05x16 - Quid Pro Quo

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Major Crimes". Aired: August 2012 to January 2018.*
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"Major Crimes" is a successor spin-off of "The Closer" in which Captain Sharon Raydor takes over as head of the LAPD's Major Crimes Division.
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05x16 - Quid Pro Quo

Post by bunniefuu »

Do you promise that
the testimony you shall give

in the case before this court

shall be the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?

I do.

DDA Hobbs?

Thank you, Your Honor.

Detective Sykes, you were one
of the investigators

working the crime scene
of this m*rder, is that right?

Yes, that's correct.

And can you describe the victim,
Thomas Edward Chandler,

as you found him that morning?

He had been sh*t once through
the right side of his head.

Execution style from a 9-millimeter.

Sanchez: See the ring near the temple?

Yeah. b*llet just went
right through his head.

Sanchez: And the cart
of almond milk, sir.

Provenza: Almond milk, well,

at least L.A. is living
up to its clichés.

Looks like he slammed into this shelf,

- falling backwards.
- Yeah, time of death?

From the heavy coagulated blood,

full rigor and complete lividity?

Around 10 to 12 p.m. last night.

Sykes: And he wasn't found
until early this morning

when his wife, uh, Brooke,
came back from Santa Barbara.

His wife just happened to be away

when her husband was m*rder*d.

Never heard of that before.

Sanchez: Sir, we checked all
the windows and doors.

No sign of forced entry.

The only thing broken
is that beer bottle there.

Like Mr. Chandler was grabbing
a drink last night

after coming home from dinner.

Sykes: We confirmed Mr. Chandler
had a 7:00 reservation

at The Jones Room
with his work supervisor,

uh, Lisa Kirk.

Oh. What kind of work?

Chandler was an engineer
at Wescott Global,

$30 billion international
defense technology company

- based at Silicon Beach.
- But not a federal employee.

Uh, government-adjacent with a
fairly high security clearance.

Could be why he was k*lled.

His wife gave me his passcode
to his laptop,

but it had encrypted files
that I need permission

from D.C. to open,
so I secured the computer

and sent it downtown to Cyber.

Well, what about cameras?

I mean, a guy like this
would have security cameras.

Mrs. Chandler said she
prefers her privacy,

and she's lived here
much longer than the victim.

Sir, her first husband, Richard Bloom,

bought the house in 2000.

Wife got it in the divorce in 2015

and remarried 11 months ago.

Newlywed divorcée.

Ah, well, does she have any children?

Uh, one from her previous marriage...

a 15-year-old boy, Danny.

Danny. Where was Danny last night?

Catalina Island camping with his dad.

We have patrol waiting for him
down by the ferry.

We're not making any kind
of notifications,

just having 'em
come downtown separately.

Well, it's just
a little miracle, isn't it?

Everyone who lives here was away
when our victim is m*rder*d.

Huh. Well, where is the newlywed widow?

The door was locked when I came home,

and no one has the password

- except our family and our cleaning lady.
- Wait a minute.

Your door has a password?

They open via Bluetooth.

- [Clicks]
- It's keyless entry.

- It's actually called OffKey.
- OffKey?

It's an app that manages
security at your house.

My ex-husband installed it.

It was one of the startups
that he was investing in.

Do you know your OffKey security
user name and password?

Yes. It's... [Inhales deeply]
ChandlerFamily1,

and the password is, um, God.

Tom changed it every seven days.

Uh, he went
to a m*llitary boarding school,

so we used that alphabet sequentially.

So the Monday before last was Charlie,

so that would mean...
"D" would be Delta.

Yeah.

[Touchscreen clicking]

[Cellphone chimes]

Uh, Mrs. Chandler, did the message

you just got on your cellphone
come from OffKey?

Yes, it does that when a new device

logs into the network.

Did you get a message
like that last night?

No. My last alert was when...
[Sniffles] Tom moved in.

Hobbs: Thank you, Detective Sykes.

No further questions at this time.

Ms. Rothman, your witness.

Thank you, Your Honor.
Good morning, Detective.

Since my client, Mr. Bloom, had an alibi

for the night of the m*rder,

placing him a ferry boat ride
away at the time of death

on Catalina Island with his son,

did you consider other suspects

like, say, the victim's wife, Brooke?

We looked at Mrs. Chandler, yes,

but she also had an out-of-town alibi.

Flynn: When did you leave
for Santa Barbara?

Thursday, to help throw
my sister a baby shower.

So you stayed with her
this weekend... your sister?

No, uh, I rented a room

at the Biltmore.
I checked out this morning.

Visiting family and stayed at a hotel?

I'll contact the Biltmore and
get their surveillance video.

- Thank you.
- ...high school, and, uh,

I see her all the time, and, uh...

I could afford the hotel room.
[Sniffles]

Take a second, ma'am.
We know that this is hard.

No, let's just get it over with.

Okay.

How did your husband get along

with his co-workers at Wescott?

Like Lisa Kirk, the woman
he had dinner with

before he was m*rder*d.

I've never heard of her.

You don't know the name
of your husband's supervisor?

No, Tom worked on super secret stuff.

He wasn't able to discuss
personnel or projects

at Wescott with anyone.

So if we asked you whether
this dinner he had last night

was professional or personal...

Oh, look, no one at Wescott
was responsible for this...

this terrible thing.

I've thought about it... [Sniffles]

And...

it was Richard.

Richard k*lled Tom. It had to be him.

Flynn: Well, if by Richard,
you mean your ex-husband,

we checked out his alibi,
and he and your son

have been on Catalina since last Friday.

That doesn't mean he couldn't have given

his cellphone to someone else.

Mrs. Chandler's right, isn't she?

If her husband didn't open
the door himself,

the k*ller would have had to use
a programmed phone to do it.

Is that possible, Mike?
Mr. Bloom giving his phone away?

I don't know yet. I'm pinging
his cell, and right now

it looks like it's on its way
back from Catalina.

...Richard could have left him
on Catalina and come back

and sh*t him.

Your ex hated your new
husband that much?

There were issues,
like Danny's grades had dipped.

Tom and I had agreed

to take him off of the golf team
at school.

And your husband and your ex
had words about that.

Not just words.

Two weeks ago,
Richard showed up to our house,

and when we wouldn't let him in,
he took a swing at Tom

in the front yard. Our neighbor saw it.

Do you think Mrs. Chandler understands

that in accusing her ex,

she's also building a motive
for her teenage son?

Maybe she's just desperate
for us not to look her way.

Adding a new father to a family
can be tricky.

Excuse me, Captain Raydor.

Commander Mason, what can I do for you?

It's regarding your victim.
If we could speak privately...

Certainly.

Brooke: Well, I had heard things
about Richard's past,

- but I had never seen anything myself.
- Hmm.

- Flynn: Not a hothead?
- No, Tom. Tom loved his work...

And yet another candidate
for Assistant Chief

finds a reason just to drop by.

Hmm. No matter who gets that job,

it's going to be bad for us.

I was put on alert this morning

that Mr. Chandler's personal computer

had left its residence.

When they tracked it to PAB,

Wescott immediately called my office.

Why you, Commander, instead of me?

Well, Criminal Intelligence was
helping Chandler develop...

let's call it new surveillance
technology for the LAPD.

The Feds allowed me to pull
Wescott's confidential files

from your victim's computer
and leave you everything else.

Well, I'm surprised.

Usually, when Criminal Intelligence

takes possession of evidence...

No one ever sees it again, that's right.

But... [Lowered voice]
Winnie Davis is watching you

- as closely as she is me.
- ‭Mm-hmm.

And I can't afford for the more
classified element of this case

to throw you off track.

You want me to be Assistant Chief?

Commander, you are very much
in the running yourself.

- I'm happy where I am.
- Me, too.

Look, I've thought about this,

and for one of us to keep our division,

the other has to try
and grab the promotion.

Because if Winnie Davis
becomes Assistant Chief,

she'll definitely try and restructure.

And we could both be gone, yes, I know,

and there is Chief Howard to consider.

He's done, or he'd have the job already.

No, it's me, you, or Davis.

So now would be a terrible time

for Major Crimes to get lost
chasing dead ends like Wescott.

Hence the laptop.

And a little prayer that if
one of us moves up,

the other doesn't need to move out.

Commander, are you offering me a deal?

Well, I know you love 'em.

Hope the computer helps.

Rothman: And you turned over
all of your findings

- to the defense during discovery?
- ‭Yes, we did.

Every written report,
every word of every statement?

Of course.

Every photograph from
the crime scene, every video?

- Yes.
- You held nothing back?

No.

Your Honor, permission
to approach the witness

and ask for her cellphone?

Objection! What does
the detective's cellphone

have to do with anything?

Your Honor, this goes to
the credibility of the witness.

I have good reasons
for this line of inquiry.

Okay, I'll allow you to look
at the cellphone, Ms. Rothman,

but this had better be good,
and it better be fast.

Very quickly, Your Honor.

You may approach the witness, Detective.

If you will open your phone, please.

This should only take a second.

I'm opening photos,
and now I'm going to the date

that the m*rder was investigated,

and there are several photographs here

from the crime scene that were
not turned over to the defense,

as well as a copy of the app
allowing keyless entry

into the house where
Mr. Chandler was found m*rder*d.

Because I-I tested OffKey on my phone.

By downloading the app onto
your personal device that day?

Uh, I did, yes, because...

Which was also not included
in discovery,

which means that the detective
lied when she said...

Okay, uh, Ms. Rothman, that's enough.

The witness may temporarily step down.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

you're off for... well, I'm not sure.

Go have lunch. Court adjourned
while we sort this out.
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