CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015): Season 11, Episode 8 - Fracked - full transcript

♪♪ [slow rock]

[Man]
We should go skinny-dipping.

- [Man #2] Oh, that's fantastic.
- [Woman] What are you guys talking about?

[Man]
Hey, no. We were just--

you know, we were gonna
have a little blast.

- [Man #2] Grab this.
- [Man #3] Take a swig of this.

[chattering continues]

- [Woman] Oh!
- [water splashes]

♪♪ [man singing on radio]

[Man]
Lexie.

Come on.
Lexie, come on.



- Here.
- Hey, hey, come on, Lexie.

- I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!
- Cannonball. Cannonball.

- [Lexie] Is it cold?
I don't want to get cold.

- [Man] Lexie, come on!
- [Lexie] Oh.

Got to get in here.
It's like a Jacuzzi.

Oh, yeah, right.

- Uh-oh. Down, boys.
- [wolf whistles]

- [Man] Hello.
- [Man #2] I see you.

[sniffs]
Oh, it smells like rotten eggs.

It's just sulfur.
It's good for the zits.

Good for you. You've been trying
to see me naked for a year.

- We won't look.
- Okay, fine. Close your eyes.

Hey, huh?

Huh?



[Lexie]
Ooh...

- Oh! Hey!
- [Lexie laughs]

[gasps]
Hey!

Hey, what what the hell
was that for?

You got a look.
You don't need to grab my ass.

- I didn't touch you.
- Right. Come on.

[gasps]
What the hell!

- Hey! Come on!
- Whoa. Hey! It wasn't me.

- Don't look at me.
- Oh, yeah.

[screaming]

[police radio chattering]

[Captain Brass]
So, when I was a teenager,

we used to go skinny-dipping
in a quarry in New Jersey.

- [Langston laughs]
- Ran into a few bodies.

Most of them were
wearing cement shoes.

And all of them
were named Anthony.

Back in the good old days,
when the Mob really knew

- how to take care of business?
- Ah, yeah.

Actually,
it's kind of nice in here.

[Stokes] Yeah, maybe
if you hold your nose.

[Langston]
Sulfur spring.

You know, if you bathe
in this water every day,

you can have
a really beautiful complexion.

Oh, yeah?

- [Brass] I got you.
- Okay.

Yeah, his complexion's
definitely improved.

Oh.

Blood exuding from the right nares.

Probable internal head trauma
on that side.

Interesting pattern
to this wound.

Maybe he hit his
head on the rocks?

Well, it's an L-shaped wound,
so, not a rock.

Probably a pistol butt.

[beeps]

No pruning on the volar pads.

That means he was dead
before he hit the water or very soon after.

Well, maybe there was
a struggle at the edge of the water.

Or a body dump.

Shirt's torn.

Ambient temp's 97, water is 107,

and the liver temp is 106.5.

So calculated PMI
is four to seven hours.

Well, air unit
didn't see any other cars,

except the kids' Jeep.

Guy's out here
in the middle of nowhere

in the middle of the night...

How'd he get out here?

And who was he with?

♪♪ [theme]

♪ Who are you? ♪

♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪

♪ Who are you? ♪

♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪

♪ I really wanna know ♪

♪ Who are you? ♪

- ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
- ♪ Who... ♪

♪ Come on, tell me who are you ♪

♪ You, you ♪

♪ Are you! ♪

Hey, it's hot out here.
Stay hydrated.

- Yeah.
- Thanks. Let me show you something.

Okay, what have you got?

Now, this soil's
pretty hard packed,

so even if there was
another vehicle out here,

- we probably wouldn't know it.
- Mm-hmm.

But I did find
something interesting here.

This is a fresh motor oil deposit.

The color of it tells me

it's been in the engine for a while.

- Someone had a leak.
- Yeah, and I'm pretty sure

it's not from the kid's Jeep,
or one of ours.

Could be how
the John Doe got out here.

[Robbins]
Mrs. Robbins has a birthday.

The big one.

She doesn't want to make much
of it, which means I have to.

- You got any ideas?
- Can't go wrong with diamonds.

Girl's BFF.

Man's worst enemy.

What about a nice pair
of yellow-metal earrings?

