Lincoln Heights (2006) s01e04 Episode Script
What Lies Beneath
1 Previously on "Lincoln Rhyme" - [SCREAMS.]
- You can thank Officer Sachs here for saving that evidence.
Do you know how the Bone Collector got his name? He wrote a letter saying most people are just piles of bones.
What about the postmark? Tracked it back to Farmington, New Mexico.
Going through security video from the originating post office.
He'd avoid cameras at all costs.
I'd love to get in a sneak of your secret lair one day when you're not at home.
You're not gonna believe this.
Jane she's gone.
I think somebody took her.
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
Decay is as natural to death as death is to life.
Decomp fields like this give us a humane way to examine remains when affected by various elements.
Weather, wildlife, indoor, outdoor.
No crimes.
Each of the field's residents died naturally, donating their bodies to science to show us what death has in store.
Studying the process of decay serves a crucial purpose.
To help solve murders using forensic evidence - gathered from the remains.
- [YAWNS.]
By analyzing each stage of the decomposition process, we can help pinpoint the time of death.
A process that, as you can see, takes time to get used to.
How quickly does a body start to decompose? The process begins immediately after the heart stops beating.
Hey, guys? I think this one's moving.
[EERIE MUSIC.]
That's impossible.
Is there an animal under there? - [CROWD GASPING AND MURMURS.]
- Oh, God.
Call 911! - Oh, my God.
- [GASPS AND SPUTTERS.]
Ready for some movie magic? This is the first ever image of the Bone Collector.
You're really going to pause for fanfare? Okay.
I was able to restore the manager's cell phone video from the shipping center in New Mexico.
You'll be the first one to see it along with me, right now.
- It's not him.
- No.
No, it's not.
Why risk mailing a package on camera when you can pay some junkie teenager to do it for you? - Wait, pause it.
- [BEEPS.]
Go back to before the kid went in.
[BEEPING.]
Hey, zoom in.
[TYPING.]
That's him.
A white male.
Reflection's not helping much with the details.
Looks like he made a phone call.
Please tell me you can get something with that.
It's gonna take some time, but I've got a few tricks I can use.
All right, use them all.
Lincoln? Fred Hawkins is here.
- Who? - Sellitto's friend.
Firefighter, same injury as you.
I told you, I'm not interested.
And I ignored you and set it up.
Heads up, you're walking into a firefight.
I've been warned.
I think I can handle him.
Lincoln Rhyme.
It's great to finally meet you.
Sorry you got dragged over here.
I'm actually tied up in a case.
That's great.
You're back at work.
So if you'll excuse me Maybe just a quick cup of coffee? Saw a great place by the corner.
Then I'll let you get back to it.
Despite what you might've heard, Fred, I don't need a pep talk.
Last time someone told me to be hopeful was the day my reawakened mobility returned to its stubborn slumber.
I've been told that you've been creating an amazing world for yourself up here, and that's great.
I also think that the world out there is still out there for you too.
That's truly motivational, Fred, but You had a deep love of this city.
No, I breathed this city.
It pulsed in my veins.
Every cobblestone path I walked, every rickety stairwell I climbed, the parks, the tunnels Now it's all gone.
Sellitto said you used to play chess.
In the park? Now I can't even lift the pawn.
[EXHALES.]
You're right.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
[SIGHS.]
That's hard.
Everything's harder.
Things you'll probably never do again.
But the ones you can do Do them, Lincoln.
I'll take a rain check on the coffee.
- You do know you work for me? - I also care about you.
And you think I'm not doing enough? You are.
But I see how you look when you're watching Amelia out there where you used to go and walk.
I just think That I should get out there? How does that work for you, Claire? Sellitto is on his way.
Tell me why I should love this case so much? Josh Marlowe.
17.
Found with a 14 inch cut of steel rebar drilled through his heart.
I'll go out on a limb.
He was murdered.
It's not cause of death that makes this our case.
It's where they found him.
Saranac College, their forensics anthropology site.
- Seriously? - Forensics anthropology site? A decomp farm.
It's like a playground of forensics.
We use them to study how nature affects the human body post mortem.
A playground of dead bodies? Mm.
They test the effects of everything.
Water, heat, sun, insects, time So that when it happens to innocent people, we have data to guide us.
[LAUGHS.]
Some of my happiest memories from training were there.
Well, don't look at me like that.
Josh lived in the city.
He had no ties to the university whatsoever, except ending up dead there.
So the killers hid the body amongst a bunch of other bodies.
Except there's no hiding in a decomp farm.
Students and faculty do rounds all day long.
Document every change and every cadaver.
They know what bodies are supposed to be there, and what bodies aren't.
So either the killer didn't know that, or they wanted to show off their handiwork.
Either way, we gotta figure out how a live body ended up in a field full of dead ones.
And by live, he means alive.
Took his last breath as they found him.
Now, the chief requested someone who could investigate this without harming their delicate little, uh - [PHONE BUZZES.]
- Science experiment.
Hey, we might already have our first lead.
Victim's brother says he might know who did it.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
Hmm.
If we're lucky, the brother's right, and it's our last lead.
Let's get justice for this family.
You have to get him.
Arrest him.
- He killed my brother.
- Ray Coyne, your stepfather? How many people are you gonna let him kill? Ben, I believe what you're saying.
Okay? And we're listening.
We just wanna be armed with everything we know before we talk to your stepfather.
Can you help us with that? Okay, so you asked us, "How many people are we gonna let him kill?" Who else did Ray kill? My mother.
Eight go.
I should explain.
Ben's mother, Grace, was my best friend.
She died from complications of a heart condition.
They said that, but Josh knew Ray did something to her.
- Josh knew based on what? - He just Knew.
There were problems in the marriage.
The boy's father passed away five years ago.
They never liked Ray, never accepted him.
When Grace died out of nowhere, they blamed him.
Because he did it.
Ray has custody, but I try and help.
Ben, I wanna help you.
You can trust me.
You've lost a lot, too much, and I get that.
Believe me, I do.
So can you tell us, did Josh have any evidence? He's been trying to get evidence.
- Trying how? - He wouldn't tell me, but he said he was getting close.
Ray must have found out and followed him there.
- To Saranac? - To the body farm, yeah.
I don't understand.
Why would your brother be going to the body farm? That's where our mom's body is.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Mother and son dead in the same spot eight months apart.
Interested now? ( ) Meet Grace Marlowe, accountant, dedicated mother of two, and for the past eight months, resident at the Saranac College Decomp Farm.
Died from complications of Eisenmenger syndrome.
It's brought on by an atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall between the top two chambers of the heart.
Undiagnosed, it can lead to cardiac arrest, which is in our cause of death.
Well, alleged cause of death, right? Official cause of death.
Let's not get pulled offsides by two kids who don't like their mother remarrying.
Wouldn't be the first murder to be labeled as natural causes, but you knew that.
So Grace dies, donates her body to science, ends up a research cadaver rotting in a field for the better part of a year until her son comes looking for her, trying to find evidence she was murdered and dies 20 yards away from her.
What a tragic reunion.
- Like that Paul Simon song.
- Hm? Paul Simon.
