Original subtitles

- The jumper. - Hey, somebody pass me a rock.

Dead, unidentified, female victims in Los Angeles...

...are often called "Sally in the Alley. "

Our detectives wanted to give this one a name.

I took my boys out to lunch the other day, right?

And Petey starts horsing around, juggling meatballs up in the air.

My little guy hates to be upstaged by his brother...

...so he takes these peas and starts shoving them up his nose.

So now it's official: The Moretta boys are banned from Denny's for life.

Hey, what's the matter with you?

- Nothing. - No?

- When are you gonna get Tammi pregnant? - No. No. We are not ready.

- Tammi? - Yeah.

She wants this new camera, the Hasselblad.

Costs around $2000.

- Are you serious? - Yeah.

That's an expensive hobby, man.

She's really good.

- Yeah? Really? - It's kind of more than a hobby.

Wow, because I've heard you say that before.

- The potter's wheel? Come on. - Oh, I know, I know.

But her photography's really first-rate. She's got a great eye.

I just don't know where we're gonna get the money.

I hear that.

Moretta.

Whoa, calm down, Pop.

Look, she probably just stopped off at a friend's house after school.

If you don't hear from her in an hour, you give me a call, all right?

Just calm down.

- All right. - Everything all right?

Yeah, man. Yeah. It's just my sister. She keeps driving my parents crazy.

They never know where she's going or who with.

- That's what teenagers do, remember? - Yeah.

Hey, hey. Sit down before you take a tumble.

- Forget him. - He's gonna fall.

They never fall.

See? Would you put him back wherever he came from? Hey.

Photos and SID are here but coroner's backed up.

- Don't know when he's gonna get here. The shield?

- She's naked. She OD?

No, no. Her fingernails are broken in half. She got a rope around her neck.

Clean-looking. Not from the 'hood.

Did you print her? Machine's not working.

- She's the coroner's problem now. That could take days.

Take couple of head shots. Maybe Vice can ID her.

Mrs. Vargas called it in.

She lives across the alley. She thought she was a drunk, sleeping it off.

But when she didn't move for 18 hours, then she realized something was wrong.

Like a naked girl laying in an alley isn't enough of a tip-off?

Can you blame her? She didn't want to miss her novellas.

Before she called, she said she saw some kids fooling around in the alley.

Taking pictures with their cell phones.

A 10-year-old didn't do this. - Yeah.

- Bangers? - No, they'd just shoot her.

This guy's a professional. He tried to minimize the trace evidence.

He knew by the time somebody called, scene would be contaminated.

The defense attorney's dream.

Well, maybe we can get lucky. Get a hit off the nail scrapings.

From the rope, we'll be able to tell what the guy's into.

If it's nylon, it's boating, polyester, shipping, polypropylene, fishing.

Some rope is sensitive to the cold...

...and other deteriorates in UV light, so...

From my sex-crime days.

- I take back the crap I said about you. - Thank you.

I'll call Homicide.

- Ask them to give us a hand. - All right.

So how am I doing so far? - Excuse me?

I'm hoping I pass this lunch test, I can take you out on a real date.

Oh, it's not that. I just...

- I like to take things slow. - Not over him, huh?

We've all been there.

- So, what do you do? - I work for the city.

In what capacity?

I'm an advocate for the community.

Advocate? Is that like a social worker or?

You could say that.

I gotta tell you, Lydia. I'm really enjoying this.

Oh, really?

- Good. - So where do you live?

I live with my mother.

That's sweet.

I mean, you don't hear that often these days.

Yeah, I was in a long relationship, and when we broke up...

...my mom, she was having health issues, so I moved in with her.

How's she doing now?

Good. So good she's selling her house and moving to Paris.

Paris?

That's pretty impressive.

I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I'm needed back at the office.

We haven't even had dessert yet.

I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Lydia, can I call you again?

- Oh, yeah. Give me a call. - Okay. All right.

Writing can be overwhelming.

Okay, so I want you to fight like hell...

...the urge to tell people what you're working on.

