Original subtitles

Previously on Ballard...

Cops can be assholes. Doesn't make it personal.

You were my partner, and I should've had your back.

I wasn't just your partner. I was your friend.

-I just... -No, get off me!

You keep putting these walls up around yourself.

You're the one missing the view.

Harmon Harris. He and this other guy, Adam Lennox,

they said that they'd been out together that night.

Ironically, this guy Lennox was a student in Harris's acting class.

Sarah Pearlman was interested in acting.

Maybe Harmon Harris coached her too.

Good a lead as any.

Dispo order? Who signed for it?

Guy named Charlie Grant.

He worked Gangs with Laffont back in the day.

So I'm gonna be roping him in.

Is that a good idea?

What am I supposed to know about some illegal getting whacked?

The bullet that killed him is missing from Property,

and you signed the dispo order.

You know she has a habit of making false accusations,

and almost ruined a good man's career.

Who would order a bullet to be destroyed in an unsolved murder?

Look, it's one thing to let a John Doe go unsolved.

But they destroyed the damn evidence?

This is a cover-up.

Why can't you see what's right in front of you?

You wanna help me?

Get your goddamn badge.

Paw Paw, I wanna go back.

It's rotten.

I struggled to find a reason to stay.

Then why did you?

When you knew what your so-called brothers were capable of?

Because once you know that,

someone has to watch the watchmen.

Gonna be near impossible investigating potential corruption

without stepping on a land mine.

-So, we should just ignore it? -That's not what he's saying.

I'm just saying, given the circumstances, we might need more firepower.

What we need

-is some physical evidence. -If we loop in Berchem...

No Berchem.

And definitely no IA.

Look, this doesn't work unless we're all on the same page.

You need to start trusting me.

No one knows about this until we figure out what's going on.

And that includes the squad.

As far as they're concerned, this is a John Doe murder

until we can prove corruption.

Gonna be hard to do. We don't have a bullet to work off of.

That may not be the case.

What do you mean?

Head back to the Ahmanson. Martina can fill you in.

Fill me in on what?

We may get that bullet after all.

I told Hastings we were re-interviewing this witness

in Laura Wilson's case.

I just hope we don't stall out here.

So, Adam Lennox.

What was Bosch's take on him during the initial investigation?

He thought he was covering for Harmon Harris. Just couldn't figure why.

Quiet on set.

Maybe now that he's dead, he'll give it up.

Gotta love LA.

So, how do we find Adam?

You said he works in craft service.

Just find the doughnuts.

Can I help you?

-You're Dolores, right? -Yes.

I understand that you knew Yulia Kravetz.

I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about...

You police? I thought you got the guy who did it.

Oh. I'm just a volunteer.

Uh... And I'm not here about the investigation.

I know Yulia came from Ukraine,

and I wanna find her family, let them know what happened.

I'm sorry. I didn't know much about her family.

Hmm.

Did she ever say their names maybe, or what town she was from?

She didn't talk about home. It made her sad.

She missed the coffee though.

Wherever she was from, they were famous for it.

Adam Lennox?

I'm Detective Ballard, LAPD.

I have some questions for you about an old friend of yours, Harmon Harris.

Harmon?

He died two years ago.

You alibied for him back in '08 in the Laura Wilson murder, that right?

Yeah. I told the detective back then

that he'd be crazy to think Harmon could do something like that.

That would be Detective Bosch?

Uh, forget his name. Super intense guy though.

Yeah. That would be Detective Bosch.

So, you were with Harmon all night?

I thought we settled all this.

It's not settled until Laura's killer is found.

Look, I know it wasn't Harmon, okay?

He was a decent guy.

He took care of a lot of people back then.

Must've been hard to lose him then.

And Laura too. She was so young.

Whole thing was a nightmare.

But it wasn't Harmon.

Tell us how you know.

Okay, look, I was covering for him. But not because he killed Laura.

He was with another guy.

Intimately.

And Harmon wasn't out?

Harmon didn't care who knew about him or what people thought.

He was covering for the other guy?

We both were.

This guy's career just started to really take off.

