CSI: NY s06e18 Episode Script

Hey.
It's OK.
I'm not gonna hurt you.
Are you all right? Hungry, I bet, huh? Freeze! NYPD! This is Detective Bonasera.
I need backup.
In pursuit of a subject vehicle.
Suspect is heading north on Amsterdam Avenue at 97th.
It's a small pickup truck, silver in colour, tailgate missing.
Right rear light is broken.
New York license plate, AQT-543.
Give me your hand.
Come on, damn it! We have to do this together! # Out here in the fields # I fight for my meals # I get my back into my living # Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah # Whatever it is, it looks serious.
Waiting for the results of an autopsy.
Been hovering outside of Sid's office until he finally banished me.
We pick up a case I don't know about? Marina Garito.
How many business cards do you hand out a week to friends and family of victims and say, "lf you need anything, call me? " Countless.
Marina Garito called me every Monday at eight o'clock sharp, without fail, for three years.
Always asking the same question.
Wanting to know if there were any new leads in her brother's case.
Her brother was murdered? Luke Garito was 8 years old when he went missing 15 years ago.
He was presumed dead.
Marina was relentless in her search for answers.
Calling with potential leads, names of possible suspects.
Last Monday she left me a message.
Said she was close to the biggest break in the case yet.
I have no idea what she meant.
So I was, uh .
.
I was too busy to get back to her.
Last night she was rushed to T rinity General Hospital.
Gunshot wound.
Dead on arrival.
I completed my autopsy of Marina Garito.
She committed suicide.
What? Sid, that's just not possible.
Self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Was there any bruising or defensive injuries suggesting a struggle? - No.
- What about gunshot residue? SEM picked up trace amounts of GSR on our victim's right hand.
It's consistent with her handedness and the location of the wound on the body.
- There must be another explanation.
- I'm sorry.
But there's nothing here that hints of foul play.
Was suicide the preliminary determination at the scene? Yes, and my post-mortem examination of the victim confirms it.
I believe the crime report mentions that they found a note.
So that's it? Case closed? - That's not my call.
- Oh, come on, Sid.
You and I know once suicide is proposed, proper protocol of a homicide investigation at the scene and with the body, is dismissed.
Things get overlooked.
That may be the case in the field, but certainly not here in the medical examiner's office.
This young woman had reason to live.
She would not have done this.
I've seen hundreds of cases with the very same set of circumstances, and I've arrived at the exact same result.
- Maybe this time you're wrong.
- All right, now If there is one thing I am sure of it's that Marina Garito did not kill herself.
This was murder.
Don't take it personally, Sid.
Stella worked through the night.
She's tired.
We're both disappointed, I suppose.
Disappointed? That we didn't get any answers for Marina about her brother.
It's been three years since Stella entered Luke Garito's DNA sample into the Missing Persons database.
Our hope was that it would match a John Doe that came in somewhere.
But, time after time, nothing.
We never got a hit.
Then last night, Marina's body was brought in.
So I called Stella.
And her suicide made you think she gave up? On us, yeah.
This all feels more tragic because Luke and Marina were twins.
Obviously, there's a bond.
I wish there was more I could have done for her.
For them.
It's been almost 15 years since Luke disappeared.
But each morning, I wake up.
I don't think about it being another day that I haven't seen my brother.
For me, it's another day closer to him coming home.
Of course, sometimes, it's hard to remain optimistic.
Reality sets in and I could see the possibility that he's actually dead.
It makes it easier because it helps me erase the image that Luke is .
.
sitting somewhere alone, waiting, wondering, "Why haven't they come to get me? "Where are they? " It's strange, but I do let myself imagine that we find him.
I have my arms around him.
But, uh, he's still an eight-year-old boy.
I hope he's OK.
We need something that shows motive.
We can't do that without access to Marina's apartment.
And Mac needs cause to secure it as a crime scene.
We need evidence to get the evidence.
What about the fact that women rarely commit suicide with guns? Their method is usually overdose or poison.
You wanna guess what the DAs gonna say to that? The odds are definitely stacked against us.
I saw the police report.
There was a suicide letter sent to her family and friends.
"It's time I end it all.
Free myself.
This is the only way I know how.
"Leaving is my only option.
" This is all typed.
Anybody could've written it.
Marina closed bank accounts, paid her bills.
She made a cash donation to charity.
All signs of a plan to attempt suicide.
And her prints were on the gun we recovered at the scene.
The killer could have put the gun in her hands.
I'm all for women's intuition and gut instincts.
But what is it that makes you think Marina didn't take her own life? She wasn't finished, Lindsey.
She hadn't found her brother yet.
They were eight years old when he went missing.
When I met her, she was 21.
She was dedicated to finding him.
She had notebooks with names, places, questions, possible witnesses.
I remember her face, the look in her eyes when she came to me for help.
Excuse me.
Hi.
I don't exactly know how to do this, but my brother is missing.
And, uh, I have his hat.
And I've been told that it might help.
You need to file a missing persons report.
Uh, this might take a while.
So, I'm sorry.
But if you just have a seat.
How long has your brother been missing? What's your name? Marina.
OK, Marina.
- Let's see what we can do.
- Thank you.
And every Monday after that, she would call me.
And there was always this determination and hope in her voice.
She wasn't gonna stop until she got answers.
Maybe after all this time, she lost that hope.
- She surrendered.
- No.
I don't believe Marina Garito gave up.
I'd, uh, be more than happy to help you.
You look a little lost.
Oh, no.
I was told to wait right by the elevator.
The lost look is me just taking this all in.
- I've never seen a crime lab before.
- I could give you a tour.
Show you epithelials under the microscope.
Seen plenty.
But, thank you.
- Ah.
Biologist? - Doctor.
- Dermatologist.
- ER.
- Single? - Cute.
- Yeah, well.
- Mac.
- Boss.
- Hey, Aubrey.
- Hi.
- I've got some work to do.
Your call was a pleasant surprise.
Come on into my office.
Have to admit, it was a little, uh, selfish on my part.
I really wanted to see the crime lab.
I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and bring these down myself.
What are these? A young woman came into emergency last night.
A Marina Garito? I figured you'd need her clothing for your case.
Usually someone comes by from the precinct, but no one showed.
Her death was determined a suicide.
Investigation's been closed.
Really? Sounds like you have another opinion, Doctor.
Uh, no.
No, I'm way out of my league here.
So.
Huh.
OK.
Well, yeah.
There you go.
I, l, I didn't mean to bother you.
So, OK.
It was really good to see you, Mac.
Let me just mention cadaveric spasm.
Instantaneous rigor.
You moonlight as a pathologist? No.
Just got back from Afghanistan.
I was working as a doctor in the Air Force Reserves.
- Really? - Yeah.
Looks like you know something about that.
Cadaveric spasm? Yeah, occasionally I would notice a soldier's hand clenched with nothing inside.
The rigor marks the last activity of the victim and is usually associated with a violent death.
Soldiers' clenched hands were trying to hold on to their weapon.
Yes.
Last night, I noticed Marina Garito's left hand was tightly clenched the same way.
Clear! You sure it was her left hand? Yeah.
This is the first sign that Marina may have struggled or resisted.
The reason Sid didn't see it is because by the time he received the body from the hospital, rigor had broken.
It doesn't rule out suicide.
Sid's GSR result still puts the gun in Marina's right hand.
But it gives us cause to investigate.
- Yes, it does.
- All right.
Cadaveric spasm captures their last attempt to grasp on to something to save themselves.
I think that's what happened with Marina.
She reached out for something, to clench something.
- The question is, what? - And why? No witnesses.
Marina's neighbours were either asleep or not home.
One guy heard a ruckus, called the police, but never got off his couch to check it out.
Possible signs of a struggle.
You're not buying it? A gunshot wound to the stomach is pretty effective.
But not instantly fatal, right? Let's say Marina fires the gun.
And she knocks all this stuff over as she stumbles across the room to get to her phone to call for help.
We both know most suicide attempts fail because victims regret the act the moment they commit to it.
