CSI: Miami s02e07 Episode Script

Jimmy.
.
Over here.
.
Jimmy.
Over here.
.
Flag the pole, Jimmy.
Go, go! I got it.
This is Jimmy.
I'm coming to the pits.
Ready for a fast one.
Let's go, move, move.
Lift there.
Come on! You're going to cost me the pole! Pick it up! Go.
Go, go, go! Great.
/ Thank you.
Damn it.
/ Something's wrong.
Loosing power.
What the hell did you guys do? I can't believe this.
Jimmy's dead-sticked.
Let's go get him, guys.
Grand prix miami.
What do we got? Chris petrie, 26 years old.
Fuel man on american spirit pit crew.
Died during qualifying run.
Okay.
How is that unusual? Crew chief said it was a regular pit stop.
by the book.
/ Okay, so let's process the pit and the car.
- What do you know about the driver? - Jimmy hutton.
He's missing in action.
Blew the qualifying, then blew out of here.
No one seems to know where he is.
Well, that's not by the book, is it? There was fire in the pit, Alexx.
Burns extend into the subcutaneous tissue.
third degree.
This boy got cooked.
/ And it also means he burned for a while.
Not surprising.
Hot engine, thousands of gallons of gasoline.
What is more surprising is they use methanol which is safer than gas and has a higher flashpoint, doesn't it? Wasn't any safer for you, was it, sweetheart? How did this happen? More importantly, why did this happen? Methanol can be put out with water.
This water hose should have worked.
- What time did you pronounce? - Officially, we haven't.
- You the paramedic? - John leary, miami track doctor.
Pronounce at the hospital.
I've got an ambulance standing by.
- Doctor, this man's already dead.
- Still, he's going to the hospital.
That's the way it's always been done.
So you can say there's never been a death at a track.
Huh? - Bet that makes you look good.
- It's not about me.
It should be about him.
Is there a problem? Something seems to be obstructing this water hose.
Track's a dangerous place.
Equipment breaks down, people make mistakes.
I think we will both agree, doctor, that this doesn't belong here, does it? Like I said, accidents happen.
That's quite true.
But so, so does murder.
How are we doing? Hundred ways to die in the pit.
That's true, Eric, but only one of them killed our guy.
So, speed, the fire hose, please.
Take a look at it.
Calleigh, the autopsy.
I'll process the vic and his clothing.
Thank you.
And Eric, the car and our missing driver.
Let's look into that.
Okay, I'm on it.
Excuse me.
/ Yes, ma'am? Are you in charge here? Well, I'm in charge of the investigation.
You are? / Haley wilson.
I own team american spirit.
So, our victim is your employee.
Chris, yes.
He was like family to me.
How soon do you think you can clear this up? I need the pit for practice.
You see, the problem with the pit, ma'am, is that it's now a crime scene.
Do you think we could talk away from here? / Sure.
Calleigh, when you're done admiring the wax job, we've got a car to process.
Just savoring the moment.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
These jam cars are the most sophisticated vehicles you'll see besides the space shuttle.
I didn't know you were a race fan.
Oh, I'm not.
I like a car just for itself, not for how fast it goes compared to other cars.
Are you kidding me? Racing is one of the only pure sports left.
The fastest guy around the track wins.
No if, ands or buts.
With the exception of Jimmy hutton.
He hardly ever wins, but he's very cute.
He's also missing in action.
Really? What I don't understand is, I mean, if the guy burns up in the pit nobody's around to see it? It's the methanol.
Yeah, it burns clear.
It's invisible flame.
Well, we have two parts of the fire triangle.
fuel and oxygen.
So, that leaves the heat source.
So, who do you think provided the spark? Anyone in the pit crew.
Got six guys, ten seconds.
The jack man plugs in the air hose, jacks a spark against the pavement.
Got the tire changer, he swaps the rubber, exposes the hot brake pad.
Ann the fuel man, our victim, he locks in the fuel nozzle.
If he doesn't ground the line, it can cause a static discharge.
