CSI: NY s02e03 Episode Script

Zoo York

Stop ! Come on ! Faster ! Damn ! 5-0's calling for backup ! I need backup, north exit ! Split up ! Did you hear that ? Hey ! Sneezing on my crime scene.
Sorry, Mack.
Allergies.
Cats.
Hate 'em.
So what do we know ? Not much.
The tigers were released into the habitat at 9:00.
Keeper suspects our vic climbed up, leaned over to get a closer look at the Siberians, falls Suma has an early breakfast.
Any witnesses ? Patrol's asking around.
I.
D.
on the vic ? Not yet.
I'll check with the first officer on the scene.
Fewer leftovers than you'd expect.
You got a leg here that's an ear and two fingers I think that's part of his thigh behind me.
A messy eater.
Tiger can consume up to Means the rest of this guy's in its stomach.
Hey, Mac.
This, uh, looks like packing tape.
Starting to make sense.
The vic bled out here, but there's no spatter associated with a mauling.
This wasn't a Kodak moment gone bad.
CSI NY - Season 2 - Episode 3 "Zoo York" Corrections : Seth Cohen Detective Taylor ? Yeah.
Lindsay Monroe.
My new investigator from Bozeman.
Your office said you wanted me to come down as soon as I arrived.
Glove up.
Now ? You here to watch or work ? You want me to start processing ? No, Danny's got that covered.
That'd be me, Danny Messer.
How you doin'? Hi.
I'll need you to hold the tiger's jaws, so I can get the dental impression.
Just a take a deep breath, and don't let him know you're afraid, 'cause he can sense when you're nervous.
The tiger's tranquilized.
I think I can handle it.
Talking about Mac.
And make sure you call him "sir.
" You know, petting a cat has been scientifically proven to lower your blood pressure ? Maybe the vic heard the same thing.
Tiger stripes are like fingerprints, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.
Females range eight to nine feet long.
Sorry, sir, I recite meaningless trivia when I'm nervous.
This is a male.
Right.
Should've checked first, sir.
And don't call me "sir.
" Runaway bride ? If she is, she didn't get very far.
Let's get to it.
All right.
Found her shoes.
Ah.
Nice pumps.
Yeah "Pierre Gascone.
" Big bucks.
Why leave them over there ? She took 'em off.
It's all about pain, Hawkes.
How much you're willing to endure, in order to look good.
She's young, traces of vomit, I'm thinking alcohol poisoning.
If she was completely blitzed, she probably didn't even realize she dropped them.
Yeah, well, if that's the case, she wasn't drinking solo.
Pulled a set of partials off the controls, and there's no way that this girl broke that lock by herself.
Jogger found her this morning.
What happened last night ? This didn't come from her dress.
Huh.
We'll find out who it belongs to and maybe we find her drinking buddy.
And maybe we find her murderer.
- Do you have a cause of death ? - Nope.
But I can tell you it wasn't alcohol poisoning.
Your debutante's BAC was zero.
Debutante ? I didn't find any lines on her fingers to indicate she was wearing engagement or wedding rings.
Plus : age, the dress, time of year equals debutante season.
Don't tell me you were an escort ? I attended a Debutante Ball.
I was waiting tables.
Yeah.
What about stomach contents ? Practically empty, except for a few undigested diet pills.
Also, acute cardiomegaly.
An enlarged heart.
What causes high blood pressure in an 18-year-old girl ? Uh, just about everything.
- What else do you have ? - Irritation on the upper lip.
And inflammation on the side of the neck.
Okay.
Both fresh.
I sent samples to tox.
What about the abrasions on her feet ? It's about what I expected after running barefoot in the park, but this is interesting : take a look at her shoes.
Why drop bank on a pair that's two sizes too small ? She may look like Cinderella, but the shoe doesn't fit.
So what time did you and your employees arrive here at the zoo, Felix ? Uh, a little before 9:00.
We were unloading the roses, and, uh, heard a whole bunch of screaming.