He named a song after a dish at a Chinese restaurant.
Chicken and eggs on the same plate.
Called it the mother and child reunion.
That's clever.
I need you out on the decomp farm while Sellitto and Eric run down the wicked stepfather.
As much as I love spending every day in here, the decomp farm is my old stomping ground.
I could go with her.
She could go instead of me.
I need you here with me.
[UNEASY MUSIC.]
Fine.
Go.
Knock yourself out.
This is gonna be awesome.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[CROONER PLAYING ON RADIO.]
I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but You've a mocking tone.
The way you talk to people.
You're not a very nice person, Jane.
But you were a good friend to Danielle.
Made her feel happy which made me feel happy.
We were all happy.
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
[MUFFLED SPEAKING.]
But all good things must come to an end.
[MUFFLED CRIES.]
Quite a before and after.
He was steps away from her.
20 yards from finding out whatever answer he wanted.
The question is: what could Josh have possibly retrieved here that would help him? In the elements like this, Grace could've been fully skeletonized for months now.
Amelia, Grace is in good hands with Kate.
- We need to examine - Josh's crime scene.
Yeah.
On it.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Oh, rebar.
I think we can safely say we know the origin of the murder weapon.
Which means this wasn't planned.
Our killer had to improvise.
Seems like finding evidence isn't gonna be a problem out here.
Too many needles, [SIGHS.]
not enough haystack.
You will find extraneous evidence, tissue, bone fragments, footprints, but by process of elimination Yeah, look for evidence that doesn't belong.
I got it.
Look at the ground inside the site.
It looks damp, but it doesn't look like blood.
Mm, let's sample it.
Check the tarp itself.
It's the one thing apart from the rebar that we know the killer had contact with.
Okay.
Got something on the underside of the tarp.
- Blood? - Look, zoom in.
White hair stuck on blood.
Sticks out like a bloody thumb.
- I'll bag it.
- No.
Bring in the whole tarp.
I wanna test it for everything.
Hey, Coyne.
Detective Sellitto, Castillo, NYPD.
- I was expecting you.
- Is that right? I haven't seen or heard from Ben since I went to ID Josh's body.
Melissa told me he wants to stay with her? Figured it'd be a matter of time before he told you what he thinks about me.
What he thinks about you is quite the accusation.
Oh.
He's tragically misinformed, and it breaks my heart.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
I loved his mother.
Watching her die, suddenly, awfully It nearly killed me.
I know they didn't like me taking their father's place, but to think I could have harmed her? When Grace was sick at the very end, she didn't want the boys to remember her like that, so I tried to keep them from seeing her at her worst.
Josh thought I was hiding something, - but I got nothing to hide.
- Nothing? Look, I was working when Josh was murdered.
I'm a security guard.
There are logs.
There's video.
Very sorry about Josh's death.
If you have any information you think might help or any questions I have one question.
What Josh thought about Grace being murdered Could that really be true? Is that why this happened? You lock up the stepfather? Seems there are two sides to every story, which means we still have to do this.
- I hate morgues.
- Does anyone like morgues? BOTH: Kate.
- [LAUGHS.]
Well, she'll have to enjoy remotely.
Lincoln summoned her back when I interviewed the students.
You get anything? Just the eerie feeling that they're teaching each and every one of them - how to get away with murder.
- Yeah.
I think the idea is to teach them how to stop people from getting away with murder.
Now let's get a look at our victim.
The sooner we get out of here, the better.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Is it unusual for you, Dr.
Wasden? We never get murder victims here.
Uh, all of our bodies die of natural causes, so this is quite exciting Professionally speaking.
Totally get it.
And this one is unique.
Mr.
Marlowe was impaled from behind between 2:00 a.
m.
and 3:00 a.
m.
The weapon entered just below the right shoulder before entering the right atrium and rupturing the pulmonic valve.
But that's not what killed him.
The valve slowly leaked blood into his lungs, and he choked to death.
He must've suffered for hours.
The killer must've been in a hurry if they left him alive like that.
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
However, the body was cleaned Meticulously cleaned, swabbed beneath the nails and on all the defensive wounds.
Defensive wounds? Oh, yes, there was clearly a struggle.
He fought back.
But I found nothing transferred from the assailant.
Covering up something like that is no small feat.
So you're saying whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.
Forensically speaking.
Don't like to speculate, but it's a fair conclusion.
And how many people with that kind of knowledge also had access to the decomp farm at night? Well, that would be everyone here.
Maybe a hundred people every semester.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Officer Sachs, someone's been waiting for you.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Did you talk to him? Ben, what are you doing here? I wanna know what Ray said.
I wanna know what you found.
Okay, well, we just started, and yes, our people are talking to Ray.
- And what'd he say? - Ben, come on, sit down.
No, I'm I'm not gonna I can't sit.
Look, Ben, I get what you're feeling here.
No, you don't.
My brother's dead.
My mother's dead.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
You're right.
What you're feeling, no one else knows.
Okay, no one can understand what that kind of loss feels like.
But here's what I need you to know: it is my job, Ben, to get you the answers that you want.
Now look, if that means Ray, I don't know, but I can promise you that I will not stop until I find something.
Okay? So just sit down.
[SIGHS.]
You're not in this alone, Ben.
We got your back.
You're not gonna tell me what you found? I am when this is done.
- I want to believe you.
- Well, you can.
I promise you, I'm telling you the truth.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Wasden's fast.
Toxicology report.
Marlowe, Joshua A.
No volatiles, no illicits.
Perfectly healthy kid besides, you know The stake through the heart.
What about the tarp? The only thing of note was the hair Amelia found.
It's from an Angora.
Basically a house cat with white I know what an Angora is.
Okay, normally, this wouldn't be that helpful Because all manner of vermin descend on decomp farms to feast on bodies.
Well, cats aren't technically vermin.
Anyway, the position on the tarp suggests that the hair was between the tarp and Josh's body.
Meaning it was there before he was covered.
Which is why I asked Eric to check in with Ben.
No cat.
I think it came from the killer.
So we're looking for a killer with a cat.
- Seems to narrow it down.
- It's something! Felix! [INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
Could you please use the button on your chair? I have kind of a thing about being yelled at.
Have you found any connections between Saranac College and Josh? I'm looking into everyone.
Faculty, staff, students.
You should've been done by now.
I'm working on the Bone Collector footage.
I told you to drop that for now.
Yeah, you also told me to use every tool at my disposal.
Felix, after you get me what I need.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- He's not himself today.
- No, no, he is.
He's always been Lincoln-y even before was in that chair.
And that's fine.
You know that's okay because he's good.
He's better than good.
I mean, I get to do things here that I would never get to do somewhere else, but sometimes, it is just not worth it.
Honestly, I can't believe you'd stick up for him after the way he talked to you this morning.
I was pushing him, and he wasn't wrong.
I have a condition.
A panic disorder, really.
I can't be in crowds, can't go in public, can't even leave this apartment.
- Agoraphobia.
- I wanna get out.
I just can't.
He can, but he doesn't want to.
And that sets me off, which sets him off.
My two cents? It's got nothing to do with you.