Because I promise you, even the people closest to you...

...your boyfriend, your husband, your mother...

...they are going to say things to deflate you and dissipate your energy.

You need to have faith in yourselves.

Faith in your voice...

...and faith in your ability.

Any questions so far?

Sure, yeah. I know her face. She works Highland.

She was stripped clean and dumped in South Central. No clothes, no ID.

I think her street name is Cherry.

Yeah, I've seen her around.

Well, we'll show these around...

...and see what we can come up with. - All right.

I've been trying to reach you for over an hour.

I was busy.

Answer the damn phone, Russell. You know we're on call.

- Sounds like your date didn't go so well. - Meet me at the coroner's office.

Gangs needs our help on a homicide.

Here she is.

She must have fought like hell.

Hi. I'm Detective Adams. I need to identify a murder victim.

She was dumped in an alley with no ID and no clothes.

Take a number.

Won't take long. I need prints so we can get the ball rolling.

Prints are done at the scene. Machine was out of commission.

Why is that my problem?

Can't you just do us this favor, please?

I make one exception and the floodgates open.

I'm sorry. I've been burned too many times before.

Yeah, but this isn't about you. This is about giving a poor girl a name.

She was dumped in the alley like a bag of trash.

She deserves better than that.

What do you think? Should we re-interview the lady that saw the body?

No. It looks like Kenny covered all the bases.

Got a pretty good description of the kids.

Kenny's been on the ball lately, hasn't he?

I'm gonna check with Juvie, run it through their database.

- Yo, Miller time. - Okay.

- Oh, who's up next? - Not it. I got the last report.

I'm primary so I get a pass.

Mrs. Miller.

- How are you today? Fine.

- Good. Please have a seat. - Thank you.

So, what can I do for you?

I'm here to make a police report. My daughter is missing.

And what's your daughter's name? - Princess.

- Her age? - Just turned 19.

She's my baby. My only girl.

When was the last time you saw your daughter, Mrs. Miller?

January 7, 1992.

Come here and take a look at these idiots.

Hold on one second, please.

So I was checking Facebook, MySpace, right?

Bingo, YouTube.

Jesus.

We know these kids. Hang with Grape Street.

Mutts have the balls to put this on the web.

Bragging rights.

- Will you pause that? - Yep.

Look at that.

Bastards couldn't even leave the cross on her neck.

Had to take that too.

Let's go pay those baby bangers a visit.

You must be tripping, coz.

Why would I mess with that? I got my own ho's.

Ho's?

He's got ho's.

You're just out of diapers, kid.

Sorry, my man. I got witnesses that put you there.

Say you were all over her ass.

No way. I do some crazy * * * *, but I ain't no animal.

Well, unless you start talking, you're going away for murder.

Yeah, right. You ain't got nothing on me.

Where did you get the cross?

My moms.

Call your moms.

Tell her to start praying.

Richter. How you doing, boy?

- He's doing good. - Yeah?

- Yeah. - Richter, sit.

Good. Speak.

Lie down. Lie down.

TAMMl: Go on. It's okay. Lie down.

Good boy.

Good. Play dead.

- Reminds me of my ex-wife in bed. Tammi.

Sammy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

A woman wants to hire Richter to search her son's room for drugs.

And she's gonna pay me $200.

Can you believe it? Two hundred bucks?

I'm gonna pass out flyers.

- Maybe even advertise on the web. - Absolutely not. Absolutely not.

Why not? What...? I was gonna put the money toward the Hasselblad.

I am working.

Come on.

Any lead on our girl yet?

Showed her picture on the street but came up empty.

- I thought Gangs caught the case. - Yeah, but it looks like it's not gang related.

- Good luck. - We're gonna need it.

- Thanks. - All right.

That's pretty much it. Gonna have to wait for the prints.

Well, you can wait. I'm working this case.

Why are you so bitchy?

A dead girl's body is waiting to be buried...

...and everybody seems to be passing the buck.

Lydia, you cannot take this so personally.

