The Protector (2011) s01e10 Episode Script
Rats
Four years undergrad, three years of graduate work, and I've never gotten the urge to take off my shirt and throw a frisbee in the quad.
Well, see, that's why you and I are different.
Morning, all.
Tell me we have the results of the latest ghrelin infusions.
Uh, I'm still running the numbers.
Meaning you didn't finish.
Just to double-check it.
So run the data again.
I'll check back this afternoon.
Thanks, Trisha.
That's the last time I cover for you.
Okay? Here's the, uh, Kroner file you wanted.
Thanks.
All good? No, it's Thursday, y, y, and I didn't get the call.
What call? Deputy Chief.
Oh.
Golf, right? We usually play the last Sunday of every month.
Well, maybe it was canceled.
It'd be like canceling church.
I'm not gonna get the invite.
Mm.
Did something happen the last time you played? No, I let him win by one stroke on the 18th hole.
- It was perfect.
- You're supposed to lose? You don't play with the boss and make him feel bad not twice anyway.
I didn't even think you liked the Deputy Chief.
- He doesn't know that.
- So you're upset because a man you don't like didn't invite you to play a game you're expected to lose.
Yeah.
Oh.
All right.
The Protector 1x10 Rats We will coordinate with the coroner's office and make sure that this is one of their top priorities.
I just think my gosh.
Look at all those Rats? Yeah.
Wanted to make certain there weren't any airborne contaminants before we let anyone in.
Well, wouldn't the, you know, rodents all kind of be on their back if, uh, there was a toxin in the air? Just following protocol, Detective.
We totally Understand.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Are you gonna be okay with this? Yeah, I have a slight aversion to rats, but I'm gonna, you know, I'm good.
The deceased is a 26-year-old doctoral student? Microbiology.
Trisha.
Last name Burke.
She's the only confirmed death.
Now, we have two other researchers that were discovered unconscious, but they're both alive over at the med center.
Did they collapse here in the lab? No, ma'am.
Uh, Harold Coogan, 26, passed out while playing frisbee in the quad outside.
And Evan Fenster, 27, passed out while driving.
He blew through a crosswalk without taking anyone else down thank God.
I'm assuming he's the reason you're here.
Uh We, uh, we're just here offering our services, that's all.
Yeah.
Right.
No connection to Fenster's Uncle being Vice-Chancellor.
Because ordinarily, as Chief of University Police, I'd make the decision to request the presence of the L.
A.
P.
D.
Or not.
Especially since this could turn out to be a chemical accident.
Yeah, well, that's what we're here to determine.
Can you tell me who worked in the lab or who had access to the lab? Well, Dr.
Ramsey, he runs the project and one other grad student.
We're in the process of tracking them both down.
Quick question aren't those rats unusually fat? I wouldn't know thespecifics of the research in here.
UmYeah.
The I.
D.
s are they all proximity cards for access? - Yes, ma'am.
- Hey, 'Chelle! Uh, you know what? That could accidentally open the room, and it's a clean room.
Let's, you know, keep it clean.
Well, the proximity cards are limited to members of the research team.
They automatically I.
D.
anyone that goes into the lab.
I've already requested the records.
So, what do you think poison? Is this how she carried her card? Yeah, her card and the key to her desk.
She'd lock her purse in the drawer.
She locked her purse in the drawer? I well, this is a secure lab.
Why would she do that? Could I see her purse? Sure.
We've already bagged the contents of it and everything from her desk.
Found another victim from the lab, Chief.
Door stairwell, Science Annex.
Name is Jo-Anne Kramer.
Dead or alive? Who is this? Detective Gloria Sheppard, L.
A.
P.
D.
The victim's conscious and coherent and being transported to the UMC.
That'd be University Medical Center.
Oh, oh, sorry about that.
Chief Gibbs here.
You're okay with dead bodies but you're scared of rats? I'm not scared of them I just don't want to be in the same room with hundreds of them.
You're not! Yeah, I am.
Look at them all.
They're little, fat, twitchy things behind a thin sheet of glass.
I mean, it's like it's like a nightmare.
You like mice any better? No.
Hamsters? Not much.
Squirrels? Actually, squirrels are kind of cute.
That's weird, isn't it? They want me to lie back and relax.
How? Trisha's dead.
Harold and Evan are unconscious.
I'm lucky to be alive.
I can't reach Ben.
Ben? Uh, Dr.
Ramsey.
It keeps going straight to voicemail.
He's probably somewhere in the research library! Campus police are looking for him.
All right, the doctor said that you ingested something.
That's a polite term for "poisoned.
" I don't know how we were all poisoned.
It was like I was having a heart attack.
I was in the stairwell, and I just passed out, and I woke up here.
Trisha I just can't believe this.
So you and Trisha were close.
Well, we were the only two women in the lab.
I'm sorry I'm so angry.
I don't know how they poisoned us, but I know who did it Animal Freedom United.
Ben said they were all talk, but So they were making threats? We were trying to Our team was developing a molecular pathway to cure obesity with a vaccine.
It would have wiped out most of cardiovascular disease, Type-2 Diabetes, half of breast and colon cancer.
A.
F.
U.
did this to us.
Jo-Anne Kramer? I have to go for more tests.
All right, so we've got three people very ill and one person dead.
Trying to figure out if this was some sick prank gone terribly wrong or if it was someone's attempt at mass murder.
Any leads on the lab death? Yeah, there's an animal rights activist group that we're looking into I'll know more later.
All right.
Thank you.
Hey, Davey, it's not really a good time right now.
Okay, okay.
I just want to give you a heads-up.
I may have landed a part-time I.
T.
gig.
Yeah, Mr.
Gottlieb down the block is starting a new business.
Needs somebody to get his online store set up.
The babysitter said she'll pick up the boys from school.
Oh, yuck.
What? You like Nora! No, no.
It's not about Nora.
Glo are you okay? No, actually, I'm not.
I was at this lab today, and there was this whole room just full of rodents.
The big ones? Huge.
With those long, naked pink tails? All right, stop it or I'm gonna hang up.
Big front teeth? You're really not a compassionate person, are you, Davey? All right, listen.
I got to go.
But just remember to tell Nora that Nick is still grounded, so that means no TV, no video games, and no cookies.
All right.
Bye-bye.
Professor Ramsey, this is my partner, Detective Sheppard.
I'm so glad you're safe.
Yeah, I'm fine.
They didn't get me.
The lunatics.
Just so you know, those pictures were not taken in my lab.
I hate those pictures, too.
Did you see the enemies page? Click on that link.
How much more evidence do you need? I run a humane lab.
We do everything we can to minimize the stress and trauma for animals.
They killed a human being to save some rats? Fat, pampered rats? Professor, are you okay? I'm fine.
I'm just a little upset.
Big surprise.
Okay, okay, okay.
Call 911.
How close did we come to having a crime scene at your desk? Well, Dr.
Ramsey is awake and in stable condition at Good Samaritan Hospital.
And as scary as it was, it did give us what we needed.
There was poison in the green tea in his thermos.
Tox report? Sodium azide.
It's fast acting, highly toxic, and related to cyanide.
But nobody actually drank his green tea.
No, well, it wasn't in the tea.
It was in the water.
S.
I.
D.
went into the lab and found that there was sodium azide in the hot-water dispenser, so, no matter if it was tea, coffee, hot chocolate, every cup had poison in it, so he must have filled up his thermos in the morning and then drank it later in the day.
Okay, so he was the last one to go down.
And why do we have a young woman in the morgue? I'm not sure.
We're still waiting for the autopsy report.
