CSI: Miami s05e12 Episode Script

Go around! CSI Boa Vista, pull over.
I repeat: pull over.
Natalia Boa Vista.
What's going on? You're under arrest for the murder of Nick Townsend.
What? Where's Horatio? He's not going to let this happen.
He's the one who called me.
My lucky day.
I cannot believe you got here before me.
Jump the gun much? How long is it going to take to process before I can get in to clean up? I don't know.
I have no idea.
Why, what's the big hurry? The blood's not going anywhere.
Got a little lunch date.
Lunch date? Really? Well, then I think I might just take my sweet time.
You look good in green.
killed in his own home.
Do we have a cause of death, Alexx? Not yet, Horatio.
I tell you one thing, he didn't go quickly.
Why do you say that? It couldn't have been the granite.
Baby boy's got blood spatter on his lips from expiration.
So he drowned in his own blood.
But look at this.
That's a gunshot wound.
Maybe not.
No powder burns.
Could be a puncture wound.
I'll know more when I get him on my table.
Okay.
I understand the blood pool and the spatter, but his pants that's a swipe, isn't it? What about that? Possibly transfer from our killer.
Probably somebody he knew.
Yes, and soon so will we.
Hey.
So I've been searching this place up and down for a murder weapon, but, uh, haven't had any luck.
How about you? Oh, yeah.
We got a whole wealth of riches in here.
You gotta love granite.
It's a perfect surface for prints.
Yeah.
So, uh, Eric and Kelly are back in the lab.
Do me a favor scan these into the mobile unit and, uh, shoot 'em over.
- Yep.
- Thanks.
Hey.
Ryan called me.
Have you got those prints from the crime scene? Yeah, Natalia sent them over.
I'm running them through AFIS right now.
" Jeff Murdock.
" Volunteered his prints for some reason.
He's got no record.
Not yet.
Jeff Murdock.
Can I help you? Miami-Dade PD.
You familiar with a man by the name of Benjamin Rhodes? He up by Golden Beach? He was.
He's in the morgue now, Jeff.
We found your fingerprints on a slab of granite that crushed him.
Are you serious? As a triple bypass.
Yeah, I went to his house.
I install high-end audio-visual systems.
I gave the guy a quote.
When was that? A few days ago.
Guy wanted to trick out his house, sound, you name it.
I can have you hooked up in three days including the plasmas.
Let me think about it.
Okay, just got to leave you my card.
Let me know.
Unfortunately, the only person that could corroborate that is no longer among the living.
Well, look deeper.
You'll find my prints in homes all over the county.
That's why I volunteered them to the police to avoid situations like this.
Or provide you with cover.
Look, I'm just trying to make a living, man.
So unless you guys got something else, I really got to get back to it.
Thank you for your time.
Hey, Maxine, did you get anything on the blood swipe on the vic's pants? You know, contrary to popular belief, breathing down one's neck does not improve productivity or make CODIS run any faster.
Okay, I'm sorry.
It's just, it must be going around today.
Nick was jumping on me to process the crime scene quickly so that he could clean it and he could get to some lunch date.
Pending DNA tests for other cases? Is this a " To do " list for me? I was going to ask you.
You know, if you weren't too crazy with other stuff.
'Cause you're Nick's lunch date? What is he doing? Why won't you listen to me? He is dangerous.
I like dangerous.
No, not this kind of dangerous.
Woman to woman, I can't tell you what to do, but just be careful, Okay? Oh, here we go.
CODIS found a match.
" Lauren Sloan.
" Arrested over seven years ago for burglary.
We found your blood on a murder victim Benjamin Rhodes Benjamin's dead? How did you know him? I'm a therapist.
He was one of my patients.
Were you ever at his house? No, I don't do house calls.
Then why did we find your blood on his pants? It must have happened this morning.
He was my first appointment.
I told him I had to drop him as a patient.
- I'm sorry, Benjamin.
- Great Turn you back on me.
Everyone else does! I'd be happy to Forget it! This is exactly what I'm talking about.
Dr.
Sloane, I'm sorry.
Get out! Get out.
That was the last time I saw him.
How'd you know it was my blood? Because you were arrested for robbery in 1999.
Did you forget? I had a problem with shoplifting.
It became compulsive.
But getting help in the end inspired me to help others.
Well, at least one of your patients would beg to differ because we checked Benjamin's phone records.
