Major Crimes s05e15 Episode Script
Cleared History
1 [Police radio chatter.]
[Indistinct conversations.]
[Children speaking indistinctly.]
[Siren whoops.]
[Radio chatter continues.]
Sykes.
What in the hell are we doing here? Uh, there's a murder? In 30 years, I have never worked a homicide in Atwater Village.
You know, this is the Mayberry of L.
A.
[Chuckles.]
They don't even have meter maids here.
- They're called parking enforcement, Lieutenant.
- Okay.
Okay, I'm I'm sorry.
Uh, why isn't the Northeast Division handling this? Yeah, they're in active shooter training this morning.
- They haven't even called - Oh, ye gods! Winnie Davis strikes again.
You see, Sykes? This whole business of who gets to be the Assistant Chief is ruining our lives.
- Uh, where the hell do I go? - Inside.
Oh.
[Radio chatter continues.]
Winnie Davis.
I should've known.
What the hell is this? AKV Security.
Some security.
Somebody's murdered inside.
Oh.
Hello.
Who's the victim? Sykes: Uh, Gavin Jacobs, 26.
Some kind of a one-man geek squad, fixing people's phones and computers.
You'll see his throat was initially slashed over here.
Blood on the walls moves to under the desk, and then he crawls out to the living room.
Well, we need to make sure that all this blood belongs to our one-man geek squad and not his killer.
How now, Mike Tao? Many power cords leading nowhere.
Looks like a lot of hardware's missing.
So maybe a robbery gone bad? Well, there was no sign of forced entry, but Buzz, blinds? Ah.
These dust patterns suggest a PC tower over there, and a 17-inch MacBook, between 5 and 10 years old, here.
Really? You can tell the age and make of a laptop from dust? The 17-inch MacBook had a unique shape, and it was only manufactured between 2006 and 2012.
Buzz has one in his car.
We can verify Sorry, uh, I caught a ride with Julio this morning.
Ah, well, Sanchez is here.
Huh.
- Where's Nolan? - Buzz: Uh, he left a few minutes ago to go take care of something else.
"Something else"? Isn't this enough? All right, um, I saw two cameras outside over the front door.
And this thing isn't this a camera? I checked.
They're bogus.
They're not connected, just like this one.
Yeah.
I knew it was too good to be true.
All right.
Kendall? Body's in full rigor.
I'd place time of death between 11:00 p.
m.
and midnight, - give or take.
- Sir? Things just got stranger.
[Police radio chatter.]
Provenza: Where are we going? Sanchez: Talk to our prime suspect.
Note the padlock on his door.
Meet the victim's roommate, Jack Cronin.
Called it in.
Lieutenant, I found this wig in Cronin's bedroom.
- It's a little weird, sir.
- I'll say.
So, uh, what is the story on this Cronin? Well, he told officers that he was getting ready to move and was out all night painting his new apartment.
Well [Chuckles.]
Convenient.
Came home around 7:00, found the body, called 9-1-1.
He's been read his rights, sir.
Um, Mr.
Cronin? Lieutenant Provenza.
I'm sorry to pester you in this difficult time.
You shared this house with the victim? Not really shared, just renting a room.
Two more days, and I'd have been gone.
Now this.
Yeah.
Now this.
Um, growing up, did you use padlocks on your bedroom doors? No.
The locks went up about a month ago, when Gavin started, like, you know, invading my space.
You and Gavin didn't get along? Not since he started being, like, a totally paranoid freak.
Sir, did you notice if the alarm was on when you came home? Oh, you mean that sign out front? Gavin stole that.
He said it was just as good as real security.
Same with the fake cameras.
Now, this, uh this wig, does this belong to you, sir? I mean, leftover from Halloween? I teach music to sixth graders at Ramsdell Hall.
They won't allow me to wear my hair below my collar.
Well, why don't you just cut it off then? I play in a rock band.
Weekends.
This is it's my look.
[Police radio chatter.]
Okay, sir, we need you to change out of your clothes, - put on these shoes and these overalls - Oh, man.
Is this legal? and come downtown with us.
And we need to take the laptop that we saw in your bedroom - No, what? I'm not doing that! - and unlock your cellphone for us.
Hey, I've seen "Law & Order.
" You definitely can't come in here and take my computer and phone without a warrant.
Ah.
Nolan! [Under breath.]
Where the hell have you been? Getting a warrant for Mr.
Cronin's phone and computer.
Why? You need me? No.
But if you're doing something useful, let somebody know.
You're not working alone anymore.
- You have a squad here that you - Tao: Holy crap! [Water draining.]
What kind of person does something like this?! [Water continues draining.]
That is a state-of-the-art quad-core security gateway, tossed into a tub of soapy water.
Not to mention three laptops, a RAID array, countless numbers of flash drives.
Ruined.
Yeah, that's probably the victim's cellphone.
Well, at least we know it wasn't a robbery, right? Oh, my gosh.
Lieutenant, down here.
[Water splashes.]
Provenza: Oh I believe that we just found the murder weapon.
Well, nothing's ever 100%, but this box cutter is virtually new.
And as Detective Nolan suggested, very smartly, I think, consistent with the victim's wounds.
What else do we know about this weapon, Wes? It's a common model, sold in almost every hardware store in the city.
Doctor, the left side of the victim's face, what happened there? Fracturing of the skull's sphenoid and parietal bones.
Or, in other words, your victim's head was smashed in.
Before or after his throat was cut? After, as he was dying.
Sounds very personal.
Andy, what have you got? Well, even though Mr.
I-Wear-a-Wig-to-Work deleted the texts from himself and the victim on his cell, he forgot that his phone was backed up on his computer.
And I get why Wiggy didn't want anyone to read his messages.
That's [Scoffs.]
That's not mine.
Really? The boxes were yours.
And these text messages between you and the victim, which you tried to get rid of after you reported Gavin dead, these text messages are definitely yours.
Let me read one to you.
When you wrote, "This time, you've really gone too far, you effing bastard," what did you mean by that? Lieutenant, we've checked Mr.
Wigged Out's shirt, jeans, and shoes.
No blood anywhere.
Well, maybe he changed after the murder, then dumped his clothes someplace.
Set up a grid search of the neighborhood.
Flynn: Go ahead.
[Sighs deeply.]
Okay.
Last summer, I went to Burning Man with my band, and I got a little wild.
What do you mean, "a little wild"? I mean there were pictures taken of me that could end my teaching career.
Gavin stole them and threatened to post them online.
Well, why would he want to threaten you like that? He wanted more money for rent.
But for what I was paying him, I could, like, live alone.
But if Wigged Out committed the murder, why did he call it in? Well, he knew that we would look at him first.
Something else odd.
Your phone was turned off from 10:30 p.
m.
un 6:00 a.
m.
this morning.
- Why is that? - Really? I left my charger at home.
I was trying to save the battery.
Hey, does this mean I'm not gonna get my security deposit back? I was really counting on that cash.
[Click.]
Well [Sighs.]
They lived together.
There's not much remorse.
But how did your suspect kill the victim, cutting his throat, smashing his head in, - without getting blood on him? - Uh we're working on that.
Flynn: We have text messages where Cronin threatens to kill Gavin.
But what about the before and after photos he posted on Instagram at 6 a.
m - [Snaps fingers.]
- showing he'd been painting all night? Uh, him trying to establish an alibi? Or, as his defense will say, like a billion other people, Cronin just assumes the world is fascinated with the minutiae of his everyday life.
Ma'am, Wigged Out could've killed Gavin Jacobs last night, changed his clothes, left to go paint, posted his pictures, came back home, dialed 9-1-1.
- Hobbs: Well - [Lowered voice.]
Everything okay? - unless you find some of the blood - No.
I I don't really know how to talk about it yet.
great place to buy box cutters Did you tell Gus you didn't wanna move in together? Yeah, that's what I can't really talk about.
Or hope he gets freaked out and spontaneously confesses.
Okay.
How'd it go in the Clean Room, Mike? Did you find anything useful in the damaged computers? Uh, no data recovery yet.
But before he became a one-man geek squad, Gavin Jacobs worked as an independent contractor for AKV Security.