Did her emergency call give us anything? Fuzzy.
- Can't we enhance it? - No, no.
That's what she said.
She said the word "fuzzy.
" It was like she was feelingFuzzy or sick or something.
What about the animal rights group? Well, we tracked down the leader of the group, and of course he denied responsibility, but he did agree to come meet with us.
Well, that's very generous.
His name is Spence Corbett, and he's a good suspect for many reasons one being he's a medical doctor.
So he knew his way around a chemistry set.
Yeah, he got his license revoked because of malpractice, and he seems like an angry guy, but his group has a history of breaking into research facilities, so, I don't know, maybe he was just trying to send Ramsey's group a message, and Trisha Burke wasn't supposed to get killed.
Doesn't really matter.
Poisoning someone in this state can still get you the death penalty.
- Hey.
Glo? - Yep.
Dr.
Corbett, I'm Detective Dulcett.
This is my partner, Detective Sheppard.
Uh-huh.
I brought you a copy of the e-mail that I sent out to all the media outlets.
A press release? As I said on the phone, Animal Freedom United had nothing to do with the attack on the Ramsey Lab.
Although we applaud it.
Your website specifically targets Dr.
Ramsey and his team, including the researcher that was killed.
"Killed" like all the cats, dogs, monkeys, rabbits, the 80 million rats and mice that U.
S.
labs kill every year? She made a choice.
To work in a humane lab? How humane is it to engineer morbidly obese rats and then force them to live out their lives in a shoe box? I don't feel sorry for her.
Yeah, okay.
You need to take a little ride with us.
No, let me have a little talk with Dr.
Corbett.
Maybe we can reach an understanding, okay? Just a sec.
Give me a sec.
Good cop, bad cop? Come on.
No, not at all.
Not at all.
Listen Your threats against Dr.
Ramsey's Lab alone would let me take you in for a couple of days.
Look, whoever poisoned them, they knew you'd come after us.
We're the perfect fall guys.
Yeah, but I don't understand why you're targeting them anyway.
I mean, they're trying to develop a vaccine against obesity.
That would save millions of lives.
No, it'd make billions of dollars.
This is all about business.
You think companies like Geary Labs are some kind of charitable enterprise? Why are we talking about Geary Labs? I hear they're on the exact same patent track.
Can't imagine what they're doing to their lab animals.
Do you know who's taking care of Ramsey's rats now? They need food and water Yeah, I'm gonna look into that when I get back, okay? Thanks, Dr.
Corbett.
How'd we do? He doesn't have enough to hide.
Oh, come on, Glo.
I don't want to take him off the list.
The guy just seems so earnest.
Yeah, but think about it.
It's an animal rights group.
If they were really earnest, they would have taken the you-know-whats with them.
You can't even say the word? Of course I can.
Rats, ratsRats, rats, rats.
Now, was that hard? No.
No.
Well Yeah.
Come on, Nora.
Come on, Uncle Davey.
It's not fair.
When other kids get grounded, they can still eat.
You can eat.
How aboutan apple? It's not like I killed somebody.
I just lied about my homework.
Yeah, and your mom says that that means no cookies.
This sucks.
That's not fair.
What? I didn't have any homework.
I didn't lie.
Besides, he can't see me.
And what he can't see I forgot my milk.
UhI should be going.
Um So, what you just saw Yeah, it's okay.
I know about all that stuff.
You do? UhOkay, so, then, you also know that some things guys keep between themselves.
So you're saying you don't want mom to know about you and Nora.
No.
No.
Yes.
Pals before gals.
I get it.
Don't worry.
Hey.
Trisha Burke's mother just came up from the morgue.
She's in the kitchen.
Okay.
Thanks.
That's all right.
Thank you.
Mrs.
Burke? I'm Detective Sheppard.
I'm very sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
I've dreaded this day for so long, and, well, here it is.
I guess I should be grateful.
I got to see Trisha grow up.
I'm so- I'm sorry.
Was everything okay with your daughter? Trisha had a heart-valve defect.
The same thing that took her father when he was young.
It's always been just the two of us.
Me and my girl.
No one's been able to tell me exactly what happened this morning.
Yeah, well, we know that there was a contaminant in the lab, and everyone got very sick.
But no one else died? No.
We're still waiting for the medical reports, but maybe Trisha's heart condition explains why she didn't pull through.
Yeah.
Mrs.
Burke, did she tell other people about her heart problem? Well, she never wanted pity or special treatment, but most of her friends knew.
Why? Would it have made a difference? I'm not sure.
No Trisha was always independent.
I remember the first day of kindergarten all the other kids were hanging on to their moms for dear life, but Trisha said that she was a big girl, she could do it all by herself.
She was the only kid that didn't need a parent to walk her in.
Wow, she sounds remarkable.
Oh, yeah.
Was she happy in grad school? Mostly.
But something had started going on, and she wouldn't talk about it on the phone.
She was planning to come and stay with me for a while.
Was it personal or No.
It was work related.
Trisha said that she'd made a decision that a lot of people weren't going to like.
She acted like it was a big secret.
I thought maybe she was just leaving the lab, but she still had her dissertation to finish, so I don't know.
Well, it must have been fairly serious for Trisha to want to come home.
What if Trisha Burke was the target of the poison? I mean, her mother said that she was upset at work and that she'd made a big decision.
I mean, what if she discovered something and she was killed to keep her quiet? Okay, what about the rest of the group? I don't know.
Maybe they were a cover-up, you know? I mean, somebody in the lab figured out what she was doing and And poisoned the entire lab, self included that's a bit of a stretch.
Well, look, sodium azide mimics a heart attack, okay? And Trisha Burke had a heart condition, so these people are scientists.
Any one of them could have calculated how much poison to use to kill her and only her.
Question is, did her coworkers know that? Well, that's what we need to find out.
We're gonna talk to the other victims from the group, starting with the two we couldn't interview earlier Harold Coogan and Evan Fenster.
Fenster, the Vice-Chancellor's nephew.
Keep me posted.
Good afternoon, sir.
Detective Sheppard and Dulcett.
We're with L.
A.
P.
D.
Do you have a moment for us to talk with you about Trisha Burke? Sure.
Come on in.
Um, sorry We don't really spend a lot of time here.
Uh, that's not necessary, sir.
Listen, we were hoping to talk to both you and your roommate, Evan.
Oh, Evan's still at the med center.
He's lucky to be alive.
I guess most of us are.
Well, actually, we think that Trisha Burke was the only target and that the killer poisoned the rest of the lab to cover it up.
You know, I've been complaining about security all year.
Those prox cards are a joke.
Anybody with half a brain could break into our lab.
Did you know that Trisha had a heart condition? Yeah, sure.
Congenital MVP.
All of us knew, in case she had an adverse reaction.
Technically, she shouldn't have been working around all those chemicals, but, uh, she loved her work.
Yeah, well, the killer must have known about it.
Otherwise, she would have survived like the rest of you did.
Why would anybody want to kill Trisha? We were hoping that you or Evan could give us some insight into that.
You must have a lot of cats.
Just two.
It's, uh, cheaper when you buy in bulk.
Oh.
Well, I love cats.
Can I go ahead and say hi? Oh, they're at the vet both of them.
Oh.
Well, what's wrong? - With the cats.
- Oh.
UmWe're waiting to hear.
Well, you know what? If you could tell Evan to give us a call as soon as he can, we'd appreciate it.
And don't worry we'll see ourselves out.
Man, I could housebreak a tiger with that much kitty litter.
No cat box, no water dish, no scratchy pole, no chewy toy Glo.
Sorry.