His problem is that he lost to the Bone Collector, and he cannot accept that.
You're right.
He's not stuck in here, he's stuck in the same place in his life ever since that night.
That's it.
Of course.
- What? - Stuck in the same place.
I've been looking at this all wrong.
Uh.
[REVELATION MUSIC.]
Claire, we just might find the Bone Collector after all.
The beauty of chess is, you never know how many moves ahead your opponent is thinking.
So your point is, the same is true in catching murderers.
If Ray Coyne killed his stepson, was it because he also killed Grace? He feared exposure? There's two problems there.
There wasn't much left of her to be exposed, and Sellitto doesn't think Ray looks good for it.
You wanna know how many people I've arrested who didn't look good for it? Mm.
You're in high spirits today.
No different than any other day.
No, usually your mild disdain and impatience are part of your charm.
I come in here, and Claire's walking on eggshells.
Felix is grumbling Maybe people should just do their jobs.
Maybe they'd do them better if the work environment was a little more - harmonious.
- Look.
I care about catching this killer.
I care about finding what happened to Josh.
If I get impatient [SCOFFS.]
Fine.
I'll try not to get impatient.
Fine.
We may have found our man.
Stepfather was all broken up about his wife's death, only guess what he failed to mention.
A secret girlfriend.
- One of the other great motives: money.
Grace took out a $1/2 million policy on her life a year before she died.
She didn't leave anything to her kids? She did entrust, and guess who the trustee is until they come of age.
Josh was about to turn 18.
So Ray's share of the money was about to go away.
Problem is, his alibi holds up.
Maybe because he's not the one who did it.
This is the file Saranac College gave us on Grace Marlowe.
Seemed pretty thin on evidence, so I decided to check out a couple of other ones.
This one and this one.
All the other files on decomp farm corpses include reams of info.
Detailed notes, photos You're saying someone was trying to cover up everything about Grace.
No, not just someone.
Someone we met.
Autumn Bestin, the TA of the class.
- The one who found the body? - Yep.
She checked out the file three days ago and emptied it of almost every single piece of evidence on Grace, then suddenly finds her son's body two days later? I interviewed Autumn.
She said she didn't know Josh.
Sounds like Autumn lied to you.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
I was scared.
Who wouldn't be? So you did know Josh Marlowe.
Yes I mean, barely.
I'd known him for a week, I helped him find information about his mother, and there he was.
Murdered.
And you didn't think mentioning that would be relevant? I was freaked out.
I've seen bodies, but never a murder.
Well, that may seem more plausible if we didn't know you emptied out his mother's file.
No, that's how I found it.
Why were you trying to get it in the first place? Josh found out his mother had donated her body here.
He went around to a bunch of faculty.
No one would give him anything.
I mean, they're really not supposed to.
- So why did you? - I felt awful for him.
His mother had been murdered.
He kept saying her name.
I'd overseen her case when she arrived at the farm.
I remembered the name, so I told him I would see what I could find.
So what did you think when you found the file? It was unusual, so I went to the computer.
There should've been backups, copies Mm-hmm.
Grace Marlowe's file was empty.
Someone erased it.
You told Josh this? I did, and I sent him copies of what little I had, my personal notes from the time.
- Do you still have them? - I do.
It's not much.
A couple of photos, handwritten descriptions You think Josh was right.
She was murdered? And someone killed him because of what I gave him? Autumn's story checks out.
So Ray has motive, but also an alibi.
Autumn lied to us, but seems like she wanted to help find the truth - about Grace's murder.
- Alleged murder.
Oh, God.
I guess that's what becomes of us all at some point.
Standard Y-shaped incision, which means they confirmed the cardiac arrest.
Autumn said she took notes.
What else did she observe about the body? Skin inflammation, deep creases in the palms, excessive white on her fingernails.
Huh, Eisenmenger's syndrome should have caused a blue tint in the skin, not red inflammation.
Show me a more recent photo.
Zoom in on the sternum.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
No evidence of bone disease.
And only one chemical affects skeletal discoloration post mortem.
Arsenic.
Changes the bone even after you're dead.
Josh was right.
His mother didn't die of a heart defect.
- She was poisoned.
- And that's not all we pulled.
Grace's medical history She had celiac disease, which is hereditary.
Even if Josh didn't inherit the disease, he would've had the antibody deficiency, but in Wasden's tox report? His numbers are normal.
You're saying the medical examiner assisting us on this case falsified Josh's autopsy report? I'm saying what I see in the numbers.
So, what was Dr.
Wasden trying to hide and why? What are we not seeing? Mm.
Right there.
We're too busy staring at the results, we weren't focused on the signatures at the bottom.
Look who performed Grace Marlowe's autopsy last year.
Dr.
Arthur Wasden.
Detectives! How can I help you? Do you happen to own a cat, Dr.
Wasden? Allergic, I'm afraid.
What does this have to do with the case? Why didn't you tell us that you performed autopsies on Josh and Grace Marlowe? Josh Marlowe's mother, Grace.
Eight months ago, you performed the autopsy, and ruled it death by congenital heart condition.
I perform a great number of autopsies.
A mother and son.
That didn't strike you as odd? I wasn't aware.
Well, that's an interesting detail to miss, considering you're so meticulous.
I'm not sure I appreciate the tone of this conversation.
Well, you're gonna have to forgive our impoliteness.
We're just adding up all these very strange coincidences.
You're the county medical examiner, but you also run the entire decomp farm facility, don't you? Which gives you access not only to the entire grounds, but every single cadaver that enters those grounds.
And all the files kept on them.
We're gonna have a second examiner perform an autopsy on Josh Marlowe.
Which requires a court order.
Or a request from the next of kin.
Josh's brother would like us to take another look.
Well, I'm sorry.
That's not possible.
It was apparently a terrible miscommunication with my staff.
Josh's body has been cremated.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Last one.
Have you seen my journals? - Really? - Really.
- You jerk.
- Hmm.
[SIGHS.]
Why does packing always take twice as long as you think it's going to? Yeah.
Just think, a few days from now, we get to do it all backwards.
Mm, don't pretend you're not excited.
I am.
- Yeah.
- [CAR RUNNING.]
Why don't you check on the movers? Okay.
I'm gonna take one last look around, make sure we're not forgetting anything.
You are being paranoid.
- I'm being - BOTH: Thorough.
[EERIE MUSIC.]
Wait, how is it even legal for an ME to examine a body near his own office? He's the county medical examiner.
Most counties don't even have one.
They rely on local physicians.
Well, they're gonna have to find a new one.
Listen, if I were a betting man, all my chips would be on Wasden, but we can't arrest him.
He took our only potential evidence and stuck it in an 1,800 degree furnace.
Well, listen to this.
In 2004, Dr.
Arthur Wasden was forced into rehab for opioid abuse.
2006, filed for bankruptcy.
Then gets sued because of a deceased woman whose organs were, I kid you not, mistakenly removed for donation.
Settled out of court.
So he doesn't have glowing Yelp reviews.
Doesn't give motive.
But he does have the skills to hide evidence on both bodies.
