dude's a time bomb. uh-oh. it's worse than i thought. what was her name again? julie. split up years ago. booze and pills definitely do not mix with photos of the ex. what do you got? it's a crime scene photo. something i saw nick looking at a few weeks back. (knocks on desk) hmm? what the hell? (sniffles) can't you see i'm taking a table nap? been a lot of those lately. what do you got? some other case. arson photo. didn't recognize it at the time. j.d. billingsley, 11/06. but why bring home a four-year-old arson case? might have something to do with the guy at the bar. you remember this case? no. but the fire marshal would.

billingsley. oh, yeah, i remember. double homicide, arson, couple years back. you worked that with nick, right? yeah, that's right. what's going on? he contact you? any reason the case might come up? no. any reason it should? tell us about the arson case, ray. row house over in kensington. incendiary, pretty open and shut. j.d. billingsley? joe don billingsley. lit up his own place, middle of the night. it was a double homicide? his own two boys. drunk bastard had custody for the weekend. (dog barking) looks like a bomb went off. flashover. simultaneous ignition of all combustible material. flashover. smoke and gas layer got trapped at the ceiling. at 1,100 degrees, the whole room burst into flames. father said he was asleep on the couch. yeah, he also said he couldn't get to the kids' room down the hall. yeah, ran into a wall of flame.

with no burns on his bare feet? thought he ran out the front door. yeah, just let in more oxygen, fed the beast. did you see the crazed glass back there? puddle configurations? multiple points of origin. burn marks on the baseboards and walls. yeah, all the way down the hall. seen hundreds of these. most of them do it for the insurance. no. this place was a rental. whatever. fire this hot don't occur without the use of an accelerant. what, lighter fluid? butane, propane, maybe gasoline. same result. got your pour patterns on the floor right there. under the beds. son of a bitch burned his own kids up. then ran out of the house. three and five, those boys. that one just about tore everybody up. including nick? nick was going through a divorce at the time.

rubbed him pretty raw. sick bastard killed his kids just to spite his ex. nick put him away? billingsley got life. he's lucky he didn't get the needle. he didn't have the decency to take his own life. any reason nick would be looking into that case again? never said nothing to me. valens: you remember if this joe don had a brother? maybe at the trial? i'm sorry, i don't. is everything okay? rush: well, you hear from him, ray, let us know. all right. joe don billingsley, convicted in '08. arson, double homicide. doing life up in rockford. was. till he caught a shiv last week in the yard. bled out. old joe don's gone. could be the guy nick meant, got killed? a loudmouth at the bar blamed nick for his brother's death. jeffries: younger brother, travis. popped twice for dui, resisting arrest. well, now he's stalking nick. he was fired from his last job at costco. we're trying to track down a new work address. valens: travis. looks dumb enough to go after a cop.

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(announcer) stop searching- start deciding... morning, lieutenant. something wrong with the air upstairs, pat? you know where detective vera is, john? i guess i'm about to find out. don't jerk me around. i know all about the abandoned department vehicle out on conshohocken road. okay. i also know that one of your detectives had it towed to a private garage. one of my detectives? can't say i blame them. damaged vehicle, reeking of kentucky sour mash. get to it, pat. that's a $35,000 vehicle that belongs to the department. and i would like to get it back before the commissioner gets wind of this. good as new. i'll get right on it. as for detective vera, i would suggest you find out where he is and just what the hell is going on before the end of the working day. oh, i'll get to the bottom of it. put your house in order, john... or i'll do it for you.

valens: travis billingsley. detective valens, rush. that supposed to impress me? supposed to jog your memory. last time you saw detective nick vera. why? something happened to him? asked you a question, pal. how you know detective vera? oh, so now i'm supposed to help the police? (groans) how's that for an impression, jackass? in case you need my badge number. rush: this ain't a courtesy call, travis. you got into a bar fight with detective vera last week. that wasn't a fight. just tracked him down to let him know what he did. yeah, what'd he do? he put my brother away, got him killed. yeah, real sorry they don't look kindly on scumbags who burn up their own kids in prison. my brother wasn't a monster. joe don didn't do it. right, buddy. nobody in jail did, right? i had proof. i tried for months to get detective vera to take another look at the case, but he wouldn't listen. ("hey you" by pink floyd playing) detective, detective vera, can i talk to you? it's about my brother. what's your name, buddy? travis billingsley. billingsley?