All right, well, let's do the math, okay? We got two scientists plus zero cats plus 80 pounds of kitty litter, equals one thing meth lab.
Yeah, and they're not cooking it here.
Even with all the cat litter, the neighbors would be able to smell it.
You know, if Trisha had discovered that Harold and Evan were making meth and decided to go all tough-love on them, that's the kind of secret people would kill to protect.
You know, we have Evan's car at impound.
Let's go see if we can find anything to connect the dots.
I am not up for this.
My leg really hurts.
Aw, too bad.
I couldn't change the delivery schedule.
You want to piss these guys off? Look at it this way.
You'll be able to afford to fix your car.
Yeah, yeah.
Freeze! Hands in the air! You're under arrest for the manufacture and distribution of illegal substances.
Guess what we found aside from all the stuff you used to make meth.
Sodium azide.
How'd you find the warehouse? Your roommate's car.
The GPS.
- You downloaded it.
- Mm-hmm.
There were way too many trips to Sylmar for a couple of chemists in grad school.
And I really couldn't help but be impressed by all the late-night stops to Bob's Classy Lady.
You're pretty funny for a cop.
And you're pretty calm for a guy looking at life in prison.
I'm a first-time offender.
Well, that helps on drug charges, but it doesn't help at all when it comes to murder.
M-murder that wasn't me.
I got sick from the sodium azide, too, remember? Yeah, that was really impressive, too.
I mean, everyone's running around pointing fingers at the animal rights group, and you're going straight at Trisha's heart.
We all knew about Trisha's heart condition.
She told us about it the day that she started.
We were her safety net, and if anything happened, we'd know what to tell the paramedics.
Mm.
All for one, huh? I would never hurt her.
I swear.
Then how do you explain the sodium azide found in your meth lab? It's a preservative.
We clean beakers with it.
Every lab in the world has it.
So you're trying to tell me that anyone with a B-plus in chemistry could have done this.
Anyone.
Yeah, see, that still poses a problem for you and your roommate.
'Cause not everyone had a motive to kill her.
You guys do.
Because Trisha knew that you were making and selling meth.
If by some miracle, she did find out, I'd just cut her in.
It's a hell of a lot easier than killing her.
It's a lot riskier, too.
She'd never rat us out.
It'd bring too much heat on to Ramsey's Lab.
Are you saying that Trisha had feelings for Dr.
Ramsey? They pretended like they didn't University ethics policy and all but I could tell.
I mean, you should see the way he looked at her.
Was she dating anyone? Not that I know of.
She was all about the work.
Always focused.
She was a bitch.
Okay? Teacher's pet Ramsey adored her.
"Why don't you do it more like Trisha?" "Trisha will take care of it.
" "It's 'cause I trust Trisha.
That's why.
" I've been at this lab three years.
She's barely been here one.
You're not jealous, there, are you, Harold? Probably.
But I sure as hell didn't kill her.
Narcotics charges are a slam dunk.
Yeah, but murder's a different ballgame.
Let's just go home and get some sleep and come back fresh You stupid bastards! You ruined everything, you hear me? All right! You can step back right now! Come on, come on.
Let's go.
You don't understand.
My reputation? No one will ever trust my lab results again.
Two of my researchers are drug dealers, and my star student is dead.
So, Trisha never mentioned anything about Harold or Evan to you? Last week, she came to me.
Said she wanted to talk to me about something important.
I had no idea it could be something like this.
Now, I still can't figure out why Trisha's dead from the sodium azide and the rest of us survived.
She had a congenital heart defect.
Fenster and Coogan knew all about it.
Apparently you didn't.
Do you think I'd let her anywhere near my lab if I had? We routinely handle toxic chemicals.
That's why I insist researchers sign a declaration.
Trisha claimed to have a perfect bill of health.
C-could we get a copy of that declaration? Obviously, she considered finishing her doctorate more important than her health.
She knew I'd let her go if I knew the truth.
Despite your feelings for her.
Look, the University has a zero-tolerance policy on faculty-student relations.
Both of us resisted for a long time.
You can't imagine what it's like having to keep that a secret.
Sneaking around like we were doing something illegal.
Nick, there are millions of children going to bed tonight without dessert.
I bet they don't have to clear the table, too.
- Okay, is that it? - Yeah.
All right, you help Uncle Davey dry now, okay? I'll be right back.
Hey you know the rules.
No cookies for a week.
Hey, mom! Guess what I saw today! Are you kidding me? You know it'll be a lot harder to talk to mom if my mouth was full.
What did you say, Nick? Nothing! Two cookies, or I tell mom you were making out with my babysitter.
You're a little felon, you know that? Oh.
Yeah.
Tomorrow, I want to play "Halo" before mom gets home.
- Hey, Glo.
- Hey, I want to keep it really quick because I know you're with your boyfriend.
Not exactly.
Frankie got pulled in to something, so now I'm all decked out and looking fine in RHD while he's stuck in some Major Crimes powwow.
Yeah, wellI'm all decked out, too.
Well, I'm guessing that's not why you called me.
Anyway, listen to this, okay? Let's think about this whole thing, all right? Harold and Evan want to stop Trish from ratting out their meth lab, right? Pardon the pun.
So what do they do? They take sodium azide, and they put it in the hot-water dispenser.
A few minutes later, everybody starts dropping like flies, right? Then some time passes, people start getting up no harm, no foul, except for poor Trisha and her bad heart.
One cup a Joe problem solved.
That's a theory.
Yeah, okay, but let's think this through, all right? Say I'm Evan Fenster.
And I drink a cup of poison, and then I go and get behind the wheel of a car? I mean, why would I do that? I could kill myself.
I could kill somebody else.
Why wouldn't I just go to a library or a cafeteria, you know, someplace public? Hmm.
Okay.
So, if this isn't about Harold and Evan cooking meth, what is it about? I'm not sure yet.
I think it may have to do with whatever Trisha was gonna tell her mom.
I think that secret may have gotten her killed.
I don't know where to begin.
What to keep, what to give away, what to throw I can't.
Some policemen were here yesterday and took Trisha's laptop and, uh, some other things.
Yeah.
That's That's our scientific investigation division.
They'll give everything back to you.
I-I'm just here to see if they missed anything.
You being here Trisha's death wasn't an accident, was it? No, I don't think so.
I think it had something to do with what she said to you, something that she was planning on doing.
- I wish I knew more.
- That's okay.
I mean, just letting me look around is a huge help.
She named him "Fuzzy.
" Fuzzy? You know, "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.
" Oh.
Right.
Sorry.
No, uh, that's fine.
You know what? I have taken up enough of your time.
Why don't I give you my number, and that way, if you remember anything, or you need anything, you can give me a call.
- Do you have a pen and paper? - Yeah.
Here.
That'd be great.
Thanks.
"Geary Labs"? Trisha's best friend, Laurel, works there.
Oh Excuse me.
Yes, of course.
Of course.
Hey, 'Chelle, do me a favor, okay? Look up "Geary Labs" on the Internet.
The company that animal rights freak claimed would kill Bambi for a buck.
Got it.
Okay, look up the name "Laurel Nash.
" Laurel Nash.
Got her.
Senior fellow specializing in obesity research.
What if Trisha Burke was thinking of leaving the University to go to work for the competitor? What if she was selling secrets to her best friend? That would absolutely get her killed.
Trisha and I met in freshman bio, and we've been best friends ever since.
We always joked about winning the Nobel Prize together.
We both applied to work with Professor Ramsey, and Trisha got the job.
That must have been awkward.
More like typical.
I have no problem admitting she was more talented than me.
