CSI: Miami s02e05 Episode Script

The Best Defense

Guy in a mask came in shooting.
Three down, two dead.
Bar closed at 4:00.
Cleaners were finished by 5:00.
These two were the owners.
Miami trust fund babies.
What about robbery? Cash drawers were cleaned out.
No witnesses yet.
All right.
No gun, no bloodtrail, shooter entered cleanly and exited cleanly, apparently.
Who called this in? Third victim.
Ricky Murdoch.
How's he doing? He was hit on his shoulder and chest paramedics just took him.
So we've got a survivor.
Ricky? Ricky, my name's Horatio Caine.
How you feeling? Like I just got shot.
Now, listen, anything you can tell me about the man who did this might help me catch him.
What do you remember? He just came in and started shooting.
We didn't have time to react or anything.
So you didn't see his face.
No, he was wearing a mask.
Did he say anything? Just started shooting.
Right.
Okay.
It's so weird.
What's weird? I remember him shooting me once.
But I was hit twice.
Well, you know what happens sometimes, trauma can affect our perception of the situation, and the bad guys come to count on that.
That means he's going to get away? What it means, Ricky, is that he doesn't understand how evidence works.
But you know what? He will.
Justin Sayers and Brad Dawson.
Co-owners.
Not anymore.
Club where people come when the door guy turns you down everywhere else.
So this is your hangout, speed.
you know, did you ever think about taking up standup comedy or something like that? Because you're really very funny.
Glad you noticed.
I appreciate it.
Thanks.
H mentioned the cocaine here.
Let's see, the, uh, cleaning crew was done by 5:00.
Our victims were probably doing blow right before they got shot.
Did you find any casings? No.
I'm thinking that the suspect must've used a revolver.
Or he picked up after himself.
Forethought or afterthought.
Either way, the guy's not stupid.
We're dealing with an organized criminal.
Means he probably didn't dump the gun nearby.
But I'll check the dumpsters, just in case.
Cleaning crew didn't do a very good job.
Still a lot of prints to process.
or maybe just one.
Licorice.
Ouzo.
Greek liqueur.
Maybe our shooter had a quick shot to steady his nerves before he left.
We've got some smudges.
Maybe a partial.
It's a tough ask.
That's got to be bad for you.
That's gross.
Bugs.
They're attracted to the sweetness, they go in right through the pourer.
There are no bugs in the glass, so it must've been poured from a different bottle.
The best ouzo comes from this greek island, lesbos.
A connoisseur.
Well, this girl, astrid, took me to a greek wedding.
Fresh bottle.
And fresh print.
Right there.
That could be cocaine.
Can't dust it.
Better bring that to the lab.
According to the vic, this cowboy came through the front door, guns blazing.
I wonder if he tied up his horse.
Got a void the length of a car.
Street sweeper came by.
Left a scum residue everywhere but here.
Let's, uh let's check the time the street sweeper came by.
Maybe our guy's car was parked here.
A little scum could break the whole case.
Hi.
Hi back.
I found this in my car.
Oh.
Thanks.
Think it fell off when we were yeah.
I, uh I thought that you, uh,broke the moon roof.
A friend of mine owns a convertible.
If you're not doing anything friday night, I was hoping Dad! Hi.
/ Hey! - How are you? - Fine, thanks.
And you? - What are you doing here? - How are you? Uh this is a colleague of mine, a friend of mine, John Hagen.
- This is my dad.
- A pleasure to meet you, sir.
- How do you do? - If you'll forgive me, I have to run.
So long.
Nice fella.
Okay, what's happened now? Why do you always make it sound so bad? Did mom take you back? No, but she might, 'cause I got myself in the rotation with the public defenders at the miami-dade county court.
That's great.
How'd you manage that? Old pal of mine, works in the state's office, said he'd put me in the rotation if I stayed sober.
Last sunday, been 60 days.
Congratulations, daddy.
Thank you.
/ I wish I could stay and hang out with you, but I'm working on a double.
Will you call me when they assign you a case? Well, they already have.
I wanted you to be the first to know.
- Do you feel confident? - Well, it's an easy one, truth be told.
You know, my client's already confessed.
She stabbed her boyfriend with a screwdriver.