There was an AKV sign in front of his house.
And fake cameras.
Yeah, well, he may have been something of a fraud himself.
I ran the serial numbers on this laptop, and it came back as stolen from a house that our dead computer specialist helped burglar-proof for AKV Security.
So Jacobs isn't just a murder victim.
He was also a thief.
I don't understand it.
I don't drink.
I don't smoke.
I haven't had ice cream in six years.
All I ever eat is fish and vegetables.
How did I have a heart attack? Eventually, you will agree with me it was stress.
Stress? I-I don't ever feel stress.
I mean, where would the stress come from? Well, obsessing over what you're gonna eat could be stressful.
And, uh, I am pretty certain that when people move in together, sometimes there is a little pressure.
- [Door opens, closes.]
- Rusty? Dinner's still warm.
Rusty: Thanks.
I'm not hungry.
Mm.
[Lowered voice.]
So, uh did you get a chance to say anything to him yet - about the Stroh report? - [Lowered voice.]
No, no, no.
At this point, it's just conjecture.
You know what? Um, excuse me.
Mm.
[Knocks on door.]
What happened with Gus? What happened? [Inhales deeply.]
I gave him all the reasons why I thought it was a bad idea for us to move in together.
I'm still in college.
I have law school after that.
It'll probably be years before I get a real job.
And he broke up with you? No.
He didn't.
He gave me that big smile of his, like it's always the best day ever, and he and he said that his new promotion would let him pay for all of our living expenses and then some.
And you still said no? Yeah, I did.
And then he broke up with me.
Is there any other reason why you said no? - It just doesn't feel right.
- Mm.
Is that a reason? And also, there's just this really loud voice inside my head, screaming, "Don't do it.
" Instinct.
Ask any cop.
Sometimes there's a A shiver runs up your spine, and you have to pay attention to that.
But I've never loved anyone the way that I love Gus.
And the the idea of never seeing him again makes me sick to my stomach, and I Which is why, once you've identified your instinct, then you've gotta try and figure out where it came from in the first place and see if you can better explain yourself to Gus.
[Cellphone rings.]
[Ring.]
Yes, Mike.
Sorry to interrupt everyone's evening, but when they opened up this computer in the Clean Room, they found about 200,000 things you should know about.
Well, it's hard to believe this money doesn't connect to the murder.
Well, if the killer knew it was there, why leave it behind? Well, we're not gonna find out from the victim's computer.
Cyber Crime was able to get it to power on, but it's encrypted, as are most of these flash drives.
Look at this a wireless signal jammer.
This is illegal for any civilian to own or operate.
A dozen loose keys? None of which belong to the victim's house.
Well, surely we can add some more random items to this collection a ball of string, a bloody kazoo.
How do we connect this money to our idiot roommate? Sanchez: Well, Jacobs repaired computers.
Maybe him and his roommate Wigged Out were stealing laptops and cleaning out their hard drives to sell them.
Or they were partners in an even bigger cash business like drugs.
But all we found at the house was a single ounce of pot.
And why would Wigged Out kill Jacobs but leave the cash in the bathtub, if he knew it was there? Captain, we did find the owner of this stolen laptop.
A Ms.
Kelly Coyle.
Now she agreed, very reluctantly, to pick up her computer in the morning.
She agreed to come pick up her stolen property? And she insists she has no time to talk about the theft.
Well, we'll see about that.
It's like I said, I have two hours of film to cut before an 11:00 a.
m.
mix, and I'm already behind.
What exactly do you do, Ms.
Coyle? I edit documentaries and independent features.
Occasionally, I work in unscripted.
"Unscripted" another term for "reality television.
" Oh, my God.
I went to visit my parents for the holiday weekend.
And when I came home, my laptop was missing.
There had been burglaries on my street, - but I thought my place was safe.
- Why is that? I just had a wireless alarm installed by AKV Security.
What was the company's explanation for the alarm not working, ma'am? - They labeled it - So our victim helped install Ms.
Coyle's burglar alarm.
Is is that what happened? And used the wireless jammer and a key to get past AKV Security.
Andy, please get me AKV on the phone, and see if their management would care to talk to us - about the victim.
- Kelly: apps and change my passwords.
And the best the two police officers could do when they took a report was to say, "Your laptop's probably already in Mexico.
" And then a few days later, I got an e-mail from someone claiming they had found my missing computer and offering to return it for a cash reward.
But you didn't take 'em up on it? I could buy three new laptops for that amount of money.
If only I could've pressed a button and blown up he computer while the guy was holding it.
Have you changed the locks since the burglary? I've been meaning to, but no.
Can I borrow your house key, please? [Sighs.]
Mr.
Ernst, we matched this key that we found Gavin Jacobs' house to a residence where he had recently installed one of your alarms.
Now that customer, shortly afterwards, had a laptop stolen.
We found a lot of other keys in his house, and we were wondering if any of them belonged to the other homes in which Gavin Jacobs was employed.
We know nothing about these keys.
Okay, Buzz, now you're gonna hear why they didn't contact the police.
But you let Jacobs go.
Why? Was he terminated for cause? No.
We reached a settlement with Mr.
Jacobs where we both agreed not to assume fault or responsibility.
Fault or responsibility for what? Nothing, really, just potential flaws in the installation of a very few security systems.
And did this settlement include not informing your affected customers? So you escaped liability issues.
Is that what we Oh, my gosh.
They let people get robbed because they didn't want to be sued? And Jacobs knew AKV could be held accountable for the robberies he'd committed.
So Jacobs forced them to pay him off and let him go.
He did the same kind of thing to his roommate - over the Burning Man photos.
- Man: couldn't explain.
No, it made sense for us to conclude Mr.
Jacobs' services with a settlement that kept our customers from worrying about one person's speculative misbehavior.
Yeah, well, about this settlement with Mr.
Jacobs.
How much money we talking about? In the neighborhood of $50,000.
That's nicer than my neighborhood.
Ernst: And I'd appreciate you not discussing any of this with Mr.
Jacobs.
Oh.
Well, I think we can manage that, if you will give us a list of all the customers whose homes Mr.
Jacobs installed in.
It is entirely against company policy.
No.
Fine, we'll just pass to the press everything we already know about Gavin's work with AKV.
No, no, no.
No, there has to be some sort of compromise, yes? There is.
You give us the list of all the homes where Gavin was employed, or you expect an avalanche of subpoenas and search warrants that'll disrupt your business for months to come.
- It's your choice.
- [Inhales sharply.]
Hey, if Jacobs had the nerve to extort a national security company for a settlement Then maybe he wasn't just grabbing people's laptops and holding them for ransom.
He was taking data from their computers and blackmailing them? Yeah.
Someone took it very personally.
Provenza: Wow.
I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see someone actually writing a letter by hand.
[Chuckles.]
"Dear Gabe.
" Gabe? As in Gabe Jones, the son of the guy that we arrested for killing your father? Actually, yes, Lieutenant.
And I'm also corresponding with his mother.
And I don't need your input.
Well, here's my two cents if you want to lessen the family's emotional crisis, you can never go wrong with a gift card.
Sharon: So? This is it, Captain.
Sykes: Everyone's house Jacobs serviced as an independent contractor for AKV.
Flynn: Lawyer, actress, financial advisor.
- It's like a game of Clue.
- Mike, are you any closer to cracking the victim's encrypted laptop? Sorry, Captain.
An 8-character password means about 6.
6 quadrillion combinations.
I called my friends at JPL, and they're trying to brute force decrypt it - with a Cray XE-6 supercomputer.
- Sharon: Mm.
But even that will take a long time.
Afternoon, all.
Where are we? Well, in addition to the roommate and a very busy film editor, we've I.
D.
'd 11 other people who may have had motive for killing the victim.
13 possible suspects? That's actually better for the defense than the prosecution.
Well, they are a varied lot.
How many of them have you had in the hot seat so far? Just Wigged Out and our film editor, Kelly Coyle.
Well, she admitted she wanted to murder the guy.
Yes, but she didn't care about getting her computer back, so probably not a victim of blackmail.
Hobbs: Let's see how the rest of these potential suspects pan out - after they've been fully vetted.
- Fully vetted? Winnie Davis.
I blame her for this.
Before we go to all this trouble, uh, what about the roommate, Mr.
Wigged Out? Now he was being blackmailed, uh, with pictures from Burned Up Man.
[Snorts.]
It's it's it's Burning Man, sir.
Whatever.
The guy is in a rock band.
Hobbs: I could maybe justify arresting the roommate if he and the victim had been living together as romantic partners, or they had moved in together and had a bad breakup.
[Under breath.]
Oh, God.
But they don't appear to have been boyfriends.
And Wigged Out still has that really good alibi.
Julio, where are we with Mr.
Cronin right now, anyway? 30 hours into his 2-day hold, ma'am.
Provenza: Since he's between residences, why not just keep him where he is until tomorrow? Well, in order to justify that, Lieutenant, we need to find out what these people do and if they've been blackmailed.
I'm a lawyer, but don't hold that against me, guys.
[Chuckles.]
Product liability issues, nothing criminal.
You might recognize me.
I pop up here and there on television.
My current book series for young adults is called "A World Unraveling.
" I represent L.
A.
's sixth district.
I'm a point guard.
My card says "private equity advisor," but I'm also a CPA.
- We consult for non-profits.
- When we're not antiquing.
Mostly, I supervise custom remodels of private homes.
Pediatrics and adolescent medicine.
My diamonds are conflict-free.
It's important to my clientele.
Did you have any problems after your security system was installed? If having a brand-new computer disappear is a problem, then yes.
I came in to find all my devices gone.
I wasn't robbed, but they did take sodas out of my refrigerator without asking and they left empty pizza boxes on my deck.
Someone walked off with my laptop.
my cellphone, my iPad my PC and about $600 in cash.
Robbery? Thank God, no.
Home security's a huge concern for us.
Our collection of Depression Glass it's priceless.
Two weeks after I put in the alarm, my desktop went missing.
Though I could've left the notebook at my ex's house.
But what are you gonna do? Shit happens.
- I have my health, right? - And did you report this theft to the security company and the LAPD? You can't file an insurance claim without a police report.
And I also complained to AKV.
Since a cop hit on me, I just don't bother with you guys anymore.
I reported to AKV, the police, and my brother, the judge, all of whom told me to get over it.
I yelled at the alarm company.
Did they not tell the police that? I filed a report with you people, and then I canceled my contract with AKV.
I called the cops, and they sent someone two days later.
The officer I spoke to at Starbucks said you guys'd never find anything, so why call? I've been robbed before.
The police don't care about stolen laptops.
After your computer was stolen, I imagine you purchased a new one? Yes, I did.
Of course.
Why? And do you have a receipt for this replacement laptop? I don't care about that paperwork shit.
You'd have to ask my business manager.
But I had my patients' records fully backed up at my office.
So I just transferred them to my new PC.
It was a write-off.
And it's not like they got the actual rocks, you know? It's interesting.
Uh none of your credit cards reflect a laptop purchase.
You mind if we pop over to your house and take a look at that brand-new computer of yours? [Sighs heavily.]
I had pictures on that laptop [Voice breaks.]
of my boyfriend and me.
Pictures he promised to give back.
"He"? He the person that was blackmailing you? For how much? $10,000.
And he told me if I called the police, he'd post records proving my surgery was really a a month of cocaine rehab.
And you were worried about this information becoming public? [Sighs deeply.]
Parents are so overprotective of kids these days that hearing their pediatrician was writing a few of her own prescriptions could have ended my whole practice.
So you were lying about selling conflict-free diamonds? What do you want from me? Conflict-free diamonds are a myth.
I wanna charge 6 grand, you wanna pay 4.
That's a conflict, right? I put 10 grand in an envelope under a dumpster.
The next day, my laptop came back in the mail.
I did look around for the son of a bitch, but I didn't see anyone.
Is this the person who installed your security system? No.
I never make eye contact with people like this.
Yeah, that's his weird-ass face.
Uh-huh.
Yes, it is.
I don't have any idea.
It was so long ago.
Of course, if you'd killed your blackmailer, you'd also deny knowing him.
But $50,000 from the AKV settlement, another 40 grand from extortions? Still doesn't add up to what Gavin was hiding.
Even if he kept the entire amount in cash, we'd still be short about $110,000.
[Door opens.]
Captain, we cracked the passcode on the victim's laptop.
Oh.
And I just want to say prepare yourselves.
[Telephone rings in distance.]
Now we know why all the extra effort to protect his files.
Oh, my God.
How old are these girls? 11? 12? Ye gods.
Stop.
Stop, Mike.
I've had enough.
Gavin has a ton of this stuff on his hard drive.
Hobbs: Okay, first, we should make sure that neither the victim nor his roommate is depicted in any of these videos or photos.
Or their clothes or furniture.
Mike, call the FBI, tell them what we've got here, and see if they can help us clarify - where these pictures come from.
- Right.
Did all this stuff belong to the victim, or someone he was blackmailing? That's what we're going to have to try and find out.
Hmm.
Human beings.
What a species, huh? Flynn: I don't envy you.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, thanks, Mike.
I'll see you tomorrow.
[Cellphone beeps.]
That's Tao.
He's sitting with the FBI task force, combing through their database for similar material, and they're only halfway done.
So far, no furniture or clothing that match anything belonging to Jacobs or Wigged Out.
Could someone have killed the victim for collecting child porn? Most likely, Gavin found it on one of the computers he stole and is extorting the owner for large sums of money.
Just possessing that kind of trash, you could end your life in prison.
Okay, well, don't don't get me wrong.
Those pictures and those videos, they're beyond disgusting, obviously.
But if the suspect didn't make them No, no, no.
It it it doesn't work that way.
Trading in kiddie porn creates a market to abuse more children.
And the problems don't end with molestation.
Sexually assaulted children usually take years to process the experience.
And then the trauma can be triggered again by situations that, emotionally, they feel as similar.
- Emotionally similar.
- Yeah.
Tao: Some of the photos and videos are over a decade old.
The FBI just confirmed that the photographs and videos all originated from multiple locations and have been actively traded for at least five years by a child porn ring.
So we can feel confident that Gavin Jacobs, or someone he blackmailed, did not create any of those images.
Well, they collected them, though, ma'am.
And Wigged Out teaches sixth grade.
Yeah, but why did Wigged Out leave all that money behind? Okay, let's say that you have child pornography on your laptop, and your computer gets stolen.
Do you then report that theft? I'm thinking not.
Well, three people said they weren't burglarized the author and the couple with the glass collection.
Yeah, it's hard to prove that they were robbed if they won't admit it.
All the people who lost their computers replaced them.
But if someone bought, say, a new laptop and didn't tell us, chances are they were robbed.
I don't think I'll need a lawyer.
I am on an incredibly tight deadline, though.
Oh, we understand deadlines, Mr.
Lewis.
Um, this shouldn't take long.
Yesterday you told us your home was not robbed.
Yes, that's true.
Well, could you explain this, uh, purchase, two weeks after your AKV home security system was installed? Yes.
I bought a new laptop computer.
Why? Well, because it was old.
I couldn't even update the operating system anymore, so I-I went and got a new one.
- And yet - [Paper rustles.]
You de-authorized the software on your old MacBook two days prior to your purchase.
Yes.
Uh, it was because I was running out to get the new one.
And then I had some car trouble.
Nothing unusual there.
Can you explain these many cash withdrawals that you made from your checking account over the last six months? And each just under the Federal reporting limit? Withdrawn in person, at your bank.
Okay, listen, I haven't been completely honest with you, all right? I [Inhales deeply.]
My laptop was stolen, and the thief, he demanded a ransom.
And I know that by paying that ransom, I committed a crime.
I didn't want to say that.
I'm sorry.
But your computer was returned? Yes.
Finally.
Yes, it was.
Okay, Mr.
Lewis, I want you to listen to me very carefully.
While you're sitting here talking with us, at this moment, we are executing a search warrant on your home.
