone back.
Why would you save his picture? I told you.
He was kinda hot.
Oh! See? The Dude Ranch people finally got back to us this morning, and according to their database, the photo Mr.
Ness showed us has been used as a profile pic under 11 different names.
What kind of information do they ask of their new members? I downloaded the free version yesterday, and all I had to do was submit a screen name.
I'm "Mr.
Clean.
" So for all we know, there are 11 different screen names for the same guy.
I found three more robberies with the same MO in the last month alone-- hits in the Pacific Palisades and Hancock Park.
The victims met the assailant online, ma'am.
Whoa! I've been tapping this prompt on Dude Ranch to "Ride the Range" looking for our suspect.
"Ride the Range"? It expands the search for dudes beyond your immediate area.
And look at this.
One of the new profiles that just popped up has that same shirtless photo.
Fantastic.
Lonelyboy310.
It says he's 8.
2 miles away.
Mike, can you use this app to triangulate his position? If he stays online, I should be able to get within About 200 feet away.
To your-- wait a second.
Wait, wait, wait.
Now I'm 210.
Uh, let's go this way.
Okay, 200.
We're getting close.
Amy? All right, Julio.
Whip him.
Everyone keep your eyes peeled.
_ All right, we got a guy across the street from you wearing a gray t-shirt.
I see him.
I got him.
I got him.
Uh, Flynn, come around the block.
He's on the southeast corner in a small crowd.
See if the witness can identify him.
Copy that.
My God.
That's him.
I have an ID, if you guys picked the same guy as Stewie here.
Hey, Lonelyboy310! What?! Get off of me! What is this?! Come on! - Don't resist! - Get off of me! - Come on! - All right.
Turn him around, Mike.
Ow! Is that your car, sir? Yeah.
So what? So, what? So you're under arrest, Tyler Allen.
That's what.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one - Hey.
- Hey.
I didn't know you were gonna be so late.
I waited up for you.
Did you get something to eat? Uh, yeah, I just heated up some leftovers.
Thanks.
So did you hear anything from prints or DNA about my letter? Um, not yet.
Okay.
Okay, I-I've been thinking about this-- Wait.
My number-one job here is to make sure that you are safe.
Hey, I-I'm safe, okay? You have no idea how safe I am.
Listen, though.
What kind of killer writes his victims in advance? That's, like, a James Bond villain.
It's completely stupid, because it puts everybody on guard.
And besides all that, I can take care of myself, as you know.
I do know that.
You can take care of yourself.
But these letters are designed to intimidate people so that they won't testify.
And I would feel better if I drove you to school tomorrow and had patrol pick you up and bring you to work afterwards.
Really? I mean, really? Is it not bad enough that I have to spend all summer in school, doing all this extra study work with Buzz? Which I'm not complaining about, because I know he's helping me out for free and is mostly nice about it.
But I just-- I spend so much time with you guys already.
And what's the point of my having a car if you take me everywhere? Well, it's just while we wait until the lab results from the letter come back, if you don't mind.
Well, you're asking me, so it sounds like I have a choice? That would be misleading.
Fine.
Drop me off at school tomorrow like I'm 7 years old, and I'll wait till I see the squad car before I walk out the door, like last year.
Is that the deal? It is.
And I thank you for your understanding.
Okay.
Whatever.
We kept a close eye on our suspect overnight.
Provenza says Mr.
Allen drew a good public defender.
Roland Jennings.
- Morning.
- Morning.
Yeah, I've sat across from him several times.
Knows what he's doing.
Your searches turn up anything? Prescriptions in Tyler Allen's apartment in the names of the people he robbed.
So, not a genius.
And in his car? A pair of padded handcuffs.
Seriously? Did they have Edwards' blood on them? Not a trace, but Allen doesn't need to know that.
He is the guy.
And if Mr.
Jennings is a decent lawyer, he'll deal on the four reported robberies as one crime.
Wait, wait, wait.
These robberies don't include the one at Edwards' house.
If they did include that one, Emma, even Tyler Allen, our suspect, would know what we're up to.
I want double homicide.
And these other robberies are the way to get it.
Just deal as you normally would, please.
I promise you-- we're on the same side.
Come on.
Come on.
Let's go.
Ah.
The ladies.
Um, Jennings, this is DDA Rios.
DDA Rios and I have met.
Ah.
And, uh, this is Captain Raydor.
Uh, so, I was just-- thank you.
I was just asking the Lieutenant here, who-- well, has been investigating homicides since before I was born, why Major Crimes is working a bunch of no-account robberies.
"No-account robberies"? Oh, I-I wouldn't call them that.
Uh your client preyed exclusively on gay men, so his offenses could be looked at as hate crimes.
And due to recent events, the LAPD is extremely sensitive to accusations of prejudice.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Go on.
In addition to being gay, each one of the four victims ID'd Mr.
Allen as their assailant.
Now, put that with prescriptions in the victims' name ending up in your client's possession-- oh, and, uh, the handcuffs in his trunk Okay.
Okay.
So, given your evidence and the potential media heat, you're willing to deal here because? We want to, you know spare the victims from testifying.
Something I wish we did more of around here.
And what kind of sentence are you looking for on these robberies? Two years each-- consecutive.
That's a little steep, isn't it? These robberies sound more like aggravated burglaries to me.
