CSI: Vegas (2021) s02e14 Episode Script

Previously on CSI: Vegas
All of these cases,
all of these people, are related.
Alan Herskovitz.
He killed Lynn Zobrist.
And then he went after Lamont Moore.
We found this dossier
hidden in Lamont's motel room
and somebody wanted
him to commit a murder.
Along with this note.
Reminds me of the Voynich Manuscript.
The author invented his own language.
- Why do you think it's happening?
- Could it be a game?
Are those doodles on the carbon paper?
- What else would they be?
- Proof that Dr Auerbach has some secrets?
When she gets back to Vegas,
she's gonna answer some hard questions.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue,
what's your emergency?
I'm in an alley off of
Flamingo just east of Paradise,
I want to report a stabbing.
Are you with the victim?
Yeah, it's me.
I was stabbed in the stomach.
Okay, sir, what's your name?
Mike Webber.
Mr. Webber, I'm dispatching
an ambulance and police now.
Can you identify the
person who hurt you?
This guy, this, uh
this loudmouth in a bar,
we got into it and
he took off.
Okay, sir. Help is on the way.
I will stay on the line until
No, no, no, I'll be okay.
Mr. Webber, are you sure
Control. Medic 17.
I have an ATL on the victim.
Appears unresponsive. Okay. Let's go.
Sir, can you hear me?
Sir?
No response. He's apneic.
Pupil are fixed and dilated, no pulse.
I've got EKG.
That's it.
Hey, Chris,
you think that's what people
will notice when you're dead?
- A hole in your shoe?
- No chance, man.
I keep my sneaks fresh.
Bro
this is my third double this week.
I like overtime, but I'd
like a little time off, too.
Think Beau's getting back
in the field anytime soon?
Uh, something he said to me
the other day makes me doubt it.
What's that?
"I'm not going back in
the field anytime soon."
Ah. All right.
Michael Webber.
Tourist. Looks like
home address is Phoenix.
Apparently Webber told
911 he'd been stabbed
by a guy he met at a bar.
LVPD is canvassing now.
Any idea why the ground is wet?
Hmm, not sure.
We're behind a restaurant,
they probably clean things back here.
You notice all the blood?
- Not really.
- Me neither.
Guy gets cut in the belly,
dies in minutes, bleeds
out fast. Where's the blood?
Could be internal bleeding.
Hey, Allie, what's up?
Guess who's back in Vegas.
Diane Auerbach.
Headed to her house now.
Why Auerbach's house?
Well, she got an earlier
flight than expected.
She lands in about an hour.
I just want to get to her house
and pick her up when she gets there.
Can you meet me there with uniforms?
Hey, Al.
You want to bring Auerbach in today?
Max said to pick her up as
soon as she's back and
she's back.
We're actually at a scene right now.
Got a canvass underway, the
guys just started processing.
Okay, we shouldn't wait.
If Auerbach is behind
the silver ink killings,
we're talking multiple homicides here,
more to come as well.
Listen, if you can't meet me there,
I'll just I'll go pick her up myself.
Okay, LVPD's got the canvass,
we can handle everything here.
Okay. Uh, yeah, I'm on my way.
It's gonna take me a little while.
Just hold off on doing anything.
- All right. Okey doke. See you soon.
- Thank you.
Yeah, I'll catch up
with you when I get back.
He wasn't just any old tourist.
"Gorge-A-Palooza."
Eating contest?
Might've been a contestant.
We should find out where it was held.
Hey. Do you see those bruises?
Hilt of a knife made them.
Find the knife we can
match to the wound.
Huh.
I can tell you this is gonna be weirder
- than your everyday stabbing.
- How?
This isn't blood. I think
I think it's barbecue sauce.
What the hell happened to this guy?
Dr. Milton Hudson, I presume?
You must be Dr. Roby.
Thanks for filling in
while our head M.E. was out of town.
Folks in San Jose were
singing your praises
so dang much I had to hang up on them.
