The Mentalist s01e06 Episode Script

That damn GPS is gonna put it in California.
I know it.
Ah, think positive.
It's Nevada.
Definitely Nevada.
You're dreaming.
We'll catch it.
Stone-cold mystery.
Hey.
Forensics are already running the prints.
Maybe we'll get a quick match.
Pfft.
We'd never get that lucky.
No, we're gonna be talking to the hand for a long while.
Why so glum? Case is a case.
We're in the middle of nowhere.
Windy as all hell.
I haven't eaten anything.
Aw, dismemberments are a bitch.
You spend months assembling the victim.
- There's always a piece missing.
- There's plenty to work with right here.
It's a right hand with the number 43 on it.
It's a male hand, or a not very femme female.
What else have we got to work with right here without forensic analysis? Let's see.
Probably a white man, mid-50s.
He wrote on his right hand, so he's a lefty.
Well, maybe the killer wrote it, some kind of message.
Too faded.
And a killer would write it bigger.
Consultant.
Smells of almond-oil moisturizer, musky cologne and tobacco.
Palms are supple.
Nails are professionally maintained.
So a rich man.
There's a faint tan line on the little finger from a missing pinkie ring which suggests an extrovert in a job where extroverts thrive.
So? He's upper management in the hotel or gaming business.
Total guess.
What do you wanna bet I'm right? Thirty-five cents.
- Thirty-five cents? - Yeah.
I find that hard to believe considering that huge crayon bank you've got hidden behind your bedroom door that you've been filling with all the change that you could accumulate since you were, what, 15? - 35 cents.
Take it or leave it.
- I'll take it.
You got a bet.
- All right.
- Don't think it's right to bet on such things.
That's a human being that died.
No, it's okay.
We're in Nevada.
Here in California, yeah, that'd be wrong.
But here in Nevada, it's okay to gamble on body parts.
The hand is three feet into the state of California, so he's our baby.
- Hooray.
- Yeah.
Hooray.
Get our friend bagged and tagged.
Let's get out of here.
- Do we have an ID at least? - The prints say it's James Quincy Meier.
He runs the Calida Resort and Casino.
Come on.
Thank you.
Are you certain that he isn't still out there, alive? Yes.
Forensic evidence supports the hand being severed postmortem.
And the rest of his body? We're looking.
It doesn't seem real.
When was the last time you saw your husband? Yesterday.
Tuesday morning.
Jim would often stay overnight at the resort if he needed to be there late to resolve an issue.
But he would call and let me know that he was gonna stay so I wouldn't worry.
We understand Mr.
Meier didn't have a cell phone.
Didn't believe in them.
So was it him that called this house from a casino phone at, um, 8:05 Tuesday night? Yes.
He was just checking in.
Casinos run 24 hours a day, so Jim did the same.
- I think I saw Jim more than they did.
- You work at the casino as well? Dan is the VIP Guest Services executive.
- I'm a glorified house player.
- It's more than just that, Daniel.
- What's a house player? - Jim pays me to herd the whales the big-money gamblers.
I play with casino money, to break the ice, get the heavy action going.
It's a good steady gig.
Keeps me out of trouble.
When was the last time you saw Jim? Same as Ann Your dad knew Sinatra? Sure.
Uh, Sinatra kissed me right here on my first birthday party.
That's what Dad always said anyhow.
- But you didn't believe him.
- Figured there'd be a photo.
He wasn't around much when you were growing up, was he? - What makes you say that? - Figured there'd be a photo.
He wasn't around a lot.
But he loved me.
I know he did.
He just He didn't have a whole lot of time.
The number 43 was written on Mr.
Meier's hand.
Any idea what the significance of that might be? - No idea.
- Damn! Stupid son of a bitch went for the two-point conversion.
Excuse me.
Get me a Scotch, would you, hon? Can you think of anybody who might wanna harm your husband? Jim was a well-liked man.
He stuck to his principles, and that's a dangerous thing to do in his business.
- Is there an instance you're thinking of? - No.
No.
It's just a feeling.
Mom, it's a hotel casino and not a crack house.
The mafia's not running anything anymore.
So you say.
Robbery might have been a motive.
Did he carry a lot of cash on him? - Did he wear expensive jewelry? - No.