No one was injured, no break-ins.
Even if your version of events is correct, my client was invited in by each-- Lucky for him-- otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here - bargaining over his sentencing.
- Oh, the state just let a lot of people out of prison who did much worse things than this.
Two years apiece, concurrent.
No.
I said eight years.
Four.
I mean, four is tops.
Concurrent.
Well, a deal has got to give us something, too, Rios.
And if you don't want your witnesses in court, any other robbery charges that may turn up are included in these four counts.
Fine.
If he gives it all up today.
And providing his statement of facts proves that these were not hate crimes.
Here are the bullet points.
Have your client look that over.
Hypothetically, Mr.
Allen's amenable.
I know you have some questions, but if your offer should be refused, you can use nothing he says here against him.
Oh, of course.
Where do you want me to start? Tell us about yourself.
You were promoting a club? No, that was just for quick cash.
I'm not, uh, a-a robber.
I'm a musician.
Been out here a year, and it's rough finding gigs.
No one's hiring for sessions, and I got to eat, you know? Mm.
That's how all this got started.
I was just trying to get by.
Anyway, I found this app for my phone called Dude Ranch.
It's used primarily by gay men? Yeah, but this wasn't a hate-crime thing.
Jennings told me what you said.
Look, I only robbed those people 'cause I needed the money.
- Nothing else.
- I see.
So you initially used this app solely as a way to meet other men? Yes.
Oh.
And then, one night, I was cruising Dude Ranch, and this guy hit me up.
We texted, and he said to come over, so I did.
And there I was in this big house with all this nice stuff-- stuff he didn't need, believe me.
And after we fooled around and he fell asleep, I started poking around in his closet, just wishing I had clothes like him.
And then I found this collection of watches-- really expensive, like 20 of 'em.
I mean, who needs 20 watches? So, I took one, and I bet he still doesn't even know it's gone.
But I was able to pay my rent that month.
So you realized rich, gay men were easy targets? No, no.
It's not that they were targets.
It's, like, most of them have, like, five of everything, so they'd never call the police.
And I only did this a few times.
And how would you do it? You have to say it.
No lying, or no deal.
I'd drive into a nice neighborhood using the app to look for people.
If someone was into me, I'd hit him up, tell him I lived a few streets away.
Usually, they'd invite me over.
That establishes his MO, but why aren't they dealing on the murders? - They are.
Just watch.
- You'd go by yourself? - Uh-huh.
- Where did you park your Accord? The driveway.
And when did you start using the handcuffs, Tyler? Every time after the first guy.
Look, maybe that sounds weird, but I had to be safe.
You know, some of these guys were bigger than me.
I'd always make sure he was alone, make sure he wasn't expecting anybody.
We'd talk.
I'd play my part, and then I'd pin the dude down really quick and cuff him, leave him there while I took his stuff, and then buy a new pair of cuffs the next day.
Okay.
So, now we need you to describe all of the things that you stole.
Only watches, jewelry, computers-- cash, if they had it.
That's not all is it? Okay.
Okay.
Sometimes drugs.
Look, I was gonna stop all this as soon as I landed a steady gig somewhere-- I promise.
It was never my plan to become a career criminal.
It was, you know, survival.
Do you need anything else? Nope.
This document confirms your agreement to serve a total of four years for all these robberies.
I've included the names and addresses of each victim So, I assume one of those robberies includes the house where he stole the murder weapon? It does.
If you would put your signature at the bottom, we'll set a court date for next week, and we'll get this in front of a judge.
Is that it? There is one more thing.
He just confessed to robbing Stewart Ness.
And in the stolen-property report that he filled out it lists this gun.
What the hell is this? Y-you can't add gun charges to these robberies.
We found this weapon that your client stole at the scene of an attempted robbery matching his MO in Venice, where we also found a double homicide.
- Wait-- what? This is ridiculous.
- Don't say anything else.
No, I-I read about that in the paper.
They said it was a murder-suicide.
Oh, well, sometimes the press gets it wrong.
Where were you last Saturday night, Mr.
Allen? Don't answer that.
And the, uh, handcuffs that you had in the back of your car? The victim tried to get out of them, wore the skin off his wrists-- left blood.
- Really? - I'm not a murderer! - Tyler, shut up! - You are a murderer! He is! - This is new charges! We want to see the evidentiary basis.
- No, no, listen! - You guys-- you guys have all of this wrong! - Tyler! Tyler! What? What? What do we have wrong, Tyler? If it wasn't a murder, what was it? - Panic! Panic! - Tyler.
- It wasn't murder! It was panic! - Tyler! Tyler! That's enough! That's more than enough, Detective Sanchez.
Wait! No, wait! Wait! Look! Wait! Look! That woman that came into the house-- she scared me! I didn't mean to shoot her at all! No, but after you killed her, you went upstairs to a man that you robbed and handcuffed, and you shot him in the head! And you left behind the laptops you were stealing! And the gun, because you wanted your murder to look like suicide.
And I'm wondering, do you remember-- did Dr.
Edwards beg for his life before you blew his brains out? Is that why you stuffed something in his mouth-- so you wouldn't have to hear him scream while you killed him? That sounds deliberate, not panicked.
What do you think, Mr.
Jennings? You got an offer in mind? How do you feel about death row? Hey.
