CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015): Season 13, Episode 11 - Dead Air - full transcript

(thunder cracks)

PRODUCER:
Ready, 11.

DIRECTOR:
25 seconds to air.

PRODUCER: T.O.C., we should have
Ella up on the strip.

- Signal looks good.
- 20 seconds.

Tell Rainy that we're gonna
stick with Theresa

for the first segment,
so no Storm Center

till after the bump.

(crew chattering)

- Ten seconds to air.
- Put Denny on standby

to warm up
her green screen lights.



MAN:
Okay.

- DIRECTOR: Five seconds.
- Why don't I see Theresa?

Because "my boy Friday"
doesn't understand

the difference
between lipstick and lip liner.

- ANNOUNCER: Tonight, on KVKC
News... - DIRECTOR: We're live.

...with Theresa Shea...

- Ready, one.
- That's not fair.

You specifically said
you wanted...

PRODUCER:
Chad, get Theresa some coffee.

- (snaps fingers)
- Light cream.

Truvia, specifically.

PRODUCER:
Chad, now.

Move two to apple six.

ANNOUNCER:
Channel 4, Las Vegas.



Go, one.

Welcome to
the KVKC Local News at 11:00.

I'm Theresa Shea.

Our top story is a torrential
rain hitting the city.

Ready, two.

Open up Ella, REM 17.

On the scene

in the eye of the storm

is our own fearless
Ella St. James.

Go, REM 17.

THERESA:
Ella, how's it look out there?

Uh, Theresa,
I'm having trouble hearing you,

so let me just report
what I know.

- The storm has picked up...
- Come on.

...and is getting worse...
- Come on.

...with wind speeds increasing

up to 80 miles per hour.

THERESA:
Ella?

(static crackling):
Can't hear you, so...

- Ella? - Theresa,
pull it back. Go, three.

Thanks, Ella.

We'll try to get
that sound sorted out.

We'd like to remind everyone

that it's best to stay indoors

for the next few hours.

(crew murmuring)

(scoffs)

It's like amateur hour tonight.

Theresa, just bear
with us a second.

Can someone tell me
what the hell is going on?

House lights are out,
overheads as well.

No monitors,
camera servers are down.

We're blacked out.

- PRODUCER: Denny, tell me you're
on it, brother. - DENNY: I am.

Hopefully the generator out back
will kick in soon.

(crew chattering)

Theresa, you still
okay in there?

Theresa, you still there?

MAN:
I think we're back.

Theresa, you okay?

(crew gasping)

Go to a commercial.
Go to a commercial!

(crew chattering)

RUSSELL:
Looks a lot bigger on TV.

This your newscast of choice?

I like watching 'em all.

Like a little mini documentary
on the city every night.

Hey.

Detective Vartann,

what's our top story tonight?

Theresa Shea,
the most trusted name in news.

Alive when the power went out.

20 seconds later,
the lights come back on,

and she falls dead
onto the news desk.

Well, somebody in here
must have seen something.

Sound person, camera guy?

Cameramen don't exist anymore.

Cameras are all robots,

operated from the control rooms.

Sound and lighting, too.

Newsrooms have gone
the way of gas stations.

Great, got a locked-room mystery

with a million viewers.

VARTANN:
Come on over here.

This is Denny Jones;
he's the studio lighting tech.

I didn't know if you wanted
the house lights up or not.

Denny, can you get the lights
back to these exact settings?

Push of a button.

Turn up the sun.

Let's go.

What's the rest
of the team doing tonight?

Finn is finishing
a fire investigation.

Life coach
or something like that.

Walking on coals gone
horribly wrong?

Probably.

Greg and Morgan

are pushing paper,
and Nick's on a B and E.

(lights clank)

Okay, call him and tell him
to lock in chain of custody.

I want all hands on deck.

Crime lab has the same rule
as the local news:

If it bleeds, it leads.

# 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! #

Looks like there's only
the one injury.

Single puncture wound
to the back of the neck.

The shape suggests a knife.

Killer was either lucky or good.

He hit the perfect spot
to kill her.

When we dissected frogs
in high school biology,

you'd pith it by sticking a pin

right here.

