03x13 - Acting Out

[bunniefuu]

After three days of sh**ting up...

Little Maria won't turn any more tricks, so we decide to roll the next guy we see.

The guy fights back.

So I sh**t him in the head, take the ivory crucifix off his neck.

Me and little Maria... carry his body to the waterfront, and I just, well, I go back to the Jensen just thinking about what I've done, and there's a Bible... open on the nightstand.

And I see Acts 3:19.

That verse is the same number as the room.

It says, "repent, then...

"and turn to God... so that your sins may be wiped out."

So I decide to ask for forgiveness.

But first...

I stick the g*n... and the ivory crucifix... in the vent above my head.

Ana: What the hell are you doing?!

Not one word of that is in the script!

Damn it! [Breathing heavily]

You can't make up dialogue!

Why are you telling that story, J-me?!

Why?!

I'm sorry?

Oh, my God, I'm gonna k*ll you!

Are you talking to me?

Who am I looking at?

'Cause my name is Miguel.

And I only tell the truth, and you know it! Cut!

No!

Cut!

You don't yell cut because you're not the director!

I'm the director!

J-me: Well, you know what? Pete! Let's go.

Danny, follow him!

Follow him, and somebody get me his useless manager on the phone now!

[Door opens]

I-I'm really sorry, J-me, uh, I mean, uh, Miguel, uh, but before you go, Ana needs her sample.

Oh, I'm giving it to her.

[Zipper opens]

[Urinating] Right here.

No, no, no, listen, Ian... I-Ian!

Your client is in breach of contract, and this is the last time I'm gonna have this kind of conversation with you!

I'm not gonna deal with...

Sorry, babe.

I'm the center of your little film.

You can never get rid of me.

[Laughs]

[Police radio chatter]

Sykes, who called this in?

Store owner.

First officer on the scene recognized our victim but kept his ID confidential.

We'll see how long that lasts.

Why? Who is he?

Are you kidding? It's J-me.

James Martin Elliott?

Better known to a whole generation of teenage girls as "J-me."

Provenza: This bum was a child star?

Before he got mixed up in dr*gs, J-me had his own television series, records, concerts.

He was incredibly hot.

Yeah, well, now he's barely room temperature.

Flynn: No one else recognized this guy before we got here?

I don't know. I find that hard to believe.

Mm, track marks.

I'll bet he came downtown for a fix and got rolled.

One dirtbag kills another dirtbag at Christmas.

A timeless holiday story.

Flynn, what are you doing?

My daughter wants to meet me at work today.

I'm just trying to head her off.

Sir, no one admits to seeing anything last night, but several people say that the victim had become a regular.

Oh, no. Is that...

Oh, my. [Sighs]

Oh, my God! Are you kidding me?!

It's J-me!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, this guy's a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Man: Incoming!

[Helicopter blades whirring]

That's not one of our airships, sir.

Well, so much for keeping this under wraps.

All right, Kendall, get back over there and lose that coroner's van, then load this kid in the ambulance.

You want us to put a dead guy in an ambulance?

Unless he's badly decomposing, you see brain matter on the sidewalk, he's not dead until I say he's dead.

And I want a second opinion.

Let's get him to the E.R.

Yeah.

All right, now... Let's go.

Uh, Sanchez, accompany our patient in the ambulance.

And if his condition doesn't improve, I'll meet you at the morgue.

[Whirring continues]

Taylor: How could you have sent this guy to the hospital and pretended he was being treated?

I'm not a doctor.

Kendall refused to sign off.

And you ordered 20 uniformed officers to protect a floor your patient is no longer on?

Sharon: That was my idea, chief.

I want the reporters waiting at the hospital, not searching for evidence.

Look, we have a limited amount of time to control this story before it takes off without us.

[Cellphone buzzing]

Even my wife is calling to ask what it is we're hiding.

Hold on, hon.

Hurry this up, captain.

[Sighs]

Doctor.

The cause of death seems fairly straightforward...

A subdural hematoma resulting from repetitive blunt-force trauma to the head.

Not dr*gs?

Surprisingly, no.

And look at this.

These injection sites...

Created with makeup, like this tattoo.

Acts 3:19?

"Repent, then, and turn to God "so that your sins may be wiped out that times of refreshing may come from the lord."

Well, somebody went to Sunday school.

But why try so hard to appear like a drug user if you're not one?