Yes, but why kill Josh at all? Why kill his mother? Apart from doing their autopsies, Wasden has no connection to them at all.
He might.
Grace was an accountant, remember? The firm she worked for, they took on extra work during the tax season, and one of the accounts they worked Saranac College.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
So what? The coroner's office just accidentally cremated a body in an unsolved murder case? Doesn't that sound weird to you? It does, it does, and we are going to figure out what happened, I promise you, which is why I have a few more questions.
Did Josh ever mention a Dr.
Wasden? He was the man who did your mother's autopsy.
Why? He had something to do with this, didn't he? Right now, we just don't know.
- Ben! - He'll be okay.
[SIGHS.]
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
And what about you? I'll be fine.
I'm just worried about Ben.
I mean does the name Arthur Wasden mean anything to you? Not that I can recall.
Why? Well, you and Grace worked together for Saranac College, right? You both did the books for them? Yeah, that's why she chose the program to donate her body to.
Obviously, she didn't think it would happen so soon.
So if Grace had any old notes or files, any idea where they may be? [SIGHS.]
Any way to log in to her accounts? No, I'm sure they shut down access when she died.
I'm really sorry.
I wish I could help.
- [EXHALES.]
- [CAT MEOWS.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
I'll be damned.
The one clue we're looking for literally just walked right up to us.
- You have a cat? - Oh.
Not really.
It's just a neighborhood stray.
I fed her once, and now she comes in and out like she owns the place.
Wait, are we really saying she killed her best friend and her best friend's son? - Everything okay? - Mia, get out of there.
Yeah, no, I'm a um Let us get enough evidence for a warrant.
I just realized something.
You worked on the Saranac College accounts with Grace, didn't you? Amelia, what are you doing? What do you mean? Your company's records will show that you do know Dr.
Wasden.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
So whatever you and Dr.
Wasden were doing You and Grace must've been really good friends, because she confronted you instead of turning you in, and you repaid that kindness by poisoning her? Then you must've regretted it.
That's why you watch out for the boys.
Until, of course, Josh got too close to the truth.
I want you to leave.
Amelia, we don't have enough to detain her.
You'd be better served to look for that cat so we can match the hair.
I am not leaving her here with Ben.
Who are you talking to? Ben.
Ben! Weapon! I am not counting to three, Melissa.
Drop the knife.
Drop the knife.
Don't make me have to shoot you.
- Drop it! - [KNIFE CLANGS.]
Hands behind your head.
Think we have enough to detain her now? [SIGHS.]
Oh, my God.
Any sign of Ben? We just got off the phone with Ray Coyne.
Ben was there 15 minutes ago.
He told Ray he was sorry, said he found out it was someone at Saranac College that killed Josh.
Ray went to call off work, and when he came back, Ben was gone.
Took his truck and his gun.
Oh, God.
I mentioned Wasden to Ben.
I mean he asked me if he was a suspect.
You didn't tell him that we like him for it? No, of course not.
Look, if he is headed to Saranac, we need to get there before Ben makes a huge mistake.
And another body ends up on that field.
[FOREBODING MUSIC.]
That's Ray's truck, and that must be Wasden's car.
- They're in there somewhere.
- Well, we have to find him.
We can't let Ben get to Wasden.
All right, fan out.
Backup will be here any minute.
Deep breaths.
Stay alert.
Jeez.
You got anything? Nothing moving.
[HEAVY BREATHING.]
They're entering the confined location area now.
What does that mean? Decomp farms store bodies anyplace they can.
Submerged underwater, in car trunks, stuffed in barrels.
Lots of places to hide.
[SIGHS.]
Great.
Go back.
Blue car.
Glass.
There's condensation on the driver's side window.
Oh, someone's inside.
NYPD! Get out of the vehicle and put your hands where I can see them! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! [TENSE MUSIC.]
- He's behind you! - Ben! No.
Don't pull that trigger.
You don't wanna do this.
Trust me.
Okay.
I'm putting my gun away.
- Amelia! - See? Out of the way.
- He killed my brother.
- No! No, Ben, Dr.
Wasden did not kill your brother.
You're lying.
You're just saying that - so I won't shoot him.
- No, I promise you.
He didn't kill your brother.
He didn't kill your mom, either.
Then who did? Just put the gun down.
Then we can talk about it.
Okay? I don't think you wanna shoot me.
Come on.
Put it down.
Easy, Ben.
- Easy, easy, easy.
- Good job.
Good job.
Okay, it's over now.
Okay? It's okay.
Not very smart, doctor.
Put your hands up.
Melissa was the one who poisoned Grace.
Doesn't make any sense.
Grace discovered Melissa and Dr.
Wasden were embezzling from the college.
He talked her through how to do it, and how to make it look like she just died.
When Josh got too close to figuring it out, Melissa had to stop him.
She must've followed him out there, they had a fight - That was her too? - She panicked, called Wasden.
He talked her through covering it up.
I thought it was you.
I'm sorry.
I'm just [MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Sorry.
All I ever wanted to do was to be a father to you.
I want you to come home, Ben.
I'd like that.
What's that? Your case, wrapped up, with a bow on it.
- You actually put a bow on it? - Yes.
Yes, I did.
You actually went to a store, bought a bow, and put it on a homicide case file.
I have bows at home.
Two homicides, by the way.
Sellitto finalized the paperwork on both confessions.
These are just the forensics finally adding up.
They always do.
Eventually.
Thank you, by the way, for letting me go out in the field.
- Felt like old times.
- Of course.
[REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC.]
Claire? Yes? I don't do apologies well.
You don't do them at all.
So we can skip to the part where you know I didn't mean what I said? We could, or we could just jump to the part where we realize that my job is to take care of you and not to push you.
Sometimes those are the same thing, aren't they? Fred Hawkins, our nauseatingly pleasant firefighter friend.
Still have his number? [HORN HONKS.]
New York is famously inaccessible.
Only half the subway stops have elevators.
There's traffic, cobblestone streets.
Tourists.
But everything can be navigated.
And sometimes, you just gotta ask for help.
This may come as a surprise.
While I may be amazing at a lot of things, asking for help is not one of them.
Yeah, that's not surprising at all.
["WHEN YOU LEARN" BY THE AVETT BROTHERS PLAYING.]
There is no reason we should doubt The broken hearts will rise again How do we do this? Well, I could painstakingly move each piece with a pointer stick, or we could - Ask for help.
- Right.
Not your comfort zone.
William, do you think you could move these pieces for us? Of course.
Thank you.
All right.
How about pawn to E4? It's your move.
Felix.
He's back.
- How did it go? - I beat him in seven moves.
You said you have something on the Bone Collector.
So I looked into the phone the Bone Collector used in the surveillance footage.
Even isolating the signal, I can't trace the number back to a person.
But you're saying you were able to isolate the signal? Um all right.
First hit? Farmington, New Mexico.
- Our man in the mirror.
- The mail drop.
Next up, we got Norman, Oklahoma.
Chesterfield, Missouri.
Springfield, Illinois.
Columbus, Ohio.
Quakertown, PA.
I think we can safely extrapolate where this path is heading.
To the greatest city in the world.
