Original subtitles

[R.J.] Previously on R.J. Decker…

You beat up a kid?

He wasn't a kid. He was 20 years old

and, as it turns out, the son of a state senator.

[Ray] Those heels are gonna put you on your ass, Em.

-Why are you really here? -I'm here to talk about this.

What you're doing here, I respect it. But is it wise?

You have a new CRO, someone who, with a single call from me,

will violate you back to Apalachee.

Accept the offer. You get sent back, I don't believe you'll ever get out.

Well, I think I-I realized what I wanted to say.

-What? -Screw your dad.

Lucas was sent to steal your camera. It's time you found out why.

[siren wailing in distance]

[police officer 1] On Chicago Avenue, we need a rescue team, over.

-[police officer 2] Sir. -Yeah?

You mind telling me one more time what happened here tonight?

Yeah, I was walking to my car. Saw the guy had broken into the trunk.

He sees me, he takes off with my camera.

I'm a photographer, I can't lose my camera,

so I chase him down.

Caught him, he started throwing punches, I punched back.

I called the cops.

Yeah, see, that's not the story we're getting from him.

Okay.

Would you please turn around, show me your hands?

[R.J. stammers]

[Emi] Hey, R.J.

-You okay? -Mm-hmm.

[♪ suspenseful music plays]

You sure this is the right next move?

It's the only next move. [sighs]

I appreciate all of you being here.

Mel, I think you're the only one that hasn't met Emi yet.

Yeah, pero… We can skip the formalities, yeah?

You said there's things you need to tell us.

Let's cut to the chase.

Uh, Emi's father, the other day he had my CRO replaced,

threatened to use a guy to have me sent back to prison.

Emi and I may know a way to have Victor sent to prison instead.

We're here to ask for your help.

-[♪ suspenseful music plays] -[R.J. sighs] Okay, y'all know the story.

Lucas Ochoa breaks into my car. He runs off with one of my cameras.

I chase him down, there's a fight followed by a-a joke of a trial

and an 18-month prison sentence.

That whole time, I thought he was just some spoiled rich kid.

That he did what he did because he felt like doing it.

Turns out that was wrong. [sighs]

He was sent there that night. By his father.

My father thought there were pictures on the camera's SD card

that could prove damaging.

Lucas was supposed to steal the camera and destroy it.

Well, what were the pictures of?

[Emi] I don't know.

I didn't find out about any of this until things went sideways

and Lucas ended up in the hospital.

I dug up some of my old notes, and according to the dates,

the pictures had to be from my last two assignments at the newspaper.

One was the birth of a baby hippo at the zoo in Miami.

Unless Victor was the father,

I doubt those were the pictures he'd be worried about.

The other more likely candidate was a mob-style hit

that went down in a fancy restaurant, Il Sapore.

I remember that. I wrote a couple articles.

The victim was a financial adviser, Peter Bellwether.

A man in a ski mask gunned him down at his table.

-[gunshot] -I was the first newsperson

on the scene that night. I got there even before the yellow tape went up.

Obviously, I don't remember capturing anything

that would have been damaging to someone like Victor,

but according to Emi, there has to be a connection.

Probably too much to hope Daddy did the shooting himself?

He'd never put himself at that much risk.

But obviously you do think murder's in his repertoire, right?

Aside from the part he asked me to play in R.J.'s prosecution… [stammers]

…he's kept me siloed from anything criminal.

All I know for sure is that

the possibility of R.J.'s photographs coming to light made him very nervous.

Hence Lucas being sent to steal my camera.

When that didn't work, Victor needed me on trial

so my camera would end up in an evidence room.

That way, a friend of the family, maybe a cop on the payroll

or a crony at the DA's office could sneak in and steal the SD card.

In other words, the pictures are long gone.

Actually, they aren't. The SD card reached me before my father.

I told him it was destroyed,

but the truth was I gave it to someone to hold on to.

I felt terrible about what I had said at R.J.'s trial.

I thought, I don't know, I might need it someday.