Sykes: For the past month, J-me was acting in a movie about a homeless addict.

It was a small independent film designed to be his comeback.

This entertainment news site, Inside P.O.V., has dozens of stories on him.

J-me was in rehab three times in the past five years.

Hollywood reporters seemed to think that this movie was an opportunity to prove that he was living his life in recovery.

So, James Elliott wasn't on Skid Row obtaining dr*gs.

He was downtown at 2:00 in the morning doing research for a role.

Oh, hey.

Uh...

So, I spoke with the film's, uh, UPM...

Whatever that is... and, uh, with J-me in the hospital, they stopped filming.

So, he put me in touch with one of their gofers, who just told me...

Hey, we're not gofers, lieutenant.

We're P.A.s, as in production assistants.

Okay, the P.A., A.K.A. gofer, said that J-me blew up on the set, stormed off with one of his drivers in a black S.U.V. after taking... um, a whiz on the director's car.

Captain Raydor, this is Ian Sherman, Mr. Elliott's talent manager.

I thought you might want to update him on his client's condition since he's been overwhelmed by interview requests.

Sherman: Yeah, I-I-I've been at the hospital.

[Sputters] It's a zoo.

I-I can't get anywhere near J-me, and... and... and there's all kind of speculation going on out there.

Uh, let me bring you up to speed, sir.

Lieutenant Tao.

Could you please bring Mr. Sherman into my office?

And I'll join you in a moment.

Follow me.

Mm-hmm.

Taylor: Keep me posted, captain.

Wouldn't want the news getting out in the wrong way.

Yes, sir.

You all right?

Yeah, I-I was supposed to ask Lieutenant Tao to pick through these extras for S.I.S. officers and then head back to work.

Is this gonna take long?

No, not at all. Just wait here.

Okay.

Uh, Lieutenant Provenza, would you please join us in my office? Thank you.

Hey, Nicole.

Hey, Sharon.

I guess I chose a busy day to stop by.

No, not at all.

Uh, we'll have a minute to talk.

Okay.

Talk? Talk about what?

I mean, what do you need to talk to Sharon about?

Something... personal, dad, okay?

O-okay.

Okay.

Sharon: Uh, Mr. Sherman, this is...

Mr. Sh... Mr. Sherman, this is Lieutenant Provenza, who had your client brought to the hospital, and this is Lieutenant Tao, who understands your business a little bit better than I do.

I consult on a TV show starring Jon Worth...

"Badge of Justice."

Never seen it.

Uh, but I-I hear it's wonderful.

Mm.

Oh! What is going on with J-me?!

He's not answering his cell!

When was the last time you spoke with him?

[Sighs] Yesterday, uh, but I got a phone call at 1:00 A.M. from the director he's working with.

She had another knockdown, drag-out fight with J-me.

She forced him to walk off the set.

Anyway, I-I need to speak to him right away.

Pressing business matters?

Oh, and then some!

I-I couldn't buy this kind of media attention.

Oh, if it turns out J-me was sober during the att*ck, we can ride this momentum to a complete career reboot.

What? What?

You also manage J-me's publicity?

Oh, like...

Like I might have staged an att*ck as a P.R. stunt?

Mm.

That's ridiculous.

What if J-me hurt his face?

[Cellphone chimes, cellphone buzzes]

Something the matter, dad?

Looks like central sent us all the same video link.

What is this supposed to be?

I'll pull it up on my monitor.

Oh, this does not look good, this caption here...

Very, very bad.

A video just released by Inside P.O.V. shows former child star James Martin Elliott, better known to his legion of fans as "J-me," being violently assaulted in downtown Los Angeles.

This was either late last night or early this morning.

Now, take a look at this video provided by Inside P.O.V.

Man: This is my spot!

Get out of here! Unh!

J-me: Ohh! Agh!

[Grunts]

Agh!

We will, of course, have more details as they become available.

Uh, did we find a crutch at the scene?

No, ma'am, and the street where that video was sh*t is not where J-me ended up.

Sykes: Captain, I-I just got a text from central saying they recognize the assailant...

A vagrant named Diego Mora, A.K.A. Crazy Diego.

Okay, let's put out a citywide watch on Crazy Diego.

I'd like to find him before CNN.

Uh, who do you think sh*t that, uh, video?

Um, probably some paparazzo stalking the poor kid.