He didn't need cash.
Jim's word was money.
He wore a ring on his pinkie finger and a lucky $ 100,000 chip on a string round his neck.
That's all.
That's a lot of money.
Was the chip legal tender? In the casino, yes.
But only in the casino.
Can you give us an exact description of the chip? We wanna alert the casino cashiers.
Yes.
We have a photo of it for the insurance company.
I was actually just going through all of the papers.
Here it is.
Thank you.
- Any more body parts show up? - Nothing so far.
Possibly the hand was the only piece cut off.
Does that match up to any similar cases in the past? Uh, this was where it gets interesting.
There's several cases like this where a hand was purposely left to be found.
They're all Reno and Las Vegas-based and involved organized crime.
None are more recent than 10 years ago.
They do it to people who get their hands in the till.
Mafia.
Great.
Thanks.
Agent Lisbon? Matt Etienne.
I'm head of security.
This is Agent Van Pelt and Mr.
Jane from our team.
Hi.
Well, as you can imagine, we're all still shell-shocked around here.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Well, if you'll all follow me.
The casino's on the Nevada side of the resort and offers full-service gaming.
We recently spent 10 million upgrading the facilities to improve the customer's experience.
They use the same techniques in state-of-the-art animal husbandry to make cows and sheep feel comfortable.
- Really? - Dim lights, soft music a maze of passages that lead you back to the pens, or in this case, the slots.
Ooh, don't hold back.
Speak your mind.
There's no clocks or windows anywhere, so there's no passage of time.
Low-priced alcohol is poured down you by attractive young women.
Oxygen is pumped into the place to make you stay awake and the constant symphony of bells and sirens that make it seem like someone's winning all the time.
Ah, but someone is always winning.
You see, our machines and our games are carefully designed to let every gambler have a taste of victory.
Just enough sugar to keep them pumping money into the machines and onto the table.
So, what's your point? Oh, no point.
I love it.
Ladies, give me luck.
Who's that? Cal Trask.
A very serious gambler and an honored guest.
- A whale? - Exactly.
A whale.
You guys are gonna be going over a bunch of boring files now, I expect.
So, uh, I think I'll work here, play a little, get the lay of the land.
- Give me 100 bucks, would you? - I don't think that's a good idea.
Sure you do.
Come on.
I'll give it back to you double.
Look, here's 100.
But you'll pay me back double, right? Triple.
Oh, yeah, baby.
Hi, I'm Patrick.
Hi, Patrick.
I accessed Meier's calendar.
The day he disappeared, he listed an Last meeting of the day.
There we go.
The number 43 again.
See if you can cross-reference it with anything else.
Matt.
- Yes? - From what we understand a hand being discovered like this is an old-school mafia signature.
Yes, I've heard the same thing.
It means an individual got caught with his hand in the till.
You don't seriously believe that's what happened to Jim? Don Corleone had him whacked? Who owns this casino? Our owners are a million or so good American men and women who are shareholders in our parent company.
Wiseguys lost control of gambling in Nevada a long time ago.
Hit me.
Seventeen.
Hit me.
Twenty-one.
Well done, Patrick.
Thank you.
Could we change this up for $ 1000 chips, please? Hi, my name's Patrick.
Hi, Patrick.
Mr.
Etienne, we have a possible Code 9 at Table 43.
- What's a Code 9? - Cheating.
I'll be right there.
Table 43? - Blackjack.
- Oh, yeah.
Keep squeezing them, baby.
Make them squeal.
- Ha, ha.
- Come on, ladies.
Whoo.
- Mr.
Jane, may I have a word with you? - Just a minute.
- Jane.
- I'm on a streak.
Yes, you are.
And we're really wondering what your secret is.
There's no secret.
I'm memorizing the cards.
Yes, well, Mr.
Jane, we don't like people doing that.
Is having a good memory illegal? No, it's not.
We can only congratulate you on your good luck and bar you from the establishment in the future.
Okay.
Well, that was fun while it lasted.
By the way, I hate to be a telltale, but Alexandra is robbing you blind.
- Excuse me? - She's cheating.
She's flashing her hidden card to the big guy on the end of the table.
And when that didn't work, she's dealing the rest of the table cards from just underneath the top of the deck and holding back the top cards for him.
