Law & Order (1990) s24e19 Episode Script
Play With Fire Part 1
1
In the criminal justice system
the people are represented
by two separate,
yet equally important, groups:
the police, who investigate crime
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Everyone, I ordered pizza.
Should be here real soon.
Everything OK?
Everything's fine. Thank you.
[CRYING SOFTLY]
Ana, it's OK, Ana.
- You can tell me what happened.
- No.
It will just make things worse.
I just need to know who this man was,
what he looked like.
Then tell me where it happened.
At that warehouse,
on 169th.
But I I don't want to talk
about it anymore.
I don't want to get in trouble.
What are you talking about?
Why would you get in trouble?
United States Immigration and Customs!
- ICE!
- Everybody get down on the floor!
- [SCREAMING]
- Ana, run!
- Stay where you are.
- Get in the middle!
Get in the middle! Freeze!
Calm down. Slow down.
- Guns down! Guns down! Slow down.
- Freeze!
Go, go, go.
Stay where you are!
[INDISTINCT SHOUTS]
Federal agent! Stop running!
Stop!
[SHRIEKS]
♪
[SIREN WAILING]
Ana, come on.
Stop! Police!
- Go!
- Stop!
- NYPD!
- Oh, my God.
♪
[TRUCK HORN BLARING]
Let's go.
[BRAKES SCREECHING]
[HORN HONKS]
♪
I got two running westbound,
159th Street.
Look, listen, there's a youth hostel
on 156th and Broadway.
I'll meet you there in a few hours, OK?
Wait, where are you going?
- To that warehouse.
- No, I told you.
Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.
Give me your phone.
If something happens,
you call this number.
- You understand?
- Who's this?
That woman I told you about.
She can help.
Go.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
[METAL CLANGS]
♪
Sofia, it's been hours. Call me back.
Don't do this, please.
That man, he's evil.
♪
[GASPS]
No, no, no, no. Oh, no.
[SCREAMS]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Captain Benson.
Hold on. Slow down.
Slow down. I can't understand you.
Are you sure that it's a body?
OK, what is the address?
Uh-huh. OK.
And are you safe?
Are you in any danger?
OK, good.
And what is your name?
What is your name?
Hello?
Hello?
[LINE BEEPS]
Hey, Cap.
Good to see you.
What the hell's going on?
Oh, well, I'm not exactly sure.
So about 30 minutes ago,
a woman called me up
she had a slight accent,
Mexican, maybe Salvadorian
saying that she found a dead body.
You get a name?
Uh, no, and when I asked her for hers,
- she hung up on me.
- So she finds a dead body.
She calls SVU, not 911.
- She calls you?
- Yeah.
Any idea how she got your number?
Nope. None.
What have we got, Jimmy?
A charred body.
Appears to be a female, but that's all
I can tell you right now.
You got anything else?
A wallet, a phone?
No. For now, she's a Jane Doe.
Only personal item
we found was a belt buckle.
It's probably the victim's.
Let's get that to the lab.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
We need to start canvassing immediately.
- There's got to be a camera
- We're on it.
Somebody that s
Look, I appreciate you coming down.
Homicide can take it from here.
I'm sure you got a lot on your plate.
Sadly, that's true.
Um, Detective Silva can stay
and help you out.
Look, do me a favor.
Keep me in the loop, because my
curiosity is definitely piqued.
- You got it, Cap.
- Thank you.
Good luck.
Hey, just make sure you don't
Relax.
I was in Homicide.
I know what I'm doing.
OK.
Oh, and I'm Kate, by the way.
Yeah. Vincent Riley.
Welcome to the party.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
How'd you get roped into this?
Oh, Captain Benson
from SVU caught the case.
Burned body?
Sounds like Homicide to me.
Well, a woman called her,
said that she found a body,
but when Benson tried to ask
her a few more questions,
she just hung up.
Huh.
OK, where was the body?
169th Street.
Where on 169th Street?
Just west of Broadway.
That's odd.
- Odd good or odd bad?
- Odd, odd.
I caught a case on that
same block two years ago.
Charred female body in a warehouse,
and we never officially
caught the killer.
What do you mean officially?
We identified a suspect.
Male, 20s, Latino.
He really looked good for it,
and then he fled to Mexico.
- OK, and then what?
- And then nothing.
We notified the authorities there,
but they never arrested him.
Sounds like your boy
might be back in town.
♪
[KNOCKING]
[DOOR CLICKS]
Please, come in.
Would you like something to drink?
Coffee, tea?
No thank you.
So why are you here?
We found another woman
near the warehouse
where we found your daughter,
killed in the same way.
What does that have to do with me?
I believe the same person
might be responsible.
My nephew's friend? Carlos?
I thought he was in prison in Mexico.
They never arrested him,
so there is a chance that
he might be here in New York.
I'm sorry. I can't imagine
Don't give me that speech. Not again.
The only thing that gave me some peace
was thinking that that
monster was in prison,
and now you tell me he's free?
- Did Rosa's murder mean nothing?
- No.
No, that is not true at all.
Then why isn't he in prison?
I'm trying.
I'm trying to do all that
I can to make that happen
and to get justice for Rosa,
but to do that,
I need to talk to your nephew.
I don't want to get involved.
This friend of yours
raped and killed your cousin.
He choked her to death
and set her on fire,
and you don't want to get involved?
You got a badge and a gun. I don't.
Look, Carlos is a scary dude.
He runs with the Latin Kings,
and, as you know, they don't like people
talking to the police.
So you can judge me all you want,
but I'm just trying to stay alive,
and me getting killed or deported
over something that happened
two years ago
ain't exactly ideal.
This is between you and me,
and that's it. Nobody else.
And I don't believe what you just said.
I don't think Rosa getting killed
was just something that happened.
You lived together.
She was family.
So you're obligated to help us
find out who killed her.
Thinking about what happened to Rosa
takes me to a dark place.
Well, maybe putting Carlos
in prison will help,
bring in some light.
Word is he's back running dope
out of a bar on 166th Street.
NYPD.
Nobody move.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
No, no, no.
Cuff him.
♪
Oh! Hey, hey, hey.
[SIREN WAILING]
[TIRES SCREECH]
[GROANING]
Stay there. Don't move.
Put your hands behind your back.
Behind your back!
We missed you, Carlos.
So good to have you back
in New York City.
I hate to say it, Carlos,
but I've been thinking
about you for a couple years,
so it's nice to finally
meet you in person.
I was in charge of Rosa Ortega's
murder investigation.
I still remember
what her body looked like.
Actually, what it didn't look like;
a human being,
because you set her on fire.
And now we got another burned body,
and I'm guessing you're good
for that one too.
We found cocaine
and heroin in your bar,
which means you're not going
anywhere for a long time.
So why don't you just
take it easy on yourself
and confess to the murders?
Bring the family some closure.
A judge might appreciate that.
