Émission TV: The Closer - 7x18
I'm sorry.
We should have taken two cars.
Stop apologizing.
Really.
I didn't like the sermon anyway.
[ Chuckles ] The Closer 7x18 Drug Fiend Original Air Date on July 23, 2012 Okay, so, I'm gonna go on inside.
Uh, if you want to head on to the restaurant and I'll, uh, catch a ride back with -- No, no.
No.
No.
I am not going to brunch with your grandparents without you.
Why not?
They'll adore you.
Mm-hmm.
Like your mother does?
[ Chuckles ] [ Car door closes ] Ann, my mother loves you.
Now, that's just -- that's not true.
It -- it -- the only -- the only -- only thing you have ever done that upset my mother was -- was when you told her she rinsed the dishes off too much before putting them in the dishwasher.
And I still have nightmares about the look that she gave me.
Listen, it's very simple.
I'm not going to brunch with your family without you, by myself -- no.
I-I'll just -- I'll wait.
I'll wait here.
Okay.
I got a better idea.
[ Sighs ] You're coming in with me.
What?
No!
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
You're not just gonna wait here.
No, I'll contaminate the crime scene.
Besides, it's time you met the people I work with anyway.
The alternative to brunch with your family is murder?
Really?
Look, if you don't come inside...
Really?
...my parents are gonna think you stayed here in the car to avoid spending time with them.
Yeah, I am doing that.
That -- yes.
That's -- that's exactly what I'm doing.
Ann?
David?
== sync, corrected by elderman == [ Police radio chatter ] Uh, okay.
So, uh, why don't you just wait here while I get everything ready for the Chief?
Yeah.
Okay.
Uh...
Uh, Detective Sergeant David Gabriel, Major Crimes.
Uh, she's with me, okay?
[ Indistinct whispering ] [ Indistinct conversation ] [ Cellphone rings ] Yeah, Chief.
Okay.
Yeah.
On second floor.
Okay.
Uh, just, uh, one second.
Detective Gabriel.
Chief.
What do we know?
Well, our victim's name is Dr.
Christopher Brady.
He's 41 years old.
He's a board-certified gastroenterology oncologist.
I think I said that right.
So, that's what?
Cancers of the stomach?
Uh, colon, intestines...
that sort of thing.
Dr.
Brady lives alone.
He's unmarried, originally from Florida.
He shares this office with a Dr.
Stephen Parr, also an oncologist specializing in cancers of the head and neck.
Cancers of the head and neck.
I guess that includes thyroids.
Is your father still struggling?
Yes, he is.
Um, and the, uh, body was found by?
Uh, by a janitor cleaning the infusion room this morning at 9:15 a.m.
He called 911.
They called us.
Okay.
Oh, you're wearing a flower.
Oh.
Boutonniere.
My grandmother pinned it on me this morning before we went to church.
Oh, I'm sorry that we called you away from services.
Provenza: Don't worry.
They'll be open next Sunday, too.
Uh, so I just, uh, got word that Dr.
Parr, who was our victim's partner, is on his way in.
He'll be here in a few minutes.
Okay.
Uh, Chief?
Mm-hmm?
Um, this is, uh, Ann Mason.
Deputy Chief Johnson.
And, uh, what do you do here, Ann?
I -- oh, no.
Um, I'm David's girlfriend.
David who?
David Gab-- Gabriel?
[ Chuckles ] Oh! "
David"!
[ Chuckles ] I see.
Yeah, I, uh, I rode with Ann to church this morning, so I don't have my car.
Oh, right.
O-o-okay.
Um, well, pardon us, Ann, uh, while we go check on our murder victim.
I'll have David back shortly.
I'll...wait here.
Be right back.
Yeah.
[ Sighs ] Blunt-force trauma to the head.
Whatever the weapon was, Chief, we've searched the entire office.
We had patrol look at the garage and the dumpsters.
No luck.
Head wound's not what killed him, though.
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
He was beaten and strangled?
With this, Chief -- I.V.
tubing.
Makes a really good garrote.
Time of death?
Between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
last night, give or take.
Thank you, Kendall.
What was a doctor doing in here in the middle of the night on a weekend?
Well, he administered, uh, chemotherapy on Saturday, too.
Staff?
One nurse, Chief.
She says she left early yesterday to meet her sister for dinner.
We're confirming that right now.
Security cameras?
They only run live feeds.
Nothing's saved.
[ Sighs ] So the killer could be anyone.
We don't know who.
Do we know why?
Well, maybe.
There are cabinets and coolers back there, and all their shelves have drug names on them, but they're empty.
Chief, some of the missing medications are chemotherapy agents, but they also have morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl.
Opiates.
Dr.
Parr: I told Chris this would happen.
Told Chris what would happen?
That if he insisted on treating addicts and homeless people, we'd have trouble.
Whoever killed him probably didn't even look to see what drugs they were taking.
Oh, my God.
If I can't infuse people tomorrow, this is the kind of thing that could ruin our business.
You consider treating cancer a business?
I'm sorry.
Do you wear that badge for free?
Yes.
Treating cancer patients is how I make my living.
And when people choose me, hoping that I can cure them, and they have to sit in this waiting room next to some street person who's just pissed his pants because he's too high to remember to get up to go to the bathroom, that's bad.
Also bad?
People coming in for chemo tomorrow, and I don't have any medications to give them.
Okay.
Uh, let's start at the beginning.
According to Dr.
Brady's phone records, he had one personal appointment around the time of the murder, a "W.
Sanders"?
Wally.
Wally Sanders.
One of Chris' wholesale drug suppliers.
Okay, uh, we'll track down Mr.
Sanders.
Now, all I need from you is a list of everyone who was here for treatment yesterday.
I can't give you that.
Why not?
HIPAA, David.
Excuse me?
HIP-- HIPAA.
Um, health insurance portability and accountability act.
It severely restricts patient records, but if you -- Uh.
So sorry.
One second.
Um, David?
Yep.
Is -- is Ann an attorney?
Uh, no.
Not yet.
She's studying to take the bar.
Mm-hmm.
You're dating a lawyer?
Who I met in church.
That's supposed to make it better?
Okay, look.
Please.
Let's not -- look, doctor, no one wants to violate federal law, but if we're going to find out who killed Chris and where your medications went -- You know, actually, if the police ask the D.A.
to draw up a warrant assigning a Special master, then you can examine medical records.
Pardon me.
David, why don't you go with Ann somewhere where she could more freely explain how a Special Master might work in this situation?
Yeah.
Thank you.
And, uh, make sure to write it all down, would you?
I don't want to miss a word.
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Look, doctor, I don't need to know why a person was here.
I just need their names.
We will pursue waivers for medical records on an as-needed basis.
Flynn: If you could just make a list of names of people who might have been upset with Dr.
Brady and a contact list of next of kin.
I don't have time for this right now.
I have medications I need to replace for tomorrow...
Doctor, no one is coming here tomorrow.
...Extra help to call in to get my infusion room -- to set it up -- you're going to have to send your patients somewhere else.
I am not going to expose myself to liability issues.