I'm happy to fill in.
I hear this guy was
bleeding barbecue sauce, huh?
Kansas City style,
from the presence of
ketchup and molasses.
The sauce extruded due
to omental evisceration.
Pressure from inside the
stomach forcing the contents out.
I think
it's pulled pork.
I hear he was in some
kind of eating contest.
Never seen anything quite like it.
- His stomach
- That's a lot.
three times the normal size.
Must be 15 pounds of food in there.
Did that contribute to his death?
Won't know until I get inside.
15 pounds of pulled pork.
What were you thinking?
And Kansas City sauce. Mm-mm.
It's laced with sugar.
It's for children and the weak.
Hey.
You were supposed to bring backup.
- We're not taking Auerbach in.
- Why not?
It's the wrong move.
Notes from her therapy sessions
were used to blackmail
targets into committing murder.
She'll say she gave us some
of those notes, which she did.
She also claimed some had been stolen.
Who knows what she's up to?
Maybe she's toying with us.
All the more reason not to bring
her in without solid evidence.
Otherwise we'll tip her off
she's a suspect with
nothing to show for it.
Okay, what do we do?
Get a search warrant.
Collect all the evidence
in the house first.
We're gonna have to convince
a judge we have probable cause
to believe that there's
evidence inside the house.
It's worse. She's a therapist,
her notes and files are privileged.
A judge won't approve a
warrant unless it's airtight.
She's here.
Chavez, why are you smiling?
Because you want this case so bad
it's practically vibrating off of you.
Listen, I want Auerbach, too.
But let's do it the right way.
Hey, Chris.
You see how this drop
of blood is elongated?
Like a teardrop?
Means, uh, Webber was
walking when it fell.
The strike point, the fat end,
points to where he was coming from.
We follow this trail,
we'll end up where Webber was stabbed.
Right on.
Yo.
There's a big cluster over here.
Must be where the stabbing happened.
Partial footprint, too.
Hey, look.
A few more drops head in this direction.
Probably fell off the
knife when the attacker ran.
- I did the last dumpster.
- What?
I-I would do this one,
but Penny just texted me.
That the, uh, Gorge-A-Palooza
is at the Antaeus Hotel.
I-I got to check it out, man.
- Beau should be doing this.
- You got this.
Are you ready to gorge?
I'm Jason Ketchum, your host.
Our next event is a celebration
of litopenaus setiferus,
better known as everyone's
favorite oxymoron:
the jumbo shrimp!
Jumbo shrimp! Jumbo shrimp!
These champions of chew
will have 12 minutes to eat
as many jumbo shrimp as they can!
Are you ready?
Three
Two! One!
Gorge!
Ugh.
Ugh.
Oh, God.
We have a winner!
With 14 pounds, four ounces consumed,
the King of Crustacea,
Sultan of Shrimp,
Mason Parlakis!
Here with the coveted champion's belt
is the winner of
yesterday's competition,
MMA superstar Rita DeBenedetto.
When I was a fighter,
I learned what a champion looks like.
Mason, you look like a champion to me.
Whoo!
Mike Webber's dead?
Ah, that's not cool.
Jason.
Uh, Rita
This guy's from Vegas PD.
He said Mike Webber
was killed last night.
Actually, I'm a CSI.
What happened?
That's what we're trying to figure out.
He was here yesterday?
Yeah, Mike competed in the
BBQ and Brew, with Rita.
BBQ and Brew?
Beer and barbecue pork sandwiches.
It's one of our headline events.
Really strong field this year.
- Mike made a run for it.
- But he lost?
He ate 48 sandwiches and
drank 32 ounces of beer, but
Rita here ate 55.
And what did Webber do afterward?
Well, he was upset. He said
some angry things, and
- I don't know. He left.
- Alone?
No, with his wife, I think.
But Rita and I have some
press, if you don't mind
No, no, no, no, not quite yet.
Ms. DeBenedetto, would
you show me your foot, hmm?