I think this is mine.
Just one sec.
- Here, do you wanna help me? Thank you.
- Oh, yeah.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Ah, the hustler returns.
Lisbon says you won a whole bunch of money.
Oh, I didn't do too badly.
- How much you win? - About 250,000.
You won $250,000.
- Yeah.
Are they talking to the dealer lady? - Yes.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Very impressive scheme you set up with your cousin, Mose.
Fifty-fifty on anything above.
You must be living large.
If by "large" you mean saving up to buy my mom a new liver before she dies, then sure.
I'm living real large.
That big twerp told you all of that? Started singing like Menudo the minute he sat down.
- Oh, good help is so hard to find.
- Meier was on to you.
That's what the meeting was for.
He probably fired you on the spot, didn't he? Pretty ballsy to come back into work after.
Only someone who knew he'd been killed would.
I didn't kill him.
Then how did you know before everyone else here that he was dead? I didn't.
I came back to beg for my job.
When I heard what happened, I realized that no one knew about our meeting so I went back to work.
I need this job.
Losing your job, going to jail.
Who's gonna look after your mom? Now that's a prospect that would make anyone upset.
Now if you had a moment of insanity, I can understand that.
Anyone can.
I didn't kill him.
I wonder why Meier didn't talk to Etienne about her.
As head of security, she's ultimately his responsibility.
Maybe he figured Etienne was in on it with her? Where did you go after your talk with Meier? I spent the rest of the night at the hospital with my mother.
Uh, sorry to interrupt.
Quick question.
When Meier asked you if Matt Etienne was involved in your scam what did you tell him? I told him that Mr.
Etienne had nothing to do with it.
But he does, doesn't he? No.
Thanks.
You can go.
- She can? - She can? She can go, can she? I'm sorry.
The Nevada Gaming Commission is gonna charge her with gaming violations.
Why should we let her go? Why do we get so hung up on every law someone breaks? Because we're officers of the law? Also because Matt Etienne is lying.
Now you can call him and tell him that Alexandra Yee cooperated with us.
And based on what she had to say, we'd like to speak to him in the morning.
Okay, but if he is in cahoots with Alexandra he's just gonna call her and ask what she said.
And she will swear blind she said nothing.
Which will make our friend Matt even more suspicious.
Why did we let her go if she gave us nothing? She must have told us the truth.
- Which is? - Eh, details, details.
What is it? Open it.
It's not a fake turd or anything.
Van Pelt.
Catch.
- What is this? - Carbon placed under extreme pressure.
Wow.
- Wow.
- Hee, hee.
- We can't keep this stuff.
- We can't? No, it's against regulations.
No, it's not.
Why would it be? I won the money fair and square.
And I spent it fair and square.
Where do the regulations come into it? - So where's our stuff? - Your stuff? Well, you didn't just get stuff for the ladies.
That'd be creepy.
Who's your daddy? Huh? - Thanks, man.
- Thanks.
Yeah, it must be worth a lot because this is the ugliest watch I've ever seen.
It's horrible.
I asked for the most expensive watches they had.
Whoa.
Thanks, man.
All right, let's go.
I got us a table booked at the best restaurant in town.
Apparently they tell you the name of the cow your steak came from.
- That's horrible.
- Forget the steaks.
We're on a case.
We can't be seen living it up in fancy restaurants.
Good point.
Uh, okay.
A little place on the way back to Calida.
Let's go.
So you really won all this by memorizing cards? - You didn't have cards up your sleeve? - No, that would be cheating.
Just memory.
- How? That's impossible.
- Not at all.
Anyone can do it.
I'm gonna raise you three.
How? In my mind, I've made every card in the deck into a vivid character.
A ballet dancer with devil's horns.
Duck smoking a cigar.
Like that.
- Why a duck? - Doesn't matter.
Every card is a living thing, every position in the deck is a location in my memory palace.
Okay.
What's a memory palace? It's a place that is so clear in your mind that you can walk all around it in your head.
Everybody's palace is different.
Has to be big and detailed and vivid.
My palace is a Midwest carnival circuit I used to travel with my father.
Your people are carny folk? You're finally starting to make sense to me.
Not exactly.
It's a long story.
