Major Crimes s03e06 Episode Script

- Hi.
- Hey.
What the hell? Oh, my God.
Good morning, Sykes.
I gather we have some illegal dumping going on.
Yes, sir.
Victim is female no ID.
Stuffed inside of one of these trash bins.
Hm.
Cause of death? Not sure.
No gunshot wounds, no stab wounds, no signs of strangulation.
Also, no witnesses and no security video.
Julio's with patrol, checking trash bins in the area.
Oh.
Sykes, uh, find out which landfill the trucks in this area use.
Get cadaver dogs out there in case we have more bodies.
- Flynn? - Uh, yeah.
I talked to the woman this belongs to.
Turns out she's a retired judge.
She said it was half-full when she wheeled it to the curb.
She's a nice lady.
I don't see her for this.
Kendall, time of death? Well, hard to know.
Sometime yesterday afternoon.
How old is she? Other than some scrapes on her knees, no overt sign of trauma.
Could be an overdose.
Rich neighborhood like this, kids can get their hands on anything.
Except her clothes are bargain-basement.
She has calluses on her hands, so I'm thinking she might not be from around here.
Doesn't mean she belonged in the trash.
Hmm.
My daughter used to wear these.
Look at her shoes.
It's amazing, isn't it? No matter how hard their lives, girls try to make things prettier.
I think this is her backpack.
Found it in a bin around the block.
Had our victim's library card in the front pocket.
Name's Alice Herrera.
Has her address on it.
Well, it's a start.
Mike, uh, see if you can find exactly where that is, please.
What else is in the backpack? A big towel.
Hairbrush, sir.
Gossip magazine.
Maybe she was on the way to the beach, caught a ride with the wrong person.
Check out this picture.
The older one looks like our victim.
Mm, eyes are the same.
Could be sisters.
Echo park.
About 10 minutes away.
Uh, yeah, I'll do the notification, but I may need Julio with me in case they don't speak English.
Okay, Kendall, cover the body, and, uh, have the coroner's van back up to the tent.
I don't want anyone gawking at this girl on her way to the morgue.
Yes, who is it? It's the police, ma'am.
We'd like to ask you a few questions.
- Hi, there.
Mrs.
Herrera? - Yes.
I'm Lieutenant Flynn, L.
A.
P.
D.
This is Detective Sanchez.
We're here about Alice.
Alice who? Alice Herrera.
I think you have the wrong address.
There's no Alice here.
Uh, señora.
Señora, do you recognize this girl? No.
Should I? Your last name is Herrera, right? Yes.
But I don't know that girl.
Sorry, I-I need to get that baby.
You need to come in or? Uh, no.
That's okay.
Thank you for your help.
Wrong Herreras.
Our victim put down this address on her library card for a reason.
Let's ask around.
Oye ninos, por favor.
¿Alguna ves han visto esta Nina? Around the corner.
Gracias.
Gracias.
Julio, check this out.
That's the same thing the girl drew on her shoes.
Hey! What are you doing? That's not your stuff.
Oh, yeah? Do you live here? I live everywhere.
Oh, really? You got a name.
- Bug.
- Bug, huh? Tell me, Bug, do you know the girl whose tent this is? Alice.
I know her, yeah.
When's the last time you saw her? Yesterday, maybe.
I don't keep track.
How long has she been living here? You got a few bucks I could have? Okay, how long has Alice been here? Two months about.
At least that's the first time I seen her.
She tell you where she came from? Uh, like originally? Michigan, Missouri.
Something like that.
One of those "M" states.
What about her last name? We don't get into last names.
Hey, Bug.
Are you high on something? Sunshine.
Well, do yourself a favor Get something to eat with that money, too, would you? Sure, I will.
Thanks, officer.
Julio, let's get Buzz down here to videotape this tent, and we'll bring Alice's belongings downtown, and then maybe we'll check out, uh, her neighbors.
Sir.
Library card is a preferred form of ID.
For undocumented immigrants.
We sent out an e-mail to the whole city's library staff.
No one's recognized her yet, but they said a lot of homeless use their facilities to clean up.
Yeah, no hits on her prints yet.
We do, however, have 227 potential matches from the national missing persons database for girls with dark hair, olive skin, and brown eyes.
We'll get their pictures and see if Alice shows up.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Come in.
I'll have to wait for a full Toxicology screen to come back, but I found zero evidence of drug use No needle marks, no residue.
