NCIS: Sydney (2023) s03e08 Episode Script

- [FIREWORKS BOOM AND FIZZ]
- [DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[TYLER] Nate! Finally.
Buddy, I can't believe
you're missing this, dude.
The view up here is insane.
The sunset on top of the bridge
is mind-blowing.
They weren't joking when they said
- [NATE] What'd you say?
- [PERCUSSIVE MUSIC PLAYS]
I'm in Chinatown. There's
there's some festival going on.
[TYLER] Huh? What?
[NATE] I can barely hear you.
Sorry, Tyler, there's people everywhere.
Where are you?
[NATE] Yeah, I can't hear you.
Say that again.
Hang on a minute. I'm gonna move
away from the crowd.
[TYLER] Huh? Can you say that
again, man? Where are you?
- Oh, it is chaos down here.
- [OBJECT WHIZZES AND CLATTERS]
[TYLER] You didn't show,
so I tried calling you.
[NATE] Yeah, sorry.
[TYLER] It's all good, I mean
I mean, the tour was at 8:00,
but where you been?
[NATE] The trolls were waiting
for me in the hotel lobby.
[TYLER] Trolls? You lose 'em?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think so.
- Okay, good.
Come to me. Jump in a cab and
I'll meet you when we get down.
- [TYLER] Hello?
- Okay, I'll be there soon.
- [NATE] Oh!
- [TYLER] Nate?
- The hell was that?
- [TYLER] Nate?
- [OBJECT CRASHES]
- [NATE] Oh!
[TYLER] Hello? Nate?
You still with me, buddy?
- [NATE GROANS]
- [TYLER] Nate!
Stop messing around, dude.
- Hello?
- [NATE GROANS]
[TYLER] Nate!
[DRAMATIC PERCUSSIVE MUSIC]
- [FIREWORKS BOOM]
- [TYLER] Hello? Nate?
- [NATE GROANS]
- [FIRECRACKERS FIZZ]
What's going on, buddy?
[NATE] Ugh. Shooter.
Did you say 'shooter'?
Dude, it's hard to hear you.
Did you say 'shooter'?
- Someone's trying to kill me.
- [TYLER] What are you
What are you talking about?
[STAMMERS] Okay, you need to
give me your location, man.
Like, a street name, anything.
- Just give me something.
- Ugh.
Nate?
Nate, buddy?
Talk to me, Nate!
Nate?!
Dammit! Nate!
Nate, talk to me!
Buddy! Nate!
[THEME MUSIC]
[SIRENS WAIL]
Special Agent Mackey, NCIS.
[SCOFFS]
Is there a problem?
Thank you, Special Agent Mackey.
Chief Petty Officer
Nathaniel 'Nate' Holbrook,
stationed out of Mayport, Florida.
He was out here on leave.
Flew out with his brother
a few days ago.
Thank you.
Welcome to Sydney.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
The shots were fired about
a hundred meters down the road.
That's where he caught
the wound to his torso.
Stuffing from a toy koala.
The shot went right through them both.
Poor bastard ran
till he was brought down.
[DOC ROY] Second round must
have gone through his heart
if he dropped like that.
He would have
He would have died in seconds.
- Anyone else hit?
- No.
[MACKEY] Packed street, and the killer
focuses his fire on our boy.
Why?
[JD] Yeah, he seems to have
a fan base too.
- Holbrook, right?
- Yeah, Nathaniel Holbrook.
[MAN] Justice for Zoe!
[WOMAN] Justice for Zoe.
True crime podcast superfans.
[JD] Marsh Family Murders.
It's a podcast based on
an Aussie family,
two parents and a daughter,
who were murdered on Thanksgiving Day.
What happened in the end?
Well, according to this,
absolutely nothing.
No one ever stood trial
for their deaths.
But the main suspect
was US Navy Chief Petty Officer
Nate Holbrook.
Nate used to date the murdered
daughter, Zoe Marsh.
Looks like someone
got their justice in the end.
[GROANS]
Sorry, little fella.
You're supposed to be
a protected species.
