Thursday Morning

Major Crimes

Chief Taylor's office

"Why haven't you arrested Quinn's father yet?"

"We don't have enough evidence."

"The shooter confessed that he hired him."

"The shooter is a compulsive liar, and he couldn't pick Quinn's father out of a lineup. We also can't figure out where Quinn's father could have gotten the money to pay him. We need something to support this confession."

"What if Jeremy gets hurt or killed?"

"We have a uniform outside his house, another outside Quinn's house and the school is closed until next week."

"If not Quinn's father, then who."

"We don't know yet."

"I'll leave you to find out, hopefully before Monday."

Sharon gulped and got back to work.

The team was trying there best, but they were getting no where. Andrea was with them. She and Flynn sat at the same desk, but they were both focused on work. "Why kill a 16 year old? It doesn't make sense."

"What did you say Andrea?" Sharon looked at her.

"Why would someone want to kill a 16 year old?"

"That's it. We've been trying to figure out who without figuring out why. If we can figure out why someone would be better off without Jeremy, we can figure out who hired Hans."

"How do we do that?" Provenza didn't like figuring out people's motivations. He just liked hauling them to jail.

"Let's think about why people commit murders and figure out which ones would apply to Jeremy." Flynn liked his girlfriend's idea.

"I'll start," said Tao. "People kill for money."

Sykes wrote them down on the board.

"Scorned lover," Sanchez followed.

"Pure hatred," said Flynn.

"Revenge," said Provenza.

"How is that different from hatred?" Flynn looked at him.

"Revenge means you feel wronged. You can hate anyone for no reason at all, like me and Carly Rae Jepsen. I hate her."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Insurance," wrote Sykes.

"That should go with money," said Tao.

"No wait," said the Captain. "We should subdivide money. Not everyone would get money in the same way."

Sykes added insurance to money.

"Inheritance," said Sanchez.

"He has no assets," said Provenza.

"He could be next in line," said Sanchez.

"We need his family tree," said Sharon.

Tao did some research and printed it out. "Jeremy is an only child and his father's father is a rich man, a very rich man who's family has been rich for a long time. The property and the money has been passed down by generation through the male heirs. Jeremy is next in line provided he turns 21."

"Not his father."

"No, straight to Jeremy"

"What happens if Jeremy were dead before 21."

"It would revert to the next male heir, his second cousin Mark, who is 22. If he died, then it would revert to Mark's father."

"And if he died after 21," asked Provenza

"It would go to the father, unless the son named a different heir."

"Where do Mark and his father live?"

"San Bernardino"

"Let's call them in for an interview."

Mark and his father arrived that afternoon. They had been told that it was important and it was about Jeremy.

Mark's father started. "It's horrible. I can't believe Jeremy is dead."

"Jeremy is not dead," Sharon told him. "Why did you think he was dead?"

"You called us here and there was that shooting at his school. We've been worried sick."

"The shooter aimed at Jeremy, but he was stopped."

"Oh Thank God!" Mark said, a little dramatically.

"We need you to help us figure out why someone would shoot Jeremy."

"But you have the guy."

"We have him, but he appears to have been hired by someone and we need to figure out who hired him and why."

"How can we help?" Mark asked. He liked his cousin Jimmy.

"We understand that Jeremy is next in line to inherit his grandfather's estate."

"If he turns 21," the father pointed out.

"Someone tried to kill him now, while he is 16." Sharon stated shortly.

"We wouldn't kill Jeremy," his father stated.

"He's my friend," Mark added.

"It hardly seems fair. You're both family, but Jeremy would get all the money and you would get nothing."

"Jeremy's not like that and neither am I. We've always been close. He spent last summer at my house with me."

"Why was that?"

"He and his father don't get along," Mark's father answered. "They were arguing over how to use the estate. Jeremy's father wants him to fire all of the staff and turn the mansion into a business. He wanted it to have luxurious parties and events."

