01x16 - Salvation

[bunniefuu]

[Lock chirps]

Oh!

Oh!

S-sorry.

That's OK.

Uh, you're Isabel, right?

Uh, yeah. How do you know my name?

Do you live in the building?

I'm a friend of Oscar's.

He asked me to talk to you.

I'm sorry. It's late.

Just hear me out.

Tell Oscar to leave me alone.

He misses you. You won't call him back.

So he sends a messenger?

I don't want anything to do with him.

Just... just tell him to stop stalking me.

He cares about you, Izzie.

You need to leave before I call the police.

Oh. Hang on. Let me.

You need to give Oscar another chance.

Call him, Isabel.

Unh!

[Groaning]

Help! Somebody, help me!

Please! Let me in, let me in!

Err!

Please!

Please! Somebody help me!

Somebody!

Lucy! Lucy, let me in! Let me in, please!

Lucy, help!

Aah!

Call the police!

Ohh.

Hey.

Hey. How did you sleep?

Good. I'm gonna make some coffee.

Uh, I have to... I got to roll.

OK.

[Alarm beeping]

Thanks for staying.

You're welcome.

Sorry. See you at the office.

OK.

[Knock on door]

Jack.

Morning.

What are you doing here?

Taking Ethan to school.

What do you mean you're taking him to school?

You didn't know.

No, I didn't know.

He called me and said he needed a ride.

Tim's mother is picking him up.

No. She can't this morning.

You need to tell me this stuff.

I thought Ethan would.

No. If I don't call you, it's not...

Hi, dad.

Hey, buddy.

Bye, mom.

Don't "b"... don't "bye, mom," me.

OK? You tell me if you want dad to pick you up, OK?

OK. Sorry.

OK.

We're gonna finish this later.

Bye.

Ben: Intel wants you to look these photos over.

I couldn't identify either Perry or Ray, but I thought you should take a look.

I spoke to Perry's father.

He's made no contact at all.

In fact, his father hired a private investigator to try to find him.

Did you get a name? We should monitor their moves.

Isabel Martin's in the conference room.

OK. I'll be right there, and you're right.

None of these are Ray or Perry.

Janice, you want to sit in?

Sure.

I, uh, got these for you.

What is it?

Brazilian nuts. I ate all yours.

Oh.

What?

Nothing.

Nada.

So you've never seen this man before?

No.

But you claim that he was sent by your ex-boyfriend Oscar Ramirez to scare you?

Yes. He's got this weird idea that he can scare me back into his arms again or something.

That's insane, right?

Can't you arrest the guy?

We need a little more, and it is insane, but it's not uncommon.

A lot of people with obsessive minds can concoct extreme rationale for their behavior.

Has Oscar contacted you directly?

He did, but I had a restraining order placed against him.

I filed it at the Hollywood station.

They referred me to you.

And you live in Isabel's building?

Mm-hmm. Downstairs.

I live on the second floor.

Have you ever seen this man in the building before?

Never.

Jack: What are you looking at?

Trying to identify this man.

Jeans, plaid shirt, inexpensive.

Puts him at late 30s, blue collar, works with his hands.

So we're flirting now?

Excuse me?

Brazilian nuts?

What are you talking about?

We all take turns at her place.

Do you not eat her food?

You've been there a lot more than me.

I'm not flirting.

So you're sucking up to the boss.

I was replacing her nuts.

It's one or the other, Jack.

Tell us about your ex-boyfriend Oscar.

We met right after I moved to L.A.

When was that?

6 months ago.

I'm... I'm from Rochelle, Illinois.

I'm an actress, or I'm studying to be.

We dated some, but he was into partying and dr*gs, and that's not my scene, so we broke up.

He was a major addict.

So you know Oscar.

Well, through Isabel.

I've... I've met him a few times, but, um, it's good they broke up.

He was bad news.

This man last night, did he att*ck you?

No, but he was trying to scare me.

Why would Oscar think intimidating you would make you go back to him?

He knows how to play me.

I'm from a small town, I've never felt comfortable living in L.A. by myself.

He knows that.

I called him once before.

When?

I thought I heard someone trying to get into my apartment.

I got scared, so I called him.

He came over.

Did you have sex?

Just the once, but breakup sex never works.

What does that have to do with anything?

It's not accusatory. We're just trying to understand Oscar's obsession.

Did Oscar ever get violent?

He would get aggressive.

He never flat out punched me.

Um, he shoved. He knocked me to the floor.

He was either drunk or high.

That's when I filed the restraining order.

And did he stay away?

He called a few times, but last night was the first time that he sent his...

Goon friend to scare me.

Will you talk to him?

I just want him to leave me alone.

Of course we will.

So how long you been watching Michelle?

A few months now.

She's a very routine girl.

She shops at the same store, she does yoga 3 times a week.

Who's she closest to?

Her best friend.

Tracy.

Hmm. The one you hooked up with.

Yes. M.I.A. Currently.

She's hiding from me.

Who else?

Uh, her co-workers.

There's Detective Janice Lawrence, the one who arrested me.

She's pretty.

I'm not a fan.

This is Ben Caldwell.

He's more of a junior detective.

Deputy District Attorney Amanda Taylor handled my arraignment, and Detective Jack Larsen.

Yeah. He was at the crime scene, too.

I mean, they all were.

From what I've put together, he's new, he's from New York, the Deputy D.A.'s ex... I don't know... something.

And now Detective Jack is sleeping with Michelle.

No.

Beth's not sleeping with anyone.

She doesn't date. She doesn't have many friends.

This... these people... they're... they're the closest thing she has to a family.

So...

Who do we target first?

I say Janice.

I don't like her.

The woman.

That will evoke more sympathy, create a bigger splash.

This guy, he needs to go.

What exactly are we gonna do?

We need to remove all of them so we can isolate her.

There will be no one to turn to but us.

Remove, like, how?

Oh. We scare them, we scare Michelle.

We target them, she'll push them away because she won't want them to get hurt.

That's how she operates.

How do we scare them?

All sorts of fun ways.

I'm just not sure where to begin.

Am I under arrest?

Jack: Not yet.

Then why am I here?

Just want to talk to you.

This is an interrogation room.

There's a two-way mirror.

It's to intimidate you.

Is it working?

What'd I do?

We know you've been harassing Isabel.

Is that what she told you?

Ben: She said you've been showing up to her apartment, calling her.

Look. OK. I've done all those things because I love her, not to harass her.

So you admit you sent someone to her apartment to talk to her, huh?

I don't know this guy. I mean, I didn't send him anywhere.

Good, because there's a restraining order against you.

I'm aware of that.

And stalking by proxy is still stalking.

I'm not an idiot, but I don't know who this is.

Isabel tells us you have a drug problem.

Not anymore. I'm sober.

How long?

3 months.

My dad was a drunk.

He got sober, too.

That first year, he was one mean son of a bitch.

All those reasons we drink come to the surface.

Makes you angry.

Well, that's not my experience.

It sounds specific to your dad.

Maybe you should go talk to somebody about those residual feelings.

It was a lie. I was just intimidating you.

Are they getting anywhere?

They're trying to scare him into staying away from Isabel.

Jack: You know what we found out?

Isabel is a trust fund kid.

Her parents d*ed and left her 5 million bucks.

She's loaded.

Your point?

You're not.

You don't have any money or a job.

You lost your meal ticket.

I've never taken a dime of Izzie's money!

That's not what she said.

That's a lie!

You're right. It is. Made it up, but, boy, did you get mad.

You get angry a lot?

Why are you guys doing this?

We're intimidating you.

Do you get it? You need to stay away from Isabel, tell your friends to stay away from her.

We can make trouble for you, and by make trouble, we mean make it up.

You understand?

Stay away from Isabel.

Got it?

Yeah, I got it.

Good. You're free to go.

Let's see if that works.

[Music playing]

Thank you.

Ohh!

Hey!

Isabel.

We're coming for you.

What did you say?

[Car lock chirps]

[Car starts]

No.

[Honking horn]

No. Get away from me! Leave me alone!

Leave me alone! Leave me alone!

Oh, God! Get away!

[Tires squeal]

They surrounded the car, and I was so scared, and... and I saw the guy, the same one from my building.

Oscar may be trying to assert his power over you by using others to terrorize you.

But why can't he take the hint?

We are never going to get back together.

Did you recognize anyone in the crowd?

Could any of them have been Oscar's friends?

I feel like I'm losing my mind.

This restraining order was supposed to stop all of this.

I know.

This is hard because it's complicated, but we have no way of connecting Oscar to this.

Could it be anyone else?

No one I know.

It has to be Oscar.

Then we'll prove it, I promise.

Jack: When was the last time you saw a case of group stalking?

We've only had two in the 4 years I've been working here.

It's rare. Less than 1% of all documented stalking cases nationwide.

Seems like a strange way to get someone's attention.

Yeah. This particular tactic is called street theater.

It's commonly used in gangs and other groups to terrorize their victims out in the open.

The ones who act out the v*olence are the foot soldiers, usually taking orders from an authority figure.

Are you describing cult activity, like Heaven's Gate?

Southern California has historically been a mecca for alternative spiritual movements.

So I did a trail of the traffic cameras.

Our attacker walked for 5 blocks, then got into a black car.

I ran the license plate.

Clark Jennings is the name.

His address is a mailbox center.

There's a BOLO out.

Amanda: Hey. I got the warrant issued.

You can do a full background on Clark Jennings.

Let's look into financials, tax records, see what we can find.

Jack.

I'm sorry if I was cranky yesterday.

No. I'm the one who's sorry.

I'll call you next time he contacts me.

This is... this is all new for me.

Yeah, me, too.

So we're good?

Yeah, we're good.

Because, uh, he, um... he wants to sleep at my place tonight.

What should I say?

Text me when you're done.

I'll drop him off.

OK.

Ben: Jennings' financial statements for the past two years.

The guy's a millionaire.

Not yet. He's set to inherit 2.5 million once his parents pass away.

In the meantime, looks like he's got a nice trust fund keeping him afloat.

Only he's been handing off that money to a company called TCF, llc.

Clark gave them $25,000 last year alone.

What is it?

No info, but there's an address in Chatsworth.

Check it out?

Nice house.

Does Clark Jennings live here alone?

No idea.

Hey. You like Korean barbeque?

Where did that come from?

There's that place on Sunset near your house.

Just wondering if you ever checked it out.

I have. It's good.

We should order from there next time.

You planning dinner?

You're the one with the empty fridge.

Ha ha ha!

[Rings doorbell]

No answer.

Looks like someone's home.

The truck's still warm.

Big house for one person.

Woman: No!

No!

[People chanting]

[Woman cries]

No!

No! No!

Aah!

What are you doing here?

This is private property.

We heard screams. What's going on here?

None of your business. You're trespassing.

LAPD. We're looking for the owner.

Man: I believe that would be me.

Welcome to our home. Sorry for the confusion.

It was meditation hour.

Screaming is a release.

It... it can help the body relax.

I'm Abraham. How can I help you?

Is Clark Jennings here?

I haven't seen Clark in a few weeks.

He took some time to himself.

How well do you know him?

He's relatively new to our family.

How can I help you?

We're investigating an incident of group stalking.

Heh. Don't look here.

We're... we're not violent.

Very peaceful. We do the whole love and sex, no w*r philosophy.

Do all these people live here?

Yes. Come on. I'll show you around.

We're a community of like-minded souls.

We call it - the celestial fellowship.

I'm not familiar with your sect.

Is everyone here over 21?

Yes. We're also nonprofit status.

You can review our tax records at the county office if you like.

What goes on in here?

Day trading. As individuals, we have to make money.

This isn't some hippie commune, Detective.

We embrace the world we live in.

And what is your doctrine?

It's a blend of new age mysticism and astronomy combined with hard reality.

We seek what everyone does... happiness, love, understanding.

You know a man named Oscar Ramirez?

Doesn't ring a bell, no.

What about Isabel Martin?

Isabel?

Nope.

If there's nothing else, I have work to do.

If you find Clark, send him our way.

I'd love to help him right his wrongs.

You mind if we look around?

You're friends now. You have full access.

I'd love to know more about your community.

Well... Skye will be very happy to show you both around.

Nice to meet you.

Come.

Jack: Quite a piece of property.

Our home rests on an acre.

How many people live here?

Skye: There are 32 members.

You make all this day trading?

That along with a mix of personal donations.

This is our meditation grove.

Tell me about your beliefs.

It's a celestial-based faith.

Right, but do you worship a lunar deity like the Hindus or the Unification church?

It's rooted in astronomy.

Instead of saints, we have stars that represent who we are.

Are aliens involved?

No. No aliens.

Just our souls.

You know, if you're interested, we offer an introductory session.

How much you got to pay?

It's free, Detective.

We welcome everyone if they're willing.

You can't get a restraining order against an entire cult.

Then we need something on their leader Abraham.

There's no evidence he's ever been anywhere near Isabel or Oscar.

This is gonna be a very difficult sell to a judge.

Well, we can't just stand by and wait to see what happens.

This guy's in a position where he could be very dangerous.

He's a delusional narcissist with a house full of brainwashed zombies willing to do his bidding.

Look. They know that you're on to them.

If they're foolish enough to make a move, we're gonna be ready.

In the meantime, S.I.D. Is lifting the print we got off the pamphlet.

What do you want to bet our cult leader has a record?

You've been gone forever.

A few hours.

I've been worried.

Where were you? What were you doing?

You are very nosey.

Heh.

So? What do you think?

It's a g*n.

Very good.

I thought we were just gonna scare them.

Why would you need a g*n?

See?

Aren't you afraid?

A g*n is very good for scaring people.

Well, as long as that's all we do.

I think...

I think we need to, um, establish a code of conduct.

A code of conduct?

I don't want to physically hurt anyone, Ray, I think we should both agree to that.

We want to scare Beth, isolate her, make her feel vulnerable. Your words.

We don't need to hurt her or her people.

They're police detectives.

We could get in a lot of trouble.

You should see your face.

You look like you regret ever meeting me.

It's a money grab.

Abraham knows about Isabel's trust fund, and he's trying to recruit her... same thing he did with Clark.

So they're lying about knowing Oscar?

Or this could all be a ruse, using Oscar to get her money.

Cults prey on people like Isabel and her ex-boyfriend.

Manson, Jones, Koresh, they all did.

Let's play it out.

Oscar's on dr*gs, he's vulnerable, they recruit him, sober him up.

Life is great. He wants his girl back.

They want her money, so they freak her out.

Small-town girl, big, scary city.

They're scaring her into recruitment.

Nothing motivates like fear.

We still don't have anything to connect Oscar to the cult.

He said he went to rehab. He's in AA.

Then how did the cult find Isabel if they don't know Oscar?

That's a good question.

It would have to be somebody close to Isabel, someone that she would trust.

What do we know about her friend Lucy?

I'll look into it.

[Music playing]

Hi.

Hey.

This is my friend Isabel.

Oh, yeah. Lucy's told me all about you.

Everything?

Uh, you're her neighbor, the actress with the ex-boyfriend.

Yeah. I left out the bad part.

Please. We all have ex-boyfriends.

I'm so glad Lucy finally got you over here.

Let's get you something to drink.

Yeah.

OK.

Hey.

Hi. Welcome.

Everyone is so nice.

I told you.

I know, I know.

I should have come sooner.

Here you go.

Oh, thanks.

You know, when Lucy was first trying to get me to come here, I thought you guys were a cult.

[Both laughing]

That's funny.

Naw. I mean, we get a little hippie with the astronomy stuff, but that's as nutty as it gets, and we even drink.

Well, I'm glad I'm finally here.

You know, I really want you to meet Abraham.

He's a really big deal around here.

Sure.

Um... Sorry.

The wine went straight to my head.

Abraham, this is Isabel.

Wait. I know you.

It's nice to meet you Isabel.

But...

You're not Abraham.

I don't feel good.

Ohh! Isabel!

Oh, my God. Isabel!

What's wrong?

Unis went by Lucy's apartment.

She wasn't home.

And Isabel?

Isabel's not answering her cell.

I looked into Lucy.

Her Facebook page is filled with new age babble about star patterns and celestial energy.

Lucy's been a part of this all along.

A cult member?

Well, she knew about Oscar and Isabel's relationship, so she could have easily been the one orchestrating the stalking.

That's an elaborate way to recruit someone.

Not just anyone.

A girl worth $5 million.

No family to speak of.

She's naive, she's vulnerable.

You scare her and then swoop in as the answer to all her problems.

We need to get inside that house.

Not without a warrant, and we can't get one without proof.

This is all conjecture.

Then we need something that links the cult to Isabel, and let's look beyond the money for a second.

Why would they want her?

Could be something else.

Is everyone ready?

Just say the word.

Ready for what?

Her initiation.

You didn't have to drug her.

She came here willingly.

She wanted to be here!

Skye, give us a moment.

I don't understand.

You drugged her. That wasn't the plan.

No. I should have prepared you for that.

And why did she recognize you?

Have you met her before?

Yes. We met a long time ago.

That's when I knew Isabel was special.

I've always known.

I recognized it when she was just a child, but I had to wait for her to come to us.

When she moved to L.A., I knew it was a sign.

She's the highest point of our constellation, the one we've been waiting for.

I'm sorry about the wine.

I was just worried she would try to leave before we could welcome her to our family.

We don't force people to believe.

We help them, we persuade them.

We don't hurt them.

You drugged her.

I know, I know, but Isabel's different.

She's special.

What about the police?

Aren't you worried about the police?

We could get in a lot of a trouble.

When she wakes up, we'll explain everything to her.

I promise.

And if she maintains her free will, if she wants to leave, she can?

Yes.

If we can't convince her that she belongs here, she's free to go.

I've been waiting for you, Izzie.

Ben: The celestial fellowship is owned by an llc out of the Cayman Islands.

As far as I can tell, they're clean.

Jack: Abraham covered his tracks.

All right. Cult leaders are about power and control, right?

Money and sex.

Yes, but they're also narcissists who drink their own kool-aid.

Jones believed his message, and Koresh thought he was the second coming.

So what is Abraham preaching to control these disciples?

Janice: We got a hit off the print from the fellowship brochure.

Abraham is an alias.

His real name is Robert Foster.

The FBI investigated him in the past for fraud and sexual abuse.

No charges were ever filed.

No, but check it out.

He's originally from Rochelle, Illinois.

That's Isabel's hometown.

Could they know each other?

I'm on it.

Jack: He targeted Isabel.

This isn't about money.

It's obsession.

Ben: I've got something connecting Abraham, aka Robert Foster, to Isabel.

Their families lived two blocks from each other.

Robert was the oldest son.

Wait. He was committed to a psychiatric facility.

What for?

Records are sealed, which means something bad.

Call the bureau. Tell them we have whereabouts on Foster.

We'll go in together.

[Indistinct chatter]

Move in! Let's go!

Sweep it!

Jack: No one's down here.

Let's check upstairs.

[Woman moaning, crying]

Get a medic up here!

Lucy?

Lucy, are you OK?

What happened? Where's Isabel?

He took her.

Who took her?

To her initiation.

What kind of initiation? Where?

He's gonna baptize her to make her part of the family.

Where is that?

Abraham said that he wouldn't harm her.

Where?

I'm sorry. I don't know.

[Sobs]

I just spoke to Ben.

According to their tax records, the celestial fellowship and a small campground near Angeles Forest.

He just sent this to me.

Lucy called it a baptism.

It's got to be the forest.

Lakes, streams, plenty of water.

Abraham: Gather around.

Welcome.

Tonight, my family, is a very special night.

Please welcome our newest member, the celestial sphere we've been waiting for.

Robert, what is this?

Please. What are you doing?

Robert doesn't exist anymore.

I'm Abraham now.

Robert's that guy down the street who you ignored and rejected, a man who wasn't worthy of you, but I knew that once I changed you would come back to me.

I'm Abraham now.

What are you talking about?

I've become worthy of your love.

I made myself new and created this world for you, for us.

You can love me now.

We can be together.

It's time for you to be new.

[Gasps]

[sirens]

Clear. No one.

We're in.

[Gasps]

Please.

[Sobbing]

That wasn't so horrible, was it, Zenith?

That's your family name.

You're one of us now.

No!

Yes.

Aah!

You're crazy. All of you.

Aah!

Man: Police! LAPD!

Hands up, hands up! Hands up, hands up!

FBI! Hold it right there!

[Shouting]

There in the blue!

Face down! Hands behind your back!

You, hands on your head!

Don't move!

[Abraham groans]

Get your hands off me!

This is private property!

You're denying my right to religious freedom.

Jack: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on.

When I was younger, his family was friends with my family.

When my parents d*ed, he was nice.

He wanted to be more than friends, but he was older, and it... it got a little weird, and I told his mom, and she told him to leave me alone, and he did.

How old were you?

I was just a kid.

I heard he had some problems, and he was sent away.

I never heard anything about it again.

That's because he was committed.

He suffers from erotomania.

They create worlds in their head, relationships that don't exist.

When he found out you were in L.A., he pursued you, and he used his people to trap you.

Lucy was my friend.

Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.

Can we call anyone for you, a family member?

There's nobody.

It's just me.

Janice: Abraham is in FBI custody.

Formal charges will be filed tomorrow.

What about the rest of the cult members?

FBI will bring in exit counselors to help reverse whatever hold Abraham had over them.

There's just no shortage of crazy in this town.

Cults freak me out.

And there's too many of them.

I got sucked into one once.

I was young, angry at the world.

Took a few classes, I was audited.

I almost drank the kool-aid.

What happened?

Turns out I like bourbon.

Anyone want a drink?

I'm buying.

Nice segue, but I can't.

Uh, I got plans.

Drink one for me?

Sure. Beth.

Enchiladas and margaritas?

Not tonight.

Will you be OK?

Are they hooking up?

Not yet.

How do you know?

Please. Soon, but not yet.

This Ray thing needs to pass first.

She'll be read for a future.

Manana.

See you.

[Music playing]

[Knock on door]

Hey!

Hi.

Pizza's on the way.

Awesome!

Oh, uh, I brought games.

Great. Yeah, yeah. Listen.

Uh, got the controllers all set up, ready to go.

Why is the TV on the floor?

Um, it's cool.

Yeah.

Hold on, little man. Come here.

I love you.

See you tomorrow, OK?

I love you, too.

Have fun.

Hey. You want to stay for one?

Oh, no. I want a bubble bath and a Merlot.

Thank you, Jack.

I'll call you guys in the morning.

Thanks.

OK. You ready?

Are you any better?

You are gonna get it tonight.

You ready for this?

Are you?

[Music continues]

[Knock on door]

Lieutenant Davis, is everything all right?

Yeah. I just stopped by to see if you need any company?

You've been through a lot.

I-I appreciate that, um, but I'm fine.

Still, you know, it's nice to have friends in L.A.

It can be a scary place.

Yeah, it can be.

You know, there are good people here.

You just have to find them, and eventually, you do.

At least that's what happened to me.

So you're OK?

Yeah.

Would you like to come in?

I could make us some tea.

That would be great.

Whoa! Don't sh**t!

What are you doing here?

I changed my mind.

Still want to have a drink?

2 or 3.

Me, too.

Can I ride with you?

Yeah, get in.

Just don't sneak up on me.

Not even sure if I want to ride with you.

Watch that, watch that, watch that.

Watch that corner, watch the corner!

[Music continues]

Ray: Excuse me.