Lieutenant Tao, please call Inside P.O.V. and see if we can get the raw footage.

Mm.

Hey, did everyone look at the video central just sent?

That has to be the guy who k*lled J-me.

J-me is dead?

[Sputtering] Is that true?!

Mr. Sherman, I'm... I'm very sorry, but, um, I'm afraid that your...

Well, your client, uh...

Is a little bit dead, yeah.

Oh, my God.

I got to call my realtor.

Uh, yeah. Uh, look, congratulations.

You just won a free day with the LAPD.

I'm in the way.

Oh, you know what? I'm so sorry, honey.

We're in the middle of a time-sensitive investigation.

Maybe if you just...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

We're sending patrol out to pick up a k*ller, and we're tracking down some video footage.

Andy, that's just legwork.

Come on in my office, Nicole.

Okay. [Chuckles]

So... [Chuckles]

In some ways, I feel a little awkward asking your advice, but you deal with this issue on a daily basis, too.

Oh, what issue is that?

My husband's a great guy and a wonderful father, and we used to work together... no problem.

But ever since I became the accounts manager, which made me his boss, we've been having problems, and how do you handle that?

Well, I never worked with my husband.

I can't imagine.

No, but you do work with my dad.

Uh, just tell me, like, is there some... some trick to... to balancing your romance with your responsibilities?

I mean, how do you go out with my father at night and boss him around during the day?

Oh, I don't know if I've...

Ever really, um, thought about it quite like that.

[Knock on door]

Sorry to interrupt, captain.

Not at all.

Buzz is downloading the rest of that video you requested.

Oh, thank you. Uh, Nicole, I am so sorry, but I'm afraid that your father was right.

Um, we are completely, completely running out of time.

Sorry, sorry.

No, I'm sorry. Let's go.

So, we'll talk sometime later, okay?

Nicole: Oh, uh, speaking of which, my stepsons are doing "The Nutcracker" again, and we'd love to all go as a family.

I thought how nice it would be if you and Rusty...

Could join us tomorrow night.

Oh, well, we would just love to go as a group to "The Nutcracker," wouldn't we, Rusty?

Sure. Yeah.

Uh, thank you for asking.

"The Nutcracker" is, um...

What is it?

A ballet.

Oh, I would invite everyone, but we only have so many tickets.

Oh, no problem.

After five marriages, I know "The Nutcracker"... by heart.

Captain, we've got Sherman incommunicado in our visitor's conference center.

Video's up.

Okay.

I'll let you guys get back to work.

Um, thanks again for listening, Sharon.

Uh, lieutenant?

Oh, right. Background S.I.S. guys.

If you have anything that could help, I'd really appreciate it.

Oh, we will talk soon.

Okay.

Bye, dad.

Bye-bye, sweetheart.

Thank you so much.

Uh, I'll call you later.

Okay.

Buzz: Well, the first part is just watching the guy wandering around aimlessly before the att*ck.

Provenza: So whoever took this video was no passerby who stumbled onto a fight.

Uh, definitely not, and you can tell from the high resolution, this was sh*t with a quality camera.

Uh, Buzz, could you, um, fast-forward to the confrontation?

Hey!

J-me: Hey.

What are you doing here?!

Diego starts the fight.

J-me's defensive throughout.

Get out of here!

What are you doing in my spot?!

Taking my spot!

Unh! Ohh!

Agh!

Sykes: Here's where the video Inside P.O.V. aired ended, with Diego Mora discovering he was being filmed.

[ Shouts]

Man: Ow, my arm, my arm!

Look what you did to my arm!

And that's it.

Julio and Amy, let's try and talk with the driver who dropped our victim off on Skid Row.

Mike, see if you can check with the emergency rooms in the area.

See if anyone came in in the early morning hours with a broken arm or a sprained wrist.

Flynn and I will get a warrant, go to the studio where J-me was filming, check out his dressing room.

Trailer.

Trailer. [Chuckles]

Oh, my God. Mr. Show Business speaks.

[Chuckles] Um, anything else?

No, Andy, that'll be it. Thank you.

Okay. Um...

Okay.

Okay, bye.

Yeah, bye.

Buzz, um... let's look at this footage again and see if we missed anything.

O-kay.

Look, I never actually said to Nicole that Sharon and I were dating.

Well, if you would call her "captain" instead of "Sharon," maybe some of your problems would go away... Some of my aggravation, too.