When was the last time you had some fun, huh?

Hold up. You ain't sticking this * * * * on me.

Sit down. Sit down.

I'm tired of it. This * * * *, I'm tired of it, okay?

You got the dead girl's cross around your neck...

...you've got your face plastered all over the Internet.

- You're going in. Case closed. Process him. - Easy. You don't gotta do me like this.

I'm doing you the same way that you did the girl.

Hold up. It ain't even like that.

Just having some fun, throwing a few rocks and stuff.

That's fun to you?

Take the cross off your neck. Take the cross off your neck.

- He's a kid. - I got this. Take the cross off.

Look, all right. I took the cross, but I swear to you, man, I didn't kill her.

Some white dude was driving around. He dumped her there.

- What kind of car was he driving? - White-dude van, curtains in the windows.

He circled the block a few times.

- Where are we headed? - The women's shelter in Hollywood.

Most of the girls make a pit stop there along the way.

I was thinking maybe we could show her picture around...

...and see what we come up with.

Cool, cool.

I know, Pop, but you and Mom can't handle this on your own.

I need to know these things.

Do you have an address?

- All right. I'll see you in a minute. What's up?

My sister, Mercedes, still isn't home.

I need to take a ride over there. Calm my folks down.

I got lucky. One of the regulars knew her.

Her name is Nicole Nelson.

Let's just go back to the office and do a record check.

No, no, you were great.

I'm gonna work on my story right...

Yeah, the one I told you about.

Okay, I gotta go. I'm working that Sally in the Alley.

That homicide that I... In South Central? Okay, bye.

There's been a shooting on Hollywood and Highland.

- Everyone goes. Code 2. Right now. - We're working on this homicide.

It can wait. - But we just ID'd the victim.

- We're on our way to make the notification. You know what?

She'll still be dead in five hours.

- Oh, what is this, the Policeman's Ball? - Hey, guys. How you doing?

How you doing, man?

All right. We'll see you in a second.

It is kooky nuts.

This is ridiculous.

You believe this * * * *?

There's more cops out here than the North Hollywood shootout.

Some meth-head tries to rip off Mr. Schmitt from Stuttgart.

Mr. Schmitt says no, puts up a fight, gets shot in the thigh.

It means no in German.

They could have had two black and whites and two detectives to handle this.

Look at her. I bet she's up there...

...telling the mayor the last time a tourist got shot...

...was that Japanese lady in 1981.

Yeah. That guy who shot his wife downtown on the bridge?

They just arrested him. It only took 20 years.

You know what they say. "You can run all you want.

But if you kill a tourist, you're going to jail tired. " You know?

I've got a case for you for that homicide blog.

Where you been? They shut us down two months ago.

Said they ran out of funds. The community's in an uproar.

They don't know what's going on, where to commemorate.

They want the blog up now.

I guess more people have computers than read the papers.

That's weird. The whole world got itself wired up.

- Yeah, it's crazy. Well, we gotta canvas. - All right.

- See you, Tony. - Yeah, see you later.

All right. Who saw anything?

Once I release him, please do not enter the room, okay?

- Okay. - Okay.

Whatever... Whatever he...

Whatever he finds, I'll bring out to you, okay?

All right, boy. Yeah, do your thing.

Got something in there? No? What a...? Oh, what do you got in here?

Oh, my gosh. TAMMl: There? There?

Sit! Sit. Richter. Okay, Richter. Sit.

Um, um... Richter. Richter.

Release. Release, Richter. Sit. Richter.

What the hell are you doing?

Hey, William, could you just wait outside for a second?

We'll be through, okay?

- Who the hell are you? - No.

- Oh, my God. - The * * * * * * * dog bit me.

- Bill, what have you done? What have I done?

- I'm bleeding. I have playoffs tomorrow. - All right.

Sorry, he's just doing what he's trained to do.

- You shouldn't have done that. - Look what he's doing.

I'll buy you another.

No, they're not the same. They're special edition.

Excuse me. Yeah. That's why he was going so crazy.

