CSI: Miami s05e05 Episode Script

Suffered eight stab wounds.
I put the time of death about four days ago.
Don't tell me this is your first bloater.
It's my third.
And it just reinforces the fact that we are we're all meat.
We're also bacteria farms, Ryan.
Right after we die, autolysis begins.
Yeah, self-digestion.
That's right.
Our bodies literally begin to eat themselves, inside out.
When bacteria feed, they produce methane gas, which builds up.
And which causes the bloating.
Wait a second.
You are not going to pop that body in here, are you? If I don't, Mr Man is going to blow in my nice, clean van.
You want to clean that up? No, please, no.
Well All right then.
Horatio.
Who called it in, Frank? That guy over there.
Lives two doors down.
Dog hit on the smell, started acting a little crazy.
He came over to check it out.
Man stabbed to death four days ago in an empty home, but no one notices.
First murder on the books in this part of town.
Not what you bargain for when you buy your chunk of the American dream.
And then your dream becomes a nightmare.
So i asked almost two weeks ago.
Owners took off for Texas.
They got an alibi.
Driver's test.
So who purchased the house, Frank? Well, it's not who, Horatio, it's what.
Some company called Apias Conglomerate.
It's going to take some time to check out who's behind it.
Someone knew this house was empty, Frank.
I hear you got a popper.
Biohazards.
That's major OT for us.
Really nice way with words, Nick.
You know, I got an extra pair of overalls in the back of the van here.
In case you want to get dirty.
What did you find? Multiple stab wounds, no murder weapon.
Blood spatter indicates that he was murdered where he fell.
I don't see any signs of forced entry, so how did he get in here? That's a good question.
The house has been empty since the Apias Conglomerate took over.
Empty house seems like an odd place to do business.
Why don't you check out that briefcase.
Yep, somebody wanted whatever was in this briefcase.
You know, it's hard to know what we're looking for when we don't know what was missing in the first place.
Well, there's a PDA charger, no PDA.
I guess he had one of those.
He also had a big-time job.
Got an ID on the victim.
It's Chad Bridges.
City Councilman Bridges? Yeah, I didn't recognize him through the decomp.
I wonder if whatever was on his PDA was worth killing over.
There were no workable prints on the briefcase.
I hope you he better luck.
He did quite a number on that lock, too.
I'm hoping he sloughed off just enough of himself to get a profile.
You got him.
Gary Logan.
In the system for B&E petty theft.
Oh, well, wait a minute.
Would you look at that address? It's right next door to the crime scene.
Looks like our petty thief just escalated to murder.
Mr.
Logan? I'm clearing leather.
I still haven't qualified, but backup's on its way.
Don't move.
Miami-Dade PD.
Got a nice boat out front, Mr Logan.
Are you leaving town? I'm moving.
Boat's cheaper than a rental truck.
I'd move, too, if there was a murder next door.
What do you know about that? Nothing.
We found your DNA all over the man's briefcase.
I didn't kill him, okay? I just took some of his stuff.
Look, I happened to be going by his house, I looked in, saw that the guy was dead and I figured, what the hell, I was going to help myself.
Wasn't like he was going to miss it.
That guy was already dead.
Did you decide to bury the councilman's body, but we got to it first? I see a little yard around here.
What are you digging up? A pipe burst, all right? I had to fix it.
It's a milky substance.
It's almost like wax.
It's adipocere.
Soap formed from decomposed human fat.
Exactly.
It usually takes months to form, and based on the seepage in here, I would say there's no way it's from our victim.
Well, if this grave wasn't dug for our councilman, then .
.
who would Gary Logan have buried here? That's the million-dollar question.
So, Alexx, what'd you find out about the councilman? The wound tracts are shallow.
The cuts almost seem tentative.
I don't think you can be tentative eight times.
Or he was stabbed with a short blade.
Kitchen knife, maybe? And one other thing, Ryan.
Once our bloater regaid his fighting weight, I was able to see this.
- Is that a bite mark? - Sure is.
And there's bruising, which means he got it antemortem.
It's on the wrist.
Probably defending himself from the killer.
Only if the killer was of the four-legged variety.
Human bites cause crush injuries.
Dull teeth grind.
But canine teeth? They lacerate.
The guy who found the body had a dog.
Oh.
Oh, thank you, Officer.
You're welcome, uh , Mrs.
Wells.
I'm here to talk to your husband about your dog.
