01x06 - Beneath the Surface

[bunniefuu]

[Ballard] Previously
on Ballard...

[Javi] I didn't k*ll that
dude. I wouldn't go near him.

He's a coyote for the cartel.

Well, if you didn't do it,
then where'd you get the g*n?

-It was definitely a cop.
-This guy Anthony Driscoll resigned 2022.

Under the influence
of ill*gal narcotics.

Do you happen to remember
the informant's name?

-Ibarra.
-Luis Ibarra?

-That's it.
-Whatever happened to Ibarra?

Disappeared back to Mexico.

And you know that for sure?

Driscoll did. He followed him
all the way down to Jalisco.

Until the trail went cold.

Last time I came for one of the
Brotherhood it didn't go so well.

The complaint you filed?
Against Olivas, right?

He tried to as*ault
me at a party.

[Parker] All this time.

I thought I didn't do enough.

I thought maybe I did too much.

-[Olivas] Hey...
-[Parker] I thought it was on me.

-I got you, partner.
-I let him take me home.

You didn't let him do anything.

Jenny Garrison?

We've got some questions about
a van you scrapped in 2009.

{\an8}My ex-husband, Mike, took off
with that van nearly 30 years ago.

{\an8}-He ran off with Denise McKenzie.
-[Colleen] I found it.

Our records do show a van
was towed from unit E36.

Belongs to a Mike Garrison.

-[Laffont] It's Laura Wilson's.
-This is sick.

It is. And it stops here.

-[siren wailing]
-[police radio chatter]

[shutter clicks]

We haven't even finished
processing the crime scene.

{\an8}Homicide has more resources and
man power for something this size.

[Ballard] These murders have
already fallen through the cracks,

and Homicide is-is
overtaxed on hot cases.

They're never gonna
prioritize this.

Ballard, you have a
small team of volunteers.

The same volunteers that
got us here. [sighs]

Sir, we have 14
victims now. At least.

-That's 14 families waiting for answers.
-[phone buzzing]

Why is the chief calling me?

Is there a small chance that Jake
Pearlman might be in her ear?

I'm guessing Jake Pearlman
has you in his ear.

This is Captain Berchem.

Yes, ma'am. Mm-hmm.

I'll see to it right away.

You have 72 hours.

Find something meaningful or
this case goes to Homicide.

Thank you, sir.

Dad!

[alarm ringing]

[alarm ringing]

[grunts]

[sighs]

[sighs]

[Laffont] Ralph, leave it alone.

[sighs]

[sighs]

[sighs]

The second I lease the
place, you gotta be out.

-Cool?
-The LAPD appreciates you.

[Martina] We have 65 hours

-and 34 minutes.
-[sighs]

If you want, I can sync the
countdown to your phone.

Uh, no. The one in my
head is plenty. Thanks.

[stammers] This-This
deadline's like a real thing?

Yeah. And if we don't move the needle,
the case goes back to Homicide.

We saw how well that went
for Jake and his family.

[Ballard] If we
wanna keep this case,

it's all-hands, all the
time, until we break ground.

Lion's Mane tea?

All the benefits of coffee,
none of the pesticides.

I'm good. I just had
more dreams than sleep.

Special delivery from Darcy.

Fourteen processed souvenirs,
fresh from the lab.

[Parker] All 14?

Lab work got faster
while I was gone?

Apparently, there's not much to do
when everything's been wiped cleaned.

And before you ask, any test
you'd want Darcy to run, she ran.

-Twice.
-Jesus. [sighs]

Garrison scrubbed every
nook and cranny. [sighs]

Well, that's ominous.

All right. Let's see if we can
connect these to any other open cases.

Rawls, can you spread these
out in the conference room?

Guys, can you finish the boards?

[Laffont sighs]

-[Ballard] We good?
-We're good.

Anthony Driscoll's... [sighs]

...home sweet home.

Mmm. Would've thought
the cartel paid better.

Well, this guy's been getting
away with m*rder for five years.

He knows how to fly under the
radar. Do we have to monitor this?

I set up an alert. He makes
an appearance, we'll know it.

-Assuming he's even in LA.
-[Laffont chuckles]

You sure you got enough, uh,
brain space for another case?

Berchem's clock
is ticking loudly.

Well, we're juggling a police
conspiracy and a serial k*ller,

so it's not like we can
put either of them on hold.

Hey, do we have an update
on Ibarra's girlfriend?

I got better than an
update. I got her name.

Abril Cortez.

I've been trading with the Federales,
and they're looking for her family now.

I mean, maybe we get lucky, find
out her and Gael are with them.

Gael? That's the baby's name?

Gael Ibarra. Turns


-Hey, Angela?
-Mmm.

Javier Fuentes is a half hour late to
PT. Is someone bringing him up, or...

That's an old schedule.

-He got moved to K-10.
-Huh.

When was this?

[sniffles]

Oh. Hey.

[sighs]

Didn't realize you
guys were stopping by.

-Teddy, it's good to see you.
-Ballard called us.

Told us what you guys
found last night.

Fourteen victims.

Jake. Mr. Pearlman. Thanks for
coming on such short notice.

-I promise this won't take long.
-Of course. Talk later?

This way.

Appreciate you, uh, poking
the chief last night.

My captain gave us
a little more road.

This is the guy?

Looks like it.

[phone chimes]

Jake, meet Officer Parker.

Hi. [sighs]

This is my father,
Gary Pearlman.

Nice to meet you, sir.

[sighs]

There's so many of them.

We've linked some of them
to other victims already.

I know it's been a long time,

but if you could identify anything of
Sarah's, it would really help us out.

[sighs]

I mean, some of this,
it's-it's just junk.

Why would anyone...

To him, I'm sure,
it means something.

But you're right.

They're just trinkets.

Dad. Anything?

[sighs]

I-I-I'm sorry.

My wife, she would've been
so much better at this.

It's okay.

[sighs] I hate what
this is doing to him.

I know. Don't worry.

We'll connect Garrison
to Sarah some other way.

[phone buzzing]

Hey, Tutu. What's up?

-[Tutu] What day is it?
-[Ballard] What?

It's, uh, Thursday.

-sh*t.
-[Tutu] Exactly.

My plane leaves in an hour and
a half, and my ride forgot me.

-Didn't you see my texts all morning?
-[stammers]

Darcy called. Asked you
to meet her at the lab.

-Said it's important.
-[stammers]

Tutu, I gotta go.
I-I'm so sorry.

Call me when you land, okay?

-I love you.
-[line beeps]

[sighs]

[phone rings]

Well, hello, Nurse Savina.

It's been a while.

[Savina] I heard something interesting
about one of the names you flagged.

Javier Fuentes.

-Apparently he got moved to K-10.
-What's interesting about that?

-The timing.
-[sniffles]

It happened pretty soon after a
couple of detectives paid him a visit.

Don't know if one thing has anything
to do with the other, but, you know,

it usually does.

You got names for these
detectives? [sniffs]

Outside my purview.

You wanna know more?
I gotta make more.

Darcy. You said you
needed to see me?

Uh, yeah. That DNA you collected
from Garrison's daughter,

it got a definite match.

Okay.

Just don't sh**t
the messenger, okay?

The hit was to a cold
case up in Crestline.

A John Doe found
in the mountains.

Detective, meet Mike Garrison.

Wait. It says that his
body was recovered in 1997.

That's correct.

How can that be? That predates
everything in my case's timeline.

I'm sorry. I guess
Garrison isn't your guy.

[grunting]

[pants]

[radio chatter]

Picking up a m*rder book
for a 1997 John Doe.

Hey, Cap. Someone here for ya.

LAPD. Here about Five Points.

-Morning. Detective Renée Ballard.
-Captain Paula Hopkinson.

Didn't know you were driving up.

I could've had one of
my guys bring it to you.

Oh, thanks. I'm just
up against the clock.

Mmm. Thought you were
supposed to be cold cases.

Elk hunters found the body a couple
of miles outside Five Points.

Grid sweep turned up a
bunch of trash and no ID.

Body was in rough shape.

No match to a missing person.

Wasn't much we could
do but write it up.

-[sighs]
-Look.

I was a detective
myself back then.

You gotta do a lot more
with a lot less around here.

But the fact you have a m*rder book at
all is 'cause my people were thorough.

Oh, no judgment from me.

My k*ller's been leaving a lot
of thin m*rder books in his wake.

He's careful.

[sighs] You said you
were here in '97?

Garrison was traveling with a
girlfriend, Denise McKenzie, early 20s.

She disappeared
around the same time.

Could've met the same end.

Maybe the k*ller dumped
the bodies separately.

Winter of 1999.

Jane Doe found ten miles
from your Garrison.

ME determined she was
mid-20s, Caucasian female.

But her COD was different from that
fella. He was stabbed over a dozen times.

-And Jane Doe?
-Manual strangulation.

Body was too decomposed to get
DNA. You'll need dental records.

So, serial k*ller, huh?

You got a name?

I thought I did.

[Ted] g*dd*mn it!

Why the hell is it always two
steps back with this case?

We identified two new victims.

That's progress.

But we lost our lead suspect. And
we only have a day and a half left.

I mean, this sucks.

You're not wrong. But we
can't let that stop us.

Mike and Denise were found within
a ten mile radius near Crestline.

Neither of them had anything
identifiable on them,

so the cops up there didn't
realize they were linked.

Denise was strangled
like the rest of vics,

and the ME report says that Garrison
was stabbed in the neck and chest.

So she was the target.
Mike was an obstacle.

Maybe interrupted the k*ller
mid-attack, made him angrier.

[sighs] We're too focused
on the suspects over here.

We need to get back to the victims.
Back to their commonalities.

Rawls, Colleen.

I need you to start comparing the
backgrounds of the ones that we know.

Find a link.

The rest of you... [sighs]

...you focus on the
unknown victims, all right?

Deep dive on these souvenirs.
The sunglasses, the journal.

Those have the most promise.

If we can identify more
of the k*ller's targets,

we have a better chance
of finding this overlap.

-[sighs]
-[Colleen sighs] Okay.

Rawls.

Mmm.

This guy is smart,
but he's not perfect.

He just needs to have
made one mistake.

[Javi screaming, grunts]

Hey. I got something.

Souvenir number six.

{\an8}A pin from the 2008
Hillary Clinton campaign.

I cross-referenced through
ViCAP, CAMS, and a few others.

And I finally got a hit to an
open cold case in Valley Village.

Josie Culver. Age 29.
Worked on the campaign.

Strangled in her bedroom.

Mom reported the button missing from
the crime scene after her death.

Apparently, Josie was
never seen without it.

Okay, great.

Let's pull Josie's
file from the stacks.

[phone chimes]

I did a deep dive on him for
a month after RHD benched me.

Looking for the right dirt.

It wasn't good for me, and it
won't be good for you either.

I was gonna block him.

But I thought...

I thought maybe
I'd call him out.

[sighs]

'Cause everyone commenting
just sees the...

the man he's pretending to be.

This-This white knight.

[sighs] Are we the only ones who
see him for who he really is?

[sighs] I don't know.

[knocks on door]

Driscoll's back. Wanna find out
what he's up to, now's the time.

You guys go.

Um, I'll keep the
trains running here.

Dad!

[gasps]

-[pants]
-You okay?

I didn't realize
you fell asleep.

Sorry. I didn't mean
to. I... Oh, wow.

Uh, everything good?

Yeah. I saw some
movement in the house.

Um, also, your
phone kept buzzing.

[sighs]

-[chuckles]
-What?

Uh, friend of mine is
over at Ghost Sando Shop.

Offered to bring us some.

I like sandos.

Yeah, you do.

-[keypad clicks]
-[Laffont chuckles]

Uh-uh.

Yuca's over on Hillhurst?

Tiny little taco shack in the
middle of the parking lot.

-That's the best burgers in LA.
-No, it's Fatburger, my guy.

You can't mess with perfection.

You are young and LAFD. Two
reasons not to take you seriously.

-[laughs]
-He's lifeguard division.

