The Mentalist s02e05 Episode Script

Red Scare

Hello? What the hell? I appreciate your people coming in on this, Agent Lisbon.
I haven't handled many homicides.
None, in fact.
- Frankly, I'm looking to learn from you.
- Not a problem, deputy.
- Small town.
We don't get much trouble.
Well, that's a shame.
It is? - Trouble's your business.
You could say.
Victim's Alan Foster, 43 years old.
Married, no children.
Architect.
Bought the house a few months back.
Said he was gonna rehab it.
- Was the wife with him? - She was in the city.
They have a house in San Francisco.
I sent a man to break the news.
Was anybody else in the house with him? Nobody, far as we can tell.
Don't know what to say.
House was locked up tighter than a drum.
Took me half an hour to shut off the alarm.
Cho, check the alarm system.
Either the victim let somebody in or they broke in someplace.
- It's a shame.
- Foster seemed like a nice guy.
- That's a lie.
- You didn't like him one bit.
- Well, I didn't say that.
Yes, you did.
You thought he was rich, arrogant, pretentious.
An interloper.
He wore those trendy architect's glasses.
- Did you kill him? Huh? Hm? - Did l? No.
No.
What kind of question is that? - He's got something in his hand.
- Jane, gloves.
Right.
A brass button, with the letter B? That mean something to you, deputy? No.
- What's this guy's problem? - That would take too long to answer.
- Let's take a look inside.
- Yeah, it's this way.
Clear signs of struggle.
Rules out suicide.
That, and suicides usually open the window before they jump.
- What's troubling you, Fisher? - What? What are you talking about? That button made your pupils dilate.
Now you've gone pale.
What's up, Fisher? What's troubling you? Well, it occurred to me the button could stand for Beckworth.
And I got a little chill, that's all.
- Who's Beckworth? - Walter Beckworth.
He was the original owner of this house.
Built it.
Died 80-something years ago.
People say he haunts the place.
I've heard the stories since I was a kid, but nobody believes them.
Right.
Security company ran the alarm history.
Armed from 6 last night until the deputies turned it off.
No alarms or interruptions.
Far as I can tell, no one's entered or left this building except the victim.
But that's impossible.
Isn't it? Spooky.
I'm not saying volunteering is better work but it makes me feel better.
I see people smiling because of what I've done.
There's something, I don't know, joyous in it.
How often do we see people smile in this job? Leaving out crazy, never.
The coroner took Foster's body.
I'm gonna get his wife.
Lisbon and Jane are on the porch.
Okay, thanks.
She's volunteering at a homeless kitchen.
- Cool.
- There's a man there.
I think, she's, you know - Banging a homeless guy.
- No.
A volunteer.
A chef.
And she's not I don't know.
Not yet.
Maybe.
I think.
I don't know.
No.
Dude, you need counseling.
The killer got into the house without tripping the alarm or turning it off.
Didn't come through the front door.
Probably found a hole in the system.
Check the grounds and the house.
- Find out how they got in.
- On it.
Grace, you're the spiritual sort.
Do you believe in ghosts? I believe the spirit survives death.
A troubled spirit can make itself known.
You don't seriously think there's a ghost here.
Eh, I don't know.
If you see one, let me know.
How long had your husband been staying at Beckworth Mansion? Off and on for about three weeks, since we closed on it.
- Why? It's run-down.
To get a feel for the house before he worked on it.
He said you should spend a month in a house before you thought about changing it.
He's conscientious that way.
Or was conscientious that way.
- We can take a break, if you'd like.
- No, no.
Let's just get through it.
So you were at home the night of your husband's murder? Yes.
We have to ask.
Is there anyone who can verify that? No.
I was alone.
Alan had been at the mansion all week.
Was it common for you and your husband to be apart that long? It was not uncommon.
When he started a project, he got immersed.
Who might have wanted to hurt your husband? I'll tell you who was angry with him.
Victoria Abner.
- Who's she? - She's this hippie-dippy woman in town.