She wasamazing with numbers, amazing with I can't believe this is happening.
You okay? Yeah.
Did you and Trish ever talk about work? Of course.
We're friends.
But there are ethical boundaries.
Look, her mother told us that she had been unhappy at work the last few weeks, and that she had come to a big decision.
You know what that decision was, don't you? Did it violate the ethical boundaries between the two of you? What, do you think that's why she was killed? Because of what we were doing? I'm not saying that.
Oh, God.
So she sold you data from Dr.
Ramsey's lab? What? No, you've got it backwards.
We were trying to stop someone else from doing that.
About two months ago, we met for drinks.
I told Trish the results of our adipose disintegration study.
She was shocked.
Her team had similar results.
- Wait isn't that a good thing? - Well, it would be, butdata was showing up at my lab for tests that hadn't even been run.
Trish was convinced that someone in Dr.
Ramsey's Lab was selling it.
Well, my guess is they found Trish first.
Laurel, do you have any idea who was selling your company the information? Trish wouldn't tell me.
Do you know where she might have hidden it, where it would be safe? Um I couldn't understand why she would lock up her purse in a locked room.
She didn't trust the people around her.
She was carrying a secret.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was the name of her toy bear as a child.
And it's what she was trying to tell 911.
Look at that.
Okay.
The dates and times.
All the middle of the night.
That looks like an I.
P.
address.
Looks like Trisha was tracking the e-mails with large attachments coming out of the labs.
My guess is whoever was using the computer with this I.
P.
address was the mole for Geary Labs.
You know what? I'm gonna call Chief Gibbs at the University.
He should be able to I.
D.
The computer for us.
Yeah, I think I need to make that call.
Oh, you think he's still mad about the walkie-talkie thing? Yeah.
Okay.
You make the call.
Yeah, I got it.
It's coming in.
Bye, Chief.
Thanks.
Glo.
I got an I.
P.
address and a prox card that was used on the dates and times that match Trisha's document.
It all belongs to the same person.
Did you find out who poisoned us? Yes, I believe we did.
I was right, wasn't I? It was the Animal Freedom Fighters.
No.
Oh.
Dr.
Ramsey told me about Harold and Evan and their drug business was it them? Trisha Burke discovered that you were selling classified data to Geary Labs over two months ago.
She documented every file you uploaded and every note that you sent.
What are you implying? I'm not implying anything.
I'm accusing murder one for starters.
I was poisoned, too.
Yes, but you don't have a congenital heart problem, now, do you? So you survived.
Turns out there's one rat unaccounted for in the lab.
Why would I betray Ben? Ben? You mean Dr.
Ramsey, don't you? You were sleeping with him, weren't you? No.
You're in love with him, aren't you? There are rules.
Um He would lose his tenure.
Didn't stop him from sleeping with Trisha Burke.
No.
That's rumors and gossip.
That's not true.
No, we got it straight from the Professor's mouth.
What? You didn't know, did you? Unless she did, and that's why she sold the data to Geary Labs to hurt Dr.
Ramsey to get revenge.
No, he loves me.
He said that we would be together as soon as I got my degree.
He No.
I don't think so.
Oh, my God.
All this time, all I did for him, he used me? So you're telling us that it was Dr.
Ramsey's idea to send the data to Geary Labs? He wants to cash out! He asked me to help.
But he never said anything about poison.
Jo-Anne, you need to listen to me because I'm only going to say this once.
In order to prove that you didn't kill Trisha Burke, So, is she gonna hold up? Well, she's angry and she feels used.
Those are great motivators.
Listen, you didn't need to come.
It wasn't my call.
This goes down the way we hope, it's gonna be hell on the University.
Homicidal professors are bad for business.
I'm just a liaison in case the school needs anything.
Push it in, where it feels comfortable.
- Got it? - Mm-hmm.
You're in good hands with Detective Sheppard.
Just listen to what she says.
Between the wire and the web cam, we'll be able to see and hear everything.
Here, why don't you put your hair down, so he can't see the earpiece, okay? Dr.
Ramsey just entered the building.
Okay.
Jo-Anne, you're gonna be fine.
Okay? Can you see me okay? Yeah, the picture's great, and I can hear you perfectly.
Okay.
Here he comes.
Jo-Anne, just do what I say and breathe.
Hi, Joey.
I'm so glad you're okay.
Stay strong, girl.
What is it? Tell him that we interviewed you again.
Keep it natural.
The cops they came back, Benjamin.
Like they're onto something.
They were just trying to prove that Harold and Evan were the ones.
It has nothing to do with us.
Tell him you know about Trisha.
Am I the only one that didn't know about you and Trisha? Who said that? Trisha's mom told you.
Trisha's mom told me all about it.
It was a mistake.
She caught me at a weak moment.
Why her and not me? - Hmm? - Good question.
Because Trisha was worth way too much money to him.
He couldn't afford to screw it up.
I'm so sorry, Jo.
I didn't want to hurt you.
This is all so messed up.
He poisoned you.
I know it was you, Ben.
You poisoned me.
No, Trisha found out you were leaking data.
She was going to expose you.
Me?! You were the one that got the money.
For us.
- For our future.
- So you killed her? She's putting words in his mouth.
It's inadmissible.
He could have killed you.
I could have died, Ben.
No.
No! I knew exactly how much sodium azide to put in the water.
I knew you were gonna be fine.
Hell, I even drank the stuff myself.
There we go.
Go get him.
Thank you So much for telling me.
What have you done? You're under arrest for the murder of Trisha Burke.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say or do will be held against you in a court of law.
You have the right to remain Help.
Jo-Anne Kramer's attorney's working out a deal.
She'll avoid prison in exchange for her testimony against Dr.
Ramsey.
Not much of a career move.
Well, neither is murder.
Well you know, I have never understood the attraction.
I mean, in any other endeavor, where you showed up in green pants, purple shirt, and striped socks, they'd call the guys in the white coats.
Oh! Nice shot.
Oh, that reminds me the Deputy Chief called.
His in-laws canceled their trip to L.
A.
Game's back on.
You're gonna play? After everything that you said? Sheppard It's Riviera Country Club.
Ahh.
Looking good.
I like it.
What? I want to talk to you about this whole Nora thing.
What's there to talk about? Well, you can tell your mom whatever you want, because I'm not gonna be blackmailed by you.
Families don't rat each other out.
For instance, I would never tell her how the computer mouse ended up in the garbage disposal.
Or how those ink stains really got on the floor in the upstairs bathroom.
I got no idea what you're talking about.
Dude.
You really wouldn't tell her? Nope.
It's not cool.
It's not how I roll.
Thanks.
Hi, guys! Oh, hey.
How's it going? Great.
Really good.
Oh.
Glad to hear it.
I have some homework to do before dinner.
Good job.
Mwah! - Everything okay? - Yeah.
All right, well, you know what? I thought I'd make stir-fry for dinner.
You want to help me? Great.
I, uh, just want to come clean about something.
You hate my stir-fry, don't you? No.
No.
It's something serious.
I don't know why I've been hiding it from you.
It's probably left over from when we were kids, and you figured out all my secrets before they ever really existed, but it's time for me to man up.
Okay.
I'm seeing Nora.
And I'm tired of sneaking around like some kid.
I sure as hell don't want you to feel like some disapproving mom.
You know, 'cause that's not really who we are.
That's it? UhYeah.
Ahh.
Great.
When you said "serious," I thought it was gonna be something, you know, horrible.
- You're not mad? - Because you're telling the truth? Because you're making me aware of the situation? Why would that make me mad? Well, I mean, what if I screw it up and Nora won't sit for us anymore? Okay, that would make me mad.
