Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2020) s01e03 Episode Script

1 Previously on "Lincoln Rhyme" or put me in this bed.
I'd like Officer Sachs to be my point person.
I updated your camera rig to be a bit more subtle.
- Dad.
- If I go after him again We're thousands of miles away, Lincoln.
Rachel.
My sister literally got kidnapped by a serial killer because of this job.
You saved me.
"Et nos ludere.
" It means "let's play.
" The Bone Collector's back.
Are you Gabby Karimov? Yes.
It's right over here.
I heard a woman screaming, and there's blood.
Ma'am, you on any prescription medications? Have you ingested any illegal drugs tonight? No.
What are you talking about? I saw blood.
It was there.
And there was a car with a man and a woman inside, and she was crying.
And this was on the ground.
What you looking at? Oh, nothing, just stuff for Lincoln.
- Ooh, sweet.
- "Sweet"? Oh, you're in a chipper mood.
Did you sleep well? Yeah, it was my first solid eight hours in weeks.
Love it.
I'll see you tonight? Yeah.
I'll be home late though.
Remember? I'm seeing Fall Out Boy at Barclays.
Lil, Jess, and I are going.
Are you sure you're ready for that? Yeah.
The guy who grabbed me is dead.
Can't hurt me anymore.
And I just I really want my life to go back to normal.
Go have fun.
Five years ago, when the Bone Collector first sent Lincoln a human radius, he put it through a unique process.
He withdrew all the marrow, injected the shell with a compound of benzalkonium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, and bleach, and bathed it in water, salt, and hypochlorous.
The DNA had been scrubbed inside and out.
There was no way to identify who it once belonged to.
Let me guess.
He used the same process this time.
- It's a dead end.
- There are no dead ends.
Only places where one chooses to give up the search.
We don't give up.
What about the postmark? Tracked it back to Farmington, New Mexico.
Going through security video from the originating post office.
The Bone Collector isn't strolling into the post office to buy a pack of Forever Stamps.
He'd avoid cameras at all costs.
Which is why I am reaching out to smaller shipping stores in the area.
Ones without cameras.
Well, I can help you make those calls.
Oh, great.
Thank you.
How are you holding up? Must be pretty scary knowing the Bone Collector has your home address.
Yeah.
It is.
But I'm I'm mostly afraid for my sister.
I haven't decided if I'm even telling her yet.
Since 1888, when Jack the Ripper sent half a preserved kidney to George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitehall Vigilante Committee, serial killers have been reaching out to taunt law enforcement.
His behavior is nothing new.
Are you trying to tell me that this doesn't scare you? It scares me.
The Bone Collector has had me in his crosshairs for a long time.
So what? You just get used to it? Mm-hmm.
Lincoln, this is not something you ever get used to.
Sellitto is on his way.
Says it's important.
Something about a Lucy Arthur.
It's an exact match, but it can't be hers.
She's been missing for five years.
Forensics found a small amount of DNA and ran it.
It's hers, Lincoln.
It's Lucy Arthur's.
I remember reading about that case.
Grabbed on the way to school.
- It was terrible.
- Yeah.
No leads, no witnesses.
The entire New York Police Department searched for months.
We did everything we could.
Yeah, everything but find her.
It's not your fault.
For once, we're on the same page.
Maybe I would've been more help if I hadn't been so busy chasing the Bone Collector.
No, no, it was my case, so what did I miss? What didn't I do? I think about her every day.
Maybe this is the lead that brings her home.
Maybe.
Look, tell me about the woman who found her.
Ah.
Gabby Karimov.
She says last night, she heard a woman scream, she went to investigate, she saw blood on the floor of a vacant apartment.
Then a gold Cadillac drove away with a man and a woman inside.
The woman looked upset.
The charm was lying in the middle of the driveway like maybe the woman had just dropped it.
You're speculating.
Did Ms.
Karimov recognize the car or the people inside? Well, she says she may have seen the car in the neighborhood, but not recently.
She did not know the people.
She called the police, but when the police came a few minutes later, the entire apartment was clean.
- Clean? - Spotless.
We sent in CSU, and they didn't find anything either.
