Danner admits to lying to the captain and also to Culp. Culp warns her she could lose her badge.

Aniq and Yasper listen in. Aniq realizes that this means Danner is not supposed to be working the case.

Zoe approaches, asking what Aniq and Yasper are listening to. They pretend to be listening to Xavier’s music. Aniq tells Zoe he wishes he had given her the mixed CD. Zoe wonders if things would have been different had she known.

Aniq thanks Zoe for sticking up for him in her interview. She asks how he knew. Aniq confesses that they were listening, and he explains how. Zoe seems impressed, and she wants to listen to the conversation. Yasper gives Zoe his earbud.

Danner talks about the ringer from L.A., Detective Germain. She explains that they were in the police academy together. Danner starts telling Culp her backstory about how her father didn’t think girls should be cops, but she wanted to be because he was. When her dad died, she joined up.

Danner struggles through cadet training, but Germain gives her encouragement. Afterward, Germain and another cop ask her out for drinks, but she refuses. Later, they graduate from the police academy.

2014. Danner and her partner take a report from a woman about her stolen egg pod cooker. Danner’s partner tells the woman that they probably aren’t going to find the guy who stole it. The woman says it wasn’t a guy -- it was a girl. She shows them the video from her door camera app. It shows a girl with green hair in a blue hoodie stealing the package from her doorstep.

The woman says she posted it online right away. Danner asks why she didn’t call them when it first happened. The woman says it’s because she didn’t think the cops would do anything -- she’s only reporting it to get sent a new one.

A 187 comes through on the comms. Danner and her partner head to the scene of the crime.

The cops on the scene ask Danner and her partner to patrol the perimeter. Danner sees a guy crying on the front stoop and guesses it’s the husband of the deceased. Danner and her partner split up.

Danner flags down her friend Trish, a lab tech, coming out of the house. Trish confides that the husband is the one who found his wife. The husband is a television writer. Trish explains that they caught an altercation on the doorbell cam. A girl in a blue hoodie was about the steal a package then attacked the wife when she opened the door.

Danner asks if the blue hoodie girl had green hair, which Trish confirms.

Danner approaches Detective Germain, who calls her Mad Dog. She shows him the footage of the egg-cooker thief from a few houses down, who wears a blue hoodie and has green hair.

Germain is impressed with Danner’s initiative. He shows her the house’s doorbell cam footage, and Danner says it looks like the same girl. Germain heads back into the house, taking her phone. Danner calls after him, but he doesn’t listen, so she goes in.

Zoe and Aniq continue to listen together.

Culp interrupts, asking how this story is relevant. Danner insists it’s important.

Yasper is still curious about Danner’s story. Zoe and Aniq assure him they’ll catch him up.

Danner and her partner head to Echo Park -- Danner got an address from running the partial license plate of the car in the video. Danner sees the car and stops, causing her partner to spill hot coffee on himself.

Danner and her partner draw their guns and scope out the property.

Danner knocks on the door, and a young man answers, holding a bong. When Danner asks if the car is his, he slams the door and runs. The man and his companion, a green-haired girl, run into the alley, with Danner in pursuit. Danner’s partner comes around the other end of the alley, and they both draw their weapons on the two. Danner asks the girl her name -- it’s Willow.

Danner notices the tattoo on Willow’s hand -- Valerie, her mom, who passed recently. Willow explains she has to put her genius sister through school. Willow says the egg cooker theft was a victimless crime. Danner says murder is not a victimless crime, and Willow is confused.

At the station, Germain congratulates Danner for bringing in Willow. Danner is dubious. Her instinct tells her that something doesn’t seem right.

Germain asks Danner if she’d like to help him question Willow, which she agrees to do.

Willow offers to give the pod cooker back, but Germain says he only cares about the murder victim. Willow insists she didn’t kill her. Germain says they found Willow’s prints at the scene. Willow says that she and her boyfriend were at an art exhibition in Eagle Rock at the time, so she couldn’t have been there.

Danner looks it up and finds a picture of Willow in a red hoodie at the art exhibit in question, saying it seems highly unlikely that Willow could have done it. Germain gets angry at Danner and asks her to get coffee. Danner leaves as Germain continues to question Willow.