Is there any reason that he made repeated calls to the State Board of Psychology? Sometimes my clients dot like to face who they really are and they need to assign blame.
Hey, can I help you? No, I'm good.
Hot outside.
The A.
C.
,it's all nice, icy in here.
Want to try and convince me you're not here to harass Natalia? No, I don't think so.
It's none of your business, Eric.
Hey, a civilian walks past that reception desk, this lab could lose its accreditation.
That makes it my business.
Okay, big man.
As a matter of fact, Nick, crime scene at the Rhodes property was just released.
Why don't you go over there and make yourself useful? You think you're better than me? Why,'cause I'm the mop-up guy? No, I don't care what you do.
You're a lowlife.
Who you kidding? You're just some sorry sap looking to get laid like the rest of us.
You're pushing your luck, Nick.
Oh! What's up, Eric? Test tube too small? You listen to your buddy here.
Inappropriate lab behavior.
Let me tell you something.
Outside these walls, big world.
Real big.
People die every day.
You want to continue this conversation, you know where to find me.
Eric You get lost.
Alexx, Benjamin Rhodes? Yes.
It definitely wasn't death by granite, Horatio.
The vertebrae in his neck are intact.
Which brings us back to his chest wound.
Most definitely.
His sternum is fractured, esophagus pierced.
Pierced by what? You're not going to believe this, but I don't know.
Stippling around the wound says he was shot, but there was no projectils in his chest cavity.
Was there an exit wound? Only an entrance.
My only explanation is that the projectile, whatever it was, was lodged in his esophagus, and he coughed it up.
Alexx, there was blood all over the floor.
I'd get your guys to wade through it, Horatio.
The answer's there.
Mr.
Wolfe Mr.
Wolfe, go back to the Rhodes' house And stop cleaning right now.
Hey, Nick hold up.
- You're not Nick.
- You're a sharp one.
Yeah, well,you still need to stop.
Where's Nick? You just missed him.
He came by, then he took off somewhere.
Whatever.
Blood's blood.
What do you want? I want you to, uh, stop compromising the evidence for one.
You guys had your run of the place.
I was given the go-ahead.
Okay, well, now you're getting the go-away.
Missed something, huh? This is a murder investigation.
Don't you think you guys ought to be a little more thorough? Take a walk.
Go ahead.
Fine.
But if my supe chews me out, I'll give him your digits.
What are you? Oh, hey.
You're in a hurry.
What's up? I just got a call-out.
Oh, I'll get my kit, I'll go with you.
You can't.
The address is 378 Coral Drive in Aventura.
Coral Drive that's where Nick lives.
Yeah.
Look, it's a homicide.
Look, I'll call you as soon as I know something, all right? Okay.
Alexx is on her way.
So this is, uh, Natalia's ex, huh? Yeah, it is.
Who called it in? Mailman.
Front door was wide open.
Nice digs for a guy that just got out of jail, working entrail duty.
Gentlemen.
H, I'm all over this.
Eric, I'm going to stop you and put somebody else on this.
What do you mean? Natalia has a personal connection to the victim and that makes this a conflict of interest for us.
Who's going to work the case? Jake Berkeley with the night shift CSI's.
What, he's a CSI now? Homicide detective.
Eric, this whole thing has to be aboveboard and handled correctly.
You understand? I do.
Thank you.
Did you get anything on the doorknob? Just smudges, no ridge detail.
You've been at it for ten minutes.
I'm thorough.
You're graveyard shift.
Just used to groping around in the dark.
Delko, you heard your boss.
You got your marching orders to step off.
We need to focus.
Well, maybe you need to shift your focus from the doorknob to that window there.
There's a disturbance in the bamboo.
Courtney,could you check out this area, please? Got partial palm prints here.
Possible fingerprints.
Seems like our killer may have been casing the place.
I'll get these prints to the lab.
What do we got? Any evidence Nick Townsend had a visitor? I say.
Of the female variety.
Bed's unmade.
Sheets smell of perfume.
They're a literal DNA parade.
What do we know about this woman? Well, she may keep some stuff here, check out the open drawer.
See if you can trace any of the items.
I want to meet our lucky lady.
You can meet a part of her right now.
Hair.
Possible root still attached.
Run it through DNA.
And do it yourself.
Hi.
What is it with you day shifts? You're not supposed to be working this case.