All right, you can go. Thanks.
Uh, Mr. Ketchum,
- I'll need that left shoe.
- Huh?
To see if it matches
prints at the scene.
Well?
I'll let you know.
Yeah. Thanks.
That's my man.
Making friends wherever he goes.
How's Allie?
Trying to figure out how
to get a search warrant.
Okay. Well, we're done here.
We still have to talk to Webber's wife.
Do you have any idea who stabbed him?
Not yet, Mrs. Webber.
We're working on it.
I just don't understand
why a person would do that.
Can you tell us about Michael?
He was just
He was just a really great guy.
We met in high school.
He was a jock. Baseball.
He wanted to play pro,
but that didn't happen.
He ended up teaching gym.
I know it bugged him.
The life he didn't have.
How did he get into competitive eating?
He won a pie eating contest.
First prize was more pie.
Then he got serious.
I worried, you know,
it-it's not good for your
body to eat that much.
But he said it made him
feel like an athlete again.
We heard he was angry after the contest.
Anyone in particular he was mad at?
Himself, mostly.
He felt like a failure.
He said he wanted to be alone.
I should have stayed with him.
This never would've happened
No, no, don't do that to yourself.
Excuse me.
Listen
It doesn't do any good
beating yourself up over
"could've" and "maybe."
Yeah, I guess.
Hey, what's up?
Vegas PD found witnesses who
say Michael had an argument
with a repeat offender
near the crime scene.
Name's Calvin Dupree.
He has multiple arrests
for assault with a knife.
Sounds like a lead to me.
We've got a bad guy and a knife.
Let's see if they match up.
Beau. What's the word?
Oh, that I'm here. In the lab.
Earning a paycheck like everybody else.
- Chris said something.
- Yeah. Yeah, he did.
And if he or if anybody
else has a problem
with the fact that I
am not in the field
No, no one has a problem, Beau.
We just
We just miss your big brain out there.
Anyway
The shoe print you took from
Jason Ketchum doesn't match
the one at the scene. And
the knife that Chris found
has no usable prints or DNA.
Nothing we can tie to Calvin Dupree.
Forensically.
"Forensically."
The man did have priors with a blade
- Well, then it's stabbin' time.
- Okay.
So, Calvin, this confirms
that the knife we found
was used to stab Mike Webber.
Not my knife.
Could be anybody's.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, you're right.
But this
is from an assault you were
convicted of four years ago.
And you see them little
hilt marks right there?
That's what you call a perfect match.
Also, we found a partial shoe print
that matches a shoe
we found in your apartment.
So you know how this goes
because you've been here before.
Train's leaving the
station. Last chance.
Guy came after me, okay?
I was at the bar minding my
own business having a beer
when Porky Pig starts hollering about
how he can out-eat anybody.
So I'm like, "Yo,
jackass, nobody cares."
So we get into it and the
bartender kicks us out.
Once we're outside, dude
tries to jump me and
Sorry, Dr. Roby.
But a Dr. Hudson wants
you to check your phone.
Not like I'm doing nothing, right?
Hey, listen, Calvin.
You've got a half a dozen
assaults on your sheet, man.
- You really want us to believe
- I didn't start this!
Look
Dude was messed up.
He was all twitchy and sweaty,
and red as a monkey's butt.
I just protected myself.
Uh, Calvin, hold that thought.
Officer, will you keep
an eye on Mr. Dupree?
So, uh, Dr. Hudson, this is Josh Folsom,
he's lead on the Webber case.
Well, I was the lead.
We're about finished.
We got the weapon, we got the suspect,
we were in the middle of a confession.
What's the emergency, Doctor?
This might be awkward.
Um, I removed the victim's stomach.
Uh, it weighed 17 pounds, by the way.
I examined the abdominal cavity
and I found no evidence of
significant internal bleeding.
So, he didn't bleed out?
An abdominal stabbing is rarely fatal
unless the knife passes
through the stomach
and cuts the aorta behind it.