Well, what does the evidence say? - There wasn't any evidence.
- There's always evidence.
I guess the police department probably stopped processing it when she confessed and figured they would undermine the case.
You mean after she confesses, they don't want to hear about it anymore? I thought they only did that in the old days.
I guess using legal advantage never goes out of style.
You can call the prosecutor, and get ahold of the evidence.
Yeah, I know, I know.
They might have a fight on their hands.
I think they do.
I'm on my cell, if you need me.
/ Thanks! Brad Dawson.
It took a bit of digging to find the entry wound.
But then he finally gave it up.
The bullet entered through the oral cavity, punctured the throat before coming to rest in the middle cerebella.
No powder burns around the lips or in the oral cavity.
His mouth was open.
He must've been talking.
Or screaming.
No! Alexx, what about Justin over here? Let's take a look at him.
Found traces of cocaine in Justin's nasal passage.
More in his system.
Bullet entered the left cheek on an upward trajectory, lodged into the frontal lobe.
He died of exanguination.
Take a look at these, Alexx.
His knuckles are bruid and scraped.
That's not all.
Found skin under his fingernails.
Sent a sample to DNA.
How much skin? / A lot.
Accordion style.
Kid put up a fight.
That's not the version I heard.
Thank you, Monica.
Thank you.
Your doctor said you were very lucky.
Yeah, yeah, the bullet just barely missed my heart.
That is lucky.
It's my understanding that Brad, Justin and you were friends.
We met at the club, yeah.
They let me shadow them.
I just wanted to see how the business worked.
Long hours, hard work and all the cocaine you can snort, right? They were into it.
I wasn't really.
Here's the thing, Ricky.
We found a great deal of skin under justin's fingernails and the only way that could get there would be as a result of a struggle.
Now, your version of the story is that the shooter entered, fired and left immediately, so I'm confused.
What? / I need you to let me see your arms.
Ricky! I came as soon as I heard.
Is everything all right? Yeah.
/ I'm Aaron Schecter.
I represent the Murdoch family.
Murdoch sugar.
/ That's right.
"The sweet life.
" Biggest conglomerate in north or south america.
Who am I dealing with? - Uh, we're with the city.
- Okay, that's great.
Listen, it's very important that the Murdoch family name is protected at all times.
The media, unfortunately, tends to seize on things like this.
Is there anything I can tell them about the investigation? You can tell them that young ricky here is lying about his participation in a murder.
I'm sure he misspoke due to trauma.
Ricky, this is your chance to clear this up.
Ricky's said all he's going to say today.
Are you sure you want this man speaking for you? That's the way it is in my family.
Okay.
To be continued.
You I.
D.
The powder that left this print? Yeah.
Cocaine hydrochloride.
Delko, don't take this personally, man, but you stink.
Look, man, I've been crawling around in dumpsters all day looking for a gun, all right? / Well, I hope you at least found the thing.
No, I didn't, as a matter of fact.
Joseph, why don't you give me the print on the bottle and stop talking about where I've been and how I smell? Photometric stereo imaging.
Captures the 3-d visible print off a surface not suitable for lifting.
See, with each angle of light, the texture of the bottle's surface changes, illuminating a different section of the fingerprint.
Then we download them, run them through the software and we get A three-dimensional image of a fingerprint.
Then all I have to do is suppress the image texture, run it through a linear filter like magic.
Workable print.
That's great.
Run that through AFIS for me, will you? Done.
Mrangelo Sedaris.
Club owner.
All applicants for a liquor license have to get fingerprinted.
His club's called "silenus.
" Yeah.
And he's located less than a blockfrom the crime scene.
Silenus-- a guy in greek mythologywho liked to party.
So Angelo has a sense of humor.
I wonder if he's heard the one about the guy who walks into the bar and starts shooting people.
I stopped by on the way home.
Club owners, we do that.
The only other people that's going to be up is one of us.
What time? Gone by 6:00.
Play all night, sleep all day.
Justin tried to serve me a shot of cheap ouzo.
Loser.
/ Justin's a loser because you are a top-shelf guywho likes expensive ouzo and has a very expensive cocaine habit.
I don't do blow.
Herb's more my style.