My point, if the 10th card in the deck is a jack of hearts I see a devil-horned dancer at the Joplin Missouri Fairgrounds.
- I see you.
- Excuse me.
I can't see how that works.
Here, shuffle these.
Rigsby's holding two pair, sixes and nines.
Cho, my old friend Cho here is hoping for his fifth spade to make up his flush.
Deal the river card and watch him get it.
Too hot for me.
Another hand? No.
It takes the fun out of it when you're playing with a swami.
All right, guys.
It's been fun playing dress up, but playtime's over.
I'm sorry, boss, what do you mean? This.
It's kind of a waste, don't you think? Well, I would have bought world peace if I could.
They didn't have it at the casino gift store.
Very limited range of items for sale.
You know what I mean.
I know those emeralds look lovely with your eyes.
Thank you.
It's beautiful, but I can't keep it.
I understand.
Yeah, you're right.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Good night.
- I'm not giving back.
- No way.
That's my boys.
Live it up.
Hey, Lisbon.
- Where are you? - Oh, just taking a walk.
- Ann wants to come clean.
- I knew it.
She had that air about her.
If you knew it, why didn't you tell us? It's an exaggeration.
I had a strong hunch.
If I told you about every hunch, you'd get very irritated.
Matt Etienne tells me that, uh one of his employees may have shared rumors about him and me.
I wanted to be the first to clarify the matter for you.
And I wanted Jessica and Daniel to be here so that you understand there was no subterfuge here.
Okay.
Yes, I was having an affair with Matt Etienne.
But I didn't murder Jim.
You knew about the affair? Yeah.
I knew about it, but I didn't like it.
But I understood, because Dad was never there for Mom.
Or me.
So no subterfuge.
Except for Jim.
I'm not proud of it.
Matt was there for Mom when Dad wasn't.
How long had the affair been going on? Two years.
Do you think that Matt did this to clear the field with you? No.
No.
Maybe he had the idea that that's what you wanted.
No, you have no right to say such things.
Because, my mother is not some sort of Hey, hush.
I betrayed my husband.
I lied to him.
But I loved him, and I did not wish him dead.
Ask Matt and he'll tell you the same thing.
- We will.
Thanks.
- Mm-hm.
Listen.
I don't want Agent Lisbon to hear about this.
She doesn't really approve of my gambling.
- No? - No.
But I was hoping that maybe you could set me up in a good high-stakes game of poker.
You know, with someone like, uh, Cal Trask? You know, a whale.
I heard about your hot hands on the casino floor.
Yeah, I'm feeling lucky.
- I can set you up.
Sure.
- Appreciate it.
All right.
Mum's the word.
I'm guessing that you're not just in the neighborhood.
Mr.
Etienne, I have a warrant to search your property.
That's a sweet boat.
You let that dealer, Alexandra Yee, run her scam because she knew about you and Mrs.
Meier, isn't that so? And she threatened to tell Mr.
Meier if you fired her.
That's about the size of it, yeah.
Why didn't you tell us you were involved with Mrs.
Meier from the start? We were bound to find out.
Because it's not pertinent.
Jim knew that Ann was out of their relationship a long time ago.
The two of them came to an understanding.
He was married to his job.
So, what me and Ann have between us, it's nobody's business but our own.
Been doing a little work on the place? - No.
- Look at this.
You see, the footprints going that way are deeper than the footprints coming this way.
Yeah? Which means that someone carried something heavy into your garage but they didn't bring it out.
Phew.
Look at you.
You got some stuff.
Freezer.
That is nice.
Let's start at 8 p.
m.
, the night Jim Meier was murdered and stuffed in your fridge.
I called Ann from the casino at around 8 p.
M when I saw that Jim's car was still parked at the resort.
Now that normally meant that he was staying the night so we agreed to meet at 12:30 that night.
But you left work at 11 p.
m.
What did you do with the 90 minutes? I went home, changed clothes and just relaxed a while.
Calida is a small town.
There was time for you and Ann to bash his head in dump the hand and hide the body.
I never meet Ann at my house.
That's very delicate of you.
We always met at the Piney Branch Motel.
It's on Route 6.
That's where we were that night.
The ME says Jim was killed sometime between the hours of 10 p.
m.
And 1 a.
m.
That's right in that sweet spot of your free time.
- I didn't kill him.
- Was she giving you half of his estate if you made him disappear? - I have my own money.
- But you needed his wife.
- It's not like that.
It's exactly like that.
You wanted Jim's life, so you took it out from under him.
Look, the last time I saw Jim, he was watching his whale tapes.
He gets all of his surveillance footage on DVDs, and he watches it, night and day trying to figure out what makes them tick.
Keep them on the hook.
Jim was obsessed with the casino.
That's what he loved.
Not Ann.
He didn't care what she did.
Lisbon.
We got the autopsy report back on Meier.
Died of blunt-force trauma to the head.
Apparently he was hit several times with a heavy cylindrical object like a pipe or a bat.
There were also abrasions around his neck like something was ripped off.
His $ 100,000 poker chip, I assume.
Check the Piney Branch Motel.
See if Ann Meier and Matt Etienne were there when he said they were.
- Okay.
Rigsby.
Jim Meier was spying on his guests.
Kept all the footage on DVD.
Maybe he saw something he shouldn't have.
Go to his office and see if you can locate the footage.
- Yes, boss.
- And check up on Jane.
- Thank you, darling.
- You're welcome.
Gentlemen, this is my friend Patrick Jane.
Come to play some cards with us tonight, if everyone's agreeable.
Good to see you.
You want a sandwich? - Hey, Freddy, bring over some sandwiches.
- Kiss my ass.
Sit down.
Sit down.
- You gonna play too, Danny boy? - Thought I might.
How you feeling, Goldilocks? Feeling lucky? I'm sorry, are we here to share our feelings or to play cards? Bold.
Watch out, Freddy.
- Anything over there? - I got nada.
We're gonna have to go through these books.
- Who are you calling? - Aces and threes.
Oh, Freddy.
Flush wins.
New girlfriend.
- Jane.
- Ask how much he's winning.
Not the best timing.
- Just deal me out of this next hand, please.
- No, we'll wait.
- What are you doing? - Harpooning a whale.
Talk fast.
Yeah, we're in Meier's work office.
He was watching a surveillance DVD the night he died.
It might be in a book.
But there's about 500 books.
- Are they in any kind of order? - Yeah, there's a lot of military history, gaming theory, reference section.
Try the Bible or Robert's Rules of Order.
Okay, thanks.
Hey, how much have you He didn't say.
Sorry about that.
Nice win.
- Ahem, women.
- Yeah, women.
A thousand to you, sir.
I don't care what he says.
That man is psychic.
Right.
Room 706.
That's Cal Trask's suite.
Whoa.
- I see her.
- Working girl.
She looks familiar, though.
Wait, that's Jessica Meier, isn't it? The victim's daughter.
Dressed for a party.
There's no cake or balloons.
Here's you arriving at Trask's hotel suite at 1:30 in the morning.
And here's you leaving, 45 minutes later.
- Care to comment on that? - No.
Where did you get this? From the way you were dressed it appears that some sort of sexual transaction took place.
- No.
Okay.
I was guessing.
What did take place? Nothing.
We looked into your financial situation.
It's bad.
You and your husband are swimming in credit-card debt.
You've refinanced your house three times in the past 2 years.
- You've even had a car repossessed.
- We hit a rough patch.
Why? Where did the money go? Daniel is a professional gambler.
He has his ups and downs.
You know, as in any business.
Jessica, your father was watching this video the night he died.
Oh, my God.
What does that make you think? I don't know.
Makes me think this video had something to do with his death.
All in.
Call.
Call.
Three eights.
Full house.
Damn.
Trip nines.
Full house wins.
Sorry, Cal.
- You got me kid.
- I guess so.
That's one win each.
You and me are gonna have to play a decider.
Sure thing.
Patrick.
Cal.
Good night, Freddy.
Man, we took him for a lot of money.
Yes, we did.
I took most of it, but you didn't do too bad.
- Horse puckey.
It was me who skinned him.
- Whatever, kid.
Let's go.
Heads up.
No, no.
Rain check for me.
What's the matter, my friend? You scared? Open up a fresh pack, Nancy, would you? - Cal Trask? We're CBI Agents.
- Good for you.
We're investigating the murder of James Meier.