I think you can safely cross overdose off your list anyway because her lungs were full of salt water.
She drowned in the ocean? Or a saltwater pool.
Let me check the fluid more closely.
Is she maybe from Mexico? I doubt it.
The fillings in her teeth are white composite resin.
South of the border, they still use silver.
The two incisors on her top left are fake Good ones, though.
Anyone care to make a guess how she got her teeth knocked out? Maybe the same way she got these? Cigarette burns.
Well, I'm getting a good idea of why she left home.
She looks so young.
Because she is.
I know Kendall said maybe 18, but note the X-ray of her wrist.
The bone isn't fully ossified.
She's15 tops.
Still a kid.
Without a name.
No, she has a name.
We just don't know what it is.
Alice will do for now.
Ran across a few more homeless at the camp.
They all say Alice kept to herself.
I mean, we don't know much more about her beyond what Bug told us.
So sad to think nobody knows what happened to any of these girls.
Well, Morales says our victim did not, drown in the Pacific.
No seawater in her longs at all.
Okay, assuming she died near where we found her, let's check out all the saltwater pools in the area.
Okay, I'll call building permits, give me something to do.
Your history paper how's it coming? Not great can't figure out a way to make the Louisiana purchase sound interesting.
So, all these girls just disappeared? And these are only the ones matching the description of our victim and reported missing by their families.
There are lots more kids that just vanish, and we never even know about them.
That's disturbing.
This, uh, picture with Alice and the other girl in front of this wall it's got a stainless-steel skin.
Could that be the gateway arch in St.
Louis? Well, Missouri That would put Alice in an "M" state.
Captain? Among these pictures Alice tore out of magazines, I found three covers.
Hi, all.
Jack Raydor.
What a surprise.
Welcome to our homicide investigation.
Lieutenant, it is so good to see you again.
And, uh, Andy oh, I actually caught you working for a change.
Yeah, I'm investigating the murder of a 15-year-old, unidentified homeless girl.
Need something, Jack? Oh, no, no, no.
Keep at it.
Fighting the good fight, you are.
Hello, Sharon.
Jack, would you mind waiting in my office? I'll be with you in a moment.
What? No "hello"? Hello, Jack.
Would you mind waiting in my office? I'll be with you in a moment.
Okay, all right.
Yeah, your office.
Mike, what were you saying, about the magazines that Alice had? These three covers all have the same subscriber address printed on them blocks from where Alice's body was found.
That place have a pool? Yes, and, even better, I ran a master on the address, and a burglary report was filed yesterday.
Well, it's got to be related.
Andy, will you and Detective Sykes follow up with the homeowner? You heard her? Nice to hear from you after all these months.
I'm very busy, Jack, so Let me get right to the point.
I'm thinking about adoption, and since we're married, that decision involves you.
- Adoption? - Mm-hmm.
Of Rusty? I thought he turned 18.
Well, he's getting older, yes, and he's planning on going to college, - looking for a job.
- Congratulations.
That is great, and eventually, he'll be moving out, huh? But he needs a family legally.
I want him to have backup that he can count on.
But y-y-you don't have to do that exactly by the book.
Look, Sharon, I like Rusty I do But we already have a family.
We share children, Jack.
It's not the same thing.
Well, this impacts me, too.
I'm not made of money, you know.
So, if you want to adopt a kid, I should be compensated for all the bullshit I will have to go through.
I knew that you'd say something like that, so I talked to my lawyer, and I'm giving you two options.
Well, these are divorce papers.
And these would formalize an adoption.
I'm not paying you a single dime, Jack.
Just sign one document or the other.
Have you talked to - our real children about this? - No.
And I haven't asked Rusty yet, either.
I'm doing things in a particular way, and you are first on my list.
You know, if you were gonna divorce me, you would have done this years ago.
Jack, the era during which it was professionally useful for me to have a wedding ring on my finger is long gone.
Mm.
In a divorce, I would be entitled to half your savings and half your pension.
Given any thought to that? So you're ready to pay all the back child support you owe me for the family you deserted? We were never divorced.
Why do you think that I owe you? Would you like to experience firsthand what the court thinks of child abandonment? Go for it.
Thanks for the heads-up, Sharon.
I'll be in touch.
I certainly hope so.
Otherwise, you'll be hearing from my lawyer.
Rusty, my lad.
How are you? Uh, good.
Great.
How are you? Oh, never better.
Listen, Sharon tells me you're looking for a job.