You had cocaine all over your fingers, Angelo.
That's how the lab was able to get your print.
How did you injure your hand, Angelo? It could have been anywhere, I don't know.
/ But it wasn't-- it was at the club, while you and Justin were fighting over that cocaine.
- Just before you shot him.
- I didn't shoot anyone.
Okay.
Justin and Brad stopped by the club earlier.
I let them punks in my vip, and what do they do? so I went back to get it.
Have a drink, Angelo.
/ Man you take my coke, I take your good ouzo.
I wasn't about to leave my coke.
Hey, yo, gimme that.
This is my stuff.
/ Hey! I didn't shoot them.
I just took the rest of my stuff and went home.
Angelo just comped to cocaine possession.
Woops.
I'm going to need to examine your car.
/ For what? For scum.
Angelo's got nice taste in cars.
Hard to go wrong when you spend 80 grand.
So, I checked with city maintenance.
The sweeper that works that street does it around 7:45, give or take a couple of minutes.
Rescue got the call at 7:55.
And Angelo said he was gone by 6:00.
If we put his car on the scene, we've caught him in a lie.
Hey, let me ask you a question.
Why would you add a cheap compact disk player on to a top-of-the-line german audio system? Well, you wouldn'T.
That's cute.
.
22 revolver.
.
just like the rounds we found in our victims.
So, you'll process Angelo's gun, - I'll brief Horatio? - I'll be in firearms.
Calleigh.
/ Hi, dad.
Got discovery.
Looked at the trace results, and there was motor oil in the boyfriend's stab wounds.
I don't know any of the particulars of the case, dad.
I don't think my girl did it.
Really? / Yeah, I believe that the evidence is beginning to contradict her confession.
Okay.
Case history.
Start with the oil.
Okay.
Gloria Haberfield, sitting, uh with her paramour, Duane Edmunds, in his car.
They get into an argument.
- Don't listen.
That's your promiss- I do listen Duane you don't listen to me.
and here, the police allege that Gloria reached into the glove box, took out a screwdriver and stabbed Duane.
Stabbed him and stabbed him and stabbed him like a friend of Julius Caesar.
It says here that the police have an eyewitnessthat saw everything.
she thought she did.
Late night, looking through glass.
And I've been asking around.
This kid, Duane, his car has got a faulty carburetor, so he keeps a screwdriver on hand in the car to adjust, you know, for cold starts.
Okay, explain it to me in context, dad.
Well, if it was me, why would I keep that screw driver way over there in that glove compartment, when he could keep it right by his side, right there in the door side pocket, nice and handy? So in order for the girl to attack him, she would've had to have reached across his body and grab it.
Exactly, but that doesn't make any sense, now, does it? No.
But what does make sense is, he gets mad, he reaches down, he grabs for that trusty old screwdriver and he attacks her.
you got a case for self-defense right there.
I just think you're going to have to have more than motor oil in a stab wound to prove it.
That's why I want them to take a look at this car.
Blood analysis, weapon strikes, and tool marks on the interior.
Tool marks are my specialty.
Well, as much as I like our pleasant conversation dad, it's already been assigned to another criminalist.
He's a good csi-- his name's Eric.
Good as he may be, he is no rival for my little lamb chop.
All right, I promise you that I will check in on things and I will observe, but I have to work on my own case or Horatio's going to have my hide.
Good.
Go get 'em.
Hey, John.
What'd you tell your father? Excuse me? / Prosecutor just called me in the haberfield case.
Your father persuaded his client to change her plea about stabbing her boyfriend.
- That's your case? - Like you didn't know that.
No, I didn't know that.
I've been trying to stay at arm's length about it.
What'd you tell him, Calleigh? I told him that he should take a look at the evidence, which is what I would have told any attorney.
Great.
Well, now my suspect changed her story.
Well, you know what, John? That's her right.
Just like it's the state's right to take it to trial.
This is B.
S.
Total B.
S.
Hey, are you more upset about the constitution or about your arrest jacket? I care about a confession she freely gave me that.
- Now she's saying I coerced.
- Well, John, if the evidence is good, then the confession will stick.
- Whose side are you on? - I didn't realize that evidence took sides.
Is this urgent, detective? It can wait.