"Jeremy wants to leave it the way his grandfather has it now. He cares about the staff. He wouldn't kick them out of their homes."

"They live there?"

"The butler, the maids, the cook, they all have quarters in the estate and they're nice. Jeremy wanted to leave them be. He wanted his cousins to be able to visit for weekends like we do now. He's a family man, just like his grandfather."

"Is that why the will skips the father?"

"I don't know why uncle Louie skipped him, but they don't see eye to eye. No one sees eye to eye with that man. We haven't spoken to him since last summer."

Andrea was watching the interview. This didn't make sense. If these people were telling the truth, then Jeremy's father was the nasty guy, but he didn't benefit from Jeremy's death. Mark benefited from the death, but he seems to love his cousin. "We need to speak to Jeremy. This doesn't make sense."

"Are you hungry or thirsty at all?"

"I could use a Coke," the father said.

"Could I get a turkey sub and an orange soda?"

"Sure. I'm going to ask you both to wait here. I'm going to need to talk to Jeremy and sort this all out."

Flynn and Provenza went to pick up Jeremy and his father.

We have a lead on the case, they told them as they were brought into an interview room.

Sykes and Sanchez brought the food and drinks to the waiting men.

Sharon and Flynn went into the interview room.

"So you arrested Quinn's father?" Jeremy's dad began.

"No. He's broke. He couldn't hire a hit man." Flynn responded quickly

"Then who did this?" Jeremy's father had a serious look on his face.

"We asked Mark and his father to come here and speak with us." Sharon continued.

"What does Mark have to do with any of this?" Jeremy asked.

"You are set to inherit a large estate from your grandfather. If you were to die before you were 21, then Mark would get it all," she answered.

"Mark wouldn't do this," Jeremy insisted.

"We have to consider all of the possibilities, although they both seem like pleasant people." While Sharon conducted her interview, Tao continued to research the estate. He called the grandfather's lawyer to ask him some questions.

"I prefer not to discuss my client's affairs with the police," the lawyer responded curtly.

"Someone tried to kill Jeremy yesterday, and we need to know who would get what if Jeremy had actually died."

"Dear God! Is he alright?"

"He's fine, now, but we're afraid someone will try again."

"What do you need to know?"

Brenda and Fritz's apartment

Brenda and Bobby spoke over coffee before work. "I can't believe Fritz has a son," Bobby started.

"Neither can I," said Brenda. "He's eventually coming to live with us."

"Here, this place is too small."

"I know."

"You want to kick me out?"

"Bobby, we're planning to move to a bigger place. We wanted to give you time to figure out arrangements."

"I've been saving money. I could get my own place."

"You should talk to Sharon."

"What about?"

Brenda gave him a stare.

"You mean about moving in. We just started dating."

"You too are like Bonnie and Clyde, always together. I'm not saying you should move in with her, but you should talk before you sign a year lease somewhere else."

"I'll talk to her at dinner tomorrow, if we're still on for it. She's having quite the case right now."

"That school shooting. I hate those."

"Who doesn't?"

The Hotel

Marcus slept soundly.

Henry plotted a course for the family on his map. Molly was packing her day bag. "They seem like nice people," Molly said, a little flat.

"Yes. I think Marcus will be happy here."

Molly looked glum.

"That's a good thing, Molly."

"I know."

"You were hoping they would suck, and we would turn right around."

"A little."

"I know. Me too, but this is best for Marcus."

They sat in silence, both dreading the inevitable.

FBI Office

Fritz scrambled to catch up on what he missed. El Torro was apparently the tip of a larger iceberg. His capture revealed that there was an intricate drug connection from Mexico to Canada. Canadians were sending BC bud down to Mexico and getting black tar heroin in return. Heroin overdoses were going up in Vancouver. Lots of cash was being made in the US by men who were trafficking the products. El Torro's arrest caused a temporary shortfall of drugs, but the market rebounded strongly, showing there was much more out there than earlier thought.

Fritz got a call from the deputy director of the DEA.

