Bosch faces a case that has haunted him since the beginning in the final episode of Bosch: Legacy season 3.
Bosch: Legacy Debrief for Season 3, Episode 10 “Dig Down”
Written By: Michael Connelly and Mitzi Roberts
Directed By: Jet Wilkinson
Refresh your memory of Bosch: Legacy:
- Bosch has had pictures of three young women on his desk since the pilot episode of the original series. He keeps them to remind himself that “Everybody counts or nobody counts”.
- In the aftermath of arresting her nephew Albert, Reina tried to punish herself by initiating a bar brawl
- Chief Hughes stabbed Honey Chandler in the back by taking over Humberto Zorrillo’s case with a joint task force with the DEA.
Chandler and Hughes
A warning:
Honey lets herself into Chief Hughes’ office wanting answers about Zorrillo. Chandler asks if Zorrillo is in custody, and Hughes confirms that Zorrillo is indeed in federal custody. When the time is right, they will issue a press release. Honey says she has already released one because if it were up to Hughes, the wrong man would have gone down for the murder of Jimmy Robertson. She reminds Hughes that the feds taking the lead on the case undermines Chandler’s reputation with law enforcement. Chandler asks if Hughes wants her as an enemy for the next four years and leaves.
The Flower Girls
Dinner and Steely Dan:
Musical references are not new to Bosch: Legacy. At the start of the episode, Harry and Maddie have just finished up dinner at Taylor’s Steakhouse. Maddie mentions the aftermath of Reina Vasquez’s arrest of Albert, and reports that they primarily drive around in silence. Bosch quotes the song ‘Any Major Dude Will Tell You’, by the rock band Steely Dan when he says, “Partners are like family. Any minor world that breaks apart, falls together again.” Maddie catches the reference and asks if he just quoted the band, impressing Harry that she knows it.
Bosch: Legacy introduces Renee Ballard:
Upon leaving Taylor’s Steakhouse, Bosch clocks that someone in a car makes a U-turn right after he leaves the restaurant. He calls Mo to see if Mo can help find out who is tailing him. Bosch drives past Mo’s apartment so Mo can get pictures of the car following Bosch. Harry did not bring his gun with him to dinner, so he heads to the office to get it. Mo calls and tells Bosch the plate came back with no records on file. He could not see who was driving, only that the person was solo.
After getting to his office, Bosch slowly walks into the building and waits to see who is following him. A woman exits the following car, walks into the office building, and walks into Bosch’s office. Harry pops out of a door behind her with his gun aimed at her, ordering her not to move. The woman pulls a gun and announces herself as LAPD, but Bosch will not lower his weapon until he sees a badge. She shows her badge, and Bosch asks who she is. She responds with “Renee Ballard, RHD.” She wants the files Bosch stole from her.
The missing murder books:
Inside Bosch’s office, Ballard and Harry talk about the “Flower Girls” murder books that have gone missing from Hollywood Station. Bosch only made copies before leaving the department, so someone else has taken the original murder books. It takes Harry a moment before he catches on to the reason Ballard is looking for the murder books. There is a “fresh” case. Bosch wants to make a deal; he will show Ballard the old cases if he can see the new one.
A flashback to season 7:
Bosch thinks back on the time he and Robertson talked about the Flower Girls pictures on Bosch’s desk. Robertson asks if they are unsolved cases to which Bosch says that they are. He asks Jimmy if he has any, too. Jimmy says he has a few as well. Robertson asks if Bosch knows the names of the young women on his desk. Harry says he does not know their names.
Harry gets drawn from his memory when he hears his phone buzzing. It is Renee, and she agrees to Bosch’s terms and asks where they should meet. Bosch says they can meet at the pink chairs the next morning. They each warn the other to bring the murder books they each have.
Let the games begin:
At RHD, Renee Ballard tells Captain Rick Seals they need to accept the deal from Bosch, but Seals disagrees. Captain Seals tells her to set up a meet with Bosch, but to meet him with a search warrant. The next morning Chandler receives a heads-up that Bosch’s name surfaces. Chandler calls Bosch and tells him about the warrant for Bosch’s person, car, house, and office to seek files on an unsolved triple murder. Harry thanks Chandler for the heads-up.
At the pink chairs in downtown in GrandPark, Bosch waits for Ballard. Renee shows up with only the warrant, which Bosch calls her out on. Chandler had the warrant squashed for Harry, so Bosch is just playing the game which Ballard started. However, Bosch will soon have the upper hand. When Ballard returns to the PAB, there will be an official request from Chandler for copies of all the documents from the new case. Bosch will soon have everything he needs to work the case without Ballard.