Sir, this office is a crime scene, and it will remain closed until we process it.
Is there something wrong with your hearing, or do you just not care about people with cancer?
Oh, you don't want to answer that, so you just walk off?
Hey.
You want some answers?
I'll give you some answers.
Her father's recovering from cancer right now, so do you have any more genius questions?
Provenza: Just do what we ask.
Write down who was here yesterday, anybody that was upset with Dr.
Brady, and his next of kin.
Until I get my office back, you get jack.
[ Clipboard thuds ] Uh, so, Chief, turns out our victim fired one of his nurses last week -- a woman named Lori Shaw.
Do we know why she was let go?
No, ma'am.
But I told her we needed to get a set of elimination prints from her.
She's in interview room 2.
Do you want me to talk to her?
No.
No.
We'll both go.
Uh...
Would you please let Lieutenant Provenza know that I'm waiting for an update from him?
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you so much.
[ Sighs ] So now it's not just your mother.
Your boss hates me, too.
No, she's just...
really focused on the murder right now.
And my mom loves you.
Oh [Scoffs] She does!
Don't.
David.
[ Sighs ] [ Door opens ] Lori Shaw?
I'm Deputy Chief Johnson.
Thank you so much for giving up some of your Sunday to talk to us.
I can only imagine how you must feel after working for Dr.
Brady for how long?
Three years.
Look, can I ask?
Was his murder in any way drug-related?
And why would you think that, ma'am?
About two weeks ago, I was looking through some charts when I noticed what looked like some creative accounting.
You mean fraud?
I don't know.
[ Sighs ] Dr.
Brady was one of the most caring physicians I'd ever worked for.
But...he hadn't been himself lately.
First, we lost a few more patients than we usually do.
That happens, but then these odd prescription orders turned up.
And you asked Dr.
Brady about them?
Oh.
Pardon me for interrupting.
Did Major Crimes tell a Dr.
Parr that he could not infuse cancer patients at his office tomorrow morning?
Yes.
We're still processing the scene.
And Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza were left behind to...
talk the doctor into cooperating?
Well, yes.
Why?
Because Chief Pope is driving in right now to talk about how he would like Major Crimes to...proceed.
Lori as a nurse, I completely understood his commitment to the poor and to the sick, and I admired him for it.
Dr.
Brady hated the idea of people dying just because it was too expensive to cure them.
But when I told him that I-I thought he was taking this innovative billing a little too far, he said that I could either quit or he would have to fire me.
So I left.
Buzz: Chief?
Sorry.
Captain Raydor would like a word.
[ Door closes ] I-if you thought that Dr.
Brady was breaking the law, why didn't you contact the authorities?
You know how hard it is for a nurse to get hired anywhere else after they've reported a doctor for scamming Medicare?
For scamming Medicare?
And how did Dr.
Brady do that?
By ordering lots of expensive prescriptions his patients didn't need.
And what made you so sure that these drugs were unnecessary?
Because the patients that Dr.
Brady was ordering them for didn't exist.
Well, I just transferred...
What's wrong?
Let's not use the word "wrong."
Let's say the situation has become complex.
What situation?
Am I the only one who remembers that federal lawsuit we settled?
Absent the appointment of a Special Master, the HIPAA statute -- Excuse me.
I'm not asking for patient information!
[ Door closes ] Should I apologize for being right?
[ Sighing ] Oh, God.
Brenda: Do you know how long it takes to get a warrant with a Special Master?
12 to 16 hours.
Yeah, and it has to be done through the D.D.A.'s office.
Which is why I called D.D.A.
Hobbs and asked her to rush it through to tomorrow.
There.
Happy?!
No.
No, I'm not.
That only gets a Special Master appointed.
It could take days -- weeks, even -- to sort through what we need.
And if Dr.
Brady was killed because he was providing medications for "fictitious" patients, which is what a nurse he just fired told us was happening -- This nurse was let go.
It could be she's holding a grudge.
Well, something you would know about.
What?
Raydor: Uh, pardon me.
Commander Taylor, you've got good news.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
Flynn and Provenza, they got Dr.
Parr to come downtown.
They're hoping that maybe you can talk him into being more helpful.
And am I supposed to do something in return for the honor of Dr.
Parr's company?
Look, this doctor's office is a legal mine field.
If we interfere with treatment, any one of his patients could sue us.
I don't have time to process a crime scene before tomorrow morning.
Then look for the missing drugs!
Find out what they might have to do with this murder.
Establish a timeline.
Let the system work!
[ Exhales sharply ] [ Clears throat ] Try to help her understand, okay?
Seriously.
[ Door slams ] When is Dr.
Parr arriving?
Uh, any minute.
Look, though you heard the Chief order us to give this man back his infusion room, I, uh, I may have neglected to mention that to Dr.
Parr before I invited him downtown.
Thank you.
Thank you, Commander.
Gives you a fighting chance, right?
Anyway, good luck.
[ Door closes ] Captain, I thought you were still monitoring my division because of the leak.
Is there some other agenda I don't know about?
Chief Pope didn't tell you?
Tell me what?
I'm now supposed to inform the D.A.'s office every time Major Crimes rolls out for a homicide.
I thought you knew.
I didn't.
[ Knock on door ] Yes!
Excuse me, Chief.
Wally Sanders is here.
Who is that?
The wholesale pharmaceutical supplier for Dr.
Brady.
Oh, right.
You found his name on the victim's cellphone calendar, maybe the last person to see him alive?
Yes, of course.
Thank you.
I'll be right there.
[ Door closes ] Does Chief pope really want a D.D.A.
involved in all my cases from the very beginning?
Why?
The Chief believes he's about to be appointed to his own full term.
He will move upstairs.
He will be further removed from day-to-day supervision of divisions.
Yeah, so now he's saddling me with as many babysitters as possible, is that it?
I'm keeping the D.A.'s office busy with the Special Master.
D.D.A.
Hobbs won't even be able to cross the street before tomorrow afternoon.
At the earliest.
Well, it's nice to know that you and Commander Taylor are running interference for me.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
[ Door opens, closes ] I-I don't know if I can be much help.
You know, I don't deliver the kind of drugs that people want to steal.
And besides, I hardly ever meet the patients.
Well, this is a complete list of all the medications you dropped off yesterday.
Five prescriptions?
Yeah, Dr.
Brady's order for Saturday was small, but it -- it varies from week to week.
Man...
it's really awful.
He was one of the good guys.
I don't know where a lot of his patients are gonna go.
Won't Dr.
Parr take them?
No.
Well, you see, they treat different kinds of cancers, and they have different approaches.
Chris would -- Dr.
Brady, he -- he would see sick people regardless of whether or not they could pay.
It's one of the reasons he got the medications through me.
I mean, even with my discounts, cancer drugs are not cheap.
You sell discount chemotherapy?
Chief, Mr.
Sanders' company serves as a link between large pharmacies and doctors' offices.
Some of these medications have a very short shelf life.
So rather than let them go bad when they're not selling, the company I work for gets them out to the doctors at steeply reduced prices.
Well, if they're used before they expire, the efficacy of the medications is the same.