I will be disposing of this.

So, what do you know about this guy?

His name is Edwin.

I don't know where he lives, but I have his phone number.

How old is this kid?

He's 18.

Jesus, Pop.

She's 15 years old. What the hell were you thinking?

Mercedes has a mind of her own.

- You were the same at her age. - Why didn't you tell me?

You have enough headaches with work.

- The kids. - But I could've stepped in.

I could've done something. I don't know, set her straight or something.

Hey, Edwin. It's Mercedes' brother. Put my sister on the phone.

Well, where the hell is she?

Hey, hey, hey, calm down. You were young once, remember?

Still have your connection at the phone company?

- Sure. - Can we call that in?

- Absolutely. - I'm gonna pay this chulo a visit.

- Be sure and mention... Are we done here...

...or are we waiting for the National Guard?

They probably went to get a bite to eat.

She's in school, man.

You think this * * * * thinks about that?

She has school tomorrow. She has homework due.

You all right, baby? What happened?

What do you mean he bit someone? Who?

Who? I told you not to do that.

We are not insured for that. We could be sued now.

Are you * * * * * * * nuts, Tammi?

Tammi?

Mrs. Nelson?

I apologize for having to call you earlier.

We usually to do this in person, but we had a situation.

I'm so sorry for your loss...

...but may we come in and talk to you about your daughter?

He don't know it yet.

Is my mom dead?

You mind if I turn this off here?

Yeah, she is.

I'm really, really sorry.

She was a whore.

She was your mom.

Look, I know you're always gonna remember this night...

...how awful it is...

...but you can build good memories too.

You know, you gotta do that. You gotta focus on that.

Try and remember the nice things about her.

Know what I'm talking about?

All right, listen. You ever wanna talk about this...

Whenever that is.

Two days from now...

...a week...

...a couple of months.

- We can do that.

All right?

We can do that.

Okay?

Okay.

Okay.

Your sister has a boyfriend. What is the big deal?

It's what teenagers do, right?

I hate competing with those things.

We caught a homicide earlier in South Central.

We need to put a rush on the fingernail scrapings and the rape kit.

Who do I need to speak with to expedite this?

You're speaking to him.

We got a backlog of 3000 cases on file.

We gotta process the ones closest to the statute of limitations.

These rape kits have been sitting here for 10 years?

- Sorry to say. Yeah, tell that to the victim.

Whoa, ease up, Lyd.

Each one of these rape kits represents a rapist who could still be out there.

I hear you. I got two girls, but we're shorthanded.

Now, we were promised funding to outsource it.

- Never came through. - This is so wrong.

Yeah.

I'm sorry, Talib. This just really isn't a good time right now.

Okay, bye.

- Who was that? - The guy I had brunch with.

Yeah? Brunch? That's safe.

So did he make the cut? You gonna see him again?

Come on, Lyd. No one ever gets a second chance with you.

Sorry, Russell. I'm really not in the mood to date right now.

What do you want me to do? Put on a little outfit, go out, get drunk...

...stagger to my car, get raped...

...end up here for 10 years waiting for somebody to do something about it?

Jeez, Lyd, take it easy.

I got it. Okay.

- I didn't know you still had that. - Oh, yeah.

Your mom gave that to you, right?

My dad.

- When you graduated college? - Uh-huh.

So, what are you doing?

Typing a letter or something?

No, I'm gonna write.

You are so competitive.

- Can we not do this right now? - But I write, so now you have to write?

Can't we just both write?

You and every other cop. Everyone thinks they're a writer.

You know what, Dina? You're not exactly Dostoyevsky, all right?

You're screwing that teacher, aren't you?

No.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ you.

Lydia, I'm heating up something for you.

Thanks, Mom.

- He got great taste, that's for sure. - He didn't grow them, Mom.

Well, they're special. He didn't just call 1-800-DAISIES.

Fine, I'll marry him.

I hope you brought home an appetite, and not just that foul mood.

I'm sorry. It's just this case at work.

This girl was murdered and it's like nobody gives a damn but me.

I made veal blanquette.

Fancy.

Well, you know, I wanna be able to cook for real Parisians, hold my head up high.

What the hell were you thinking? - I'm sorry.

I was so excited about the money. I don't want you to worry anymore.

You can't start a business without insurance.

Especially with a messed-up animal. He bit someone.

- Now we're liable. - That's not my fault.

- You never told me about the insurance. - I told you not to do it. Period.

I'm at work, in the middle of a case, you show up.

I have to stop what I'm doing, which is freaking important by the way...

...and explain it to you?

I'm sorry, Sammy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

- I'm sorry. - What am I gonna do with you?

Please, Sammy. I'm sorry.

Please.

Please.

Baby, it's okay. When I didn't hear from you, I figured something was up.

It's Mercedes. She never came home from school.

I was driving around for hours looking for her.

She's been giving my parents a hard time lately.

Hanging out with the wrong crowd. They don't deserve that.

Oh, my God. Your poor parents.

What I gotta do is figure out the best way to handle this.

No, we have to figure it out. You're not in this alone, you know.

I know.

But we better do it fast, because you have another daughter on the way.

I know.

Number one, I want you to apologize to Cathleen.

Apologize for what?

You left a high-priority scene without being relieved.

- You were mocking the investigation. - Mocking it how?

You told Cathleen you thought the National Guard was arriving?

I'm sorry. I was frustrated to be pulled off a case.

Now, why isn't anybody doing anything about the backlog of DNA?

Three thousand cases? And not a single article has been written?

Lydia, we are not discussing this now.

Didn't know I was part of the cleanup.

Cleanup? Listen, I don't spin anything.

Everything gets reported. Yes, sometimes it's a balancing act. There's...

What kind of case were you pulled off of?

Girl in South Central. Strangled and dumped in an alley.

Nothing you'd be concerned with.

Okay, what is it exactly that you don't like about me, huh?

I don't like that if this girl was found in an alley...

...in Brentwood, this would be front-page news.

I don't like that there's a backlog of rape DNA of 3000 cases.

I don't like the skirts you wear, your hairstyle.

I don't like that every time a man is within 15 feet, you push out your chest...

...your voice gets kittenish. - Enough!

Excuse me.

Okay.

- Can I go now? - Go.

This is Detective Adams.

Detective Adams?

Detective Adams? They said you had another one like my daughter.

I'm sorry...

Another dead girl like my daughter, Princess.

When did your daughter die?

January 7, 1992.

Let me talk to you somewhere about your daughter.

She's just 19. My only girl.

Have a seat inside here.

- You said her name was Princess? - Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

Look, don't worry, Pop. I'm not gonna do anything crazy. I promise.

Just give me the address.

Thanks. I gotta go, man. I'm sorry.

What? What?

What the hell is going on?

Mercedes never came home last night. My father got an address from her friends...

You've been dragging my ass all over the place for two days. What is going on, Nate?

Mercedes isn't my sister.

She's my daughter.

Right after I enlisted, I found out my girlfriend was pregnant.

We're set to put the kid for adoption, but my parents jump in the middle of things.

They refused to let their first grandchild be raised by a stranger.

- Does Mercedes know? - No.

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe that's why she's acting out like this.

- You okay? - I guess now isn't the best time...

...to ask permission to open a cold case.

Detective Clarke.

Yeah, what is it?

Oh, wow.

That's great news. I wasn't expecting that.

Go ahead. Uh-huh.

Thanks a lot.

Hey, Lydia. Guess what?

Your new friend at the lab just got a DNA hit off the fingernail scrapings.

- He did that for us? - He did it for you.

He said if his girls needed a detective, he'd want you handling the case.

- Well, who's our guy? - Lester Brown.

He's a registered sex offender. I'll do a record check.

I'll check with parole and get an address. Then we're gonna need an arrest warrant.

- Where's Mercedes? - I don't know.

- You lying to me? Is she here? - No.

- No. - No?

I'm gonna find out, got that?

Hey, we're cops, you idiot.

- Stupid. - Mercedes here?

- No, man. You know her?

I haven't seen her.

I don't want any problems out of you.

Mercedes.

- I'm taking you home. - Get away. You think I wouldn't find out?

- Why you drinking? - You think I'm stupid?

- Get your... Don't run away from me. - I hate you!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪! Get back! - Don't try to mess with me! Kick his ♪ ♪ ♪.

Get the * * * * back!

- Get her out of here. - Stop!

Back off. Mercedes, calm down.

Back off! All of you, back the * * * * off.

You lied to me! About everything!

- My whole life! I hate you! - I'm sorry.

Don't touch me. Don't * * * * touch me.

Just get in the car, please. - I trusted you with everything.

- I trusted you. How could...?

What are you doing with these people?

- My whole life. - I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about that.

How do you expect me to feel about that?

I'm here because I love you, okay?

Why are you doing this? You know what?

- Get in the car. We'll talk about this later. - No.

We're gonna talk about this later. Get in the car.

Lester Brown.

He's on the move. Heads up.

Stay right there! Hold it!

Y'all ready for the dog? Get him.

Heel, heel.

Put your arms out to the side.

Give me your left arm.

Roll over on your right. Sit up.

Lester Brown, you're under arrest for murder.

I think this could be the same guy. Someone saw a white van pick Princess up.

He could have buried her out there.

So he's a serial killer?

- Maybe. Could be. - Maybe? Could be?

Look, white van, 20 years ago, both victims prostitutes in Hollywood.

- That's all you got? - Look, man, we're working the case.

- What do you want me to do? - Write about it.

Two victims, 20 years apart, white van.

Nothing's changed. You know what this guy told me?

He dumped her in South Central because nobody would notice.

You know, it's not a bad idea.

Nobody cared then, nobody cares now. Yada, yada.

Exactly. I could get the case reopened.

- I'll think about it. - Well, it would help.

And we gotta do something about that backlog of rape DNA.

I'm working on it.

- What's taking so long? - It's a big story, Lyd.

- It's gonna make people look bad. - Too bad.

- I'm working on it. - Work faster.

Come on, I'll give you a ride. I need to talk to you.

Well, I don't wanna talk to you.

I needed my birth certificate to get a learner's permit.

But every time would I ask Pops, he would change the subject.

I didn't want you to find out this way.

When?

On your deathbed?

Look, I was young.

I couldn't give you the home that you deserved.

Mom and Pops, they could give that to you.

What about my mother? Why didn't she take me?

Because your mother fell into the wrong group of people.

Okay? She got into drugs, she got into alcohol.

- Do you still talk to her? - No, hija, I don't.

By the time I came home from the Army, she moved away.

Do I look like her?

Sure do.

A lot.

You're beautiful.

Just the way she was.

I wanna find her.

Okay.

We can try.

For real?

For real.

This is the best camera in the world.

- The world. - Cartier-Bresson thought so.

All right.

Put a 500 on this one, 600 on that one...

...and the rest on that one.

You know what? Switch the last.

In the world?

Good morning, Mrs. Miller.

Oh, you're here about my Princess?

Yeah. I thought you might like to see this.

Well, my eyes don't see so good anymore.

Come on in. Let me get my glasses.

It's about your daughter. What happened to her.

I might be able to get the case reopened, and this publicity might help.

Why'd you do that for us?

My only girl.

I think that she would have wanted you to have that.

My grammy said you caught the guy.

Yeah, we did.

That's good, right?

Definitely.

See, I was surprised to get your call.

I'd just about given up on you.

I'm sorry.

I really wanted to make up for that last time.

Don't worry about it.

Tell you, though, it's a great choice.

Yeah, it's my mother's recommendation.

Has she moved to Paris yet?

Soon.

I have something to tell you.

I'm a cop.

Well, I didn't see that one coming.

A cop.

So you enjoy your job?

I love it.

I really love it.

And I had a good week.

Hm.