Ballard and Bosch get to work:
At Bosch’s house, Renee shows up with the original murder book from the fresh murder, and a complete copy for Bosch. They review the key findings in the new case. The unidentified victim is of Asian descent and anywhere from twenty to twenty-five years old. There is a new tattoo. The victim was dropped on an entrance ramp in Los Feliz. The young woman is believed to be Filipina with mention of dealings with the “HiFi boys”. The report notes multiple stab wounds. The unknown murder weapon appears to have a sharp edge but not that of a knife.
Bosch brings a box from his room marked as Christmas light, which he had stored in his neighbor’s garage to keep the murder books safe from Ballard’s hands. They get to work looking over all the murder books together. We hear Renee and Bosch narrate more background information about the process used by the HiFi boys obtain the young women.
The connection between all the cases:
The killer had dropped all the bodies at southbound freeway entrances. There were no fingerprints, hair, or DNA left behind. Interestingly, Ballard looks away when Bosch reads that the killer left no DNA behind. Renee asks where the killer has been for thirteen years, a large time gap between the first three cases and the fresh one. She says what Bosch may have been thinking. She thinks that it is a cop they are looking for. Bosch says that he did not say that, but he is considering it has to be someone who had access to the stolen files. Bosch also adds that someone shut down the operation after Bosch started asking questions about the first three victims, and the killings stopped after that until now.
Ballard still playing dirty:
Before leaving Bosch’s house, Renee places a GPS tracker on Bosch’s car. Back at RHD, Ballard updates Captain Seals about what Bosch knows, and tells Seals she did not tell Bosch that the killer left DNA on the latest victim. Seals tells Ballard to keep that information hidden for the time being and to watch Bosch’s whereabouts.
Mo’s computer skills:
Bosch has Mo search several different words to see if they can find a website being used to display young women to date in the HiFi district. Mo finds a website named Filipino Flower Shop, which advertises young women. Bosch says they have to set up a date for Mo to get a close look at the operation.
Busted:
Outside the apartment, Ballard pulls up and chews out Bosch. As Ballard and Bosch argue about the right way to work the case, Mo says that a search warrant will not work. Ballard asks Mo why he is talking, and Mo says that he can guarantee that the person they are looking for will have a VPN browser that guarantees anonymity. That is why they need cooperation to set a trap. Renee orders Bosch to stand down. As she walks away, she reminds him that the case belongs to her now. After Ballard leaves he tells Mo that Ballard is right, saying they need to follow the rules so the case will not be jeopardized. Additionally, they need to scan his vehicle for a tracker because somehow Ballard knew where to find them.
Everybody counts:
At Bosch’s house, Maddie stops by for a visit, and Bosch wants an extra pair of eyes to review the murder books. Bosch says that RHD is excluding him from the investigation. Maddie reminds her father that he is retired. Harry says he wants to honor the promise he made to the victims to find their killer. Maddie references Harry’s creed, saying, “Everybody counts.” She asks if his mom was a Jane Doe. Bosch says that she was initially before investigators found fingerprints in a file. Harry shares that he still thinks about the fact that she remained unclaimed for a period of time.
Maddie cracks the case:
They begin reviewing the books, looking for anything that might not make sense or something that seems out of place. After a while, Maddie comes across a name that shows up at both the first and last crime scenes. The name Maddie spots is Jeremy McKe le, who happens to be the paramedic who pronounced death on both the first and most recent victims. Jeremy works at Station 32, adjacent to Hollywood Station. Bosch asks Maddie if anything feels unusual about him. She says she does not think so, but reports that he does slip through the back entrance to pilfer snacks from the station.
Writer’s note: On your next watch, pause the episode where Maddie is looking at the list of all the people who responded to the call. You will see some familiar names on the list.
Jeremy McKee:
Bosch calls Mo for background on Jeremy Mckee including the thirteen-year gap between the first three and latest victim. The connection is that McKee has access to Hollywood Station, and he was present at two of the four crime scenes. McKee grew up in Downey and continues to live there. It is located south of downtown, pointing to why the killer dropped the victims on southbound ramps. Twelve years ago, McKee moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he lived for ten years before returning to Los Angeles. Barrel mentions that Jeremy probably moved back because he heard Bosch had retired. Crate says McKee matches a lot of criteria for the killer. Crate and Barrel agree to keep watchful eyes on Jeremy McKee.
Ballard comes clean:
Bosch calls Renee and tells her they have identified a suspect. He brings her up to speed when they meet up. Bosch notices a small shovel keychain she has, and asks her about it. Renee says it is a reminder to dig down. Ballard then tells Bosch about the DNA left on the latest victim. Bosch says they need to get a DNA sample from McKee for comparison, but they need to hurry because he does not want another woman hurt or killed. Harry mentions that he has people on McKee, and they go to meet up with Crate and Barrel, parked across the street from a bar McKee is at.
