The Blarney Stone is a rundown bar tucked in a litter-strewn strip mall.
All the televisions are tuned to sports.
A gruff, pot-bellied man sits at the bar with his laptop open. Lyle approaches him.
Lyle
Lyle Keene, Sheriff Department. Have a moment?
Lyle
Just a few questions regarding one of your clients.
Lyle
That’s right. Palos Verdes.
Rex
What do you want to know?
Lyle sits on the barstool beside him.
Lyle
Were you aware there was a conflict at your worksite?
Rex cringes and Lyle feels his discomfort. Rex knows.
Lyle
Apparently it was some sort of altercation with the homeowner.
Rex
Yeah, with one of the concrete guys. He works for my subcontractor.
Rex
We fired him right away, though.
Rex
Don’t know. He’s gone.
Lyle
You don’t know the name of someone who was on your payroll?
Rex
He was a sub. My concrete foreman Rico staffs his own crew.
Rex
I wasn’t a part of it.
Lyle
What was the altercation about?
Rex
Mrs. Connor said this guy gave her lip when she told them they were doing the job wrong.
Rex
He called her a bitch. Nobody talks back to my clients.
Rex
Rico said the guy claimed she disrespected him, whatever that means.
Lyle
What do you think it means?
Rex
It means we fired the asshole for talking back.
Lyle picks up on Rex’s growing anger.
Lyle
What else did you learn?
Rex
Well…she threw coffee at him.
Rex
Mrs. Connors didn’t mention that to me, but I saw it here.
Rex turns to his laptop and pulls up surveillance video.
Rex
I monitor all my jobs from here.
Rex
That was last Tuesday, right? Vista Drive.
Rex scrolls through the time-stamped surveillance video.
He comes across Leslie arguing with a worker.
Rex
There’s no audio, but you can see what happened.
Lyle watches the fight escalate until Leslie tosses her coffee in the man’s face.
The construction worker steams in anger as Leslie climbs in her Mercedes and drives off.
Rex
What’s he doing, filing a lawsuit?
Rex
Got a lawyer claiming that coffee scalded him?
Lyle
Leslie Conner has been murdered.
Rex is taken aback. Lyle can feel the surge of emotion from him.
Lyle
At a mall not far from here.
Rex
So you think this guy did it?
Lyle
We’re investigating every possible lead. What else can you tell me?
Rex
Does this make me liable?
Rex
I mean… should I get a lawyer?
Rex
I can’t be responsible for my day laborers.
Lyle
We’re just trying to establish a person of interest.
Rex
I think I’ve said too much.
Lyle turns to the bartender.
Lyle
Can you turn it to the local news?
He does. Daniel’s gruesome video flashes on the screen.
Lyle
Tell me about this subcontractor.
Rex
I don’t even know the guy.
Lyle
Is he a gang member?
Rex
Maybe. Some of the guys that work for me were in gangs.
Rex
Hard to tell. You need to talk to Rico.
Rex jots a name and address onto a bar coaster.
Rex
This is Rico’s gravel yard. You can ask him who this asshole is.
Lyle
What can you tell me about Leslie?
Rex
Through a referral. I do a lot of work in Palos Verdes.
Rex
People come to me because I know how to work the system.
Lyle
What do you mean? What system?
Rex
Before you can build in PV there are hoops you need to jump through.
Rex
Like, you need to construct a silhouette first.
Lyle
What’s a silhouette?
Rex
It’s basically framework made out of two-by-fours.
Rex
We flag it to notify the neighbors about the size of the new construction.
Rex
The city inspectors know me, so I uh…
Rex
That’s right. It’s why I do a lot of jobs up there.
Lyle
You take care of these inspectors?
Rex
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Lyle
Forget it. Anything else about her?
Rex
She had lots of change orders.
Rex
We demolished and started over a few times.
Rex
All because she wanted it different once she saw it.
Lyle
Did that become a problem?
Rex
Just extends the job.
Lyle
But ups your invoice.
Lyle
And she was okay with that too?
Rex
We hadn’t settled on the additional costs, but I guess it’s too late now.
Lyle holds up the bar coaster.
Lyle
Rico can lead me to this guy?
Rex
Rico from the gravel yard, yeah. He’ll know him.
Lyle
And where can I reach you?
Rex
This bar is my office.
Rex motions to the laptop surveillance.
Rex
I can see all my jobs right here.
Rex hands Lyle his business card.
Lyle
I appreciate your time.
Rex
Let me know what happens.
Before setting out, Lyle texts the Chief for a status report.
Chief
Coroner determined there were twenty stab wounds. Deep punctures.
Lyle
Sounds like someone had a vendetta.
Chief
Nothing. The murder weapon is still missing.
Lyle
Okay. Keep me in the loop.
Lyle follows the driving directions to the city of Gardena and pulls into the gravel yard.
It’s nothing but a dilapidated trailer with piles of stone behind a chain link fence.
He approaches the trailer and knocks.
Seconds later, a vicious Pitbull barges through the door and attacks.
Lyle jumps back. He sprints to his car as the dog nips at his heels.
The dog snarls below, attempting to jump up.
But its claws gain little traction on the side of the vehicle.
Another dog appears. Together, their claws scratch paint.
And Lyle stands on the hood of the car, trapped.