[Scoffs]

Ah, look.

The glamour of Hollywood...

One big RV park.

Well, this has got to be it.

Aha, looky here.

Flynn: Oh, yeah.

[Thud, glass shatters]

Man: Oh, crap, crap, crap.

LAPD! Open up!

Crap, crap, crap. What now?

God, don't sh**t!

Get back, get back!

Who are you, and why are you in J-me's trailer?

[Door closes]

Look, I'm Danny Riggs, I work here, and J-me called this morning and asked me to, uh, secure his valuables while he's in the hospital.

I seriously doubt that.

Flynn: Wait a second. Danny Riggs...

Y-you're the gofer that I spoke to this morning.

A-a-actually, we're called "production assistants," and I'm on...

Yeah, where'd you get that shiner?

How'd you break your arm, Danny?

Were you following J-me around last night with a camera on Skid Row, huh?!

Sit down! All right, the video, the video!

O-okay, fine!

That was me downtown filming J-me.

You knew this guy was gonna be att*cked?

What?! No, no! How could I know that?!

A-Ana, the director, asked me to keep an eye on him... with a video camera.

Why would she want you to do something like that?

[Sighs]

J-me was required to turn over a urine sample every day to prove he was clean and sober.

Last night, he refused, so Ana thought a video of him buying dr*gs off the street would serve the same purpose.

You can't touch that stuff, okay?! It's all personal!

Okay, how did that video end up at Inside P.O.V.?

I sold it to them to make a few extra bucks!

Is that a crime?!

Hopefully. We're still looking around.

No, seriously, is that a crime?

Yeah, just hold on.

All this rewriting, is that typical?

How should I know?!

Okay, Danny boy, $5 Friday...

What's that all about?

Like a lottery.

On Friday, everybody on the set writes their name on a $5 bill, puts it in the can.

We draw a winner at lunch.

Yesterday, J-me won, of all people, 1,000 bucks.

Man, was the crew pissed.

I bet he still had that cash on him when he drove downtown.

He didn't drive himself.

Pete took him.

Pete? Pete who?

Sykes: Could you tell us how you came to be Mr. Elliott's driver in the first place?

Sure, um... the director, Ana, introduced us.

J-me kind of took to me, I guess, because he was just out of rehab again and, um...

I've been clean for years.

Also, he was researching this movie about life on the streets.

So, J-me was doing research with his director, and she introduced him to his driver.

That's interesting.

Maybe Ana and J-me's relationship started out in a more...

Yeah, I told him. So did he. personal fashion.

Didn't seem like a big deal to either one of us.

Mike, would you ask J-me's manager how his client got the lead role in that film to begin with?

Mm.

So, what happened last night?

Well, [Sighs] nothing unusual, really.

Uh, he and Ana had another one of their typical blow-out fights.

J-me stormed off set, asked me to drive him downtown.

That's where he goes to become Miguel.

Why was he fighting with the director, Ana?

Well, I guess she wanted to hear the lines as written.

You know, J-me's not a big believer in that.

Last night, Ana really went off on him about it.

[Telephone ringing]

Buzz Watson.

Have you ever seen this man before?

Pete: Oh, God, Diego Mora.

Great. They found Crazy Diego.

Oh, that's a relief. Where is he?

Morales: The bruising and contusions I see are consistent with someone living Mr. Mora's lifestyle, but the cause of death appears to be acute opiate intoxication.

There were no syringes or dope anywhere near his body.

Thoughtful guy...

Kills himself and straightens up afterwards.

A little too thoughtful.

Yes, maybe Diego had a visitor last night after he b*at an actor to death for no apparent reason.

An actor who gets the part of Miguel by sleeping with the director, or so his manager indicates.

J-me's relationship with Ana could've been something more than it seems.

Or something less. Yes, doctor?

Um, Mr. Mora had a pouch sewn into his belt line, and this key was inside it.

Any idea what it's for?

I've recovered ones like it from other indigent victims.

That should unlock a bin at a downtown community center where the homeless keep their belongings.

If Diego's death isn't just a wild coincidence...

Then he k*lled J-me for someone else.

And now we start over.

[Sighs]

It's with profound sadness that I inform you James Martin Elliott succumbed earlier today to injuries related to an as*ault that occurred at approximately 3:00 A.M. this morning.