Mr. Webber's aorta is
intact. No damage at all.
How'd that happen?
He had a pulled pork shield.
The sheer amount of food in his stomach
prevented it from happening.
The knife just couldn't get there.
So, I'm afraid that your
suspect has confessed to assault.
Not a homicide.
If the stabbing didn't
kill Webber, what did?
Can't answer that just yet.
There's a contusion on one knee.
And a discoloration
on his right big toe,
with a matching one on his left hand.
I haven't determined what
caused that yet either.
None of those sound fatal.
Do we know anything
about Webber's condition
before he was attacked?
Yeah, the guy with the
knife said he looked weird.
Sweaty, red-faced.
Specifically said red face?
Yeah, red, red like "a monkey's butt."
I think I need to run another test.
Take a look.
- You see those black dots?
- Spores.
From inky cap mushrooms, I'd wager.
The red face was a giveaway.
Mr. Webber wasn't just stabbed.
He was poisoned.
- Nice office.
- Thank you.
Ooh. Can't really say
the same for the coffee.
So, um, I keep up on my toxins,
uh, but you're gonna
have to help me out here.
Webber's blood contains
1-aminocyclo-who?
1-aminocyclopropanol.
A toxin that forms when
two substances combine.
Starts with inky cap mushrooms,
which contain coprine.
Coprine's benign but when it mixes
with alcohol it metabolizes
into 1-aminocyclopranol.
Which is toxic.
The contest required Webber
to drink two quarts of beer.
- Mm-hmm.
- So, somehow inky cap mushrooms
- get into his system.
- Mm-hmm.
Here comes beer boom?
Yeah, but how toxic is this combination?
It produces nausea,
agitation, a red face.
Uh, it also elevates your
heart rate, blood pressure.
But is it fatal?
There hasn't been a
death attributed to it,
but that doesn't mean
that there couldn't be,
under the right circumstances.
Well, a toxin like that
would be pretty useful
if you wanted an edge
in an eating contest.
Make your competition
so sick they can't win.
I've seen people do worse to get less.
Guess we better find out
if someone slipped our guy
a mushroom mickey.
All right, Beau.
This is all the trash
from the hotel's kitchen.
Manager said we're lucky,
the pickup's tomorrow.
Lucky's one word for it.
Okay, fill me in.
Trying to get a search warrant
for Diane Auerbach's house.
Look. Chavez found this on
Auerbach's social media
from three weeks ago.
We know the printer
that produced the notes
reacts to silver ink
by distorting characters
- in a unique, identifiable way.
- Mm-hmm.
So, we're going to prove
that Auerbach's printer
is the only make and model that
could've produced the notes.
Yep, you might just get a judge to bite.
Coming through.
Excuse me, how much money are
we spending on printer and ink?
Yeah, you really don't want
to know the answer to that.
Hmm. Folsom.
- Yeah?
- I tested 35 sandwiches.
No coprine or inky cap in them.
- None?
- No, not a whisker. Not a whiff.
So, what about the contents
of Webber's stomach?
Nothing there either.
Whoever poisoned him did it
before the contest started.
It looks like it. I
I did find one thing.
This one weighs precisely
a quarter of an ounce less.
In fact, I found six
sandwiches that weighed
precisely a quarter ounce
less than the others.
Maybe they fell apart in the trash?
No, that's not likely.
The-the sauce is a binder.
It holds them together.
Wait, wait. 50 sandwiches
shorted a quarter ounce,
that's basically three-quarters
of a pound less meat.
That's a pretty effective shortcut.
What, you think someone
who'd cheat on weight
would poison an opponent?
In for a penny, in
for almost a pound.
Any way to tell which contestant
got lighter sandwiches?
I did find something.
Okay. All right, next please.
Thanks. Next please.
This is a meet and greet, people.
Once you have meeted and
greeted, step aside, okay?
No lingering.
- Hello.
- Yeah? Oh, you again.
Let me guess. You want my other shoe.
