"Nicole, stop!" "Nicole." "I ruined everything." "Let me help you." "Okay?" " I can help you." " Unh!" "Agh." "Shit." "Ugh." "Nicole" "L.A.P.D. officers spend every shift trying to help people who often don't know they need help." "Some days, the trying works better than others." "Breakfast will be ready in a minute." "You wanna set the table?" "I'm not hungry." "You sick again?" "Your bras don't fit, and your mood's moodier than usual." "So when were you gonna tell me?" "All right, 36 years old you don't have to tell your mother anything." "But whatever you wanna do I'm here for you." "Mom, whatever I wanna do?" "Well, you have choices." "And whatever you decide, I'm gonna be fine with it." "Wow, heh." "I so wasn't expecting that." "Well, I'm confused." "I mean, I know that you have always wanted this but alone?" "You did it." "Heh, I didn't have a choice." "And I was teaching." "Home, by 4." "Why is it that with men, no one is questioning them?" "The male detectives, they don't have to make choices." "Well, they're not having the babies." "Their wives are." "And you're in the world that you wanted to be in." "When the girls you went to school with were dating and having babies you were learning about corpses and blood spatter patterns, detective." "So who's the father?" " Give me that." " Leave me alone." " Stop." " I want that." " Okay, fine." "You want it?" "Take it." " Hey!" "Whoa, whoa!" "Is there a problem?" "Oh, my God, jeez." " You all right?" " Wow, thank you so much." "Yeah." " I'm Ben, I live" " You live in my building." " Yeah." "Yeah." " I've seen you around." " I'm Cathy." " Hey." " Nice to meet you." " Boyfriend?" " Ex." "Recent breakup." "Yeah." " Oh, yeah?" "Shit, what do they want?" "Hey, guys, uh, we're good." "Thanks." "Have a good one, all right?" "Take care." "Thanks." "Fucking cops, right?" "Hear about that cop who punched that girl?" "Like, for absolutely no reason." "Heh." "It's fucked up, right?" " Yeah." "Yeah, that's fucked up." " Yeah." "Hey, um, you got a tampon or something?" "Uh, yeah." "They never fix it when they say they're gonna fix it." " Thanks." " You know what?" "Just take them." "Congratulations?" "You tell the department yet?" "No." "Well, put it off until you can't buckle your belt." "They'll put you on a desk job for the duration." "That's messed up, man." "Someone took out Lupe." " Abuelita, they called her." " You knew her?" "Not really." "I knew of her." "One of those old women who knew everybody's business volunteered at the church." "Went out on with blankets on cold nights." "I mean, she was, like, the only person in the neighborhood that everyone liked." " Not everyone." " Yeah." "Acting like the cop was the problem, not the asshole who tried to jack her." "What?" "The woman from this morning I was telling you about." "Boho-artiste types, painting crappy protest art..." " ..." "living in faux urban squalor..." " Come on." "...till Daddy buys a house..." " Really?" " ...in the Palisades for a wedding present." "Pssh." "Blech." "Did you talk to my realtor in Castaic?" "Yeah, I talked to her." "She's showing me a few places." "There's one I liked." " Gonna check it out again." " Sign on the dotted line." "You need to get out of Silver Lake before you start worrying about gluten and drinking raw milk." "You need to be with your people." "Your people, in the high desert, baby, that's the place." "Land of the blue." "All right." " You want breakfast?" " Mm-mm." " You sure?" " No, no, thank you." "Hey, um, I've got a doctor's appointment today." "So you're on your own for lunch." "Everything all right?" "With the doctor and everything?" "Yeah." " It's just a checkup." " All right." " Hey." " Hey." " What do we have?" " Guy named Brian Monroe." "Big downtown real estate developer." "Stabbed about a dozen times." "One of the workers found him here when they opened up this morning." "Who-ooh." " Did she see anything?" " No." "Came in and here he was." "Girl lives upstairs." "Neighbor says the victim let hard-luck cases stay there sometimes gave them a job." "Hey." "Do you live upstairs?" "By yourself?" "What's your name, sweetie?" "Why don't you tell me everything you saw?" " Coffee tastes burnt." "Better at Grounds" " No, no, no." "All right?" "No coffee places with names involving metaphors, jokes or any wordplay whatsoever." "No Sufficient Grounds no Sacred Grounds, no Espresso Yourself." "Officer Cooper." "Officer?" "He's back." "You ask us to come to community meetings act as though you care, three weeks later" " Okay, what seems to be the problem?" " He's the problem." "You said you got him housing." "He's back again, pissing in my doorway." " He's scaring away my customers." " We're on it." " Okay?" " Thanks." "What's your name, sir?" " Sam." " Sam." "Okay." "Hey." "Hey, buddy." "Hey, you remember me?" "Officer Cooper?" "You took me to the shelter." " I did, I did." " Yeah." "We got you placed." "What happened?