Central division identified Mr. Elliott's attacker as one Diego Mora, aged 43.

[Sighs]

I mean, it's not like I was a big fan of J-me, but there were plenty of times where I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Well, it may not have been a random act of v*olence.

It could be that someone wanted J-me dead.

Or they got mad he was, like, some rich boy pretending to be homeless.

The street would not put up with that kind of thing.

That's true, but, also, J-me may or may not have been involved with someone at work.

Trying to date someone at work...

Tricky.

So I hear.

Ah, do I really have to go to that "Nutcracker" thing tomorrow night?

Oh, come on, Rusty, don't you want to see a classic ballet?

The music is iconic.

Uh-huh.

Like how?

♪ Bum, bum-bum, bum-bum bum, bum, bum, bum ♪
♪ Bum, bum-bum-bum-bum bum, bum, bum, bum ♪
♪ Da, da-da, da-da, da-da, d... ♪

Do they play it like that?

No. It's an orchestra.

Yeah.

Okay, look.

I'm afraid that Nicole has made some... wrong assumptions about my relationship with her dad, and I would feel better if you came along with me as a...

Oh, oh, like a buffer.

What?

No, no, no, I don't need a b... no!

I just don't want to get into a, um...

Any personal conversation about...

Sharon, that is exactly what a buffer does.

Look, I-I'm... I'm glad to go.

Okay.

But what do you think put this idea in Nicole's head to begin with?

Tao: The key Dr. Morales found on Diego's body fits this lock.

There's no contraband or perishables allowed.

The community center provides bins for the homeless, and it allowed access to their belongings from sunrise to sunset.

Sykes: And I checked their sign-in sheet, and Diego Mora was there once yesterday just before 7:00 A.M.

Now, what would that derelict be doing with a mirror?

Oh, people attach them inside the lid, sir, to see who's behind them when they're looking through their things.

Ah, the m*rder w*apon.

Provenza: Holy Toledo.

There must be at least a hundred $5 bills here.

And look... each bill has a person's name written on it in magic marker.

Just like the P.A. with the broken arm told us.

Yeah, $5 Friday. Mm.

Sykes: Now, here's a name that interests me.

Ana is the director of the movie J-me was working on.

Provenza: Yeah, and she also ordered that same P.A. to follow J-me downtown.

And she may or may not have been dating the victim.

Sharon: Yes.

A little relationship clarity could do us all some good here.

Yeah.

I put that in the coffee can like everyone else and lost it to J-me.

Do I get it back now?

Why don't you explain how you came to direct a project starring James Martin Elliott?

Short story is, I spent most of my teens on dr*gs, in and out of Juvie and LA County Jail.

When I finally was paroled, I wrote this script as a form of therapy, and J-me came along, and he's a name.

So that's why you cast a former child star from Idaho as a Latino from South Central?

J-me had an international following from his childhood, and his name and his manager helped me get the financing.

I did what I had to do to make the movie.

Did that include dating J-me?

It's not that simple.

How it started, how it developed.

Uh, we spent a lot of time together, yes, but we were also making a film.

Sometimes when you work closely with someone, people can misunderstand the relationship.

Again, my relationship with J-me was multifaceted, and I don't really know how to feel right now.

I'm sorry for him, I'm sorry for me, and now I'm gonna have to start all over.

I've insured myself for that, but still.

Insured yourself?

So you thought there was a chance J-me might not finish the film? Why?

Because he could've relapsed.

He didn't get clean for himself.

He did it for his comeback.

So my movie, his sobriety, they were just doorways he had to pass through on the way back to all his screaming fans.

It's sad, but it's true.

Uh, this is a picture of the man that we think may have b*at J-me to death.

Have you seen him before?

I don't know. I've met a lot of people.

He doesn't look familiar.

I think we can take that as a yes.

Okay.

Ana here sends our P.A. with the broken arm downtown with a camera.

The P.A. tells her where J-me's headed, and she sends Crazy Diego to b*at him to death.

But if Ana was planning on k*lling J-me, why would she send someone to film it?

Yeah, I was concerned about his welfare.

I don't know, but she gets to make her movie all over again.

Our lawyers said we needed documentation to fire him for cause and recast, and if we couldn't get a urine sample, then a video of a drug deal would have done the same thing.

Flynn: First, you said you needed him.

Now it sounds like you were ready to toss J-me off your project.