A hundred ways to die in the pit.
You see the logos on the drivers, the cars and the stands? The sponsors run this show.
They decide who plays and who sits on the sidelines.
Mrs.
Wilson / Ms.
I haven't had a top five finish all season.
I need a win tomorrow, which means I need my pit now.
I understand.
I am looking to talk to your driver Jimmy hutton.
I don't know where he is.
/ All right.
I find that hard to believe.
He's not right.
he's emotional.
The last thing he needs is an interrogation the day before a race.
Yeah, I don't think you understand.
There's not going to be a race if I don't figure out what happened here.
Look, my driver just blew a quarter of a million dollar engine.
I think we will both agree it's very difficult to do these with the best engines in the world, right? Exactly, and it's even harder to put a new one in by tomorrow, so, if I knew where he was, / Right.
you'd hear me screaming from there right now.
/ All right, here's the deal.
Continue preparing for the race, but do not in any way prevent my team from doing their job, understood? Done.
/ Good.
Will I see you at the memorial? The what? / The memorial for Chris, your fuel man.
Chris, right.
Yes, he's family, remember? Burns are confined to the facial maxillary.
Distal extremities of the arms.
Hands went first.
Then he put them to his face - wicked up like a candle.
- A human torch.
Thought those fire suits were supposed to protect them.
They are.
Fire-resistant material is guaranteed for 12 seconds at 1,300 degrees fahrenheit.
It's a triple redundancy, and I know that he was wearing his safety gloves.
Okay.
Then how do you explain this? I'm seeing particulate matter melted into the skin.
Well, that shouldn't have happened.
I mean the fabric carbonizes when it's heated up, but the heat's supposed to stay on the outside of the glove.
Sounds like an accelerant was involved.
It would have to be an accelerant that would burn hot enough to go through fire-resistant material.
- Got one in mind? - I don't, but the mass spec might.
Next up, seven qualifying laps for tomorrow's race.
It's like I told the detective.
Pit stop went just like clockwork in and out, nine point eight.
I just, uh, I still can't believe what happened to that kid.
Hey, I'm the one who hired him six months ago, straight out of MIT.
So, your fuel man was an engineer? You bet.
most of these boys here got advanced degrees.
mechanical engineering, aerodynamics.
You know, it's all about, uh, it's all about squeezing.
squeezing that extra bit of performance out of the car.
These guys don't look too broken up about what happened this morning.
Like, well, you don't train, you lose your edge.
I mean, a tenth of a second in the pit costs you three places in the race.
Anyhow, look, this is, uh this is, this is Chris.
I mean it's what he wanted.
It looks like he wasn't the only one.
Win at all costs.
It cost him his life.
Look, that's not my idea.
That's just the boss.
I mean, she's, uh you know, she's a hard-ass.
She comes around here with those speeches of, uh, teamwork, rah-rah-rah.
But, uh, what I got to ask is where is she when a kid dies, you know? It sounds like you got a morale problem.
No, what I got is a blown engine and 24 hours to get the new one ready for race day, so, uh, I'm out of here, all right? Joey? Yeah, what do you need? I got your page.
What's up? There's a 22-millimeter socket missing from this.
That's the same size as the one H found in that fire hose.
Whose toolbox is this? Chris petrie our victim.
Look, I'll print the workbench and the toolbox.
You'll probably get most of the crew's prints off on those.
Well, while you're at it, you might want to figure out where that came from.
Looks like a heel print.
But supplemented.
Nah, that's a racing boot.
They have extra insulation in the heel to keep the feet from burning up.
We're looking at somebody on the race team.
No, not somebody.
there's only one person on any team that where's that shoe.
It's the driver.
Alexx Not now.
Jimmy hutton.
You do realize that he's won the least amount of races on the circuit.
Didn't know.
And don't care.
Does your husband know about this? We have a look, don't touch rule.
He's taller than I expected.
Maybe guiltier, too.
/ What? Radio car just stopped him doing Jimmy? / Yeah.
Oh, no, no, no.
no.