It just so happens that I have numerous other cases involving fingerprints.
So, have you got any suspects? Hmm, subtle.
Just making a little conversation.
Normally, I'm sleeping right now.
Natalia.
That's why you're not on this case.
I did not kill my ex-husband, and you can't just arrest me like this.
I'm afraid I can.
Will you say something, please? You're kidding me.
Say something, please.
So, Natalia where were you headed when I picked you up? Out of town? No, I had just found out that Nick was dead, and I wanted to get some air.
You guys have quite the history.
Says here that he went to jail for breaking your arm, and then filed a T.
R.
O.
against you.
Because he was trying to get back at me, yeah.
But you did get violent with him on the job at a crime scene in front of Eric Delko whom you briefly dated, is that correct? Did Eric actually tell you that? Yeah, you also made some volatile statements.
You're quoted as saying, I think that I want to kill him.
to Calleigh Duquesne.
Oh, my god that was I mean it was girl talk.
I was joking.
This is no joke.
I have evidence that you were stalking him.
That I was stalking him? Why would I do that? Just so that I'm clear were you or were you not outside his window? Yes, I was, but I was never inside.
Really? Never? You're familiar with DNA? Because we found your hair in his bed.
Now, that's strange, since you've never been inside.
No, no, no, that's not what I That's not what I said.
Okay, you're twisting my words now, because I didn't say never.
I meant never today.
When the shoe's on the other foot, it's a tight fit, isn't it? Nick and I have a very complicated relationship.
I was there last night.
There were some text messages on Nick's phone about a lunch date today.
Now, we're checking your phone records.
Okay.
No, no, don't say anything.
Don't say something that you're going to regret, just We'll give you some time to really consider your answer.
Or to get a good lawyer.
Lieutenant.
Ms.
Valera.
What's wrong? I just heard what happened.
The Nick Townsend case.
I found you so I could tell you in person.
Natalia didn't kill her ex-husband.
I did.
What's going on, Lieutenant? Jake, this is Maxine Valera.
Yeah.
I know who she is.
She's come to me with information that I think you should hear.
Well, I'm all ears.
No interrogation tactics.
I just want you to listen.
You understand? Yes, sir.
Go ahead, ma'am.
Just have a seat.
Today, I met Nick at his condo.
For lunch.
You text-messaged him.
Yes.
Natalia warned me.
Said he was dangerous.
And she was right.
What did he do? I was just giving him a kiss good-bye.
Then he got scary.
What do you say we take this into the other room? I should really get going.
Need a little music? Huh? That it? Nick, what are you doing? I'm going to loosen you up one way or another.
Come on.
Hey! You come with me.
Nick? It was me.
I'm the one responsible.
Well, that's sweet.
You're covering for your friend.
But I'm sorry.
That's not going to get Natalia out of holding.
Why not? I just told you I did it.
Because the evidence trumps your confession.
Natalia has history, motive, and I can place her inside and outside his house.
Well, even if she was there doesn't make her a killer.
Would you change your mind if I told you we found her DNA in his bed? She was sleeping with him? She neglected to tell you that.
She slept with him.
She got angry.
She killed him.
Hey, Ryan.
You seen Detective Berkeley? He doesn't figure on answering my pages.
Everyone's a little bit scattered right now.
What's going on? Well, I was about to cut open Nick Townsend, to determine COD, but I thought this was more pressing.
I swabbed a wound on his knuckles, and it appears to be a fight bite.
What's wrong, baby? Eric and Nick got in a fight this morning.
The said that they were going to take it outside for part two.
You don't think You know what? Um I can't have anything to do with that DNA sample, but will you take it to Leo Donwell? Of course I will.
I'll I'll go call Horatio.
Sir, I entered the sample that Dr.
Woods obtained from the victim's hand.
Check it against my criminalists.
But Right.
Everyone who works a scene is automatically put into the system for elimination purposes.
I want to eliminate them.
No match.
Widen it.
CODIS? Okay.
Here goes.
Philip Craven.
Wait a minute.
That's that crime scene cleanup guy.
Should I call Detective Berkeley? Don't bother.
The pleasure will be mine.
So I got cut.
What about it? You fought with Nick.
I want to know why.
No way.
Guy's dead, and you're going to try to pin this on me? Convince me otherwise.
Not only did he flake on cleaning that crime scene earlier, but the guy's been stealing.