The frog would get all...

None of the girls in class

wanted to do it,
so they asked me to.

I became known

as the designated pither.

I would have gone
with relief pither.

That's better.

David, can you, um,
sit her up for me one more time?

- I want to get some context.
- Yeah.

(grunts)

Spatter suggests the killer came
from the left.

P/unged the knife in the back
of her neck.

Directional blood drops tell me

he took off to the right
in a hurry.

If this was a pithing,
this was a drive-by pithing.

I know where I'm watching
the next Seahawks game.

- VARTANN: CSI Russell?
- Yeah?

Fred Paulsen,
executive producer.

- Hey.
- Hey, how are you?

22 years of covering crime,

I never figured it would hit
this close to home.

Can you give us a sense
of what happened?

Um, we were cutting back
from our field reporter,

and the lights went out.

You mean the power.

No, the power here
is compartmentalized.

There's battery backup
for all the electronics.

The lights reroute
through a generator out back.

And it took 20 seconds

for the backup generator
to kick in, right?

During which time,
we were all in the dark.

No light means no eyewitnesses.

Makes a murder case
a little tougher to crack.

Right, but every murder
needs three things, right?

Means, motive, opportunity.

We have a low threshold
on means.

Victim sustained
a sharp-force injury.

Anyone can get their hands
on something sharp.

Okay, let's talk about motive.

You have any idea who would want
to see Theresa Shea dead?

Sure.

You could start right there.

What's this?

Our crew list.

Theresa was not

the easiest person to work with.

Well, that leaves opportunity.

Which would narrow down
this list.

So, lights were out
for 20 seconds, right?

Who would have been close enough

to kill her in that,
in that window of time?

Plausibly, three of my people
would've been in that vicinity.

Okay, well,
I've got three people.

Let's go
with man-to-man coverage.

Paulsen told me they wouldn't
need me until the next segment,

so I stayed here,
monitoring the Doppler.

For the monsoon?

Monsoons only happen

between May and August.

Technically,
this was a training.

A training?

Two storms hitting
at the same time,

upping the volume
of precipitation,

creating a flash flood.

That's very impressive.

Masters in meteorology
and atmospheric sciences,

and I've got the student loans
to prove it.

Rainy, do they
make you wear that?

I mean,
wouldn't you want to dress

a little bit
more conservatively?

Well, if I did, I'd be at home
watching the girl who didn't.

And my real name's not Rainy.

It's a cutthroat business.

Well, any idea
who may have wanted

to cut Theresa's throat?

Or neck?

Top of my list would be Ella.

- Ella.
- Mm-hmm.

Is she the field reporter?

Well, Paulsen was grooming Ella
to take over the anchor desk.

But the most trusted bitch
in news was not going

to go quietly into that night.

So Ella had the most to gain

if Theresa was out of the way.

Where was she
at the time of the murder?

Giving a report
clear across town.

Well, that's
a pretty good alibi.

But in all honesty,
it could be anyone.

Theresa could be brutal.

CHAD:
So she's rea//y dead?

Did you get her broomstick
as proof?

You don't seem
very broken up about it.

That woman made
everyone's life a living hell,

but my life was
her favorite target.

So, Chad, where were you
when the lights went out?

I was getting her her coffee,
light cream, Truvia.

I was at the vending machine,
right there.

How'd you pay for it?

Credit card.

Why?

Might have a time-date stamp.

I'll need the number to verify.

I'd also like to check out

the sharp objects
that you carry around for work.

Take your pick.

BRODY:
You've got a lot

of sharp tools here, Denny.

My job involves
a fair amount of cutting.

Wire, cable, carpet, tape.

Each requires a different blade.

I'm gonna need to take
a swab of your hands.

What does a swab do?

We use it to find blood.

You think
I might have stabbed Theresa.

You're on the list.

I guess that makes sense.

No blood.

So...

if you were to stab somebody,

what would you use?

Nothing here.

Something with a heftier handle
so that you can...

Sorry, I didn't mean to...

What do you do here, Denny?

Lighting, simple I.T. Work,

and, um...

Listen, you gonna need
anything else from me?

No, I'm good.

Thank you.

Theresa.

