In 1983, Madness' Our House plays while a child version of Chief Bonner helped ERic with his homework. There's a voiceover of Chief Bonner saying that there were no signs of Eric being violent then. She is sure he did not do this to their mother. She was his whole world. A flashback shows her putting headphones on Eric's ears so he wouldn't hear her parents fighting and her mmother preparing herself to leave. But Eric went in and witnessed the dight. His sister ran off. She ran away as far as she could and never heard her mother's voice again. She believes her father did this. She went to a friend's and he brought her back and said Mom packed a bag and left. She thought her mother abandoned them but now realizes she was dead. She feels she was not innocent. She has looked the other way her whole life to protect her father.  She and Stabler decide to get proof that Bonner killed her mother.

Vargas doesn't see how but Stabler tells him to do what they did to Al Capone. Meanwhile, Bernie doesn't want to get rid of any of her stuff so that she can move into assisted living. She has a box of birthday cards and wants each of the kids to choose one. Stabler finds a baseball with Mickey Mantle's signature. Joe Jr. says it's worth a lot of money. Stabler says his father got it after he heckled Mantle. Randall says the father threw it at his head during a fight. Bernie tells Randall and Stabler to stop arguing over this. Joe Jr. can't stand it either and leaves.Randall wonders what's really going on with him.

Joe Jr gets in his car and shoots up. (So the heroin from the other week was his!)

Bonner Sr makes a statement to the press about what a tragedy the murders in Westbrook are. He's in shock but will assist. A reporter confronts him and he walks away.

Bell comes to the makeshift HQ and says she will be back full time soon and that this case is in their jurisdiction. Vargas says there is judicaal malfeasance in Westbrook. Data shows most convictions would not have held up if they had been given to a jury instead of Judge Bonner.

Jet has discovered some real estate developers who have built private prisons.  They just need to expose one injustice. Vargas has a list. Roy Clark is on that list.

Judge Bonner shows up and tells his daughter he would have been there for her if she'd told him. He says he loved her mother. She says she knows it was him. Was it anger or jealousy? Did she embarrass him? She realizes he broke her. He says she gave up on the family. She tells him he's finished and tells him to leave.

Stabler goes to see Clark who says no one else has believed he was set up in 20 years.

Judge Bonner's partners are not happy with him but he says this will die down and be over soon. However, one of the guys tells him that stabler is talking to Roy Clark. Bonner says to take care of it but don't touch Meredith.

Roy says that he was the only one searching for Jessica and Bonner found a way to shut him up. He has an alibi for the night of the murder he was convicted of. Jackson reached out to him and said he knew something about Jessica's case. THat might have been why he was killed.

Meredith and Stabler visit Jackson's widow who is glad to see Meredith. She has old notebooks she couldn't bring herself to throw away. She asks what this is about. They tell her they think Lonny knew something about the murders. They ask for permission to take the notebooks.

Vargas is shocked by the private prison interview. Bell has to get to IAB for an interview and asks Jet for a "thing." Vargas appears to feel left out.

Meredith runs into one of her cops and says she's taking a break from the spotlight. She finds out that her dad isn't here. and goes to check out the evidence room. She takes some files and runs into Logan when she leaves.

Stabler meets Cragen at a diner. He realizes Bell sent him. He says the IAB investigation is out of his control. Cragen suggests Stabler stop pissing off the people in charge of the investigation. He tells Stabler that Warren is connected to Gus Hanson. A bunch of robbers come in and hold everyone at gunpoint and Stabler tells Cragen to create a distraction on his signal as the guys are after him. Cragen pretends to have a heart attack and the robbers run away.

Logan is called in by the other guys who say that this is never going to end and Bonner is lying to all of them.

Bell sits for an interview with the IAB guy and defends Stabler. She also confronts him with the truth about Hanson. She makes it clear she is not letting Stabler go down for a dead man's grudge.

Bonner shows up and Stabler says to him you missed.  He gets a call from Vargas that all of Bonner's henchmen are on the move. He calls Meredith but she gets grabbed by a Bonner goon while they are on the phone (looks like Logan under the mask.) She fights back and shoots at the intruder as he runs away.

Stabler runs over to check on the Chief. She's in a darkened room holding a gun. She puts her gun in her boot and says she thinks it was Logan who attacked her. He had these pills on him. He was going to make it look like an OD. She doesn't think her father was behind this.

Jet calls. They have digitized everything from the Roy Clark investigation. Clark's friend was with Bonner. Bonner got him to change his story. Also Jackson believed Eric was responsible for Jessica's disappearance. They're searching for Clark's friend. Shooter at the diner was a prison guard at Lawndale. ADA gave them the green light to go after these guys.

Meredith and Stabler go after the bad guys. Meredith gives Stabler a gun and says consider yourself deputized. They go to the condo and find a dead body and a guy with a gun, who drops his gun and collapses. Bonner Sr says he told him to stay away from Meredith. He doesn't understand how it came to this. He says her mother never wanted a family and he was the one who loved and protected Meredith. She says it's all been lies. He threatens to shoot himself. She tells him if he loves her, don't do this. She takes the gun from him and arrests him.

Stabler asks Bell about IAB. She doesn't know yet. They are rounding up the cabal in the meantime and Stabler is ready to go.

Stabler goes to say goodbye to Meredith and see how she's feeling. She's packing up her office and feeling guilty for what she didn't do. She's not taking the deal the Feds offered. She'll cooperate and doesn't care if she's charged with anything. That'll make amends for the past. She hopes he doesn't have to start over. They need more of him, not less. She hugs him and thanks him for everything. He suggests she can build a new legacy.

Chief Bonner comes home and meets Roy Clark, who is finally free. His mother comes out of the house and hugs him.

Bell returns to the office and looks for her chair. Stabler comes in. She has the IAB report and gives him his badge back. They hug. He says he hid the chair.

Later, Randall and Elliot share a beer. Stabler has heard Bernie will be living with Randall, who says the assisted living place she picked is a scam. Stabler says you couldn't do it. Randall insists it's not the right place. Stabler says kind of like what I said. Randall wants to know what's going on with Joe Jr. Stabler wants to know about Pop first. Bernie comes out holding a blanket and says tell him. Bernie says Joe Sr. killed himself.  She has a quilt she once made for Stabler.