Actually, it's the expiration date that makes stealing what I delivered yesterday even crazier.
I mean, unless you were gonna deliver those drugs to several patients by next Friday -- But they are expensive.
Here's one for $10,000 a dose.
[ Chuckling ] That's the discounted price.
Well [sighs] if what you charge is reduced, what do the doctors charge?
Well, it depends.
Dr.
Brady would pass on the discount.
Dr.
Parr has a vacation home in Napa.
Look, what they bill their patients is not my business, really.
But I don't deliver to Dr.
Parr anymore, if that tells you anything.
Well, what about other doctors?
Would a thief sell to -- No, reputable physicians would never even consider getting these drugs outside the system.
I mean, there's people's lives at stake.
Plus they have to get approval from the insurance company and Medicare before the drugs are even delivered.
And they have paperwork for the billing.
[ Cellphone ringing ] Uh...
Oh, I'm so sorry, uh, Mr.
Sanders.
Thank you so much.
[ Exhales sharply ] Mama?
I need to call you back.
I'm right in the middle of something.
I-is Daddy okay?
Um, all right, then.
I'll call you tomorrow.
All right.
You may not be aware of this, but I'm very good friends with the city attorney.
I saved his mother's life.
The city attorney doesn't work here, doctor, And he told me that if I ever - so I don't have to do anything he says.
I'm warning you, if I don't get to infuse my patients tomorrow, I will give him a call -- let's not threaten each other, Doctor.
Why don't we make a deal?
You give me a list of every person who entered your office yesterday, and in return, I will give you access to your infusion room.
I've already told you -- medical records are protected by -- I'm not asking you to identify any individual as a patient.
I'm asking for a list.
Names, addresses, phone numbers, please.
I'm not sure I can do that legally.
Well, why don't we ask the expert?
You remember Ann...
Gabriel.
Ann originally brought up the HIPAA statute.
That's because she is a lawyer who advises the L.A.P.D.
on medical issues.
Ann, if Dr.
Parr doesn't identify any individual as a patient, is it legal for him to -- wait!
You're holding my infusion room as hostage to your investiga-- I'm not holding anything hostage, sir!
You are.
I'm offering you a choice.
If you think it's tough now, wait until we have a court-appointed Special Master.
Yeah, and we have somebody going through every file in your office.
Will we discover that you were buying some of your drugs at discount while charging your patients full price?
There's nothing illegal about that.
Or that Dr.
Brady was submitting paperwork to Medicare for imaginary patients?
Does HIPAA cover them too?
It's not true.
He wasn't -- If we pass that allegation on to the feds -- No, no, no.
It wasn't like that.
Chris would never commit fraud.
Never.
Maybe we should have the FBI confirm that.
Of course, there's a chance the media could get the story first.
Gee, I wonder what that would mean to your business.
Brenda: Or you could give us the names, and we will get waivers allowing us to examine their medical records.
And by cooperating here, I incur no liability?
Oh, I...
don't...
see why you would.
Look, I think that you could have even more problems if your patients don't receive their treatments, Doctor.
Fine.
I'll give you the names.
Just try and be discreet.
Oh, Doctor.
Discretion's my specialty.
[ Sighs ] I mean, it's one thing to hear you talk about it, but watching your boss in person is just...
she's intense.
Yeah, well, I mean, it's for the right reason, though.
I mean, don't forget the dead doctor.
Whoever killed him is pretty intense, too.
And if it's a drug user, once they've gone this far, they'll do it again.
You know, on a brighter note, you were here long enough to avoid meeting my grandparents.
Oh, well, they're here till Friday, so I think we'll have plenty of time to tell everyone about our new living arrangements.
Oh.
[ Chuckles ] Oh.
Oh.
Uh, Ann.
Uh...
Hi.
[ Exhales sharply ] Oh.
Are you leaving so soon?
Well, ask Chief Johnson how soon it feels.
Leaving too late, maybe.
[ Sighs ] Uh, should I come back to get you?
Uh, no, no.
With all the medical records we're gonna be getting, it's gonna take some time.
I'll, uh, I'll just see you when I get home.
Okay.
All right.
Bye.
Uh, good night.
Uh...bye.
Bye.
[ Chuckling ] You live together.
Uh, well, yeah.
Four days ago, we decided to combine our resources.
But, uh, we've been dating for about a year now.
You know, felt like it was time.
You know, I haven't told my family yet.
I'd actually appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else around here, knowing what people think about lawyers.
Married one myself.
Really?
Well, technically, he was a lawyer.
First, he passed the bar, then he spent the next 10 years drinking in one till he gave that up for gambling.
So, what, you're divorced?
Separated.
For 20 years.
It's all very Catholic.
Um, Detective, uh, for what it's worth, I find from time to time a lawyer's opinion on what I'm doing is worth hearing.
Oh, yeah, I get Ann's point of view on everything, whether I want it or not, frankly.
It's more the opinions of the people around here that I'm not interested in dealing with right now.
Secret's safe with me.
Thank you, Captain.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, Detective?
Yeah.
This is D.D.A.
Hobbs' application for a Special Master.
It needs a signature and needs a little more information.
Would you mind walking Chief Johnson through it for me?
I think she's, uh, seen enough of me today.
Yeah.
No problem.
I will, uh, get it to Hobbs myself.
Good.
Thank you.
You're welcome, Captain.
[ Beep ] Just tell me what you're searching for.
Maybe we wouldn't have to fax over every single page of every patient's records.
I am looking for the murderer, Doctor.
I'm so sorry.
I know that this has been an enormous imposition on your time, but we are almost finished talking to Dr.
Brady's patients.
What makes you so sure Chris' killer was someone from Saturday's appointments?
Maybe he was murdered by someone just walking in off the street.
'Cause after smashing Dr.
Brady on the head, someone off the streets would have grabbed the drugs and run.
Instead, your partner was strangled to death.
With I.V.
tubing.
A regular thief would have come in with his own weapons.
Our murderer improvised with stuff he found around the office, stuff that he might have known was there.
Which indicates that Dr.
Brady knew and recognized his killer and that the killer knew him, which is why the less helpful you are, the more worried you make me.
I always thought Dr.
Brady would be coming to funeral.
And here I am going to his.
Can never be too sure of anything in this lifetime, can you?
And you have no idea who his killer is?
No, ma'am.
Not yet.
Tao: If you could sign this waiver, we'll have Dr.
Parr here fax us your medical records.
Um, it could help us.
Oh.
You just had your chemotherapy yesterday, miss...?
Um, l-Lee.
Rita Lee.
Yes.
I feel pretty good, all things considered.
Dr.
Brady was an amazing oncologist.
He really cared about people.
I guess now I'll just have to go back to the city clinic, and the rash will come back, and my hair will fall out again -- the side effects I get when those people treat me.
The presence or absence of side effects has nothing to do with the standardized delivery of chemotherapy agents.
Individual results vary based on the -- You would say that, wouldn't you?
Your patients suffer terribly.
God!
I've seen them, what you put those people through!
Okay, I'm sorry.