called five times about my brother, joe don. he's doing life up in rockford for arson. yeah, 'course. i remember. i just need you to hear me out 'cause the d.a. won't, and that court-appointed lawyer my brother had was a joke... well, it's a little late, pal. he confessed. that's not true. yeah. check the trial transcripts. he admitted he did it when he was in lockup awaiting trial. game over. that's just it, he didn't. check out the record on that cellblock snitch. inmate the d.a. put on the stand was a liar. my brother would never admit to setting that fire 'cause he didn't do it. everybody's innocent in the can. but he never confessed to you, did he, detective? just asking you to take a look. yeah, sure. i'll take a look. he didn't give a rat's ass. that cellblock snitch has given false testimony before. cody blanchard lied when he said my brother confessed. how do you know? 'cause he done it three times before.

that's how come they kept letting him out. so, he's a serial snitch. that don't mean he lied. another guy he did it to got freed after he recanted his testimony. that the only reason you tracked nick down? let him know that? wouldn't you? lying sob snitch sealed my brother's fate, and got rewarded for it. and now it's too late. miller: called frackville. found out nick went to visit billingsley's old cellblock snitch a few days ago. already landed back in the can? thieving drug fiend. old habits die hard. stillman: anybody here seen nick? not yet, boss. don't know. he's got plenty of time. maybe he took a sick day. so that's how we're gonna play this, huh? what's that, boss? oh, cut the bs. i know that nick is missing, along with his car. this whole mess has already blown upstairs. as much you want to protect nick, all of you might want to start thinking about your own badges. look, we got no idea where nick went,

but we're on it. (muttering): all right, look. think it's got something to do with a guy nick put away on an arson case four years ago. got killed in prison last week. stillman: billingsley. what does this got to do with nick cracking up his car? don't know, but it's the last case he was working on. that's it? is there anything else i need to get in front of here? nick's in bad shape, boss. something i don't know, kat. it's not physical, john. his head's not right. we're worried about him. all right, talk to ada bell. see what he knows about the billingsley case. rush and valens went to pay billingsley's old cellmate a visit. they're trying to track down his ex, see if he talked to her. i'll reach out to boyle over in feds, see if we can get a location on his cell phone. we'll find him, boss. we'd better-- before he does any more harm... especially to himself. jeffries: hey, julie. what's going on?

is this about nick? have you seen him? he stopped by this morning. he didn't look so good. is he okay? just showed up at your door? really kind of threw me. i-i hadn't seen him since the divorce, and we never really talked after that. what'd he want? i don't know. but it looked like he had something on his mind. i was trying to get my kids ready. ("mother" by pink floyd playing) hey, jules. nick. uh... thanks. if only i had time to read it. what are you doing here? i don't know. uh... just felt like i needed to see you. how've you been doing? you really should have called. i... ♪ she won't let you fly... ♪ is something wrong? no. uh, sorry. you're right. i was just getting my son ready for school. your son? i know you got remarried. i...

clint. he just started preschool. clint. wow. (toddler crying) i like that. i also have a two-year-old daughter. that would be what you hear yelling upstairs. yeah. mommy, i can't find another shoelace. can you hold on one second? i'll be right back, and we can talk for a minute. (crying continues) okay. now you go find the other one, and i'll find your jacket and tell your sister i'll be right there. never really had a chance to talk. figured it must be important, but... didn't say where he was headed? never got that far. it looked like he'd been up all night, like he was working a case. is he okay? we don't know, but if you hear from him again, make sure to give us a call. (door buzzer sounds) what up, squirrel? figure you got to watch your back in here with a nickname like that.

yeah, yeah. everybody's got to watch their back in here. just better at it than most. well, it helps to have friends in the d.a.'s office. got the parole board to cut you loose early three different times. yeah. i'm just keeping my eyes and my ears open. waiting for a nut to fall from a tree. unfortunately, that nasty meth habit keeps landing you back in here. yeah, well, that's a... that's just a temporary situation. now what can i do you for? why did detective vera recently come to see you? philly homicide, ain't you? you guys don't talk? was it about the billingsley case? billingsley. man, that's ancient history. yeah. so was joe don. caught a shiv up in rockford last week. yeah, i heard about that from your partner. hard row to hoe for a baby killer inside these walls. so, what did detective vera want to know about joe don? oh, man, i mean, what is it with this case? i already testified to the d.a. ain't the question we asked you. aah! te-tell me again what's in it for me. rush: we don't tell the last homicidal

