CSI: NY s08e03 Episode Script

Let's go find a wild stallion to tame.
Ready? Come on, come on.
We're in.
Ten.
Nine, eight in New York City last year.
All right, that's 28 a day.
Early this year, auto crime division identified a ring specializing in luxury imports.
A few months back, the perps got a taste for Italian.
And now they're only stealing Ferraris.
Suspects are female.
Mid-to-late 20s, one blonde, one brunette.
Beyond that, details are sketchy.
So far, they've avoided surveillance cameras and most eyewitnesses.
They target vehicles parked on the street, and they're able to bypass the most advanced security systems.
These girls are good, but they've been lucky.
All right, and that's gonna change sooner or later, and when that happens, I want one of us to be there.
All right, you got your shift assignments.
Let's get out of here, let's be safe.
Sarge, you must have a thing for parking garages.
This is the fifth one we've checked out tonight.
Yes, it is.
You want to tell me why? 'Cause stolen cars with theft recovery devices emit a tracking signal, but the battery only lasts three days.
Thief stashes the vehicle, walks away.
If it hasn't been found by the time he gets back Probably never will.
Whoa, whoa, stop, stop, stop.
Engine's still running on that car.
You know what to do? Keep our eyes open, stay in the blind spots.
Hey, Mac.
So, ACD confirms the vehicle was stolen two nights ago, and, uh, DOT checked local traffic cameras.
Guess who likes to run red lights? The victim's one of our elusive car thieves.
Hmm.
We have a name? She had no I.
D.
on her.
What do you think? That photo puts her behind the wheel.
Now we got to figure out who put her in the trunk.
We got powder flecks on some of the controls knobs inside, and some kind of crushed electronic device outside, but other than that, I can say this is officially the cleanest Ferrari I've ever been in.
And how many is that? Well, it depends if you're talking stock or race modified.
Checked with lot security.
Guard did a walk-through two hours ago.
Ferrari wasn't here yet.
Narrows our time frame.
Car could have been dumped here with her already in the trunk.
Boosting cars is a dangerous game.
But a really lucrative one.
A car like this, on the black market, would sell for a fortune.
And even more if you sell the parts individually.
And why would it still be sitting here? He may not have killed her for the car, but simply because she stole it.
Somebody jacked my quarter of a million dollar midlife crisis, I'd be mighty pissed.
I'm bringing some of her vics for a chat.
Her death may have had something to do with this powder on the controls.
She could have been moonlighting in narcotics.
Drug deal gone bad.
I didn't find any trace of it, though, on her skin or her clothes.
Then it likely came from the killer.
Which puts him inside the car at some point.
Be nice if she could just tell us what happened here.
Maybe her body can.
Mystifying.
What is? Robust 25-year old female.
Non-smoker, clearly works out.
Overall, the shapely picture of health.
At least she was.
Frankly, Sheldon, I'm stumped.
Any physical trauma? Yeah, superficial contusions on the upper abdomen and lateral aspect of the thigh.
While decidedly unpleasant, I'm quite sure that small bruises are not what killed her.
Poison? Toxicology was negative across the board.
Okay, well, it's not unprecedented for an otherwise healthy young women to have sudden cardiac arrest.
Take a look.
There's no indication of arterial sclerosis or heart abnormality.
Nothing that would suggest a cardiac episode.
In fact, all of the vital organs, her brain included, are well within normal parameters.
By all accounts, our decedent shouldn't be deceased.
Then why the hell is she? Mr.
Rose, you reported your 2009 Ferrari California stolen on July 26? Yeah, my fault for parking it in such a bad neighborhood.
Temporary lapse in judgment.
Leaving your keys in the glove box that also a lapse in judgment? I was just going to a party, didn't want to lose them.
I guess leaving them in the car was pretty stupid.
Almost as stupid as committing insurance fraud.
Just need some water.
Should never have bought that expensive car.
Just let vanity get the best of me.
Ego sometimes clouds our perspective.
Yeah, especially when birthdays start flying by.
Mr.
Purdue, we recovered your Ferrari early this morning in a parking lot on the West Side.
- Was there any damage? - No, the car is fine.
It's the dead body in the trunk that's a problem.
I was at my boyfriend's all night.
I didn't know the car was gone until morning.
The car was registered to your father, not you.
I borrowed it.
LINDSAY Without his permission? I was surprised he even noticed.
He's been a little distracted lately ever since he ditched me and my mom - for a girlfriend half his age.
- So, how did he react when you told him - the car had been stolen? - He took it pretty well, I guess.
Other than cutting me out of his will and depriving me of my birthright.
That must have made you pretty angry at the people that took the car.
I thought a fancy car would get the attention of some of the ladies.
So I cashed in my savings for the deposit and leased one.
How'd that work out for you? No ladies.
Just a mountain of debt.
I just figured if the car got stolen I could use the insurance money to get out from under it.
Did you have anyone helping you with this genius plan? No.
Recognize this woman? Never seen her.
Can I go now? I don't think so.
This was taken minutes after your car was stolen.
It's likely she and her associates had been watching you and it for days.
Does she look familiar? No.
I wish I could help you.
The car will be impounded and processed.
Once we're through with the investigation, you'll get it back.
I'm not sure I want it back.
Mac, is that you? Give me a hand.
You are just full of surprises today.
Here's one more: This hot car is not the hot car we thought it was.
The hidden VIN on the chassis doesn't match the registration.
This is not Nathan Purdue's Ferrari.
Then whose car is it? It was boosted from a Connecticut dealership, about six hours before Danny found our Jane Doe.
Thieves put clean VINs on stolen cars so they can resell them.
Why would someone put stolen VINs on another stolen car? Lookin' good, JD.
Not many people can pull off those coveralls.
I love you, Adam.
Did you finish the reconstruction? Ka-pow! This baby's good as new.
What is it? It's a homemade RF cloning device tool of choice for this year's technologically discerning car thieves.
Now, let me give you guys a demonstration with this handsome American-made vehicle.
All right, keys, please.
Come on.
Hey.
Now get in.
I can't.
Of course you can't, because it's locked, and like any would-be thief, you don't have the keys.
Adam.
Okay, I'm sorry.
Okay, most cars have a coded entry system.
Now, this gizmo thing fools the receiver by transmitting all one trillion possible codes in rapid succession.
Here, check it out.
Huh? The same matched code disengages the engine immobilizer and activates the ignition system.
So, say sayonara to the car and hello, ridiculous insurance premium.
Oh, thanks.
What's that? AFIS report.
This cloning device was pretty trashed when you found it, and when I was reassembling it, I found a latent on one of the components, and I thought if there was a print in the system, it could tell us who built it and designed it.
Prints match an ex-con named Arthur Noonan nine counts of grand larceny dating all the way back to the late '70s.
Also has priors for assault.
A seasoned car thief with a temper.
Could have been part of the girls' ring or their competition.
And if the tension between 'em heated up Could have ended with murder.
Go get the keys.
Go.
NYPD.
Can I help you? Hi, I'm Detective Flack.
I'm looking for Arthur Noonan.
You're here about my daughters, aren't you? My beautiful Michelle.
Reminds me so much of her mother.
Forgive me, but you just don't seem too surprised by her passing.
Well, because it's my worst nightmare come true because in many ways, it's my fault.
I'm sorry about your sister.
Michelle wasn't perfect, but she still deserved better than this.
You knew what she was doing? Stealing cars is the family business.
My father, Michelle, my oldest sister Nicole.
They've been doing it since I was a kid.
What about you? Not Audrey.
She chose law school instead.
Did you make this for your daughters? I wish I hadn't.
You could have said no.
Those kids were out on the street because I failed them as a father.
Would have done anything to make things right between us.
Make it right now and give me Nicole's address.
I can't.
Arthur, Michelle's dead, Nicole might know why.
I didn't say I wouldn't, I said I can't.
I haven't seen or spoken to either one of them in months.
He asked my sisters to stop stealing cars.
He was helping them do it? Michelle called him a hypocrite and she was right.
That was the last time they spoke to him.
But not to you, Audrey.
Michelle is already gone and your father is a very sick man.
Nicole is the only family you'll have left.
This is your chance to make sure that you don't lose her, too.
I saw them a few weeks back.
We met at a coffee shop in Brooklyn, but they called me.
And I, I have no idea where they were living, I swear.
The family may be fractured, but Michelle and her sister Nicole were extremely close.
Nicole is probably holed up somewhere, distraught over Michelle's death.
Or she could be hiding in fear for her own life.
We haven't even actually confirmed that Michelle was murdered.
Sid's doing everything he can to find a C.
O.
D.
I'm gonna have Flack start canvassing Brooklyn coffee shops with Nicole's photo.
Here's the evidence voucher and the joint I confiscated.
I need your signature and we're good to go.
Two hours later, huh? Do something wrong, Sarge? I don't know, you tell me.
No, 'cause I'm pretty sure that issuing a summons to some guy smoking dope in the park is exactly what a cop is supposed to do.
You want to tell that to the units that are forced to cover our sector while we're single-handedly taking down drug cartels half a roach at a time? So, what, next time I just pretend like I didn't see it? No, next time, you stop and you think and you use your training and discretion to determine what's the best use of your time and that of your supervising officer.
This uniform you're wearing makes you accountable for your actions, and mine makes me responsible for 15 officers, and when they mess the bed, that's my problem.
Because of your decision, we're sitting here paper-jockeying vouchers instead of being out there on our shift where the real criminals are.
That means overtime and that I might not see my kid and my wife tonight.
I didn't consider all that.
Next time you will.
Run this over to the property clerk.
I'll see you outside.
Go ahead, Mac, say it.
Tell me I handled that wrong and I got a lot to learn before I become a good boss.
I think you handled that like a seasoned pro, Danny, I think you're already a good boss.
Serious? Yeah, come a hell of a long way since those first couple of years in the lab.
Wow.
That was a long time ago.
I still feel like I got a lot to learn, though.
Ah, trust your instincts, don't beat yourself up if things don't always come out the way you intended.
And good luck with the drug cartels.
All right.
Mac, the mystery powder from the Ferrari it's magic not literally but medically.
It's an extracellular matrix composed of fibrous proteins, namely collagen.
The glue that holds the body together.
This stuff is specifically engineered to promote rapid tissue regrowth.
I've read the research on similar compounds.
The applications are endless surgical wounds, severe burns, ulcers.
Someday it may even grow body parts.
Where did this sample come from? There are dozens of labs working on regenerative technology.
I should be able to narrow it down.
- It'll just take some time.
- Stay on it.
I can't breathe! Oxygen Is it working? Gentlemen, should I be concerned? Perfect timing, Mac.
We looked into possible causes for the bruising on Michelle Moore's body, - and I think we found the culprit.
- Krav Maga.
Translated as "battle combat.
" It originated in Hungary as an extremely efficient defensive fighting technique.
I'm familiar with it.
It's standard training for many soldiers around the world.
Then you know it's all about neutralizing your opponent as quickly as possible.
Targeting the most vulnerable points.
But in this case, the bruisi was on the victim's thigh and abdomen.
Yes, perfectly logical targets if the attacker had a specific agenda.
And advanced knowledge of Krav Maga pressure points.
Gall bladder 31.
A kick here will render the leg useless.
Conception vessel 15.
A blow here will make the diaphragm spasm, causing difficulty breathing and severe pain.
She was deliberately paralyzed and made to suffer.
Our perp is the total package cold, calculating, sadistic.
Hey.
He's gone.
You can get up now.
What exactly are we looking for? The smoking gun.
These are myocardiocyteal cells from Michelle's heart.
Take a look.
The contours of the nuclei are stretched and narrowed.
Precisely what happens when cells are introduced to electricity.
Our C.
O.
D.
was electrocution.
The charge was delivered through her leather jacket.
That's why there were no burns on the skin.
What are you thinking for a murder weapon? Something efficient, easy to conceal.
Like a stun gun.
They don't produce nearly the 0.
1 amps needed to stop the heart.
But if modified, a stun gun could deliver its full charge in one fatal burst.
At the risk of sounding a bit envious, I do have to ask, how did you figure out electric shock? I think I know who killed her.
Our suspect is Dominik Janos.
Why does that name sound so familiar? 'Cause FBI and Interpol have been chasing him since the early '90s.
He's become a ghost.
With Janos, fact and fiction are easily blurred.
What's he wanted for? Everything from drug and weapons charges to human trafficking.
So why are we liking him for a murdered car thief? Janos was arrested at after being arrested for shoplifting.
He spent five years in a prison outside Budapest where he learned Krav Maga.
After his release, three of the cop's family members were found murdered, all of them had their tracheas crushed by a single strike to the throat.
This guy's insane.
Janos vanished for a few years, later turned up in Colombia as a Medellin enforcer providing us with the only other known photo of him.
His specialty was electric shock because of the efficiency and extreme pain it causes.
It also gave him the knowledge and know-how to easily turn a stun gun into a killing machine.
How is this guy still free after all these years? There must be eyewitnesses reports, a physical description.
His complex aliases and altered appearances made them all unreliable and inconsistent.
Like the accounts of his death two years ago.
The yacht he was on reportedly caught fire and sank, taking everyone down with it.
Well, a dead man didn't kill Michelle.
No, but maybe a burned man did.
The regenerative powder.
He's using it to regrow scar tissue.
Transferred it to the controls in the Ferrari.
Then why take the time to turn on the radio and air conditioner? Nothing is random with Janos.
Whatever it was, he had a good reason for getting into that car.
Michelle might have known what it was and that's why he killed her.
And Nicole might know, too.
Even if Janos just thinks she does, Nicole is in serious danger.
And so is her family.
Police.
Mr.
Noonan?! Audrey?! Arthur, it's Detective Flack.
It's too late.
Janos was already here.
Neighbors didn't hear anything.
Paratransit company says they drove Audrey and her father directly home from the precinct.
Janos could have already been here waiting.
Any sign of the girl? Not yet.
Victim's been dead no more than six hours.
No physical trauma except for two small contact burns on his chest.
Same stun gun? This time applied directly to the skin, not through a leather jacket.
I also found paint chips on the carpet from this window right here.
Window frame's painted shut.
Somebody tried to get it open, but couldn't.
Audrey tried to run.
And hide.
Found this underneath the bed.
She was dialing 911.
Yeah.
Perp must have caught her before she could hit send.
These are her fingernail marks on the carpet.
Twisted freak dragged her out by her ankles.
If we haven't found a body, maybe Audrey's still alive.
Janos would have killed her right away, if that was his intention.
He took her for a reason.
Some kind of ransom? Or leverage against the only family member left Nicole.
Hey, Cooper Sarge.
Listen, about before No, I, I deserved what I got.
I was a bit out of line.
Shaving my head would've been out of line, but what happened earlier, that was just you teaching me how to be better.
As long as I didn't push you too hard.
You don't have to worry about me.
I'm much tougher than I look.
Truth is, you're gonna be a great cop.
And that's more than anyone ever said about me when I was starting out.
Did you make as many mistakes as me? Twice as many.
I was impulsive, I was arrogant, I thought I knew everything.
Eh, you know, some things never change.
All right, now take it easy, rookie but I want you to keep doing what you're doing, okay? Mistakes and all.
'Cause that's the only way you ever really learn.
As long as you promise not to pull any punches the next time I do drop the ball.
That's easy enough.
Deal.
Hey, Sarge Yeah.
Me and some of the guys are gonna go get couple beers, and there's always room at the table for one more screw-up.
I gotta head home.
Maybe next time.
Nicole Moore is back on the radar.
Two more Ferraris reported stolen over the last four hours.
Two family members dead and one missing, and it's business aual? Not exactly.
Both cars were taken by force in plain sight of eyewitnesses and surveillance cameras.
Her M.
O.
has completely changed.
Why is she so desperate to steal these particular cars? Hey, I just got off Skype with a biotech firm in Denver.
They've been working on a wound powder, it's designed specifically to regrow skin that's been damaged by burns, but it's not for sale yet.
There are a hundred different ways Janos could have gotten some.
I'm not sure if this helps, but there's a pretty significant list of side effects.
What kind of side effects? Where do I start? Shooting pain, bacterial infection, light sensitivity.
Light sensitivity.
I never should have bought such an expensive car.
I just let vanity get the best of me.
Sometimes ego clouds our perspective.
Especially when birthdays start flying by.
We had him.
Nathan Purdue is Dominik Janos.
And now he knows we're onto him.
I spoke to the Bureau.
They've been investigating Purdue for months.
It turns out his textile import/export business is a cover for a money-laundering operation based in the Caymans.
Why the hell didn't they share that information with us? They didn't make the Janos connection till we made it for them.
What about Purdue's background check? It came out clean, because on the surface it was.
He had ties to the community, supports local charities.
He's been in New York less than two years.
Coincides with the sinking of his yacht.
So everyone thinks Janos is dead, and he reinvents himself as a successful businessman.
Allows him to hide in plain sight while he's convalescing from any injuries he might have sustained in the fire.
Michelle and Nicole's biggest mistake wasn't stealing a car, it was stealing the wrong car.
Crossing Janos put a target on their backs.
Janos could buy a hundred sports cars if he wanted to.
Why would he risk exposing his true identity by going after this one? What if it's not the car he wants, but what's hidden inside? Whatever it is, it must be worth it.
We gotta find it before he does.
To do that, we got to find Nicole first.
Easier said than done.
One of the cars that Nicole jacked earlier today was fitted with a vehicle recovery system.
stolen from here, ACD activated the transreceiver and the black-and-white picked up the signal here.
They spotted her, tried to pull her over.
Tried? She ditched them in traffic before the chopper got there.
Another unit picked up the signal in Brooklyn, but they lost it before they could locate the car.
I mean, she could be anywhere right now.
Where in Brooklyn? Right here.
Fourth and Union.
That's three blocks from the coffee shop where Audrey met her sisters.
They must have a garage nearby.
This is Mac Taylor.
I want every available air and ground unit equipped with a vehicle recovery receiver routed to Brooklyn right away.
If that car is still in the area, we're gonna find it.
Clear! Clear! Clear! Look upstairs! All clear, Detective.
Nobody's here.
There's an apartment upstairs.
Must have been where Nicole and Michelle were living.
VINs match.
This is Purdue's real stolen Ferrari.
At least some of it.
What if they dismantled the car before they knew who the owner was? Then they find out Purdue is Janos and that he wants it back? Then it's too late.
Car's already been chopped.
It's a list of auto parts.
Most of them are crossed off.
She could be rebuilding his car using original components.
As a trade for Audrey.
Exactly.
The second Janos gets that thing back, he'll kill them both.
There are still a few pieces not crossed off on this list.
The parts she's still after? It's difficult to fence parts from such high-end exotics.
The girls must have had a network of black market dealers that were working for them.
It would have been a fight for her to get back the parts that are still on those dealers' shelves.
Damn near impossible to retrieve the parts that have already been sold.
She'd have to steal them back.
If we can find out who bought those parts and what cars they've been installed on, we've narrowed down her next target.
We just have to beat her to it.
Police! Do not move! NYPD! Don't move! It's over, Nicole! You just killed my sister.
You're wasting time.
Audrey needs help now.
Nicole, we're gonna help your sister, you have my word.
You need to calm down and answer my questions.
Sit down.
Take a seat! When did you learn that you'd stolen from Dominik Janos? The morning after.
We'd already chopped his car and distributed the parts to shops around town.
And Michelle wanted to run, lay low for awhile but I'd heard the ghost stories.
There's no hiding from that monster, and it was too late to give him back his 458, so we decided to give him one that looked just like it.
Our plan was for Michelle to show him the car, while I stayed hidden.
Something went wrong; I was supposed to go for help.
I froze praying he would just drive away.
But, somehow, he knew we had tried to trick him Where is my car? She couldn't tell him because she didn't know.
It happened so fast.
There was nothing I could do.
I walked away.
And I waited a few minutes.
Then I ran.
And I should I should've done more, but I should've tried to help her.
If you had, you'd be dead now, too.
I knew it was just a matter of time before he came after me, so I went straight back to the garage, and I waited, and when my cell rang, I knew it was him calling.
Only Michelle had my number.
He had her phone.
By then, he'd already killed your father and kidnapped Audrey.
He said I had 24 hours to return his car his whole car with every original part, or he'd kill her.
Where are you supposed to bring it? He said he was gonna call back with instructions, but now Please I chose this life, and I'm prepared to answer for that, but Audrey never asked to be a part of this family business, and now, because of me, she could lose her life.
And, so, please let me try and save her.
Let me bring that car back to Janos.
That's exactly what we're gonna do.
West Side Highway to Tenth Avenue.
There's an empty lot under the bridge.
Do as he says.
We'll be close behind.
Stop, but leave the engine running.
Get out and take 15 steps.
Keep your back to the car at all times.
Your sister will be nearby.
Do as you're told.
Once I drive away, you'll both be free to go.
Bitch! What's the matter, Janos? Look like you've seen a ghost.
You okay? Never better.
- Get down on the ground! - What about Audrey? Still looking.
Hey, Mac! Jo! Over here! Tires feel warm.
Janos transferred powder to three buttons the radio the thermostat, and the hazard lights.
He installed a hidden trap.
Ah, forged passports, credit cards, birth certificate everything Janos needs to get out of the country.
FBI and Interpol would have to start over at square one.
He found out the Feds were onto the Purdue alias, and knew his window for escape was closing.
He needed a final disappearing act.
Well, that's why he had everything in the car, in case they searched his office and apartment.
Must've been days away from running.
After the car was stolen, he didn't have time to get new documents.
That's why he was desperate to get 'em back.
The uncatchable Dominik Janos brought down by a family of car thieves.
I always tell my kids the only reason evil exists in the world is so that good can triumph over it.
Well, if it didn't, we'd be out of a job.
Sarge! Glad you could make it out.
What the hell do you rookies think you're doing? Want to move over a little bit, or I'm gonna let you stand? I'm just kidding.
I'm joking.
It's good to see you, Sarge.