That's Rosa, your friend's cousin
that you were constantly
asking out and harassing,
and that's Rosa when you
were finished with her.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
I want a lawyer.
We can charge him with possession
and intent to sell.
Plus, he's in the country illegally,
- so ICE is gonna
- What about the murders?
I mean, there's an open warrant out
for him for Rosa Ortega's murder,
and now there's this new one.
Same MO, same location.
It's all well and good,
but we need evidence, real evidence,
to actually charge him for murder.
We have a witness
who saw him in the vicinity
of the warehouse
Rosa's body was found in.
We have another one who said they saw
a man 5'10", brown skin, dark hair,
running from the scene.
We need more, Jess. I mean, a lot more.
- Hey, sorry to interrupt.
- Anything from the lawyer?
According to the metadata,
this video was taken the same day
Rosa was killed in Guadalajara, Mexico.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
That could be a fake.
It's possible, but our techs
think it's legit.
What about his alibi
for the recent murder?
He was in a bar in Newark,
New Jersey, with his cousin.
There's surveillance footage
of him entering at 2:15 p.m.,
leaving at 4:26 p.m.,
and officers responded
to the crime scene at 2:37.
The body was still smoldering.
Well, we messed up.
Chasing the wrong guy.
The right guy just killed someone else.
Hey.
Vi told me what's going on.
Look, it happens.
I mean, we're not omniscient.
We owe every mother, father,
daughter, son justice,
and if we fail to do that,
we at least have to give them
our best effort,
and we have to be able
to look them in the eye
and say, "We did everything we could
"to find the person responsible
for the worst day of your life."
Yeah.
Well, when I caught the case,
I was getting a divorce, my second,
and I was angry
and distracted and drinking too much.
Hey, you're human.
I've been there, believe me,
more than once.
It just means
we're real people, you know?
And if I'm being honest,
this is really just a job.
You don't really believe that, do you?
I didn't think so.
But thank you, Vince.
Lieutenant, I just talked to the ME,
and there was no match
to the victim's DNA,
but she was able to determine
gender, ethnicity, and age.
She said it's a female, Hispanic,
and approximately 26 years old.
- Any witnesses, video?
- No.
OK, well, we got to start
from square one
and ID the victim somehow.
Guys, I found something.
This is two blocks from the scene
25 minutes before the body was found.
Hard to see her face,
but check out the belt buckle.
It looks like the same buckle
that we recovered from the body.
OK, so she might be our victim,
but who is she?
Well, when Rosa was killed,
she and her family were living at
a shelter in Washington Heights.
A guy named Father Alberto ran it.
Super involved in the community.
He might know something.
[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Father Alberto?
What city code am I violating now?
We're not here about any of that.
We stopped by your church,
heard about the raid
and that you set up shop over here.
We wanted to see
if you've seen this woman.
What do you want to know?
We found a dead body yesterday.
We're just trying to ID the victim.
[SIGHS] Her name's Sofia.
I don't know her last name.
She's been staying at the
church the past few months.
She's a lovely young woman.
Ana. Ana, Ana.
Have you seen Sofia?
When was the last time that you saw her?
It's OK. We're NYPD.
We don't care about your papers.
We just want to talk about Sofia.
- [SPEAKS SPANISH]
- I don't know anything.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no.
She won't talk to you.
Why not? We're just trying to help.
She doesn't trust anyone with a badge.
All right, well,
maybe you can help us out.
Tell us something about Sofia.
Did she have a boyfriend?
I don't know.
- Did she have a job?
- Yeah.
Yeah, she was working at a restaurant
just a few blocks from here.
Have you seen her?
I can't really see her face, man.
Her name is Sofia.
OK, look, we don't care
about how you do business
or if you're paying undocumented workers
under the table.
So just look again.
I think I might know who she is.
But why? What did she do?
She got dead.
Someone killed her?
It sure looks that way.
So talk to us.
She was great.
Only been working here a few months,
but was already mama bear, you know?
Well, was she having any problems?
Anyone stalking her, harassing her?
The other day, I saw her
arguing with some dude
outside the restaurant.
I asked her about it, too,
but she didn't want to talk about it.
Seemed real nervous.
♪
- Hey, check it out.
- Mm.
♪
Zoom in and see
if you can catch a plate.
[SIREN WAILING]
Hey.
Excuse me. I'm Detective Silva.
This is Detective Riley.
Can we talk to you for a minute?
Yeah. What can I do for you?
We want to know why you were
arguing with a young woman
a few days ago outside
a restaurant called El Bacano.
You know I'm a cop, right?
Yeah, we do.
Doesn't feel like it.
You still haven't answered
the question, man.
Listen, why the hell do you
care who I was arguing with?
Because the woman on the other end
of the argument is dead.
- Maria's dead?
- Maria?
We were told her name was Sofia.
Her undercover name was Sofia.
Her real name is Maria Recinos,
Detective Maria Recinos.
♪
Lieutenant Brady?
Sorry for dropping in on you like this,
but we were able to ID our burn victim.
Great.
Uh, well, it was a cop.
A cop?
Named Maria Recinos.
[BREATHES DEEPLY] Maria Recinos?
You knew her?
Yeah, I did.
She, um
she was amazing.
She overcame a lot.
Her mother sent her here from
Honduras when she was a kid,
and a cousin was supposed
to smuggle her in,
which he did, and then
he sold her to a pedophile
who locked her in a basement.
- And you caught the case?
- Yeah.
And we rescued her.
And, uh,
she just joined
the department last year,
and I was trying to mentor her.
I'm so sorry, Liv.
I had no idea.
Do you think that the young woman
who called you has something
to do with Maria somehow?
I have no idea.
I talked to her for a few seconds.
OK, so what do we know?
Well, we don't have much.
The murder is possibly
connected to another one
that happened two years ago.
Same MO, same location.
Two years ago?
And Homicide never closed it?
No.
It was my case.
♪
OK.
So I will be
I will be joining the investigation.
I understand that you're upset,
but I really don't think
that'll be necessary.
No, it is.
Because this time,
we're gonna catch the bastard.
♪
We had credible intel that a trafficker
was preying on young,
undocumented women,
promising to take care of them,
protect them against ICE.
Tale as old as time.
We got any idea who this guy is?
No.
That's why Maria was undercover,
staying at that shelter where
those young women went missing.
As bait?
Don't you think
that's a little dangerous,
especially for a rookie?
I kept a close eye on her.
We checked in every two days,
but I was worried.
That's why we had the argument
outside that restaurant.
I wanted to pull her,
but Maria being Maria,
she wouldn't let me.
Said she was getting close.
Have a receipt with a bunch
of numbers scrawled across it.
That's too many digits
for a phone number.
According to the notes here,
that was found among
the personal possessions
of one of the missing girls.
13 digits, right?
I text my niece in Colombia,
and she got her number
through this internet thing.
I don't know.
It's 13 digits.
- Hey.