You okay? You know it.
Okay.
Angelo's gun.
I've gotten a little sidetracked.
All right.
What have you got? Uh, basically, the bullet striations don't match, so this wasn't the gun that was used to shoot the two victims, and the club owner, Angelo, was telling us the truth.
Okay, so our only confirmed liar, then, is Ricky Murdoch.
Yeah.
/ All right.
What are you looking for exactly? Something's not right, Alexx.
Such as? Let's talk about timeline.
Is it possible Justin died earlier than was in your report? I examined both the bodies in the bar just after 9:00 A.
M.
-- Blood had just begun to settle.
Was there any indication of rigor? Slight stiffening in the eye muscles, that's all.
Right, so what is the earliest he could have died? Mm, 6:30.
So rescue got a call-out at 7:58.
Sounds like Ricky has a problem with his timeline.
Right.
He's missing an hour.
I wonder if his lawyer knows that.
This weapon was found behind a club by a private security firm hired by the Murdoch family.
Miami-dade police have confirmed that the owner of the club, an Angelo Sedaris, is being questioned in the shooting.
Didn't your guys already look at that club owner's gun and rule it out? Yes, we did, but the public doesn't know that, do they? To solve these brutal attacks.
To help, the Murdoch family is posting a reward of a half a million dollars to any information that leads to an arrest.
Thank you.
Thank you, Aaron.
Gentlemen.
H, we searched the trash in a three-block radius for that gun.
And? It's got to be a stunt.
It's not the murder weapon.
No, it is the murder weapon.
It was cleaned and dropped where we could find it.
- By who? - By Ricky's attorney.
Why would ricky's attorney hand us the murder weapon? Because Ricky's got a smart attorney, and he knows we're looking at his client.
He'll try to get ahead of us.
So now let's get ahead of him.
Mr.
Schecter.
The security staff that found the gun gave it to me immediately afterwards.
It has not left my possession.
The chain of evidence is preserved.
How helpful.
You know, Aaron, some might call this hiding in plain sight.
I hope you're not suggesting that Ricky had prior knowledge of that gun's whereabouts or any part in this tragedy? Well, I guess that depends, doesn't it? It depends on where Ricky was between the time of the murder - and the 911 call.
- Struggling to stay conscious.
He's an innocent victim of a random shooting.
By a masked man who killed two of his friends and then spared him.
- I remember.
- What are you implying? I'm not implying anything, Aaron.
What I want is to see the bullet hits on his body.
- Oh, that's going to take a warrant.
- Not necessarily.
What are you getting at, lieutenant? What are you doing? Aaron, you will be first to know.
Speed I want to find the shirt that Ricky wore when he got shot.
The paramedics cut it off him.
- You want to test it for lead? - Yeah, here's what I want to do.
I want to reconstruct the shooting.
Start close and work back for distance, all right? Arm's length first.
/ Good.
You got it.
Viscous substance.
Doesn't look like motor oil.
Won't know until I test it.
You know she stabbed him eight times? Yeah, you've told me that eight times, and it still doesn't change what I have to do here.
You find something? I'm not sure yet.
- That could be anything.
- I wouldn't bother.
It's no bother.
That looks like it could've been done with a screwdriver.
I thought you were going to be hands off.
Do you see any hands? But you're going to check it, right? / Yes.
As a matter of fact, I'm just finishing up right now.
You're worse than Hagen.
Did Hagen ask you to check that? No, actually, he asked me not to bother.
That's interesting.
The indent matches the business end of the screwdriver.
And there isn't a drop of blood on it.
So it could have been the boyfriend's first act of aggression.
which could mean that everything she did after that was self-defense.
Dad, you walk as quiet as a mouse.
Young man, you gonna put that in your report, right? Okay, then - got a case to prepare.
- Well, it's just a start, dad.
I know, I know there's other stuff to analyze, but that colleague of yours, detective Hagen? I'll put him in the box.
Get his feet to the fire, Okay, then.
Bye, sweetie.
I appreciate it, young man.
Just doing my job, sir.
Your old man doesn't know about you and Hagen, does he? I didn't know that you knew it.
Oh, right.
Big secret.
Does everybody know? Calleigh, we're CSIs.