Or, Marina was struggling with the shooter for the gun.
It discharges.
He marks her prints on the gun, flees.
She's still conscious.
So she struggles over to get her cell phone and call for help.
Either way, it may be the phone her hand was clutching.
And she fell unconscious before she could make the call.
But there were no signs of forced entry, Stella.
So it was someone she knew.
A hamburger and fries is not exactly a last meal.
Are you kidding me? These are from the Shake Shack.
All right.
I get it.
More evidence supports suicide than murder.
You think I'm trying too hard? We all have a Marina Garito, Stella.
John Brennan calls the station house once a month.
And anyone who answers the phone gets a story about how his wife was killed and the man who's responsible is still out there.
And it breaks your heart because you don't have any answers for him.
But what can you do? T ell me, on those Mondays when you got those calls, after you hung up, what did you do? You can't do much.
You're chasing bad guys who are out there right now.
The evidence on the old cases gets cold.
The witnesses don't recall half of what they used to But I keep thinking I could have done more to help her find her brother.
You took her calls every Monday.
That's a lot.
Humour me? Let's search the place before we head out.
- Sure.
- Thanks.
Nothing out here screams breaking and entering.
- Stella! - Flack! I'm going down the fire escape! - Hey, Flack! I'm on him! - I'm on it! Get him! It's Flack.
I need backup at the Westside Rec Centre! Freeze! Stella! Dr Bertram to Room 101, please.
Dr Bertram to Room 101 My mother was crying.
There was so much noise, so many people.
My stepfather was talking to the police.
He remembered the sound of an ice-cream truck.
My brother's bike was on the stoop.
But he wasn't.
And the hardest part of it all .
.
that I looked exactly like him.
Twins.
I was a constant reminder of what had happened, of who was missing.
And I hated my face.
My mother died a year later.
I'll write a prescription for the pain.
Thank you.
Hey.
- Hey.
- She's gonna be fine.
Thanks.
Before you even think about it, I am not going on sick leave.
Didn't cross my mind.
I do want you to take it easy though.
The man who attacked you, you're sure it was Tony Darisa? Absolutely.
It was Marina's stepdad.
Darisa's description just went out on teletype.
All commands have been notified - airports and bus and train stations.
We're sitting on his job and his usual haunts.
Despite all that's happened, we still don't have proof that Marina's death was murder and not suicide.
She found the answer and was killed.
She said she was getting close.
She found her brother's killer and the killer found her.
Put my money on Darisa.
He was a person of interest when Luke went missing, but there wasn't enough evidence to arrest him.
Well, he was in that apartment for a reason.
I think that answer is floating in a blue tile pool.
Vesicles just underneath the skin.
- You sure? - Positive.
Common with acute irritant contact dermatitis.
Specifically, a metal allergy.
She had contact with something she was allergic to just prior to death.
Confirms my findings.
I swabbed Marina's palm and found very small traces of nickel.
Causing this eczematous reaction.
Possibly a clue to what she was gripping in her left hand.
Sid, you called me down here to confirm your discovery of a rash? I'm a little cautious after this morning, Sheldon.
I feel better with a second opinion.
I would have concluded suicide, too.
You don't know that for sure.
Experience is a curse sometimes.
Things start to get routine and at the first sign of an answer, you leap in a familiar direction without asking, "ls there another possibility? " The forensic clues at a scene and on the victim's body tell us what path to take in an autopsy.
That's something we don't dictate.
If a victim's found with ligature marks on the neck, we don't consider poisoning as cause of death.
- You taught me that.
- I know.
I just feel bad.
Sid .
.
we're not always right, but it's not always because we're wrong.
Hey.
- How's Stella? - Tough as ever.
Good.
This French fry is not a French fry.
Hey.
What you got? It's foam.
The French fry I collected at the scene, its morphology is a match to polyurethane.
Everyday furniture foam.
The French fry is foam.
And the rest of 'em? Greasy French fries.
GSR.
I swabbed that from the foam fry's surface.
- Foam and GSR.
- Foam and GSR.