- Hey, your hunch was right.
It was a virtual number.
It was created using Voice
over the Internet Protocol.
So what does that mean?
- Can we still get a tap on it?
- No.
We tried. Judge said no.
Wanted more information.
But the truth is, it doesn't matter.
- Won't help.
- He's right.
This number is used exclusively
with WhatsApp,
which means it's encrypted on both ends.
Meaning we can't listen.
We can't even trace where the texts
and the calls are being made from.
OK, so let's subpoena the records,
get the company to have the user
turn over his account information.
It's a waste of time.
I've been down this road before.
These social media companies
will not play ball.
I'm afraid what they told you was true.
It's a waste of time.
Signal, WhatsApp, Google.
They've all taken a hard line
stance on right to privacy,
and there's not much we can do about it.
The law is on their side.
I'm asking you
for necessary information.
Come on, Nick, don't pretend like
- there's nothing you can do.
- Excuse me?
You can threaten them, right?
With safety violations, antitrust
something.
I know you were close
to one of the victims,
but I can't do that.
I can't leverage this office
to intimidate people.
I know.
I know, and I'm sorry.
I am.
You believe this number belongs
to the trafficker Detective Recinos
was investigating?
Yes, I do.
Then maybe there's
another way to use it.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Bruno, the contact
from the WhatsApp number
said to go to the door of 143.
He will text a code.
[PHONE CHIMES]
I got the code.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
♪
It says, "Go to the second floor,
fifth door on the right, room 12."
You got to find the trafficker, Bruno.
You gotta find him.
♪
They sent me another code.
Look at each of those doors.
They all have individual keypads.
I bet you there's a woman
behind every one of them.
This is a sex prison
hiding in plain sight.
♪
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
Hi, there. Are you
You have to pay before we do anything.
Bitcoin.
Yeah, right.
No face to face.
He's definitely careful.
[NOTIFICATION CHIMES]
You're good.
So what do you want to do?
See if you can get a lead
on the trafficker's location.
So the guy,
the guy in charge,
is he in the building or?
[NOTIFICATIONS CHIMING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
You have to leave now.
Get out. Go.
No, he's been made.
Riley, Silva, go.
You have to go.
♪
Go. Go, go, go.
Go, go. Go.
♪
Go, go.
- Police!
- Everybody out!
- Police, open the door!
- Police. Get out.
Face up against the wall.
Keep your arms down.
- Don't move.
- In the hallway now!
Everybody out!
Police! Open the door!
Get 'em out.
Get up! Get up!
NYPD. NYPD, open up.
Let's go. Out.
Come on, let's go.
- Out of your rooms now.
- Chest on the wall.
Let's go.
Out of the room. Let's go.
- Let's go, now.
- Hands on the wall.
Chest on the wall. Let's go.
- Let's go.
- That's it.
All clear.
- Anything?
- Nothing.
No sign of the trafficker.
He's got to be there somewhere.
Why is the video all glitchy?
There's got to be some interference.
Because somebody else
is surveilling this building.
♪
There. There, there, there.
Those are shortwave antennas.
Police, freeze!
Freeze.
♪
- [WHIMPERS]
- Go, go.
Go, out. Out, out.
- Stay back.
- Let her go.
- Stay back or I'll shoot her.
- Let her go.
You don't want to do that.
- I said stay back.
- Come on, come on.
Let's all figure this out now.
Just calm down.
Let her out. Come on.
You're good. Go.
One more step and she dies.
- OK, look at me, look at me.
- Get back.
OK.
I'm gonna take my gun,
and I'm gonna holster it, OK?
'Cause I know that
we can figure this out.
Tell me your name.
Huh?
Get those cops out of there now.
I will.
I will, but first,
you need to let her go.
Let's be smart about this.
No, no, no. No, don't!
[GUNSHOT]
[GRUNTS]
You are under arrest.
[GRUNTS]
All right, tough guy, let's go.
I haven't played that rough in a minute.
Yeah, but it was worth it.
We got our guy.
Maria's work paid off.
At least all this misery
wasn't for nothing.
OK, so how many women is he holding?
12 being treated as we speak.
No physical injuries, but
What do we know about this perp?
Name is Travis Mitchell.
His name is on the lease in the
apartment across the street.
All right, what about
the electronic devices?
Well, we recovered
his phone and his laptop.
Lots of good evidence on both.
Messages with Johns, arranging dates,
including the ones with Detective Bruno.
And his Bitcoin wallet
shows that he's the one
receiving all the payments.
Sounds like we got
this gem dead to rights.
On human trafficking, yes.
What about the murders?
Do you anything connecting him
to Detective Recinos?
- Rosa Ortega?
- Not yet.
But we're about to have
a chat with Travis.
Travis.
So we need to talk
about these two women.
Actually, we don't.
My client had nothing to do
with their murders.
Well, I hope you have
a better defense than that.
What were you doing Monday afternoon?
- Visiting a friend.
- And we can prove it.
And what about on May 17th, 2023?
Were you visiting a friend that day too?
Two years ago, Mr. Mitchell
was living in Amsterdam.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Believe it or not,
Mitchell's alibi checks out.
Yeah, for both murders.
But he's clearly the trafficker
that Maria was after.
And if her murder was not connected
to the trafficking case
I doubt Mitchell was the only predator
fishing in these waters.
No, these young migrant women
are easy marks.
All right, great,
so we're looking for a predator.
Then why don't we try to find the girl
who called you to report the murder?
I mean, there's a chance
she knows something.
All right, were you able
to track down that number?
Yeah, the phone company,
they just got back to me.
They said that it was a burner
phone purchased two weeks ago
at a bodega on 163rd Street.
OK, go.
♪
So we're looking for
the owner of a prepaid phone.
Manufacturer said it was purchased here.
We sell a lot of phones.
You're gonna have to be more specific.
Well, we got the UPC number.
Think you could look up the transaction?
Maybe they paid with a credit card.
Not a lot of that happening
around here, but I'll check.
Sorry, like I figured,
the phone was paid for in cash.
- What about those cameras?
- Let's see.
Phone was purchased two weeks ago,
so footage would still be in the system.
I could just put in the date and time.
Here it is.
Wait. Can you stop it there?
That's the woman at the shelter,
- said she didn't know anything.
- Mm-hmm.
Ana.
I'm Olivia Benson.
I'm the one you called about
the dead body in the warehouse.
[SPEAKS SPANISH]
Ana.
We spoke to Father Alberto,
and we know you speak fluent English.
I didn't call anyone.
Also, you have to stop lying, OK?
Because this is a murder investigation.
So let's start over again.
Lieutenant, would you mind just
stepping out of the room for a minute?
Ana, you don't have to be nervous, OK?
You don't have to be nervous.
Look at that. Oh, I love your tattoo.
That's beautiful.
- That's my son's name.
- Yeah?
Where is he now?
He's in Ecuador.
- Mm-hmm.
