Life s02e07 Episode Script

Neighbors downstairs weren't too happy when her blood came through the ceiling, started dripping on their pancakes.
Called 911.
Stab wounds.
At least three of them.
No signs of struggle or forced entry.
It was someone she knew well enough to let walk right up to her.
Someone she made dinner for.
She got dressed up, set the table, lit the candles, perfume, make-up.
I guess she was hoping the night would end differently.
She didn't even turn around.
Just sat there as the knife went into her.
It's a nice place.
Not much of her here.
Just a pool of blood on the floor.
And this.
Got a tattoo here, the name "Ben" in a heart.
Got a driver's license here, Hannah Ronson, issued three months back.
Looks like this girl just got here.
Car keys.
Jaguar.
"LWA"? If this is Hannah Ronson and the tattoo is Ben, who's LWA? Go see if that matches any of the cars in the building's lot.
Okay.
I guess they were working up an appetite.
This first, then dinner.
"France.
7 million and up.
Must learn French.
Ooh, la, la.
" That's not gonna happen now.
"Ooh, la, la.
" "Sailboat or power boat? Sailboat and power boat.
" "Sixty days or ninety days?" Oh, and plastic surgery.
Looks like Hannah liked to spend.
"LWA.
" Maybe Hannah wasn't shopping with her own money, she was shopping with LWA's.
Detective.
she was shopping with LWA's.
she was shopping with LWA's.
Anything else in the car? This is all there was.
Brand new Jaguar, leased to a Hannah Ronson three months ago.
A parking pass.
St.
Thomas Church.
Church, huh, Hannah? A parking pass for a church.
St.
Thomas.
LWA isn't someone's initials.
I mean, I don't know what the "L" and the "W" stand for, but "A" stands for "anonymous.
" It's a support group.
Church parking.
Exactly what kind of support do you think Hannah was getting here? Is this where LWA meets? Yes, we're LWA.
Could you tell us what it stands for? Lottery Winners Anonymous.
Lottery winners.
You're all lottery winners? LWA.
Yes, but we're only for winners of 20 million or more.
Anything under that, and we're going to have to ask you two to leave.
Is Hannah Ronson a member of this group? We're anonymous.
We don't use last names, but there is a Hannah that belongs here.
Why? Hannah Ronson was found dead in her loft this morning.
Was it an accident? No, it wasn't an accident.
And what's your name? - Tom.
- Tom who? Hannah, our Hannah someone Somebody He's saying someone killed Hannah, numbnuts.
You heard him.
And what's your name? It's Dale.
And you are? Ben.
Dale, you have to take shallow breaths, okay? Dale, Dale Dale, you have to take shallow breaths.
Okay? Dale, you've got to take shallow breaths, all right? Otherwise you're just going to Pass out.
Got any paper bags, Ben? God, that was so embarrassing.
I've seen people have much worse reactions to news like that.
You don't want to know.
But a reaction like that, Dale, usually comes from someone who's pretty close to the victim.
Can you not use that word? Can you call her by her name? By Hannah? Were you close to Hannah? How close were you? - 75.
- Million? Yes.
Hannah was just 34, but still it was so hard for her.
What was so hard for her? Well, like most of us, Hannah came here because she couldn't relate to the ULOs anymore.
The ULOs? The unlucky ones.
Hannah won the Florida lottery last year.
Then, the ULOs at home got to her.
When you hit it like us, suddenly everyone wants something from you, a loan, a gift, a car, boat.
So, she moved from Florida to LA? A few months back.
Tried to start over.
- She liked it here.
- Mmm.
You know, in this room, we all have money, so the only thing we want from each other is each other.
And when did she get the tattoo with your name on it, Ben? Look, no one here knew we were together.
She didn't want anybody to know, so that was just for me.
For us.
Hey, Reese? Tom, tall, skinny guy.
Where'd he go? That old Nova's gone.
Yeah, that's Tom's car.
He hits the lottery and drives that old beater? What was his number? Tom was a big one.
173 million.
You got a last name on Tom? We're anonymous.