And to start the game all over again.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
It's good to be home.
- You can thank Officer Sachs here for saving that evidence.
Do you know how the Bone Collector got his name? He wrote a letter saying most people are just piles of bones.
What about the postmark? Tracked it back to Farmington, New Mexico.
Going through security video from the originating post office.
He'd avoid cameras at all costs.
I'd love to get in a sneak of your secret lair one day when you're not at home.
You're not gonna believe this.
Jane she's gone.
I think somebody took her.
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
Decay is as natural to death as death is to life.
Decomp fields like this give us a humane way to examine remains when affected by various elements.
Weather, wildlife, indoor, outdoor.
No crimes.
Each of the field's residents died naturally, donating their bodies to science to show us what death has in store.
Studying the process of decay serves a crucial purpose.
To help solve murders using forensic evidence - gathered from the remains.
- [YAWNS.]
By analyzing each stage of the decomposition process, we can help pinpoint the time of death.
A process that, as you can see, takes time to get used to.
How quickly does a body start to decompose? The process begins immediately after the heart stops beating.
Hey, guys? I think this one's moving.
[EERIE MUSIC.]
That's impossible.
Is there an animal under there? - [CROWD GASPING AND MURMURS.]
- Oh, God.
Call 911! - Oh, my God.
- [GASPS AND SPUTTERS.]
Ready for some movie magic? This is the first ever image of the Bone Collector.
You're really going to pause for fanfare? Okay.
I was able to restore the manager's cell phone video from the shipping center in New Mexico.
You'll be the first one to see it along with me, right now.
- It's not him.
- No.
No, it's not.
Why risk mailing a package on camera when you can pay some junkie teenager to do it for you? - Wait, pause it.
- [BEEPS.]
Go back to before the kid went in.
[BEEPING.]
Hey, zoom in.
[TYPING.]
That's him.
A white male.
Reflection's not helping much with the details.
Looks like he made a phone call.
Please tell me you can get something with that.
It's gonna take some time, but I've got a few tricks I can use.
All right, use them all.
Lincoln? Fred Hawkins is here.
- Who? - Sellitto's friend.
Firefighter, same injury as you.
I told you, I'm not interested.
And I ignored you and set it up.
Heads up, you're walking into a firefight.
I've been warned.
I think I can handle him.
Lincoln Rhyme.
It's great to finally meet you.
Sorry you got dragged over here.
I'm actually tied up in a case.
That's great.
You're back at work.
So if you'll excuse me Maybe just a quick cup of coffee? Saw a great place by the corner.
Then I'll let you get back to it.
Despite what you might've heard, Fred, I don't need a pep talk.
Last time someone told me to be hopeful was the day my reawakened mobility returned to its stubborn slumber.
I've been told that you've been creating an amazing world for yourself up here, and that's great.
I also think that the world out there is still out there for you too.
That's truly motivational, Fred, but You had a deep love of this city.
No, I breathed this city.
It pulsed in my veins.
Every cobblestone path I walked, every rickety stairwell I climbed, the parks, the tunnels Now it's all gone.
Sellitto said you used to play chess.
In the park? Now I can't even lift the pawn.
[EXHALES.]
You're right.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
[SIGHS.]
That's hard.
Everything's harder.
Things you'll probably never do again.
But the ones you can do Do them, Lincoln.
I'll take a rain check on the coffee.
- You do know you work for me? - I also care about you.
And you think I'm not doing enough? You are.
But I see how you look when you're watching Amelia out there where you used to go and walk.
I just think That I should get out there? How does that work for you, Claire? Sellitto is on his way.
Tell me why I should love this case so much? Josh Marlowe.
17.
Found with a 14 inch cut of steel rebar drilled through his heart.
I'll go out on a limb.
He was murdered.
It's not cause of death that makes this our case.
It's where they found him.
Saranac College, their forensics anthropology site.
- Seriously? - Forensics anthropology site? A decomp farm.
It's like a playground of forensics.
We use them to study how nature affects the human body post mortem.
A playground of dead bodies? Mm.
They test the effects of everything.
Water, heat, sun, insects, time So that when it happens to innocent people, we have data to guide us.
[LAUGHS.]
Some of my happiest memories from training were there.
Well, don't look at me like that.
Josh lived in the city.
He had no ties to the university whatsoever, except ending up dead there.
So the killers hid the body amongst a bunch of other bodies.
Except there's no hiding in a decomp farm.
Students and faculty do rounds all day long.
Document every change and every cadaver.
They know what bodies are supposed to be there, and what bodies aren't.
So either the killer didn't know that, or they wanted to show off their handiwork.
Either way, we gotta figure out how a live body ended up in a field full of dead ones.
And by live, he means alive.
Took his last breath as they found him.
Now, the chief requested someone who could investigate this without harming their delicate little, uh - [PHONE BUZZES.]
- Science experiment.
Hey, we might already have our first lead.
Victim's brother says he might know who did it.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
Hmm.
If we're lucky, the brother's right, and it's our last lead.
Let's get justice for this family.
You have to get him.
Arrest him.
- He killed my brother.
- Ray Coyne, your stepfather? How many people are you gonna let him kill? Ben, I believe what you're saying.
Okay? And we're listening.
We just wanna be armed with everything we know before we talk to your stepfather.
Can you help us with that? Okay, so you asked us, "How many people are we gonna let him kill?" Who else did Ray kill? My mother.
Eight go.
I should explain.
Ben's mother, Grace, was my best friend.
She died from complications of a heart condition.
They said that, but Josh knew Ray did something to her.
- Josh knew based on what? - He just Knew.
There were problems in the marriage.
The boy's father passed away five years ago.
They never liked Ray, never accepted him.
When Grace died out of nowhere, they blamed him.
Because he did it.
Ray has custody, but I try and help.
Ben, I wanna help you.
You can trust me.
You've lost a lot, too much, and I get that.
Believe me, I do.
So can you tell us, did Josh have any evidence? He's been trying to get evidence.
- Trying how? - He wouldn't tell me, but he said he was getting close.
Ray must have found out and followed him there.
- To Saranac? - To the body farm, yeah.
I don't understand.
Why would your brother be going to the body farm? That's where our mom's body is.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Mother and son dead in the same spot eight months apart.
Interested now? ( ) Meet Grace Marlowe, accountant, dedicated mother of two, and for the past eight months, resident at the Saranac College Decomp Farm.
Died from complications of Eisenmenger syndrome.
It's brought on by an atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall between the top two chambers of the heart.
Undiagnosed, it can lead to cardiac arrest, which is in our cause of death.
Well, alleged cause of death, right? Official cause of death.
Let's not get pulled offsides by two kids who don't like their mother remarrying.
Wouldn't be the first murder to be labeled as natural causes, but you knew that.
So Grace dies, donates her body to science, ends up a research cadaver rotting in a field for the better part of a year until her son comes looking for her, trying to find evidence she was murdered and dies 20 yards away from her.
What a tragic reunion.
- Like that Paul Simon song.
- Hm? Paul Simon.
He named a song after a dish at a Chinese restaurant.
Chicken and eggs on the same plate.
Called it the mother and child reunion.