Outing him would've ended all that.

So I said it was me.

We're going to need the name of Harmon's actual alibi.

I can't do that.

Mr. Lennox, we're talking about murder here.

Phil? One second.

We need that name.

Do we? Right now?

And add this actor to the list of casualties?

If Harmon is our killer, then he's dead.

Why not try to prove it some other way,

see if we can avoid any other collateral damage?

We can always come back to him if we have to.

-All right. -Look, guys,

-I should really be getting back to... -Wait. One more question.

About the van you saw outside of Laura's, a few nights before the murder?

Yeah, um, license plate started with a 4. It was a blue Ford. It was a beater.

Wait. It was a Ford?

-Mm-hmm. -It didn't say that in the report.

Funny.

I wouldn't have known that back then.

My brother-in-law bought one just like it a couple years ago.

Definitely a Ford.

Yesterday on the Pearlman case, this was our list.

Over 3,000 blue vans that matched the description in Bosch's murder book.

Today, we have narrowed it down to 378 blue Ford vans.

Ooh, a smaller haystack!

Split up these VIN numbers.

Look for criminal records or anything else that may be a flag.

-On our John Doe case, we... -I have a lead.

All right, show 'em.

Mmm. I, um, hate to be that guy, but what are we looking at?

Well, thanks to Martina and one of her classmates,

that is the John Doe bullet that was destroyed.

How did you get this?

I promised him I'd go to a Lord of the Rings marathon.

I don't think he meant...

Yeah. They used photos of the bullet from the John Doe autopsy.

Right. My friend, he interns at a place

that builds renderings of crime scene evidence for lawyers.

Oh, that's cool.

It won't hold up in court.

It doesn't have to. Just need a lead.

Now I can take this to Firearms Freddie

and see if he can connect it to any other crimes.

You mind the radio?

As you can see, I'm not exactly Bluetooth-capable in here.

My mom says the day they started putting computers in cars

is the day it all went to hell.

You tell her yet, that you joined the reserves?

Yeah, that's a problem for future me.

-Look, about this morning, I... -I know I got a little hot.

You're just making some moves I didn't expect.

Like Laffont?

I know you trust him, but...

Look, he's like this car.

He's more reliable than he looks.

I'll try.

Last five of the VIN are 11298.

I'd rather not hold.

Martina?

Martina?

Martina?

Ay, dios.

Sorry. These are my heavy-duty ones.

The brain's not braining very well today. What's up?

I think I have something.

Slogging through these VIN numbers didn't seem particularly efficient,

so I lobbed some details about the Laura Wilson killing

-over to some murder buddies on Reddit. -Naturally.

And this user named HootDunlt reached out...

Did you say "HootDunlt"?

Yeah. HootDunlt. You know, the owl theory?

The Staircase?

Anyway, uh, Hoot messaged me about a homicide in Vegas in '98.

Had some of the same deets, including a blue Ford van.

Astonishingly accurate.

You know AI is gonna take our jobs, right?

And then it's gonna kill us in our beds.

Can you run it through NIBIN without destroying the world?

For a Florida Ghost Philodendron. Just a cutting.

Done.

Long as you can do it right now.

"Kathy Goodman, 27, was on vacation in Vegas.

Seen at the Tropicana"...

Oh, Tropicana.

The first swim-up blackjack table in Nevada.

How's your VIN list coming?

Ugh.

Single woman, traveling alone.

Strangled to death in her motel.

Blue Ford van spotted outside the night she died.

This could be our guy.

I should call Vegas PD, right? See if they'll send the murder book?

You can't actually.

It needs to be someone with a badge.

What?

-You can bribe him. -Ding, ding, ding. We got one.

Incident within the last five years?

Southeast Division case from November 2023.

A suspect named... ...Javier Fuentes.

Charges?

Uh, "Gang member in possession of a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm."

Could be he's still in custody.

Maybe we can keep him there for murder.

You're right. Strangled in her bed just like Laura and Sarah.

Could be a third victim.

Gotta get into the murder book to be certain.

I reached out to the captain in Vegas. He's sending it over.

And, um...