And we're looking for your old MacBook, which you paid someone to give back.
Sharon: And even if you deleted the photos and videos from that laptop, we'll find them.
Hold Wait a minute now.
I think you have the wrong idea about me.
There's Dean, do you know what they do to child molesters in prison? - I never touched any children! - [Pounds tabletop.]
[Panting.]
I swear, okay.
Now I had nothing to do with those pictures.
I didn't [Panting.]
I swear.
I didn't take those photographs.
Everything that was on my computer, that stuff, I I found.
I just found.
It was posted on the web.
- It was posted on the Internet.
- Right, he just happened to stumble across molestation photos online.
Yeah, while booking a trip to Thailand.
Did you pay the person who posted this garbage so that you could own it yourself? And then maybe trade the images with other perverts? Sharon: Regardless of how you organized your collection, someone stole it, and you were paying huge sums of money to have it returned.
But you didn't get it back right away, did you? No, no, no, 'cause Jacobs wanted more money.
And you paid it, didn't you? Because what is the author of young adult novels to do? Sharon: My guess is that you made a detailed arrangement of some kind for a final payment.
Yeah, you demanded to see your computer before you would cough up any more money.
Is that it, Dean? When Gavin Jacobs had his throat cut with a box cutter, your laptop was out on his desk.
And whoever grabbed it, they didn't dump it in the bathtub with the other computer stuff.
No, not your laptop.
They walked away with it.
Now who would have done that, Dean? Provenza: Did you take the laptop home with you after the murder? Are you sure that you got rid of all the blood that was on it? Sharon: And off your clothes, out of your car? Look Look, I think I'd like to talk to my attorney now.
Sharon: Mm.
Well, that may be your only hope.
[Door opens.]
No way does that guy get a deal.
Julio, this isn't just about putting one guy away for murder.
Any deal will include his help in breaking up the child porn ring circulating this filth.
But, Lewis, he can't get less than 25-to-life, right? First, let's just see what comes back from the search of his house.
Tao: Blood, blood, and more blood in your car, on clothes we found in the trash near your house, even blood in the drains of your shower, where I assume you cleaned up afterwards.
So what? Everything you've told me so far sounds like my client must have been acting in self-defense.
Nolan: Well, along with a lot of computers and flash drives, we found this brand-new box cutter - in a bathtub of soapy water.
- The roommate was moving.
My client grabbed the only weapon in the vicinity to protect his life.
We also have this receipt from an online hardware store for a box cutter exactly like that one delivered to Dean's home address.
Looks like intent to me.
So before the DNA evidence comes back, I'll give you two options that will let us settle this mess today, but they're dependant on establishing Mr.
Lewis did not personally exploit any children.
- I did not molest anybody.
- Dean - No, I'm the victim here.
- Just stop.
- I was molested as a kid.
- Dean, hold on.
I didn't know how to talk to anybody about it.
Dean, hold on.
- I-I tried to keep this secret, but - Okay.
How do you tell someone that you've been sexually abused? Just stop.
I've been keeping this in my whole life because nobody wants to listen! - This is not the issue.
- See? You see? Try bringing it up.
This is what happens.
Dean, there are many different professionals who could help you with all this, but the D.
A.
is not one of them.
Okay? Andrea, you said there were two options.
Let's hear 'em.
Option one Mr.
Lewis reveals exactly how he collected these horrific photos and videos.
Who he came into contact with, how they communicated, every single detail.
We want names, and I mean a lot of them.
Right.
And the second option is? We arrest your client for first-degree murder.
And we put this to a jury.
No, pass.
Pass on your way to death row, asshole.
Provenza: Hey, just hold on.
We have one other point to make with our trash collector here, and I bet it works.
And if we accept neither? Best of luck at trial, Gilman.
I cannot wait for my opening argument.
You don't have a very sympathetic victim.
We thought you might say that.
So since you brought up sympathy, your client should know that there are limits to how well prison guards can protect child molesters.
Sykes: Entering a correctional facility as someone who kept sexually explicit images of children? Certainly not something I'd want to do.
Are we are we blackmailing him? Ironic.
But with Mr.
Lewis, it seems to be effective.
If we accept the first option, you'll take the child pornography charges off the table? Yes, if, as stated previously, your client gives up the other members of this child pornography ring and accepts 25 years to life for the murder of Gavin Jacobs.
What? No, that's that's no deal.
- No.
You'll have to do better.
- Oh, we can do better.
We can allow the jury to examine your gallery of molested girls while they deliberate whether to give you life without parole.
I wouldn't underestimate the impact these photos and videos will have on parents.
Mr.
Gilman, maybe you should look at the evidence, judge for yourself how 12 impartial finders of fact will respond to your client.
Tao: I'm gonna push "play.
" You raise your hand when you've seen enough.
I have some movement.
[Closes laptop.]
We agree to cooperate.
- But I - Or you get another lawyer.
Take a second.
Think about it.
How many more people do you need to see this crap? [Crying.]
But I was molested, too.
I didn't know how to talk about it.
Yeah, well, don't start now, because where you're going, you're gonna need to keep your mouth shut.
You guarantee you can bury my client's association with these materials? They won't show up anywhere on his record? If he gives me names.
He absolutely has to give me names of everyone in this child porn ring.
Bring me the paperwork.
Let's see if we can wrap this up by tonight.
I don't wanna hear any more of this.
Well, no one wants you in there with the guy anyway.
Flynn: Yeah, you can help Provenza and me file the report.
It'll take hours.
- And that means you're free to go.
- [Door closes.]
Andrea won't need you anymore tonight.
Well, I might as well wait for you.
Um, I don't really have anywhere else to be.
I wonder if that's true.
[Door closes.]
[Sighs.]
[Sighs.]
Is there somewhere we could talk? [Sighs.]
[Sighs.]
Okay, okay.
Um [Inhales deeply, exhales sharply.]
Look, I I know you think that I don't love you, but I do.
Yeah, just not enough to live with me.
Gus I get it.
Gus, please, listen.
I am a student working as an intern.
All of the money that I have comes from my mom.
I said that I don't care about that.
I said that I'd pay for everything.
Come on.
No.
No, I care, Gus.
I do care.
Okay? I spent two years of my life letting other guys pay for everything.
And and maybe that's made me difficult.
Or or hard to get along with.
And maybe you should break up with me.
Maybe I'm not worth all that extra bullshit.
But if I am ever gonna feel good about myself, I need to be able to pay my own way.
Or, at least, my half.
Why didn't you say all this to begin with? I didn't know.
Or or or I didn't have the words.
Come on.
I get a drink at the end of my shift.
Let's, just, uh, sit down and discuss all this.
Then, um we're not breaking up? No.
No, I mean I mean, it blows that we have to deal with this.
But I miss you so bad.
[Chair scrapes floor.]
You know, sometimes, I think the well is so deep around here that human beings can never touch bottom.
This place is more about justice than about hope.
Mm.
Hey, Lance Armstrong.
What's with the bike.
You got car trouble? No, um, Lieutenant, I-I sold my Prius.
Sold Why? The insurance went up.
I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint a little.
Julio can pick me up most days.
And, uh, there's the Metro.
I see.
Does the Metro run all the way to the home of Bill Jones? See you tomorrow, Lieutenant.
Good night.
Sir, he's helping a couple of needy kids.
He doesn't need to tell us everything, you know? - Yeah.
- Flynn: Well? Oh.
[Sighs.]
25 to life, as offered, but it's taking a while.
He's trying to write out his statement of facts, but he keeps starting over.
Well, that's the curse of having a novelist as a defendant.
"My Murder," by Dean Lewis.
"Chapter One To begin, I was molested" 25 to life, ma'am? In exchange for 31 names, e-mail accounts, phone numbers, and I.
P.
addresses that the FBI will then follow up on.
Those 31 people could lead to a thousand more.
Yeah, we've gotta grab these opportunities when they occur.
Anyway, we're almost done.
[Sighs.]
So get ready to transfer him to County.
See? The deal was well worth it.
But a thousand more people like Dean Lewis? Yeah.
I don't know whether to be encouraged or nauseated.
[Binder rings snap.]