No, we're here to meet
and greet Ms. DeBenedetto.
Me? What about?
We should take this somewhere else.
I got nothing to hide.
Okay.
We have evidence the food you ate
in the contest was manipulated.
Your sandwiches were
smaller than the others.
- You ate less.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You're saying I cheated?
Short answer? Yes.
This was in one of
the altered sandwiches.
It fell out while you were eating.
Oh, we are almost out of time, folks.
Three.
Two. One!
Drop the buns!
Rita DeBenedetto doesn't cheat.
Oh, I think the evidence says she does.
Rita doesn't cheat!
Anyone who says Rita does is a liar.
Okay, Rita needs to
take it down a notch.
Okay, guys, can we can
we talk outside, please?
No? Uh-uh.
You can't honestly think
Rita rigged the contest.
Someone did. But you could be right.
Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it
was some kind of supervisor.
Yeah, someone with access to the kitchen
and the stage who could make sure
the right plate got to
the right contestant.
You accusing me?
We got DNA on the evidence
that we can't identify.
So, give us a sample. We'll
see if it eliminates you.
Yeah?
- I don't think so.
- Look, we get it.
Rita's a performer with
a social media following.
She's much more promotable
than a middle-aged
gym teacher like Mike Webber.
But rigging a competition
is fraud and a felony.
And if you poisoned
Webber to make him lose,
that's second-degree homicide now.
Well, I'm not saying anything
else without a lawyer.
And I'm advising Rita to do the same.
Even if we get a D.A. to pursue
a fraud charge against Ketchum,
it doesn't prove he poisoned Webber.
No, to do that, we need to find out
how he got the poison in him.
You said that Mike was stabbed.
He was also poisoned.
So that's what killed him?
Well, that's one of the things
we're trying to determine.
We know that he ingested
something toxic before the contest.
Did you see him eat
anything earlier that day?
Mike didn't eat anything for
18 hours before a contest.
He was very disciplined about it.
Were you with him the whole time?
Um, I-I think so. I don't
Maybe. I'm not sure, I
This is so awful.
He must have been in so much pain.
Sheila, we're gonna find the
person who did this to him.
You got my word.
What am I looking at?
I'm not sure exactly.
It's organic, it was
some sort of food once.
And it was deep inside
Webber's small intestine.
Okay, so then whatever his wife says,
this man ate something
during the 18 hours
before the contest, something
that was laced with mushrooms.
- Hmm.
- Can you analyze the material?
If we know what he ate,
it would be a start.
It's pretty digested, it's waste.
Nothing there to analyze.
But it could tell us when
it was eaten by measuring
how far down the
alimentary canal it got.
Wait a minute. Don't different
people digest at different rates?
I could estimate Webber's rate
based on how quickly
his system processed
the food he ate in the contest.
I mean, it could give us a window.
Webber's phone tracked
where he went that day.
So, if we can match the time
that Webber ate with the
location on his phone,
it it might give us
the source of the poison.
Let's do it.
Ooh. I got to go.
- What's up?
- Allie got the warrant.
They're searching Dr. Auerbach's house.
Allie. Wait, hold up.
We've got an LVPD cover car on
the way to help serve the warrant.
Are you sure you didn't
want to bring in SWAT?
I mean, there is a 61-year-old
psychiatrist behind the door.
Okay.
Dr. Auerbach?
Las Vegas Police.
We have a search warrant. Open the door.
Dr. Auerbach?
I mean, the lights are
on, car's in the driveway.
She's probably inside right
now destroying evidence
and we're just standing here.
- You're just tipping her off.
- Great.
Seriously?
We've got the right to enter.
And you don't want to wait.
Besides, I'll do less damage
than the battering ram.
Dr. Auerbach?
LVPD.
We have a search warrant.
Doctor?
If you're here, show yourself.
Screw this.
Let's find the office.
Clear.
You can get started.
Who's en route to 104 Shady Lane?
Sorry, Detective, it's Rinaldi.
