CSI: NY s03e15 Episode Script

* Take it back,take it back,take it back,take it back * * Everyboook at me,me * * I walk in the door,you start screaming * * Come on,everybody,what you here for? * * Move your body around like a nympho * * Everybody get your necks to crack around * * All you crazy people,come on,jump around * * I want to see you all on your knees,knees * * You either want to be with me or be me * * Maneater,make you work hard,make you spend hard * * Make you want all of her love * * She' a maneater * * Make you buy cars,make you cut cords * * Make you fall in love * * Now,when she walks in with passion * * When she talks,she talks like she can handle it * * When she asks for something,boy,she means it * * Even if you never ever seen it * * Everybody get your necks to crack around * * All you crazy people,come on,jump around * * She's a maneater,make you work hard * * Make you spend hard * * Make you want all of her love * * Maneater,make you work hard,make you spend hard * * Make you want all of her love * * She's a maneater,make you buy cars * * Make you cut cords * * Make you fall never met her at all * * You wish you never ever met her at all * Vic's name is Jeff Zegers.
He's a loss prevention security guard here in the store.
Poor guy couldn't prevent the loss of his own life.
Witnesses? Nothing out of the ordinary.
Anyone close to the action was in a changing room.
Heard the shots and ran.
The men's' dressing rooms are on the other side of the store, so I'm thinking our killer's most likely female.
We got surveillance,right? Infrared.
State-of-the-art.
Cameras aren't allowed inside the dressing room area, but I've got one of my guys getting everything else.
This guy was popped up close and personal.
A dental mirror.
That's odd.
It's clever.
Provides the perfect view of who's coming and going.
Add these to the mix,it makes sense.
Anti-theft security tags.
Looks like they been burned off.
So did our vic surprise a shoplifter? The shoplifter surprised him with a bullet.
Hey,Danny.
Take a look at this.
It's the infrared video footage from outside the dressing room around our vic's T.
O.
D.
Fasten your seat belt.
Here it comes.
Is the camera malfunctioning? That or Fifth Avenue is haunted.
Right.
Okay,well,there's our vic.
He follows the blur into the dressing room, goes in,bang,then the gun goes off Freeze that right there.
Any way you can clean the image up a little more? Might be able to go tighter,but that's as good as it gets.
So how do we catch a killer when our only suspect is a ghost? Turns out our suspect is not as spooky as she wants us to believe.
All right,come on- if this was a real ectoplasm,what's it doing shopping? Unless it's,like,the spirit of Imelda Marcos, but,you know,I don't even think she's dead.
I mean Adam,how did she do it? Oh,yeah.
Okay.
Check this out,all right? The retro-reflective material on this vest is mirroring incident illumination back to the camera's signal.
All right.
So, whatever she wore into the store, it interrupted the infrared signal on the security camera.
Creating the void,and making her disappear.
I haven't been out here since I was a kid.
This hedge maze? It's part of the Queen's County Arboretum.
New York's last tract of undisturbed farmland.
Not anymore.
Haven't been able to I.
D.
the body yet.
Hey,Mac.
I searched him.
Nothing in his pocket except for these.
Chelsea University exam receipts.
Eddie Williams.
Thomas Brighton.
One body,two names.
Hopefully our vic belongs to one of them.
Who discovered him? Groundskeeper.
Lives on-site.
Said he heard someone screaming.
Who else has access? This time of night? No one.
Maze closed to visitors six hours ago.
And T.
O.
D.
is less than two hours ago.
So we know he definitely wasn't supposed to he here.
Looks scared to death.
Hole in his neck says otherwise.
Stab wound.
Judging by the position, I'd say it severed the carotid artery.
Got another one back here - multiple contusions on his upper torso.
The hedge is destroyed.
Like he was trying to get out.
Which would explain the hands.
But who's responsible for the stab wounds? Looks like traces of blood.
I think we have a suspect.
I love this job.
* * Blood trail started here.
Got signs of a scuffle.
Multiple fresh footprints.
Our vic breaks in after hours, navigates his way to the center of the maze in the middle of the night - it doesn't make any sense.
"'Will you walk into my parlor?' Said the spider to the fly.
" I'm thinking our victim was lured here then murdered.
A prize in every box.
Excuse me? The Cracker Jack slogan.