Lieutenant.
You make the death notification to Janet's husband? Oh, yeah.
I gave old Dwayne the good news-- no alimony.
Do you know, he, uh, he cried his eyes out? If he'd treated her better, she'd still be alive.
Hey, Andy? About this cleanse? I think I figured out where all your energy's coming from.
Yeah, I told you-- it's the ginkgo balboa.
And the caffeine.
No way.
Gimme that.
It's right there-- fourth ingredient.
What? The cute girl in the health-food store, she said that the-- Oh, I'm glad my trying to improve my health amuses you guys so much.
Cynical jerks.
"Ginkgo balboa.
" Oh, it's cool.
Hey, guys.
Any news? Uh, yes and no.
They found eight traceable prints on the envelope.
Uh, which came back to four post-office employees, your DCFS supervisor, Cynthia, you, a partial from the Captain and Buzz.
That's it? So no bad guys.
Isn't that a good thing? No, it is not.
Because whoever wrote this letter is taking serious precautions to cover up their identity.
So, now what? Does that mean that You're not gonna have to send me away, are you? No.
But until we've had a chance to discuss extra security with Chief Taylor, you can't take the car to school, hang out with your friends afterwards without a police officer present.
I'll arrange to have him picked up by patrol or one of us until Until it's sorted out.
"Sorted out.
" So what you're saying is, I'm grounded.
Till the trial.
So, for the rest of my life.
But in the meantime I live with you? For sure? You do.
Well I'll deal, then.
It doesn't do much good to say that he'll understand someday.
But it's all I have.
He doesn't need to understand.
He needs to stay safe.
_ _
No caffeine.
I'm on a cleanse.
A what? Cleanse.
You know, like a diet.
Rid your body of toxins, lose some weight.
What do you eat? You don't.
You just drink a lot of this special juice here.
Tastes great.
Look, I got a physical coming up.
Well that's not an exam that you have to study for.
Never mind.
Sanchez.
Brought you some coffee.
Oh, great.
Thank you, sir.
Yep.
So what are we looking at? Well, the maid showed up this morning, like every Monday, found two bodies, and called 911.
No signs of a break-in, so murder-suicide, most likely.
Well, murder-suicide usually solves itself.
Where's everybody else? Tao and Sykes are upstairs with the dead shooter, who's the homeowner, sir.
His victim is female, shot in the back of the head-- through here.
Yeah.
Are we talking husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend? Uh, brother and sister, according to the maid, sir.
- The maid? - In here.
Claudia.
She has a key to the house, and she knows the alarm code.
Which, according to the alarm company, hasn't been set since, uh Saturday.
Well, Claudia said that the sister, Janet, had been visiting, and she argued with her brother a lot.
What was the fight over? ¿Sabes por qué estaban peleando? Creo que estaban peleando por el esposo de Janet.
- She thinks it was about Janet's husband - Pero como mi inglés no es muy bueno, - but because her English - fue difícil para entender.
isn't so good, it was difficult for her to understand.
El señor William nunca podría hacer algo como esto.
But Mr.
William would never do something like this.
Ah.
Where's the first body? Right this way.
Her license says her name is Janet Bloom, And from the looks of things, she was moving pretty fast when he shot her.
See these streaks? When she hit the floor, she slid a good 6 inches.
Oh, geez.
Why do I keep putting myself through this? Oh, oh, Lieutenant Provenza? Yes?! Good morning, Lieutenant.
Yeah.
Is it-- is it bad? Well, I've seen worse.
Anyway, I was just going upstairs to the suicide.
You're welcome to join me.
Well-- well, maybe I should look.
Her face is missing, Lieutenant! You said-- I said that I had seen worse, and I have! He has.
Emma, if you are going to continue to come to the morgue and to the crime scenes, you have got to get used to it.
Uh here.
Uh, let me help you.
Ohh, her face is missing.
This way.
Here.
I got you a coffee.
Seriously? Thank you.
Mmm.
I didn't have time to stop on my way in.
How did you know? I'm a detective.
Excuse me, detective.
So, DDA Rios, since, um, since it appears that we won't need a conviction in this case, there is another potential deal that I would like to discuss with you.
Is this about Phillip Stroh? Has the special-circs committee reviewed your new brief yet? Lieutenant, I understand you're concerned about our material witness.
If you people don't withdraw a recommendation for death, Rusty will be forced to take the stand, and he'll have to talk about stuff that-- that we're trying very hard to help him forget.
I can't handicap my case worrying about how it'll affect a teenage prostitute.
Not to mention how it will look to the people of California if I offer a deal to a serial killer.
Oh, God! Oh, God! Seriously-- seriously! You have got to keep your voice down.
Now, just stand here-- quietly.
Meet William Edwards-- and, uh, a big sports fan.
But maybe not a legal gun owner.
The one that was in his hand is not registered to him.
Kendall, time of death? Both bodies are coming out of rigor, so we're looking at So Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Suicide? Looks right.
The guy shot himself lying down.
Kinda weird, but it takes all kinds.
Looks like he was doing pretty well for himself.
Expensive watches, designer clothes.
A Porsche in the garage.
Find a note? No, sir.
We're still looking.
Have you checked the laptops? They're password-protected, so it'll take a moment to figure out their log-ins.
