NARRATOR: Previously on The Closer:
You say that your responsibility ended the moment Turell left your custody.
But in a civil trial...
the jury may very well decide that you behaved...
with a callous disregard to the suspect's life.
If the city attorney thinks...
- ...that he is losing this case... - He could settle.
And you will be entirely on your own.
So, what should I do?
For your own sake, get your own attorney.
GAViN: And two waters coming up.
Thank you, Mr. Baker.
Oh, call me Gavin, please.
Oh, I'm sorry about those labels.
I tell our managing partner It's vulgar...
.but the other firms are doing It...
and apparently we're all lemmings.
So let's review this civil suit. 0 k?
- Okay. - Okay.
Plaintiff's attorney, Mr. Goldman...
states that while you had a black gang member, Turell Baylor...
in police custody, he was granted Immunity...
in exchange for his testimony about a double homicide.
The DA made that grant of immunity, not me.
Someone else creates problem, police get sued. It's why I'm here.
Uh, Goldman goes on to suggest that, quote...
...“finding you could neither arrest nor detain Turell Baylor” end quote...
you dropped him off at his residence In front of several men from his gang...
knowing they intended to kill him. Hm.
Mr. Baylor was later found beaten to death...
by a person or persons unknown.
- Hm. Sounds exciting. - It's not, really.
Hm. Mr. Goldman finishes with, quote, “Chief Johnson...
...knowingly circumvented the Criminal Justice system...
by appointing herself judge, jury, and executioner.” End quote.
And...
Thoughts?
Do you think the Baylor family could actually win this case?
It depends.
As a former city attorney, I can tell you that L.A...
often avoids court costs by settling cases...
more ridiculous than this one. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Tell me something, Chief Johnson.
What do you think happened to Mr. Baylor?
I have no idea. I didn't kill him.
You ever hear of murder by proxy?
Gavin, I had nothing to do with Turell Baylor's death.
Well, that's good news, isn't it?
So why don't you just give me your 45-second version of events.
Urn, it's all in here.
I'm sorry, I must have been vague.
Allow me to rephrase.
Tell me from your point of view what happened to Mr. Baylor. I
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Sorry. Urn...
- May I get this? - No. Go right ahead. It's your money.
What? Money? My money. What do you mean?
Sitting there costs you $10 a minute.
You wanna spend it on your phone, be my guest, I'll make an espresso.
When Sharon Raydor recommended you...
she said you weren't gonna charge the first hour.
Which I spent studying the Baylor family filings and associated motions.
You're on the clock now.
You don't wanna cooperate, stick with your city attorney...
and save yourself my $25000 retainer.
Twenty-five thousand dollars?
Gavin Q. Baker. The Q stands for “quick.”
Should've known Raydor would send me to the most expensive lawyer on earth.
- Litigation costs money. - We can't afford to pay It.
We can't afford not to.
What about our house, and our retirement?
We're not looking for a house. Just come with me, sit with the guy and talk.
- You talk to him. - Calm down.
- I have to go. - Look.
- I'll take the bottle and...
For $10 a minute, I'm keeping the water.
[DOORBELL RINGING]
[GABRIEL MUTTERS INDISTINCTLY]
Somebody must have locked the gate, or...
I can't find my tennis shoes. Are they In your car?
I don't think so. You want me to go look?
No, no.
I wasn't planning on anyone dying In the Himalayas today.
- Let's just get to it. - O'9. Uh...
The owners of this house, Ron and Debbie King...
are putting in a new retaining wall.
Two hours ago, 911 got a call from a building inspector...
who'd come to check it out. That's him over there in the orange vest.
- Nice dress, by the way. - Really?
Do I look like the Queen of England? That's how much money...
you need to be a police officer these days.
So, what? The contractor dug up a body? Is that it?
Uh, well, it's more like he re-dug up a body
Let's just keep moving around the side here.
BRENDA: These stairs. When I find out who took my tennis shoes...
GABRIEL: Perhaps you misplaced them.