Was she in pain

when it happened, when...
when the knife went in?

I don't know.

(thunder rumbling)

(sniffs)

Hey, uh, I think some of the
power's still out there, bud.

No, only in the main circuit.

Garage runs on a feed

that's divorced
from the rest of the station.

Say, you sure do seem
to know a lot about

the electrical workings
of the building.

What's your name?

Robbie.
It's kind of my job to.

Uh, who are you?

I'm Nick Stokes
with the crime lab.

Hi. Um, is it true
about Theresa?

Murder?

- Yes, ma'am, it is.
- We drove back

as soon as we heard
what happened.

News vans
from our competition are

already gathered in front
of the station. Vultures.

And how well
did you two know Ms. Shea?

I'm not sure anyone
really knew her.

She kept the world
at arm's length.

Saw everyone as a threat.

Would you mind giving us
a quick interview

about this investigation?
If you could do that

"yes, ma'am" thing again,
that would be great.

Robbie, could you get out
the camera...

No. Actually, I would mind.
Sorry.

I know it seems callous,
but it is my job.

Well, it is my job to process
the crime scene... ma'am.

But if we need anything else,

we'll be sure to be
in touch, okay?

- Okay.
- Right.

(phone ringing)

(phone beeps)

Cheek implants?

This poor woman was fighting
the war against aging

one cosmetic procedure
at a time.

Scarring and thread
from multiple face-lifts.

Forehead presents

immobile musculature
suggesting Botox.

Lip and wrinkle fillers,
you name it.

When your looks are married
to your career,

it's job security, I suppose.

Yeah.

C.O. D?

Severed brain stem.

Knife wound hit right between

the occipital bone
of the skull and atlas, C1.

Spina/ cord was transected
at the /eve/

of the medu//a ob/ongata,
effective/y disconnecting

the transmission of signa/s
between the brain and the body.

So not just lucky, good.

Yeah.

Any idea of the murder weapon?

We did find bruising
at the entrance of the wound.

You know, it kind of looks
like one of those guards

that you see
on folding utility knives.

It's a single-edged blade

and a sharp one at that.

Some sort of

viscous green paste
in the wound track?

Any idea what that is?

Well, it is not biological.

Looks like a job
for David Hodges.

(phone ringing)

Hello, Russell.

Hey. I've been following
the dedicated power line

that goes between
Nevada Flats Power and KVKC,

trying to figure out
why the power went out.

Oh. You finding anything
interesting?

It's more about
what I didn't find.

Transformer about a quarter mile

from the station got blown
to bits.

(over phone): Well, those
transformers can be volatile,

particularly in wet weather.

Maybe it was some sort
of a malfunction.

Yeah, well, that's what
I thought at first, too,

but then I found remains

of explosive material
in the debris.

Hold on a second, will you?

Oh, yeah, I just found
parts of a cell phone.

This is definitely
not an accident.

So this murder wasn't
a crime of opportunity.

No, no, no.

This was patient.
This was planned.

What kind of device
are we looking at?

Well, I got some nitroglycerin
and some wax paper.

Figuring the former
was wrapped in the latter.

You got to know an awful lot
about explosives

to mess with dynamite.

So we're looking for someone in

construction, demolition,
ex-military.

Cell phone.

Cheap-looking components.
Could be a burner.

Remote detonator?

Welcome to the hurt locker.

As long as the phone
has enough juice,

the device can sit and wait.

SIDLE:
Unti/ it gets a ca// to action.

(phone rings)

Well, why don't
I take the phone?

Maybe I'll get lucky

and be able
to pull a print or two.

I'll see if I can salvage
some date/shift code

from the remnants
of the dynamite paper.

# #

# #

(chuckles softly)

Hey, Hodges, got anything
on the coffee cup

- Nick found in the garage?
- I do.

Aside from a bold French roast,

I found trace
of water, salt, and urea.

Someone peed in Theresa's cup?

Or they're test-marketing

a horrible new
nondairy sweetener.

I think I know
who's behind this.

Theresa's assistant Chad.

I thought he might have

hated her enough to kill her,
but I guess he had

a smaller-scale
revenge plan in mind.

Still. Ew.

