The Mentalist s04e16 Episode Script

Body's inside.
Victim's name is Gabriel Meadows.
Somebody hit him in the head with a blunt object.
- Cleaning crew found him around 1 a.
m.
- Witnesses? Local boys talked to a co-worker, Dave Bisping, who saw him at 10 last night.
- Rigsby's meeting him at CBI.
- Murder weapon? Nothing inside.
Maybe the killer dropped it.
- Get a group together, search the area.
- Trash duty.
- Is there a problem? - No, nothing.
All right, when Cho shows up, grab him, spread the pain around.
All right.
Morning, Lisbon.
Is it morning yet? Not quite.
Any prints? None, but it looks like someone wiped up.
Some of the blood is smears, not spatter.
- Anything missing? - It looks like his laptop was taken.
But whoever took it was in a hurry.
They left his cell phone and wallet.
Interesting, yes? Because the murder and the theft seem hurried, impulsive.
But the clean-up methodical and careful.
Almost as if it was carried out by different people.
You think somebody else cleaned up after he was killed? - Why would somebody do that? - Excellent question.
"Anti-Cult Activist Network.
" I've heard of them.
They expose fake religions, rescue cult members, stuff like that.
Meadows specialized in one in particular.
"Visualize.
" Wait, that's the cult that Bret Stiles runs.
- You got it.
- Great, those whackos again.
"Whackos"? - That's a little uncharitable.
- Uncharitable? What do you mean? I knew you were close-minded about Visualize - but I never thought you were bigoted.
- I'm not bigoted.
Of course you would think that, because your preconceptions blind you.
Use your eyes.
Your eyes are the gateway to truth.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Yeah, I know you don't, but he does.
Hi.
Excuse me? You're a member of Visualize.
- No, I'm not.
- Yes, you are.
"Your eyes are the gateway to truth.
" Visualize dogma.
- You're the only one that recognized it.
- Look, I don't know what you're after.
- I'm just trying to do my job.
- Let me explain.
A critic of Visualize was killed here, and a member shows up at the scene.
That can't be an accident.
You're the one that cleared all this up.
Well, that's crazy.
I don't think it's crazy.
What's your name? - Downs.
- Were you involved in this, Downs? - No.
No.
- Liar, liar pants on fire.
You're gonna have to come with us.
We're gonna have to search your car.
- Stop him.
Somebody stop him.
Whoa, whoa! Let me go! This is religious persecution.
Let's go.
Pre-member bigot.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
We're testing your uniform for blood.
And we found this in the trunk of your squad car.
Your commander vouched for your whereabouts at the time of the murder.
You didn't kill Meadows, but you did clean up the crime scene making it very difficult for us to find the killer.
Why would you do that? Hello? Mr.
Bisping, you set up A-CAN with Meadows, right? How'd he get into the anti-cult business? Gabe was born into Visualize.
When his parents died five years ago, he sort of woke up.
His younger sister is still in Visualize.
Everything he did was about getting her out.
All it did was get him killed.
Visualize has a lot of enemies.
Why would they target Gabe? To shut him up.
Gabe was a fierce researcher.
He broke a lot of embarrassing stories about Visualize for our website.
- He was hitting the Inner Circle hard.
- The Inner Circle? They help Stiles run Visualize.
It's sort of his college of cardinals.
What was Gabe working on before he died? Murder.
From the early days of Visualize, back in the '70s.
Gabe thought Stiles killed a rival of his to consolidate his power.
- He dig up any evidence? - He told me last week he was close.
Now he's dead.
What do you think? How's the spy? He hasn't moved since we brought him in.
It's creepy.
It's not surprising.
He's a member of a brainwashing cult.
The thought of a clean mind is terribly frightening to you, isn't it, Patrick? Bret Stiles.
The brainwasher-in-chief.
Ah, Agent Lisbon, it's been far too long.
Why are you here, Mr.
Stiles? I'm the spiritual adviser of a man that you've imprisoned.
And I was told that Patrick here tricked him into revealing he was a member of my church.
Which, of course, is not a crime.
He tampered with evidence, that is a crime.
If you let me talk to him, Agent Lisbon, I'm sure we can clear all this up.