I mean, if we can't figure something going on between two people, then did he really ask you not to look at the seat belt? Hey, John.
Hey.
I just wanted to ask you something face-to-face.
Did you try and overlook evidence with regard to the seat belt? - I didn't think it was important.
- A tool mark on the accused girl's seat belt in this case and it's not important? If it doesn't establish a specific window of time a case is the totality of evidence, and you know that.
Come on.
That's CSI talk.
I'm a cop.
I got an eyewitness and a signed confession and an old man blowing my whole case apart to pull himself up out of the bottle.
- I didn't mean that.
- I think you did.
And you know what? As we speak, that "old man" may be trying to save the life of an innocent woman.
You know what? I don't think friday night's going to work.
Yeah.
I couldn't agree more.
Ricky's shirt? You were right.
Paramedics had it.
No warrant necessary.
Okay what about comparable distance? Three feet.
Left the same amount of residue around the entry tear that ricky's had.
So, based on the powder burns alone, it's would have been physically impossible for Ricky to shoot himself.
Somebody else fired the gun.
What about the partial print on the ouzo glass? There's no match on AFIS.
Okay.
All right, here's what I want to do: Let's contact the east coast bar association.
Check with them, all right? Well, gentlemen, it looks like our lawyer is going to need a lawyer.
Ricky's resting.
He couldn't make it.
That's fine.
I didn't want to speak to ricky anyway.
You know, Aaron, what I was thiining was how long it would take a guy wearing a $5,000 suit to get it dirty? Is there something you wanted to ask me? The club tropos, Aaron, have you ever been there? Yesterday morning.
First time.
You neglected to mention that.
I was doing business with ricky.
Meeting Ricky on business.
And when you got there, Justin and Brad were dead already, right? Which means your client was facing a double murder charge and you had to think of something fast.
What am I going to do? Listen to me.
There was a robbery.
A man came in, he was wearing a mask.
He killed both your friends, you were injured.
You were injured.
Take it.
No, no, I can'T it'll be so fast, you won't even feel it.
Take it.
I can't! / Ricky what am I going to do? Just think of something, Aaron! Tell me, what am I going to do?! it went wrong! Pick a shoulder, ricky.
/ What?! Pick a shoulder, left or right.
You gotta have a favorite.
No no I met with my client.
I had a glass of ouzo and then I left and went back to my office.
- What time was that? - 7:00.
No later.
You're lying.
/ Say I am.
Say I shot my own client for looks.
Why would I shoot the kid twice? Near his heart, no less.
Why? Aaron, I'm going to let the gun tell me that.
What are you talking about? See you in court.
I'm so tired of you.
I'll do what I want to! / I am the man! - Why are doing this to me? - I will do it! I am the man! What'd I say? I told you Hi.
This is CSI Calleigh Duquesne.
I need to speak to the prosecutor in the haberfield case, please.
Thank you.
I'll hold.
Didn't the state's attorney explain this to you? 'Cause information like this is supposed to come out of his office.
Well, yes, he did, but yeah, I'd like to hear it from you.
Well, she killed him, dad.
In self-defense.
/ No.
Well, this blood pattern, for this to have occurred, his head would have had to have been forward and down.
As if he were unconscious.
And the person has to be alive to bleed, and this spatter is very distinctive.
This is an arterial blood spray.
This is well, it's the stab wound that killed him and she would have had to have lifted his head back off his chest.
That's all here in the evidence, I guess.
Basically Duane attacked her, and she defended herself, but she didn't have to kill him.
He stopped being a threat as soon as he was unconscious.
Yeah.
Well, I shouldn't have rejected that deal they were offering.
I just buried my client.
No.
Hey, daddy, you're doing a great job, and you're a good man.
Don't ever start thinking that you're not.
Do you want to go have some dinner? No don't start worrying about me now.
I.
.
I'm not going to do something stupid, drown my sorrows, you know.
I love your mama too much for that.
I just need a little bit of alone time.
Contemplate things.
See you.
How concerned she might be about you.
I'm fine.
You sure? Yeah.
Okay.
These are the bullets they dug out of Ricky.
Right.
Looks like one of them's been shaved off.