We'd like to ask you a few questions.
Oh.
Ask them quick.
I've been up for 48 hours, I just lost a $ 180,000.
I need to brush my teeth and go to bed.
Jim was spying on me? On all his VIP guests, 24/7.
This is what he was watching the night he died.
Son of a bitch.
Explain for us the nature of your relationship with Jessica Meier-Cardeira.
That's a large question.
Hard to say.
Okay.
More specifically.
Why did she come to your room in the middle of the night dressed like a hooker? I think I'll hold my peace on that.
If she got something she wants to tell you, she will, I guess.
We're thinking maybe Jim was peeved.
Maybe he came to have a word with you about screwing his only daughter.
Maybe things escalated.
Maybe you got in a fight.
Accidents happen.
Your thinking is wrong.
You can see how it looks, though.
Okay.
Stop the train.
I'll get off here.
The night before this happened, I was playing at a table-stakes game with Daniel, her husband.
The man's a degenerate gambler.
Degenerate.
Anyway, I cleaned him out.
But he wouldn't quit.
Wants to keep playing.
But he's got no collateral and I don't trust him for an IOU.
So he says he'll put up his wife against 50 grand.
The sexual favors of his wife.
- As collateral on a poker game? - Yep.
So I said sure.
Action's action.
And Jessica Meier is a nice piece of pie.
She's very attractive.
Yeah.
Anyway Daniel and I play again, naturally I beat him again.
He backed his word, I'll give him that.
He said he was gonna send her over to my room the next night.
And he did.
Man's a second-rate card player, but knows how to control his womenfolk.
- She came to your room and then what? - Took what was owed me.
You had sexual intercourse with her? - Yeah.
- How did she feel about that? Eh.
Not super enthusiastic.
Willing.
One hundred percent willing.
But not happy.
Hey, a bet's a bet, right? So I have to win this hand to stay in, huh? Uh, I guess you do.
Check.
Two thousand.
Call.
Excuse me.
I'll take one.
Two.
Thank you.
That good, huh? Oh, wow.
That good? That good.
I can't lose.
Well, it's a shame you got diddlysquat to bet with.
What's the bet, kid? I forgot.
The bet, my friend, is $ 105,000.
One hundred and five.
And I see you.
You should trust me when I tell you things.
I told you I couldn't lose.
Four kings.
That's pretty.
Not as pretty as this.
- Straight flush.
- No.
Yes.
- That's impossible.
- His pot.
That's my pot.
Look at this.
I see you.
Yes, I do.
Huh? Whatever, man.
Later.
Not much later.
Let's go.
Tell us, how did you end up with Jim Meier's lucky poker chip? That night, as I was leaving, Jim followed me to the parking lot.
He'd seen this tape with Jessica and Cal and he knew I must have something to do with it.
I said sure I did.
Screw him.
Like he was such a great husband and father, you know? He called me a degenerate lowlife pimp fired me then and there.
Said he'd do everything in his power to get me out of Jessica's life.
I couldn't let that happen.
I remembered the stories they told about the mafia hit men leaving a hand behind as a message, you know? I did it to make them think it was mob related.
I dumped the body at Matt's.
I knew his affair with Ann would come to light.
- Your wife have anything to do with this? - No.
No.
She had nothing to do with this.
And the idiot never suspected it was me.
How's that for denial? How did you know it was me? When we first met, you were more concerned about the football scores than your father-in-law's murder.
- So? So when you're searching for a killer, the degenerate gambler in the room is a good person to look at.
- I'm not a degenerate.
I'm a professional.
- I'm just having a streak of bad luck.
- Yes, you are.
Let's go.
- That last hand, how did you do that? - Stand up, put your hands behind your head.
- Oh, uh, I cheated.
- But how? Next time we play, I'll show you.
It's okay, baby.
It's gonna be okay.
I believe this is yours.
Thank you.
Your father died protecting you.
So in the end, he He was there for you.
Thank you.
Be good to yourself.
You too.
This way, ladies.
We were wondering how much money you won in that game.
Oh, I don't know, 300,000.
Something like that.
Wow.
So where is it? The money? I spent it.
- On what? - You know, stuff.
A really cute blond guy left this for you at the front desk.
Oh, my God.