She weaves linens and rugs.
She used to own Beckworth.
She's a descendant of the man who built it.
She resented your husband for buying the place? But not at first.
There were tax issues that came with the property.
We thought she'd be glad to be rid of it.
But about a week after we closed, she just blew up.
Claimed Alan had stole the house.
It was vicious.
- Did she ever threaten your husband? She sent some pretty scary e-mails.
Excuse me.
- What? - Walter Beckworth was killed in 1928.
- Fight over a woman.
You know how? - No, and I don't care.
He was thrown out of the exact same window Alan Foster was thrown out of.
- Coincidence? - Yes.
Yeah, well, it's all here.
Is that Foster's widow? I need to talk to her.
Mrs.
Foster.
Patrick Jane.
Did your husband see or hear anything odd at the mansion? Strange sightings? Unusual noises? Apparitions? As a matter of fact, Alan did mention some strange things.
What kind of things? Um, in the last week or so he heard some noises at night, like groans.
He said sometimes it looked like things were being moved.
I know it's creepy, but Alan wasn't bothered.
He was used to old houses.
What does this have to do with how he died? Victoria Abner has no arrests but a neighbor took out a restraining order against her.
Argument about the neighbor's dog.
Victoria got a little in-your-face about it.
Go and see how mad she really was about Foster buying the mansion.
And be sure to ask about the ghost too.
Do not ask about ghosts.
Don't you think I know what you're doing? No ghosts.
The ghost has something to do with Foster's death.
No, it doesn't.
Because ghosts don't exist.
They don't exist in your mind, but if you believe they exist, then they exist.
Anything? No pry marks on any of the frames so far, no footprints under the windows.
- I don't see any sign of forced entry.
- Maybe it was a ghost.
Ghosts don't throw 200-pound men out windows.
- What do ghosts do? - I have no idea.
Let's check the other side.
So you gonna keep volunteering at the kitchen? Oh, yeah.
- Making a lot of new friends, I expect.
- I am.
That's the great thing about doing volunteer work.
You meet so many people that have the same kind of values and interests as you.
Right.
- Hey, look at that.
- What? - The lock on the door.
Looks new.
Someone cut it open.
Well, they hadn't started work on the house yet.
All the power tools are missing.
What's there? - You think ghosts smoke filtered? - Boss.
Someone broke into a storage area.
Stole a bunch of equipment and supplies.
Maybe they broke into the house too.
Can I help you? I see you specialize in local history, Mr? Raimey.
Philip Raimey.
Yes.
And you are? Looking for information on Walter Beckworth.
Are you with the police? Here about the Foster incident? Yes.
But don't tell anyone.
- Patrick Jane.
- Well, Mr.
Jane.
If it's Beckworth you're interested in, you've come to the right place.
Thank you.
Agent Cho, of course I was angry with Foster.
If someone stole your home wouldn't you be angry? - He bought it.
- You don't understand.
- Haven't lived in since you were a child.
That's not the point.
Didn't know you were with somebody.
Oh, this is my nephew, Drew.
Agent Cho is asking questions about Alan Foster.
He wants to know why I was so upset with the man who stole Beckworth.
It is a complicated issue.
- No, it's not that complicated.
There are many factors to be considered.
Economic and emotional.
My nephew is a lawyer.
He's very sensible.
It's good, because I'm not.
There are no factors to consider.
Foster was a thief and a liar.
You couldn't afford the taxes on the house.
You were grateful when he purchased it.
What changed your mind? - You have a very good aura.
- Thank you.
Excellent color.
Deep red.
Grounded, realistic.
And Foster's aura was pink.
Dirty pink.
That's dishonesty.
Fecklessness.
When he came to me, he said he wanted to preserve Beckworth.
He lied to me.
He wanted to gut it.
My childhood home.
I couldn't let him do that.
Look, agent, Beckworth Mansion is, understandably a very emotional subject for my family but whatever she felt or said, my aunt is incapable of hurting anybody.
- Where were you last night? - In my home.
In my bed.
Not killing Alan Foster.
- What about you? - I was here.
I've been staying on and off ever since she was forced to sell the place.
He's been helping with my legal things.
I'd be lost without him.
Tax liens in escrow.
Nothing too complicated.
Excuse me.
- Cho.
- Cho.
- Did you ask about the ghost? - No.
You heard Lisbon.
I'm talking to the historian.
Apparently Beckworth was deeply involved in spiritualism liked to explore the world beyond, held séances and all that kind of malarkey.
So ghosts are relevant, my friend.
This is very important.
Cho, don't leave me hanging.
- Do you know anything about a ghost? - Of course.
That's the spirit of my grandfather, Walter Beckworth.
He used to visit me when I was a child.
- She says there's a ghost.
- Thank you.
No surprise there.
- Mm.
Clover honey? - Yes, as a matter of fact it is.
Mm.
Jane.
Sorry.
Mr.
Raimey says there's also a hidden treasure there.
Rumored treasure.
Purely rumored.
Rumored treasure.
Some fortune Beckworth hid in the house.
- Does Abner know anything about that? Beckworth's treasure? Oh, yes, everybody in the family knew that there was a great mythic treasure.
We gave up looking for it years ago.
It was a fraud.
If it wasn't, do you think I'd be living here? - She says no treasure.
- Hm.
Got it.
Thank you.
Okay.
No treasure.
Clover honey.
Ah.
Well, thank you.
- Lf there's anything else I can do - There is one more thing.
- How did Beckworth make his money? - He was a bootlegger.
Very successful one.
It's in that one.
The second from the bottom.
Okay.
Thank you.
Did you ever cross paths with Foster? Once or twice.
He seemed pleasant enough.
- Never paid much attention.
- You deceitful old bag of bones.
- Excuse me? - You heard me.
Nothing on the exterior of the house.
- Let's check inside.
That's weird.
- What? I thought this was shut.
- Did you hear that? - Yeah.
- Someone's upstairs.
- I thought everybody left.
Hello? It came from in there.
Old wiring, I guess.
- What was that? - CBI, come out.
Police.
Whoever you are, come out with your hands above your head.
Grace.
Over here.
Boo! Jane? - Where'd he go? - How'd he do that? It's easy.
I'll show you.
Huh? You see? It's all switches.
There's a system of pipes that carries sound throughout the house.
Hello.
- Yeah.
All fake.
Because, my credulous Van Pelt, spirits are smoke and mirrors.
- And that's all that they are.
- The ghost? How'd you do that? Ah, the pièce de résistance.
If you could stand in the corner, my friend Rigsby.
And, Grace, if you could take your place out by the doors.
Pepper's Ghost.
It's an old conjurer's trick.
A simple optical illusion.
All you need is a sheet of glass that slides out of the wall.
It's a reflection? And lighting.
And off.
Beckworth had all this built just so he could hold séances? So he could amaze and terrify guests with his mastery of the occult.
And it's been used recently.
Someone has cleaned the dust off.
So somebody was trying to scare Foster.
Why? How'd they get in the house? The alarm would've been on the whole time.
Come with me.
Beckworth was a bootlegger during Prohibition.
Which meant he had to smuggle liquor into the house and hide it someplace the authorities couldn't find it.
This house is riddled with secret passages.
Including ones that lead outside? Voilà.
Head down, take a look.
I'll check the outside walls.
No doubt one of us will find the secret passage.
After you.
- Thank you.
- Jeb Haas? - Who wants to know? Agent Lisbon, CBI.
Pretty little thing like you? I have some questions for you regarding Alan Foster's murder.
I got nothing to tell you.
There were some construction supplies stolen around the time of the murder.
Deputy Fisher says you're the local thief, most likely to steal that kind of stuff.
Fisher sent you? That son of a bitch.
I don't know what he told you but I don't know anything about a break-in or any murder.
Then you won't mind coming down to the station.
- What if I don't wanna go? - Sir, this doesn't have to be difficult.
- You okay? - Yeah, yeah.
You? - Hey, look at that.
Wine cellar.
- Wonder if any of it's still good.
I doubt it.
What was that? - Probably rats.
Oh, God, no.
I hate rats.
- It was just a ghost, then.
- You don't believe in ghosts.
- You do.
- Go upstairs if you like.
I'll take this one.
- Oh, thanks.
That's okay.
Same night Foster was killed, you broke into his pool house and stole a few thousand dollars' worth of equipment.
We know because we found some of the equipment in your vehicle.
And we found this cigarette, that will definitely have your DNA on it.
Everybody knows that place is wired up with some fancy alarm system.
I didn't kill anybody.
I never saw Foster, and I never went into his house.
- Nice if you could prove that.
- I can't.
But I do have some particular information on that evening.
Information that you want.
- Okay.
- Uh-uh.
Not until I get a deal on the theft and the breaking-and-entering charges.
- A good one too.
- You want a deal? Okay.
Now, just to be clear, is this a deal for the theft and B-and-E alone or the tax evasion as well? - What? According to your IRS records, you haven't filed a tax return since 2002.
Unless you haven't earned a dime in seven years you face serious tax-evasion charges.
Any idea how much prison time that carries? - Prison time? - Serious time.
Massive fines.
I'm gonna let you think about it.
When I was loading stuff out of the pool house, I saw a car in the woods.
A black BMW.
There was somebody sitting in the driver's seat.
Foster's wife.
- Lillian Foster? - I've seen her in town.
She sat there the whole time.
Never noticed me.
She just stared at the house.
- Was she still there when you left? - Yes.
So you'll do something, I mean about the tax thing? Don't worry.
I was lying about that.
- What's wrong with it? - I don't know.
Maybe the batteries? - Don't hit it.
- Fine, you fix it, then.
Let's just use mine.
- What? What? What? - I felt something crawling on my leg.
- Is it still there? - No.
It was probably just a ghost.
- Grace.
- Yes? I Never mind.
- Maybe we should keep going.
- Yeah.
Grace, I love you.
I've loved you from the first moment I met you.
Screw the rules.
Screw the CBI.
I need you.
L Uh That's Unless you stop me, I'm gonna kiss you now.
Eureka.
Found it.
Good work.
Yeah, we'll meet you back at the office after we pick up Lillian Foster.
We're outside her house now.
Jane says he found another entrance to the mansion.
- Knew there had to be another way in.
How dare you come here Is that Victoria Abner and her nephew? What are they doing here? Dear to me.
- Have you no shame? Mrs.
Foster, if you could please calm down.
You know what you are? You're a vulture.
A crazy That mansion is mine.
It belongs to my family.
I'll burn it down before you step foot in that place.
- Lady, you need psychiatric help.
- Oh, yeah? Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
Get her off of me.
Break it up.
He said break it up.
What the hell is the matter with you? You have no class.
You're the one that came to my house.
Come to my house.
Oh, yeah, I'm the crazy bitch.
How are you feeling, Mrs.
Foster? Embarrassed.
How'd you get into the ruckus with Ms.
Abner? She came by to ask if she could rent the mansion back from me.
Seeing as how I won't want to be living there.
Did she say why? I, uh, didn't wait to hear the details.
She'd been plaguing us all this time and now this? I'm afraid I just lost it.
There is something else we wanted to talk to you about.
You weren't in San Francisco the night of your husband's murder.
You were at the mansion.
- You know about that.
- Why'd you lie to us? - I was ashamed.
- Of what? Of why I was there in the first place.
- Why was that? - She was spying on her husband.
She suspected him of being unfaithful.
- Yes.
How did you know that? - Because he's been unfaithful before.
Yes.
He had an affair about a year ago.
He was out of town, I was caught up with my work, and it happened.
That's very understanding of you.
Oh, I was furious, believe me.
But we worked on it, counseling and so forth, and I thought I'd moved on.
But I hadn't.
I didn't trust him.
So when Alan told me he would be spending this weekend at the mansion and wouldn't be coming home I decided I had to go there.
To catch him in the act.
But no one showed up.
No.
I felt so awful that I left without talking to him.
- What time did you leave? - Around 10.
Is there any way to prove that? Um, I bought gas on the way home.
The credit card company will have a record of that, right? Yes.
We'll verify that.
I can't help thinking that if I'd stayed there If I had just gone and talked to Alan, he would still be alive.
Mm, most likely you'd both be dead.
With the way that I feel, I might prefer that.
That feeling will pass.
What do you know about that? Enough.
- How you doing, Drew? - Fine, thank you.
Your aunt's gonna be with us longer.
This fight will take some sorting out.
I tried to stop it from escalating.
That's why I was there in the first place, but The hostility kind of caught me off guard.
It'll be up to your aunt whether to press charges.
You're a lawyer.
You know.
I'm not exactly a lawyer.
My aunt likes to exaggerate.
I'm a paralegal.
- Cho, I'm sorry, you got a second? - Sure.
We're still gonna need a statement from you.
Excuse me for a second.
- What's up? - I told Grace I love her.
Wow.
Okay.
Well done.
Then what happened? Nothing.
Jane interrupted, she hasn't said a word since.
- So tell her again.
- Right.
Okay.
Tell her again.
Right.
Your aura is fascinating, Mr.
Jane.
So many hues.
Thank you.
The mansion's uninhabitable.
Why would you want it back? For sentimental reasons.
Mm.
No.
No, that's not right.
You're closed.
Furtive.
You're hiding something.
There's something in that house.
Something you don't want anyone else to find? Evidence of your guilt, perhaps? That's absurd.
No.
You're right.
That is absurd.
It's something else entirely.
Ah.
- The treasure.
- What treasure? Walter Beckworth's treasure he hid in the mansion.
I wanted my house back because I didn't like what Foster planned for it.
He was going to destroy it.
Foster had only been there a few weeks.
How could you know what he was gonna do before he did? In conversation.
He told me.
Ma'am, we find out you're lying, you become suspect number one.
All right.
How are you with riddles? I found the clue a few weeks ago when I bought some of Beckworth's papers at an estate sale.
It was in a letter to one of his cousins just before his death.
Beckworth boasts that he's hidden his great treasure where no one can find it.
And then he offers this clue: "If fortune is what you seek sincere, the only place to look is here.
" - That's it? That's the riddle? - Yes.
- Interesting.
- Of course, I told Mrs.
Abner right away.
But the house had already been sold.
- Why didn't you mention this before? - Well, it didn't seem relevant.
It's motive.
It's very relevant.
Mr.
Raimey and Ms.
Abner had agreed to keep quiet to avoid having to share the loot with anyone else.
Correct? Yes.
But that doesn't mean either of us killed Foster.
Oh, absolutely right.
Whoever killed Foster was simply trying to scare him from the mansion.
It could have been anyone that wanted the treasure.
Even you, Deputy Fisher.
- That's right.
I killed him.
- Did you? You denied it earlier.
Stop doing that.
I need to see this clue.
Where's the letter? Thank you.
- What? - Smells good.
"If fortune is what you seek sincere the only place to look is hear.
" "Hear.
" It's spelled H-E-A-R.
Well, I assumed it was a mistake.
There are no mistakes.
Let's go.
As you know, Walter Beckworth left a coded message describing the location of his treasure.
I've brought you all here to help me find it.
The word "here" is misspelled in the riddle.
I don't believe that's a mistake.
I think that the clue itself lies in that word.
Hear.
H-E-A-R.
What comes to mind when I say the word "hear"? Noise.
- Sounds.
- Ears.
Very good.
What else? - Music.
Musical instruments.
- A definite possibility.
Cho.
Unveil it.
Hmm.
- Aha.
- What is it? What is it? Beckworth's fortune.
There's nothing in it.
It's empty? Wait.
What is that? - It's another riddle.
What does it say? "To find fortune and riches one doesn't need help.
All one must do is look to oneself.
" What does it mean? I don't know, but it's spelled correctly.
It means we're wasting our time.
- Doesn't even make any sense.
- Let's not rush to judgment.
Beckworth probably put it there as a practical joke.
- Pretty lame joke.
- But the fortune could still be here.
- I need time to find it.
- We're not gonna waste more time.
I'm shutting this down.
Everybody out.
Cho, secure the place and set the alarm.
Have Rigsby and Van Pelt set up on the mansion tonight.
We'll take the shift after them.
Nobody gets in, especially Jane.
Understood? - Got it.
Everybody out.
Lisbon.
Lisbon.
- This Lisbon, this - Bite me.
We're done for the night.
- "Bite me"? - It's too much? Uh, a smidge.
Worked fine.
Just a little over the top.
- So, Grace, I was wondering if - Yes.
- How do you want to handle this? - Handle what? The stakeout.
Oh.
Right.
Listen, about the other thing, it's l Maybe it's not the right time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um We could walk.
Patrol the grounds.
Or maybe one of us could stay here while the other one patrols.
- Alternate.
- Yes, that's better.
I'll go first.
- That's okay.
I can do it.
- I'm easy.
If you wanna go first, that's fine.
No, no.
No.
"Look to oneself.
" No.
Nothing there, Drew.
Never was.
- You planted the second clue? - Aha.
Yes.
- I didn't kill Foster.
- Don't be ridiculous, of course you did.
Only the killer knew how to get in here via the secret passage.
You proved your guilt just by walking in the room.
Was it all just for the money? Just for the money? I spent years listening to my family go on about the Beckworths and everything that they had.
I didn't get any of it.
Not one thing.
Then my aunt told me about the clue and the treasure.
And I thought, "I could get that for myself.
" I could have what I've deserved all my life.
All I had to do was get Foster out of the house.
So you haunted him.
My cousin had told me about the equipment Beckworth had built in.
I just wanted to scare him.
But Foster wouldn't take a hint.
So I had to do something.
Hey, hey, hey.
Stop! Hey, stop! I didn't mean to kill him.
I didn't know what to do.
And then, uh, I remembered the stories about Beckworth.
How he was killed.
How his ghost still haunts this place.
So I threw him out the window.
The same way Beckworth was killed.
It wasn't Foster's house.
It belonged to my family.
Put your hands behind your back.
Now.
When you first opened the box under the piano, was there anything in it? Hm.
This.
You killed Foster for an old key.
I wonder what it opens.
Oh, I know what it opens.
What? He's just messing with you.
He's mean like that.
Come on.
Mr.
Jane.
I was just being briefed by one of your agents.
Well, I hope they conducted themselves in a professional manner.
Thank you for everything.
Well, my pleasure.
Do you mind a question? Uh No.
I asked about you.
What happened to your family I'm very sorry.
And I thought maybe it means you understand how it feels to lose somebody.
Is that your question? Do you think they know how we feel? The dead, I mean.
How sorry we are? How we wish things could be different? Do you think they understand? No.
Sorry.
Case-closed pizza.
- Case-closed pizza.
Rigsby eats all the sausage again, I'll be pissed.
Are you okay? - Right as rain.
Oh, I have the perfect thing to go with this.
- Wine? Yeah, just a little something special.
- Excuse me.
Need a glass.
Sorry.
- Sure.
I'm gonna leave in a few minutes.
- Wait five, then meet me at my car.
- Okay.
Just a little.
- Please.
Thanks.
Mr.
Rigsby.
Case closed.
Case closed.
Mm.
It's nice.
- I'm glad you like it.
So, what was the key to, Jane? The key.
Beckworth's fortune.
Give it up.
Just because the fortune wasn't gold or cash doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
So, what was it? Beckworth was a collector.
He collected hundreds of one thing.
Some of the finest, rarest examples worth tens of millions of dollars.
- So, what was it? - Mm.
What? - Smells good.
Cheers.

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