Ray and Frank sit for a very tense cup of coffee. It is a beautifully-framed shot, but the flat delivery on both men’s parts seemed to diffuse what should have been a nearly explosive scene. Ray confronts Frank about setting him up on the guy who allegedly attacked his wife. Frank had no idea; he thought the information was solid. Ray claims he would have been “different,” that he made him sell his soul “for nothing.” Frank reminds him that he didn’t “get” him to do anything; he gave him a name. It was just an excuse to become the man you wanted to be, deep down. Ray thinks it was so that Frank would have blackmail on a cop. He wants to know who gave Frank the name, and Frank agrees, if Ray helps him find Caspere’s hard drive. Things seem to soften between the two: both put their hands on the table (as opposed to clutching guns in their laps), but their tone of voice and stoney stares don’t change. Ray tells him that Blake has been running girls behind Frank’s back. Frank doesn’t seem surprised to hear this, but he shows no emotion during this entire exchange, even when, as Ray is leaving, Frank tells Ray he might be one of the last friends he has.
Ray goes straight from Frank’s house to the prison, where he meets with the man who was arrested for his wife’s attack. The accused claims he has a brain condition and doesn’t remember any of the horrible things he has done. Ray needed to look him in his eyes, and he is relieved to see this man does not resemble Chad, either. “If they don’t give you life I will remove every inch of your skin with a cheese grater,” Ray threatens before he leaves.
Later, at his supervised visitation with Chad, Ray is anxious because their chaperone is constantly scribbling down notes. It makes the afternoon very tense. Ray has a new model for them to build, but Chad doesn’t want to – the war machines they build represent death. Instead, he wants to watch “Friends.” While eating pizza and watching TV, Ray tells Chad that he might not see him as much. Chad “guesses” he’s not OK with that. In a surprisingly earnest and emotional speech, Ray tells Chad that his mom and her lawyers may tell Chad things, but whatever he hears, “You are my son. I am your father. I will always love you.” Chad dispassionately accepts and goes back to the TV.
So visitation didn’t go as well as Ray had hoped. He returns home that night with a bottle of scotch, a big bag of coke, and several cartons of cigarettes. He drinks and snorts and smokes all night, trashes his apartment, then calls his ex-wife and promises that he won’t challenge the custody if she doesn’t go through with the paternity test. He promises that they will never see him again, and I swear I thought he was going to shoot himself. He didn’t, but his ex explains that she needs to know Chad’s biological father – but she promises to keep the information to herself. This is enough for Ray.
We spend very little time in the bloody shed in the wilderness. Davis isn’t particularly interested in getting involved with this case, until the local sheriff comes in to take things over – then she steps up, claiming it is important for a state investigation. Davis wants Ani to work the escort angle, Paul to work the diamonds angle, and Ray (who never makes it to that crime scene) to follow up on the Ruffo girl. Basically what each of them were already doing.
Paul discovers that the diamonds were part of an unsolved robbery. During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a couple of jewelers were killed in what appeared to be a professional hit. The security cameras were dismantled beforehand. As soon as the couple was murdered, the store was looted. The couple’s children, a girl aged four and a boy just a year or two older, hid in the store until they could escape. They eventually ended up in the system. Because of the overwhelming amount of violence going on in Los Angeles during the riots, the robbery fell by the wayside.
Frank and his goons torture the location of Irina Ruffo out of a gang banger. They then storm her dumpy little house in El Monte. The house is empty, but they are only there a moment before Gonzalez and his cohorts show up. Frank gets to cross that off his bucket list: a Mexican standoff with real Mexicans. Frank offers them a deal: they produce Ruffo, and he will let them run drugs out of his clubs three days a week, and he won’t take a cut. Gonzalez promises a phone call, but Frank insists on seeing her in person.
That evening, Frank gets a call from Ruffo, who tells him that some dumpy guy gave her Caspere’s belongings to pawn. He gave her $500 and whatever she made from the pawn. Though he didn’t give his name, she could tell he was a cop. It takes some cajoling, and the offer of money, but Ruffo agrees to meet Frank in person. When Frank arrives at the meet, he finds Ruffo dead with a slit throat. Gonzalez and his goons reveal themselves, and explain they had to because Ruffo was, by her own admission, “working with the cops.” Frank is actually more upset that they killed her than he is about Gonzalez expecting him to hold up their deal. After all, Frank did get to see her. He never said anything about her being alive at the time.
Athena hooks her sister up with an invite to the escort party. Ani will have to dress well, and won’t be allowed to bring a phone or purse. She will be patted down and probably strip searched. Ray and Paul will back her up on the perimeter of the property. Ani doesn’t want to get Davis involved unless they have something definitive.
Bowls of Viagra are spread out like dishes of M&Ms. Before the party, the escorts are given a hit of pure Molly, to loosen them up. It doesn’t really help Ani, just makes her woozy and disoriented. An oil tycoon takes a fancy to Ani, likes that she is a real woman, not one of these “little girls.” As he leads her upstairs, where the real action takes place, Ani has flashbacks to her childhood abuse at the hands of a pudgy, washed-up hippie in his child molester van. She excuses herself to the bathroom, and forces herself to vomit. As she takes a minute, she looks out over the sea of hookers in the bathroom. Most are giggling and smoking and drinking, but one woman is passed out in the corner, in even worse shape than Ani is. This is Vera, her missing person. Ani snaps into savior mode and helps Vera out of the house. On the way, her date finds her and is not happy that she didn’t come back to him. She beats him up, lays him out, and security chokes her against the wall. Ani is about to die but she stabs the security guy with a knife she pilfered off the buffet table and he drops dead. Ani grabs Vera and the two of them rush out of the house, where Paul meets them and helps them down to Ray in the car.
While the girls were in the house, the guys overheard Osip and the rail authority guy. They discuss a $12 million deal that is worth far more than “Frank Seymon’s deal with Caspere.” When the men vacate the office, Paul sneaks in and steals the files out of the desk. They meet up with the girls and barely escape.
You can check out the promo for episode 2.07 of “True Detective” in the player below. Titled “Black Maps and Motel Rooms,” the episode will air Sunday, August 2 at 9 P.M. on HBO.