No last names.
He's just Tom.
That's all we know.
All right.
Well, you're not anonymous anymore.
We're going to be needing last names and addresses from all of you.
Yo, Dale, is the meeting over or what, man? We want to get a-rollin.
My posse.
A support group for lottery winners? Holy moley! Studies show 80% of all lottery winners regret ever having won it.
You just made that up.
No.
It's the truth.
Then the truth is stupid.
Could the truth be stupid? Googled Hannah Ronson.
Won the Florida lottery last year, 34 million.
Got a photo of her here with that big check.
I get that check, I would not get support.
I would, however, get a hockey team and a blimp with a bar.
That's what you should get, a blimp with a bar.
Then you could float around, have some brews.
Hannah Ronson, stabbed.
Bled out on scene.
Crime scene indicates it was someone she knew.
She didn't have a family here, she didn't have a job.
Search of her loft found no address book.
Looks like the only friends she made since she moved from Florida were the people in LWA.
So, she was closer to these two than the others? Close enough to Ben to have his name on her skin.
I think Dale went there, too.
What about the $173 million man? Tom.
All the big lottery winners sign on to do publicity, so we're running that down.
Okay.
We're going to go.
Detective Reese, can I have a word? I want to talk to you about something.
- No, you don't.
- I'm pretty sure I do.
I'm pretty sure you don't.
The heart wants what the heart wants.
A bodyguard? Yes.
Because of what happened to Hannah.
I think some of the others are getting bodyguards, too.
But can you blame us? She was murdered.
Ben, how long had you been seeing Hannah? About six weeks.
And it was a sexual relationship? Yes.
We were sleeping together.
And when did she put your name on her skin? Last month.
Did you know she was seeing others in the group? - Who? - I'll take that as a no.
Hannah and I were in love, Detectives.
She liked me for me, not for my money.
Okay, since I hit the jackpot, girls I don't even know have been telling me how much they love me.
But with Hannah look, I just knew that she meant it.
And if she was with other guys, I'm sorry, I just don't believe that.
I just don't.
Ben, where were you last night? I was here waiting for Hannah.
You know, if I'm not with her or at group, I'm usually just alone.
Since you won the money? Yeah.
You haven't really spent much of it.
Well, I bought my mom a house because you got to buy your mom a house.
But I was just looking for something good to do with that money.
And you know, Hannah and I I can't believe she's dead.
I mean, what do I have now, you know? Probably not gonna stay long.
Okay.
I'm not gonna tell you anything.
I'm not gonna ask you anything.
About Jack Reese or anything else.
Not going to ask you anything about Jack Reese or anything else.
Is all this money just for staying in jail for 12 years? I could do that.
You sure this is the address Dale gave you? Yeah, I wrote it down.
Well, it looks like Dale lied to you.
Didn't have Dale pegged as a liar.
What about a killer? Dale said he lived here, but there's no house here, so Dale can't live here.
Honey, I'm home.
Yeah, that's right.
TV's Ponch from CHiPs.
He's being very well compensated.
All these other people, are they being well compensated, too, Dale? People like a party, right? Do you live on this bus? Yeah, I got this land here, and some more out in the desert.
That way, I can park the party wherever I want.
Did Hannah like to party? Tell us a bit about your relationship with Hannah, Dale.
Hannah, she was right on, you know what I mean? Explain it to me.
We fooled around a little.
I mean, it was nice knowing Knowing that she wanted you for you, not for your money? Yeah.
But she saw I was still into having this, you know.
Kid in a candy store, you know? She said when I was done with this, she'd be there.
You mean she dumped you? How'd that make you feel? To tell you the truth, it made me want her even more.
Dale, where were you the night Hannah was killed? Here on the bus with my posse.
They can tell you.
These aren't your real friends, Dale.
So, why should we believe them? You're right.
They're not my real friends.
Hannah was my real friend.
You guys are going to find who killed her, right? My ride's here.
I got to go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Hey, you're Charlie Crews, aren't you? That's right.
I'm a big fan of yours.
$173 million Tom is Tom Bruckner.
According to the press release, he worked in the defense industry for nearly 20 years.
He took all his winnings in one lump sum, quit his job.
Why did it take so long to find him? I mean, how many $173 million winners named Tom are out there? Because two years ago, Tom was a lot more jolly.
Ooh! What happened to him? He won the lottery.
We have his address.
We're going there now.
Detective Reese, a word? I wanted to talk about the kiss.
What kiss? "What kiss?" He worked in the defense industry? Yeah, for nearly 20 years.
Do you see a buzzer? No.
What are you doing? I'm going to go knock on the door.
Here, hold the can.
You're climbing his fence to do it? Yeah.
I was first in my fence climbing class at Pelican Bay.
Failed out of tunneling, though.
You ever try to dig with a spoon? Tough stuff.
Mister, I wouldn't do that if I were you.
Why not? He have dogs? No.
No dogs.
He's got guns.
Don't move.
I'm a cop.
- Crews? - Still here.
Stay where you are.
Why'd you climb my fence? Just wanted to ring your doorbell.
I'm going to show you my badge, okay? Crews! Still here.
I guess I'll be inviting you in as a hostage now.
Hands up! And move toward the house.
What's with the fence, Tom? And the metal shutters? Toward the door now! Keep those hands up! What's with all the guns, Tom? Get in and close the door.
$173 million, and you've got SWAT on your curb.
Get in and close the door.
A gun like that, you could have shot me right off that fence.
Are you really a killer, Tom? Get in.
Close the door.
If I close that door, you know what happens next.
Someone dies.
Me.
You.
Both of us, maybe.
I saw some pictures of you from a few years ago, Tom.
That guy wasn't wearing that helmet, that guy was wearing a smile.
Are you really a killer, Tom? You sure you're okay? Yes, I'm fine.
Thank you.
Sometimes, an emotional injury doesn't show itself right away.
I'm fine.
Thank you.
Yeah, I'm fine, too, if you're asking.
Lots of guns.
But no knife.
Hannah was killed with a knife.
You think the money did this to him? Made him like this? No, it's something else.
He's getting ready for something.
Hey, look at this.
This is them.
He put a spy camera in my house? Well, I didn't know that, but it sure doesn't surprise me.
Why doesn't it surprise you? Tom and I worked together for nearly 20 years.
Carpooled, in and out of each other's houses.
Tom and I used to split the cost of lottery tickets.
I'd give him a dollar, and he'd buy them at lunch.
One day, I forgot to give him a dollar.
And that was the day he won? Yeah.
I haven't seen him since.
He quit work, put up those fences.
He doesn't talk to me, doesn't talk to anyone.
I mean, we used to be best friends.
Reese.
- Thanks.
- Do you know Tom Bruckner? And did you ever see him with a woman named Hannah? Dale? What are you doing here? Okay.
Well, it's, like, I have all this money, right, but what am I really doing with my life? Maybe I can help find who killed Hannah.
You should just let the police handle that.
I saw you talking to those people over there.
Are they involved? Dale, what did I just say? Does the apple help? Help? With what? With the solving of crime? You know you're a suspect, right? Yeah, you know, I just wanted to know if the apple helped.
I'm new to all this.
Okay, I'm going.
I'm going.
Detectives! His cash, he had it buried in the basement.
Well, that's just crazy, right? That's just crazy, right? Why'd you shoot at my partner, Tom? He was coming over the wall.
I thought he was coming to get my money, and I was right.
It's all been logged with the property clerk.
Like things haven't been lost there before.
Let's discuss Hannah.
Why'd you run when we told you she'd been murdered? Because I know who killed her, and I thought he'd be coming for me next.
I needed to get ready.
Tom, who killed Hannah? Ronald.
Your friend from across the street? He's not my friend.
You carpooled for 20 years, in and out of each other's house.
You used to split the cost of lottery tickets But not that day, the day I won.
Not on your lucky day, right, Tom? I know he wanted my money, and he couldn't get to it.