Um, I'll sign.
You can get my medical records.
I hope it helps you find out why someone would murder a doctor who helped cancer patients stop from feeling sick all the time.
What's the matter, Doctor?
Unless he asked me something specific, I never bothered with Chris' patients.
Since you have their records, I'd like a chance to look at them, too.
We have our own experts looking at them.
What do you want to see?
Regardless of what you think of me, when it comes to the side effects of cancer therapies, I'm probably one of the most highly regarded physicians in the country.
Really?
Yes, really.
Check it out.
That woman was infused yesterday.
Look at her.
She seems...fine.
And I'd like to know why.
That's because she wasn't taking chemotherapy -- at all.
Rita said she was.
And the nurse's records indicate that she had a regular dose yesterday.
Uh, I can go into a lot of technical detail, but let's just keep it simple.
See that number?
That's Ms.
Lee's carcinoembryonic antigen level.
That's your idea of keeping it simple?
Sorry.
You don't have to learn the terms.
All you need to know is a couple of numbers.
First, Ms.
Lee's current carcinoembryonic antigen level is at 106, and on the drug she's been taking for the past three months, that number should be less than three.
So, w-what does that mean?
It means she has metastatic stage-three pancreatic cancer and she's not being treated for it.
Why would Dr.
Brady just pretend he was giving her the drug?
Oh, well, we could ask him, but, oh, hey, wait, he's back at the morgue.
No chemotherapy explains no side effects.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Across the board.
All these people.
What?
Dr.
Brady's been withholding chemotherapy from every one of his patients.
Provenza: Hmm.
Say you found out that Dr.
Brady hadn't been giving you the drug that's supposed to save your life.
That's a good motive for murder.
The nurse said he'd lost more patients than usual recently.
Dr.
Morales: I'm not surprised.
M-maybe you should exhume the bodies of some of these patients and see what -- Whoa.
Whoa.
Exhuming bodies?
What are you doing here?
It's Sunday night!
I might ask you the same thing.
Unless you think your killer's gonna murder again, I can't justify this overtime.
He could be killing a lot more people than we know.
Might be worth staying late just to strike Medicare fraud off your list of possible offenses.
Why?
Fritz: 'Cause there isn't any.
Dr.
Brady may have been buying drugs for nonexistent patients, but he was paying for them out of his own pocket.
What?
So, Dr.
Brady ordered false prescriptions from Medicare, filled those prescriptions with drugs near their expiration date, paid for them out of his own pocket, and then deliberately withheld them from his patients?
Hmm.
That's an interesting question...
which I think could be answered tomorrow.
I know Mama, don't you worry.
We're gonna get daddy better.
I promise you..
No, no, no.
The tickets are all paid for.
You just show up at the airport with your I.D.
If -- if you can get him here, I have a plan.
Yes.
I know.
I hear him calling.
Well, tell him I love him, and he needs to go with me on this, okay?
Yeah.
All right.
[ Stammers ] I love you, too.
Okay.
I -- okay.
I'll see y'all real soon.
Bye now.
You really think your dad's in good enough shape to come all the way here from Atlanta tomorrow?
The doctor's not gonna fly out there to see him, I can tell you that.
You didn't get much sleep last night.
How could you tell?
'Cause you kept me awake.
I'm sorry.
It's just finding all these people with cancer who thought they were getting better weren't even being treated.
Honey, that -- that could happen to daddy, too.
He's not feeling any better.
He's cancer-free.
But feeling worse than he was when he was sick.
[ Sighs ] And there's this other thing.
What other thing?
You were right about Pope all along.
Oh?
He's not trustworthy.
In fact, he's a jerk!
He's always been a jerk.
I'm sorry.
What did he do now?
Now he's about to be made Chief for life or something and -- and -- and he's got the D.A.
watching over me and -- and -- and Raydor and I don't know who else.
And I just...
feel like such an idiot.
I may not have done right by everyone in my life, but I have always given my professional best to Will.
And I've always, always done everything he told me to do.
[ Chuckling ] You have?
No, you have.
You have.
Just assuming that he had my back, but he doesn't.
He doesn't have my back.
It's -- it's really upsetting.
I'm...
I'm really upset.
Well, I can see that.
And, hey, I'm not gonna sit here and defend Pope.
You can't.
He has no defense.
Will Pope is a selfish bastard.
Yes, he is!
Kind of guy who always puts his career before everything.
Well...yes.
That's exactly right.
And I feel your pain.
I do.
I really do.
It's hurtful, isn't it, when someone thinks their job -- I mean, their job -- is more important than what another person might want or need?
Is there anyone else we know who you think might sometimes behave like that?
Hmm?
Anyone?
Oh, my gosh.
Doctors!
They're all like that, aren't they?
Well, doctors, yeah.
But, um -- Maybe Dr.
Parr's more like his partner than we know.
[ Thud ] I said I wanted to examine Chris' files last night, and you wouldn't let me.
Today, I need to be working with the people in my own practice.
You're lucky I haven't shut your practice down.
I have a Special Master warrant ready to go, and as soon as I have access to your patients' charts -- My patients?
Why would you want to be looking at my patients?
To find out if they've been dying like Dr.
Brady's were.
Is that what's been happening, sir?
It's very straightforward, really.
You draw the medication from a vial with a syringe, inject it into a bag of saline, and administer the drug through an I.V.
drip.
The system should work as designed, but...
but sometimes we have mistakes.
Awful mistakes.
So, last night, after observing Ms.
Lee's asymptomatic responses to the chemo, I went back to my office and looked at my own files from last year.
What did you find?
What I thought I'd find.
A period during which many patients seemed not to properly absorb the chemo, when instead of improving, people died.
I felt errors may have been made, but I was afraid that if I brought attention to the problem, that -- You'd be sued.
[ Sighs ] Yes, I'd be sued.
I deal with life and death on a daily basis.
I can be taken to court where even if I win, I lose.
My liability insurance goes up.
I-I have to explain myself over and over to medical boards, my peers.
And if I ever find myself in circumstances where I can't properly clear my name, nothing is the same after that.
I'm sure Chris was thinking the same thing, too.
In fact, when his nurse told me that he had ordered medications for patients that didn't really exist, I wondered if he was thinking of testing those drugs to see if they were real.
W-what drugs are we talking about here?
The drugs he got from Wally Sanders.
I suspected they were fake.
How could he get away with that?
Wally controls all the paperwork.
He has access to the original packaging, so counterfeiting it would be simple enough.
As for the rest, we just...trusted the words.
What words? "
Use as directed."
If we can't even believe in that, I...
At $10,000 a dose...
Wally could be making millions.
Millions?
How many oncologists does he serve?
He delivers drugs to San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara -- my God.
I should have reported him instead of just dropping him as a supplier.
But if I had been wrong...
Detective, we need a warrant.
Yeah.
Sanders' home, business office, everything.
I'm on it, Chief.
[ Indistinct conversation ] Dr.
Royce, I don't know how I swung it, but I managed to fill your entire order this week.
Well, I can't wait to take a look at it.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I thought you were Dr.
Royce.