Oh, come on, Doc.

You can say the word.

Gold for her 50th?
I mean, it's okay.

Just add a few carats.

You'll thank me for it later.

[chuckles]

Any thoughts on C.O.D.?

We can rule out the
L-shaped laceration

and associated blunt
force trauma to the head

because there was no
damage to the skull.

I can't say the same
for the rest of him.

He was a smorgasbord
of disease.

Liver's enlarged and necrotic.

The brain and the kidneys are peppered

with precancerous lesions.

The gastrointestinal tract

looks like it's been scrubbed
with steel wool.

Plus there was nerve
tissue degeneration.

How old was he?

Not old enough for all of this.

He was a very sick man

with a seriously-shortened
life expectancy.

So, what did kill him?

I was just getting to that.

He drowned.

When the water passed
through his larynx,

it caused a reflexive spasm,

and that sealed the airway,

making it impossible
for him to breathe.

Not so good for him,
but good for us,

because it locked
a sample of the water

that killed him
into his vocal folds.

Well, if he did drown
in that hot spring,

the water sample
that Ray collected

should match
what you've got in that syringe.

[Dr. Robbins]
Hmm.

Looks like two
different sources to me.

Trace will have to confirm,
but I would say

that our friend here
did not drown in that spring.

Floater's prints came
back to a Walter Burns.

In the system for assault, 25 years ago.

He got into a bar fight over a girl,

but no record since then.

Not exactly a hardened criminal.

- No.
- You check DMV?

Burns lived on a ranch in Cable Springs.

Not far from where we found him.

He owed a pickup,
so Brass put a broadcast out on the plates.

Sent a couple of unis
over to the ranch.

No truck.
Not much of anything, really.

The place had pretty much
gone to seed.

- Next of kin?
- Had a wife, but she died last year.

I checked
Walter Burns' phone records.

Apparently, he didn't have
many friends, except maybe one.

More than a dozen calls made
back and forth in the last week.

Rosalind Johnson?

She is the editor
of the Cable Springs Courier.

Editor, publisher, lead reporter,
advertising rep.

And I sweep the place out
every night.

So what capacity

were you calling Walter Burns
three times a day?

Walter is a source for a story
I'm working on.

- What story?
- Not at liberty to say,

but you'll be reading about it
soon enough.

Drop the Woodward
and Bernstein act, okay?

Your source, Walter Burns,
was found dead last night.

Oh...

Your phone records indicate
you were the last person

to speak with him.

So...

What happened?

I'm not at liberty to say.

Fair enough.

How about a little give and take?

I help you, you help me.

Starting with how Walter died.

No. Let's start with what you
and Walter talked about last night.

We talked about Cable Springs.

About his ranch, his health.

Your turn.

Walter was a very sick man.

You do an autopsy?

Yes.

He was riddled with systemic lesions,
amongst other things.

- Can I see the report?
- Can I see your story?

Do I need to remind you
of my First Amendment rights?

Ms. Johnson,
we can get a court order

and subpoena your notes
and sources.

And I'll go to jail
before I give them up.

[sighs]

- Am I free to go?
- Just don't go far.

Oh, um, Walter's wife was sick, too.

You might want to look into that.

That's on the house.

[sighs]

Reporters.

- Hey, Archie.
- Hey.

I got your text.
What's going on?

This vehicle.

Found in an empty lot
near Fremont.

No driver.

It looks like blood
on the outside here.

Yeah, that's never good.

We can't get to it right now, man.

We're working
the Walter Burns case.

This is the Walter Burns case.

- He drove a pickup.
- I know.

Check this out.

This Escalade is equipped

with an aftermarket
navigation system.

It's full of goodies.

Okay, what are you
looking at right now?

1901 Old Ranch Road,
Cable Springs.

That's Walter Burns' property.

Who's the registered owner?

Richard Adams,

also from Cable Springs.

Been to Walter Burns' property
half a dozen times.

[Stokes]
Really?

What about
the hot springs, last night?

No.

According to the system,
the last trip started

in Cable Springs around Main Street

and ended just around
Fremont and Nordling

where the cops found it.

Positive for blood.

Expended nine millimeter
cartridge casing.

Ejector and extractor marks

are consistent with a Beretta,
or a Taurus semi-auto.

So the gun is fired inside the car,

but instead of the blood
being on the inside,

it's on the outside.

Amylase bubbles.

Amylase indicates saliva.

That's consistent with
a gunshot wound to the chest.

You know, I'm thinking,

the shooter sat right
here in this seat,

told the driver to get out.

Please don't.

Don't do this.
I-- I have a family.

[gun cocks]

[Stokes]
During expiration,

blood is forced into the throat,

which induces violent coughing,
breaking the blood up

into tiny droplets
that mix with amylase,

a.k.a. saliva.

Assuming Richard Adams
is the victim,

what happened to him?

Cops searched the area
around the lot.

They didn't find anything.

No... body, no blood pool.

So where did all this happen?

I'm betting
the answer's in here.

Nothing throws
cold water on a guy's libido

like a couple of cops out
for a midnight stroll.

Hey, Sheila,
roll up the sidewalk.

We're gonna be a while.

You, hey, different story;
zero tolerance.

I see you again, I'm gonna give
you a ride home to your wife.

That's good PR.

I try.

I spoke with Richard Adams' wife.

She said he called her last night
around 8:00 from the office.

The guy's an engineer
with a local gas company--

Conservo Solutions.

He said he was
on his way home.

Where's his office?

Cable Springs.

Yeah? On Main Street?

What, do you do
tarot readings on the side?

[chuckles]

Adams lives and works
in Cable Springs.

This ain't Cable Springs.

No, it is not.

- Hey!
- Uh, excuse me.

Carry on.

Well, the navigation
system in his car

said he stopped around here
for a couple minutes.

To remove the blood spatter
from the car.

I figure him
for a $50 recreational detour.

Mmm. Maybe that's
what the killer wanted us to think.

So they abduct him from his office,

and they drive him to Vegas,
to Hooker Alley?

That's premeditation.

Here we go.

Looks like we got
some blood here.

[man grunting]

[footsteps shuffling]

Divot in the pavement,
some dry blood...

Looks like a piece of bone--
I think it's skull fragment.

You know, Adams was
probably already down

when he was shot
the second time.

Spent casing.

Head stamp nine mil.

Yeah, it's the same brand

as the nine mil I found
in Adams' car.

So the guy has been
shot at least twice.

Body couldn't be far.

Uh-huh.

Drag marks.

Well, there he is.

Hello, Richard.

[Willows]
Pretty wife.

Wonder if he called
anybody else last night.

Bingo.

What, you just gonna
call it right now?

- [ringing]
- All right.

You've reached Rosalind Johnson

at the Cable Springs Courier.

I can't take your call right now,

but if you leave a message,
I'll get back to you.

So, Richard Adams,
our dead engineer here,

knew Walter Burns,
our dead rancher.

Adams was killed less
than a day after Burns,

and they both made
one final call to Rosalind Johnson?

She sure has a knack
for interviewing dead guys.

Two dead bodies in 24 hours.

That must be one hell
of a story she's writing.

Richard had been
on edge for weeks.

Even my sister noticed it.

He would check
the locks at night,

and then he would
check them again.

He was convinced
that someone was following him,

but he wouldn't
tell me who.

Your husband was an engineer
at Conservo Solutions.

What exactly
did he do there?

He was a safety inspector.

Conservo Solution's
drilling for natural gas

in the neighborhood,

and so he would go
around to the ranches,

and he would just make sure
there were no problems.

He went to visit a rancher named
Walter Burns several times.

He visited a lot of ranchers.

Anyone who complained.

What did they complain about?

You have to ask the company.

What can you tell me about
a woman named Rosalind Johnson?

You mean that reporter?

She was in close contact
with your husband.

She called him the night he died.

She called him all the time.

She was working on some story.

And are you certain
that was the extent of their relationship?

Are you suggesting he was
having an affair with her?

No. No way.

Richard didn't even
want to talk to her,

but she was so pushy.

And do you know
what they talked about?

The woman had a bug up her ass
about the drilling.

She was convinced that it wasn't--

That it wasn't what?

I can't talk to you
about company business.

Ms. Adams...

Conservo Solution employees
and their families

all sign nondisclosure agreements.

If I violate it,
I will lose all of Richard's benefits.

I can't afford that;
I have a son in college.

Ms. Adams... someone
has murdered your husband.

Now, if you know something,
you gotta tell me.

What, did somebody threaten you?

Hmm?

Someone from that company?

Not from the company.

[flies buzzing]

Goat's head?!

Someone left this
on your front porch?

When?

The day before yesterday.

The day before your husband died?

Okay.

- Was it in this bag when you found it?
- No, it was in that box.

Bug spray should keep
the creepy crawlies contained.

Second instar maggots.

Been dead at least 24 hours.

This looks like a hatchet job.

Tissue's necrotic.

No contusions on the wounds
caused by the hatchet.

Yeah, this animal was dead

before someone separated it
from its head.

[Robbins]
Oh, dear. Ooh.

Dozens of lesions, just like
our floater Walter Burns.

Could they have had
the same disease?

Well, maybe it's
our goat's C.O.D.

Why would you leave

an infected goat's head
on someone's doorstep?

I'll take that one.

I've seen The Godfather 11 times.
This was a message.

- Ah.
- It's not a horse head,

but, uh, hey, times are tough.

So we have...

a rancher and a goat

showing similar gross pathology,

both with connections
to Cable Springs and...

the Conservo engineer.

So we'll let this culture
grow overnight.

I already popped some
lesion pus from a rancher,

and I'll pull his tissue slides
for comparison.

And maybe we'll get an answer
to this medical mystery.

♪♪

How's it going?

Found a bloody print
on the inside of the box.

Blood's not human.

It's all goat's blood?

Well, as soon as they
develop a presumptive test

for goat's blood,
I'll let you know.

But in the meantime,
the print's pretty good.

It's got a right-slant loop,
a core and a delta.

It's AFIS quality.

I've been downloading all the images

from Richard Adams' cell phone.

You got to see this.

- That's my goat.
- You sure?

Yeah, the left horn is damaged,
just like the one I found.

See there?

Hey, did you get latitude
and longitude within the metadata?

Sorry. Haven't gotten that far yet.

I was getting a little excited.

There we go--
1903 Old Ranch Road.

That's right down the road
from Walter Burns' property.

Well, maybe his neighbor's got
the rest of your billy goat.

And the nine millimeter
and the truck with an oil leak.

You think he killed Walter Burns
and Richard Adams?

I'll ask him when I get there.

- I'll run the print.
- All right.

Gas company's drilling
right in his lap.

I checked out the owner
of this place, Bill Gibson.

No priors.
He's been here for 40 years.

His work card's on file.

Well, if his prints are on that box,

Greg should be able
to get a match.

It's not exactly
a thriving enterprise.

I didn't see any livestock.

What do you got, Nick?

No oil leak.

But he could've fixed it by now.

Let's see if Mr. Gibson's here.

[gun fires]

I got point--
don't shoot me in the ass.

Mr. Gibson, LVPD!

What the hell you people
doing on my property?

Sir, put the animal down.
Show me your hands.

You want to tell me
what this is about?

Why don't you tell us
why you shot that goat?

'Cause he was sick,
and I'm putting him out of his misery.

You gonna cut
that one's head off, too?

Throw it on somebody's porch?

Is that why you're here,
you think I killed that engineer?

- Did you?
- No!

What about your neighbor,
Walter Burns?

Walter was a friend,
so was his wife.

In a way, he was lucky.

He got put out
of his misery, too.

Sir, we're gonna need you
to come to Vegas

and answer some questions.

This place may not look like much,

but there's only one way
I'm leaving.

I don't want to shoot you, sir.

We don't want any trouble, now,
Mr. Gibson.

But trouble's all I got, son.

Mr. Gibson, you haven't been feeling
well lately, have you?

What do you care?

You know, 40 years,

I get good, sweet
water from my well.

40 years!

You want to know how
much the gas company

paid me for my mineral rights?

$50,000.

Only covered one round
of my wife's chemo.

Your wife had cancer?

Just like Walter's wife,

like a whole lot of
other people around here.

You know, I called...
the Water District,

the mayor, the EPA,
but nobody cared.

We care, Mr. Gibson.

Now, Walter was gonna get proof

that Conservo Solutions
was poisoning us!

Then he turns up dead!

Sir, I'm not gonna ask you again.

You won't have to.

I buried my wife.

Now I'm burying my last animal.
I ain't got nothin' left.

Oh, and now you folks

from the county
finally come down here,

accuse me of murder.

We only want to understand
what's going on.

You want to understand?

Let me show you.

I don't see any evidence of any
kind of explosive device in there.

I don't mean to insult
your intelligence,

but water's not supposed
to blow up like that.

Wasn't there a river
in Ohio a long time ago

that was so polluted
that it caught on fire?

The Cuyahoga,
just outside of Cleveland.

You know, I had
a cousin who lived there.

He said the water
didn't flow, it oozed.

Said if you got in that river water,

you'd probably dissolve
before you'd drown.

It's what started
the Clean Water Act.

Maybe we got
the same thing here.

Maybe.

What are you thinking?

Well...

I don't mean to insult
your intelligence, Nick,

but water's not supposed to bubble
like that unless it's Perrier.

Smell that.

Serious chemical odor.

Yeah, I smell it--
but the main component

of natural gas is methane,
and it's odorless.

Odorless... but highly flammable.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
What are you doing?

Just a little science. Relax.

You're a smart guy.

So...

Mr. Gibson's water
contains methane.

Yeah, and who knows what else?

Well, I'd bet that it's that "what else"
that's got all these people

around here and their animals sick.

Ms. Johnson,
would you come inside, please?

I heard Bill Gibson is dead.

I'm not authorized
to make public statements

about an active investigation.

What the hell happened?

You have to talk to the PIO.

- Thanks for your time.
- I can talk off the record.

Please.

So, talk.

There's a problem
with Bill Gibson's well water.

We suspect there's
a similar problem

with the well water
in the surrounding ranches.

Tell me something that everybody

in Cable Springs doesn't already know.

All right. Richard Adams was the engineer
who ran the safety inspections.

The GPS on his Escalade

showed that he visited ranches
in the surrounding area.

He knew there was
a problem with the water.

Which means Conservo
knew as well.

I could have told you that.

Ms. Johnson, can you tell me

why you think Bill Gibson,
Walter Burns, and Richard Adams

are all dead?

Because...

they figured out a year ago
what you're just figuring out now.

Conservo was taking shortcuts,
ignoring safety protocols.

Gibson and Burns
tried to do something about it.

Did you know they were both sick?

Lots of sick people in Cable Springs.

Have you seen your doctor recently?

Yeah.

You can read about it
in my article.

Which is coming out when?

Unfortunately,
all my sources keep dying on me.

And I'm still missing
one crucial piece of the puzzle.

Have you ever heard of "fracking"?

Sounds like a sci-fi expletive.

Look it up.

And then give me a call.

Very well.

[knock on door]

I'm not gonna touch anything.

Good.

Those the results
from the water samples?

- Yeah.
- Hand 'em over.

I analyzed the sample
we collected from Mr. Gibson's well.

Methane, fumaric acid,

barite, ammonium silicate...

Glutaraldehyde? Benzene?

Huge carcinogen.

I have chloro-- 2 methyl--
4 isothiazolin-- 3-1.

All of these chemicals are implicated

in cardiovascular
and respiratory disorder,

endocrine disruption,
gastroenterological failure,

nerve and urinary system destruction--

Yeah, uh, bad for you-- I get it.

I've been examining the bacterial culture

for Mr. Burns' brain lesions.

Come on over here.

Come on.

Come this way.

Take a look.

I don't need a mask, do I?

No.

Ooh.

Nasty.

I'd hate to have those
floating around my colon.

Or anywhere else.

They like necrotic tissue.

But the real story is in the histo.

The slides confirm Walter
Burns was suffering

from metastatic carcinoma.

I pulled the clinical autopsy reports

on Gibson's wife and Mrs. Burns--

they both died
from metastatic carcinomas.

Because maybe...
they were drinking bad water.

This is the analysis
from the water found

in the vocal folds
of your hot springs floater.

You see, it's the same toxins,

but much higher concentrations.

So Walter Burns may have drowned
in the source of the contamination.

If these chemicals
are in the water supply in Cable Springs,

we have a major
public health emergency.

We need to warn people.

And tell them what?

A water sample from one well

is hardly proof
of widespread contamination.

- I found it.
- What?

What Rosalind Johnson
was talking about-- fracking.

It's short for hydraulic fracturing.

It's a process used to obtain
natural gas from shale rock.

Conservo Solutions pioneered
the process in Nevada.

They drill until they hit
gas-bearing shale.

Then they pump millions
of gallons of water,

sand, and chemicals into the hole.

This creates miniature earthquakes

breaking up the rock,
releasing the gas.

So they're drilling right through

the aquifer in Cable Springs,

where everyone gets
their drinking water.

What happens to all the chemicals

they put down the hole?

It says here that half the fracking fluid
comes up with the gas,

gets pumped
into an evaporation pool.

And the rest remains underground?

If industry safety protocols
aren't followed,

methane in the fracking fluid
enters the groundwater.

Which means
that if a farmer or a rancher

is pumping water from his well,

gas comes up with it,

it mixes with the air--

it creates an extremely
combustible mixture.

Well, Conservo Solutions

had to file an environmental impact study

before they started drilling.

There was no study.

Since 2005, gas companies
haven't been bound

by the Clean Water Act,
the Safe Drinking Water Act,

or the National
Environmental Policy Act.

So I'll do my civic duty
and I'll call the Health Department,

while you guys are solving crimes.

The water's the crime.

Seriously,
it's not Chinatown, Ray.

Okay. Be more specific.

Now, this is a trace report on the oil

that Nick found at the hot springs--
it contained soot,

which tells us it came
from a diesel engine.

It also contained titanium at 114 ppm.

That's an additive used
in commercial fleets.

Which tells us it came
from a commercial-grade vehicle.

The only commercial fleet
in Cable Springs

belongs to Conservo Solutions.

Richard Adams was their employee.

Walter Burns and Bill Gibson

both leased their mineral rights
to the company.

Well, I'm not sure
that's enough for a warrant.

Whoever drowned Walter Burns

was driving a commercial diesel truck.

The same person probably
killed Richard Adams.

Get us the warrant, Conrad.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Can I help you, Officers?

You sure can, big man.

I gotta take a look at your trucks.

Why?

'Cause that piece of paper says so.

Excuse me.

Do you guys have
a gym on site, as well?

What are you talking about?

Well, I see you have
a nice little lap pool here.

No, no, no.
That's for the bunny huggers.

Environmental regs.
It's an evaporation pool.

For what?

Stuff we use for drilling,
mostly water.

We pump it back out
and store it there.

Fascinating!

Hey, partner, you mind
if I use your truck?

- Ray!
- Yeah?

Got what looks like
a piece of a shirt here.

It's the same pattern

as the one that farmer was wearing

that we pulled out of the lake.

Walter Burns?

Yeah, man.
I think he was here.

Gibson said that Burns
was going to get proof

that Conservo Solutions
was poisoning the water.

The proof is in that evaporation pool.

There's a higher concentration
of chemicals there,

and I bet we can get a match

to the water we found
in his vocal folds.

Yeah. Guy rips his shirt
jumping the fence

'cause he wants to get
a sample out of that pool.

Somebody spots him,

hits him in the head
with the butt of a gun.

He falls in the pool.
He drowns.

Then they take the body out to
the hot springs and dump it there.

Yeah, I buy that for a dollar.

- Hey!
- [Man] Yeah?

These all the trucks you have?

We got a few more out on the road.

We need license plates
and drivers' names.

I gotta call my boss.
That's gonna take some time.

Oh, you take all the
time you need, Hoss.

- Nothing moves till you do.
- [cell phone ringing]

All right.

- Langston.
- [Sanders] Hey, Ray.

Found your leaky truck.
And then some.

Blood inside the cab.

Got a Beretta nine mil
by the driver's seat.

You hang on to that driver.
We're gonna need to talk to him.

Yeah?
Well, he's not going anywhere.

He's not talking, either.

401-A. Hit and run, fatality.