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "No." "I had to leave." "They stole my ID, stole my cart." "I lost everything." "They wouldn't let me back in." "I understand, but you can't sleep here." "This is private property." "I'm not hurting anyone." "How about if we, uh, give housing another try, huh?" "They...." "They...." "They won't let me in without ID." "No." "Without-- Are you a Marine?" "Yes, ma'am." "Marine." " Nice." " Twenty years." "So if we get you a new ID will you give housing another try?" " Another try?" " Another try?" "Another try?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "What's your name, sir?" " Tom." " Tom." "Tom Smith." " Okay, Tom Smith." " Tom Smith." " Where were you born?" " That's Tom Smith." "Where were you born, Tom Smith?" "L.A." "Nineteen" " November 25th 1940-something." "I talked to Ferguson." " He's talking?" " Uh, he's better." "Still a little hard to understand." "Getting better." " All new teeth, plastic surgery." " Whoa, hold on." " Really an upgrade." " Hold on." "See this?" "Whoa, hey." "Stop!" " Stop!" "Freeze!" " Hey." "Back, back, back." "Stop." "Freeze!" "I got him." "I got him." "You all right?" "You okay?" "Come out with your hands up." "Police!" "Um, how did you end up living here?" "Brian used to come around to where some of us kids was camping out and bring us food and blankets." "Said if I wanted to get off the streets he'd give me a job and I could stay here." "This is Tiny." "Tiny, this here's the cops." "You live here too?" "Did you hear anything this morning around 5:00?" "Maybe see somebody?" "Did Mr. Monroe live here with you guys?" " No." "Uh, he lived over in Venice." " No, I need a refill on her pills today." "Nicole and her mom Melanie, they live here all the time." "Yeah, I know." "She lost them again." " Yes?" " Yeah, I'm Detective Adams this is Detective Robinson." " You're Melanie, right?" " Uh-huh." "Bitch, I'm gonna kill you, I swear!" "Wait." "Wait a minute." "Wait." "Hey, hey, hey." " Get off her." " I'll cut your throat, bitch." "What's going on?" " She killed him." "She killed Brian." " No, I did it." "Don't you say another word." "I did it." "I killed Brian." "You shot a dog?" "It came at me from behind." "I called the ambulance." "They killed a dog?" "He's not dead." "Stand back." "Nothing to see here." "Go." "Don't ask." " Just help me out, all right?" " Okay." " Call the sergeant for me?" " Oh, no, no." "You're the one who shot man's best friend." " Shut up." " See what you caused by running?" "You see what you caused here?" "Fucking punk." "Look at this." " The PCs." " What is that?" " Peruvian Conquistadors." " A gang?" "Oh, yeah, they wish they were a gang." "Bunch of losers and geeks trying to be tough guys, right?" "Trying to be tough guys?" "You know who the conquistadors were?" "Not Peruvian." "Ain't need you to tell me that." "At least I didn't shoot no dog." " Yeah, you got a problem with me?" "Huh?" " Sammy, just chill out, man." "Hey." "Is he gonna be all right?" "I'm not a vet, Sammy." "There's a clinic on Beverly." "You should take him there." "No, we gotta wait here for RHD to show up." "We've people we're supposed to be saving." "Animal Control?" "Oh, really?" "Hill?" "For a stray?" "They're gonna put him down." "Want them to?" "Come on, man." "You can take him for me." "Just drop him off and tell them that we'll be there as soon as we can." "All right." "Two Lakers tickets." "Oh, come on." "All right, okay." "Done." "They're not getting my Laker tickets, I'll tell you." "When did you figure out your daughter was sleeping with Mr. Monroe?" "I didn't know about Nicole and Brian until last night." "I didn't plan on killing Brian." "I just saw red and I grabbed the closest thing to me." "I guess it was a knife." "You