CSI: Vegas (2021) s02e03 Episode Script

1
They say I just got a buck,
uh, get into it, yuh ♪
Pop out with a truck, ha,
get into it, yuh ♪
If you go to church,
I said get into it, yuh ♪
And if she ain't got a butt ♪
Get into it, yuh ♪
And I say I just got a buck ♪
Pop out with a truck, get into ♪
Get into it, yuh. ♪
Watch out!
Hey, get out. We have to go check.
Damn.
I think she's dead.
Dude, we got to do something.
No, totally, you're right.
No cap, we almost just died.
There's this car here on the side
of the road, there's money everywhere.
I think this chick is dead.
Did you lock the door?
- Yes.
- Yes.
Okay.
Is it work?
Uh
It's a guy I grew up with,
but it's probably,
- like, his call from jail or something.
- Wait,
did you need to get it?
Uh
No.
You know, he would understand.
- Yeah. Oh!
- Yeah?
He sounds like a bad influence.
Oh, you go to cut people like that out.
Maybe you should block him.
- Oh, you got a lot of people you block?
- Mm-hmm.
How many people you got on that list?
What?
Okay.
All right.
It's work. You can't block that.
Whatever it is, let's solve it fast.
Here she is.
Detective, you want
to take his statement?
So, uh, you two ride in together?
- Carpooling's good for the planet, boss.
- Carpooling.
That's what they're calling it nowadays?
Mm-hmm.
You know, Catherine
told me that, uh, you two
had to pump the brakes
on that, uh, search?
- For whoever killed her friend?
- Yeah.
Yeah.
All right. Well,
while I've got you,
I want you to run this.
Our victim's name is Mindy Downs.
She was found dead in her car
by a group of teens.
They carpooled up here to quote/unquote,
"drink in peace".
Any other witnesses?
That's the thing about
a ghost town nobody's talking.
And the kids weren't involved?
No, I cleared 'em.
Neither set of tire tracks
matched their vehicle.
- Two sets of tracks.
- Mm.
So that's why highway patrol
called us all the way up here.
That, and our kid driver said
that there was another car
fishtailing out of the scene
when they drove up,
almost hit 'em.
And there's a little case
of all this loose cash
- just floating around.
- Yep.
Lots of it.
Well, whoever hit her left
some of their headlight behind.
And if she was rammed
into the telephone pole,
the back end would be totaled,
but it kind of looks like
she ran into it herself.
Maybe, maybe not.
You know how it is with collisions
- so much evidence, so many possibilities.
- Mm.
Mindy's registration was
in her glove compartment.
She lives up the way.
Treasure Hill. Ooh.
- Looks like the bag got tossed in the accident.
- Whoa.
Somebody was on their way out of town.
Or robbed a stagecoach.
Yeah, maybe we should
ask the barkeep at the saloon.
Jack.
Introduce us to Ms. Downs.
I've had all of three minutes
with her, but
her liver temp puts her
time of death at 2:00 a.m.
Contusions, abrasions, broken nose.
She didn't buckle up for safety.
Well, the front end's not
totaled. She couldn't have
been going more than 25 miles an
hour. And the airbag's deployed.
I know. Her injuries don't
seem like they'd be fatal.
So how'd she die?
I don't think the blood
on her chest came from her nose.
Hey, Jack, can you pull
Mindy back for me, please?
Sure thing.
Oh, would you look at that.
Damn. That's an entry wound.
Road rage?
Doesn't look like it was
motivated by money.
They shot her and left
it all blowing around.
No traffic cams. No witnesses.
- Just ghosts.
- You know,
killers always leave a trail, Joshua.
Just have to find it.
No soot, burns or stippling
around the wound.
Whoever shot Ms. Downs
wasn't in the car with her.
I mean, it couldn't have
been that close, right?
- Can we see the slug?
- Sonya's got to pull it at autopsy.
The last time I disturbed evidence
before it got to my sister's morgue,
she shaved off my eyebrows in my sleep.
My little sister scares me, too.
- I got ahold of the husband.
- Mm.
He's gonna come in for an ID.
Thinking we get a GSR test.
Catherine's back at the lab.
Ask her to run a kit.
Your antennae up?
-I didn't love his vibe on the phone. And, you know,
-Mm.
spouses are always worth a look.
Even if the smart money is on road rage.
Wouldn't be the first time somebody
with a hair-trigger temper
had a trigger in their pocket, mm?
That why you don't carry?
Um, no.
I'm not quick to temper.
I just think that
a criminalist's best
weapon is her brain.
Hey, Al, how we doing?
So
no bullet casings in the
car, no bullet casings
within a 30-foot radius outside the car.
Maybe the killer knew well
enough to clean up their brass.
Only thing I know for sure
is tire tracks point to
Mindy driving south.
Maybe her killer intimidates
her from behind, clips her car.
She's distracted by his aggression,
doesn't see the pole.
But that wasn't enough for him.
Boom.
Except
Mindy was shot before she hit the pole.
If she'd been shot
after the accident
there'd be blood spatter
on the right side of the airbag,
but look.
There's no spatter,
and just blots. So
She was shot before the crash.
Boy.
They hit a target moving fast.
We're looking
for a hell of a shooter.
I thought you just wanted
us to come and identify Mindy.
I appreciate your help, Mr. Downs.
I know this can't be easy.
This is just a standard test
for gunshot residue.
- To rule you out.
- Bighorn season's
just started. Uh, I-I haven't
even gone out yet,
so you're not gonna find anything on me.
Mindy had a bag full of cash and clothes
in the back seat of her car.
Was she going on a trip?
I don't know.
I don't know about the cash. That's
I'm not sure. I've been so busy
at my garage I'm a mechanic and
Mindy's been lonely.
I think she was going her mom's.
She was going to Mom's again?
She didn't tell me that.
Is that out of the ordinary?
She usually tells me.
You were right.
Um, there's nothing here.
We'll be in touch.
Thank you.
Amy.
Call me if anything occurs to you.
Thanks.
.22 long rifle stinger. Hollow point.
Not my first. We see those a lot.
Fits both pistols and rifles.
The wound cavity is more compact
than expected for a .22.
Something must have
slowed the bullet down,
maybe ricocheted off a bone.
I want a radiograph
to be sure. But first,
let me get your angle measurements.
I'll need an extra hand with that
Trajectory rod?
Hm.
I know Dr. Ramirez did not like you.
I think maybe he was wrong.
Thank you. I guess.
Thirty-six.
Forty-two.
Forty-four.
Okay.
Hey, what you got?
Our shooter was a little behind
and to the right of Mindy,
shooting downward. About 42 degrees.
- That's a really steep angle.
- Maybe the shot
came from inside a lifted pickup truck?
But a pickup truck that large
would have crushed her car
when they hit it, right?
- My next guess was a monster truck.
- This
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Come on, you've never
heard of demolition derby?
Mm-hmm, no.
Okay, well, you know.
Um, found the bullet, and
Hold on.
Almost missed this.
There's something on this.
Yeah. Something green.
It's like the bullet
passed through something
before hitting Mindy.
Or maybe they coated their ammo with it?
I'm gonna go get Beau to run this.
Sonya gave you a itty bitty gift.
Say thank you, Joshua.
Thank you.
Tiniest sample of all time.
Well, like my wife always says
a little goes a long way.
When she's cooking with saffron.
I'll, uh go to Ballistics.
- That could be the thing slowing it down.
- It could.
- Boss?
- It could Yeah?
Polypropylene, huh.
Back in the private sector, we
used to put it in everything.
Rope, twine, tape,
carpeting, upholstery,
fast fashion, camping equipment,
- cooking equipment
- Shrimp cocktail,
shrimp gumbo It's Beau-ba Gump.
- Do I have a sign on my back?
- We only haze
the ones we love,
and I think what Folsom
is referring to that every product
in the world
is not the lead we're looking for.
Maybe the shooter
used a product made from polypropylene
as a makeshift silencer.
I've been, uh,
thinking about what
you're going through,
and, uh, I know it's got to be tough,
working with Chavez, but
I think if you give her a chance,
you'll really like her.
What do you mean? Wh
Have I been weir
Shut up, dude.
Chavez is really pretty.
You're just jealous that Folsom
got to her first, so don't
take it out on me, okay?
Touché.
Seriously,
have I been acting weird?
Do people think I'm being rude?
Let's get this into NIBIN
and see if we can get a match
- on some old crime.
- I would love to stay
and get teased mercilessly,
but I'm needed in Reconstruction.
Huh. Interesting.
I, uh
Yeah. Folsom didn't text me.
Stop.
- Oh.
- Hey.
So, the bullet is running through NIBIN.
Oh. What have we here?
- Puzzle.
- Hm.
Headlight glass from the car
that crashed into Mindy.
If we can figure out
the make and model of their car,
might be able to ID the shooter.
I mean, before I help you, I am
going to need to hear you to say it.
You are the jigsaw puzzle queen.
See? That wasn't so hard,
was it, Joshua?
Didn't like that.
- Yeah?
- Yo, it's Trey.
Hey, Trey. What's going on, man?
I tried calling, so I came through.
Why are you here?
I need a favor.
I got pranked.
Someone filled my car
with freakin' weasels.
Hundreds of 'em, man.
Weasel your, uh, your
old nickname, right?
Well, I got to get whoever it is back.
I figure all our friends
are already in the system.
Can you lift the prints,
help me figure out
which of the pricks did it?
I'd love to help to you, man,
but we have a policy against
using work equipment for personal use.
You got it good here, Folsom.
Hi, I'm Trey.
Hey. Allie.
This is Allie?
Oh, I've heard about you.
Yeah
- I get it.
- Uh, hey,
we-we got, uh Huh?
- Allie's got some work to do, so
- Yeah.
Bye, Allie.
- Bye, Trey.
- Oh.
Oh, I, uh, talked to your mom
the other day.
Jeanette she's out?
Yeah, got her some scratchers,
say welcome home.
Yeah, she was always
like a mom to me, too,
so, you know, yeah, no biggie.
Hey-hey, you know what, man
I'll see what I can do.
Thanks. Thanks, brother.
All right.
He seems fun.
Huh.
Um, is it possible that Mindy's
car was hit by Mindy's car?
So, wh I-I'm sorry
The broken headlight
at the scene is the same
make and model of car as Mindy's. Look.
I am the queen of jigsaw
puzzles, aren't I?
So, this is your car, right?
Uh-huh.
Headlight. Yeah?
And this is Mindy's car.
Same make and model.
Yeah. Yeah, I fix Saabs,
and, uh, we both love them, so, I
I bought got her one.
You are a hunter.
Do you own any .22 caliber weapons?
I don't.
I prefer a heavier gauge.
- One shot, one kill.
- You got any
hunting buddies with a .22
willing to let you borrow theirs?
- I did not hurt my wife.
- Well, I think
Mindy finally worked up
the nerve to pack a bag,
grab some cash and leave you.
- But you wouldn't let her.
- No, she wasn't leaving me.
Your sister-in-law Amy
seems to think she was.
- This is ridiculous.
- How did your
broken headlight end up at the scene?
Mindy called me, okay?
But it went straight to voice mail.
And when I finally got the message
she sounded hurt.
So I raced down the road.
I was so freaked out
that I missed the brake
and I slid into her.
But she, uh
she was already dead.
You expect us to believe that?
You left when you saw Mindy was dead.
Why didn't you call 911?
I got scared.
- I d
- You didn't want to be a suspect.
My marriage it wasn't perfect.
But I loved Mindy.
And I had nothing
to do with this.
You have to believe me.
Hell, take Mindy's word for it.
I'm sorry.
I I'm hurt, I need your help.
I think the husband's telling the truth.
It sounds like she was shot
well before she wrecked.
Makes sense.
I think we can work backwards
from where she crashed.
Use her voice mail as a reference
and find the exact location
- she was shot.
- You hear that screech
just before it ended?
I'm hurt, I need your help.
She scraped something.
Well, the shot had
to happen before that.
Hey. This could be the spot.
Looks like she jerked the wheel
without braking.
I mean, that would cause
these centrifugal skid marks.
I call them yaw marks.
Right. I bet getting shot in the neck
would explain the suddenness
Centrifugal skid marks.
You think this is where Mindy was shot?
That's the theory.
So, where was the shooter
when they took their shot?
There's no shoulder on the road here.