I mean, don't get me wrong...

When J-me was working with me, he was fantastic, but I just got to the point where he couldn't be trusted anymore, so if I could've switched him out for someone reliable, then, yes, I was ready to do that.

We've been told that the two of you fought over the last scene that J-me sh*t.

That he went, uh, I think you call it "off script."

Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?

We'd like to see the footage.

No.

No, I'm not giving you that take.

J-me went downtown, and he got his ass kicked for pretending to be broke.

That's the end of the story.

I'm not gonna say anything else without a lawyer.

Michael, that footage, the dailies, it's digital these days, right?

Mm-hmm, right, so people on the production can look at it on their computers, their devices.

But it's password-protected.

Yeah, but we know someone who we could charge with breaking and entering if he doesn't help us with this.

And [Sighs] this last one's the wide sh*t you're looking for.

Thanks. Now get out.

Wow, you guys are rude.

We're what?

I'll put it on the big screen.

Man: Follow me. Right this way.

Ana: And action!

After three days of sh**ting up...

Little Maria won't turn any more tricks, so we decide to roll the next guy we see.

The guy fights back.

So I sh**t him in the head, take the ivory crucifix off his neck.

Me and little Maria... carry his body to the waterfront, and I just...

Sykes: Nothing he's saying here is in his dialogue.

Yeah, it's all just what he wrote in the margins of his script.

I go back to the Jensen just thinking about what I've done.

[Sighs]

And there's a Bible... open on the nightstand.

And I see acts 3:19.

That verse is the same number as the room.

It says, "repent, then...

"and turn to God... so that your sins may be wiped out."

So I decide to ask for forgiveness.

But first...

I stick the g*n... and the ivory crucifix... in the vent above my head.

Ana: What the hell are you doing?!

Not one word of that is in the script!

Damn it! You cannot make up dialogue!

Why are you telling that story, J-me?!

Why?!

I'm sorry?

Oh, my God, I'm gonna k*ll you!

Are you talking to me?

Buzz, roll it back to where, uh, he's talking about the m*rder.

[Video rewinding]

The guy fights back.

So I sh**t him in the head, take the ivory crucifix off his neck.

Me and little Maria... carry his body to the waterfront, and I just...

Hey, hey, that's just like the m*rder of Mateo Perez back in '98, '99.

Who was Mateo Perez?

About a 25-year-old party boy whose father was a big boss in the Sinaloa Cartel.

Perez disappeared one Saturday night.

His body washed up three weeks later in the LA River with a .380 slug in his head.

Yeah, but without the ivory crucifix that his family said he never took off.

But that would mean Perez was sh*t when J-me was 9 and living in Boise.

Were the details of the, uh, crucifix ever made public?

No, ma'am.

So either J-me was psychic or...

Or someone told him that story, and he didn't know what it meant.

Here's a picture of Mateo provided by the Perez family when he went missing.

Well, I'm telling you, whoever k*lled Mateo could not be happy at J-me's little monologue that will be forever committed to film.

And Ana really didn't want us to have it.

She didn't want it to be publicized, either, because that would alert the Cartel.

Captain, I think I found the hotel referred to in the monologue.

It's now a halfway house for street kids.

Tao: And he said the Bible verse was the same as the number of the room.

319.

Wait, you don't think that that crucifix and that g*n could still be in that vent in 319 15 years later?

We have to look, and we have to have another conversation.

With whom?

With whomever saw this and realized it wasn't just another improvisation.

J-me wasn't k*lled because he argued with the director or had artistic differences.

He was k*lled because he knew too much.

[Knock on door]

Hey.

Mm, Andy.

Uh, Sykes is bringing J-me's driver into the electronics room, and, uh, the prints are ready, and the video's up in interview 2 so we can show it to that director lady.

Great, thank you. [Clears throat]

Yeah, um, look, I, uh, I spoke to Nicole when I got home last night, and I think, well, somehow or other, she's got the wrong idea about us.

So, what'd you... what'd you tell her?

Uh, well...

Uh, I...

I guess... well, you know, in these situations where children are concerned...

I think that we should have dinner at my place before we go to "The Nutcracker" tonight and explain our friendship in a way that will make it easy for Nicole to understand.

Right. You're right.

That's the right thing to do, but...

But what?

[Chuckles] I don't want to do it.

Don't worry. I'll help you.