So he took the only other thing I had.
Tom, are you saying that you were having a relationship with Hannah? Hannah loved me for who I was.
Ronald couldn't get my money, so he took Hannah instead.
Maybe you can tell us where you were the night Hannah was killed.
Gun show in Covina.
Picked up a Bushmaster.
223.
You can ask my dealer.
He'll tell you.
The night that woman was killed, I was bowling with my wife and kids.
Family league night.
All right.
Well, we'll need to check that out.
He thought I wanted his money.
I never did.
All I really wanted was to be his friend again.
You want to say that to him? Yeah.
So, the guy who doesn't win the lottery goes bowling with his family.
And the guy who wins spends his nights all by himself at gun shows.
Book him for shooting at you two, then run down that alibi.
You should do a psych evaluation.
I'll do an evaluation right now.
Technically, he's bonkers.
So, you think he killed Hannah? No.
He's a gun man.
Hannah was stabbed.
Then put him in a butterfly net, and find me a real suspect.
Hannah had a relationship with all three of them.
Yeah.
Ben, I get.
Dale, I kind of get, but Tom? Reese, why would a beautiful woman date a man like Tom? For the money.
Why would a beautiful woman date a man like Tom if she had her own money? Yeah.
All right.
Okay, I got a match on our dead girl's prints.
Her name is not Hannah Ronson.
It's LeAnn Pembers.
And I'm guessing LeAnn Pembers did not win the Florida lottery.
I don't know if LeAnn ever was in Florida, but she did, however, spend a little time in Georgia.
- In what capacity? - Three years in the state pen.
Mail fraud, insurance fraud.
LeAnn Pembers is not a lottery winner.
LeAnn Pembers is a con artist.
Yeah.
Got a recent address here for her, too.
I'm guessing it's not some pricey loft downtown.
Oh, look at this, men's clothes.
Looks like LeAnn Pembers had a friend.
A con this big you don't pull off by yourself.
So, who wears those boots? Okay, so the loft that she was living in, foreclosed on.
Lease papers were fake.
The Jag in the parking lot, leased with fake credit.
You google Hannah Ronson's name, you get taken to all kinds of fake websites.
- This girl was good.
- Was.
Any ID for the owner of the boots? No, but I did find this, small business incorporation papers, credit application, lease agreements That's how they built up the credit for this lottery con.
These go back a few years.
Long con.
Takes a lot of work.
And all these papers have the same bank as a reference, Bank of Central California.
Why don't you call that 800 number? Yeah.
Bank of Central California, how may I help you? Yes, I'd like to open up a new account.
Can you tell me where you're located? I'm sorry, sir.
We're not accepting new accounts at this time.
Yeah, it's Detective Reese.
Uh, I need a location on the number I just dialed from this phone.
Really? All right, thanks.
Turns out, the Bank of Central California is just two floors down.
Maybe we should invite them up.
You're the Bank of Central California? Look, we have you for it, and I'm guessing I'm guessing gasoline scams, too.
I'll just plead the Fifth on that.
Right now, we're working homicide.
You want, we start working fraud.
LeAnn gave us a phone.
When that phone rings, we're the Bank of Central California.
We clear her credit, she gives us a cut.
That's all you do? I do some other phone work as well, but LeAnn wasn't a part of that.
Phone sex.
How was it that LeAnn passed? She was stabbed to death.
Sweet girl.
She worked a nice grift.
Maybe you can help us.
Who wears those boots? - Lenny.
- Lenny what? Getz, Hoyt, Breen, Ryan, Silver All right, we get it.
Moved in about a year ago.
We don't come around so much since.
Why not? Because he's mean.
Mean's just where Lenny starts.
He sucked the life right out of LeAnn.
Well, maybe he did.
What's he look like? Long hair, mangy beard, real dirty.
But she loved him.
Some women have the worst taste in men.
You go after Lenny, you better bring more than that pretty smile.
A con artist? What, she had done time in prison? In and out since she was 16.
Is that what got her killed? You mean, someone found out she was conning them and then killer her? Where were you that night? He told us he was here.