It would be impossible for
someone to drive alongside her.
Or even stand to take a shot
at a speeding motorist.
And even if she was
in the oncoming lane,
the shooter would be too
close. The wound cavity
would be larger. Plus, it's-it's
not even the right angle.
.22LR cartridges
can also used by rifles.
Well, that would explain
the compact permanent cavity.
I can't believe I'm about to say this,
but we might be looking for
a long-range marksman
who knows how to lead
a target in motion.
You think Mindy was shot
from up in the hills
by, like, a sniper?
- Yes.
- Yes.
Well.
The Wonder Twins are in agreement.
So
our search area just got
a hell of a lot bigger.
That looks about 33 centimeters.
Now I really don't know
where the shooter was standing.
I think 60% load is still way too high.
Killer had to be over 500 yards away.
You're right.
The bullet would've
punctured Mindy's lungs
at this depth.
Okay, well, maybe 50% load capacity
is enough to slow our bullet down.
Have you talked to Trey?
No.
Why?
Yeah, Trey's a nice guy.
When he wants something.
I'd probably be smart
to block his number.
Firing one at 50%.
Firing one at 20%.
Are you at least going
to run the prints for him?
I don't know.
11 centimeters.
360 feet per second
- at 20% load capacity.
- Wow,
we're gonna have a broad search
radius no matter the result.
We'll be canvassing for days.
I can go ahead and start the canvassing
if you want to hang back.
What?
Run those prints for Trey.
- Allie
- My childhood friends are just like you guys.
We've grown up and we've grown apart.
But those old friends there's
there's roots under the wall.
I don't see them and we're
in different places, but
I thrive today
because of them.
Is this right?
So, somebody shot Mindy
from almost a mile away?
Velocity was our missing quotient,
and the numbers don't lie.
We're talking about
army sniper accuracy.
Someone with a world-class skill set
targeting a paralegal?
Or it's random. Like a roadside sniper,
like Malvo in Virginia.
Mm, I don't think it's either.
Look, this is the search radius.
This is Mindy's home in
Treasure Hill, up in the hills
above the road from where she was shot.
Mindy's husband is an avid hunter.
This shot could have come
from her own backyard.
If it did, somebody had to hear it.
Nobody heard anything. And
we have talked to everyone.
We haven't talked to him yet.
Hey, boys.
Any of you hear a gunshot
two nights ago?
I heard a gunshot the other night.
No, no, those were fireworks.
Uh, Reggie, those jackholes,
they were letting 'em off.
Nah, they ran out of fireworks
on Thursday.
When Reggie pushed you.
How old are you, dude? Don't you know
what a gunshot sounds like?
Yeah, those were fireworks, you idiot.
-Hey, hey,
-WOMAN: Hey, Cash,
- knock it off. not in
- uh, Cash, Cash, Cash, Cash.
Don't you got any sense,
fighting in front of cops?
Hey, guys, found something.
You go, I got this.
Hey, trailer park front office
put these out a few days ago.
Advertising for the new lots.
First expansion in years.
Looks like
the bullet hit this.
Just grazed the balloon.
Guess we can add balloons
to that long list of things
made from polypropylene, huh?
All right, I want us to spiral search
from this point out. The guy must have
left some casings here. I want it.
Entering grid six.
Copy that.
I found shell casings in the field
behind the trailer park.
Copy. Headed to you.
Come here.
That was quick.
Max?
Max. Look at me.
Open your eyes. Come on.
Why would someone do this?
Everyone get back. Give her some air.
Johnson, Rubio, set the perimeter.
We find this bastard now.
Ambulance is here.
Over here!
Help's here.
Hand me a glove.
She saved us a shell casing.
Unreal.
Ms. Roby. Can you hear me?
We've got to get her to the hospital.
- Folsom.
- Hey.
- How bad is it?
- Found her unconscious.
There may be some swelling on her brain.
They've sedated her
out of an abundance of caution
to let her rest,
but she's stable for now.
Okay.
Catherine, I messed up.
I was at the lab,
helping my idiot friend. I
She made me point on this.
- I should have been there.
- Don't.
I've been where you're going.
Guilty when it's not my fault. Hell,
it's that way with my daughter
right now. All you can do
is to focus your energy
on this case.