Cracked 'em! Her middle name, his birthday.
Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.
Um I'll see what I can find.
Thank you, Mike.
Detective Sykes, you were saying? Right-- uh, Dr.
Edwards was a cosmetic dentist, owned his own practice.
Office manager said he was extremely successful, and his credit report backs that up.
According to his Facebook page, he was gay, single, and his last status update was "Decaf-- what's the point?" Actually, it's caffeine we should do without.
It's a drug.
Seriously.
Anyone else think that it is odd that Dr.
Edwards had both his and his sister's laptop in his room? Well maybe something on Janet's computer started the argument.
Text messages from Edwards' phone to his sister about her divorce, ma'am.
Rios, why are you still here? Waiting for you guys to confirm murder-suicide.
And I-I can't find my keys.
These text messages make it sound like Janet's husband was physically abusing her and that she sought safety with the brother.
How'd that work out? Why haven't we put out a press release, tied this murder-suicide up with a bow? Because we still have loose ends.
Like what? Gun is registered to someone else.
And our female victim was in the middle of a very messy divorce.
Julio.
I just found a string of e-mails between Janet and her husband.
He was in town this weekend to try to patch things up.
And get this-- they had plans to eat together Saturday evening.
Same night as the murders.
Maybe Edwards got angry with Janet for going out with her wife-beating husband.
So, Dr.
Edwards saves his sister from a bad relationship by killing her? Husband wrote Janet an e-mail saying he'd be at the Ramada in West Hollywood till tomorrow.
If you're not busy? Oh, um, I-I will go look and check I-if the husband is still there.
Right.
Loose ends.
They're not the same.
Something wrong? The pictures of the victim's house on Facebook do not sync up with my video of the crime scene.
Morning, everyone.
Hope you weren't planning on leaving early today.
Now what? Your supposed suicide.
William Edwards' left wrist.
You see the small abrasion on the bone? There's no blood.
The cut is postmortem.
Correct.
I think the victim's wrists were restrained with handcuffs removed after death, which is why the cut didn't bleed.
But if he was cuffed, wouldn't we see bruising on his wrists? Not if the cuffs were padded.
Padded handcuffs? Or leather restraints.
Maybe he liked it rough in the bedroom.
Guess Edwards forgot his safe word.
Oh, and I found at least four cotton fibers in Dr.
Edwards' mouth, so somebody was trying to keep him quiet before he died.
Ramada says the husband hasn't checked out yet.
Maybe we should get him some room service.
Yeah, we'll give him a ride across town.
Come on, Sykes.
You can drive.
Uh, Captain? Edwards posted a lot of photos of his house on Facebook, but when Buzz compared these pictures to the crime-scene video, they didn't match.
For instance, online, you can see Edwards arranged his baseball collection differently.
Today, it's all out of order.
And we found his laptop on his dresser.
All the other pictures, it's on his desk downstairs.
Laptops are designed to move around, but-- Maybe we should talk to that maid again and show her those pictures.
Better yet, maybe we should take her back to the scene.
Captain Raydor? This is a very strange letter sent to Rusty-- care of DCFS.
Careful how you take it.
Oh, God.
"Dear Rusty, greetings.
I've been following the Phillip Stroh case in the news.
You must be under a lot of pressure as such an important witness against him.
On the bright side, at least you're no longer hunting for tricks on Sunset Boulevard.
So many young boys who work the streets end up dead.
Make sure you are right with the Lord, and pray that He remains forgiving to sinners like us, because our fate is not always in our own hands.
Sincerely, an old friend.
" Well assuming this is Phillip Stroh intimidating our witness and not some nut playing a prank-- Phillip Stroh is too smart to write this himself.
But he's a lawyer in jail.
From what I've read, it wouldn't be the first time he's traded favors to have a felon give him a hand.
We could toss Stroh's cell, check who he's close to at County.
I agree.
Meanwhile, Rusty should have extra protection.
I can talk to my office about relocating him.
- What? - Um, that's not an option.
If you're concerned for his safety-- So, this is what I get for being honest? Sharon, I didn't have to show you this letter.
Relocating Rusty right now would be an overreaction.
Whoever wrote this letter addressed it to the Department of Children's Services.
They don't even know where Rusty lives.
Should we wait until someone shows up at your front door before taking it seriously? Well, why don't I send this letter to Prints and see what they come up with, ma'am? Fine.
We'll start there.
And I'll need a writing sample.
Wait-- you think I wrote this?! The defense will suggest that you did.
I have to rule it out.
Don't be ridiculous, Emma.
The defense can get a subpoena-- I said I want a writing sample from Rusty.
Copy this letter-- print and cursive.
Excuse me.
Captain, the victim's husband is on his way up.
I'm going to your electronics room.
Good idea.
He's with Lieutenant Provenza and Detective Sykes.
Uh sorry.
Also, Lieutenants Flynn and Tao are meeting the maid at the crime scene and want me to go with them.
Good.
Thank you, Buzz.
Don't be concerned about this witness-protection business.
It's not gonna happen.
Okay.
I won't worry about it, then.
At all.
What a liar.
My wife has no legal reason to complain at all, and if Janet wants me gone, fine.
She's just got to say so.
But I never touched her.
I understand, Dwayne.
I do.
And we want to hear your side of things.