After this, I'm gonna go get it.

I was hoping you could go through your old notes

from when you wrote about Peter Bellwether's murder,

see if there's anything that didn't make the articles

that could help us figure out a connection to Victor.

-Absolutely. -You want me to go to the station,

go through the old case files, look for the same.

If you wouldn't mind, but wait. Uh, before you go,

there's something you both need to know.

It's about the break-in at the house.

-[knocks on door] -[R.J.] Hey.

I just want to say thanks for hosting. I appreciate it.

Would you believe that wasn't my first cabal?

I put a little, uh, coffee and pastry thing together a couple of weeks ago

for a group who believed the moon landing was real.

-[chuckles] -Just wasn't our moon.

What are you doing? What is this? Address books?

I still know a few guys that know a few guys.

None of them traffic in murder, but you never know.

Maybe somebody heard something once about that restaurant hit.

Maybe they know how it connects to your girlfriend's daddy.

[chuckling] She's not my…

I know you think I should just accept his offer,

get my record expunged, be done with him. I know that.

Look, I wanted to promise you, I get sent back to Apalachee,

I will do my absolute best to not get murdered there.

There ain't a snowball's chance you get murdered there.

'Cause you go back, I go back.

I'll punch Victor Ochoa in his big dumb face or something.

I'll make sure I'm around to watch your back again.

Hey, you never, uh, told us where your not-a-girlfriend stashed the SD card.

You need help getting it?

Actually, it's something I gotta do on my own.

[♪ gentle music plays]

-[punching keys] -[phone buzzes]

Hey.

How's the return trip to the murder of Peter Bellwether going?

Poorly. I mean, he was by all accounts well-liked.

[Mel] But?

He was a finance guy. He could've been in bed with anyone.

[stammers] A cartel, an oligarch…

A certain Florida state senator?

If he was working with Victor Ochoa, so far, I'm not seeing it.

How's it going at the station?

Got a little sidetracked, but I'll be there soon.

-I'll let you know if I find anything. -[Catherine] Okay.

[♪ suspenseful music plays]

[sighs]

[Mel] That sucks.

Detective Mel Abreu.

I was just driving by when I thought I saw a guy messing with your car.

-He must have taken off running. -Yeah, I guess so.

Would you like to file a report?

No, I'm okay.

Evidence. I'll run some tests.

You never know what might tie somebody to a crime.

Have we met before?

You look so familiar.

Just have one of those faces.

-Yeah. -Hmm.

[chattering]

Hey, how's it going?

I'm about to have a conversation with one of your patrons.

It's possible he might throw a few punches.

This is for you to not call the cops until at least three of them land,

or two, you know, if they're good ones.

[clears throat]

Lucas.

Hey.

[♪ gentle music plays]

Emi sent me, okay? I need to get something from you.

First, I thought it was time we talked.

[music ends]

Emi wanted to come get the SD card, but I told her no, I had to do it.

'Cause I've owed you an apology for a long time, Lucas.

Yeah, I was going through something two years ago.

I had lost someone and, uh, my job.

All the things I was seeing.

Those are excuses.

I'm not here for excuses. I'm here to tell you I'm sorry.

And I'm sorry, Lucas.

See? That's how messed up my family is.

I mean, you kicked my ass, but only 'cause I tried to rob you.

Then I lied to the cops about what happened.

Then I lied in court.

But you, you're the one here to apologize.

But here's the thing, I'm not sorry.

What I saw in your eyes that night, you had to go away.

You hadn't,

you were gonna kill somebody.

The, uh, SD card, Lucas. I really need it.

Before you ask,

I never looked at what's on there.

I didn't actually know how.

All that ever mattered was it was leverage against my dad

if me or Emi ever needed it.

Hey, be careful, okay?

I know you beat me up and everything, but I don't want you to, like, die.

[chuckles]

I appreciate that.

[R.J.] I've been combing through these like it's the Zapruder film.

I don't know. All the pictures I took were after the murder.

Maybe your dad just convinced himself I captured something.

No, there has to be something.

The other night when I told you about Lucas and your camera,

that it was one more thing I kept from you.

I mean, you could have told me to go to hell, but you didn't.

This thing I've been doing the last few months, um,

ex-cons call it reentry.

A big part of it is forgiveness.

Some of it's for yourself and some of it's for others.

I look at you. I see you trying to change.

I see you trying to live your life in a different way.

And I do. I-I…

I think you're going through a reentry too.

[chuckles]

You know, it's funny.

Before you and I met, I-I'd only ever heard your dad was corrupt.

But this, all this…

makes me think he might be connected to organized crime,

tied to a gang, maybe even a cartel.

It's not the first time it occurred to you, huh?

And yet after all the time I've been around him,

I don't have a single thing we can bring to the police.

Yeah.

[R.J. exhales]

It's gonna be okay.

It's all gonna be okay.

What?

[chuckling] What… What are you doing?

Just making sure Lucas didn't hit you.

No, I told you all we did was talk. [chuckles]

-[phone ringing] -Oh.

-Yeah. -It's…

-Hey, Cath. -Hey.

I just got a call from Edith across the street.

She said there's something in our driveway,

something that couldn't possibly be there,

'cause if it were, my wife's head would surely explode.

Uh, yeah, sorry, Cath. Edith is right.

When I heard Victor had someone burn his son's boat down,

I didn't think it'd be wise to keep my trailer parked in a lot

owned and managed by Ochoa Development.

Anyway, where are you? I saw your car isn't here.

I came to the station to go over the Peter Bellwether files with Mel.

-And? -So far, nothing that connects to Victor.

I did reach out to Peter's widower, a guy named Steven Crane.

I got to know him a little after Peter died.

He sat down for a couple interviews.

He said he'd come and talk to me one more time.

I'll let you know if the name Victor Ochoa means anything to him.

You want new tires, Ray? Send me the bill.

I can buy my own damn tires.

I called you here 'cause the one who did this

is the same homicide detective whose house you had me break into.

You were sloppy. That sketch? Someone got a good look at you.

That sketch had nothing to do with this.

[♪ dramatic music plays]

You think Emilia gave you up?

My daughter would never turn against her family.

You went too far.

Sending me to torch Lucas's boat was a mistake.

You're the one who was sloppy.

-Ray… -No, I've been taking care of things

for you a long time now.

It's time for you to take care of things.

Get your damn house in order before it's too late.

It's so good to see you, Steven. Thank you for coming in.

[chuckles] Please. You were so kind to me after Peter died.

You wrote such wonderful things about him.

Really meant a lot.

Um, but I'm a little confused.

Uh, if you're working on some sort of follow-up,

why are we meeting here instead of at The Herald?

There's been a new development in Peter's case,

-or at least the possibility of one. -Oh?

I'll get right to the point, Mr. Crane.

Does the name Victor Ochoa mean anything to you?

As in… [chuckles] As in the politician?

We're just trying to figure out if Peter ever did any business with him.

I… I'm not sure. I… [stutters] …don't think so. [chuckles]

Are you sure Peter never crossed paths

with Victor Ochoa in any capacity, professional, social?

I'm sorry, I'm suddenly not feeling well.

Um, could we… Could we finish this at another time?

Steven, wait, wait.

Do you remember the story you told me about the panhandler on Broward Boulevard?

The man people drove past on their way to the beach,

windows up, eyes forward, like he wasn't even there?

But Peter saw him, right?

Pulled over one day and sat on the curb with him, got him a job.

You said that was who Peter was.

Gentle, decent, incapable of letting anyone feel invisible.

[stammers]

He deserved better than what happened to him.

You're right.

He did deserve better.

I'll tell you what happened.

[phone ringing]

Oh, hey, if Edith called with another update, it's true.

I did go inside the house, but only to look for food.

How did it go with Peter's widower?

He gave us a name.

-His own. -I'm sorry, what?