[Metal scraping]

So, you found a g*n and a necklace in a vent.

Congrats.

Now, what does this have to do with my client?

So, Ms. Ruiz, you've never seen any of those items?

No, I've never seen them.

I was never in that room.

What room?

Ana, let me handle this.

So, did you find my client's fingerprints on either the, uh, g*n or the necklace?

Tao: Not yet, but the g*n is being disassembled and checked as we speak.

Ah, Mr. Sims. Thank you for coming. Have a seat.

Have it on record that you've never met Diego Mora.

I'm happy to help if I can.

Sykes: We've outfitted Lieutenant Provenza with an earpiece, and if you think of anything that can help us, we'll pass it on to him.

Mm, okay.

Provenza: Plus, we have a recording of your client threatening the life of James Elliott hours before he was m*rder*d.

By a derelict who has absolutely no connection whatsoever to Ana Ruiz or to the g*n or to the ivory crucifix.

All right. Then let's talk about...

Mateo Perez.

You remember Mateo, Ms. Ruiz?

Because night before last, James Elliott all but directly identified you on film as Mateo Perez's k*ller.

J-me didn't get that story from me.

And I had nothing to do with the Perez k*lling.

Then where did he get that story?

You spent hours with J-me, telling him stories about life on the street.

That is true, isn't it?

Absolutely. That's how they hooked up in the first place.

Yeah, yeah, we talked about my past, but I think he was more interested in Pete's story than mine.

[Scoffs] See, now she's lying.

Well, it really doesn't matter, does it?

S-she slept with J-me at least four or five times.

Because once we release that video, everyone, including the Sinaloa Cartel, will know that the story came from you.

Aren't you little Maria?

Didn't you drag Mateo Perez's body down to the waterfront?

Take a breath and relax.

Don't you see, this is exactly how they want you to react?

[Knock on door]

Lieutenant, we found a thumbprint on the slide in that .380 Colt.

We should have a match within half an hour, sir.

You have minutes to make a deal your client can live with.

Once we confirm that she handled that g*n, we don't need anything else.

Mr. Sims, I think we're getting close to tying things up with Ms. Ruiz, so thank you for your help, and if you'd like to go home, Detective Sykes will escort you to our garage.

Pete: Okay, thank you.

Mm-hmm.

[Clears throat]

Oh, I need $5 to validate your parking so they won't charge you $15 at the exit.

Pete: Great, no problem.

Have any more $5 bills with names on them in your pocket?

Peter Sims, you have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to an attorney.

If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you by the state.

Tell me, Mr. Sims, did you take these bills off of J-me's body?

No. No, J-me gave me that money as a tip.

1,000 bucks meant nothing to him.

Well, you should know that we found the other $500 in marked bills in Diego's storage bin.

[Scoffs] So?

You don't want to talk about J-me and Diego, we could go back to Mateo.

One phone call from us, and J-me's last words on film will play on every news broadcast in the country, and then all that footage will go viral.

They have the Internet in Mexico, too, you know?

The Sinaloa Cartel will be overjoyed to hear we have a suspect in the m*rder of Mateo Perez.

Sharon: But for today and only today, we are really interested in what happened to J-me and to Diego.

J-me's m*rder...

Crazy Diego k*lled him on camera.

For someone else.

Look...

This whole thing's gotten way out of control.

Okay [Sighs] driving to and from set every day, J-me talked about how he used to get high, and I would tell him stories of being strung out back in the day.

He seemed genuinely interested in my life.

But he wasn't.

No.

No, he just wanted my stories, then he kept pushing Ana with his whole... authenticity routine, you know?

"Your story's real. Let's keep it real.

I want to keep it real"!

That kid had no idea what reality was!

So you had to k*ll him?

No. No, you got it all wrong.

You were very, very angry when you drove him downtown, Mr. Sims.

Yeah, I was.

I tried to explain that using Mateo's death as a story could get me and Ana k*lled, that the Cartel would come back for us!

And all he did was give me that $5 Friday money like, "here, get lost," like I was some bum!

And you took some of that money, and you paid Diego to shut J-me up.

See, that's the out-of-control part.

No, I gave the money to Diego just... just to b*at him up a bit!

Then you had to shut Diego up, so you bought some pure heroin, made sure he sh*t up.

What he did with the money I gave...

He's got no self-control!