Is he home? No, I'm sorry; he's at work right now, but, um, I'd be happy to S top! Put it back in the house! Oh, wait a minute.
That's my son.
Austin! You cops don't listen.
This is this guy's stuff.
Come on! You know what? Stay here.
I'll take care of this.
Put his stuff back in his house.
You ought to be proud of yourselves.
And ladies and gentlemen, your tax dollars at work here! And you're not taking my satellite! Mr.
Nash, get down from there.
I grew up on this street.
You think we're going to put up with this? Get out of here.
Go home, kid.
Hey, Austin, do what he says.
I don't want you getting in trouble here.
Hey, Wolfe.
PD.
What's, uh What's going on here? Talk to them.
They're making their way down the block, throwing everybody's stuff out on the front lawn.
I'm trying to evict the owner, but he refuses to vacate the premises.
Oh, yeah? Why are you trying to evict him? Eminent domain.
Eminent domain? Those are fancy words for when the government takes your stuff whenever they want, aren't they? Look, man, I'm just following orders.
Isn't there a way that you could follow them a little more, um respectfully? Stash of Cuban cigars right here.
Guy's lucky I don't arrest his ass Officer Wolfe.
They're forcing us to sell our home.
- The whole neighborhood.
- hey! let me look into this and see if I can do something.
It's already being done.
H, it's Wolfe.
Yeah, Daniel Wells is at work.
I'm gonna swing by and pick him up.
Listen, I was able to dig up some more information on Cobalt Drive.
And eminent domain.
That's right.
In the past, the city was able to force land owners to sell their property if it was for public use.
Highways, railroads, schools.
But that's changed, hasn't it, Eric? Yeah, the US Supreme Court ruled that state and local governments can seize homes and, uh, sell them for private development.
Catering to big business.
Now, our governor is against the ruling.
There's a law being written to change that here in Florida.
So, the Apias Conglomerate is purchasing properties on Cobalt Drive.
And the company's run by a Mr.
William Preston.
William Preston? The biggest developer in the city, Eric.
Where did our councilman stand on it? It's hard to say.
He was the swing vote.
Did your dog bite the councilman? My dog? Yeah.
He was bitten before he died.
We can run an odontology sample for comparison if you'd like.
Couple of days ago.
It was his fault.
He was trespassing in my backyard.
Hey, what do you think you're doing? Just looking around the property.
I knocked.
No one answered.
Yeah, well, you can't just barge onto my property.
Said he wanted to take some measurements.
Measurements for what? Didn't ask.
Didn't care.
Just wanted the guy off my property.
So, you got violent? I mean, you had plenty of reason to get angry.
Are you kidding me? For what these people are doing, they deserve to die.
That's an interesting choice of words.
Look, I'm not going to grieve over the guy's death, but I had nothing to do with his murder.
I guess we'll see about that.
William Preston.
You must be Lieutenant Caine.
I was told you were looking for me.
I'm interested, Mr.
Preston.
Your plans for Cobalt Drive.
Well, you name it.
That is prime waterfront property.
I'm building a luxury hotel, a spa, three restaurants.
All of Miami will gain.
Yes, by displacing hardworking people.
I'm doing them a favor.
The neighborhood's not what it used to be.
Crime rate's tripled the last year alone.
Vandalism, robberies, the recent murder.
If an area is blighted, the city has no choice but to rectify the problem.
A blight that took place after you became interested.
In my career, I've often benefited from luck and good timing.
Me, too.
I got your call.
What's going on, Austin? My parents aren't even home, and they're trying to evict us.
Wolfe, tell your buddy he's working my last nerve.
You're gonna have to wait until after the hearing.
Aren't they entitled to a hearing? Talk to the judge.
Yeah, an Order of Possession.
Signed and sealed.
They got to vacate.
The county is taking this land.
Look, you don't know which way this hearing is going to go Doesn't matter.
Hearing's just an appeal.
Judgment was issued; money turned over to the court.
We're taking the house.
Yeah, but the hearing could go in their favor, you know? Done 100 of these things, Wolfe.
They only go one way.
Listen, man, I'm asking you as a favor.
Please give this family a break.
I'm at the tail end of a double shift.
I'm all out of breaks.
That's it.
We're taking it.
what the hell are you doing? Breathe too many fumes in the lab, Wolfe? You just earned yourself a complaint.
Tape it to the door yourself.
Hey.
It was great to hear from you again, Ryan.
Yeah, listen, I wish I had time for small-talk, Erica, but I need some information.
A while back, you did a three-part series on eminent domain.