So, let's start with what the two of you did on Saturday night.
We went to dinner.
That's why I came back to LA, was to try and make things right.
But she was still so angry.
We got into everything again-- in public.
And she stormed out before the food came.
And after that? I found her crying in the parking lot.
She doesn't want to even sit at the same table with me.
So I dropped her off at her brother's place.
That's it.
Yesterday, I tried to call her a few times.
She never picked up.
I figured I'd let her cool off some.
And then you people showed up.
Yeah, it's a shame we weren't at your house two months ago, when you and Janet last fought.
When you put her in the ER.
Think this is what she's still mad about? The person that did this-- he is not me.
Well, he's got your fingerprints.
I lost it that one time.
That never happened before.
Ohh! That's what guys like you always say.
"It was an accident.
I lost control.
- I didn't mean it.
" - Hey.
Hey! Look, I love Janet.
And what I did, I regret it.
But she wasn't some innocent flower.
People don't care about the things she did to me.
Oh.
So she had it coming, is that it? And you gave it to her.
Bet it made you feel like a man, huh? Crushing her face like that? That's not what I mean.
You're putting words in my mouth.
How about, "I'm sorry I'm a wife beater"? - You don't know what you're talking about! - 'Cause that's what you are, and you know it! You push me one more step! - Ah, there's the real Dwayne! - Hey! Hey! Hey! Now, you're not arguing with your wife anymore, boyo.
Now you're threatening a police officer! You calm down and sit! Sit down! Now, you pull yourself together, or I'll put you someplace where that can happen.
Now, let's let's get back to Saturday.
Your dinner goes to hell, and you drive Janet home.
Did you walk her to the door? No.
No, her brother hates me-- wants me out of her life.
I wonder why.
And when you dropped her off, was he there-- Janet's brother? A car was in the driveway.
Uh, not his, but a silver Accord.
Did you see the driver? No.
I assumed it was some guy he picked up.
You know, he's gay.
What's this got to do with me and Janet, anyway? I don't think he knows she's dead.
Maybe he's just a good actor.
Let's hold him.
See if anyone we come across drives a silver Accord.
Oh, and you know what? Amy, let's put out that press release that Chief Taylor is so anxious about.
The one confirming murder-suicide? - That's the one.
- But, ca-- You heard the Captain, Sykes.
Please-- just do it.
It's like I thought.
She says the baseballs are out of order.
El señor William siempre las organizaba por el año en que estaban autografiadas.
He always kept them by the year they were signed.
Okay.
Great.
Anything else? Señora, ¿podría observar el cuarto y decirme si todo está bien? Estos no deben estar aquí.
These don't go here.
Pertenecen en una repisa en su clóset.
She says he kept these things on a shelf in the closet.
Mm.
What do we have here? Stems and seeds rolling papers a lighter.
Por favor, era buena gente.
No quisiera que ustedes piensen mal del señor.
She doesn't want us to think Dr.
Edwards was a bad person.
Yeah.
Fine.
Did he keep anything else in the box? Señora, ¿qué otras cosas guardaba en esa caja? Sí.
Guardaba un poco de dinero.
A little money-- always.
So, someone cuffed Dr.
Edwards and robbed the place.
His sister came home early.
Our guy shot her and then came back upstairs.
Shot Edwards, put everything back, and made it look like murder-suicide.
God.
But he took the cash and the drugs.
Could you ask her if she ever saw Dr.
Edwards with a gun? ¿Él tenía una pistola? No.
Maybe we should pay the registered owner a visit.
He's in the neighborhood.
Are you okay? Yeah.
I feel great.
Haven't eaten anything in a few days.
It's these juices I've been drinking.
They're amazing.
They got kale, ginkgo balboa.
- Biloba.
- What? Ginkgo biloba-- native to China.
Anyway it's incredible.
And no headache from losing the caffeine.
Exactly.
Yeah, and don't take "no" for an answer, okay? Mm-hmm.
Good.
Hey, uh, look, I got to go.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Bye.
What's up? Can I help you? You Stewart Ness? Yeah.
Mm.
One second.
Sorry.
Hello.
It's just work.
It's, uh, crazy right now.
What do you do, Mr.
Ness? I run a gossip site online-- who's screwing who.
Oh.
Whoa! Oh, this is gonna be huge.
Gimme that.
And that! Hey! What are you doing? Do you own a 9-millimeter handgun, Mr.
Ness? What? No.
I-I-I don't.
Wrong answer.
Try again.
I, um look, I-I lost it.
Well, we found it.
And look what it's been up to.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
Listen to me.
You grab your keys and lock your door, 'cause I heard a rumor you're taking the afternoon off.
It's creepy, but I get anonymous letters threatening me all the time worse than this.
But you're in law enforcement.
The boy is a material witness in-- A material witness in a murder trial-- I'm well aware.
Out of curiosity, what do you suggest we do? I know it's emotional for Captain Raydor, but if we were dealing with a gang case here, the boy would be put in Witness Protection immediately.
This is just another attempt to get him out of my custody.
Yes, because you know very well that living in your house could compromise his testimony.
If he wasn't living with me, you wouldn't even have his testimony.
The minute you put him in foster care, he will be gone.
Look, Russell Phillip Stroh has successfully defended countless child molesters and rapists-- people who owe him their freedom.