DNA capture attempt:
Ballard heads inside the Three Clubs Bar, where McKee is having drinks, to attempt a DNA capture. While Ballard watches Jeremy inside the bar, Mo tries to attach a tracker to McKee’s truck. Renee texts Bosch that Jeremy is on his way out and attempts to grab the bottle McKee was drinking from. However, the bartender takes the bottle away before she can reach it. Mo is half successful putting the tracker on McKee’s truck, but he did not have time to hard-wire the tracker.
DNA capture success:
After Ballard was unsuccessful to get the bottle Jeremy was drinking from, Bosch calls Maddie to see if she is working. Vasquez and Maddie tail McKee, and in doing so catch him rolling through a stop sign. They pull him over and administer a breathalyzer to determine his blood alcohol level, but the real reason was to secure his DNA on the plastic tube he had to blow into. McKee tries to bond with Vasquez and Maddie since he works next to Hollywood Station. Vasquez writes him a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign and lets him go since his alcohol level is below the legal limit. Maddie places the plastic tube from the breathalyzer into an evidence bag.
Ballard gets a dose of Chandler:
Bosch and Ballard see Honey Chandler and inform her of the evidence they have obtained so far. Chandler says the case is not ready yet. She reminds that the defense just needs to convince one juror, and McKee would be found not guilty. Honey says to get a warrant, get more evidence, especially the murder weapon, for the case to be solid.
The twins:
Ballard, Bosch, Mo, Crate, and Barrel all discuss what is next for getting more evidence against Jeremy. McKee’s truck is at Station 32 and the parking lot is highly secured. Jeremy parks in the garage when he gets home. That means “the twins”, aka Crate and Barrel, will have to be at Station 32 when McKee exits work. Crate and Barrel, per usual, have a fun back-and-forth after being called twins.
Tracking McKee:
With the battery on the tracker dying, Crate and Barrel follow a distance behind McKee’s truck. Bosch and Ballard monitor the tracker, and head in the direction McKee is heading, which is towards the HiFi District. Mo, on the other hand, lockpicks his way into McKee’s house. The tracker battery dies, and Crate and Barrel head in the wrong direction. Mo strikes paydirt, and he finds the stolen murder books in Jeremy’s house. To determine where he has gone, Mo hacks into McKee’s computer and discovers that he had a date set up for the previous evening.
A life saved:
Ballard deduces that McKee set up the date for the night before to obtain his victim’s address. He then arrives at a different time to conceal the connection. Mo relays the address to Bosch and Ballard, and they quickly head to the address. Jeremy uses a tool to access the apartment complex and makes his way to an apartment. They make it to the apartment and Bosch kicks in the door. As they are heading towards the bedroom, there is a crash of glass as McKee tries to escape out of a window. Bosch catches him and puts him on the ground and asks for Ballard’s cuffs to cuff him.
The young woman, although duct-taped on the mouth, tied with zip-ties, and lying on a sheet of plastic, is unharmed. Ballard tells her she is okay and asks for her name. The woman says her name is Jasmine, but when asked what her real name is, she says it is Evangeline. Evangeline tells Ballard that Jeremy knocked on her door, ordering her to open it because he was with the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Ballard takes her out of the room and Bosch asks Ballard to call it in.
Promise kept:
In an emotional moment in Bosch’s office, Bosch spreads the photos he has kept of the Flower Girls on his desk. Bosch puts his hands over the pictures and briefly closes his eyes. Harry gathers them up, stacks them, and puts them in the inside pocket of his sports coat. Bosch finally got the man responsible for the death of the Flower Girls.
The murder weapon and other evidence:
Ballard hands Chandler a plastic evidence bag containing a tool called a fireman’s friend. Firefighters use the tool to gain access to a burning building. It is how McKee accessed the apartment complexes where he killed his victims. McKee also used the firemen’s friend to kill his victims. Not only did Jeremy kill the young women, but he also filmed his kills and then transferred the videos to the dark web.
Dig Down:
Renee and Bosch walk through Grand Park. Bosch compliments Ballard’s work, and says, hopefully they will be able to work together again. reminding her that they captured a serial killer. Ballard tells Bosch she used to have a partner who said that this type of job can take you into the darkness. Renee says that she feels that Harry carries some of the darkness. They say their goodbyes and walk off in separate directions.
Bosch: Legacy season 3 closes with a song. It is titled “Dig Down” by Muse. It is also the title of this episode and a reminder for Ballard, which is the reason for her shovel key chain.
What were your thoughts, questions, or concerns about this episode or the whole season of Bosch: Legacy? Let us know at bosch@somanyshows.com
Keep checking So Many Shows for ongoing coverage of Bosch: Legacy with news, interviews, and the Everybody Counts Podcast.
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