Sometimes the cylinders aren't correctly aligned with the barrel.
There's something else.
He was shot twice, wasn't he? You're not thinking about a sympathetic discharge, are you? - 'Cause I've only ever read about that.
- You read about it because it happens.
You squeeze the trigger once, the gun fires twice, yet only a single round is emitted from the barrel cleanly.
The second one gets compressed by the recoil, comes out an adjacent chamber, producing a second accidental discharge.
Right.
Only happens with poorly made guns.
So, Aaron lines up on Ricky's shoulder pick a shoulder.
You got to have a favorite.
Left or right? Pick a shoulder.
You don't have to do this.
Just one shot.
One shot.
The gun misfires and it's the sympathetic projectile that hits him in the chest.
No! yaah! You're till gonna have to put the gun in the lawyer's hand.
Yes, I am.
Schecter cleaned it.
Let's check it again.
Are you sure this is legal, sir? Taking samples from Mr.
Schecter's car? Is this a public parking lot? Yes.
Then it's legal.
Horatio? / Yes, ma'am.
So, Ricky's company? Ricky's company bought a building right across the street from tropos.
- He was planning on opening a club.
- Not without a liquor license.
He applied to the state.
But our victims' bar was so close, they wouldn't issue one.
"Denied.
" You see, this is where a family attorney earns his money.
I found a fiber lodged in the trigger of the gun.
Is it probative? It's a fine wool.
It's 14.
5 microns.
That's thinner than human hair.
It was also weld with silk.
Fine wool and silk, traditionally used to make very expensive italian suits.
Nice going, calleigh.
Speed? I got a match on the car.
Same detergents, same disinfectants, same scum.
Lawyer's car was parked outside the bar when it was swept.
Excellent.
I hope you have good cause for bringing us here.
How would murder be? It'd be great if you had the evidence.
Ricky has a company.
- Ricky has lots of companies.
- That's actually quite true.
Ricky has many companies, but the company that she's referring to was planning to open a club directly across the street from tropos.
Ricky's money was going to provide the liquor license, and Justin and Brad had been tapped to run the club.
- Wasn't that the deal? - There was no deal, lieutenant.
You lied, Aaron.
There was no deal, because Justin and Brad backed out, and you got angry, didn't you, Ricky? Anything! What the hell is the matter with you? No.
No! whoa.
Ricky! so, what did you walk into, Aaron? You walked in on your client shooting two of his friends.
You had a choice to make.
Your choice was, you could be a witness and help us and lose the family account, or you could do what you did, create a little damage control in which your gun misfired.
You don't have any proof.
Not true.
You're wearing another beautiful handmade italian suit, Aaron.
I'm sure you've got a closet full of them.
And we located a fiber that was lodged between the trigger and the trigger guard, Aaron.
And the only way that is possible is if the suit is in close proximity to a weapon as it's being fired.
It's called "friction transfer.
" You used your sleeve so you wouldn't leave prints And that little fiber places the murder weapon in your hand.
In addition, the sample we took from your car puts you in the bar 45 minutes after you said you'd left the bar.
How am I doing so far? Ricky, I can no longer represent you.
You're going to have to find yourself a new lawyer.
No, no, no, you're my lawyer.
First, there's the investigation, then there's the trial.
You think I'm a smart lawyer, you haven't met my old law professor yet.
But you know what? You're about to.
I look forward to it.
I'll be ready.
Cuff 'em.
Calleigh.
Hey.
I'm not really up for any conversation right now.
Listen, I found your dad in a bar on 14th street.
I'm sorry.
I'll get him in my car.
You didn't need to do this.
Yes, I did.
Hi, lamb chop.
Hi, dad.
A little too much contemplation? - More than my fair share.
- Let's take you home.
I'm fine now.
In here? / Yep.
There you go.
I'm okay.
Hang on a second.
Son, you really should consider speaking to the prosecutor.
He might be able to cut you a deal.
I've got nothing to deal.
You're not gonna get him.
My family's gonna pay for the best legal defense you've ever come up against.
And when this is over, I'm still gonna open my club.
Aaron's still gonna be my lawyer.
You know why? Because the best defense is money.
Ricky, the best defense is an honest life.
Take him.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode