R.J. Decker (2026) s01e09 Episode Script

1
[R.J.]
Previously on R.J. Decker
You beat up a kid?
He wasn't a kid.
He was 20 years old
and, as it turns out,
the son of a state senator.
[Ray] Those heels are gonna
put you on your ass, Em.
-Why are you really here?
-I'm here to talk about this.
What you're doing here,
I respect it. But is it wise?
You have a new CRO,
someone who,
with a single call from me,
will violate you
back to Apalachee.
Accept the offer.
You get sent back,
I don't believe
you'll ever get out.
Well, I think I-I realized
what I wanted to say.
-What?
-Screw your dad.
Lucas was sent
to steal your camera.
It's time you found out why.
[siren wailing in distance]
[police officer 1]
On Chicago Avenue,
we need a rescue team, over.
-[police officer 2] Sir.
-Yeah?
You mind telling me
one more time
what happened here tonight?
Yeah, I was walking to my car.
Saw the guy had
broken into the trunk.
He sees me,
he takes off with my camera.
I'm a photographer,
I can't lose my camera,
so I chase him down.
Caught him,
he started throwing punches,
I punched back.
I called the cops.
Yeah, see, that's not the story
we're getting from him.
Okay.
Would you please turn around,
show me your hands?
[R.J. stammers]
[Emi] Hey, R.J.
-You okay?
-Mm-hmm.
[suspenseful music plays]
You sure this is
the right next move?
It's the only next move.
[sighs]
I appreciate
all of you being here.
Mel,
I think you're the only one
that hasn't met Emi yet.
Yeah, pero
We can skip the formalities,
yeah?
You said there's things
you need to tell us.
Let's cut to the chase.
Uh, Emi's father, the other day
he had my CRO replaced,
threatened to use a guy
to have me sent back to prison.
Emi and I may know a way
to have Victor sent
to prison instead.
We're here to ask
for your help.
-[suspenseful music plays]
-[R.J. sighs]
Okay, y'all know the story.
Lucas Ochoa breaks into my car.
He runs off
with one of my cameras.
I chase him down,
there's a fight
followed by a-a joke of a trial
and an 18-month
prison sentence.
That whole time,
I thought he was
just some spoiled rich kid.
That he did what he did
because he felt like doing it.
Turns out that was wrong.
[sighs]
He was sent there that night.
By his father.
My father thought
there were pictures
on the camera's SD card
that could prove damaging.
Lucas was supposed to
steal the camera
and destroy it.
Well,
what were the pictures of?
[Emi] I don't know.
I didn't find out
about any of this
until things went sideways
and Lucas ended up
in the hospital.
I dug up some of my old notes,
and according to the dates,
the pictures had to be
from my last two assignments
at the newspaper.
One was the birth
of a baby hippo
at the zoo in Miami.
Unless Victor was the father,
I doubt those were the pictures
he'd be worried about.
The other more likely candidate
was a mob-style hit
that went down
in a fancy restaurant,
Il Sapore.
I remember that.
I wrote a couple articles.
The victim was
a financial adviser,
Peter Bellwether.
A man in a ski mask
gunned him down at his table.
-[gunshot]
-I was the first newsperson
on the scene that night.
I got there even before
the yellow tape went up.
Obviously, I don't remember
capturing anything
that would have been damaging
to someone like Victor,
but according to Emi,
there has to be a connection.
Probably too much to hope
Daddy did the shooting himself?
He'd never put himself
at that much risk.
But obviously you do think
murder's in his repertoire,
right?
Aside from the part
he asked me to play in
R.J.'s prosecution [stammers]
he's kept me siloed
from anything criminal.
All I know for sure is that
the possibility of R.J.'s
photographs coming to light
made him very nervous.
Hence Lucas being sent
to steal my camera.
When that didn't work,
Victor needed me on trial
so my camera would end up
in an evidence room.
That way,
a friend of the family,
maybe a cop on the payroll
or a crony at the DA's office
could sneak in
and steal the SD card.
In other words,
the pictures are long gone.
Actually, they aren't.
The SD card reached me
before my father.
I told him it was destroyed,
but the truth was
I gave it to someone
to hold on to.
I felt terrible about
what I had said
at R.J.'s trial.
I thought, I don't know,
I might need it someday.
After this,
I'm gonna go get it.
I was hoping
you could go through
your old notes
from when you wrote about
Peter Bellwether's murder,
see if there's anything
that didn't make the articles
that could help us figure out
a connection to Victor.
-Absolutely.
-You want me
to go to the station,
go through the old case files,
look for the same.
If you wouldn't mind, but wait.
Uh, before you go,
there's something
you both need to know.
It's about the break-in
at the house.
-[knocks on door]
-[R.J.] Hey.
I just want to say
thanks for hosting.
I appreciate it.
Would you believe
that wasn't my first cabal?
I put a little, uh,
coffee and pastry thing
together a couple of weeks ago
for a group who believed
the moon landing was real.
-[chuckles]
-Just wasn't our moon.
What are you doing?
What is this? Address books?
I still know a few guys
that know a few guys.
None of them traffic in murder,
but you never know.
Maybe somebody heard
something once
about that restaurant hit.
Maybe they know how it connects
to your girlfriend's daddy.
[chuckling] She's not my
I know you think
I should just accept his offer,
get my record expunged,
be done with him. I know that.
Look, I wanted to promise you,
I get sent back to Apalachee,
I will do my absolute best
to not get murdered there.
There ain't a snowball's chance
you get murdered there.
'Cause you go back, I go back.
I'll punch Victor Ochoa
in his big dumb face
or something.
I'll make sure I'm around
to watch your back again.
Hey, you never, uh, told us
where your not-a-girlfriend
stashed the SD card.
You need help getting it?
Actually, it's something
I gotta do on my own.
[gentle music plays]
-[punching keys]
-[phone buzzes]
Hey.
How's the return trip
to the murder
of Peter Bellwether going?
Poorly. I mean,
he was by all accounts
well-liked.
[Mel] But?
He was a finance guy.
He could've been in bed
with anyone.
[stammers]
A cartel, an oligarch
A certain
Florida state senator?
If he was working
with Victor Ochoa,
so far, I'm not seeing it.
How's it going at the station?
Got a little sidetracked,
but I'll be there soon.
-I'll let you know
if I find anything.
-[Catherine] Okay.
[suspenseful music plays]
[sighs]
[Mel] That sucks.
Detective Mel Abreu.
I was just driving by
when I thought I saw
a guy messing with your car.
-He must have taken off
running.
-Yeah, I guess so.
Would you like to file
a report?
No, I'm okay.
Evidence. I'll run some tests.
You never know
what might tie somebody
to a crime.
Have we met before?
You look so familiar.
Just have one of those faces.
-Yeah.
-Hmm.
[chattering]
Hey, how's it going?
I'm about to have
a conversation
with one of your patrons.
It's possible
he might throw a few punches.
This is for you
to not call the cops
until at least
three of them land,
or two, you know,
if they're good ones.
[clears throat]
Lucas.
Hey.
[gentle music plays]
Emi sent me, okay?
I need to get something
from you.
First, I thought it was time
we talked.
[music ends]
Emi wanted to come get
the SD card,
but I told her no,
I had to do it.
'Cause I've owed you an apology
for a long time, Lucas.
Yeah,
I was going through something
two years ago.
I had lost someone
and, uh, my job.
All the things I was seeing.
Those are excuses.
I'm not here for excuses.
I'm here to tell you I'm sorry.
And I'm sorry, Lucas.
See? That's how messed up
my family is.
I mean, you kicked my ass,
but only 'cause
I tried to rob you.
Then I lied to the cops
about what happened.
Then I lied in court.
But you, you're the one here
to apologize.
But here's the thing,
I'm not sorry.
What I saw in your eyes
that night, you had to go away.
You hadn't,
you were gonna kill somebody.
The, uh, SD card, Lucas.
I really need it.
Before you ask,
I never looked
at what's on there.
I didn't actually know how.
All that ever mattered was
it was leverage against my dad
if me or Emi ever needed it.
Hey, be careful, okay?
I know you beat me up
and everything,
but I don't want you
to, like, die.
[chuckles]
I appreciate that.
[R.J.]
I've been combing through these
like it's the Zapruder film.
I don't know.
All the pictures I took
were after the murder.
Maybe your dad
just convinced himself
I captured something.
No, there has to be something.
The other night when I told you
about Lucas and your camera,
that it was one more thing
I kept from you.
I mean, you could have told me
to go to hell, but you didn't.
This thing I've been doing
the last few months, um,
ex-cons call it reentry.
A big part of it
is forgiveness.
Some of it's for yourself
and some of it's for others.
I look at you.
I see you trying to change.
I see you trying
to live your life
in a different way.
And I do. I-I
I think you're going through
a reentry too.
[chuckles]
You know, it's funny.
Before you and I met,
I-I'd only ever
heard your dad was corrupt.
But this, all this
makes me think
he might be connected
to organized crime,
tied to a gang,
maybe even a cartel.
It's not the first time
it occurred to you, huh?
And yet after all the time
I've been around him,
I don't have a single thing
we can bring to the police.
Yeah.
[R.J. exhales]
It's gonna be okay.
It's all gonna be okay.
What?
[chuckling]
What What are you doing?
Just making sure
Lucas didn't hit you.
No, I told you
all we did was talk. [chuckles]
-[phone ringing]
-Oh.
-Yeah.
-It's
-Hey, Cath.
- Hey.
I just got a call
from Edith across the street.
She said there's something
in our driveway,
something that
couldn't possibly be there,
'cause if it were,
my wife's head
would surely explode.
Uh, yeah, sorry, Cath.
Edith is right.
When I heard Victor had someone
burn his son's boat down,
I didn't think it'd be wise
to keep my trailer parked
in a lot
owned and managed
by Ochoa Development.
Anyway, where are you?
I saw your car isn't here.
I came to the station to
go over the Peter Bellwether
files with Mel.
-And?
-So far, nothing that connects
to Victor.
I did reach out
to Peter's widower,
a guy named Steven Crane.
I got to know him a little
after Peter died.
He sat down for
a couple interviews.
He said he'd come
and talk to me one more time.
I'll let you know if the name
Victor Ochoa means anything
to him.
You want new tires, Ray?
Send me the bill.
I can buy my own damn tires.
I called you here
'cause the one who did this
is the same homicide detective
whose house you had me
break into.
You were sloppy. That sketch?
Someone got a good look at you.
That sketch
had nothing to do with this.
[dramatic music plays]
You think Emilia gave you up?
My daughter would never turn
against her family.
You went too far.
Sending me to torch
Lucas's boat was a mistake.
You're the one who was sloppy.
-Ray
-No, I've been
taking care of things
for you a long time now.
It's time for you
to take care of things.
Get your damn house in order
before it's too late.
It's so good to see you,
Steven.
Thank you for coming in.
[chuckles] Please.
You were so kind
to me after Peter died.
You wrote such wonderful things
about him.
Really meant a lot.
Um, but I'm a little confused.
Uh, if you're working on
some sort of follow-up,
why are we meeting here
instead of at The Herald?
There's been a new development
in Peter's case,
-or at least
the possibility of one.
-Oh?
I'll get right to the point,
Mr. Crane.
Does the name Victor Ochoa
mean anything to you?
As in [chuckles]
As in the politician?
We're just trying to figure out
if Peter ever did any business
with him.
I I'm not sure.
I [stutters] don't think so.
[chuckles]
Are you sure
Peter never crossed paths
with Victor Ochoa
in any capacity,
professional, social?
I'm sorry,
I'm suddenly not feeling well.
Um, could we
Could we finish this
at another time?
Steven, wait, wait.
Do you remember the story you
told me about the panhandler
on Broward Boulevard?
The man people drove past
on their way to the beach,
windows up, eyes forward,
like he wasn't even there?
But Peter saw him, right?
Pulled over one day
and sat on the curb
with him, got him a job.
You said that was
who Peter was.
Gentle, decent, incapable
of letting anyone
feel invisible.
[stammers]
He deserved better
than what happened to him.
You're right.
He did deserve better.
I'll tell you what happened.
[phone ringing]
Oh, hey, if Edith called
with another update, it's true.
I did go inside the house,
but only to look for food.
How did it go
with Peter's widower?
He gave us a name.
-His own.
-I'm sorry, what?
A few years ago,
he had a knee replacement,
got hooked on opioids.
When the prescriptions ran out,
he started buying from dealers.
They turned him on to heroin.
Peter found out
and gave him a choice,
get clean or get out.
I'm guessing they had a prenup?
Steven would have been left
with nothing, so he paid
their pool guy ten grand
to shoot Peter
in his favorite restaurant.
Steven's sober now,
and the guilt over what
he had done was killing him,
so when he saw a chance
to make things right today
Yeah, he took it.
Peter Bellwether's murder
is finally solved.
Except it has nothing to do
with Victor Ochoa.
-Coming in. Put your pants on.
-[stammers]
I make my mom's paella
and you don't come in to mooch?
-Sofia's worried about you.
-[chuckles]
Yeah, I don't know. I've just
I've been through everything.
The scene inside the restaurant
where Peter Bellwether
was killed,
the scene
outside the restaurant,
even the fricking baby hippo
at the zoo and
[sighs] I thought for sure
I'd find a link to Victor, but
Not seeing it?
Either he was wrong
about what I captured
on my camera, or I'm wrong now.
Unless I figure out
some kind of connection,
this only ends one way.
Me going back to Apalachee
and maybe for good this time.
And I've dragged everyone
I care about
into Victor Ochoa's crosshairs
for no reason.
Not you, R.J.
You are such an idiot.
My dad used to say,
" Cuidate, mija.
Careful who you let get close.
Choose wisely."
I never would have chosen you,
but you wormed your way
in anyway.
[chuckles]
And that makes it
not just your fight anymore.
Cath, Wish, Emi Ochoa, me,
we're all in it.
Something in here got you
sent to prison,
and my money says
you'll find it
'cause it turns out you're
a pretty good investigator.
Actually, I take that back.
Not the part
about you being good,
the part about you finding how
these pictures connect
to Victor Ochoa.
You would have had to know
what to look for.
-What do you mean?
-That.
Right there?
That's Ray Mercado's car.
Are you sure?
I should be. I stuck a knife
in those tires this morning.
But Ray didn't kill
Peter Bellwether,
so why would Victor be
so worried about us
being able to put him there?
Maybe that murder
isn't the only crime
that went down that night.
Let me guess.
You caught the guy
who slashed my tires.
Oh, no. I'm sorry, Mr. Mercado.
That crime remains a mystery,
unlike the one
we asked you here
to talk about.
That's your car. Yeah?
I'll save you the trouble.
It's definitely your car.
This picture was taken
on the evening
of March 4th, 2024,
by Mr. Decker here.
It's a pretty
unremarkable photo, isn't it?
And yet a-a great deal
of effort was made
to make sure
it never came to light,
and we think we know why.
Mr. Decker was in the area
that night because of a murder
in a restaurant,
but you were there
because of a death
in a building
across the street,
one that didn't come to light
until two days later.
Jessica Laurent.
Do you recognize her?
She was supposed to get married
that April.
When she didn't show up
for work on March 6th,
her fiancé went to her
apartment and found her
hanging from a rafter.
Yeah, the ME ruled it
a suicide,
but we think he got it wrong.
You strangled her,
and you made it look like
a suicide.
Why would I do that?
Same reason you do anything,
Ray. Victor Ochoa told you to.
Jessica Laurent was
an architect,
a damn good one,
very in demand.
A source tells us
that your boss, Victor,
he'd been chasing her for years
to do a job
with Ochoa Development.
She kept saying no.
Yeah, Victor doesn't like
hearing the word no, does he?
A source?
We don't have enough
to charge you, not yet,
but we're getting close.
This is your window, Ray.
Give us Victor now,
or there isn't gonna be
a lifeboat left
when you need one.
[suspenseful music plays]
Are we done here?
[scoffs] Yeah.
Do me a favor.
Say hi to Emilia for me.
What do you think? Any chance
Ray takes matters
into his own hands,
goes to say hi to Emi himself?
Well, she would say no,
but you're assuming
Victor wouldn't just order him
to do it.
Meanwhile, I got my best guy
keeping an eye on Ray
just in case.
Your best guy wouldn't happen
to look like Shaggy
from Scooby-Doo, would he?
You're saying that like Shaggy
didn't solve, like,
a bunch of mysteries.
[gentle music plays]
Going for a ride.
Really should have peed first.
[phone chimes]
Emi, you honestly believe
your father
had Jessica Laurent killed?
You've met Ray Mercado
once or twice.
Uh, yeah, yeah,
your dad's friend.
More like his fixer.
The police think
he killed Jessica.
They're taking
a hard look at him.
Any luck, he'll confess,
flip on my father.
I'm here in case he doesn't.
Before Jessica died,
you were commissioning
more work from her
than anyone else in town.
Did she ever talk to you
about my father?
Listen, Emi,
there are very few people
that scare me.
[suspenseful music plays]
Your father does.
I understand, Bruce.
I really do.
Hey, listen,
if you think it'll help,
I can give you some names.
Jessica's friends,
you can talk to all of them.
But just, please, promise me
that you will be careful.
[music fades]
Everyone I talked to
about Jessica Laurent
believed that she
killed herself.
-Really? No one had questions?
-No one.
And yet I know my father was
trying hard to recruit her
around that time.
Suspicious,
but it isn't proof of anything.
Well, Ray's not ready
to help us either,
not yet anyway.
What?
[exhales] It's just been crazy
the last couple of days.
We haven't had a chance
to talk about us,
about what happened
the other night.
No.
No, we have not.
[smacks lips]
This thing that we do,
whatever it is
we are to each other,
I've been trying
to figure it out.
Can't just be hookups in places
that have wheels on them,
can it?
-[chuckles]
-[phone ringing, buzzes]
Hey, what's going on?
[Wish]
I'm still at Ray's shop, but
just, something feels off.
What do you mean?
[Wish] I see smoke.
It could be from an engine.
It could be he's down there
burning files
or evidence or something.
I thought maybe I'd, you know
Uh, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no.
Stay in the car.
[Wish] Are you sure?
Very. I-I don't want you
getting yourself
in any trouble, okay?
All right.
Oh, ho hold on, hold on.
Looks like we got a visitor.
-What do you mean?
-I mean somebody's headed up
to the shop.
Just stay put, all right?
[door creaks]
The door is open,
but I don't quite have
an angle on it.
[gunshots]
Wish, what the hell was that?
[panting] Call 911. Do it now.
[tense music plays]
[sighs] Come on [panting]
stay with me, big guy.
Hey, hey.
Hey, come on, talk to me.
Who did this?
Was it Victor Ochoa? Huh?
[whispering]
[music stops]
[chattering]
-You all right?
-Sorry, it's just
I knew Ray my whole life. He
He was a good guy
once upon a time.
I mean, I can count the people
my father trusts on one hand.
For him to do this,
Ray must have been closer
to talking about
Jessica Laurent's murder
than we thought.
I don't know.
Maybe your dad's
just getting paranoid.
Ray didn't have much to say
at the end.
What do you mean?
Wish asked him who did it.
All he said was,
"Peppermint, stick, thumb."
Does that mean something
to you?
I think I know
what he was trying to say.
He just died
before he could say
the last word, "drive."
Peppermint stick thumb drive.
My father has a safe at home
where he keeps
important documents.
I've seen the thumb drive
Ray was talking about
in there. It's
-It's striped like
a candy cane.
-Do you know what was on it?
No, I've never seen it
outside of the safe,
but I-I'm betting
whatever it is,
it ties my father
to what happened
to Jessica Laurent.
Do you think you can get
inside the safe?
The safe, no problem.
The house?
My father's security won't let
me within 100 feet of it
right now.
But that might be okay.
I may only need to get
within 101.
[dramatic music plays]
Sir, there's something going on
in front of the house.
[no audible dialogue]
[guard] She got here just
a few minutes ago.
She's saying she won't move
until you two have talked.
Okay.
[door closes]
I assume you're here
to talk about what happened
to Ray.
I'm pretty sure you mean
what you had done to Ray.
Ray was familia . I loved him.
I would have never hurt him.
Yourself? No.
If I had to guess,
it was one of them.
Or, I don't know,
a friend suggested
the other day you may have
ties to organized crime.
Maybe you borrowed a sicario
from some nice cartel?
Emilia, please,
let's take this inside.
I-I'm not going anywhere
with you.
You want to talk?
We'll do it right here.
[tense music plays]
How's it going out there?
Good. Two of the three
security guards
Emi told us about
are taking in the show.
[whispering] Okay, let me know
if that changes.
Why would I hurt Ray?
Because two years ago,
he killed Jessica Laurent
for you.
No, that's not true.
The pictures R.J.
took that night?
The ones I told you
I destroyed?
I didn't. One of them shows
Ray's car parked
across from her building.
[music continues]
I appreciate you doing this,
you know?
What?
Being an accessory
to whatever this is.
I know you don't like Emi
all that much.
Eh. She's growing on me.
Okay.
[beeps]
-Uh-oh.
-Uh-oh? What's uh-oh?
The code Emi gave me
for the safe,
Uh, she said it was
her birthday,
but it's not working.
Her dad must have changed
the code.
Mija , think. Am I a stupid man?
What could I have
possibly gained
from Jessica Laurent's death?
What did you gain
by torching Lucas's boat?
[scoffs]
You're a bully.
Bullies don't need agendas.
They need targets.
They need to hurt people
so they can feel big.
[sighs]
Yep, that's three attempts.
According to the Internet,
this model of safe,
after a fourth failed attempt,
you're locked out for an hour.
I don't think this argument's
gonna last that long.
Uh, hang on. I have an idea.
I've made mistakes.
Terrible mistakes.
But killing Ray is not
one of them.
I'm begging you, believe me.
Come back to me.
Together, I promise,
we can fix all of this.
I [stammers]
I can't come back.
It's too late.
You and your friend,
you want me out of office,
maybe even in prison.
But it would be a mistake
because you're right.
I do have dangerous friends,
more than you can even
understand,
but I maintain
those relationships
for the good of the city,
for the good of the state.
I do what I have to do
to keep the peace,
to save lives.
0-8-0-7-5-8.
-What's that?
-Just try it. 0-8-0-7-5-8.
Oh, my God. It worked.
[exhales]
He changed the code
from Emi's birthday to his own.
Nice thing
about malignant narcissists,
their self-obsession
can make them predictable.
You stay this course,
I won't try to stop you
but there may come a time
when I can no longer
protect you.
These past few years,
you hiding things from me,
asking me to perjure myself,
to send a good man to prison?
If that was you protecting me
[stammers] I wish you hadn't.
[sighs]
[phone ringing]
Hey, we have the thumb drive.
We're headed to you.
Turn around, go someplace else.
Why? What's going on?
Couple of cops
were just here looking for you.
What?
Seems old Victor
finally made good
on his threat.
Your new CRO,
he had you violated.
There's a warrant out
for your arrest.
[tense music plays]
[music ends]
-[sighs]
-[phone ringing, buzzing]
-Hey.
-[Wish] Hey.
I'm just, um,
checking in on you, ol' buddy.
Yeah, I'm good, thanks.
I am, as you know,
a law-abiding citizen now.
Have been, intend to be.
But like I told you
the other day,
I know people that know people.
One of 'em might be able
to help you go someplace else,
get a fresh start.
Wish, are you asking me
if I want to go on the run?
I'll answer that question
with another question.
How many times
you want to go to prison
for something you didn't do?
[phone chimes]
I just sent you a number.
You need it, you call it. Okay?
Yeah, I got it, okay. Thanks.
[exhales]
[typing]
Yeah, hi. Uh, I'm calling
'cause I need your help.
Hey.
I was starting to worry
you weren't gonna show.
Did you get it?
-So?
-[scoffs]
So, it's strange.
Good strange or bad strange?
Every single file here
is the work of Jessica Laurent.
Blueprints, floor plans,
elevations,
all from the same building
downtown, Seabright Tower.
-Yeah?
-She designed the place
a few years ago.
But I'm confused.
I thought you said
she didn't do any work
with Ochoa Development.
She didn't. Seabright Tower
is one of Bruce's buildings.
He's the guy
I went to see the other day,
the investor.
He worked with Jessica
all the time.
But if Seabright Tower
isn't one of your dad's
projects,
why the hell is
this thumb drive in his safe?
It had to have come from Ray.
He must have taken it
the night he killed her.
If he didn't,
he wouldn't have known
to tell Wish about it.
Ray didn't have access
to the safe.
Right, so, what, two years ago,
your dad sent Ray to steal it?
Maybe there was
some design element
he was trying to rip off?
[sighs] But I don't know,
for someone
like Jessica Laurent,
Seabright Tower was
borderline mundane.
High-end, luxurious,
but more substance than style.
So, in other words,
after all that work
this morning,
the only thing we might be able
to hang on your dad
is intellectual property theft.
It's okay. We'll figure it out.
Yeah, well, we sort of need
to figure it out by 5:00 p.m.
That's when I'm due
to turn myself in
to the police.
What?
Yeah, your dad,
he did what he said
he was gonna do.
He got me violated.
-[scoffs]
-[blusters]
But it's okay. I called Mel
a little while ago.
She's gonna meet me at 5:00.
I'll surrender myself.
Any luck, she and my attorney
will straighten out
this little misunderstanding
with the CRO.
I could be out by morning.
R.J., you know my father
isn't gonna let that happen.
[scoffs]
Hmm.
What? What is it?
I-I don't know. It's this file.
I mean,
if this is what I think it is,
your dad might not have been
the one to want
Jessica Laurent dead after all.
That's okay.
It's maybe even good
because if I'm right,
person who did
can give us your dad
on a platter.
[Mel] Mr. Vinkour.
Believe you know Emi Ochoa.
Uh, I do. Just spoke yesterday,
as a matter of fact.
I assume you're here
for the same reason I am?
Background on Jessica?
Oh, Miss Ochoa's already done
her part.
She's been very helpful,
but we still have
some questions.
As I believe you know,
we've been circling
the possibility
that Jessica was killed
by a man named Ray Mercado.
That's his car parked across
from her apartment the night
she died.
It's very troubling.
You mean seeing his car there,
or seeing yours?
Made us wonder,
did Ray kill Jessica,
or did he just handle
the cleanup?
Uh, I I don't understand.
What, are you suggesting I
I would never.
She and I worked together.
That's why I would have
been there that night.
[Mel] Hmm.
I told Detective Abreu that
Jessica designed
Seabright Tower for you.
-Yeah.
-And I explained
how things work
in our business,
sprinting to put up
one building
so we can pay for the next.
Seabright Tower was leveraged
to the hilt.
It had to be on time.
Financing these things,
it can be risky.
The structural integrity
of your buildings can't be.
You've seen this before, yes?
Yeah.
I think you've seen this too.
[suspenseful music plays]
Jessica created it
the day she died.
Miss Ochoa explained
it's a standard stress test.
It shows how a building
will stand up to wind shear.
Jessica discovered a fatal flaw
in the Seabright Tower
site plan.
Those two neighboring buildings
create a wind tunnel
that can amplify
tropical storm force gusts.
She showed it to you,
told you to slam on the brakes,
only you couldn't.
It would have cost you tens,
maybe hundreds
of millions of dollars.
At first we thought
maybe you hired Ray
to kill her.
Then we saw your car.
Made us wonder,
"Why would you go there
with him?"
Unless you didn't.
You were there first.
You killed Jessica,
and then, in a panic,
you called the most corrupt,
most connected person you knew
for help.
My father. He sent Ray.
Ray made it look like
Jessica killed herself.
No. No! [stammers]
These-These models are
theoretical.
Storm simulations
overstate risk all the time.
I'm not here to talk
about engineering.
I'm not even here to book you
for Jessica Laurent's murder.
Not enough proof. Ray's murder,
on the other hand
When I came to see you,
I told you the police
were leaning on him.
I assume
that's why you killed him.
To make sure
he couldn't tell them
about you?
These shell casings,
they're registered
to a gun we know you own.
And this blood?
You cut yourself on a fence
as you fled.
Without Ray around
to clean up after you,
I gotta say,
you're not very good at murder.
Tell me something.
Why do you suppose
my father held on
to that thumb drive?
[sighs] Blackmail material.
In case he needed
to leverage me.
You're the one
with the leverage now.
Tell the truth
about the role he played.
Give the DA a reason
to not pursue
the death penalty.
It happened just like you said.
Every bit of it.
I'll tell you everything.
[gentle music plays]
-[chuckles]
-[chuckles]
It's funny.
You think you won,
but my attorneys
have already assured me
that the state's case
against me is a joke.
I'll make bail
in a matter of hours.
[clicks tongue] And then,
if the district attorney,
an old friend,
actually decides
he wants to prosecute me,
it'll come down to my word
against Bruce Vinkour's.
You're right.
I didn't win the war,
just the battle.
But a heck of a battle,
am I right?
I mean, before today,
you were untouchable.
Now? Now you're gonna be under
a microscope the size
of Seabright Tower.
You remember Seabright Tower,
right?
Big building,
home to almost 200 people?
But you were willing
to keep it a secret
the place would collapse
in a hurricane because why?
Just to have a little dirt
on your buddy Bruce?
[clicks tongue]
See, I got a secret
for you, Vic.
I think you are going
to prison.
Because you're wrong.
It won't be
just your word against Bruce's.
It'll be your word
against Emi's too.
[smacks lips] Say you're right.
She'll have to get used to
visiting both of us
behind bars.
Nope, she won't,
'cause I'm not going to prison.
At least not today.
That whole little mix-up
with my new CRO,
that got cleared up
just a little while ago.
You see, my friend,
she works here.
She paid him a visit.
She made it very clear
just how scrutinized
you were about to be,
how many secrets would be
coming out in the next days,
weeks, months.
-All of a sudden
-[snaps fingers]
he realized he made a mistake.
I didn't commit any violations
after all.
You see, the truth is, Vic,
I was free to go an hour ago.
I thought
the gentlemanly thing to do
was to stick around
and say hello.
And then goodbye.
-Guard.
-This isn't over.
It's over for today.
["You Can Get It
If You Really Want" plays]
F.M. Station?
The "F.M." stands for
"Florida Man," right?
It does.
What about Florida women?
If I do something weird,
can I get a free drink?
[guffaws] Well, you, kiddo,
are a dear friend
of a dear friend,
so your drinks are always free.
[clicks tongue]
-Speak of the dang ol' devil.
There he is!
-Hey.
-[laughs]
-Oh, boy.
[laughs] Come on, come on.
[cackles] Aw,
where the heck you been, son?
-[chuckles] Jail.
-Party started without you.
-Busted out the foosball table.
-I see that.
-I made T-shirts
and everything.
-Very classy.
Huh? Huh? [cackles]
So are we gonna meet for drinks
every time you get out of jail?
'Cause I don't think my liver
can take it.
-Where's your shirt?
-You put one on,
I'll put one on.
[chuckles]
-I'm glad you're not in prison.
-Yeah, me too.
Emi went to the back
to take a call
from her brother.
I don't know if you heard,
but you're not the only one
who got out of jail tonight.
[music stops]
[R.J.]
The nerve of your dad, huh?
I go to that holding cell
early,
I get it all nice for him,
and he just
[blows air] He just leaves.
I knew he'd make bail.
Because, of course
But still
Yeah. You're disappointed.
[inhales] A little.
A little sad too.
Sorry, that's probably
a weird thing to say.
No, it's not. He's your dad.
The other day, you said
you wanted to figure out
whatever
-whatever this is.
-Mmm.
I've been thinking,
do we have to figure it out \
tonight?
'Cause, I don't know
if you've noticed,
but there's a foosball table
out there,
and I'm kind of amazing.
-Amazing?
-Oh, I could have gone pro.
["Liquor And Love" plays]
Liquor and love
Do they have 'em
In heaven above ♪
Hey, hey! No, no, ah-ah-ah!
Sweet liquor and love ♪
Please tell me why
These days should be over ♪
And say goodbye
To all of my pleasures ♪
[Mel, Sofia laughing]
All I know
Is I decided so long ago ♪
That I don't wanna
Take it slow
On the liquor and love ♪
Liquor and love
Do they have 'em
In heaven above ♪
For it's all
I've been dreaming of
Sweet liquor and love ♪
Sweet liquor and love ♪
Sweet liquor and love ♪
[song ends]