A few years ago, he had a knee replacement,

got hooked on opioids.

When the prescriptions ran out, he started buying from dealers.

They turned him on to heroin.

Peter found out and gave him a choice, get clean or get out.

I'm guessing they had a prenup?

Steven would have been left with nothing, so he paid their pool guy ten grand

to shoot Peter in his favorite restaurant.

Steven's sober now, and the guilt over what he had done was killing him,

so when he saw a chance to make things right today…

Yeah, he took it.

Peter Bellwether's murder is finally solved.

Except it has nothing to do with Victor Ochoa.

-Coming in. Put your pants on. -[stammers]

I make my mom's paella and you don't come in to mooch?

-Sofia's worried about you. -[chuckles]

Yeah, I don't know. I've just… I've been through everything.

The scene inside the restaurant where Peter Bellwether was killed,

the scene outside the restaurant,

even the fricking baby hippo at the zoo and…

[sighs] I thought for sure I'd find a link to Victor, but…

Not seeing it?

Either he was wrong about what I captured on my camera, or I'm wrong now.

Unless I figure out some kind of connection,

this only ends one way.

Me going back to Apalachee and maybe for good this time.

And I've dragged everyone I care about

into Victor Ochoa's crosshairs for no reason.

Not you, R.J.

You are such an idiot.

My dad used to say, "Cuidate, mija. Careful who you let get close.

Choose wisely."

I never would have chosen you, but you wormed your way in anyway.

[chuckles]

And that makes it not just your fight anymore.

Cath, Wish, Emi Ochoa, me, we're all in it.

Something in here got you sent to prison,

and my money says you'll find it 'cause it turns out you're…

a pretty good investigator.

Actually, I take that back.

Not the part about you being good,

the part about you finding how these pictures connect to Victor Ochoa.

You would have had to know what to look for.

-What do you mean? -That.

Right there? That's Ray Mercado's car.

Are you sure?

I should be. I stuck a knife in those tires this morning.

But Ray didn't kill Peter Bellwether,

so why would Victor be so worried about us being able to put him there?

Maybe that murder isn't the only crime that went down that night.

Let me guess. You caught the guy who slashed my tires.

Oh, no. I'm sorry, Mr. Mercado.

That crime remains a mystery,

unlike the one we asked you here to talk about.

That's your car. Yeah? I'll save you the trouble.

It's definitely your car.

This picture was taken on the evening of March 4th, 2024, by Mr. Decker here.

It's a pretty unremarkable photo, isn't it?

And yet a-a great deal of effort was made to make sure it never came to light,

and we think we know why.

Mr. Decker was in the area that night because of a murder in a restaurant,

but you were there because of a death in a building across the street,

one that didn't come to light until two days later.

Jessica Laurent. Do you recognize her?

She was supposed to get married that April.

When she didn't show up for work on March 6th,

her fiancé went to her apartment and found her hanging from a rafter.

Yeah, the ME ruled it a suicide, but we think he got it wrong.

You strangled her, and you made it look like a suicide.

Why would I do that?

Same reason you do anything, Ray. Victor Ochoa told you to.

Jessica Laurent was an architect, a damn good one, very in demand.

A source tells us that your boss, Victor,

he'd been chasing her for years to do a job with Ochoa Development.

She kept saying no.

Yeah, Victor doesn't like hearing the word no, does he?

A source?

We don't have enough to charge you, not yet, but we're getting close.

This is your window, Ray.

Give us Victor now,

or there isn't gonna be a lifeboat left when you need one.

[♪ suspenseful music plays]

Are we done here?

[scoffs] Yeah.

Do me a favor.

Say hi to Emilia for me.

What do you think? Any chance Ray takes matters into his own hands,

goes to say hi to Emi himself?

Well, she would say no,

but you're assuming Victor wouldn't just order him to do it.

Meanwhile, I got my best guy keeping an eye on Ray just in case.

Your best guy wouldn't happen to look like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, would he?

