The Equalizer

I serve as an equalizer.

I'm the one you call when you can't call 911.

Cuff me now. Do it.

Previously on The Equalizer...

Was it really about the family, Pop?

Or was it just about you?

The system was getting in the way

of us getting justice,

so I did what I needed to do.

You don't have to be so tough, you know.

I'm not scared of nothin'.

Prove it. Because part of being brave

is making hard choices to change your life.

- I can't do this. - Excuse me.

Are you Kisha Griffin?

You said you never had someone

who believed in you. Well, now you do.

- F you ever need help, call me. - I

I'm ready.

_

Don't even think about it.

Danny Min.

Neighbors don't steal.

They give.

Yes?

Now go before I bake you into an egg tart.

Psst.

Leave me alone.

Whoo! Best day of the year right here.

Is that right?

Ah, I can already smell it:

the ragout simmering,

ooh... that duck all crisp and golden.

Damn. Cassoulet day.

I'm so glad that your memory's sharp, because

that's the only way you're gonna be experiencing it today.

Wait... Where's Delilah?

I thought she was supposed to be helping you.

She was. She got a better offer.

What're you talking about?

You two have been planning this for a week.

And then a friend of hers called,

asked if she wanted to go shopping.

Dee wanted to go, so I let her.

Oh, hell no.

She needs to get her butt back here.

- You don't just bail on family. - You know the reason

I only make this recipe once a year is because it is hard.

It takes hours. And the only thing

worse than being stood up is being stuck in a hot kitchen

all day with a sullen teenager

who can't take her eyes off her phone.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, she needs to be up in her room

all day without a phone.

Promise me you're not gonna punish her.

I don't want that to be the reason

that she does this with me.

But I...

Robyn, no.

This recipe is special to me.

It's part of our family.

If Dee wants to spend the day buying shoes,

then... so be it.

Hey.

She called me her "constant noise."

Never tried to quiet me down,

even though I was a total delinquent.

Ms. Li didn't have any children,

so every kid in Chinatown became her surrogate child.

Eight Treasure Bakery was our community center.

Eight Treasure?

Is that the place with the amazing moon cakes?

This is her second location.

She opened the first in '71, at the heart of Chinatown,

right after emigrating to New York City.

The new location was an overnight hit.

Until four days ago, when someone burned it to the ground.

With Ms. Li inside.

Fire department said it was electrical.

Autopsy showed she died of smoke inhalation.

The cops wrote it off as an accident.

But you don't believe them.

In the last few years,

the attacks on the Asian community...

You think it was a hate crime?

I'm sure it is.

It started with reviews, on her Yelp page.

Not just hateful and vile.

Some felt like threats.

A week and a half ago, I found her

scrubbing spray paint off her walls.

Someone had kicked in the door and vandalized the inside.

She wouldn't tell me much about it, but...

You think she was targeted.

I started walking Ms. Li to and from work every single day.

The one night that she convinced me not to pick her up

because she was working late and alone,

an "accidental" electrical fire kills her.

It can't be a coincidence.

Look, I have evidence.

I went back to the bakery after the fire department left.

I found this outside by the back door.

Ms. Li swept up every single night after closing.

The cops weren't interested. But I'm hoping you are.

I'll never forgive myself for abandoning her that night.

And I won't abandon her now.

Yep, this has all the greatest hits.

"Go back to your country,"

"stop eating dog," "stick to math."

You'd think they'd have gotten a little bit more creative

since I was a kid.

Thing is, up until a couple of months ago,

this was a solid five-star establishment.

I mean, these reviews didn't just, like, trickle in.

They hit all at once.

Ms. Li made some enemies.

Yeah, and so did the woman who was beaten in Times Square.

And the women who was stabbed at a bus stop in San Francisco.

And the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings.

They were innocent.

Didn't do a damn thing to deserve it.

See, this is why I do not let my grandmother

leave her apartment without me.

It's true. She's like an octogenarian Rapunzel.

But if Ms. Li was being targeted,

why didn't she open up to Chloe?

Maybe she decided to take it into her own hands.

Check this out. She recently subscribed

to a security camera system.

Which means there should be footage from the night of the fire.

Yeah, it's all uploaded to the cloud.

All right, I got it. This was the last one

recorded the night she died.

Half an hour before the fire started.

Frank. Too good for business hours?

- Must be one of her regulars. - I had to work late tonight.

Thanks for this, Ms. Li.

Please. Always open for you.

How many you want today?

A couple. Midnight snack.

Here you go.

Wait here.

Wait. What was that?

Sounded like glass breaking.

What happened? I don't know.

The video cut out.

I just texted a photo of Frank to Chloe.

She recognizes him from the bakery.

Name's Frank Mitchell.

- On it. - She said he's been

going to Ms. Li's for years.

Let me get an address.

Something up?

You remember Kisha?

Yeah, the young woman you met in jail.

Yeah, how's she doing with the counseling?

It's a process.

As part of her program, she has to speak

at a high school class today about her experiences.

I promised I'd be there.

But it's not for a few hours.

Which means I got time to pay Frank Mitchell a visit.

East Side. Apartment 5-C.

Stop! Please! I don't know anything.

Please, I told you. I don't know anything.

Get off me!

Hey!

Take a breath. Are you hurt?

I'm fine, thanks. Who are you?

A concerned citizen. What did he want?

I don't know. He just attacked me.

You said you didn't know anything.

About what?

Was it about Ms. Li? The bakery?

I know you were there that night.

How did you know that?

I'm an investigator.

The question is, how'd he know?

What exactly did he want?

He wanted to know if I saw who did it.

God, what if he was there that night?

He knows I'm a witness!

Okay, just calm down. Sit.

What did you witness?

Nothing. Like I told him,

I didn't see anything that night.

I know you saw something.

You heard windows breaking.

You got spooked. So then what?

What happens after the video ended?

Look, I did just save you.

And I might be able to stop whoever that was

from coming back... but only if you tell me what you know.

We both heard a window break.

Ms. Li told me to wait while she went to the back.

But I don't know what happened next. Because...

Because you didn't wait.

You heard what sounded like a break-in,

and you left her there? Alone?

I was scared, okay?