Wisdom of the Crowd (2017) s01e13 Episode Script

The Tipping Point

1 Previously on Wisdom of the Crowd TANNER: Do you know any of these people? No, which means that He could be one of them.
DURAND: He's actually the one who took the photograph.
She said she knew him through you.
You should've just kept your mouth shut about that girl.
(GRUNTS) The last time we saw each other, I was accusing your son of the worst possible crime.
I'm not sure what to think anymore.
If he didn't kill Mia and he dies because of this All we can hope is that we get a chance to make this right.
Ochoa gets high, goes to the street fair, which means that he could've been at the street fair at the time that Mia was killed.
SARA: And there he is.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) - ALEX: Hey.
- Hey, come on in.
Why don't you answer your phone? I've been Do you remember that fund-raiser that I hosted at AllSourcer when you were first running for Congress? Do you still have a copy of the guest list from that? Um, yeah I'm sure David could find it.
Why do you need it? Mia's travel pal, the French guy, Olivier.
He said that she met her killer through me, somehow, so I'm making a list of everyone that I might have introduced her to.
Okay, Jeffrey, that is an impossible task.
That list could be hundreds of people, maybe thousands.
What else am I supposed to do? I-I can't blame her death on the sketchy people that she met volunteering at a shelter anymore.
Jeffrey, you can't blame yourself, either.
This is ridiculous.
Look what you're doing.
Did you sleep? Is that a number two burrito? Yeah.
I figured, since I was coming by, I'd bring you a little breakfast.
I'm turning into a mother hen, I swear to God.
What are you doing here, by the way? Well, the hearing for Carlos's release is today, and I sort of developed a bond with his mom, so I wanted to see it through to the end.
Which means I'm going to need every single thing you have on that alibi photo for the trial.
Everything, so I can get caught up to speed and Sure, no problem.
I'll text Mike - and you can pick it up downstairs.
- Okay, great.
But I'm gonna need that guest list from the fund-raiser.
You don't need it.
Alex, I You don't need it, Jeffrey.
Mia was not at the event, remember? She was on a ski trip in Colorado.
Look, Jeffrey, this is a victory.
Getting Carlos out of prison, it's a victory.
We should be excited and celebrate.
Don't let your burrito get cold.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) (SIREN WAILING) - Really? - It's about time.
So you know you promised me a day off, right? Look, how long have you known me, Tommy? You know you can't believe everything I say.
I was gonna get the car washed, play a little hoop, and get caught up on some of the games I recorded this weekend.
Well, I'm sure the owner of this house had some plans, too.
Yeah, well RUIZ: Carl Bullock.
Lived alone.
Not real social.
The lady across the street saw his cat outside this morning, went to tell him, saw the body through the window.
No forced entry, no sign of a struggle.
The casings are all nine-mil.
Any idea when it went down? Little after 11:00 last night.
The neighbors across the street heard the shots.
They didn't call it in? They said they thought somebody else would.
(SCOFFS) Nothing like civic involvement.
You got a stone-cold whodunit on your hands, and a whole squad room full of detectives to choose from.
You had to ruin my day off for this? I didn't call you for what's on the floor.
I called you for what's in the basement.
What's in? (DOOR CREAKS) What the hell? Seems like you might want to call Tanner, yeah? (INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER) Hey.
Hey.
TANNER: Well, this is different.
Guy was a bit of a conspiracy nut, huh? CAVANAUGH: Yeah, you can say that.
These are Sophe cases.
Guy was a Sophe user.
Yeah.
But you're missing the biggest Sophe case of all.
"Was Mia killed to control Jeffrey Tanner?" SARA: Carl Bullock was a Sophe user, all right.
Yeah.
We haven't instituted a triple platinum level yet, but if we did, Bullock would own it.
Sophe was like crack to this guy.
He posted constantly.
Some of it legit.
He led the charge to identify Jack Foley, and he helped pinpoint which AllSourcer celebrities - Lucas King would target.
