Take Two (2018) s01e02 Episode Script
Smoking Gun
1 WOMAN: They call Los Angeles the City of Angels.
Fallen angels, if you ask me.
Look in any window late at night, and you'll see the lonely swiping right, the innocent reveling in their dreams, and the wicked in the cheating embrace of an illicit affair.
You could almost smell his cologne - [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
- wafting over the crashing surf.
The scent had a name Betrayal.
You done? C'mon! It's classic voice-over, like in every P.
I.
movie.
Yeah, I know what it is.
And it, too, has a name annoying.
You know, if you're bored, you don't have to be here.
The deal was you show up for client interviews, you make 'em believe they're hiring us, and for that, you get a piece of the take.
No one said you had to be part of the investigations.
Well, I just thought that we would be helping people, - saving people.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
You know, changing lives for the better.
Watching this so doesn't feel like that.
Well, that's the job, Sam.
Background checks, lost pets, staking out a cheating jerk's beach house at 4:00 a.
m.
Not like TV.
We don't get front-page cases every week.
You know, honestly most detective work is like this dull.
[GUNSHOT.]
[GUNSHOTS.]
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
[GASPS.]
I-I didn't do it.
Define "dull.
" [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
BRAD: I swear.
You gotta believe me.
I was in love with her.
I didn't do this! I didn't shoot her! We practically caught him red-handed.
How can he still deny it? They all do.
Wait here.
Vic's name is Daria Passmore, film student down at San Bernardino University.
And the shooter? Her teacher Brad Marsh.
B-movie producer, made a fortune off those killer-puppet movies.
Apparently, he's trying to make art house films now.
His soon-to-be-ex hired us to provide proof of the affair.
Oh, the poor stiff.
He probably thought he'd get away with it.
But little did he know that the legendary Detective McNair was lying in wait outside his window.
He just seems so certain.
Well, I guess you're not the only thespian in the room.
- EDDIE: Then we heard gunfire.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Ran in to find Mr.
Marsh there holding the weapon.
I'm gonna need copies of those photos.
Yeah, happy to for a favor.
I just I wanna be the one to tell our client what happened.
I just think it'd be easier if she heard it from someone, you know, she knows.
I'm sure it has nothing to do with you wanting to get paid before you client finds out her husband killed his mistress, making your photos pretty much unnecessary in her divorce case.
No, that that never crossed my mind.
Two hours.
How's your nefarious plan working out so far? A couple more shoe-leather cases, a few more overnights, I'll be free of her.
She's starting to get bored.
She doesn't look bored.
SAM: We will help you with this.
Maybe you wanna get her away from my murder suspect? Hey.
What the hell are you doing? - Getting us a new client.
- What? Who? Brad Marsh.
He said he didn't do it.
He's hired us to prove it.
Damn it, Sam.
You cannot, should not ever take a case without talking to me.
Well, you take cases without talking to me.
Because I know what I'm doing.
Well, I know what you're doing, too.
The guy was standing over the victim's body holding the murder weapon.
That is the literal definition of "smoking gun.
" There's no case.
He's guilty.
No, he's not.
Look, Eddie, I know when someone's acting.
Those tears were real.
H-His devastation was, too.
He's innocent.
Then explain the dead girl.
Well, maybe someone else was in the house you know, someone we didn't see.
Maybe the killer was trying to set Brad up.
You know what you're trying to do? You're just trying to make this case more exciting than it actually is.
We're not taking it.
Well [SCOFFS.]
a girl died tonight, Eddie.
Don't you want someone to pay? You know what I want more? Is for someone to pay me and then to go home.
So please, when we get to Mrs.
Marsh's house, let me do the talking.
And do not, under any circumstances, tell her about the murder until after we get paid.
Got it? [SIGHS.]
CINDY: [SCOFFS.]
I knew it.
Once a cheater, always a cheater.
With me, on his first wife.
Ah.
Yeah.
Well, here's the proof.
I knew he wasn't at the beach house working on his new passion project.
Well, he kind of was.
Had a feeling you were the right people for the job, given what your fiancé did to you.
Hmm.
Out of curiosity, you were just getting home when we were pulling up.
Where were you coming from, Mrs.
Marsh? Don't call me by his name.
It's "Cindy.
" And I had an early meeting.
Who with? My therapist, if you must know.
At 6:00 a.
m.
? That's a little early for unburdening yourself on someone's couch.
[LAUGHS.]
Excuse me.
What are you doing? - [SCOFFS.]
Isn't it obvious? - No.
[WHISPERING.]
She's the killer.
Did you look at her? She's wearing all black perfect for not being seen at night.
She had motive, access to the beach house.
That story about her therapist? I mean, come on.
She's obviously having an affair with him.
How do I know? Her shirt was on inside out.
Those are walk-of-shame clothes.
She killed Daria, set up her husband, and then went to her lover's house to celebrate.
The most genius part she hired us so we would witness her husband committing the murder.
Murder? What murder? - Um, Mrs.
Mar - [CLEARS THROAT.]
Cindy maybe you should have a seat.
I don't want to have a seat.
I want to know what's going on.
Well, there was a shooting at your beach house early this morning.
And it appears that your husband may have killed his lover.
Oh, my God.
Or someone else killed her and your husband's being set up.
Are you accusing me? No.
Of course not.
You are! That's why you asked where I was earlier.
You two are supposed to be working for me.
Cindy! We Get out.
Get out of my house.
EDDIE: Five minutes.
You just had to be quiet for five minutes.
If she has nothing to hide, why'd she get so upset? Because you practically accused her of murder.
You're supposed to be helping us make money, not enemies.
So we lost a client.
Big deal.
We have another one waiting for us who will pay us 10 times as much to prove he's innocent.
Except he's not.
Fine.
What if he's not? What's the worst that can happen we take money from a guilty man? Isn't there justice in that? BRAD: You must think I'm a terrible person, cheating on my wife.
But being with Daria was like I-I found something I never knew was missing something real.
And And now I know what this looks like.
I-I do.
But I never would've hurt her.
Alright.
Can you, um Why don't you just tell us exactly what happened? We We had been talking about our future about me leaving Cindy, about us leaving town, about starting our lives together somewhere else.
A-And then we we we we fell onto the bed, and we turned off the light.
We started kissing.
And then Daria was yanked from my arms.
And And she tried to scream, but her voice was muffled, like somebody had put their hand over her mouth.
And she was fighting.
I tried to get to her, but I got knocked off the bed.
And then I I heard the the gunshot.
And And And then the flash.
I saw Daria fall back.
I-I tried to get to her, but I tripped over something.
I reached down and and and and picked it up.
The gun.
That's when you came in the room.
Who knew you were gonna be at the beach house that night? No one.
Not even your wife? [SCOFFS.]
As vindictive as Cindy is, she would never touch a gun, let alone fire one.
Besides, I had been tracking her phone.
She was screwing her therapist that night.
Yeah.
I knew.
Can't say I cared.
Do you know if Daria had any enemies or anyone who would've wanted her dead? No.
But come to think of it, she seemed very shaken up when she first came out to the house.
I asked her what was wrong, and and she just shrugged it off and said she wanted to talk about the future and starting our lives together.
Did you hear that? She was shaken up.
She wanted to start a new life.
Maybe she was running from something.
Or maybe he's lying so we'll take his case.
Sam, he's using us.
Wha Using us? For what? He's laying the groundwork for his defense.
L-Like O.
J.
hiring those P.
I.
s to find the "real killers"? Why do you immediately assume the worst of people? Saves time.
- Sam, I can prove it.
- How? He said that Daria was struggling with the killer.
If it was as violent as he said There'd be DNA under her fingernails.
Bingo.
Victim is 23 years old, appears to be in good health - [DOOR OPENS.]
- with the exception of the holes in her chest.
And Oh, my God.
Sam Swift just walked into my morgue.
Please, Lord, remember this moment.
I've gotta go.
Eddie! Sam.
If I'd known you were coming, I'd have tidied up or, at the very least, put the body away.
Actually, it's the body that we want to talk to you about.
Oh.
Right.
I ran every test I could trying to prove your theory, but there is no evidence of defensive wounds, no evidence of a struggle of any kind.
So no DNA under her nails? Just her boyfriend's.
Honestly, if you two hadn't been out there to hear the shots, I think he'd have probably carved her up and dumped her in the sea.
Like I said, saves time.
Mick, when we would find a body on the show, we would always run their fingerprints.