Nothing says we can't be both, sir.
[Indistinct conversations.]
[Children speaking indistinctly.]
[Siren whoops.]
[Radio chatter continues.]
Sykes.
What in the hell are we doing here? Uh, there's a murder? In 30 years, I have never worked a homicide in Atwater Village.
You know, this is the Mayberry of L.
A.
[Chuckles.]
They don't even have meter maids here.
- They're called parking enforcement, Lieutenant.
- Okay.
Okay, I'm I'm sorry.
Uh, why isn't the Northeast Division handling this? Yeah, they're in active shooter training this morning.
- They haven't even called - Oh, ye gods! Winnie Davis strikes again.
You see, Sykes? This whole business of who gets to be the Assistant Chief is ruining our lives.
- Uh, where the hell do I go? - Inside.
Oh.
[Radio chatter continues.]
Winnie Davis.
I should've known.
What the hell is this? AKV Security.
Some security.
Somebody's murdered inside.
Oh.
Hello.
Who's the victim? Sykes: Uh, Gavin Jacobs, 26.
Some kind of a one-man geek squad, fixing people's phones and computers.
You'll see his throat was initially slashed over here.
Blood on the walls moves to under the desk, and then he crawls out to the living room.
Well, we need to make sure that all this blood belongs to our one-man geek squad and not his killer.
How now, Mike Tao? Many power cords leading nowhere.
Looks like a lot of hardware's missing.
So maybe a robbery gone bad? Well, there was no sign of forced entry, but Buzz, blinds? Ah.
These dust patterns suggest a PC tower over there, and a 17-inch MacBook, between 5 and 10 years old, here.
Really? You can tell the age and make of a laptop from dust? The 17-inch MacBook had a unique shape, and it was only manufactured between 2006 and 2012.
Buzz has one in his car.
We can verify Sorry, uh, I caught a ride with Julio this morning.
Ah, well, Sanchez is here.
Huh.
- Where's Nolan? - Buzz: Uh, he left a few minutes ago to go take care of something else.
"Something else"? Isn't this enough? All right, um, I saw two cameras outside over the front door.
And this thing isn't this a camera? I checked.
They're bogus.
They're not connected, just like this one.
Yeah.
I knew it was too good to be true.
All right.
Kendall? Body's in full rigor.
I'd place time of death between 11:00 p.
m.
and midnight, - give or take.
- Sir? Things just got stranger.
[Police radio chatter.]
Provenza: Where are we going? Sanchez: Talk to our prime suspect.
Note the padlock on his door.
Meet the victim's roommate, Jack Cronin.
Called it in.
Lieutenant, I found this wig in Cronin's bedroom.
- It's a little weird, sir.
- I'll say.
So, uh, what is the story on this Cronin? Well, he told officers that he was getting ready to move and was out all night painting his new apartment.
Well [Chuckles.]
Convenient.
Came home around 7:00, found the body, called 9-1-1.
He's been read his rights, sir.
Um, Mr.
Cronin? Lieutenant Provenza.
I'm sorry to pester you in this difficult time.
You shared this house with the victim? Not really shared, just renting a room.
Two more days, and I'd have been gone.
Now this.
Yeah.
Now this.
Um, growing up, did you use padlocks on your bedroom doors? No.
The locks went up about a month ago, when Gavin started, like, you know, invading my space.
You and Gavin didn't get along? Not since he started being, like, a totally paranoid freak.
Sir, did you notice if the alarm was on when you came home? Oh, you mean that sign out front? Gavin stole that.
He said it was just as good as real security.
Same with the fake cameras.
Now, this, uh this wig, does this belong to you, sir? I mean, leftover from Halloween? I teach music to sixth graders at Ramsdell Hall.
They won't allow me to wear my hair below my collar.
Well, why don't you just cut it off then? I play in a rock band.
Weekends.
This is it's my look.
[Police radio chatter.]
Okay, sir, we need you to change out of your clothes, - put on these shoes and these overalls - Oh, man.
Is this legal? and come downtown with us.
And we need to take the laptop that we saw in your bedroom - No, what? I'm not doing that! - and unlock your cellphone for us.
Hey, I've seen "Law & Order.
" You definitely can't come in here and take my computer and phone without a warrant.
Ah.
Nolan! [Under breath.]
Where the hell have you been? Getting a warrant for Mr.
Cronin's phone and computer.
Why? You need me? No.
But if you're doing something useful, let somebody know.
You're not working alone anymore.
- You have a squad here that you - Tao: Holy crap! [Water draining.]
What kind of person does something like this?! [Water continues draining.]
That is a state-of-the-art quad-core security gateway, tossed into a tub of soapy water.
Not to mention three laptops, a RAID array, countless numbers of flash drives.
Ruined.
Yeah, that's probably the victim's cellphone.
Well, at least we know it wasn't a robbery, right? Oh, my gosh.
Lieutenant, down here.
[Water splashes.]
Provenza: Oh I believe that we just found the murder weapon.
Well, nothing's ever 100%, but this box cutter is virtually new.
And as Detective Nolan suggested, very smartly, I think, consistent with the victim's wounds.
What else do we know about this weapon, Wes? It's a common model, sold in almost every hardware store in the city.
Doctor, the left side of the victim's face, what happened there? Fracturing of the skull's sphenoid and parietal bones.
Or, in other words, your victim's head was smashed in.
Before or after his throat was cut? After, as he was dying.
Sounds very personal.
Andy, what have you got? Well, even though Mr.
I-Wear-a-Wig-to-Work deleted the texts from himself and the victim on his cell, he forgot that his phone was backed up on his computer.
And I get why Wiggy didn't want anyone to read his messages.
That's [Scoffs.]
That's not mine.
Really? The boxes were yours.
And these text messages between you and the victim, which you tried to get rid of after you reported Gavin dead, these text messages are definitely yours.
Let me read one to you.
When you wrote, "This time, you've really gone too far, you effing bastard," what did you mean by that? Lieutenant, we've checked Mr.
Wigged Out's shirt, jeans, and shoes.
No blood anywhere.
Well, maybe he changed after the murder, then dumped his clothes someplace.
Set up a grid search of the neighborhood.
Flynn: Go ahead.
[Sighs deeply.]
Okay.
Last summer, I went to Burning Man with my band, and I got a little wild.
What do you mean, "a little wild"? I mean there were pictures taken of me that could end my teaching career.
Gavin stole them and threatened to post them online.
Well, why would he want to threaten you like that? He wanted more money for rent.
But for what I was paying him, I could, like, live alone.
But if Wigged Out committed the murder, why did he call it in? Well, he knew that we would look at him first.
Something else odd.
Your phone was turned off from 10:30 p.
m.
un 6:00 a.
m.
this morning.
- Why is that? - Really? I left my charger at home.
I was trying to save the battery.
Hey, does this mean I'm not gonna get my security deposit back? I was really counting on that cash.
[Click.]
Well [Sighs.]
They lived together.
There's not much remorse.
But how did your suspect kill the victim, cutting his throat, smashing his head in, - without getting blood on him? - Uh we're working on that.
Flynn: We have text messages where Cronin threatens to kill Gavin.
But what about the before and after photos he posted on Instagram at 6 a.
m - [Snaps fingers.]
- showing he'd been painting all night? Uh, him trying to establish an alibi? Or, as his defense will say, like a billion other people, Cronin just assumes the world is fascinated with the minutiae of his everyday life.
Ma'am, Wigged Out could've killed Gavin Jacobs last night, changed his clothes, left to go paint, posted his pictures, came back home, dialed 9-1-1.
- Hobbs: Well - [Lowered voice.]
Everything okay? - unless you find some of the blood - No.
I I don't really know how to talk about it yet.
great place to buy box cutters Did you tell Gus you didn't wanna move in together? Yeah, that's what I can't really talk about.
Or hope he gets freaked out and spontaneously confesses.
Okay.
How'd it go in the Clean Room, Mike? Did you find anything useful in the damaged computers? Uh, no data recovery yet.
But before he became a one-man geek squad, Gavin Jacobs worked as an independent contractor for AKV Security.