- Oh, starting to, yeah.
- Uh-huh.
She she wants me to hold off on taking one until I graduate next month.
- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Why? Well, I don't know.
I was just thinking, uh Have you ever thought about being an intern in a law firm? Really? Yeah, I don't see why not.
You're a bright kid.
Come on.
Let's talk about it.
You come with me.
We have a lot to catch up on.
You hear music? Sounds like it's coming from the backyard.
Dude.
Beer.
Oh, thanks.
L.
A.
P.
D afternoon, boys.
Hey, you.
Out of the pool.
And someone turn off that stupid music! Great.
One of you live here? - Yeah, I do.
- Yeah? - You old enough to be drinking that beer? - I'm in college.
Cops at L.
V.
U don't bug me.
Is this about the robbery? Where were you guys yesterday when the girl who cleaned my house walked off with my laptop and, like, all of our TVs.
No way, bro.
That hot maid stole your stuff? Mm-hmm.
So, is this your hot maid? Yeah.
Oh, did you guys catch her? Not exactly.
This a saltwater pool? Yeah.
Why? Mind if I take a look in the filter? You can clean the whole pool if you want.
Hey.
Oh, look, a silver-and-blue barrette just like the other one Alice was wearing.
Hey, you.
Get over here by your bro.
You, you give me that phone and get on your knees right now.
Okay, okay.
All right, all right, all right.
Sykes, call in for backup and clear the house.
I'll get us a warrant.
Okay, just don't hurt us, man.
- I'm just just don't - Shut up.
Is my son okay? Oh, oh, yes.
Thad's fine.
Yes, he's, uh, just talking to one of our detectives about your cleaning lady.
Oh, right, right.
The officers that came after the robbery told me to put together a list of everything she stole.
I'm just so upset about it.
- I trusted her, you know? - Mm.
She had a key to the front door.
I had to have my locks changed.
Sounds irritating.
How long did Alice work for you? Oh, not even two months.
I had just fired our cleaning service, and I saw her flyer on the community board at the library, so I called her, and we met, and I hired her on the spot.
- Then Alice worked out for a little while.
- I didn't notice a phone in Alice's things.
Killer probably took it.
She was A really hard worker.
She said she was saving up to go to beauty school when she turned 20 next year.
So, I bought her a professional hair-cutting kit with nice combs and scissors and a leather wrap.
Even used, it wasn't cheap.
I thought we had a good relationship.
Can you tell us about what happened yesterday? I had to run out to do some errands, and I knew I'd be gone a few hours, so I left her cash in an envelope.
And when I got back around 6:30, the house was a mess, and Alice was gone, along with most of my jewelry, Thad's laptop, all of our televisions.
I mean, you think you know someone and then Right.
Did Alice ever tell you about her family? Not that I remember, no.
Did she ever say where she lived? An apartment? I never took her home.
What about her last name? Did she tell you that? Well, I paid her in cash, so I don't know.
I guess I never asked.
You think you know someone, and then Excuse me? Alice didn't live in an apartment, Mrs.
Cass.
She lived in a tent in a vacant lot with other homeless teenagers.
- What? - And she wasn't turning 20.
She was only 15.
Oh, my God.
Wait.
I'm not Am I in trouble or something? Because I did not know Alice was that young.
Well, actually, Alice isn't her real name.
And we haven't found anyone who knows who she really is.
Which brings us to your son.
My son, Thad? He barely knows her.
What does he have to do with this? Well, this is his phone.
We'd like for you to look at one of the videos we found on it.
Just got surveillance video.
Just push that button.
Thad, you're so mean! Why do you keep scaring me like that? Cause your scream is hilarious.
You should see the look on your face.
Show me.
This isn't just about robbery anymore, lady.
Alice's body was found in your neighborhood this morning Murdered, stuffed in a trash bin.
And we have evidence that she was drowned in your pool.
- Now, your son has become.
- I want a lawyer.
For me and for Thad.
Mrs.
Cass, - if you insist on seeing an attorney.
- It's not an "if," so whatever you are doing with that, it comes to an end right now.
And unless you're going to charge me Sorry to interrupt.
Lieutenant Flynn, the captain wants you in electronics.
Considering the robbery and where Alice lived, I asked fraud to forward security video from the east side pawnshops, and this is what we found.
Okay, see? That's Bug.
Wait.
Who's Bug, again? A junkie who lived in the same vacant lot as Alice.
Look at the jacket on that guy.
