Law & Order: Los Angeles Episode 1.18 Plummer Park

In the Fairfax District, Nick Libergal loads his wife Amy into the car with their two young sons for a trip to their grandparents' house, just as elderly neighbor Dorothy walks by with her groceries. Later that night, Dorothy calls the cops to complain about a car that's been empty and idling for about an hour in front of Nick's house. The two uniformed officers ring the doorbell, only to be met by two Russian guys, Mick and Iggy, and their guns. The officers quickly kill the Russians, then check the house to find Nick dead in the bathtub, dissolving in quicklime. Later, Nishizawa deduces that Nick was beaten and probably died of a heart attack before being transferred to the tub. An investigation of Mick and Iggy's duffel bag indicates that they were more interested in kidnapping than murder - maybe they used the quicklime to get rid of the corpse rather than dump it.

The idling car has nothing to offer by way of fingerprints, and the dead Russians have no Ids; however, Nick emigrated from Russia in 1988. TJ and Winters interview Dorothy, who reports that Nick was a great family man and good neighbor. She's seen a town car parked in front of the house over the last few days; it honked when the officers went to Nick's door, then zoomed off. Winters checks the town car's parking spot to find a little pile of spicy peppermint gum wrappers and cigarette butts, which can only mean surveillance. The detectives figure the gum-chewing guy is the brains of the dopey kidnapping operation. The next day, the cops question Nick's wife Amy at the station. The Libergals have little money; however Nick has a younger brother in the oil business who's rich and still living in Russia.

Homeland Security tracks Mick and Iggy to LAX Customs two weeks ago, fresh off a flight from Moscow. Homeland Security also has video, which shows the suspects meeting with a man in a fedora and a man in a baseball cap before boarding a hotel shuttle bus. On their visa applications, they listed their local contact as the Eagles & Bears Friendship Club on Fairfax, in Nick's neighborhood. Later, building manager Follick explains the office suite was rented to a Mr. Oblomov three months ago. TJ notices a cable TV bill for an address in Laurel Canyon, so the detectives proceed there to investigate. There's no sign of life in the small, remote house, but when the cops notice a spicy peppermint gum wrapper, they pull out their guns and enter the unlocked house. They find a mattress near eyehooks screwed into the floor, a shallow grave in the backyard and takeout containers from the Canyon Country Store.

The detectives proceed to the Canyon Country Store to show employee Laurie photos of their four suspects. Laurie remembers a Russian guy in a fedora who's been in twice in the last few days, paying cash both times. He had the same shopping list both times as well, except three days ago, he also wanted sanitary napkins and a hairbrush. The detectives immediately figure their kidnappers are holding a woman, and that her days are numbered. Back at RHD, the investigation goes into overdrive, but there's little in the way of leads. When TJ learns the suspects' car was recently ticketed in Hollywood, Winters points out that it's near Plummer Park, a popular spot where Russian immigrants gather to play chess.

The locals at Plummer Park do recall seeing the suspects, who weren't much good at chess and seemed to have a thing for local Anna Ackroyd, who hasn't been around the park in a few days. TJ and Winters proceed to the Ackroyd house, where they spy on Anna's nervous husband Dennis. Deciding to reach out, TJ dresses up as a deliveryman and barges into the Ackroyd house to tell Dennis they know his wife is missing. Claiming "they" are watching the house, Dennis tries to shoo TJ out the door, drawing the attention of his 15-year-old daughter Mila and Anna's uncle Andrei, visiting from Russia. When Mila blurts out that "they" are going to kill her mother, TJ slips his card to Dennis and leaves.

It's not long before the cops have surveillance on every line going into the Ackroyd house, monitoring from a nearby van. Winters tells Gonzales that Anna is a native Russian who met Dennis in Canada. They immigrated 11 years ago; he teaches math at CalTech, she's a librarian at USC. Andrei arrived from Russia two days ago, and they're guessing he's the bank. TJ thinks Mila would spill the beans if they get her alone. Realizing Mila's not in school, Gonzales has her picked up for truancy and brought to RHD. Mila confesses that her mother disappeared last week, and whoever did it ransacked their home. Afterwards, a bunch of Russian guys in masks Skyped them, asking for her mother's family to pay ransom. TJ asks Mila to email him the video file, just as her father arrives to pick her up.