You might want to marry her.
Well, see, that's why you and I are different.
Morning, all.
Tell me we have the results of the latest ghrelin infusions.
Uh, I'm still running the numbers.
Meaning you didn't finish.
Just to double-check it.
So run the data again.
I'll check back this afternoon.
Thanks, Trisha.
That's the last time I cover for you.
Okay? Here's the, uh, Kroner file you wanted.
Thanks.
All good? No, it's Thursday, y, y, and I didn't get the call.
What call? Deputy Chief.
Oh.
Golf, right? We usually play the last Sunday of every month.
Well, maybe it was canceled.
It'd be like canceling church.
I'm not gonna get the invite.
Mm.
Did something happen the last time you played? No, I let him win by one stroke on the 18th hole.
- It was perfect.
- You're supposed to lose? You don't play with the boss and make him feel bad not twice anyway.
I didn't even think you liked the Deputy Chief.
- He doesn't know that.
- So you're upset because a man you don't like didn't invite you to play a game you're expected to lose.
Yeah.
Oh.
All right.
The Protector 1x10 Rats We will coordinate with the coroner's office and make sure that this is one of their top priorities.
I just think my gosh.
Look at all those Rats? Yeah.
Wanted to make certain there weren't any airborne contaminants before we let anyone in.
Well, wouldn't the, you know, rodents all kind of be on their back if, uh, there was a toxin in the air? Just following protocol, Detective.
We totally Understand.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Are you gonna be okay with this? Yeah, I have a slight aversion to rats, but I'm gonna, you know, I'm good.
The deceased is a 26-year-old doctoral student? Microbiology.
Trisha.
Last name Burke.
She's the only confirmed death.
Now, we have two other researchers that were discovered unconscious, but they're both alive over at the med center.
Did they collapse here in the lab? No, ma'am.
Uh, Harold Coogan, 26, passed out while playing frisbee in the quad outside.
And Evan Fenster, 27, passed out while driving.
He blew through a crosswalk without taking anyone else down thank God.
I'm assuming he's the reason you're here.
Uh We, uh, we're just here offering our services, that's all.
Yeah.
Right.
No connection to Fenster's Uncle being Vice-Chancellor.
Because ordinarily, as Chief of University Police, I'd make the decision to request the presence of the L.
A.
P.
D.
Or not.
Especially since this could turn out to be a chemical accident.
Yeah, well, that's what we're here to determine.
Can you tell me who worked in the lab or who had access to the lab? Well, Dr.
Ramsey, he runs the project and one other grad student.
We're in the process of tracking them both down.
Quick question aren't those rats unusually fat? I wouldn't know thespecifics of the research in here.
UmYeah.
The I.
D.
s are they all proximity cards for access? - Yes, ma'am.
- Hey, 'Chelle! Uh, you know what? That could accidentally open the room, and it's a clean room.
Let's, you know, keep it clean.
Well, the proximity cards are limited to members of the research team.
They automatically I.
D.
anyone that goes into the lab.
I've already requested the records.
So, what do you think poison? Is this how she carried her card? Yeah, her card and the key to her desk.
She'd lock her purse in the drawer.
She locked her purse in the drawer? I well, this is a secure lab.
Why would she do that? Could I see her purse? Sure.
We've already bagged the contents of it and everything from her desk.
Found another victim from the lab, Chief.
Door stairwell, Science Annex.
Name is Jo-Anne Kramer.
Dead or alive? Who is this? Detective Gloria Sheppard, L.
A.
P.
D.
The victim's conscious and coherent and being transported to the UMC.
That'd be University Medical Center.
Oh, oh, sorry about that.
Chief Gibbs here.
You're okay with dead bodies but you're scared of rats? I'm not scared of them I just don't want to be in the same room with hundreds of them.
You're not! Yeah, I am.
Look at them all.
They're little, fat, twitchy things behind a thin sheet of glass.
I mean, it's like it's like a nightmare.
You like mice any better? No.
Hamsters? Not much.
Squirrels? Actually, squirrels are kind of cute.
That's weird, isn't it? They want me to lie back and relax.
How? Trisha's dead.
Harold and Evan are unconscious.
I'm lucky to be alive.
I can't reach Ben.
Ben? Uh, Dr.
Ramsey.
It keeps going straight to voicemail.
He's probably somewhere in the research library! Campus police are looking for him.
All right, the doctor said that you ingested something.
That's a polite term for "poisoned.
" I don't know how we were all poisoned.
It was like I was having a heart attack.
I was in the stairwell, and I just passed out, and I woke up here.
Trisha I just can't believe this.
So you and Trisha were close.
Well, we were the only two women in the lab.
I'm sorry I'm so angry.
I don't know how they poisoned us, but I know who did it Animal Freedom United.
Ben said they were all talk, but So they were making threats? We were trying to Our team was developing a molecular pathway to cure obesity with a vaccine.
It would have wiped out most of cardiovascular disease, Type-2 Diabetes, half of breast and colon cancer.
A.
F.
U.
did this to us.
Jo-Anne Kramer? I have to go for more tests.
All right, so we've got three people very ill and one person dead.
Trying to figure out if this was some sick prank gone terribly wrong or if it was someone's attempt at mass murder.
Any leads on the lab death? Yeah, there's an animal rights activist group that we're looking into I'll know more later.
All right.
Thank you.
Hey, Davey, it's not really a good time right now.
Okay, okay.
I just want to give you a heads-up.
I may have landed a part-time I.
T.
gig.
Yeah, Mr.
Gottlieb down the block is starting a new business.
Needs somebody to get his online store set up.
The babysitter said she'll pick up the boys from school.
Oh, yuck.
What? You like Nora! No, no.
It's not about Nora.
Glo are you okay? No, actually, I'm not.
I was at this lab today, and there was this whole room just full of rodents.
The big ones? Huge.
With those long, naked pink tails? All right, stop it or I'm gonna hang up.
Big front teeth? You're really not a compassionate person, are you, Davey? All right, listen.
I got to go.
But just remember to tell Nora that Nick is still grounded, so that means no TV, no video games, and no cookies.
All right.
Bye-bye.
Professor Ramsey, this is my partner, Detective Sheppard.
I'm so glad you're safe.
Yeah, I'm fine.
They didn't get me.
The lunatics.
Just so you know, those pictures were not taken in my lab.
I hate those pictures, too.
Did you see the enemies page? Click on that link.
How much more evidence do you need? I run a humane lab.
We do everything we can to minimize the stress and trauma for animals.
They killed a human being to save some rats? Fat, pampered rats? Professor, are you okay? I'm fine.
I'm just a little upset.
Big surprise.
Okay, okay, okay.
Call 911.
How close did we come to having a crime scene at your desk? Well, Dr.
Ramsey is awake and in stable condition at Good Samaritan Hospital.
And as scary as it was, it did give us what we needed.
There was poison in the green tea in his thermos.
Tox report? Sodium azide.
It's fast acting, highly toxic, and related to cyanide.
But nobody actually drank his green tea.
No, well, it wasn't in the tea.
It was in the water.
S.
I.
D.
went into the lab and found that there was sodium azide in the hot-water dispenser, so, no matter if it was tea, coffee, hot chocolate, every cup had poison in it, so he must have filled up his thermos in the morning and then drank it later in the day.
Okay, so he was the last one to go down.
And why do we have a young woman in the morgue? I'm not sure.
We're still waiting for the autopsy report.
Did her emergency call give us anything? Fuzzy.
- Can't we enhance it? - No, no.
That's what she said.