got kids?" "No." "God gives you the test you need." "So Nicole was that test?" "Since the day she was born, Nicole was howling like a demon." "Sitters couldn't handle her." "Schools kept kicking her out." "We got thrown out of one apartment and then another." "Between taking her to doctors picking her up when she was in trouble." "I couldn't keep a job." "When Brian found us, we were sleeping behind a 7-Eleven up on Sunset." "Well, what's wrong with Nicole?" "Every doctor has got something different." "You know, attachment disorder, defiant oppositional disorder ADHD, borderline personality." "Taken every pill there is." "One makes her sleep all day, another makes her see things." "Brian was the closest thing to a father she ever had and I never thought" "He was kind, he was gentle." "Nicole had never had a man like that in her life before and l" "And I trusted him." "And he" "I should have known, you know?" "I guess I just didn't wanna see." " What else can he use to establish it?" " You want me to drive?" " While you're on the phone." " No" "Okay, so he does that at the Social Security office?" "No, he does not have a birth certificate." " God." "Crazy Bob." " This is my car." " Crazy Bob." " Hey, bud." " Get on the pavement." " My car!" " Yeah, you need to get on the curb." " This is my car!" " Hey." "Calm down." " Wha--?" "God." "Social Security" " Calm." " He doesn't" " You calm." " No, he does not have" " Calm down." " Please step on the curb." " Bob." " He's a homeless man, not a dog." "If you don't calm down, I'm gonna bring you in." " He does not have vaccination records." " You mean you wish you could." "I'm invisible." "You can't see me." "Aah!" "Unh." " You can see me." " I can see you, Bob." "I love this car." "It smells like apple pie." "Your hand is so smooth." " My hands?" " No, hers." " Yours is cold and calloused." " Like your soul." "No idea who he belongs to?" "No collar." "Figure he's a stray." " He gonna be all right?" " Not without surgery." "You shattered his femur and nicked an artery." "But you can fix him?" "Surgery is expensive." "No owner...." "So, what's gonna happen to him?" "Well, he's an elderly mixed-breed dog with a history of violence." "So just gonna let him die?" "We'll make him comfortable, put him to sleep." "He won't suffer." "Make him comfortable by sticking a needle in him, letting him--?" "Murder him?" "How much?" "Thirteen hundred bucks?" "What was I supposed to do, let them murder him?" "What are you gonna do?" "You gonna take him home?" " Maybe." "I don't know." " What are we, Animal Control?" " The mutt was attacking you." " No, RHD already investigated." "Officer Bryant responded to the threat appropriately." "RHD, FID." "I shot a kid last year, those fuckers didn't show up that fast." "Remember?" "Down on Alvarado Street?" " That kid?" " Yeah, man." "I was on Alvarado Street, this shootout, kid comes running out in the middle of it:" ""Aah!" I blew his fucking thumb off." "He got a nice settlement too, believe me." "Going to one of the best private schools on the Westside..." "Should fucking happen to all of us, man." "How long ago was your last period?" " Three months?" " Three months." " Your first pregnancy?" " Second." "I had a miscarriage a few years ago." "Cause?" "Nothing in particular." "My doctor at the time said it was normal." "It is." "But it means you have increased risk in miscarrying, especially given your age." "Are you planning on carrying to term?" "Uh, is abortion still an option?" "Terminating a pregnancy is still pretty straightforward up to 16 weeks." "I can make you an appointment." "N" " Um, I was just wondering." "If you decide to carry to term know that after 35 you have an increased risk in birth defects." "Down syndrome being the most common." "Given your low levels of body fat I'm surprised you were able to conceive without help." "It may be difficult to do again." "With your risk for miscarriage, you might wanna take a leave of absence." "It's unlikely it will be this easy to conceive again if you lose this one." "Yeah." "Well, I'm not planning on taking any time off." "Okay then, let's get you up in the stirrups." "There's that." "What are you trying to prove living in that dump?" " I pay two grand a month." " Two grand a month to live in that slum?" "I'll have you know I live next door to the girl who plays