What about the green paste

Sara found
in the victim's wound?

Ah. Chromium oxide.

Used to sharpen
knives and razors

on pieces of leather.

The piece of leather

is called a strop.

And the method of sharpening
is called stropping.

You'd take a razor
with an imperfect edge

and begin stropping.

The leather hugs the blade's
edge as the grit from

the chromium oxide tears away
any imperfections and burrs,

leaving our slasher
of Seville with

a sharper-than-sharp blade.

Something Theresa Shea knew
all too well.

I'm sorry to bother you
with this.

FINLAY:
Oh, it's no bother.

You said that it might be
important to our investigation.

And it might be nothing, but I
wanted to make sure you saw it.

- Should be good to go.
- Thank you.

This is tape of the newscast

from right before the murder.

Ella was giving
her remote report

just after 11:00 p.m. Pacific.

And this is our Doppler radar

from the same time.

Two storm fronts crashing
into one another.

- A training.
- Mm-hmm.

Our satellite shows

two dense storms covering
the sky comprehensively.

No light breaking
through anywhere.

But if you look behind Ella
in the shot...

You can see the moon.

Which wouldn't be possible

if the clouds were as dense
as your Doppler suggests

at the time of broadcast.

Exactly.

I think this tape
was made before

the two fronts trained into one.

So you're saying
Ella wasn't broadcasting live?

But she was having
a conversation with Theresa.

No, she didn't, remember?

- Rainy, can you play the tape?
- Mm-hmm.

Uh, Theresa, I'm having trouble
hearing you,

so let me just report
what I know.

How long before the murder
do you think this was recorded?

Ballpark?

Maybe a couple of hours.

Is there any way
to confirm this?

I don't know of any.

I know who we can talk to.

(footfalls approaching)

Hi, Denny.

Uh, hope I'm not interrupting.

I have a technical question.

Well, you've come
to the right place.

(chuckles)
Okay.

So, is it possible to prerecord

a report in one
of your remote vans

and then send it to newsroom
as if it were live?

I suppose so.

You'd have to fool the internal
clocks on the van side.

And what about on this end?

Is there any way of telling

if a van is not where
a reporter might say it is?

Yes.

Yes, there is.

(Brody chuckles softly)

Here, ma'am.

(chuckling softly)

Just...

This is from last night.

- What am I looking at?
- Oh, T.O.C.

Transmission Operations Control.

It's like an air traffic
controller

for all our microwave signals.

And how many signals
do you have?

Uh, four remote vans

times 11 towers
all over Clark County.

A lot of signal permutations.

Wow, I had no idea
how complex this all was.

FCC rules are a bitch.

The guy in the van finds
the strongest signal path

and beams the microwaves
to the signa/ tower

where it is amp/ified
and rerouted back here

to our broadcast center.

And when the signa/ comes back,

it lets us know where it's been.

So when Theresa was killed,
were Ella and her cameraman

where they said they were?

Actually... no.

If the van was here,

the tower they transmitted to

is at an impossible angle.

There's a whole mountain
in the way.

Why would they lie?

It's a good question.

Um, where's Robbie?

I thought you were talking
to him, too.

My friend Nick is talking to him
in the next room.

Just there behind the mirror.

ANNOUNCER:
Tonight, on KVKC News

with Theresa Shea...

What's this?

That is the opening
of your newscast two weeks ago.

THERESA: Welcome to the KVKC
Local News at 11:00.

I'm Theresa Shea.

And I'm Ella St. James.

Our top story tonight,
Bobby Reed, son of Dennis Reed,

pleads guilty
to drug charges and...

Congratulations. Coanchor.

Don't congratulate me;
it didn't last.

No, it didn't, did it?

Just last week,
you were back out in the field,

and it was the Theresa show
all over again.

What changed?

Honestly, I don't know.

It felt like Paulsen
was grooming me to take over.

I know Theresa felt the same.

I still have the claw marks.

So he demoted you
back into the field?

Mm.

I was actually fired once.

Really drove me crazy.

I think, if I was demoted,

I don't know what
I would have done.

STOKES: Don't worry about
what's going on in there.

Worry about what's going on
in here.