- That's great, but most of what's in here is pretty out there.
JOSH: Oh, no, there's plenty of that here, too.
Uh, most of his posts, actually.
"Why isn't Sophe CrowdTec looking into the CIA detention center on Alcatraz?" "Sophe should investigate the secret chemical fog used to control San Francisco.
" JOSH: Looks like he was trying to spur interest, maybe find support from other like-minded users.
Anybody jump out as hostile? Anyone I should look at? SARA: No, most of the users seemed to be pretty patient with him.
Some even bought into his theories.
Hold up.
He had fans? To some degree, yes.
And what did he post about Mia's case? Uh, nothing, actually.
He's never contributed anything to Mia's case.
TANNER: Well, doesn't that strike anybody as strange? I mean, given his obvious interest.
There's more than enough strange here to go around.
Do you think he was murdered because of something he posted on Sophe? Or maybe something he didn't post.
All right, somebody breaks in here, tosses the place.
So whatever they're after is worth killing for.
The problem is this guy must have been chasing at least a hundred different theories.
Yeah, so all we have to do is figure out which one got him killed.
Ms.
Bullock, you and Carl were separated for some time.
About four years now.
No divorce? I I still loved him.
I just, I couldn't be with him anymore.
I mean, you saw that room.
You have to know, though, he wasn't always like that, like obsessed.
He He was a good husband and he was a great father.
We were happy.
I'm sorry.
Oh, that's all right.
You're fine.
We had a son, Chris.
He was 17.
He crashed one night on the way home from work on his motorcycle.
It was a stupid accident.
Just He lost control, went off the road.
Carl could never accept it.
He started to believe that the police lied on the accident report.
He ran ads looking for witnesses, parking for hours by the accident site.
When he was fired, he decided that his boss was in on the conspiracy, too.
I-I tried to pull him back, but there was nothing that I could do.
I I lost him.
I lost them both.
Ms.
Bullock (CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY) can you think of any reason someone would want to harm Carl? I don't know.
He he was abrasive.
A lot of people didn't like that.
Do you know anything about Carl's more recent investigations, like what he was working on? I'm sorry, Mr.
Tanner.
I figured that's why you were here.
I-I'm sorry.
What do you mean? Well, your daughter's murder, that was Carl's latest obsession.
Ever since you started Sophe, that was pretty much his life.
TANNER: Can you tell me anything that-that he discovered, you know, anything that he figured out? I hit a point a long time ago where I couldn't listen anymore.
We had a rule: if Carl wanted to see me, we no conspiracy talk.
But you know that he was working on my daughter's murder case? Only because he was obsessed with the reward money, the $100 million.
He was obsessed with how he was gonna spend it.
As if that would help anything at all.
Trust me, Mr.
Tanner, I I wouldn't read too much into it.
(SCANNER WHIRRING, BEEPING) Oh.
Those are the ones already scanned to Sophe.
Those still need to go.
Thanks for pitching in, Megan.
Sorry it's not more glamorous than doing tech support back at The Hive.
I don't know, it's pretty interesting, actually.
I mean, this guy was insanely meticulous.
Consider maybe stopping at insane.
No, seriously, everything that he did, he footnoted to his journals.
Everything on the walls, all the posts to Sophe, it's all double- and triple-referenced.
It's kind of brilliant, actually.
In a sad way.
Yeah.
Brilliant up until he believes that Vladimir Putin may have ordered Mia's murder.
Or that the military is releasing nerve agents into the fog to help control the city's population.
Actually, a Navy minesweeper did release chemical bacteria into the fog in the 1950s.
TARIQ: Please don't tell me you're buying into this stuff.
I'm just saying, not all of it can be summarily dismissed.
Beg to differ.
Think it's pretty safe to say there's no such thing as mind control.
Or chemtrails.
Or reptilian humanoids living among us.
Yeah, except you can't actually say any of that.