maniac you flipped on it was you who gave him up. what kind of cops are you? the kind that don't care about you. detective vera-- why'd he come talk to you? no disrespect, detective. it don't have to be like this, okay? i tried to play ball with your guy, but he just took it the wrong way. you testified that joe don told you he did it. burned his house down. that's right. that what i told the d.a. detective on the record. while he was awaiting trial in county lockup. damn right. he said that if he couldn't have custody of them kids, then that bitch couldn't, either. and that's why he set that house on fire. joe don said this to you even though he never confessed to me or anybody else? we were on the same cellblock, detective. yeah, but he didn't have a cellmate. when exactly did he tell you he did it? when i was walking by his cell. what, through the food slot? yeah, that's right. he said he lit that bitch up with gasoline. uh-huh. he said because he wanted custody of those kids, right? that's what he said. both of them? the boy and the girl? yeah, that's right, both of them. a little girl, too.

hmm. (screams) joe don didn't have a little girl. he just had two boys. look, man! i just told that d.a. detective what he wanted to hear, just like i'm telling you. what's that? what do you want me to say-- he did it? then he did it. whatever you want me to say. you just give me the right information before i take the stand, and i'll say it right. don't you worry. a man is dead because of your lying ass. because of me? (chuckles) i thought it was you who put him in here. hey! hey! i don't get it. i played the game. i fed you and the d.a. what you need and-and-and this, this is the thanks i get? yeah, the thanks. well, that cop had a screw loose, no? the truth is, joe don didn't say any of that b.s. to you about offing his kids, right? difference does it make? i mean, if he didn't do that, then he did something else. right? i mean, we all did it in here. rush: the difference is, he's dead, squirrel.

yeah, well, i wasn't glad to hear that joe don got stuck, but, uh, huh, that man was twisted. oh, yeah. and he was in denial, too. what are you talking about? oh, he would cry himself to sleep every night. just crying about them kids. yeah, then he would write letters to some crackpot scientist. what scientist? how do you know? a little c.o. bird told me. he's working on his appeal. you know, thought he could get him out. what's a name worth to you? worth keeping your acorns out of a vice, squirrel. this is joe don billingsley's old house. fbi tracks nick's phone to this location. yeah. why would he come back here? who you calling? nick. (cell phone ringing in distance) (muffled ringing)

(ringing grows louder) it's his. last call an hour ago to me. home phone. why wouldn't he just call your cell? i don't know. electronic voice: you have one current message. (phone beeps) left a voicemail. vera (over phone): hey, man, uh, it's nick. i just wanted to tell you, uh, it's been great working with you. you've always been a-a... a good friend to me. i think i still owe you 50 bucks. anyways, um... that's about it. sorry about the whole mess. ♪ (announcer) right now, all over the country, discover card customers are getting five percent cashback bonus at grocery stores. it pays to get more, it pays to discover.

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next time you two get the instinct to protect me, don't. where are we on nick? running down a list of calls, messages-- anyone talked to nick in the past 24. rush: there was a recent call on his cell to jeanette peterson, billingsley's ex-wife. valens: miller and jeffries are headed over to talk to her now. also, calls to a goran petrovic, a professor over at temple. one yesterday and one last week. correspondence records at rockford show billingsley wrote multiple letters to the same dr. petrovic. what kind of professor? chemical engineering. also worked for multiple companies that served private military suppliers. hit the campus. pay the doc a visit. you talk to criminal intelligence? oh, yeah, we got teams of plainclothes cops trying to track him down. all right, tell them no paper trail. rush: i just said find him, bring him in, no questions asked. yeah, don't take "no" for an answer from nick. and, scotty, get that damn car back. petrovic: used to design all sorts of nasty explosives with military applications.

lucrative, yes. but also insane. i prefer teaching. detective vera asked you to review the jd billingsley case? given that he was the original investigator and seemed quite desperate, yes, i took a look. well, the fire marshal determined that it was arson. which frankly, i found stunning... though i shouldn't anymore. why's that? most fire marshals only have high school degree, and certified after one 40-hour course in fire investigation. ray crawford's been on the job 30 years; he's done hundreds of arson cases. instincts and experience is no substitute for scientific method. and this finding completely ignores it. what did you tell detective vera? i told him the truth. from the photos, it appears that the fire reached upwards of 1,800 degrees. flashover from the accelerant. not necessarily. the temperature is affected mostly by ventilation. but what about the burn patterns and the... the puddle configurations under the bed? the effects of flashover can look like evidence of arson,