There was an AKV sign in front of his house.
And fake cameras.
Yeah, well, he may have been something of a fraud himself.
I ran the serial numbers on this laptop, and it came back as stolen from a house that our dead computer specialist helped burglar-proof for AKV Security.
So Jacobs isn't just a murder victim.
He was also a thief.
I don't understand it.
I don't drink.
I don't smoke.
I haven't had ice cream in six years.
All I ever eat is fish and vegetables.
How did I have a heart attack? Eventually, you will agree with me it was stress.
Stress? I-I don't ever feel stress.
I mean, where would the stress come from? Well, obsessing over what you're gonna eat could be stressful.
And, uh, I am pretty certain that when people move in together, sometimes there is a little pressure.
- [Door opens, closes.]
- Rusty? Dinner's still warm.
Rusty: Thanks.
I'm not hungry.
Mm.
[Lowered voice.]
So, uh did you get a chance to say anything to him yet - about the Stroh report? - [Lowered voice.]
No, no, no.
At this point, it's just conjecture.
You know what? Um, excuse me.
Mm.
[Knocks on door.]
What happened with Gus? What happened? [Inhales deeply.]
I gave him all the reasons why I thought it was a bad idea for us to move in together.
I'm still in college.
I have law school after that.
It'll probably be years before I get a real job.
And he broke up with you? No.
He didn't.
He gave me that big smile of his, like it's always the best day ever, and he and he said that his new promotion would let him pay for all of our living expenses and then some.
And you still said no? Yeah, I did.
And then he broke up with me.
Is there any other reason why you said no? - It just doesn't feel right.
- Mm.
Is that a reason? And also, there's just this really loud voice inside my head, screaming, "Don't do it.
" Instinct.
Ask any cop.
Sometimes there's a A shiver runs up your spine, and you have to pay attention to that.
But I've never loved anyone the way that I love Gus.
And the the idea of never seeing him again makes me sick to my stomach, and I Which is why, once you've identified your instinct, then you've gotta try and figure out where it came from in the first place and see if you can better explain yourself to Gus.
[Cellphone rings.]
[Ring.]
Yes, Mike.
Sorry to interrupt everyone's evening, but when they opened up this computer in the Clean Room, they found about 200,000 things you should know about.
Well, it's hard to believe this money doesn't connect to the murder.
Well, if the killer knew it was there, why leave it behind? Well, we're not gonna find out from the victim's computer.
Cyber Crime was able to get it to power on, but it's encrypted, as are most of these flash drives.
Look at this a wireless signal jammer.
This is illegal for any civilian to own or operate.
A dozen loose keys? None of which belong to the victim's house.
Well, surely we can add some more random items to this collection a ball of string, a bloody kazoo.
How do we connect this money to our idiot roommate? Sanchez: Well, Jacobs repaired computers.
Maybe him and his roommate Wigged Out were stealing laptops and cleaning out their hard drives to sell them.
Or they were partners in an even bigger cash business like drugs.
But all we found at the house was a single ounce of pot.
And why would Wigged Out kill Jacobs but leave the cash in the bathtub, if he knew it was there? Captain, we did find the owner of this stolen laptop.
A Ms.
Kelly Coyle.
Now she agreed, very reluctantly, to pick up her computer in the morning.
She agreed to come pick up her stolen property? And she insists she has no time to talk about the theft.
Well, we'll see about that.
It's like I said, I have two hours of film to cut before an 11:00 a.
m.
mix, and I'm already behind.
What exactly do you do, Ms.
Coyle? I edit documentaries and independent features.
Occasionally, I work in unscripted.
"Unscripted" another term for "reality television.
" Oh, my God.
I went to visit my parents for the holiday weekend.
And when I came home, my laptop was missing.
There had been burglaries on my street, - but I thought my place was safe.
- Why is that? I just had a wireless alarm installed by AKV Security.
What was the company's explanation for the alarm not working, ma'am? - They labeled it - So our victim helped install Ms.
Coyle's burglar alarm.
Is is that what happened? And used the wireless jammer and a key to get past AKV Security.
Andy, please get me AKV on the phone, and see if their management would care to talk to us - about the victim.
- Kelly: apps and change my passwords.
And the best the two police officers could do when they took a report was to say, "Your laptop's probably already in Mexico.
" And then a few days later, I got an e-mail from someone claiming they had found my missing computer and offering to return it for a cash reward.
But you didn't take 'em up on it? I could buy three new laptops for that amount of money.
If only I could've pressed a button and blown up he computer while the guy was holding it.
Have you changed the locks since the burglary? I've been meaning to, but no.
Can I borrow your house key, please? [Sighs.]
Mr.
Ernst, we matched this key that we found Gavin Jacobs' house to a residence where he had recently installed one of your alarms.
Now that customer, shortly afterwards, had a laptop stolen.
We found a lot of other keys in his house, and we were wondering if any of them belonged to the other homes in which Gavin Jacobs was employed.
We know nothing about these keys.
Okay, Buzz, now you're gonna hear why they didn't contact the police.
But you let Jacobs go.
Why? Was he terminated for cause? No.
We reached a settlement with Mr.
Jacobs where we both agreed not to assume fault or responsibility.
Fault or responsibility for what? Nothing, really, just potential flaws in the installation of a very few security systems.
And did this settlement include not informing your affected customers? So you escaped liability issues.
Is that what we Oh, my gosh.
They let people get robbed because they didn't want to be sued? And Jacobs knew AKV could be held accountable for the robberies he'd committed.
So Jacobs forced them to pay him off and let him go.
He did the same kind of thing to his roommate - over the Burning Man photos.
- Man: couldn't explain.
No, it made sense for us to conclude Mr.
Jacobs' services with a settlement that kept our customers from worrying about one person's speculative misbehavior.
Yeah, well, about this settlement with Mr.
Jacobs.
How much money we talking about? In the neighborhood of $50,000.
That's nicer than my neighborhood.
Ernst: And I'd appreciate you not discussing any of this with Mr.
Jacobs.
Oh.
Well, I think we can manage that, if you will give us a list of all the customers whose homes Mr.
Jacobs installed in.
It is entirely against company policy.
No.
Fine, we'll just pass to the press everything we already know about Gavin's work with AKV.
No, no, no.
No, there has to be some sort of compromise, yes? There is.
You give us the list of all the homes where Gavin was employed, or you expect an avalanche of subpoenas and search warrants that'll disrupt your business for months to come.
- It's your choice.
- [Inhales sharply.]
Hey, if Jacobs had the nerve to extort a national security company for a settlement Then maybe he wasn't just grabbing people's laptops and holding them for ransom.
He was taking data from their computers and blackmailing them? Yeah.
Someone took it very personally.
Provenza: Wow.
I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see someone actually writing a letter by hand.
[Chuckles.]
"Dear Gabe.
" Gabe? As in Gabe Jones, the son of the guy that we arrested for killing your father? Actually, yes, Lieutenant.
And I'm also corresponding with his mother.
And I don't need your input.
Well, here's my two cents if you want to lessen the family's emotional crisis, you can never go wrong with a gift card.
Sharon: So? This is it, Captain.
Sykes: Everyone's house Jacobs serviced as an independent contractor for AKV.
Flynn: Lawyer, actress, financial advisor.
- It's like a game of Clue.
- Mike, are you any closer to cracking the victim's encrypted laptop? Sorry, Captain.
An 8-character password means about 6.
6 quadrillion combinations.
I called my friends at JPL, and they're trying to brute force decrypt it - with a Cray XE-6 supercomputer.
- Sharon: Mm.
But even that will take a long time.
Afternoon, all.
Where are we? Well, in addition to the roommate and a very busy film editor, we've I.
D.
'd 11 other people who may have had motive for killing the victim.
13 possible suspects? That's actually better for the defense than the prosecution.
Well, they are a varied lot.
How many of them have you had in the hot seat so far? Just Wigged Out and our film editor, Kelly Coyle.
Well, she admitted she wanted to murder the guy.
Yes, but she didn't care about getting her computer back, so probably not a victim of blackmail.