It's not an empirically sound statement.
So, do you believe in these conspiracy theories? No, I'm just saying, there's no way to prove they're false in a purely scientific sense.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Wow.
Who thought, in a room full of all this crazy stuff, the thing that'd surprise me most is Josh? - What's up? - The journals.
Bullock had them all numbered and cross-referenced.
- Yeah, meticulously.
We know.
- Right.
But what I was gonna say is some of them are missing.
Your Honor, as you heard from the organizer of the event, this photo was taken the night of the fair, and it clearly shows Carlos Ochoa in the crowd, in a location other than Mia Tanner's apartment at the time of her murder.
Mr.
Collier, do you agree? Your Honor, for the purposes of this hearing, the People are willing to stipulate to the authenticity of the photograph.
(QUIETLY): This is good.
This is really good.
The D.
A.
's not gonna fight it, okay? JUDGE: And if I grant the defense's motion, and order - a new trial for Mr.
Ochoa? - Well, in the event of a new trial, the People, of course, would reserve their right to do further investigations, but So the taxpayers would pay for Mr.
Ochoa's release, and the cost of the new trial, all so that you can just contest the evidence then? Your Honor, the taxpayers are paying for Mr.
Ochoa's incarceration as it is.
Yes, Ms.
Quinn, an incarceration he earned by virtue of being convicted by a jury of his peers.
The public has an interest in the integrity of that verdict, and I am wary of undermining that based on what amounts to Internet vigilantism.
Internet vigilantism? The photo shows what it shows, regardless of whether it was on the Internet or not.
In fact, the photo was publicly available at the time of Mr.
Ochoa's trial, was it not? Yes, Your Honor, but This isn't evidence that wasn't available to the defense previously.
It's just evidence that the defense failed to find.
QUINN: I didn't represent Mr.
Ochoa at his original trial, Your Honor.
That's not the fault - of the court, Ms.
Quinn.
- ALEX: Listen, Your Honor, the photo proves that Carlos is innocent.
It doesn't matter when we found it, where we found it Ms.
Hale, I need you to sit down and be quiet now.
I will be taking this motion under advisement.
I will issue my decision within 24 hours.
I don't understand.
Why isn't he freeing Carlos? I don't know, but don't worry.
I promise, this is gonna be okay.
(SIGHS) Well, I can see why you're fascinated by it.
Your picture's right in the center.
You don't really think Mia's murder is about you, do you? I'm not sure what to think anymore.
Jeffrey, this man was unhinged.
Everything was a conspiracy to him.
Yeah, but we both know that there's a conspiracy here.
Someone arranged to take Carlos Ochoa out in prison.
Someone with means and power.
Apparently, someone I already know.
Based on what? The word of some man Mia met in a youth hostel somewhere? And, look, even if it's true, even if Carl Bullock somehow figured all of this out, why didn't he post any of it on Sophe? We always intended the $100 million reward be shared with everyone who contributed to finding out who killed Mia, right? Well, what if he wanted to keep all the money for himself? All right, so it's just simple game theory? Exactly.
He didn't want to share information 'cause he didn't want to share the prize.
Yeah, he must have found some bit of truth that got him killed.
I just can't figure out what it is.
Gosh, if only we had a machine, some sort of platform that could harness many minds instead of one.
(EVIDENCE ALARM BEEPING) Talk to me.
Uh, all of Carl Bullock's theories and journals have been posted.
- Well, the ones we have.
- What do you mean, the ones you have? TARIQ: Some of his journals are missing.
We don't know where they went.
Well, the killer probably took them 'cause they contained clues about Mia's killer.
We don't know that.
Well, what else makes sense? I mean, what about our posts? - What have the responses been? - TARIQ: It's off the charts.
Like, record levels.
JOSH: Yeah, we had to create a separate thread just for all the tributes.
SARA: Well, one of their own has been killed.
The users are coming together en masse.
Okay, well, that's beautiful, but what about the case? The users are working on it.
