Murder in the First

I'm here to pick up my sister,

Tenea Cascade.

Have a seat.

Smells good.

I should've thought of that.

I just didn't know what to bring.

Burgers. Smart.

What are you here for?

My wife.

She's been in there for three months on a D.U.I.

You?

My sister. Four months.

Just kills you every day, doesn't it?

I mean, they're in there, and you can't help.

And you don't even know what to do to help. You just...

I'm sorry. I-I... I'm... I'm nervous.

No, you're cool, bro. I get it.

Hey, baby.

Wanna get out of here?

- Mm-hmm. - Let's go.

Sir?

Sir.

I checked the log,

there's no Cascade scheduled for release today.

Check again.

You probably put her name in wrong.

Tenea is T-E-N-E-A.

Last name is Cascade. I'm her brother, Suger.

You're a day late.

What?

Is that her signature right there?

Yeah, but...

Well, she was released yesterday. Take a look.

I am a simple kind of guy, Ms. Nelson...

meat and potatoes,

football and beer,

order in my court, not bombshells.

Judge Ellis, this was my client's choice to make,

and I support it.

Whether or not he has a choice is not the question.

What matters is whether this court can legitimate view him

as fit to make this choice on his own.

I've had Dustin evaluated numerous times by a psychiatrist

frequently used by this court, Your Honor.

According to Dr. Wersheim,

my client meets all legal standards for mental competency

and has made here an intelligent and fully informed waiver.

I can't just sign off on this, Ms. Nelson.

Mr. Siletti is right.

Competency comes first.

And your shrink is not the court's shrink.

I order that Mr. Maker

undergo a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation

with a court-appointed doctor.

Based on his findings, I'll make my determination

as to whether or not this case goes to trial.

Hey, Chief. I was just looking for you.

Here I am, and I brought a friend.

Hey, Dad.

What's going on?

Have a seat.

Did I do somethin' wrong?

Quite the opposite.

I thought your father would enjoy being here

to witness his son's promotion.

Congratulations, Jim,

I'm putting a star on your shoulder.

You were a hero during the school bus shooting,

and this department has big plans for you.

Well, only if you're interested, of course.

Oh, no, Chief, um... Um... I'm honored. Truly.

But with respect, I'd like a little time to think about it.

My unit has been under immense pressure since the bus shooting.

We've... we've lost two inspectors.

You know, this would be the worst possible time

for me to leave.

I admire your loyalty, Lieutenant.

Think about it. Take the week.

Yes, thank you, sir.

Congratulations, almost.

Mr. Koto.

Did you pressure him to promote me?

Why are you so afraid of success?

Dad, what makes you think I'm even interested in...

Nobody ever rises to power refusing promotion.

It's not just about power, Dad.

My team is like my family. I'm not abandoning them.

Loyalty is admirable in a follower.

In a leader, it is weakness.

What are you, son?

Are you a follower?

Or the future Mayor?

The trial of Dustin Maker is turning into a circus.

The media's practically camped out downstairs.

Look, we need a win as a unit here.

Hildy, Terry, I need you to dig a little deeper

into Walt's death.

We gotta figure out what happened down there.

Was it friendly fire? Or did Kaleb kill with intent?

And if he did, what was his motive?

Maybe that'll help us make sense of his suicide.

All right, on it.

Junior, you're on the Jalil Thompson case.

Roger that.

Molk, where the hell is Navarro?

I mean, the quinceañera is over, isn't it?

Or does it take up two weekends?

You know, I was gonna swing by his house.

I'll let you know right away, sir.

All right.

So, um, I was the one who arrested Jalil.

I took his confession.

He was... a really good kid.

He has a good mom, so... do your best, okay?

Of course.

If I were you,

I'd probably start at juvie and then you could...

Hildy.

Take it easy.

I know how to work a case, okay?

One more thing.

Oh.

You, me, and Terry... we're the only ones who know

that Kaleb's suicide wasn't actually a suicide.

So let's keep it that way

until we clear the rest of the team, all right?

Who hasn't been cleared?

Navarro.

But...

you're not worried, right?

Heard you're working the Jalil Thompson murder.

Mind if I ride with you?

Things that slow over in Gang Unit,

or you just miss my winning personality?

Keep the change.

- Oh, thank you. - Yeah,

I miss the smell of old spice and whisky in the morning.

Reminds me of the guys I dated in high school.

Navarro!

Hello?

You live here?

No.

Can I help you with something?

Nah. We just don't see

too many friendly faces in the neighborhood.

And you live around here?

Sure. We just thought we'd come say hello.

Hello.

I wanted to ask you about something specific

that Dustin mentioned in our last interview.

It seems that Dustin broke his arm when he was 6.

Yeah, he did.

And do you know what happened?

He was staying with my brother Beau in Pleasanton.

Dustin used to go there for three weeks every summer.

He loved it.

Said it was like summer camp.

And we liked having a break.

My brother Beau's a mechanic.

He said Dustin was playing with the machines in the shop.

There was an accident and he broke his arm.

Actually, he shattered his distal radius bone.

Dustin told us that he doesn't remember anything about it,

not even going to the hospital, which is, um, surprising,

because, apparently, they had to surgically repair his forearm.

He must've blacked it out.

That's what I'm thinking, too.

It's not unusual when very young children

experience severe trauma,

for them to wipe it from their memory.

It's a defense mechanism, a way to protect themselves.

There any reason you didn't mention that earlier

when I asked you if there was any

physical trauma in Dustin's life?

We were under a... lot of stress last time we talked, so...

must've just slipped my mind.

We didn't see him until two weeks after it happened,

so I guess his experience has been different than ours.

Dustin was 6 years old. He was having surgery,

and neither of you showed up in the hospital?

Were you unable to go to Pleasanton?

We knew we'd be seeing him soon.

My own brother was taking care of him.

Dustin loved Beau.

We just didn't see the need to...

Pick up, Tenea, damn.

The mailbox

you are trying to reach is full.

Yo. What's up?

What's up with our shorties on lockdown?

Why they not putting us on game?

Well, Rashonda caught the chain to Chowchilla.

And old girl got down with trailer park queen

so they threw her ass in the hole for like a month.

We've been blind for a few weeks now.

And you just now telling me?

Hey, don't trip. She'll show up.

Are you keeping it 100 with me, brother?

Always.

We good, man. Chill out.