That's clever.
I need you out on the decomp farm while Sellitto and Eric run down the wicked stepfather.
As much as I love spending every day in here, the decomp farm is my old stomping ground.
I could go with her.
She could go instead of me.
I need you here with me.
[UNEASY MUSIC.]
Fine.
Go.
Knock yourself out.
This is gonna be awesome.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[CROONER PLAYING ON RADIO.]
I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but You've a mocking tone.
The way you talk to people.
You're not a very nice person, Jane.
But you were a good friend to Danielle.
Made her feel happy which made me feel happy.
We were all happy.
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
[MUFFLED SPEAKING.]
But all good things must come to an end.
[MUFFLED CRIES.]
Quite a before and after.
He was steps away from her.
20 yards from finding out whatever answer he wanted.
The question is: what could Josh have possibly retrieved here that would help him? In the elements like this, Grace could've been fully skeletonized for months now.
Amelia, Grace is in good hands with Kate.
- We need to examine - Josh's crime scene.
Yeah.
On it.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Oh, rebar.
I think we can safely say we know the origin of the murder weapon.
Which means this wasn't planned.
Our killer had to improvise.
Seems like finding evidence isn't gonna be a problem out here.
Too many needles, [SIGHS.]
not enough haystack.
You will find extraneous evidence, tissue, bone fragments, footprints, but by process of elimination Yeah, look for evidence that doesn't belong.
I got it.
Look at the ground inside the site.
It looks damp, but it doesn't look like blood.
Mm, let's sample it.
Check the tarp itself.
It's the one thing apart from the rebar that we know the killer had contact with.
Okay.
Got something on the underside of the tarp.
- Blood? - Look, zoom in.
White hair stuck on blood.
Sticks out like a bloody thumb.
- I'll bag it.
- No.
Bring in the whole tarp.
I wanna test it for everything.
Hey, Coyne.
Detective Sellitto, Castillo, NYPD.
- I was expecting you.
- Is that right? I haven't seen or heard from Ben since I went to ID Josh's body.
Melissa told me he wants to stay with her? Figured it'd be a matter of time before he told you what he thinks about me.
What he thinks about you is quite the accusation.
Oh.
He's tragically misinformed, and it breaks my heart.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
I loved his mother.
Watching her die, suddenly, awfully It nearly killed me.
I know they didn't like me taking their father's place, but to think I could have harmed her? When Grace was sick at the very end, she didn't want the boys to remember her like that, so I tried to keep them from seeing her at her worst.
Josh thought I was hiding something, - but I got nothing to hide.
- Nothing? Look, I was working when Josh was murdered.
I'm a security guard.
There are logs.
There's video.
Very sorry about Josh's death.
If you have any information you think might help or any questions I have one question.
What Josh thought about Grace being murdered Could that really be true? Is that why this happened? You lock up the stepfather? Seems there are two sides to every story, which means we still have to do this.
- I hate morgues.
- Does anyone like morgues? BOTH: Kate.
- [LAUGHS.]
Well, she'll have to enjoy remotely.
Lincoln summoned her back when I interviewed the students.
You get anything? Just the eerie feeling that they're teaching each and every one of them - how to get away with murder.
- Yeah.
I think the idea is to teach them how to stop people from getting away with murder.
Now let's get a look at our victim.
The sooner we get out of here, the better.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Is it unusual for you, Dr.
Wasden? We never get murder victims here.
Uh, all of our bodies die of natural causes, so this is quite exciting Professionally speaking.
Totally get it.
And this one is unique.
Mr.
Marlowe was impaled from behind between 2:00 a.
m.
and 3:00 a.
m.
The weapon entered just below the right shoulder before entering the right atrium and rupturing the pulmonic valve.
But that's not what killed him.
The valve slowly leaked blood into his lungs, and he choked to death.
He must've suffered for hours.
The killer must've been in a hurry if they left him alive like that.
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
However, the body was cleaned Meticulously cleaned, swabbed beneath the nails and on all the defensive wounds.
Defensive wounds? Oh, yes, there was clearly a struggle.
He fought back.
But I found nothing transferred from the assailant.
Covering up something like that is no small feat.
So you're saying whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.
Forensically speaking.
Don't like to speculate, but it's a fair conclusion.
And how many people with that kind of knowledge also had access to the decomp farm at night? Well, that would be everyone here.
Maybe a hundred people every semester.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Officer Sachs, someone's been waiting for you.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Did you talk to him? Ben, what are you doing here? I wanna know what Ray said.
I wanna know what you found.
Okay, well, we just started, and yes, our people are talking to Ray.
- And what'd he say? - Ben, come on, sit down.
No, I'm I'm not gonna I can't sit.
Look, Ben, I get what you're feeling here.
No, you don't.
My brother's dead.
My mother's dead.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
You're right.
What you're feeling, no one else knows.
Okay, no one can understand what that kind of loss feels like.
But here's what I need you to know: it is my job, Ben, to get you the answers that you want.
Now look, if that means Ray, I don't know, but I can promise you that I will not stop until I find something.
Okay? So just sit down.
[SIGHS.]
You're not in this alone, Ben.
We got your back.
You're not gonna tell me what you found? I am when this is done.
- I want to believe you.
- Well, you can.
I promise you, I'm telling you the truth.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Wasden's fast.
Toxicology report.
Marlowe, Joshua A.
No volatiles, no illicits.
Perfectly healthy kid besides, you know The stake through the heart.
What about the tarp? The only thing of note was the hair Amelia found.
It's from an Angora.
Basically a house cat with white I know what an Angora is.
Okay, normally, this wouldn't be that helpful Because all manner of vermin descend on decomp farms to feast on bodies.
Well, cats aren't technically vermin.
Anyway, the position on the tarp suggests that the hair was between the tarp and Josh's body.
Meaning it was there before he was covered.
Which is why I asked Eric to check in with Ben.
No cat.
I think it came from the killer.
So we're looking for a killer with a cat.
- Seems to narrow it down.
- It's something! Felix! [INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
Could you please use the button on your chair? I have kind of a thing about being yelled at.
Have you found any connections between Saranac College and Josh? I'm looking into everyone.
Faculty, staff, students.
You should've been done by now.
I'm working on the Bone Collector footage.
I told you to drop that for now.
Yeah, you also told me to use every tool at my disposal.
Felix, after you get me what I need.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- He's not himself today.
- No, no, he is.
He's always been Lincoln-y even before was in that chair.
And that's fine.
You know that's okay because he's good.
He's better than good.
I mean, I get to do things here that I would never get to do somewhere else, but sometimes, it is just not worth it.
Honestly, I can't believe you'd stick up for him after the way he talked to you this morning.
I was pushing him, and he wasn't wrong.
I have a condition.
A panic disorder, really.
I can't be in crowds, can't go in public, can't even leave this apartment.
- Agoraphobia.
- I wanna get out.
I just can't.
He can, but he doesn't want to.
And that sets me off, which sets him off.
My two cents? It's got nothing to do with you.
His problem is that he lost to the Bone Collector, and he cannot accept that.
You're right.
He's not stuck in here, he's stuck in the same place in his life ever since that night.
That's it.
Of course.
- What? - Stuck in the same place.
I've been looking at this all wrong.
Uh.
[REVELATION MUSIC.]
Claire, we just might find the Bone Collector after all.
The beauty of chess is, you never know how many moves ahead your opponent is thinking.
So your point is, the same is true in catching murderers.
If Ray Coyne killed his stepson, was it because he also killed Grace? He feared exposure? There's two problems there.
There wasn't much left of her to be exposed, and Sellitto doesn't think Ray looks good for it.
You wanna know how many people I've arrested who didn't look good for it? Mm.
You're in high spirits today.
No different than any other day.
No, usually your mild disdain and impatience are part of your charm.
I come in here, and Claire's walking on eggshells.
Felix is grumbling Maybe people should just do their jobs.
Maybe they'd do them better if the work environment was a little more - harmonious.
- Look.
I care about catching this killer.
I care about finding what happened to Josh.
If I get impatient [SCOFFS.]
Fine.
I'll try not to get impatient.
Fine.
We may have found our man.
Stepfather was all broken up about his wife's death, only guess what he failed to mention.
A secret girlfriend.
- One of the other great motives: money.
Grace took out a $1/2 million policy on her life a year before she died.
She didn't leave anything to her kids? She did entrust, and guess who the trustee is until they come of age.
Josh was about to turn 18.
So Ray's share of the money was about to go away.
Problem is, his alibi holds up.
Maybe because he's not the one who did it.
This is the file Saranac College gave us on Grace Marlowe.
Seemed pretty thin on evidence, so I decided to check out a couple of other ones.
This one and this one.
All the other files on decomp farm corpses include reams of info.
Detailed notes, photos You're saying someone was trying to cover up everything about Grace.
No, not just someone.
Someone we met.
Autumn Bestin, the TA of the class.
- The one who found the body? - Yep.
She checked out the file three days ago and emptied it of almost every single piece of evidence on Grace, then suddenly finds her son's body two days later? I interviewed Autumn.
She said she didn't know Josh.
Sounds like Autumn lied to you.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
I was scared.
Who wouldn't be? So you did know Josh Marlowe.
Yes I mean, barely.
I'd known him for a week, I helped him find information about his mother, and there he was.
Murdered.
And you didn't think mentioning that would be relevant? I was freaked out.
I've seen bodies, but never a murder.
Well, that may seem more plausible if we didn't know you emptied out his mother's file.
No, that's how I found it.
Why were you trying to get it in the first place? Josh found out his mother had donated her body here.
He went around to a bunch of faculty.
No one would give him anything.
I mean, they're really not supposed to.
- So why did you? - I felt awful for him.
His mother had been murdered.
He kept saying her name.
I'd overseen her case when she arrived at the farm.
I remembered the name, so I told him I would see what I could find.
So what did you think when you found the file? It was unusual, so I went to the computer.
There should've been backups, copies Mm-hmm.
Grace Marlowe's file was empty.
Someone erased it.
You told Josh this? I did, and I sent him copies of what little I had, my personal notes from the time.
- Do you still have them? - I do.
It's not much.
A couple of photos, handwritten descriptions You think Josh was right.
She was murdered? And someone killed him because of what I gave him? Autumn's story checks out.
So Ray has motive, but also an alibi.
Autumn lied to us, but seems like she wanted to help find the truth - about Grace's murder.
- Alleged murder.
Oh, God.
I guess that's what becomes of us all at some point.
Standard Y-shaped incision, which means they confirmed the cardiac arrest.
Autumn said she took notes.
What else did she observe about the body? Skin inflammation, deep creases in the palms, excessive white on her fingernails.
Huh, Eisenmenger's syndrome should have caused a blue tint in the skin, not red inflammation.
Show me a more recent photo.
Zoom in on the sternum.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
No evidence of bone disease.
And only one chemical affects skeletal discoloration post mortem.
Arsenic.
Changes the bone even after you're dead.
Josh was right.
His mother didn't die of a heart defect.
- She was poisoned.
- And that's not all we pulled.
Grace's medical history She had celiac disease, which is hereditary.
Even if Josh didn't inherit the disease, he would've had the antibody deficiency, but in Wasden's tox report? His numbers are normal.
You're saying the medical examiner assisting us on this case falsified Josh's autopsy report? I'm saying what I see in the numbers.
So, what was Dr.
Wasden trying to hide and why? What are we not seeing? Mm.
Right there.
We're too busy staring at the results, we weren't focused on the signatures at the bottom.
Look who performed Grace Marlowe's autopsy last year.
Dr.
Arthur Wasden.
Detectives! How can I help you? Do you happen to own a cat, Dr.
Wasden? Allergic, I'm afraid.
What does this have to do with the case? Why didn't you tell us that you performed autopsies on Josh and Grace Marlowe? Josh Marlowe's mother, Grace.
Eight months ago, you performed the autopsy, and ruled it death by congenital heart condition.
I perform a great number of autopsies.
A mother and son.
That didn't strike you as odd? I wasn't aware.
Well, that's an interesting detail to miss, considering you're so meticulous.
I'm not sure I appreciate the tone of this conversation.
Well, you're gonna have to forgive our impoliteness.
We're just adding up all these very strange coincidences.
You're the county medical examiner, but you also run the entire decomp farm facility, don't you? Which gives you access not only to the entire grounds, but every single cadaver that enters those grounds.
And all the files kept on them.
We're gonna have a second examiner perform an autopsy on Josh Marlowe.
Which requires a court order.
Or a request from the next of kin.
Josh's brother would like us to take another look.
Well, I'm sorry.
That's not possible.
It was apparently a terrible miscommunication with my staff.
Josh's body has been cremated.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Last one.
Have you seen my journals? - Really? - Really.
- You jerk.
- Hmm.
[SIGHS.]
Why does packing always take twice as long as you think it's going to? Yeah.
Just think, a few days from now, we get to do it all backwards.
Mm, don't pretend you're not excited.
I am.
- Yeah.
- [CAR RUNNING.]
Why don't you check on the movers? Okay.
I'm gonna take one last look around, make sure we're not forgetting anything.
You are being paranoid.
- I'm being - BOTH: Thorough.
[EERIE MUSIC.]
Wait, how is it even legal for an ME to examine a body near his own office? He's the county medical examiner.
Most counties don't even have one.
They rely on local physicians.
Well, they're gonna have to find a new one.
Listen, if I were a betting man, all my chips would be on Wasden, but we can't arrest him.
He took our only potential evidence and stuck it in an 1,800 degree furnace.
Well, listen to this.
In 2004, Dr.
Arthur Wasden was forced into rehab for opioid abuse.
2006, filed for bankruptcy.
Then gets sued because of a deceased woman whose organs were, I kid you not, mistakenly removed for donation.
Settled out of court.
So he doesn't have glowing Yelp reviews.
Doesn't give motive.
But he does have the skills to hide evidence on both bodies.
Yes, but why kill Josh at all? Why kill his mother? Apart from doing their autopsies, Wasden has no connection to them at all.
He might.