"Sir, I'm sorry I bailed yesterday. I have a son and …."

"Forget about that. The reason I wanted you at that meeting is because I wanted to talk to you. By now, you know that El Torro was a little fish in a big pond."

"Yes Sir."

"Well, I think he was more than that. I think he was a red herring."

"What!"

"I think that while you and your men were taking him down in California, a different shipment was crossing the border, a large one of heroin."

"How would they know we would find El Torro and not them?"

"I think they left El Torro, so we would find them."

"You think our informant shafted us."

"I'm afraid it could be worse. I'm afraid someone on the inside is setting us up."

"Do you mean someone in the FBI or someone in the DEA?"

"Either or both. I don't know. I just know that it took us too long to figure out this heroin gig. We have good guys, who work really hard and figure out things quickly. Someone wanted us to see El Torro as a big player, when he was the decoy. Someone him up so they could give him to us signed and sealed. Whoever did this had to know how we operate and how we allocate our resources."

"Someone on the task force?"

"Or one of their superiors. I've been watching you for a while Howard. I can tell that you get the job done. I need you to stay mum on this conversation and keep your eyes peeled. Anyone on this case could be a false friend."

"Yes sir."

"If you get suspicious of anyone, report it to me. I'll have the right people look into it, and stay discreet."

"Yes sir."

Prosecutor's Office.

Brenda showed up on time today and got to her paperwork. Her team was relieved to see her back. Gabriel kept watching her, to make sure she was, in fact, still there. Jackie and Tommy did the same.

She approved the time sheets for her team and then got to browsing houses. She saw a picture of a nice house. "Isn't that Andrea's?" She clicked on the link. "It was her house: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, fully furnished and a nice kitchen. It also had a backyard and came with access to a neighborhood pool. Brenda sent an e-mail to Fritz. "Do you want me to ask Andrea about renting her house?" She attached the link to the ad.

Major Crimes

Tao was surprised by what he learned by the lawyer. He called the captain. "Hey Captain, I just got off the phone with the grandfather's lawyer. He had some interesting things to say."

Sharon excused herself and went to see what Tao had learned.

"Jeremy's grandfather took out life insurance in the event of his death. The beneficiaries was Jeremy."

"And if Jeremy died first, then the beneficiary would be his father."

"Exactly."

"How much is this policy?" Sharon inquired

"1 million dollars, and it gets better. Jeremy's father added an additional policy for 2 million, in case Jeremy died."

"When did the second policy get taken out?"

"1 year ago, so it is now mature," Tao was glad to have figured this all out.

Sharon brought Flynn with her and caught him up to speed.

"What do you want to do?" he asked her.

"How about good cop, bad cop?"

"Can I be the good cop?" he asked with a smirk.

"I bet you couldn't if you tried."

They went back into the room.

"I know this might be difficult," Sharon started. "But we believe we are very close to figuring out who hired the shooter."

"Your cousin stood to gain a lot if you died." Flynn added

"He wouldn't do this?"

"What about his father? If Mark also died, then he would get it all." Flynn added the pressure.

"My family would not try and kill me."

"Not even for money. Lots of it. Everyone has their breaking point. For some people, greed is the trigger."

"Stop it. I don't have to listen to this."

"We should all take a deep breath," said Sharon. "Right now, there's no evidence that Mark did anything."

"What did the shooter say?" asked Jeremy's father.

"He claims that Quinn's father hired him, but he couldn't recognize him. We think he was paid to say that it was him if he got caught."

"Mark's father could have done that. I told him about the incident with Quinn's father. He could have seen this as his chance to get the money."

"Dad! How could you say that? Family means everything."

"To you, Jeremy. No to your father." Flynn responded.

"What do you mean? Take that back." Jeremy was mad.

"Your cousin told us that you and your father had a falling out last summer." Sharon said softly.

"We're passed that," Jeremy folded his arms.