- No. Somebody took them. - Okay. Somebody took them.
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER POLICE RADIO]
So this was the new wall here.
How'd they tear it down?
Oh! Sugar!
GABRIEL: Oh, you okay, chief? - Oh, I'm fine.
Careful. Watch your step.
Okay. Tell her, Mike.
TAO: The contractor never pulled a permit In the first place.
So when the city inspector came to check out the footings...
it had to be torn down.
Found something not up to code, chief.
Two trash bags slapped together with duct tape.
Yeah. Duct tape. That's just never a good sign.
KENDALL: Okay. It's a guy.
Good shape, except his head's beaten in. Not finding awallet or ID.
Name's probably Doug Underhill. Ha, ha.
- Don't. Don't. - Or Phil Upland.
[ALL LAUGHING]
GABRIEL: Guys. - Okay. Turning off the camera.
BRENDA: Are you sure, Buzz?
You don't wanna miss all that great victim humor
Families of the deceased just love victim humor. Juries too.
Maybe we could get another lawsuit going.
- Maybe we could just do our jobs. - Jo. Ka7.
In order to dump a body here last week, you'd need to know the contractor...
was digging a hole In the backyard.
Which would meani our primary suspects...
would probably be the owners of the house...
Mr. and Mrs. King.
And you have the contractor, his crew...
and I don't know, a couple of the neighbors, I guess.
Maybe they're connected. Let's roll his prints, find out who he was.
TAO. Fingerprints?
What makes you think he has a record, chief?
Someone bashed his head in, buried him underneath a retaining wall.
I'm guessing he wasn't the most popular person on earth.
Maybe he was a lawyer. Heh.
Detective Sanchez, let's find that contractor, please.
PROVENZA: Chief Johnson, meet the Incredibly uncooperative...
Mr. David Romano.
I can get my wall inspected if you move those bags, what's taking so long?
Dead bodies buried In your home Improvement project.
Mr. Romano, did you skip the permit process on that retaining wall...
because you had someone in mind to bury?
Look, I haven't been waiting here for hours...
to answer stupid questions like that.
- Ooh... DAVID: Now, I'm behind schedule...
and if you're not gonna help me, I'm leaving.
Mr. Romano, I need to talk to you. You cannot just walk away from me.
Well, I never.
Sir. I said I wanted to talk to you.
[CAR LOCK BEEPS]
Mr. R... Mr. Romano, drop those keys or I'm going to arrest you.
Arrest me for what?
Ooh. I'll start with felony rudeness and work our way out from therel
Maybe add illegal burial and Interfering with a police officer.
Don't you need a warrant?
Not for what's in plain sight. Plus your truck Is Illegally parked, sir.
This is enough to hold you for 48 hours, what would that do to your schedule, huh?
How is business, by the way Any clients gone missing?
Maybe I should dig up more stuff.
See what else I can find.
Here's my work folder. Call everyone. I got nothing to hide.
And all contractors carry duct tape.
What about your workers? Hired anybody new lately?
You don't know what's going on in the building trade.
I don't have jobs for my crew, much less strangers.
If things are so slow, why didn't you bother to get a permit?
The city has laid off so many Inspectors...
it takes a month to get one out here.
[KNOCKING ON WINDOW]
Unless there's a complaint.
I'm citing you for violation 106 of the L.A. city building code.
Your job here is red-tagged until you file a permit.
[KNOCKING ON CAR DOOR]
[GROANS]
Don't let him go anywhere.
AFIS identified our victim as a Mr. John David Dale...
and I think we're gonna have a lot more suspects.
More? We already have too many suspects as it is. Why more?
Well, Mr. Dale was a registered sex offender.
Lived in that house right up there with the red awning.
- A sex offender? - Mm.
Sure you don't wanna just cover him up and call it a day?
- What was he registered for? - Rape of a minor.
Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza, escort our victim to the morgue.
Detective Gabriel, please ask Hollywood Division...
to help round up some of Mr. Dale's neighbors.
Find out how popular he was.
Detective Sanchez, please invite the King family for a visit.