bass on the Conan show." " I thought you already had a dog." " No." "My ex has him." "Along with the kid and everything else." "Balls." "Look at this." "Two more little geeks think they're in a gang." " Probably came when math club let out." " Same gang?" "Yeah." "There's gonna be a reason they're all out." "Ready, grandma?" "And now." " Go." " Hey, fellas!" " Where's the other girl?" " In the bathroom." "There's no bathroom in there." " Hey." " I don't think it was the mother." "And I think I really screwed up." "Huh." " Partner." " Whoa." "You got the same on you?" "No, he's clean." " Set him free." " All right." "You're the catch of the day." "Don't know whether to grill or fry you." "Come on, man, give me a break." "Why would I do that?" "It's a pretty serious crime." "That's a lot of weed." " A lot oregano." " That's still sales." "It's still a crime." "Wanna get out of this, give us something." " Right now." " I got nothing." "Got nothing?" "Three of you morons out in the same day?" "Something is going on." " We're looking at jail time, right?" " Oh, yeah." "Come on, get in the car." "Okay." "I'll tell you who shot Abuelita or whatever they call her." "Kid named Jose Rafael." "We was supposed to be shooting at MS-13." " We got beef." " You ain't got beef." "Nobody cares enough to have beef with you." "Yeah, well, now they know." "Everyone knows." " We no joke." " No joke?" "No joke?" "Your boys shot Grandma Moses you fucking idiot." "So, what's gonna happen to me?" " Let's see what she says." " Mm-hm." "We found that item of clothing with blood on it." "We think it's your daughter's." "It's mine." "We also pulled prints off the knife." "Those weren't yours." "Nicole ran away." "Do you have any idea where she might be?" "You're not doing her favors." "If you know where" "You don't to find need her, I did it." "We also talked to people at the café." "They said that Nicole can be unpredictable, violent." " They don't know about my daughter." " We know she has problems." " The judge will take that into account." " No." "A judge?" "My baby is not going before some judge." "She has a future." "You see the paintings in the apartment?" "All hers." "See, a lot of artists are troubled." "Temperamental." "An art teacher in her last school said she was as good as anyone twice her age." "She's 15." "Out on the streets." "Don't you think we should find her before something happens to her?" "Well...." " No, I don't know what unit he served in." " Shit." "You're the Marines." "I thought you would have that information." "What can we do for you?" "DB." "Figured you'd wanna secure for your detectives." "Our detectives?" "Looks to me like he's on county land." "You still handle the rail, right?" " You still handle everything else, right?" "Heh." " Yeah, I'll hold." "I don't know, pal." "People lose arms all the time." "If we're going by percentages, the majority of him is on L.A.P.D." "Well, sure, but you really wanna compare limbs to a torso?" "You think that's wise?" "No one is living too long without a stomach, okay?" "If he had a birth certificate, I wouldn't be needing to call you." "Cousin donated a kidney to this kid in Wyoming." "Still going strong." " I assume your cousin had two kidneys." " No, ma'am." "I didn't think you had a big list" "One head?" "I don't know, I guess I thought you'd give a damn." "I guess I thought that because he served his country and it left him a wreck, you would want to do something." "He's a human being, living on the street like an animal, you'd wanna help." "But I see now that you have no interest." "I hope when you're old, you're alone, living on the street, begging for food..." " We got this." " ...and someone like you is there to help!" " All ours." " Yeah, well, you have a nice day too!" " Did we decide on anything?" " I think they're gonna handle it." "We got it." "I got patrol officers looking for her and also have Special Agent Jamaica on the case." "She thinks she knows where Nicole might be hiding." "I thought the patrol officer was watching her." "I should have kept a closer eye on her, I know." "I'm sorry." "Mom just won't give up." "Still keep saying she did it." " That's no surprise." " Really?" "Sure." "You have kids, you do whatever you need to do for them." "Even admit to a murder you didn't do?" "Yeah, admit to a murder." "Hell, commit a