CSI: Miami s04e18 Episode Script

It's the last day for closing arguments in the murder trial of Stephen Rowe.
Accused in the disappearance and murder of his wife, Melissa, whose body has never been found.
No body doesn't mean no crime.
Melissa hasn't used her credit cards or withdrawn money from any of her bank accounts or even contacted her father in over six months.
Clearly, we have cessation of life.
I have a title for Ms.
West's case against Stephen: "Evidence of things not seen".
'Cause I don't see anything.
A gift from her father when she began culinary school.
It's part of a set.
That's why Mr.
Rowe had to put it back.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't put all of it back.
The tip broken off when he stabbed her.
The marriage was unhappy.
And, yes, Stephen was having an affair.
He met Allison Grady and found true love.
No crime in that.
But ask yourselves: Why kill your wife when divorce is an option? Divorce was never an option for Mr.
Rowe.
That would make him the bad guy.
And for a man who refuses to hold a job, alimony would be fatal.
It would be much easier to slice your wife up and throw her remains into the ocean.
Melissa Rowe was missing three days- three- before he called the police.
Finally, consider the four 20-pound dumbbells curiously missing from Mr.
Rowe's personal set.
No body doesn't mean no crime.
No body means Mr.
Rowe had enough weight.
When you go behind those doors, there's only one question you need to ask: do you want to send a young man to death row based on things not seen? Jury Foreman, has the jury reached a unanimous decision on the issue that was submitted to you? Yes, Your Honor.
If you'll give the verdict to the deputy, please.
If the defendant would please stand.
In The State of Florida v.
Stephen Rowe, on the charge of murder in the first degree of Melissa Rowe we find the defendant not guilty.
All right.
Horatio.
Looks like a fisherman just found Melissa Rowe's body.
The bad news is, the verdict's already in.
The verdict is in, Frank, but the jury is out.
Is that her, Alexx? She was in the water a long time, Horatio.
It'll be hard to determine what was degradation from injury.
I'll call you from the office when I confirm her ID.
No, need, Alexx.
That's Melissa's favorite dress.
Let's go.
Eric.
Did you get anything in the water? No.
No weights.
She was drifting free.
Okay.
It won't be far from where you found her.
Won't stop looking till I find them.
All right.
Officer.
Let him go.
Mr.
Bowman.
Mr.
Bowman, I No, it is - is it my daughter? We have to confirm the DNA, but I I think it's Melissa.
Mr.
Bowman.
You have to let me see her.
Mr.
Bowman.
No, I I need to know.
I gotta know.
Mr.
Bowman, listen to me.
I want you to stay here with me.
Mr.
Bowman.
Stay here with me.
We need to go, boys.
What do I do now, Lieutenant? Let's remember Melissa the way she was.
All right? Let's do that.
Oh, my gosh, why is it so cold in here? I don't want to lose what little of her I've got.
When you pull a body out of the water, putrefaction goes into overdrive.
Well, tell me you at least have have enough for cause of death.
Don't know yet.
What I can tell you is, her fingers were cut off.
Are you sure it wasn't the wildlife? No.
They only go for the meaty parts- the lips, ears.
The fish finished the job, but someone got them started.
I'm hoping her legs can tell us something.
Looks like the panty hose kept everything together.
What woman wears panty hose in Miami? Her husband said she was going to a club the night she disappeared.
That is exactly my point.
I do not believe one word that man says.
Maybe you can find something once the panty hose dry out.
Adipocere.
I thought that only formed in fatty tissue.
There's a little bit of fat everywhere in the body.
Water kills most bacteria except the ones that digest fat.
They excrete the adipocere.
The soapy material coats nearby tissue protecting it from decay, sometimes for years.
So the panty hose kept the water from wearing away the adipocere, and that preserved her thighs.
Yeah.
Sharp force trauma.
Based on the tears in her dress, poor baby girl has wounds like these all over her body.
Tissue is too degraded to compare it to our knife.
Well, I know that this sounds terrible, but let's hope he cut her to the bone.