That's all you can do for her.
Okay, so we got to assume that
the person who attacked Max
is the shooter, right? If she
was collecting evidence
- Agreed.
- Whoever they are
heard the CSIs were canvassing
and they came back
to clean up after themself.
This is your case.
How do you want to proceed?
All right, guys, listen up. We run it.
All of it, all at once.
Let's go.
Allie, Chris, I want to know everything
about that casing Max recovered.
The .22 long rifle casing Max found
matches the bullet found in Mindy.
The, uh, casing should help NIBIN
narrow down our matches faster.
It's, uh, not done processing, but I've
obviated some of the
possibilities. Take a look.
There's only rifles left on this list.
So we were right about a sniper.
Huh.
The firing pin impression
on our casing
it's, uh Something's off about it.
We have a match.
Okay, so,
the killer's weapon was a Ruger 10/22.
Manufactured over 30 years ago. And
Wow. Look at that history.
Armed robberies, home invasion,
and sold at a police auction.
If the gun was a person
it'd be behind bars.
Check out the most recent owner.
Do you recognize this?
So hot. Can't hear myself think.
Damn kids threw a rock through
my window and air ain't free.
Um, what are we talking about?
Okay, Theresa,
let's just knock it off with the sudoku.
People usually pay attention
when they're being
questioned about murder.
I've seen a rifle before, yeah.
A rifle like this one was used
to kill one of your neighbors.
We think the shooter
also attacked our boss.
- Yeah, I heard about the shooting.
- Our records
show that a rifle like
this one in the picture
was registered to your address.
- Can we take a look at your rifle?
- Sure.
If you can find it.
That rifle was stolen some time ago.
I had a barbecue for my neighbors
out of the kindness of my heart,
and somebody janked it.
And you didn't think to report it, no?
Mm. No, ma'am, it was a piece of crap.
Was Robbie Downs invited to your party?
That wino? Of course not.
But he sure enough crashed it.
Hey.
Drink this.
Hey.
Heard anything about Max?
Not since you asked the last time.
What's this?
Well,
given the placement of Max's head wound
and this sneaker print found under Max,
we think Max was hit by someone
swinging with their left hand, so
ten percent of all people
on Earth are a suspect.
Other than that, we got
nothing. Like, we got rocks,
we got dirt, that's it.
You know what?
Uh, I-I will take that water now.
What's going on, there, bud?
I kept asking myself
what in this field doesn't belong.
But that wasn't working,
so then I asked myself
what does belong.
What's the difference?
I don't know.
But I missed it
because it was covered
in dust, dirt and debris.
Look at this.
Concrete.
Smell the ammonia.
They use it as an admixture
to reduce the water in the concrete.
The-the smell won't dissipate for days.
So it's fresh.
You know, I saw construction over there.
This concrete was poured yesterday?
It only takes a few hours
to harden, about a month
to fully cure. It could be worse.
Keep digging.
If we don't find anything,
that would be worse.
Look, I got to say,
if the killer made their way
to Max from this angle
plenty of weapons lying around
to take a swing at her head.
Yeah.
Hey. I think I got it!
It's a Ruger 10/22.
- That's our rifle.
- It's what we've been looking for.
- What's wrong?
- I don't understand how that rifle
could have been used
to kill Mindy Downs.
No scope. No rail to even add one.
So, who could make that
miracle shot without a scope?
Who has that kind of aim?
Nobody.
That's as clean as this rifle's getting.
Looks like it was junk before
it got tossed into cement.
You people want some good news?
Heard from the hospital.
Max's swelling is down.
Grade 2 concussion.
Broken clavicle got set.
She's gonna be okay.
- Thank God.
- Should be up and ready for visitors tomorrow.
Folsom?
I'll, um
I'll go when I can show her a mug shot.
And I might be
getting close.
I couldn't
wrap my mind around how
that 30-year-old rifle
without a scope made
that incredible shot.
Check out the pin impression
on the casing that Max found.
Well, Chris did mention it was odd.
These are also casings from our rifle
found at old crime scenes,
unrelated shootings.
You notice the difference?
Our firing pin impression looks deeper?
It is.
The casing on the right
came from a rifle
shooting straight on,
according the case report.