- With my parents.
I had to leave him so I could
come here to earn money.
OK.
I want to give him a good life.
Of course, of course.
Well, it sounds like
it sounds like you did the right thing.
Sofia said you were very special.
You know, she
she was actually a police officer.
It's my fault she's dead.
She was trying to find
the man who hurt me.
Who hurt you how?
It's OK. You can tell me.
Did he rape you?
He said if I told anyone,
he would have me deported
or killed,
but when I went back to the shelter,
Sofia could tell something was wrong.
So I told her,
and then she went off
to try and find him.
- [SOBS]
- It's OK.
OK, all right.
Shh, I know.
Listen, why don't I go
get you some tea, OK?
That sound good?
I'll be right back.
[SOBBING]
Liv, do we have a problem?
Look, now's not the time, OK?
I don't appreciate
you walking away from me,
and I don't appreciate being
kicked out of an interview
- in my own precinct.
- I'm sorry.
It was not personal.
I was just trying to create, you know,
an intimate and supportive environment.
Well, I'm starting to get the impression
that you hold me responsible
for Maria's death.
Where's Ana?
Ana.
Ana?
Hey.
I went through the rest
of Maria's case files, but
Hey, did you just see a woman
walk through here?
She has long, brown, curly hair.
She's wearing a green t-shirt.
I haven't seen anyone like that. Why?
Maybe she's in the bathroom?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Ana. Ana?
What the hell happened?
- Maybe she got cold feet.
- Ah.
Despite the supportive environment.
Wow.
♪
Vince, Silva.
That was Benson. She's at the shelter.
No sign of Ana.
She knows that we're looking for her.
Yeah.
Well, she's got limited resources,
no family in the area.
There's only so many places
she could go.
We got unis scouring the area,
checking out any other shelters
or hostels that might be nearby.
I just don't understand
why she got spooked.
Liv made it so clear we wanted to help.
Guys, a call just came in.
♪
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Evidence of bruising on the neck.
Paratracheal hemorrhaging.
Looks like she was strangled.
Based on body temp,
it couldn't have been
more than an hour or two ago.
What the hell is going on?
How did he find her so fast?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
So I just talked to
the witness who called 911.
He said he saw a man,
medium height and build,
speeding away from the scene
in a dark colored car.
He said it seemed strange,
so he went over to investigate,
- and he found the body.
- Did he get a make or a model?
Nah, and he didn't get
a license plate either.
Hey, looks like
we finally caught a break here.
The ME found seminal fluid
on Ana's clothing.
- This guy raped her again?
- Apparently so.
Who is this son of a bitch?
Miguel Pinto.
Keep talking.
DNA was a match in the system.
He got out of Fishkill three weeks ago
after serving 16 months on
a sexual assault conviction.
Yeah, that would explain
the two-year gap in victims
between Rosa Ortega
and Maria Recinos.
What's the height and build?
5'10" 165.
That sounds like medium
height build to me.
And get this.
He grew up in Washington Heights.
OK, talk to his parole officer
and get an address like now.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey, we're looking for Miguel Pinto.
Hey, Miguel Pinto.
Miguel Pinto, NYPD.
Get out here right now.
Hey, hey. Out.
Get out. Hands up.
Get on your knees!
Down.
Hands behind your back.
Ow, it's too tight.
Good.
Like I told the other cops,
I didn't do a damn thing.
I haven't even smoked weed
since I got released,
so I don't get it.
What the hell is going on?
There's a lot going on,
and I'll tell you this,
none of it's good.
We found your DNA
on a young woman named Ana Machado.
She was choked to death.
Wait, you think I killed that girl?
Yeah, and two other women too.
Detective Maria Recinos
and Rosa Ortega.
Right now, we're focusing on Ana.
I don't know what the hell
you're talking about, I swear.
Well, how'd your DNA get on her body?
Her dead body.
I got no idea, but I didn't do it.
I'd never do something like that.
You would never do something like that?
You would never commit
an act of violence
against a young woman.
Is that you're saying?
I'd never choke someone,
that's for sure.
Oh, hold on a second, then.
Maybe we should ask Shannon Bell.
You remember her, don't you?
She was the young girl,
the 18 year old girl
that you raped and beat.
You broke her jaw.
I think you might remember that.
So don't you dare tell me
that you would never commit
an act of violence
- against a young woman.
- Liv. Liv, enough.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Well, we got to figure this out, Miguel.
Hmm? Got to figure it out.
We got to figure out how your DNA
wound up on Ana's body.
And if you can explain that,
if you can give us a good reason,
then, of course, there's the door.
You're free to go.
♪
No.
I'm done.
Lawyer.
♪
Are you OK?
Am I OK?
You had no business
interrupting my interrogation.
- Excuse me?
- "Enough, Liv"?
Thank you, but I got it.
I don't need your interjections, OK?
We almost had him. We were this close.
We still have him.
His DNA is all over Ana's body.
He can't just say a few Hail Marys
and just make that disappear.
And what about Maria and Rosa?
Do we still have him on those too?
No. No.
- You were out of line.
- Out of line?
I was trying to save your ass
and the case.
How do you figure?
What do you want, a coerced confession?
Look, we finally arrested someone
who looks good for all three murders,
so let's just do it right.
What about his alibi?
We're still looking into it,
but it's wobbly, at best.
Is there any evidence connecting him
to the other two murders?
Not at the moment, but his seminal fluid
was found on her body.
Which might be enough to get him
- for the Ana Machado murder.
- Might?
Look, I get the desire
to charge this guy
as soon as possible
Well, he's killed two women
in the past week.
That's a pretty dangerous streak.
So let's hold him for the full 48 hours,
which gives you 41 hours
to find more evidence.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Lieutenant Brady.
So I just spoke to Riley and Silva.
They've been canvassing the
area where Ana was murdered,
and they found a deli owner
who recognized
the photo of Miguel Pinto.
This deli got cameras?
No, but he says Pinto
was there around 3:30 p.m.
That's less than 30 minutes
before the 911 call.
How far was it from the crime scene?
Two blocks.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Nick, it's Jessica Brady.
♪
We have Pinto's semen on Ana's clothing
and a witness who sold him a sandwich.
That puts him two blocks
from the crime scene
less than half an hour from the 911 call
reporting the dead body.
Do we have anything tying him
to the other murders?
- No.
- So let's put those on hold.
Let's charge Pinto with
the case that we can make.
[KNOCKS]
I don't understand what's going on.
- What's wrong?
- Pinto's alibi checks out.
What do you mean?
I mean, the jackass
was telling the truth,
and he was in Staten Island
at the time of the murder.
- What about your witness?
- Bad ID, I guess.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, it's a tight alibi.
There's videos and pictures,
and we just got it wrong again.
OK, but if Pinto is on Staten Island,
how does DNA end up on Ana's body?
I don't know.
The only thing that makes sense is
The real killer tried to frame him.