Make sure they bring their little girl.
Tao, let's get warrants...
go over every inch of property. Victim's house too.
- What are we looking for? - Victim was bashed In the head...
so I'd say blood. And plenty of It. Thank you.
[GROANS]
MORALES: It had to be murder.
You can't inflict this kind of damage on the back of your own head.
Even harder to tape yourself In a trash bag after you're dead.
How long since he shuffled off to Buffalo?
Not sure. He's well preserved.
- Where did you find him? - Under a retaining wall.
- And when was the wall put up? - A week ago last Tuesday.
So today's a Friday.
Which means Mr. Dale has been dead for...
- ...I'd say 12 days. - Very scientific.
Unlike the two of you, he's well preserved.
And a good thing too, because his body provides a pretty clear map of the attack.
These three circular wounds. Is that a hammer blow?
A ball-peen hammer. Yes.
This one up top? Pretty light. Didn't hurt him too badly.
This one, a little heavier blow. Still no fracture.
Last one knocked him down.
But these wounds are fairly superficial.
The hammer didn't kill him.
Then what did?
Sharp force trauma at the base of the skull.
Never saw a wound like that before.
Lots of weight behind it. I should do a cast of it for you.
All I can tell you about the murder weapon Is that It's conical in shape.
Pointy at the top, widening towards the base.
Sounds exactly like my second wife.
Uh... All right. Let's review.
- Guy's hit three times with a hammer- FLYNN: Then falls flat on his face.
And there are abrasions on his palms and knees.
And then he tries to crawl away. Over a rough surface. And then...
Someone shoved a cone in his head?
- What kind of cone? FLYNN: Don't know, chief.
Provenzas waiting for a cast of the wound to be finished
But the doctor said that Mr. Dale bled out. So you're right.
Somewhere there's a big mess.
TAO: We didn't find blood in the hole, yard, patio...
or in the Kings' house or the victim's. Whoever bagged Dale used gloves...
so there's no prints on the duct tape.
- I checked with the victim- - Sorry
I checked with the victim of Mr. Dale's sexual assault.
She was his cousin. And as far as a sexual assault goes...
their family stopped talking to him and let It go.
Explains why he was dead for 12 days and no one reported him.
A conical weapon.
Maybe it's a tool from the construction site?
Lieutenant, did you find a funnel or anything like It?
No. Well, I did see some party hats.
And if you turn them upside down, they would have the proper shape.
But they were made out of card board...
Uh, chief, I'm not sure you have enough suspects on your board.
Not only was Mr. Dale a registered sex offender...
...Hollywood Division says the local schools...
put his picture up on their public notice boards.
Plus, the house next door to where you found him...
has an excellent view of the Kings' backyard.
And it's for sale.
Meet the owners.
Chief Johnson, Greg and Maim Turner.
Greg. Maim. Thank you for helping us out today.
Commander Taylor tells me yall are moving away.
When we can sell our house. Been on the market for over six months.
I have a sweet job offer in Chicago.
Advertising company.
We're not moving to Chicago if we can't sell our home.
And that's the real story.
You see, Greg and Maim have been having open houses.
Open houses?
Where potential buyers walk through your house and your backyard?
- Realtor suggested them. - Not counting neighbors...
we've had maybe 200 potential customers stop by.
Buyers, Greg. We're looking for buyers, not customers.
- Two hundred. - Only need one.
Not counting neighbors, all could have seen the construction.
And the hole dug for the retaining wall
So we can now expand our list of suspects to Include Google Earth.
I'm sorry. We're just riffing.
Don't suppose you noticed anything unusual...
in the Kings' backyard recently?
- No. - Not really.
The contractor pulled the wiring so you can't see over there at night.
It's, like, dark.
And were you familiar at all with the victim?
- You mean, Joe Blow? - Greg.
Oh. Sorry That's what everyone called him.
Could be we weren't...
you know, as nervous about the guy because we don't have kids.
And most of what we heard about John was, like, gossip.
We don't even know what he's supposed to have done.
Twelve years ago, when he was 19, Mr. Dale raped a 14-year-old girl..
Oh.
Not good.
Maybe why the Kings never let their daughter play by herself.
Debbie had to run to the airport a couple of times...
and she asked me to watch Kayla for her.
And she was really, really paranoid...
about not letting Kayla go In their backyard without an adult.
Paranoid in what way?
How would you like your kids playing In front of a child rapist?
That monster should've never been allowed in our neighborhood.
How are you so well acquainted with Mr. Dale's criminal record
The Megan's Law Website, You type In your address...
and a big blue dot shows up where sex offenders live.
Shouldn't have to explain that to the police.
You found out Dale was living behind you when?
About a year and a half ago. He moved in after his mother died.
I don't know what she was thinking, leaving him that house.
Ever confront Dale
This is enough! We get read our rights and hauled to the station like criminals.
With our child! Kayla shouldn't be here.
Your daughter is being supervised by .specialists In our child care center.
So don't worry about her.
Did Mr. Dale ever approach Kayla or try to talk to her?
No. And as much as I hate the idea that completely innocent people...
like us might need a lawyer, I'm close to calling one.
Get your wallet out, sir.
That's an expensive alternative...
- ...to just cooperating with- - Mr. Dale was the criminal. Not us.
If you'd been buried in his yard, I'd have him under arrest.
- But that's not what happened. - Let me make this clear to you.
We never spoke to the guy. Our daughter never spoke to the guy.
We never set foot on his property. And he sure as hell never came on ours.
And he never, ever, touched Kayla.
If he had, if he had even laid one finger on my little girl...
- Ron. That's enough. - No. No. No.
You wouldn't dig him up, I'd have beaten him to death...
and dropped him off in front of the station!
Sit down, Mr. King.
Now I'm invoking my right to counsel.
Better make yourselves comfortable.
If you even try to leave, I'll arrest you...
for the illegal disposal of human remains.
Wait. What about Kayla?
We don't leave children alone with suspected felons, Mrs. King.
- Can't let her do that. - I demand to see Kayla.
- I demand to see our daughter! - Where Is Kayla?
She won't know what's going on.
[SCREAMS]
That's what I'm supposed to do If he ever comes into our backyard.
But if he stops to talk to me In his blue car, I have this.
[WHISTLE BLARES]
KAYLA: And then I'm supposed to run.
Did you take Mr. Dale away?
Or is he gonna stay under the wall?
What would you like us to do?
- Urn... Can I think about it? - Sure.
My office is not a good place to bring children while Interviewing their parents.
What are you doing right now that's so Important?
Losing weight is not just about eating boring, terrible food.
It's also about exercise.
This is the time that I try to set aside to ride my bike.
I mostly exercise at home. Can you Just hurry, please?
I can't ever have anyone over because all my friends know about him.
So I guess you should take Mr. Dale away.
Does not having your friends over bother you?
KAYLA: No. I get bothered because my mom gets so upset.
She told Mr. Dale she'd kill him If he ever came back to our house.
Mr. Dale came to your house? M hen?
You can trust her. She's police like me.
I saw him in our backyard. Daddy fought with him..
Fought with him, how?
Mr. Dale was shouting at Mr. Romano for being so loud...
and that's when Mom and Dad ran out and told him, Mr. Dale...
if he came back, they'd kill him.
And did you ever see him again?
No. Not until Mr. Romano dug him up.
How did you even know he was there?
That, Kayla, is an excellent question.
Huh.
- Hey, Fritzy. - Hey.
- Hi. - HI.
So you're, uh...
- You're making dinner, huh? - I am.
Friday night. Just thought maybe we'd go out.
We need to save to pay for this attorney.
So no more restaurants or take-out.
Oh, well, that's a great idea.
Six years after the trial is over, you'll have enough to hire your lawyer.
Sooner than that.
I made some other changes today.
FRITZ:
So you know, there's a limit to how many nights a week I can eat clam linguini.
Wait. What other changes?
- I stopped the newspaper. - You stopped the newspaper?
It's just more to clean up. You never read it.
Like you ever clean it up. I read the paper.
I also use it to keep track of all the baseball scores...
.across the entire country. You can't just...
OPERATOR: No service at this location. - What's wrong with the phone?
- Oh, I cancelled the land line. - You what?
You need to be more reasonable about this.
We both have cell phones. It's crazy.
All this we're spending on luxury items when we haven't bought a house.
You haven't wanted to look at a house In years.
All our credit cards are attached to this number.
What about my sponsor? What about my friends from AA?
I got an idea, honey.
They can all call me on my confidential FBI cell phone.
You make all these changes. You don't tell me about it.
Not only is it disrespectful, but you're not gonna...
Oh, hone. What channel are you looking for?
You turned off the cable.
I didn't turn off the cable. I just...
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Cancelled those extra channels we never watch.
That you don't watch. You don't read the paper, you never answer the land line.
- I'm on the phone. - You don't care what we eat...
as long as you have a chocolate bar.
That is a terrible thing to say. Terrible.
This phone call is about a sex offender who was murdered...
and buried in Hollywood Hills.
A little more important than what's on TV.
Yes, Detective Sanchez. I'm sorry.
Urn, what did you find out about the contractor?
He was telling the truth, Chief. He never applied for a permit...
to build anything at the King place.
This is ridiculous.
Hang on. What? What Is ridiculous?
We can hire the attorney without starving ourselves...
isolated from the modern world.
I am not spending the money.
Then you'd better get it from the city. Because I am not living like this.
As a matter of fact...
.why don't you go talk to your buddy Pope about it?
- Uh, chief? - Yes, I'm sorry. I'm here.
Look, if the contractor never pulled a permit for the retaining wall...
then how did the inspector know to come by and have It dug up?
Mr. Romano said something about a complaint, didn't he?
Oh! Oh, no. No. No!
- Chief? Are you o - Oh, I'm fine. I'm fine.
Want us to find the Inspector for you?
Oh, yes. Please. What was his name again?
Chief Johnson, meet our hero from yesterday.
Mr. Raymond Aguirre. City building Inspector.
Mr. Aguirre. Thank you so much for taking time to see us today.
Well, I'm glad to help the police.
Though I have to wonder why I was given my rights in the elevator.
Oh, it's just a new city policy.
We have to Mirandize everyone who comes in the building nowadays.
Don't let it make you feel too special.
I just wanna let you know, I've never taken a bribe. Ever.
Oh.
That's good.
Uh, Detective Gabriel, would you please escort Mr. Aguirre...
to our visitor's conference center?
I'll be with you all in just one moment. Thank you so much.
After the Kings made bail, why'd you order surveillance on their house?
They're suspects and invoked their right to counsel.
Not everybody who asks for an attorney is guilty.
Tell me about it.
You and Captain Raydor say I need my own lawyer...
but no one's offering to help me pay for It.
Look, Will. Can't you talk to the union and see if they...?
- You're management. Union can't help. - The city? Can't they do something?
- Yeah. Like that'll happen. - I shouldn't surrender...
my life's savings to defend myself when I am completely...
100 percent innocent.
Fine. I'll ask the mayor If he can find the money to help you out.
In the meantime...
if I'm paying SIS overtime to sit on the Kings' house...
I'd like evidence that connects them to this case.
Besides lying about the fight with Mr. Dale?
And finding him buried In their backyard?
- Yes. Besides that. - Well, how about this, then?
The victim was 6 feet tall, over 200 pounds.
How do you think his body made it up those stairs In the night?
That's not evidence. That's logistics.
I will ask the mayor to help you, and In exchange for that...
you will either re-arrest the Kings by 6 p.m. or end the surveillance.
AGUIRRE: I don't have enough time to do my job properly anymore.
City cut back on the department. We lost some people...
when they were arrested for taking bribes, which I've never done. Ever.
There aren't enough inspectors to Issue approvals...
.let alone go hunting for Illegal building.
So Mr. Romano, Kings' contractor, took advantage...
- ...to start work without your knowledge. - Yes, without my knowledge.
Wait a minute. Mr. Romano never even applied for a permit?
No. It's short-sighted for the owner to let a contractor start building that way.
If the Kings ever wanna sell their home, disclosure laws will require them...
to tell potential buyers that they built without permits.
Disclosure laws.
So just so I understand, you're saying that no one In your office...
ever knew that Mr. Romano built the wall in the Kings' backyard?
Can you cut me a break?
Don't have means to check on building like this.
Then how did you know to inspect it?
Excuse me?
You had no paperwork. Never visited it.
A few days after a man was buried there you turn up at the Kings' house?
Demand that the wall covering his body be torn down?
I didn't just show up. And I wasn't bribed either.
- I was responding to a complaint. - From who?
I'm not supposed to, urn, give that Information out...
to anyone at any time for any reason.
I'll never tell. - Okay.
Urn... There are two ways you can contact us.
One is with the tip line.
The other's by sending an e-mail, like this one.
“To whom it may concern. My neighbors are building a wall...
.not only does their contractor start too early... ”
Very common corn plaint we get It all the time. I
“He doesn't have a permit In the front yard... ”
I don't know why people even care about that.
“Could you check on this for me? Sincerely, John David Dale.”
And that was dated four days ago.
Well, that is extremely unusual.
- Why is that? - Because when he wrote this...
he was buried beneath the retaining wall he was complaining about.
Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I
Not a problem, not a problem.
I have a closing statement to write for this week...
and I work most Saturdays anyway.
- Water? - No. Thanks.
- We still have a bottle from yesterday. - Good. Good. Good. Good.
[SIGHS]
- What's up? - What's up.
Well...
Just dive right in.
Okay. I need a huge favor.
Mm-hm.
Look, I want to pay your retainer...
from money I inherited from my parents...
but I want my wife...
- ...to think it came from the city. - I see.
Well, I sympathize with you. I do.
But I like to be completely honest with my clients.
She's never gonna be completely honest with you.
There's a difference between my lying to her, and her...
Hold on. Hold on. Look, nobody's asking you to lie.
Oh. Well, then, maybe I'm confused. What exactly is it you want me to do?
You're supposed to be .a very good lawyer.
Which means you should be able to clearly...
and simply explain things to my wife...
in a way she completely misunderstands.
[SCOFFS]
That's her.
[SIGHS]
Look, if you do decide to take Brenda's case...
it'd be great if you swung by her office and talked to her.
Preferably tonight, I would like to watch some television when I get home.
Hey, honey. What is it?
Uh, the parking lot at the grocery store. Where are you?
An open house? Where?
You're not at work today?
Pope gave most of my division the rest of the day off. Overtime Issues.
- So I thought we'd look at houses. - Heh, really?
Buying a house. That'll help us cut back enough to hire the attorney?
Oh, well, I spoke to Pope about that, like you suggested...
and he said he's going to look Into It.
Still, honey.
This looks like a little more house than we can afford.
Oh, I don't know about that.
It's a buyer's market. It's only two and a half million.
Oh. Only two and a half million.
I met the owners, and they're desperate to sell.
Hi, there. Hi. Conner Ellis. I'll be showing the house today.
You guys looking for a new place to live?
We are. I'm Brenda. This is Fritz.
We're both doctors, so we're pre-approved for loans.
Mind if we start in the backyard? In my free time, I just live to be outside.
- And, Fritzy, here, is a griller. - A griller? I'm...
- I'm a griller. From way back. - So If the backyard Isn't right...
we might as well not look at the rest. May we?
Oh, sure. Come this way, doctor.
It's a beautiful day to look at some of the outdoor features.
And the owners keep everything super nice.
Gardeners come twice a week. Pool is perfectly maintained.
Mind if we head out on our own? Get the feel of the place.
- Sure. - Oh, my goodness, it is so romantic.
If you think so, darling. Excuse us, Conner.
Certainly. Take your time.
So tell me, doctor, what are we looking for out here?
Uh, drag marks or wheel barrow tracks.
Huh.
Hey, hon?
Look what I see. Right next door.
The ruins of a retaining wall...
under which someone like a murder victim could be buried.
Don't you need a warrant?
It says “open house.” Open.
Oh, look. Isn't it beautiful, honey? Let's take some pictures.
Oh, my.
Don't hurt yourself. I got it. I got it.
You're not gonna tell me you're Into garden gnomes, are you?
No, but I would like to meet the little fellow who used to live here.
FRITZ: Why are you interested in a gnome? - He saw the murder.
Up close and personal.
- What are you looking at? - Oh, the grout between the tiles.
What about it?
Father told her if there are cracks In the grout, the house could be moving.
- You know? Earthquakes. - Oh, no. We'd have to disclose that.
He's right. California Civil Code 2079 requires property owners to disclose...
.any problems with the house before selling.
A building inspector was talking to me about It today for about an hour.
Everything all right with the tile then, doctor?
Oh, it looks like this side's recently been cleaned with bleach...
but I'm sure I can get what I need, with the proper lighting.
- Anything else you'd like to disclose? - Don't you want to see the rest?
Let's get the bad news over with first.
There was rain damage last year. It is all fixed.
And the owners had termites four years ago. But they tented.
Megan's Law registrant lived behind us. Died recently.
- Parking across the street- - Uh, Megan's Law?
- A sex offender lives close by? - Lived. Lived. Past tense.
He died. Last week. Thank God.
He kept me from selling this house for months.
- Anyway. Uh, street parking is- - Thank you, Conner.
Which w is the master bedroom, please?
FRITZ: It's one of my wife's little quirks.
First thing she needs to know Is If there's enough room for her shoes.
CONNER: Shoes are, they're very Important.
Yeah. Yeah.
Uh, you finding everything you want In there?
BREN DA: Lam.
In fact, I think I'm ready to make the owners an offer right now.
GABRIEL: You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say will be used against you.
You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney...
- ...one will be appointed. - We can afford one.
- We don't need one. - Before y'all start interrupting...
saying things you'll regret, I wanted to show you...
all these spots here, on your Jeans and your sneakers...
they're from the bleach that splashed on you...
.while you were cleaning blood off your patio.
And...
Our lab sprayed the grout between the tiles on your terrace.
And it tested positive .for blood residue.
In a few days, we'll have a DNA match of our victim.
And that is enough to arrest you both for murder.
- Wait a minute., Greg
- Wait. - Don't try to protect me.
- We have... We- - I did it.
- Honey. Like, no. MALIN: Greg.
GREG: No. - I have to tell her.
Malin's right, Greg.
If you don't explain exactly what happened...
we cannot help you.
I told Greg when he came home. We should have called the police.
You were defending yourself.
- She has nothing to explain. - Let's put It behind us, honey.
They already know most of the story anyway.
Look, John Dale, he must have been watching us...
...waiting for times when I would be alone.
If only we had known he was, like, you know, a rapist.
Greg, be quiet. I mean, let me tell her what happened. Please.
Anyway, about two weeks ago, I went into our backyard.
And there he was.
John David Dale.
Waiting for me. And he tried...
He tr... He tried.
He tried to rape her.
And all Malin did was try to stop him. She didn't mean to kill him.
When I got home, Malin was still really upset.
I just wanted the dude off our property.
So, you know, I'm sorry about the illegal burial.
But it was, like, very spur of the moment.
Really? Because it seems a bit better organized than that.
We found this stuff at your house.
According to Greg's credit cards, he bought the wheelbarrow...
and everything in it, the day before you claim...
Mr. Dale tried to rape you.
- The outdoor bleach. And the trash bags. - Box of 50, two missing.
The same ones that Mr. Dale was stuffed in.
And the duct tape matches what was used to close the bags up.
- The ball-peen hammer. SANCHEZ: Which exactly fits...
several wounds on the victim's skull. BRENDA: I don't know.
Doesn't it seem coincidental that this should happen...
.right when your neighbor's yard was being dug up?
Giving you the perfect place to bury Mr. Dale?
[LAUGHS]
You're, like, suggesting that we, like, murdered the guy?
Why would we do that?
Maybe because living so close to a sex offender...
made your home impossible to sell.
Except Mr. Dale's name couldn't be removed from the website...
- ...until he was declared dead. - For that, you needed a body.
You didn't have it.
You'd sent a letter of complaint to the city Inspector...
.in regards to the illegal wall where you'd buried him.
And then, poof. They dug him up.
And that is our version of how Mr. Dale died.
So, what do you think, Greg' Are we on the right track?
- No. No, no, no. - Uh... Well...
He tried to rape me. I was alone. And I defended myself.
Okay. Let's see if that's possible.
PROVENZA: You asked your gardeners, who come twice a week...
to take away this perfectly good lawn ornament.
They were surprised, your gardeners...
because you cleaned him up before throwing him out.
Turns out, the wound in the base of our victim's skull...
goes exactly with the tippy-top of this little gnome's hat. Heh.
GABRIEL: You know what it looks like?
It looks like you struck Dale several times with the hammer...
- ...not realizing how heavy it was. - Especially for a slip of a girl like you.
And when you realized that Mr. Dale fell down and only broke his nose...
you grabbed the nearest object you could find...
- ...and you shoved it into his head. - I was panicked.
- And defenseless. And alone. BRENDA: Okay.
If you could show me how you picked up that little garden gnome...
all by yourself, then I'll take your word for it.
[GRUNTING]
Lift with your legs. Lift with your legs, babe.
BRENDA: If it makes you feel any better...
I had to have my husband help me with it too.
I can get it.
[GROANS]
Oh.
What I don't understand is why you went back into Mr. Dale's house...
and wrote the e-mail when you could've called and complained?
We thought you might, like, recognize our voices.
- I'll take that as your confession. - Greg, you idiot.
Hold on. Wait. I just figured out what we should have said.
Is there any way we could, you know, like, start our story over?
No. Because, “like, you know,” you're under arrest...
for murder in the first degree.
Chief Johnson. The lawyer is here.
- They called a lawyer? - No, no. Your attorney's here.
Oh. Oh?
Okay. Urn...
Let me take care of our guests here first...
but, Buzz, would you mind removing our little friend here?
BUZZ: Sure thing, chief. - Thank you. Gives me the creeps.
- Gavin. Hello. GAVIN: Hello.
To what do we owe the honor?
I just wanted to drop by and tell you how good it was to meet you yesterday...
and how honored I am to be representing you...
in this Turell Baylor business, BRENDA: Oh, no, no.
No. Not yet.
Look, you're a great attorney and all that...
but we haven't figured out how we're gonna pay you.
- That's been taken care of. - Huh?
The retainer. And you, Chief Johnson...
uh, you personally, will not be paying me a dime.
- I won't? - As long as we don't go to trial.
But as we say in my profession:
“We'll double-cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Uh-huh.
- Oh. I'm sorry. Excuse me. One second. - Sure.
- I thought I said no more overtime. BRENDA: Oh, Will, thank you so much...
for getting the city to pay for my attorney.
You have no idea how much this means to me.
- You really don't. - Oh, uh, well, you're welcome.
Thank you so much, Will. Really. Thank you with all my heart.
Ahem. I'm just... I'm glad It got managed.
So, uh... Good work.
Good work.
Flight risk.
[CHUCKLES]
All right, then.
Thanks to Chief Pope, .we are in business.
Yeah. All thanks to Pope.
Urn, since I'm here, why don't we just, very quickly...
- ...establish some ground rules. Okay? - Jo.
Okay. I think, as a general policy...
fewer things will go wrong If we all agree, from this moment on...
to be completely honest with each other.
How about this?
I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God.
So help me God.
[LAUGHS]
Synced & Corrected by Shadowmoon