How's it going with the toolmarks from the Rowe case? I'm comparing the stria from a cast of Melissa's femur to a test mark of the knife from the trial.
I see you went virtual with the Micro-CT.
It's the murder weapon.
That knife made the indentation on Melissa's femur three times.
Even with the broken tip? The tip must've broken off before the attack.
Why would Rowe use a broken knife for the murder? So what does this get us? Double jeopardy- even with the new evidence, we can't retry for the same case.
Whose idea was it to go to trial without a body? The state attorney thought the case was solid enough.
Rowe didn't waive the time, so we didn't have the time.
Those the missing dumbbells Rowe used to weigh Melissa's body down? Look, if you don't move, I'm gonna have you arrested for obstruction.
Simple yes or no.
Look, I'm not Ryan, Erica, okay? I'm not gonna talk to you about the Rowe case.
You just did.
Lieutenant Caine.
Hope you're here to return my stuff.
Sure would like my laptop back.
Got quite a spread here.
This is my family's house, Lieutenant.
Is that a fact? Did you buy that rock on your finger yourself, too? I'm paying her back.
With your dead wife's policy.
Were you just in the neighborhood, thought you'd stop by for a little police harassment? No, actually, we've recovered the weights that you used to sink Melissa with.
A jury found him innocent.
Never confuse an acquittal with innocence.
Just leave us alone.
The press hounds us, you cops drive by every night.
We just want to get on with our lives.
So did Melissa.
You know what, Caine? You shouldn't believe everything you read in the press.
Everyone's got Melissa with a halo on her head.
But she wasn't who you thought she was.
Is that why you killed her? I didn't kill Melissa.
Now, get off my property.
So Horatio said something to Rowe, got him all worked up.
His lawyer wants all the evidence back.
I liked your Erica Sikes exclusive about finding Rowe's weights.
I didn't say any of that to her.
She made it all up.
Oh, where have I heard that before? Oh, that's right, I said the same thing.
Give it a rest, Wolfe.
Equal time, bro, equal time.
Look, you're supposed to be going through the files on Rowe's laptop.
Didn't bother.
It's already documented.
That's how we found out Rowe was having an affair.
Horatio wanted you to review What I did do was go through the files that weren't in the laptop.
I'm not following you.
Just 'cause you hit delete doesn't mean the file's gone.
It's still on your hard-drive.
The space is relabeled as available, but the file's still there.
Sometimes, it takes a long time for things to save over it.
That's how I found these.
Looks like he was nervous we'd find his white sheet with the pointy hat.
Rowe was a white supremacist? While he clearly didn't embrace our African brethren, I think his interests were a little more narrow.
Genealogy, family genetics.
Looks like he was worried about how his kids were going to turn out.
Definitely wanted white ones.
Then, I guess we just found out what Melissa's little secret is.
Melissa's mother died when she was nine months old.
We just never talked about her.
Stephen found out that Melissa's mom was black after they were married.
They only dated a month, then eloped to Vegas.
Mr.
Bowman, when exactly did he find out? When I met him.
A week after they came back from the wedding.
How could you lie to me about that? I'm sorry, Stephen.
I just don't go telling everyone I'm half black.
Oh, yeah, well, I wouldn't either.
It's not like that.
Why does it matter? What are our kids going to look like? I don't know.
Like me.
What? A half-breed? Damn it! That bastard belongs in jail.
You know what? I've got an idea.
Lieutenant Caine.
Miss West.
You went over my head and brought in a federal prosecutor? Miss West, I have evidence that Mr.
Rowe was involved in Melissa's murder, but I need to act on it right now.
On what grounds? I believe her killing was racially motivated.
A hate crime? You're never going to sell that to a jury.
I don't agree.
Lieutenant.
Yes, sir? Good work.
I see where you're going with this, but Rowe was married to the victim.
Yes, but he didn't know her racial status till after they were married.
Okay, Lieutenant, you want to pursue this, get me something definitive.
We need a slam dunk.
Thank you.
This is a waste of time.
Bring us cases we can win.