What's going on, Bret? They're not Visualize members, they're professional muscle.
You don't trust your own people to protect you? What are you scared of? Well, I wouldn't want you to mistake me for Red John and shoot me.
Look at me.
Tell them everything.
I heard a report of the body over my radio.
Got to the office before the first responders.
Wiped the surfaces for fingerprints.
- Wiped up some blood too.
- Why? Meadows was an ex-member, a nonperson.
Whoever killed him was doing Visualize a service.
You were duty-bound to help clean up the evidence, weren't you? No.
I did it of my own initiative.
You know, as a rule, we hope to welcome back ex-members into the fold.
We certainly don't want to aid their assassins.
What about the missing laptop? Did you take that? No.
The computer was already gone when I got there.
Mm.
That's the truth.
All right, take him to Booking.
All right.
Well, I've done my good deed for the day.
If there's nothing else, I'll be getting along.
- I just have a few more questions.
- Could we do it on the walk? I've gotta get back to running my religion.
Yes, your flock won't fleece itself.
Mr.
Stiles, where were you last night between 10 and 1? What, during the murder? Let me see.
I was at Casper's Bistro.
I had the roasted turbot.
It was a little dry.
We'll check.
I'm gonna have Rigsby get in contact with your people to see - what your schedule was yesterday.
- Of course.
Uh, I have one last question.
You did this for a lowly drone.
Why is that? Every man in Visualize is like a son to me.
Every woman is my daughter.
How are those demons of yours coming on, Patrick? They still chasing you, are they? I'm chasing them.
Are you? Seriously, I haven't had hot water in three days.
My landlord's being a total jerk and won't fix it.
You should buy.
So I can deal with a bank instead of a landlord? Big step up.
Excuse me, agents? We found something.
You should take a look.
They were stuffed inside this old TV, we almost missed them.
Got a lot of blood here.
That suit looks handmade.
If the tailor's local, maybe we can ID the owner.
Gerard's on Sutter.
That's in San Fran, isn't it? Yeah.
What are you reading? Visualize Self? - You thinking about converting? - Just brushing up.
Stiles might have to write his next book from jail.
His alibi didn't hold up.
- He left the restaurant at 10:30.
- That's not like him.
- To lie? - No, to do it so poorly.
Van Pelt and Cho called.
Tailor identified the clothes.
- They belong to Bret Stiles.
- All right.
We're dealing with the head of a multi-national cult, a 900-pound gorilla.
We need to proceed carefully.
Put together a timeline of the murder.
I wanna know where he was every minute.
- You got it.
- We should pay Bret a visit.
- Not until we have an airtight case.
- Where's the fun in that? Let's get a stick and go and poke this Mr.
Stiles.
Oh, Patrick.
Agent Lisbon.
How nice of you to join us.
This is Cal Leben and Jason Cooper, two of my most loyal lieutenants.
Your alibi for the Meadows killing didn't hold up.
You left that restaurant hours earlier than you told me.
Really? I must have been mistaken.
I'm sorry.
And we found bloody clothes in a dumpster near the crime scene.
Bloody clothes that belong to you.
Listen, I give clothes away all the time to Visualize charities.
Yeah, I'm sure you do.
Would you excuse me? Rigsby, what's up? What's going on, Bret? Beg Your pardon? This doesn't look good, yet you're not asking the questions you should.
Why is it that you're not worried? What does Bret Stiles have to be worried about? Well, he's about to get arrested for murder.
- Bret, what's he talking about? - I don't know.
- Do you recognize this? - Well, let me see.
Well, I suppose it could be me giving a speech.
I give lots of speeches.
It was taken yesterday and you're wearing the shirt and tie we found covered in blood.
Bret Stiles, you're under arrest for the murder of Gabriel Meadows.
You're gonna have to come with us.
Let's go.
I said, let's go.
Everyone, no cause for alarm.
Be at peace.
- Thank you.
- Sir.
Yes, that appears to be mine.
- Where did the blood come from? - I don't know.
Meadows was writing an article on Timothy Farragut.
- He thought you'd murdered him.
- Poor old Tim.
He died, oh, 30 years ago now.
A car crash on PCH.
And what if Meadows found evidence that it wasn't an accident? That would give you motive for murder.
No, because there's nothing to find.
Look, I'm not responsible for Tim's death or the demise of Mr.
Meadows.
Then why does the evidence say you are? Well, maybe I'm being set up.
And why would somebody do that? Tell me, Agent Lisbon do you enjoy watching Patrick Jane take over your team and your life? We close cases.
That's all that matters to me.
Oh, I see.
So you're telling me that you love justice more than yourself.
Come on.
Justice, what is that? It's just an idea.
You are flesh and blood.
Why sacrifice the real for the imaginary? I'm not looking for a guru.
I'm looking for a murderer.
Mm.
Well, I didn't kill anybody.
And if you keep insisting that I did then I'm gonna have to lawyer up.
He's lawyered up.
Doesn't give us much time to nail him.
Where are we with the clothes? Lab confirmed blood type is same as the victim but won't have DNA for four days.
Don't have time.
We need something else.
We're missing the murder weapon and laptop.
We'll search his house and office, I'll get a warrant.
Where are we with the Farragut motive? His notes were on the laptop, so no good.
I have a file of his stories.
Meadows had a contact feeding him inside information about Visualize.
- Any idea on how to find the source? - An old hippie named Randal Parker.
An ex-member.
Meadows went to talk to him.
Start with him.
What about Meadows' sister? - At Clearview, the Visualize college.
- Visualize has a college? Apparently, you major in yourself.
Ah, Patrick.
I wondered when you'd pop in.
Reading about you.
Gabe Meadows doesn't paint a very pretty picture.
Surely you're not gonna fall for gutter journalism.
One thing that's consistent in all these stories is you never actually wield the knife yourself.
You always manipulate someone else into doing your dirty work.
That's something you'd know a little bit about.
Getting Red John to kill the San Joaquin Killer, that was very nice.
Almost elegant, I'd say.
Yes, you're coming along.
I'm doing nothing of the sort.
You're not very happy, are you, Patrick? Perhaps you feel a bit like the sorcerer's apprentice.
You've woken up a power that you can't control.
Tell me, how is Rosalind Harker enjoying life under FBI protection? Is she glad that you brought Red John back into her life? You enjoying this? Because I know you didn't kill Gabe Meadows.
I've been telling you that all along.
But you're not acting like a man that's being framed.
Even someone in your position is gonna reach out for help when being framed.
Jon Musashi, I'm Mr.
Stiles' attorney.
This interview is over.
Hi, Jon.
Are you a member of Visualize? Yes, I think you are.
Did you know that Mr.
Stiles' last lawyer was a murderer? Whereas, I am not.
Again, this interview is over.
Excellent.
Well, uh, if you'll excuse me.
Always a pleasure.
Nice to meet you, Jon.
Jon.
- Thank you for coming.
- Mr.
Stiles, please We need to tell them everything.
I mean, you know me, I'm a good person.
I would never say that, I mean, I'm the leader of a Church Mr.
Stiles Really, I'm okay.
I'm glad to hear it.
No, I mean you can go back to class.
Oh, my inner visions don't start for another hour.
Agent Lisbon, Dean Nora Hill.
- Ah, thank you for taking time to meet me.
- Happy to assist.
- That will be all, Rose.
- Thank you, Dean Hill.
Jessie Meadows is waiting for you in Stiles Hall.
- It's an impressive campus.
- Thank you.
Four thousand, six hundred and forty-two students from 27 countries.
Only the best and the brightest young people.
- How are the students taking the news? - What news? One of the student's brother's been murdered and your leader's been arrested for the crime.
They don't know about that.
They don't need to.
- But it's all over the Internet.
- They don't have the Internet.
The mind suffers from junk food as much as the body does.
We keep it away.
- Does Jessie know her brother's dead? - Aren't you gonna tell her? We'll do whatever we can to find out who did this.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Oh, Gabe.
I'm sorry he's dead, but he wasn't a part of my life any more.
He's still your brother.
He left me.
Left us.
That's not what a brother does.
Can you think of anybody who may have wanted to hurt him? Gabe published stories about our community.
Some of the students here, they didn't like it.
Some thought I was feeding him information.
- Were you? - No.
I wouldn't do that.
