CSI: NY s09e16 Episode Script

At last my love has come along my lonely days are over and life is like a song oh, yeah, yeah, at last the skies above are blue My heart was wrapped up in clover The night I looked at you I found a dream That I could speak to a dream that I can call my own I found a thrill to press my cheek to a thrill that I Have never known oh, yeah, yeah, you smiled you smiled oh, and then the spell was cast and here we are in heaven for you are mine at last.
Out here in the fields I fight for my meals I get my back into my living yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Champagne, chocolate strawberries, candy hearts? Somebody was in a Valentine's day mood.
Looks more like someone was in the mood for World War III.
Pretty much how the other guests described it when they called security.
Said they heard two men arguing.
The vic's name is Theodore Hart.
Priors for assault, drug possession, and menacing to name a few.
Doesn't seem like a guy who'd shell out $1,200 a night for a place like this.
Because he didn't.
Hotel log shows he's not the guest that checked in.
The room is registered to a Wayne Brown.
He used his credit card with a home billing address in Gramercy.
Not much reason to splurge on a pricy hotel room when you live ten blocks away.
Special getaway? Or a secret one.
Well, either way, it doesn't explain why there's a dead felon on the floor.
Let's find Wayne Brown, have him fill in the blanks.
Am I going to jail? Did you kill that man? I just wanted him to stop.
Stop what? Why don't we start at the beginning, Wayne? Why'd you book a room tonight at the St.
Monarch hotel? I didn't.
I mean, that wasn't my plan at first.
I was just gonna have a drink at the bar and go home.
So, when did your plans change? When the most beautiful woman I had ever seen asked me my name.
I thought it was a mistake at first, like she confused me with somebody else, but she sat down and we just started talking.
About what? Everything, anything.
It was so easy, so comfortable, I-I didn't want it to end.
So you decided to get a room together.
I'd never done anything like that before, I swear.
I just didn't want to be alone on Valentine's day again.
So, did you guys go upstairs together? She told me she'd meet me in the room, so I went up first, ordered some champagne, and waited.
There was a knock at the door.
I assumed it was her, but it wasn't.
He just started attacking me.
I was blacking out.
At the last second I grabbed the corkscrew and Aah! I didn't want to hurt him, but I had to protect myself.
You know, if what you're saying is true, why did you leave the hotel? You should have called the police and waited until they arrived.
I was scared.
That we wouldn't believe that you killed him - in self-defense? - Until you told me, I didn't even know he was dead.
I ran because I was afraid he was going to get back up.
What was her name the woman you met at the bar? Laura.
Last name? I don't know.
The vic could have been a jealous boyfriend or husband.
Found out that Laura was planning some extracurricular activities and wanted to stop it.
If there ever really was a Laura.
What is it about Valentine's day that just makes people lose their minds? Is that today? Yeah, it's today.
Right.
You want to maybe do something later? Yeah, maybe.
How about a couple beers and a slice, maybe watch a game? - Perfect.
- Really? Yeah.
What, do you really think that all women need that sentimental crap to make them happy? I was hoping today, of all days, people might be a little nicer to each other.
You're, of course, referring to the kindly deeds of St.
Valentinus, one of at least three martyred saints to whom this secular and commercial holiday is attributed.
Well, call me a sap, but any excuse to celebrate love is okay by me.
Fair enough.
Let's start with the penetrating wound to the neck courtesy of this corkscrew.
Did it puncture his carotid? As a matter of fact, no.
It missed vital structures altogether.
Well, then, what killed him? Blunt force trauma to the parietal bone.
C.
O.
D.
is a single blow to the back of the head.
Huh.
Jo thought the blood spray was arterial and that he hit his head on the floor after he was stabbed.
A logical assumption, but instead of carpet fibers, I found flecks of gold foil and what appears to be green glass embedded in his scalp.
The champagne bottle that Jo found.
- Right.
- So, our suspect said that the vic was standing directly above him during the attack.
So how could Wayne have hit Hart in the back of the head if he was underneath him? He couldn't have.
Either Wayne was behind the vic when he struck him Or he wasn't the only one in that room.
Thanks, Sid.
You bet.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, where's the fire at? Hey.
- I got to find Jo, our case just got turned on its head.