So, you still check out my work? As long as I'm not in it.
What do you need to know? Chad Bridges was murdered.
The councilman? Oh, my God.
Yeah, and word is he was the swing vote behind a development on Cobalt Drive.
Well, Bridges was good at playing the middle,but .
.
my sources said he was against it.
That gives Preston motive.
And stop salivating, 'cause I'm gonna give you the story.
- I need you to find something out for me.
- Name it.
I need to know where this hearing is going to take place.
The city posts hearing notices where people can't find them.
Buried in a government Web page, or tacked to a telephone pole.
I can't believe that goes on in our country.
Capitalism opens a lot of doors.
Yeah, well, tell that to the people who are being screwed out of their houses.
I'll ask around, and get back to you as soon as I can.
Thank you, Erica.
Did you page me? I'm sort of running with something, but, um, what's up? Yeah, well, slow down for a second.
Horatio asked me to pull some old evidence.
Thought it might lead back to your eminent domain murder.
Okay.
What is it? Well, there were ten reports of vandalism on Cobalt Drive in the last year, and just three of them left any evidence behind.
We never ran 'em before? They were just property crimes.
We didn't think anything of it, but, uh, let's hope it leads to something bigger.
You got anything workable? No, not from any of these, but I'm about to check out this envelope here from a vandalized car.
You got any prints? No ridge detail.
Just smudges.
That's all right.
Smudges might not tell us who the person is, but maybe they'll tell us what they do.
Can't say I ever swabbed a fingerprint before.
Well, it's possible to find trace elements in skin secretions.
Uh .
.
anything the person touches frequently can be left behind: nicotine, cologne, food.
Shot in the dark, but it's worth a try.
Got something.
Tobacco.
What kind? Acid profile says it's a Cuban cigar.
That's great.
Narrows it down to about half the people on Calle Ocho.
I'm thinking of a different street.
It's a stash of Cuban cigars right here.
Guy's lucky I don't arrest his ass Officer Wolfe.
We know you've been vandalizing Cobalt Drive.
Messing with my own neighborhood? You got to be kidding me.
You sure about that, Mr Nash? 'Cause the more I look into this, the more charges I'm going to file against you.
Why does it matter anyway? They're tearing the block down.
Why does it matter! You caused the crime rate to rise.
You blighted the area.
You got the city to condemn the properties, didn't you? What did you get out of this? Yeah.
City's stiffing me on the house, may as well get something, right? Who made you the offer? No.
No way.
I'm not saying anything.
- Hey.
- No.
You don't tell me, I got another place for you to live.
Lieutenant, what is this about? Mr.
Preston, you hired Timothy Nash to vandalize Cobalt Drive.
Desperate people will say desperate things.
Well, your pockets weren't deep enough to reel in the councilman, were they? Anyone can be persuaded, Lieutenant.
This city needs my hotel, and I'm going to build it.
- Hey, Preston! * I think we have a visitor.
Do I have your attention now? Stay here.
You've gotten everybody's attention, friend.
What's your name? Ethan Danbury.
I live on Cobalt Drive.
Ethan, you got a family? It doesn't matter.
It does, Ethan.
It does.
It matters to them.
Listen to me.
That man is destroying what I've worked my whole life for.
You don't know what it's like to lose everything.
Ethan Ethan, I do.
I've lost everything, Ethan.
But what I know is that if you let this man destroy you today, you'll give him a satisfaction he doesn't deserve, and I'm asking you not to do that.
Ethan.
Ethan, I want you to let me worry about this, okay? Go ahead.
You see this? Now do you see what I'm up against here? I want police protection.
You'll probably get it, Mr.
Preston.
Whose get a protection from me.
Lieutenant Caine? You again.
I was very sorry to hear about what happened to your wife.
Is this job, Caine? Our loved ones seem to always get hurt far worse than we do.
Now why, why would a criminal judge preside over an eminent domain case? I was assigned to it.
With all the backlog in civil, we just want to make sure that these cases were treated fairly.
Undervaluing people's homes.
The City Council condemned those people's neighborhood.
I set the price at whatever the market would allow.
Forgive me, Your Honor, but I think that you're benefiting from this.
You know what this is really about? Your frustration at not being able to solve that murder case that you tried to hang on me a few years ago.
The murder, Your Honor, that you committed.
Oh, come on Lieutenant Caine, that case was dismissed on a technicality.
Ancient history, Lieutenant.
I choose to forget about the past.