You're saying that like Shaggy didn't solve, like, a bunch of mysteries.

[♪ gentle music plays]

Going for a ride.

Really should have peed first.

[phone chimes]

Emi, you honestly believe your father had Jessica Laurent killed?

You've met Ray Mercado once or twice.

Uh, yeah, yeah, your dad's friend.

More like his fixer. The police think he killed Jessica.

They're taking a hard look at him.

Any luck, he'll confess, flip on my father.

I'm here in case he doesn't.

Before Jessica died, you were commissioning more work from her

than anyone else in town.

Did she ever talk to you about my father?

Listen, Emi, there are very few people that scare me.

[♪ suspenseful music plays]

Your father does.

I understand, Bruce.

I really do.

Hey, listen, if you think it'll help, I can give you some names.

Jessica's friends, you can talk to all of them.

But just, please, promise me that you will be careful.

[music fades]

Everyone I talked to about Jessica Laurent believed that she killed herself.

-Really? No one had questions? -No one.

And yet I know my father was trying hard to recruit her around that time.

Suspicious, but it isn't proof of anything.

Well, Ray's not ready to help us either, not yet anyway.

What?

[exhales] It's just been crazy the last couple of days.

We haven't had a chance to talk about us, about what happened the other night.

No.

No, we have not.

[smacks lips] This thing that we do, whatever it is we are to each other,

I've been trying to figure it out.

Can't just be hookups in places that have wheels on them, can it?

-[chuckles] -[phone ringing, buzzes]

Hey, what's going on?

[Wish] I'm still at Ray's shop, but…

just, something feels off.

What do you mean?

[Wish] I see smoke.

It could be from an engine.

It could be he's down there burning files or evidence or something.

I thought maybe I'd, you know…

Uh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Stay in the car.

[Wish] Are you sure?

Very. I-I don't want you getting yourself in any trouble, okay?

All right. Oh, ho… hold on, hold on.

Looks like we got a visitor.

-What do you mean? -I mean somebody's headed up to the shop.

Just stay put, all right?

[door creaks]

The door is open, but I don't quite have an angle on it.

[gunshots]

Wish, what the hell was that?

[panting] Call 911. Do it now.

[♪ tense music plays]

[sighs] Come on… [panting] …stay with me, big guy. Hey, hey.

Hey, come on, talk to me. Who did this? Was it Victor Ochoa? Huh?

[whispering]

[music stops]

[chattering]

-You all right? -Sorry, it's just…

I knew Ray my whole life. He… He was a good guy once upon a time.

I mean, I can count the people my father trusts on one hand.

For him to do this, Ray must have been closer

to talking about Jessica Laurent's murder than we thought.

I don't know.

Maybe your dad's just getting paranoid. Ray didn't have much to say at the end.

What do you mean?

Wish asked him who did it.

All he said was, "Peppermint, stick, thumb."

Does that mean something to you?

I think I know what he was trying to say.

He just died before he could say the last word, "drive."

Peppermint stick thumb drive.

My father has a safe at home where he keeps important documents.

I've seen the thumb drive Ray was talking about in there. It's…

-It's striped like a candy cane. -Do you know what was on it?

No, I've never seen it outside of the safe,

but I-I'm betting whatever it is,

it ties my father to what happened to Jessica Laurent.

-Do you think you can get inside the safe? -The safe, no problem. The house?

My father's security won't let me within 100 feet of it right now.

But that might be okay.

I may only need to get within 101.

[♪ dramatic music plays]

Sir, there's something going on in front of the house.

[no audible dialogue]

[guard] She got here just a few minutes ago.

She's saying she won't move until you two have talked.

Okay.

[door closes]

I assume you're here to talk about what happened to Ray.

I'm pretty sure you mean what you had done to Ray.

Ray was familia. I loved him. I would have never hurt him.

Yourself? No. If I had to guess, it was one of them.

Or, I don't know,

a friend suggested the other day you may have ties to organized crime.

Maybe you borrowed a sicario from some nice cartel?