- Are you serious? Does that mean we might not be able to go to dinner tonight? Will you shut up? I know that you hate Valentine's day.
I don't hate Valentine's day.
I just think it's stupid to go spend on a fortune on some fancy meal just 'cause everybody else does.
Well, now you don't have to, okay? Consider that my gift to you.
But I promise we will celebrate tonight, okay? Okay, see you at home eventually.
ELLIE (Over phone): Midnight? Mom, the movie doesn't end until 11:45.
That gives you 15 minutes for Andrew to walk you home, give you a good-night kiss on the cheek before your curfew.
Mom, it's Valentine's day.
All right, 12:15 and not a second later, Ellie, and remind Andrew that I carry a gun.
Mom.
I love you.
Have a great time.
Be safe.
Love you, too.
Mwah.
Okay, I don't know what's more depressing the fact that my 15-year-old has a hot date tonight or the fact that I don't.
Well, get this.
Vic was arrested three times for assault.
He liked to beat up hookers, especially the ones that worked for him.
Hart was a pimp.
That means the woman Wayne was talking to Could have been a hooker.
So either Wayne had no idea or he lied to us about his random - love connection.
- That's not the only thing he lied about Wayne didn't go up to that room by himself.
Adam found a partial print on a chocolate strawberry and another one on the champagne bottle that killed Theodore Hart.
So taken independently, neither print had enough rich detail to get a hit in AFIS, but he overlaid them and got a complete print.
Say hello to Laura Palmer.
She's in the system for a half dozen solicitation arrests.
Well, that puts her in the hotel room but not much else.
Unless you consider the directionality of the print - it was upside down.
- Why does that matter? Tells us how she was holding the bottle.
If you're pouring champagne, your print is right side up.
Turn it around And the champagne bottle becomes a murder weapon.
Wayne looked so sad and lonely sitting at the bar by himself.
Thought I could help.
By exploiting his vulnerability? By doing my job.
Not my fault the world is a cold and cynical place.
What happened in that hotel room? Not what you think.
All Wayne wanted to do was talk.
He asked where I was from, about my family and my friends.
Crazy part is it seemed like he actually cared.
Maybe he really did.
Time must've gotten away from me 'cause I forgot to check in with Theo.
That's his number one rule.
So he came looking for you? Theo was pissed as hell thought I was disrespecting him.
Theo.
No.
Leave him alone, Theo! He didn't do anything! Theo, stop! He was gonna kill the poor guy.
I had to do something.
Funny thing, Laura, you know, Wayne told us that he killed Theodore Hart.
Why would he do that? You'd have to ask him.
Maybe it's because the world is not as cold and cynical as you think.
What's gonna happen to her? The district attorney will review the evidence, and if he agrees that it was self-defense, she'll be free to go.
I knew what she was.
I guess there was just a part of me that wanted to believe that the spark between us was real.
Even if it was only temporary.
Please tell her I said thank you.
I will.
Why is true love so hard to find? It helps if you look in the right places.
Any idea where those places are? Bernie must've come home early to surprise me.
When I got back from the gym, I found him just lying there on the floor.
When was the last time you spoke to your husband, Mrs.
Chandler? Uh, around lunchtime.
He told me that he had something important to discuss.
Did he say what that was? Only that he needed to tell me in person.
Bernie always had a flair for the dramatic.
What am I gonna do now? Bernie was my everything.
And today wasn't only Valentine's day; it was also our fifth anniversary.
I mean, is there anyone that you can think of that would want to hurt your husband? Everybody loved Bernie.
He had a way about him.
Lit up the room the second he arrived.
He just knew how to make - people happy.
- Mrs.
Chandler, I'm sorry for your loss.
Did you send this box of chocolates to your husband? No, that would've been cruel.
Bernie was trying to lose weight, and sweets were his weakness.
Besides, he was diabetic.
Any idea who sent that to him? It's my mother-in-law.
Okay.
Go ahead.
What's wrong with this picture, huh? I just see a couple in love.
Couple that couldn't be more mismatched.
I'm gonna guess that this guy's loaded.
Are you trying to say that someone who's beautiful on the outside could never fall for someone whose beauty's - on the inside? - I mean Unless there's power and money stacking the deck.
That's just narrow-minded - and sad, man.
Yeah.