We hit some traffic.
You want us to hit the siren?
The time for that was ten minutes ago.
We've entered the residence.
10-4. On our way.
Allie?
What's up?
Auerbach's here.
What just happened?
She killed the lights. Get out here now!
Yeah, I'm coming.
Stop!
I said stop!
Come in, Rinaldi. Suspect
is driving north on Wilkins
in a silver BMW.
I am in pursuit!
10-4. We're two minutes out.
Three Victor, this is Air One,
unable to locate the silver BMW.
Copy, Air One. We've lost her, too.
Hey.
Max called, she said it
was all hands on deck.
How are you?
I'm fine.
Pissed off, you know? I mean
Auerbach cut the lights. We
were stumbling around here
and she got outside and took off.
I tried to catch up with
her, but she was gone.
Hey. Don't beat yourself up.
Anyone processing the scene?
Allie's in the office with Max.
All right, I'm gonna jump in there.
- You say Auerbach killed the lights?
- Yeah.
- All of them?
- Yeah.
Okay. I know where to start.
Let me know if something
else comes through. Thank you.
All right, I got an ATL out,
I alerted the undersheriff and the Feds.
Auerbach has a mother and a sister.
LVPD is checking in on them.
All right, what you got there?
It's about the Voynich Manuscript.
What?
It's an illustrated codex from
the Middle Ages in a language
that no one was ever able to decipher.
- Mm-hmm.
- Look. Do you recognize these?
Looks like the symbols
from the silver ink notes.
And Auerbach has marked
pages all throughout the book.
- Mm-hmm.
- Clearly, it means something to her.
Mm-hmm. You think there's some
kind of twisted motive, don't you?
I think she's behind everything.
And I think we'd have her if
I'd just waited for backup.
No, no, no, don't waste
your time on what-ifs.
Let's just go get her, huh?
Hey, Al.
Okay. Auerbach killed the power.
That means she stood here
to work the breaker
panel. And check it out.
Looks like dried mud.
Oh, wow.
It's actually still damp.
Must've just fallen off her shoe.
It might tell us where she's been.
Hey, I'd love to stay, but
I got to get back to the lab
- for some mushroom stuff.
- Yeah, no, I've got it from here.
- Yeah?
- Thanks, Josh.
You're getting to be a regular
up here. These the inky caps?
Straight from my neighbor's yard.
Not exactly rare, these little babies.
Oof.
Well, if I feel like having a
drink and getting violently ill,
I'll have to give them a try.
Webber ingested the mushrooms
somewhere between 8:00 and 10:00
in the morning of the contest.
Do we know where he was then?
We should.
This is his geolocation
data from Webber's phone.
Between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., he was
in his hotel room.
- Or the casino downstairs?
- No.
He was in the east
wing. Just rooms. See?
There from 10:15 the night before until
almost 11:00 a.m.
Who'd bring mushrooms to his room?
I don't know. But I
do know who was there.
Sheila
you said that Mike didn't
have anything to eat
the morning of the contest.
Yep, that's right.
Well, we know that he did eat something
between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
And we know you were in the room
because we've checked the hotel cameras
and neither of you left.
Right, no, I'm-I'm sorry, that's right.
He, um, he had a protein smoothie.
It's a thing that he
does before competitions
to coat his stomach.
I'm sorry, I forgot.
You just, uh, watched him
have a smoothie? That's all?
Mm-hmm.
Sheila.
Hmm?
You-you look really uncomfortable.
Why don't you just
tell us what happened?
Come on. It'll make you feel better.
I did it. I killed Michael.
He was hurting himself so
much with these competitions.
You know, he would train
by stuffing himself and then
he would be sick for days.
And then he would he'd win $50
or a gift certificate, or he'd lose
and then he'd just do it all over again.
He was not working,
he wasn't seeing his
friends, he was depressed.
I begged him to stop.
And he finally agreed, he said
if he lost the next
competition, he would quit.
And I just thought
maybe I could help make that happen.