Alone.
Right.
Ben, did she ever mention a guy named Lenny? Lenny, um, no.
No, no, no, she never did.
Long hair, beard, dirty, anything like that ring a bell? And you picked up that bodyguard there the day after she died? Yes.
A bunch of us did, though.
No.
We asked the others.
You're the only one who felt like he needed protection, Ben.
Who are you afraid of, Ben? Who do you need protection from? I think I'd like both of you to leave right now.
You don't like pepperoni? You don't like pizza? How come you don't have a kitchen table? I'm trying to lead an uncluttered life.
A kitchen table isn't clutter.
A kitchen table is a kitchen table.
Hey, Ted, how's your hand? Is it healing okay? Yeah, of course it's healing okay.
Why wouldn't it be healing okay? It's just something you might say at the dinner table, if we had a dinner table.
I fell on a pencil during the earthquake and had it taken out by a doctor in the earthquake, and now it's healing.
Crews.
Dale? Hey, Dale Dale, slow down, okay? Okay, where are you? Okay.
I need to borrow your car.
Where are you going? I'm going to go see someone.
- I'm coming with you.
- No, you are not coming with me.
I've been in this house all day.
I'm coming with you.
Okay.
But you stay in the car.
What do you mean, "Went after"? Ben killed Hannah.
And you told that to Ben? I didn't really get a chance to.
His bodyguard kind of got in the way.
Dale, you got to stop doing this, or I'm going to arrest you, okay? I know she lied to me.
I know it was a con.
She made me happy, and now she's dead.
I'm a man.
I'm supposed to do something about that.
Why is his hair dyed that color? Is that your daughter? Niece, kind of niece.
Oh, man, did you ever get tuned up.
Don't just sit there.
Maybe you can get a wet towel or something.
It's not so bad.
You'll be just fine.
I've seen worse.
What worse things could a girl like you have seen? I've seen some stuff.
You'd swear it was a nightmare, except your eyes were wide open.
You know? Yeah, I know.
Okay, come on.
Come on, we're going.
Come on.
I do that, too.
Do what? What you just did.
Tell a total stranger the absolute truth.
It helps sometimes.
Doesn't it help, Dale? Rachel just told you that she'd seen some stuff, and you said, yeah, you know.
How do you know? You put on that suit, show up at crime scenes, pretend to be a cop - Why? - I told you why.
To find her killer.
I mean, I have all this money You should understand wanting that.
I understand that you took a beating tonight, Dale.
I understand you keep doing things the way you're doing them, it's not about want, it's about need.
Why do you need this? I was there at Hannah's the night she died.
I saw her.
Rachel, go outside.
Go outside now, Rachel.
Dumping me only made me want her more.
I just wanted to see her.
What did you see? The door was open.
She was there at the table, alone.
God, there was so much blood.
She couldn't talk.
She tried to.
And I stood there for just a second, and she died.
I was Afraid? I left her there.
Alone.
She was dead, but I left her alone.
I ran A coward, Dale? You didn't tell me this before because Because it would look like I maybe had something to do with it.
Yeah.
That's exactly what it looks like, Dale.
I have to take that girl home.
A uniform will come by and get you.
Why not me? It was that damn tattoo.
The one that says "Ben"? Didn't always say that.
When I first knew her, she had a small one.
It said "Lenny.
" Some guy from her past.
And then, she covered it up with the one that said "Ben.
" Why his name? Why not me? Is it everywhere? What? Blood.
Yeah, it is.
I need to call my partner, and then I'm going to drop you home.
I think someone was trying to call in while you were calling out.
Yeah, I know.
I think you cut them off.
Yeah, I know.
I think you cut them off again.
I think there's something wrong with my phone.
Yeah.
That's probably it.
Reese, I was just calling you.
No, I was just calling you.
You were hanging up on me.
My phone malfunctioned.
What were you going to tell me? Stabbed.
Looks like the same kind of blade that got LeAnn Pembers.
It is everywhere.
Blood.
Where is this guy? He's still working the con.