Horatio.
Yes, ma'am? For a perfect murder, there's a lot that doesn't make sense.
I'm listening.
Why use a broken knife to kill someone? Question is, where is the other piece? And I could ask the same question about the weights.
Delko only recovered two of the four missing from Rowe's set.
It's like there's a piece of the crime missing.
So is Stephen hiding another murder? Are you thinking that he used the same knife and weights to kill someone else before? And was he practicing for Melissa? Practice makes perfect.
Yes, it does.
We have our killer.
We need to find our victim.
Mr.
Wolfe.
This is impossible.
How do you find Mr.
Rowe's first victim when you know nothing about her? I want to stay focused on Mr.
Rowe.
Okay.
Stephen Rowe discovered Melissa's racial status on March 26th.
And she disappeared on October 5th.
So those are the six months we need to look at.
That's right.
So we got to find where he worked, where he lived, where he ate sushi.
ASAP.
Are you finished with the vics? Yeah.
So the stars are all the female victims in the area during the six months we're worried about.
And this database is the entire life of Stephen Rowe that you've compiled from six months of credit card receipts? Yeah.
Okay, let's see where they intersect.
The dots indicate all the events in Rowe's life.
And when they overlap with a star, that means that Rowe might have a relationship with the female victim.
Especially if the victim's murder looks a lot like Melissa's.
That one's near his old address.
Debra Massey.
Missing since May 15th.
Water dump.
Yeah, the body surfaced only a couple days later, and the COD was sharp force trauma.
That's only two months after Rowe discovered that Melissa's mother was black.
Pull up the status of that case.
Ryan, this case is pending.
Opa-Locka P.
D.
has arrested one Ethan Gaffney.
He's in custody.
The murder looks an awful lot like Melissa's.
Maybe Opa-Locka has the wrong guy.
Debra Massey was my student.
Your student? Yeah, I'm a pilot.
I give flying lessons.
Mr.
Gaffney, do you know a Stephen Rowe? Yeah, yeah, from the news.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You trying to pin the Rowe murder on me? What, he walks on his wife's murder, so now you go looking for a sacrificial lamb? Is that it? We're trying to determine if there's a connection between the two cases.
Wait a minute.
Damn, I get it.
You think he killed the lady I'm in for.
Just relax.
We're just asking questions here.
But that makes sense.
See, I had nothing to do with Debra's death.
I'm as innocent as the day is long.
Opa-Locka P.
D.
must have had some reason to arrest you.
I have the luck of being the last to see her alive.
I told them, flying lesson was over, she went home.
They didn't believe me.
Well, Mr.
Gaffney, we'll look for some evidence we all can believe.
Debra was stabbed, but they never found the knife.
Maybe because Stephen Rowe had it all the time.
Only tool marks will tell.
They didn't say anything about the bones in the autopsy findings.
Probably didn't look.
Then I think we need to.
If she was in the water, too, how come she looks so much better than Stephen Rowe's wife? She was only in the water a couple of days before the gases brought her up.
Until she was buried, she was on ice, which makes my job a whole lot easier.
Debra's not missing any fingers.
That's not like Melissa.
Yeah, but like Melissa, Debra was stabbed.
She was also weighted down.
You think this is Rowe's practice murder? Those are ligature marks around her ankles.
Can't tell from what.
If I can get a clear image, I'll let Horatio know.
Okay.
Tool marks on Debra's bones were from narrower blade than Melissa's were, and they were more slashes than stabs.
So this is not the blade with the broken tip.
No.
Debra's edge was more flat, hollow grind, like a box cutter.
Melissa was a tapered knife.
And that means that Debra and Melissa were killed by different knives.
Both were weighted down and dumped in a lake.
Debra floated up, but Melissa stayed put.
Yes, so someone is learning from their mistakes.
Alexx.
But was it Rowe making those mistakes, Horatio? Whatever was used to tie Debra Massey down left a unique mark in the skin.
Now, I couldn't make it out at first, until I used oblique lighting.
A timing chain made that mark.
It's used in airplane engines.