So you gave him the mushrooms.
My mom used to pick mushrooms and
so I know about inky caps.
I ground them up and I
put them in his drink.
I just wanted to slow him down a little.
I didn't mean to hurt him.
Oh
I loved Mike more than anything.
And I killed him.
They are not gonna go murder two.
Involuntary manslaughter, maybe.
- Well, what's that? Two to five?
- Yeah.
You think that's what
should happen to her?
Not up to us to decide.
Congratulations, young man.
I hear you got a confession.
I guess.
You You said inky
caps never killed anyone.
Well, they're not known to, but
it doesn't make it impossible.
Yeah, but just just
incredibly unlikely.
Somebody's all of a sudden skeptical.
Well, I mean, we're
about to send someone
to prison on a theory.
- I'm not sure I believe it.
- Hmm.
Now, you-you examined Webber,
would you say he was unhealthy?
Not generally, no.
There was no chronic
disease in evidence.
Why would he be the first person
to die of inky cap poisoning?
What if he didn't?
Interesting question.
Not sure how you'd prove the negative.
Maybe it's worth a try.
Did Webber eat about this much?
No, a cup.
And Webber's about my height and weight?
Approximately. Why?
I have a hypothesis that, uh
these won't kill a
healthy person my size.
Got anything to drink?
How do you feel?
There's a headache, nauseated,
d-dizzy, chest hurts.
I'm great.
- Drunk and hungover at the same time.
- Hmm.
BP's 140/90. Elevated, but not scary.
Oof.
Oh.
- Scotch is getting better.
- Hmm.
Well, you've now
consumed as much alcohol
as I found in Michael Webber's blood.
Congratulations, you're
now legally intoxicated.
And then some.
I've never seen a CSI do
something quite like this before.
What are you doing, man?
Were you proud of your father?
Embarrassingly.
I wasn't.
He was nothing to be proud of, you know?
But my mom, you know, she never
She never gave up on him.
They were married young,
so she saw something in him
that she just kept on trying to
bring back to life.
It didn't work, but
- she tried.
- So
you think Michael Webber's
widow is like your mother?
Uh, maybe a little.
I just mostly, I just really
want to know what killed the guy.
BP's 149/99. I don't love this.
Let me ask you something.
Why don't people in the morgue like me?
- Why?
- I haven't been here long enough to hear anything.
You've heard something.
Well
I-I heard something like
disappointment expressed, uh
something about your
relationship with
or lack of relationship
with someone named Allie.
Allie.
Yeah, everyone down here
loves her, I guess. They
You know what? I shouldn't
have said anything.
I don't I really don't know.
No, no, that's, um
Thank you.
Your pressure's dropping.
- Huh!
- Yeah.
I think the worst of this is over.
Huh.
Yeah. I'm not even close to dead, see?
And my hypotenuse is
- My-my What?
- Hypothesis.
- What?
- Hypothesis.
Yeah.
Is QED.
Inky cap mushrooms did
not kill Mike Webber.
Yes, I would be surprised if they did.
Well, let's get surprised.
Let's find out what did.
Wait.
You-you want me to
You want me to come with you?
Well, I can't drive, Mr Dr. Hudson.
Any updates on Auerbach?
Nothing on the ATL. No hits
on her credit cards or plates.
- She's a ghost.
- What about her family?
Her sister's in Italy, so
she doesn't know anything.
And Mom's in memory care
in a Reno nursing home.
It's all dead ends.
Anything from the sample we
found in Auerbach's basement?
Nada. The soil's gravelly alluvium
with limestone and dolostone.
Well, that could be from
anywhere in Clark County.
Mm-hmm.
There was some plant
matter, probably grass,
but not enough to identify. Sorry.
- You know what I miss?
- Hmm?
The smell of cut grass.
But we never get that here. No grass.
We could do that.
Cut some grass?
Use odor.
The plant matter's still emitting
volatile organic compounds.
We can extract those,
run them through GCMS,
identify the plant.