Hobbs: Let's see how the rest of these potential suspects pan out - after they've been fully vetted.
- Fully vetted? Winnie Davis.
I blame her for this.
Before we go to all this trouble, uh, what about the roommate, Mr.
Wigged Out? Now he was being blackmailed, uh, with pictures from Burned Up Man.
[Snorts.]
It's it's it's Burning Man, sir.
Whatever.
The guy is in a rock band.
Hobbs: I could maybe justify arresting the roommate if he and the victim had been living together as romantic partners, or they had moved in together and had a bad breakup.
[Under breath.]
Oh, God.
But they don't appear to have been boyfriends.
And Wigged Out still has that really good alibi.
Julio, where are we with Mr.
Cronin right now, anyway? 30 hours into his 2-day hold, ma'am.
Provenza: Since he's between residences, why not just keep him where he is until tomorrow? Well, in order to justify that, Lieutenant, we need to find out what these people do and if they've been blackmailed.
I'm a lawyer, but don't hold that against me, guys.
[Chuckles.]
Product liability issues, nothing criminal.
You might recognize me.
I pop up here and there on television.
My current book series for young adults is called "A World Unraveling.
" I represent L.
A.
's sixth district.
I'm a point guard.
My card says "private equity advisor," but I'm also a CPA.
- We consult for non-profits.
- When we're not antiquing.
Mostly, I supervise custom remodels of private homes.
Pediatrics and adolescent medicine.
My diamonds are conflict-free.
It's important to my clientele.
Did you have any problems after your security system was installed? If having a brand-new computer disappear is a problem, then yes.
I came in to find all my devices gone.
I wasn't robbed, but they did take sodas out of my refrigerator without asking and they left empty pizza boxes on my deck.
Someone walked off with my laptop.
my cellphone, my iPad my PC and about $600 in cash.
Robbery? Thank God, no.
Home security's a huge concern for us.
Our collection of Depression Glass it's priceless.
Two weeks after I put in the alarm, my desktop went missing.
Though I could've left the notebook at my ex's house.
But what are you gonna do? Shit happens.
- I have my health, right? - And did you report this theft to the security company and the LAPD? You can't file an insurance claim without a police report.
And I also complained to AKV.
Since a cop hit on me, I just don't bother with you guys anymore.
I reported to AKV, the police, and my brother, the judge, all of whom told me to get over it.
I yelled at the alarm company.
Did they not tell the police that? I filed a report with you people, and then I canceled my contract with AKV.
I called the cops, and they sent someone two days later.
The officer I spoke to at Starbucks said you guys'd never find anything, so why call? I've been robbed before.
The police don't care about stolen laptops.
After your computer was stolen, I imagine you purchased a new one? Yes, I did.
Of course.
Why? And do you have a receipt for this replacement laptop? I don't care about that paperwork shit.
You'd have to ask my business manager.
But I had my patients' records fully backed up at my office.
So I just transferred them to my new PC.
It was a write-off.
And it's not like they got the actual rocks, you know? It's interesting.
Uh none of your credit cards reflect a laptop purchase.
You mind if we pop over to your house and take a look at that brand-new computer of yours? [Sighs heavily.]
I had pictures on that laptop [Voice breaks.]
of my boyfriend and me.
Pictures he promised to give back.
"He"? He the person that was blackmailing you? For how much? $10,000.
And he told me if I called the police, he'd post records proving my surgery was really a a month of cocaine rehab.
And you were worried about this information becoming public? [Sighs deeply.]
Parents are so overprotective of kids these days that hearing their pediatrician was writing a few of her own prescriptions could have ended my whole practice.
So you were lying about selling conflict-free diamonds? What do you want from me? Conflict-free diamonds are a myth.
I wanna charge 6 grand, you wanna pay 4.
That's a conflict, right? I put 10 grand in an envelope under a dumpster.
The next day, my laptop came back in the mail.
I did look around for the son of a bitch, but I didn't see anyone.
Is this the person who installed your security system? No.
I never make eye contact with people like this.
Yeah, that's his weird-ass face.
Uh-huh.
Yes, it is.
I don't have any idea.
It was so long ago.
Of course, if you'd killed your blackmailer, you'd also deny knowing him.
But $50,000 from the AKV settlement, another 40 grand from extortions? Still doesn't add up to what Gavin was hiding.
Even if he kept the entire amount in cash, we'd still be short about $110,000.
[Door opens.]
Captain, we cracked the passcode on the victim's laptop.
Oh.
And I just want to say prepare yourselves.
[Telephone rings in distance.]
Now we know why all the extra effort to protect his files.
Oh, my God.
How old are these girls? 11? 12? Ye gods.
Stop.
Stop, Mike.
I've had enough.
Gavin has a ton of this stuff on his hard drive.
Hobbs: Okay, first, we should make sure that neither the victim nor his roommate is depicted in any of these videos or photos.
Or their clothes or furniture.
Mike, call the FBI, tell them what we've got here, and see if they can help us clarify - where these pictures come from.
- Right.
Did all this stuff belong to the victim, or someone he was blackmailing? That's what we're going to have to try and find out.
Hmm.
Human beings.
What a species, huh? Flynn: I don't envy you.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, thanks, Mike.
I'll see you tomorrow.
[Cellphone beeps.]
That's Tao.
He's sitting with the FBI task force, combing through their database for similar material, and they're only halfway done.
So far, no furniture or clothing that match anything belonging to Jacobs or Wigged Out.
Could someone have killed the victim for collecting child porn? Most likely, Gavin found it on one of the computers he stole and is extorting the owner for large sums of money.
Just possessing that kind of trash, you could end your life in prison.
Okay, well, don't don't get me wrong.
Those pictures and those videos, they're beyond disgusting, obviously.
But if the suspect didn't make them No, no, no.
It it it doesn't work that way.
Trading in kiddie porn creates a market to abuse more children.
And the problems don't end with molestation.
Sexually assaulted children usually take years to process the experience.
And then the trauma can be triggered again by situations that, emotionally, they feel as similar.
- Emotionally similar.
- Yeah.
Tao: Some of the photos and videos are over a decade old.
The FBI just confirmed that the photographs and videos all originated from multiple locations and have been actively traded for at least five years by a child porn ring.
So we can feel confident that Gavin Jacobs, or someone he blackmailed, did not create any of those images.
Well, they collected them, though, ma'am.
And Wigged Out teaches sixth grade.
Yeah, but why did Wigged Out leave all that money behind? Okay, let's say that you have child pornography on your laptop, and your computer gets stolen.
Do you then report that theft? I'm thinking not.
Well, three people said they weren't burglarized the author and the couple with the glass collection.
Yeah, it's hard to prove that they were robbed if they won't admit it.
All the people who lost their computers replaced them.
But if someone bought, say, a new laptop and didn't tell us, chances are they were robbed.
I don't think I'll need a lawyer.
I am on an incredibly tight deadline, though.
Oh, we understand deadlines, Mr.
Lewis.
Um, this shouldn't take long.
Yesterday you told us your home was not robbed.
Yes, that's true.
Well, could you explain this, uh, purchase, two weeks after your AKV home security system was installed? Yes.
I bought a new laptop computer.
Why? Well, because it was old.
I couldn't even update the operating system anymore, so I-I went and got a new one.
- And yet - [Paper rustles.]
You de-authorized the software on your old MacBook two days prior to your purchase.
Yes.
Uh, it was because I was running out to get the new one.
And then I had some car trouble.
Nothing unusual there.
Can you explain these many cash withdrawals that you made from your checking account over the last six months? And each just under the Federal reporting limit? Withdrawn in person, at your bank.
Okay, listen, I haven't been completely honest with you, all right? I [Inhales deeply.]
My laptop was stolen, and the thief, he demanded a ransom.
And I know that by paying that ransom, I committed a crime.
I didn't want to say that.
I'm sorry.
But your computer was returned? Yes.
Finally.
Yes, it was.
Okay, Mr.
Lewis, I want you to listen to me very carefully.
While you're sitting here talking with us, at this moment, we are executing a search warrant on your home.
And we're looking for your old MacBook, which you paid someone to give back.