"A prize in every box.
" Or,in this case,your murder weapon.
Killer used this to sever the carotid artery.
Absinthe spoon.
A piece of one anyway.
I think we found its better half at the crime scene.
Absinthe is a hallucinogenic.
Illegal to purchase in this country.
Any trace of it in his system? Don't know yet.
Just sent blood to Tox.
I pulled something from the wound tract in his back.
Flecks of a bluish-green solid.
Also found a branding.
Actually,two brands, one on top of the other on his back right shoulder.
Healing characteristics of the burn indicate the last one happened less than two hours before he was murdered.
An absinthe spoon,a branding,a brutal beat-down I'll take "Cult Rituals" for $200.
I don't think so.
The kid doesn't look the part.
And we have reason to believe he went to Chelsea University.
What is "a fraternity hazing gone bad"? Sid recovered the bullet from the security guard.
It's a.
38 caliber.
It was moderately deformed.
I ran it through IBIS.
No hits.
I'm also looking into sources for retro-reflective clothing.
Angell pulled up some complaint forms- Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci,Ferragamo- all hit the same day,all with the same MO- burnt security tags left in the women's dressing room.
And,at Gucci,the thief left behind the clothes that she was wearing when she came into the store, and they weren't retro-reflective.
That means she started at Gucci,ended up at Maddox.
Average shoplifter can hit one,maybe two stores in one day.
There's nothing average about this girl.
She's a professional.
She hasn't left us much to work with.
Except the security tags.
If we can rebuild those bar codes, we may be able to inventory the stolen goods.
Best way to find a thief is to find out what they're stealing.
* * Tox detected thujone in our vic.
Confirms he was drinking absinthe prior to TOD.
That means he was definitely tripping in that maze.
Might explain why we found blood on the statues and that scared-to-death look on our vic's face.
He didn't know what he was seeing.
A hallucination didn't put that statue's sword in his back.
No,but maybe if he was,like,freaking out and disoriented he might've backed into the sword.
Explains the copper oxide that Sid pulled from the wound.
Also,I found a stain on a piece of torn fabric you pulled from the hedge.
It appears biological and I'm running DNA.
What about the spoon? Clean.
But take a look.
Now,watch this.
It's a road map on how to get out of the maze.
And it gets even stranger.
Fountain pen we collected at the scene contains blood instead of ink.
We type it? Yeah.
It belongs to our John Doe vic.
Who writes in blood? Lawyers,college loan administrators Thomas Brighton, according to the serial number on the pen.
He's also one of the names we found on the exam receipts that were in the vic's pocket.
But Brighton is not our victim.
I put a call in.
Campus security confirmed that he showed up for classes today.
Same for Eddie Williams, the name on the other exam receipt.
Sure.
Yeah,I've,uh I seen him around campus.
Think his name's Brian Miller.
You think? Yeah.
Do you want to know what we think,Thomas? We think that you're lying.
Because we know that Brian Miller took an exam for you yesterday.
And we matched the answers on that exam to a sample of Brian's handwriting.
You want to know what else we think? That you paid Brian to take the exam, but didn't get your money's worth.
Brian flunked the exam on your dime.
Which makes us ask, why would he do that to you? And how upset were you when you found out? I owed Brian some money.
He nuked that exam to prove a point.
No pay,no pass.
Exactly.
But I had nothing to do with what happened to him.
Brian and I were close.
Like brothers.
Blood brothers? Found your pen at the crime scene.
What we believed was red ink inside turned out to be Brian's blood.
I lost that pen a while ago.
How long ago? I don't know.
A month.
Maybe two.
Detective,call Judge Brewer.
Get us a warrant to look at that notepad.
Now,you seem like a smart kid, but here's something you don't know.
The nib of a fountain pen adjusts itself to the user's writing style as it wears down.
If my lab matches this pen to that notepad, and the ink dates back to less than a month, what are you going to say then? Should I be calling my father? He's good friends with the governor.
What's the number? I'll dial it for you.
I'm sure Daddy's gonna love to hear how Junior's pulling down his 4.
0.
Look,I've,uh I've told you everything I know.
Except where you were last night.
In my room.
Let me guess - your alibi? Go ahead.
Ask them.
We're roommates,so when Brian didn't show up last night, I just figured he was pulling another all-nighter at the library.
We found your exam receipt in Brian's pocket.
I may have borrowed his jacket when I took the test and forgot to take it out.
Eddie we have handwriting analysis that proves Brian took that exam for you.
Scientific research? We're inducing brain tumors and treating them with a synthetic compound with radioactive tags.
Sounds like you want to be ta doctor.
And you found the perfect way to beat the system: Have Brian take those exams for you.
All your professors say that you've made great improvement this last semester.
And that's just about the time Brian moved in with you,isn't it? There's no way I'm going to make it to med school with my grades.
Brian made his money taking other students' tests.
And you were his best client.
How was the relationship outside of business? We were good friends.
Do you know anybody that would want to hurt him? Brian took a lot of tests for a lot of people.
The risk was big.
So,based on the width of the burn and the pinpoint detail, and the fuel, I've narrowed down what our suspect's using to burn the tags off.
A blowtorch? Yeah,the burns are small,precise.
Just like what you'd get with compact torches used in dental labs.
Okay,so we have a dental mirror, and a dental torch.
So we're looking for a klepto dentist who has an itchy trigger finger.
Who also has very expensive taste.
I sent copies of the bar codes to all the stores that were hit.
Every item is four figures and up.
Along with a purse worth $25,000.
Boys love their cars,girls love their handbags.
I don't get over to Fifth Avenue much, unless Seventh is bumper to bumper, but a purse this rich is not going to be displayed on the counter waiting to be snatched.
Right - you're gonna have to ask the clerk to show it to you.
Means we have witnesses.
I had no idea the purse was stolenil you guys contacted security requesting a list of inventory.
We were just allowed back in.
And as you can see,when everyone ran, they turned the place upside down.
Do you remember who you showed the purse to just before the shooting? A couple of people.
Anybody stand out? There was this one woman.
Blonde hair,large sunglasses.
Great coat.
She took a quick look, then said she was going to have to think about it.
After she left, I left the purse on the counter for another customer.
I must've turned my back when it was swiped.
Then came the gunshots.
I ducked.
What happened after that,I couldn't tell you.
Stell,that was Angell.
Bergdorf's just got hit.
Same MO.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Security claims they got her on camera stealing men's clothing.
She's keeping busy.
Maybe she's stealing for her boyfriend,too.
She's stealing a number of items in a variety of sizes.
Then she's not just stealing for two.
Probably fencing the stuff.
This isn't pawn shop goods she's taking down.
These are exclusive items.
For an exclusive clientele.
She's a personal shoplifter.
Reed.
Mac um I told them I was family.
You okay? What's wrong? I knew Brian Miller- kid you found in the maze.
We worked on the college paper together.
We were friends.
I'm sorry.
Look,I can't say much about the case right now.
I get it,I just I want to tell you what I know.
Okay.
Um Well,he was under more stress than usual.
You know,he was spending all his free time writing this piece for the college paper.
He's been writing it for the last year and a half.
He said that it was his Watergate.
You know,it was the thing that was going to put him on the map.
Sit down.
So,do you know what this article was about? It was about Kings and Shadows.
What's that? Rumor is that it's this secret society that exists on campus.
Like a fraternity? Minus the keggers and the pranks.
Yeah,it's really it's dark stuff.
So it's like a cult? Yeah,run by blue bloods.
At least that's what people believe.
Brian said that he was going to get inside.
He was going to expose all their secrets.
He said that the article was going to piss off a lot of people.
Did you ever read what he wrote? He wasn't finished.
And you think somebody wanted to make sure he wouldn't.
Yeah.
Hey.
Hey.
I think I found your suspect.
This is surveillance footage we got from Ferragamo's.
All right,look for the large hat in the corner of the screen,all right? She's sticking to the blacked-out areas where security cameras can't reach.
This girl's done her homework,huh? She's not even looking behind her to see if anybody's watching.
She's good and she knows it.
And that's about all we know.
I can tell you she's got a bully in her life.
Check that out.
Look how she flinched when the customer raised his hand.
Maybe too much coffee.
Or a sign of abuse.
Withdraw like that is a classic symptom of PTSD.
How did you know that? My,uh my dad was a bully.
So,um I'll add this clip to the profile I'm putting together.
Yeah,good.
Whoa,hold that right there.
She's standing right in front of a mirror.
Can you pull up her reflection? Looks like she's trying on rings.
You thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah,could be DNA.
We need to get that ring.
Eddie,we now know Brian was working on an article for the school newspaper.
Do you know where it is? Probably on his computer.
You know his password? Sorry.
Eddie,you want to give us a minute? Yeah,no problem.
I'm in the hard drive.
Look for the key words "Kings and Shadows.
" There it is.
"Inside the Crypt, "by Brian Miller.
"It all started when I first heard the rumors and whispers "around campus about a secret society who called themselves "King and Shadows.
"It is believed to have been formed " by the most powerful and elite of New York's patriarchs some hundred years ago.
I was told just like everyone else it was just an urban legend.
The truth is,they really do exist and are much more powerful and connected than anyone could imagine.
They say once you're a brother, you're a brother till death.
Tomorrow night I'm going to find out just how true that is when I take part in a ceremony that would mark my departure "What's the worst that could happen?" That's all there is.
We already know how it ends.
Thomas,you forgot to mention a couple things last time we spoke.
I don't remember leaving anything out.
Yeah? What about your little social club- Kings and Shadows? And how about the good-bye party you threw for Brian last night? See,we got a copy of an article that Brian was writing that lists your name along with every other current member of the Kings and Shadows.
An article? I,uh,I don't know what you're talking about.
You didn't know Brian was going to expose the Kings and Shadows? You want to call your daddy now? Okay,look,I didn't kill Brian.
Well,someone did, and we think you were there.
Tell us about the ceremony at the hedge maze.
Kid we pull that sweater off you we're going to find a Kings and Shadows brand on your shoulder.
Am I right? Get off me! Sit down.
Okay,now that we've cleared that up Brian was beaten before he was murdered.
I'm betting we can match your fist to at least one of these bruises.
So I suggest you start talking.
I took an oath.
Yeah,well,it's going to take a lot more than a secret handshake to protect you in jail,Thomas.
The Kings and Shadows have been around since 1890.
You have no idea who's involved.
It's over,Thomas.
You got nothing to do with the murder, I promise I'll protect you.
No,you can't protect me.
If this gets out,you can't even protect yourselves.
Lock him up.
Okay,wait,just wait.
Brian wanted out.
Said he made a mistake joining the Kings and Shadows.
So we gathered for an exit ceremony.
Why'd you beat him? It's tradition.
It's meant as a reminder to keep quiet.
After that,everyone left.
Not before it got out of hand.
Someone took the beat down too far.
Who stabbed Brian with the absinthe spoon? Nobody.
Don't lie to me.
I'm not lying to you.
Everyone gets an absinthe spoon at initiation.
Brian was supposed to return his at the maze.
He said he forgot it.
I was there,all right? Nobody killed him.
When we left,Brian was alive.
He had to find his way out of the maze alone.
Leaving the Kings and Shadows means that your brothers aren't there to help you anymore.
So you got him high,beat him up and left him there to die.
What's happening? Our shoplifter wasn't just browsing for rings.
She pulled a bait and switch.
One ring went into her mouth and another came out.
Left a cheap knockoff in place of a very expensive piece.
It's a Fugazi? Hmm.
Synthetic ruby.
She had to have an exact replica made in order for the scam to work.
This girl's good.
We get DNA? Yeah,it came back on an unknown female.
Also detected higher than expected levels of propranolol based on the sample we're working with.
Propranolol? That means she's being treated for high blood pressure? She was taking three times the therapeutic dose.
So if she's not being treated for high blood pressure, I wonder why she's taking the drug? You sure you're all right? Yeah.
Reed,I want you to stay at your parents' house tonight.
Yeah.
This is my first Geraldo, you know.
Beat up for a story.
What's this about? I have no idea.
I'm not even writing on the Kings and Shadows.
My piece is about students paying other students to take their exams for them.
Brian Miller know this? I told him as soon as he told me what he was writing about.
Let me see the bottom of your shoe.
Yeah Ow.
Brian and I we were pretty competitive.
Like I told him I wouldn't mention him in my piece if he quit, but he said he'd already agreed to take two more exams.
Then he was out.
Eddie Williams and Thomas Brighton were Brian's last two clients.
Yeah.
But only one of them had reason to want both stories killed.
Looks like Thomas Brighton didn't attack Reed.
The prints we lifted from Reed's dorm room weren't a match to the reference samples Brighton gave us.
Ran the stray hair you found on Reed's computer.
DNA was a match to our vic.
That's not possible.
Brian Miller was dead a full 24 hours before Reed was attacked.
Got something on that piece of clothing you pulled from the hedge.
The stain was confirmed as biological, but the DNA quant was negative.
It's not human.
Take a look.
The exposed section of the film here is from low level gamma rays.
The stain is radioactive.
I gave the swatch to Kaminsky, who took it to DNA to start the extraction process.
And while pulling reagents, she set the swatch down on a box of X-ray film Gamma rays then exposed part of the film in the exact shape of the stain on the swatch.
So what is it? Scorpion venom.
And the reason it's radioactive is because it's tagged with iodine 131.
A synthetic compound used to treat brain tumors in cancer research And who do we know that's in that world? Eddie Williams.
But Eddie isn't a member of Kings and Shadows.
Then what was he doing in the hedge maze that night? All right,so our shoplifter definitely wasn't taking propranolol for high blood pressure.
No,see her dosage level matched a case study being done using the drug to block the effect of adrenaline on the areas of the brain that are involved in memory formation.
A pill to forget.
It's currently being tested on victims of traumatic events.
Out of the hundred volunteers nine of them live here in New York.
One of them is a perfect match to what we have on your suspect.
And the name is Ava Brandt.
Ava Brandt,NYPD.
We've got a warrant.
Clear! We're clear.
After you.
Thank you.
Well,she keeps it simple,huh? Yeah.
Makes it easy to keep moving if the heat comes down.
Hey,Stel,you think this thing could be worth $25 thou? If you're buying retail,add another two grand for sales tax.
Sickening.
With that kinda scratch I could buy a brand-new Harley and have some change in my pocket afterwards.
Let's get all this stuff back to the lab.
I'll put somebody on the door just in case she comes back.
We might be able to find her before then.
She left her shopping list behind.
Those aren't the ankles of a pregnant woman.
That's her.
You sure? Yep.
How far along are you? Nine months.
You look great.
You know,when my cousin was that far along,she was retaining water like crazy.
Couldn't wear heels like that, You have any idea what you're having? My husband and I want to keep it a surprise.
Hey.
Congratulations.
It's twins.
Let's go.
Wow.
Ava,at the rate you work, I'm surprised Fifth Avenue had time to restock.
Yeah,four stores in one afternoon? $50,000 in designer retail? Is that all in a day's work for you? You know what's amazing to me is that you've never been caught.
Must give you some kinda respect out there on the street.
In your line of work,that's a reputation worth killing for.
Or maybe in your case,it's a reputation worth killing to keep.
How about this face? That face ring a bell? It's the security guard over at Maddox,one of your spots.
Caught you shoplifting.
Followed you into the dressing room.
I didn't kill him.
I remember hearing the gunshot.
I might be a thief,but I'm not a murderer.
Evidence puts you at the hedge maze the night Brian was murdered.
We're thinking Brian was scared for his life.
He asked you to be there to help, in ce something happened to him.
Gives you the spoon with the map of the maze so you could find him.
And you did find him, but you decided to help yourself instead.
You really think I killed Brian? I know.
It's crazy.
Detective Taylor and I were looking at each other scratching our heads,thinking: Eddie's got no reason to stick a blade in his roommate.
After all,Brian's acing all of his exams for him.
Brian knew a reporter was working on a story that would expose the "exam for hire" business, meant he couldn't take exams for you anymore, but he could still help you graduate.
All you had to do was take advantage of the school's grief policy, a rule that grants A's in all courses to any student who suffers emotional distress due to the sudden death of their roommate.
Murder was the only way to a 4.
0 and grad school.
Brian's death was the solution to all your problems.
And all the evidence would point to the Kings and Shadows.
These belonged to Brian.
You stole them the night of the murder,to blend in.
Then you wore them last night when you attacked Reed Garrett.
You don't know what it's like What? My father's chief of surgery at Queen of Mercy Hospital.
He expects me to follow in his footsteps.
Dad's gonna be very disappointed.
I hope you got shoes to go with that bag.
Uh actually,something better: While I was looking for GSR to confirm that our suspect was the shooter, which she isn't.
I found this lovely little item in this stunning purse Which is? It steals credit card numbers.
And it's RFID.
Radio Frequency Identification.
It works remotely.
Effective within three feet.
The radio frequency picks up every piece of information decoded on the black strip of the credit card.
You don't have to scan it,slide it,swipe it,nothing.
You don't have to take it out of your wallet.
Take it easy.
No,it's for the That's my whole life.
Think this is another one of Ava Brandt's shoplifting toys? Not unless she's expanding into credit card theft, which doesn't fit her profile.
You lift any prints off this thing? Yes,but they did not match your shoplifter.
So somebody else could have put the reader into the purse, and then Ava lifted it,not knowing that this particular bag was worth way more than its price tag.
Shopgirl's got it down to a science.
Marissa Richardson - she was part of this? That's the play with almost every customer.
She scans their bags.
They end up leaving behind their entire life.
Sneaky girl.
Yeah.
Well,if you like that, you're gonna love this: We know that after Ava stole the bag,she took it into the dressing room to remove the tag - here's info from two of the last cards scanned before the bag left the store- our vic,Jeff Zegers,and the store maintenance man,Chris Campbell.
So what are two men doing in the women's dressing room? Ran the prints I lifted off the RFID reader.
Huh? Got a hit on one of them- Ex-con named Chris Campbell.
Ha! Boom.
I'm thinking that maybe Marisa and Chris were in on the scam together Security guard found out.
And just maybe he took a bullet for catching a thief Just not the thief we thought we were looking for.
Look,I don't know what you think, but I didn't kill the security guard.
We found the.
38 in Chris's locker.
Matches the bullet that we pulled from Jeff Zegers' body.
You're lying.
Chris said Chris said what? All right.
You know what? I'm not gonna lie to you anymore.
You're going to jail.
But how long depends on what you tell me.
Think about this before you say anything,okay? Chris is next door, and we know he's on parole, so he's gonna flip on you first chance he gets.
It's your move.
Jeff figured out what we were doing.
Told us we had to pay him a thousand bucks a week or he'd go to the cops.
Chris refused to pay and said that there was no way he was going back to jail.
Tell him I got his money and I'll meet him in the dressing room.
I just thought that he was gonna rough him up a bit.
You know scare him.
Well,he killed him.
Hey,Mac.
I wanted you to know that we're going to make an arrest.
Good.
I'm glad.
Maybe I should have just turned Brian in for cheating,you know? He would have been kicked out of the university, never would have been in that hedge maze.
You're taking a lot of responsibility,Reed.
It's 'cause I feel bad.
I feel like I shoulda stopped him.
I feel like I shoulda done something,but I'm gonna miss him.
Look,I gotta go.
We're gonna head over to the cemetery.
Reed,if there's anything I can do I'd like to know where my mom's buried.
She wasn't.
Her body was never found.
No trace at all.
But they're We're still looking.
Thanks for everything.
Murder charges have been dropped.
Grand larceny is going to stick.
You are one tough woman to track down.
You found me.
We found traces of a drug you were taking at the crime scene.
We know you were part of the test group for propranolol.
Look,Ava, the majority of women in that test group are taking the drug to erase scars left by domestic abuse.
What are you,a cop or a therapist? I just think you should tell the judge your story.
He may be able to reduce the charges.
I'm sure he'll be interested in knowing how a woman goes from being a dental hygienist in Kansas City to a professional thief in New York.
Is that how it works? Your Honor my husband used to beat me and kick me senseless until I had the courage to walk away with only the clothes on my back, and so to survive,I started to steal and I realized I could make a lot of money 'cause I was good at something not the piece of crap he told me I was, all those years I thought I loved him.
The drug didn't work the way I thought it would.
It's okay.
I think some scars are meant to stay.
All those disguises weren't just ways to conceal your identity, were they Ava? You were scared and hiding from him.
I'm thinking you're still scared.
If you ever need someone to listen.
* Ah,ah,ah * * Honestly,what will become of me? * * Don't like reality * * It's way too clear to me that really * * Life is daily * * We are what we don't see * * Missed everything daydreaming * * Flames to dust * * Lovers to friends * * Why do all good things come to an end? * * Flames to dust * * Lovers to friends * * Why do all good things come to an end? *