"I'm sorry?" "Armand." "Shariq Marku." "What a shame." "Two grown men get into a knife-fight in front of holiday shoppers and handed you an attempted murder case the day before Christmas Eve." "Oh, the attempted murder part is over." "The victim is now getting medical treatment for a wound on his hand." "And the would-be killer is dead, hit by a patrol car which makes this a use-of-force investigation." "The car is city property which makes it a major crime." " They were driving too fast." " Responding to a 911 call." " Excuse me." "Excuse me." "But maybe we could call this a traffic accident." "No." "That leaves us wide open to a lawsuit from the victim's family." "We don't even know if he has a family." "There was no wallet, no ID." "Look, captain, my entire division has holiday plans." "And my parents are visiting for Christmas." "Chief, I sympathize." "But I am leaving tomorrow to be with my mom and dad in Park City." "My kids are already there." "And my dad is not feeling well." "And this may very well be his last Christmas." "I'm sure we can wrap this up by tonight." "Detective Sanchez, find Dr. Morales for me, wherever he might be." "You get the dash cam from the car, interview the officers." "I'll get the guy who was attacked in an interview room." "And we'll take his statement together." "I checked in at work, then went to pick up presents." "Do you know why you were attacked?" "I'm not sure." "Maybe because I was carrying Christmas presents." "Ah, so it was a robbery?" "Oh, no." "No, no, no." "Why else would someone try and kill you over presents?" "Because he's Muslim." "So you recognized that man?" "He was my father." "Oh, my." "Then I guess you must know his name, because he didn't have an ID on him." "First name, Shariq." "S-H-A-R-I-Q." "Last name, Marku, like me." "Do you know why your father tried to kill you?" "It's a long story." "You want the one that starts in the 14th century or today?" "In the interest of time, just as far back as necessary." "Um, after the war in Kosova, I was separated from my family and fell in love with a woman who was helping refugees like me." "You know, most Albanians, we don't take Islam so seriously, but my father..." "When I got a chance to talk to him on the phone before we come to America I tell him about, uh, the girl I'm going to marry, Christian girl." "He tells me I'm dead to him." "This was nine years ago." "I never see or hear from him again until today." "Do you know how your father found you?" "My sister, Anila, called the office yesterday." "Uh, how do you say?" "Out of the blue?" "But she never left a message or a number." "I think maybe she told him how to find me." "Do you have other relatives in the U. S?" "I have another sister, Sara, but I have no clue where she is." "Please, um, call me if you find them." "Oh, yes." "Of course." "I, uh, often dreamed about meeting my father again." "And today, I passed right by him without even recognizing him." "We actually, um, used to go to Christmas dinner sometimes before the war." "My father..." "I don't know what happened to him." "Nine years is a long time." "Not in Kosova." "Excuse me, I have to apologize." "My son has a holiday concert and my wife is no doubt wondering where I am." "So unless you need me?" "No, no." "Thank you so much, Mr. Marku." "So how'd it go?" "Assailant turned out to be the victim's father." "His name was Shariq Marku." "Let's find out where he lived and notify any relatives." "So this is a Major Crimes case, then?" "I'm asking because my parents are taking me to Italy." "We're supposed to leave tomorrow night." "Italy." "Italia." "The airline wants $700 to change my ticket." "Okay, let's ask Chief Pope." "Let him decide whose case this is." "The faster you make that notification, the better for everyone." "Chief, here's the summary of the witness statements and they all say the same thing." "The old man was trying to stab our shopper when the police ran him over." "Thank you very much, Detective Sanchez." "Nice hat." "See?" "I told you." "This won't take longer than 72 hours." "Your parents are in the murder room." " What?" "They are?" " Chief, wait." "Lieutenant Flynn, you have to fold in the crooked part." "What difference does it make?" "Kids are gonna tear it open." "Less yakking, more wrapping." "We gotta be finished before you leave." " Mama." "Daddy." " Brenda