Because the whole room had been wiped down with bleach.
The walls, the floorboards, the doorknobs, even the ceilings.
Professional cleanup.
Well, were there any other witnesses that heard the initial scream? Maybe called 9-1-1? Well, Ms.
Karimov lives in a small section of Sheepshead Bay that's mostly Russian immigrants.
It's only a few square blocks.
"Tight-knit community" is an understatement.
We're lucky she called the police.
Lucy would be 21 by now.
What if she's still alive? What if she's the woman Gabby Karimov saw in the Cadillac? Talk to Lucy's parents, then check around that neighborhood.
Does this mean you're taking the case? We're gonna find out what happened to Lucy Arthur, my friend, and we'll start by finding out what happened in that apartment.
You're saying someone found this in the street? Last night.
Over in Sheepshead Bay.
After all this time? Is there any reason why Lucy might have been in that area the day she went missing? Maybe to meet someone? No.
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
But it's an important clue, right? Yes, we're investigating it.
I just want to caution you both not to get your hopes up.
We can't get our hopes up, Detective, because we've never lost hope that we would find her.
Eric's running a search on gold Cadillac sedans.
Now, there's nothing registered within a ten-block radius of here, so he's pulling records for the tri-state area, cross-checking names.
Well, maybe the owner lives elsewhere and works nearby? Traffic cams? Not on these little streets.
Felix is getting everything he can off Emmons Avenue.
Are you picking up on this? It's like one of those Old West movies when the bad guys roll into town.
Only we're the bad guys.
That's half the neighborhoods we go into, but don't worry.
It only takes one.
Watch and learn.
Please, ma'am, let me help you.
Why is a beautiful woman carrying her own groceries? - What's wrong with this picture? - Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- Of course.
If you don't mind, we are investigating an incident in the vacant apartment across the street.
Did you happen to hear or see anything out of the ordinary last night? Not that I can think of.
It was around 11:00 p.
m.
A woman screaming.
Oh, that.
Yes, I heard an awful scream.
And when I looked up, I saw it was my neighbor, Natalya Gustev.
She said she saw a rat in the alley.
I told her, "You'll wake the whole neighborhood!" Is that all? I have to put the milk in the icebox.
Yes, there is one more thing.
We're looking for this girl.
Have you seen her? This photo's five years old.
She'd be 21 now.
We have reason to believe she'd been in the neighborhood recently.
I recognize the face, but only from the news.
She was kidnapped.
That's right.
I'm so sorry.
I cannot help you.
Thank you.
Let us know if you think of anything.
We really buying that the blood-curdling scream Gabby Karimov heard was just a woman frightened of a rat? Yes, that was me screaming.
I hate rats.
Oh, me too.
Do you know if anyone around here owns a gold Cadillac? Peter Ivanov, next door to me.
He has a gold car, but I'm not sure what kind.
I don't know cars.
We're looking for this girl.
Have you seen her? Peter? These police officers, they're asking about a gold car.
A Cadillac? I have a gold car, but it's a Camry, not a Cadillac.
- Big difference.
- Yeah.
Did you drive down this street last night around 11:00? Yes, with my wife.
Was she upset? I was taking her to visit her sister.
She didn't want to leave.
Have you seen this girl? Lincoln, there's more going on here than a distrust of the police.
These people are lying to us.
Witnesses lie all the time.
But lying to stop us from finding a missing girl, that's a new one.
Yeah, maybe someone closer to Lucy's age will care a little more.
Hi.
Excuse me.
I'm Officer Sachs, and this is Detective Sellitto.
We'd like to ask you a few questions.
I'm Sarah.
My parents don't speak English.
Ouch.
Looks like it hurts.
I fell, but I'm fine.
And we didn't see or hear anything last night.
Well, we're also looking for a girl.
She went missing five years ago when she was about your age.
Have you seen her? We don't know her.
Sorry.
That girl looked scared.
She was awful quick to tell us she didn't see or hear anything last night even before we asked.
If they're all lying, maybe they're covering for someone.
Well, how do we find out who that person is? Normally, I'd say go back to the crime scene, but since that's been scrubbed, let's visit the one person Sellitto believes is telling us the truth.
Gabby Karimov.
Ms.
Karimov, it's Detective Sellitto.
Can we talk to you for a minute? Detective, I'm afraid I've wasted your time.
What are you talking about? The scream I heard last night, I talked with Natalya just now.
It was her.
What about the blood in the apartment? I must have imagined it.
I'm sorry.
I can't talk anymore.
The charm you found.
It belongs to a missing girl.
I don't know anything.
Leave me alone.
There's nothing to do.
Someone got to her.
What are they all so scared of? Why aren't they talking to us? Well, we may have lost a witness, but we're not out of moves yet.
Eric got a hit on the Cadillac.
Belongs to a guy named Nick Popov.
He lives a block away from here, but the car is registered to his sister in New Jersey, which is why it took so long to find.
Unis are bringing him in for questioning.
Where's the car? Officers said it's not at his place.
Witnesses lie all the time, but the evidence never does.
That car is another potential crime scene for us to examine.
It could take us right to Lucy.
Yes, I have a gold Cadillac.
Unfortunately, it was stolen.
Stolen? Oh, that's too bad.
Last night, from right out of my driveway.
I had a date with a nice lady from around the corner.
As we were walking home from dinner, we passed by my place, and I saw the car was gone.
I was gonna make the report today.
And this nice lady that you had dinner with, does she have a name? Natalya.
I, uh, dropped her off just before 11:00.
She was gonna stay outside for a smoke.
And then what happened? When I was walking away, I heard Natalya scream.
She said she'd seen a rat.
It was very loud.
Natalya, I said Yeah, let me guess.
You said, "You're gonna wake up the whole neighborhood!" Hey.
Have you seen this girl? No.
Why? Why? Because she's missing, Nick.
She was grabbed off the street five years ago.
Maybe she's dead, maybe she's alive, but she's got parents at home who are desperate to know what happened to her! I'm tired of this crap.
That was Auto Crimes Division.
Nothing yet on the gold Cadillac.
Popov won't talk.
Problem is, even if it was his Cadillac Gabby Karimov saw, Popov wasn't driving.
She said the guy was big.
And that was back when she was still telling us the truth.
- It's another dead end.
- No.
There are no dead ends.
Just places where one chooses to give up the search.
Lincoln.
We didn't get anything out of Nick Popov.
So we still don't know where the car is.
Well, we don't know where it is right now, but maybe you and I can find out where it's been.
A search for actual physical evidence.
I thought you'd never ask.
All right, this is it.
Popov's place.
You said Popov's car was allegedly stolen last night? Uh-huh.
Well, I say those tire tracks look a little fresher than that.
Maybe someone tipped him off that we were down here looking for the car and he hid it this morning? Get a sample of that mud from the tire imprint.
You got it.
Hi, Officer.
Whoa, what are you doing? I'm sorry, I was curious to see what you were doing and the coffee slipped out of my hand.
Sarah, why are you lying to me? In fact, why is this whole neighborhood lying to us? Whoa, whoa, wait, if you Please just come back Just get the sample.
If there's anything to find, a little spilt coffee won't keep Kate from finding it.
You lied to me.
You have a family.
I did not lie.
I omitted.
I don't think my personal life is relevant to you doing your job.
But yes, I have a family.
They live in Chicago.
It is relevant to me, Lincoln, if you sent them away to protect them from the same serial killer who has the home address of my family.
It's more complicated than that.
Hey.
I tested the mud you got from the tire tracks at Popov's place, - and it's a little weird.
- Weird how? Obviously, it's positive for coffee and milk, courtesy of one clumsy teenager.
Antibiotic and somatotropin hormone.
All common to the process of pasteurizing milk.
What's your point? My point is I also found very high levels of lactic acid.
Off the charts.
What does that mean? It means the milk was spoiled.
But no one puts spoiled milk in their coffee.
So it must have already been in the mud.
- What else did you find? - Just stiltgrass.
- Common to - Long Island.
We're looking for a dairy-related industry, possibly a pasteurizing factory.
They'll have a Russian employee who lives in Sheepshead Bay.
You find that person, and maybe we find Lucy Arthur.
Well, don't you look mysterious? Thought you two were getting lunch.
Yeah, we're just heading out.
Jane wanted to come by and say hi.
Yeah, see what you're working on.
One of your forensic projects? She is fascinated by what you do.
I told her you used to consult for the NYPD, but it's boring science.
God, not to me.
I read real crime books, I listen to all the podcasts, so I think, oh, the stories he must have, fascinating.
Just a job like any other.
I'm freelance now, like Danielle says.
Boring science.
Well, I'd love to get a sneak in your secret lair there.
Get a chance to see what you're working on.
Not a good idea, not with privacy issues and all.
Ah, I get it.
You want to be Mr.
Mysterious.
Okay.
I'll just have to sneak in one day when he's out.
She will too.
I would.
Because I changed my mind, that's why.
Yeah, but you said it was okay this morning.
And I have to meet these girls in 20 minutes, and I'm the one with the tickets.
I can't just bail.
Rach, look, I have already told you after everything you've been through, I just don't think you're ready.
Look, you can't just order me around.
You're not my mother.
And I'm going.
This place has been shut down for three months.
The owner says that he did have an employee that was Russian and lives in Sheepshead Bay.
Name's Dimitri Tarasov.
Where's Tarasov now? Well, unis went by his place, but the neighbors said he spontaneously went on vacation this morning.
Got Felix checking on flights.
Lincoln.
Are you seeing this? I am.
Let's get a little closer.
Guys.
This place has been closed for three months, but the water in that cup looks fresh.
So does the bread.
It's an icon corner.
What is an icon corner? What does that have to do with Lucy Arthur? It's a Russian burial tradition.
When a person dies, you leave fresh bread and water for them to eat in the afterlife.
We're looking for a grave.
I'm really sorry.
I know you wanted good news.
I told Lucy's parents not to get their hopes up.
I didn't stop to think about my own.
I let myself believe, even after all this time, she might be alive out there, waiting for us to find her.
That's a rookie mistake.
Hope can't be managed, Sellitto.
I think it's a good thing.
Look, I know I'm new to this, but I don't know how you do this job without it.
Found something! Well, that's not Lucy Arthur.
Yeah, but who is it? Max Sobirov.
42 years old.
No record, no family.
Lived in Sheepshead Bay for over ten years.
Employment? He was a stonemason, trained in Europe, worked for various contractors here, mostly churches and cemeteries.
And how did he die? A single stab wound to the lower chest.
The blade had a unique upward curve to it.
The tip broke off in one of his ribs.
A chust knife.
They were made in Uzbekistan, which was a former Soviet Socialist Republic until 1991.
Good work.
Keep looking into his background.
Okay, I'm in Max Sobirov's apartment.
This place is a mess.
Max was clearly a bachelor.
He also loved his own stonework.
That fireplace isn't original.
You know what, let me see the whole room.
He made that kitchen island too.
Oh, he considered himself an artisan.
That fleur-de-lis carving, it's his signature.
Huh.
Talented, quiet, kept to himself.
Why did someone want to kill you, Max? Lincoln, are you seeing this? That's Lucy Arthur's school uniform.
Max Sobirov kidnapped Lucy.
One of his neighbors figured it out and murdered him.
Ran into CSU downstairs.
They said the place was clean.
Well, there's no evidence Lucy was ever here, beyond her clothes.
And her charm.
How did that charm end up on that driveway? Wait, Max's keychain.
There's an extra ring on it with no key or fob.
Maybe Lucy's charm was on it, a trophy he carried with him.
It could've fallen off the other night in a struggle with the neighbors.
Lucy didn't drop it.
She was never there.
We just talked to Lucy's parents.
It was rough.
Yeah, but they had information.
Lucy's mom recognized Max Sobirov.
He made a tomb for them when Lucy's grandmother died.
So she wasn't a random victim.
Let me get a closer look at that kitchen island.
This doesn't look completely finished.
Those base dimensions are of a prefabricated mausoleum tomb.
We need to look inside.
We have to open this.
Oh! Is that her? Is that Lucy Arthur? Show me! Amelia, I need a full shot of her body.
I can't get any higher.