Ladies, I believe we have a suspect who can enlighten us.
You gave Debra Massey flying lessons.
You work with airplanes.
Do you recognize the chain, Mr.
Gaffney? It's unique.
It's found in motorcycles, snowmobiles and your airplane.
It's called a silent chain.
Well, it's talking now, isn't it? You used this chain to tie weights to Debra Massey's ankles.
Mr.
Gaffney, you killed Debra.
This is your chance to help yourself.
Okay, look I need you to understand something, 'cause those Opa-Locka detectives won't listen to me.
I didn't set out to kill Debra.
She was hitting on me.
When she freaked out, I overreacted.
Come on Just No! Hey, come on, let finish your flying lesson.
Shut up.
She wouldn't stop screaming.
People were going to hear.
I had to shut her up.
Hey, for the record, I didn't have anything to do with that Rowe chick.
I just don't want those papers to start printing those lies again.
What lies? They made me out to be some kind of Hannibal Lecter, said I cut off her fingers and ate them.
I didn't do that.
I'm not a monster.
I don't think Debra would agree with that.
Eric, the articles from Debra Massey's murder- go back through them.
So, what do you think this article's about? "Victim's name withheld".
These look like Melissa Rowe's murder.
Yeah, I thought so, too.
Everything reads like Melissa, but her fingers are cut off.
This is Debra Massey's murder.
This is before Gaffney was arrested.
Yeah.
Describes the murder as being "perfect," only they misreported that her fingers had been removed.
So Rowe read everything he could about Debra Massey, copied it to the letter with Melissa to make the police think Gaffney did it.
But he practiced on someone else first, and they'll also be missing their fingers.
Okay, so we need to find a body without any fingers.
Problem.
None of the unsolveds have missing digits.
I'm going to talk to someone who knows Rowe better than anyone else.
Who's that? His old roommate.
Damon Sloane? You used to be Stephen Rowe's roommate? Man you guys never give up.
Read the trial transcripts.
I don't got any new answers for you.
Well, I think we have different questions.
So, you said that after Stephen got married, he still came to your poker games? Yeah.
I already answered that one.
Did Melissa ever come with him? She came for a while, but then they both stopped.
Why, do you think? This is why Stevie could never hurt a woman.
He likes them too much.
Did Melissa catch him with another woman? Not at the game.
He was talking to another tenant here.
Melissa overreacted.
Does this woman still live here? Now, you see, if I answer that one, I know what you'll be thinking, and you'll be wrong.
What would be wrong is you not answering the question.
Her name is Theresa Barton.
She moved out, left all her stuff, didn't tell anyone.
Sounds a lot like Theresa Barton went missing.
Anyone call it in? I don't know.
The manager may have, but people come and go around here all the time.
He gave her a month.
No calls.
He put her stuff in storage.
Stevie had nothing to do with this Barton chick.
I think we're going to answer that one.
Want to guess when Theresa Barton disappeared? Inside our timeline? Three months after Stephen decided to get rid of Melissa and a month after the Massey murder articles were published.
So, this is all the stuff from Theresa Barton's storage? Yeah.
She's a pretty girl.
Let's have Tripp follow up on this membership at Carlyle's Cinema Rental.
She has a movie rental card? Yeah.
That's weird.
Theresa doesn't have a DVD player or a VCR.
Let me see this.
You know, the only time I've ever seen a card look like this When it's used to open a locked door.
I bet if we call Carlyle's, the account number will have Stephen Rowe's name on it.
You confirm that; I'm going to call Horatio and have him pick up Rowe at his girlfriend's house.
I think we just found Rowe's practice murder.
Frank.
That is blood.
Ms.
Grady, are you here? Mr.
Rowe?! He's already gone, Frank.
Well, somebody's blood is still here.
Do you think it's Allison's? Let's find Mr.
Rowe and ask him.
We went to your girlfriend's house looking for you, Stephen, but instead we found her blood.
You know, every time something goes wrong in this town, you can't come running for me.
Where's Allison? Like I told you, last time I saw her, she was at home.