Leigh." "Oh!" "Daddy, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to meet y'all when you got into town." "Traveled all this way." "I feel terrible." "Catch your breath, catch your breath." "We're not anxious at all, are we?" "No." "Everybody has made us feel right at home, like always." "I wish we could watch Lieutenant Provenza put on his Santa suit and take all these toys to the needy children." " Mm, um, Chief Johnson?" " Oh, uh, I'm sorry." "Mama, Daddy, this is my captain, Raydor." "I mean, my friend, Captain Sharon." "My friend Sharon Raydor." "Friend?" "We have been waiting to meet one of Brenda's friends since she graduated high school." "Well, here I am." "Wait a minute, Clay." "Did you say "captain"?" "As in, you work here?" "Yes, that's right, Mrs. Johnson." "I see." " Her friend works here." " Uh-huh." "Please call me Willie Ray." " Brenda's friends are my friends too." " Okay, Willie Ray." "Your parents have something to tell you, Brenda Leigh." "Very exciting news." " Is that right?" "What is it?" " Excuse me." "Found the father's place." "West of here." "Who do you wanna send with me?" "Uh, Lieutenant Provenza, can you spare an elf?" " Flynn." " What?" "Why me?" " You're better at your real job." " Oh, yeah?" "Look for a suicide note and anything that shows intent to stab his son to death." "Chief, I e-mailed the witness statements to Chief Pope." "Oh, thank you." "I'm sorry, uh, Mama, but Captain Raydor and I need to..." " I mean, Sharon and I need to..." " It's all right, little girl." "You and your friend run along and do your job." " Y'all aren't irritated?" " No, no, no." "We're gonna have all the time in the world to catch up." " I promise." " Good." "All the time in the world." " Okay." " All right, come on." "Re-wrap anything Flynn touched, huh?" "There was a murder attempt in progress and our heroic officers intervened." "Where's the problem?" "If we call it a use of force, it'll go on our end-of-year stats." " And Chief Delk won't like that." " Chief Delk left this morning on vacation." "You're speaking with Acting Chief Pope." "Neither of us wants Major Crimes racking up Christmas pay when FID could handle this with one or two people." "Don't make a big deal out of it." "I'm sure Chief Johnson will help you." "I will, I will." "Okay, fine." "If you need me, I'll be cataloging 911 tapes right after I disappoint my children and my sick father with the news of my delayed departure." " Sorry you have to work the holidays." " My kids are with their mother anyway so, what do I care?" "And it's only temporary until Chief Delk gets back at which point he'll finish with his reorganization and fire me." "You don't know that." " And for now, you get to be acting chief." " Yeah, living the dream." "Would you just please make sure Captain Raydor gets out of town in the spirit of the season?" "Tao, would you please help Captain Raydor collate her 911 calls?" " Sure thing, chief." " Thank you." "Um, we are gonna finish tonight, right?" "Because the condo I rented in Maui is nonrefundable." "Yes, don't worry, Lieutenant Tao." "I wanna make..." "I wanna make sure everyone makes their travel plans." "Brenda." "Remember?" "Parents?" "Big surprise." "You're gonna wanna hear it." "Right." "My parents always give me something special for Christmas." "You didn't steal our thunder, did you, son?" "No, sir." "Absolutely not." "I'm so excited." "What could it be?" "We know how much your work means to you, dear and how hard it is for you to get away to Atlanta." "So Clay and I were saying, since none of us is getting any younger..." " We're moving to L.A." " Clay." " You're what?" " They're moving." "They're looking for a house in our neighborhood." "Exciting?" " I can't believe it." "Is that true?" " So true." "We're keeping the house in Atlanta, you know, for memories." "But we've talked to a realtor here, and with the economy the way it is the prices are not going any lower..." " I'm so sorry." "One second." "That's great, great news." "I want to hear all the details." "Deputy Chief Johnson." "Help me." "I mean, how can I help you?" "Yeah, chief, we're inside Shariq's apartment." "And I think the old man was pretty angry today." "Oh, really?" "What makes you say that?" "Well, we found his daughter, Anila Marku, but she ain't talking." " Why not?" " Her throat's been cut." "Two beds in the living room." "Maybe