Yes, one of the delightfully authentic aspects of your production.
We don't need fingerprints.
We know who she is.
Yeah, but how well? Maybe she has priors or a criminal past that would explain why she was killed.
We know why she was killed.
Her boyfriend was trying to cover up his affair.
Can I see the report? Oh, I'm not sure we have it back, but, um Oh! Yes.
We have it.
Right.
So, I Huh.
"Huh"? "Huh," what? No, that can't be right.
What? Her fingerprints the system found a match, but it's not to Daria Passmore.
What are you talking about? She's not who she said she was.
Well, who is she? Her name is Tina Flores.
According to this, she's been dead for eight years.
BERTO: Daria Passmore, AKA Tina Flores.
Foster kid, frequent runaway.
Raised in the kind of group homes I was.
See? Criminal past.
Yeah, but we're talking petty theft, a couple of B&Es nothing that would get her killed.
Which time? So, how did she supposedly die? Indigo warehouse fire in Oakland, eight years ago.
Whoa.
The Indigo fire? We did a ripped-from- the-headlines episode on that.
A bunch of runaways and homeless kids died in it.
Well, that's making it the ideal opportunity for someone looking to disappear to fake their death, steal a new identity, and start over.
There's only one reason someone would go through that much trouble.
She was running from something! Or, you know, maybe because of her record and her outstanding warrants, she saw an opportunity for a fresh start.
Look me in the eye and tell me you really believe that.
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING.]
Who's that? Oh, that's Monica, my new assistant.
What? Whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Timeout.
Having an assistant is definitely not part of our deal.
You're not paying for her, Scroogely.
Neither am I.
She's working in exchange for living in my guest house.
She's getting her psych PhD.
She's putting stuff in my kitchen.
Our kitchen.
Your snacks suck.
- Hey! - Yo! So, I bought everything that bordered on healthy.
- This Eddie and Berto? - Yep.
Monica.
Look forward to working with you.
Sorry about the lights.
I'm a grinder.
- Grinder? - A body hacker.
I have implants in my hands that can affect electromagnetic fields.
I'm basically a cyborg.
And you're gonna be working here? Really? That's your takeaway? Dude, no.
I'm completely mobile, and this situation is strictly part-time.
You're disappointed.
You like me.
[SCOFFS.]
What? No.
No.
Part-time, full-time whatever's cool with me.
Hm.
I copied your key.
Your mail's on the kitchen counter, and I brought you a fresh pair of socks in case you do another all-nighter.
And hey, I called everyone on the film-crew list you gave me who worked with that Brad Marsh guy.
Before this, worst thing I unearthed is he likes younger women.
No underage stories, though, and no one I talked to said "#MeToo.
" She's doing case research now? She is.
Oh, and you asked me to remind you about that thing you have downtown tomorrow.
Um can you just text me a couple hours before? Yeah, no prob.
Later, studs! [ELECTRICITY BUZZING.]
[SKATES ROLLING.]
I do kinda like her.
Ju Fix the damn lights, huh? What's this thing downtown? It's just a girl thing.
Wait where are you going? Talk to our client, see how much he knew about his girlfriend.
You're taking the case? - We're taking the case! - Shut up.
BRAD: I don't understand.
Why didn't she tell me all this? Why Why did she lie? Maybe she was trying to protect you.
No! We told each other everything.
At least At least, I thought we did.
You said she was upset when she came to see you last night.
What about before that, in the last few weeks? Was she anxious or scared? No, more like distracted.
She was pushing for me to end things with Cindy so we could go out of town.
We had tickets for Cancún at the end of the week.
What else can you tell us about her life, hmm? People she hung out with, friends? I I don't really know.
How do you not know? You said you guys were practically soul mates.
Well, we were having an affair.
We weren't ready for our friends to know.
How about where she lived? We never went to her place.
She said she was embarrassed by how small it was.
What did you know about her? [SIGHS.]
Mr.
Marsh, if you want us to prove your innocence, we need a place to start.
We have to figure out who she really was and why someone might've wanted her dead.
What What about her driver's license? Can't you get her address off of that? We checked.
It's fake.
I hate to say it, but it's almost like you were dating a ghost.
What we had was was was real.
I know it was real! W-Wait.
She ordered a Lyft.
A few weeks ago, she ordered a Lyft from my account.
I insisted so she wouldn't have to pay.
We're gonna need your account and password.
With any luck, maybe we'll beat the cops there.
It's creepy.
It's like the house doesn't know she's dead.
Hey, house.
She's dead.
Now it knows.
Burner phones a lot of them.
Whatever she was doing, I'm pretty sure it wasn't legal.
Eddie.
A wig for every phone.
These are real hair.
They cost thousands of dollars.
Looks like Daria took her disguises pretty seriously.
Look at all that makeup.
Disguises for what? Serial number's been filed away.
Look at the IDs.
All different looks, all different names.
What do you think she's got in there? What are you hiding? Like 500 grand in here.
Who'd this woman think she is, Jason Bourne? - Sam! - [SCREAMS.]
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
Sorry.
Sorry.
This door's reinforced.
I can't break it down.
Who do you think that was? You think it was Daria's killer? I think it was Daria's killer.
- Who are you calling? - [LINE RINGING.]
Berto see if he can get us out of here.
What up? This is Berto.
Leave a message.
Voicemail.
You mean we're stuck? Hey, let us out! Hey! Shh! [WHISPERING.]
Stop! Shh.
I'd rather the bad guy not come back and try to kill us.
[GRUNTS.]
Who are you texting? Monica, to see if she can help unless you'd rather me call your cop girlfriend.
She's not my girlfriend.
And the less she knows about this, the better.
Oh, yeah? Which part breaking in or you being locked alone in a closet with me? What, you think you're irresistible? Well, you do seem pretty excited right now.
That's my gun.
Oh.
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
Thank God.
Bet you're glad I have an assistant now.
Yeah, 'cause I've always wanted to be rescued by an android.
Cyborg.
You're right he is a buzzkill.
So, is this kinda thing part of my job description? 'Cause if so, that's cool.
Eddie, all the wigs they're gone.
Yeah, so's the gun and IDs.
Burner phones and computer, too.
He scrubbed the place.
Well, whatever Daria was up to, he didn't want anyone to find out.
Should I be taking notes? Now we have no leads.
Maybe we do.
We spent the last couple days following her and Brad.
Maybe there's some clue as to who she is in one of those photos we took.
Alright, what are we looking for? Anything unusual, out of the ordinary, something we might've missed.
- [GASPS.]
Oh! - What? My favorite ice cream place! They make it from scratch.
Super-pricy, though.
What? It's awesome.
Hey! There.
You see it? See what? Same car.
Oh, yeah! It's also at the café.
Three different locations, three different days, and it doesn't belong to either of them.
What's it mean? We weren't the only ones following Brad and Daria.
We need to zoom in, enhance the license, and track down the owner.
Right.
[CHUCKLES.]
"Enhance" not a thing.
- It's not TV.
- Mm.
- I'm sure you know that.
- Yeah.
And we don't need to enhance it, because I know exactly whose car that is.
Max Duchemin.
Well, well, well.
Eddie V.
I guess what I read about you in the papers is true, huh? You've gone Hollywood.
And here, I thought you didn't like the spotlight.
- You two know each other? - Oh, yeah.
Eddie and me, we go way back, don't we? He didn't tell you about me? This dirtbag used to work for me before he went solo.
Would've made him partner, too, if not for the knife in my back.
What do you want, V? A handout? Want me to throw a little work your way, for old times' sake? You were following this girl.
Why? Maybe I was lonely.
Maybe you deserve to be.
Who hired you? You know, I didn't learn much from you, but I did learn how to keep a secret.
And I don't talk about my cases or my clients.
Hey, pal, this girl is dead.
So if you're protecting her killer, that makes you an accessory to murder.
That's cute.
You know, you were a lot more believable on TV.
I'll see ya around, V.
What an asshat! He worked for you? Predictable asshat.
He told us what we needed to know.
He didn't tell us anything.
He confirmed he was following Daria for a client.
- Well, so he knows something.
- Yep.
The only way to find out what would be risky and illegal.
So there's nothing we can do? I didn't say that.
Really? You brought me to a bar? You do know I'm in recovery, right? We're not here to do shots.
You.
I should rip you in half, Valetik, for what you did to me.
W-What'd you do to him? I talked him into buying this bar.
And now every month, I gotta do all this damn paperwork.
Eddie, I hate paperwork.
[LAUGHS.]
Samantha Swift! [LAUGHS.]
- [STRAINED.]
O-kay.
Alright.
- [CHUCKLES.]
It's about time he brought you around.
This is Zeus.
He's kinda shy.
Eddie tell you he's alive today because of me, hmm? No, no, because I haven't told her - you're alive because of me.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Zeus is my old partner from the force.
- Ah.
He runs a high-end security consulting firm now.
He's big-time corporate alarm systems, surveillance systems, firewalls.
When I'm not running this damn bar.
You love this bar.
You met your wife in this bar.
I know that two of your kids, they were conceived right I think the lady gets the picture, hmm? - You love this bar.
- Mm-hmm.
So, is this a social call? Business.
There's this office in a high-security building.
Kinda need your help getting in.
Eddie, you know I can't Ask me whose office.
Whose office? Max Duchemin.
Duchemin? Oh, that sounds like fun.
Here's what you're facing.
Duchemin's office is in Wycroft Tower.
Other tenants include banks, law offices, tech firms making the building highly secure.
How secure? The building sports a networked IVS surveillance system all entry points, every floor.
Elevators are keycard-controlled.
The main office has a C27 multi-point alarm system.
It sounds impossible.
He always makes it sound impossible.
Makes him seem more impressive when he actually gets us in.
Don't give away all my secrets, dawg.
So, how do we get in? I rep the alarm company, so that's easy.
I can spoof the elevator keycard.
LED cap should blind surveillance.
But there's one thing I can't help you with the night guard in the lobby.
In order to get to the elevators, you have to get past him.
He also monitors the camera feed, so he'll see any tampering.
A night guard? That's what you're worried about? You know how they caught the Watergate burglars? It wasn't an alarm system or cameras.
It was a night guard.
He spotted tape on the door.
Human assets are the hardest variable to control.
Yeah, well, we have something they didn't.
Me.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR.]
[POUNDING.]
[CLANK.]
[BUZZER, CLICK.]
Hey! Are you okay? Hey! Can you hear me? [GASPS.]
Am I dead? Are you an angel? No, ma'am.
I think you passed out.
Maybe you had a little t-too much to drink? [GRUNTS.]
No! I am not drunk.
I am so not drunk.
I-I know how this looks, okay? [BEEP.]
You don't know.
You can't understand! [BEEP.]
This night has been a disaster.
Is there someone I can call for you? No! No, no! Don't call him! What I need I need to charge my phone a-a-and call a Lyft.
But not back to his place, because he ruined it! [BEEP.]
- I am not talking to him.
- [BEEP.]
[BEEP.]
[GASPS.]
I'm sorry, but it's after hours.
You have to leave.
Who says I have to go? Ma'am.
Peters.
Ma'am! - Peters.
- Ma'am? [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
[SINGSONG.]
Keep away from Peters! [LAUGHS.]
Ma'am! - Peters! Ohh! - That's it! [LAUGHS.]
I'm calling the police.
Oh, please, please don't.
You seem like a nice guy.
I really need nice right now.
Okay, I've had a bad night.
You don't even know what I've been through.
Let me tell you, Peters.
[BEEP.]
Okay, you're on.
So, you and Sam how's that goin'? - [BEEPING.]
- She's like a circus that never leaves town.
[LAUGHS.]
Come on, brother.
Who doesn't like a circus? - [BEEPING.]
- Mm-hmm.
And you are welcome.
[RAPID BEEPING.]
And then, not only did he dump me, he left me at the club! Can you believe that? Why would he do that? I got it.
I'm heading down.
Sam, he's coming down.
Keep the guard away from the elevator.
Look, lady.
I'm really sorry you had a bad night, okay? But I could lose my job here, so this is your last chance.
Get down, or I'm gonna call the police.
Fine.
That's it! Out now! Wh Oh! No, no! Lemme go! Lemme go! Oh, c'mon, Peters! Oh, let go! Let go of me! I thought we were cool! - [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
- Oh! [GRUNTS.]
- [SPRAYING.]
- Aah! Sorry, Peters! I had no choice! Aaaaah! [GROANING.]
You were supposed to keep him occupied, not Mace him.
I improvised! And it was hair spray.
Where's the file? [SIGHS.]
So, Duchemin was hired to follow Daria by a man named Jace Buckner.
I Googled his name, and this photo came up.
Look familiar? Whoa.
That's the guy who locked us in the closet.
Jace Buckner he's vice president of product sales at Simon Industries.
Married, two kids.
Simon Industries don't they make those TrueTrash trash cans? Yeah.
So what's the V.
P.
of trash doing following Daria? What's he doing locking us in a closet? As far as I can tell, their lives didn't intersect.
The only commonality is they both have criminal records.
Before his life as a husband, father, and vice president of wastebaskets at daddy-in-law's company, Buckner here had multiple arrests.
For what? Uh, possession with intent to distribute.
He was selling drugs? What kind? Luxury, not street Coke, X, Study Buddies.
Got his start young.
He was the Pablo Escobar of his prep school.
That's what this is about.
Burner phones, cash, the gun it all screams "drug dealer.
" Maybe Jace was still into drugs and Daria was his supplier.
Yeah, I know, but why hire Duchemin to follow Daria? Well, maybe she and Jace were working together and they had a falling-out.
Maybe Jace hired Duchemin to track her movements to gain the upper hand.
[GASPS.]
Ooh! And then, when he found out that she was having an affair with a married man, he had a way to get rid of her by making Brad Marsh the fall guy.
What? I'm sorry.
It's just you look like Beetlejuice.
[LAUGHS.]
[CLEARS THROAT.]
You know I'm right.
Either way, Jace wanted something from Daria.
I think it's time we ask him what.
- [DOOR OPENS.]
- [SNICKERING.]
[CHUCKLES.]
JACE: Thanks, everyone.
Monthly projections on my desk by Friday.
LINDA: Mr.
Buckner.
There are a couple of people here to see you.
Said they met you at a closet organizers convention.
Yeah, you know the one - [DOOR CLOSES.]
- where you locked us in a closet? Who are you cops? Private investigators.
But the cops they're gonna be our next call if you don't answer our questions.
Now, what's your relationship to Daria Passmore? You want to know the nature of our relationship? She was blackmailing me.
But when I knew her, her name was Vickie Westbrook.
We met at a sales conference.
She made me feel - Special? - Yeah.
But then came the pictures.
- Pictures? - Of us in bed.
She threatened to send them to my wife.
I I would've lost everything.
Maybe you should've thought about that before you slept with her.
- Well, what did she want? - Money.
A few thousand at first, then a lot more.
I couldn't keep up with the payments, and I couldn't go to the police because I would've had to admit the affair.
Is that why you killed her so she couldn't destroy your family? I told you I didn't kill her.
I was with my folks that night, alright? There were witnesses.
[RINGTONE PLAYS.]
[RINGTONE STOPS.]
Sorry.
Why'd you hire Duchemin? To find out where she lived.
She was bleeding me dry.
I had to get the evidence back.
But But then, the weirdest thing happened.
[CELLPHONE VIBRATING.]
Sh Sorry you were saying? A couple of days ago, Vickie called me.
She said it was over.
She said she was done with the blackmail and she was gonna burn all the evidence.
She said she was sorry.
Wait your blackmailer apologized? Why the sudden change of heart? No idea.
But I've never felt so relieved in all my life.
Then why were you at her apartment? Duchemin calls me.
He says she's been murdered.
All I could think about was the police finding the photos.
When I saw you there, I I panicked.
You locked us in.
You took everything.
That's how I found out about the others.
Others? I went through her phones, her laptop.
I wasn't the only one that she was blackmailing.
You want a suspect? There were dozens of us.
We're gonna need you to hand over everything that you took from her place.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.]
Gotta admire her stamina.
And her business savvy.
She had over $2 million in the bank.
You okay? I just keep wondering which one of these girls she really was.
What was she running from? I don't know.
Maybe she was running from herself.
Something in her life must've changed, 'cause I just got off the phone with Daria's other blackmail victims.
They all had the same story Daria had called them just before she died and let them all off the hook.
She was getting out of the game.
Why? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with Brad Marsh.
What do you mean? Well, she was blackmailing all these men.
Why not Brad? He has money.
And why was she so eager to leave town, but not so eager that she didn't just leave without him? Maybe she did love him.
Yeah, I don't think that was it.
I went through her e-mails and found this.
It's from an anonymous account.
They claim to have hacked her laptop and stole enough to bring her entire blackmail scheme to light.
They were gonna turn it over to the cops if she didn't do exactly what they said.
Did it say what they were after? To run her honey-trapping scheme on Brad Marsh.
Why? Sounds like spy stuff.
They wanted her to infiltrate his life, gather information.
But the guy makes killer-puppet movies.
What kind of information could he possibly have? Don't know.
Details were handled with a phone call.
But when she refused, they threatened to kill her.
Even sent photos of her sleeping just to prove that they can get to her at any time.
Well, that's not terrifyingly creepy.
There's no indication in there what they were after? Look at these follow-up e-mails from the same account.
Came a week ago.
"Did you get the information on C.
D.
yet?" [KEYS CLICKING.]
Two days later, "Anything on C.
D.
?" I swept her hard drive no other mention of "C.
D.
" anywhere else on her laptop.
But, Eddie, I think - this is why she was killed.
- [TELEPHONE RINGING.]
Well, who's C.
D.
? I bet Brad Marsh knows.
Valetik Investigations.
Uh, Sam.
Yep.
It's Monica.
Why's she calling me here? Hello? No, my phone was off.
Why? Oh! God, no! I I totally forgot.
I'm coming.
You tell them I'm coming? - [RECEIVER SLAMS.]
- This is bad.
This is really bad! Why? What'd you forget? Remember that thing downtown I said wasn't a big deal? Well, it was a really big deal! Well, what is it? What are you talking about? [SIGHS.]
My probation hearing! Miss Swift, don't for a second think that your celebrity status gives you permission to ignore the obligations of your probation.
I don't.
Your Honor, I am sorry.
I had every intention of being here.
I'm not interested in excuses, and you've shown remorse before like how sorry you were at your first DUI hearing, only to have your alcohol bracelet trigger that very same night at an MTV after-party.
I see no reason why the court should give you another chance.
MELVIN: Your Honor, Miss Swift has done everything this court has asked for.
She's found gainful employment.
Yes, we've all read the headlines.
And she successfully completed her court-mandated alcohol and substance abuse treatment.
She's maintained her sobriety since.
Really? Then why do I have photos of her coming out of a bar in the middle of the day? Oh, no.
N Your Honor.
That is not what it looks like.
Do you know how many times a day I hear that? It seems to me the best way to get your attention, Miss Swift, is for you to spend the rest of your sentence in prison.
In the case of the State of California vs.
Samantha Swift, the defendant is to be remanded into custody and ordered to serve the rest of her pro Your Honor, wait.
Mr.
Valetik.
Haven't seen you in a while.
You have something to add? I led her to that bar.
We were working a case.
No alcohol was consumed.
She still violated the terms of her parole by missing her court date.
She lost track of time because she was gathering evidence to prove our client's innocence.
She missed her court date because she was pursuing justice.
The people who took those photos, they follow her around all the time, hoping that she'll screw up.
And if she doesn't, they're just gonna make it look like she did.
Who can live with that kind of scrutiny? I know I couldn't.
Now, is she disruptive? Yes.
Annoying? Absolutely.
But she's trying just about as hard as I've ever seen anybody try and turn her life around.
Your Honor, you've known me since I was a rookie cop.
Have I ever stood up for anybody who didn't deserve another chance? [SIGHS.]
My instincts tell me that time in jail would do you a world of good.
But if Eddie Valetik is willing to vouch for you, then I'm willing to let you off with a warning, under one condition she remain in your employ for the duration of her probation - six months.
- Your Honor.
It's the court's opinion that Miss Swift is in serious need of boundaries.
So either I sentence her to jail or I sentence her to you, Mr.
Valetik.
Your choice.
What? Nobody's ever stood up for me like that before.
Thank you.
Yeah, well, don't be too grateful.
It was a business decision.
Couldn't have you making me look bad.
Of course.
If you're done with all this nonsense, can we get back to the case? Mm-hmm.
BRAD: I can't believe I was such a fool.
I don't suppose you want our tickets to Cancún tonight? I'd have gone myself, but I surrendered my passport when I made bail.
Brad, I know how hard this must be.
I was about to upend my life for this girl.
Someone coerced her into dating you.
They wanted something.
Look.
Brad, this is important.
Do you know anyone or anything with the initials C.
D.
? Something worth killing for? No, I Oh, my God.
C.
D.
? What? What's C.
D.
? Carlina Del Rio.
She's the ex-girlfriend of Fernando Salazar.
Fernando Salazar? Godfather of the Guadalajaran Drug Cartel? W-Wait.
I thought he was in prison.
He is because of Carlina's testimony.
The Feds put her in Witness Protection.
You know her? I bought her life rights for a movie my chance to be something more than the killer-puppet guy.
We We would meet in secret to go over the screenplay in places the FBI didn't know about.
But once she trusted me, we met at her place.
And Salazar suspected.
But he knew you wouldn't betray her if he confronted you directly, so he sent Daria to burrow into your life, to find a clue to Carlina's whereabouts.
If Salazar finds her, do you know what he'll do to her? Torture and kill her.
Where is she? Place has been tossed.
Somebody's already been here.
She's not here.
SAM: Eddie.
- Is that flight information? - Yeah.
Look, the tickets are booked under "Ellen Holder," Carlina's Witness Protection name.
She's out of town.
She still may be alive.
Yeah, well, not for long.
She's flying back tonight.
I think I know why Daria wanted to go to Cancún.
I just checked the plane's manifest.
There's an Ellen Holder on that flight.
And, Sam, you were right it arrives at the same terminal that Daria and Brad were supposed to leave from tonight.
SAM: Daria knew she was signing Carlina's death warrant by sharing that information.
She couldn't live with it.
She planned that Cancún trip so she could meet Carlina as she got off the plane.
Because Daria was trying to save her life.
Hey, Berto, when does that plane land? 11 minutes.
[ INDISTINCT P.
A.
ANNOUNCEMENT.]
Eddie, the plane just landed.
[SIGHS.]
We're still 20 minutes away.
We're not gonna make it.
[GRUNTING.]
[CROWD GASPING, SCREAMING.]
[GRUNTS.]
[COUGHING.]
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING.]
His name's Juan Benero.
He's a sicario for the Salazar cartel 28 known hits.
You had called me a minute later, it would've been 29.
Daria's the one who saved her.
Despite everything she'd done in her past, she decided to risk her life to save someone else.
Do you still believe Brad killed her? Ohh.
You want me to say it, don't you? Is it so hard? Yes.
Fine.
You were right Brad didn't kill Daria.
It was a setup.
And? And? If I hadn't been there And if you hadn't been there the night Daria was shot, Carlina would be possibly dead, too.
And most impressive she got you to admit you were wrong.
[SMACKS LIPS.]
I'd say my work here is done.
So, I guess your plan backfired.
Whatcha gonna do now? Suffer.
If you need consoling later, come by my place.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
And near as we can figure, Daria got on Salazar's radar when she ran one of her schemes on someone connected to his organization.
They knew they could use her to target you.
We spoke to the D.
A.
Juan's rental car mapped a trip to your beach house the night of the murder.
It's enough evidence to dismiss all charges against you.
I know I should be relieved, but knowing that she lost her life because of me You did not kill Daria.
In fact, I think it was because of you that she decided to put all of her schemes behind her and become a better person.
The only reason she was even with me was because she was forced to.
I'm not so sure.
I've been trying to make sense of it why this coldhearted blackmailer would risk her life, why she would call all of her victims and apologize.
It's because something changed her.
I think it was you.
With all that money she had, she could've disappeared on her own.
But she didn't.
Why? Because she wanted to leave with you.
She planned to start a new life with you.
And the only explanation I can think of is that she really did love you.
Thank you.
SAM: This seems so final.
It's a bad idea to get emotional in cases like this.
How can I not? Daria, Tina, Victoria You know, I understand how hard it is when you have to play a lot of roles to survive.
It's easy to lose a grip on who you are.
Sounds like she finally figured it out with Brad.
She did.
She found true love.
She saved the day.
Hey, look at you, pointing out the bright side.
Mnh.
Yeah, didn't mean to.
Speaking of other things I didn't mean to do well, since apparently, I'm stuck with you for a while, I figured you'd need a place to be.
[DOOR OPENS.]
You're giving me an office? Clean it up, and it's all yours.
