The Mysteries of Laura

Hi, mom.

Hey, run, run! Look out!

Look out, guys! Run, run!

Mom!

Mommy!

This is a crime scene, people, not a play date.

Take your kids home.

Diamond, Soto, meet my very dead amigo John Doe.

Mid-20s, presumably killed on impact.

He's got tracks up and down his arms.

A few blocks away from the alphabets, heavy dealer presence.

Could have been looking to score.

Affirmative, but not that kind of score, according to Mom over there.

I feel awful for that man.

He shouted to save the kids.

But clearly he was lurking. I've seen him around here before.

I couldn't help but assume.

I'm sorry your son had to see this.

Thankfully, he's more hungry than traumatized.

Oh. Well, I have a...

An unpaid Excel cable bill,

um, here we go, most of a... of a granola bar.

Thanks, but Theo's diabetic. We're sugar free, gluten free.

Oh, tried that for a day.

Turns out everything worth eating is chock full of gluten.

Not to rub it in.

So, you saw the crash.

The taxi didn't even try to stop.

- Can we go? - I should probably get him home.

Of course. Thank you for your time.

The mom's right. According to those tire tracks,

no evidence of braking, no swerving to get out of the way.

- Traffic cameras? - All pointing the wrong way.

Couple of eyewitnesses who got a good look said

that it looked more like a clip than a dead-on hit.

Could have been a drunk driver.

Possibly, or vigilante justice.

You're thinking that our dead junkie was a perv who cruises jungle gyms?

Seems viable. Maybe a vengeful parent going after the guy.

- In a yellow cab? - Well, cabbies are parents, too.

Or it could have been grand theft taxi.

- Let's track down that cab. - ID the victim.

Lab's already running prints.

We're also gonna try a facial recognition analysis using crime scene photos.

I'll have the techs forward it to you.

Just print up some hard copies, too.

We'll have the squad canvass the neighborhood.

- Shh. - Oh, please.

We're working, we can speak.

Excuse me.

For the umpteenth time, the best investigative work is done

in a quiet and contemplative environment.

Can we keep the volume down?

Yes, Captain Santini.

It's Santiani, for the umpteenth time.

How long till Jake is back and the reign of terror comes to an end?

Six days, 22 hours.

Give or take a week.

- Hey! - Thank you, God.

Look who's back.

Hello, Max.

- Welcome back, Cap. - Billy, nice to see you.

What are you doing here?

I work here.

But if you have another week of medical leave, you should take the week.

I don't need another week, I feel great. I ran five miles this morning.

Why is it weirdly quiet in here?

You can ask the Queen of Darkness.

Incoming.

Captain Santiani.

Captain Jake Broderick. Thank you for holding down the fort.

Still holding.

I'm commissioned through the end of the month.

Yes, yes. Well, in the meantime, I am happy to help.

- I'm a utility player. - Suit yourself.

You can sit at Detective Pulaski's old desk.

Frankie? Where is Detective Pulaski?

Transferred back to CDIU last week.

She didn't have the seniority to accept this post.

I've been cleaning up a number of messes around here.

Well, I can tell. I've never seen the squad room look so, um, sterile.

Hmm.

Awkward much?

She is adorable.

A double whammy for you.

John Doe's fingerprints identified him as Ronald Belasco.

Arrested two years ago for rape, third degree, whatever that is.

Reduced charge for non-violent sexual assault of a minor.

Whose identity is redacted in the file, which is sealed.

Well, let's try to unseal it.

I knew you'd say that. Sign here for the request.

Thank you, my psychic friend.

What's the second whammy?

Report of a stolen taxi 12 minutes before your hit and run.

Huh, less than a mile from the park.

Thief might be our perp.

You two go talk to the cabbie. See what you can find out.

Laura and I will track down Ronald Belasco's next of kin.

Welcome back, Captain.

The DMV does offer a refresher course, free of charge.

Six years partnering with Billy, he never once criticized my driving.

Yeah, not to your face.