[DESHAWN] Evie!
Got another one.
[DESHAWN GROANS] Come on.
- [DESHAWN] Check it out.
- [METAL RINGS]
.308, full metal jacket.
[EVIE] Favored by
long-distance shooters.
[DESHAWN] That's comforting.
[EVIE] Sounds like we got
ourselves a sniper.
Angle of fire suggests the shooter
had an elevated position.
[EVIE] Plenty of options.
Let's narrow 'em down, then.
Damn! Hell of a shot.
Yeah, I could make that.
[SCOFFS] Girl, in your dreams.
I took out Hansie from a moving boat.
A croc chalked up that hit.
- [EVIE] Oh, whatever.
- Ugh!
[EVIE] Shooter doesn't seem
bothered about leaving evidence.
[CHAIN CLINKS]
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
D.
What is that? Opal?
Yeah, not just any opal. Black opal.
Rarest of the rare.
Not something you leave behind.
Unless you're making a statement.
Zoe Marsh, her mother, Jacquie,
and her father, Brendan,
sat down to celebrate Thanksgiving
with Zoe's boyfriend,
US Navy sailor Nate Holbrook.
None of the Marsh family
made it through to
the pumpkin pie dessert.
Zoe's boyfriend
was found covered in blood,
clutching a shotgun,
with gunpowder residue on his hands.
He had no plausible alibi, yet
the case never went to trial.
Five years on and a lot
of people are still asking why.
I'm Lucinda Wainwright.
Join me as I find answers to
what really happened that day.
[DESHAWN EXHALES]
[EVIE] The real mystery is why
they were celebrating Thanksgiving.
It was Thanksgiving Day.
It's not an Aussie thing, D.
You know that, right?
[DESHAWN] Y'all appropriate Halloween.
You know, why miss out on a chance
to eat turkey and cornbread
with your nearest and dearest?
Because turkey's a dry bird.
[DESHAWN] See, now,
you ain't tried my grandma's turkey.
The trick is buttermilk brine.
Three whole days.
Then there's the butter
that she slips under the skin.
D
Bacon grease all over the breast meat.
Then that special basting of her
garlic butter every half-hour.
D, come on, you're giving me
hunger pains.
Yeah, giving me a coronary.
Does the podcast
have a theory as to motive?
Episode 2: The Letters.
Covers Nate's possible motive.
According to the podcast,
Zoe was suspected of cheating on Nate.
He supposedly found letters
to her from a mystery lover
and just snapped.
[DESHAWN] Hmm.
[EVIE] Theory is
Nate then draped the letters
over Zoe's body after he shot her.
- The police charged him, right?
- [EVIE] Initially.
But the Department
of Public Prosecutions
declined to prosecute,
as featured on Episode 6:
Justice Never Served.
So what happened? Not enough evidence?
See, to answer that, y'all
want Episode 7: Cover-Up.
Which is part 1 of 2. It's a banger.
Who did the covering up?
Well, according to this, we did.
The US Navy.
The NCIS case at the time
states Nate was granted emergency leave.
Once he returned to the States,
charges were mysteriously dropped.
- I want that file.
- Sitting in your inbox.
Hey, Blue, how are we going,
uh, fingerprint-wise?
Uh, not very wise. No prints.
But I'm running the DNA
from the coffee cup
and cigarettes from the sniper's nest.
Figure we'll check out
the gun ranges around town.
Guy was a hotshot.
Only comes with practice.
Or natural talent.
Bit of luck, we match the gun and ammo
with the names from
the podcast's subscriber list.
[DOOR BUZZES]
[TYLER] Now, um, I believe
you have my brother's body.
Appreciate everything
you're you're doing
to catch whoever killed
my little brother.
Why did Nate come back
after all these years?
Wainwright got in contact.
Sweet-talked Nate
into coming to Australia
to tell his side of events.
- Nate went on the podcast?
- [TYLER] Yeah.
He recorded a vlog interview
yesterday with Lucinda.
The Marshes were like a family to Nate.
Zoe was his sweetheart.
He couldn't stand the thought
that the actual killer
was still out there, so
I mean, I came out to make sure
he had someone in his corner.
[DOC ROY] I had to perform
a full autopsy.
I've, uh, sewn him back up,
but you might find
my handiwork a little confronting.
[VOICE CRACKS] I'd like to say
goodbye, if that's all right.
That's fair enough.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Hmm.
He uh, he worked
with his hands, I see.
[SNIFFLES] I'm sorry.
Yeah, um, he was a machinist's mate.
He said pulling engines apart and
putting them back together was
Well, it was his happy place.
[DOC ROY] Mm-hm.
God, I'm so sorry, bro.
I let you down.
[SIGHS]
Listen, son.
You take your time.
I mean, the grief of losing
someone close is unimaginable.
But
Losing family, it's
it's on another level entirely.
You speaking from experience?
Hmm. [CLEARS THROAT]
[CHUCKLES SADLY] Just one thing
that's been bugging me.
Your brother, did he own a toy koala?
[LAUGHS] Clarence.
- Oh?
- [TYLER] Yeah, we, uh
- I bought him for
- [PHONE UNLOCKS]
for, uh, our niece.
We made sure Clarence
photobombed all of our pictures.
We were actually gonna go hiking
in the Blue Mountains today.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for your loss.
[JD] I pulled the cold case files.
Maybe shed some light on whether
Nate really killed that family.
It's kind of beside the point.
All that really matters is whether
or not our killer believed he did.
[DOOR OPENS]
Hi. Come on through.
Oh, my ex enjoyed
The Chancery Lane Killings.
Used to listen to it on long
road trips down the coast.
Killer went down for it in the end,
thanks to your investigation,
if I remember.
I like to think I played a small part
in reopening the case.
What about you, Agent Mackey?
I liked Serial. That one of yours?
No.
[MACKEY] Hm.
Maybe we should talk about
Nate Holbrook's murder.
Yeah, that was horrible.
The poor brother. [SIGHS]
Do you have any leads yet?
Ah, running a few angles.
Internet vigilantism is one of them.
Really? As in one of my listeners?
#Justice4ZoeMarsh had a big
presence at our crime scene.
Well, word travels fast. People care.
People who'd be willing to take
matters into their own hands?
I mean, I have over a million
subscribers. How would I know?
You got a chat room?
Anyone use violent language
directed at Nate?
Some.
But would any of them
take their frustration
beyond the keyboard?
I really couldn't say.
- You interviewed Nate yesterday.
- He reached out.
We heard it was the other way around.
No, he was desperate to clear his name.
I just gave him the opportunity.
I'm gonna need a copy of that recording.
Sure.
You know, if Nate's killer is
some sort of internet vigilante,
chances are they listen
to my podcast, right?
So?
So you should come on my show
and talk to them direct.
You know, maybe that's not
such a crazy idea
- That is a crazy idea.
- [LUCINDA] Oh, go on.
We could go live.
You can engage with
my listeners directly.
And who knows?
You might even catch a break.
Thanks for your time.
[DISTANT GUNFIRE]
- Can I help you?
- [DESHAWN] Luka Litchfield?
[LUKA] Yep, that's me.
Special Agent Jackson, NCIS.
Constable Evie Cooper, AFP.
We called ahead.
Thought you said lunchtime.
We've been to every gun range in Sydney.
You're lucky last.
Oh, remind me to buy a lottery ticket.
[EVIE SCOFFS]
We're gonna need a list
of all your target shooters
and their registered firearms
with your club.
Specifically high-caliber rifles
firing .308 full metal jacket rounds.
Oh, we've got a new fandangled system,
so it'll take me a beat.
Oh, we can wait.
- [GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
- [WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
Ooh!
- While we do
- Really?
You seriously wanna get
shown up, soldier boy?
Hope you brought your textbook,
'cause I'm taking you to school.
- [CHUCKLES]
- [CHUCKLES] Oh.
Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[MECHANISM WHIRS]
Four center circle, two outside.
[SCOFFS] Three center circle.
That one is outside the line, D.
On the line.
NRL rules, baby. On the line is out.
[SIGHS]
[MECHANISM WHIRS]
- Three center circle.
- Three outside.
- [SIGHS]
- We tied again.
Go again? Next one wins?
LUKA: Oi, you two.
Sorry, I got into the register,
but it's telling me
the printer's not connected
or something.
Oh, yeah, yeah, email's fine.
We're under the gun, so to speak.
[MECHANISM WHIRS]
[NATE] I don't know what
the hell happened that day.
You know, I wish I did.
And where were you
at the time of the murders?
Well, party was going well.
You know, we were having a good time.
Um, I went out to get some beer.
When I got back, Zoe
Her entire family
There was a lot of blood.
I got it all over me.
You were clocked leaving
the liquor store at 2:25,
but you didn't call the police
until 3:30.
- What happened in the interim?
- [NATE] Yeah.
I got a flat tire on the way home.
I had no jack in the back of my pickup,
so I had to use what I had.
I've been over this.
Seriously? The old flat-tire alibi?
What does he think this is,
Murder, She Wrote?
- Is anyone buying this?
- [JD] What, the alibi?
Or the fact that you name-
checked a 40-year-old TV show?
- Come on.
- You're on the news, boss.
Or should I say, you are the news.
In the latest installment of
the Marsh Family Murders,
the net widens as NCIS
investigate Nate Holbrook's murder.
Will they unveil the truth
or will the cover-up continue?
- We should go on her show.
- She's baiting us.
That's been up there,
what, half an hour.
- Have a go at all the likes.
- I'm not doing it.
Come on, she's offering us
a chance to connect directly
with millions of listeners
who might be able to help us
with the case.
It is a podcast, JD,
and we're cops. At least I am.
Chances are Nate's killer's
gonna tune in.
And when they do, I want us to be there.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
For the record, this is
one of your stupider ideas.
You really don't like her, do you?
I have no opinion either way.
Is it 'cause of her success
in solving crime?
Let's be clear.
She sells advertising space,
I solve crime.
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Hey, just remember, when you
speak, to modulate your voice.
You don't want the listeners
falling asleep
'cause you're all Monotone Mackey.
Okay, Wolfman Jack,
just worry about yourself.
[DOOR OPENS]
[LUCINDA] Today we are lucky enough
to be joined by NCIS
Special Agent Michelle Mackey
and her AFP counterpart,
Sergeant Jim Dempsey.
I am so excited to have you
both on the show.
Our first transcontinental
crime-fighting duo.
- [MONOTONE] Pleasure to be here.
- Thanks for the invite.
Can I start by asking
why you both came on the show
in the first place?
Hi there, folks.
It's simple, really.
We're investigating
Nate Holbrook's murder
and wondering if anyone
has seen anything,
heard anything, that might
relate to what happened.
Right on, Macka.
[CLEARS THROAT] So, over
to you good people at home.
If you have any information
that could point us in
the direction of Nate's shooter,
be sure to call or text
the number on the screen.
[LUCINDA] You heard Sergeant Dempsey.
We are now open for questions.
#MarshFamilyMurders.
[DESHAWN] Next one.
Stirling Merrifield.
[PODCAST CONTINUES FAINTLY]
- Evie. Stirling Merrifield.
- Shh!
While we wait for
the calls to come through,
perhaps you can tell us about
the US-Australian
Law Enforcement Partnership.
How's that going for you, Agent Mackey?
It's terrific.
Believe it or not, we're a great
cultural fit.
There
[QUIRKY MUSIC]
[MONOTONE] There were some
[MODULATES VOICE] There were
some natural teething issues at first.
Uh, I think they thought we'd last,
you know, like, two weeks.
But here we are, still doing our thing.
- [LAUGHS] Yeah.
- [MACKEY] Uh
Doing our thang.
Did I say what a tremendous opportunity
it is to be on the show?
Mm, I think what Agent Mackey
is trying to say is
how much she enjoys working with
the Australian law enforcement.
[LUCINDA] I'm so glad to hear that.
Can I start with a question
for you, Agent Mackey?
[MACKEY] Shoot.
Let's talk about Nate Holbrook
and the multiple homicide charges
that have been leveled against him.
[MACKEY] As you know, Lucinda,
the public prosecutor
declined to take the case
and dropped all charges.
That's technically true, but they had to
because Nate skipped the country.
According to the affidavit,
he had a health emergency.
Nate needed treatment
back in the States.
A health emergency
that kicked in a day before
the case was supposed to go
to a committal hearing?
Uh, bad timing, for sure.
[TRIGGER] Police files
and evidence boxes
from the original case that
JD requested, with more to come.
[MACKEY] Is there anything
from your listeners?
Nothing yet, but that happens.
No one wants to go first.
Just takes one person
to get the ball rolling.
All right, come on, folks.
We need your help.
Doesn't matter how irrelevant
you think it might be.
Any piece of information
could be the lead that
helps break our case.
[EVIE] Wow.
They are dying out there.
[LAUGHS] You should help them
out. Throw 'em a bone.
God, no. This is amazing.
- [LAUGHS]
- [TRIGGER] Shove over.
[SIGHS AND TYPES]
Really? That's your bone?
Okay, we do have one question
from Nicky Rimz.
Have you ever used your handcuffs
or any other form of restraints
on each other?
Oh, man, damn! Is that the best you got?
I'm just trying to get
the conversation started.
[MACKEY] That is a negative, Nicky.
Okay. Uh, and another one
from Hugh Jarse.
[ALL LAUGH]
[LUCINDA] Do you practice
patting each other down?
All right, okay, folks.
Let's stay on track.
We need your help to catch a killer.
Out of all the people
you've traded words with
in the podcast chat room,
who would be your go-to person
of interest you'd want to speak to?
We do have one name being offered up
by some of the listeners.
Freddy Rasmussen.
Does that mean anything to you?
Not yet.
Pulling up his chat log now.
Whoa.
"Only justice for Zoe
"comes in the form of 180-grain
full metal jacket."
[DESHAWN] Gun club records show
that Rasmussen owns a Winchester .308.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[JD] Freddy Rasmussen.
Sergeant Dempsey, AFP.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
Special Agent Mackey, NCIS.
We've already met, haven't we, Freddy?
In Chinatown.
You got a warrant?
Are we gonna need one?
[MACKEY] Where were you yesterday
between 8:00 and 10:00pm?
[FREDDY] I was out.
Out where? Doing what?
Keeping vigil for Zoe.
"Keeping vigil"? What does that mean?
I stood outside a hotel
waiting for that coward
Nate Holbrook to show.
I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.
And did you?
Holbrook saw me, ran out the back way.
Old habits die hard.
You own a Winchester .308?
You know I do. It's why you're here.
- Where do you keep it?
- The gun club, usually.
Usually?
It's in my car.
Going away for the weekend.
Fired it recently?
Not that I can recall.
Rasmussen's wife, Helen,
was murdered three years ago.
That's what the shrine
in his house was about.
Killer took his own life before
the case could go to trial.
So he never got justice
for his wife's murder?
Maybe he can for Zoe?
Sorry about your wife, mate.
Helen, isn't it?
You got people around you?
I joined the Victims of Crime
support group.
They have regular meet-ups.
Does it help?
[SIGHS]
A guy there suggested I find a hobby.
It's how I came to target shooting.
Helped fill the days.
It's the nights that are, uh,
the hardest, though, right?
The midnight to dawn.
Everyone wants you to leave
the past in the past.
How are you supposed to do that
when you lose the reason
you have for living?
Did you kill Nate Holbrook?
Yep.
Every night in my head.
How about last night in Chinatown?
[SCOFFS]
I haven't got it in me
to take someone's life.
Really?
"Only justice for Zoe
"comes in the form of
a 180-grain full metal jacket."
Meant to mean something?
Well, you tell me. I'm quoting you.
Yeah, sometimes I I lose
myself in those chat rooms.
Stuff comes bubbling up.
I didn't mean anything by it.
"You know it's gonna make it
that much better
"when we can say goodnight
and stay together."
Seriously? I mean,
who writes this stuff?
- It's poetry. It's beautiful.
- It's Beach Boys.
Yeah, I guess Zoe loved the classics.
Wait.
I thought you said black opal is rare.
It is.
[MACKEY] What do you got, D?
It looks like
the same type of black opal
links both crime scenes, boss.
[JD] So is there a chance
that whoever killed Nate
was there the day Zoe died?
If so, Nate's not the murderer.
He's just another innocent victim.
It all goes back
to the Thanksgiving lunch.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SOBER MUSIC]
I want everything as it was
back in the day.
Use your crime scene photos
as your guide.
You seriously think
here's where we get answers?
[COUGHS] That, or dysentery.
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
[NATE] All right now, big one.
Big smiles.
- [NATE] Happy Thanksgiving.
- Happy Thanksgiving!
[POLICE CAMERA CLICKS REPEATEDLY]
[CHAINSAW ROARS]
[BRANDON] That's great, yeah!
- [CAMERA PHONE CLICKS]
- [JACQUIE] Oh, sweet!
[POLICE CAMERA CLICKS]
[INTRIGUING MUSIC CONTINUES]
[CHASSIS CREAKS]
[POLICE CAMERA CLICKS]
[CAMERA CLICKS]
Wow. Who needs roadside service, eh?
Just testing out Nate's alibi.
Turns out it is possible to
change a tire without a jack
and only a tire iron
and chainsaw for company.
Huh.
So what's the beer for, then?
Well, Nate was off buying beers,
so I'm just trying to keep it real.
Oh.
And for knockoff.
Yikes! Your hands.
Ah, it's just brake pad dust
from the wheels.
Don't worry, Mum. I'm going to
wash my hands
No, no, no, no. Don't do that.
Don't do that, whatever you do.
Not until I am done with you.
So the father was shot here, right?
Mm-hm.
Where does that put the shooter?
Well, here, I guess.
Oh, well, that's what
the police report suggests.
But as per the coroner's report,
which came out afterwards,
the blast struck Brandon's
carotid artery,
meaning a lot of blood
would have sprayed forward.
So if Nate was the shooter,
blood would have sprayed on him.
Leaving a blood silhouette behind him.
But there isn't one on that photo
because Nate didn't kill Brandon.
Okay, so who did?
Well, based on what we're seeing here,
I'd say
Brandon killed Brandon.
- What, murder-suicide? Why?
- [DOC ROY] Hm.
[DESHAWN] 'Cause Zoe wasn't
the one having the affair.
I went back and managed to
access her public playlist.
Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole.
She had a poster
of Hilltop Hoods on her wall.
But the love letters are full of
Beach Boys lyrics. Old school.
See, that ain't the way
to a hip-hop girl's heart.
Hm. These weren't Zoe's.
We think they were her mum's.
You're telling me Jacquie
was having the affair?
How did the cops miss this?
Well, you think about it.
You come through the door, you find Nate
holding the murder weapon
covered in the victim's blood,
gunpowder residue all over him.
With a "cat ate my homework" alibi.
Someone didn't do the work.
Went for the low-hanging fruit.
Jumped to the conclusion
that if it flaps
like a duck and quacks like a duck
The wrong person goes to prison.
And years later,
has podcasts made about them.
[CHUCKLES] Pff!
[DESHAWN] Okay, great job, team.
Let's not slap ourselves
on the back too hard yet.
We may have solved the cold case,
but we aren't any closer
to working out who killed Nate.
[JD] Come on, kiddo, don't do this.
We just solved the cold case.
- DNA doesn't lie.
- Exactly.
So Dad killed his wife and daughter
and then turned the gun on himself.
I mean, it totally tracks.
Except in this case, he couldn't have.
Why not, exactly?
Because I ran DNA analysis
on the historic victims
and it turns out that Brandon
and Zoe's DNA don't match.
What
Call me old-fashioned,
but shouldn't a father
and daughter's DNA match
on some level?
Yes, absolutely, if they are
in fact father and daughter.
Wait, Brandon wasn't Zoe's
biological dad?
Nope, not according to
the laws of science.
So who is Zoe's biological father?
That is what I've been trying
to tell you.
So Zoe's DNA is a match
for the DNA on the coffee cup
and the cigarette butts found at
the scene of Nate's shooting.
- Where we found the opal?
- Yes.
- So whoever shot Nate
- is Zoe's biological father.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
What are we missing?
Thanksgiving dinner.
Everyone's a few drinks in.
Brandon somehow stumbles onto
Jacquie's love letters
Proving his wife had had an affair.
Confirming his suspicions
that the daughter he'd raised
as his own wasn't actually his.
So he snaps hard.
He shoots Zoe in front of Mum,
placing the love letters over
Zoe's body to humiliate Jacquie,
just like she humiliated him.
The love letters I get,
but why place Mom's
opal necklace over Zoe?
And why are there black opals
at both of the crime scenes?
Yo, got confirmation from
Customs and Immigration
regarding Nate's exit from
the country after the murders.
- And?
- And he didn't hop
a commercial flight back to L.A.
How'd he get back, then?
Turns out his brother, Tyler,
was in the Navy back in the day too.
And that's important because
Because his brother
was in Navy transport logistics.
[TYLER] Yeah, I admit it.
I called in some favors.
[MACKEY] So your brother
wouldn't face charges?
Charges he was innocent of.
- And you knew that how?
- Because he's my little brother.
And I asked him straight up,
I told him I'd stand by him either way,
but if I found out down the track
he was lying to me,
then I'd kick his ass.
I've been looking after Nate
since he was in diapers, right?
You think I don't know when
my baby brother's lying to me?
I made a promise to my dad
on his deathbed
I would look after Nate, all right?
So that's what I did.
And you figured that meant
getting him out of Australia
to avoid police charges?
Okay, if I could have
my time over, I I
I would let it go to trial,
and his alibi would have come to light,
there would have been no podcast,
and Nate might still be alive.
But
[POIGNANT MUSIC]
[EVIE] So looking into
Zoe's biological dad means
I gotta go back 26 years,
figure out what Mum was doing
way back when.
Turns out she was
a regional flight attendant.
[CLEARS THROAT]
And one of her regular routes
was to Lightning Ridge,
which happens to be
Australia's opal capital,
famous for black opal.
[SCOFFS] And who said you don't
do the daily groundwork?
You, mostly, while I'm
making you look good.
What have you got?
Passenger manifests from every one
of Jacquie's flights back in the day.
I'm trying to work out
which were opal miners
and linking them
to any big finds of black opal.
If Jacquie had an affair,
it was likely with one of those miners.
Sure. Or
[CHUCKLES]
we could just ask
the jeweler who set both opals.
I remember this stone.
One of two for the same client.
Two stones?
The first one, 20-some years ago,
the second one, maybe five years back.
Mm. You still got the client's details?
Oh, I should do.
So let's assume the first opal
is a gift for Jacquie.
And the second one's for Zoe.
Maybe. But why the delay?
Dunno.
Maybe he just found out he was a dad.
Got the second opal set for the
daughter he didn't know he had.
I found the original invoices.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Damn. Didn't see that coming.
[MACKEY] What have you got, Blue?
- Worms?
- Nope, better. Excitement.
Ballistics came through the lab
on Rasmussen's rifle
with a positive match.
We certain about that?
According to Team Bang-Bang,
the firing pin indent
and extractor claw marks
match his rifle.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
[FREDDY] People come up to me
all the time.
They talk to me about needing
to move on after Helen.
"It's been years, mate," they say.
"Time to let her go."
Bit rich if you've never been there.
[SUPPORT GROUP MEMBERS] Hear, hear.
Uh, let's take a five-minute break.
What are you doing here?
[JD] We ran a ballistics check
on your gun.
Came back positive for the weapon used
to kill Nate Holbrook.
I don't understand.
Yeah, we know.
Hey, mate. White with two,
just how you like it.
Hi. I'm Luka. Welcome to the group.
Jim Dempsey, AFP.
Special Agent Michelle Mackey, NCIS.
We were just talking
to your friend Freddy
about the murder of Nate Holbrook.
Yeah, his rifle's a ballistics
match to the gun the killer used.
We're gonna need to take Freddy
down to the station with us.
Unless, of course, there's something
else you want to tell us, Luka.
Sorry, Freddy, this wasn't
supposed to come back to you.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
I don't understand.
I used my master key
to access your rifle
in the lock-up at the club.
Wait.
You shot Nate Holbrook?
He killed my kid.
What was I gonna do?
Freddy!
[MACKEY] Talk to me
about the opal necklace.
[LUKA] It was from the same seam
of black opal
that I discovered
on the day I met Jacquie.
[MACKEY] Why leave it
at the crime scene?
What's the significance for Zoe?
I couldn't have a relationship
with her mum,
so I thought
maybe I could connect with her.
We arranged to meet face-to-face
at the botanic gardens.
She never showed.
Her Navy boyfriend made sure of that.
Nate didn't kill Zoe.
What are you
What are you talking about?
Course he did.
There was
evidence.
[STAMMERS] It was
an open-and-shut case. It
There was no one else
in the house that day.
The cops were all over it.
The police made some critical
errors in their investigation.
It was a murder-suicide.
Brandon killed Zoe.
Then he killed Jacquie, and then
himself.
Over these.
Your love letters to Jacquie.
You quote the Beach Boys.
That's how we knew they weren't for Zoe.
The Beach Boys.
That's what was playing
on the night we first met.
[WISTFUL MUSIC]
She was standing there in her
hostess uniform, by the jukebox.
I asked her to dance.
I'd just discovered
the mother lode of black opal.
A seam as long as my arm.
I was 24 and rich
beyond my wildest dreams.
Suddenly, I couldn't care less.
I didn't know it at the time,
but that was the night we made Zoe.
[SNIFFLES]
What have I done?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
We've actually decided
to get him cremated here.
Nate always loved the Australian bush.
Well, there's no shortage of
that around here. I mean
Blue Mountains would be my pick.
Megalong Valley, something like that.
- Mega-long?
- Ha.
Okay, I'll bear that in mind.
There's a lookout where
you get to watch the sun go down
over two valleys.
[POIGNANT MUSIC]
It makes you feel small,
but in a good way.
Don't suppose you'd
want to come along?
Well, the place I'm talking about
can be tricky to find,
and I wouldn't want you
getting lost out there.
Tire iron.
Similar to the one Nate used
to change a flat tire.
You're not still going on
about the missing jack, are you?
There was no one there
to corroborate it.
I deal in facts, Agent Mackey.
Fact, he had the victim's
blood on his clothes.
Fact, fingerprints on the murder weapon.
Fact, gunshot residue
all over his hands.
And all over yours right now.
[JD] All that black powder
on the tire rim,
that's brake pad dust.
When Nate changed the tire,
he got it all over him.
No, the police analyzed it. It was
Barium, the main ingredient
in gunpowder and brake pad dust.
Well, the police
should have picked that up.
Maybe you should have too.
Might be an episode in that.
Yeah.
Hoo-hoo-hoo!
[MECHANISM WHIRS]
[CHUCKLES] Bull's-eye!
Oh, bull's-eye, my arse!
Off like old salami, mate.
Fine. Show me what you got, girl.
Oh, okay.
[FIRES TWICE]
Is there a cross-draft in here?
You feel that?
Uh-huh. [CHUCKLES]
[ATTENDANT] Come on, guys,
wrap it up. We're closed.
We just need a couple more
minutes to finish this off.
Thank you.
[MECHANISM WHIRS]
Next closest to the center
is the champion of the world.
You're on.
[LIGHTS SNAP OFF]
[THEME MUSIC]