Seriously? You want me to move all your boxes? Good thing you have an assistant.
Fallen angels, if you ask me.
Look in any window late at night, and you'll see the lonely swiping right, the innocent reveling in their dreams, and the wicked in the cheating embrace of an illicit affair.
You could almost smell his cologne - [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
- wafting over the crashing surf.
The scent had a name Betrayal.
You done? C'mon! It's classic voice-over, like in every P.
I.
movie.
Yeah, I know what it is.
And it, too, has a name annoying.
You know, if you're bored, you don't have to be here.
The deal was you show up for client interviews, you make 'em believe they're hiring us, and for that, you get a piece of the take.
No one said you had to be part of the investigations.
Well, I just thought that we would be helping people, - saving people.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
You know, changing lives for the better.
Watching this so doesn't feel like that.
Well, that's the job, Sam.
Background checks, lost pets, staking out a cheating jerk's beach house at 4:00 a.
m.
Not like TV.
We don't get front-page cases every week.
You know, honestly most detective work is like this dull.
[GUNSHOT.]
[GUNSHOTS.]
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
[GASPS.]
I-I didn't do it.
Define "dull.
" [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
BRAD: I swear.
You gotta believe me.
I was in love with her.
I didn't do this! I didn't shoot her! We practically caught him red-handed.
How can he still deny it? They all do.
Wait here.
Vic's name is Daria Passmore, film student down at San Bernardino University.
And the shooter? Her teacher Brad Marsh.
B-movie producer, made a fortune off those killer-puppet movies.
Apparently, he's trying to make art house films now.
His soon-to-be-ex hired us to provide proof of the affair.
Oh, the poor stiff.
He probably thought he'd get away with it.
But little did he know that the legendary Detective McNair was lying in wait outside his window.
He just seems so certain.
Well, I guess you're not the only thespian in the room.
- EDDIE: Then we heard gunfire.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Ran in to find Mr.
Marsh there holding the weapon.
I'm gonna need copies of those photos.
Yeah, happy to for a favor.
I just I wanna be the one to tell our client what happened.
I just think it'd be easier if she heard it from someone, you know, she knows.
I'm sure it has nothing to do with you wanting to get paid before you client finds out her husband killed his mistress, making your photos pretty much unnecessary in her divorce case.
No, that that never crossed my mind.
Two hours.
How's your nefarious plan working out so far? A couple more shoe-leather cases, a few more overnights, I'll be free of her.
She's starting to get bored.
She doesn't look bored.
SAM: We will help you with this.
Maybe you wanna get her away from my murder suspect? Hey.
What the hell are you doing? - Getting us a new client.
- What? Who? Brad Marsh.
He said he didn't do it.
He's hired us to prove it.
Damn it, Sam.
You cannot, should not ever take a case without talking to me.
Well, you take cases without talking to me.
Because I know what I'm doing.
Well, I know what you're doing, too.
The guy was standing over the victim's body holding the murder weapon.
That is the literal definition of "smoking gun.
" There's no case.
He's guilty.
No, he's not.
Look, Eddie, I know when someone's acting.
Those tears were real.
H-His devastation was, too.
He's innocent.
Then explain the dead girl.
Well, maybe someone else was in the house you know, someone we didn't see.
Maybe the killer was trying to set Brad up.
You know what you're trying to do? You're just trying to make this case more exciting than it actually is.
We're not taking it.
Well [SCOFFS.]
a girl died tonight, Eddie.
Don't you want someone to pay? You know what I want more? Is for someone to pay me and then to go home.
So please, when we get to Mrs.
Marsh's house, let me do the talking.
And do not, under any circumstances, tell her about the murder until after we get paid.
Got it? [SIGHS.]
CINDY: [SCOFFS.]
I knew it.
Once a cheater, always a cheater.
With me, on his first wife.
Ah.
Yeah.
Well, here's the proof.
I knew he wasn't at the beach house working on his new passion project.
Well, he kind of was.
Had a feeling you were the right people for the job, given what your fiancé did to you.
Hmm.
Out of curiosity, you were just getting home when we were pulling up.
Where were you coming from, Mrs.
Marsh? Don't call me by his name.
It's "Cindy.
" And I had an early meeting.
Who with? My therapist, if you must know.
At 6:00 a.
m.
? That's a little early for unburdening yourself on someone's couch.
[LAUGHS.]
Excuse me.
What are you doing? - [SCOFFS.]
Isn't it obvious? - No.
[WHISPERING.]
She's the killer.
Did you look at her? She's wearing all black perfect for not being seen at night.
She had motive, access to the beach house.
That story about her therapist? I mean, come on.
She's obviously having an affair with him.
How do I know? Her shirt was on inside out.
Those are walk-of-shame clothes.
She killed Daria, set up her husband, and then went to her lover's house to celebrate.
The most genius part she hired us so we would witness her husband committing the murder.
Murder? What murder? - Um, Mrs.
Mar - [CLEARS THROAT.]
Cindy maybe you should have a seat.
I don't want to have a seat.
I want to know what's going on.
Well, there was a shooting at your beach house early this morning.
And it appears that your husband may have killed his lover.
Oh, my God.
Or someone else killed her and your husband's being set up.
Are you accusing me? No.
Of course not.
You are! That's why you asked where I was earlier.
You two are supposed to be working for me.
Cindy! We Get out.
Get out of my house.
EDDIE: Five minutes.
You just had to be quiet for five minutes.
If she has nothing to hide, why'd she get so upset? Because you practically accused her of murder.
You're supposed to be helping us make money, not enemies.
So we lost a client.
Big deal.
We have another one waiting for us who will pay us 10 times as much to prove he's innocent.
Except he's not.
Fine.
What if he's not? What's the worst that can happen we take money from a guilty man? Isn't there justice in that? BRAD: You must think I'm a terrible person, cheating on my wife.
But being with Daria was like I-I found something I never knew was missing something real.
And And now I know what this looks like.
I-I do.
But I never would've hurt her.
Alright.
Can you, um Why don't you just tell us exactly what happened? We We had been talking about our future about me leaving Cindy, about us leaving town, about starting our lives together somewhere else.
A-And then we we we we fell onto the bed, and we turned off the light.
We started kissing.
And then Daria was yanked from my arms.
And And she tried to scream, but her voice was muffled, like somebody had put their hand over her mouth.
And she was fighting.
I tried to get to her, but I got knocked off the bed.
And then I I heard the the gunshot.
And And And then the flash.
I saw Daria fall back.
I-I tried to get to her, but I tripped over something.
I reached down and and and and picked it up.
The gun.
That's when you came in the room.
Who knew you were gonna be at the beach house that night? No one.
Not even your wife? [SCOFFS.]
As vindictive as Cindy is, she would never touch a gun, let alone fire one.
Besides, I had been tracking her phone.
She was screwing her therapist that night.
Yeah.
I knew.
Can't say I cared.
Do you know if Daria had any enemies or anyone who would've wanted her dead? No.
But come to think of it, she seemed very shaken up when she first came out to the house.
I asked her what was wrong, and and she just shrugged it off and said she wanted to talk about the future and starting our lives together.
Did you hear that? She was shaken up.
She wanted to start a new life.
Maybe she was running from something.
Or maybe he's lying so we'll take his case.
Sam, he's using us.
Wha Using us? For what? He's laying the groundwork for his defense.
L-Like O.
J.
hiring those P.
I.
s to find the "real killers"? Why do you immediately assume the worst of people? Saves time.
- Sam, I can prove it.
- How? He said that Daria was struggling with the killer.
If it was as violent as he said There'd be DNA under her fingernails.
Bingo.
Victim is 23 years old, appears to be in good health - [DOOR OPENS.]
- with the exception of the holes in her chest.
And Oh, my God.
Sam Swift just walked into my morgue.
Please, Lord, remember this moment.
I've gotta go.
Eddie! Sam.
If I'd known you were coming, I'd have tidied up or, at the very least, put the body away.
Actually, it's the body that we want to talk to you about.
Oh.
Right.
I ran every test I could trying to prove your theory, but there is no evidence of defensive wounds, no evidence of a struggle of any kind.
So no DNA under her nails? Just her boyfriend's.
Honestly, if you two hadn't been out there to hear the shots, I think he'd have probably carved her up and dumped her in the sea.
Like I said, saves time.
Mick, when we would find a body on the show, we would always run their fingerprints.
Yes, one of the delightfully authentic aspects of your production.
We don't need fingerprints.
We know who she is.
Yeah, but how well? Maybe she has priors or a criminal past that would explain why she was killed.
We know why she was killed.
Her boyfriend was trying to cover up his affair.
Can I see the report? Oh, I'm not sure we have it back, but, um Oh! Yes.
We have it.
Right.
So, I Huh.
"Huh"? "Huh," what? No, that can't be right.
What? Her fingerprints the system found a match, but it's not to Daria Passmore.
What are you talking about? She's not who she said she was.
Well, who is she? Her name is Tina Flores.
According to this, she's been dead for eight years.
BERTO: Daria Passmore, AKA Tina Flores.
Foster kid, frequent runaway.
Raised in the kind of group homes I was.
See? Criminal past.
Yeah, but we're talking petty theft, a couple of B&Es nothing that would get her killed.
Which time? So, how did she supposedly die? Indigo warehouse fire in Oakland, eight years ago.
Whoa.
The Indigo fire? We did a ripped-from- the-headlines episode on that.
A bunch of runaways and homeless kids died in it.
Well, that's making it the ideal opportunity for someone looking to disappear to fake their death, steal a new identity, and start over.
There's only one reason someone would go through that much trouble.
She was running from something! Or, you know, maybe because of her record and her outstanding warrants, she saw an opportunity for a fresh start.
Look me in the eye and tell me you really believe that.
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING.]
Who's that? Oh, that's Monica, my new assistant.
What? Whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Timeout.
Having an assistant is definitely not part of our deal.
You're not paying for her, Scroogely.
Neither am I.
She's working in exchange for living in my guest house.
She's getting her psych PhD.
She's putting stuff in my kitchen.
Our kitchen.
Your snacks suck.
- Hey! - Yo! So, I bought everything that bordered on healthy.
- This Eddie and Berto? - Yep.
Monica.
Look forward to working with you.
Sorry about the lights.
I'm a grinder.
- Grinder? - A body hacker.
I have implants in my hands that can affect electromagnetic fields.
I'm basically a cyborg.
And you're gonna be working here? Really? That's your takeaway? Dude, no.
I'm completely mobile, and this situation is strictly part-time.
You're disappointed.
You like me.
[SCOFFS.]
What? No.
No.
Part-time, full-time whatever's cool with me.
Hm.
I copied your key.
Your mail's on the kitchen counter, and I brought you a fresh pair of socks in case you do another all-nighter.
And hey, I called everyone on the film-crew list you gave me who worked with that Brad Marsh guy.
Before this, worst thing I unearthed is he likes younger women.
No underage stories, though, and no one I talked to said "#MeToo.
" She's doing case research now? She is.
Oh, and you asked me to remind you about that thing you have downtown tomorrow.
Um can you just text me a couple hours before? Yeah, no prob.
Later, studs! [ELECTRICITY BUZZING.]
[SKATES ROLLING.]
I do kinda like her.
Ju Fix the damn lights, huh? What's this thing downtown? It's just a girl thing.
Wait where are you going? Talk to our client, see how much he knew about his girlfriend.
You're taking the case? - We're taking the case! - Shut up.
BRAD: I don't understand.
Why didn't she tell me all this? Why Why did she lie? Maybe she was trying to protect you.
No! We told each other everything.
At least At least, I thought we did.
You said she was upset when she came to see you last night.
What about before that, in the last few weeks? Was she anxious or scared? No, more like distracted.
She was pushing for me to end things with Cindy so we could go out of town.
We had tickets for Cancún at the end of the week.
What else can you tell us about her life, hmm? People she hung out with, friends? I I don't really know.
How do you not know? You said you guys were practically soul mates.
Well, we were having an affair.
We weren't ready for our friends to know.
How about where she lived? We never went to her place.
She said she was embarrassed by how small it was.
What did you know about her? [SIGHS.]
Mr.
Marsh, if you want us to prove your innocence, we need a place to start.
We have to figure out who she really was and why someone might've wanted her dead.
What What about her driver's license? Can't you get her address off of that? We checked.
It's fake.
I hate to say it, but it's almost like you were dating a ghost.
What we had was was was real.
I know it was real! W-Wait.
She ordered a Lyft.
A few weeks ago, she ordered a Lyft from my account.
I insisted so she wouldn't have to pay.
We're gonna need your account and password.
With any luck, maybe we'll beat the cops there.
It's creepy.
It's like the house doesn't know she's dead.
Hey, house.
She's dead.
Now it knows.
Burner phones a lot of them.
Whatever she was doing, I'm pretty sure it wasn't legal.
Eddie.
A wig for every phone.
These are real hair.
They cost thousands of dollars.
Looks like Daria took her disguises pretty seriously.
Look at all that makeup.
Disguises for what? Serial number's been filed away.
Look at the IDs.
All different looks, all different names.
What do you think she's got in there? What are you hiding? Like 500 grand in here.
Who'd this woman think she is, Jason Bourne? - Sam! - [SCREAMS.]
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
Sorry.
Sorry.
This door's reinforced.
I can't break it down.
Who do you think that was? You think it was Daria's killer? I think it was Daria's killer.
- Who are you calling? - [LINE RINGING.]
Berto see if he can get us out of here.
What up? This is Berto.
Leave a message.
Voicemail.
You mean we're stuck? Hey, let us out! Hey! Shh! [WHISPERING.]
Stop! Shh.
I'd rather the bad guy not come back and try to kill us.
[GRUNTS.]
Who are you texting? Monica, to see if she can help unless you'd rather me call your cop girlfriend.
She's not my girlfriend.
And the less she knows about this, the better.
Oh, yeah? Which part breaking in or you being locked alone in a closet with me? What, you think you're irresistible? Well, you do seem pretty excited right now.
That's my gun.
Oh.
[SWITCH CLICKS.]
Thank God.
Bet you're glad I have an assistant now.
Yeah, 'cause I've always wanted to be rescued by an android.
Cyborg.
You're right he is a buzzkill.
So, is this kinda thing part of my job description? 'Cause if so, that's cool.
Eddie, all the wigs they're gone.
Yeah, so's the gun and IDs.
Burner phones and computer, too.
He scrubbed the place.
Well, whatever Daria was up to, he didn't want anyone to find out.
Should I be taking notes? Now we have no leads.
Maybe we do.
We spent the last couple days following her and Brad.
Maybe there's some clue as to who she is in one of those photos we took.
Alright, what are we looking for? Anything unusual, out of the ordinary, something we might've missed.
- [GASPS.]
Oh! - What? My favorite ice cream place! They make it from scratch.
Super-pricy, though.
What? It's awesome.
Hey! There.
You see it? See what? Same car.
Oh, yeah! It's also at the café.
Three different locations, three different days, and it doesn't belong to either of them.
What's it mean? We weren't the only ones following Brad and Daria.
We need to zoom in, enhance the license, and track down the owner.
Right.
[CHUCKLES.]
"Enhance" not a thing.
- It's not TV.
- Mm.
- I'm sure you know that.
- Yeah.
And we don't need to enhance it, because I know exactly whose car that is.
Max Duchemin.
Well, well, well.
Eddie V.
I guess what I read about you in the papers is true, huh? You've gone Hollywood.
And here, I thought you didn't like the spotlight.
- You two know each other? - Oh, yeah.
Eddie and me, we go way back, don't we? He didn't tell you about me? This dirtbag used to work for me before he went solo.
Would've made him partner, too, if not for the knife in my back.
What do you want, V? A handout? Want me to throw a little work your way, for old times' sake? You were following this girl.
Why? Maybe I was lonely.
Maybe you deserve to be.
Who hired you? You know, I didn't learn much from you, but I did learn how to keep a secret.
And I don't talk about my cases or my clients.
Hey, pal, this girl is dead.
So if you're protecting her killer, that makes you an accessory to murder.
That's cute.
You know, you were a lot more believable on TV.
I'll see ya around, V.
What an asshat! He worked for you? Predictable asshat.
He told us what we needed to know.
He didn't tell us anything.
He confirmed he was following Daria for a client.
- Well, so he knows something.
- Yep.
The only way to find out what would be risky and illegal.
So there's nothing we can do? I didn't say that.
Really? You brought me to a bar? You do know I'm in recovery, right? We're not here to do shots.
You.
I should rip you in half, Valetik, for what you did to me.
W-What'd you do to him? I talked him into buying this bar.
And now every month, I gotta do all this damn paperwork.
Eddie, I hate paperwork.
[LAUGHS.]
Samantha Swift! [LAUGHS.]
- [STRAINED.]
O-kay.
Alright.
- [CHUCKLES.]
It's about time he brought you around.
This is Zeus.
He's kinda shy.
Eddie tell you he's alive today because of me, hmm? No, no, because I haven't told her - you're alive because of me.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Zeus is my old partner from the force.
- Ah.
He runs a high-end security consulting firm now.
He's big-time corporate alarm systems, surveillance systems, firewalls.
When I'm not running this damn bar.
You love this bar.
You met your wife in this bar.
I know that two of your kids, they were conceived right I think the lady gets the picture, hmm? - You love this bar.
- Mm-hmm.
So, is this a social call? Business.
There's this office in a high-security building.
Kinda need your help getting in.
Eddie, you know I can't Ask me whose office.
Whose office? Max Duchemin.
Duchemin? Oh, that sounds like fun.
Here's what you're facing.
Duchemin's office is in Wycroft Tower.
Other tenants include banks, law offices, tech firms making the building highly secure.
How secure? The building sports a networked IVS surveillance system all entry points, every floor.
Elevators are keycard-controlled.
The main office has a C27 multi-point alarm system.
It sounds impossible.
He always makes it sound impossible.
Makes him seem more impressive when he actually gets us in.
Don't give away all my secrets, dawg.
So, how do we get in? I rep the alarm company, so that's easy.
I can spoof the elevator keycard.
LED cap should blind surveillance.
But there's one thing I can't help you with the night guard in the lobby.
In order to get to the elevators, you have to get past him.
He also monitors the camera feed, so he'll see any tampering.
A night guard? That's what you're worried about? You know how they caught the Watergate burglars? It wasn't an alarm system or cameras.
It was a night guard.
He spotted tape on the door.
Human assets are the hardest variable to control.
Yeah, well, we have something they didn't.
Me.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR.]
[POUNDING.]
[CLANK.]
[BUZZER, CLICK.]
Hey! Are you okay? Hey! Can you hear me? [GASPS.]
Am I dead? Are you an angel? No, ma'am.
I think you passed out.
Maybe you had a little t-too much to drink? [GRUNTS.]
No! I am not drunk.
I am so not drunk.
I-I know how this looks, okay? [BEEP.]
You don't know.
You can't understand! [BEEP.]
This night has been a disaster.
Is there someone I can call for you? No! No, no! Don't call him! What I need I need to charge my phone a-a-and call a Lyft.
But not back to his place, because he ruined it! [BEEP.]
- I am not talking to him.
- [BEEP.]
[BEEP.]
[GASPS.]
I'm sorry, but it's after hours.
You have to leave.
Who says I have to go? Ma'am.
Peters.
Ma'am! - Peters.
- Ma'am? [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
[SINGSONG.]
Keep away from Peters! [LAUGHS.]
Ma'am! - Peters! Ohh! - That's it! [LAUGHS.]
I'm calling the police.
Oh, please, please don't.
You seem like a nice guy.
I really need nice right now.
Okay, I've had a bad night.
You don't even know what I've been through.
Let me tell you, Peters.
[BEEP.]
Okay, you're on.
So, you and Sam how's that goin'? - [BEEPING.]
- She's like a circus that never leaves town.
[LAUGHS.]
Come on, brother.
Who doesn't like a circus? - [BEEPING.]
- Mm-hmm.
And you are welcome.
[RAPID BEEPING.]
And then, not only did he dump me, he left me at the club! Can you believe that? Why would he do that? I got it.
I'm heading down.
Sam, he's coming down.
Keep the guard away from the elevator.
Look, lady.
I'm really sorry you had a bad night, okay? But I could lose my job here, so this is your last chance.
Get down, or I'm gonna call the police.
Fine.
That's it! Out now! Wh Oh! No, no! Lemme go! Lemme go! Oh, c'mon, Peters! Oh, let go! Let go of me! I thought we were cool! - [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
- Oh! [GRUNTS.]
- [SPRAYING.]
- Aah! Sorry, Peters! I had no choice! Aaaaah! [GROANING.]
You were supposed to keep him occupied, not Mace him.
I improvised! And it was hair spray.
Where's the file? [SIGHS.]
So, Duchemin was hired to follow Daria by a man named Jace Buckner.
I Googled his name, and this photo came up.
Look familiar? Whoa.
That's the guy who locked us in the closet.
Jace Buckner he's vice president of product sales at Simon Industries.
Married, two kids.
Simon Industries don't they make those TrueTrash trash cans? Yeah.
So what's the V.
P.
of trash doing following Daria? What's he doing locking us in a closet? As far as I can tell, their lives didn't intersect.
The only commonality is they both have criminal records.
Before his life as a husband, father, and vice president of wastebaskets at daddy-in-law's company, Buckner here had multiple arrests.
For what? Uh, possession with intent to distribute.
He was selling drugs? What kind? Luxury, not street Coke, X, Study Buddies.
Got his start young.
He was the Pablo Escobar of his prep school.
That's what this is about.
Burner phones, cash, the gun it all screams "drug dealer.
" Maybe Jace was still into drugs and Daria was his supplier.
Yeah, I know, but why hire Duchemin to follow Daria? Well, maybe she and Jace were working together and they had a falling-out.
Maybe Jace hired Duchemin to track her movements to gain the upper hand.
[GASPS.]
Ooh! And then, when he found out that she was having an affair with a married man, he had a way to get rid of her by making Brad Marsh the fall guy.
What? I'm sorry.
It's just you look like Beetlejuice.
[LAUGHS.]
[CLEARS THROAT.]
You know I'm right.
Either way, Jace wanted something from Daria.
I think it's time we ask him what.
- [DOOR OPENS.]
- [SNICKERING.]
[CHUCKLES.]
JACE: Thanks, everyone.
Monthly projections on my desk by Friday.
LINDA: Mr.
Buckner.
There are a couple of people here to see you.
Said they met you at a closet organizers convention.
Yeah, you know the one - [DOOR CLOSES.]
- where you locked us in a closet? Who are you cops? Private investigators.
But the cops they're gonna be our next call if you don't answer our questions.
Now, what's your relationship to Daria Passmore? You want to know the nature of our relationship? She was blackmailing me.
But when I knew her, her name was Vickie Westbrook.
We met at a sales conference.
She made me feel - Special? - Yeah.
But then came the pictures.
- Pictures? - Of us in bed.
She threatened to send them to my wife.
I I would've lost everything.
Maybe you should've thought about that before you slept with her.
- Well, what did she want? - Money.
A few thousand at first, then a lot more.
I couldn't keep up with the payments, and I couldn't go to the police because I would've had to admit the affair.
Is that why you killed her so she couldn't destroy your family? I told you I didn't kill her.
I was with my folks that night, alright? There were witnesses.
[RINGTONE PLAYS.]
[RINGTONE STOPS.]
Sorry.
Why'd you hire Duchemin? To find out where she lived.
She was bleeding me dry.
I had to get the evidence back.
But But then, the weirdest thing happened.
[CELLPHONE VIBRATING.]
Sh Sorry you were saying? A couple of days ago, Vickie called me.
She said it was over.
She said she was done with the blackmail and she was gonna burn all the evidence.
She said she was sorry.
Wait your blackmailer apologized? Why the sudden change of heart? No idea.
But I've never felt so relieved in all my life.
Then why were you at her apartment? Duchemin calls me.
He says she's been murdered.
All I could think about was the police finding the photos.
When I saw you there, I I panicked.
You locked us in.
You took everything.
That's how I found out about the others.
Others? I went through her phones, her laptop.
I wasn't the only one that she was blackmailing.
You want a suspect? There were dozens of us.
We're gonna need you to hand over everything that you took from her place.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.]
Gotta admire her stamina.
And her business savvy.
She had over $2 million in the bank.
You okay? I just keep wondering which one of these girls she really was.
What was she running from? I don't know.
Maybe she was running from herself.
Something in her life must've changed, 'cause I just got off the phone with Daria's other blackmail victims.
They all had the same story Daria had called them just before she died and let them all off the hook.
She was getting out of the game.
Why? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with Brad Marsh.
What do you mean? Well, she was blackmailing all these men.
Why not Brad? He has money.
And why was she so eager to leave town, but not so eager that she didn't just leave without him? Maybe she did love him.
Yeah, I don't think that was it.
I went through her e-mails and found this.