This is your T.O.C. Report
from the news station.

Okay.

It tells me you weren't
where you said you were

when you were broadcasting.

Do I need a lawyer?

It doesn't matter to me.

I'll just ask your boss

if it's possible to prerecord
a live news segment.

I think we both know
what he's gonna say.

Of course I fantasized
about killing Theresa.

But I wouldn't.

It's not who I am,
not why I got into news.

So it was an ethical thing?

For starters.

And, uh, falsifying
a news report?

It was a weather stand-up.

Soaking-wet fluff...
they should have sent Rainy.

But they sent you.

Why?

Not "they"...Theresa.

She felt threatened,

so she alpha-femaled me.

It was a big "screw you"
to Ella.

Nobody challenged Theresa.

Not even Paulsen.

So you faked your news report,

fabricated an alibi,

snuck into the station...

No.

I mean, yes.

We were sneaking,

but... for a very
different reason.

ELLA:
Robbie and /,

we worked closely together.

We got closer.

Physical.

Don't get me wrong,
I'm married...

And she loves her husband.

I get that.

But when we found the time,
we would try to...

Step away every once in a while.

So when the rain gig came up,

we played hooky.

Went to our usual spot.

To the King's Bridge Motel...

on D Street.

That's fairly close to the tower
you broadcast from.

(chuckling):
Well,

I'd ask you for a receipt,
but, uh...

It's not exactly
a receipt hotel.

So, Ella, if you didn't do it,

maybe you could help us
with who did.

I don't know who.

But maybe I know why.

Theresa was working
on something.

A story, a big one, I think.

How do you know?

I started noticing
that she would take her journal

and her bag with her,
even to the restroom.

Maybe she was just paranoid.

She was on a story.

Despite our differences, Theresa
and I were birds of a feather.

And back in her day,
she was a hell of

an investigative reporter.

She was kind of my idol.

Well, I did look all through
her work computer,

and I really didn't find
anything out of the ordinary.

If it were me,
I'd keep it all at home.

Nice digs.

Boy, I'll say.

Guess it pays a lot better
to report crime

- than it does to solve it.
- (laughs)

Well, you could say
that about any job.

Except crime...
I heard it doesn't pay.

(chuckles)

Warrant served.

Okay, so...

Theresa's working
on some big secret story, right?

Where does she keep it?

Not in the living room,
seems untouched.

Theresa Shea lived alone.

- Right?
- Divorced three times.

Well, I know,

when I take work home,
sometimes it'll

make its way into the bedroom.

Yeah, but you're not single,
you're married.

Yeah, but, um...

my place often looks
a lot like this.

Okay, maybe not exactly
like this.

Russell?

I think I just found
what we're looking for.

Oh, my.

Theresa was certainly
into something.

Like she was obsessed.

Good chance this obsession is
what got her killed.

Theresa Shea earned her stripes
as an investigative reporter.

Looks like she's still got it.
Or had it.

News clippings,
Internet articles.

I got copies

of police reports all marked up
and lots of arson reports.

All these clippings are about
a series of unsolved warehouse

and store fires on the east side
17 years ago.

Why is a superficial
nip-tuck diva

digging into cold cases
about a firebug?

She wasn't digging,
she was excavating.

Yeah, but w-why was
she so invested?

She didn't need the story
to advance her career.

Right?

Yet she spent all her time here.

She ate all her meals
in here, too.

Hmm.

Living alone can drive you

a little crazy.

Yeah, well,

there's crazy and then
there's Colonel Kurtz crazy.

Mm.

Maybe she wasn't always alone.

One of these wine glasses
is wearing lipstick

and the other isn't.

Wonder who our mystery date is.

I'll get them to Henry.

Reporter's notebook.

Maybe this can help us make

sense out of all this
organized chaos.

What is that writing,
some kind of

shorthand maybe?

Gregg style, to be specific.

Haven't seen that for years.

Our victim's very old school.

/ suppose some of our answers
might be here.

You must be running on fumes.

You should go home.

Home is where
the coded notebook is.

(phone ringing)

(ringing stops)

Have you talked to him
since the NTSB guy?

Nothing happened with NTSB.

How come you can't
pick up the phone?

Because I feel like, when I do,

I'm gonna be very sad
when I hang up.

How do you know?

'Cause he wants to talk.

Want some help?

Oh, that's...
that's really nice.

You should go home,
have some fun.

This is fun.

I'm really good at crosswords.

Yeah, okay.

Uh, so Gregg style shorthand
is written phonetically.

"Cat" is "K-A-T,"
"knee" is "N-E."

Soft consonants like "ch"

and "sh" are written
horizontally.

And hard consonants like

"T" and "D"
are written downward.

Like this.

And vowel sounds are
curves and circles.

Okay, let's crack the code.

All right.

# #

17 years ago, a series
of warehouse arsons

in the furniture district
baffled investigators.

Cases were unsolved
and put on ice.

But Theresa dug up lab reports,

which pointed to dynamite
and wax paper,

and that looks an awful lot
like a 17-year-old version

of what blew
that power transformer.

Do we have a clue as to who
would have made either device?

No, but Theresa did.

She referenced in her journal

someone named "G.H."

He was a demolitions expert,

uh, storied career
in the military.

- He's now working as...
- A motivational speaker.

Didn't you just
investigate a fire?

Yes, I did... Garrett Howard.

He was a retired
military munitions expert.

So, where's he now?

He's downstairs.

SIDLE: Anything of note
with Mr. Howard?

Well, most people die in fires

from smoke inhalation,
not burns.

But take a look at this lung.

Very clean.

He didn't die from the fire.

Nope.

Did you, by chance,
find anything

on the back of his neck?

Your instincts are good
as always.

Come on around here.

(grunts)

There we go.

Knife wound right between
the occipital bone of the skull

and atlas, C1.

Consistent with the murder
of Theresa Shea.

Yeah, right down

- to the green paste.
- Mm-hmm.

THERESA:
/n re/ated news,

there has been
a rash of vandalism

across Las Vegas landmarks.

With the latest hijinks taking
place at the Palermo fountain...

Yesterday's news?

And the day before
and the day before that.

Trying to make sense
out of this whole

dysfunctional family
of a news team.

Theresa sucked up
a lot of oxygen.

I just want to see
if any of her siblings

look a little short of breath.

- Any luck?
- No.

- You?
- A little bit.

Theresa was investigating
a cold case.

It was serial arson.

Those famous fires
in the furniture district

were started
by an explosive device

that led us to a current case.

Which one's that?

Finlay's dead
motivational speaker.

Turns out, he was
a demolitions expert

and he specialized
in the type of devices

that were all found
at those old arson sites...

dynamite with a remote trigger.

Rings a bell.

And...

best that I can tell,
the device was a precursor

to the explosive device that
you found at the transformer.

Okay, so the guy, 17 years ago,
builds incendiary devices

to start fires, then nothing.

Then he blows up a transformer.

Why'd he start up again now?

The similarities
don't end there.

Guy's wound track has
the same green paste

as we found
in Theresa's pithing.

So we're looking
at a locked-room mystery

tucked into an enigma,

wrapped in dynamite paper.

You can say that again.
(laughs)

Hey, Sara.

Let me ask you something.

How you doing?
You all right?

I'm fine.

Well, you just seemed
a little bit down

when we were at Theresa's place.

Um, I don't know,

a woman married to her career
without much to show for it.

It's a little depressing.

Yeah, uh...

I don't mean to pry, but...

- Pause right there.
- I know, I know.

I'm supposed to be your boss.

Separation of church and state.

No, no, no, hit,
uh, pause with the remote,

and-and back it up a little bit.

Oh.

There, you see it?

Map's not only behind her,

it's on her dress.

I see London, I see France.

There's only one reason
that we'd be able

to see that on her dress.

She's got a green stain on her.

- Well, that's embarrassing.
- VARTANN: Worse than that.

- It's incriminating.
- What are you talking about?

We found a green paste
on the body of Theresa

and also on a second victim.

It's a compound used
for sharpening knives.

It was used by our killer.

PAULSEN:
Wai-Wait a minute,

you don't think... I mean,

why would Rainy have

a knife-sharpening paste
on her dress?

Why don't we let Rainy
answer that question?

Well, let's see.
Um, clear skies,

red dress, Wednesday.

The Doppler network was funky,
so I spent most of

my time looking over Denny's
shoulder in his cage while

he was trying
to fix the connection.

- (phone ringing)
- Excuse me.

Greg, what's going on?

Hey, you're not gonna
believe this.

I was just sorting through the
storied career of Garrett Howard

and came across a familiar name:
Denny Jones.

In what context?

He was in the military,
too, briefly.

He got in trouble
for stealing supplies.

In and out of the stockade.
Short fuse.

Was deemed unfit for duty.

Received a less-than-honorable
discharge.

So Denny and Garrett Howard...

Were brothers in arms.

Where's Morgan?

Denny?

Wait.

Denny!

(reporters clamoring)

We've just seen a man emerge.

We don't know if he works
for the station.

Denny.

Denny, hey.

(clamoring continues)

I didn't do anything wrong!

Okay, okay, nobody said you did.

Is that the murder weapon?

This is my knife, yes,
but it didn't...

I didn't kill Theresa!

- Hey, drop that knife!
- Stay away!

Everybody move back, move back,
move back.

Move your camera. Move!

I didn't kill Theresa,
because she loved me.

And I loved her, too!
I loved her!

I... Get away!

Hey, get the cameras
out of here! I'm serious!

I believe you.
Let us talk about this.

No! I will not go back to jail!

I cannot go back to jail!

All we want to do
is take you in.

- Just gonna go have
a conversation. - Stop!

You drop that knife right now!

No, this is just,
this is all just too much.

Denny, listen to me, calm down.

You don't want to do this.

Now, come on. Denny...

(voices overlapping, fading)

(echoing):
Denny. Denny.

No!

(crowd gasping)

Wait!
Why'd you do that?!

- Denny, okay...
- Can you see this?

(reporters clamoring)

Come on, move back,
will you, please?

BRODY:
Look at me.

Look at me.
I'm here.

- (siren wailing)
- I got you.

Move!

(siren wailing)

Oh, God, look at me.

Denny. Denny.

(clamoring continues)

Unlike lightning,
tragedy strikes twice at KVKC.

I'm at the site of yet a second
violent death in as many days,

as the news station is rocked
to its foundation

by the suicide of a man

suspected in the murder
of Theresa Shea.

Embroiled in a mystery
that keeps on unraveling,

authorities have kept quiet
thus far,

but the man who killed himself

has been identified
as Denny Jones.

So what motivated these events?

Psychotic break?

- Crime of passion?
- You drop that knife right now!

Until the facts come in,

- one can only speculate.
- Move.

Move your camera, move your!

(muttering):
Stupid.

Okay, okay, okay.

- Boss.
- Yeah.

I have an update
on the wine glass

we found at Theresa Shea's.

Thought you didn't find a match.

No, we didn't
until the knife came in.

But sweat around the handle
matched the DNA on the glass.

Denny was sharing wine
with Theresa.

And sharing a bed.

I found evidence
of sexual activity

in her sheets.

Strange bedfellows.

Everybody needs somebody.

But if he was in love,
why kill her?

I don't know.

Love makes you do
all sorts of stupid things.

You don't think he did it,
do you?

Sorry.

Okay, this is gonna be fun.

Now, when we came into this,

we had three suspects
and no evidence, right?

Now we got some evidence,

I want to play a little game.

Capture the flag.

Bear with me.

Okay, this particular flag

is gonna represent
Theresa Shea's life.

We're gonna stick it right here.

Sara, you're gonna be
playing Theresa.

Three of you are each gonna be
playing one of our suspects.

Now you'll start from wherever
our evidence placed them.

We'll turn off the lights.

Whoever can get in,
take Theresa's life and get out

in 20 seconds is our killer.

20 seconds to airtime.
Are you good?

I'm gonna be playing
Mr. Paulsen.

Sara, you're my anchor, right?

Alive and well.

Okay, Greg, where are you at?

All right,
I am at the coffee machine,

about to go to the garage
and make a deposit.

I'm at my Doppler station.

I'm monitoring the storm
as instructed.

Computer puts Rainy here
until the lights go out.

RUSSELL:
Thank you, Rainy.

Denny?

I'm in my cage.

Internet activity locks me here
until we lose power.

As soon as the lights go out,

I want everyone
to try to kill Sara.

Ready, set,

go.

(lights clank)

VARTANN:
19, 18, 17,

16, 15, 14,

13, 12, 11,

ten, nine,

eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three,

two, one. Lights up.

(lights clank)

Well, Chad was too far away.

And Denny was, too.

Rainy couldn't get to Theresa.

None of us made it in time.

Yeah, but...

the flag is gone.

Well, who took it, then?

(knocking)

You were all too far away,

because you were sent
too far away by me.

Detective, did you see me
leave this room?

No, I did not.

And as far as everyone
in here knew,

Paulsen never left either.

Theresa, pull it back.
Go, three.

THERESA:
Thanks, Ella.

- (phone beeps, dials) -We'll try
to get that sound sorted out.

RUSSELL: B/ew up the power,
stepped outside,

took care of Theresa,
got back in the room

before the generator kicked on.

Theresa, you okay?

SIDLE:
Do these... articles

look familiar to you?

Yeah, let me give you
a hint... the A.P.

Credits the photographs
to a younger you.

Yeah.

I took pictures of
the furniture district fires.

You know, they never
caught that guy.

Never say never.

What's that supposed to mean?

RUSSELL: You know what?
Let's talk about

your old pal Garrett Howard.

The one who liked to play
with dynamite.

I don't know a Garrett Howard.

Really?

And yet you did
a whole profile on him

on one of your news shows.

What was it called?
Uh...

"Army demolition expert
turns motivational speaker."

That's a hell of a favor to do
for somebody you don't know.

SIDLE:
And not the only favor.

You also hired his hapless
army buddy Denny Jones.

So he gave you the job
as a favor to a friend?

How does that work?

Um, Garrett said Paulsen
owes him his life.

Any idea why?

Denny and Theresa together. Wow.

I didn't see that coming.

- Did you see that coming?
- No.

No, that must have come
as a surprise to you, too.

And now...

Theresa knew
that you had a secret.

She figured if she cou/d
uncover it, then she cou/d

keep her job. You wanted

to have her rep/aced
with a younger anchorwoman.

So she became
a one-woman news team.

And she connected you
to these fires 17 years ago.

First one on the scene
because you lit the match.

That must've given Theresa
a lot of leverage.

Leverage?

She was a washed-up talent.

Her best years were behind her.

Why'd you keep her
on the anchor desk then?

See, to me,
that sounds like a...

deal with the devil.

SIDLE: Yeah, one
you couldn't live with.

So you made a plan
to kill Theresa.

RUSSELL:
Asked Garrett Howard

for another explosive device...
just one more job.

But then, /ike Theresa,
he knew your secret.

So you had
to dispose of him, too.

SIDLE:
And that /eft poor Denny.

So you borrowed his knife,
and you set him up.

(chuckling):
I'm a reporter.

I'm not a murderer.

I wouldn't even know
how to wield a knife.

Hate to fact-check you
on that, pal, but...

You know, actually,
I'm loving this.

We found

an old news story
that you ran years ago

about a killer who stabbed his
victim right in the sweet spot,

right under the skull.

SIDLE:
When you take notes,

you really take notes.

You know, in my business,

before making

outrageous accusations,
on or off the air,

you need a little thing
called evidence.

In our business, too.

This is a partial print
from the transformer explosions.

It's also
your left index finger.

Oops.

RAINY:
We/come to the KVKC

local news at 11:00.
I'm Jennifer Thomas.

Breaking news tonight...
which sadly hits close to home...

longtime news producer

Fred Paulsen has been charged
with first-degree murder

in the death of Theresa Shea.

- (phone ringing) -The murder
investigation also brought about

new evidence pertaining
to a serial arson case

that has been unsolved
for over 17 years.

Crime scene investigators...

(turns off TV)

Hello.

GRISSOM (over phone): You've
been hard to get a hold of.

Yeah. Um, I'm so sorry.

How are you?

(over phone):
I'm okay. Is now a good time?