He has manipulated loyalties in the past to commit terrible crimes.
Proper Witness Protection is the only way to make sure rusty stays safe.
Excuse me, DDA Rios.
Who's gonna pay for that? Who's gonna pay for what? Rusty's protected-witness status and everything that goes with it-- who's gonna pay for that? Well in order for the DA's office to pick up the tab, the letter would have to be more overtly threatening.
Then what are we even discussing here? But the underlying aggression behind this letter is the issue.
The wording of this letter never rises to the level of actionable witness intimidation.
And I don't have anything in my budget marked "For when the DA overreacts.
" Yes, Captain? While I agree that relocation would be too expensive, I do believe extra protection is warranted.
Which is why you carry a badge and a gun.
Wha-- Did you run the original of this letter for prints and DNA? Yes, and we are waiting for the results.
Good.
When you know more, we'll talk again.
Thank you, Emma.
Bye-bye.
We have an actual murder to discuss.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
That's all the time I have to spend on Rusty Beck and a trial that won't take place for another year and a half, if we're lucky.
Meanwhile, tell me why we're still working this murder-suicide.
Because it's not closed.
Of course it is.
It says so right here on this press release that you had me put out for the 11:00 news and tomorrow's paper.
That was designed so whoever committed these murders will think they got away with it.
Great.
Are we at least close on anyone? We have two suspects and one gun.
Look familiar? I was robbed.
Okay? About a month ago.
And this guy he took it, along with a bunch of other stuff.
Did you fill out a police report for this robbery? No.
Why not? It's complicated.
I'm in a relationship.
And - Anything? - Too soon to tell, ma'am.
this guy was supposed to be, you know, a one-time thing.
The guy who robbed you? Yeah.
My boyfriend was out of town-- Look,really don't want him to find out about this.
Start cooperating with us right now, or we'll tweet the media how this gun left your house.
Maybe your fellow gossip mongers might be interested, start digging through your life.
Sound fun? Or you could just start by telling us where you met this, uh, "one-time thing.
" On Dude Ranch.
It's a social app.
A way to hook up with well, men.
You sign in on your phone, and it shows you pictures of all the guys in your area looking for a little action.
Could I have Dr.
Edwards' cellphone, please? I downloaded the app in case I was ever on my own and had some time to kill.
It's not like it's a crime.
And it's super-easy.
You find someone you like, and you send them a message.
It's called a whip.
And if they like you, they whip you back, and see what happens.
That's it? The gays-- they have it made.
So you found this guy? No.
He found me, actually.
His profile pic was just a photo of his chest.
It was kinda hot.
Anyway, um, he said he lived in the neighborhood.
Afterwards, though, I-I decided he must have been parked nearby, looking for a guy with a nice house.
Mike, what are you doing? I'm downloading Dude Ranch.
Go on.
Keep going.
So, uh you told this guy to come over? Yeah.
And he was cute, too.
I mean, like, Ryan Gosling cute.
Mid-20s, brown hair, brown puppy-dog eyes.
Well, Janet's husband is looking less and less likely every minute.
He asked if I was alone Dr.
Edwards does not have Dude Ranch on his phone.
Well, then the killer might have deleted it, because the app's still on his laptop.
And then a-all of a sudden, he-- he shoved me to the floor really hard and threw on some handcuffs.
I was freaked.
I didn't know what he was gonna do.
I-I-I was-- I told him, I was like, "I'm not into rough stuff," but he-- he just laughed.
And that's when he started packing up my things, along with the gun.
A-after he left, I called my assistant for help.
And well, I-I-I deleted the app and just tried my best to forget the whole thing.
Except I may have saved a copy of the chest photo.
I'll-- I'll show you if you give me my phone back.
Why would you save his picture? I told you.
He was kinda hot.
Oh! See? The Dude Ranch people finally got back to us this morning, and according to their database, the photo Mr.
Ness showed us has been used as a profile pic under 11 different names.
What kind of information do they ask of their new members? I downloaded the free version yesterday, and all I had to do was submit a screen name.
I'm "Mr.
Clean.
" So for all we know, there are 11 different screen names for the same guy.
I found three more robberies with the same MO in the last month alone-- hits in the Pacific Palisades and Hancock Park.
The victims met the assailant online, ma'am.
Whoa! I've been tapping this prompt on Dude Ranch to "Ride the Range" looking for our suspect.
"Ride the Range"? It expands the search for dudes beyond your immediate area.
And look at this.
One of the new profiles that just popped up has that same shirtless photo.
Fantastic.
Lonelyboy310.
It says he's 8.
2 miles away.
Mike, can you use this app to triangulate his position? If he stays online, I should be able to get within About 200 feet away.
To your-- wait a second.
Wait, wait, wait.
Now I'm 210.
Uh, let's go this way.
Okay, 200.
We're getting close.
Amy? All right, Julio.
Whip him.
Everyone keep your eyes peeled.
_ All right, we got a guy across the street from you wearing a gray t-shirt.
I see him.
I got him.
I got him.
Uh, Flynn, come around the block.
He's on the southeast corner in a small crowd.
See if the witness can identify him.
Copy that.
My God.
That's him.
I have an ID, if you guys picked the same guy as Stewie here.
Hey, Lonelyboy310! What?! Get off of me! What is this?! Come on! - Don't resist! - Get off of me! - Come on! - All right.