Waited down here till the cops said it was okay to finish.
So this is a regular thing for you here ? Oh, yeah, we're here, like, three times a week.
We do all the landscaping for the zoo.
All right.
Thanks.
If you remember anything, huh ? Yeah.
I've got blood trace.
Nice.
And I've got the curator getting us a list of all the people who have access to the zoo after hours, like the vets, feeders, security not including the nut-jobs who sneak up from the river, though.
You need to have the curator have his crew save anything the tiger passes and get it down to us.
- Passes ? - Passes.
I'm sure you've never seen anything like that up in Montana.
You ever seen what a full-grown black bear can do to a man ? Human.
Must be our vic's.
He definitely sprung a leak before he became the main course.
This is how he got in.
How you makin' out, Mac ? Our vic was driven in.
The blood trail starts here.
The vic was transported in a vehicle, probably red.
I found paint chips.
Hit the stanchion, right here.
Oh, so, somebody tapes this guy up, drives him to the zoo, throws him in the tiger pit.
Sounds like a Mob hit.
And he ended up puzzle pieces.
Let's put him back together.
Okay.
Fingers.
Tiger left us seven of 'em.
Yeah.
You get an I.
D.
? I printed them, but so far, nothing from AFIS.
That's trace under the fingernails.
I already sent a sample over to DNA.
We should have the results in a couple hours.
But, Mac, check this out : On the top of the hand, tiny puncture wounds.
Source ? Hoping you can tell me.
Giving me homework ? Just getting started.
You gotta see this.
A histological examination of the cardiac muscle.
Now, the holes in this heart tissue were caused by expansion between the cells.
Consistent with freezing.
And I made casts of the impressions you took.
Created a 3-D simulation to recreate the attack and account for all the bites.
Here's the damage done from the tiger.
Now, everything fit, except for one wound track.
Cause of death was exsanguination.
Something severed the subclavian artery, but it wasn't your tiger.
Can I help ? No, thank you.
You helped enough already this morning.
Okay.
- Sorry.
- All right.
After you.
No prints, no foreign trace, but it's faded and discolored.
Let me see that button.
Oh, definitely old school.
Maybe we can find out who made it.
- Oh, thanks.
- No problem.
Oh, my feet haven't touched the ground since I clocked in.
Well, welcome to the crime lab.
In Montana they gave us breathing breaks.
Let me give you a little tip.
Protein bars, comfortable shoes and at least four hours of sleep at night.
Well, that's not gonna help me today.
Mac wants these now.
No, Mac wants them right, that's all that matters.
I just don't want to slow things down.
Hey, in the McGinty killings, the Bozeman County Attorney got his prosecution based on your work.
McGinty was convicted because he was guilty.
I know it was your interpretation of the blood spatter that broke that case wide open.
That's what put you on Mac's radar, your attention to detail.
Thanks.
I found blood and flesh and some kind of a sawdust compound on the vic's shoes, sent it to DNA.
And APHIS is definitely a no-go.
So he's a John Doe for now.
Grab a bib.
I've heard about these reconstructions.
I've never done one before.
No better way to start your first day on the job.
The tiger was pretty good.
We're gonna attempt to duplicate our mystery wound tract.
By elimination, we can narrow our search for the weapon, and on a good day determine what it is.
So we know our DOA is five feet, ten inches, so we hang our test subject at the same height to recreate the wound that killed him.
And we use a pig because it's the closest thing we have to a human specimen.
Right.
You're up.
Right here.
The wound tract was vertical.
The blow came from above.
Try again.
Try this one.
Well, I'm done eating bacon for life.
So, only the, uh, victim's DNA was on the tape around his wrists.
The shoes, however, are a different story.
The flesh Montana found wasn't human.
And, uh, the blood wasn't, either.
Ochterlony came back bovine, pig and lamb.
And I have the murder weapon.
An exact replica of the fatal wound.
See any pattern ? Sawdust, animal flesh, a meat hook.