"He said that you wanted to look out for the staff and for your family and your dad wanted to toss them all out on the street like yesterday's news. He wanted to use the estate to make a profit, and you wanted to keep it as a family home."

"Dad and I worked it out. It's my inheritance. I'll figure out how to use it."

"If you live long enough to accept it," Flynn responded, adding fuel to the fire.

Tao found a 5k cash advance that was taken from Jeremy's account two days before Hans bought the motorcycle. His father was a co-signer on the account. He had to have withdrawn the money.

He knocked on the door and handed the slip of paper to Sharon. She smiled.

"When did you tell Mark's father about Quinn's father?"

"A couple of days afterwards. I was freaked out."

"So you and he are close."

"Kind of. We are family."

"Then why did he say that you two didn't see eye to eye, and he hasn't spoken to you in months."

"I..."

"If we checked your phone statements and e-mail accounts, would we find any evidence of a conversation between you two." Flynn inquired.

"If we checked their bank statements, would we find a 5k withdrawal?"

"How would I know what you would find in their accounts?"

"What about your accounts?"

"I haven't touched my accounts."

"But you took money from Jeremy's."

"What are you talking about? What is she talking about dad?"

"I am talking about the 5k your father took out of your account two days before the shooter bought his motorcycle, which was to be his get away vehicle."

"I can explain that," the father stammered.

"That's for my college fund."

"I needed it to pay bills," the father seemed to admit.

"And if we check with your billers, will we find you paid them in cash?"

"I put the money in my account. I wrote them checks."

"We checked your accounts. You did no such thing." Raydor responded.

Flynn continued, "You know what we also checked, your life insurance policy."

"I don't have one."

"That is odd for a single father isn't it. Not having anything in case he is killed, so that his son can survive."

"Jeremy will be fine. He's due to inherit a lot of money."

"Do you know what's even odder?" Flynn continued. "You had no policy for yourself, but you took out a 2 million dollar policy for your son."

"You did what Dad?"

"Most parents take out 5-10k, enough for a funeral and a wake, etc. 3 million is a lot of money for a kid." Sharon added.

"He is inheriting a big estate. If something happened to him, we would need the money to settle his affairs."

"Did your father tell you about this policy?" Flynn asked Jeremy.

"No, he didn't."

"Is this your signature," Raydor asked him.

"I never signed that."

"I signed it for him. He's my son. It was for the family."

"But his grandfather already took out a 1M policy to cover the estate's expenses upon his death," Sharon countered. "Why would you need another 2M?"

"And why did no one in your family know about it. Your father was shocked to hear about it," Flynn lied. He figured out what would make him tick.

"You talked to my father."

"Yes. He had nice things to say, all about Jeremy of course. When it came to you, the conversation went a little flat." Flynn continued.

"What do you mean?"

"He was proud of Jeremy. He sees him as a good family man, someone to entrust the estate with, but he didn't trust you, did he? He leapfrogged over you."

"Jeremy's younger. It made more sense to give him the estate. I made my own money."

"Then why did you take your son's money to pay bills." Sharon added.

"You had it with Jeremy didn't you," Flynn had him cornered. "He got all the love and praise. He was going to get all of the money. You were his son, and you were getting zilch. You took out the policy and you were going to get rid of your son after he turned 21, so you could get it all, the insurance policy and the estate. But then, you had the perfect opportunity. That incident happened at Phil's house and Quinn's father went postal. He was a dumb man with a short fuse, and you saw the perfect opportunity. You hired a man to kill your son and paid him from your son's college fund, figuring no one would look there. He was to kill Jeremy and take off on the motorcycle, no one knowing who he was or why he did it. If he got caught, he was to pin it on Quinn's father. You agreed to pay for his lawyer in cash and help him get a deal."

"Dad! Tell me they're wrong. Tell me, you didn't do this."