Emilia, please, let's take this inside.

I-I'm not going anywhere with you. You want to talk? We'll do it right here.

[♪ tense music plays]

How's it going out there?

Good. Two of the three security guards Emi told us about are taking in the show.

[whispering] Okay, let me know if that changes.

Why would I hurt Ray?

Because two years ago, he killed Jessica Laurent for you.

No, that's not true.

The pictures R.J. took that night? The ones I told you I destroyed?

I didn't. One of them shows Ray's car parked across from her building.

[music continues]

I appreciate you doing this, you know?

What?

Being an accessory to whatever this is.

I know you don't like Emi all that much.

Eh. She's growing on me.

Okay.

[beeps]

-Uh-oh. -Uh-oh? What's uh-oh?

The code Emi gave me for the safe,

Uh, she said it was her birthday, but it's not working.

Her dad must have changed the code.

Mija, think. Am I a stupid man?

What could I have possibly gained from Jessica Laurent's death?

What did you gain by torching Lucas's boat?

[scoffs]

You're a bully.

Bullies don't need agendas. They need targets.

They need to hurt people so they can feel big.

[sighs]

Yep, that's three attempts.

According to the Internet, this model of safe,

after a fourth failed attempt, you're locked out for an hour.

I don't think this argument's gonna last that long.

Uh, hang on. I have an idea.

I've made mistakes.

Terrible mistakes.

But killing Ray is not one of them.

I'm begging you, believe me.

Come back to me.

Together, I promise, we can fix all of this.

I… [stammers] …I can't come back.

It's too late.

You and your friend,

you want me out of office, maybe even in prison.

But it would be a mistake because you're right.

I do have dangerous friends, more than you can even understand,

but I maintain those relationships for the good of the city,

for the good of the state.

I do what I have to do to keep the peace, to save lives.

0-8-0-7-5-8.

-What's that? -Just try it. 0-8-0-7-5-8.

Oh, my God. It worked.

[exhales]

He changed the code from Emi's birthday to his own.

Nice thing about malignant narcissists,

their self-obsession can make them predictable.

You stay this course, I won't try to stop you…

but there may come a time when I can no longer protect you.

These past few years, you hiding things from me,

asking me to perjure myself, to send a good man to prison?

If that was you protecting me… [stammers] …I wish you hadn't.

[sighs]

[phone ringing]

Hey, we have the thumb drive. We're headed to you.

Turn around, go someplace else.

Why? What's going on?

Couple of cops were just here looking for you.

What?

Seems old Victor finally made good on his threat.

Your new CRO, he had you violated. There's a warrant out for your arrest.

[♪ tense music plays]

[music ends]

-[sighs] -[phone ringing, buzzing]

-Hey. -[Wish] Hey.

I'm just, um, checking in on you, ol' buddy.

Yeah, I'm good, thanks.

I am, as you know, a law-abiding citizen now.

Have been, intend to be.

But like I told you the other day, I know people that know people.

One of 'em might be able to help you go someplace else,

get a fresh start.

Wish, are you asking me if I want to go on the run?

I'll answer that question with another question.

How many times you want to go to prison for something you didn't do?

[phone chimes]

I just sent you a number. You need it, you call it. Okay?

Yeah, I got it, okay. Thanks.

[exhales]

[typing]

Yeah, hi. Uh, I'm calling 'cause I need your help.

Hey.

I was starting to worry you weren't gonna show. Did you get it?

-So? -[scoffs]

So, it's strange.

Good strange or bad strange?

Every single file here is the work of Jessica Laurent.

Blueprints, floor plans, elevations,

all from the same building downtown, Seabright Tower.

-Yeah? -She designed the place a few years ago.

But I'm confused.

I thought you said she didn't do any work with Ochoa Development.

She didn't. Seabright Tower is one of Bruce's buildings.

He's the guy I went to see the other day, the investor.

He worked with Jessica all the time.

But if Seabright Tower isn't one of your dad's projects,

why the hell is this thumb drive in his safe?