And Dr.
Royce thought
We should have taken two cars.
Stop apologizing.
Really.
I didn't like the sermon anyway.
[ Chuckles ] The Closer 7x18 Drug Fiend Original Air Date on July 23, 2012 Okay, so, I'm gonna go on inside.
Uh, if you want to head on to the restaurant and I'll, uh, catch a ride back with -- No, no.
No.
No.
I am not going to brunch with your grandparents without you.
Why not?
They'll adore you.
Mm-hmm.
Like your mother does?
[ Chuckles ] [ Car door closes ] Ann, my mother loves you.
Now, that's just -- that's not true.
It -- it -- the only -- the only -- only thing you have ever done that upset my mother was -- was when you told her she rinsed the dishes off too much before putting them in the dishwasher.
And I still have nightmares about the look that she gave me.
Listen, it's very simple.
I'm not going to brunch with your family without you, by myself -- no.
I-I'll just -- I'll wait.
I'll wait here.
Okay.
I got a better idea.
[ Sighs ] You're coming in with me.
What?
No!
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
You're not just gonna wait here.
No, I'll contaminate the crime scene.
Besides, it's time you met the people I work with anyway.
The alternative to brunch with your family is murder?
Really?
Look, if you don't come inside...
Really?
...my parents are gonna think you stayed here in the car to avoid spending time with them.
Yeah, I am doing that.
That -- yes.
That's -- that's exactly what I'm doing.
Ann?
David?
== sync, corrected by elderman == [ Police radio chatter ] Uh, okay.
So, uh, why don't you just wait here while I get everything ready for the Chief?
Yeah.
Okay.
Uh...
Uh, Detective Sergeant David Gabriel, Major Crimes.
Uh, she's with me, okay?
[ Indistinct whispering ] [ Indistinct conversation ] [ Cellphone rings ] Yeah, Chief.
Okay.
Yeah.
On second floor.
Okay.
Uh, just, uh, one second.
Detective Gabriel.
Chief.
What do we know?
Well, our victim's name is Dr.
Christopher Brady.
He's 41 years old.
He's a board-certified gastroenterology oncologist.
I think I said that right.
So, that's what?
Cancers of the stomach?
Uh, colon, intestines...
that sort of thing.
Dr.
Brady lives alone.
He's unmarried, originally from Florida.
He shares this office with a Dr.
Stephen Parr, also an oncologist specializing in cancers of the head and neck.
Cancers of the head and neck.
I guess that includes thyroids.
Is your father still struggling?
Yes, he is.
Um, and the, uh, body was found by?
Uh, by a janitor cleaning the infusion room this morning at 9:15 a.m.
He called 911.
They called us.
Okay.
Oh, you're wearing a flower.
Oh.
Boutonniere.
My grandmother pinned it on me this morning before we went to church.
Oh, I'm sorry that we called you away from services.
Provenza: Don't worry.
They'll be open next Sunday, too.
Uh, so I just, uh, got word that Dr.
Parr, who was our victim's partner, is on his way in.
He'll be here in a few minutes.
Okay.
Uh, Chief?
Mm-hmm?
Um, this is, uh, Ann Mason.
Deputy Chief Johnson.
And, uh, what do you do here, Ann?
I -- oh, no.
Um, I'm David's girlfriend.
David who?
David Gab-- Gabriel?
[ Chuckles ] Oh! "
David"!
[ Chuckles ] I see.
Yeah, I, uh, I rode with Ann to church this morning, so I don't have my car.
Oh, right.
O-o-okay.
Um, well, pardon us, Ann, uh, while we go check on our murder victim.
I'll have David back shortly.
I'll...wait here.
Be right back.
Yeah.
[ Sighs ] Blunt-force trauma to the head.
Whatever the weapon was, Chief, we've searched the entire office.
We had patrol look at the garage and the dumpsters.
No luck.
Head wound's not what killed him, though.
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
He was beaten and strangled?
With this, Chief -- I.V.
tubing.
Makes a really good garrote.
Time of death?
Between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
last night, give or take.
Thank you, Kendall.
What was a doctor doing in here in the middle of the night on a weekend?
Well, he administered, uh, chemotherapy on Saturday, too.
Staff?
One nurse, Chief.
She says she left early yesterday to meet her sister for dinner.
We're confirming that right now.
Security cameras?
They only run live feeds.
Nothing's saved.
[ Sighs ] So the killer could be anyone.
We don't know who.
Do we know why?
Well, maybe.
There are cabinets and coolers back there, and all their shelves have drug names on them, but they're empty.
Chief, some of the missing medications are chemotherapy agents, but they also have morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl.
Opiates.
Dr.
Parr: I told Chris this would happen.
Told Chris what would happen?
That if he insisted on treating addicts and homeless people, we'd have trouble.
Whoever killed him probably didn't even look to see what drugs they were taking.
Oh, my God.
If I can't infuse people tomorrow, this is the kind of thing that could ruin our business.
You consider treating cancer a business?
I'm sorry.
Do you wear that badge for free?
Yes.
Treating cancer patients is how I make my living.
And when people choose me, hoping that I can cure them, and they have to sit in this waiting room next to some street person who's just pissed his pants because he's too high to remember to get up to go to the bathroom, that's bad.
Also bad?
People coming in for chemo tomorrow, and I don't have any medications to give them.
Okay.
Uh, let's start at the beginning.
According to Dr.
Brady's phone records, he had one personal appointment around the time of the murder, a "W.
Sanders"?
Wally.
Wally Sanders.
One of Chris' wholesale drug suppliers.
Okay, uh, we'll track down Mr.
Sanders.
Now, all I need from you is a list of everyone who was here for treatment yesterday.
I can't give you that.
Why not?
HIPAA, David.
Excuse me?
HIP-- HIPAA.
Um, health insurance portability and accountability act.
It severely restricts patient records, but if you -- Uh.
So sorry.
One second.
Um, David?
Yep.
Is -- is Ann an attorney?
Uh, no.
Not yet.
She's studying to take the bar.
Mm-hmm.
You're dating a lawyer?
Who I met in church.
That's supposed to make it better?
Okay, look.
Please.
Let's not -- look, doctor, no one wants to violate federal law, but if we're going to find out who killed Chris and where your medications went -- You know, actually, if the police ask the D.A.
to draw up a warrant assigning a Special master, then you can examine medical records.
Pardon me.
David, why don't you go with Ann somewhere where she could more freely explain how a Special Master might work in this situation?
Yeah.
Thank you.
And, uh, make sure to write it all down, would you?
I don't want to miss a word.
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Look, doctor, I don't need to know why a person was here.
I just need their names.
We will pursue waivers for medical records on an as-needed basis.
Flynn: If you could just make a list of names of people who might have been upset with Dr.
Brady and a contact list of next of kin.
I don't have time for this right now.
I have medications I need to replace for tomorrow...
Doctor, no one is coming here tomorrow.
...Extra help to call in to get my infusion room -- to set it up -- you're going to have to send your patients somewhere else.
I am not going to expose myself to liability issues.
Sir, this office is a crime scene, and it will remain closed until we process it.