If we identify the
plant, we might be able
to pin it down to a location.
Or not.
It's a pretty small sample.
What, do you have, like, a
date to get to or something?
You're cold, Rajan. Let's do it.
Ooh,
bing-bong-bing.
The plant's something called
Charleston Beardtongue.
Okay, whatever that is.
- Where does it grow?
- I'm checking.
Okay, it says here
Charleston Beardtongue is
endemic to the Spring Mountains.
A lot of vacation homes up there.
- Yeah, good places to hide.
- We already checked.
Auerbach doesn't rent
or own in that area.
Well, we know she was
just up there, so
Let's double-check.
Mike Webber called 911.
The ambulance arrived four minutes later
and he was dead.
It wasn't blood loss, it wasn't poison.
So, what killed him?
This really isn't my place of business.
Careful. Hey, careful, careful. Careful.
- Why?
- That could be a live line.
- This could electrify the water a little bit.
- It's okay. I'm good.
Got shoes on.
Insulation, you know?
I'm good.
- Unless there's a hole in your shoe.
- What?
Mike Webber had a hole in his shoe.
The ground was wet, the light was on.
If you think that Mr.
Webber was electrocuted,
you are still drunk.
But I do.
Think that.
The autopsy doesn't support it.
With electrocution, the
cells of the cardiac tissue
show elongated nuclei.
Mr. Webber's were completely normal.
But aren't there cases
where that doesn't happen?
Only when the voltage
is quite low, not deadly.
Mike Webber was under a lot of stress.
Stabbed, poisoned, 17 pounds
of pork in his stomach.
I mean, it might not take
much voltage to stop his heart.
You know, you'd need proof.
You said there were marks on
his toe and his hand, right?
Could those be from
low-voltage electricity?
Yes. Yes, they could.
So, you think
Mike Webber was electrocuted?
I know he was.
Mike's poisoned, bleeding,
and in the middle of a
puddle of electrified water.
But he doesn't feel it because
the rubber soles of his shoes
are acting as insulation.
And then something happens.
Maybe he trips,
maybe he just falls down.
And when he does,
his big toe touches the water
because there's a hole in his shoe.
And then he reaches out to, like,
steady himself, probably.
And when he does, circuit's closed.
And electricity flows.
That's it.
You on board with this?
I I re-examined the body.
The marks on the decedent's hand and toe
are consistent with
low-voltage electricity.
The nuclei of the skin cells
at the points of entry
and exit are elongated.
That's conclusive.
The cause of death is electrocution.
All right, I'll call
the D.A. and the LVPD
and tell them to release Sheila Webber.
Get yourself some coffee, brother.
Hey, uh, Doc, you want to grab a burger?
Or maybe a couple dozen?
Eh, another time, Mr. Folsom.
Oh, no, just call me Josh.
Mr. Folsom.
Never have I seen a man solve
the same murder three times before.
Mm.
It was a
- unique experience.
- Mm.
I hope we get to do it again.
We'll see.
Yeah.
My lawyer says they're
dropping the charges?
The homicide and assault
charges, yes, but, you know,
poisoning someone is also a crime.
And the D.A. still may
charge you with that,
but it's up to their office.
Yeah. That makes sense.
You didn't kill your husband, Sheila.
You're not responsible for his death.
It's all just a lot to process.
Yeah.
But I really appreciate what
you've done for me, I do.
Thank you.
What's going on?
We got a lead on Diane Auerbach.
We think she's in her cabin
in the Spring Mountains.
Her cabin? I thought she didn't
own property outside Vegas.
She doesn't, her mom
does. It's in her name.
She's there now. We've got her.
Go, go. On me, on me, on me!
Two Victor, main room clear.
Two X-ray, bedroom clear.
Anybody have eyes on Auerbach?
I don't understand, if
she's not here then
Detective, over here.
That's no suicide.
So Auerbach's not the silver ink killer.
I'll say.
She didn't get up there herself.