- It's possible - What? GSR is gunshot residue.
If what I'm thinking is right, it would explain everything.
I'll get Mac and Stella.
Get Adam.
- Have him bring his pillow.
- Where are we going? - Reconstruction.
- What are you thinking? You'll find out! And there you go.
That looks exactly like a French fry.
When the bullet perforated the soft material of the pillow, it punched out a piece of foam.
The bullet was forcing what was in front of it out.
And when the heat from the bullet made contact with our foam slice, it left these dark edges, leaving behind GSR, making it look like a French fry.
That's why the first on the scene never found it.
It looked exactly like the other food in the apartment.
That's what I thought it was.
We've just proven Marina was killed.
Really? I, l, l, I don't get it.
How did we do that? The French fry.
The foam slice found in Marina's living room is proof that a pillow was used as a silencer.
Someone committing suicide wouldn't bother muffling the sound of a gun.
Which proves Marina did not kill herself.
OK.
That leaves us with Tony Darisa.
Uh, OK.
I, I'm with you all the way up until the Tony Darisa part.
The pillow I collected at the pool didn't have a bullet hole in it.
It's the psychology of guilt.
Tony Darisa shot Marina and used a pillow as a silencer.
The whole French fry thing.
He took the pillow with him when he fled the scene.
- Didn't wanna leave evidence.
- But he was over-thinking.
A guilty conscience needs no accuser.
Tony Darisa went back to the apartment to get this pillow, not because it had a bullet hole in it, but because it didn't.
He thought it would seem weird that the sofa had one pillow and somehow we'd be onto him.
His big mistake was going back.
If he hadn't, we might never have linked him to the French fry.
- OK, we're done.
We got him.
- No.
We can only prove that he took the pillow.
We need to put Tony Darisa in that apartment and put that gun in his hand.
What the hell just happened? Whoa.
I'm not liking the body language.
Ah.
The bullet that Sid extracted from Marina Garito is definitely from this gun.
It's the same gun that the guys from the 37th found at her flat.
- But no connection to Darisa? - No.
I was hoping to match the DNA on the gun to Darisa's blood collected from the pool.
But it was wiped down pretty god.
I did, however, get a case-to-case hit on the bullet's stria.
This gun was used a week ago in a bodega robbery and a bullet was pulled from the wall.
Do we know who the shooter is? Asian-American male between the age of 17 to 20.
So a kid robs a bodega and then sold or discarded the gun and somehow Tony Darisa ended up with it.
Uh-huh.
Now, look, l I know this is kind of a long shot.
But, I can chase this, boss.
OK? I can get the surveillance footage from the bodega and lD the kid.
He gets nervous 'cos he now thinks he's linked to a gun that just killed a woman.
He flips.
And we lD the guy that he just sold the gun to.
If it's Tony Darisa, great.
If not, you're chasing every place the gun's been in the last week.
Could be three people, could be 20.
I think we're running out of time, Adam.
Darisa must be nervous.
He knows we know it's him.
Next logical step would be to leave town.
We gotta find him before he does.
Lindsay Messer.
- I need a witness.
What is this? - A swatch of fabric.
I saw those in Marina's apartment.
She was a designer for her stepfather's textile company.
Right.
Looks normal, yeah? - Yeah.
- Does it feel normal? - Yes.
- Yes.
All right.
Grab the other end with these.
OK, you ready? What are we doing? Just give it a second.
And boom.
What the hell was that? The answer.
Marina's hand was clenched around this piece of fabric.
It's imported from ltaly to one textile distributor in the city Darisa Textile.
Where's the razzle-dazzle part? 'Cos I see nothing to make an arrest on.
It's memory textile.
External stimulus, like temperature, caused the fabric to change shape.
And it first reacted to the heat from the light table.
It's made out of equal parts nickel and titanium.
Nitinol.
Which is known for its super-elasticity and shape memory.
And Hawkes said that Sid found a rash on Marina's hand? It was an allergic reaction to nickel.
It's from this swatch of fabric.
But Marina wasn't holding anything at the scene or at the hospital.