I know you and your brother didn't get along.
He wanted to help you.
I think he wanted that more than anything.
That was the problem.
I didn't need his help.
He couldn't see that.
I'm with my real family here.
Thanks for seeing me, Mr.
Parker.
Meadows broke a lot of stories about Visualize.
Were you his source? All my stories are 30 years old.
All I know about are the old days.
- He ask you about Timothy Farragut? - Sure.
What'd you tell him? Farragut was into dispelling all the bad vibes in the world.
I liked how that sounded.
A lot of people did.
People who felt guilty about having too much money.
- When did Stiles come into the picture? - '76 or so.
A year later, Farragut died and Stiles was the man.
Read the police report.
Farragut's death seems like a drunk-driving fatality.
Well, you notice who wrote that report? Sheriff Elliott Elswit.
Oh, he liked those Visualize ladies.
And Stiles made sure he met plenty.
You're saying the sheriff doctored the report? Well, Farragut didn't drink.
How'd he get so loaded he couldn't see a tree? - How do I get in touch with the sheriff? - Elswit's been dead 20 years.
A suicide, they say.
- You think Bret Stiles killed him too.
- You bet I do.
You think I'm crazy.
No.
It's just a lot of conspiracy talk, that's all.
Well, just because you're paranoid don't mean they're not after you.
- Hey, where are you? - I'm back at the snake pit.
- Visualize? Why? - Okay, the Visualize attorney shows up and Stiles starts acting all weird and scared.
It was just like a little show.
- Uh, could you hold on? - Yeah.
Would you mind giving me some privacy, please? Really? Go.
So Stiles is acting scared.
So? It's for the benefit of the lawyer.
Whatever game he's playing, it isn't aimed at us, it's aimed at Visualize.
And I'm here to find out why.
- Okay.
- Bye.
Leben.
Mr.
Jane.
Hope the whole arrest-your-master thing didn't ruin your lunch.
- No hard feelings, right? - Did you come here to gloat? No, I can gloat from a distance.
I have a message from Stiles.
- Hm, what is it? - Sorry, it's for the entire Inner Circle.
You can give it to me.
I'll pass it to the other members of the Circle.
Yeah, I don't think so.
I think I need the whole gang.
Light the Bret-Signal.
Gather the poo-bahs.
Come on, let's go.
Mm.
Agent Grace Van Pelt, I presume.
Mr.
Stiles.
I'm hoping you can help me with something.
I'm trying to find any property held by you in the state of California.
- A car or residence.
- Please, Agent Grace Van Pelt.
- Excuse me? - The helpless-maiden routine.
Worth a try.
Look, I can't find anything you own.
Well, that's because there's nothing to find.
I have no house, no car.
Certainly not in my name.
I've dedicated my life to Visualize.
So there's no place for us to look? Oh, no.
You can look and look, you will not find.
You're upset.
Something small, domestic.
Household problem.
No.
No? Well, no, it's not family.
But still, it's connected to the home.
Landlord.
A petty dictator, no doubt.
Abuses you because he can.
Or because he's a jerk.
He won't fix the Heh.
You're good.
Not as good as Jane, but good.
Mm.
The anger that you feel is a symptom of a deeper condition.
An organic rage, if you will.
You know I can help you with that.
Not interested.
Really? Close your eyes.
Come on, close your eyes.
Visualize your anger as a red cloud inside your body.
Take some deep breaths, exhale let the red smoke come out of your body.
Try it.
Red smoke? Seriously? Or not.
Your choice.
Mr.
Jane, you have a message for us from Bret? Uh, no.
Not really.
No.
Do you mind if I sit here? Just can't resist.
Looks too comfortable.
Wow.
I don't understand.
We were told you had a message.
No, that was a lie, I just wanted to get you all together.
Sorry.
- Why'd you need to get in? - Get the lay of the land.
See who's running the show now that Bret's in the clink.
None of us would presume to.
Bret Stiles is still our leader.
Other members of the Inner Circle are flying in.
We hold a vote reaffirming Bret tomorrow.
Is that what you came here to find out? I came here to accuse one of you of framing Bret Stiles for the murder of Gabriel Meadows.
Judging from your reactions, none of you did that.
