Tuesday
Flynn and Andrea woke up hearing a loud argument. They peered out the window to see a woman screaming obscenities at a door.
"Carlos. You piece of SHIT. You will pay for this and you're whore too." She took a key, scratched up the car and then took a brick and threw it through his window. She hopped in her car and peeled out.
Flynn and Andrea watched in shock, unsure if they should do anything about what they just witnessed.
"I'm off duty," said Flynn as he slipped his arms around his mate. "Let's just go back to bed."
Sharon's House
Rusty got ready to go to school. Bobby was dropping him off on his way to work. Sharon was up and drinking coffee. She didn't need to be at work just yet, so she was having an easy morning. Hunter was napping by Sharon's feet.
The Prosecutors Office
Brenda was in a meeting discussing the resolution of a prior case. Apparently, Baldwin was upset that a suspect had been released, without her knowledge or consent. Brenda had not been aware that it was Baldwin's case.
"I should have had the opportunity to review the case myself and decide if charges should be filed." Baldwin was mad.
The case involved a 70 year old man who allegedly was selling K-2, synthetic marijuana. The man was old and a little senile. He didn't even know what K-2 was. He just sold it because of a pitch from a salesman that came to his office. He just knew the kids bought it. He thought it was an air freshener or something. They interviewed the man. They searched the store. They found nothing to suggest he was knowingly doing anything wrong. They found the salesman and arrested him, as he was peddling K-2 all over the county. The officer decided to let the old man go with a warning. They made a follow-up visit and everything was fine.
The DA asked Brenda why Baldwin hadn't been informed. Brenda didn't know, but she was in charge. It was her job to know or at least her job to make sure her underlings knew.
"I am sure the officers meant no harm when they released the suspect. Part of being an officer is evaluating people's behavior and making an on the spot determination. I'm sure after interviewing him, observing his body language and searching the scene, they reached the conclusion that he was a senile old man who got tricked. Lots of store owners have been in the same position. These synthetic drugs are labeled and packaged as everyday items, so people don't suspect anything."
"These street drugs are dangerous. We need to send out a message." More politics.
"And we are sending out a message. The salesman was arrested as was the importer who was buying this stuff from China. We also are working with the middle schools and high schools to update the drug education curriculum to cover this stuff and reaching out to the PTAs, so parents ant teachers can be on the look out."
"I am sure that Chief Johnson and everyone else here takes this drug problem seriously, and the decision to release the suspect without charges was made after careful consideration. However, I expect for the investigators to communicate with their ADA counterparts, earlier rather than later." The DA has spoken.
"Of Course."
They both left. Brenda walked to find the investigator who ran this case. She moved quickly quickly, escaping before Baldwin could say anything to her.
Wednesday
The Loft
Eliza was finishing some gifts she had made for her beneficiaries. She liked to bring them presents to give them as a token of her gratitude. They were cheap to make and the patrons could show them off to their friends, which is why they gave money to artists in the first place. Eliza had her friend carve music boxes. She did the art for them, using old sketches. David's idea turned out to be a good one and they turned out beautifully. She had the boxes play songs that she enjoyed as she travelled the world.
Major Crimes
Juanita came into the police station, claiming her ex-boyfriend had tried to run her off the road. Flynn saw her, and thought uh oh. He whispered to Provenza, "I might have a problem." He and Provenza went to chat privately.
"What did you do Flynn?"
"It was early morning, and I saw that woman screaming at my neighbor. She keyed his car and threw a rock through it and drove off."
"What did you do?"
"I went back to bed it was like 5 in the morning."
"So he had a motive."
"But he was awake when she did it. His lights were on, and he stayed inside. If he had a temper, why not attack her then."
Provenza shook his head.
The Mall
Chief Pope was buying a new tuxedo. He looked in the mirror and all he saw was expensive and prestigious. It was perfect. He bought new shoes to match and got nice cuff links to finish off the outfit. He had the outfit zipped up and was ready to go home.
Middle School
Travis lamented that there weren't enough drivers to take the team out to get ice cream after Saturday's game. It was the last game before Thanksgiving. Thinking of Brenda's advice, Marcus offered to have his father and stepmother drive. The team was thrilled to hear this.
The boys were throwing around the football before practice. Travis invited Marcus to play with the offense. He threw the ball long. Marcus snatched it with ease. "How do you catch the ball so easily?" one boy asked him.
"Pretend it's a baby," Marcus told him.
"What?"
"When the football is about to reach your hands, cradle it like an baby. People usually try and grab the ball head on, and the ball bounces out of their hands. You want to give when you catch it. Once you have it, hold on tight and tuck it away."
Travis threw the ball again. This time, Marcus stayed back and watched the other boy try to catch it. He caught it and was so surprised by that, he almost dropped it.
"You caught it. Now, tuck it and run."
Thursday
Carlos denied ramming his ex's car. He said she trashed his car on Monday, and he had to have it towed to a shop to fix it. He had been getting rides to work from a coworker.
The coworker confirmed the story and seemed credible. Neither man had an orange SUV, which was the car Juanita claimed he had been driving.
Night
Mikki and Katie were drinking beer at the museum. David snuck them in to check out the exhibit before the party. Mikki and Katie were not the type for a fancy party. They'd rather be at home drinking beer. Eliza came out and met Gabriel's friends. She gave them a tour of the exhibit. It was much easier to talk with a small group.
Friday
Major Crimes
Juanita came back, demanding to know why Carlos had not been arrested. They tried to explain to her that he denied it, they couldn't connect him to the car, and he had an alibi witness. He also alleged that she vandalized his car. Juanita denied it. Flynn knew she was lying. He asked the other men a question. "If an ex-girlfriend was destroying your car, why would you stay inside instead of confronting her."
Tao started, "If she had a weapon, I would stay inside."
Julio went next, "If I had another lady in the house, I would stay inside."
Provenza was third, "If I had Flynn's car, I would stay inside."
Flynn thought Julio had it right. He called Carlos and asked him if he had a girlfriend.
"Why do you need to know?"
"We need a motive. Why else would Juanita damage your car and invent an assault?"
Carlos told Flynn he was seeing Juanita's best friend Maria, which is why he didn't come outside.
"What kind of car does she have?"
"She usually borrows her dad's car. I think it's an SUV."
Flynn hung up. He told the captain that Carlos had a new girlfriend, and she sometimes drove her dad's SUV.
They went out there to see an orange SUV with a dent in the back.
Maria's dad was there and said his daughter told him she had gotten rammed, and the driver took off.
They went to Maria's work and found her. She told them that Juanita rammed her car when she found out that she had been dating Carlos. She was upset because Carlos was the father of her child, but he don't love her no more.
They arrested Juanita for vandalism and aggravated assault for ramming Maria's car. They all left for the day to get ready for the evening affair.
The museum
This party was swanky. The Great Gatsby movie was nothing compared to this. The artwork was incredible. There were pieces on the wall, sculptures on the floor and on pedestals, and there was even a video feed of the other openings. Also, there was a virtual reconstruction of the whole project, all seven collections.
There was live music playing, hors d'oeuvres being handed out along with a display in the middle, wine and beer being served, they had gift bags for the guests and a lounge to cool down. She had a large sculpture in the main room and smaller ones around There were luxury outfits, benefactors, diplomats and politicians, art critics and historians, select fans who had won some contest, and of course, Eliza and her guests.
She looked divine, in a black and white Prada dress, heels and had her hair done up. She wore a necklace that had been given to her by a jeweler to wear for the night. David was by her side, wearing a new tuxedo. She got him a Philippe Patek watch to wear, and he looked smashing.
Cameras turned when they walked in together. Flashes overtook their vision as they made their entrance. "Just look in the middle of your double vision," she told him as they got to the crowd. Her agent was awaiting them, eager to tell them who they needed to meet and greet and thank.
People swarmed on Eliza from all directions, each eager to make sure she remembered him or her. She recalled names and memories of meeting them previously at a drop of a hat. Clearly, she had a lot of practice. She introduced David to her friends from New York who had flown in for the occasion.
Tommy, Jackie and Rachel all came in together. They were ecstatic. Tommy rushed to the free drinks. Jackie was immediately drawn to the artwork all around her, and Rachel went to mingle. She loved meeting new people.
Pope walked in with a woman on his arm. He quickly ignored her as he went to puff out his chest and shake hands with the governor and other noted politicians. The dame went off to find the bar.