The father's eyes turned black. "You've been nothing but trouble the day you were born. My dad hated your mother. He told me he would cut me out of the will if I married her, but I did it anyway. I loved her. Then, she died in childbirth, and I got stuck with you. My father felt guilty. He knew it was his fault. If he hadn't abandoned us, we could have gotten her a better doctor. She could have lived if it wasn't for my bastard father. He loved you and wanted to make up for not being there for her, but what about me? He was never there for me. He left me in the dark and treated you like his favorite child. He gave you his love, his praise, his estate, and what did he leave for me, a paltry allowance. I hate him, and I wanted to destroy what he loved most. The only thing I regret, is not choking the life out of you right in front of him, and then killing him next."

Jeremy ran out of the room. Flynn went to track him down.

"How did you find Hans?" Sharon had to continue. He hadn't quite confessed yet.

"He was outside the corner store, beating up a chump. He looked like a big, strong guy. I asked him if he wanted to make a quick buck. He agreed. I told him what I wanted him to do. It was supposed to be a home break in. He was supposed to beat Jeremy to death and steal some junk, but then Quinn's father went postal, and I realized I could get rid of two for the price of one. We changed it to a school shooting. I knew the layout. I did some work on the building when I was an architect. We had it all figured out. He runs in, shoots the brat and bails out the side door, riding off into the fields before anyone's the wiser, but that damn brat had to be there to ruin everything."

Sharon wrote it all down. He signed it. "You're under arrest," she told him.

Jeremy punched a hole in the wall. He couldn't believe this. All he wanted was his father to be proud of him. He never told him this, but his grandfather told him everything about his mother and her death. He wanted Jeremy to take care of his father, to make sure that after he died that he would be okay, that maybe he would find someone to love again. He wanted to keep the house because he wanted his father to be able to enjoy it too. He just wanted everything to work. Now, he just wanted to throw up.

Mark heard the noise and went outside where he saw the whole. "Jeremy, what the hell happened?"

Flynn caught up with them. "I'm sorry you had to see that. We needed to get him to talk."

"Get who to talk?" Mark was confused.

Jeremy just crumpled to the floor. Flynn explained to Mark that Jeremy's father hired the shooter and he tried to frame Quinn's father. When that failed, he tried to frame Mark's father, and then he finally confessed.

Andrea called Taylor to the scene. This was a disaster. Taylor called CPS and a child psychologist. Jeremy was going to need a lot of help. Jeremy didn't want to talk to anyone. Mark and his father agreed to take him for the night as they tried to figure out what to do next.

Jeremy's father was taken away. They used the back exits, so he wouldn't cross his son's path.

Once everything settled down, Jeremy went with Mark and his father. Taylor shook his head.

"What do we do with Hans?" Sanchez asked.

"What about him?"

"We gave him a deal and everything he said was a lie."

"The deal's moot," Taylor answered.

"We can't put him on the stand anyway," Andrea continued "Who would believe him?"

Sykes came into the room. "That was the hospital. The janitor was released today. He's going to make it, but they had to take out part of his intestines. He's going to have to retire, and may need medical attention for the rest of his life."

Sharon sighed. Andrea was furious. She wanted to nail Hans's head to the wall.

Flynn saw her rage. "I have an idea."

They called in Quinn's father, and they put him in a jail suit. They then went and built a case against him. They said he withdrew 5k from his account. They had a waitress who saw him and Hans talking in a bar. They called Hans and his lawyer and explained their case. They asked him to reaffirm his earlier testimony.

He did.

They pointed at Quinn's father. "Are you sure he's the guy?"

"100%"

"Very good."

Flynn and Provenza came in. "You are under arrest for attempted murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, child endangerment, bringing a weapon into a school zone and obstruction of justice."

"He cooperated fully," the lawyer complained. "We have a deal."

"Your client ended his deal with his lies. This man is innocent. We already found the man who hired him, and we got a confession."

"My client can testify in that case. He'll tell the truth this time"

"No one will believe him. Take him away."

He was dragged off to jail. The lawyer went home, holding his head down.

Andrea sighed of relief. She didn't let a punk get the better end of a plea deal this time.