04x08 - Hostage of Fortune

[bunniefuu]

Kevin: Mom, Dad, they've got me tied up. Please, just give them what they want or they'll k*ll me.

Man: Tonight on "Open Investigation," a child of privilege is abducted outside an L.A. café. A $3 million ransom is paid by the FBI, but Kevin Clark never returns home. Two years later, questions linger. "Open Investigation" went to Kevin Clark's parents, George and Janice, looking for answers.

Every time the phone rings, I think it's Kevin.

We can't believe our son's dead.

And George and Janice Clark may have good reason to think their son is alive. A photo recently surfaced online showing someone who looks very much like Kevin Clark strolling along a Brazilian beach.

Could the Clarks know where their son is hiding? We asked FBI Special Agent Jerry Shea, who was in charge of investigating Kevin's kidnapping when the young man disappeared along with $3 million in taxpayer dollars.

George and Janice Clark are loving parents who've suffered the ultimate injury... the loss of a child.

The rumor-mongering here is without merit.

We had to persuade the producers of "Open Investigation" to hold off reporting on the most important part of the story.

Sharon: Which is?

Last April, the ransom money started circulating around Europe.

And three weeks ago, $10,000 of it showed up in a bank here in Los Angeles.

These bills are marked. How?

The FBI keeps a lot of fresh hundreds on hand, printed on paper from which they've withdrawn various security threads.

So that each ransom is paid with a different security thread missing?

Fritz: Which acts like a fingerprint tying the cash back to the specific crime, yes.

In order for this kidnapping case to revert to the LAPD, we would need to examine every aspect of the FBI's investigation, including Special Agent Shea's personnel file.

That is the reason my old boss doesn't want Major Crimes to follow up.

It may be unfair, but the Bureau no longer trusts Jerry Shea.

And for what it's worth, neither do I.

Taylor: Keep that in mind, because the FBI's sending us Agent Shea to consult.

Provenza: Consult.

Here. Here's an idea.

Why don't we just ask Special Agent Shea what he did with the money and go home?

So, are we solving a kidnapping gone bad?

Or babysitting the FBI's number-one suspect while they handle the real investigation?

Actually, asking for your help was my idea.

As I was explaining to this young man in the elevator, the FBI's emphasis on deliberate analysis means we can't move as hastily as the LAPD so often does.

Howard.

Shea. Welcome to Major Crimes.

Rusty, you were talking with Special Agent Shea?

Oh, yeah. He seemed lost and had gotten off on the wrong floor several times...

We rode up together on the elevator.

Great kid.

Made me wish that civilians were more free to go within the Bureau, but of course, we've got tougher security needs.

Uh, Buzz, uh, fixed the camera on my laptop.

Buzz? Really? [Laughs]

Hey, when's the moon landing, Buzz?

Wow, I never heard that before.

Yeah, but still funny, though, right?

Rusty, your laptop's on my desk.

Thanks.

So, Jerry, let me introduce you to everyone.

This is Captain Sharon Raydor, Detective Amy Sykes...

You know, don't bother.

I'm terrible with names. I know that there are two women, there's four men, and apparently, one Buzz.

Now, if we're joining forces, you're gonna need to play catch-up.

Every bit of information that's relevant to the Clark disappearance is indexed on these flash drives.

What am I supposed to do with this?

I don't know.

Retire?

[Laughs]

You'll get used to my sense of humor.

Just like I'll get used to yours. Look, me! As a suspect. Oh.

Now, the first thing you need to know is, the parents were involved.

The second, third, and fourth things... the parents were involved.

Sharon: You suggest the opposite in your interview with "Open Investigation."

Purely tactical. Surely I don't need to explain the concept of misleading suspects to you, Captain.

And you're so sure the parents are involved because... ?

Because I gave Janice Clark crystal-clear instructions on how to drop off that money, but Janice claims that she found a burner cellphone en route instructing her to deviate from the plan... a phone, by the way, which disappeared with the money.

Flynn: And although they were hurting financially at the time of the kidnapping, now they're spending money like crazy, including several hundred thousand dollars on remodeling their home and world travel.

Sanchez: Well, if the parents were in on it, doesn't that mean the son was involved, too?

Sharon: And if they split the money, where did Kevin Clark actually go?

Well, Kevin is probably surfing in South America as we speak, if he's sober enough to maintain his balance.

As you just heard, he's got some serious substance-abuse problems.

[Chuckles] And you buy that picture?

I mean, I've seen more convincing images of Bigfoot.

Tao: Holy smokes!

18 separate video files on Kevin's abduction?

How... how is that possible?

That little shopping area from which he disappeared has as many security cameras as the Pentagon.

There is no more public place in Los Angeles to record a kidnapping than Lunch Café.

Have you ever run all 18 angles associated with Kevin's abduction using a synchronized 360-degree panorama?

Is that possible?

We do it all the time on "Badge of Justice."

Oh, geez.

"Badge of Justice," I love that show.

I'm the technical advisor. Mike Tao.

No kidding! Hey, okay, one thing that bugs me about "Badge," you can't get DNA samples back in eight hours.

Yeah, I tell them that, but show-business time is different than ours.

Oh, god.

Sharon: Mike, in real life, where would we be able to view all these video files at once?

"Badge of Justice" has the space, but I can only take a few of us.

Oh.

Oh, well, in that case, Captain, may I suggest that while you're reliving the beginning, Sanchez, Sykes, and I will follow the trail of the ransom money.

Great, Lieutenant.

Buzz, how long will it take you to organize all these videos?

Well, I'd need at least nine discrete projectors to cover each P.O.V.

But if "Badge" would let us borrow theirs...

How are they formatted?

Ooh, get comfy.

♪

Excuse me, Lieutenant?

Yeah?

Lieutenant Mike, John wants to know if his character would say, "drop your g*n and grab the concrete," or, "grab some concrete and drop the g*n."

Drop the g*n first, grab some concrete second.

Thank you. Pink pages coming at you tonight.

Copy that.

Wow, you really rule the roost around here.

Oh, it's one big team effort.

You know, I would introduce you to the cast, but they're all on location today.

[Mockingly] On location today.

Did anyone see the "Badge of Justice" season opener?

I did! Great!

The squad solved the jewel heist by culling together footage from multiple sources right here in this space.

These are the controls.

Can you show me how they work?

Tao: Uh, no. This is a prop.

Buzz is running the projectors.

Oh, it looks so real.

Mm.

It sure does.

So, Mike, with the cyclorama effect, the security videos are less about singular perspective, more about interplay between elements, is that right?

Theoretically.

... 16, 17, 18.

Okay, Lieutenant.

We're ready to roll.

Meet Kevin Clark as he was on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, at 2:12 P.M. sitting in the patio of Lunch with his two friends, Jamie Wade and Dan Morris.

Sharon: I'd like to talk to them A.S.A.P.

Now that we know the players, let's begin.

Agent Shea, if you would narrate.

Hitting play. All right.

[Device beeps]

Jamie and Danny drove here with Kevin.

That's his car parked across the street at the meter.

So, they sit here, they have their coffee, they talk, they talk, they talk.

Until this gray sedan, a stolen Chrysler 300, pulls up on the opposite side of the street.

Now watch Kevin. He clocks it.

He says, "hey, I... that guy's a friend of mine.

Uh, I'll see you in a few minutes."

These two have no choice but to wait.

Now, the plates on the sedan were swiped off of an Escalade which was parked in the City of Industry maybe 19 miles away.

What about the driver of the Chrysler 300? You couldn't I.D. him?

18 different angles, none giving us the face of the driver.

Now look at this.

He walks right up to the car.

He starts talking to the guy as a fire truck drives by in the background, right?

He's kind of looking around. He's talking to him, right?

And what's this?

He walks around the front of the car and he gets in.

And then they drive away.

Now, Buzz, is there any way that we can fast-forward 20 times speed?

If you want.

Please.

[Device beeps]

Okay, okay. They're sitting there texting Kevin.

We know that from phone records.

They're paying the bill. Okay.

They go across the street, they put money in Kevin's meter, right?

They hang out, texting again. Texting Kevin.

All right. Now, what do they do?

They walk up and down the street k*lling time, and we catch up with them right now on the corner.

And now what they do is they walk back up the street to the shop right next to Lunch.

So, now what do they do?

They go back across the street, right?

They try the doors. They try to get in.

It doesn't work, so what do they do?

They go back to the restaurant!

They order again. And they're texting.

Texting Kevin. We know that. They call him.

They text him again and again and again.

After two hours go by, finally, Dan texts Uber.

Five minutes later, the kids are gone.

♪

Tao: Wow.

It worked. Buzz, amazing.

Yeah, thanks. It was fun, really.