Turn him around, Mike.
Ow! Is that your car, sir? Yeah.
So what? So, what? So you're under arrest, Tyler Allen.
That's what.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one - Hey.
- Hey.
I didn't know you were gonna be so late.
I waited up for you.
Did you get something to eat? Uh, yeah, I just heated up some leftovers.
Thanks.
So did you hear anything from prints or DNA about my letter? Um, not yet.
Okay.
Okay, I-I've been thinking about this-- Wait.
My number-one job here is to make sure that you are safe.
Hey, I-I'm safe, okay? You have no idea how safe I am.
Listen, though.
What kind of killer writes his victims in advance? That's, like, a James Bond villain.
It's completely stupid, because it puts everybody on guard.
And besides all that, I can take care of myself, as you know.
I do know that.
You can take care of yourself.
But these letters are designed to intimidate people so that they won't testify.
And I would feel better if I drove you to school tomorrow and had patrol pick you up and bring you to work afterwards.
Really? I mean, really? Is it not bad enough that I have to spend all summer in school, doing all this extra study work with Buzz? Which I'm not complaining about, because I know he's helping me out for free and is mostly nice about it.
But I just-- I spend so much time with you guys already.
And what's the point of my having a car if you take me everywhere? Well, it's just while we wait until the lab results from the letter come back, if you don't mind.
Well, you're asking me, so it sounds like I have a choice? That would be misleading.
Fine.
Drop me off at school tomorrow like I'm 7 years old, and I'll wait till I see the squad car before I walk out the door, like last year.
Is that the deal? It is.
And I thank you for your understanding.
Okay.
Whatever.
We kept a close eye on our suspect overnight.
Provenza says Mr.
Allen drew a good public defender.
Roland Jennings.
- Morning.
- Morning.
Yeah, I've sat across from him several times.
Knows what he's doing.
Your searches turn up anything? Prescriptions in Tyler Allen's apartment in the names of the people he robbed.
So, not a genius.
And in his car? A pair of padded handcuffs.
Seriously? Did they have Edwards' blood on them? Not a trace, but Allen doesn't need to know that.
He is the guy.
And if Mr.
Jennings is a decent lawyer, he'll deal on the four reported robberies as one crime.
Wait, wait, wait.
These robberies don't include the one at Edwards' house.
If they did include that one, Emma, even Tyler Allen, our suspect, would know what we're up to.
I want double homicide.
And these other robberies are the way to get it.
Just deal as you normally would, please.
I promise you-- we're on the same side.
Come on.
Come on.
Let's go.
Ah.
The ladies.
Um, Jennings, this is DDA Rios.
DDA Rios and I have met.
Ah.
And, uh, this is Captain Raydor.
Uh, so, I was just-- thank you.
I was just asking the Lieutenant here, who-- well, has been investigating homicides since before I was born, why Major Crimes is working a bunch of no-account robberies.
"No-account robberies"? Oh, I-I wouldn't call them that.
Uh your client preyed exclusively on gay men, so his offenses could be looked at as hate crimes.
And due to recent events, the LAPD is extremely sensitive to accusations of prejudice.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Go on.
In addition to being gay, each one of the four victims ID'd Mr.
Allen as their assailant.
Now, put that with prescriptions in the victims' name ending up in your client's possession-- oh, and, uh, the handcuffs in his trunk Okay.
Okay.
So, given your evidence and the potential media heat, you're willing to deal here because? We want to, you know spare the victims from testifying.
Something I wish we did more of around here.
And what kind of sentence are you looking for on these robberies? Two years each-- consecutive.
That's a little steep, isn't it? These robberies sound more like aggravated burglaries to me.
No one was injured, no break-ins.
Even if your version of events is correct, my client was invited in by each-- Lucky for him-- otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here - bargaining over his sentencing.
- Oh, the state just let a lot of people out of prison who did much worse things than this.
Two years apiece, concurrent.
No.
I said eight years.
Four.
I mean, four is tops.
Concurrent.
Well, a deal has got to give us something, too, Rios.
And if you don't want your witnesses in court, any other robbery charges that may turn up are included in these four counts.
Fine.
If he gives it all up today.
And providing his statement of facts proves that these were not hate crimes.
Here are the bullet points.
Have your client look that over.
Hypothetically, Mr.
Allen's amenable.
I know you have some questions, but if your offer should be refused, you can use nothing he says here against him.
Oh, of course.
Where do you want me to start? Tell us about yourself.
You were promoting a club? No, that was just for quick cash.
I'm not, uh, a-a robber.
I'm a musician.
Been out here a year, and it's rough finding gigs.
No one's hiring for sessions, and I got to eat, you know? Mm.
That's how all this got started.
I was just trying to get by.
Anyway, I found this app for my phone called Dude Ranch.
It's used primarily by gay men? Yeah, but this wasn't a hate-crime thing.
Jennings told me what you said.
Look, I only robbed those people 'cause I needed the money.
- Nothing else.
- I see.
So you initially used this app solely as a way to meet other men? Yes.
Oh.
And then, one night, I was cruising Dude Ranch, and this guy hit me up.
We texted, and he said to come over, so I did.
And there I was in this big house with all this nice stuff-- stuff he didn't need, believe me.