Well, how tall is she? Lucy was only 5'2".
I don't know.
Whoever's in this box was taller than 5'2".
It's not her.
It's not Lucy.
So who is she? And where's Lucy? Based on Gabby's original description of the large man she saw driving the Cadillac with the woman sitting beside him, I think that Dimitri Tarasov is our most likely suspect.
The employee at the pasteurizing factory.
Do we have a line yet on Tarasov? He jumped a flight to Barbados this morning.
Cops are at the airport there now waiting to grab him when he lands and send him back.
But even if Dimitri did murder Max, he still wouldn't have had time to bury the body and clean up the crime scene before the police arrived.
I mean, everyone in the neighborhood must have helped.
Mob justice.
A quiet neighborhood that takes care of its own problem.
Even if they did all work together to cover it up, Max was only stabbed once.
So you have lots of conspirators, but only one killer.
If it was Dimitri Tarasov, how do we prove it? Hey, this is Rachel.
Sorry I can't come to the phone right now.
You should tell her about the Bone Collector.
Excuse me? You asked before about my family.
My ex fiancée and I, that's who you saw in the photo.
She opened a letter from the Bone Collector after I had told her we weren't in any danger.
I had told her that because I didn't want her to be scared.
But when she realized a serial killer knew where we lived, knew her name, knew our son's name It's Camden, by the way Well, she wasn't just scared.
She was angry.
She left because she didn't trust me anymore.
I'm so sorry.
Rachel's gonna find out.
Make sure she hears it from you first.
In a world where girls her age are going missing, I'm just trying to protect her.
Start with the truth.
You're not gonna believe this.
What? What is it? Jane.
She went for a run, the same path I take, the same path we take, and she didn't come back.
What do you mean, she didn't come back? I mean they found her car, they found her keys, and she's gone.
They think somebody took her.
I'm just so scared for her.
And I just saw her.
I just hate to think of what might be happening to her.
Well, they'll find her.
I'm sure of it.
You really think so? I know so.
I've never felt safe out here.
I know.
They'll find her.
Poor Jane.
Hey.
I got Kate's autopsy report on the body we found at Max Sobirov's.
It definitely wasn't Lucy.
Jamie Bedford.
She went missing almost ten years ago.
Injuries to her neck were consistent with strangulation.
- Mm-hmm.
- And there's something else.
When Jamie was kidnapped, she was 16 years old.
Kate said when she died, she was at least 21.
He held her captive for five years.
Max Sobirov was attracted to teenage girls.
Jamie was 21 when he killed her.
Lucy was Jamie's replacement.
Maybe he kept Lucy alive too.
And she'd be 21 by now.
And now he'd be looking for her replacement.
We showed Jamie's parents a photo of Max Sobirov.
They recognized him.
Max built a tomb for Jamie's uncle shortly before she went missing.
Just like Lucy.
It isn't random.
He meets them first, chooses them.
Sarah.
The girl with the black eye? What if Max tried to abduct her, but she fought him off? She tells her parents, they round up a posse to teach him a lesson.
It goes sideways.
Max is killed.
They were all involved, so they all cover it up.
But they didn't know about Lucy.
They might have information.
They don't even know it's important.
Good luck getting them to talk.
They're too afraid of being arrested.
Well, we have to try.
There are no dead ends, right? You heard her.
Thank you for meeting with us.
I told them what you said, that a girl's life was at stake.
Thanks, Gabby, It's important to know that nobody will be arrested based off of what you tell us here today.
We just want to find Lucy Arthur.
What happened to Max Sobirov, we'll deal with that later.
We want to do what we can to help.
I didn't know you spoke English.
I lied.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry about the coffee too.
I just I was trying to protect them 'cause they didn't mean to hurt anyone.
I believe you.
And you were the woman who screamed when Max was killed? You were trying to stop it.
So you made an icon corner at his grave.
Did Max say or do anything the other night that might help us find Lucy? At first, he refused to talk.
So I hit him.
Hard.
I demanded to know.
Where were you gonna take my Sarah? What were you gonna do with her? He said Max said, the graveyard.
We knew what he meant.
That he wanted to kill Sarah.
That is when it ended.
We didn't know there was another girl until you came and started asking questions.
And then we thought Max must have murdered her long ago.
We didn't know she was alive.
You must believe us.
So they didn't give you anything we can use.
Hang on a sec.
Let's break this down.
Max said graveyard.
They thought that meant it was a confession, that he planned to murder Sarah.
But if Jamie Bedford's any indication, he actually doesn't kill the girls right away.
He keeps them somewhere.
It's not only a lie, it's a foolish one.
All Max did was escalate an already bad situation.
But what if he wasn't lying? What if he was trying to give them a genuine location? The man repaired mausoleums for a living.
Maybe he retrofitted one at a nearby graveyard, and that's where he keeps the girls.
There are dozens of cemeteries in Brooklyn and Queens.
The Cemetery Belt stretches over 2 1/2 miles.
It's so big, you can see it from space.
And if I have to kick in every mausoleum door in the city to find Lucy Arthur, I will.
Check Max Sobirov's work history.
Go back at least ten years.
Guy's worked in every cemetery in the five boroughs.
Stick to Brooklyn and Queens for now.
One that's not too big.
They'd have too many groundskeepers and staff lurking around.
But not so intimate as they'd have people that might notice his comings and goings.
Okay, filtering by size, there are six cemeteries in New York that are 10 acres or less, and you are seriously in my personal space right now.
How many mausoleums in each cemetery? Organize them by name, and crosscheck them with Max's former clients.
We just got word from the unit at St.
Peter's.
Search was a bust.
How many mausoleums do I have left on my curated list? Two.
Officers are on the other side of the property now, and our team's taking this one.
Number six was a bust too.
Lincoln, if this doesn't pay off, we're back to square one.
She's not here either.
Stop right there.
What do you see? That crypt.
You see the door? Yes.
Guys, over here! Fleur-de-lis.
Max Sobirov's signature.
Bolt cutter.
- I'll get ESU to clear.
- No.
I'm going in.
Lucy Arthur! Lucy! Lucy! Can you hear me? Let me out! Let me out! Help me! I'm in here! Help me, please! Help me, please! Stand back from the door! - Okay! - Battering ram.
You found me.
Oh, honey We've got you.
This was a good day.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Arthur.
Detective, the officers wouldn't tell us anything.
I know, um she wanted to tell you herself.
Mom? - Dad? - Lucy? Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God.
Thank you.
Nice work.
Dimitri Tarasov.
Plane from Bermuda lands at JFK in one hour.
I told the officers we'd be there for the handoff.
Any evidence Tarasov owned a knife like the one they used to kill Max Sobirov? He bought a chust knife a year ago in a little place in Brighton Beach.
They're getting me a receipt and a photo for forensics.
Ms.
Mustafin.
What a surprise.
How can we help you? Yes, you can take this into evidence.
That's our murder weapon.
Yes.
It's mine.
I killed Max Sobirov.
To protect the children of our neighborhood.
No one helped me.
No one on my block heard or saw anything.
We're gonna get you settled in our interview room, all right? I've been questioned in worse places.
You really think the DA's gonna put an old lady in prison for killing a predator like Max Sobirov? What, are you kidding me? I think they might try to give her a medal.
Hey.
You, uh, left before I was up this morning.
How was school? The usual.
Ha.
How was work? Not the usual.
But it ended well.
Look, here's the thing.
I know you're this superhero with a crazy job, but when things go wrong, you can't bring it down on me.
I know.
I know.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry too.
For what I said.
I know you just have a lot on your plate and you're just trying to do your best.
Yeah.
I got you a T-shirt.
Oh.
Oh! You like it? Of course.
Thank you.
Hey, if you ever need to talk about anything, I can handle it.
It's just cop stuff.
Everything's fine.
I promise.
Remember what Dr.
Trask said.
It's unpredictable.
It's gone is what it is.
Well, it's just a toe.
You said it.
Lincoln? Sellitto.
Congrats on bringing Lucy home.
Thanks.
I came to celebrate.
Our old tradition.
Close a case, raise a glass.
Not that I can raise mine.
I got you covered.
To Lucy Arthur.
To never giving up.
Yeah.