both of the old man's daughters slept out here." "Hey, chief, I found a paystub for Anila Marku from a motel on Sunset for $150 a week." "That'd explain why they can't afford a TV, a computer or a phone." "Well, there's not much on the menu." "Lots of, uh, bologna and cheese." "Still no sign of the murder weapon." "If it's the same knife he used to attack his son, we have it." "Chief, dogs are considered unclean in most Muslim cultures." "Having one in the house is unusual." "So is a Christmas tree and bologna." "Found a prayer rug in the bedroom, chief." "Chief, these shoes." "Men's, women's." "This is a boy's pair." "Here's a second-place ribbon for boys' track and field." "Sherwood Elementary." " Call the school." " L.A. Unified shut down for the holidays." " Ugh." " Hey." "Hey, kid." "Give him to me." "He's my dog." "Stop." "Police." "Hey, kid, you gotta bring that back." "I hate to ask you this, but would you ride with the boy downtown if Ms. Marku was his mother." " How much you want me to tell him?" "Until we know what's going on, very little." "Stop right there!" "Stop!" " And let him keep his dog." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Let's get that woman over to the morgue as quickly as possible." "And take over looking for the other sister." "We're, um, not gonna interview people after today, are we?" "I'm helping my mom cook dinner." "Did I mention I used all my points to upgrade to a beachfront condo?" "All right, look, I promise y'all..." " I promise." " Uh-huh." "Excuse me." "What are you...?" "You're supposed to be working on my victim." "This is his daughter." "You're kidding." "Meet Anila Marku." "Her father was intent on killing all his children today." "I'll be investigating your victim for murder." "You can leave." "I already paid to change my ticket." "I don't have a ticket because I'm driving to Palm Springs." "I appreciate you special-requesting me all the time, chief." "But I'm resigned to missing you for a week, starting tomorrow." "I understand, doctor, but there's a child involved." "We have to find out who killed his mother." " God." "That's terrible." "It's stories like that that I'm gonna be forgetting while I'm in Palm Springs." "This man who got mowed over by the car?" "Sitting next to his spinal column was an old bullet." " How old?" " Hard to say." " Years at least." " Can you dig it out for us?" "Planning on having him delivered poolside?" "I need to know the origin of that bullet." " Where are these people from?" " Kosovo." "Well, then it probably came from there." "I mean, it's a troubled part of the world." "Take this poor woman, for example." "Having her jugular cut was not great." "But in some ways, a lot less traumatic than her past." " These burns?" " Oh." "Looks like torture to me." "Heated knife blade maybe." "And that distention there?" "Too long ago to say, but probable rape." "Very cruel." "Eastern Europe, it's human trafficking central." "A lot of the women from that part of the world end up here in L.A." "I assume you want DNA on both of them?" "Yes." "Two samples off each person, please." "Yes, commander?" "What is it?" "About the boy you found at the victim's house." "I've been dealing with Children's Services." "And as soon as Lieutenant Provenza is finished they wanna place him in foster care." "I'm in the middle of a murder investigation here." "And that boy is a potential witness." "He's also 300, chief." "No legal guardian." "Children's Services insists on placing him before the holiday shutdown tomorrow." " What did you tell him?" " Like you asked, I was pretty vague." "I said that his mom and his grandpa wouldn't be coming home for a few days and, uh, he would be safe with us." "He just stared at me." "He didn't ask a single question." "I'm telling you, chief, I find that damned odd." "I'm gonna go talk to him." "Without relatives, we're legally obligated to find..." "We do." "We have a relative." "An uncle." "And an aunt, somewhere." "Yeah, that's right." "Armand Marku." "He's on his way to be told about his sister's death." "So Marku takes the kid, that makes Children's Services happy." "All we need to do is set up a medical exam for the boy before we release him." "I'm gonna go see if I can grab a doctor before they go home." "What's the boy's name again?" "Skander." "Skander Marku." "And this is my dog." "He's very cute." "Does