Major Crimes s03e09 Episode Script
Sweet Revenge
Provenza.
If you don't mind.
Thank you.
Seven feet.
Hold on to it, please.
Please.
Hold on.
Guy liked to party.
Uh, looked like the last time the victim checked his computer was at 2:37 a.
m.
You can let go now.
The bullet descended 16 inches over a downward trajectory of 2.
26 degrees.
That would put the sniper where? Clean shot from the roof of that tall building across the street, sir.
- That could be right.
- Could be? Well, my measurements might be off a little.
All right, Sanchez, go over there and see if the killer left anything behind.
So, what the heck is Sweet Revenge anyway? Our victim, Travis Hall, runs a website that lets guys get back at their ex-girlfriends by posting naked pictures of them online.
It's called revenge porn.
What happened to scribbling a girl's name on a bathroom stall? Well, this seems to pay better.
Victim's assistant told Patrol he arrived this morning found his boss murdered and himself out of a job.
His alibi's good.
Any reason why his boss would be up in the middle of the night on his computer? Why are men ever up late at night on their computers? Also, according to neighbors, Hall had a lot of girlfriends who came and went all hours.
- The lock on the door is a keypad.
Wonder how many of his girlfriends had the code.
Are you telling me that women were interested in this creep? See? You should never give up.
Oh, God.
Come read some of these letters on the victim's bulletin board.
"These photos have ruined my life.
I'll do anything if you take them down.
" Look what he wrote underneath.
"You'll do anything? Too late, dumb bitch.
Enjoy your pain.
" He put this stuff up like he was proud of it.
Everyone who wrote this guy is a potential suspect.
All right, let's take it all with us.
Damn it.
Oh, look at this.
An FBI warrant from six weeks ago.
We've only been here an hour and we've already caught up with them, you know? Maybe all this can be their problem.
I found a bullet.
And it's from a long rifle.
So maybe a sniper from across the street.
Like everyone said.
Ah, yes, thank you for picking up.
And how are you this morning, very special agent Fritz Howard? My neck is killing me.
And my shoulder.
- My arm too.
- Did you hurt yourself? I don't think so.
I've been bent over box after box of inventory I have to label before officially retiring from the FBI.
Also, moving everything from Wilshire to the Special Operations Bureau, that was hard.
I'm a little stressed out about being a boss.
You'll adapt.
"Deputy Chief Howard" has a nice ring to it.
Thanks.
It's gonna be an interesting change.
If Brenda ends up taking the job in Washington the whole thing could be a juggling act, but I think we can handle it.
- Oh, Sharon.
Sharon.
- I'll meet you there, Sharon.
Hey, look, I cannot pick up Ricky at the airport by myself.
I barely know him.
And he does not like me very much.
Why would you say that? Because ever since you started divorcing Jack, he has been, like, really distant on the phone.
Rusty, you and Ricky are going to be brothers.
Picking each other up at the airport is what families do.
It'll be fine.
Don't worry.
It's not my fault they're embarrassed.
I wasn't there when they undressed, and I didn't pay anyone to snap the photos.
How is it my fault? Our investigation concluded that Sweet Revenge Online nets over 10 million a year.
How come the bureau hasn't already shut down this website? Unfortunately, legally, it's protected speech.
Women have been physically threatened by Mr.
Hall.
That's a violation of California law.
- No, we didn't know about that.
- Why didn't the L.
A.
P.
D.
Do it? - If the FBI had passed this along - We followed the money hoping to shut down the site by identifying fraud or racketeering.
The pictures themselves don't help us.
What if these photographs were obtained illegally? We needed evidence of either theft or hacking.
We could never get it.
Murder gives the L.
A.
P.
D.
Better grounds for a warrant.
You said Sweet Revenge netted 10 million a year.
How much of that went to this Travis Hall dirt bag? Less than 5 percent.
No, Hall's just the, uh, front man.
Key player is a guy named Scott Ward, who, uh, may be a little mobbed up.
We've invited Mr.
Ward over for a chat.
He's coming with his lawyer.
Alan Burke.
Terrible guy.
Regardless, a sniper attack might make Mr.
Ward feel that his own safety requires him to cooperate.
- I'd be happy to help with that interview.
Better use my FBI connections while you still can.
Is this the threat to my client? We came here under the assumption we'd be helping you find a killer not submit information about my client's legitimate business activities.
The L.
A.
P.
D.
Thinks these legitimate business activities might be a motive for murder.
The sniper who killed your partner he just might have you in the crosshairs too, Mr.
Ward.
- We were not partners.
- These are intimidation techniques.
I'm not intimidated.
I'm freaked out.
Okay, the L.
A.
P.
D.
Didn't kill Travis, okay? He might have been the perfect person to promote Sweet Revenge but the website was my idea.
Put together with my investors and my servers.
So if people connected to it are getting killed God.
- You seem really proud of this website - Any likely suspects among the letter writers? How about all of them? And their fathers too.
I'm telling you, this Scott Ward guy is not gonna hang around here forever.
What is taking Tao so long? No one else could get this done as fast as Mike.
We just need to hold on.
For centuries, women have been dumping men without a second thought.
We're putting a dent in that pattern and the world's better for it.
Well, considering you're providing the planet with such a noble public service how come you stayed out of the spotlight and let your friend Travis take all the bows? Anything to do with all these threatening letters? Successful businesses attract complaints.
- I have it.
- Interview 1.
- We're not concerned.
- You said you're looking for a sniper.
You really think a woman could do this? I think there could be a line of them.
Look, my client warned Travis about hanging out with drug dealers.
Not to mention all the hookers he had over.
This tragedy is more about Travis' lifestyle than it is about Scott's business.
Uh-huh.
Well, maybe after the FBI and the L.
A.
P.
D get a good look at your client's severs, we'll agree with you.
Nice try.
Unless you have evidence of money laundering or racketeering the government's not going near my client's servers.
This is not about double-checking your bookkeeping anymore.
This is about murder.
The judge just signed a warrant granting us permission to search through all your data.
So if you have any idea who killed Travis You were never interested in having us help identify suspects.
- Alan, we should prob - No, you, Scott, you're not talking anymore.
You are coming with me.
Now.
Hey, Scotty.
If you don't wanna help us, let me give you some advice.
Stay away from windows.
Scott.
I hate to say it, captain, but I think we need to keep an eye on Scott Ward for safety's sake.
Agreed.
Let's get Amy on that.
And roll out SIS.
She's gonna need backup.
- Sykes.
- Lieutenant.
Talking to the people who wrote letters, I have a suspect.
That's him.
Keith Price.
Ex-Army ranger.
After his wife's pictures got posted, she killed herself.
Well, that's good motive.
And Army rangers have mandatory sniper training.
And can hide in plain sight without leaving a trace behind.
Before we turn down sniper alley, I'd like to check my measurements against the autopsy - in case I missed something.
- Okay.
Hi, Mom.
Ricky.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Oh, my gosh.
Look at you.
Oh, my gosh.
What is this? Scruff.
- It's cute.
- Thank you.
Boy, you guys got back here quickly.
Yeah, well, uh, Rusty, he knows his way around the big city.
- I also know how to take directions well.
- Ha.
- Lieutenant, do you remember my son, Ricky? - Hey, how are you? Good to see you.
- Captain? - Yeah.
Um, we're going to hold our ex-ranger until we can run a background check on him, okay? Um, why don't we go into my office for a moment? Sure.
Rusty, you too.
Come on.
Well, my biggest news is that we're not planning on going public anymore.
Because a larger Internet security firm offered us a buyout.
Does that mean you're gonna work for someone else? I don't know.
Maybe I'll just take the cash and travel, and I haven't really stopped since college, right? And a house and a car only tie you down.
Right, Rusty? I don't know.
I've never really thought about that before.
Well, you don't have to, I guess.
- And I'd like to spend more time in L.
A.
- What? Yeah.
I wanna take you out for dinner tonight.
We could talk about the future a little.
I don't think I'm going to get out of here for dinner.
You're working tonight? Mom, I just got off the plane.
I thought we were gonna spend some time together.
I know.
I am so sorry.
I have this sniper problem.
Maybe you and Rusty could grab a bite to eat and then we can have breakfast together tomorrow, I hope.
I'm sorry.
I'm - Yeah.
- Okay.
Let me grab my stuff.
I'll run you home.
Okay, when SID pulled all this crap offline, instead of shutting down the website switched over to something called Mirror servers? - Yeah.
Hey, Ricky.
- Andy.
The data will still be intact, but you're gonna need help getting through their firewalls.
Where's Lieutenant Tao? Oh, he's at the morgue obsessing over bullet trajectories.
Well, Mom, these are most likely load-balance servers running Apache Hi.
- Or, uh, maybe Fedora under Linux.
Nothing advanced.
I could probably get these booted up and reset the route passwords.
You guys have some place I could plug this stuff in? Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't really need you guys.
I know, honey, but we have chain-of-custody issues and you're not an officer of the court.
- Gotcha.
- I'll just stay out of your way.
- Thanks.
Sorry to invade your space.
Turnabout is fair play, right? I'll just wait in the break room.
Our ranger has been read his rights and has agreed to cooperate.
- Thank you.
- Don't worry.
We'll keep an eye on Dr.
Einstein here until Mike gets back.
Don't let your suspect confess before I get a chance to look at Sweet Revenge Online's finances.
Um, lieutenant, if I go along, will you check on Mike's progress? My last deployment was all about keeping Taliban from infiltrating Afghan security forces.
- A never-ending job - Sorry to interrupt.
Captain Sharon Raydor.
Thank you, Lieutenant Price.
How's Tao getting back here from the morgue? Ox cart? I've been told that the pictures of your wife did not get posted on Sweet Revenge Online in the usual way.
That's right.
They were stolen.
How did that happen? I've been away from my family for three of the past five years.
Kelly, my wife Kelly thought the pictures of herself might bridge the distance.
Personal pictures.
And I kept them on my laptop.
She sent you these photos by e-mail? To my private account, yes.
And that would have been the end of it, except coming home I had my laptop out in the airport when I got a phone call.
I answered it.
I stood up, stretched my legs for just one minute and when I sat back down, my laptop was gone.
And that's how your wife's pictures were posted on the Sweet Revenge website? Yes.
I tried to have them taken down before one of the students in her ninth grade math class, or another teacher found out or my son, who goes to the same school, saw them.
I wrote Mr.
Hall and explained the situation to him as best I could.
How'd Mr.
Hall respond? With lewd photos of himself sent to my wife's e-mail address asking her what the big deal with nudity was.
So I paid one of those online-reputation services to make the pictures of Kelly disappear.
They were taken down for less than a day.
And then someone from her school saw them.
Word got around and my son he saw the pictures.
I tried to explain to him that this was meant to be something private between his mom and me.
But he didn't see it that way.
And neither did the principal who gave Kelly the choice between resigning and a hearing in front of the school board.
So that day on the way home from school she pulled the car over to the side of the road She jumped from the Colorado Street bridge.
Yes.
Yes, she did.
I looked away from my laptop for one minute and the world changed.
Do you have any weapons, lieutenant? - Amy says Scott Ward could be on the move.
- Where the hell is Tao? Damn it.
I give you consent to search my house.
- Hello? - Tao, what are you doing? Looking at what is left of Travis Hall's head.
I was expecting to find a wound consistent with a 7.
62 cartridge fired from over 50 yards away.
But the bullet entered the cranium and the weapon was placed directly against the scalp.
There was definitely a sniper shot from across the street.
And I'm glad I don't have to explain that because that was not the cause of death.
There's circular stippling on the wound and patches of blood where the hair was yanked from your victim's head.
You mean, like he was Like the killer grabbed the victim from behind.
- Right.
- Do not pull my hair.
With his left hand, while with the right he shot point-blank into the back of Hall's head.
- So the murder weapon was pointed - Up.
Yes, it was.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
I've just been putting all this pressure on a man who lost his wife.
- And he didn't kill Hall? - Not with a rifle.
And here's the bullet that did the job.
It's from a 9 mm handgun.
Okay, so the same night that Travis Hall gets his head blown off a sniper sets up across the street? - That doesn't make any sense.
- Unless someone was trying to mislead us.
Our key suspect has long-range weapons training.
Keith Price, angry Army vet, sends a letter threatening to kill Travis Hall.
Could have been known by everybody working at Sweet Revenge Online.
Including Scott Ward.
Subject is moving toward Olive.
This is his third time around the block.
I have to think he's waiting for something, or someone.
Hey, we got a bogie at the Jaguar.
- What the hell? - Yeah, exactly.
- I'm responsible for Travis? - Yes, you're responsible - You know what you did.
- Hey.
R-63, shots fired at my location from the east side of the street.
- What the hell? - SIS units, block off the north side road.
- Should I roll paramedics? - They don't look hurt.
Number 1 has a small-frame 9 mm in his possession.
R-63, we have a possible sniper.
Location unknown.
Have responding units set up a perimeter to the north and south.
I repeat, we have a sniper.
Approach with caution.
Shots fired at Scott Ward and the guy he was with came from 7.
62 cartridges.
Same as the rifle at our first crime scene.
Also the same, our sniper didn't hit anybody.
But in his coat, Scott Ward had a 9 mm and since Travis Hall was shot with one of those, I sent his weapon to Ballistics.
Whatever you can give us, chief, to catch this sniper.
I've got the entire neighborhood blocked off and SIS is searching it.
Along with 30 patrol officers and two dogs.
Trained in fear scent.
The sniper isn't getting away.
Though how he's involved, I don't know.
Tell us about the man who got into the fight with Ward.
His ID says he's Ryan Brooks and his name has a flag on it from the FBI.
Well, since he's about to become a deputy chief maybe Agent Howard wouldn't mind explaining that.
I'll hurry Ward and Brooks through booking.
Meanwhile, I'm taking Sykes back to help Cooper.
I feel the need for a little in-person supervision.
- Keep me posted.
Mm-hm, yes, sir.
Sorry we've gone so late.
Lieutenant Mike is back at the servers now so you and Ricky are cleared to go to dinner.
- How does that sound? - Okay.
I'm so sorry.
If I wasn't looking for a sniper, you know It's not your fault.
But we need to rethink this whole adoption thing because Ricky is not into it at all.
A little pushback from siblings is natural.
When I was pregnant with Ricky Emily told me several times she didn't want a little brother.
- She was 3.
- Oh, they're always 3.
Look, Ricky hasn't thought this through.
I can tell.
I'll talk to him in the morning and I'm sure whatever issue he has we can get it straightened out.
- Sharon, I know you're a great dealmaker and - Hey.
- Hey.
The servers are up and running.
Lieutenant Tao can do the rest.
So I'm ready whenever you are, Rusty.
Have you thought about where you and Rusty might like to go eat? Oh, I'm gonna raid the refrigerator when I get home.
I'm pretty tired.
It's almost, wow, 9:30.
I'm sorry you have to work late.
See you for breakfast? - I hope so.
Probably yes.
- Great.
Well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you.
- So good luck.
- Thank you, Rusty.
- Uh, you guys have a great night.
- Mm-hm.
- Love you.
- Love you too.
It wasn't a fight exactly.
Ryan Brooks and Scott Ward pushed each other around in public, not very well.
But we can still hold them on battery charges.
Anything the FBI can share with us about Mr.
Brooks? He invests in high-tech startups.
The FBI investigated him for tax invasion.
Got nowhere.
Well, maybe our old friend Scotty here will be more forthcoming now that somebody is shooting at him.
Lieutenant Price was in our custody when the second shooting took place so he couldn't have been involved.
We should wait until Ballistics has finished testing all the weapons at his house before releasing Price.
Someone was framing our Army ranger for a reason.
Maybe Mr.
Ward can tell us why.
Just to be clear, Scott, are you waving your right to an attorney? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Do not call Alan Burke, that bastard.
He's the one that told Ryan I was getting weak in the knees.
You guarantee my safety and I will tell you whatever you wanna know.
Okay.
Well, you realize that the gun that you're concealing, the Ruger LC-9 is the exact make used to kill Travis.
If I killed Travis with that gun, do you think I'd be stupid enough to carry it on me? I needed it to defend myself.
From Ryan Brooks? Why would he wanna hurt you? Because that idiot Travis was threatening him.
Demanding more money and saying that if he didn't get what he wanted, he was gonna go to the FBI.
About their legitimate business practices.
Ryan answers to powerful people.
People that would be vulnerable to questionable publicity.
So that's why you met him on the street, to talk about a public-relations problem.
No, no, obviously he wanted me to go out to his car so I would be in the open.
It was a set up.
Ryan tried to have me assassinated.
- He's pushing the sniper angle.
- Okay.
So did we.
Except the sniper hasn't killed anyone.
You said why he wanted Travis dead.
Why did he wanna kill you? Because I know how our site ties to his other sites.
- Which is where the real money is.
- The real money? What do you mean the real money? I'll tell you.
But first I need immunity.
Get me immunity, I'll tell you everything.
There's nothing to tell.
I'm not a killer.
Look, I'm an investor who provides start-up capital for various online enterprises.
Sir, are you saying that you had nothing to do with Travis Hall's death? Nothing to do with the sniper who shot at Scott Ward this afternoon? Shot at Scott? Scott lured me to his apartment to have me killed.
You wanna give immunity to Scott? Give it to me.
I know all the secrets.
I'm sure we can come to an understanding.
We'll see about that.
Excuse us.
Allow me to present the server logs for Sweet Revenge Online.
Over and over you can see they used buffer overflow pathname and SQL injection attacks to exploit vulnerabilities in e-mail servers.
Buzz? Uh, Sweet Revenge hacked into people's computers to steal images.
- Thank you.
- We got it.
And the L.
A.
P.
D.
Got farther in 12 hours than the FBI did in six months.
You know, I think I'm gonna like it over here.
Well, to be fair, we had a warrant.
Federal government's computer fraud and abuse act makes every instance of unauthorized access to and theft from private e-mail accounts a class B felony.
It's punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
There's hundreds of violations in those records.
That's not just leverage, that's justice.
And sweet revenge.
Wait.
Wait, we still have a sniper out there and I don't know how he connects.
This is why Ryan Brooks was trying to kill you, isn't it? He knew you could cut a deal on the hacking charges like Travis tried to do and send him to prison for life.
No, no, this is This is part of the crime.
Do you wanna know the whole thing? - Let me get another lawyer, not Burke - No, no, no, now you listen to me.
We've got a sniper on the loose.
We can't wait for you to get a lawyer.
You wanna make a deal, fine.
We'll arrest you, turn you over to the FBI.
Or you can revoke your right to counsel, tell us the whole ugly story we can work on leniency later based on your cooperation.
But if while we're standing here the sniper kills someone, you're on your own.
So you have the right to remain silent and be an idiot.
And to get a lawyer and go to jail for the rest of your life.
Or you could revoke and help us.
It's up to you.
No, wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on.
I revoke.
All right? When Ryan and I started Sweet Revenge Online we had no idea how much money we could make.
But Ryan knew no matter what our site took in he would make 10 times as much linking off of it.
What kind of links? All those reputation services promising to scrub people's pictures off of Sweet Revenge Online in exchange for cash.
Those are Ryan's.
So he was using your website as a starting point for blackmail.
People pay.
He just puts the pictures somewhere else.
They pay again, they pop up again, over and over.
Eventually people, you know, they just They run out of money or they give up.
Or commit suicide.
Hacking just got elevated to extortion.
If Travis was threatening to expose them, that's motive for his murder.
But who pulled the trigger? Hmm Come up slowly with your hands raised.
Slowly so we can see them.
Now.
Okay, okay, okay, I'm sitting up.
Don't shoot me, please.
- Morning, Mom.
- Morning, darling.
Find your shooter? Our sniper, yes.
As it turns out, he was the son of an Army ranger.
His mother committed suicide.
He's a very troubled young man.
Hmm.
You're not gonna be adopting him too, are you? Let's discuss this adoption because I feel your lack of enthusiasm from a great distance.
And I'd like to know what's that about? Okay.
Right off the bat, I want you to know that I understand a lot of what you're going through.
Dad was a letdown as a husband.
Emily left for New York to do her ballet thing.
I left for Palo Alto.
I don't make it home all that often.
You work all the time.
It's a recipe for loneliness.
And, Mom, I have a lot of sympathy for you on that score.
And also you are incredibly giving and caring, but, Mom, that kid, he's a hustler and he's And a con artist and I think that he's taken advantage of you.
And, look, you did so much for me.
You were tough and honest when I needed it.
And now I think I need to do the same for you.
I need to take the hit like you did.
And be the bad guy for a minute and step in to say that this is not a good idea.
May I ask, have you, by any chance, been talking with your father about this? We talked a few times.
I mean, he's worried about you.
Mom, I'm worried about you, I am.
Look, helping the kid a little bit, that's great, but to make him legally your son I just I think that we need to take a giant step back here and just reeva Hold on, hold on.
Before we go back.
I should clear up a big misunderstanding that you have.
- Okay.
- I'm not asking your permission to adopt Rusty.
Or Emily's permission.
I see great things in this boy and I mean that from the bottom of my ever-so-lonely heart.
Come on, Mom, you know that I did not mean loneliness as a criticism.