[camera shutter clicks]

I have been up and down
this entire godforsaken road

and nobody has seen nothing.

No accidents, no vehicles, nothing.

They're all suffering
from retinitis pigmentosa.

Well, have a look at this.

The valve's loose,
about a quarter turn.

Almost never happens
without human intervention.

I think somebody set up
our trucker Cody Trimble to get a flat.

Slow leak. Tire goes down.

[Sanders]
Trimble gets out to fix his tire,

becomes the proverbial
sitting duck.

[screams]

And that takes care
of Conservo's only loose end.

This wasn't an accident.

Firing one.

The back spatter
on this pistol is consistent

- with the dead trucker's gun.
- Right.

If DNA's a match
for Richard Adams,

then we've got the murder
weapon and his killer.

The bullets

and the cartridge casings
from Adams' Escalade

and the alley are both a match.

This guy Trimble
made our job easy.

[Stokes]
Too easy.

That's some blood
on the lanyard ring.

And what looks like some hair.

It's the same color
as Walter Burns' hair.

I think we know what made
Walter Burns' head wound.

So Burns hopped the fence
at Conservo Solutions,

hoping to get a water sample
from the evaporation pool.

[Stokes] But what he got
was a Beretta to the head.

He drowned in that pool,

which explains
why he had high concentrations

of fracking fluid in his vocal folds.

Cody Trimble drove Walter's body
out to the hot springs.

Which we confirmed
by the blood we found in Cody's truck.

Right. So...

a Conservo Solutions
trucker with no priors

goes on a murder spree.

He kills two Conservo
whistle-blowers.

He then takes a hit
for the home team?

That's some serious company loyalty.

Thank you, gentlemen.

That's it. Case closed.

What? Seriously?

You're going to let
some corporate lawyers

tell us when our
investigation is over?

No. They're not telling you.
I'm telling you.

You got your evidence.
You got the bad guy.

Justice has been served.

Well, we still need a water sample

from Conservo's evaporation pool.

For what?

Because Walter Burns
drowned in fracking fluid,

and the only place it can
be found is in that pool.

You don't need a sample,

because there's not going to be a trial.

Killer's dead.

Oh, like the engineer
and Walter Burns?

Another happy accident
for Conservo?

Et tu, Brass?

No one can accuse me
of being a bleeding heart,

but I know that someone
with deep pockets

hired that trucker
to do their dirty work

and then disposed of him.

Don't you want
to nail those bastards?

Yeah. Of course I do.

But do you have
any evidence to prove that?

Bill Gibson blew himself up

because Conservo Solutions

took everything away from him.

They took his ranch.

They took his health.
They took his wife.

And there's hundreds
of Bill Gibsons out there.

Catherine, you're
a crime scene investigator,

not Erin Brockovich.

[Willows]
What about the hit and run?

Keep the case open,

and let me know
if anything else turns up.

"Fracking" is industry slang
for "hydraulic fracturing."

It's the method that Conservo
uses to drill for natural gas.

You get a gold star.

Thank you.

Walter Burns busted
into Conservo's well site

to steal a sample
from the evaporation pool.

That was the missing piece
of your puzzle.

I tried to talk Walter out of it.

I told him I had a better way--

an insider who was going
to give me corporate documents.

Proof that Conservo
knew they were polluting the water

and they chose to cover it up.

And Walter didn't listen.

Richard Adams got himself killed
before he could deliver.

I worked Richard for months.

He was the one going
to those ranches.

He was the first
to see people were dying.

[coughing]

Short, controlled breaths.

That's it.
That's it.

I thought I could expose
Conservo before it was too late.

I believed that stuff

about "one person can change the world."

Maybe I was wrong.

I'm not going to quit.

So what can you do now?

Publish what I have.

Rosalind, all you have
are anecdotal accounts.

If you publish without
the hard evidence to back it up,

Conservo will bury you.

They will shut
your newspaper down.

They will try.

That's how they win.

By threatening people.

Or buying their silence.

Fear is their biggest weapon.

But funny thing is,

I'm not afraid anymore.

Guess it's 'cause
I don't have much to lose.

I have a friend who may
be able to help you.

She's starting a clinical trial.

Holding a slot open for you.

Least I could do.