Sharon: And even if you deleted the photos and videos from that laptop, we'll find them.
Hold Wait a minute now.
I think you have the wrong idea about me.
There's Dean, do you know what they do to child molesters in prison? - I never touched any children! - [Pounds tabletop.]
[Panting.]
I swear, okay.
Now I had nothing to do with those pictures.
I didn't [Panting.]
I swear.
I didn't take those photographs.
Everything that was on my computer, that stuff, I I found.
I just found.
It was posted on the web.
- It was posted on the Internet.
- Right, he just happened to stumble across molestation photos online.
Yeah, while booking a trip to Thailand.
Did you pay the person who posted this garbage so that you could own it yourself? And then maybe trade the images with other perverts? Sharon: Regardless of how you organized your collection, someone stole it, and you were paying huge sums of money to have it returned.
But you didn't get it back right away, did you? No, no, no, 'cause Jacobs wanted more money.
And you paid it, didn't you? Because what is the author of young adult novels to do? Sharon: My guess is that you made a detailed arrangement of some kind for a final payment.
Yeah, you demanded to see your computer before you would cough up any more money.
Is that it, Dean? When Gavin Jacobs had his throat cut with a box cutter, your laptop was out on his desk.
And whoever grabbed it, they didn't dump it in the bathtub with the other computer stuff.
No, not your laptop.
They walked away with it.
Now who would have done that, Dean? Provenza: Did you take the laptop home with you after the murder? Are you sure that you got rid of all the blood that was on it? Sharon: And off your clothes, out of your car? Look Look, I think I'd like to talk to my attorney now.
Sharon: Mm.
Well, that may be your only hope.
[Door opens.]
No way does that guy get a deal.
Julio, this isn't just about putting one guy away for murder.
Any deal will include his help in breaking up the child porn ring circulating this filth.
But, Lewis, he can't get less than 25-to-life, right? First, let's just see what comes back from the search of his house.
Tao: Blood, blood, and more blood in your car, on clothes we found in the trash near your house, even blood in the drains of your shower, where I assume you cleaned up afterwards.
So what? Everything you've told me so far sounds like my client must have been acting in self-defense.
Nolan: Well, along with a lot of computers and flash drives, we found this brand-new box cutter - in a bathtub of soapy water.
- The roommate was moving.
My client grabbed the only weapon in the vicinity to protect his life.
We also have this receipt from an online hardware store for a box cutter exactly like that one delivered to Dean's home address.
Looks like intent to me.
So before the DNA evidence comes back, I'll give you two options that will let us settle this mess today, but they're dependant on establishing Mr.
Lewis did not personally exploit any children.
- I did not molest anybody.
- Dean - No, I'm the victim here.
- Just stop.
- I was molested as a kid.
- Dean, hold on.
I didn't know how to talk to anybody about it.
Dean, hold on.
- I-I tried to keep this secret, but - Okay.
How do you tell someone that you've been sexually abused? Just stop.
I've been keeping this in my whole life because nobody wants to listen! - This is not the issue.
- See? You see? Try bringing it up.
This is what happens.
Dean, there are many different professionals who could help you with all this, but the D.
A.
is not one of them.
Okay? Andrea, you said there were two options.
Let's hear 'em.
Option one Mr.
Lewis reveals exactly how he collected these horrific photos and videos.
Who he came into contact with, how they communicated, every single detail.
We want names, and I mean a lot of them.
Right.
And the second option is? We arrest your client for first-degree murder.
And we put this to a jury.
No, pass.
Pass on your way to death row, asshole.
Provenza: Hey, just hold on.
We have one other point to make with our trash collector here, and I bet it works.
And if we accept neither? Best of luck at trial, Gilman.
I cannot wait for my opening argument.
You don't have a very sympathetic victim.
We thought you might say that.
So since you brought up sympathy, your client should know that there are limits to how well prison guards can protect child molesters.
Sykes: Entering a correctional facility as someone who kept sexually explicit images of children? Certainly not something I'd want to do.
Are we are we blackmailing him? Ironic.
But with Mr.
Lewis, it seems to be effective.
If we accept the first option, you'll take the child pornography charges off the table? Yes, if, as stated previously, your client gives up the other members of this child pornography ring and accepts 25 years to life for the murder of Gavin Jacobs.
What? No, that's that's no deal.
- No.
You'll have to do better.
- Oh, we can do better.
We can allow the jury to examine your gallery of molested girls while they deliberate whether to give you life without parole.
I wouldn't underestimate the impact these photos and videos will have on parents.
Mr.
Gilman, maybe you should look at the evidence, judge for yourself how 12 impartial finders of fact will respond to your client.
Tao: I'm gonna push "play.
" You raise your hand when you've seen enough.
I have some movement.
[Closes laptop.]
We agree to cooperate.
- But I - Or you get another lawyer.
Take a second.
Think about it.
How many more people do you need to see this crap? [Crying.]
But I was molested, too.
I didn't know how to talk about it.
Yeah, well, don't start now, because where you're going, you're gonna need to keep your mouth shut.
You guarantee you can bury my client's association with these materials? They won't show up anywhere on his record? If he gives me names.
He absolutely has to give me names of everyone in this child porn ring.
Bring me the paperwork.
Let's see if we can wrap this up by tonight.
I don't wanna hear any more of this.
Well, no one wants you in there with the guy anyway.
Flynn: Yeah, you can help Provenza and me file the report.
It'll take hours.
- And that means you're free to go.
- [Door closes.]
Andrea won't need you anymore tonight.
Well, I might as well wait for you.
Um, I don't really have anywhere else to be.
I wonder if that's true.
[Door closes.]
[Sighs.]
[Sighs.]
Is there somewhere we could talk? [Sighs.]
[Sighs.]
Okay, okay.
Um [Inhales deeply, exhales sharply.]
Look, I I know you think that I don't love you, but I do.
Yeah, just not enough to live with me.
Gus I get it.
Gus, please, listen.
I am a student working as an intern.
All of the money that I have comes from my mom.
I said that I don't care about that.
I said that I'd pay for everything.
Come on.
No.
No, I care, Gus.
I do care.
Okay? I spent two years of my life letting other guys pay for everything.
And and maybe that's made me difficult.
Or or hard to get along with.
And maybe you should break up with me.
Maybe I'm not worth all that extra bullshit.
But if I am ever gonna feel good about myself, I need to be able to pay my own way.
Or, at least, my half.
Why didn't you say all this to begin with? I didn't know.
Or or or I didn't have the words.
Come on.
I get a drink at the end of my shift.
Let's, just, uh, sit down and discuss all this.
Then, um we're not breaking up? No.
No, I mean I mean, it blows that we have to deal with this.
But I miss you so bad.
[Chair scrapes floor.]
You know, sometimes, I think the well is so deep around here that human beings can never touch bottom.
This place is more about justice than about hope.
Mm.
Hey, Lance Armstrong.
What's with the bike.
You got car trouble? No, um, Lieutenant, I-I sold my Prius.
Sold Why? The insurance went up.
I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint a little.
Julio can pick me up most days.
And, uh, there's the Metro.
I see.
Does the Metro run all the way to the home of Bill Jones? See you tomorrow, Lieutenant.
Good night.
Sir, he's helping a couple of needy kids.
He doesn't need to tell us everything, you know? - Yeah.
- Flynn: Well? Oh.
[Sighs.]
25 to life, as offered, but it's taking a while.
He's trying to write out his statement of facts, but he keeps starting over.
Well, that's the curse of having a novelist as a defendant.
"My Murder," by Dean Lewis.
"Chapter One To begin, I was molested" 25 to life, ma'am? In exchange for 31 names, e-mail accounts, phone numbers, and I.
P.
addresses that the FBI will then follow up on.
Those 31 people could lead to a thousand more.
Yeah, we've gotta grab these opportunities when they occur.
Anyway, we're almost done.
[Sighs.]
So get ready to transfer him to County.
See? The deal was well worth it.
But a thousand more people like Dean Lewis? Yeah.
I don't know whether to be encouraged or nauseated.
[Binder rings snap.]
Nothing says we can't be both, sir.