But besides congratulating yourself on your own brilliance, was there anything you saw here that suggested the theory of this crime?

Yes. After watching the movie...

Yeah.

... I'm beginning to think the kidnapping was staged.

Bingo, Captain. Bingo.

I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Oh, god.

Better do it while we're all here.

Play it again, Buzz, only this time at normal speed so we can grab every detail.

You got it, Captain.

[Device beeps]

Hi.

Hey. Dude, ah, so good to see you.

I texted you four days in a row and you never answered.

Really?

Oh. Uh, yeah. I wa... I was out, uh, looking for a public place with, like, a lot of activity, and, um, I heard that this whole block is covered by like a million cameras, so...

Oh, so this is where you're planning on meeting Gustavo.

Yeah. Tomorrow at 4:00.

Do you think you could be here?

I... I... just to like, you know, keep an eye out?

Is he really Alice's brother?

Probably.

But he... he wouldn't say anything else until he could speak to Alice, and I... I can't, like, tell him that his sister is dead over the phone, so I... I... I have to meet him somewhere.

In public, you know?

Uh-huh.

You said you wanted to stay in touch about this Gustavo guy, and then you didn't call me back for four days or even acknowledge that I exist.

You know?

Oh, uh... Yeah.

Yeah, I, um...

I had to think through, like, what... what... what needed to happen.

T.J., this guy could be dangerous.

I... I didn't want to put you in a bad spot.

Oh! So you're... you're concerned about me.

That's why you didn't call me back, because you care so much.

Hey, can you just keep it down?

I'm the one who made you check this Gustavo guy out in the first place.

[Scoffs]

You want to know how stupid I was?

I thought you asked me here to have coffee or hang out.

I should've known all you wanted was help.

I'm such an idiot.

T.J., hold on.

Okay, wait.

No, I waited.

Four days.

I'll be here when you meet up with Gustavo tomorrow to make sure you don't get in any trouble, but after that, don't call me or text me.

W... which should be really easy, because it's what you're already doing.

Look, this is the same film the FBI showed us years ago.

Nothing's changed. What's the problem?

The problem is neither of you look surprised when Kevin leaves the table.

Of course we weren't surprised.

We had no idea Kevin was about to be kidnapped.

But you didn't even glance up when a fire truck drives by with its lights and sirens.

Everyone else does.

But you ignore it.

Wow.

I never clocked that.

Of course, I never saw the fire truck go by in context with the guys.

I'm glad I approved that panorama idea.

Flynn: Because you couldn't look over at the car in which your friend was kidnapped, or you would've been asked to identify it.

Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?

Sharon: And now, two years later, the kidnapping long over, and maybe you think it's safe to spend some of the ransom money.

Wait a second, she just revealed that we know the money's being circulated!

I never agreed to that.

Well, you're not in charge here.

Daniel: I don't know anything about this ransom money.

And I'm sorry about Kevin, though I have to say, I don't know what to think about him anymore, or his family.

But this... it's just not my concern now.

I'm going.

Danny. Danny, come on.

Don't tell me to come on, Jamie!

What do you have to lose? You're a gopher for a deejay.

I worked my ass off to get into law school, and this is... sorry. I literally don't have time to be here.

Please don't drag me through all this again, Jamie.

You know your rights, Jamie, but you're still here.

Is there anything you want to tell us?

What does Danny not want you to drag him through?

Kevin was waiting for the guy in that car.

That's why we weren't surprised when he left.

He was going to pick up a kilo of coke.

We were supposed to sell it at a club.

And Kevin said the guy was a little paranoid and that if he noticed us looking at him, he might come after us.

We were afraid to look up.

What the hell?

Hey, where are you going?

Sanchez! Oh, god, no.

... Ransom calls, the FBI...

Mike.

... We couldn't believe it was happening.

Now, Kevin said that his parents were hard-up for cash...

Why didn't you tell me this two years ago?!

Why didn't you tell me this two years ago?!

Flynn: Calm down!

Apologies, Captain.

No apologies necessary, Lieutenant.

Sharon: Special Agent Shea, I believe that you and Jamie already know each other.

Unlike lying to us, lying to the FBI is a crime.

So why didn't you tell Agent Shea the truth about Kevin's kidnapping?

Because we thought we'd get arrested.

And the longer we put off saying something, the harder it was to say anything.

Look, this drug dealer was scary.

And we didn't see him, but he saw us.

And we thought, "well, Kevin said he'd known the guy since was a kid."

And we were sure that once the ransom was paid, Kevin would go free.

Did you ever meet this man?

Do you know his name?

Sorry. He was a connection to Kevin's family somehow, and honestly, that is all I know.

I am telling you everything...

Provenza: What if Shea is right about the parents?

So, I hope you don't end up arresting me.

Oh, I would hate it if he was right.

Buzz, we're ready.

Captain, Amy has the info on the ransom money.

Lieutenant, if you could get Jamie to write out his statement, please. Thank you.

The $10,000 from the ransom that was deposited in a local bank went into an account belonging to a nightclub called "Sultry Dolls."

That's a 24-hour strip joint near the airport, ma'am.

What? It is.

By the airport.

Tao: The Clarks have been doing a lot of traveling since their son disappeared.

Oh, come on.

I mean, who's more likely to go to a strip joint?

The drug dealer that we just heard about or the parents of our victim?

Sanchez: Uh, back to the evidence.

Someone who spends $10,000 in cash at a strip club in a night or two might be memorable, ma'am.

Sharon: True.

Amy, why don't you and Julio pay a visit to Sultry Dolls?

Oh, I can go by myself, ma'am. Really.

Better to have backup, Julio.

Take the photos of our suspects.

Oh, you don't want to forget this suspect.

Clarks are on their way in.

Here? You're having them come here to talk to you?

Agent Shea, I am running this investigation.

You are an advisor.

Well, then, let me advise you.

Over the years, I've worked very hard to maintain a special relationship with Kevin's parents.

I may not trust them, but they trust me.

I would prefer to talk to them alone in their own home, where I...

Where we can't hear you.

I wonder why that is.

Special Agent Shea, if you want to remain here, you must do things my way.

Is that understood?

The captain asked you a question.

Sure. Your way.

Good.

Then prepare to introduce Kevin's parents to Lieutenant Tao.

And bear in mind that I would like to watch their reaction to the reopening of their son's case.

[Chuckling] Janice, George.

Janice: Oh, you're smiling. It's not... it's not bad news?

Oh, no, no, no, no. Not at all.

Oh.

This is Lieutenant Tao.

Welcome.

One of LAPD's finest, and a famous Hollywood consultant.

George: Is there a break in the case, then?

Some very interesting developments.

I don't like him, and I certainly don't trust him.

Neither do I.

Let's just keep him talking.

Eventually, he may give up what he's hiding.

Shea: So, how you two holding up?

George: I won't lie.

Having our only child go missing for two years, not knowing whether he's alive or dead... it's harder than anything I could have imagined.

Well, as you might have guessed, this recent TV exposé has stirred things up a bit.

What a miserable excuse for journalism.

Using a remodel to imply we stole our son's ransom?

Well, the good thing about the story... it kept your son's kidnapping in the national spotlight, and it helped us reopen the investigation.

In fact, we interviewed Jamie and Daniel earlier today, and as it turns out, they did not give us a full account of what they saw during the abduction.

But, Jerry, you spoke to those boys several times.

And I had always wondered if they had held something back, and today, I finally pried it out of them.

Maybe Shea's ready for Hollywood, too.

He's already taking credit for other people's work.

... Because you're not gonna like what they had to say.

I'm warning you, this is this is very upsetting.

Daniel and Jamie are now claiming that they were at Lunch Café with Kevin to pick up a kilo of cocaine that they were gonna sell at a club.

Seriously? That can't be true.

Kevin had been sober for months when all this happened.

We're not sure how to take this accusation, either.

But you have to ask, is it possible Kevin was in league with some unnamed drug dealer he'd known since childhood?

I cannot imagine who that would be.

Okay, okay, let's get off this subject and get on to one that's less outrageous.

You guys did some traveling this year.

Of course. Our house had been under construction.

And our grief counselor believes that travel helps with recovery.

She strongly encouraged us to get out of town.

That's great advice.

So, where have you been?

Germany, France...

Spain.

... Spain, Brazil.

Any particular reason you chose Brazil?

I know where you're going with this, and, yes, we...

When that picture of Kevin in Rio popped up on the Internet, we had to go look for ourselves.

So, that boy in Brazil, to you, could've been Kevin.

Maybe. It...

It's possible we saw what we wanted to see.

Mm.

I have one last far-fetched question, but we have to ask.

No, we don't. No, we don't.

It does not need to be asked.

I've told you that George here would never visit a strip club called Sultry Dolls.

You guys, I'm sorry that they want to open this up, but they do.

Oh, my god. You think my husband goes to strip clubs?

George: Janice, just... just hold on.

I have never even heard of Sultry Dolls.

Why is this important, Lieutenant?

Tao: Some of the ransom recently surfaced in Los Angeles, and it was deposited into a bank account held by Sultry Dolls. Now, it's very close to the airport, so we have to rule out any...

Jerry, I am shocked that you let us be treated this way.

After all this time.

I tried to tell them.

George, Janice, please.

It was not my idea to ha...

Enough!

It was not my idea to bring you here!

George, please.

Well, they weren't very helpful.

No, they weren't.

[Cellphone buzzes]

Yes, Julio?

And do any of the Sultry Dolls remember where that house might be?

[Tires screech]

Julio?

Guy who lives here, sir, Michael Sparks, brought some Sultry Dolls over for a party a few weeks back, sir.

Background check shows Sparks with two arrests for drug possession with intent to distribute.

Ah, so he's a dealer.

And we have a search warrant.

All right. Let's go, everyone.

This guy's name never came up once.

Ah. Look at all that mail.

It's been piling up for days. Okay, Flynn.

L.A.P.D.! Open up!

We have a search warrant!

Go.

Clear.

Clear.

Clear.

Okay, Mike, what do you think?

Uh, somebody was certainly hunting something.

Is your name Mike?

This missing piece of wall here...

Looks like it could be a stash spot of some kind.

[Police radio chatter]

Looks like the hot tub used to be here.

And they moved it.

Yeah.

Sir.

I wonder what's under it now.

[Police radio chatter]

Sir, we got something.

That's Kevin Clark's hat.

And that is Kevin Clark's head.

Well, Agent Shea, do you still think the kid is surfing in Brazil?

Let's get the coroners out here, and this is gonna take time.

And, Mike, make sure that Special Agent Shea doesn't go too far, will you?

The captain is gonna want to talk to him again.

All right, Sharon, I'm going. Uh, are you gonna be at work this afternoon?

Yeah. How about you?

You going to see T.J. today?

Rusty: No. Uh, well, yeah, but I think it might be for the last time.

Oh, that's too bad.

He seemed like a nice guy.

Uh, I may need to stop by your office later. It could get...

Well, I... I might need you then.

Of course.

And for the record, um...

T.J. is a nice guy.

I'm the jerk.

[Keys jingle]

Morales: It's not always easy to know who people are.

Is this Kevin Clark?

I'll need his dental records from the FBI to give you an answer, but the decomp is consistent with the period of time in which Kevin went missing, and given the hair color and the fact that he's wearing the clothes he had on during the kidnapping...

Yes, and the hole in his cap goes with the hole in the back of his skull.

And this is the b*llet that did the trick.

It's a little... strange.

Could I see that, please?

Mm-hmm.

Sharon: What about our drug dealer?

Where's this Michael Sparks?

Provenza: Uh, Missing Persons is on it, Captain.

In the meantime, should we send Jerry here, with his special relationship, to prepare the parents?

No.

Not yet.

Besides, I still wouldn't rule the Clarks out.

Well, yeah. Why should we rule them out?

I mean, they certainly seem like the kind of people that would m*rder their only son and then bury him under a hot tub in a drug dealer's backyard!

Since we found Kevin's body and it's more a m*rder now than a kidnapping, I don't think you need me anymore.

Hey! Jerry.

That b*llet is our evidence.

You have no jurisdiction in the county morgue.

Sorry, Captain, but federal judge John Fallows, in Justice Department vs. Tucson P.D., ruled otherwise.

And unless you intend to arrest me, I'll be going now.

Thank you, Sharon. Mike.

Lieutenant Provenza.

I thought you weren't very good at names!

Can he just walk off with evidence like that?

Provenza: This is what he planned from the beginning... to take the case away just as we were about to solve it.

[Sighing] I feel so let down.

And I feel so riled up.

Fritz: As you requested, Captain, a complete list of places Jerry Shea traveled this year, along with a comprehensive accounting of his finances, and the Bureau found, uh, some issues.

Such as?

An unauthorized trip to Brazil taken on his FBI passport, and he also deposited $100,000 into his personal bank account.

We don't know from where.

[Door opens] Chief, Chief, Captain.

We found our missing drug dealer, Michael Sparks.

He was sh*t in the head last week, and his fingerprint report went missing.

So, since then, he's been hanging out in the morgue as a John Doe.

How'd you identify him?

The b*llet that k*lled Kevin was very unusual, so I photographed it.

This particular a*mo can only be fired by one g*n...

A Fabrique Nationale Herstal, or FN 5.7.

Made by a Belgian company.

We get it, Mike. We get it.

It's a distinctive w*apon. Ye gods!

So, Shea returned our b*llet.

No, no. Um, this... came from the head of our dead drug dealer.

And my analysis suggests it was fired from the same FN 5.7 that k*lled Kevin Clark.

Taylor: Okay.

This is great stuff and probably very helpful.

And Shea has things he ought to explain.

Yeah, like why he stole that b*llet.

Fritz: To keep us from connecting the m*rder of Kevin Clark to this drug dealer.

And why was he pursuing the wrong information for two years?

Is that misdirection, or is he just a...

Horse's ass?

Thank you, Andy.

My pleasure.

So, uh, look.

You may question him closely, but I remind you, Shea is a special agent of the FBI, and under no circumstances can you arrest him or even detain the "horse's ass" unless he says, "I did it with my special, little g*n."

Yeah, pulling my travel history and financials... that's just petty payback for me exerting my authority and an unwarranted violation of my privacy.

You want to back me up here, Howard?

You flew to Brazil with your service passport on non-official business. Why?

I followed the parents to Rio, hoping they'd make contact with their son.

Shea: That's why.

You didn't tell us that yesterday.

It was another failure undertaken on my dime.

Who needed to know?

On your own dime?

Did you pull that out of that $100,000 that just popped up in your bank account last month?

That money isn't mine.

It belongs to Guy LaFontaine.

Who the hell is Guy LaFontaine?

I sold a novel inspired by the kidnapping, and because the FBI frowns on that kind of thing, I created Guy LaFontaine as my nom de plume, a pen name.

The 100 grand is LaFontaine's advance.

I just haven't had time to create an account for him.

Shea's not only a crook, he's crazy.

But crazy full of himself or crazy like a fox?

Your book on Kevin Clark doesn't have an ending.

Oh, I'm about to write it.

That b*llet helps me get to the end.

Provenza: Us, too.

You see, Jerry boy, our missing drug dealer also has a nom de plume.

He's been visiting our morgue for over a week as John Doe number 47.

Now, can you think why?

Michael Sparks was also sh*t with a Fabrique Nationale 5.7?

It's not that hard to figure out.

I gather from your stunned silence the answer is "yes."

Well, guess what, geniuses.

Kevin's father, George, has a g*n collection which includes a registered FN 5.7.

So, as I've been saying all along, it was the parents.

And before I arrest them, I would like to offer you my thanks.

We need to pick up the Clarks before Jerry can get to them.

You didn't just make my investigation successful.

Lights and sirens, please.

You have also provided me with one hell of a terrific end to my novel.

The last line reads like this...

"and Special Agent Jerry Shea lived happily ever after."

La fin!

Toodle-oo.

Are you really just gonna, like, sit there and not talk to me?

Are you...

Rusty Beck. Yes.

Uh, thanks... thanks for meeting with me. Have a seat.

I... I don't want to make you feel awkward, but, um, before we go on, I'd like to record our conversation. Is that okay?

What for?

Well, le... legally, I need your permission, a... and to be honest with you, I'm... I'm a journalist writing a story about your sister... uh, sis... sisters.

Yeah? You're a journalist? Really?

And I need to be sure that you are who you say you are before we go ahead.

Okay.

You can record me.

[Cellphone dings]

How am I supposed to prove myself to you?

Well...

I know your sister as Alice Herrera.

But that's not her real name, is it?

No. It's not.

Her real name is Mariana Wallace.

Mariana Wallace.

Okay. And, um, how... how did you lose touch with Mariana and Paloma?

Why are you asking me that?

Well, anybody can know their names.

Okay.

Fine.

My father d*ed when I was 15.

My mother started hanging out with a terrible guy.

And I ran off as soon as I could.

I joined the army, I went to Afghanistan, and when I got back, I... I...

And when you got... when you got back...

Everyone was gone... my mother, her assh*le boyfriend, Greg, my little sisters.

I should have stayed and protected them.

Mariana begged me to stay, but I didn't.

I understand why she's having trouble forgiving me, but please let me see her...

And let me make my case.

Um... uh, s... some of... some of Alice's...

Mariana's teeth were knocked out.

There were burn marks on her shoulders.

Now, how can I know? How can I be sure that you weren't the one responsible for those things?

Mariana tell you that was me?

I had cause to go.

It wasn't good enough to leave my sisters behind like that, okay?

But I had cause.

You satisfied now, Mr. Journalist?

Can I see Mariana, and is Paloma still with her?

You haven't mentioned her at all.

Flynn: Waiting to find a missing child must be the hardest thing a family ever faces.

We know how difficult it is to stay hopeful for so long.

That's why you dragged us out of our home? To sympathize?

I wish it hadn't been necessary to ask you back, but you don't want to be at your house while we're serving a search warrant there.

Janice: But what are you searching for?

What could we have in our house that would help you find Kevin?

This is a Fabrique Nationale 5.7.

You have one registered in your name.

We'd like to know where it is.

Why?

We've linked this w*apon to the disappearance of your son.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark, the L.A.P.D. Is sorry to inform you that we've identified remains that, according to dental records on file with the FBI, belongs to your son and that apparently, he d*ed from a g*nsh*t wound to the head.

From a w*apon like this owned by your husband.

Captain, Lieutenant Tao says there's no trace of the Fabrique Nationale 5.7 at the Clarks' house.

Moving on to our second location.

You positive there's... no possibility of a mistake?

George, please.

How can we help you find our son's m*rder*r?

The missing w*apon.

[Sighs]

Has been gone since Kevin was kidnapped.

We didn't notice it had disappeared till after the ransom was paid.

Uh, but we're pretty sure Kevin had it.

Why didn't you tell us that?

Because we knew what Jerry thought all along.

That Kevin had planned his own kidnapping, that he had walked off with the money.

We were afraid that if the FBI knew about the g*n, that they would stop looking for our son.

Okay.

Does this guy look familiar to either one of you?

Mike Sparks?

Yeah, he was... he was a friend of Kevin's since middle school.

We didn't know his parents.

Honestly, Mike was closer to Jamie and Daniel than he was to Kevin.

Why? What happened to Mike?

Agent Shea! Hold on, please.

Fritz: Jerry!

Captain, we have trouble.

You might be faster with search warrants, but the FBI's not gonna put up with this.

You are making a big mistake.

Captain, our FBI consultant has arrived to arrest Mr. and Mrs. Clark for the kidnapping/m*rder of their son.

Special Agent Shea, let me appeal to your sense of fairness.

You just tried to steal credit for solving this case, so fairness is out.

Step aside and maybe I'll mention how helpful you were to the press after the Clarks confess.

Thank you.

George and Janice Clark, you have the right to remain silent.

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

What the hell is going on here?

Our friend from the FBI has rejected further cooperation with Major Crimes.

I suggest that we continue our notification process without him.

Tao: I'm sure you two remember your old pal Michael Sparks.

He was found dead behind a vacant building in Culver City.

Oh, my god.

That's why Kevin didn't want us to look up when he got in the car.

He knew we'd recognize Mike.

Fritz: I can tell you, Captain, this isn't gonna go over well with the Bureau.

We tried to help them. Shea could have been here.

He will be when he tells people about it.

We're just giving a surprise ending to his novel.

Daniel: What happened to Mike?

Well, a g*nsh*t to the head will do that to you.

He was sh*t from behind.

ex*cuted.

Now you two are facing charges of double homicide.

Double homicide?

Who... who's the other victim supposed to be?

Oh, did we forget to mention?

Kevin's body was found buried in Michael Sparks' backyard.

What?

We also looked into your little career as a deejay's assistant.

Yeah.

Turns out you're quite the world traveler, playing big dance parties in Barcelona, Rome, Paris.

We're gonna examine security footage from currency exchanges in every European airport you've been through, see how often you showed up with $100 bills obtained from the kidnapping.

Stop calling it a kidnapping.

It's only a kidnapping if you abduct someone against their will, and that's not what happened.

Danny, don't.

Let's call a lawyer.

No, it's time to clear this up once and for all.

The whole fake kidnapping was Kevin's idea.

He planned every step.

He chose the location, pulled Mike, Jamie, and me in on it, mostly to get even with his parents.

For what?

After Kevin got out of rehab, they cut back on his allowance, like, a lot, and he was furious.

And so he put together this fake kidnapping.

And after all we went through with him, Kevin changed his mind.

He wanted to back out.

And where would that have left all of us?

Mike argued with him, pointed out we'd go to jail, and then...

Kevin pulls out a g*n, and he and Michael fight over it.

And Mike sh*t Kevin in the head.

It was horrible.

Horrible.

Well, that could be true.

And from then on,

we had to do things Mike's way.

One problem, though.

It's odd. It's just odd.

I mean, you say that Mike was calling all the sh*ts.

Did that include the one that ended up in the back of his head?

His house was torn up and tossed when we got there.

He had a stash space, but it was empty.

Hmm. Wonder where his share of the ransom went.

Tao: You had been so careful, slowly cashing in money overseas whenever Jamie traveled.

Then Michael blew all that by spending a wild night at Sultry Dolls, throwing around ransom money like it was no big deal.

And then, suddenly, he was dead.

And that's where your story begins to fall apart a little.

Actually, a lot.

"A" for effort, Danny boy.

But while you've been sitting here waiting for us, we did a little search of your apartment, and look what we found.

[Groans]

You idiot.

Me?

You're the one who flipped out over Mike going to Sultry Dolls.

What? That's ridiculous.

Don't blame me. Jamie sh*t him.

The g*n was found in your house.

Hey, I want to cooperate.

You think they're gonna believe that?

I don't want to be blamed for any of this.

Oh, no, you don't.

I'm gonna cooperate here.

I've got... I've got money.

Hey, I'm cooperating.

You don't have the money, and I do, I have most of Mike's money, assh*le,

... so what are you supposed to cooperate with? which is a full third, and you don't even know where that is.

That's... no, no.

Since this investigation was started by the FBI, I suggest that we allow the federal government to prosecute this case.

I like the way you think, Captain.

I'll call the U.S. attorney's office. We're friends.

Fritz: Hey, look at this.

Special Agent Shea is holding a press conference five minutes from now, announcing an arrest in the Kevin Clark kidnapping.

[ Indistinct shouting]

Maybe we'll watch.

Oh, Chief.

Um, Andy and I would like to speak with you for a minute.

Taylor: What about?

I don't want to miss this idiot talking to the media.

Oh, we can do both. Just follow me.

... people up at night.

How did I get caught up with airheads like you?

Are you kidding me?

You have no concept of it!

This could have been taken care of so easily.

You see what's happening?

You see what's happening?

I'm not resisting! I am not resisting arrest!

You are the one who got us into this, you idiot!

And though Mr. and Mrs. Clark still strenuously maintain their innocence, the evidence against them is so overwhelming that in my own opinion, they should be held without bail.

On a personal note, having pursued this investigation for the past two years, more often than not completely on my own...

Okay.

... I feel great relief

knowing that this arrest will...

Uh, enough of him. Let's, uh...

Let's go back to this dating business.

Sharon: And when we say "dating," Chief, we mean it in the old-fashioned sense of the word.

Yeah, very old-fashioned.

In fact, I'm surprised we don't have a chaperone.

Still, it's no longer just a friendship, and you are our immediate supervisor, and...

Uh, and you have considered all the different ways things could go wrong?

This relationship will not affect the good order and discipline of my division.

Flynn: In fact, worst-case scenario, we can always go back to being very good friends.

[Chuckles] Okay.

Uh, well, I appreciate you following the rules by reporting your current status, and there is no policy saying either of you has to transfer.

But it's tough, you know, working together while dating.

[Laughs]

Leave yourselves some room to, uh, maneuver, okay?

Now, let me call the FBI and rain on their parade.

Oh, it sure is a happy day.

[Chuckles]

See, Andy? That was easy.

Yeah.

It's the next hurdle that has me worried right now.

Uh, don't worry.

He'll come around. I hope.

Buzz: Hi. I'm Buzz Watson. Nice to meet you.

Oh, uh, and... and this is Lieutenant Andy Flynn and my mother, Captain Sharon Raydor.

Provenza: Meet Gustavo Wallace.

Brother of Mariana Wallace.

Who we've been calling Alice Herrera, ma'am.

Oh, I see.

Well, we're all very pleased to meet you, Gustavo.

Just... just Gus is good.

It's hard to believe Mariana's here.

She isn't.

Um, Gus w... was looking for more information about his sister, and I told him that... that this was the place to come.

Of course.

Why don't you come with me into my office?

And, uh, we'll just talk for a bit. Come on.

Okay.

Sure.

Mariana, huh?

You did it, Rusty.

You did it.

Hell of a job, kid.

Hell of a job, all right.

Hell of a job.