Yeah, she was.
They didn't see it as her body temperature warmed this swatch and it retracted.
It was hidden under her fingers.
Post-mortem, her body temperature significantly dropped, causing the fabric to uncoil, flatten and easily slip through her fingers.
Maybe in the ambulance or on the gurney.
That's why it was with the collection of her clothes.
So Marina clenched this fabric in her fist because she knew she held the clue to her killer's identity.
Tony married my mom when we were five.
He loved her a lot.
But you could tell that kids were a big adjustment.
9, 10.
Ready or not, here I come.
How many times must I tell you to put that bike away? He tried really hard.
He took care of me.
He and Luke it was tough for them.
I, I don't think he meant to do it.
You're not my dad.
- Get over here.
- Let me go! - Let go! - I'm your father.
Now, stay Stop it! My arm! Ow! Oh, no, Lucas.
Luke! Oh, I'm sorry.
I stayed in there for a while hoping this wasn't real.
And I was wondering who's gonna take care of me? What'll happen to me if I tell the truth? And would my mum love me any more, if they both went away? No one asked me what happened.
So I just forgot.
What's going on? One of Flack's Cls got an emergency request for forged documents.
- Passport and lD.
- Tony Darisa's getting out of town.
Yep.
Flack and I are gonna help him through security.
Detective Bonasera.
I want to thank you for all that you've done in trying to help me find my brother.
Finally, I could put this all to rest now.
I know what happened.
I know who did it.
I knew all along.
Repressed memory.
That's what they call it.
I was in college and someone asked me about my missing brother.
And he said, "Why had nothing been done? " So I got angry.
And I started to ask my own questions Talk to investigators, look for answers.
Two weeks ago, I went back there .
.
back to the house where we lived.
And, I remembered it all.
Is this where you pointed the gun right before you shot her? - Or was it here? - Hey, let go of me.
- Hey! - Take it easy, Mr Darisa.
OK? - You got the right to remain silent.
- It was an accident.
What? Pillow got in the way and the gun went off by mistake? You got the right to an attorney.
Wanna hear this now or in the car? If you cannot find an attorney All by herself she figured it out.
Timeline, conflicting witness accounts, the, the ice-cream truck that never existed.
She confided in you.
Told you everything she knew.
We both wanted answers.
Sure you did.
Only you wanted to know what she knew.
- How close Marina was to the truth.
- I would never hurt Marina.
You panicked.
Just like you did when you killed Luke.
Did she look at you differently? - Is that what it was? - I didn't kill her.
Yes, you did.
Only what you didn't know, what we all didn't know, was that Marina had ended her commitment to search for Luke.
She was finally letting it all go.
She was letting you go.
The email to her friends was mistaken as a suicide note only because she was found dead.
Listen to her words.
"It's time I end it all.
" Free myself.
And this is the only way I know how.
Leaving here is my only option.
T ony, we're both free.
She knew it was you.
You panicked for nothing.
You killed her for nothing.
She was letting you go.
Hey, Sid? Hey.
- I'm sorry.
- No, you were right.
And, and I got defensive because I thought, what if she's right? Reminds me that, you know, I may be a little off my game.
- I'm getting old.
- Uh-uh.
You are wise, my friend.
If only.
I got a letter in the mail today from Marina.
- Yeah? - Said she was moving to Boston.
- Mr Brennan? - Yeah.
Who's this? Hey, it's Detective Don Flack.
- How are you doin'? - I'm fine.
Uh, what, what can I help you with? Well, I was hoping that you and I could get together.
You know something about my wife? No, sir.
I don't have any answers.
But I'm sure as hell hoping you and I can find some.
Really? Wow.
Uh, Detective, it's been a really long time.
Yeah, it has been a long time.
Three years after the day it all happened, I was 11.
And I remember coming home thinking that he's here.
He's back.
He's here.
Luke.
I was sure he was hiding in our secret place.
Ready or not, here I come! But he wasn't.
And I remembered him telling me that one day, he was gonna hide in a place and I would never find him.
But I did.
I did find him.