he have a name?" "Um, we'd like to ask you questions about your family." "Would that be all right?" "Was your grandfather mad about anything lately?" " Did he ever fight with your mom?" " I guess." " What about?" " I don't know." "When they were mad, they talked in Albanian, and I don't know it really." "Oh, so you grew up here in America?" "Where were you before you came home today and saw the police?" "With my friend Rudy from school." "I wanna go home." "Oh, I'm sorry, Skander, I'm afraid that's not possible right now." "We want to release you to a relative, but..." "Do you know where we might find your aunt?" "Is she in Los Angeles?" "No, she's in Kosova." "Then how would you like to go home with your Uncle Armand?" "My Uncle Armand's dead." "He died in the war." "Skander, maybe your grandfather told you that, but it's not true." "He's alive and well and coming here to meet you." " Yeah?" " Excuse me." "Lieutenant Provenza called from across the street." "He wants me to take Skander for his exam before they close." "Oh, all right." "Skander, I want you to head off with Detective Gabriel here for a quick checkup." "But one minute." "No gum allowed in the medical exam." "Thank you." "Bye." "Let's rush this over to the lab with the DNA from the mother and grandfather." "And find someone at Sherwood Elementary who can tell us whether or not there's a Rudy enrolled there." "We were told you had more information about my father." "Yes, and I'm afraid it's not good." "After this morning's incident, we went to your father's apartment, and..." "We found your sister." "She had been murdered." "Oh, my God, Armand." " Murdered how?" " Her throat had been cut with a knife." " Why?" "By whom?" " Well, we're not sure." "But considering how he went after you, possibly your father." "But why?" "I don't understand." " Why?" "Why?" "Why?" "Why today?" "Why?" " That's a question we were gonna ask you." "We don't think your father was a religious fanatic." "There was a Christmas tree at his place and a dog." "Maybe he found out my sister was trying to get in touch with me." "I don't know." "I don't know." "I don't know." "Ms. Marku, I understand that you work with refugees from Kosovo." "Was there anything about...?" "I'm a human rights attorney and a linguist, not a psychologist." "Instability is inherent for people who've been driven from their life-long homes like Armand's family was." "Individuals snap." "It's not uncommon." "Mr. Marku, both your father and your sister had old wounds on their bodies." "Do you have idea how they might've gotten them?" "You had implied earlier that there was more to the story." "Yeah." "Everyone get along fine in Kosova." "But then the war." "The Serbs were trying to exterminate us like rats." "It changed us." "It did." "When the NATO bombs came, we finally thought, "Yes, we're saved."" "But the Serbs, then they really went crazy." "One day, my father needs to go away for business." "My cousin comes to me, says there are Serbs hunting men, like us, who could be fighting them." "My cousin has a little grocery with a basement that we used sometimes when the bombs came." "He tells us to come, so, of course of course, I take my sisters, and we go." "It was, um, maybe 20 hours there in the dark underneath the store." "Staying very quiet." "But our friend Zodya had, um, a baby." "And the baby starts to cry, and it doesn't stop." "It keeps crying." "Then three flashlights come down the steps." "And they say, " Look at all the brave Albanians hiding in the dark."" "Then they take all the women." "My sisters too." "Everyone is yelling." "They start shooting at all of us." "My cousin was blown apart." "There were pieces..." "After a while, the shooting stops." "And the baby isn't crying anymore." "And I played dead until they set fire to the store and then leave." "Somehow I was able to get out." "I went back to my house, and it was burned down too." "My father is still gone." "My sisters..." "My sisters were taken away." "So I ran." "I grabbed what I could and I ran." "You have to understand, in Kosova, family honor is sacred." "Armand was obligated to avenge his sisters." "It's required by a code of justice that goes back centuries." "And when I finally talk to my father many months later on the phone he says, " I loved you more when you were dead."" "Like my cousin." "That he would rather mourn me than be so ashamed." "But to take the life of my sister..." "Why would he want to kill all of us?" "He didn't." "Are you aware that your sister Anila had a son?" " What?" " His name is Skander Marku." "He's 11 years old, and he's here in the building." "I can't believe it." "You..." "Have you told him everything that happened today?" "No, no, we wanna be careful with him." "Unless we can put him with a relative he goes to Child Protective Services tonight." " We will take him." "Of course." " Wait a minute." " He's blood, my nephew." " What about our children?" "He could be the only family I have." " Think of everything he's been through." " Your father tried to kill you." "Who knows what he's put in this boy's head." "Excuse me." " He will kill to defend his honor." " He's not spending Christmas in jail." "Mr. Marku, you should know that Skander thinks you died in the war." "Of course he thinks this." "My father told him this lie." "Better to have a dead uncle than a living coward." "When will this be over?" "We can never put it behind us." "No matter what I do." "Never." "Never." "I'll go talk to her." "Please don't let the boy go." "Mr. Marku, do you have any idea who Skander's father might have been?" " How old did you say he was?" " Eleven." "Maybe it's best not to worry so much who the father might be." "For the boy's sake." "I don't think we need to tell him, in addition to all he's gone through, that..." "He's probably half-Serb." "Oh, my goodness." "See anything familiar?" "Oh, Fritzy." "It's my angel, Keith." " Keith?" " I made him in fifth grade." " Daddy." " You named your angel Keith." "We packed up Christmas and brought it with us." "And what didn't fit in the RV, we towed in the car." "You towed a car all the way across America?" "Brenda, we are on what is known in the Navy as a repositioning cruise." "Besides, we can't go house-hunting in the motor home." "Well, Daddy, if you brought Christmas with you, where are all the presents?" "Staying locked up in the RV until Christmas morning, Brenda Leigh." " No peeking." " Oh, Mama." "Real corn bread." "Black-eyed peas, collard greens, chocolate pralines." "Ah, ah, ah." "Don't spoil your dinner." "Let's everybody come sit down." " You all finished with your case?" " I think so." "The man who was hit by a patrol car this morning sliced his daughter's throat before he went out to stab his son." "And he left behind an 11-year-old boy that I had to convince his daughter-in-law to take in." "But now that that's done, I think that..." "All right, then, I think it's time for the blessing." "Clay?" " Well, unless you usually do it..." " No, no." "All yours." "All right." "Ahem." "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts." "Amen." "So your case will be over by Christmas, right?" "Oh, I'm already done." "Well, I need to figure out the exact time of the mother's death and I wish I felt better about the boy's situation, but..." "But..." "Mama, you made enough food here for an army." "This is gonna be good." " Wonderful meal, Mama." " Pie for breakfast." "Nightie-night." " Good night." " Sounds good." "Oh, I'm so glad you're excited about them moving out here." " It's been life-changing already." " It's not like they'll be living with us." " Just nearby." " Oh, right here in L.A." "All winter." "Maybe spring." "What are we gonna do?" "If Delk disbands Major Crimes, maybe I could put in for a transfer to D.C." "Oh, forget that." "We need something right now." "Like Homeland Security going from orange to red." "Is there anything special you want from Santa this year?" "Maybe an Albanian translator." "Oh, you are so hard to shop for." " What is that?" " Oh." "Your father wanted to put up lawn ornaments." "I lied." "I told him the landlord wouldn't allow them in the front." "Oh, they brought Frosty." "Look at you." "Now it really is Christmas." "Frosty." " Yes, lieutenant?" " Yeah." "Remember the case we solved last night?" " Uh-huh." " Yeah, well, merry Christmas because Gabriel went and unsolved it." "It's not my fault." "What's not your fault?" "Going through Anila Marku's financials..." "Lieutenant Tao?" "At the time her father was attacking her brother Anila was withdrawing cash from an ATM." "So he couldn't have killed her." "Banks, who knows if their clocks are right?" "Okay." "Sorry." "But my ex-wife invited me to Christmas Eve dinner." "The first time in six years." " I'm defrosting two turkeys." " My flight leaves in four hours." "So arrivederci Roma." "It's not my fault our time line just blew up." "But, chief, you promised we'd be where we're supposed to be at Christmas." "You are." "You're here." "Because there's a murder and it hasn't been solved." "And my mama makes enough food for a hundred so y'all are invited over for Christmas dinner, okay?" "What else?" "Oh, looks like everybody gets holiday pay today." "Aloha Bowl." "My office." "Two hours." ""Aloha." It means hello and goodbye." "The Markus paid for an Internet connection, but there's no computer in their apartment." " It's missing?" " That explains why there's no phone." "It's cheaper to make overseas calls with a computer." " To his sister in Kosovo, maybe." " Excuse me, chief." "I got ahold of the principal at Skander's school personally and she just sent me the student roster." "There's no Rudy, Rudolpho, Rudolph..." " No Donner, no Blitzen..." " Lieutenant." "And when you look at Skander's school record it shows the school issued him a laptop computer." "Okay." "Lieutenant Provenza, I wanna talk to that boy again, please." "Thank you." "Chief." "I thought you were going to your parents' for Christmas." "I am." "They're at their timeshare in Park City skiing with my kids." "Oh, so your father must be feeling better?" "Yes, it turns out it was just a really, really bad cold, and it's all cleared up." "It's a little Christmas miracle." "But I wanna thank you for being so helpful." "And I have a little present for you." "Really?" "Oh, you shouldn't have." "Oh, I'm sorry." "It's not that kind of present." "It's the 911 calls." "This is really interesting." "In the background, you can hear the two men arguing." " Really?" " Except, there's all kinds of noise." "Plus, they're yelling in a foreign language so I sent the tapes down to the sound lab for you." "Who knows when they'll have them ready?" "Anyway, follow up." " And, everyone, merry Christmas." " You too." "And happy, happy New Year." "I hate her." "Did I say that out loud?" "Go ahead." "Go ahead." "Have a seat." "This is the second time we've had to drop our kids with my parents in two days." "Skander has been through enough." "What's so pressing that it can't wait until after Christmas?" "We have learned that Skander was not truthful about where he was yesterday during his mother's murder." "Okay, wait a second." "You brought us down here to question him?" "I need him to tell me where he was during his mother's murder and what happened to his computer." "Skander's not responsible for her death." "My father is." "Our investigation confirms your sister was alive when your father attacked you, so he didn't kill her." "If you're insinuating Skander is somehow a suspect in his mother's murder I'm officially letting you know, he has a lawyer." "Me." "And he's not talking to you." "Miss Marku, I'm surprised." "You were afraid to let Skander into your house." "I didn't wanna have to explain to another child he's lost his entire family." "But now I have no choice because I certainly don't trust you people to do it." "Well, I need to know how he lost that family." "Yeah." "Well, that's your job, not ours." "Look, I need your help." "Mr. and Mrs. Marku, please." "You are putting your family at risk." "What's up?" "That boy's the only suspect in his mother's murder and he's leaving." " I'll take care of it." " Officer Butler, with me." " Yes, sir." "Howdy, folks." "I'm Chief of Police William Pope." "Ahem." "So you excited about Christmas, young man?" "Okay, well, happy holidays to you, folks." "One second there, son." " Excuse me." " Wait a minute." " What are you doing?" " You have no right." "Actually, I do." "Because you, young man, are under arrest." "Back so soon?" "How were the slopes?" "Did you just arrest a 10-year-old Albanian boy?" "Albanian-American boy." "I thought he was 11." "Yeah, 11." " About so high?" "Murder suspect?" " Yes." "I may have had something to do with that." "Why?" "Because his aunt, Joan Marku, marched over to Central Division to file a kidnapping charge and a civil rights complaint." "That's easy." "He wasn't kidnapped, he was arrested." "And he's a juvenile, so he won't even wind up in court where a lawyer could use a rights violation to threaten us." "Oh, well, she is threatening you currently with