And after we fooled around and he fell asleep, I started poking around in his closet, just wishing I had clothes like him.
And then I found this collection of watches-- really expensive, like 20 of 'em.
I mean, who needs 20 watches? So, I took one, and I bet he still doesn't even know it's gone.
But I was able to pay my rent that month.
So you realized rich, gay men were easy targets? No, no.
It's not that they were targets.
It's, like, most of them have, like, five of everything, so they'd never call the police.
And I only did this a few times.
And how would you do it? You have to say it.
No lying, or no deal.
I'd drive into a nice neighborhood using the app to look for people.
If someone was into me, I'd hit him up, tell him I lived a few streets away.
Usually, they'd invite me over.
That establishes his MO, but why aren't they dealing on the murders? - They are.
Just watch.
- You'd go by yourself? - Uh-huh.
- Where did you park your Accord? The driveway.
And when did you start using the handcuffs, Tyler? Every time after the first guy.
Look, maybe that sounds weird, but I had to be safe.
You know, some of these guys were bigger than me.
I'd always make sure he was alone, make sure he wasn't expecting anybody.
We'd talk.
I'd play my part, and then I'd pin the dude down really quick and cuff him, leave him there while I took his stuff, and then buy a new pair of cuffs the next day.
Okay.
So, now we need you to describe all of the things that you stole.
Only watches, jewelry, computers-- cash, if they had it.
That's not all is it? Okay.
Okay.
Sometimes drugs.
Look, I was gonna stop all this as soon as I landed a steady gig somewhere-- I promise.
It was never my plan to become a career criminal.
It was, you know, survival.
Do you need anything else? Nope.
This document confirms your agreement to serve a total of four years for all these robberies.
I've included the names and addresses of each victim So, I assume one of those robberies includes the house where he stole the murder weapon? It does.
If you would put your signature at the bottom, we'll set a court date for next week, and we'll get this in front of a judge.
Is that it? There is one more thing.
He just confessed to robbing Stewart Ness.
And in the stolen-property report that he filled out it lists this gun.
What the hell is this? Y-you can't add gun charges to these robberies.
We found this weapon that your client stole at the scene of an attempted robbery matching his MO in Venice, where we also found a double homicide.
- Wait-- what? This is ridiculous.
- Don't say anything else.
No, I-I read about that in the paper.
They said it was a murder-suicide.
Oh, well, sometimes the press gets it wrong.
Where were you last Saturday night, Mr.
Allen? Don't answer that.
And the, uh, handcuffs that you had in the back of your car? The victim tried to get out of them, wore the skin off his wrists-- left blood.
- Really? - I'm not a murderer! - Tyler, shut up! - You are a murderer! He is! - This is new charges! We want to see the evidentiary basis.
- No, no, listen! - You guys-- you guys have all of this wrong! - Tyler! Tyler! What? What? What do we have wrong, Tyler? If it wasn't a murder, what was it? - Panic! Panic! - Tyler.
- It wasn't murder! It was panic! - Tyler! Tyler! That's enough! That's more than enough, Detective Sanchez.
Wait! No, wait! Wait! Look! Wait! Look! That woman that came into the house-- she scared me! I didn't mean to shoot her at all! No, but after you killed her, you went upstairs to a man that you robbed and handcuffed, and you shot him in the head! And you left behind the laptops you were stealing! And the gun, because you wanted your murder to look like suicide.
And I'm wondering, do you remember-- did Dr.
Edwards beg for his life before you blew his brains out? Is that why you stuffed something in his mouth-- so you wouldn't have to hear him scream while you killed him? That sounds deliberate, not panicked.
What do you think, Mr.
Jennings? You got an offer in mind? How do you feel about death row? Hey.
Lieutenant.
You make the death notification to Janet's husband? Oh, yeah.
I gave old Dwayne the good news-- no alimony.
Do you know, he, uh, he cried his eyes out? If he'd treated her better, she'd still be alive.
Hey, Andy? About this cleanse? I think I figured out where all your energy's coming from.
Yeah, I told you-- it's the ginkgo balboa.
And the caffeine.
No way.
Gimme that.
It's right there-- fourth ingredient.
What? The cute girl in the health-food store, she said that the-- Oh, I'm glad my trying to improve my health amuses you guys so much.
Cynical jerks.
"Ginkgo balboa.
" Oh, it's cool.
Hey, guys.
Any news? Uh, yes and no.
They found eight traceable prints on the envelope.
Uh, which came back to four post-office employees, your DCFS supervisor, Cynthia, you, a partial from the Captain and Buzz.
That's it? So no bad guys.
Isn't that a good thing? No, it is not.
Because whoever wrote this letter is taking serious precautions to cover up their identity.
So, now what? Does that mean that You're not gonna have to send me away, are you? No.
But until we've had a chance to discuss extra security with Chief Taylor, you can't take the car to school, hang out with your friends afterwards without a police officer present.
I'll arrange to have him picked up by patrol or one of us until Until it's sorted out.
"Sorted out.
" So what you're saying is, I'm grounded.
Till the trial.
So, for the rest of my life.
But in the meantime I live with you? For sure? You do.
Well I'll deal, then.
It doesn't do much good to say that he'll understand someday.
But it's all I have.
He doesn't need to understand.
He needs to stay safe.
_ _