Excuse me. I just spent the last five months

driving your ass to physical therapy,

cooking your ass nightly meals, washing your dirty-ass clothes,

cleaning your dirty-ass bachelor pad, and raising your smart-ass sons.

A little respect?

A lot of respect.

Damn right.

Excuse me. Uh, NYPD.

We're looking for the family of Ronald Belasco.

I'm his family.

Is he in trouble?

Shannon, when did you last see your fiance?

Just a couple hours ago.

Uh, he was working construction, so he usually left pretty early.

I don't believe this.

We are gonna need to talk to his boss.

He didn't have a regular gig.

It was all day jobs, cash only. Why?

Uh, Shannon, Ronald wasn't killed on a construction site.

He was at a park playground.

We're concerned he may have been targeted.

What? Why would anyone target Ronnie?

Shannon, did you know that he was a convicted sex offender?

Yes. So?

So, it is possible that one of the victims or the victim's parents...

No. That's not possible.

Shannon, we understand why you'd feel that way.

You don't understand. The rape charge, that was with me.

I was 16. My dad caught us. Ronnie was 21.

Statutory rape.

I begged my dad, but he wouldn't drop the charges.

I haven't spoken to my parents since.

Ronnie was a good man. And he loved kids.

He was so excited about the baby. He would never...

What about drugs?

We saw track marks on his arms.

Yeah, he picked the habit up at Rikers, but as soon as he got out,

he got into a methadone program, he got clean, he signed up for night school.

There is a lumber yard a block away from the park. It's a day labor pickup place.

That would explain why he has been spotted in the vicinity.

He could have struck out on a job,

wandered by, saw an accident about to happen,

shouted to save the kids.

Now, that sounds like Ronnie.

He was starting over.

Finally. You find my cab?

Not yet. You say you were car-jacked?

I say? Look at my head, stupid man. I'm waiting two hours for you.

Okay, take it down a notch. What happened?

I went in to use the bathroom at CVS.

I come back and from behind I'm pounded on the head.

I wake up, taxi's gone.

So, you didn't crash your car into a guy at the park,

and that's how you hurt your head?

How stupid is this guy?

He's not in the least bit stupid.

He even knows how to book you for harassing a police officer.

Was there GPS in the vehicle?

Cab was crap.

For GPS I used my iPhone, which they got away with.

Even better. Number, please.

Sorry, Mr. Rundosi. Your iPhone is burnt toast.

Check it. Camera, or used to be.

Eject the SD card?

Housing's tweaked but the core's intact. Might be readable.

We can try it in mine.

Couple of coffee cups, stake-out style. Might have been more than one perp.

Let's see what they were taking photos of. Hopefully selfies.

Son of a bitch, that's the kid from the park.

From the different outfits and metadata,

it's clear this boy was being followed for weeks.

The cab barreling toward Theo was a kidnapping attempt.

We're en route to the Davis's right now.

We called the mom, she's not answering home or cell.

- We sent a unit. - We're almost there.

Theo, stay right there.

Okay, Mom.

My son is gone! My son is gone! He's disappeared!

We're too late. They got him.

He was just in front of the house...

Theo Davis, age five. He was playing ball on the stoop

while his mom brought the groceries inside.

She only turned her back for a moment.

Stellar parenting.

I've done the same thing, Captain. Don't blame the mom.

So, what exactly happened when her back was turned?

Perp jumped out of the yellow cab and grabbed Theo.

The mom didn't get the medallion number or the tag.

No doubt stolen, like the cab from the park, so that's a dead end.

Post a man on the door and take a hard look at the dad.

Carl Davis? Please tell me why.

Experience. Something doesn't smell right.

Oh, and in case you're not clear, that's an order.

This doesn't make sense. Why would anyone take our son?

We don't know. But from the surveillance photos

we found in the burnt-out taxi, it's clear that he was specifically targeted.

- So, what do we do now? - Wait.

Most ransom calls come within the first 12 hours. We are monitoring all of your phones.