but these burn patterns aren't indicative of an accelerant. so how did the fire start? that's hard to tell. from these pictures, it appears that the point of origin was most likely the kitchen. but you can't say for sure what caused it? not for certain. which why i'm baffled by the fire marshal's finding. oh, crawford's been at it a long time. he learned from the old timers. might explain why it's based on, uh, junk science and old wives' tales. yeah, but joe don, he escaped with no burns on his feet. how's that possible? because fire burns upward. and one that reaches flashover is the next hottest thing to hell. and unless you're confronted with that type of heat, you just can't understand it, detective. you're right. i don't. he left his kids inside. as soon as he went outside to find another way in, he just let in more oxygen. fed the beast. even a fireman wouldn't go back into this blast furnace. so what you're saying is,

it's possible joe don was telling me the truth? i see no evidence of arson. that's good. right? if he wasn't already dead. seemed to take the news pretty hard. you think the fire started in the kitchen. older house like that, nine times out of ten it's faulty wiring. yeah, but there's no way to tell for sure. usually, there'd be some prior issues with overloaded circuits, browning outlets. but you'd have to ask somebody who lived in the home. jeanette: joe don getting killed, all these detectives coming round here again... it's like the nightmare never ends. detective vera came by here? yesterday. asking me all those questions about things i'd rather not relive. going over your statement. i didn't care to, but i trust detective vera. joe don was pretty upset when i moved out. he lost his job. drinking too much.

he just... he wasn't the same man i married. i filed for separation and... then he... he found out i was dating. he threaten you or the kids? he said some pretty... terrible things. but, um... i couldn't deny the boys their father. you know, when they told me that he set the house on fire, i couldn't believe it. you know... nobody should experience a loss like that. jeanette, did detective vera ask you anything else about the house? he kept asking about when i live in the house. about the kitchen. he said he'd never let another man raise his boys. i lost everything. jeanette, i need to ask you about the time before you left when you still lived in the house.

do you remember any electrical problems with the lights or the outlets? what problems didn't the house have? lights were always flickering on and off. did you tell your landlord? cheap bastard never fixed anything. do you remember any problems with the wiring in the kitchen? the switches or the outlets? why are you asking me this? he's dead, my kids are gone. it's important. why? ♪ i don't know how to say this, but it's possible joe don didn't set that fire. you must be joking. you're the one who told me he did it. the police, the fire department, the lawyers-- it has to be true! i'm not so sure anymore. well, i don't have any doubt, detective. you tell me how a man doesn't run back in there to save his own sons. the neighbors, they saw him on the street while my babies burned up. how could he not go back in there? tell me that!

those were your kids, would you stand outside while they burned alive? jeanette, what was wrong with the wiring in the house? you know, every time you'd plug in the toaster, the fridge would go out. in the kitchen? one time the outlet melted down. i lost a bunch of breast milk. joe don finally called an electrician, and the landlord got all upset about it. the landlord? bela. he only wanted to use his handyman to fix everything on the cheap. look, i-i don't understand why you keep asking me about the house. should talk to insurance company. i'm still trying to get them to pay up. oh, that's got to be rough on you, bela. yeah, i should not have rented to that family. now, that man was alcoholic. it's always bad when man of house cannot hold on to job. understand that house had a lot of electrical issues. issues? no issues. you cannot put blame on me for what happened. oh, we didn't say that, bela. maybe we should talk to your handyman. why you detectives keep harassing me?

rush: so what happened when joe don hired his own electrician? oh, that stupid waste of money. you know how much electrician charges per hour? yeah, sounded like you needed one. joe don was problem tenant. always overloading circuits, clogging up pipes, asking for more time before paying rent. always! no, the way we heard it, your handyman couldn't fix anything. valens: there's old wiring, lights flickering, browning outlets, and you send over a guy who can't screw in a lightbulb. that's ridiculous. jorge is very good handyman. i know him personally. joe don's ex told us a kitchen outlet melted. he told them just "plug it into the bottom." that your idea? i am not negligent. i have lawyers who can prove this. sure you do. look, i manage three apartment buildings. people always want something for nothing. never mind if it's a fire hazard. i did not start that fire.

this is not my fault. oh, yeah, it's... it's nobody's fault. hey, call just came in. got a jumper at 12th and ridge. it's two blocks up from nick's place. (camera shutters clicking) (garbled radio transmission) white male, 40s, heavyset. no id? nada. face is messed up from the swan dive. six stories up. lil. that ain't him. there are engines...

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