It's not long before the detectives are watching the Skype video with a translator, featuring the guys in the fedora and baseball hat, asking for 10 million U.S. dollars within the week - or else. TJ notices unique stitching on one of the guys' lapels and remembers seeing it on a flyer for a tailor in the Eagles & Bears Friendship Club. The detectives proceed to visit Lenny of Brentwood, who admits making a suit for a guy named Oblomov, for whom he has only a phone number. Later, TJ and Winters join a SWAT team parked outside another remote Laurel Canyon home. When they burst through the door, they find the guy in the fedora and the guy in the baseball cap and discover Anna cowering in the bathtub. Out back, TJ finds a freshly dug grave.

At the hospital, a battered Anna doesn't want to talk about her abduction and is relieved to be reunited with her family. Meanwhile, TJ and Winters interrogate their two suspects, who prefer to take the Fifth on the list of names found in their possession until their lawyer arrives. Later, Anna and Dennis show up with their lawyer Madeline Maynard to talk about Anna's kidnapping. Apparently, Anna's uncle Andrei is quite wealthy but not prone to sharing with the poor academic side of the family in America. Dennis claims they came up with a kidnapping plan to make money for Mila's education, and no one was supposed to get hurt - that's why he didn't want the police involved. Furthermore, they won't be testifying in any kidnapping case.

The detectives question Anna's uncle Andrei, who claims his family is greedy; all this is old family business. In the observation gallery, Dekker wonders how he's going to make a case against the kidnappers without the testimony of Anna and her family. If he can't do it in the preliminary hearing, the kidnappers will be deported immediately. Winters suggests sending SID to the Ackroyd house to search for physical evidence of Anna's kidnapping. There is one odd result: a thumbprint in Andrei's room matches a print to an unknown person of interest to the FBI, entered into the system 10 years ago. FBI Agents Bossey and Rubio aren't willing to say more than the print belongs to a suspected spy handler. TJ warns them to hurry up and do something, as Andrei is booked to fly home in two days.

Now concerned that Anna and Dennis may be protecting Andrei and may not be who they say they are, TJ And Winters meet with Marie-Anne St-Cerny at the Canadian Consulate, and she's got shocking news. There are records for a Dennis Ackroyd, but he's long dead and buried. As for Anna, there's no record of her ever residing in Canada. The detectives report back to the DAs: the FBI thinks Anna and Dennis are sleeper spies, sent to America 18 years ago by the Russians - this is why they haven't wanted to cooperate. Andrei's probably their handler. Dekker decides to have the FBI arrest Anna and Dennis. Mila wants to stay home, but Winters explains she'll have to go with Family Services while the house is searched. At the FBI's office, Dekker confronts the Ackroyds. Now that their secret is out, he wants them to testify in the kidnapping case, and Anna agrees to do so.

Back at RHD, Winter and Gonzales talk to Mila, who can't believe her parents are spies - and are about to be deported or sent to jail. Later, Agent Bossey tells Dekker that the Ackroyds were recruited as college sweethearts and sent to the States to befriend academics and policy makers while gathering info on technology and politics. There's no evidence they've ever done anything wrong, and the Russians want to trade them for an American prisoner within the week. With the kidnapping trial months away, Dekker's going to have to act fast to include Anna's testimony. He meets with the suspects and their lawyer, Paul Mironov, at the LA County Jail to offer a deal: 25 years to life for pleading guilty or deportation to Russia. But the suspects know their government and figure the Ackroyds will be quickly traded and unavailable for testimony.

Forced into a Hail Mary, Dekker sets up the preliminary hearing to explain the case to Judge Cruz - the Ackroyds will only be available to testify in the next few days. Despite Mironov's protests, the judge allows Dekker to proceed. On the stand, Anna makes quick work of it, pointing out the two suspects as her kidnappers. When Dekker rests, Mironov calls Mila to the stand to impeach Anna's testimony. Mila claims that she heard her parents talking about the Libergal case, stating their regret for ever having gotten into business with the kidnappers. Later in his office, Dekker lays into Mila - implicating her parents in the kidnapping means they're guilty of murder. It turns out that Mila's mad her parents lied to her and thinks they deserve to go to jail - this way she won't have to go to Russia when they're sent back in a few days.

Dekker agrees with Mila - it's just not fair - but he's still going to put her back on the stand to tell the truth, so the kidnapping murderers don't go free. Trying to figure a way to help Mila, Dekker and Stanton meet with the Ackroyds to ask them to sign a declaration of emancipation for Mila. This way she can choose her life - even if she'll never see her parents ever again. Back in court, Mila recants her testimony, and the judge calendars the case for trial. Later that night, Stanton and Dekker are on hand as Mila says a last tearful goodbye to her parents, who board a jet to return to Russia.