Colleen's the one who figured it out.

Colleen, go ahead.

Rawls is right. Uh, we need confirmation.

But if we work under the assumption that it is the same killer,

we can assume that the van was manufactured before 1998,

which narrows the amount of vans that we have to track from 378 to, uh, 54.

Let's bump up the 54. And show me the Vegas book when it gets here.

-Mm-hmm. -Okay.

Great job.

Hey. Did Parker tell you we got a hit on that John Doe dummy bullet?

Guy's name is Javier Fuentes. He's actually still in county.

-That's great. -Yeah.

Um...

Listen.

-Uh... -What's up?

It's about Chastain.

Is he calling you now?

Because he approached me outside of Patrick's Roadhouse the other...

No, no. Renée...

there was a car accident.

Chastain is dead.

No one else was injured.

He just hit a telephone pole.

Let's get back to work.

Starting to take shape.

Hey.

Uh, you're early.

Oh, am I? It's nine o'clock.

It is. I lost track of time.

-I'll take one of those. -Oh.

Aw, look at you. Same goofy smile.

Is that your dad?

Yeah.

Is he still around?

No, he died when I was 14.

Surfing accident.

And Dr. Tutu in there thought it would be cathartic for me to build his board, so...

Ah, 14. That's young.

Yeah.

Just one of those things, you know?

It's always there.

You picked up your badge.

Yeah, I'm official now.

Hey. I heard about your old partner.

That's rough.

How long were you guys working together?

Four years.

Put me this close to chocha, you expect me to think straight?

Mr. Fuentes, you were arrested in...

Call me Little Javi. I wanna hear it come outta your mouth.

You were arrested for possession and discharge of a firearm, November, 2023.

Parole violation and time served if I ever get in front of a judge.

Maybe. Except we've just connected that gun to a murder.

No comeback for that?

Hold up.

Him?

-You know him? -No, no, no, no.

There's no way I'm doing time for someone else's shit.

I walked in here on two legs, and I got jumped over a plate of mashed potatoes!

If you didn't do it, where'd you get the gun?

I don't remember. I found it.

All I know is I didn't kill that dude. I wouldn't go near him.

Why? Who is he?

He's a coyote for the cartel.

Which one?

Tell us, or your name starts coming out of our mouths on the streets...

Little Javi.

Zacatecas Nuevas.

Okay. Now tell me who that is.

Pending confirmation, we no longer have a John Doe.

So our undocumented father on the run was a coyote? I'm stunned.

Doesn't change the job. Solve the murder.

What about that guy in jail who got caught with the gun?

Oh, he didn't do it.

-That your woo-woo talking? -No.

He had an alibi.

Javier was on a job in Fresno at the time Ibarra was killed.

Got the gun afterward.

-So he's off the board. -Great.

It's still progress, guys, because of Martina's bullet.

If I were giving out stickers, she'd get two.

Hey. Do we have the murder book on the Tropicana victim?

Yeah, but it's pretty thin.

Nothing concrete linking her to our killer.

Let me have a look.

And, guys, let's keep moving on those vans.

Hey, Ballard, I heard the funeral is tomorrow.

I guess his wife wanted to get it over with.

You going?

You know, we got a lot going on. I'll see.

You bring that in?

Yep. Trying to warm this place up a bit.

My next project is the conference room.

Uh, hey. Are you, uh, still looking for that Ukrainian girl's parents?

Yes, but I'm striking out.

I actually think I've reached the end of the Internet.

That's saying a lot coming from you.

Yeah. I think I found the town that she's from.

They have a coffee company that won an award.

-They grow coffee in Ukraine? -Yeah. They roast coffee in Ukraine.

Anyway, I can't reach anybody over there.

It's like... Uh, it's like a black hole.

Yeah.

You know, one of my security guys, Andrei.

He's from Kyiv. Ex-military. He might be able to help.

Um. Wow. Yeah.

You'd do that?

I'm happy to.

I'll get his number.

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear Ballard ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

-You're gonna help me blow it out? -Yeah.

Ready? One, two, three.

Yay!

Did you guys make these yourself? Boys?

-Daddy made the ugly ones. -Of course he did.

That is true. Yeah.

We found a '95 blue Ford registered to a dude named Coleman up in Topanga.

And he's got a record for stalking.

-Well, that fits our guy's MO. -That's what I thought.

But the court documents are sealed for privacy

so we don't know much more than that.

I can check it out.

Our firm deals with these kind of creeps all the time.

Yeah, I'll swing by, see if there's anything suspicious enough for a warrant.

You going alone? No backup?

You volunteering?

Great. The city ride won't start, and I'm not waiting for a jump.

So, hope you like it bumpy.

Martina said Topanga, I didn't know she meant this far out.

You know, we should've taken my Bimmer.

Bulletproof windows. Perks of owning my own security company.

It's a door knock, Rawls. Calm down.

-You nervous? -Oh.

We don't know anything about this guy.

What's the harm in calling for a little bit of backup?

I call out the whole dog-and-pony show, and he's not our killer...

-You got a little bit of egg on your face? -Oh, man.

Big deal.

Easy for you to say.

Are you Andrei?

I am.

-And you are Colleen. -Yeah.

I hear Ukrainians are coffee connoisseurs. Is it good?

No. But I will have another.

Oh, okay.

I appreciate you helping me. Can I pay you for your time?

I am paid well by Mr. Rawls.

Is he a good boss?

A loyal employee would never answer this question.

Well, then you passed the test.

Oh... ...my God.

I'm so sorry.

You are a policeman?

Um, undercover.

Very deep.

Long drive for a whole lot of nothing.

You know, a little positivity goes a long way in this job.

You should get some.

Rawls.

-I told you this was just a door-knock. -I'm just taking a look.

You know what's so frustrating about you?

You could actually be good at this if you quit acting like a boot.

Look, I know you're going through it right now with your old partner and all.

But I'm not your enemy.

Son of a bitch.

Now what do we do?

Now we call for backup.

Right.

4 King 80 requesting backup, airship, Topanga Canyon.

That's not good.

Where the hell is this guy going?

4 King 80 requesting backup, airship in Topanga Canyon.

Looks like we're on our own.

Great.

Look at that dust.

Whoa.

Great.

All right. Keep your eyes on the back doors as we approach.

I'm gonna cover you while you clear the passenger side.

But slow and easy.

Shots fired ends badly for everyone.

Exit the vehicle! Put your hands up!

Police! Exit the vehicle!

Passenger side clear.

-LAPD! Drop down your weapon now! -Get off my goddamn land!

-I don't care what kind of PI you are. -Mr. Coleman, we are LAPD!

-Drop your weapon! -I didn't break any

of her bullshit restraining orders.

-We're investigating a murder. -A murder?

-Put the gun down. -The hell is she saying now?

Drop your weapon now!

-It's just not fair. -Backup's on the way, sir.

She has everything!

Drop it.

Come on, buddy.

Put your hands behind your head. Get on your knees.

On your knees.

I just wanna see my kids.

I just wanna see my kids.

All right?

I'm not a stalker, I swear. I didn't kill anybody.

She won't... She won't let me see 'em.

Okay, buddy. Come on. Easy does it.

Come on. Think about it.

Two basic rules. All you need is a ball.

It's the most accessible sport in the world.

And the most popular.

Okay, okay. I see you.

But if you're gonna get me into soccer, I'm gonna get you into football.

The steroid-fueled concussion factory? I don't think so.

What? Come on.

Rams play, like, two miles away from your office.

Would make a pretty great second date.

You're very confident.

It's one of my flaws.

Seriously though,

I would kill for the experience you're getting in Cold Cases.

I'm shooting for detective in a couple years.

Mmm.

What?

Just picturing you in a suit.

And how do I look?

They're paying this guy 50 million a year,

and it's a total waste with this offensive line.

-Hey, Teddy. -Hey.

-Hey, buddy. You missed kickoff. -Yeah, sorry.

I was stuck in the woods for an hour

waiting for the blue suits to impound that...

Hey. Let's get you a drink, huh?

Yeah, yeah.

No case talk in front of Dad, okay?

I don't want him to get his hopes up about Sarah until we got a solid lead.

Oh.

Right. Um, it's probably gonna be a while.

Ballard's got us chasing down every van this side of Vegas.

Hey, look, she might be a pain, but she's right for the job. Hmm?

You gotta be kidding me. Hey, Jakey They're going for it on 4th and 1.

Okay. Yeah.

Jake can feel what he wants about Ballard, but he pays me to think for him.

If she's bungling the investigation, I need to know.

Oh, no, I wouldn't go that far.

Hmm.

Oh!

Sounds like you and Rawls had a real Butch and Sundance moment out there in Topanga.

I mean, it got a little intense, but then the guy settled down.

I wasn't worried about the suspect. I was worried about Rawls.

Four hours together?

I thought you'd be the only one driving back from Topanga.

He is a police boy for sure, but he didn't do too badly out there.

Mmm. And what about the suspect, Coleman?

Well, Darcy's rushing his DNA, but he's not our guy.

I'm sure of it.

Between him and Javier, we're 0 for 2.

Yeah.

Just got confirmation from the authorities in Mexico.

Luis Ibarra is definitely our John Doe.

And... ...he had a baby a year before he went missing.

So the kid in the video's probably his.

Do they know where the kid is now?

Federales are tracking down next of kin to notify them.

Maybe with them?

-Let's hope. -Mmm.

Interesting choice of venue.

Yeah, no cops.

And they make a killer Singapore sling.

Okay. Guys, where do we go from here?

Javi's intel is holding up,

but it's not getting us any closer to who killed our John Doe.

I think we should track down Ibarra's family ourselves.

They may know something. We can't count on the Federales.

-So tomorrow, why don't we do first... -Tomorrow?

Tomorrow, you're out, right?

Why?

The funeral.

I don't know if I'm going to that.

He was your partner.

You shouldn't let those RHD assholes keep you away.

She's right.

Whatever the baggage, you'll regret it if you don't go.

All right.

-Ballard. -Sorry. I didn't mean to pry.

I just was...

It's all good. Fine.

You two made a great team.

Just came by to offer my condolences.

Never lost a partner. I can't imagine.

Saved us some seats over here.

Robert.

Hey, Tom.

Renée.

I didn't know you were coming.

Blame her.

She thought you could use some solidarity today.

As most of you know,

Ken Chastain was my boot detective just a thousand years ago.

First day I met him, Captain called me in.

I'm expecting to meet my new partner.

And there was this kid.

Baby face, wide eyes, ready to fight for the good in the world.

I thought to myself, "How in the hell did this mook make detective?"

Well, pretty quickly I found out that he had the stuff.

No doubt, the guy was a goofball.

But we all know that that goofball act is vital

to how we survive doing this job.

It's how we look past that line of life and death

that we all walk every day.

Ken Chastain could always be depended on.

When things got bad, he was the guy you wanted in your corner.

He was the one who would give you the shirt off his back...

and then he would tell you that it made you look fat.

To my friend. Ken!

Ken!

Did I muck it up?

No, no. It was great. Great.

I know he let you down, Renée.

I'd like to think I wouldn't have.

But honestly, I know what it's like...

to need to keep your head down.

Widow on your 6:00.

Glad we came.

I'm glad she came.

I can see why she read you in.

It would've meant a lot to him that you're here.

I know things didn't... ...end well between you.

We had a lot of good times too.

He told me about your argument the other night.

He's been messed up for a while.

I tried so hard to get him to rehab.

He was scared it would ruin his career.

I had no idea it was that bad.

And he knew he got it wrong, Renée.

About Olivas.

He overheard something at work recently.

Olivas joking about sleeping with an ex-partner,

saying that she was back for more.

But it was the way that Olivas said it.

It was like he had crossed a line with this woman.

And Ken realized...

you were telling the truth.

It hit him hard, Renée.

Goodbye. Take care of yourself.

Oh.

-Hey. -Morning.

Did you ever hear back from Andrei?

I did. That's why I wanted to catch you before you went inside.

Tell me.