How do you know that? I been keeping my eyes open a while.
This time, I was sure.
Yo, Nick.
You can't just leave, man.
Cover for me.
I got a woman to meet.
Do the same for you.
Oh, yeah? You going to give her the jewelry I just saw you steal from the scene? Don't push me.
And you're high.
Yeah? And you're going back to prison if I talk.
Look,I didn't kill the guy, all right? I just tried to set him straight.
Forgive me if I don't believe you.
I want a lawyer.
Spoken like the last request of a guilty man.
- Natalia.
- Horatio.
God.
You're hearing a lot of things about me right now.
Well, put your mind at ease.
I don't listen to them unless they come from you.
A lot of stuff has happened between me and Nick.
Things that I am not exactly proud of.
You were at Nick's place today.
Did you see Philip Craven there? The cleanup guy? No.
I didn't see him.
But I I did see someone else.
You saw Valera there.
I knew that she was going on a date with Nick, and I was really worried about her.
Did you share this with Jake Berkeley? No.
Because I didn't want to go down that road again with the whole mole business.
I really just wanted to protect her.
What exactly did you see? Enough.
Then, Ms.
Boa Vista, you know what you need to do.
Horatio said the three of us should talk.
And I agree with him.
You got something you want to tell me, Natalia? Yeah, I do.
I'm really sorry, Maxine.
What is it? I went over to Nick's because I was really scared for you, and I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened, and I saw you both through the window.
You were there? I was, and I I saw you trying to fight him off.
And then you pushed him and he fell, and and you ran.
I'm going to loosen you up.
One way or the other.
- Come on.
- Nick, what are you doing? Come on.
No! wait Hey! You come with me.
And then you didn't say anything because you were relieved that he was finally out of your life.
No.
That wasn't it.
Phone records confirm that you text-messaged Nick, luring him there.
We had a date.
And you admit to fighting with him, knocking him down.
All the while, you're outside, watching, waiting, hoping.
Everything hits the fan.
Then you cover for each other.
Sounds to me like murder.
And conspiracy to murder.
You don't actually believe that, do you? Well, maybe I do, maybe I don't.
But what I do know is what it looks like.
And it looks bad.
Then where does that leave us? Unless one of you comes clean, then I can't help either of you.
Nobody can.
Mystery projectile recovered in the blood pool at Benjamin Rhodes's house.
It turns out it's paper wadding.
He wasn't shot with a bullet? No.
He was shot with a blank.
Like they use in movies.
Exactly.
A blank is really just a cartridge filled with gunpowder and a wad of paper that contains the explosive pressure.
So the shooter had to be at very close range.
Well, technically, anything at that speed could kill you.
But there was no gun at the scene, so how we going to track the shooter? Here's how.
Take a look.
Looks like white acrylic paint.
Blank casings are usually rolled or scalloped.
It's in a sealant.
Then that should make it easy to find the gun shop that sold the blanks.
Wadding is.
357 inches.
Circumference says it's from a.
38.
I'll make some calls.
H, ATF hooked me up with a gun shop in Hallandale Beach.
The blanks they sell use the same wadding as what were found at the crime scene.
Did you find out who purchased them? The name on the credit card receipt was Jeff Murdock.
Does that ring a bell? The audiovisual installer.
Should I send someone to go pick him up? No.
Let's get a warrant for the house, and don't go back until we can place that smoking gun in his hand.
Got it.
Don't know why you want me to look at all this stuff from Nick's place again.
Because it's evidence, Jake.
Evidence that led us to suspects.
Evidence that led you to my people.
You think my scope was too narrow? Prosecuting a crime, it's more than the evidence.
It's context.
In order to create the context, you have to do research on your victim.
What are these? These are from crime scenes.
They list items that were missing after the cleanup.
What is the common denominator? Let me guess Nick Townsend worked them all.
What's your next move? Make up the good one.
I looked over all the stolen merchandise we found at Nick's place, like you asked.
Anything jump out at you? The guy cleaned up for a living.
In a lot of ways everything's spotless.
Except for this.
A woman's pierced earring.
With blood on it where was that discovered? Nick's living room.
Same place Nick's body was found.
Uh-huh.
So the earring belongs to the killer.
It may, but not Nick's.
What do you mean? Well, the blood on it isn't a match to him.
It's a match to Benjamin Rhodes.
The guy shot with a blank.
The victim in Calleigh's case.
Nick stole that earring from the scene, and may have just broken her case wide open.
So who does the earring belong to? Well, I ran the epithelials on the earring post, and Lauren Sloan.
We executed a search warrant on Jeff Murdock's house based on the blanks he bought.
Guess who else lives there.
Lauren Sloan? Yep.
Turns out they're married, and that's her, uh, maiden name.
Did you find a gun at the house? Yeah.
Her husband's gun.
It was loaded with blanks.
Also, uh, check this out.
You haven't been very forthcoming with us, Ms.
Sloan.
Or should I say, Mrs.
Murdock.
Yes, I have a husband.
You never asked.
So? This was the, uh, gun used to kill Benjamin Rhodes.
We found it at your house.
Wait a minute.
You' not saying my husband killed him.
Not at all.
Actually, we found a powdery substance on the rubber grip of the gun.
Trace says that it's a, uh it's a mixture of mica, iron oxide and titanium dioxide.
What's that? May I see your purse? It's makeup.
Blush powder, actually, spilled in your purse.
If you're implying that makes me a murderer I'm not implying.
Actually, a pair of your earrings made it into Benjamin Rhodes's house.
So, it looks like you make house calls after all, huh? Earrings tie you to the scene.
Trace puts the gun in your hand.
I was having an affair with Benjamin.
It was a mistake.
I just wanted to go back to my husband, but Benjamin wouldn't hear of it.
So I grabbed Jeff's gun and went over to Benjamin's.
Put the gun away, Lauren.
You've been calling the State Board? I could lose my license.
But they should know what kind of woman you are.
And so should your husband! But it was just a blank.
I only wanted to scare him.
I Not kill him.
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.
Alexx.
Do we have a cause of death? Yes, we have.
Nick had a depressed skull fracture, Horatio.
See this bone? It's displaced inward.
And it's on the occipital bone.
That makes it the back of the skull, and Natalia and Valera's stories don't line up.
The blunt-force trauma caused a subdural hematoma.
Blood collected between his dura and arachnoid, which caused the veins to tear.
The intracranial pressure damaged delicate brain tissue, which was fatal.
What about this tool mark? What could the weapon have been? Horatio, I've never seen a mark like this.
It had to have been caused from some specialty tool.
Now, I can try and cast it to narrow it down for you.
Alexx, you just did.
Why is he in here? We caught him with the weapon that killed Nick Townsend.
How'd you find that? I followed the evidence, Jake.
So did I.
Yes, but in your case, you allowed the evidence to fit your theory, Jake, instead of the other way around.
And by the way, the spotlight is off my lab now.
So you're booting me off the case.
In so many words.
Nick Townsend's blood matches the weapon you used on him, Mr.
Murdock.
No use in lying now.
You already arrested my wife.
I only wanted to protect her.
I was having an affair.
What? Is it over? It is now.
That's my gun.
What did you do? I shot him! The bullets I bought, they were supposed to be blanks! Oh, God Is there anything that can trace you back to that house? Oh, my God.
I forgot a pair of my earrings.
What are we gonna do? I went to the house to get them back, but the police were already there.
So you waited.
Couple of hours.
Then some cleanup crew took over.
I waited for them to leave.
Then I heard them talking.
Yo, Nick, you can't just leave, man.
Come on, cover for me.
I got a lady waiting.
I'd do the same for you.
Oh, yeah, you gonna give her the jewelry I just saw you steal from the scene? So, you followed him to his house.
The place was like Grand Central Station.
Women coming in and out.
One of them left the door open.
So you walked in and confronted Nick.
He denied everything.
Hey,man,you think you can just walk in here? I know you took my wife's earrings at that house.
I want them back.
Why would some dead dude have your wife's earrings? Oh I get it.
That's pretty pathetic, if you ask me.
Shut up.
Get the hell out.
I couldn't believe what I had done.
Mr.
Murdock, you can't protect someone by covering their crimes.
You know the worst part? No matter what Lauren did I still love her.
Thought I'd thought I'd see how you were doing.
Nick's mom asked me to get all his personal effects together, and they're That's it.
The sum total of his life.
Right there.
I would really like to go through it, I just I can't.
God, that guy made my life a living hell.
Hell.
Take a look at that, Natalia some of it was good.
Some of it was really incredible.
So here's what we do.
Let's hang on to that.
Okay? Yeah.
All right.