She said the word "fuzzy.
" It was like she was feelingFuzzy or sick or something.
What about the animal rights group? Well, we tracked down the leader of the group, and of course he denied responsibility, but he did agree to come meet with us.
Well, that's very generous.
His name is Spence Corbett, and he's a good suspect for many reasons one being he's a medical doctor.
So he knew his way around a chemistry set.
Yeah, he got his license revoked because of malpractice, and he seems like an angry guy, but his group has a history of breaking into research facilities, so, I don't know, maybe he was just trying to send Ramsey's group a message, and Trisha Burke wasn't supposed to get killed.
Doesn't really matter.
Poisoning someone in this state can still get you the death penalty.
- Hey.
Glo? - Yep.
Dr.
Corbett, I'm Detective Dulcett.
This is my partner, Detective Sheppard.
Uh-huh.
I brought you a copy of the e-mail that I sent out to all the media outlets.
A press release? As I said on the phone, Animal Freedom United had nothing to do with the attack on the Ramsey Lab.
Although we applaud it.
Your website specifically targets Dr.
Ramsey and his team, including the researcher that was killed.
"Killed" like all the cats, dogs, monkeys, rabbits, the 80 million rats and mice that U.
S.
labs kill every year? She made a choice.
To work in a humane lab? How humane is it to engineer morbidly obese rats and then force them to live out their lives in a shoe box? I don't feel sorry for her.
Yeah, okay.
You need to take a little ride with us.
No, let me have a little talk with Dr.
Corbett.
Maybe we can reach an understanding, okay? Just a sec.
Give me a sec.
Good cop, bad cop? Come on.
No, not at all.
Not at all.
Listen Your threats against Dr.
Ramsey's Lab alone would let me take you in for a couple of days.
Look, whoever poisoned them, they knew you'd come after us.
We're the perfect fall guys.
Yeah, but I don't understand why you're targeting them anyway.
I mean, they're trying to develop a vaccine against obesity.
That would save millions of lives.
No, it'd make billions of dollars.
This is all about business.
You think companies like Geary Labs are some kind of charitable enterprise? Why are we talking about Geary Labs? I hear they're on the exact same patent track.
Can't imagine what they're doing to their lab animals.
Do you know who's taking care of Ramsey's rats now? They need food and water Yeah, I'm gonna look into that when I get back, okay? Thanks, Dr.
Corbett.
How'd we do? He doesn't have enough to hide.
Oh, come on, Glo.
I don't want to take him off the list.
The guy just seems so earnest.
Yeah, but think about it.
It's an animal rights group.
If they were really earnest, they would have taken the you-know-whats with them.
You can't even say the word? Of course I can.
Rats, ratsRats, rats, rats.
Now, was that hard? No.
No.
Well Yeah.
Come on, Nora.
Come on, Uncle Davey.
It's not fair.
When other kids get grounded, they can still eat.
You can eat.
How aboutan apple? It's not like I killed somebody.
I just lied about my homework.
Yeah, and your mom says that that means no cookies.
This sucks.
That's not fair.
What? I didn't have any homework.
I didn't lie.
Besides, he can't see me.
And what he can't see I forgot my milk.
UhI should be going.
Um So, what you just saw Yeah, it's okay.
I know about all that stuff.
You do? UhOkay, so, then, you also know that some things guys keep between themselves.
So you're saying you don't want mom to know about you and Nora.
No.
No.
Yes.
Pals before gals.
I get it.
Don't worry.
Hey.
Trisha Burke's mother just came up from the morgue.
She's in the kitchen.
Okay.
Thanks.
That's all right.
Thank you.
Mrs.
Burke? I'm Detective Sheppard.
I'm very sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
I've dreaded this day for so long, and, well, here it is.
I guess I should be grateful.
I got to see Trisha grow up.
I'm so- I'm sorry.
Was everything okay with your daughter? Trisha had a heart-valve defect.
The same thing that took her father when he was young.
It's always been just the two of us.
Me and my girl.
No one's been able to tell me exactly what happened this morning.
Yeah, well, we know that there was a contaminant in the lab, and everyone got very sick.
But no one else died? No.
We're still waiting for the medical reports, but maybe Trisha's heart condition explains why she didn't pull through.
Yeah.
Mrs.
Burke, did she tell other people about her heart problem? Well, she never wanted pity or special treatment, but most of her friends knew.
Why? Would it have made a difference? I'm not sure.
No Trisha was always independent.
I remember the first day of kindergarten all the other kids were hanging on to their moms for dear life, but Trisha said that she was a big girl, she could do it all by herself.
She was the only kid that didn't need a parent to walk her in.
Wow, she sounds remarkable.
Oh, yeah.
Was she happy in grad school? Mostly.
But something had started going on, and she wouldn't talk about it on the phone.
She was planning to come and stay with me for a while.
Was it personal or No.
It was work related.
Trisha said that she'd made a decision that a lot of people weren't going to like.
She acted like it was a big secret.
I thought maybe she was just leaving the lab, but she still had her dissertation to finish, so I don't know.
Well, it must have been fairly serious for Trisha to want to come home.
What if Trisha Burke was the target of the poison? I mean, her mother said that she was upset at work and that she'd made a big decision.
I mean, what if she discovered something and she was killed to keep her quiet? Okay, what about the rest of the group? I don't know.
Maybe they were a cover-up, you know? I mean, somebody in the lab figured out what she was doing and And poisoned the entire lab, self included that's a bit of a stretch.
Well, look, sodium azide mimics a heart attack, okay? And Trisha Burke had a heart condition, so these people are scientists.
Any one of them could have calculated how much poison to use to kill her and only her.
Question is, did her coworkers know that? Well, that's what we need to find out.
We're gonna talk to the other victims from the group, starting with the two we couldn't interview earlier Harold Coogan and Evan Fenster.
Fenster, the Vice-Chancellor's nephew.
Keep me posted.
Good afternoon, sir.
Detective Sheppard and Dulcett.
We're with L.
A.
P.
D.
Do you have a moment for us to talk with you about Trisha Burke? Sure.
Come on in.
Um, sorry We don't really spend a lot of time here.
Uh, that's not necessary, sir.
Listen, we were hoping to talk to both you and your roommate, Evan.
Oh, Evan's still at the med center.
He's lucky to be alive.
I guess most of us are.
Well, actually, we think that Trisha Burke was the only target and that the killer poisoned the rest of the lab to cover it up.
You know, I've been complaining about security all year.
Those prox cards are a joke.
Anybody with half a brain could break into our lab.
Did you know that Trisha had a heart condition? Yeah, sure.
Congenital MVP.
All of us knew, in case she had an adverse reaction.
Technically, she shouldn't have been working around all those chemicals, but, uh, she loved her work.
Yeah, well, the killer must have known about it.
Otherwise, she would have survived like the rest of you did.
Why would anybody want to kill Trisha? We were hoping that you or Evan could give us some insight into that.
You must have a lot of cats.
Just two.
It's, uh, cheaper when you buy in bulk.
Oh.
Well, I love cats.
Can I go ahead and say hi? Oh, they're at the vet both of them.
Oh.
Well, what's wrong? - With the cats.
- Oh.
UmWe're waiting to hear.
Well, you know what? If you could tell Evan to give us a call as soon as he can, we'd appreciate it.
And don't worry we'll see ourselves out.
Man, I could housebreak a tiger with that much kitty litter.
No cat box, no water dish, no scratchy pole, no chewy toy Glo.
Sorry.
All right, well, let's do the math, okay? We got two scientists plus zero cats plus 80 pounds of kitty litter, equals one thing meth lab.
Yeah, and they're not cooking it here.
Even with all the cat litter, the neighbors would be able to smell it.
You know, if Trisha had discovered that Harold and Evan were making meth and decided to go all tough-love on them, that's the kind of secret people would kill to protect.
You know, we have Evan's car at impound.
Let's go see if we can find anything to connect the dots.
I am not up for this.
My leg really hurts.
Aw, too bad.
I couldn't change the delivery schedule.
You want to piss these guys off? Look at it this way.
You'll be able to afford to fix your car.
Yeah, yeah.
Freeze! Hands in the air! You're under arrest for the manufacture and distribution of illegal substances.
Guess what we found aside from all the stuff you used to make meth.
Sodium azide.
How'd you find the warehouse? Your roommate's car.
The GPS.
- You downloaded it.
- Mm-hmm.
There were way too many trips to Sylmar for a couple of chemists in grad school.
And I really couldn't help but be impressed by all the late-night stops to Bob's Classy Lady.
You're pretty funny for a cop.
And you're pretty calm for a guy looking at life in prison.
I'm a first-time offender.
Well, that helps on drug charges, but it doesn't help at all when it comes to murder.
M-murder that wasn't me.
I got sick from the sodium azide, too, remember? Yeah, that was really impressive, too.
I mean, everyone's running around pointing fingers at the animal rights group, and you're going straight at Trisha's heart.
We all knew about Trisha's heart condition.
She told us about it the day that she started.
We were her safety net, and if anything happened, we'd know what to tell the paramedics.
Mm.
All for one, huh? I would never hurt her.
I swear.
Then how do you explain the sodium azide found in your meth lab? It's a preservative.
We clean beakers with it.
Every lab in the world has it.
So you're trying to tell me that anyone with a B-plus in chemistry could have done this.
Anyone.
Yeah, see, that still poses a problem for you and your roommate.
'Cause not everyone had a motive to kill her.
You guys do.
Because Trisha knew that you were making and selling meth.
If by some miracle, she did find out, I'd just cut her in.
It's a hell of a lot easier than killing her.
It's a lot riskier, too.
She'd never rat us out.
It'd bring too much heat on to Ramsey's Lab.
Are you saying that Trisha had feelings for Dr.
Ramsey? They pretended like they didn't University ethics policy and all but I could tell.
I mean, you should see the way he looked at her.
Was she dating anyone? Not that I know of.
She was all about the work.
Always focused.
She was a bitch.
Okay? Teacher's pet Ramsey adored her.
"Why don't you do it more like Trisha?" "Trisha will take care of it.
" "It's 'cause I trust Trisha.
That's why.
" I've been at this lab three years.
She's barely been here one.
You're not jealous, there, are you, Harold? Probably.
But I sure as hell didn't kill her.
Narcotics charges are a slam dunk.
Yeah, but murder's a different ballgame.
Let's just go home and get some sleep and come back fresh You stupid bastards! You ruined everything, you hear me? All right! You can step back right now! Come on, come on.
Let's go.
You don't understand.
My reputation? No one will ever trust my lab results again.
Two of my researchers are drug dealers, and my star student is dead.
So, Trisha never mentioned anything about Harold or Evan to you? Last week, she came to me.
Said she wanted to talk to me about something important.
I had no idea it could be something like this.
Now, I still can't figure out why Trisha's dead from the sodium azide and the rest of us survived.
She had a congenital heart defect.
Fenster and Coogan knew all about it.
Apparently you didn't.
Do you think I'd let her anywhere near my lab if I had? We routinely handle toxic chemicals.
That's why I insist researchers sign a declaration.
Trisha claimed to have a perfect bill of health.
C-could we get a copy of that declaration? Obviously, she considered finishing her doctorate more important than her health.
She knew I'd let her go if I knew the truth.
Despite your feelings for her.
Look, the University has a zero-tolerance policy on faculty-student relations.
Both of us resisted for a long time.
You can't imagine what it's like having to keep that a secret.
Sneaking around like we were doing something illegal.
Nick, there are millions of children going to bed tonight without dessert.
I bet they don't have to clear the table, too.
- Okay, is that it? - Yeah.
All right, you help Uncle Davey dry now, okay? I'll be right back.
Hey you know the rules.
No cookies for a week.
Hey, mom! Guess what I saw today! Are you kidding me? You know it'll be a lot harder to talk to mom if my mouth was full.
What did you say, Nick? Nothing! Two cookies, or I tell mom you were making out with my babysitter.
You're a little felon, you know that? Oh.
Yeah.
Tomorrow, I want to play "Halo" before mom gets home.
- Hey, Glo.
- Hey, I want to keep it really quick because I know you're with your boyfriend.
Not exactly.
Frankie got pulled in to something, so now I'm all decked out and looking fine in RHD while he's stuck in some Major Crimes powwow.
Yeah, wellI'm all decked out, too.
Well, I'm guessing that's not why you called me.
Anyway, listen to this, okay? Let's think about this whole thing, all right? Harold and Evan want to stop Trish from ratting out their meth lab, right? Pardon the pun.
So what do they do? They take sodium azide, and they put it in the hot-water dispenser.
A few minutes later, everybody starts dropping like flies, right? Then some time passes, people start getting up no harm, no foul, except for poor Trisha and her bad heart.
One cup a Joe problem solved.
That's a theory.
Yeah, okay, but let's think this through, all right? Say I'm Evan Fenster.
And I drink a cup of poison, and then I go and get behind the wheel of a car? I mean, why would I do that? I could kill myself.
I could kill somebody else.
Why wouldn't I just go to a library or a cafeteria, you know, someplace public? Hmm.
Okay.
So, if this isn't about Harold and Evan cooking meth, what is it about? I'm not sure yet.
I think it may have to do with whatever Trisha was gonna tell her mom.
I think that secret may have gotten her killed.
I don't know where to begin.
What to keep, what to give away, what to throw I can't.
Some policemen were here yesterday and took Trisha's laptop and, uh, some other things.
Yeah.
That's That's our scientific investigation division.
They'll give everything back to you.
I-I'm just here to see if they missed anything.
You being here Trisha's death wasn't an accident, was it? No, I don't think so.
I think it had something to do with what she said to you, something that she was planning on doing.
- I wish I knew more.
- That's okay.
I mean, just letting me look around is a huge help.
She named him "Fuzzy.
" Fuzzy? You know, "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.
" Oh.
Right.
Sorry.
No, uh, that's fine.
You know what? I have taken up enough of your time.
Why don't I give you my number, and that way, if you remember anything, or you need anything, you can give me a call.
- Do you have a pen and paper? - Yeah.
Here.
That'd be great.
Thanks.
"Geary Labs"? Trisha's best friend, Laurel, works there.
Oh Excuse me.
Yes, of course.
Of course.
Hey, 'Chelle, do me a favor, okay? Look up "Geary Labs" on the Internet.
The company that animal rights freak claimed would kill Bambi for a buck.
Got it.
Okay, look up the name "Laurel Nash.
" Laurel Nash.
Got her.
Senior fellow specializing in obesity research.
What if Trisha Burke was thinking of leaving the University to go to work for the competitor? What if she was selling secrets to her best friend? That would absolutely get her killed.
Trisha and I met in freshman bio, and we've been best friends ever since.
We always joked about winning the Nobel Prize together.
We both applied to work with Professor Ramsey, and Trisha got the job.
That must have been awkward.
More like typical.
I have no problem admitting she was more talented than me.
She wasamazing with numbers, amazing with I can't believe this is happening.
You okay? Yeah.
Did you and Trish ever talk about work? Of course.
We're friends.
But there are ethical boundaries.
Look, her mother told us that she had been unhappy at work the last few weeks, and that she had come to a big decision.
You know what that decision was, don't you? Did it violate the ethical boundaries between the two of you? What, do you think that's why she was killed? Because of what we were doing? I'm not saying that.
Oh, God.
So she sold you data from Dr.
Ramsey's lab? What? No, you've got it backwards.
We were trying to stop someone else from doing that.
About two months ago, we met for drinks.
I told Trish the results of our adipose disintegration study.
She was shocked.
Her team had similar results.
- Wait isn't that a good thing? - Well, it would be, butdata was showing up at my lab for tests that hadn't even been run.
Trish was convinced that someone in Dr.
Ramsey's Lab was selling it.
Well, my guess is they found Trish first.
Laurel, do you have any idea who was selling your company the information? Trish wouldn't tell me.
Do you know where she might have hidden it, where it would be safe? Um I couldn't understand why she would lock up her purse in a locked room.
She didn't trust the people around her.
She was carrying a secret.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was the name of her toy bear as a child.
And it's what she was trying to tell 911.
Look at that.
Okay.
The dates and times.
All the middle of the night.
That looks like an I.
P.
address.
Looks like Trisha was tracking the e-mails with large attachments coming out of the labs.
My guess is whoever was using the computer with this I.
P.
address was the mole for Geary Labs.
You know what? I'm gonna call Chief Gibbs at the University.
He should be able to I.
D.
The computer for us.
Yeah, I think I need to make that call.
Oh, you think he's still mad about the walkie-talkie thing? Yeah.
Okay.
You make the call.
Yeah, I got it.
It's coming in.
Bye, Chief.
Thanks.
Glo.
I got an I.
P.
address and a prox card that was used on the dates and times that match Trisha's document.
It all belongs to the same person.
Did you find out who poisoned us? Yes, I believe we did.
I was right, wasn't I? It was the Animal Freedom Fighters.
No.
Oh.
Dr.
Ramsey told me about Harold and Evan and their drug business was it them? Trisha Burke discovered that you were selling classified data to Geary Labs over two months ago.
She documented every file you uploaded and every note that you sent.
What are you implying? I'm not implying anything.
I'm accusing murder one for starters.
I was poisoned, too.
Yes, but you don't have a congenital heart problem, now, do you? So you survived.
Turns out there's one rat unaccounted for in the lab.
Why would I betray Ben? Ben? You mean Dr.
Ramsey, don't you? You were sleeping with him, weren't you? No.
You're in love with him, aren't you? There are rules.
Um He would lose his tenure.
Didn't stop him from sleeping with Trisha Burke.
No.
That's rumors and gossip.
That's not true.
No, we got it straight from the Professor's mouth.
What? You didn't know, did you? Unless she did, and that's why she sold the data to Geary Labs to hurt Dr.
Ramsey to get revenge.
No, he loves me.
He said that we would be together as soon as I got my degree.
He No.
I don't think so.
Oh, my God.
All this time, all I did for him, he used me? So you're telling us that it was Dr.
Ramsey's idea to send the data to Geary Labs? He wants to cash out! He asked me to help.
But he never said anything about poison.
Jo-Anne, you need to listen to me because I'm only going to say this once.
In order to prove that you didn't kill Trisha Burke, So, is she gonna hold up? Well, she's angry and she feels used.
Those are great motivators.
Listen, you didn't need to come.
It wasn't my call.
This goes down the way we hope, it's gonna be hell on the University.
Homicidal professors are bad for business.
I'm just a liaison in case the school needs anything.
Push it in, where it feels comfortable.
- Got it? - Mm-hmm.
You're in good hands with Detective Sheppard.
Just listen to what she says.
Between the wire and the web cam, we'll be able to see and hear everything.
Here, why don't you put your hair down, so he can't see the earpiece, okay? Dr.
Ramsey just entered the building.
Okay.
Jo-Anne, you're gonna be fine.
Okay? Can you see me okay? Yeah, the picture's great, and I can hear you perfectly.
Okay.
Here he comes.
Jo-Anne, just do what I say and breathe.
Hi, Joey.
I'm so glad you're okay.
Stay strong, girl.
What is it? Tell him that we interviewed you again.
Keep it natural.
The cops they came back, Benjamin.
Like they're onto something.
They were just trying to prove that Harold and Evan were the ones.
It has nothing to do with us.
Tell him you know about Trisha.
Am I the only one that didn't know about you and Trisha? Who said that? Trisha's mom told you.
Trisha's mom told me all about it.
It was a mistake.
She caught me at a weak moment.
Why her and not me? - Hmm? - Good question.
Because Trisha was worth way too much money to him.
He couldn't afford to screw it up.
I'm so sorry, Jo.
I didn't want to hurt you.
This is all so messed up.
He poisoned you.
I know it was you, Ben.
You poisoned me.
No, Trisha found out you were leaking data.
She was going to expose you.
Me?! You were the one that got the money.
For us.
- For our future.
- So you killed her? She's putting words in his mouth.
It's inadmissible.
He could have killed you.
I could have died, Ben.
No.
No! I knew exactly how much sodium azide to put in the water.
I knew you were gonna be fine.
Hell, I even drank the stuff myself.
There we go.
Go get him.
Thank you So much for telling me.
What have you done? You're under arrest for the murder of Trisha Burke.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say or do will be held against you in a court of law.
You have the right to remain Help.
Jo-Anne Kramer's attorney's working out a deal.
She'll avoid prison in exchange for her testimony against Dr.
Ramsey.
Not much of a career move.
Well, neither is murder.
Well you know, I have never understood the attraction.
I mean, in any other endeavor, where you showed up in green pants, purple shirt, and striped socks, they'd call the guys in the white coats.
Oh! Nice shot.
Oh, that reminds me the Deputy Chief called.
His in-laws canceled their trip to L.
A.
Game's back on.
You're gonna play? After everything that you said? Sheppard It's Riviera Country Club.
Ahh.
Looking good.
I like it.
What? I want to talk to you about this whole Nora thing.
What's there to talk about? Well, you can tell your mom whatever you want, because I'm not gonna be blackmailed by you.
Families don't rat each other out.
For instance, I would never tell her how the computer mouse ended up in the garbage disposal.
Or how those ink stains really got on the floor in the upstairs bathroom.
I got no idea what you're talking about.
Dude.
You really wouldn't tell her? Nope.
It's not cool.
It's not how I roll.
Thanks.
Hi, guys! Oh, hey.
How's it going? Great.
Really good.
Oh.
Glad to hear it.
I have some homework to do before dinner.
Good job.
Mwah! - Everything okay? - Yeah.
All right, well, you know what? I thought I'd make stir-fry for dinner.
You want to help me? Great.
I, uh, just want to come clean about something.
You hate my stir-fry, don't you? No.
No.
It's something serious.
I don't know why I've been hiding it from you.
It's probably left over from when we were kids, and you figured out all my secrets before they ever really existed, but it's time for me to man up.
Okay.
I'm seeing Nora.
And I'm tired of sneaking around like some kid.
I sure as hell don't want you to feel like some disapproving mom.
You know, 'cause that's not really who we are.
That's it? UhYeah.
Ahh.
Great.
When you said "serious," I thought it was gonna be something, you know, horrible.
- You're not mad? - Because you're telling the truth? Because you're making me aware of the situation? Why would that make me mad? Well, I mean, what if I screw it up and Nora won't sit for us anymore? Okay, that would make me mad.
You might want to marry her.