Not Jimmy.
/ Yes.
So, Jimmy a member of your pit crew dies and you go on a joyride.
I went for a drive.
that's what I do.
Look, I've been into the wall I've broken more bones in my body than I can count.
But fire it's worse than any crash.
It's bad luck.
Seems like you've had a lot of bad luck lately.
Arrest for assault, drunk and disorderly in half a dozen cities.
Yes, and two weeks ago, you attacked your fuel man Chris petrie, didn't you? - The guy was a loser.
- Well, now - he's a dead loser.
- Better him than me.
You know, he cost me three tenths of second in Denver.
That's a 150 grand of my contingency money.
Three-tenths of second.
You are a humanitarian.
Look, I didn't want him dead, just off the team.
You got your wish.
I need your racing shoes.
No way.
/ I have a warrant.
Look, you wouldn't take Michael jordan's lucky shorts the day before a game.
I would if they were evidence.
You can't do this.
I have race a tomorrow.
Jimmy, there is a distinct possibility that you don't.
I want the shoes.
Car go in.
/ All right.
Pilot, get everybody formed up.
This field is really spread out.
Lead us 51.
we got a problem.
What's that? Jimmy's racing boot doesn't match the print we found inside the team's truck.
Are you sure? Yeah.
The print's a size nine.
Jimmy's a ten and a half.
Somebody else was in front of Chris petrie's locker.
So we've got 20 teams, 20 drivers, and now 19 suspects.
Maybe not.
I ran a trace on the print matrix.
Hydrocarbons with detergent additives.
/ Motor oil.
I'll see if it leads us to any brand names.
So what do we do about him? We cut him loose for now.
Hey.
How's it coming with the samples? I've got everything our human torch might've touched.
Hose, rags, floor mats.
I'm putting them in these paint cans.
That's good.
That will contain any vapors until we process our mystery accelerant.
Only one problem.
I haven't been able to get any control samples.
Really? Did you check with the other pits? 'Cause I would think that they would have clean samples.
I've been asking all morning, but, uh, no one's been jumping up to volunteer.
Well, maybe you just haven't been asking the right way.
Excuse me.
I was wondering if you all could give me a hand.
Anything you want.
If you let me show you my car.
I'd like that.
Thanks again for letting us use your equipment.
Anything to help find out who killed their fuel man.
Tell me.
Do they plan to race tomorrow, team american spirit? I'm really not privy to that kind of information.
I see.
It would narrow the field for your team, though, wouldn't it? One less team.
Your detective Salas already asked me if I am part of this attack.
if that's what you're thinking.
I I will have to take you out sometime.
Excuse me? / On the track, for a ride in my car.
Oh, I didn't know that you could do something like that.
Isn't that against the rules? / Rules rules are only good for running at the back of the grid, just like our good friend Paolo here.
Now if you ever want to ride a real champion I'm Ernest.
Pay no attention to Ernest.
He.
.
he's always trying to pass me.
Well, I do it every sunday on the track.
Why not now? I'm sorry about that.
No, not that sorry.
I mean, it's a competition, right? It's okay if you break the rules.
Rules can be bent without being broken.
That's how you win races.
That's interesting.
Oil print from the boot.
Pretty high-end stuff.
Brand name is, uh, Slick defense.
- How many teams use this? - Just one.
Team Jeunet.
- Hmm.
Like the champagne.
- Okay.
I want to talk to their drivers.
- Okay, I'll have Yelina bring them in.
- No need.
There will be a VIP party at the mandarin-oriental this afternoon where they will be, and so will I.
I think you have an admirer.
Duty calls.
Lieutenant Caine.
Still on the clock? Always.
I hope you didn't come all this way just to talk to me.
Well, you're worth the drive.
Can I get you a drink? Some jeunet champagne.
No, thank you.
I know how you feel.
it gives me a headache.
But they are the hosts.
And from what I understand, the largest sponsors in racing.
So are you upgrading? I will take that as a yes.
How does your current sponsor feel about that? My sponsors? They're not savvy enough to know that they're second-tier, let alone that I'm leaving.
And you know, it's not a done deal, and it certainly won't be if you keep coming around.
Hayley.
Who's your new friend? Charles jeunet, lieutenant Horatio caine, miami crime lab.
Hello, lieutenant.
Welcome to the house of jeunet.
Charles, nice to meet champ cars' biggest sponsor.
- I hope you're not here on business.
- I'm actually here to talk to your drivers.
Does this, uh, have anything to do with the fuel man who died on hayley's crew? Well, I told the lieutenant that it was an accident covered by our policy.
I even suggested that he take the day off.
I'm not sure how the victim's family would appreciate that.
You know what I mean? Your drivers? Just look for the most beautiful women.
Why do you need to see my shoes? It's just to exclude you from the investigation.
Or to include me.
No, in all honesty, Paolo, we're asking all of the drivers.
Oh, my! What size shoe do you wear? In your country treze.
I think size 13.
Is that good? / Well, it's a far cry from our suspect.
Good.
That means we can still take that ride together.
Oh, no.
All joking aside, Paolo, I can't socialize with you.
I'm on a case.
A case, it can't last forever.
Ernest mansfield? - Yeah.
Who's asking? - Miami-dade police.
You're too beautiful to be cop.
Why don't you sit down and let me get you drink? I got a better idea, Ernest.
Why don't you tell me what you were doing in the american spirit team truck the day that Chris petrie died.
I don't know what you're talking about.
What size shoe do you take, my friend? You look like you're about a nine.
What are you? A shoe salesman? Shoo.
You're boring me.
So you're interested in a little excitement.
Okay, how about you're under arrest? Excited? Sit him down, officer.
/ Sit! Thank you.
I didn't do anything wrong.
You sabotaged a fire extinguisher in the american spirit pit.
It killed the fuel man.
What? You knew if you murdered him, you could damage the team.
Fuel men are a dime a dozen.
Glorified gas-pumpers.
Why on earth would I kill one? Well, here's a reason.
This is yours and Jimmy's first qualifying run.
Jimmy hutton blew his engine the day after you were in his truck.
Did you sabotage it? Perhaps Chris petrie saw you do it.
So you had to shut him up.
Hey! What are you doing? Nothing.
- Yeah, I'd like to see you prove any of that.
- If we find the engine, we might.
Good luck.
What does that mean? Engines get taken out after every qualifying session.
That engine's probably out of the state by now.
Well, if you're lucky, maybe you can buy it back for scrap.
I feel lucky.
Eric, let's stop all cargo trucks going from the track to miami international.
Thank you.
This is Jimmy hutton's engine.
The one that blew yesterday.
Another half hour, it would've been on the way to california for scrap and research.
Now it's on its way to our lab.
- Eric, you got the results? - Yeah, right there.
Wait a wait a second.
Are these correct? / Yeah.
The engine was tampered with, but it wasn't sabotaged.
So somebody actually made it perform better.
These 4 cartwheels' engines are legendary, H.
But they'll blow, too, if they rev too high.
that's what the pop-off valve's supposed to regulate.
/ Yeah, but somebody rigged this valve, didn't they? - My money is on Jimmy.
- What about Ernest? - He snuck onto their truck.
- No we stay with Jimmy.
So that means we're back to the same team we started with.
Team american spirit.
This doesn't make sense.
Cheated to win the race, killed their own fuel man? Eric, we have a team that is at war with itself.
Attention, all chief car team and driver! Up track for the final qualifying session.
How did you get in here? I can be very persuasive when I need to be, Ms.
Wilson.
Well, I'm not a fan of drop-ins, lieutenant.
I can take you into custody instead if that's what you'd like.
Thanks for your discretion.
but I still don't know anything about the death of my fuel man.
You don't know anything about sweetening the engine to make the car go faster? No, I don't.
/ Ms.
Wilson, you team is at war with itself.
Now, which side are you on? - The side that keeps us in business.
- You know what? That's not an answer.
I got this team in my divorce.
My husband got the state of utah.
Now, I didn't even know where a gas tank was in a car, and he thought it would be a joke.
He was going to sit back and laugh.
Well, he's not going to laugh at me now, is he? You call me, babe? No, Jimmy.
Well I.
.
uh.
look, we were just finishing a conversation when you, uh so I take it you're staying with the team even with the change of sponsorship.
Stay? I am the team.
Jimmy did you rig the engine to go faster than cart rules allowed? No.
/ No.
The engine blew on its own, right, Jimmy? Hey, I'm the hottest driver in the world, man.
I don't cheat.
You don't believe me, check the engine.
Sure you don't want to save me the trouble, son? I don't break the rules I bend them.
Duly noted.
and Jimmy you missed a button.
So, let me get this straight.
Cart wants the cars to go fast, but not too fast.
/ Right.
Speeds were getting out of control, so cart installed the pop-off valve.
A turbo cranks too high, the valve releases, slows the car way down.
I mean, how could anyone mess with the valves? This place is guarded like fort knox.
Only way is to do it before the race.
Cart scrutineers hand out pop-off valves / what'd you say? Scrutineers.
That's what cart calls their tech inspectors.
Well, they might.
you shouldn't.
The tech inspectors they hand out the pop-off valves to the drivers the night before the race.
Collect them right after the checkered flag.
So Jimmy only had a few hours to doctor the valve.
The engine heat would've burned off most contact, so no fingerprints.
That doesn't mean no evidence.
Hey, what's up? Pop-off valve had petroleum deposits, carbon residue, and check that out.
superglue.
Well, you put superglue in your valve before the race, going to lock up.
Yeah.
Explains why Jimmy's valve didn't pop off.
That's why engine blew.
Gets better.
Over the course of the race, the engine heat melts most of the superglue away.
And that's why Jimmy's passed inspection with flying colors.
Yeah, I'm going to let Horatio know that our little golden boy isn't so golden.
I'm sick of people thinking I'm just some pretty face.
So you rigged the valve.
All the attention from the fans, the sponsors.
I just wanted to earn it just once.
Does Hayley know about this? Hayley and I don't exactly do a lot of talking when we're together, - You know what I mean.
- I can guess.
Here's what we're going to do, Jimmy.
We're going to keep this little conversation between you and I.
You're not going to tell her I'm cheating? Not yet.
I'll let you know.
Speed, fuel man's gloves? The only accelerant was methanol, but, uh, I did find trace of potassium chlorate.
- Okay, sporadic or uniform? - Uniform.
It was like the gloves were treated with the stuff.
Maybe they had been.
We'll follow it.
Find me, Speed.
Okay, so the gloves were treated.
The question is how'd they'd ignite? Did you see this discoloration on the fuel handle? Yeah, we already saw that.
It's consistent with a burn from an open flame.
But what about the powder on the nozzle? I mean, couldn't that be consistent with a burn from sulfuric acid? Yeah, but it still doesn't tell us how you start a fire without a match.
unless you're thinking exothermic reaction.
Well, the acid from the nozzle meets the potassium chlorate on the gloves, you get fire.
Which means Chris petrie turned into his own fuse.
Nasty burn.
Yeah, I was, uh, working on the truck, - spilled battery acid.
- Battery acid? I don't think so.
I think that's from coating fuel nozzle that killed Chris petrie.
that's what I think.
Look, working with dangerous chemicals, that's part of my job.
I mean, hell, the asbestos in.
.
in my glove liners could give you cancer, but that's all right, I'm old school.
I really don't care what OSHA says and besides, uh, half the stuff in the pit'll kill you.
/ Yes, but one of them shouldn't be your crew chief, should it? Are you accusing me of murder? With my reputation, murder? I'll tell you what.
You get your state's attorney, you bring him down here, and you arrest me.
In due time, Ron.
In due time.
So, did the chief douse the fuel nozzle? We don't know yet.
We got less than 24 hours before the race and the whole circus moves to mexico city.
Mexico.
That's going to make extradition near impossible.
Ron elner could get away with this.
Crew's not cooperating.
We're out of witnesses.
Okay, if the crew doesn't help us, the cars will.
Here is the last surveillance tape of the pit stop.
If the crew chief used sulfuric acid, we didn't get it on tape.
Nothing that proves murder.
The worst we can say is that he's a bad mechanic.
How do you figure? Look.
Ernest passed Jimmy right after the pit stop, and that should never happen.
Pull up Jimmy's lap times.
Jimmy's car got slower.
It lost speed after the pit stop.
The car doesn't look any different.
Little adjustments make a big difference.
What's he doing there? Crew chief is raising the wing.
I thought a high front wing was good thing.
That's a point, but if you tilt it too high, it actually slows the car down.
Here's the wing before the pit stop.
and here it is after.
See the difference? So he was trying to lose? Fluid dynamic sensors may tell us the whole story.
Look at the disturbance around the front wing.
Jimmy tried to overcompensate for the loss of speed.
That's what blew the engine.
Yes, and our crew chief was working against his own driver.
I checked every inch of that car, and that wing looked fine.
Right, / but that's because by the time you got there, you were looking at a different wing.
Wings lift things off the ground.
It's an interesting name for a car part.
You know, these wings are mounted upside down.
Make the car stick to the ground.
Downforce.
These cars hit 140, they could stick to the ceiling.
That thing cost more than your car.
It's on the trash heap after five laps.
Well, these teams spend millions a year on R&D.
Most of these parts won't last the race.
Like this one.
- Here's Jimmy's wing.
- Okay, even if that's Jimmy's wing, how do we know it's the one the chief messed with? Because he left a piece of himself behind, right here.
Ron, we managed to lift a glove print off the wing that you loosened.
Come on.
Anybody could have adjusted that.
Yes, but not everybody has asbestos-lined gloves, do they? But then again, you're old school.
Chris petrie caught you loosening the wing that night, didn't he? He was going to report you.
Then your career would have been over.
So it was time for him to go.
So, you treated his gloves.
then doused a little sulfuric acid on qualifying day.
Then once the fire started, you made sure it wouldn't stop.
So you sabotaged water hose.
I have just one question for you, Ron.
Why would an old school, competitive guy like you choose to lose? Why? I can't say.
You've just missed all the excitement.
We signed the papers.
Jeunet champagne is going to become the exclusive sponsor of american spirit.
So your plan your plan worked out.
What do you mean? Losing to win.
That's only the half of it.
I had to act like I wanted to win as I was losing.
So the plan was to get dumped by your low-rent sponsor and picked up, straight into bed with the big boys, jeunet champagne and Ron, he had to make sure that Jimmy couldn't win.
That was the plan.
Ron broke the law, not me.
That's true, but you stood by while an honest man lost his life and probably the only honest man on your team.
Lieutenant.
Yes, congratulations are in order, I understand.
Thank you.
And while I'm on the subject, good luck, Charles, finding a new crew chief.
Excuse me? This afternoon we picked up Ron elner for the murder of Chris petrie.
Charles, I thought you knew.
Charles, the team had nothing to do with this.
We have an agreement in place.
I know.
I'm sure this is just a bump in the road.
But, uh, I'll have to speak to my attorneys.
Well Charlie, no deal, no driver.
Mr.
Hutton, it's hard to race without a crew chief or a fuel man.
My team is still available to you.
What about Ernest? I'd bump him.
That's your choice.
Peace out.
Jimmy.
/ Sorry.
I made you.
Then be proud of me, Hayley.
Vroom, vroom.
- Ernest, Ernest, right here.
- Come one, shall we? Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy, please! Right here.
Breeze, breeze, breeze, start race.
I'll be back on top.
I have no doubt.
You want to watch the race with me? I can still get into the VIP room.
Well, I appreciate the offer, but I actually have other plans.
A woman? A funeral? You want to come? Take care, Hayley.