- Of course we didn't.
- Well, that clarifies things considerably.
How? Well, either one of you framed Bret Stiles Or? Or you didn't.
What does that mean? Sorry, can't tell you that.
That is a police secret.
But you're gonna love it when you do find out.
Carry on.
You said you'd fix it.
Well, do you have hot water at your place? Yeah, it's nice, isn't it? Fine, whatever.
Huh.
Well, what do you know? Farragut had a commune called Visualize at Big Sur in the mid-'70s.
Just a few hundred members and a promising young guru named Bret Stiles.
Farragut crashes his car, and Stiles takes over.
The police report says it was an accident.
Randal Parker says Stiles killed Farragut and the cop that made the report and Meadows, who was investigating the whole thing.
- That's crazy.
- I wouldn't put anything past Stiles.
One thing's for certain, we can't prove it.
But Meadows may have had a source inside Visualize who can.
- Any idea who that source is? - No.
Definitely not the sister.
Who else is there? Maybe Stiles knows.
I could ask.
He talked to me earlier.
Maybe I can get him to open up.
What'd he say? He showed me something.
Never mind, it's nothing.
He's trying to get to you.
What? No.
Okay, take another run at him, but be careful.
All right.
Hello, Grace.
You look refreshed.
You tried my little trick then.
- No.
- Works though, doesn't it? I wanted to ask you about Timothy Farragut.
- He ran Visualize before you did, right? - No one ran Visualize before I did.
No one.
Tim said things that people wanted to hear but he didn't know what to do with the people who listened.
- What do you mean? - Farragut was a dreamer.
Dreamers are useful, in their way, but we don't live in dreams, do we? We live in the here and the now.
Did you kill him? You've killed, haven't you? Someone who mattered to you, who hurt you.
Did you enjoy it? No.
Really? I'm told it gives the feeling of great perspective like waking from a dream.
It It changes you.
Did your friends notice? A little.
I think it freaks them out.
Of course.
They don't have the imagination or the vocabulary to converse with you about it.
You know you're like a little bird that fell out of the nest.
But you don't need the nest.
You need to fly.
And that I can teach you.
How was your trip to Visualize? - Enlightening.
I need information.
Could Stiles know what blood type Meadows was? Visualize keeps medical records on all its members.
The source for Meadows' stories was highly placed? Way high.
- Great.
- Do you know who the killer is? Better.
I know how to catch them.
We need Stiles' lawyer here first thing in the morning.
- Did you get anything from Stiles? - Nope.
He's not saying anything.
Van Pelt, you know how to do that computer picture makeover thing? - You mean Photoshop? - Yeah.
We got a lot of work to do.
- On what? - Manufacturing evidence, of course.
One of our people was canvassing the neighborhood and noticed a traffic-light camera across from the A-CAN building.
We blew up an image and hit pay dirt.
That looks like blood to me.
What do you think? Mr.
Stiles? Bret? Meadows got evidence that you killed Farragut.
That's what was on his computer.
So you killed him and stole it.
But it was the cover-up that got you.
We're filing charges against your client and booking him immediately.
I'll stay with him, of course.
It's all right, Jon.
I'm fine.
- But, Bret, I think it's - Jon.
A phony photograph, Patrick? - Worth a thousand lies.
- So you've stooped to framing me now.
Well, you framed yourself first.
Well, that's true, I did.
But you never believed it anyway.
I didn't think you were that stupid, unless you were doing it on purpose.
It was a pity.
One of my better suits.
Shame to have to ruin it like that.
Where'd you get the blood? Oh, I have my sources.
The DNA won't match, of course.
But by the time that comes to light, I'll know what I need to know.
Which is which one of the Inner Circle wanted to take your place.
Well, it's best to smoke out your rivals before they get too strong.
I appeared weak because I wanted to see who would reach for the crown.
- Who did? - No one.
You overestimated the courage of your bootlickers.
They're all too scared to make a move.
Oh, that's why you doctored up that ridiculous photograph.
I figured if they wanted to cook your goose a little better - I'd turn up the heat for them.
- Well, thank you, Patrick.
- I didn't know you cared.
- I don't.
I did it to catch the killer.
You coming? - Where are we going? - Crash their party.
Oh, I love a party.
I nominate Jason Cooper to assume all roles and duties as head of Visualize.
I second the motion.
Then we vote.
I vote aye.
Well, I will not allow false modesty to tarnish the moment.
Aye.
Aye.
Nay.
Bret Stiles is and always will be the leader of Visualize.
Nay.
Aye.
Uh, I'm sorry, we interrupting something? Bret, you're free.
We dropped the charges.
Looks like you guys have been busy.
Hello, Cooper.
I see you've taken the seat at the head of the table.
That's very bold of you.
We thought What? You thought my corpse cold enough to loot? Bret Mr.
Stiles.
Do you really think that I'm weak enough to be pushed aside? Do you think that I'm stupid enough to get caught with blood on my hands? Tell me, Cooper do I seem weak to you now? Hm? Sit down.
Thank you.
Nice to be back.
Just one more piece of business to clear up and a matter of personal curiosity, who of you voted for Cooper here? Hm? Well, I don't see how that's important.
Well, that's one vote, obviously.
Who else voted for Cooper? You did.
And you.
Yes, and you.
Bret, looks like it was a landslide.
Well, Leben you've always been true to me, I know.
Hm.
I see.
I stood by you, Bret.
I told them they were fools to doubt you.
Really? Stiles was going down for murder.
Shouldn't you have sucked up to the new boss like the rest of these folks? The bloody clothes, the security footage.
Stiles seemed very guilty.
You had to be 100 percent sure he wasn't.
How would you know that? You're the killer.
That's ridiculous.
Is it? You couldn't warn the others because they would know you were a murderer.
You voted for Stiles because you knew he'd be coming back.
Damn you for what you've turned me into.
So you were Meadows' inside source? I fed him information when it helped me.
You leaked stories that hurt your enemies in Visualize.
My mistake was Was letting him know who I was.
Meadows was desperate to connect Stiles to the murder of Farragut and he thought I knew something that could prove it.
Why not give it to him? It doesn't exist.
Do you think Bret Stiles leaves a smoking gun? He probably did kill Farragut.
And that sheriff.
But there'll never be any evidence to prove it.
I don't believe you.
It's the truth.
What do you think Stiles would do if he found out you've been feeding me information? I sensed that Meadows' crusade was pushing him to desperate measures.
So I brought the hammer just in case.
I knew my name was all over the laptop so I took it.
I examined myself honestly and I find I feel no remorse.
One hundred and fifty thousand people die every single day.
Why should I feel anything for one man just because Just because I was the cause of his death? That's a good question.
Sign here.
So that's it then.
Thank you for letting me watch this.
No problem.
Visualizing my anger works really well.
Just returning the favor.
There's so much more that I could teach you.
Is there? To be free of doubt, anger, fear.
Let me show you the world as you've never seen it.
Let me show you you as you've never seen yourself.
Great sales pitch.
But I'm sort of over bad boys these days.
Thanks anyway.
Miss Hill killed Gabe? Why? There was political stuff going on.
But I think, mostly, your brother just wanted you to be happy.
- And to get out.
- I don't know what to do.
We were going through your brother's laptop and we found some videos that he'd made for you.
Kind of like letters.
I thought you might like to see one.
Happy birthday, sis.
I hope it's a good one.
I don't know if you'll ever see this but I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you.
I miss you so much, sis.
I know we don't agree about some things but I hope you know that I'm always here for you, anytime.
I'll be waiting.
See you soon, I hope.
Are there more of these? Yeah.
There's a whole lot of them.
Would it be okay if I stayed to watch a few? You can stay as long as you'd like.
Ah, Patrick.
Always a pleasure doing business with you.
There are many fearful men hiding from my wrath tonight.
It's a good feeling.
And the murder of Farragut goes back in the cold-case files.
That's a nice twofer.
Well, you didn't do too badly yourself.
You played a deep game here, Patrick.
A mind like yours could have developed a dozen ways of tricking Nora Hill without helping me in my little power play.
Well, I'm flattered.
It was the easiest way.
No.
No.
You wanted me to owe you a favor, didn't you? Well, all right.
I owe you.
Yes.
You do.
- Good night.
- Good night.