♪
And he's two steps ahead of us.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
In the criminal justice system
the people are represented
by two separate,
yet equally important, groups:
the police, who investigate crime
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Everyone, I ordered pizza.
Should be here real soon.
Everything OK?
Everything's fine. Thank you.
[CRYING SOFTLY]
Ana, it's OK, Ana.
- You can tell me what happened.
- No.
It will just make things worse.
I just need to know who this man was,
what he looked like.
Then tell me where it happened.
At that warehouse,
on 169th.
But I I don't want to talk
about it anymore.
I don't want to get in trouble.
What are you talking about?
Why would you get in trouble?
United States Immigration and Customs!
- ICE!
- Everybody get down on the floor!
- [SCREAMING]
- Ana, run!
- Stay where you are.
- Get in the middle!
Get in the middle! Freeze!
Calm down. Slow down.
- Guns down! Guns down! Slow down.
- Freeze!
Go, go, go.
Stay where you are!
[INDISTINCT SHOUTS]
Federal agent! Stop running!
Stop!
[SHRIEKS]
♪
[SIREN WAILING]
Ana, come on.
Stop! Police!
- Go!
- Stop!
- NYPD!
- Oh, my God.
♪
[TRUCK HORN BLARING]
Let's go.
[BRAKES SCREECHING]
[HORN HONKS]
♪
I got two running westbound,
159th Street.
Look, listen, there's a youth hostel
on 156th and Broadway.
I'll meet you there in a few hours, OK?
Wait, where are you going?
- To that warehouse.
- No, I told you.
Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.
Give me your phone.
If something happens,
you call this number.
- You understand?
- Who's this?
That woman I told you about.
She can help.
Go.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
[METAL CLANGS]
♪
Sofia, it's been hours. Call me back.
Don't do this, please.
That man, he's evil.
♪
[GASPS]
No, no, no, no. Oh, no.
[SCREAMS]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Captain Benson.
Hold on. Slow down.
Slow down. I can't understand you.
Are you sure that it's a body?
OK, what is the address?
Uh-huh. OK.
And are you safe?
Are you in any danger?
OK, good.
And what is your name?
What is your name?
Hello?
Hello?
[LINE BEEPS]
Hey, Cap.
Good to see you.
What the hell's going on?
Oh, well, I'm not exactly sure.
So about 30 minutes ago,
a woman called me up
she had a slight accent,
Mexican, maybe Salvadorian
saying that she found a dead body.
You get a name?
Uh, no, and when I asked her for hers,
- she hung up on me.
- So she finds a dead body.
She calls SVU, not 911.
- She calls you?
- Yeah.
Any idea how she got your number?
Nope. None.
What have we got, Jimmy?
A charred body.
Appears to be a female, but that's all
I can tell you right now.
You got anything else?
A wallet, a phone?
No. For now, she's a Jane Doe.
Only personal item
we found was a belt buckle.
It's probably the victim's.
Let's get that to the lab.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
We need to start canvassing immediately.
- There's got to be a camera
- We're on it.
Somebody that s
Look, I appreciate you coming down.
Homicide can take it from here.
I'm sure you got a lot on your plate.
Sadly, that's true.
Um, Detective Silva can stay
and help you out.
Look, do me a favor.
Keep me in the loop, because my
curiosity is definitely piqued.
- You got it, Cap.
- Thank you.
Good luck.
Hey, just make sure you don't
Relax.
I was in Homicide.
I know what I'm doing.
OK.
Oh, and I'm Kate, by the way.
Yeah. Vincent Riley.
Welcome to the party.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
How'd you get roped into this?
Oh, Captain Benson
from SVU caught the case.
Burned body?
Sounds like Homicide to me.
Well, a woman called her,
said that she found a body,
but when Benson tried to ask
her a few more questions,
she just hung up.
Huh.
OK, where was the body?
169th Street.
Where on 169th Street?
Just west of Broadway.
That's odd.
- Odd good or odd bad?
- Odd, odd.
I caught a case on that
same block two years ago.
Charred female body in a warehouse,
and we never officially
caught the killer.
What do you mean officially?
We identified a suspect.
Male, 20s, Latino.
He really looked good for it,
and then he fled to Mexico.
- OK, and then what?
- And then nothing.
We notified the authorities there,
but they never arrested him.
Sounds like your boy
might be back in town.
♪
[KNOCKING]
[DOOR CLICKS]
Please, come in.
Would you like something to drink?
Coffee, tea?
No thank you.
So why are you here?
We found another woman
near the warehouse
where we found your daughter,
killed in the same way.
What does that have to do with me?
I believe the same person
might be responsible.
My nephew's friend? Carlos?
I thought he was in prison in Mexico.
They never arrested him,
so there is a chance that
he might be here in New York.
I'm sorry. I can't imagine
Don't give me that speech. Not again.
The only thing that gave me some peace
was thinking that that
monster was in prison,
and now you tell me he's free?
- Did Rosa's murder mean nothing?
- No.
No, that is not true at all.
Then why isn't he in prison?
I'm trying.
I'm trying to do all that
I can to make that happen
and to get justice for Rosa,
but to do that,
I need to talk to your nephew.
I don't want to get involved.
This friend of yours
raped and killed your cousin.
He choked her to death
and set her on fire,
and you don't want to get involved?
You got a badge and a gun. I don't.
Look, Carlos is a scary dude.
He runs with the Latin Kings,
and, as you know, they don't like people
talking to the police.
So you can judge me all you want,
but I'm just trying to stay alive,
and me getting killed or deported
over something that happened
two years ago
ain't exactly ideal.
This is between you and me,
and that's it. Nobody else.
And I don't believe what you just said.
I don't think Rosa getting killed
was just something that happened.
You lived together.
She was family.
So you're obligated to help us
find out who killed her.
Thinking about what happened to Rosa
takes me to a dark place.
Well, maybe putting Carlos
in prison will help,
bring in some light.
Word is he's back running dope
out of a bar on 166th Street.
NYPD.
Nobody move.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
No, no, no.
Cuff him.
♪
Oh! Hey, hey, hey.
[SIREN WAILING]
[TIRES SCREECH]
[GROANING]
Stay there. Don't move.
Put your hands behind your back.
Behind your back!
We missed you, Carlos.
So good to have you back
in New York City.
I hate to say it, Carlos,
but I've been thinking
about you for a couple years,
so it's nice to finally
meet you in person.
I was in charge of Rosa Ortega's
murder investigation.
I still remember
what her body looked like.
Actually, what it didn't look like;
a human being,
because you set her on fire.
And now we got another burned body,
and I'm guessing you're good
for that one too.
We found cocaine
and heroin in your bar,
which means you're not going
anywhere for a long time.
So why don't you just
take it easy on yourself
and confess to the murders?
Bring the family some closure.
A judge might appreciate that.
That's Rosa, your friend's cousin
that you were constantly
asking out and harassing,
and that's Rosa when you
were finished with her.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
I want a lawyer.
We can charge him with possession
and intent to sell.
Plus, he's in the country illegally,
- so ICE is gonna
- What about the murders?
I mean, there's an open warrant out
for him for Rosa Ortega's murder,
and now there's this new one.
Same MO, same location.
It's all well and good,
but we need evidence, real evidence,
to actually charge him for murder.
We have a witness
who saw him in the vicinity
of the warehouse
Rosa's body was found in.
We have another one who said they saw
a man 5'10", brown skin, dark hair,
running from the scene.
We need more, Jess. I mean, a lot more.
- Hey, sorry to interrupt.
- Anything from the lawyer?
According to the metadata,
this video was taken the same day
Rosa was killed in Guadalajara, Mexico.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
That could be a fake.
It's possible, but our techs
think it's legit.
What about his alibi
for the recent murder?
He was in a bar in Newark,
New Jersey, with his cousin.
There's surveillance footage
of him entering at 2:15 p.m.,
leaving at 4:26 p.m.,
and officers responded
to the crime scene at 2:37.
The body was still smoldering.
Well, we messed up.
Chasing the wrong guy.
The right guy just killed someone else.
Hey.
Vi told me what's going on.
Look, it happens.
I mean, we're not omniscient.
We owe every mother, father,
daughter, son justice,
and if we fail to do that,
we at least have to give them
our best effort,
and we have to be able
to look them in the eye
and say, "We did everything we could
"to find the person responsible
for the worst day of your life."
Yeah.
Well, when I caught the case,
I was getting a divorce, my second,
and I was angry
and distracted and drinking too much.
Hey, you're human.
I've been there, believe me,
more than once.
It just means
we're real people, you know?
And if I'm being honest,
this is really just a job.
You don't really believe that, do you?
I didn't think so.
But thank you, Vince.
Lieutenant, I just talked to the ME,
and there was no match
to the victim's DNA,
but she was able to determine
gender, ethnicity, and age.
She said it's a female, Hispanic,
and approximately 26 years old.
- Any witnesses, video?
- No.
OK, well, we got to start
from square one
and ID the victim somehow.
Guys, I found something.
This is two blocks from the scene
25 minutes before the body was found.
Hard to see her face,
but check out the belt buckle.
It looks like the same buckle
that we recovered from the body.
OK, so she might be our victim,
but who is she?
Well, when Rosa was killed,
she and her family were living at
a shelter in Washington Heights.
A guy named Father Alberto ran it.
Super involved in the community.
He might know something.
[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Father Alberto?
What city code am I violating now?
We're not here about any of that.
We stopped by your church,
heard about the raid
and that you set up shop over here.
We wanted to see
if you've seen this woman.
What do you want to know?
We found a dead body yesterday.
We're just trying to ID the victim.
[SIGHS] Her name's Sofia.
I don't know her last name.
She's been staying at the
church the past few months.
She's a lovely young woman.
Ana. Ana, Ana.
Have you seen Sofia?
When was the last time that you saw her?
It's OK. We're NYPD.
We don't care about your papers.
We just want to talk about Sofia.
- [SPEAKS SPANISH]
- I don't know anything.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no.
She won't talk to you.
Why not? We're just trying to help.
She doesn't trust anyone with a badge.
All right, well,
maybe you can help us out.
Tell us something about Sofia.
Did she have a boyfriend?
I don't know.
- Did she have a job?
- Yeah.
Yeah, she was working at a restaurant
just a few blocks from here.
Have you seen her?
I can't really see her face, man.
Her name is Sofia.
OK, look, we don't care
about how you do business
or if you're paying undocumented workers
under the table.
So just look again.
I think I might know who she is.
But why? What did she do?
She got dead.
Someone killed her?
It sure looks that way.
So talk to us.
She was great.
Only been working here a few months,
but was already mama bear, you know?
Well, was she having any problems?
Anyone stalking her, harassing her?
The other day, I saw her
arguing with some dude
outside the restaurant.
I asked her about it, too,
but she didn't want to talk about it.
Seemed real nervous.
♪
- Hey, check it out.
- Mm.
♪
Zoom in and see
if you can catch a plate.
[SIREN WAILING]
Hey.
Excuse me. I'm Detective Silva.
This is Detective Riley.
Can we talk to you for a minute?
Yeah. What can I do for you?
We want to know why you were
arguing with a young woman
a few days ago outside
a restaurant called El Bacano.
You know I'm a cop, right?
Yeah, we do.
Doesn't feel like it.
You still haven't answered
the question, man.
Listen, why the hell do you
care who I was arguing with?
Because the woman on the other end
of the argument is dead.
- Maria's dead?
- Maria?
We were told her name was Sofia.
Her undercover name was Sofia.
Her real name is Maria Recinos,
Detective Maria Recinos.
♪
Lieutenant Brady?
Sorry for dropping in on you like this,
but we were able to ID our burn victim.
Great.
Uh, well, it was a cop.
A cop?
Named Maria Recinos.
[BREATHES DEEPLY] Maria Recinos?
You knew her?
Yeah, I did.
She, um
she was amazing.
She overcame a lot.
Her mother sent her here from
Honduras when she was a kid,
and a cousin was supposed
to smuggle her in,
which he did, and then
he sold her to a pedophile
who locked her in a basement.
- And you caught the case?
- Yeah.
And we rescued her.
And, uh,
she just joined
the department last year,
and I was trying to mentor her.
I'm so sorry, Liv.
I had no idea.
Do you think that the young woman
who called you has something
to do with Maria somehow?
I have no idea.
I talked to her for a few seconds.
OK, so what do we know?
Well, we don't have much.
The murder is possibly
connected to another one
that happened two years ago.
Same MO, same location.
Two years ago?
And Homicide never closed it?
No.
It was my case.
♪
OK.
So I will be
I will be joining the investigation.
I understand that you're upset,
but I really don't think
that'll be necessary.
No, it is.
Because this time,
we're gonna catch the bastard.
♪
We had credible intel that a trafficker
was preying on young,
undocumented women,
promising to take care of them,
protect them against ICE.
Tale as old as time.
We got any idea who this guy is?
No.
That's why Maria was undercover,
staying at that shelter where
those young women went missing.
As bait?
Don't you think
that's a little dangerous,
especially for a rookie?
I kept a close eye on her.
We checked in every two days,
but I was worried.
That's why we had the argument
outside that restaurant.
I wanted to pull her,
but Maria being Maria,
she wouldn't let me.
Said she was getting close.
Have a receipt with a bunch
of numbers scrawled across it.
That's too many digits
for a phone number.
According to the notes here,
that was found among
the personal possessions
of one of the missing girls.
13 digits, right?
I text my niece in Colombia,
and she got her number
through this internet thing.
I don't know.
It's 13 digits.
- Hey.
- Hey, your hunch was right.
It was a virtual number.
