NCIS New Orleans (2014) s02e21 Episode Script
Collateral Damage
1 (soft jazz playing) Remember the last time You had promised me the world Remember how you said That I'm your only girl Well, maybe the next time I'll see that you were a A liar and a cheat Just forget it (elevator bell dings) What was I thinking Ooh Forget all the times that you said It was all my fault Remember how nothing was ever good I swear I gave it my all (door opens) But maybe the next time you'll see When you're with a a girl that ain't me You'll regret it And be thinking What I gotta do Sorry.
I Forgot my key.
The last time you asked We have to stop meeting here.
No one saw me.
I was careful.
Remember how you said I ordered wine.
It's in here.
Thank God.
Not the same kind as last time, right? That finish was a little bitter.
Well, you're learning.
And no.
It's new.
Here.
âMarcienne.
â Never heard of it.
Ah, it's a small Bordeaux estate in Pomerol.
Only produces one wine.
Long day? I really need to talk to you.
(coughs) You okay? (coughing, choking) Becca! Oh, my God.
Becca! NCIS:New Orleans 2x21 Collateral Damage Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey @elderman You gotta come on.
(phone ringing) (sputters) Special Agent Pride.
MAN: Dwayne.
Hey.
I'm sorry to wake you, man.
It's, uh, it's Samuel.
Nilsen.
Sam.
Wow, it's been years.
What-what time is it? It's late.
I'm, uh, I'm in New Orleans.
I got a situation.
Could use your help.
A Navy sailor died about an hour ago.
Unclear if it's foul play.
I didn't get a call.
I'm the first one on scene.
Before NOPD? There are some complicating factors at play here.
I'm at the, uh, Hotel Monteleone.
Why don't you come meet me, I'll fill you in? What you're asking me to do is against protocol, Sam.
Dwayne, come on, man, it's me.
Huh? Just give me the benefit of the doubt.
30 minutes.
Thank you.
(car alarm chirps) Hey, Chris.
Text me when you get off.
We'll do breakfast.
How you doin', boo? (laughter) What'd you do, step out of Pat O'Briens and cross the street? I met her over the weekend.
Small world.
Too small.
Expand your horizons, Christopher.
You know, try a real 'Nawlins hangout.
I Ubered from Sweet Lorraine's.
You Ubered? From a bar, in the middle of the night? Well, it's my monthly poker game.
It's fun, and I'm on a winning streak.
And don't try telling me you were home, 'cause I smell smoke.
Yeah, what's that I see on your hand? A â21 and Legalâ stamp? Since when do you go clubbing? Since awhile.
Maybe you don't know me as well as you think.
(scoffs) PRIDE: Ready to work? What are we doing back here? NILSEN: My request.
Hey.
Dwayne.
Sam, hey, man.
How are you? Colonel Samuel Nilsen.
Special Agents Lasalle, Brody, How you doing? medical examiner Doc Wade.
Hi.
Welcome.
Can we speak privately? Sure.
Excuse us.
I wasn't expecting an entourage.
Team comes to every scene.
You know that.
NCIS policy.
Mine, too.
Yeah, well, the situation is sensitive.
I thought I explained that.
All you told me is that a sailor's dead, making this my jurisdiction.
(sighs) Now, I assume, since you called me, this sensitive situation involves your boss, General Matthews.
He had nothing to do with the sailor's death, but he was there.
Look, I know you got to investigate.
But the general's been nominated to a post in Homeland.
Now, there's a lot eyes on him.
We're trying to avoid scandal.
What are you asking me, Sam? Just a little discretion, is all.
I mean, your team, your agents they kind of stand out.
We'll be discreet.
But my team is non-negotiable.
And I expect full cooperation.
Absolutely.
We good, King? Yeah.
Yeah, but, uh hats and jackets off.
We're going in the service entrance.
Lieutenant Rebecca Peterson, 33.
Works for the Port Services, overseeing Navy contractors in New Orleans.
She lives in town; suggests this room wasn't hers.
LASALLE: Two wine glasses.
She was being entertained.
That's an assumption.
No, sir.
Observation.
What do you got, Loretta? There's no sign of external trauma.
Copious amounts of blood; possible internal bleeding.
BRODY: Bloody T-shirt.
Men's extra-large.
Probably used in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.
Who'd you say the room belonged to? I didn't.
Time to talk to him, Sam.
Wait in the hall, please.
Outside, please.
Thank you.
General Matthews, sir.
(door closes) I tried to help; the blood just kept coming.
Just, why don't you sit down, sir? I'll get you something.
(water runs) (water shuts off) Here you go.
General, can you tell me what happened? Yeah, but Becca had barely walked in the room, just started coughing and bleeding.
She was dead before I could dial 911.
Have to tell David.
Yes, sir.
Her father.
He was the general's roommate back at VMI.
That how you knew Rebecca? Our kids grew up together.
He's had a hard time since his wife died.
Becca was his whole world.
We'll have, uh, CACO make that notification.
Rebecca sick? Have allergies? I have no idea.
(sighs) You feeling all right, General? Yeah, I'm fine.
Uh migraine coming on.
It happens.
Maybe we could do this another time.
Why was Rebecca in your room, sir? She knew I was in town.
Dropped by to say hi.
Just to say hello? Noticed that the two of you were sharing a bottle of wine.
How is that relevant, Dwayne? Come on.
Standard question, Sam.
That's a loaded question.
I know what you're thinking, same as your other agents.
Becca's an old family friend.
Hadn't seen her in years.
That's all.
LASALLE: So, Nilsen works with Owen Matthews? Three-star general.
Been in every major war since 1990.
Rumor is he's on track to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs one day.
Yeah, well, I don't care what track he's on.
Fraternizing with a junior officer-- that's no bueno.
(coughing) Look, I know you want to take things slow, Sam, but we're gonna need to loop NOPD and Army CID in on this.
Can't it wait till after autopsy? I mean, if there's no signs of foul play? Don't need this secrecy.
(Matthews coughing) It's not warranted if-if he's telling the truth.
He is.
She's been poisoned.
BRODY: Are you sure? 'Cause usually, it's âgotta wait till autopsy, I'll know more whenâ Leukonychia striata.
It's a telltale sign of arsenic overdose.
And by the bloody vomit, I'd say it was ingested.
She did have wine before she died.
And she wasn't drinking alone.
But the headlines, man You know, âdead girl found in general's hotel room.
â I mean, it doesn't matter what the truth is.
People survive bad press.
(coughing continues) Maybe in your line of work.
But the general is a public figure looking to take on a high-profile position.
There's no way he weathers a news cycle like this.
WADE: I don't care if the president's in there, (pounding, shouting) I'm going in.
Open the door! Okay, let her in.
Let her The general, where is he? Where is he? NILSEN: Wait, ma'am! Sir, I'm Dr.
Wade.
I need to know how you're feeling.
Okay.
A little headache.
Chest tightness? Stomach pains? What's going on? Did you have wine tonight? NISLEN: Wait, wait, wait! You can't ask him that! Loretta I'm not drunk! Loretta, what (coughs, chokes) Sir? Sir, sir! Please! We have to call the paramedics.
No! We can't.
Rebecca Peterson was poisoned.
General could have been, too.
He has to get to the hospital right now or he could die.
(Matthews coughing, retching) NILSEN: I understand.
Yep.
Uh-huh.
We'll speak again soon.
Thank you.
How's the general? He's hanging in.
He's on hemodialysis and chelation therapy for the arsenic overdose.
I also spoke to CID.
They have asked us to keep them updated.
Well, here's what we got so far.
Our forensic scientist tested the wine from the general's room-- no poison.
He and Brody are at the Monteleone, looking other possible sources.
And, yes, they're being discreet.
I looked into Rebecca.
Now, she is a squared-away sailor, pays her bills on time.
I mean, no one had an obvious motive to kill her.
Well, of course, they didn't, right? The arsenic was clearly meant for General Matthews.
He's done a lot of good work for our country, but he's made some of enemies in the process.
You're saying enemy of the state poisoned your guy? Or some whack-a-do activist, doesn't like the Army.
Or given the general's nomination to Homeland, we might even be looking at espionage.
Let's not forget who our actual victim is here-- Rebecca Peterson.
It's unfortunate collateral damage.
LASALLE: âCollateral damageâ? Oh, all right, okay.
Until we know more, we'll investigate both victims.
Sam, start a list of potential suspects.
And, Chris? Go see Rebecca's father.
(stammers) Not so fast.
The general has operated at the highest level of the military.
Yeah, so you've said.
And protecting him is matter of national security.
This investigation is compartmented.
It's on a need-to-know basis.
Well, Lieutenant Peterson's father needs to know.
You can speak to him.
Just no details about her cause of death.
We cannot let it get out that General Matthews has been poisoned.
Hey, are you asking me to lie to a grieving father? The order came from the Army Chief of Staff.
Well, you answer to the Army, not us.
Christopher, Colonel's right.
Till we have a suspect in custody, the general's safety is paramount.
Case is on a need-to-know basis.
Look, this isn't us, King.
All right, this is not what we do.
We'll make sure the ends justify the means.
Right, Sam? That's right.
No signs of arsenic anywhere? The room, the elevator, in here? Nope, the kitchen is officially Salmonella and E.
coli-free! Okay, guys,back to work.
Which is a huge relief.
Guess General Matthews' food poisoning must've come from somewhere else.
As I assured you it did.
All VIP guests are assigned (elevator bell dings) a private concierge.
Mr.
Shapiro attended to the general's needs last night, as he does every visit.
What time did General Matthews check in? A little after midnight.
I had his wine waiting in his room, per his request.
Yeah, but the wine wasn't contaminated.
We tested it-- (clears her throat) Which, uh, seems odd uh, because you're like, âE.
coli in wine? That's weird-- there's only been two recorded cases.
â But you know, it never hurts to-to be, uh, safe.
Did anyone else had access to General Matthews' room? VIPs have special keys.
Not even housekeeping has copies.
Well, uh, actually, General Matthews asked for an additional key.
For a friend.
Why didn't I know about this? Oh, âa friendâ-- the plot is thickening, that's I'm sorry, I never get a chance to see this side of it.
You know? It's really fascinating.
Who was the key for? I don't know her name, but she was here last night.
Comes to see General Matthews whenever he's in town.
Rebecca Peterson's stomach and intestines were saturated with inorganic arsenic.
It's the bad kind.
I didn't realize there was a good kind.
Well, everything in moderation.
So, C.
O.
D.
is official? Yes.
There were over 600 milligrams of arsenic in Rebecca's body.
Enough to kill her two times over.
So, whoever did this wasn't messing around.
Any idea how much was in the general's system? Mm-mm, but he's still alive.
With his build-- bigger body type-- the dose must've been much smaller.
Do we know how they were poisoned? Well, Rebecca's digestive system worked far too well for that.
But based on toxicity levels and rates of absorption, the when-- between 7:00 and 9:00 a.
m.
That's 15 hours before she went to General Matthews' hotel room.
Give or take.
Could the general have been exposed by coming in contact with Rebecca's blood? Bodily fluids? Uh, it doesn't work like that.
You have to receive a dose firsthand.
That doesn't add up.
You sure you're not missing something? Of course you're not.
I'm sorry, I'm I'm getting a little pressure on this and Because of your friend Nilsen? Yeah, known him since grade school.
Saved him from getting beaten up more than once.
He was that kid who always told the truth, even when he should've kept his mouth closed.
And now? Same guy.
Different loyalties.
Military chain of command is extremely efficient at protecting national security.
But when it comes to internal investigations, they can lack a certain objectivity.
Well, I don't envy you.
Must be the reason why I chose this line of work.
No one argues with me here.
But this one might see more fraught than usual, but it's painfully simple in the end.
All you have to do is find justice for this young woman.
Mr.
Peterson? NCIS.
Special Agent Lasalle.
And I'm so sorry for your loss.
This is your daughter's house? The officer who called said Becca died unexpectedly.
That's all.
You here to tell me what happened? We can't release any details.
I'm just here to ask a few questions for our investigation.
âInvestigationâ? Means this is more than an accident, right? Well, NCIS reviews all Navy deaths-- I know how it works.
Spent my life in the service.
But if it was straightforward, you wouldn't be dodging my questions.
Sir, I I know how upsetting this must be.
How the hell would you know?! You're the one painting a fence your daughter asked you to about a month ago, but you never maime? Now it doesn't matter.
Look, I give you my word that I'll come back here, and answer every question you have.
But as for right now, all I can say is (sighs) I need your help.
All right? For Rebecca.
(sighs) What can I tell you? Becca loved her job, worked all the time.
Kept her private life private.
Though I suspect she was dating someone.
What made you think that? Well, she, she'd been busier than usual.
Out a lot, at-at nights.
Something had her attention.
Then there was her unexpected trip to Florida.
Mind if I take a look in the house? Look at whatever you need to.
Just want to know what happened to my girl.
Tell me things.
Just heard from the hospital.
General Matthews is gonna pull through.
Nilsen's over there now getting updated.
That's good news.
What are you two doing? Well, Nilsen gave us access to the general's Army files.
Mostly redacted.
Even travel itineraries.
Why travel itineraries? Concierge at the Monteleone says that every time Matthews is in town, he has one regular visitor.
Rebecca Peterson.
She even has her own key.
The general said he hadn't seen her in years.
Rebecca's father thought she had a boyfriend.
Said she was secretive about it.
Makes sense-- no fun telling Daddy you're dating his college roommate.
Affair between officers of different ranks is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Which brings us back to travel.
Rebecca went to Miami, supposedly to visit a friend.
Matthews travels to USSOUTHCOM in Miami regularly on Army business.
The general's travel itinerary and Rebecca's credit card bill.
Take a look.
Miami dates overlap.
Charges at the same restaurant.
Matthews stayed at the Rey Del Mar.
And Rebecca doesn't have any hotel charges on her card.
Well, hold on a second.
I saw that name somewhere.
Personal items from Rebecca's home, including hotel stationary-- Rey Del Mar.
And inside is a note.
âTo Beccaâ" âYou know how I feel about you, âbut if what we're doing gets out, my career is over.
âYou can't let that happen.
O.
M.
â General Matthews just went from victim to prime suspect in Rebecca Peterson's murder.
LASALLE: I talked to the doctor.
General Matthews had less than 10 milligrams of arsenic in his system.
Enough to give him symptoms.
But not actually put him at risk.
Yeah, doses himself to take suspicion off.
General's files are fascinating.
(chuckles) He's monitoring safety issues I never even heard of.
You-you know what zoonosis is? No, but I do know it's time for us to bring the general in for questioning.
Not yet.
Pride, he lied to us.
All right, hid the fact that he'd been seeing Lieutenant Peterson for months.
I know that, but it's not enough.
He had the means and the motive and the opportunity to kill Rebecca Peterson.
If it was any other suspect they'd be in that room right now.
But it's not any other suspect! It's a three-star general.
He's a war hero! It doesn't make a difference who it is if he's a murderer.
Petty officer, that's one thing.
A flag officer, okay? There's scrutiny at every level.
Yeah, I'm not scared.
Listen to me, Chris.
Matthews, if we're wrong-- hell, even if we're right-- he'll bring fire and brimstone down on us.
And that will become our focus, not the case.
So before we move on him, we need to dot our I's and cross our T's.
And that is the best way to find justice for Rebecca! This-- Spoke with Rebecca's CO.
He said she reported for work yesterday at 6:46 a.
m.
and didn't leave till noon, which means the arsenic was ingested while there.
Go to Rebecca's office, find that poison.
We connect it to the suspect-- whoever it is-- we'll bring him in.
That's everything from Becca's office.
Get it to Sebastian, see if he can find any traces of arsenic.
Find any prints? Checked doors, desk, water coolers.
No prints.
All wiped clean.
Well, someone else was in there before us.
I've got a list of the people who have access to the building.
All right, let's check 'em out.
Hey.
You and Pride okay? I want to bring General Matthews in for questioning, all right? He disagrees.
Typical politics.
Sounds like you've been down this road before? Yeah, I had a case once with NOPD.
Double homicide.
All right, high-profile suspect.
Pillar-of-the-community business type.
Guy had guilt written all over him.
Our bosses wouldn't let us touch him.
Afraid of exposure.
Red ball case.
Rules change.
Yeah, we were told to bide our time.
Three months later, âpillarâ struck again.
Finally able to put him away after the third person died.
That victim's on me.
Doesn't work like that.
Yeah, well, you see what I see? Guy checking pallets? Been watching us since we got here? LASALLE: NCIS.
May, uh, we help you, sir? Uh, hey there.
No.
I'm sorry.
Uh, I guess I was curious.
You're here about Becca? I saw you coming out of her office.
And you are? Uh, Walt Jeffries.
I have a facilities contract here.
Look, I work with Becca.
I haven't seen her lately, getting worried.
It's a Navy matter.
Nothing good, I assume.
All the people going in and out of her office today.
Someone else was here? Couple hours ago.
Man in uniform.
Was inside for a while.
Is this the guy you saw? Uh, no, not him.
But the guy did have a military haircut like that.
If that helps.
This guy? (jets taking off) We need to talk.
I'm on my way to a meeting.
Gonna be late.
You've been playing me, Sam.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You were in Rebecca's office today.
Well, I was acting on behalf of CID.
You were covering up for your boss.
Destroying fingerprints, his prints, right? And we're not talking as friends right now.
Choose your words carefully.
He's my superior officer.
He gives me orders, I execute them.
You call it following orders, I call it obstruction of justice.
Lieutenant Peterson was poisoned in that office.
You destroyed evidence.
When you were young, you dreamed of joining the Army, serving with honor, distinction.
This isn't who you are.
I don't have the answers that you want.
I hadn't even heard of Rebecca Peterson before last night.
I have to bring the general in.
That is not a road you want to go down.
No choice.
Whatever happened to Rebecca, he's a part of it.
I'm trying to protect you, Dwayne.
Believe it or not.
The general is he's a force of nature.
Yeah, well consider me warned.
Thank you for coming in, General.
Go ahead and have a seat.
Please.
You told me you hadn't seen Rebecca in years.
But according to the hotel staff, she visited every time you were in town.
And often late at night.
And you didn't see Rebecca just in New Orleans.
You met in Miami.
You have a question here? Because I don't know where this is leading.
Pattern of behavior.
Secret meetings with a subordinate female officer.
Your friend's daughter.
Let me be extremely clear.
I wasn't sleeping with Rebecca Peterson.
Rebecca was poisoned with arsenic at her office yesterday morning.
You're not just accusing me of fraternization but murder, too? You were there during that time.
That's why you ordered Colonel Nilsen to wipe her office clean of prints.
MATTHEWS: That's quite a conspiracy you're building.
He already admitted it.
You gonna sell out your own man? How dare you question my loyalty.
Loyalty to who? Colonel Nilsen? Rebecca's father? Rebecca? You have no right to judge us.
Picking through our private lives, looking for dirt.
You're a trashman.
I'm done here.
Sit down, General.
I don't answer to you.
In this room, your stars mean nothing.
I'm in charge.
Now sit down.
Let me be clear.
Your career is in my hands.
I got more than enough to bring you up on charges.
Is that a threat? No, General.
It's a forgone conclusion.
Unless you tell me why you were seeing Lieutenant Peterson.
I didn't hurt Becca, I was helping her.
She'd discovered a discrepancy at the port, financial fraud, millions of dollars.
Something to do with the contractors she oversaw.
We'd meet.
Talk about the issue.
There was so much red tape for her.
But you could cut right through it.
She didn't have clearance for the documents she needed, wasn't getting traction from her superiors.
You gave her access to classified material? Sensitive material.
âFor official use only.
â Nothing illegal.
PRIDE: But unethical.
MATTHEWS: Whatever you want to call it.
It helped.
I went by her office yesterday.
She couldn't talk, said she'd found something, something big.
She was going to tell me at the hotel.
She could have been killed for what she found out.
Thought the poison was for me, not Becca.
I need to see those files.
What I did was to help.
If this comes out There'll be repercussions.
And not just for me.
For you, too.
And I assure you that's no threat, Special Agent Pride.
That's a forgone conclusion.
LASALLE: These files the general shared with Rebecca Peterson, it's not exactly the Pentagon Papers.
No.
But it's likely Rebecca was killed over something inside of them.
Yeah, I can't imagine what.
Background checks on Navy contractors, their subcontractors, and the subcontractors' principles.
Mmm.
My head is spinning, too.
That's 'cause you didn't get any sleep.
What makes you say that? Well, that's your fourth cup of coffee this morning, and you came in with an energy drink.
I smell you, Nancy Drew.
Happen to have experience in this area.
It's easier to go out than to stay at home thinking about the hard stuff.
Used to be my sweet spot.
I would stay up all night, stewing over Emily's death.
And now I know what happened to her, and I still can't sleep.
You want to talk about it? I know where to find you.
So, are you buying the general's line that he and Rebecca were just friends? Well, I don't know what to think.
But he stuck his neck out on the line either way.
He'll be brought up on charges.
This could be the end of his career.
Could be the end of ours, too, just like Pride said.
He and Nilsen are out takin' a walk, sussing out damage control.
We've been aboveboard.
Doesn't matter with men like the general.
He can be vindictive.
Retribution-- that's no bueno.
Totally worth it though.
(phone chirps) The way Pride took him on in there.
Sebastian.
He's excited about something.
Go.
I will take a turn with these super boring files.
Thank you much.
NILSEN: I never meant to put you in a jam, Dwayne.
Whatever happens, I just I need you to know, please, that I I never wanted to play you.
Yeah, but you did.
You put me and my team in a bad situation.
Well I had no idea about the files or the meetings with Lieutenant Peterson.
Any chance we can fix it? Won't be part of a cover-up.
That's not what I meant.
No more stalling or discretion.
We submit an official report.
I know.
Dwayne, I know.
I talked to Chief of Staff this morning.
Told him to expect your call.
There'll be fallout for you.
No matter how this plays out, man, my days are numbered.
But it's the right thing to do.
That's what matters.
As someone recently reminded me.
Whoever that was sounds wise.
Pride, I think I found something.
The files have info on contractors that do business with the Navy.
Tugboat companies, container suppliers, et cetera.
A handful of these businesses seem to do nothing at all.
They just exist.
Shell companies? They all have addresses, background checks, but no obvious purpose except to invoice the Navy a ton of money.
And where are these companies located? The Port of New Orleans, where Lieutenant Peterson worked.
Can't be a coincidence.
Let's check 'em out.
(ship's horn blowing) NILSEN: Anything? Two empty offices.
Third one with exactly one employee.
Secretary who gets paid to sit by the phone and watch a lot of Netflix.
You? Same story.
Bored temps playing video games.
All these companies running the same scam.
Well, we find the mastermind, we find Lieutenant Peterson's killer.
Where's Brody? She's got one more contractor on her list.
Jeffries Consolidated.
Oh, hey.
It's you again.
Walt Jeffries? I remember.
Friend of Becca's.
You were very helpful yesterday.
Any, uh, news on her? That you can share? Uh, not yet.
Hopefully soon.
So you work here? Jeffries Consolidated.
Warehousing Logistics.
I'm the owner.
Well, technically, it's Dad's company, but, uh, he's not doing well.
I'm so sorry.
You have a few minutes to talk? Of course.
Come on.
I'll show you to my office.
SEBASTIAN: All right, so I tested everything that you brought back from Rebecca's office-- no arsenic.
Which seemed weird, until I realized that if she ingested most of the poison, then only minute residue would remain.
I'm guessing you found a way to test for that.
Yeah.
Test tube, check.
Add zinc, check.
Add acid, check.
And you have to use water-- it won't work on particles.
So you put everything we brought you into water? Like that chewing gum.
Yeah.
It seems low-tech, but it works.
The mixture results in gas.
(clears throat) Arsine if there's arsenic present, otherwise hydrogen.
Now, you're probably gonna ask me how do I know which gas is which? Well, I was kind of waiting for you to tell me that.
All right.
Well, what you do is you ignite the gas.
Then you hold a piece of glass over it.
Like so.
When arsenic is present, you see a silvery- black deposit.
Kind of like this.
Where's it from? That is from this.
A coffee pod? A coffee pod.
Delivered in bulk.
Anyone in Rebecca's building would've had access.
You just inject arsenic into the top of the pod, make sure it finds its way to the right office and then whoever drinks it dies.
So General Matthews visited Rebecca's office the morning she died.
Yeah.
Which would explain how he got dosed.
If she made him a cup coffee after using a poisoned pod, then traces of arsenic would've leaked into his drink.
I've seen a lot of murder weapons.
This one's pretty genius.
JEFFRIES: Fresh, hot coffee, any way you like it, anytime.
It's a lifesaver.
So, uh warehousing logistics.
Your company billed the Navy $800,000 last year.
Lucrative, but boring.
You really can't tell me what this is about? Security issue at stake.
Oh, it just feels very cloak and dagger, you know? It's kind of exciting.
We don't see much of that in the warehousing game.
(coffee maker beeps) Enjoy.
Thank you.
So, about these specific bills Um Brody, don't drink that! (groans) (shouting) (horn blaring) (groans) You all right? Yeah, I'm good.
Go, go! (grunting) You all right? Yeah, I'm good.
Where's Sam? Here.
I-I saw that move back there, man.
You still got some jam.
Yeah, more than you.
Someone gonna explain to me why you karate-chopped my coffee back there? You'll thank me later.
Come on.
PRIDE: Your family's company has been operating Navy contracts out of the port for generations.
BRODY: Accounts started suffering after you took over, so I guess you don't have your dad's head for business.
You got creative-- invented dummy companies to subcontract from you and other businesses at the port.
Charging for services never rendered.
You stole four million dollars.
That's embezzlement and fraud.
PRIDE: The coffee you gave Agent Brody was full of arsenic.
Just like the coffee that killed Lieutenant Peterson.
First degree murder, attempted murder.
Thank you.
Last chance to get ahead of this.
Tell us how you figured out Lieutenant Peterson was onto you, who else was involved, and we'll do our best to keep you off death row.
I want a lawyer.
Call the federal marshals.
Have 'em come pick up Mr.
Jeffries.
Can't believe it comes down this greedy little thief.
You were right about the general.
Thanks for keeping me in check, King.
We spur each other on.
Watch each other's backs.
Save each other's lives.
Aw, you're tough.
Little arsenic in your brew wouldn't have bothered you.
Do you know what gastrointestinal decontamination is? No.
Okay, well, thanks to your quick call to Pride, neither do I.
(phone dings) Oh.
Need me at the bar.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Soon as my would-be killer's in custody.
LASALLE: Yeah, not this time for me, King.
Got somewhere to be.
You know where I'll be.
You're back.
I told you I would be.
I'm here to tell you what happened to Rebecca.
How she died and why.
And I'll stay here as long as you need and answer every question you have.
Give me a hand.
Now, your daughter-- she was a hero.
She knew somebody was taking money from the government.
She stuck her neck out (jazz music playing) So, uh, how long are you gonna keep up this, uh, side bartending gig? Well, you want something done right There you go.
Any update on General Matthews? There's been an official inquiry.
Already? Yeah.
Time-sensitive.
Homeland Security post needs to be filled ASAP.
So, the general may still get the job? Army weighed the gravity of the offense against the general's distinguished record.
Made a judgment call.
Out of my hands.
Nomination's supposed to be announced tomorrow.
(phone rings) On your tap? Oh.
Ah, Loretta.
Hey, Loretta.
Thought you were supposed to be joining us tonight.
I'm at the prison.
Your suspect Walt Jeffries is dead.
You got it.
I'll put you on speaker.
How did Jeffries die? Could be arsenic.
He poisoned himself? I won't be able to confirm timeline until autopsy, but the guards say Jeffries wasn't out of their sight since they took custody.
He must have dosed himself before we caught him.
It makes no sense.
Why poison me and take off if he's already a dead man? That is the question.
I'll let you know what I find.
But I can tell you right now this doesn't look like a suicide.
NILSEN: Pride! Hey.
You know, if you were unhappy about the Army's decision, you could have come to me.
Not the press! I trusted you! Whoa, whoa, Sam.
I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
The general's nomination's been put on indefinite hold.
I thought the Army wasn't pressing charges.
They aren't.
Someone leaked the general's predicament to the press.
Dead girl in general's hotel.
It's a real three-star scandal.
None of it's true.
It doesn't matter.
Matthews is done.
Dwayne I'm done.
Sam, I'm sorry.
But I had nothing to do with this.
It doesn't matter whether that's true or not.
As far as the general's concerned, the Army-- the leak came from you.
Good luck, Dwayne.
You're gonna need it.
@elderman
I Forgot my key.
The last time you asked We have to stop meeting here.
No one saw me.
I was careful.
Remember how you said I ordered wine.
It's in here.
Thank God.
Not the same kind as last time, right? That finish was a little bitter.
Well, you're learning.
And no.
It's new.
Here.
âMarcienne.
â Never heard of it.
Ah, it's a small Bordeaux estate in Pomerol.
Only produces one wine.
Long day? I really need to talk to you.
(coughs) You okay? (coughing, choking) Becca! Oh, my God.
Becca! NCIS:New Orleans 2x21 Collateral Damage Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey @elderman You gotta come on.
(phone ringing) (sputters) Special Agent Pride.
MAN: Dwayne.
Hey.
I'm sorry to wake you, man.
It's, uh, it's Samuel.
Nilsen.
Sam.
Wow, it's been years.
What-what time is it? It's late.
I'm, uh, I'm in New Orleans.
I got a situation.
Could use your help.
A Navy sailor died about an hour ago.
Unclear if it's foul play.
I didn't get a call.
I'm the first one on scene.
Before NOPD? There are some complicating factors at play here.
I'm at the, uh, Hotel Monteleone.
Why don't you come meet me, I'll fill you in? What you're asking me to do is against protocol, Sam.
Dwayne, come on, man, it's me.
Huh? Just give me the benefit of the doubt.
30 minutes.
Thank you.
(car alarm chirps) Hey, Chris.
Text me when you get off.
We'll do breakfast.
How you doin', boo? (laughter) What'd you do, step out of Pat O'Briens and cross the street? I met her over the weekend.
Small world.
Too small.
Expand your horizons, Christopher.
You know, try a real 'Nawlins hangout.
I Ubered from Sweet Lorraine's.
You Ubered? From a bar, in the middle of the night? Well, it's my monthly poker game.
It's fun, and I'm on a winning streak.
And don't try telling me you were home, 'cause I smell smoke.
Yeah, what's that I see on your hand? A â21 and Legalâ stamp? Since when do you go clubbing? Since awhile.
Maybe you don't know me as well as you think.
(scoffs) PRIDE: Ready to work? What are we doing back here? NILSEN: My request.
Hey.
Dwayne.
Sam, hey, man.
How are you? Colonel Samuel Nilsen.
Special Agents Lasalle, Brody, How you doing? medical examiner Doc Wade.
Hi.
Welcome.
Can we speak privately? Sure.
Excuse us.
I wasn't expecting an entourage.
Team comes to every scene.
You know that.
NCIS policy.
Mine, too.
Yeah, well, the situation is sensitive.
I thought I explained that.
All you told me is that a sailor's dead, making this my jurisdiction.
(sighs) Now, I assume, since you called me, this sensitive situation involves your boss, General Matthews.
He had nothing to do with the sailor's death, but he was there.
Look, I know you got to investigate.
But the general's been nominated to a post in Homeland.
Now, there's a lot eyes on him.
We're trying to avoid scandal.
What are you asking me, Sam? Just a little discretion, is all.
I mean, your team, your agents they kind of stand out.
We'll be discreet.
But my team is non-negotiable.
And I expect full cooperation.
Absolutely.
We good, King? Yeah.
Yeah, but, uh hats and jackets off.
We're going in the service entrance.
Lieutenant Rebecca Peterson, 33.
Works for the Port Services, overseeing Navy contractors in New Orleans.
She lives in town; suggests this room wasn't hers.
LASALLE: Two wine glasses.
She was being entertained.
That's an assumption.
No, sir.
Observation.
What do you got, Loretta? There's no sign of external trauma.
Copious amounts of blood; possible internal bleeding.
BRODY: Bloody T-shirt.
Men's extra-large.
Probably used in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.
Who'd you say the room belonged to? I didn't.
Time to talk to him, Sam.
Wait in the hall, please.
Outside, please.
Thank you.
General Matthews, sir.
(door closes) I tried to help; the blood just kept coming.
Just, why don't you sit down, sir? I'll get you something.
(water runs) (water shuts off) Here you go.
General, can you tell me what happened? Yeah, but Becca had barely walked in the room, just started coughing and bleeding.
She was dead before I could dial 911.
Have to tell David.
Yes, sir.
Her father.
He was the general's roommate back at VMI.
That how you knew Rebecca? Our kids grew up together.
He's had a hard time since his wife died.
Becca was his whole world.
We'll have, uh, CACO make that notification.
Rebecca sick? Have allergies? I have no idea.
(sighs) You feeling all right, General? Yeah, I'm fine.
Uh migraine coming on.
It happens.
Maybe we could do this another time.
Why was Rebecca in your room, sir? She knew I was in town.
Dropped by to say hi.
Just to say hello? Noticed that the two of you were sharing a bottle of wine.
How is that relevant, Dwayne? Come on.
Standard question, Sam.
That's a loaded question.
I know what you're thinking, same as your other agents.
Becca's an old family friend.
Hadn't seen her in years.
That's all.
LASALLE: So, Nilsen works with Owen Matthews? Three-star general.
Been in every major war since 1990.
Rumor is he's on track to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs one day.
Yeah, well, I don't care what track he's on.
Fraternizing with a junior officer-- that's no bueno.
(coughing) Look, I know you want to take things slow, Sam, but we're gonna need to loop NOPD and Army CID in on this.
Can't it wait till after autopsy? I mean, if there's no signs of foul play? Don't need this secrecy.
(Matthews coughing) It's not warranted if-if he's telling the truth.
He is.
She's been poisoned.
BRODY: Are you sure? 'Cause usually, it's âgotta wait till autopsy, I'll know more whenâ Leukonychia striata.
It's a telltale sign of arsenic overdose.
And by the bloody vomit, I'd say it was ingested.
She did have wine before she died.
And she wasn't drinking alone.
But the headlines, man You know, âdead girl found in general's hotel room.
â I mean, it doesn't matter what the truth is.
People survive bad press.
(coughing continues) Maybe in your line of work.
But the general is a public figure looking to take on a high-profile position.
There's no way he weathers a news cycle like this.
WADE: I don't care if the president's in there, (pounding, shouting) I'm going in.
Open the door! Okay, let her in.
Let her The general, where is he? Where is he? NILSEN: Wait, ma'am! Sir, I'm Dr.
Wade.
I need to know how you're feeling.
Okay.
A little headache.
Chest tightness? Stomach pains? What's going on? Did you have wine tonight? NISLEN: Wait, wait, wait! You can't ask him that! Loretta I'm not drunk! Loretta, what (coughs, chokes) Sir? Sir, sir! Please! We have to call the paramedics.
No! We can't.
Rebecca Peterson was poisoned.
General could have been, too.
He has to get to the hospital right now or he could die.
(Matthews coughing, retching) NILSEN: I understand.
Yep.
Uh-huh.
We'll speak again soon.
Thank you.
How's the general? He's hanging in.
He's on hemodialysis and chelation therapy for the arsenic overdose.
I also spoke to CID.
They have asked us to keep them updated.
Well, here's what we got so far.
Our forensic scientist tested the wine from the general's room-- no poison.
He and Brody are at the Monteleone, looking other possible sources.
And, yes, they're being discreet.
I looked into Rebecca.
Now, she is a squared-away sailor, pays her bills on time.
I mean, no one had an obvious motive to kill her.
Well, of course, they didn't, right? The arsenic was clearly meant for General Matthews.
He's done a lot of good work for our country, but he's made some of enemies in the process.
You're saying enemy of the state poisoned your guy? Or some whack-a-do activist, doesn't like the Army.
Or given the general's nomination to Homeland, we might even be looking at espionage.
Let's not forget who our actual victim is here-- Rebecca Peterson.
It's unfortunate collateral damage.
LASALLE: âCollateral damageâ? Oh, all right, okay.
Until we know more, we'll investigate both victims.
Sam, start a list of potential suspects.
And, Chris? Go see Rebecca's father.
(stammers) Not so fast.
The general has operated at the highest level of the military.
Yeah, so you've said.
And protecting him is matter of national security.
This investigation is compartmented.
It's on a need-to-know basis.
Well, Lieutenant Peterson's father needs to know.
You can speak to him.
Just no details about her cause of death.
We cannot let it get out that General Matthews has been poisoned.
Hey, are you asking me to lie to a grieving father? The order came from the Army Chief of Staff.
Well, you answer to the Army, not us.
Christopher, Colonel's right.
Till we have a suspect in custody, the general's safety is paramount.
Case is on a need-to-know basis.
Look, this isn't us, King.
All right, this is not what we do.
We'll make sure the ends justify the means.
Right, Sam? That's right.
No signs of arsenic anywhere? The room, the elevator, in here? Nope, the kitchen is officially Salmonella and E.
coli-free! Okay, guys,back to work.
Which is a huge relief.
Guess General Matthews' food poisoning must've come from somewhere else.
As I assured you it did.
All VIP guests are assigned (elevator bell dings) a private concierge.
Mr.
Shapiro attended to the general's needs last night, as he does every visit.
What time did General Matthews check in? A little after midnight.
I had his wine waiting in his room, per his request.
Yeah, but the wine wasn't contaminated.
We tested it-- (clears her throat) Which, uh, seems odd uh, because you're like, âE.
coli in wine? That's weird-- there's only been two recorded cases.
â But you know, it never hurts to-to be, uh, safe.
Did anyone else had access to General Matthews' room? VIPs have special keys.
Not even housekeeping has copies.
Well, uh, actually, General Matthews asked for an additional key.
For a friend.
Why didn't I know about this? Oh, âa friendâ-- the plot is thickening, that's I'm sorry, I never get a chance to see this side of it.
You know? It's really fascinating.
Who was the key for? I don't know her name, but she was here last night.
Comes to see General Matthews whenever he's in town.
Rebecca Peterson's stomach and intestines were saturated with inorganic arsenic.
It's the bad kind.
I didn't realize there was a good kind.
Well, everything in moderation.
So, C.
O.
D.
is official? Yes.
There were over 600 milligrams of arsenic in Rebecca's body.
Enough to kill her two times over.
So, whoever did this wasn't messing around.
Any idea how much was in the general's system? Mm-mm, but he's still alive.
With his build-- bigger body type-- the dose must've been much smaller.
Do we know how they were poisoned? Well, Rebecca's digestive system worked far too well for that.
But based on toxicity levels and rates of absorption, the when-- between 7:00 and 9:00 a.
m.
That's 15 hours before she went to General Matthews' hotel room.
Give or take.
Could the general have been exposed by coming in contact with Rebecca's blood? Bodily fluids? Uh, it doesn't work like that.
You have to receive a dose firsthand.
That doesn't add up.
You sure you're not missing something? Of course you're not.
I'm sorry, I'm I'm getting a little pressure on this and Because of your friend Nilsen? Yeah, known him since grade school.
Saved him from getting beaten up more than once.
He was that kid who always told the truth, even when he should've kept his mouth closed.
And now? Same guy.
Different loyalties.
Military chain of command is extremely efficient at protecting national security.
But when it comes to internal investigations, they can lack a certain objectivity.
Well, I don't envy you.
Must be the reason why I chose this line of work.
No one argues with me here.
But this one might see more fraught than usual, but it's painfully simple in the end.
All you have to do is find justice for this young woman.
Mr.
Peterson? NCIS.
Special Agent Lasalle.
And I'm so sorry for your loss.
This is your daughter's house? The officer who called said Becca died unexpectedly.
That's all.
You here to tell me what happened? We can't release any details.
I'm just here to ask a few questions for our investigation.
âInvestigationâ? Means this is more than an accident, right? Well, NCIS reviews all Navy deaths-- I know how it works.
Spent my life in the service.
But if it was straightforward, you wouldn't be dodging my questions.
Sir, I I know how upsetting this must be.
How the hell would you know?! You're the one painting a fence your daughter asked you to about a month ago, but you never maime? Now it doesn't matter.
Look, I give you my word that I'll come back here, and answer every question you have.
But as for right now, all I can say is (sighs) I need your help.
All right? For Rebecca.
(sighs) What can I tell you? Becca loved her job, worked all the time.
Kept her private life private.
Though I suspect she was dating someone.
What made you think that? Well, she, she'd been busier than usual.
Out a lot, at-at nights.
Something had her attention.
Then there was her unexpected trip to Florida.
Mind if I take a look in the house? Look at whatever you need to.
Just want to know what happened to my girl.
Tell me things.
Just heard from the hospital.
General Matthews is gonna pull through.
Nilsen's over there now getting updated.
That's good news.
What are you two doing? Well, Nilsen gave us access to the general's Army files.
Mostly redacted.
Even travel itineraries.
Why travel itineraries? Concierge at the Monteleone says that every time Matthews is in town, he has one regular visitor.
Rebecca Peterson.
She even has her own key.
The general said he hadn't seen her in years.
Rebecca's father thought she had a boyfriend.
Said she was secretive about it.
Makes sense-- no fun telling Daddy you're dating his college roommate.
Affair between officers of different ranks is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Which brings us back to travel.
Rebecca went to Miami, supposedly to visit a friend.
Matthews travels to USSOUTHCOM in Miami regularly on Army business.
The general's travel itinerary and Rebecca's credit card bill.
Take a look.
Miami dates overlap.
Charges at the same restaurant.
Matthews stayed at the Rey Del Mar.
And Rebecca doesn't have any hotel charges on her card.
Well, hold on a second.
I saw that name somewhere.
Personal items from Rebecca's home, including hotel stationary-- Rey Del Mar.
And inside is a note.
âTo Beccaâ" âYou know how I feel about you, âbut if what we're doing gets out, my career is over.
âYou can't let that happen.
O.
M.
â General Matthews just went from victim to prime suspect in Rebecca Peterson's murder.
LASALLE: I talked to the doctor.
General Matthews had less than 10 milligrams of arsenic in his system.
Enough to give him symptoms.
But not actually put him at risk.
Yeah, doses himself to take suspicion off.
General's files are fascinating.
(chuckles) He's monitoring safety issues I never even heard of.
You-you know what zoonosis is? No, but I do know it's time for us to bring the general in for questioning.
Not yet.
Pride, he lied to us.
All right, hid the fact that he'd been seeing Lieutenant Peterson for months.
I know that, but it's not enough.
He had the means and the motive and the opportunity to kill Rebecca Peterson.
If it was any other suspect they'd be in that room right now.
But it's not any other suspect! It's a three-star general.
He's a war hero! It doesn't make a difference who it is if he's a murderer.
Petty officer, that's one thing.
A flag officer, okay? There's scrutiny at every level.
Yeah, I'm not scared.
Listen to me, Chris.
Matthews, if we're wrong-- hell, even if we're right-- he'll bring fire and brimstone down on us.
And that will become our focus, not the case.
So before we move on him, we need to dot our I's and cross our T's.
And that is the best way to find justice for Rebecca! This-- Spoke with Rebecca's CO.
He said she reported for work yesterday at 6:46 a.
m.
and didn't leave till noon, which means the arsenic was ingested while there.
Go to Rebecca's office, find that poison.
We connect it to the suspect-- whoever it is-- we'll bring him in.
That's everything from Becca's office.
Get it to Sebastian, see if he can find any traces of arsenic.
Find any prints? Checked doors, desk, water coolers.
No prints.
All wiped clean.
Well, someone else was in there before us.
I've got a list of the people who have access to the building.
All right, let's check 'em out.
Hey.
You and Pride okay? I want to bring General Matthews in for questioning, all right? He disagrees.
Typical politics.
Sounds like you've been down this road before? Yeah, I had a case once with NOPD.
Double homicide.
All right, high-profile suspect.
Pillar-of-the-community business type.
Guy had guilt written all over him.
Our bosses wouldn't let us touch him.
Afraid of exposure.
Red ball case.
Rules change.
Yeah, we were told to bide our time.
Three months later, âpillarâ struck again.
Finally able to put him away after the third person died.
That victim's on me.
Doesn't work like that.
Yeah, well, you see what I see? Guy checking pallets? Been watching us since we got here? LASALLE: NCIS.
May, uh, we help you, sir? Uh, hey there.
No.
I'm sorry.
Uh, I guess I was curious.
You're here about Becca? I saw you coming out of her office.
And you are? Uh, Walt Jeffries.
I have a facilities contract here.
Look, I work with Becca.
I haven't seen her lately, getting worried.
It's a Navy matter.
Nothing good, I assume.
All the people going in and out of her office today.
Someone else was here? Couple hours ago.
Man in uniform.
Was inside for a while.
Is this the guy you saw? Uh, no, not him.
But the guy did have a military haircut like that.
If that helps.
This guy? (jets taking off) We need to talk.
I'm on my way to a meeting.
Gonna be late.
You've been playing me, Sam.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You were in Rebecca's office today.
Well, I was acting on behalf of CID.
You were covering up for your boss.
Destroying fingerprints, his prints, right? And we're not talking as friends right now.
Choose your words carefully.
He's my superior officer.
He gives me orders, I execute them.
You call it following orders, I call it obstruction of justice.
Lieutenant Peterson was poisoned in that office.
You destroyed evidence.
When you were young, you dreamed of joining the Army, serving with honor, distinction.
This isn't who you are.
I don't have the answers that you want.
I hadn't even heard of Rebecca Peterson before last night.
I have to bring the general in.
That is not a road you want to go down.
No choice.
Whatever happened to Rebecca, he's a part of it.
I'm trying to protect you, Dwayne.
Believe it or not.
The general is he's a force of nature.
Yeah, well consider me warned.
Thank you for coming in, General.
Go ahead and have a seat.
Please.
You told me you hadn't seen Rebecca in years.
But according to the hotel staff, she visited every time you were in town.
And often late at night.
And you didn't see Rebecca just in New Orleans.
You met in Miami.
You have a question here? Because I don't know where this is leading.
Pattern of behavior.
Secret meetings with a subordinate female officer.
Your friend's daughter.
Let me be extremely clear.
I wasn't sleeping with Rebecca Peterson.
Rebecca was poisoned with arsenic at her office yesterday morning.
You're not just accusing me of fraternization but murder, too? You were there during that time.
That's why you ordered Colonel Nilsen to wipe her office clean of prints.
MATTHEWS: That's quite a conspiracy you're building.
He already admitted it.
You gonna sell out your own man? How dare you question my loyalty.
Loyalty to who? Colonel Nilsen? Rebecca's father? Rebecca? You have no right to judge us.
Picking through our private lives, looking for dirt.
You're a trashman.
I'm done here.
Sit down, General.
I don't answer to you.
In this room, your stars mean nothing.
I'm in charge.
Now sit down.
Let me be clear.
Your career is in my hands.
I got more than enough to bring you up on charges.
Is that a threat? No, General.
It's a forgone conclusion.
Unless you tell me why you were seeing Lieutenant Peterson.
I didn't hurt Becca, I was helping her.
She'd discovered a discrepancy at the port, financial fraud, millions of dollars.
Something to do with the contractors she oversaw.
We'd meet.
Talk about the issue.
There was so much red tape for her.
But you could cut right through it.
She didn't have clearance for the documents she needed, wasn't getting traction from her superiors.
You gave her access to classified material? Sensitive material.
âFor official use only.
â Nothing illegal.
PRIDE: But unethical.
MATTHEWS: Whatever you want to call it.
It helped.
I went by her office yesterday.
She couldn't talk, said she'd found something, something big.
She was going to tell me at the hotel.
She could have been killed for what she found out.
Thought the poison was for me, not Becca.
I need to see those files.
What I did was to help.
If this comes out There'll be repercussions.
And not just for me.
For you, too.
And I assure you that's no threat, Special Agent Pride.
That's a forgone conclusion.
LASALLE: These files the general shared with Rebecca Peterson, it's not exactly the Pentagon Papers.
No.
But it's likely Rebecca was killed over something inside of them.
Yeah, I can't imagine what.
Background checks on Navy contractors, their subcontractors, and the subcontractors' principles.
Mmm.
My head is spinning, too.
That's 'cause you didn't get any sleep.
What makes you say that? Well, that's your fourth cup of coffee this morning, and you came in with an energy drink.
I smell you, Nancy Drew.
Happen to have experience in this area.
It's easier to go out than to stay at home thinking about the hard stuff.
Used to be my sweet spot.
I would stay up all night, stewing over Emily's death.
And now I know what happened to her, and I still can't sleep.
You want to talk about it? I know where to find you.
So, are you buying the general's line that he and Rebecca were just friends? Well, I don't know what to think.
But he stuck his neck out on the line either way.
He'll be brought up on charges.
This could be the end of his career.
Could be the end of ours, too, just like Pride said.
He and Nilsen are out takin' a walk, sussing out damage control.
We've been aboveboard.
Doesn't matter with men like the general.
He can be vindictive.
Retribution-- that's no bueno.
Totally worth it though.
(phone chirps) The way Pride took him on in there.
Sebastian.
He's excited about something.
Go.
I will take a turn with these super boring files.
Thank you much.
NILSEN: I never meant to put you in a jam, Dwayne.
Whatever happens, I just I need you to know, please, that I I never wanted to play you.
Yeah, but you did.
You put me and my team in a bad situation.
Well I had no idea about the files or the meetings with Lieutenant Peterson.
Any chance we can fix it? Won't be part of a cover-up.
That's not what I meant.
No more stalling or discretion.
We submit an official report.
I know.
Dwayne, I know.
I talked to Chief of Staff this morning.
Told him to expect your call.
There'll be fallout for you.
No matter how this plays out, man, my days are numbered.
But it's the right thing to do.
That's what matters.
As someone recently reminded me.
Whoever that was sounds wise.
Pride, I think I found something.
The files have info on contractors that do business with the Navy.
Tugboat companies, container suppliers, et cetera.
A handful of these businesses seem to do nothing at all.
They just exist.
Shell companies? They all have addresses, background checks, but no obvious purpose except to invoice the Navy a ton of money.
And where are these companies located? The Port of New Orleans, where Lieutenant Peterson worked.
Can't be a coincidence.
Let's check 'em out.
(ship's horn blowing) NILSEN: Anything? Two empty offices.
Third one with exactly one employee.
Secretary who gets paid to sit by the phone and watch a lot of Netflix.
You? Same story.
Bored temps playing video games.
All these companies running the same scam.
Well, we find the mastermind, we find Lieutenant Peterson's killer.
Where's Brody? She's got one more contractor on her list.
Jeffries Consolidated.
Oh, hey.
It's you again.
Walt Jeffries? I remember.
Friend of Becca's.
You were very helpful yesterday.
Any, uh, news on her? That you can share? Uh, not yet.
Hopefully soon.
So you work here? Jeffries Consolidated.
Warehousing Logistics.
I'm the owner.
Well, technically, it's Dad's company, but, uh, he's not doing well.
I'm so sorry.
You have a few minutes to talk? Of course.
Come on.
I'll show you to my office.
SEBASTIAN: All right, so I tested everything that you brought back from Rebecca's office-- no arsenic.
Which seemed weird, until I realized that if she ingested most of the poison, then only minute residue would remain.
I'm guessing you found a way to test for that.
Yeah.
Test tube, check.
Add zinc, check.
Add acid, check.
And you have to use water-- it won't work on particles.
So you put everything we brought you into water? Like that chewing gum.
Yeah.
It seems low-tech, but it works.
The mixture results in gas.
(clears throat) Arsine if there's arsenic present, otherwise hydrogen.
Now, you're probably gonna ask me how do I know which gas is which? Well, I was kind of waiting for you to tell me that.
All right.
Well, what you do is you ignite the gas.
Then you hold a piece of glass over it.
Like so.
When arsenic is present, you see a silvery- black deposit.
Kind of like this.
Where's it from? That is from this.
A coffee pod? A coffee pod.
Delivered in bulk.
Anyone in Rebecca's building would've had access.
You just inject arsenic into the top of the pod, make sure it finds its way to the right office and then whoever drinks it dies.
So General Matthews visited Rebecca's office the morning she died.
Yeah.
Which would explain how he got dosed.
If she made him a cup coffee after using a poisoned pod, then traces of arsenic would've leaked into his drink.
I've seen a lot of murder weapons.
This one's pretty genius.
JEFFRIES: Fresh, hot coffee, any way you like it, anytime.
It's a lifesaver.
So, uh warehousing logistics.
Your company billed the Navy $800,000 last year.
Lucrative, but boring.
You really can't tell me what this is about? Security issue at stake.
Oh, it just feels very cloak and dagger, you know? It's kind of exciting.
We don't see much of that in the warehousing game.
(coffee maker beeps) Enjoy.
Thank you.
So, about these specific bills Um Brody, don't drink that! (groans) (shouting) (horn blaring) (groans) You all right? Yeah, I'm good.
Go, go! (grunting) You all right? Yeah, I'm good.
Where's Sam? Here.
I-I saw that move back there, man.
You still got some jam.
Yeah, more than you.
Someone gonna explain to me why you karate-chopped my coffee back there? You'll thank me later.
Come on.
PRIDE: Your family's company has been operating Navy contracts out of the port for generations.
BRODY: Accounts started suffering after you took over, so I guess you don't have your dad's head for business.
You got creative-- invented dummy companies to subcontract from you and other businesses at the port.
Charging for services never rendered.
You stole four million dollars.
That's embezzlement and fraud.
PRIDE: The coffee you gave Agent Brody was full of arsenic.
Just like the coffee that killed Lieutenant Peterson.
First degree murder, attempted murder.
Thank you.
Last chance to get ahead of this.
Tell us how you figured out Lieutenant Peterson was onto you, who else was involved, and we'll do our best to keep you off death row.
I want a lawyer.
Call the federal marshals.
Have 'em come pick up Mr.
Jeffries.
Can't believe it comes down this greedy little thief.
You were right about the general.
Thanks for keeping me in check, King.
We spur each other on.
Watch each other's backs.
Save each other's lives.
Aw, you're tough.
Little arsenic in your brew wouldn't have bothered you.
Do you know what gastrointestinal decontamination is? No.
Okay, well, thanks to your quick call to Pride, neither do I.
(phone dings) Oh.
Need me at the bar.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Soon as my would-be killer's in custody.
LASALLE: Yeah, not this time for me, King.
Got somewhere to be.
You know where I'll be.
You're back.
I told you I would be.
I'm here to tell you what happened to Rebecca.
How she died and why.
And I'll stay here as long as you need and answer every question you have.
Give me a hand.
Now, your daughter-- she was a hero.
She knew somebody was taking money from the government.
She stuck her neck out (jazz music playing) So, uh, how long are you gonna keep up this, uh, side bartending gig? Well, you want something done right There you go.
Any update on General Matthews? There's been an official inquiry.
Already? Yeah.
Time-sensitive.
Homeland Security post needs to be filled ASAP.
So, the general may still get the job? Army weighed the gravity of the offense against the general's distinguished record.
Made a judgment call.
Out of my hands.
Nomination's supposed to be announced tomorrow.
(phone rings) On your tap? Oh.
Ah, Loretta.
Hey, Loretta.
Thought you were supposed to be joining us tonight.
I'm at the prison.
Your suspect Walt Jeffries is dead.
You got it.
I'll put you on speaker.
How did Jeffries die? Could be arsenic.
He poisoned himself? I won't be able to confirm timeline until autopsy, but the guards say Jeffries wasn't out of their sight since they took custody.
He must have dosed himself before we caught him.
It makes no sense.
Why poison me and take off if he's already a dead man? That is the question.
I'll let you know what I find.
But I can tell you right now this doesn't look like a suicide.
NILSEN: Pride! Hey.
You know, if you were unhappy about the Army's decision, you could have come to me.
Not the press! I trusted you! Whoa, whoa, Sam.
I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
The general's nomination's been put on indefinite hold.
I thought the Army wasn't pressing charges.
They aren't.
Someone leaked the general's predicament to the press.
Dead girl in general's hotel.
It's a real three-star scandal.
None of it's true.
It doesn't matter.
Matthews is done.
Dwayne I'm done.
Sam, I'm sorry.
But I had nothing to do with this.
It doesn't matter whether that's true or not.
As far as the general's concerned, the Army-- the leak came from you.
Good luck, Dwayne.
You're gonna need it.
@elderman