Is there something wrong with your hearing, or do you just not care about people with cancer?
Oh, you don't want to answer that, so you just walk off?
Hey.
You want some answers?
I'll give you some answers.
Her father's recovering from cancer right now, so do you have any more genius questions?
Provenza: Just do what we ask.
Write down who was here yesterday, anybody that was upset with Dr.
Brady, and his next of kin.
Until I get my office back, you get jack.
[ Clipboard thuds ] Uh, so, Chief, turns out our victim fired one of his nurses last week -- a woman named Lori Shaw.
Do we know why she was let go?
No, ma'am.
But I told her we needed to get a set of elimination prints from her.
She's in interview room 2.
Do you want me to talk to her?
No.
No.
We'll both go.
Uh...
Would you please let Lieutenant Provenza know that I'm waiting for an update from him?
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you so much.
[ Sighs ] So now it's not just your mother.
Your boss hates me, too.
No, she's just...
really focused on the murder right now.
And my mom loves you.
Oh [Scoffs] She does!
Don't.
David.
[ Sighs ] [ Door opens ] Lori Shaw?
I'm Deputy Chief Johnson.
Thank you so much for giving up some of your Sunday to talk to us.
I can only imagine how you must feel after working for Dr.
Brady for how long?
Three years.
Look, can I ask?
Was his murder in any way drug-related?
And why would you think that, ma'am?
About two weeks ago, I was looking through some charts when I noticed what looked like some creative accounting.
You mean fraud?
I don't know.
[ Sighs ] Dr.
Brady was one of the most caring physicians I'd ever worked for.
But...he hadn't been himself lately.
First, we lost a few more patients than we usually do.
That happens, but then these odd prescription orders turned up.
And you asked Dr.
Brady about them?
Oh.
Pardon me for interrupting.
Did Major Crimes tell a Dr.
Parr that he could not infuse cancer patients at his office tomorrow morning?
Yes.
We're still processing the scene.
And Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza were left behind to...
talk the doctor into cooperating?
Well, yes.
Why?
Because Chief Pope is driving in right now to talk about how he would like Major Crimes to...proceed.
Lori as a nurse, I completely understood his commitment to the poor and to the sick, and I admired him for it.
Dr.
Brady hated the idea of people dying just because it was too expensive to cure them.
But when I told him that I-I thought he was taking this innovative billing a little too far, he said that I could either quit or he would have to fire me.
So I left.
Buzz: Chief?
Sorry.
Captain Raydor would like a word.
[ Door closes ] I-if you thought that Dr.
Brady was breaking the law, why didn't you contact the authorities?
You know how hard it is for a nurse to get hired anywhere else after they've reported a doctor for scamming Medicare?
For scamming Medicare?
And how did Dr.
Brady do that?
By ordering lots of expensive prescriptions his patients didn't need.
And what made you so sure that these drugs were unnecessary?
Because the patients that Dr.
Brady was ordering them for didn't exist.
Well, I just transferred...
What's wrong?
Let's not use the word "wrong."
Let's say the situation has become complex.
What situation?
Am I the only one who remembers that federal lawsuit we settled?
Absent the appointment of a Special Master, the HIPAA statute -- Excuse me.
I'm not asking for patient information!
[ Door closes ] Should I apologize for being right?
[ Sighing ] Oh, God.
Brenda: Do you know how long it takes to get a warrant with a Special Master?
12 to 16 hours.
Yeah, and it has to be done through the D.D.A.'s office.
Which is why I called D.D.A.
Hobbs and asked her to rush it through to tomorrow.
There.
Happy?!
No.
No, I'm not.
That only gets a Special Master appointed.
It could take days -- weeks, even -- to sort through what we need.
And if Dr.
Brady was killed because he was providing medications for "fictitious" patients, which is what a nurse he just fired told us was happening -- This nurse was let go.
It could be she's holding a grudge.
Well, something you would know about.
What?
Raydor: Uh, pardon me.
Commander Taylor, you've got good news.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
Flynn and Provenza, they got Dr.
Parr to come downtown.
They're hoping that maybe you can talk him into being more helpful.
And am I supposed to do something in return for the honor of Dr.
Parr's company?
Look, this doctor's office is a legal mine field.
If we interfere with treatment, any one of his patients could sue us.
I don't have time to process a crime scene before tomorrow morning.
Then look for the missing drugs!
Find out what they might have to do with this murder.
Establish a timeline.
Let the system work!
[ Exhales sharply ] [ Clears throat ] Try to help her understand, okay?
Seriously.
[ Door slams ] When is Dr.
Parr arriving?
Uh, any minute.
Look, though you heard the Chief order us to give this man back his infusion room, I, uh, I may have neglected to mention that to Dr.
Parr before I invited him downtown.
Thank you.
Thank you, Commander.
Gives you a fighting chance, right?
Anyway, good luck.
[ Door closes ] Captain, I thought you were still monitoring my division because of the leak.
Is there some other agenda I don't know about?
Chief Pope didn't tell you?
Tell me what?
I'm now supposed to inform the D.A.'s office every time Major Crimes rolls out for a homicide.
I thought you knew.
I didn't.
[ Knock on door ] Yes!
Excuse me, Chief.
Wally Sanders is here.
Who is that?
The wholesale pharmaceutical supplier for Dr.
Brady.
Oh, right.
You found his name on the victim's cellphone calendar, maybe the last person to see him alive?
Yes, of course.
Thank you.
I'll be right there.
[ Door closes ] Does Chief pope really want a D.D.A.
involved in all my cases from the very beginning?
Why?
The Chief believes he's about to be appointed to his own full term.
He will move upstairs.
He will be further removed from day-to-day supervision of divisions.
Yeah, so now he's saddling me with as many babysitters as possible, is that it?
I'm keeping the D.A.'s office busy with the Special Master.
D.D.A.
Hobbs won't even be able to cross the street before tomorrow afternoon.
At the earliest.
Well, it's nice to know that you and Commander Taylor are running interference for me.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
[ Door opens, closes ] I-I don't know if I can be much help.
You know, I don't deliver the kind of drugs that people want to steal.
And besides, I hardly ever meet the patients.
Well, this is a complete list of all the medications you dropped off yesterday.
Five prescriptions?
Yeah, Dr.
Brady's order for Saturday was small, but it -- it varies from week to week.
Man...
it's really awful.
He was one of the good guys.
I don't know where a lot of his patients are gonna go.
Won't Dr.
Parr take them?
No.
Well, you see, they treat different kinds of cancers, and they have different approaches.
Chris would -- Dr.
Brady, he -- he would see sick people regardless of whether or not they could pay.
It's one of the reasons he got the medications through me.
I mean, even with my discounts, cancer drugs are not cheap.
You sell discount chemotherapy?
Chief, Mr.
Sanders' company serves as a link between large pharmacies and doctors' offices.
Some of these medications have a very short shelf life.
So rather than let them go bad when they're not selling, the company I work for gets them out to the doctors at steeply reduced prices.
Well, if they're used before they expire, the efficacy of the medications is the same.