The past, Your Honor, is my specialty.
Hey.
Did you get anything on the adipocere from a shallow grave? I got enough for a profile.
- What about CODIS? - Got a match.
Missing Persons.
Marta Argenta.
Yeah.
I ran her DNA against a sample submitted 11 months ago, right after she disappeared.
It's still an open case.
Not for long.
I always wondered when this call would come.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Marta was a great kid.
Not that we didn't have our problems.
Where was the last place you saw Marta? My house.
We had a fight, and she took off.
Her biological parents were never in her life, and she began resenting it.
Resenting me.
I'm so sorry.
I must be mistaken.
But I thought that you were I'm actually her uncle.
My sister was only 17 at the time and couldn't handle it I, uh I adopted Marta right after she was born.
You always expect to pick out a crib for your baby.
But never a coffin.
You have her body? No.
Then how do you know for sure that it I promise you that you are going to be able to put Marta to rest.
Be back in one minute.
Frank, I need that warrant on Logan ASAP.
House, boat, everything you can get.
So Tripp just ran histories on the grave digger and Marta Argenta, but he couldn't find a single connection between them.
All right, well, look, if there's a connection it's going to be here on Logan's boat.
Yeah Like this.
There's only one reason to have cinderblocks on a boat, - and that's to weigh something down.
- Yeah, check this out.
Looks like more adipocere.
So that means she had to been on this boat at some point.
Or she never left.
Look, there's more adipocere here on this suitcase.
No.
Why did he take her out of that hole? I don't know.
But, hopefully, this will give us enough to prove Logan's a murderer.
I'll get her to Alexx and, uh, and she can tell us.
All right.
I had to boil her bones to get to her story.
Didn't have a good ending.
Poor girl experienced a lot of trauma.
So Marta Argenta was beaten to death.
Argenta? Interesting.
When I measured her cranial vault, I classified her ancestry as African American.
Well, her mother was Mexican.
Then her father certainly wasn't.
Based on her injuries, it appears as if the killing blow was to Marta's skull.
Any tool marks? None from the skull.
But there are plenty other places.
The marks left some unique characteristics.
You mind if I cast this? You sure do like your tools, don't you? I make my living with them.
And your killing, so it seems.
We found that pry-bar on your boat.
So? So we have a few tools of our own.
We were able to match the marks on Marta Argenta's bones to your pry-bar.
Anyone could have thrown that thing in my junk.
Boat's wide open.
See, I don't think you get it.
When you put it all together, we know that you killed Marta.
You know what? If this girl was killed with that bar, bet it only took one hit.
First one probably cracked her skull like a melon.
Whoever did this, I bet they just kept on going.
Because it felt good.
Why do you think this "someone" did it? Got a deal for me? No.
I'd like my phone call now.
Thank you.
H, can I just say something first? Please.
I know I crossed the line when I shoved Biggs, and I'm going to take whatever IAB is going to dish out at me, but I got some unfinished business here.
Does it have to do with the Wells family? Yeah.
I told that kid I was going to show up at his hearing.
But the other reason I want to go there is 'cause every single suspect in this case is going to be there.
Mr.
Wolfe, you have to be careful that you're not creating a conflict of interest.
I will.
So am I in deep with IAB? Ryan, I've talked to Deputy Biggs.
He's agreed to drop the complaint, but I need something from you.
I know.
No more blowups.
Mr.
Wolfe, I may not be able to help you next time.
Hey, you came.
And thanks for letting us know where the hearing is.
Well, I told you I would, didn't I? Did you get in trouble? For what happened at the house? You could say that.
That sucks.
Yeah.
50 cents on the dollar.
You call that fair market value? Hey, don't blame me.
Court puts the value on property in eminent domain.
Yeah, well, how are my family and I supposed to find a new place to live with half the money? You're lucky you're getting that much.
You should have taken better care of the property.
You punk.
Hey.
Relax, man, relax.
Honey, don't make it worse.
Let's go inside.
Save it for the hearing, Wells.
Save it for the hearing.
Relax.
Hey.
I understand you've closed the missing girls murder.
Well I know the grave digger did out.
But you're still bothered by on you.
I am.
I don't know why Logan want hold onto murder's body if he's likely downdraft the bow.
Is only one reason to keep that body and it's leverage.
Everyone must getting paid half price for her house except for Logan he got full price.
Precisely, so he was hired by someone had real development to murder that girl.
Ok.
So we're back to who? Going back to Marta's DNA.