Yes, which is where you cut her.
That was an accident.
Aren't they all? Look! Allison hit me.
She cut herself on a broken picture frame.
I tried to go help her.
She told me to leave her alone, so I did.
She's probably off shopping, trying to cool off right now.
Look, with any absence of any wrongdoing We found out about Theresa Barton, Stephen.
I don't know a Theresa Barton.
Yes, you do; you used her as your practice victim.
That's quite a stretch.
You know, you can't just connect me with some random woman just 'cause you want to.
We recovered your video rental card- the one you used to break into her apartment.
You got a body this time, Caine? I don't need a body.
Take him please.
H, that print we lifted from Allison's blood at her house? I matched it to the ten cards from the Rowe investigation.
Melissa's father.
Are we sure Allison's in here, Frank? We haven't spotted her yet.
Bowman's here.
He won't come out.
Okay.
You take the back.
I'll take the front.
Mr.
Bowman? Mr.
Bowman, it's Horatio Caine.
I just want to talk.
Are you okay? Are you okay? There you go, Melissa, there you go! Keep pedaling.
Mr.
Bowman? She kept falling off that damn bike but she always got back on.
You're doing great.
That's great, honey.
No matter how bad it got, she got back on.
That's why she's dead.
Allison's dead? Is that what you're telling me? No.
Melissa.
She wouldn't give up on Stephen.
No matter what he did to her.
I didn't save my girl, but I saved Allison.
And that's a good thing, Mr.
Bowman.
It's a good thing.
I didn't go there to do a good thing.
I went there to kill that bastard.
Did he hurt you? We got to get you out of here before he comes back.
Let go of me! Listen to me, listen to me! If you don't leave now, he will kill you.
Please, let me go.
Move.
She didn't understand I wanted to help her.
Mr.
Bowman, you kidnapped her.
If I saved her life, do you think I care if I go to prison? Where is she? She'll just go back to him.
Daddy, look, look, I'm riding! Mr.
Bowman Going back is her choice, just like Melissa's.
You did not fail them.
I did fail my daughter.
I just want my little girl back.
I know you do.
We found the girl.
Okay, Frank.
Okay.
Daddy, look! Look, Daddy, look! Look at me! You're doing great! That's great, honey! Thank you, Lieutenant.
He was going to kill me.
Believe it or not, ma'am, he was trying to help you.
Can I just go home to Stephen? Stephen is under arrest.
Stephen didn't hurt me.
It was an accident.
This has nothing to do with you.
I don't understand.
Why are you holding him? Because Stephen, ma'am, is a killer.
Excuse me.
Horatio, we still haven't found Theresa Barton's body Frank, we've got 72 hours before Stephen is released and disappears.
Hey.
What you said earlier about these Massey articles got me thinking.
You mean how Rowe studied them for his murders? I think you know where Theresa Barton's body is.
I do? Yeah, well, if he followed these articles to a "T," where was Massey's body dumped? Silmar Lake.
Then that's where we'll find Rowe's practice victim.
Things change fast in Miami.
Could I help you gentlemen? Yeah.
Yeah, you can.
There used to be a lake here, and we think there was a body dumped in it.
Yeah, well, we drained it a few months ago and filled it up with trash, and nobody found no body.
Yeah, well, you wouldn't if you weren't looking for it, but we will be.
Not now, you're not.
If I shut down, I lose ten grand a minute.
All right, well, you want to lose another ten arguing about it, or do you want to let us get to work? I get how the thing sees different layers underground, but how is it going to pick up a body? It's a landfill, she's covered in trash.
It's the same way, it kicks out the electromagnetic waves, they bounce back, and the computer creates a cross-section of what's below.
Now, if I see a bump Bump means we got a body? Right.
Wait a minute, stop.
Back up about a foot.
This is where we start digging.
What are we looking at? Looking at Stephen Rowe behind bars.
It could be Theresa Burton.
I'll learn more at the post.
We can compare her to a DNA sample of her belongings.
Okay.
Okay, her fingers are missing.