Art critics were commenting, note taking, grabbing brochures. Historians were comparing her to various greats of the past. Socialites were figuring out who was wearing which designer and were judging the wine, which was quite good, along with the food, 5 star quality. There was a lot of staff to keep everything clean and tidy. Security was tight. No D-listers were sneaking into this event.
Marcus was amongst the few children at the exhibit. He was very excited. He took pictures of everything, and couldn't wait to send them to his grandfather. A security guard went to tell him no pictures, but Eliza cut him off. "He's just a boy," she said.
Pope noticed the boy running about. He looked up, waiting to see Brenda. She had her hair up and a beautiful diamond necklace on. She of course borrowed it from a friend. She mentioned she was going to a grand opening, and her friend told her she needed new clothes. Brenda also borrowed the couture dress. Her husband wore a tux that he rented for the evening. He had no idea this event would be so flashy. Brenda saw Gabriel, finally a familiar face. She said hello and was surprised when Eliza hugged her.
"I'm so glad you came."
"We wouldn't miss it. This is incredible." Brenda had never seen an event quite like this one. She had no idea art openings were such a big fanfare.
A waiter promptly offered Brenda wine. She, of course, took the red one. Her husband came with sparkling grape juice. It tasted like flowers..
Flynn and Andrea appeared out of the woodwork. He found his outfit to be itchy. Andrea told him to stop scratching, and she held his hand to distract him.
Sanchez approached the group. "This show is amazing."
"Have you seen the other collections?" Tao came up next.
"They're here?" Sanchez looked confused.
"On a video feed." Tao led Sanchez to the other room.
"Even at an art museum, Tao is geeking out with technology." Everyone laughed at Brenda's quip.
Marcus snapped pictures of everything and was now chowing down. The food was really good. They had these bagel bites, that were freshly made mini bagels, homemade sauce, covered with asiago and mozzarella cheeses and fresh herbs on top. Some were plain; others had pancini. There were all different kinds of food; seafood, fruit, veggies, pastries, meat, dairy, hot food, cold food, spicy food, fusion style, etc. This was quite a display.
Pope waited for a chance to talk to Brenda alone. The agent came to the microphone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for coming. First, we would like to thank the people who made this all happen." She listed the benefactors, the museum people, the city people, blah blah blah. Eventually, she finished talking and the museum curator came up. He spoke a bit about the museum. He was an old man who loved art, but hated the pretense of these huge events. He also knew the museum needed money and put in his obligatory sales pitch for donations. Then, he introduced another person who was to introduce Eliza. He was one of the board members from the museum. This man came up. He was about 50, covered in fancy stuff, and this museum was his way of "giving back to the community." He spoke for too long, and then Eliza finally took the stage.
"Hello, Everyone." The crowd was clapping. This speech was getting broadcasted to all of her openings, even though she made each of them a pre-recorded speech. "I am so glad that you all with me and came out for this day. I want to give a big thank you to everyone in this room, and everyone who is at my show in New York, San Paulo, Barcelona, Cairo, Tokyo and Perth. I hope you are all having a great time and please, keep eating and drinking until your heart's content." Everyone cheered loudly for that. "The food is local. The wine is local. This is true for every show. These cities gave me a lot, and I wanted to highlight some of the excellent food and drinks that are right in your backyard. I was lucky enough to be able to travel the world, work with great people, and have the time of my life, and now, I am even luckier and I can show the last few years of my life to the world. I hope you all enjoy it." She smiled and stepped of the stage.
Bobby went straight for the free beer. Sharon went to get some snacks. She was starved. She could have seen if she could get an invitation for Rusty and Kyle but they wanted to go bowling instead. They were missing quite the show. Chief Pope approached Sharon. "Captain."
"Chief Pope. I hope all is well."
"Yes things are fine. How is Major Crimes doing?"
"They're actually doing just fine. It's almost like they've warmed up to me. Don't tell Provenza though. He will regress."
Will laughed. "I knew they would. They didn't like Brenda very much when she arrived either."
"She mentioned that." Bobby returned. He was not happy to see Will.
"Bobby? What brings you to LA?"
"I moved here." That's all he said. Will moved on.
"What was that about?" She asked him.
"What do you think?" Bobby said.
Sharon knew. "He's my boss. I have to be nice."
"I don't."
"How about we get some more food?" Bobby saw the meat on skewers, and his whole demeanor changed.
Brenda introduced Rachel to Fritz. "She's a translator," she told her husband.
"What languages?"
"I specialize in German, but I also know French, Russian, and I'm conversant in Arabic. I guess Spanish is next, since I'm in LA."
"The Bureau can always use translators," Fritz gave her his card.
"Thanks." Rachel had no permanent job yet. She had been working as an independent since she arrived.
Marcus peppered Eliza with questions, when did she start, how long has she been an artist, where does she work, how does she know what to make.
"What do you like to do?" She asked him.
"I like football and baseball."
"Let's take football. What position do you play?"
"Safety."
"How do you know what to do during the games?"
"I get a playbook, but sometimes, you just have to pay attention to what's around you. Sometimes the other team runs a trick play or a player breaks his route. You never really know until you're in the game."
"And when you look back on your game, do you ever wish you had made different decisions."
"Yeah."
"Art is the same way. Sometimes, I don't know what I am going to make until I start and other times, I finish a piece, want to change it and start again. Look at this sculpture." She pointed to a monkey hanging from a tree biting into some sugar cane. This idea started from a sketch I did in Brazil. At first, it was a monkey holding a bottle of rum, but after I drew it. I realized I wanted it to be something else. Eventually, I ended up with a sketch of the monkey in the tree, and I did several sculptures before I settled on this one."
"Really. That's cool."
Fritz found his son and gave Eliza a break. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble," he said later.
"Oh no. He's a sweetie."
Brenda found her brother, and they were both enjoying the free drinks. Champagne glasses started to appear. A toast, they each thought, reaching for a glass.
Soon, all of the drinkers had a glass of champagne, and they had a quick toast. The party resumed. Bobby went to get some more meat. Will appeared once he was gone.
"Brenda."
"Will." She was not terribly happy to see him.
"It's been a long time."
"It has." Rumor had it that Will had cut off a lot of people once he got his big promotion. He spent his time sucking up to "important" people. Brenda didn't know why he was eager to talk to her now, but she didn't particularly want to find out.
"I hear a congratulations is in order."
"For what?"
"I hear you and Fritz have a son now. I didn't know you were looking to adopt." Will hoped he could get an accurate story by playing dom.
"His name is Marcus, and we didn't adopt him. He's Fritz's son."
"I didn't know that."
"Really? He plays football with your son. We're driving them all to get ice cream tomorrow." Brenda couldn't believe she got suckered into that. She did tell Marcus to make friends, so that's what she gets.
"Oh. Imagine that."
Marcus appeared. "Did you see the sculpture of a monkey hanging from a tree?"
'Not yet, honey. Marcus, this is Chief Pope. He's in charge of LAPD."
Marcus shook his hand. "So you're Travis's Dad."
"Yes. Maybe I'll see you on Saturday for ice cream."
"Really, Travis said you were busy, sucking up to important people."
Brenda snickered at that.
"I'm sure we can work something out."
Fritz appeared. "Hey Marcus, have you seen the other monkeys?"
"Where?"
"There's a whole bunch in the tv room. Look at the Brazil exhibit." Eliza had made the collections so each one had some pieces that were conceptualized in different continents. She wanted to give the collections some continuity. The collection in Brazil had most of the monkeys.
"Cool." Marcus was off.
Fritz and Brenda exchanged a few words with Will, and then they were off. Will hadn't learned anything new, and he didn't see any indication that Brenda was stressed out from the surprise kid. She actually appeared quite fond of him.
The party started to shift into the after party. Fritz and his family went home. Marcus had a game tomorrow, and he needed to sleep. There was a shuttle taking people to the after party. No drinking and driving from this event.
Eliza spent her time shaking hands and listening to various types of drivel. Finally, she earned her escape and was ready to head out.
"Want to go home, David?"
"You're not going to the after party?" Provenza couldn't believe it. "I'm going." Sanchez was going to. Tao was going to bed. Buzz and his lady friend were down with going.
"I guess we should stop by." Eliza planned to smile, thank the host and run away.