They're trying to connect the dots.
But this guy's posts have been intricately cross-referenced with his evidence logs, journals.
He has bibliographies for his bibliographies.
It's nuts.
Tell me you got something.
I checked out Bullock's estranged wife.
She had alibi for the murder.
What about ballistics, fingerprints? I mean, what kind of stuff were you doing before there was a Sophe? Come on.
Slugs don't match anything in the system.
- Neither do the prints.
- He's way too smart for that.
That's how he's been able to stay under the radar - for over a year.
- Look, slow down, Tanner, okay? We don't know if this has anything to do - with Mia's death.
- Bullock's ex said that Mia's case was the last thing that he was working on.
That she knew.
She also said they didn't talk about this work.
Look, I know you're mad, all right? I just don't want to see you spin out over something that's probably just a coincidence.
A coincidence? (EVIDENCE ALERT BLARING) I guess we'll see about that.
JOSH: The users are correlating Bullock's journal entries to his posts.
They've confirmed which journals are missing.
They're all connected to the same theory Bullock was investigating.
Not too late to change your bet, Detective.
Uh TARIQ: And the top vote-getter is TANNER: "City Official Part of a Reptilian Cabal "" What the hell did you do? "City Official, Reptilian Cabal"? What the hell does that even mean? It's one of Bullock's conspiracy theories.
He believed that a city supervisor, Kevin Simko, was a member of Well, you get the rest.
Just for the record, this whole Lizard Man stuff it's kind of actually a thing.
Four percent of Americans believe that reptilian aliens are living among us, masquerading as humans, and What was that thing, Josh? You said the absence of evidence is the same as not evidence.
Or wait.
How'd it go? Did-did you guys post everything that Bullock had on Mia? Of course they did, Jeffrey.
For once, Sophe got it wrong, and I suspect it is not the crowd's fault.
Garbage in, garbage out.
Run it again, and do it right this time.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) SARA: Excuse me, but I'm just trying to wrap my mind around what I just witnessed.
- Sara, listen - Did you just disregard user results because they didn't match your preconceptions? If properly harnessed, the crowd is amazing, all right, but it's not foolproof.
If we put conspiracy theories out there, it's going to produce fringe results, all right? It's gonna create bias.
Oh, wait, wait.
Sorry.
This from a man who spent two hours today staring at this.
Mia was real, and her killer is real.
Jeffrey, users didn't choose the Lizard Man theory because they believe it.
They chose it because that is where the evidence led them.
Yeah? How? Because those are the journals that are missing! And a user at City Hall said he recently saw Bullock attend several supervisor meetings.
Maybe there's something in it, maybe there isn't.
But the only way to know is to follow it up.
TANNER: Where's Cavanaugh going? To talk to the supervisor.
Look, I know that you wanted this to be about Mia we all did.
But the only way we're gonna solve her murder is through Sophe.
Don't get stuck in a hall of mirrors like Carl Bullock did.
(SIGHS) I'm sorry, Detective.
If you want to maybe schedule something.
No, I'm good.
I'll-I'll wait.
Joel, I need the school board file.
Supervisor Simko.
Can I grab five minutes of your time? Yeah.
I want to ask you about someone.
- It's Carl Bullock.
- You know him? Yeah.
Wish I didn't.
Guy's a colossal pain in my ass.
I mean, he calls here all the time leaving these bizarre messages, he interrupts our board meetings making all sorts of crazy claims.
Like calling you a Lizard Man maybe? (SIGHS) Can you walk with me? Yeah.
Yeah, apparently, I've got some some sort of reptilian mind-control ability.
I don't know.
If only.
It'd be funny, except, these days, you never know if a guy like that's gonna go off.
In fact, I was thinking about having my office look into a restraining order.
No need anymore.
Bullock's dead.
Murdered in his home.
Huh.
Ah, sorry.
Not gonna lose any sleep over it.
Can't imagine the guy had much of a life.
So, can you imagine a reason why anyone would want him dead? Well, like I said, the guy was a pain in the ass.
You know, maybe he just pushed the wrong guy's buttons, you know? Listen, Detective, I'm I'm late for about six different things right now.
Of course.
Thank you for your time.
I saw that Carl boarded the number eight bus headed north on Samsome.
I'm thinking he ended up at Coit Tower.
Why do you think that? What-What's at Coit Tower? NSA hyper-parabolic microphones.
One of Bullock's theories was that the NSA has a listening station on Telegraph Hill.
Thank you, Ty.
Appreciate it.
If you know anything else, just get back to us.
Actually, the O.
S.
S.
did house an observation station there - during World War Two.
- TANNER: Josh stay with us, please.
- Come on, man.
- I'm just saying, a lot of these crazy-sounding ideas have a basis in historical fact.
What are we doing? We're trying to coax Josh back to reality.
We're trying to piece together Carl Bullock's movements over the last few days.
He didn't have a car, but Cavanaugh got us access to his transit pass.
Now, I've mapped together all of Bullock's ride segments over the last 72 hours.
Um, yellow are bus rides, blue is BART.
GREEN: cable cars and trolleys.
And then what? TANNER: And then we contacted everyone who commented on one of his posts.
We got people out in the field.
We're basically trying to match up his rides with any of the theories.
Lizard Man included? Lizard Man, Lizard Woman, Lizard Baby.
(EVIDENCE ALERT BEEPING) TARIQ: It's a user from the Powell Street BART station.
Carl was there twice yesterday afternoon.
I'm sorry, I have to handle this.
Excuse me.
Judge Bauman used to be known as "Bleeding-Heart Bauman.
" Three years ago, he granted a motion to release an inmate named Willis Lee.
Two months later, Willis Lee raped and killed - a high school student in San Pablo.
- TANNER: Let me guess.
Bauman's heart's starting to bleed a whole lot less now.
ALEX: What's the old saying? A conservative is just a liberal who got mugged? (SIGHS) I should have seen this coming.
I'm sorry.
We just have to figure out what we're gonna do if Bauman rules against us.
Then what? QUINN: Well, the next step would be to file a petition with the state court of appeals.
Eventually that might get to the California Supreme Court.
That could take months or years.
I mean, that's so long.
I'm just explaining the options.
It's just frustrating because Bauman knows that Carlos is innocent, and yet he won't release him.
He just doesn't want it to blow up in his face if he lets him out.
We have to make sure it blows up in his face if he doesn't.
What are you doing? I got a few hundred thousand friends that might be able to help us out on this.
Hey, we're getting reports from users about Carl Bullock's whereabouts.
(EVIDENCE ALERT BEEPING) Whoa, check out the blast from the past.
It's ForceofWill.
(CHUCKLES) Hey, what's up, Team Sophe? SARA: Oh, Will.
It's good to see you again.
I didn't take you for the conspiracy type.
Yeah, it's more of a hobby.
But, you know, Bullock was, uh, good people.
What have you got for us? Bullock took a bus to Van Ness and Eddy the past three nights.
I was driving around the area, and, uh, I just got lucky.
Lucky how? Oh, there are a couple, uh, no-tell motels in the area.
You'll never believe who I just saw go into one.
The lizard man himself.
Kevin Simko.
WILL: Great donut place just around the corner.
I mean, if I'd have known you guys were coming, I'd save you some.
Well, we're fine.
Thank you, though.
You know, we got this covered.
- Might be better if you head on home.
- You kidding me? I've been a Sophe user from day one.
I'm staying.
Tell me something, Will.
I'm always on the other side.
What made you start using Sophe? Was it the reward money? (CHUCKLES) No.
No, I never even think about that.
Honestly, my whole life, I've sort of had to depend on other people.
Sophe gives me a chance to give back a little, you know? To-to help someone else out.
Plus, when I was a kid, I really loved T.
J.
Hooker, so (CAVANAUGH CHUCKLES) Of course.
That's Simko there.
I-I told you.
Is that Mrs.
Bullock? Bullock had it wrong.
Supervisor's not a lizard.
He's a snake.
Mrs.
Bullock.
Anything you want to tell me before I talk to your boyfriend? Look, I know you have an alibi.
But if you know anything about your husband's murder - and keep silent - I've told you everything I know, Detective.
I was sleeping with a married man I'm not proud of that but I don't know anything about Carl's death.
I don't know what else to say.
All right.
Here.
I know how this looks.
I'm not judging.
The truth is I would have filed for divorce, but it would have sent Carl deeper into a spiral.
Once you lose a child, it's tough for any marriage to survive that.
Ours didn't even last that long.
Sorry.
It's funny how much you can still care about someone even after you've been pushed apart.
I wasn't expecting that.
If you, uh, if you don't mind me asking I mean, how long you know, I mean, since your son? Five years.
Does it get easier? I don't think so.
I just think maybe some people are better at dealing with it than others.
I want it noted that my client is here voluntarily, out of respect for the San Francisco police.
Oh, yeah, I feel the love.
Why didn't you tell me about your affair with Emma Bullock? Didn't think my personal life was relevant.
I tell you Carl Bullock was murdered, you're sleeping with the guy's wife, you didn't think it was relevant? (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Okay.
(CLEARS THROAT) You said Bullock was a pain in the ass.
He ever threaten to reveal your affair? Maybe over the mic at a supervisor's meeting? This is ridiculous, all right? I didn't kill him.
You certainly had motive.
A wife, kids.
A political career.
I think my client already made it clear he had nothing to do with Mr.
Bullock's death.
It's just better to get it all out here, between us, in this room.
Is that some kind of a threat, Detective? I'm just trying to clear things up.
You've already lied to me once.
I want to know if there's anything else you're lying about.
Okay, I think we're done here.
Hey.
Mr.
Simko.
Where were you the night Carl Bullock was killed? I was in my office, working late.
Dedicated public servant, huh? Anyone corroborate that? Joel.
Tell him.
You were there, you saw me.
Uh Yeah, we were both working late.
I remember.
DRUMMOND: That clear things up enough for you, Detective? Let's just be clear about something else.
If any part of our conversation gets out of this office, your career's a lot closer to being ruined than mine.
I'm not a detective, Detective, but that alibi seems a little shady to me.
- (REPORTERS CLAMORING) - Mr.
Tanner, how do you think No comment.
Thank you.
(DOOR CLOSES) TANNER: Nice audience.
- You like that? - Yeah.
Well, I do have a full-time press secretary, so I need to get my money's worth once in a while.
BAILIFF: Stay seated.
Come to order.
Good morning, everyone.
It appears we have a bit more interest in today's proceedings than usual.
In that case, I'll get right to my decision.
- I am - Your Honor.
Before you make your ruling, defense moves that you recuse yourself from this case.
- (GALLERY MURMURING QUIETLY) - On what grounds? Conflict of interest, Your Honor.
Conflict of Have you lost your mind, Ms.
Quinn? There's absolutely no basis for that here.
Actually, Your Honor, there is.
Clearly, you have a personal vendetta against me.
(GALLERY MURMURING) All of you, in my chambers now.
What possible grudge could I have against you, Mr.
Tanner? One based on the fact that I cost you a great deal of money.
I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm not sure you do, either.
Your investment portfolio.
Until recently, it contained a sizable stake in my old company, AllSourcer, which unfortunately took a great tumble when I left.
I guess there's just no substitute for great management.
BAUMAN: This is outrageous.
I have a financial advisor who handles this.
I have nothing to do with it.
And my decision in this case has - absolutely nothing to do with you.
- And I don't doubt that for a minute, but you have to understand, there's a lot of press out there.
Which story do you think they're gonna want to run with? - Mr.
Tanner, I'm warning you.
- "Rich judge keeps disadvantaged kid in prison because he's angry about his stock portfolio "" See, I think that that story will have legs.
I will find you in contempt, and I will have you charged with extortion.
Okay, listen to me, both of you, please.
Your Honor, if I may.
When Carlos was on trial for what we thought he did to our daughter, we both wanted him behind bars for the rest of his life, but we were so wrong to do that.
Because he didn't do it.
We know that now.
The picture proves it.
And knowing that an innocent man has suffered the way that he has knowing that another mother may lose her child you have the chance to be on the right side of this.
So we are asking you to please let him go.
Hey.
You having any luck? You realize that's an insult, right? Implying what we do is at all related to luck.
I do now.
I asked if they could find out where Simko was on Tuesday night.
The night of Bullock's murder? I thought he had an alibi.
Not one I'm buying.
- What do you got? - As you can probably guess, Simko is not a big public transit guy.
But what perk do upper-level city employees get? A city-issued toll pass.
Ruiz got one for her promotion.
Jealous much? JOSH: Simko may have told you he was working in his office, but according to his billing records, his toll pass went for a drive.
9:38 p.
m.
, he crossed the Bay Bridge, eastbound; 10:17, he's back on the Bay Bridge, this time city-bound.
SARA: So, he was in the East Bay area for 40 minutes.
What was he doing? Let me limit Bullock's data to that same time frame.
Bullock went to San Leandro? They were both in the East Bay at the same time.
Why? What's over there? Yesterday, when we were tracking Bullock's movements, users had a couple theories on why he might have gone there.
Capital Northern, FMT Walland Construction.
There were plans and models in Simko's office for the renovation of Muni Hall.
Walland is the contractor.
Josh, can you put that out to our users? Yeah.
I heard the good news.
Took a little persuading, but, uh, ultimately the judge ruled in our favor.
- So when is Carlos is free? - Very soon.
That's not good news, that's great news.
That it is.
(EVIDENCE ALERT BEEPING) It's a user named MattBuilder67.
He-he thinks there's something shady about the Muni Hall deal.
Hi, Matt, it's Sara.
You've got info on the Muni Hall renovation? Yeah, my company put in a bid for that job.
And I know for a fact that we were a cheaper, better package.
But the contract didn't go to you.
We had it in the bag.
Then, out of nowhere, it was awarded to Walland.
I don't mean to offend you, sir, but it sounds - a little like sour grapes.
- Hey, look, I get paid by the hour doesn't matter to me.
But I know that Walland's been involved in dozens of sketchy deals, and wouldn't surprise me if this one stunk, too.
That's just my two cents.
All right, thank you, Matt.
So, what if someone bribed Simko to award the contract to Walland? Well, if he's out there at their offices at 10:00 at night, he's not looking at blueprints.
Yeah, maybe he was getting his payoff, and Bullock witnessed it.
Bullock's riding public transportation.
It's gonna take him a while to get home from the East Bay.
Gives Simko plenty of time to drive there and be waiting on him.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Thanks for coming right over.
Yeah.
Simko didn't show up at City Hall today.
Well, if he's following Sophe, he may already be in the wind.
You think? Hey.
Do you hear that? (ENGINE RUNNING) Car engine.
(CAVANAUGH COUGHING) (RUIZ COUGHING) This is Lieutenant Ruiz.
I need emergency medical response at my location.
It's too late.
Hey, Tommy.
So, it turns out our vic left a suicide note on his AllSourcer page.
We sure it was him? The wife seems to think so.
It was an apology, and some details about their anniversary trip stuff only he would know.
He give a reason? Well, news about the construction bribe was about to break, and on top of that, the wife found out about the affair.
So, kind of a perfect storm, you know? - Thanks, Clay.
- Here you go.
Autopsy report? Yeah.
Cause of death: carbon monoxide poisoning.
Well, there's no surprise there.
This is weird, though.
Tox screen shows enough sedative in Simko's blood to knock out a horse.
Well, we've seen that before.
Someone's afraid to go through with it, so they take alcohol and pills to make it easier.
Yeah, but there's no trace of pills in his stomach.
According to the doc, that means he was alive at least 90 minutes after taking the pills.
And he would never survive that long with the engine running.
All right, let's run this.
So, all right, a guy gets in his car, takes a handful of pills.
He would have to start the engine quickly, right? - Before he passed out.
- But if that's the case, then he would be dead before the pills are digested.
The time line doesn't make sense.
There's only one way it works.
If Simko was already unconscious for at least an hour then someone else started the car.
CAVANAUGH: There.
What's missing? Zoom in, right corner of the windshield.
Those Velcro strips.
Toll pass is missing.
It wasn't in his car or his wife's.
SARA: But if Simko didn't have his pass, then someone else drove to San Leandro the night of the murder.
Do you still have access to his toll pass data? Unless the user pulled it.
Uh, here.
I've still got last month's billing cycle.
Simko's pass made almost daily trips across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Inbound in the morning, out in the evening.
Like traveling into the city from Marin.
That mean anything to you? Simko's assistant, Joel he lives in Kentfield.
And he probably knows enough about Simko to fake a suicide note.
How long have you lived up in Marin County, Joel? Uh, for a year or so.
The commute must suck.
(CHUCKLES): I'm guessing.
Helps, though, if you have your boss's toll pass, right? That's what we found in your car.
Guess you had it for a while now.
(EXHALES) Is that what this is about? That I have Kevin's pass? He let me use it it it was his idea, just to save me the tolls every day.
So he was just being nice to you.
And this is how you repay him.
I don't know what you mean.
You handled the incoming bids to the Muni Hall project for your boss, didn't you? Not really.
I just passed all that along to Kevin.
Joel we talked to the foreman at Walland Construction.
He came clean, admitting to paying you 50 grand to fix the bids.
And we tossed your apartment, too.
Found Carl Bullock's missing journals in a Dumpster in the back of your building.
I-I Maybe I should have a lawyer.
You can have all the lawyers you want.
We have everything we need on you.
Carl Bullock saw you, didn't he? Getting the payoff? Is that why you killed him? What the hell was he even doing there? The guy was insane.
Chasing after lizard men? You went into his house, and you shot him.
What about your boss, Joel? What about Kevin? He figured it out.
About the bids.
So I had no choice.
You're you're gonna tell them that I cooperated, right? That they should go easy on me? All this destruction for 50 grand? Not a chance in hell.
(PANTING) - Hey.
- Hey.
Nice work.
(SIGHS) What's this? I got your car washed.
And I can also tell you all the scores from last weekend's games, so, you know, you don't have to waste time watching them.
- (STAMMERS) Hey, don't you dare.
- (LAUGHS) It would be nice to get a day off.
Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it? But that's not gonna happen.
(EXCITED CHATTER) Aw.
(EXCITED CHATTER CONTINUES) We're never gonna have that.
The happy ending.
Jeffrey You go.
I'll be there in a sec.
(DOOR CLOSES) ALEX: So excited.
Hi, honey.
How are you? (KNOCK ON DOOR) (SIGHS) Are you going to let me in? Well, uh I'm just I'm in a zone right now, and I-I just don't want to lose it.
(SIGHS HEAVILY) What did I warn you about, spinning into a hole by yourself? I know, I know, I just, I'm so close, though.
Well, that's great.
But don't push us out.
Let all of us help you.
"All of us"? Tanner, we're all trying to find Mia's killer.
That's why we're here.
Yeah.
Let's get it right this time.
That's what Sophe's all about.
Well, that's why you built it, isn't it? ALEX: So let us help you, dum-dum.
- Please.
- (LAUGHS) And let them bloody help you, too.
JOSH: I've got a photo of the board ready to post.
Thank you.
Let's get to work.

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