One similarity to Melissa Rowe.
Detective Wolfe.
Okay, there's another similarity.
Those are Stephen Rowe's missing dumbbells.
All right, all we need now is the knife tip.
It's a match, Stephen.
So you have the tip of a knife.
This is all déja vu, Caine.
My lawyer got me off the first time, he'll get me off again.
Actually, Stephen, I have quite a bit more than the tip of a knife.
I have Theresa Barton's body with the tip of the knife in it.
We found her, buried in the bottom of a lake bed.
You chose Theresa randomly, didn't you? Do you live in the building? My old roommate lives here.
Oh, that's great.
I come here to play poker.
The problem is, Stephen, is that you didn't do your homework.
The press got it wrong.
Debra Massey's fingers were not, I repeat, not cut off.
You know what, Caine? You have my lawyer's number.
Stephen, I don't even think your lawyer is going to take this case.
Here are the pantyhose from the drying shed you asked for.
Thanks, Paula.
Even in that bag, it stunk up the whole lab.
Hey, what are you doing? I thought Horatio already nailed Stephen Rowe.
He's on ice.
But Horatio still wants to build the federal case for the hate crime.
I was just waiting for these to dry out to tie up Melissa's loose ends.
What's that? It's a fingernail.
Well, that must've hurt.
Lucky some skin was still attached to your fingernail.
Usually, there's no viable DNA.
Hey, Valera, let me ask you, If you saw a woman wearing pantyhose in Miami, what would you think? Hooker.
Or from out of town.
My money's on whoever redressed Melissa is not a Miami native.
I thought this case was closed.
I compared the DNA to the blood we found at the house.
I never thought This case just reopened.
You are not from Miami originally, are you? Connecticut.
My family gave me the house here, so I moved down.
What does this have to do with anything? It explains why we found pantyhose on Melissa's body.
Young women from Miami don't wear them.
Yes, and why you redressed her for a night out in Connecticut.
What? I didn't redress Melissa.
I had nothing do with her.
Then explain the fingernail that we found in her pantyhose.
Oh, God.
Okay I did redress her.
I didn't want to.
Stephen made me.
That's all I did.
That already makes you an accessory to murder.
What was I supposed to do? I was terrified.
If I said anything, I would wind up like her.
Now listen to me.
We need to make it look like Melissa went to the club.
We're going to have to find some things to add to the dress.
Allison, you did more than redress her.
Look, you don't know what really happened.
No one else was there.
Stephen was there, Allison.
Stephen is meeting with the assistant state attorney as we speak.
I don't understand.
He's cutting a deal.
With what? With you.
Oh, my God.
He's such a coward.
He promised me.
He chickened out on killing Melissa, didn't he? The whole point of the other girl was to get rid of Melissa.
I can't.
That girl's face, I can't get it out of my head.
You promised we'd be together.
I'll figure something else out.
You mean, you'll leave it to me to figure something else out.
That's what he never understood.
That there was no other way.
He was not going to stay married to a black girl, and Melissa wasn't going to give him a divorce.
So you took the knife from the practice murder.
It was easy.
Called her, told her if she wanted to know who her husband was sleeping with to come over.
I'm so sorry you had to find out this way.
We love each other very much.
I told you that I would take care of it.
We've got to make it look like Melissa went to the club.
We got to find something to add to her dress, okay? Sometimes you have to fight for what you want.
Yes, well now you can fight for your own life.
Melissa Rowe, Debra Massey, Theresa Barton- what are these? Ms.
West, you asked me to deliver you a case that you can win, and now, you have three.
Wow, a trifecta.
Yeah.
Good job, Lieutenant.
Is that another one? This one is for Melissa's father.
I'm hoping it will bring him some peace.
For the Feds.
Yeah.
How are you going to do that? Well, Allison's testimony makes Melissa's death Stephen's hate crime.
We already have him for Theresa Barton.
Isn't that overkill? Hate doesn't trouble you, Ms.
West? Of course, it does.
I'm glad to hear that because hate should trouble us all.