Actually, it's the expiration date that makes stealing what I delivered yesterday even crazier.
I mean, unless you were gonna deliver those drugs to several patients by next Friday -- But they are expensive.
Here's one for $10,000 a dose.
[ Chuckling ] That's the discounted price.
Well [sighs] if what you charge is reduced, what do the doctors charge?
Well, it depends.
Dr.
Brady would pass on the discount.
Dr.
Parr has a vacation home in Napa.
Look, what they bill their patients is not my business, really.
But I don't deliver to Dr.
Parr anymore, if that tells you anything.
Well, what about other doctors?
Would a thief sell to -- No, reputable physicians would never even consider getting these drugs outside the system.
I mean, there's people's lives at stake.
Plus they have to get approval from the insurance company and Medicare before the drugs are even delivered.
And they have paperwork for the billing.
[ Cellphone ringing ] Uh...
Oh, I'm so sorry, uh, Mr.
Sanders.
Thank you so much.
[ Exhales sharply ] Mama?
I need to call you back.
I'm right in the middle of something.
I-is Daddy okay?
Um, all right, then.
I'll call you tomorrow.
All right.
You may not be aware of this, but I'm very good friends with the city attorney.
I saved his mother's life.
The city attorney doesn't work here, doctor, And he told me that if I ever - so I don't have to do anything he says.
I'm warning you, if I don't get to infuse my patients tomorrow, I will give him a call -- let's not threaten each other, Doctor.
Why don't we make a deal?
You give me a list of every person who entered your office yesterday, and in return, I will give you access to your infusion room.
I've already told you -- medical records are protected by -- I'm not asking you to identify any individual as a patient.
I'm asking for a list.
Names, addresses, phone numbers, please.
I'm not sure I can do that legally.
Well, why don't we ask the expert?
You remember Ann...
Gabriel.
Ann originally brought up the HIPAA statute.
That's because she is a lawyer who advises the L.A.P.D.
on medical issues.
Ann, if Dr.
Parr doesn't identify any individual as a patient, is it legal for him to -- wait!
You're holding my infusion room as hostage to your investiga-- I'm not holding anything hostage, sir!
You are.
I'm offering you a choice.
If you think it's tough now, wait until we have a court-appointed Special Master.
Yeah, and we have somebody going through every file in your office.
Will we discover that you were buying some of your drugs at discount while charging your patients full price?
There's nothing illegal about that.
Or that Dr.
Brady was submitting paperwork to Medicare for imaginary patients?
Does HIPAA cover them too?
It's not true.
He wasn't -- If we pass that allegation on to the feds -- No, no, no.
It wasn't like that.
Chris would never commit fraud.
Never.
Maybe we should have the FBI confirm that.
Of course, there's a chance the media could get the story first.
Gee, I wonder what that would mean to your business.
Brenda: Or you could give us the names, and we will get waivers allowing us to examine their medical records.
And by cooperating here, I incur no liability?
Oh, I...
don't...
see why you would.
Look, I think that you could have even more problems if your patients don't receive their treatments, Doctor.
Fine.
I'll give you the names.
Just try and be discreet.
Oh, Doctor.
Discretion's my specialty.
[ Sighs ] I mean, it's one thing to hear you talk about it, but watching your boss in person is just...
she's intense.
Yeah, well, I mean, it's for the right reason, though.
I mean, don't forget the dead doctor.
Whoever killed him is pretty intense, too.
And if it's a drug user, once they've gone this far, they'll do it again.
You know, on a brighter note, you were here long enough to avoid meeting my grandparents.
Oh, well, they're here till Friday, so I think we'll have plenty of time to tell everyone about our new living arrangements.
Oh.
[ Chuckles ] Oh.
Oh.
Uh, Ann.
Uh...
Hi.
[ Exhales sharply ] Oh.
Are you leaving so soon?
Well, ask Chief Johnson how soon it feels.
Leaving too late, maybe.
[ Sighs ] Uh, should I come back to get you?
Uh, no, no.
With all the medical records we're gonna be getting, it's gonna take some time.
I'll, uh, I'll just see you when I get home.
Okay.
All right.
Bye.
Uh, good night.
Uh...bye.
Bye.
[ Chuckling ] You live together.
Uh, well, yeah.
Four days ago, we decided to combine our resources.
But, uh, we've been dating for about a year now.
You know, felt like it was time.
You know, I haven't told my family yet.
I'd actually appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else around here, knowing what people think about lawyers.
Married one myself.
Really?
Well, technically, he was a lawyer.
First, he passed the bar, then he spent the next 10 years drinking in one till he gave that up for gambling.
So, what, you're divorced?
Separated.
For 20 years.
It's all very Catholic.
Um, Detective, uh, for what it's worth, I find from time to time a lawyer's opinion on what I'm doing is worth hearing.
Oh, yeah, I get Ann's point of view on everything, whether I want it or not, frankly.
It's more the opinions of the people around here that I'm not interested in dealing with right now.
Secret's safe with me.
Thank you, Captain.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, Detective?
Yeah.
This is D.D.A.
Hobbs' application for a Special Master.
It needs a signature and needs a little more information.
Would you mind walking Chief Johnson through it for me?
I think she's, uh, seen enough of me today.
Yeah.
No problem.
I will, uh, get it to Hobbs myself.
Good.
Thank you.
You're welcome, Captain.
[ Beep ] Just tell me what you're searching for.
Maybe we wouldn't have to fax over every single page of every patient's records.
I am looking for the murderer, Doctor.
I'm so sorry.
I know that this has been an enormous imposition on your time, but we are almost finished talking to Dr.
Brady's patients.
What makes you so sure Chris' killer was someone from Saturday's appointments?
Maybe he was murdered by someone just walking in off the street.
'Cause after smashing Dr.
Brady on the head, someone off the streets would have grabbed the drugs and run.
Instead, your partner was strangled to death.
With I.V.
tubing.
A regular thief would have come in with his own weapons.
Our murderer improvised with stuff he found around the office, stuff that he might have known was there.
Which indicates that Dr.
Brady knew and recognized his killer and that the killer knew him, which is why the less helpful you are, the more worried you make me.
I always thought Dr.
Brady would be coming to funeral.
And here I am going to his.
Can never be too sure of anything in this lifetime, can you?
And you have no idea who his killer is?
No, ma'am.
Not yet.
Tao: If you could sign this waiver, we'll have Dr.
Parr here fax us your medical records.
Um, it could help us.
Oh.
You just had your chemotherapy yesterday, miss...?
Um, l-Lee.
Rita Lee.
Yes.
I feel pretty good, all things considered.
Dr.
Brady was an amazing oncologist.
He really cared about people.
I guess now I'll just have to go back to the city clinic, and the rash will come back, and my hair will fall out again -- the side effects I get when those people treat me.
The presence or absence of side effects has nothing to do with the standardized delivery of chemotherapy agents.
Individual results vary based on the -- You would say that, wouldn't you?
Your patients suffer terribly.
God!
I've seen them, what you put those people through!
Okay, I'm sorry.
Um, I'll sign.