Which samples should I run it against? Against the sample that we already have.
Nick, I've got to go, because I'm here with the councilman's family right now.
Really? Mm-hmm I don't see anybody.
Nice try, though.
What do you want? Do you remember that time that you forgot your wedding ring in that elevator? Come on.
You remember.
You were getting so crazy.
Your hand kept getting caught in that railing Stop, uh Nick.
It's not the only time you forgot a wedding ring.
- Where'd you find that? - The crime scene.
No, 'cause we went over the entire place.
Not after the body popped.
If you find something at a crime scene, you're supposed to notify someone.
I just did.
I'm gonna get this to Trace.
Hey, Nat Nat.
I still have your wedding ring.
When you walked out.
If you want it back.
So the question is: Whose ring is it? I was hoping you could tell me.
The initials on here are "J.
W.
" Does that match up with anyone on the block? That's Julie Wells.
That's Austin's mother.
I know, I'm so stupid.
I don't know where I lost it.
Well, we found your ring, Mrs.
Wells.
Right next to Councilman Bridges' body.
Please, don't tell my husband.
He wouldn't understand.
Killing a man? I wouldn't understand, either.
No, no.
I- I mean, I just I just tried to sleep with him.
He seemed like the kind of guy who I thought I could work out some kind of arrangement so he'd leave us alone.
So you had him meet you in the empty house.
I felt so guilty.
I thought if I took off my ring You didn't go through with it? I tried to explain.
He got so mad.
Way to present your case.
Go home.
While you still have one.
- Please.
- Get out of here! Okay, when did all this happen? Four days ago.
Same day he was murdered.
Do you really believe that I could kill a man twice my size? Stabbings were very shallow.
That's indicative of a female assailant.
I don't even know where I'd get a knife.
Grab one from my silverware drawer? Well, that's funny.
Funny that you would mention a kitchen knife.
Yeah.
Kitchen knife could have definitely made those tears.
Yeah.
Hey, come here and take a look at the councilman's tie.
That's no accidental contact.
No.
I think the killer wiped the murder weapon off on the back of the tie.
Small knife.
Yeah, but it's not a kitchen knife.
You see that void there? That's a divot where you pull out the blade.
Killer used a pocketknife.
Well, that's not usually something women carry.
No, but teenage boy would.
You can't make me.
Yeah, I can.
Empty your pockets.
I was never near that guy.
Let the knife prove it.
Empty your pockets, Austin.
Come on.
Empty your pockets.
What does that mean? It means you killed Councilman Bridges.
But but he was taking everything.
The neighborhood I grew up in, my house.
And then he took my mom.
He wouldn't stop taking things.
Austin, your mom and the councilman nothing happened.
She didn't go through with it.
All you saw was your mom running away down the street.
So all this time, you were just trying to make me feel sorry for you, is that it? Don't act all hurt.
You guys make us live by these laws, but you don't.
I saw you shove that cop.
Nothing happened.
You change them whenever you want something you can't have.
What's wrong? You look concerned.
That's 'cause I am.
I ran Marta Argenta's DNA from that missing girl from that case.
Case Horatio was talking about? Yeah.
It's a familial match to the suspect in that case.
Really? And look at whose name is on the sample.
Marta Argenta is your daughter, Your Honor.
I'm sorry, Lieutenant.
Name doesn't ring a bell.
Turns out that Marta's mother Carmen came through your courtroom and then visited you in these very chambers.
Now, Caine, where'd you dig that up? Gary Logan's backyard, Your Honor.
So that's what happened to that girl, huh? She did call a few times, yes.
Claimed she was my daughter.
But why should I believe a teenage runaway? The same reason you had Gary kill her.
All right, Caine, that's enough.
I've had enough of your accusations.
You get out of my chambers.
I hate to inform you, Your Honor, but these are no longer your chambers.
You know there's no way you're gonna prove all this in court.
Seems that Mr.
Logan held onto Marta's bones for just such an occasion.
So, you see, I can.
Caine, you ought to know better than that.
You can't touch me.
Your Honor, I don't have the slightest desire to.
You are under arrest.
Officers.
Don't think this is over, Caine.
I got the best legal mind there is.
You're gonna need it.
Lieutenant.
Mr.
Wells.
I can't say it's good to see you.
Mr.
Wells, I wanted you, uh, I wanted you to hear firsthand that your home is still your home.
Yeah.
At the cost of my son.
Mr.
Wells, you still have your son.
And he needs you more than ever now.