murder." "Whatever it takes." "They're your responsibility, you make sure they're safe." "That's what moms do." "You" " You okay?" "Well, yeah." "Why?" "Just with the doctor and everything." " I'm fine." " Okay." "You've just been sick a lot lately." "In the mornings." "Not hungry." "Next time, don't take any chances." "All right?" "Find another way to get the witness to stick around, okay?" "Okay." "You're right, sorry." "You wanna sleep with some girl who smokes hash or works at a thrift shop, be my guest." " You want my advice?" " Do I have a choice?" "Find yourself a nice normal girl who wants to settle down." " Don't find some chick..." " We're clear." " ...you think you're gonna change." " Go, go." "They don't change." "I don't care what they tell you." " They do not change." " Here we go." "She's got a knife and she's gonna kill him." " Where?" " Inside." "Whoa, ma'am, ma'am." "Put down the knife." "Put down the knife!" "Put it down!" "I don't need a knife." "I can take him out with my own bare hands." "It's not even illegal." " Actually, it's" " Hey." "Whoa." "Jesus." "Adam-36, I need a RA at our location." "I got a child, approximately 6, in the pool, not moving." "Come on." " Mommy!" "Mommy." " Oh, my baby." " Oh, my God." " Okay, let her breathe, let her breathe." "You were supposed to be watching her." " She's probably not even mine anyways." " Hey." "Enough." "Your kid here." "Yeah, I know he needs a driver's license for that." "No." "You're the fifth person I've been transferred to." "Yeah, well, you've been incredibly unhelpful." "Thanks for nothing." "Going out your way to help this guy." "Well, I'm not getting anywhere." "So, what was it?" "The charming demeanor?" "Smell of cheap wine on his clothes?" "Those milky, brown bloodshot eyes?" "He was a Marine." "Were you in the service?" "Me?" "No." "My dad." "Semper fi, you know." "You're not gonna make us rescue every Marine we come across, are you?" "Never leave anyone behind." "Take a left up here on Las Palmas." " What?" " Take a left." " Why?" " Heh, heh." "Just take a left." "Hey!" "Tom?" " Hi, Tom." " Hey, buddy." " Yeah." " Hi." "How are you doing?" "Hey, we're gonna take your picture, okay?" "I'm gonna help you up." "Come on, let's sit up for a little bit." "There we go." "All right." " I'm gonna take your hat off, okay?" " Unh." "It's all right." "I'm just gonna comb your hair." "All right?" " Yeah." " Just for the picture, okay?" "Yeah, okay." "There you go." "You can hold onto it." " There we go." " Look at that." " Looks good." " You're a good-looking man, Tom." "One second, I'm just gonna wipe" "There you go." " Yeah, that feels good." " Yeah, get this up in here." "Yeah, I feel" " Smells good." " All right." " Tom, look at me." "Give me a smile." "There you go." "All right, let's have one more." "Are you serious?" "Serious Tom?" "Can we get--?" "Let's get some serious, serious Marine Tom." "There we go." "Department better get me for this." "What is that?" "Right." "Very funny." " Nice, nice, nice." "Get out of here." " That's funny." "I'm gonna call again, see if he's out of surgery yet." "Hey, I didn't punch the dog in the face, at least." "Funny." "You're really going through with this?" "You wanna put him down, go put the needle in." " I'll drive you over there myself." " Hey." "Sammy." "Sammy?" " Fucking asshole." " Sammy." "Rosa!" "It's the police!" "How's it going, fellas?" "How's the fake ID business?" "Still going strong?" "See there?" "Old school." "Hope you put that bitch away for life, killing my man." "Your man was 50 years old." "So?" "Look." "Told you so." "Knew I could do a better job at finding her than you all." "Nicole." "Wait." " Wait." " I'm getting the car." "Agh." "King-54, requesting backup at Wilshire in MacArthur Park." "Fifty-four, we have officers responding." "What's your location?" "Headed south on Park View." "Nicole, stop!" "There they are." "Here we go." "I'm going north on Coronado." "Nicole!" "I ruined everything." "Let me help you." "Okay?" "I can help you." "Shit." " Nicole!" " Hey." "Stop!" "Stop!" " Nicole, stop the car!" " Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop the car, Nicole!" "Nicole!" "Shit." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Call an ambulance." "All right, sweetie." "I'm in trouble again, huh?" "Yeah." "He told me he loved me." "What happened, sweetie?" "Did you and Brian have an argument?" "I caught him with Jamaica." "He denied it but I know what I saw." "It's all over now, isn't it?" "Why don't they just let me die?" "Everybody would be better off without me." "Nobody wants me." "That is not true." "Your mother is out there right now claiming that she's the one that killed Mr. Monroe." "She's willing to go to prison for you." "I ruined her life." "She hates me." "Have you ever seen your mom's eyes when she talks about you?" "Nicole, her entire face lights up." "It's like her life started when you were born." "She's not afraid of anything as long as she knows that you're okay." "Nothing in this world matters." "Nothing matters to her but you." "I promise you, sweetie." "You matter." " Hey, Tom." " Hey." "How you doing?" " Good." " Hey, look what I got you here." "You have a video membership now, you've got a gym membership and you've got a membership to Yoga Om." " Huh?" "Not bad, right?" " Heh." "That ain't me." " Well, sure it is, Tom." " Don't know who this is but that ain't me." "Okay, Tom." "That ain't me." " I don't know who it is." " Hang on one second." " Hang on, buddy." " Hey, Tom." " Hang on." " No." "Okay." "All right, Tom." "Tom, hang on, buddy." "You know what we're gonna do?" "Let me get that for you." "I got that." "That's not me." " Okay." " That's not me." " That's not me." " Okay, look, Tom." "That's not me." "We're gonna move you down the street, all right?" "This guy is trying to run a business, and we wanna be fair to him." " Not me." " It's okay." " Tom." " It's okay." "Okay, so we're just gonna move you, all right?" "Tom, look at me." "Look at me." "All right?" "See if you can stand for me." " All right?" " I'm gonna take your stuff, okay?" " We'll come back." "We'll get it all." " Not me." "Okay." " That's not me." " I don't think that is you." "You're right." "I don't think it is." " You okay?" " Who's that?" "Who's this?" "Who's this?" "Who's that?" " Something happened?" " No." "No, he's fine." "Uh" "Sammy, this is Juan Alvarez." "He's Paco's owner." "Paco?" " He says thank you." " He said thank you." "It's his granddaughter's dog." "She's always taking his collar off to wash him." "So he can the pay bill, right?" "He look like he can pay the bill?" "What?" "What now?" "I've prepared the bill." "Uh" "Will you be paying by credit card or check?" "What?" "Is she okay?" "Yeah." "She's gonna be fine." "They just took her off to surgery." "You arrest her?" "Yeah." "When can I see her?" "They'll come and get you as soon as she comes out." " You gonna arrest me for lying to you?" " No." "No." "Did she hurt you?" "It's nothing serious, just a few stitches." "My baby was not born with the stars on her side." "And she's gonna make it." "Yeah." "Sometimes, life deals you a tough hand and...." "You'll get through it." "Me?" "I got the best hand there is." "Like I said, God gives you the test you need." "Nicole has been good for you?" "Before I had my daughter, I was floating through life." "I was like a little bird." "Different outfit every day, and getting promotions." "Keeping up with the movies, magazines." "That's what was important to me." "What are you now?" "Heh." "I'm a rock." "I know what my life is about." "And I wouldn't change that for anything in the world." "Officer Sherman, hi." "I hope I haven't kept you waiting long." "I just got here." "Okay, well, let's, uh, show you around." "So, what are you thinking?" " Covenant House?" " Ah." "Yeah." "I'll take her, you go and have dinner with your family." " Well, thank you, partner." " You're welcome." "And I'm glad you're feeling better, the doctor and everything." "Thought maybe, you being sick in the mornings and all that you me be, uh, you know, pregnant." "That you being a detective?" " Deducing and intuition, yes." " Mm-hm." "You may wanna work on that intuition part." " Right." " Right." "Okay." "Okay." " See you tomorrow." " See you tomorrow." "Jamaica, can I ask you a personal question?" "Go ahead." "What happened to your family?" "I have a mom." "But she didn't wanna" "Well, she likes to party." "I mean, I see her sometimes." "And when she got some money, she'd take me shopping for clothes, makeup." "She likes to look good, have fun." "You ain't into that stuff, are you?" "No, not really." "You got kids?" "Soon." "They gonna be lucky kids."