You can get my medical records.
I hope it helps you find out why someone would murder a doctor who helped cancer patients stop from feeling sick all the time.
What's the matter, Doctor?
Unless he asked me something specific, I never bothered with Chris' patients.
Since you have their records, I'd like a chance to look at them, too.
We have our own experts looking at them.
What do you want to see?
Regardless of what you think of me, when it comes to the side effects of cancer therapies, I'm probably one of the most highly regarded physicians in the country.
Really?
Yes, really.
Check it out.
That woman was infused yesterday.
Look at her.
She seems...fine.
And I'd like to know why.
That's because she wasn't taking chemotherapy -- at all.
Rita said she was.
And the nurse's records indicate that she had a regular dose yesterday.
Uh, I can go into a lot of technical detail, but let's just keep it simple.
See that number?
That's Ms.
Lee's carcinoembryonic antigen level.
That's your idea of keeping it simple?
Sorry.
You don't have to learn the terms.
All you need to know is a couple of numbers.
First, Ms.
Lee's current carcinoembryonic antigen level is at 106, and on the drug she's been taking for the past three months, that number should be less than three.
So, w-what does that mean?
It means she has metastatic stage-three pancreatic cancer and she's not being treated for it.
Why would Dr.
Brady just pretend he was giving her the drug?
Oh, well, we could ask him, but, oh, hey, wait, he's back at the morgue.
No chemotherapy explains no side effects.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Across the board.
All these people.
What?
Dr.
Brady's been withholding chemotherapy from every one of his patients.
Provenza: Hmm.
Say you found out that Dr.
Brady hadn't been giving you the drug that's supposed to save your life.
That's a good motive for murder.
The nurse said he'd lost more patients than usual recently.
Dr.
Morales: I'm not surprised.
M-maybe you should exhume the bodies of some of these patients and see what -- Whoa.
Whoa.
Exhuming bodies?
What are you doing here?
It's Sunday night!
I might ask you the same thing.
Unless you think your killer's gonna murder again, I can't justify this overtime.
He could be killing a lot more people than we know.
Might be worth staying late just to strike Medicare fraud off your list of possible offenses.
Why?
Fritz: 'Cause there isn't any.
Dr.
Brady may have been buying drugs for nonexistent patients, but he was paying for them out of his own pocket.
What?
So, Dr.
Brady ordered false prescriptions from Medicare, filled those prescriptions with drugs near their expiration date, paid for them out of his own pocket, and then deliberately withheld them from his patients?
Hmm.
That's an interesting question...
which I think could be answered tomorrow.
I know Mama, don't you worry.
We're gonna get daddy better.
I promise you..
No, no, no.
The tickets are all paid for.
You just show up at the airport with your I.D.
If -- if you can get him here, I have a plan.
Yes.
I know.
I hear him calling.
Well, tell him I love him, and he needs to go with me on this, okay?
Yeah.
All right.
[ Stammers ] I love you, too.
Okay.
I -- okay.
I'll see y'all real soon.
Bye now.
You really think your dad's in good enough shape to come all the way here from Atlanta tomorrow?
The doctor's not gonna fly out there to see him, I can tell you that.
You didn't get much sleep last night.
How could you tell?
'Cause you kept me awake.
I'm sorry.
It's just finding all these people with cancer who thought they were getting better weren't even being treated.
Honey, that -- that could happen to daddy, too.
He's not feeling any better.
He's cancer-free.
But feeling worse than he was when he was sick.
[ Sighs ] And there's this other thing.
What other thing?
You were right about Pope all along.
Oh?
He's not trustworthy.
In fact, he's a jerk!
He's always been a jerk.
I'm sorry.
What did he do now?
Now he's about to be made Chief for life or something and -- and -- and he's got the D.A.
watching over me and -- and -- and Raydor and I don't know who else.
And I just...
feel like such an idiot.
I may not have done right by everyone in my life, but I have always given my professional best to Will.
And I've always, always done everything he told me to do.
[ Chuckling ] You have?
No, you have.
You have.
Just assuming that he had my back, but he doesn't.
He doesn't have my back.
It's -- it's really upsetting.
I'm...
I'm really upset.
Well, I can see that.
And, hey, I'm not gonna sit here and defend Pope.
You can't.
He has no defense.
Will Pope is a selfish bastard.
Yes, he is!
Kind of guy who always puts his career before everything.
Well...yes.
That's exactly right.
And I feel your pain.
I do.
I really do.
It's hurtful, isn't it, when someone thinks their job -- I mean, their job -- is more important than what another person might want or need?
Is there anyone else we know who you think might sometimes behave like that?
Hmm?
Anyone?
Oh, my gosh.
Doctors!
They're all like that, aren't they?
Well, doctors, yeah.
But, um -- Maybe Dr.
Parr's more like his partner than we know.
[ Thud ] I said I wanted to examine Chris' files last night, and you wouldn't let me.
Today, I need to be working with the people in my own practice.
You're lucky I haven't shut your practice down.
I have a Special Master warrant ready to go, and as soon as I have access to your patients' charts -- My patients?
Why would you want to be looking at my patients?
To find out if they've been dying like Dr.
Brady's were.
Is that what's been happening, sir?
It's very straightforward, really.
You draw the medication from a vial with a syringe, inject it into a bag of saline, and administer the drug through an I.V.
drip.
The system should work as designed, but...
but sometimes we have mistakes.
Awful mistakes.
So, last night, after observing Ms.
Lee's asymptomatic responses to the chemo, I went back to my office and looked at my own files from last year.
What did you find?
What I thought I'd find.
A period during which many patients seemed not to properly absorb the chemo, when instead of improving, people died.
I felt errors may have been made, but I was afraid that if I brought attention to the problem, that -- You'd be sued.
[ Sighs ] Yes, I'd be sued.
I deal with life and death on a daily basis.
I can be taken to court where even if I win, I lose.
My liability insurance goes up.
I-I have to explain myself over and over to medical boards, my peers.
And if I ever find myself in circumstances where I can't properly clear my name, nothing is the same after that.
I'm sure Chris was thinking the same thing, too.
In fact, when his nurse told me that he had ordered medications for patients that didn't really exist, I wondered if he was thinking of testing those drugs to see if they were real.
W-what drugs are we talking about here?
The drugs he got from Wally Sanders.
I suspected they were fake.
How could he get away with that?
Wally controls all the paperwork.
He has access to the original packaging, so counterfeiting it would be simple enough.
As for the rest, we just...trusted the words.
What words? "
Use as directed."
If we can't even believe in that, I...
At $10,000 a dose...
Wally could be making millions.
Millions?
How many oncologists does he serve?
He delivers drugs to San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara -- my God.
I should have reported him instead of just dropping him as a supplier.
But if I had been wrong...
Detective, we need a warrant.
Yeah.
Sanders' home, business office, everything.
I'm on it, Chief.
[ Indistinct conversation ] Dr.
Royce, I don't know how I swung it, but I managed to fill your entire order this week.
Well, I can't wait to take a look at it.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I thought you were Dr.
Royce.
And Dr.
Royce thought