So he's County Fire.

-Ooh. Same difference.
-[chuckles]

Actually, I may
end up being both.

What do you mean?

I'm doing a paramedic training
shift at the Calabasas firehouse.

See if I can get in there
and still work the beach.

Ballard.

Aaron. I'm sorry,
you gotta hop out.

Head south. Do a lap before
you go back to your car.

-Thank you for the sandwiches.
-Sure. No prob.

I got a plain turkey for Lola.

-Friend?
-Don't start.

[sighs]

[sighs] No way we can follow
him in there without him seeing.

Someone was waiting for him.

Jesus. He's still
in with the cops.

There's another deck up there.
Maybe we can get a different angle.

Division number on
that shop is 06.

What's a Hollywood black-and-white
doing in Inglewood?

-[operator] Communications.
-Hey. This is Detective Renée Ballard.

Uh, can you settle a bet
between my partner and I?

You got any Hollywood black-and-whites
code 6 in Inglewood right now?

[operator] Negative. Not today.

Just won me ten
bucks. Thank you.

Go on. Open it up. Check it out.

You all good? You
know what to do?

-Everything cool? You seem kinda...
-Yeah, yeah. All is good.

Just, uh, heading out of town
for a bit. Personal business.

Might miss my flight.

[Ballard] We gotta
get that shop number.

If we know who signed it
out, we know who's dirty.

Think we'd have a better
angle on a different level?

I don't wanna draw
attention switching levels.

I'm gonna go on foot.

Anything else?

No. Dismissed.

Christ.

-Yeah.
-On the move.

-Northeast exit.
-sh*t.

[panting]

Damn it!

[Parker] So you think
Driscoll's running?

Well, he didn't go home
after we lost him last night.

So that's not a good sign.

I heard back from the
Federales about Abril Cortez.

Please tell me she's alive.

She is. Also, she's here.

Living over in Bell Gardens.

That's 30 minutes away.

Any updates on Gael?

Still a mystery.

He's not with her.

Keep looking.

You think Abril could help us
find something on Driscoll?

Maybe. I mean, at the very least, she
deserves to know what happened to Luis.

Anyway, Berchem's gonna
be breathing down my neck

any second on this
Pearlman case, so...

We got till end of day, right?

Yeah.

Abril's gonna have to wait.

[Colleen] Person working
for the campaign said

Josie Culver left the office
that night around 7:00 p.m.

Her body was discovered by her
roommate the following afternoon.

Any similarities with
the other victims?

Only cause of death. Otherwise,
they're all different ages,

different body types,
different socioeconomic status.

They're just different.

Like he chose them off
the street at random.

Wait. Her roommate
wasn't home that night?

No. She was in San Diego.

Apparently, she went down there
for work every other weekend.

-[Ballard] Mm-hmm.
-I take it back.

He was watching her.

[Ballard] Yeah. If he's patient enough to
track the roommates comings and goings,

he's methodical.

He's not choosing
these women randomly.

[sighs] There's just
something we're not seeing.

[phone buzzing]

Keep digging. I gotta take this.

Damani, what's up?

Someone knows you
met with my client.

Wait. What? What happened?

Javi got attacked
in the showers.

Is he still alive?

Yeah, well, for now.

Look, he's in a coma.

He took nine lacerations to
the gut with a rusty can lid.

Went systemic before
he got to the OR.

Look, Ballard, are you sure
your people are locked down?

I can guarantee there's
no leak on my side.

Is he under 24-hour
surveillance?

Yeah, yeah. I'm here now.

Had to get a court order
so they'd let me in.

But the word's out, Detective.

People know he talked.

[Parker] Is this Driscoll's
hit or the cartel's?

Driscoll's the one who goes
down if Javi testifies.

If he learns the hit
failed, he'll disappear.

We can't just sit around
and wait for him to surface.

Abril?

She's the only move we got left.
Laffont and I will go talk to her.

You stay here and keep the
team grinding on souvenirs.

We found more victims. That's
great. We need to find a suspect.

[sighs]

[sniffs]

I normally wouldn't
encourage this kind of thing,

but you look like you could use
one and we have a deadline, so...

[chuckles]

Man, I thought we
got the b*stard.

Turns out he got us.

I know you want
justice for Jake.

We all do.

Have faith.

[sighs] Okay.

[music playing
through headphones]

Is this your first
notification since you retired?

I haven't missed it.

Deliver the worst news of someone's life,
and then badger them for information.

-Never sat right with me.
-[phone buzzing]

It's Berchem.

Hey, you're gonna have to
talk to him at some point.

Well, I'll talk to him when
I have something to say.

We still got time.

[sighs]

-Abril Cortez?
-Yes.

Can I help you?

We're here to talk to
you about Luis Ibarra.

[Abril] Luis said that
we could trust him.

I only knew him as
the man on the phone

who was going to get us
away from the cartel.

[cries] How did we
miss what he was?

He was supposed to save us.

I never thought he was the one.

You, uh, suspected someone else?

[stammers] There was a-a
sold a do from the cartel.

His name was Jesus.

Jesus Velasco.

And Luis was worried that
Jesus knew about the DEA.

That he was working with them.

Does the cartel has my son?

We don't think so.

The Federales believe that
if Gael was with Luis,

then their bodies would've
been left together.

To send a message.

[sighs, cries]

We are going to keep
looking for him.

He might have, uh, wound up in foster
care or got sent across the border.

Okay.

May I?

-Uh, yes.
-I...

-And I have more of those if you...
-Thank you.

[stammers] You said that there
was a video of-of Luis with Gael.

Can I see it?

[chuckles]

[cries]

Can I-Can I watch
it again, please?

[cries, sniffles]

[sighs, inhales sharply]

It's only a few hits for Jesus
Velasco on the LAPD database,

but this guy's a piece of work.

He's been deported twice in three
years for as*ault and attempted m*rder.

He's suspected of a lot more.

Multiple deportations, but the
cartel keeps bringing him back.

He's valuable.

Oh, sh*t.

Two years before Luis was k*lled,
Jesus was arrested in a drug raid.

Arrested and kicked free.

Do you wanna guess who
the arresting officer was?

Driscoll. Jesus.

Guy's rubbing elbows
with monsters.

Way worse. He's putting
'em back on the street.

Where is everyone?

Berchem sent them home.

He dropped by, said you
were dodging his calls.

And when he saw Mike Garrison's
name on the victim board,

he figured out what happened.

Homicide comes in the morning
to collect everything.

-How'd the team take it?
-Not well.

Ballard, Martina looked
into those sunglasses.

They were a limited edition run.

Came out six months ago.

He's still active.

You sure you don't
want me to stay?

No. You-You go.

It's not even our
case anymore. [scoffs]

I'll box everything up.

-Okay.
-[inhales sharply]

[phone chimes]

Hey, guys.

Uh, come on down and
get to know your LAPD.

There is plenty to eat.

And I promise, you're not gonna regret
it because these things are awesome.

Right? Yeah. [laughs]

[door closes]

Have you moved at
all since I left?

-[chuckles]
-It's been an hour.

[chuckles] Guess I lost track.

Really didn't miss
that part of the job.

I know.

I showed her some
security footage.

And she asked to see
it over and over.

Asked to get a copy.

I just can't imagine
going back to her

with more bad news if
we don't find this kid.

[sighs]

[chattering]

[Olivas] So the boys still up?

I got leftovers. [laughs] Yeah.

Yeah.

Hey, I'm at my car.

I'll be home in 20.

Love you too.

Zamira.

I heard that the councilman
made you a reserve.

It's nice.

You thinking about going sworn?

'Cause-'Cause if you need a good
word, I am more than happy to help.

Like you helped me
home that night?

[chuckles]

Oh, mijita.

Look, I-I can see that
you are still upset about

how things went south between
us, and I'm very sorry...

You r*ped me.

Then you spent months gaslighting me
into thinking it was a bad hookup.

And it worked for a while.

You're a monster.

You hide it well,
but I can see you.

And I'm not the only one.

You think that bullshit
up all by yourself?

Or maybe you had a little help?

[chuckles]

That's it, isn't it?

Yeah. You and Ballard in
your little knitting circle,

looking for anybody else
to blame except yourselves.

Mmm.

Well, I'm not gonna
be your scapegoat.

I didn't do anything either
one of you didn't want.

But even if I did, let me tell you
how it's gonna look from the outside.

See, Ballard cried
wolf, and it backfired.

Now, you coming out with a similar
"claim" after all these years?

And only a couple of months after Ballard
brought you right back into the fold?

[clicks tongue] Mm-mmm.

It's gonna look like you're the
one leading the witch hunt now.

Yeah. Oh. [sighs] Gotta go.

Family time.

Excuse me.

Hey, partner.

Need a ride home?

[sighs]

[mutters]

[sighs]

[chuckles]

Captain, I'm glad I caught you.

You got a lot of
nerve coming here

after keeping me in the
dark about Mike Garrison.

Sir, I didn't wanna give you bad news
until I had good news, and now I have it.

You're gonna need more
than another Jane Doe.

It's not a Jane Doe. I found
a closed case from 2008.

The victim was
strangled in her bed.

The family reported a gold
bracelet missing from the scene.

If it's a closed
case, they solved it.

We found that bracelet...

[breathes heavily] ...among
our k*ller's souvenirs.

The victim's boyfriend was convicted,
but he always claimed innocence.

If we reopen this case,

we might find a link between
the women and the real k*ller.

And we could potentially
free an innocent man.

[scoffs]

Ballard, honestly, I don't know if
I should be annoyed or impressed.

You can keep the case. For now.

Go home, get some sleep.
You look exhausted.

Thank you, sir.

[sighs]

Lola.

Hi.

-Come here, you. Oh.
-[whining]

Hi, honey.

You wanna go out for a pee?

Let's do it.

[sighs] Come on, baby.

[sighs, breathes deeply]

[waves lapping]

Dad!

Dad!

Dad!

-[gasps, grunts, groans]
-[Lola barking]

[Ballard groans]

-[yelling, grunting]
-[grunts]

[grunting, groaning]

[both scream]

[Ballard breathing heavily]

-[attacker screams]
-[screams]

-[grunting]
-[attacker grunts]

[grunting]

[barking continues]

[panting]

[wheezing]

-[line rings]
-[dispatcher] 911. What's your emergency?

This is Detective Renée Ballard,
LAPD. I was attacked in my home.

Suspect needs immediate
medical attention.

[dispatcher] I have an ambulance
en route. ETA is five minutes.

-That's too long.
-[dispatcher] The paramedics will be...

[line ringing]

-[Aaron, through phone] Renée?
-Aaron, someone broke into my house.

-[Aaron] What?
-I crushed his windpipe.

-[Aaron] Jesus. Call 911.
-I did that, there's no time.

I need to get him
breathing. What do I do?

[Aaron] You could do a field
trache, but that's insane.

-I...
-Walk me through it.

-[Aaron] No, Renée, you need training.
-This guy has names, g*dd*mn it!

If he dies, everyone
gets away with it!

[breathes shakily] I have a
knife. Tell me what to do.

[Aaron sighs]
Okay. Okay. Christ.

Tip his head back and trace
along the front of his neck.

Find the gap between the Adam's
apple and the ring below it.

[Ballard] I got it.

[Aaron] Make a vertical incision a
half inch deep to create an opening.

-[Aaron] Do you have a tube?
-sh*t! [grunts]

You need a tube.
You need a tube.

Oh, God. Hurry.

-If you don't hurry...
-[grunts]

-...you're gonna lose him.
-sh*t.

[grunting]

I got it. [pants] Now what?

Okay. Push the tube
into the incision

until you feel it go
through the trachea wall.

-Did you do it? Hello?
-[gasps, pants]

-He's breathing.
-Okay. Okay. Well, what's going on...

[pants]

I got you, you m*therf*cker.

[gurgling sound]

No!

-[grunting, panting]
-[Lola barking]

g*dd*mn it! No, no, no, no.

[barking continues]

[panting]

[panting continues]

[siren wailing in distance]