- Really? Why are you all bent out of shape about that, Mr.
GQ smoothie over here? Uh, you know what? Never mind.
Ah.
So, you find any signs of struggle? No.
No, and nothing on the body to indicate he was attacked.
Couldn't find any signs of forced entry either.
So then what are we doing here then? Our vic was the poster child for heart disease, no? No, not so fast.
I didn't find any xanthomas on his eyelids to suggest fat buildup in the blood.
So heart attack is a possibility but it wouldn't be my first - guess at C.
O.
D.
- Hmm.
All right.
Ball's in Sid's court.
Yeah.
I'll tell you this, whatever happened here, Bernard Chandler knew he was in serious trouble and tried to call for help.
Full house, huh, Sid? Oh, Mr.
Messer.
What a treat.
I only wish it were under different circumstances.
Yeah.
Tell me about it.
So, uh, what's the deal with Bernard Chandler here? Well, penetrating wounds across his chest were caused by glass shards.
But all were shallow and superficial.
All right, so what's the C.
O.
D.
? To answer that, I began with the inordinate amount of undigested chocolate in his stomach two pounds worth.
That's a lot of chocolate, huh? Gluttonous, yes, but under normal circumstances not lethal.
Unfortunately our vic's pancreatic function was anything but normal.
- Because of his diabetes.
- Type 1, to be exact.
I detected a fruity acetone-like odor in the vic's mouth, indicating a hyperosmolar - hyperglycemic state.
- So he od'd on sugar.
Precisely.
C.
O.
D.
is acute shock and respiratory failure as a result of severely elevated glucose levels.
I mean, Sid, come on.
This doesn't make any sense.
Lifetime diabetic eats an entire box of chocolate? And then doesn't use his insulin to save his own life? Well, this fresh injection site suggests he may have tried to.
All right, but then why didn't it work? Don't shoot him! "Bring him to Teterboro airport, hangar 20.
" Mac? Hey.
Hey, I'm sorry.
It, uh, doesn't look good for our 8:00 reservation.
Well, I'll call the restaurant, see if they have an opening later.
On Valentine's day? Uh, we may be out of luck.
That's okay.
I'll just, uh, pick up some food instead.
Aw, I was really looking forward to going out tonight.
Well, you know, maybe it's for the best.
What you went through was hell, Christine.
Recovering from that kind of trauma is gonna take time and patience.
You don't have to push yourself.
I know.
A-and I accept that, Mac.
I know, but I also refuse to spend another minute hiding from the world.
I need to get out of this apartment.
Besides, is there any better excuse than Valentine's day? All right.
See if you can change the reservation.
I'll call you back in a little bit.
Okay.
And, Mac? You don't have to check on me every 15 minutes.
I need you to know you're not going through this alone.
I do.
I know.
I'll see you later tonight.
Bye.
Hey.
Christine? Yeah.
How's she holding up? She's better.
She's a fighter.
Stubborn as hell.
Mm-hmm, sounds familiar.
You two were made for each other.
So vic was definitely up to something shady.
I found two dozen texts between Bernard Chandler and a woman by the name of Evelyn Long.
And I'm thinking she might've been the one - who sent him the chocolates.
- What were they discussing? I don't know.
The messages were kind of cryptic, but from what I gathered, they were planning some sort of trip and they didn't want the wife to find out.
Okay, so if Sandra did find out her husband was having an affair, that definitely constitutes motive for murder.
Sid says he was killed by taking too much sugar.
So how do you convince a diabetic to risk his life by eating a box of chocolates? By making him think there wasn't any risk.
Before this was torn off, this chocolate was labeled sugar free, listing malitol as the sweetener.
Which only partially digests - and barely affects your blood sugar.
- Right.
But the sample I took from Chandler's stomach contents contained concentrated levels of refined sucrose nothing sugar free about it.
So the wife switched out the chocolates - and he ate them, thinking they were safe.
- And she tore off the label before calling the police.
Damn, that's twisted.
But it still doesn't explain how she stopped an insulin injection from saving him.
Why am I here? You're here - because you murdered your husband.
- That's ridiculous.
I loved Bernie deeply.
No man ever treated me with the same respect and kindness as he did.
Maybe, until you started to suspect that he was cheating on you.
Which would make you angry enough to want Bernie dead.
I've heard enough, okay? I'm leaving.
Sit down.
Sit down.
We're just getting started.
We searched your apartment for his insulin.
We didn't find that, but we found something all over your vanity.
Simple syrup.
Mixture of, uh, sugar and water.
Yeah, I know what it is.
Well, then you know what happens when you replaced Bernie's insulin with it, right? You bought him a box of, uh, sugar-free chocolates, and then you replaced them with the regular ones? Really? Huh? Then he gets home, he sees the surprise you left him, and he goes to town, 'cause, you said, right, he had a weakness for sweets.
His sugar level goes through the roof immediately.
Gets dizzy, disoriented, he's out of breath.
He would recognize that he needed his insulin.
But then what? Thanks to you, all he's doing is injecting himself with one final, fatal dose of sugar.
So you tried to hide the evidence, right? So we wouldn't find it? And with all due respect, Mrs.
Chandler, throwing it down the garbage chute? Come on.
That's pretty stupid.
You don't think we're gonna find that? I knew something was up when Bernie started leaving the room to take calls.
When he suddenly added a password to his phone.
It didn't take me long - to break that.
- So you read the texts between him and Evelyn.
It was like being stabbed through the chest.
I couldn't breathe.
I saw the way other women looked at my husband, the way they envied me.
Whoever this Evelyn was, I just knew she was prettier than me.
Younger.
But the worst part he was taking her on my dream vacation.
My heart and soul really did belong to my husband.
He was the prince charming I had wished for ever since I was a little girl.
But now you hated him 'cause he broke your heart.
I hated myself.
Why did you hate yourself? For not being good enough.
For not being the wife that Bernie wanted, the one he deserved.
I always feared that he'd come home someday and tell me that he'd found someone better.
And he said to you that he needed to have a serious talk with you, so you thought today might be that day.
I couldn't let him walk away.
The thought of him having a life with another woman would've killed me.
So you killed him instead? Evelyn Long Uh, she was your husband's travel agent, and she was helping him set up the trip to Europe for the two of you.
That was the big surprise.
Happy anniversary, Mrs.
Chandler.
Ooh.
From the outside looking in, Sandra was the ultimate prize.
But in her mind, it was the other way around.
Yep, I guess I was wrong, huh true love is really blind.
- Something I want to show you.
- All right.
What? Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, this is you? Yeah.
I was 20, and madly in love with a girl named Susie Thomas.
But she couldn't see past my size, pretended I didn't even exist, - and broke my heart.
- Eh, what'd you do about it? Starting working out, eating right.
I was a different man when I ran into Susie years later.
Yeah, that must've felt pretty good, huh? Yeah, yeah, it did until she told me that she had a giant crush on me, too, but was afraid of what her friends would say.
- Of course.
- Yeah.
And I realized, you know, that love has the power to overcome almost anything, but only if we all can get past our own prejudice and let it.
Yeah.
I'm gonna keep this.
- No, you're not.
- Let me just keep it.
Come on.
And if you tell anybody about it, you're a dead man.
What, were you pushing, two and a half - in that picture there? - Eh, maybe a deuce and a quarter.
That's not bad.
Eh.
Serial numbers have been filed down.
Man was shot in the back.
Somehow the gun ended up underneath him.
Doesn't make sense.
Our vic is Jeremy Howser.
Sounds familiar.
It should.
He's been in the news lately.
Howser was the CEO of some fortune 500 investment firm.
The SEC has been investigating allegations that he defrauded some of his clients.
Surefire way to make enemies.
That wasn't the only controversy in his life.
He was also in the middle of a very ugly divorce.
We're talking millions in cash and assets at stake.
And gives the wife ample motive.
Being here gave her ample opportunity.
That's her right there.
Patrol picked her up fleeing the scene minutes after the shooting.
When I heard those gunshots and saw Jeremy fall, I just panicked.
I wasn't running to get away, I was running to save my own life.
Did you see the shooter? Everything happened so fast.
We understand that you and your husband were in the middle of a highly contentious divorce.
Jeremy and I hadn't spoken to each other in months.
And what were you doing here with him tonight? He called me out of the blue this afternoon - Told me he wanted to meet right away.
- He say why? Only that he was tired of fighting.
That he wanted to settle things like adults.
It was my idea to meet here.
Just in case.
- In case of what? - I figured if we met in public, he'd have to keep things civilized.
Sounds like you were afraid of him.
Jeremy had a temper, yes, but if you think I would ever hurt him, you're wrong.
I wanted free of him, but not like this.
One of the rounds fragmented? Uh, both of them, actually.
One from impacting the mid-thoracic spine and the other from contact with the lumbar.
Bone and bullet fragments ricocheted through his heart, proving fatal almost instantaneously.
Vic never saw it coming.
This wasn't a murder, Sid, it was an execution.
Well, there's something else.
Uh Abrasions and contusions on the knuckles with discoloration and inflammation of the metacarpals.
Offensive wounds.
I'd say our vic punched something.
- Or someone.
- Uh, clotting is fresh, uh, suggesting the injuries were sustained several hours prior - to his being shot.
- Any bruising or lacerations anywhere else on his body? None.
If he was in a fight, it's likely our vic was the aggressor.
What's that? It looks like some kind of ink stamp.
Damn it, I I don't know how I missed it.
Uh, sorry, Mac.
It's okay, Sid once in eight years that you don't catch something, it's still a perfect record, as far as I'm concerned.
Get some photos.
Uh, it wasn't easy, but I sorted the bullet fragments that Sid retrieved, and I was able to reconstruct - one of the rounds.
- Striae match - the gun I found? - Not even close.
Not even the same caliber.
And the GSR swab from Wendy Howser's hands, it came back negative.
She did not shoot her husband, Mac.
Well, somebody did.
Um, I'm running the rounds through, uh, IBIS, and, uh, you know, when the system gets a match, it will notify you.
- What, you going somewhere? - Oh Well, y-you know my girlfriend, Michelle.
I mean, she has never been ice-skating - Adam - Sorry, you're right.
Okay, well, I got these VIP tickets to the rink at the Rockefeller Center, okay? But if I don't leave literally in the next ten minutes, it's over.
- You can go.
- Oh, yes! Just as soon as you figure out what this is.
It's faded, so you may have to enhance the detail - before - Hypodermic.
It's a club on the lower east side.
You know, a lot of indie bands, pretty cool vibe.
Yeah, they actually, um, stamp your wrist when you're on the way out, just in case you want to come back in.
Yeah.
- Anything else? - Go.
You're so good to me.
Sorry, that was a little awkward.
Sorry.
Okay.
I got to go.
Mac.
Officer Thomas Reynolds, retired from the force in 2010 six months after being cleared in a justified shooting case.
Three years later, he uses the same gun to shoot Jeremy Howser.
Why? What's the connection between a retired cop and crooked CEO? Reynolds runs a small private-security firm.
Couple part-time employees.
Mostly short-term protection services.
But he did have one long-standing account with a certain financial institution.
Howser's investment firm.
This gets better.
Howser's assistant heard them fighting in his office this morning.
Didn't know what it was about, but he said it got mighty heated, and Reynolds left the building with a black eye and a pink slip.
Beat up and fired in the same day.
Reynolds followed Howser to the outdoor market and got exactly what he wanted revenge.
NYPD! Clear! Clear! Bedroom clear! Nobody's home.
Reynolds knows protocol.
Knew we'd be coming here first.
Don.
Look at this.
Son of a bitch.
We had this all wrong.
Reynolds wasn't following Jeremy Howser.
He was doing surveillance on Howser's wife.
Mac.
Gray sedan, east side of the street.
Reynolds.
Down on your knees, let me see your hands! He's got a gun.
It's not loaded, I swear.
Don't move.
You're under arrest for the murder of Jeremy Howser.
I met Jeremy Howser a few years back.
He was looking for some personal protection.
Protection from what? His company made some bad investments.
Lost his clients a boatload of money.
Thought they'd come after him.
- Did they? - No.
But Howser thought that everybody was out to get him, especially his wife.
Wendy, she tried to fix things between them, but the damage was done.
So, she filed for divorce.
After that, he made it his mission in life to punish her.
But he needed your help to do it.
So, he had you looking for dirt on Wendy.
Anything he could use as leverage against her.
But instead, what I found was the kindest, most selfless individual I'd ever seen.
And I watched Wendy volunteering at hospitals, and-and homeless shelters over and over, giving her time and money to those less privileged.
She was an incredible woman, and that's exactly what I told Jeremy.
Your services are no longer required.
I'm gonna handle things myself.
I don't want your money.
I just want you to leave Wendy alone.
Let her move on with her life, man.
It's what she deserves.
I'll decide what Wendy deserves! Not the lawyers! Not you! Her life belongs to me.
Man, it took everything inside of me not to hit him back.
And that was the moment that I realized that he was gonna kill his wife.
You should have gone to the police.
With what evidence? It was my word against his.
So you followed Wendy instead.
He was going to shoot her.
I didn't have time to think.
I just reacted.
I was protecting an innocent life.
- Exactly what I was trained to do.
- You were also trained to take responsibility for your actions, not run from the scene of a crime.
It was stupid, I know.
I panicked.
So, why'd you finally decide to turn yourself in? 'Cause I thought about Wendy.
The type of person that she is.
And I realized that that's the type of person that I wanted to be, too.
It's probably too late for that, now.
Jeremy's the only other person that can corroborate that story, and he damn sure ain't talking.
He doesn't have to.
Not only did he buy a gun off the street, Howser stopped at a club on his way to meet his wife.
Stayed less than ten minutes, then got his hand stamped so he could come back later.
And, just in case his alibi for the time of the shooting didn't work out, he also bought himself a one-way ticket to Geneva.
Seems he had his wife's murder all figured out.
The only thing he didn't count on.
was your selfless act.
Coffee is on the table, and I just can't seem to wake up this aching heart of mine You're absolutely breathtaking.
One more day without you and I'll be fine know I'm good for waiting but waiting's wasted time oh, and I I don't take it lightly the trouble that I've gone through This is for you.
To get you to know who I am oh, and I I can't find the reason How do you always know the exact right thing to say? It's easy, Christine.
'Cause I love you.
Wicked winds are blowing through the halls these old familiar faces are clinging to the walls I know it's cold, but I can't feel at all and I know these walls are crumbling I won't stay to watch them fall oh, and I I don't take it lightly the trouble that I've gone through to get you to know who I am oh, and I I can't find a reason Do you even remember the last time that we had five minutes together? Uh, yup.
Thursday, in the A.
V.
lab.
It was fantastic until Adam showed up.
Seriously, though, between Lucy and work, I feel like we don't even see each other any more.
And, it's about to get a lot harder.
It's also about to get a lot better.
There's my little boy.
Well Lucy's asleep, now.
And work is done, so You know, maybe I told you we'd have a little time to celebrate.
Mommy, mommy! There's a vampire under my bed! I got it.
Oh, and I I don't take it lightly the trouble that I've gone through to get you to know who I am Hi, mom.
Ellie.
What are you doing here? I though you were out with Andrew.
I told him I was coming down with a cold.
But you've been looking forward to this date for weeks.
I know, I just changed my mind, that's all.
I thought maybe you and I could make some, uh, double fudge, death-by-chocolate ice cream sundaes, instead, hmm? Watch one of these little sappy movies? Okay, does this have anything to do with your poor mom flying solo on Valentine's day? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
Ellie Danville.
Aw, you are becoming the most amazing young lady.
Yeah, yeah.
Tell me something I don't know.
Here's something.
I get to pick the movie.
No, you don't.
I don't what to do to keep holding on Why are we in here? It smells like I don't know what it smells like, but it's bad.
Suck it up, Lovato, we're almost there.
Can't you just tell me where we're going? - No.
- Fine.
But these heels are way too sexy for a stinky stairwell.
You didn't forget Valentine's day, did you? Are you kidding me? It's my favorite holiday.
After Arbor day, that is.
You're crazy, you know that? And very thoughtful.
So, does that mean that, uh sentimental crap does make you swoon? Maybe a little bit.
Dinner's getting cold.
I don't care.
What are we doing, Flack? I mean, what is this? It's whatever we want it to be.
Doesn't really matter what we call it, does it? You're going to have to meet my brothers soon.
Bring 'em on.
They're a tough crowd.
Especially when they meet my boyfriends.
Do I look worried? They're gonna love me.
Yeah, they will.
I can't find a reason to be happy in my heartache 'cause I should know better than that oh, I'm better than that.