Las Vegas University.
That's where Thad goes to school.
But Thad's lawyer up, so that leaves us with Bug.
If we can find her.
Hey, so Jack offered me a job today.
He did? Yeah, he walked me down the street to the law firm that he's working at, and he pretended to interview me to be his intern for a little while.
And then he started asking me a lot of questions about you.
Oh.
How so? Well, he seemed to think you might be dating someone, which would be news to me.
Oh, me too.
What else? Um well, it's You know, it's probably just Jack being Jack, and and you say not to believe anything he says, but he made it seem like you might want to Adopt me? He told you that? Yeah.
And that it might mean that the two of you would divorce.
Oh, well, I am absolutely divorcing him now no matter what.
Well, don't do that because of me, though, Sharon.
It's not about you, Rusty.
Jack has just proven and for the very last time That he is the most unreliable person on the earth.
But aren't I too old to be adopted? I mean I mean, technically I'm an adult.
Okay, w-well, that is part of the issue here, Rusty, is that, um is that, before, when I was your legal guardian, I had standing to make decisions for you if you were hurt or you were sick or you got into an accident or Or if you went missing.
Oh.
I was your next of kin.
Now, legally, I'm just your roommate.
God, I guess I never really thought of that.
I think of you as part of my family.
I worry about you the way a mother worries about her children.
Well, what do your other kids think about this? Because Jack I can't imagine that Ricky or Emily would object.
Sharon, I have been working so hard to not be a problem for you anymore, and I just feel like all of this adoption business makes me a problem for you again.
Rusty, you're not a problem.
Jack is the problem.
And let's just, um, think about this later.
And we can We can revisit this adoption idea when I have had some time to fully flesh out what this would mean for the both of us.
Runaways don't like to talk to the police.
Bug was gone and so was the rest of the camp.
And the pawnshop? They have no way of getting in touch with her? No, the number she left was bogus.
Pretty common with stolen items.
We should call the pawnshop on her.
If Bug gets in touch with him, he should tell her that he's got a buyer for the TV and that he'll split the money with her if she gives up the slip.
Got it.
Pictures of missing girls keep pouring in, and none of them matches up with Alice.
Here's a promising e-mail.
It's from a youth shelter in Henderson, Nevada.
It's just outside Las Vegas.
The director says she'll talk to us anytime we want.
Vegas is on the way to L.
A.
from St.
Louis.
And let's not forget that Thad-io here attends L.
V.
U.
She's thinner in the photo you sent me, but I recognized Jessie right away.
Jessie? We know her as Alice.
No, she definitely went by Jessie.
Do you have a last name to go with that or a-a birth date? I don't.
Sorry.
We can't press these kids.
You know, some of them don't want to be found.
And Jessie was more independent than most of our residents.
- How so? - She said she had cleaning experience, so we placed her in a restaurant mopping up before they opened.
She saved all the money she made.
You know what she was saving for? She wanted to go to beauty school.
She even cut the hair of some of the girls around here.
Pretty good at it, too.
Did, um, Jessie say anything I mean, anything at all About where she was before coming to Vegas? Someplace back east.
Do you have any idea why she left your shelter? Some guy came by looking for her, and the next day, she was gone along with everything she had.
Is, uh is this the guy? I don't know.
I only heard about him from one of the residents A girl who had a drug problem, but she's been gone for a while now.
I wish I knew more.
Jessie was such a sweet, sweet girl.
What happened to her? Hold on a minute.
Just got off with the owner of the pawnshop.
He said Bug called.
She's coming in.
Pick her up.
Ms.
Joyner, the girl we're talking about I'm afraid I have some sad news.
Flynn.
Flynn.
Flynn.
Did you see what was on the captain's desk? No.
What? Divorce papers for her and Jack.
- No kidding.
- Mm-hmm.
It's about time she finally sent him packing.
Yeah.
Think it may have something to do with you? Why would you even say something like that? The two of you have gone out to dinner a lot.
Oh, come on! We're just friends.
Oh, I think she's going for the money.
Money? I don't even have any money.
I'm talking about Bug, you idiot.
Look.
Sanchez? Sanchez, we've got eyes on Bug.
She's crossing the street - right behind you.
- Uh, I see her, sir.
She's handing over the slip And getting paid.
Let's move.
She's coming out.
We just want to ask you some questions, Bug.
- Help! Help! - Don't run! Shots fired.
2257 Heliotrope.
One victim down.
Roll paramedics.
Suspect's vehicle northbound on Heliotrope.
Brown Pontiac Trans Am late '80s.
- License plate - 2WAQ233.
Son of a bitch! Damn it! Damn it! Uh, captain, sorry we're late.
We had to wait for Sanchez to be interviewed by your old friends at force investigation division.
Did you turn in your weapon? - Yes, ma'am.
- Good.
What do we know about the driver of that car? Well, not much.
Plates were stolen.
Uh, could be the guy we saw on the video or could be anybody else.
We know he uses a 9mm and he's a lousy shot.
He hit Bug once in the shoulder and then grazed her ribs.
Has the hospital released Bug yet? She doesn't have any insurance, so, yes.
E.
R.
was only too happy to sew her up and dump little Bug in my car.
I'll put her in interview 2.
I got a hit on Bug's thumb print.
Real name's Justine Pittman.
for possession in 2013.
At least we know her real name.
I'll print all the stolen items from the pawnshop and see if we can identify our shooter.
Wait a minute.
Joanna had told us she gave Alice a professional haircut kit just like this.
So, it couldn't have been stolen from the house.
No.
Bug must've taken that from Alice's tent.
Why is that such a big deal? I get shot, and you want to talk to me about a bunch of scissors?! Slider shot me.
What about that?! Slider he have a real name? - Buzz.
- I don't know.
- I'll check the database for A.
K.
A.
s on Slider.
- He showed up a few months ago Around the same time as Alice.
He said they were cousins or something.
Why'd Slider try to kill you, Justine? It have anything to do with what happened to Alice? I don't know what happened to Alice.
She was drowned during a robbery, and we caught you pawning the items that were stolen.
I don't know where that stuff came from.
I only helped Slider carry it into the shop for a small cut.
That's all.
I swear.
What about this kit, Justine? You pawned it at the same time that you pawned the other stuff from the robbery, which means that you knew that Alice wasn't coming back for it.
How did you know that she wasn't coming back? You knew because you held her head underwater until she drowned, and then you threw her body out with the trash.
No! No! That was Slider.
He killed Alice.
I was only hanging with him 'cause he had a car, okay? He let me sleep in it a couple nights.
I didn't do anything! Tell us what happened, then.
We gave Alice a ride to the house that she was working at.
And when we dropped her off, the lady who lived there, her car wasn't in the driveway, and Slider said he wanted to check the place out.
Alice let us in.
But then she got, you know, like, all protective of the lady's stuff, and it really pissed Slider off.
What do you mean "protective"? Slider wanted to rob the place, okay?! And Alice wouldn't let him.
And they started fighting.
And Alice tried to run away.
And Slider chased her out by the pool.
And she fell.
And then Go on! I ran inside the house.
I didn't see what happened next.
But afterward, Slider, h-he took the envelope of cash out of Alice's pocket, and he put her in his trunk by himself because I didn't want to touch her.
And then we loaded up what we could in the car, and What else do you want to know? He dumped her and her phone.
I don't know where.
I didn't want to know.
Look, she shouldn't have yelled at him, okay? We need you to tell us where Slider is, Justine.
Before he tries to kill you again.
He lives in his car.
He keeps it parked in a parking garage in Hollywood.
All right, Slider's napping in the front seat.
He's got a gun on his lap.
Benefit of major drug use you sleep like a baby.
I'm only sorry we have to use these bean-bag guns.
I hate these things, and he's got a real gun of his own.
But he may be the only person who knows who our victim is, so I want him alive, if possible.
If possible.
- Don't move! - Okay, okay! Just hold on, Flynn! Slider.
Do you mind if I call you "Slider"? You have the right to remain silent.
You can't prove anything.
That jacket you're wearing, you stole it out of the closet of a house where a girl was murdered.
The original owner's DNA is going to be all over it, and your gun is being tested in ballistics right now.
And we will match it up with the bullets you put in Bug.
Who, by the way, ID'd you as her shooter before she bled to death in the hospital.
Yeah, God rest her soul.
She also told us that she should have turned you in when you shoved Alice's head into a pool and drowned her.
That bitch freakin' lied! I didn't do anything to Alice! Slider, if all this goes to court, you could be facing a double homicide, and the penalty for that is death.
Unless unless you didn't mean to kill Bug.
Unless you you were shooting at the police to scare us off a-and you hit Bug by accident.
That is not a murder.
Is that what happened? Okay.
Yeah.
That's right.
I didn't mean to shoot her.
Except there are two people dead, and Bug's statement doesn't include how Alice died.
How do we know it happened on purpose? Maybe she fell in the pool and he couldn't get her out.
Second-degree murder for drowning a 15-year-old girl?! Don't get emotional, lieutenant.
I have to consider what the defense will say.
Now what, huh? I hit her by accident, man.
Now what? Listen, kid.
Now, we gave you a way out of Bug's murder.
Now, we can help you with what happened to Alice, too.
If you have an explanation for that.
I'll explain it.
Fine.
It's easy to explain.
Alice worked in this real nice house, the kind where they have like 10 of everything.
You know what I mean? Yeah, we met the owner.
Yes.
And I told Alice there was plenty to go around and she owed me anyway.
I drove her there.
I gave her a ride, man.
And then, right when we get there, Alice, she starts whining, like like she cares about the lady whose house it was, and, you know, she grabbed the phone, and she said she was gonna call the cops on me.
Mm-hmm.
How did you handle that? I took the phone from her.
But she had a cell of her own.
And she runs outside, and and, you know, I-I chase her, and when she tripped, you know, I just rolled her into the pool, you know? And I trashed her phone, and she was all pissed about that, too, calling me names, you know? So I just, like, kept her in the pool 'cause I could tell when she got out she was just gonna make everything harder.
You know what I mean? It was it was like self-defense.
You know, why did she come at me, you know? I'm the one doing her the favors.
I'm the one driving her around, and she turned on me, man.
Call him a public defender, and we can get him a deal for second-degree murder - 20 years to life.
- Are you kidding? Murder in the commission of a robbery with an attempt on a witness? That's straight-up murder in the first.
On the stand, he will claim that he was just saying what you guys wanted to hear, which this interview will confirm.
Oh, come on! Are you kidding me?! Please.
Slider, if we can change the subject for just a moment.
I'll call.
You know, Bug told us that you and Alice were related.
Man, Bug was the freakin' jealous type.
I told her that Alice and I were related 'cause she thought I was trying to get in Alice's pants, which I would have eventually.
You didn't come with Alice from Las Vegas? Vegas? No, I never been to Vegas.
Did Alice ever mention where she was from? - Or her last name? - No.
Look, Alice wasn't nothing to me, all right? I wish I never met the bitch, obvious.
She thought she was better than everyone else, and now she's just stuff you throw out with the trash.
That's what happens to people who mess with me.
That's just what happens.
Yes, uh, Lieutenant Michael Tao, major crimes.
We're about to file second-degree murder charges again Throw in the shooting of Bug and the robbery, and his public defender can choose between life without parole or the death penalty.
This kid needs to be put away.
Did you hear that? We're talking about murder in the first of a 15-year-old girl.
Oh.
Um The victim her name.
She's a Jane Doe.
Amy I'd rather not put that away till after the service.
And let's leave up the ID board for a while, too.
All these lost girls.
It's not much, but I just heard back from a linguist at U.
C.
L.
A.
She listened to the video from Thad's phone and said Alice's dialect was most likely something called Virginia piedmont, which includes Southern Maryland.
Maryland's an "M" state.
Sorry.
I'm running late.
Hey, look, everyone doesn't have to go.
I only thought Just hate the idea of wrapping her up in the burrito room and leaving her there.
We all hate it, Flynn.
Even me.
And since Slider refused his deal, we're gonna be talking about this girl for a long time.
Maybe taking this case to trial will help us learn Alice's real name, which is reason enough to press on with it.
I would like to know who it is we are saying goodbye to today.
A person is more than their name, more than the blood in their body.
We gather here as proof of that.
Alice left this world a stranger, but she is still our family.
We embrace and encircle her spirit with the expectation that we will see her again in a world far better than this one.
I could have been a John Doe, right? Like if I had been murdered before you guys found me? It is possible.
We had a picture of you on file, and you'd been through D.
C.
F.
S, but, yes, there was no missing-persons investigation open on you when you became a witness.
What if my mom comes back again? Mm.
How would that work with this whole adoption thing? There are a lot of children with more than one mother these days.
And would I have to go by "Rusty Raydor"? Because that is a terrible name.
It makes me sound like a cartoon character or something.
It does a little bit.
No, Rusty.
We don't need to share a last name, just the idea of family.
If you want one.
Well, it's something to think about.
Family.
Definitely.
Definitely something to think about.