It was created using Voice
over the Internet Protocol.
So what does that mean?
- Can we still get a tap on it?
- No.
We tried. Judge said no.
Wanted more information.
But the truth is, it doesn't matter.
- Won't help.
- He's right.
This number is used exclusively
with WhatsApp,
which means it's encrypted on both ends.
Meaning we can't listen.
We can't even trace where the texts
and the calls are being made from.
OK, so let's subpoena the records,
get the company to have the user
turn over his account information.
It's a waste of time.
I've been down this road before.
These social media companies
will not play ball.
I'm afraid what they told you was true.
It's a waste of time.
Signal, WhatsApp, Google.
They've all taken a hard line
stance on right to privacy,
and there's not much we can do about it.
The law is on their side.
I'm asking you
for necessary information.
Come on, Nick, don't pretend like
- there's nothing you can do.
- Excuse me?
You can threaten them, right?
With safety violations, antitrust
something.
I know you were close
to one of the victims,
but I can't do that.
I can't leverage this office
to intimidate people.
I know.
I know, and I'm sorry.
I am.
You believe this number belongs
to the trafficker Detective Recinos
was investigating?
Yes, I do.
Then maybe there's
another way to use it.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Bruno, the contact
from the WhatsApp number
said to go to the door of 143.
He will text a code.
[PHONE CHIMES]
I got the code.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
♪
It says, "Go to the second floor,
fifth door on the right, room 12."
You got to find the trafficker, Bruno.
You gotta find him.
♪
They sent me another code.
Look at each of those doors.
They all have individual keypads.
I bet you there's a woman
behind every one of them.
This is a sex prison
hiding in plain sight.
♪
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
Hi, there. Are you
You have to pay before we do anything.
Bitcoin.
Yeah, right.
No face to face.
He's definitely careful.
[NOTIFICATION CHIMES]
You're good.
So what do you want to do?
See if you can get a lead
on the trafficker's location.
So the guy,
the guy in charge,
is he in the building or?
[NOTIFICATIONS CHIMING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
You have to leave now.
Get out. Go.
No, he's been made.
Riley, Silva, go.
You have to go.
♪
Go. Go, go, go.
Go, go. Go.
♪
Go, go.
- Police!
- Everybody out!
- Police, open the door!
- Police. Get out.
Face up against the wall.
Keep your arms down.
- Don't move.
- In the hallway now!
Everybody out!
Police! Open the door!
Get 'em out.
Get up! Get up!
NYPD. NYPD, open up.
Let's go. Out.
Come on, let's go.
- Out of your rooms now.
- Chest on the wall.
Let's go.
Out of the room. Let's go.
- Let's go, now.
- Hands on the wall.
Chest on the wall. Let's go.
- Let's go.
- That's it.
All clear.
- Anything?
- Nothing.
No sign of the trafficker.
He's got to be there somewhere.
Why is the video all glitchy?
There's got to be some interference.
Because somebody else
is surveilling this building.
♪
There. There, there, there.
Those are shortwave antennas.
Police, freeze!
Freeze.
♪
- [WHIMPERS]
- Go, go.
Go, out. Out, out.
- Stay back.
- Let her go.
- Stay back or I'll shoot her.
- Let her go.
You don't want to do that.
- I said stay back.
- Come on, come on.
Let's all figure this out now.
Just calm down.
Let her out. Come on.
You're good. Go.
One more step and she dies.
- OK, look at me, look at me.
- Get back.
OK.
I'm gonna take my gun,
and I'm gonna holster it, OK?
'Cause I know that
we can figure this out.
Tell me your name.
Huh?
Get those cops out of there now.
I will.
I will, but first,
you need to let her go.
Let's be smart about this.
No, no, no. No, don't!
[GUNSHOT]
[GRUNTS]
You are under arrest.
[GRUNTS]
All right, tough guy, let's go.
I haven't played that rough in a minute.
Yeah, but it was worth it.
We got our guy.
Maria's work paid off.
At least all this misery
wasn't for nothing.
OK, so how many women is he holding?
12 being treated as we speak.
No physical injuries, but
What do we know about this perp?
Name is Travis Mitchell.
His name is on the lease in the
apartment across the street.
All right, what about
the electronic devices?
Well, we recovered
his phone and his laptop.
Lots of good evidence on both.
Messages with Johns, arranging dates,
including the ones with Detective Bruno.
And his Bitcoin wallet
shows that he's the one
receiving all the payments.
Sounds like we got
this gem dead to rights.
On human trafficking, yes.
What about the murders?
Do you anything connecting him
to Detective Recinos?
- Rosa Ortega?
- Not yet.
But we're about to have
a chat with Travis.
Travis.
So we need to talk
about these two women.
Actually, we don't.
My client had nothing to do
with their murders.
Well, I hope you have
a better defense than that.
What were you doing Monday afternoon?
- Visiting a friend.
- And we can prove it.
And what about on May 17th, 2023?
Were you visiting a friend that day too?
Two years ago, Mr. Mitchell
was living in Amsterdam.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Believe it or not,
Mitchell's alibi checks out.
Yeah, for both murders.
But he's clearly the trafficker
that Maria was after.
And if her murder was not connected
to the trafficking case
I doubt Mitchell was the only predator
fishing in these waters.
No, these young migrant women
are easy marks.
All right, great,
so we're looking for a predator.
Then why don't we try to find the girl
who called you to report the murder?
I mean, there's a chance
she knows something.
All right, were you able
to track down that number?
Yeah, the phone company,
they just got back to me.
They said that it was a burner
phone purchased two weeks ago
at a bodega on 163rd Street.
OK, go.
♪
So we're looking for
the owner of a prepaid phone.
Manufacturer said it was purchased here.
We sell a lot of phones.
You're gonna have to be more specific.
Well, we got the UPC number.
Think you could look up the transaction?
Maybe they paid with a credit card.
Not a lot of that happening
around here, but I'll check.
Sorry, like I figured,
the phone was paid for in cash.
- What about those cameras?
- Let's see.
Phone was purchased two weeks ago,
so footage would still be in the system.
I could just put in the date and time.
Here it is.
Wait. Can you stop it there?
That's the woman at the shelter,
- said she didn't know anything.
- Mm-hmm.
Ana.
I'm Olivia Benson.
I'm the one you called about
the dead body in the warehouse.
[SPEAKS SPANISH]
Ana.
We spoke to Father Alberto,
and we know you speak fluent English.
I didn't call anyone.
Also, you have to stop lying, OK?
Because this is a murder investigation.
So let's start over again.
Lieutenant, would you mind just
stepping out of the room for a minute?
Ana, you don't have to be nervous, OK?
You don't have to be nervous.
Look at that. Oh, I love your tattoo.
That's beautiful.
- That's my son's name.
- Yeah?
Where is he now?
He's in Ecuador.
- Mm-hmm.
- With my parents.
I had to leave him so I could
come here to earn money.