It had to have come from Ray.

He must have taken it the night he killed her.

If he didn't, he wouldn't have known to tell Wish about it.

Ray didn't have access to the safe.

Right, so, what, two years ago, your dad sent Ray to steal it?

Maybe there was some design element he was trying to rip off?

[sighs] But I don't know, for someone like Jessica Laurent,

Seabright Tower was borderline mundane.

High-end, luxurious, but more substance than style.

So, in other words, after all that work this morning,

the only thing we might be able to hang on your dad

is intellectual property theft.

It's okay. We'll figure it out.

Yeah, well, we sort of need to figure it out by 5:00 p.m.

That's when I'm due to turn myself in to the police.

What?

Yeah, your dad, he did what he said he was gonna do. He got me violated.

-[scoffs] -[blusters]

But it's okay. I called Mel a little while ago.

She's gonna meet me at 5:00. I'll surrender myself.

Any luck, she and my attorney will straighten out

this little misunderstanding with the CRO.

I could be out by morning.

R.J., you know my father isn't gonna let that happen.

[scoffs]

Hmm.

What? What is it?

I-I don't know. It's this file.

I mean, if this is what I think it is,

your dad might not have been the one to want Jessica Laurent dead after all.

That's okay. It's maybe even good because if I'm right,

person who did can give us your dad on a platter.

[Mel] Mr. Vinkour.

Believe you know Emi Ochoa.

Uh, I do. Just spoke yesterday, as a matter of fact.

I assume you're here for the same reason I am?

Background on Jessica?

Oh, Miss Ochoa's already done her part.

She's been very helpful, but we still have some questions.

As I believe you know, we've been circling the possibility

that Jessica was killed by a man named Ray Mercado.

That's his car parked across from her apartment the night she died.

It's very troubling.

You mean seeing his car there, or seeing yours?

Made us wonder, did Ray kill Jessica, or did he just handle the cleanup?

Uh, I… I don't understand. What, are you suggesting I…

I would never.

She and I worked together. That's why I would have been there that night.

[Mel] Hmm.

I told Detective Abreu that Jessica designed Seabright Tower for you.

-Yeah. -And I explained how things work

in our business,

sprinting to put up one building so we can pay for the next.

Seabright Tower was leveraged to the hilt. It had to be on time.

Financing these things, it can be risky.

The structural integrity of your buildings can't be.

You've seen this before, yes?

Yeah.

I think you've seen this too.

[♪ suspenseful music plays]

Jessica created it the day she died.

Miss Ochoa explained it's a standard stress test.

It shows how a building will stand up to wind shear.

Jessica discovered a fatal flaw in the Seabright Tower site plan.

Those two neighboring buildings create a wind tunnel

that can amplify tropical storm force gusts.

She showed it to you,

told you to slam on the brakes, only you couldn't.

It would have cost you tens, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars.

At first we thought maybe you hired Ray to kill her.

Then we saw your car. Made us wonder, "Why would you go there with him?"

Unless you didn't. You were there first.

You killed Jessica, and then, in a panic,

you called the most corrupt, most connected person you knew for help.

My father. He sent Ray.

Ray made it look like Jessica killed herself.

No. No! [stammers]

These-These models are theoretical.

Storm simulations overstate risk all the time.

I'm not here to talk about engineering.

I'm not even here to book you for Jessica Laurent's murder.

Not enough proof. Ray's murder, on the other hand…

When I came to see you, I told you the police were leaning on him.

I assume that's why you killed him.

To make sure he couldn't tell them about you?

These shell casings, they're registered to a gun we know you own.

And this blood?

You cut yourself on a fence as you fled.

Without Ray around to clean up after you, I gotta say,

you're not very good at murder.

Tell me something.

Why do you suppose my father held on to that thumb drive?

[sighs] Blackmail material.

In case he needed to leverage me.

You're the one with the leverage now.

Tell the truth about the role he played.

Give the DA a reason to not pursue the death penalty.