a rights violation." "She identified herself as his lawyer and you are denying him counsel." " Don't worry, he ain't talking." "Well, I am talking and you both better listen." "In the process of creating this miasma of officer-involved incidents did you also order someone to physically assault Armand Marku?" "No." "I prevented Mr. Marku from injuring his arm in the elevator door." "The charges are without merit, and you may take that as my official statement." "Oh, thank you." "I'm just gonna jot this down on my way back to the airport." "Oh, wait." "I can't go to the airport yet because I have to file a report about you." "To you." "And I have to interview the victim." "So where's the boy?" "Wow, Mrs. Johnson, this looks delicious." "It's just leftovers." "Can you imagine cooking a meal in here?" "I guess if you brought in a Broaster and a Crock-Pot." " Aren't you hungry, Brenda Leigh?" " No, Daddy." "Where's Lieutenant Provenza?" "I'm bringing food for him and Skander, ma'am." "Maybe black-eyed peas and fried okra will get him to talk." "This is crazy." "Why don't we just ask if he did it?" "What if he confesses?" "He's got a lawyer." "She's not present." "He's a juvenile, but..." "I don't know." " Captain, I thought you were..." " Not anymore." "I am, once again, in a 72-hour reporting cycle for an officer-related assault involving our acting chief of police and your suspect is my witness, so..." " Oh, it's a little Christmas miracle." " What is?" "We're not sure if we can interview the boy, but you have to." "I've just got a couple questions I need you to ask." "As soon as I finish asking questions, I'll ask some of yours." "But then I want a police escort to LAX." "Done." "So can you tell me which policeman pushed your uncle?" "The bald one." " And then what happened?" " If I say, will you let me go?" "If you can tell me what happened after the policeman pushed your uncle then, yes, I can help you go home." "He didn't push my uncle." "He didn't?" "He punched him in the face." "Then took out his gun and pointed it at my head." "Skander, are you sure about that?" "Yeah." "Then he shoved me in a closet put a blindfold on me, and told me to lie down on the floor." "Oh, God." "And then he tied me up and said he was gonna kill me." " All those things crossed my mind." " Brenda Leigh." "Mama, please, not now." "And then he kicked me in the stomach." " It's true." " Okay." "Okay." "This is some very, very bad stuff." "And that bald policeman is in big, big trouble." "Ugh." "This isn't helping me at all." "You don't really have to ask the boy questions." "Mama, yes, I do." "No, no, what I mean is, whenever we had trouble with Charlie we let her use Clay's laptop." "When she was done, we'd read over some of her e-mails." "Mama, you spied on Charlie?" "Oh, yes." "Well, it was our computer, Brenda Leigh." "I know that sounds bad, but it's not against the law." "Is it?" "All right." "Come on." "Come on." "Have a seat." "Now, there's all kinds of games on there." "Knock yourself out." "Only thing is, stay off the Internet." "Against police rules." "Okay." "So this is a mirror image of the commander's computer." "We can track everything the boy is doing as he does it." "Okay, "Saramed." Is that some kind of Albanian name?" "It's an instant message tag." "Here he goes again." "So I think he's talking to his aunt." "And if he is, why did he tell us she was in Kosovo?" "Oh, he went into e-mail." "Sara Miller, St. Sebastian Hospital." "All right." "All right." "I'll call the hospital." "Blood food?" "What is he talking about?" "I think that's "feud." Not "food."" "Joan Marku said something about family honor being sacred in Kosovo that it was some kind of old code of justice that went back centuries." "I'm gonna look all that up on Wikipedia." "Here." "Use my computer." "Okay." "Spoke to the hospital." "There's a Sara Marku Miller who's an RN there." "Her husband died, but she kept his name." " And I have her address." " So she's been here the whole time." "Ms. Miller?" "It's the police." "Sara?" "Chief, I can't make out anything inside." "I hear music." "Let's break it down." "Side door was forced open." "Chief, in here." "I don't know what this blood feud's about, but no one else is gonna die from it." "Uh, call Chief Pope, tell him we need 24-hour protection assigned to Joan Armand and Skander Marku." "All of them."