Its impression isn't as deep.
The casing on the left came from a rifle
that was pointed down.
- Pretty shallow.
- So our case being the deepest
means that our rifle was
shot pointing upwards?
Exactly. I didn't always
love physics as a kid,
but today I want to buy
Isaac Newton a beer.
More pressure is needed
to fight gravity when
a rifle's pointed up,
so it makes the firing pin
strike harder,
leaving behind a deep pin impression.
Snipers don't point up to shoot.
No, they don't.
Nobody took aim at Mindy Downs.
- Her death was an accident.
- So,
if this was random
if there's no connection
between Mindy and her killer
whoever attacked Max is our last shot.
No.
- No?
- There's a missing piece.
I mean literally.
There's a piece missing
where the rifle's cracked.
Stock looks pretty dried out.
Old rifles can snap on the kickback.
Hm.
I think I know who shot Mindy.
Just hold still for me.
Ooh.
You're lucky.
A splinter like this could
get badly infected.
Then again, maybe you're not so lucky.
I
I didn't shoot that woman.
- I
- Cash, shush.
So my grandson shot my rifle. Big whoop.
It is a big whoop, actually,
Theresa, 'cause you lied to me.
You told me the rifle was stolen.
Cash,
your friend he pointed us
to the kids down the street.
They said that they broke your window.
They were bullying you, right Cash?
Hey trash, you got our present?
The hell?
You're not gonna shoot
that thing, are you?
Leave me alone!
My grandson didn't kill that woman
or hurt your boss
or whatever else. This is harassment!
Nothing in the kid's room.
You don't have any proof,
not one bit of proof
that he raised a hand to your boss.
None.
The kid didn't attack Max.
Mindy's shooter was right-handed,
as evidenced by the splinter
in Cash's right cheek.
But Max's attacker was left-handed.
You sudoku with your left hand, Theresa.
Are you out of your mind?
These are women's jeans
- with cement all over them.
- You knew
we were searching the park
for evidence, and you knew
that Cash shot Mindy
after Allie and Catherine
showed up at your house.
So you got rid of the rifle.
But then you saw my boss,
Max, out in the field.
And Cash hadn't picked up
his casings, so you had to.
I fought so hard
to get custody from Cash's mother.
All I wanted was a better
life for him. Please.
Please, don't do this to us.
Stand up for me, please.
Hands behind your back.
Granny?
I'm
I'm so sorry.
We heard you found the shooter.
It was an accident?
That doesn't make any sense.
She's gone, and that part
will never make sense.
But we're sure.
I am so sorry.
So, what
you're not gonna apologize?
I'm innocent.
I lost my wife.
And you made me feel like a criminal.
You're right.
You didn't shoot Mindy.
But you also didn't call 911
when you saw she was dead.
'Cause you'd be a suspect.
And you know why.
She was going to leave you.
You put Mindy
in the path of that bullet.
And you'll have to live with
that for the rest of your life.
So?
Who was it?
It was Shank, right?
Got to be Shank.
Why'd you want me
to ID those prints, Trey?
What, for real?
Man, you're such a cop.
I told you why. The guys
played a prank on me,
I want to get 'em back.
You ghosted us.
Ghosted us, you left us behind
'cause you thought
you were better than us. Better than me.
No, no, no, you stayed.
I tried to help you get out.
You called me for help, man.
And I screwed up letting you
take that car, man.
I shouldn't have asked.
Well, you already know, Fols,
no favor comes free.
You know, Trey,
you should really stop trying
to track down meth distributors
and maybe you should just
stick to repo'ing cars and TVs.
You ran the prints.
All I need's a name.
Hey, I'll take it from there.
That's how it's gonna be?
I'll see you around, Fols.
Yeah, come in.
Hey.
There she is.
How you feeling?
Never been better.
- Hey.
- Hmm?
We got the shooter.
We also got, uh, your
attacker.
I'm sorry.
For not being there.
I got caught up
fixing things that weren't mine to fix.
If I had carried
No, that wouldn't have helped.
Not this time.
I'm sorry.
What's in the bag?
Got you a Double-Double.
I know you were looking forward to that
cafeteria chicken piccata, but
Come on, Double-Double.