I was only pointing out the fact It's clear what you're pointing out.
Now I'm pointing out to you if you don't develop a little human compassion for this young man who grew up with none of the advantages you took for granted every day of your life then I'm gonna leave here wondering where I went wrong as a mother.
Mom.
Mom, wait, wait, wait, hang on.
Look, I'm gonna have children one day.
So is Emily.
Do you really want your grandkids calling that boy Uncle Rusty? That is a whole lot better than what I'm thinking of calling you now.
- Mom.
- Richard William Raydor you listen to me and you listen to me good.
You've got one chance to get this right.
You need to turn your attitude around right this minute.
Because if you make Rusty feel unwelcome in this family after all of his and my hard work, I will be just so disappointed.
Oh, my God.
I am so disappointed in you right now, I don't even know what to say.
The attacks look like a father-son assassination team.
Given his age and the circumstances of his mother's death it's easier to understand.
Though the other guns from Lieutenant Price's house didn't match up to the murder the sniper rifle we found with Connor, it was used in both attacks.
The boy has been read his rights and he'll talk.
But maybe we shouldn't ask him if he No, we have to do this in order.
We already know what he's gonna say.
Two confessions could gum up the works.
But they could also be a solution.
Just be ready to follow up with the father.
Amy, let's hear the boy out.
I killed Travis Hall.
The same way I tried to kill Scott Ward, but I missed.
And I did it on my own, so my father knows nothing about it.
So how'd you kill Travis? I just set up on the building across the street, and when I saw him in the window, I shot.
- It was easy.
- What time was that? I don't know.
It was sometime between 11:30 and 12.
So you fired through the window and you shot Travis from across the street? - Yeah.
- Wrong answer.
Travis Hall wasn't killed by a PSG-1, but by a handgun, up close.
You didn't have anything to do with his murder.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I killed him from across the street.
Maybe you thought that you were helping your dad by shooting at those men but you're not helping him or yourself now by lying I'm not lying, all right? No, I killed Travis.
I killed him because he killed my mom.
- Your mother committed suicide.
- No.
He made her do that, all right? She was fine before, okay? And my mother, I never got the chance to tell her I said some really terrible things to her.
Listen to me, Connor I'm a mother and I promise you your mother knew you were sorry.
No, she didn't.
She didn't know.
If she knew she wouldn't have jumped She did know.
Mothers know.
Whatever you said, no matter how terrible that is not why your mother killed herself.
And you're not making things better for her by saying you killed people when you didn't.
So tell us the truth.
Why did you fire your gun at those men yesterday? Look.
I did kill Travis, okay? I killed him.
Now, whatever I said before, I mean, I was just lying about how.
But I killed him, okay? So you can let my dad go now, okay? I mean, you have me now, so please just let him go.
Please.
How much longer am I gonna be held here without being charged? Well, we'll be releasing you soon, Mr.
Price.
We have a confession in the murder of Travis Hall.
And we apprehended the sniper who also fired upon two other men while you were in custody yesterday afternoon.
Same rifle was used in both shootings, so that's it.
If you don't mind my asking, who killed Hall? Well, we're sorry to have to tell you this, sir but it was your son, Connor.
- That's not possible.
- He already confessed.
But the good news is since he's 15, he can't be sentenced as an adult.
No, no, no, hold on, hold on.
Wait.
Connor's innocent.
If you look closely at the physical evidence, you'll see that Hall wasn't killed by a sniper.
He was shot close-range with a 9 millimeter handgun.
Really? How do you know that? Because after my wife died, I couldn't get Travis' face out of my mind so I blew it off his head.
That's how I know.
How is this anything except premeditated murder in the first? - I don't know.
- And we need to remind you you have the right to remain silent - I already waived.
Okay.
Let's start with how you gained entry into Hall's apartment.
It was easy.
I paid one of Hall's whores to get the security code.
Any particular reason why you chose a 9 millimeter Ruger? I set up a computer alert for anything to do with Sweet Revenge Online which pointed me to an Instagram photo of Scott Ward waving his Ruger around at a party.
Okay, let me get this straight.
You wanted to frame Scott Ward but first you wanted to frame yourself with a sniper shot? Why? So you'd look at me hard off the bat.
And then when you found the second bullet, you'd go after Ward.
Or Ryan Brooks.
Guess I just overestimated your skill as investigators.
Wait, you had your son fire upon these other two men while you were in custody because you thought you framed yourself too well? No, no, that That was never the plan.
He didn't know what I was doing.
Your son did fire at Brooks and Ward yesterday afternoon.
- It's only luck that no one was wounded.
- It's not luck.
I taught Connor to shoot, so if he didn't hit anybody he was trying to miss.
Write it all down.
I looked away from my laptop for one minute.
Yeah? Well, you looked away from your son too.
It's getting to be a bad habit for you.
Write it all down.
And we'll see how it checks out.
Then maybe we can help your son.
What will happen to the boy? He can't just walk away.
He endangered lives.
He shouldn't spend the next 10 years in prison just for trying to protect a parent.
His impulse was right.
It's the way he acted on it that requires the response.
Bad impulse control.
That's what keeps us all in business.
Welcome to the L.
A.
P.
D.
, soon-to-be Deputy Chief Howard.
Welcome to the L.
A.
P.
D.
You know, Mom, someday soon, you and Rusty are gonna have to come to San Francisco and let me take you to this place that's got the best dumplings in the world.
From all the stuff you've been inviting us to do tonight sounds like everything's better up north.
How did you manage to survive growing up here in L.
A? It's not so bad being here.
You know, if you don't mind breathing air you can see.
And how would you describe inhaling all of the fog where you live? Funny.
He's a funny guy.
Okay funny guy I have one question for you before you officially become the little brother I never wanted.
I'm interested in what your idea of family is.
And what the word means to you.
"Family.
" Well I guess it means the people in your life who you've decided to love no matter what.
And the people who are going to love you back no matter what.
Sounds pretty good to me, loving each other no matter what.
Not bad.
All right, little brother have any questions for me? Yeah, uh - Just one.
- Shoot.
Who cuts your hair? What? Don't snort laugh.
Don't be laughing.
I cut my hair.
It saves me tons of money.
What? Well, that explains it.
Oh.
Ooh.
Okay, all right.
Like a lot of other decisions I've made recently, I am rethinking it.
Thank God.
I am, I'm rethink Stop it.
I'm rethinking it.
Have you heard back from the DA about that boy, Connor Price? Supervised probation and therapy.
Living with his aunt.
It's the best we could do.
I guess it is.
Last one.
And thanks for your help.
Maybe an ex-FBI guy can work out over here after all.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Julio.
I'm gonna say goodnight to Mike.
Per your instructions, I've done a complete data dump.
Hey, Mike? Could you do me favor and keep what I'm about to tell you in complete confidence? Sure.
Even Brenda can't know this, all right? No kidding around.
I gotta know I can trust you.
Of course you can.
I'm taking the back exit.
I need you to meet me downstairs with two aspirin and a bottle of water.
- Then I need you to drive me to the hospital.
- Tell me what's going on.
I'm having a heart attack.
Meet me out front and take me to the ER at St.
Luke's.
Holy crap.
Holy crap.
Holy crap.
Holy
If you don't mind.
Thank you.
Seven feet.
Hold on to it, please.
Please.
Hold on.
Guy liked to party.
Uh, looked like the last time the victim checked his computer was at 2:37 a.
m.
You can let go now.
The bullet descended 16 inches over a downward trajectory of 2.
26 degrees.
That would put the sniper where? Clean shot from the roof of that tall building across the street, sir.
- That could be right.
- Could be? Well, my measurements might be off a little.
All right, Sanchez, go over there and see if the killer left anything behind.
So, what the heck is Sweet Revenge anyway? Our victim, Travis Hall, runs a website that lets guys get back at their ex-girlfriends by posting naked pictures of them online.
It's called revenge porn.
What happened to scribbling a girl's name on a bathroom stall? Well, this seems to pay better.
Victim's assistant told Patrol he arrived this morning found his boss murdered and himself out of a job.
His alibi's good.
Any reason why his boss would be up in the middle of the night on his computer? Why are men ever up late at night on their computers? Also, according to neighbors, Hall had a lot of girlfriends who came and went all hours.
- The lock on the door is a keypad.
Wonder how many of his girlfriends had the code.
Are you telling me that women were interested in this creep? See? You should never give up.
Oh, God.
Come read some of these letters on the victim's bulletin board.
"These photos have ruined my life.
I'll do anything if you take them down.
" Look what he wrote underneath.
"You'll do anything? Too late, dumb bitch.
Enjoy your pain.
" He put this stuff up like he was proud of it.
Everyone who wrote this guy is a potential suspect.
All right, let's take it all with us.
Damn it.
Oh, look at this.
An FBI warrant from six weeks ago.
We've only been here an hour and we've already caught up with them, you know? Maybe all this can be their problem.
I found a bullet.
And it's from a long rifle.
So maybe a sniper from across the street.
Like everyone said.
Ah, yes, thank you for picking up.
And how are you this morning, very special agent Fritz Howard? My neck is killing me.
And my shoulder.
- My arm too.
- Did you hurt yourself? I don't think so.
I've been bent over box after box of inventory I have to label before officially retiring from the FBI.
Also, moving everything from Wilshire to the Special Operations Bureau, that was hard.
I'm a little stressed out about being a boss.
You'll adapt.
"Deputy Chief Howard" has a nice ring to it.
Thanks.
It's gonna be an interesting change.
If Brenda ends up taking the job in Washington the whole thing could be a juggling act, but I think we can handle it.
- Oh, Sharon.
Sharon.
- I'll meet you there, Sharon.
Hey, look, I cannot pick up Ricky at the airport by myself.
I barely know him.
And he does not like me very much.
Why would you say that? Because ever since you started divorcing Jack, he has been, like, really distant on the phone.
Rusty, you and Ricky are going to be brothers.
Picking each other up at the airport is what families do.
It'll be fine.
Don't worry.
It's not my fault they're embarrassed.
I wasn't there when they undressed, and I didn't pay anyone to snap the photos.
How is it my fault? Our investigation concluded that Sweet Revenge Online nets over 10 million a year.
How come the bureau hasn't already shut down this website? Unfortunately, legally, it's protected speech.
Women have been physically threatened by Mr.
Hall.
That's a violation of California law.
- No, we didn't know about that.
- Why didn't the L.
A.
P.
D.
Do it? - If the FBI had passed this along - We followed the money hoping to shut down the site by identifying fraud or racketeering.
The pictures themselves don't help us.
What if these photographs were obtained illegally? We needed evidence of either theft or hacking.
We could never get it.
Murder gives the L.
A.
P.
D.
Better grounds for a warrant.
You said Sweet Revenge netted 10 million a year.
How much of that went to this Travis Hall dirt bag? Less than 5 percent.
No, Hall's just the, uh, front man.
Key player is a guy named Scott Ward, who, uh, may be a little mobbed up.
We've invited Mr.
Ward over for a chat.
He's coming with his lawyer.
Alan Burke.
Terrible guy.
Regardless, a sniper attack might make Mr.
Ward feel that his own safety requires him to cooperate.
- I'd be happy to help with that interview.
Better use my FBI connections while you still can.
Is this the threat to my client? We came here under the assumption we'd be helping you find a killer not submit information about my client's legitimate business activities.
The L.
A.
P.
D.
Thinks these legitimate business activities might be a motive for murder.
The sniper who killed your partner he just might have you in the crosshairs too, Mr.
Ward.
- We were not partners.
- These are intimidation techniques.
I'm not intimidated.
I'm freaked out.
Okay, the L.
A.
P.
D.
Didn't kill Travis, okay? He might have been the perfect person to promote Sweet Revenge but the website was my idea.
Put together with my investors and my servers.
So if people connected to it are getting killed God.
- You seem really proud of this website - Any likely suspects among the letter writers? How about all of them? And their fathers too.
I'm telling you, this Scott Ward guy is not gonna hang around here forever.
What is taking Tao so long? No one else could get this done as fast as Mike.
We just need to hold on.
For centuries, women have been dumping men without a second thought.
We're putting a dent in that pattern and the world's better for it.
Well, considering you're providing the planet with such a noble public service how come you stayed out of the spotlight and let your friend Travis take all the bows? Anything to do with all these threatening letters? Successful businesses attract complaints.
- I have it.
- Interview 1.
- We're not concerned.
- You said you're looking for a sniper.
You really think a woman could do this? I think there could be a line of them.
Look, my client warned Travis about hanging out with drug dealers.
Not to mention all the hookers he had over.
This tragedy is more about Travis' lifestyle than it is about Scott's business.
Uh-huh.
Well, maybe after the FBI and the L.
A.
P.
D get a good look at your client's severs, we'll agree with you.
Nice try.
Unless you have evidence of money laundering or racketeering the government's not going near my client's servers.
This is not about double-checking your bookkeeping anymore.
This is about murder.
The judge just signed a warrant granting us permission to search through all your data.
So if you have any idea who killed Travis You were never interested in having us help identify suspects.
- Alan, we should prob - No, you, Scott, you're not talking anymore.
You are coming with me.
Now.
Hey, Scotty.
If you don't wanna help us, let me give you some advice.
Stay away from windows.
Scott.
I hate to say it, captain, but I think we need to keep an eye on Scott Ward for safety's sake.
Agreed.
Let's get Amy on that.
And roll out SIS.
She's gonna need backup.
- Sykes.
- Lieutenant.
Talking to the people who wrote letters, I have a suspect.
That's him.
Keith Price.
Ex-Army ranger.
After his wife's pictures got posted, she killed herself.
Well, that's good motive.
And Army rangers have mandatory sniper training.
And can hide in plain sight without leaving a trace behind.
Before we turn down sniper alley, I'd like to check my measurements against the autopsy - in case I missed something.
- Okay.
Hi, Mom.
Ricky.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Oh, my gosh.
Look at you.
Oh, my gosh.
What is this? Scruff.
- It's cute.
- Thank you.
Boy, you guys got back here quickly.
Yeah, well, uh, Rusty, he knows his way around the big city.
- I also know how to take directions well.
- Ha.
- Lieutenant, do you remember my son, Ricky? - Hey, how are you? Good to see you.
- Captain? - Yeah.
Um, we're going to hold our ex-ranger until we can run a background check on him, okay? Um, why don't we go into my office for a moment? Sure.
Rusty, you too.
Come on.
Well, my biggest news is that we're not planning on going public anymore.
Because a larger Internet security firm offered us a buyout.
Does that mean you're gonna work for someone else? I don't know.
Maybe I'll just take the cash and travel, and I haven't really stopped since college, right? And a house and a car only tie you down.
Right, Rusty? I don't know.
I've never really thought about that before.
Well, you don't have to, I guess.
- And I'd like to spend more time in L.
A.
- What? Yeah.
I wanna take you out for dinner tonight.
We could talk about the future a little.
I don't think I'm going to get out of here for dinner.
You're working tonight? Mom, I just got off the plane.
I thought we were gonna spend some time together.
I know.
I am so sorry.
I have this sniper problem.
Maybe you and Rusty could grab a bite to eat and then we can have breakfast together tomorrow, I hope.
I'm sorry.
I'm - Yeah.
- Okay.
Let me grab my stuff.
I'll run you home.
Okay, when SID pulled all this crap offline, instead of shutting down the website switched over to something called Mirror servers? - Yeah.
Hey, Ricky.
- Andy.
The data will still be intact, but you're gonna need help getting through their firewalls.
Where's Lieutenant Tao? Oh, he's at the morgue obsessing over bullet trajectories.
Well, Mom, these are most likely load-balance servers running Apache Hi.
- Or, uh, maybe Fedora under Linux.
Nothing advanced.
I could probably get these booted up and reset the route passwords.
You guys have some place I could plug this stuff in? Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't really need you guys.
I know, honey, but we have chain-of-custody issues and you're not an officer of the court.
- Gotcha.
- I'll just stay out of your way.
- Thanks.
Sorry to invade your space.
Turnabout is fair play, right? I'll just wait in the break room.
Our ranger has been read his rights and has agreed to cooperate.
- Thank you.
- Don't worry.
We'll keep an eye on Dr.
Einstein here until Mike gets back.
Don't let your suspect confess before I get a chance to look at Sweet Revenge Online's finances.
Um, lieutenant, if I go along, will you check on Mike's progress? My last deployment was all about keeping Taliban from infiltrating Afghan security forces.
- A never-ending job - Sorry to interrupt.
Captain Sharon Raydor.
Thank you, Lieutenant Price.
How's Tao getting back here from the morgue? Ox cart? I've been told that the pictures of your wife did not get posted on Sweet Revenge Online in the usual way.
That's right.
They were stolen.
How did that happen? I've been away from my family for three of the past five years.
Kelly, my wife Kelly thought the pictures of herself might bridge the distance.
Personal pictures.
And I kept them on my laptop.
She sent you these photos by e-mail? To my private account, yes.
And that would have been the end of it, except coming home I had my laptop out in the airport when I got a phone call.
I answered it.
I stood up, stretched my legs for just one minute and when I sat back down, my laptop was gone.
And that's how your wife's pictures were posted on the Sweet Revenge website? Yes.
I tried to have them taken down before one of the students in her ninth grade math class, or another teacher found out or my son, who goes to the same school, saw them.
I wrote Mr.
Hall and explained the situation to him as best I could.
How'd Mr.
Hall respond? With lewd photos of himself sent to my wife's e-mail address asking her what the big deal with nudity was.
So I paid one of those online-reputation services to make the pictures of Kelly disappear.
They were taken down for less than a day.
And then someone from her school saw them.
Word got around and my son he saw the pictures.
I tried to explain to him that this was meant to be something private between his mom and me.
But he didn't see it that way.
And neither did the principal who gave Kelly the choice between resigning and a hearing in front of the school board.
So that day on the way home from school she pulled the car over to the side of the road She jumped from the Colorado Street bridge.
Yes.
Yes, she did.
I looked away from my laptop for one minute and the world changed.
Do you have any weapons, lieutenant? - Amy says Scott Ward could be on the move.
- Where the hell is Tao? Damn it.
I give you consent to search my house.
- Hello? - Tao, what are you doing? Looking at what is left of Travis Hall's head.
I was expecting to find a wound consistent with a 7.
62 cartridge fired from over 50 yards away.
But the bullet entered the cranium and the weapon was placed directly against the scalp.
There was definitely a sniper shot from across the street.
And I'm glad I don't have to explain that because that was not the cause of death.
There's circular stippling on the wound and patches of blood where the hair was yanked from your victim's head.
You mean, like he was Like the killer grabbed the victim from behind.
- Right.
- Do not pull my hair.
With his left hand, while with the right he shot point-blank into the back of Hall's head.
- So the murder weapon was pointed - Up.
Yes, it was.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
I've just been putting all this pressure on a man who lost his wife.
- And he didn't kill Hall? - Not with a rifle.
And here's the bullet that did the job.
It's from a 9 mm handgun.
Okay, so the same night that Travis Hall gets his head blown off a sniper sets up across the street? - That doesn't make any sense.
- Unless someone was trying to mislead us.
Our key suspect has long-range weapons training.
Keith Price, angry Army vet, sends a letter threatening to kill Travis Hall.
Could have been known by everybody working at Sweet Revenge Online.
Including Scott Ward.
Subject is moving toward Olive.
This is his third time around the block.
I have to think he's waiting for something, or someone.
Hey, we got a bogie at the Jaguar.
- What the hell? - Yeah, exactly.
- I'm responsible for Travis? - Yes, you're responsible - You know what you did.
- Hey.
R-63, shots fired at my location from the east side of the street.
- What the hell? - SIS units, block off the north side road.
- Should I roll paramedics? - They don't look hurt.
Number 1 has a small-frame 9 mm in his possession.
R-63, we have a possible sniper.
Location unknown.
Have responding units set up a perimeter to the north and south.
I repeat, we have a sniper.
Approach with caution.
Shots fired at Scott Ward and the guy he was with came from 7.
62 cartridges.
Same as the rifle at our first crime scene.
Also the same, our sniper didn't hit anybody.
But in his coat, Scott Ward had a 9 mm and since Travis Hall was shot with one of those, I sent his weapon to Ballistics.
Whatever you can give us, chief, to catch this sniper.
I've got the entire neighborhood blocked off and SIS is searching it.
Along with 30 patrol officers and two dogs.
Trained in fear scent.
The sniper isn't getting away.
Though how he's involved, I don't know.
Tell us about the man who got into the fight with Ward.
His ID says he's Ryan Brooks and his name has a flag on it from the FBI.
Well, since he's about to become a deputy chief maybe Agent Howard wouldn't mind explaining that.
I'll hurry Ward and Brooks through booking.
Meanwhile, I'm taking Sykes back to help Cooper.
I feel the need for a little in-person supervision.
- Keep me posted.
Mm-hm, yes, sir.
Sorry we've gone so late.
Lieutenant Mike is back at the servers now so you and Ricky are cleared to go to dinner.
- How does that sound? - Okay.
I'm so sorry.
If I wasn't looking for a sniper, you know It's not your fault.
But we need to rethink this whole adoption thing because Ricky is not into it at all.
A little pushback from siblings is natural.
When I was pregnant with Ricky Emily told me several times she didn't want a little brother.
- She was 3.
- Oh, they're always 3.
Look, Ricky hasn't thought this through.
I can tell.
I'll talk to him in the morning and I'm sure whatever issue he has we can get it straightened out.
- Sharon, I know you're a great dealmaker and - Hey.
- Hey.
The servers are up and running.
Lieutenant Tao can do the rest.
So I'm ready whenever you are, Rusty.
Have you thought about where you and Rusty might like to go eat? Oh, I'm gonna raid the refrigerator when I get home.
I'm pretty tired.
It's almost, wow, 9:30.
I'm sorry you have to work late.
See you for breakfast? - I hope so.
Probably yes.
- Great.
Well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you.
- So good luck.
- Thank you, Rusty.
- Uh, you guys have a great night.
- Mm-hm.
- Love you.
- Love you too.
It wasn't a fight exactly.
Ryan Brooks and Scott Ward pushed each other around in public, not very well.
But we can still hold them on battery charges.
Anything the FBI can share with us about Mr.
Brooks? He invests in high-tech startups.
The FBI investigated him for tax invasion.
Got nowhere.
Well, maybe our old friend Scotty here will be more forthcoming now that somebody is shooting at him.
Lieutenant Price was in our custody when the second shooting took place so he couldn't have been involved.
We should wait until Ballistics has finished testing all the weapons at his house before releasing Price.
Someone was framing our Army ranger for a reason.
Maybe Mr.
Ward can tell us why.
Just to be clear, Scott, are you waving your right to an attorney? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Do not call Alan Burke, that bastard.
He's the one that told Ryan I was getting weak in the knees.
You guarantee my safety and I will tell you whatever you wanna know.
Okay.
Well, you realize that the gun that you're concealing, the Ruger LC-9 is the exact make used to kill Travis.
If I killed Travis with that gun, do you think I'd be stupid enough to carry it on me? I needed it to defend myself.
From Ryan Brooks? Why would he wanna hurt you? Because that idiot Travis was threatening him.
Demanding more money and saying that if he didn't get what he wanted, he was gonna go to the FBI.
About their legitimate business practices.
Ryan answers to powerful people.
People that would be vulnerable to questionable publicity.
So that's why you met him on the street, to talk about a public-relations problem.
No, no, obviously he wanted me to go out to his car so I would be in the open.
It was a set up.
Ryan tried to have me assassinated.
- He's pushing the sniper angle.
- Okay.
So did we.
Except the sniper hasn't killed anyone.
You said why he wanted Travis dead.
Why did he wanna kill you? Because I know how our site ties to his other sites.
- Which is where the real money is.
- The real money? What do you mean the real money? I'll tell you.
But first I need immunity.
Get me immunity, I'll tell you everything.
There's nothing to tell.
I'm not a killer.
Look, I'm an investor who provides start-up capital for various online enterprises.
Sir, are you saying that you had nothing to do with Travis Hall's death? Nothing to do with the sniper who shot at Scott Ward this afternoon? Shot at Scott? Scott lured me to his apartment to have me killed.
You wanna give immunity to Scott? Give it to me.
I know all the secrets.
I'm sure we can come to an understanding.
We'll see about that.
Excuse us.
Allow me to present the server logs for Sweet Revenge Online.
Over and over you can see they used buffer overflow pathname and SQL injection attacks to exploit vulnerabilities in e-mail servers.
Buzz? Uh, Sweet Revenge hacked into people's computers to steal images.
- Thank you.
- We got it.
And the L.
A.
P.
D.
Got farther in 12 hours than the FBI did in six months.
You know, I think I'm gonna like it over here.
Well, to be fair, we had a warrant.
Federal government's computer fraud and abuse act makes every instance of unauthorized access to and theft from private e-mail accounts a class B felony.
It's punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
There's hundreds of violations in those records.
That's not just leverage, that's justice.
And sweet revenge.
Wait.
Wait, we still have a sniper out there and I don't know how he connects.
This is why Ryan Brooks was trying to kill you, isn't it? He knew you could cut a deal on the hacking charges like Travis tried to do and send him to prison for life.
No, no, this is This is part of the crime.
Do you wanna know the whole thing? - Let me get another lawyer, not Burke - No, no, no, now you listen to me.
We've got a sniper on the loose.
We can't wait for you to get a lawyer.
You wanna make a deal, fine.
We'll arrest you, turn you over to the FBI.
Or you can revoke your right to counsel, tell us the whole ugly story we can work on leniency later based on your cooperation.
But if while we're standing here the sniper kills someone, you're on your own.
So you have the right to remain silent and be an idiot.
And to get a lawyer and go to jail for the rest of your life.
Or you could revoke and help us.
It's up to you.
No, wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on.
I revoke.
All right? When Ryan and I started Sweet Revenge Online we had no idea how much money we could make.
But Ryan knew no matter what our site took in he would make 10 times as much linking off of it.
What kind of links? All those reputation services promising to scrub people's pictures off of Sweet Revenge Online in exchange for cash.
Those are Ryan's.
So he was using your website as a starting point for blackmail.
People pay.
He just puts the pictures somewhere else.
They pay again, they pop up again, over and over.
Eventually people, you know, they just They run out of money or they give up.
Or commit suicide.
Hacking just got elevated to extortion.
If Travis was threatening to expose them, that's motive for his murder.
But who pulled the trigger? Hmm Come up slowly with your hands raised.
Slowly so we can see them.
Now.
Okay, okay, okay, I'm sitting up.
Don't shoot me, please.
- Morning, Mom.
- Morning, darling.
Find your shooter? Our sniper, yes.
As it turns out, he was the son of an Army ranger.
His mother committed suicide.
He's a very troubled young man.
Hmm.
You're not gonna be adopting him too, are you? Let's discuss this adoption because I feel your lack of enthusiasm from a great distance.
And I'd like to know what's that about? Okay.
Right off the bat, I want you to know that I understand a lot of what you're going through.
Dad was a letdown as a husband.
Emily left for New York to do her ballet thing.
I left for Palo Alto.
I don't make it home all that often.
You work all the time.
It's a recipe for loneliness.
And, Mom, I have a lot of sympathy for you on that score.
And also you are incredibly giving and caring, but, Mom, that kid, he's a hustler and he's And a con artist and I think that he's taken advantage of you.
And, look, you did so much for me.
You were tough and honest when I needed it.
And now I think I need to do the same for you.
I need to take the hit like you did.
And be the bad guy for a minute and step in to say that this is not a good idea.
May I ask, have you, by any chance, been talking with your father about this? We talked a few times.
I mean, he's worried about you.
Mom, I'm worried about you, I am.
Look, helping the kid a little bit, that's great, but to make him legally your son I just I think that we need to take a giant step back here and just reeva Hold on, hold on.
Before we go back.
I should clear up a big misunderstanding that you have.
- Okay.
- I'm not asking your permission to adopt Rusty.
Or Emily's permission.
I see great things in this boy and I mean that from the bottom of my ever-so-lonely heart.
Come on, Mom, you know that I did not mean loneliness as a criticism.
I was only pointing out the fact It's clear what you're pointing out.
Now I'm pointing out to you if you don't develop a little human compassion for this young man who grew up with none of the advantages you took for granted every day of your life then I'm gonna leave here wondering where I went wrong as a mother.
Mom.
Mom, wait, wait, wait, hang on.
Look, I'm gonna have children one day.
So is Emily.
Do you really want your grandkids calling that boy Uncle Rusty? That is a whole lot better than what I'm thinking of calling you now.
- Mom.
- Richard William Raydor you listen to me and you listen to me good.
You've got one chance to get this right.
You need to turn your attitude around right this minute.
Because if you make Rusty feel unwelcome in this family after all of his and my hard work, I will be just so disappointed.
Oh, my God.
I am so disappointed in you right now, I don't even know what to say.
The attacks look like a father-son assassination team.
Given his age and the circumstances of his mother's death it's easier to understand.
Though the other guns from Lieutenant Price's house didn't match up to the murder the sniper rifle we found with Connor, it was used in both attacks.
The boy has been read his rights and he'll talk.
But maybe we shouldn't ask him if he No, we have to do this in order.
We already know what he's gonna say.
Two confessions could gum up the works.
But they could also be a solution.
Just be ready to follow up with the father.
Amy, let's hear the boy out.
I killed Travis Hall.
The same way I tried to kill Scott Ward, but I missed.
And I did it on my own, so my father knows nothing about it.
So how'd you kill Travis? I just set up on the building across the street, and when I saw him in the window, I shot.
- It was easy.
- What time was that? I don't know.
It was sometime between 11:30 and 12.
So you fired through the window and you shot Travis from across the street? - Yeah.
- Wrong answer.
Travis Hall wasn't killed by a PSG-1, but by a handgun, up close.
You didn't have anything to do with his murder.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I killed him from across the street.
Maybe you thought that you were helping your dad by shooting at those men but you're not helping him or yourself now by lying I'm not lying, all right? No, I killed Travis.
I killed him because he killed my mom.
- Your mother committed suicide.
- No.
He made her do that, all right? She was fine before, okay? And my mother, I never got the chance to tell her I said some really terrible things to her.
Listen to me, Connor I'm a mother and I promise you your mother knew you were sorry.
No, she didn't.
She didn't know.
If she knew she wouldn't have jumped She did know.
Mothers know.
Whatever you said, no matter how terrible that is not why your mother killed herself.
And you're not making things better for her by saying you killed people when you didn't.
So tell us the truth.
Why did you fire your gun at those men yesterday? Look.
I did kill Travis, okay? I killed him.
Now, whatever I said before, I mean, I was just lying about how.
But I killed him, okay? So you can let my dad go now, okay? I mean, you have me now, so please just let him go.
Please.
How much longer am I gonna be held here without being charged? Well, we'll be releasing you soon, Mr.
Price.
We have a confession in the murder of Travis Hall.
And we apprehended the sniper who also fired upon two other men while you were in custody yesterday afternoon.
Same rifle was used in both shootings, so that's it.
If you don't mind my asking, who killed Hall? Well, we're sorry to have to tell you this, sir but it was your son, Connor.
- That's not possible.
- He already confessed.
But the good news is since he's 15, he can't be sentenced as an adult.
No, no, no, hold on, hold on.
Wait.
Connor's innocent.
If you look closely at the physical evidence, you'll see that Hall wasn't killed by a sniper.
He was shot close-range with a 9 millimeter handgun.
Really? How do you know that? Because after my wife died, I couldn't get Travis' face out of my mind so I blew it off his head.
That's how I know.
How is this anything except premeditated murder in the first? - I don't know.
- And we need to remind you you have the right to remain silent - I already waived.
Okay.
Let's start with how you gained entry into Hall's apartment.
It was easy.
I paid one of Hall's whores to get the security code.
Any particular reason why you chose a 9 millimeter Ruger? I set up a computer alert for anything to do with Sweet Revenge Online which pointed me to an Instagram photo of Scott Ward waving his Ruger around at a party.
Okay, let me get this straight.
You wanted to frame Scott Ward but first you wanted to frame yourself with a sniper shot? Why? So you'd look at me hard off the bat.
And then when you found the second bullet, you'd go after Ward.
Or Ryan Brooks.
Guess I just overestimated your skill as investigators.
Wait, you had your son fire upon these other two men while you were in custody because you thought you framed yourself too well? No, no, that That was never the plan.
He didn't know what I was doing.
Your son did fire at Brooks and Ward yesterday afternoon.
- It's only luck that no one was wounded.
- It's not luck.
I taught Connor to shoot, so if he didn't hit anybody he was trying to miss.
Write it all down.
I looked away from my laptop for one minute.
Yeah? Well, you looked away from your son too.
It's getting to be a bad habit for you.
Write it all down.
And we'll see how it checks out.
Then maybe we can help your son.
What will happen to the boy? He can't just walk away.
He endangered lives.
He shouldn't spend the next 10 years in prison just for trying to protect a parent.
His impulse was right.
It's the way he acted on it that requires the response.
Bad impulse control.
That's what keeps us all in business.
Welcome to the L.
A.
P.
D.
, soon-to-be Deputy Chief Howard.
Welcome to the L.
A.
P.
D.
You know, Mom, someday soon, you and Rusty are gonna have to come to San Francisco and let me take you to this place that's got the best dumplings in the world.
From all the stuff you've been inviting us to do tonight sounds like everything's better up north.
How did you manage to survive growing up here in L.
A? It's not so bad being here.
You know, if you don't mind breathing air you can see.
And how would you describe inhaling all of the fog where you live? Funny.
He's a funny guy.
Okay funny guy I have one question for you before you officially become the little brother I never wanted.
I'm interested in what your idea of family is.
And what the word means to you.
"Family.
" Well I guess it means the people in your life who you've decided to love no matter what.
And the people who are going to love you back no matter what.
Sounds pretty good to me, loving each other no matter what.
Not bad.
All right, little brother have any questions for me? Yeah, uh - Just one.
- Shoot.
Who cuts your hair? What? Don't snort laugh.
Don't be laughing.
I cut my hair.
It saves me tons of money.
What? Well, that explains it.
Oh.
Ooh.
Okay, all right.
Like a lot of other decisions I've made recently, I am rethinking it.
Thank God.
I am, I'm rethink Stop it.
I'm rethinking it.
Have you heard back from the DA about that boy, Connor Price? Supervised probation and therapy.
Living with his aunt.
It's the best we could do.
I guess it is.
Last one.
And thanks for your help.
Maybe an ex-FBI guy can work out over here after all.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Julio.
I'm gonna say goodnight to Mike.
Per your instructions, I've done a complete data dump.
Hey, Mike? Could you do me favor and keep what I'm about to tell you in complete confidence? Sure.
Even Brenda can't know this, all right? No kidding around.
I gotta know I can trust you.
Of course you can.
I'm taking the back exit.
I need you to meet me downstairs with two aspirin and a bottle of water.
- Then I need you to drive me to the hospital.
- Tell me what's going on.
I'm having a heart attack.
Meet me out front and take me to the ER at St.
Luke's.
Holy crap.
Holy crap.
Holy crap.
Holy