Lenny must have found out they talked to the police.
He found out because we told him.
Wait, you can't just come in here.
We thought we heard screams for help.
I thought I heard screams for help.
We thought we heard screams.
Two more killings.
Same as Hannah.
It looks like Lenny did these, too.
God, it's a good thing you've got a bodyguard.
It's a good thing he's got you.
Because I think that you'd be the one Lenny would want a piece of.
Why would you think that? Because maybe Hannah really fell for you, Ben.
Maybe it wasn't a con.
She did tattoo your name on her flesh.
No.
That was a lie, and that was for the con.
Was it a lie? There was a tattoo there before.
Did you know that? Yeah.
A tattoo that said "Lenny," but she covered that up.
She covered it up with your name, Ben.
She covered over Lenny for you.
What the hell was that? An apple.
Dale was right, it does help in the solving of crimes.
You are not a very good bodyguard, you know that, Robert? I've been watching you.
All you do is watch your client.
That's why I got you with that pippin there.
You're supposed to be watching everybody else.
That's where the threat is coming from.
Didn't they teach you that in bodyguard school? So, I'm thinking if you're always watching your client, then maybe the threat is coming from your client.
But what kind of threat could your client be? She wrote Ben's name on her flesh.
Covered over that other name, covered over Lenny's name.
You think Lenny asked her why she did it, or just saw the tattoo and went for his knife? You're not really a bodyguard, are you Lenny? God! That bitch.
She covered me up.
We've been looking for that knife.
Oh, I guess we'll know where it is now.
The day after Hannah died, he showed up at my door and he tells me he's her husband, and that he had broken into my house, taken one of my kitchen knives with my fingerprints, and killed her with it.
And unless you paid him, that knife was going to the police.
Did he show you the knife? That was a lie, too.
Yeah.
And what about the money? I had been moving it $10 million at a time.
So, another few days and he would have had it all.
Ben, did Lenny say he'd let you go free after he'd taken all your money? That was a lie, too.
Yeah.
That was a lie, too.
Hey, how's the leg? As luck would have it, I'm a bit of a knife man myself.
I have someone here who wants to talk to you.
Plastic surgery partners of Beverly Hills.
What the hell's that supposed to mean? Go on.
Tell him.
Hannah had an appointment there next week to get her tattoo removed.
That's a lie.
No, it's not.
She was getting the Ben tattoo taken off.
She made the doctor promise that when he was through with her, the Lenny tattoo would look like it had never been covered.
That's a lie.
She wasn't leaving you, Lenny.
She was just working the job.
That's a lie.
Is it? It's a lie.
Dale.
Really? Okay.
After 30 years of marriage, my dad walks out on my mom.
He writes a note, he takes the car and goes.
Hmm.
Sorry, I thought you were someone else.
So, your dad walked out on your mom, huh? I don't really want to talk about it.
Or you don't want to talk to me about it, which is okay because, I mean, I look at myself sometimes in the mirror, and I say, if I weren't me, I wouldn't want to talk to me either, you know.
All right, I don't know your dad, I don't know your mom, but I do know divorce.
So, come to dinner with me and I'll just give you the rundown on on how it goes.
I don't think so.
Thanks.
Come on, I'll make it easy on you.
I'll concede to your list of demands.
How could you possibly know what my demands are? Oh, it's easy.
To go to dinner with me, public place, well lit, someplace no one you know will see you with me, no bar, no sex talk, no use of the word "sex.
" Am I close? I'm close, right? I used to look at the newspapers, what they said you did to my family.
You know what I used to wish? I used to wish that you'd killed me, too.
You didn't kill my family, did you? Everyone said you did it.
Over and over, they said you killed them.
Even after what I saw that night You thought I did it, too? And after what I saw, I thought you did it.
You want to know something? For a few years when I was in prison, Rachel, I thought I did it, too.
Is that the absolute truth you tell to a total stranger? Yeah.
I guess it is.
You want to know something else? A kitchen table isn't clutter.
A kitchen table's a kitchen table.