We might not know the vic's name, but we know where he's from.
Meat-packing district.
It's Bobby.
- Bobby Venetti.
- And he owned this place ? Yeah.
Inheritance.
Been in the family for years.
- When was the last time you saw him ? - Quitting time yesterday, 4 :00.
- Mind if we have a look around ? - Sure, go ahead.
That's a lot of hamburger.
Back home, people keep this much meat in their basement.
We do what we can.
Find something ? Human blood.
This could be our primary crime scene.
This hand print has thawed.
It's zero degrees Fahrenheit in here.
Everything's frozen solid.
Whatever was on the hand that made this print caused the meat to defrost.
We're gonna need a sample.
I'll do it.
Country girl.
We're gonna need to talk to everyone who worked here yesterday.
This is everyone, except for Ryan Knight.
- Where's he ? - We all thought he got fired.
- He and Bobby were getting into it all week.
- What do you mean ? Knight's punch card said he signed in at 3:00 a.
m.
, so he must have been in but nobody's seen him.
- Hey, junk food for lunch ? - Hmm.
Food for thought.
Just came from Trace.
That mysterious orange stain turned out to be sulfaphenazole naphthol sulfonic acid.
Cheddar cheese dust.
Ah, that's an easy transfer.
How 'bout the button, did you get anything on that ? Drew a blank with the manufacturer.
They haven't manufactured that type of covered button in at least 25 years.
Hey, guys, Missing Persons just ID'd your debutante.
Oh.
That's good.
Want one ? When you're ready, Ms.
Freemont.
My ex-husband and I were told that we could never have children of our own.
Briana was adopted ? Yes.
Then our prayers were answered and I got pregnant with my other daughter, Missy.
I was up calling the police all night, and Well, Missy finally called this morning, but Briana never I promise you, I'm gonna find whoever did this.
Something I can help you with ? Nah, we're good.
Mind if I, uh, have a look at your truck ? Knock yourself out.
Is there a problem, Officer ? D etective.
- Mac Taylor.
- Angelo Venetti.
This is my son, Angelo Jr.
- You related to Bobby Venetti ? - He's my nephew.
You know any reason why someone would want to kill him ? I'll let you know when I find out who did it.
Don't even think about it.
What did they want ? For us to know the clock is ticking.
Jessica ! What's going on ? I brought Missy over as soon as I found her.
Oh, Tanya, thank you.
This is an old friend of mine.
I called her as soon as the girls went missing.
Where were you all night ? You were supposed to stay at the Dandridge and then come straight home.
Mom, I told you on the phone.
I was with a friend.
Look, I came here right away.
I didn't even change.
I'm sorry.
Where's Briana ? Mom Your sister - she's gone.
- What ? Missy, I'm Detective Bonasera.
We're trying to find out what happened to your sister.
- You two were together last night, correct ? - No, not very long.
When was the last time you saw her ? I don't know, it was late.
I didn't see her after the group photo.
Mom, we should go.
- If there's any way I can help - Of course.
Missy I have one more question.
- So you didn't like your sister ? - Briana was my adopted sister.
And no.
I was never good enough, you know, despite the fact that I was the biological daughter.
Briana was perfect.
Life was easy for her.
Do you know that feeling ? When your own mother likes somebody more than you ? Sounds like jealousy Envy.
Boy, that Debutante Ball was going to be a coming out for you in more ways than one, huh ? Couldn't wait to come out of your sister's shadow.
So you had to hurt her.
You started by taking in her dress.
$12.
00 for a bag of cheese curls ? Must be nice to have a trust fund.
Just in case taking in the dress wasn't enough, you traded shoes with her, so she'd feel like she was getting fat.
It worked Briana didn't have anything to eat yesterday, except for a handful of diet pills.
Sorry.
You're right.
Okay, I did those things, but for fun, for me.
I didn't kill her.
Really ? Where were you last night ? - The Dandridge Hotel.
- All night ? - Yes.
- You weren't in your room.
No.
I was with a boy.
Sam Wilson.
I never left the hotel room.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Our vic has one spiteful sister.
- True Wicked Witch of the West.
- Anything we can nail her on ? Tailoring with intent and cheese curl fingers.
Hey, you two.
Step into my laboratory.
So, Tox came back on Briana Freemont Irritation of her lip was caused by a synthetic version of glycoprotein gilatoxin and phospholipase A2.
A collagen substitute.
It hasn't been approved for use.
Why is a beautiful girl like her going Angelina on her lips ? This isn't what killed her.
No, she died from, drum roll, please spider venom.
But there was no bite mark on her body.
Inflammation on her neck.
I checked with Dr.
Zao.
Puncture wound.
A sample came back from the injection site as Brazilian wandering spider venom.
Hey, Mac, confirmed that address with DMV.
Got a description on Ryan Knight : male, white, 5'6".
160 pounds.
- Oh, you still haven't found a place yet ? - Still looking.
- You look in Brooklyn, Queens ? - This girl's heart's set on Manhattan.
Till then, it's Uncle Freddie's couch in Tarrytown.
Excuse me ? Are you Ryan Knight ? Nah.
I don't know who that What do they feed you up there in Montana ? Let me get this straight.
You've been cashing paychecks for two years, and you finally decide to deposit money this morning ? You expect me to believe that ? It's a free country.
According to your punch card, you were in at 3:00 a.
m.
and gone before the other employees got there.
You see how that looks ? You think I'm that stupid ? I punch in, then kill a guy ? Well, maybe it wasn't in your plan to kill him.
Things just got out of hand, another argument.
All right, look Me and Bobby have been fighting.
I-I I missed a few days, so he had me in the cross hairs, I figured I'd come in early and make it up to him.
You know ? Put things right.
Look, I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with it.
I walk in the freezer, and there he was lying there.
It nearly scared me to death.
I-I figured it was probably a hit.
You know, I mean Bobby wasn't Mobbed-up, but his family was you know connected.
Well, people usually call 911 in those type of situations.
Well, he wasn't gonna get any more alive if I called the cops.
And the money ? Lotta places pay cash for meat, so there was usually like 10, 20 grand in the safe.
And come on, I figured it's no use to him.
So, what the hey ? There's $30,000 in this bag.
Yeah, right.
I mean, I couldn't believe my luck.
Yeah Right You hit the jackpot.
Open your mouth.
Tape.
Meat roll.
Venetti.
What's up, Einstein ? So, what caused the meat to defrost ? Whoever handled this meat had salt on their hands.
Excuse me.
Okay, based on the elemental analysis, there's an abundance of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
The Electron Backscatter Crystallography will tell us everything we need to know.
Ammonium nitrate.
- Explosives ? - No.
This particular crystalline structure has more in common with fertilizer.
Our murderer has a green thumb.
One of their own dies, and they don't miss a beat.
I know, the show must go on.
Explain to me what a Debutante Ball is, precisely.
The presentation of a young woman into high society.
- Looks more like high anxiety.
- Nice.
Mrs.
Danville, when was the last time you saw Briana Freemont ? We're trying to establish who she may have seen or spoken to.
And I'm involved how ? Your cosmetics company has developed a collagen substitute for facial enhancement, correct ? Yes.
It's very cutting edge.
We're just waiting for FDA approval, and we will change the face of cosmetic surgery.
Save us the sales pitch, Ms.
Danville.
Traces of the solution were found in Briana's mouth.
I know what I did was technically wrong.
But my daughter Madison and Briana are friends.
Briana hated her lips.
She begged me to help.
These girls prepare for this day all their lives.
I couldn't say no.
This is debutante season.
One attends the functions.
First as a girl, then as a mother.
We were both here last night.
I was her chaperone.
Managed to squeeze myself into the same dress I wore when I was a deb.
Thought I might see Jessica Freemont, but Briana's mother wasn't up to it this time.
This time ? We came out the same year.
It's different now, but back then, we were all very competitive.
So, is there going to be a problem with the collagen, Detective ? That's a matter for the District Attorney.
Then if you'd excuse me ? Oh, there's one more thing, Ms.
Danville.
does your company use any other experimental toxins ? Spider venom, for example ? Of course not.
Spider venoms are unpredictable and dangerous.
The gilatoxin is subtle and discreet.
Thank you for seeing us, Ms.
Danville.
We'll be in touch.
Anything I can do to help.
Bonasera.
Good, yeah.
Great, thanks.
Got a hit on those partials from the control panel at the carousel.
Auto larceny a couple of years ago.
Sam Wilson.
The guy Missy Freemont spent the night with.
Yeah, spent the night with one sister, and his prints put him with the other.
Our handsome prince gets around.
Let's find out where he was at midnight.
I knew Briana.
We went out.
You went out.
Does that mean you broke up ? Look, I was good for a few laughs.
But I'm not the golden carriage type.
She told me it would end before the ball, and it did.
Two weeks ago, she calls me, says it's over.
Boom, done.
You saw her again.
We have a print that puts you at the carousel.
Okay.
There was more to it than that.
I really missed her.
There was a party at the Dandridge.
I asked her to meet me at the park across the street.
I thought we could work it out.
You know ? Get past the whole uptown-downtown thing.
I didn't know I was supposed to dress up.
- We ready to go ? - I have somewhere to be, Sam.
Can you make it quick ? I'm waiting for you.
I thought we were gonna go together.
Sam, I You know what ? Forget it ! I didn't want to come ! Sam, you need to go.
- Go hang out with your friends.
- Fine, Sam ! I started the carousel to impress Briana.
It didn't.
She told me it was over, and I left.
And that pissed you off.
Crickets ? Frog food.
Not just for frogs.
Where are they, Sam ? Where are what ? Where are the spiders ? It's a hobby.
Yeah, some hobby.
Half a drop of this spider's venom can be fatal.
And it has another name the Brazilian wandering spider.
- Ryan Knight work out ? - He's not off the hook.
Some people's stories are so stupid you couldn't make them up.
You get anything on vehicles with access to the zoo ? We're narrowing it down, but it's quite a list.
You ever hear of a - Angelo Venetti ? - Yeah.
He's got his fat fingers in a lot of pies produce, meat, restaurants, waste management.
The whole cycle.
He's trying to get his fingers into our investigation of the killing of Bobby Venetti.
He'll do it, Mac, and he won't wait for a court date for payback.
We'll have to get our killer before this gets out of hand.
DNA came back on the tape sample.
A negative match to Knight.
He didn't tape Bobby Venetti.
Well, let's find out who did.
Careful there, Miss Muffet.
That hairy creature rates near the top of the deadly species list.
I hate spiders.
He's sleeping ? If he's not, he's going to wish he was.
Okay.
There we go.
Oh, yeah, got him a little mad.
- In ? - Yep.
Okay So Sam's spider doesn't match the tox sample we took from our vic.
With means Briana was killed with a synthetic version.
The difference in chemistries would explain why the samples don't precisely match.
It's possible, but you'd have to have access to some serious chemistry.
Who's got that kind of lab ? - Tanya Danville.
- Mmm.
But we still have to put her at the crime scene.
Whoa, what is that smell ? Tiger dung.
Zoo just made a fresh delivery.
Everyone else just happens to be conveniently busy.
Well, you know what they say it's a dirty job, but - But the rookie's got to do it ? - Mm-hmm.
Did you, um find anything ? Yeah.
Part of a watch, half an ear, seven inches of colon.
Ah, lucky you.
Wait, this could be the Cracker Jack prize.
A finger.
Yeah, but is that a splinter ? It's a thorn from a rosebush.
You know, Felix Parker's landscaping company was delivering roses yesterday.
I think we found our green thumb.
Look familiar ? That's Bobby Venetti's meat-packing plant.
With a facelift.
Parker was buying Venetti's building.
And Venetti ends up dead.
Over here.
About the same height as the damaged stanchion next to the tiger cage.
I'll be right back.
What did I tell you ? It was Parker, wasn't it ? Bobby told me he decided not to sell him the building, so Parker killed him.
Get the hell out of here, or the next time you see my face, you're going to be wearing bracelets.
The spectrum matches the paint we found on the stanchion at the zoo.
Well, if you like that, you're going to love this.
- Blood.
- Lots of it.
It's fertilizer and thorns.
And there's salt in fertilizer.
Felix Parker killed Venetti.
And Felix dumps the body in the freezer until he figures out what to do with it.
Comes back a few hours later, uses packing tape to tie up the body to make it look like a contract killing.
He dumps the body in the back of the van, he drives it to the zoo.
As for the tiger, it wasn't personal just a free meal.
It's been forced.
Felix Parker, NYPD.
Bedroom's clear.
He was getting ready to leave.
Looks like his schedule got moved up.
You want me to process ? Yeah.
And when you're done, process again.
I got to go see a guy.
- What do you got ? - Hey took a sample of this button, and ran it through the GCMS.
Right And traces of carbon tetrachloride.
That's a suspected carcinogen.
It shouldn't be anywhere near clothing.
Let alone an old button.
Well, carbon tetrachloride was a common ingredient used in dry cleaning, but it hasn't been widely used for at least 20 years.
Wasn't Tanya Danville bragging about wearing the same dress she wore to her own Debutante Ball ? I mean, that would put us in the right time frame.
Right.
And she owns her own cosmetic company, which gives her access to a lab, and synthetic venom.
Miss Diane Worthington.
Miss Sophia Souter.
Tanya ? We need to talk.
Please.
I just want to see my daughter introduced.
I'm sure Briana's mother would have liked that, as well.
We need to talk now.
Honey, go ahead.
This way.
Miss Madison Danville.
This button came from the carousel where we found Briana.
That could be from anywhere.
I think not.
Not a lot of dresses that old in Central Park, let alone on the carousel.
I don't have time for this.
Briana was killed with a highly toxic synthetic spider venom injected into her neck.
Now, I know you don't use spider venom in your products, but your labs are certainly capable of creating it.
That's outrageous.
Mrs.
Danville, we checked your lab logs.
The compounds you used to create the toxins are regulated by the FDA.
The paper trail leads right to your company.
You were at the Dandridge that night, just waiting for your opportunity.
When Briana walked into the park to meet Sam Wilson, you followed her.
Have fun at your party.
Sam! You waited till she was alone, and then you injected the venom.
Jessica and I came out at the same time.
I was with Simon Freemont, the most eligible bachelor in New York.
He was going to marry me.
And Jessica stole him at the Debutante Ball.
She ruined my life.
So, I waited for the right moment and ruined hers.
Not every fairy tale has a happy ending.
Certainly not yours.
It was a beautiful ceremony.
I was in the back.
I appreciate you coming to the memorial.
I heard about Tanya Danville.
Thank you for finding out.
Get off my table.
- Get off the phone.
- I'll call you back.
Sit down.
Where is he ? I'm sorry, Detective, I don't know who you're referring to.
I want Parker.
Why ? What do you care, Taylor ? Justice is served.
That's what you're all about, right ? You're admitting your involvement in his disappearance ? My brother's son is dead.
Anything happens to the guy that did it, I'm thinking justice is served.
Doesn't make me involved.
Anyway what makes you think he's dead ? I don't think it, I know it.
You trailed our investigation, you picked up Parker and killed him.
Well, you know what they say about opinions and a certain body part ? Everybody's got one.
You're welcome to yours.
I've got Felix Parker's apartment under a microscope, and I will find something.
Maybe there's nothing to find.
Did you ever think about that ? There's always something to find.
Always.
And when I find it I'll be coming for you.
The clock is ticking, Venetti.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode