9-1-1

I need to see Sergeant Grant,

Sergeant Athena Grant.

Sergeant, someone's asking for you.

- Who is it? - He's over there.

You know him?

Mm-mmm. Never seen him a day in my life.

Sir, I'm Sergeant Grant.

Can I help you?

I'm here about a murder.

All right. Whose murder?

Mine.

Williams, radio for an RA unit. Get a medic down here now.

Yes, Sergeant.

- - Mr. Buckley, Dr. Hoffman.

- What are you in for? - A car accident.

I broke three ribs a few weeks back and couldn't get a follow-up with my GP.

- Any port in a storm. - Yeah.

All right, let's take a look here.

- Tender, huh? - Mm-hmm.

I'm not seeing any bruising.

What's your pain level on a scale of ten?

Eight, uh, maybe even a nine.

Let's see what we can do about that.

Mr. Buckley, it says here you've been to three different doctors this month?

Uh, yeah, every port seems busy, so…

It also says no provider in California treated you for broken ribs.

No, uh, I was injured in New Mexico, and treated at a local hospital there.

And did they prescribe opioids for that?

I'm looking at the CURES database.

You know what that stands for?

No.

Controlled Substance Review and Evaluation.

I have to consult it every time I prescribe a Schedule II.

You want to guess how many times your name's in it?

Listen, I'm-I'm a firefighter.

Yeah, I can't do my job if I'm hurting.

You can't do it if you're high as a kite either.

Doctor shopping is a form of fraud,

- Firefighter. - Okay, I never take them when I'm at work.

I-I'm not some kind of drug fiend.

Okay, it's only been five weeks.

And if you use opioids recreationally,

it only takes five days to develop a dependency.

I'm surprised this didn't ping earlier.

It takes the system a time to catch up,

but Mr. Buckley, it has caught up with you.

You know, actually, I-I think I'm going to get a second opinion.

No, you won't. I'm flagging your name in the system.

Okay, so what am I supposed to do now?

Get some help.

Now careful, that thing stays with you for life.

Okay, but a firehouse tattoo, that's classic, right?

Look, look right here, right here, 118.

What if you get fired?

Give me that grease gun.

I don't know. I just need something that says I'm not a cadet anymore,

you know, I've-I've arrived. I'm… I'm grown.

Harry.

You left your night guard at Mom's again.

This couldn't wait till the end of the shift?

But Mommy knows how you grind your teeth.

So does the whole bunk room.

Hey… …I didn't see you there.

I was, uh, under the truck.

- Right. - How are you?

I'm good. And you?

Good. Good.

A-Anything new?

- No, well, sort of. - Hey.

You ready to roll. I don't want to get a parking ticket.

Uh, it's a fire zone. I feel like this whole place is.

Yeah, yeah, uh, no worries, I'm done here.

Oh, guys, this is Ian. He's a nurse over at Presbyterian.

Ian, this is my little brother Harry. And Ravi.

What's going on fellas?

'Sup.

Hey, uh, you know, if you want to hang here

with your brother and his friends, I can push the reservation.

Oh, no, no, I'm ready. Let's go.

- Okay. - Yeah.

Well, it was great meeting y'all. Big fan of what you do for the community.

And don't forget to brush it. You don't want it getting smelly again.

Stop.

Who the hell was that?

How am I supposed to know? She's your sister.

Uh… Aren't you dating her?

What?

No, you told me not to.

I… I told you you could.

If I changed firehouses.

Bro, that was a quip, okay.

Did you at least call her?

- - No, you didn't.

I think you blew it, bro.

Bernard Morelli, 58, he lives alone in Angelino Heights.

I don't think we've met.

Ben Hooks, Major Crimes.

The case dropped in my lap an hour ago.

Yeah.

He dropped on my floor.

Athena Grant.

Have you, uh, talked to the doctors already?

I did. It's gonna be a day or two till toxicology report comes back.

In supportive care till we know what we're dealing with.

They're thinking poison?

Mmm. Something rare.

I've seen arsenic, mercury, lead.

This ain't that.

- You got any leads? - One.

Last person he spoke to.

Me.

He walked into the station, asked for you specifically.

Why?

I've been racking my brain.

I never forget a face, and that name...

Morelli doesn't ring a bell?

Uh-uh. Not a jingle.

So you spoke to him?

No, he spoke to me and then he vomited blood.

What'd he say?

That he was there to report a murder, his own.

And I'm inclined to believe it.

They're talking about… …notifying his next of kin.

We should do that.

We?

The man came directly to me. I would like to know why.

Ian Bradley.

Right, he's 30, which is like a decade older than May.

- Aren't you like 30? - Not yet.

And that's not the point. I mean, where's she meeting 30-year-olds?

I think they met getting arrested together.

- What? - Yeah.

May got arrested at Presbyterian.

It was this whole social justice thing, protecting a dying guy's rights.

Can't compete with that.

- Can't compete with what? - May's new boyfriend.

Wait, hold up.

- You and May? - Yeah.

They, uh, had an evening.

Ravi never called her.

Ravs, not very chivalrous.

That's not what happened.

So now she's dating this new nurse from Presbyterian, Ian Bradley.

Oh, the new guy.

Okay. Go, May.

New guy? How new?

I mean, it looks like he's only been a nurse for about a year.

Well, he's 30. What's he been doing this whole time?

- Who's 30? - The nurse at Presbyterian

- that May's dating. - Oh, nice. Which one?

Ian Bradley, former pro football player.

- Damn. - Let me see that.

- - He ran a 4.440?

Damn it.

- So May and Ravi… - Were an item apparently,

but then he ghosted her, didn't even call.

Look, I did not ghost her. Harry told me not to call.

Bro, it was a quip.

- What are we quipping about? - Ravi dumped May, totally ghosted her.

Now she's dating some famous football player.

- And Ravi still has feelings for her. - Why did you ghost her?

Two seasons in the NFL doesn't make you famous, all right?

Well, he's more famous than you, so.

I don't need fame. I'm a first responder.

- So is he. - He's a nurse.

That's a second responder.

- - I can't believe Buck is missing this.

Where is Buck? Anybody seen him?

Okay, come on.

Come on. You're good.

You're good.

Good job, man. Good job, good job.

Pete Morelli.

- We have a word? - About what?

Your father.

So, what'd he do this time?

He's currently in the ICU.

The doctors think he might have been poisoned.

Is he gonna be okay?

It's hard to say.

We're waiting for him to regain consciousness.

All the doctors can do is supportive care until we know what's in his system.

Well, um,

whatever it is,

I just hope that it's slow and painful.

I take it you weren't on the best of terms with your father.

I haven't spoken to my father in years, not since he walked out chasing a story,

and left me with my stage-four pancreatic mother.

Um, I'm sorry.

He wasn't. She died alone.

You said he was chasing a story.

He's an investigative journalist.

I can't say I know his byline.

Because he writes under a pseudonym, Chester Caulfield.

Bit pretentious, but he said it was for his own safety.

So he has enemies?

Politicians, CEOs, criminals, and the cartel, the mob.

I'm sorry, but if you guys are looking for who might want to kill my father,

guys got your work cut out for you.

Mr. Malloy, would you like an attorney present?