Grace was an accountant, remember? The firm she worked for, they took on extra work during the tax season, and one of the accounts they worked Saranac College.
[INVESTIGATIVE MUSIC.]
So what? The coroner's office just accidentally cremated a body in an unsolved murder case? Doesn't that sound weird to you? It does, it does, and we are going to figure out what happened, I promise you, which is why I have a few more questions.
Did Josh ever mention a Dr.
Wasden? He was the man who did your mother's autopsy.
Why? He had something to do with this, didn't he? Right now, we just don't know.
- Ben! - He'll be okay.
[SIGHS.]
[OMINOUS MUSIC.]
And what about you? I'll be fine.
I'm just worried about Ben.
I mean does the name Arthur Wasden mean anything to you? Not that I can recall.
Why? Well, you and Grace worked together for Saranac College, right? You both did the books for them? Yeah, that's why she chose the program to donate her body to.
Obviously, she didn't think it would happen so soon.
So if Grace had any old notes or files, any idea where they may be? [SIGHS.]
Any way to log in to her accounts? No, I'm sure they shut down access when she died.
I'm really sorry.
I wish I could help.
- [EXHALES.]
- [CAT MEOWS.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
I'll be damned.
The one clue we're looking for literally just walked right up to us.
- You have a cat? - Oh.
Not really.
It's just a neighborhood stray.
I fed her once, and now she comes in and out like she owns the place.
Wait, are we really saying she killed her best friend and her best friend's son? - Everything okay? - Mia, get out of there.
Yeah, no, I'm a um Let us get enough evidence for a warrant.
I just realized something.
You worked on the Saranac College accounts with Grace, didn't you? Amelia, what are you doing? What do you mean? Your company's records will show that you do know Dr.
Wasden.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
So whatever you and Dr.
Wasden were doing You and Grace must've been really good friends, because she confronted you instead of turning you in, and you repaid that kindness by poisoning her? Then you must've regretted it.
That's why you watch out for the boys.
Until, of course, Josh got too close to the truth.
I want you to leave.
Amelia, we don't have enough to detain her.
You'd be better served to look for that cat so we can match the hair.
I am not leaving her here with Ben.
Who are you talking to? Ben.
Ben! Weapon! I am not counting to three, Melissa.
Drop the knife.
Drop the knife.
Don't make me have to shoot you.
- Drop it! - [KNIFE CLANGS.]
Hands behind your head.
Think we have enough to detain her now? [SIGHS.]
Oh, my God.
Any sign of Ben? We just got off the phone with Ray Coyne.
Ben was there 15 minutes ago.
He told Ray he was sorry, said he found out it was someone at Saranac College that killed Josh.
Ray went to call off work, and when he came back, Ben was gone.
Took his truck and his gun.
Oh, God.
I mentioned Wasden to Ben.
I mean he asked me if he was a suspect.
You didn't tell him that we like him for it? No, of course not.
Look, if he is headed to Saranac, we need to get there before Ben makes a huge mistake.
And another body ends up on that field.
[FOREBODING MUSIC.]
That's Ray's truck, and that must be Wasden's car.
- They're in there somewhere.
- Well, we have to find him.
We can't let Ben get to Wasden.
All right, fan out.
Backup will be here any minute.
Deep breaths.
Stay alert.
Jeez.
You got anything? Nothing moving.
[HEAVY BREATHING.]
They're entering the confined location area now.
What does that mean? Decomp farms store bodies anyplace they can.
Submerged underwater, in car trunks, stuffed in barrels.
Lots of places to hide.
[SIGHS.]
Great.
Go back.
Blue car.
Glass.
There's condensation on the driver's side window.
Oh, someone's inside.
NYPD! Get out of the vehicle and put your hands where I can see them! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! [TENSE MUSIC.]
- He's behind you! - Ben! No.
Don't pull that trigger.
You don't wanna do this.
Trust me.
Okay.
I'm putting my gun away.
- Amelia! - See? Out of the way.
- He killed my brother.
- No! No, Ben, Dr.
Wasden did not kill your brother.
You're lying.
You're just saying that - so I won't shoot him.
- No, I promise you.
He didn't kill your brother.
He didn't kill your mom, either.
Then who did? Just put the gun down.
Then we can talk about it.
Okay? I don't think you wanna shoot me.
Come on.
Put it down.
Easy, Ben.
- Easy, easy, easy.
- Good job.
Good job.
Okay, it's over now.
Okay? It's okay.
Not very smart, doctor.
Put your hands up.
Melissa was the one who poisoned Grace.
Doesn't make any sense.
Grace discovered Melissa and Dr.
Wasden were embezzling from the college.
He talked her through how to do it, and how to make it look like she just died.
When Josh got too close to figuring it out, Melissa had to stop him.
She must've followed him out there, they had a fight - That was her too? - She panicked, called Wasden.
He talked her through covering it up.
I thought it was you.
I'm sorry.
I'm just [MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Sorry.
All I ever wanted to do was to be a father to you.
I want you to come home, Ben.
I'd like that.
What's that? Your case, wrapped up, with a bow on it.
- You actually put a bow on it? - Yes.
Yes, I did.
You actually went to a store, bought a bow, and put it on a homicide case file.
I have bows at home.
Two homicides, by the way.
Sellitto finalized the paperwork on both confessions.
These are just the forensics finally adding up.
They always do.
Eventually.
Thank you, by the way, for letting me go out in the field.
- Felt like old times.
- Of course.
[REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC.]
Claire? Yes? I don't do apologies well.
You don't do them at all.
So we can skip to the part where you know I didn't mean what I said? We could, or we could just jump to the part where we realize that my job is to take care of you and not to push you.
Sometimes those are the same thing, aren't they? Fred Hawkins, our nauseatingly pleasant firefighter friend.
Still have his number? [HORN HONKS.]
New York is famously inaccessible.
Only half the subway stops have elevators.
There's traffic, cobblestone streets.
Tourists.
But everything can be navigated.
And sometimes, you just gotta ask for help.
This may come as a surprise.
While I may be amazing at a lot of things, asking for help is not one of them.
Yeah, that's not surprising at all.
["WHEN YOU LEARN" BY THE AVETT BROTHERS PLAYING.]
There is no reason we should doubt The broken hearts will rise again How do we do this? Well, I could painstakingly move each piece with a pointer stick, or we could - Ask for help.
- Right.
Not your comfort zone.
William, do you think you could move these pieces for us? Of course.
Thank you.
All right.
How about pawn to E4? It's your move.
Felix.
He's back.
- How did it go? - I beat him in seven moves.
You said you have something on the Bone Collector.
So I looked into the phone the Bone Collector used in the surveillance footage.
Even isolating the signal, I can't trace the number back to a person.
But you're saying you were able to isolate the signal? Um all right.
First hit? Farmington, New Mexico.
- Our man in the mirror.
- The mail drop.
Next up, we got Norman, Oklahoma.
Chesterfield, Missouri.
Springfield, Illinois.
Columbus, Ohio.
Quakertown, PA.
I think we can safely extrapolate where this path is heading.
To the greatest city in the world.
And to start the game all over again.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
It's good to be home.