It's from an anonymous account.
They claim to have hacked her laptop and stole enough to bring her entire blackmail scheme to light.
They were gonna turn it over to the cops if she didn't do exactly what they said.
Did it say what they were after? To run her honey-trapping scheme on Brad Marsh.
Why? Sounds like spy stuff.
They wanted her to infiltrate his life, gather information.
But the guy makes killer-puppet movies.
What kind of information could he possibly have? Don't know.
Details were handled with a phone call.
But when she refused, they threatened to kill her.
Even sent photos of her sleeping just to prove that they can get to her at any time.
Well, that's not terrifyingly creepy.
There's no indication in there what they were after? Look at these follow-up e-mails from the same account.
Came a week ago.
"Did you get the information on C.
D.
yet?" [KEYS CLICKING.]
Two days later, "Anything on C.
D.
?" I swept her hard drive no other mention of "C.
D.
" anywhere else on her laptop.
But, Eddie, I think - this is why she was killed.
- [TELEPHONE RINGING.]
Well, who's C.
D.
? I bet Brad Marsh knows.
Valetik Investigations.
Uh, Sam.
Yep.
It's Monica.
Why's she calling me here? Hello? No, my phone was off.
Why? Oh! God, no! I I totally forgot.
I'm coming.
You tell them I'm coming? - [RECEIVER SLAMS.]
- This is bad.
This is really bad! Why? What'd you forget? Remember that thing downtown I said wasn't a big deal? Well, it was a really big deal! Well, what is it? What are you talking about? [SIGHS.]
My probation hearing! Miss Swift, don't for a second think that your celebrity status gives you permission to ignore the obligations of your probation.
I don't.
Your Honor, I am sorry.
I had every intention of being here.
I'm not interested in excuses, and you've shown remorse before like how sorry you were at your first DUI hearing, only to have your alcohol bracelet trigger that very same night at an MTV after-party.
I see no reason why the court should give you another chance.
MELVIN: Your Honor, Miss Swift has done everything this court has asked for.
She's found gainful employment.
Yes, we've all read the headlines.
And she successfully completed her court-mandated alcohol and substance abuse treatment.
She's maintained her sobriety since.
Really? Then why do I have photos of her coming out of a bar in the middle of the day? Oh, no.
N Your Honor.
That is not what it looks like.
Do you know how many times a day I hear that? It seems to me the best way to get your attention, Miss Swift, is for you to spend the rest of your sentence in prison.
In the case of the State of California vs.
Samantha Swift, the defendant is to be remanded into custody and ordered to serve the rest of her pro Your Honor, wait.
Mr.
Valetik.
Haven't seen you in a while.
You have something to add? I led her to that bar.
We were working a case.
No alcohol was consumed.
She still violated the terms of her parole by missing her court date.
She lost track of time because she was gathering evidence to prove our client's innocence.
She missed her court date because she was pursuing justice.
The people who took those photos, they follow her around all the time, hoping that she'll screw up.
And if she doesn't, they're just gonna make it look like she did.
Who can live with that kind of scrutiny? I know I couldn't.
Now, is she disruptive? Yes.
Annoying? Absolutely.
But she's trying just about as hard as I've ever seen anybody try and turn her life around.
Your Honor, you've known me since I was a rookie cop.
Have I ever stood up for anybody who didn't deserve another chance? [SIGHS.]
My instincts tell me that time in jail would do you a world of good.
But if Eddie Valetik is willing to vouch for you, then I'm willing to let you off with a warning, under one condition she remain in your employ for the duration of her probation - six months.
- Your Honor.
It's the court's opinion that Miss Swift is in serious need of boundaries.
So either I sentence her to jail or I sentence her to you, Mr.
Valetik.
Your choice.
What? Nobody's ever stood up for me like that before.
Thank you.
Yeah, well, don't be too grateful.
It was a business decision.
Couldn't have you making me look bad.
Of course.
If you're done with all this nonsense, can we get back to the case? Mm-hmm.
BRAD: I can't believe I was such a fool.
I don't suppose you want our tickets to Cancún tonight? I'd have gone myself, but I surrendered my passport when I made bail.
Brad, I know how hard this must be.
I was about to upend my life for this girl.
Someone coerced her into dating you.
They wanted something.
Look.
Brad, this is important.
Do you know anyone or anything with the initials C.
D.
? Something worth killing for? No, I Oh, my God.
C.
D.
? What? What's C.
D.
? Carlina Del Rio.
She's the ex-girlfriend of Fernando Salazar.
Fernando Salazar? Godfather of the Guadalajaran Drug Cartel? W-Wait.
I thought he was in prison.
He is because of Carlina's testimony.
The Feds put her in Witness Protection.
You know her? I bought her life rights for a movie my chance to be something more than the killer-puppet guy.
We We would meet in secret to go over the screenplay in places the FBI didn't know about.
But once she trusted me, we met at her place.
And Salazar suspected.
But he knew you wouldn't betray her if he confronted you directly, so he sent Daria to burrow into your life, to find a clue to Carlina's whereabouts.
If Salazar finds her, do you know what he'll do to her? Torture and kill her.
Where is she? Place has been tossed.
Somebody's already been here.
She's not here.
SAM: Eddie.
- Is that flight information? - Yeah.
Look, the tickets are booked under "Ellen Holder," Carlina's Witness Protection name.
She's out of town.
She still may be alive.
Yeah, well, not for long.
She's flying back tonight.
I think I know why Daria wanted to go to Cancún.
I just checked the plane's manifest.
There's an Ellen Holder on that flight.
And, Sam, you were right it arrives at the same terminal that Daria and Brad were supposed to leave from tonight.
SAM: Daria knew she was signing Carlina's death warrant by sharing that information.
She couldn't live with it.
She planned that Cancún trip so she could meet Carlina as she got off the plane.
Because Daria was trying to save her life.
Hey, Berto, when does that plane land? 11 minutes.
[ INDISTINCT P.
A.
ANNOUNCEMENT.]
Eddie, the plane just landed.
[SIGHS.]
We're still 20 minutes away.
We're not gonna make it.
[GRUNTING.]
[CROWD GASPING, SCREAMING.]
[GRUNTS.]
[COUGHING.]
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING.]
His name's Juan Benero.
He's a sicario for the Salazar cartel 28 known hits.
You had called me a minute later, it would've been 29.
Daria's the one who saved her.
Despite everything she'd done in her past, she decided to risk her life to save someone else.
Do you still believe Brad killed her? Ohh.
You want me to say it, don't you? Is it so hard? Yes.
Fine.
You were right Brad didn't kill Daria.
It was a setup.
And? And? If I hadn't been there And if you hadn't been there the night Daria was shot, Carlina would be possibly dead, too.
And most impressive she got you to admit you were wrong.
[SMACKS LIPS.]
I'd say my work here is done.
So, I guess your plan backfired.
Whatcha gonna do now? Suffer.
If you need consoling later, come by my place.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
And near as we can figure, Daria got on Salazar's radar when she ran one of her schemes on someone connected to his organization.
They knew they could use her to target you.
We spoke to the D.
A.
Juan's rental car mapped a trip to your beach house the night of the murder.
It's enough evidence to dismiss all charges against you.
I know I should be relieved, but knowing that she lost her life because of me You did not kill Daria.
In fact, I think it was because of you that she decided to put all of her schemes behind her and become a better person.
The only reason she was even with me was because she was forced to.
I'm not so sure.
I've been trying to make sense of it why this coldhearted blackmailer would risk her life, why she would call all of her victims and apologize.
It's because something changed her.
I think it was you.
With all that money she had, she could've disappeared on her own.
But she didn't.
Why? Because she wanted to leave with you.
She planned to start a new life with you.
And the only explanation I can think of is that she really did love you.
Thank you.
SAM: This seems so final.
It's a bad idea to get emotional in cases like this.
How can I not? Daria, Tina, Victoria You know, I understand how hard it is when you have to play a lot of roles to survive.
It's easy to lose a grip on who you are.
Sounds like she finally figured it out with Brad.
She did.
She found true love.
She saved the day.
Hey, look at you, pointing out the bright side.
Mnh.
Yeah, didn't mean to.
Speaking of other things I didn't mean to do well, since apparently, I'm stuck with you for a while, I figured you'd need a place to be.
[DOOR OPENS.]
You're giving me an office? Clean it up, and it's all yours.
Seriously? You want me to move all your boxes? Good thing you have an assistant.