Life Episode 2.11 Canyon Flowers

Crews and Reese examine murder victim Frank Dunlap, buried up to his neck. Around his head, dianthus petals form the shape of a flower. Dunlap was shot before being buried. They find a tin of delivery food dated yesterday from Beverly Hills Cares, which includes a sugary desert. Frank's bracelet IDs him as diabetic, so the dinner wasn't his. At the charity, Mindy says Frank was their favorite driver who recently raised a ton of money for them. Frank had two delivery stops near the crime scene, for Flint Garber and Maude Paxton, who live at the same address. They visit the oddball roommates, who have not seen Frank for two days and were home last night.

Flint, Maude and Frank all have clean records. The database shows only one other murder where dianthus was found on the victim. Tidwell knows the case well: Johnny Hazlit, part of the Hazlit cult that killed ten people. Hazlit escaped conviction by dying of an overdose in 1972. The remaining Hazlits on record are in prison or dead; others went underground or disappeared. Tidwell tells them to keep it quiet, not wanting the press to think Hazlit or a copycat is out there. There's little info in the database, so Tidwell suggests dead record storage.

At Crews' suggestion, they go to the Museum of Murder and Mayhem. Crews knows about it because he went on a date there once. "It was her idea," he clarifies. They meet Squeaky and Tex, curators of the museum who met at a Ted Bundy auction. They don't have any .45 guns in their collection. Squeaky recognizes Crews, says he's two murders short of "mass murderum." Crews corrects: he's five short. Rex says there's talk about what Crews did in prison, Crews says there's talk about a lot of things. When showed his picture, both don't recognize Frank.

In the archives, they learn that Hazlit decorated his victims with dianthus but never buried any of them. All were shot with a .45, which was never found. They wonder why someone would copycat 30 years later. Reese learns that Hazlit had a bunch of kids with different women. The kids ended up in social services after Hazlit's death. At the station, further research reveals that Hazlit had eight wives and 43 children. The children taken in 1972 were given the last name Garber, the others Paxton. As in Maude Paxton and Flint Garber.

They raid the house, were Maude greets them at the door. "I guess you figured out who our pappy was," she says. She says Flint is inside with an unloaded gun, so don't shoot him. Flint tells them not to steal his stuff. Crews asks why they didn't tell him they were Hazlits; they say it's not something you advertise. Both witnessed their father's murderous acts as children. Flint says he could talk to Frank, who was the only guy who knew they were Hazlits.

They learn Flint has a son named Clifton living with them, whom they haven't seen since Monday. Flint doesn't want Clifton to know his background. When they find guns in the house, including a .45, they take the two into custody in handcuffs. Maude recalls witnessing her dad strangling a guy he had in handcuffs. Tidwell feigns ignorance to a reporter, then calls Crews and Reese to say the press have caught wind of the case. However, only they and the killer know the victim was buried up to his neck.

They find Clifton shampooing the trunk of his limousine. They determine he knows Frank, then tell him his father and aunt have been arrested for Frank's murder. Clifton doesn't buy it. His father doesn't leave the house and his aunt is "Mrs. Butterworth." He won't let them take a sample from the trunk of his limousine, which he says he keeps immaculate because it cost him everything to buy it. Regarding the guns, Clifton says his dad has a lot of junk. When asked where he was the last few days, Clifton says he was with his girlfriend, who happens to be Mindy from Beverly Hills Cares.

At the charity, Mindy, who's been dating Clifton a year, says she didn't disclose that they were dating since Clifton didn't get along with Frank. Clifton didn't think anyone could be as sweet as Frank, and it made him angry. Clifton signed them up for the program since his dad was a shut-in and his aunt forgets things. Mindy thinks Clifton hated Frank because he was afraid of his own sweetness. Reese asks her if she's afraid of Clifton's sweetness. "Not at all," she says. "Why should I be?"

At the museum, Tidwell and Starks confront Tex about leaking information to the press. Tex says a lot of people think Crews is guilty of killing that family, that there's a lot of chat online. Tex says they have a couple of display cases open in case it turns out Crews is guilty. An irritated Tidwell warns him about talking to the press. Tex, sensing a money-making opportunity, asks Starks if he has any of Crews' old belongings he wants to sell. "Shoes, a used coffee cup? Just in case." Starks isn't selling.

Crews studies his conspiracy board. Ted asks him if he's going to talk to Rayborn even though the FBI Agent Bodner said he'd go to jail if he did. Crews assures him no one is going to jail. Ted shows Crews his father's wedding invite. Crews (who hasn't talked to his father in 12 years) doesn't plan to go, and asks Ted why he'd want to go since he's in love with Olivia. Ted says he loves her. Crews suggests to Ted that it might be easier to focus on finding out who set him up for the murders.