Um...

Yulia's parents were killed in the conflict.

The whole town was pretty much leveled.

Um...

Which is why you haven't been able to do your magic...

Your Internet magic, not your other magic.

-Oh, okay. -I'm sorry, Colleen.

That's...

Wow.

You can go back inside. I just...

I need a minute. I'll be okay.

Thanks for coming yesterday. Meant a lot.

It was no trouble.

So, why are we here?

Mr. Fuentes is very eager to help the LAPD out in any way he can.

Oh. He was very eager to do a lot of things last time we saw him.

But his cooperation is predicated on a deal.

What kind of deal?

Time served and protection.

Why should we trust an ex-con with known ties to the cartel?

That's exactly why.

If he's talking, he needs assurances.

Look, due to backlogs, my client has been denied trial

for longer than the sentence he would've received.

And he's endured life-changing injuries as a result.

We'd like time served and witness protection.

Not if he's involved.

I promise you that's not the case.

Well, I'll take it to the DA, but she'll only deal if the intel's good.

The gun that killed Ibarra was, like...

recycled.

We know the cartel runs guns through Mexico and back.

It's not our jurisdiction.

It's not the cartel.

It's the cops.

Go on.

A ring of cops is running hot guns.

They take 'em straight off the streets and sell them to the cartel for big bank.

It's not just guns.

They got their hands in all the cartel shit. Drugs, trafficking...

Is this why Ibarra was killed?

You're not listening.

This is way bigger than a coyote, or some fool like me frontin' big on the block.

Then what's a fool like you know about it?

I needed a piece.

You ask, you get.

Who gave it to you?

It was definitely a cop.

LAPD. White dude, 40s.

Street guys call him Montana.

He lives for this gang shit, but he doesn't mind playing sheriff either.

He's playing both sides.

Uses his badge for fun.

A few years back, a huge raid locked up five homeboys.

Two got sent to intensive care, compliments of this dude.

That's all I know.

But if you find him, I bet you find the others.

And there's no chance Javi was talking about a different raid?

No. This has to be the one. It's the right time frame.

Uh, five lockups, two ICUs.

Although, it is unclear who put those two in the hospital.

Of course it is.

FID'd wanna keep that quiet.

I could pull personnel files for everyone on the raid.

Try to narrow it down based on Javi's description.

But that would leave a paper trail.

Lucky for you I got them already. And with no digital footprint.

Look at you burying our lede.

You know I have a flair for the dramatic.

What did Javi say, uh... Mid-40s, white...

Here are six candidates.

How did you get these?

Apparently there are still some women who are not immune to my roguish charms.

Oh, Linda from personnel? Still?

Why the tone of surprise?

This guy, Anthony Driscoll.

He's got more than a few complaints against him for excessive force.

Javi said Montana was violent.

In lieu of termination, resigned 2022.

Under the influence of illegal narcotics.

-Wait, what did you say his name was? -Anthony Driscoll.

Anthony AKA Tony.

Who's another Tony with a violent streak and a drug problem?

Tony Montana.

Y'all, Scarface is like a patron saint to gangbangers.

All right. Let's get a six-pack in front of Javi.

That's him right there.

That's the cabrón they call Montana.

No doubt in my mind.

Let's start a workup on Driscoll.

Everything that he did in the department and everything he's done since.

Oh, uh, first thing tomorrow?

I gotta pick up Ralph from doggy day care, okay?

-Well, obviously. First thing tomorrow. -Bye.

You good?

Moratorium on anyone asking me that for the next couple of months.

Okay.

-You good? -You kidding?

Finally got confirmation on what I suspected after all these years?

I am ready to get those fuckers.

Aren't you?

I'm just preparing myself.

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

The complaint you filed? Against Olivas, right?

-Yeah. -Hmm.

You know what that was about?

Figured if you wanted me to know.

I want you to know.

He tried to assault me at a party.

Chastain saw me afterwards, and I thought he would back me up but he didn't.

So, Olivas got away with it.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

Me too.

Thanks.

Have a good night, Ballard.

So...

...tell me about your new girlfriend.