OK.
I want to give him a good life.
Of course, of course.
Well, it sounds like
it sounds like you did the right thing.
Sofia said you were very special.
You know, she
she was actually a police officer.
It's my fault she's dead.
She was trying to find
the man who hurt me.
Who hurt you how?
It's OK. You can tell me.
Did he rape you?
He said if I told anyone,
he would have me deported
or killed,
but when I went back to the shelter,
Sofia could tell something was wrong.
So I told her,
and then she went off
to try and find him.
- [SOBS]
- It's OK.
OK, all right.
Shh, I know.
Listen, why don't I go
get you some tea, OK?
That sound good?
I'll be right back.
[SOBBING]
Liv, do we have a problem?
Look, now's not the time, OK?
I don't appreciate
you walking away from me,
and I don't appreciate being
kicked out of an interview
- in my own precinct.
- I'm sorry.
It was not personal.
I was just trying to create, you know,
an intimate and supportive environment.
Well, I'm starting to get the impression
that you hold me responsible
for Maria's death.
Where's Ana?
Ana.
Ana?
Hey.
I went through the rest
of Maria's case files, but
Hey, did you just see a woman
walk through here?
She has long, brown, curly hair.
She's wearing a green t-shirt.
I haven't seen anyone like that. Why?
Maybe she's in the bathroom?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Ana. Ana?
What the hell happened?
- Maybe she got cold feet.
- Ah.
Despite the supportive environment.
Wow.
♪
Vince, Silva.
That was Benson. She's at the shelter.
No sign of Ana.
She knows that we're looking for her.
Yeah.
Well, she's got limited resources,
no family in the area.
There's only so many places
she could go.
We got unis scouring the area,
checking out any other shelters
or hostels that might be nearby.
I just don't understand
why she got spooked.
Liv made it so clear we wanted to help.
Guys, a call just came in.
♪
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Evidence of bruising on the neck.
Paratracheal hemorrhaging.
Looks like she was strangled.
Based on body temp,
it couldn't have been
more than an hour or two ago.
What the hell is going on?
How did he find her so fast?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
So I just talked to
the witness who called 911.
He said he saw a man,
medium height and build,
speeding away from the scene
in a dark colored car.
He said it seemed strange,
so he went over to investigate,
- and he found the body.
- Did he get a make or a model?
Nah, and he didn't get
a license plate either.
Hey, looks like
we finally caught a break here.
The ME found seminal fluid
on Ana's clothing.
- This guy raped her again?
- Apparently so.
Who is this son of a bitch?
Miguel Pinto.
Keep talking.
DNA was a match in the system.
He got out of Fishkill three weeks ago
after serving 16 months on
a sexual assault conviction.
Yeah, that would explain
the two-year gap in victims
between Rosa Ortega
and Maria Recinos.
What's the height and build?
5'10" 165.
That sounds like medium
height build to me.
And get this.
He grew up in Washington Heights.
OK, talk to his parole officer
and get an address like now.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey, we're looking for Miguel Pinto.
Hey, Miguel Pinto.
Miguel Pinto, NYPD.
Get out here right now.
Hey, hey. Out.
Get out. Hands up.
Get on your knees!
Down.
Hands behind your back.
Ow, it's too tight.
Good.
Like I told the other cops,
I didn't do a damn thing.
I haven't even smoked weed
since I got released,
so I don't get it.
What the hell is going on?
There's a lot going on,
and I'll tell you this,
none of it's good.
We found your DNA
on a young woman named Ana Machado.
She was choked to death.
Wait, you think I killed that girl?
Yeah, and two other women too.
Detective Maria Recinos
and Rosa Ortega.
Right now, we're focusing on Ana.
I don't know what the hell
you're talking about, I swear.
Well, how'd your DNA get on her body?
Her dead body.
I got no idea, but I didn't do it.
I'd never do something like that.
You would never do something like that?
You would never commit
an act of violence
against a young woman.
Is that you're saying?
I'd never choke someone,
that's for sure.
Oh, hold on a second, then.
Maybe we should ask Shannon Bell.
You remember her, don't you?
She was the young girl,
the 18 year old girl
that you raped and beat.
You broke her jaw.
I think you might remember that.
So don't you dare tell me
that you would never commit
an act of violence
- against a young woman.
- Liv. Liv, enough.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Well, we got to figure this out, Miguel.
Hmm? Got to figure it out.
We got to figure out how your DNA
wound up on Ana's body.
And if you can explain that,
if you can give us a good reason,
then, of course, there's the door.
You're free to go.
♪
No.
I'm done.
Lawyer.
♪
Are you OK?
Am I OK?
You had no business
interrupting my interrogation.
- Excuse me?
- "Enough, Liv"?
Thank you, but I got it.
I don't need your interjections, OK?
We almost had him. We were this close.
We still have him.
His DNA is all over Ana's body.
He can't just say a few Hail Marys
and just make that disappear.
And what about Maria and Rosa?
Do we still have him on those too?
No. No.
- You were out of line.
- Out of line?
I was trying to save your ass
and the case.
How do you figure?
What do you want, a coerced confession?
Look, we finally arrested someone
who looks good for all three murders,
so let's just do it right.
What about his alibi?
We're still looking into it,
but it's wobbly, at best.
Is there any evidence connecting him
to the other two murders?
Not at the moment, but his seminal fluid
was found on her body.
Which might be enough to get him
- for the Ana Machado murder.
- Might?
Look, I get the desire
to charge this guy
as soon as possible
Well, he's killed two women
in the past week.
That's a pretty dangerous streak.
So let's hold him for the full 48 hours,
which gives you 41 hours
to find more evidence.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Lieutenant Brady.
So I just spoke to Riley and Silva.
They've been canvassing the
area where Ana was murdered,
and they found a deli owner
who recognized
the photo of Miguel Pinto.
This deli got cameras?
No, but he says Pinto
was there around 3:30 p.m.
That's less than 30 minutes
before the 911 call.
How far was it from the crime scene?
Two blocks.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Nick, it's Jessica Brady.
♪
We have Pinto's semen on Ana's clothing
and a witness who sold him a sandwich.
That puts him two blocks
from the crime scene
less than half an hour from the 911 call
reporting the dead body.
Do we have anything tying him
to the other murders?
- No.
- So let's put those on hold.
Let's charge Pinto with
the case that we can make.
[KNOCKS]
I don't understand what's going on.
- What's wrong?
- Pinto's alibi checks out.
What do you mean?
I mean, the jackass
was telling the truth,
and he was in Staten Island
at the time of the murder.
- What about your witness?
- Bad ID, I guess.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, it's a tight alibi.
There's videos and pictures,
and we just got it wrong again.
OK, but if Pinto is on Staten Island,
how does DNA end up on Ana's body?
I don't know.
The only thing that makes sense is
The real killer tried to frame him.
♪
And he's two steps ahead of us.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]