It happened just like you said.

Every bit of it.

I'll tell you everything.

[♪ gentle music plays]

-[chuckles] -[chuckles]

It's funny.

You think you won, but my attorneys have already assured me

that the state's case against me is a joke.

I'll make bail in a matter of hours.

[clicks tongue] And then, if the district attorney, an old friend,

actually decides he wants to prosecute me,

it'll come down to my word against Bruce Vinkour's.

You're right. I didn't win the war, just the battle.

But a heck of a battle, am I right?

I mean, before today, you were untouchable.

Now? Now you're gonna be under a microscope the size of Seabright Tower.

You remember Seabright Tower, right? Big building, home to almost 200 people?

But you were willing to keep it a secret

the place would collapse in a hurricane because why?

Just to have a little dirt on your buddy Bruce?

[clicks tongue] See, I got a secret for you, Vic.

I think you are going to prison.

Because you're wrong. It won't be just your word against Bruce's.

It'll be your word against Emi's too.

[smacks lips] Say you're right.

She'll have to get used to visiting both of us behind bars.

Nope, she won't, 'cause I'm not going to prison.

At least not today.

That whole little mix-up with my new CRO,

that got cleared up just a little while ago.

You see, my friend, she works here. She paid him a visit.

She made it very clear just how scrutinized you were about to be,

how many secrets would be coming out in the next days, weeks, months.

-All of a sudden… -[snaps fingers]

…he realized he made a mistake.

I didn't commit any violations after all.

You see, the truth is, Vic, I was free to go an hour ago.

I thought the gentlemanly thing to do was to stick around and say hello.

And then goodbye.

-Guard. -This isn't over.

It's over for today.

[♪ "You Can Get It If You Really Want" plays]

F.M. Station?

The "F.M." stands for "Florida Man," right?

It does.

What about Florida women?

If I do something weird, can I get a free drink?

[guffaws] Well, you, kiddo, are a dear friend of a dear friend,

so your drinks are always free. [clicks tongue]

-Speak of the dang ol' devil. There he is! -Hey.

-[laughs] -Oh, boy.

[laughs] Come on, come on. [cackles] Aw, where the heck you been, son?

-[chuckles] Jail. -Party started without you.

-Busted out the foosball table. -I see that.

-I made T-shirts and everything. -Very classy.

Huh? Huh? [cackles]

So are we gonna meet for drinks every time you get out of jail?

'Cause I don't think my liver can take it.

-Where's your shirt? -You put one on, I'll put one on.

[chuckles]

-I'm glad you're not in prison. -Yeah, me too.

Emi went to the back to take a call from her brother.

I don't know if you heard, but you're not the only one who got out of jail tonight.

[music stops]

[R.J.] The nerve of your dad, huh?

I go to that holding cell early, I get it all nice for him, and he just…

[blows air] ...He just leaves.

I knew he'd make bail.

Because, of course…

But still…

Yeah. You're disappointed.

[inhales] A little.

A little sad too.

Sorry, that's probably a weird thing to say.

No, it's not. He's your dad.

The other day, you said you wanted to figure out whatever…

-whatever this is. -Mmm.

I've been thinking, do we have to figure it out tonight?

'Cause, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a foosball table out there,

and I'm kind of amazing.

-Amazing? -Oh, I could have gone pro.

[♪ "Liquor And Love" plays]

♪ Liquor and love Do they have 'em in heaven above ♪

Hey, hey! No, no, ah-ah-ah!

♪ Sweet liquor and love ♪

♪ Please tell me why These days should be over ♪

♪ And say goodbye To all of my pleasures ♪

[Mel, Sofia laughing]

♪ All I know Is I decided so long ago ♪

♪ That I don't wanna take it slow On the liquor and love ♪

♪ Liquor and love Do they have 'em in heaven above ♪

♪ For it's all I've been dreaming of Sweet liquor and love ♪

♪ Sweet liquor and love ♪

♪ Sweet liquor and love ♪

[song ends]