Danner rewatches the pre-murder video and notices that the package thief is wearing gloves -- fingerprints wouldn’t have been possible. Danner watches the previous package theft video and notes that the thief wasn’t wearing gloves.

Danner notes that the woman (the writer’s wife) looks confused in the second video, as though she knows the thief. Danner thinks it could be a copycat.

Danner visits the writer, Vaughn. Vaughn confirms with her that they’ve made an arrest. Danner says she’s just trying to tie up loose ends. She asks if there was anyone who had a grudge against his wife. She thinks it might be a copycat, pretending to be a thief.

Vaughn panics and asks Danner if he is a suspect. She insists that he’s not. She explains that the killer wore gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints -- and why would he need to wear gloves in his own house with his fingerprints everywhere?

The doorbell rings, and it’s Tatiana, the Marshall Law costumer. She gives Vaughn some flowers and a hug. Vaughn introduces Tatiana to Officer Danner. Danner excuses herself and leaves.

Danner visits the Marshall Law set. Crew members think she’s a background extra when she accidentally gets in the shot.

Danner heads to the costume trailer. Tatiana tells them she’s a real cop. Danner asks what was going on around noon on Tuesday. The other costumer explains it was chili day, and they were all eating under the tent. Even Tatiana, a vegan, was there, eating her salad.

Tatiana notes that Vaughn always takes a nap in his trailer during lunch. Danner asks if Vaughn would ever come into the costume trailer. The other costumer notes that he came in on Monday for a costume for his nephew’s party. Tatiana asks if Vaughn is a suspect. Danner explains that she’s just being thorough.

At the station, Germain confronts Danner for meddling, saying they are reading to announce the killer, but Danner doesn’t believe it’s Willow. Germain insists that it is and that Willow is ready to take a deal. Not only that, but Vaughn wants to make Germain a consultant on Marshall Law.

Later, Danner is on the phone with her mother, explaining that she thinks Vaughn and Tatiana are having an affair. Her mom suggests she go back to teaching. Danner hangs up and hate-watches a bit of Marshall Law.

Danner finds Willow’s attorney and tells him everything she knows. She thinks Vaughn stole costumes, dressed in the hoodie and wig, pretended to steal the package, and killed his wife because she found out he was having an affair. She thinks he added gloves to cover the fact that he didn’t have a ‘Valerie’ tattoo.

Danner tells the attorney to ask around at Marshall Law, especially since Vaughn has no nephews, but stresses that he shouldn’t tell anyone he heard it from her.

The attorney tells everyone he heard it from Danner, and she gets reassigned to the records room with no chance for advancement.

Willow’s case gets dismissed, so Danner believes the demotion was worth it. One day after work, Danner meets Willow. Willow thanks her and says she will give the pod cooker back. Danner tells her to keep it as the woman she stole it from already got a new one. Danner starts going on about her deviled egg recipe.

Culp interrupts, asking if Vaughn ended up going to jail. Danner explains that he did not -- there was not enough evidence.

Culp asks her the point of her story and if she believes Aniq is innocent.

Danner admits she doesn’t know; however, she believes that if they don’t solve the case before Germain arrives, Aniq will go down for it whether he’s guilty or not.

Aniq listens, worried.

Culp says he knows Danner sees Aniq as a kindred spirit but notes that Aniq has been playing her the whole time. Culp finds Aniq’s phone and tells Danner they’ve been listening illegally. Into the phone, Culp announces that they are busted.

Zoe tells Aniq that she doesn’t think he did it. Yasper still doesn’t know what’s going on.

Zoe tries to get Aniq to think like it’s an escape room. Escape rooms are designed to make you feel hopeless, but everyone gets out in the end. Walt observes them awkwardly.

Danner agrees that Aniq has done some questionable things. Culp suggests she look to the most obvious explanation. He thinks her theory about Vaughn’s wife is convoluted.

Danner notices the open door to the recording booth. She has a light bulb moment and realizes she knows who killed Xavier and how they did it. There are loose ends to tie up — the wig and Jennifer #2. Danner notes that there is one person she didn’t interview that could have the answers that she needs.

Maggie runs in to greet her mom. Brett follows, insisting he can explain. Zoe asks Maggie to hum her quiet song and covers her daughter’s ears while she lays into Brett.