Crews tells Rayborn he thinks he's the reason his friends were murdered and he went to jail for it. He asks why Rayborn thinks he should care that he's dying. Rayborn says for one, he might save himself a bullet, and when he's dead, he's dead. He analyzes Crews, saying he knows he can't let go of the dark and revenge even though he wants to. Rayborn shows him Agent Bodner's photo. Charlie feigns not knowing him. Rayborn knows Crews is lying, but explains that Bodner's moonlighting for Roman Nebekov, whom he knows Crews wants and Bodner took away.

Outside the station, Tidwell dodges questions about the case from a gaggle of press hungry for a sensational murder story. Squeaky glibly asks why he didn't mention the victim was buried up to his neck and the murder happened just around the corner from a houseful of Hazlits. Now the focus of the press, Squeaky gives the Hazlit's names and address and says they have a son named Clifton. Reese and Crews arrest her for knowing details only the murderer could know. All this, while Tex stands conspicuously nearby, holding up museum brochures

At the station, Squeaky says she knew the details through a leak at the LAPD. Squeaky wonders if it's a tribute murder while Tex wants to see if they can get Crews to do a guest lecture. Crews plays along, illustrating the difference between a copycat and a tribute murder. The murder wasn't a direct copy, as Frank was placed as part of a flower, so it was a tribute. They didn't know Frank, and when the murder took place they were at a Hillside Strangler auction. They clearly relish being suspects.

In the hallway, Squeaky and Tex soak up the media attention, having gotten publicity for their museum. Clifton emerges from the crowd and decks Tex. Starks nabs him and Squeaky kisses Clifton in front of the cameras: "Always wanting to know what a Hazlit tasted like." She introduces Clifton to the press. Clifton is taking the revelation hard, saying he always knew something was wrong with him. Crews assures him he's the same person as before. They escort him out the back to avoid the cameras.

Ted calls what he thinks is Olivia's cell phone and instead gets Charlie's father. When asked if he can take a message, Ted loses his nerve and says "Tell her somebody called," before hanging up. He then chastises himself for it. He's pulled over for running a red light. All seems innocuous until the cops spot a gun and baggie of coke that's clearly in view in the back seat. Ted knows it's been planted, but to the cops he just sounds like every suspect on "Cops" who swears it isn't his. They arrest him. Ted says he's on parole and is terrified at the thought of returning to prison.

Tidwell, Reese and Crews break down what they know. Maude and Flint both alibied each other, as did Squeaky and Tex. They re-examine Clifton's claim that he was with his girlfriend, just as the news shows the press hounding Mindy, who denies being in a relationship or telling the police she was dating Clifton. They question Mindy in a park as her rich dad watches. Mindy recants everything, clearly under her father's direction to throw Clifton under the bus. Crews and Reese know she is lying.

They get a call about shots being fired at the museum, and go to raid it. They find Tex dead, shot with a .45, dianthus flowers scattered on his body. Squeaky, crying and shot in the arm, says Johnny Hazlit did it. In Clifton's limo, which he now lives in, Crews and Reese question him about the shootings. He says he was in his limo all night and the waiting press hoard outside can verify it. Accepting his lineage as a Hazlit, he embraces it and the notoriety. They ask Clifton how Flint can pay his mortgage even though he never worked a day in his life. Clifton doesn't know.

Starks says there was no gunshot residue on Tex or Squeaky. In the interrogation room, they ask Flint how he pays his mortgage. Flint says he gave Frank items to sell that used to belong to his father. Frank told him the money could do a lot of good, which he thought would make him good. Flint instructed Frank to stick with foreign buyers who had the cash, and not sell to Squeaky and Tex, who didn't. Tidwell pulls them out to tell them the gun used at the museum matches the slugs pulled out of Frank. And one other thing. The prints on the grip match those of Johnny Hazlit, who's been dead 30 years.

At the museum, Squeaky enjoys brisk business as she signs posters in front of a re-creation of Tex's murder. Crews and Reese confront her about killing Frank because he was selling Hazlit memorabilia overseas instead of to her. She denies it until they put the pieces together in front of her. She wired $15,000 to Japan to buy Hazlit's original gun, then shot Tex when he was getting nervous about their alibi falling through. Crews notices a mannequin with rubber gloves and realizes they were used in the murders. Simply because Squeaky would feel compelled to since they were a real part of a murder.

At the mansion, Crews sees Agent Bodner in his kitchen cooking dinner. He asks where Ted is. Bodner asks what Rayborn said to him. Crews says that's between him and Rayborn, and Bodner asks if he remembers what he said about going to jail, then realized that might not have been a good enough threat. He tells Crews Ted is in jail for carrying coke and a gun in his car, and will be in Supermax by tomorrow. Crews says Ted can't hack another stretch. Broader says he went after Rayborn and got in. "Now you're going to stay in and do what we tell you."