How's it my fault that he OD'd himself?!

He didn't OD himself.

We found no tourniquet, no needles, no cooking supplies anywhere near his body.

You gave him a dose. He sh*t it up.

When he nodded off, you sh*t him up again.

[Scoffs, laughs]

Since when do you people care about homeless drug addicts, huh?!

Oh, we even care about cold-blooded K*llers.

Tell us, how did J-me know that evidence in the m*rder of Mateo Perez was at the Jensen in room 319?

Julio, his collar, please.

When we release J-me's video, do you really want to take your chances in lockup with that tattoo?

Buzz: Let me get in close on this.

If you still want to release this interview to the press, that tat...

Wait, wait!

[Breathing heavily]

Look, I'm not gonna say anything else until you people tell me that you understand that I never wanted to k*ll J-me in the first place!

Okay. Understood.

[Sighs]

I was just trying to hold my life together the best way I knew how.

I think J-me may have told you the same thing.

[Sighs]

You are directly connected to three different murders.

We could arrest you for all three.

Or you could have some say in the matter.

It's entirely up to you.

[Sighs]

Oh, so, his driver takes the fall, his director goes into the Witness Protection program, and I'm completely off the hook?

With our apologies, Mr. Sherman.

No, no, no, I owe you guys big time!

How so?

Before you took my phone away, I was on the verge of backing out of buying a beach house.

Because J-me's comeback was over.

[Exhales sharply] Boy, was I wrong about that.

But your client's dead.

Yeah, and sales of his recordings are going through the roof!

E-every song, every episode of his TV series, even his concert film... It's unwatchable, by the way...

All flying off the shelves!

J-me is hotter than ever.

So his m*rder was actually a...

A spectacular career move, yeah, yeah.

I can't take direct credit for it, but as a profit participant, I am incredibly grateful.

Just in time for the holidays, too.

Ah, you said it! Cheers to that.

Cheers. happy holidays.

Provenza: J-me wanted a comeback.

Well...

He moves in strange and mysterious ways...

His wonders to perform.

Are you sure I can't help any?

No, no, no. We're almost done.

We'll finish when we get back.

Gosh, Dean will regret missing a meal like this.

Someone had to take the boys to get ready.

I'm surprised my dad volunteered to bring them.

That is what I call "the Sharon effect."

[Chuckles] I'll go get our coats.

Um...

Listen, Nicole, uh, before we leave...

I think I need to clear something up because you've...

Well, you've got the wrong idea about what's going on between Sharon and me.

What do you mean the wrong idea?

Uh, well, we're not really...

Okay, the truth is that we're...

Andy and I are friends, v-very good friends, but that... that's all.

Really? No. Oh, come on.

Dad, is that true?

Yeah. Kind of.

Oh, my God.

How could...

How could you completely mislead me like that?

Occupational hazard?

All right, look, it's simple.

You like Sharon so much that you seemed to respect me a little bit more, like... like... like back when you were a kid, you know? So...

All right, did I act like mine and Sharon's relationship was a little bit more serious than it is? Possibly.

Did I exaggerate the dating part? A bit.

When I said that Sharon and I were a couple, was that a distortion of the facts?

Andy, excuse me.

Nicole, the bottom line is, your father is just trying to be the kind of dad that you can truly be proud of. That's all.

By pretending to be something that he's not?

Oh, can I interrupt? Uh...

Please.

Do you mind?

I just... I live in the middle of this, and...

May I just ask a few questions so that Nicole understands?

Of course.

Why not?

Okay, so, t-the two of you, you... you go out to dinner... a lot.

Sometimes.

Y-yeah, we... we go to dinner.

Go out to dinner sometimes.

Sometimes.

And, Lieutenant Flynn, you take Sharon to the movies?

Occasionally.

Y-yeah, well, we...

Occasionally.

W-we go to the movies.

The was also that Dodger game in September and the charity banquet at the Japanese-American museum, oh, and we're all going to the ballet with each other's families as a part of Christmas.

I see, but they're definitely not dating... as far as you know.

Or as far as they know.

Hmm.

After you.

Well, thank you for clearing all that up for me, guys.

Now we better hurry.

I do not want to be fighting traffic.

Uh, Nicole...

Uh... Nicole?

So, uh... You're not mad about this?

About what?

[Keys jingle]

We're not dating.

Several times a month.

[Keys jingle]