CSI: Miami (2002–2012): Season 8, Episode 17 - Getting Axed - full transcript

Please report back to your offices.

No fire has been
detected in the building.

- Hey. Everything ready?
- Yeah. Where's Renee?

Probably still dealing
with the fire department.

Makes this the perfect time.

Let's do it.

Valerie?

Uh, yeah.

Boss wants to see you in the
conference room in ten minutes.

Am I in trouble?

He doesn't think I pulled
the fire alarm, does he?



Just says he wants to talk to you.

Um...

Hello?

Is anyone here?

Surprise!

Kent, you almost gave me a heart attack.

This all for me?

Well, technically, it's for

al the second-quarter birthdays
at tabula rasa marketing.

The party budget's
not what it used to be.

Well...

Excuse me!

Oh!

Oh, whoa, whoa.



Come on. We're trying
to have a party here.

Uh, stop looking at my underwear, perv.

No, I was just trying
to deliver my package.

I'll bet you were.

No, not like
that. I-

Give it to me, Chester.

It's Teddy.

I gotta go. Something's come up.

Happy birthday, Valerie.

Thank you.

Let's have some cake, everybody!

What the hell was that?

Hey!

Can you hear me?

I'm stuck down here!

Hello?!

Somebody get me out of here!

Help!

Hold up here.

So, uh, you knew the victim?

Yes. Her name's Renee Dorsett.

She was the receptionist in our office.

Is my leg broken?

When was the last time
you saw miss Dorsett...

Uh, alive?

She was at her desk this morning.

Ow! Ow, ow!

Okay, time's up, officer.

I got to get this guy out of here.

God...

You find anything up there?

I can't do anything

till Tom shows up and
gets rid of this body.

Loman's on his way.

Mr. Wolfe?

The safety axe is missing
up here, gentlemen.

The victim worked on the 19th floor.

How's it possible that she
got axed and nobody saw it?

They may have covered it with
the fire alarm, Mr. Wolfe.

So, let me get this straight.

The killer manages to get
everybody out of the building,

so that there are no witnesses.

He chops up the victim, sticks
her on top of an elevator.

I don't know about you,

but it seems like it takes
hard work to kill somebody.

Harder... than people think.

Hey, Tom, you still up there?

No, Ryan. I'm on lunch break.

Is there any chance we're
gonna see a body anytime soon?

We just need to free her
ankle from the pulley.

Her leg was tangled up in the pulley?

That must be what caused the accident.

As the cab went down, her
ankle got caught in the pulley,

causing the guide rail cable
to slowly slip off the track.

When the line finally
released, it caused a freefall

until the emergency
flyweights kicked in.

Well... Calleigh and Jesse
are up on the 19th floor.

We think that's where she was
dropped into the elevator shaft.

Hey Jesse, this is definitely
where she was killed.

The fire axe is missing.

Yeah, and I've got a lot of
cleaned-up blood over here.

Looks like the killer
wiped down Renee's blood.

The spatter pattern has been obscured.

Well, there are about
a thousand prints here.

It's going to be tough to
tell which one came last.

Hey, Jesse, will you
take a look at this?

What's that?

I think it's dye gel.

You know, the kind they use

to catch people who pull false alarms.

Yeah, I bet you our killer
already tried to wash his hands.

Even if they did, water spreads it.

and the tiniest amount of fluid

will activate a small amount
in a crevice or fingernail.

You know what? This sounds
like a perfect recipe

for a court order to
test these employees.

Hmm.

All right, listen up.

We're going to be testing everyone.

Uh, can I start with the three of you?

Line up over here, please.

Shouldn't we be home?

You know, like, with our
families during this time?

One of our own was just murdered.

Unfortunately, one of your
own may be responsible.

I need you to put
your hands out, please.

You're clear.

Are-are you saying that the
killer might still be here?

That's what we're hoping.

Okay, you're clear. Thank you.

Oh, my god. Valerie?

- You killed Renee?
- No. I didn't!

Okay, get everybody out of here now
- back to the office.

All right.

You pulled the alarm.

Uh, well, yeah.

I thought I smelled smoke.

I think I smell a lie.

Did you kill Renee Dorsett?

No. No, no, no.

The...

The only reason I pulled the fire alarm

was because I had to pick my
boyfriend up from the airport.

Oh, that makes perfect sense.

I know I sound crazy right now,
but it really was the only way.

I needed more than the
allotted 60-minute lunch break

to get to the airport and back, and...

Renee's desk is right in
the middle of the floor.

She sees everything.

Okay, correct me if I am wrong.
Renee was the receptionist.

More like office nazi.

My boyfriend said that he
called a dozen times yesterday,

but I never got any of the messages.

Why not?

Little miss hall monitor
never gave them to me.

I don't know what she says to the boss

behind their closed-door meetings, but

I'm pretty sure she's
getting people fired.

That new girl in accounting is totally
stealing from the supply closet.

And Susan is always online
planning for wedding.

During business hours.

Sounds like motive.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say

you and Renee Dorsett
never really got along.

Look, I wasn't the only person
who had a problem with Renee.

Who else?

Only everyone else in the office.

Jerry!

She's coming down!

Okay, very nice.

Let's get this young woman
some transportation, please.

I got something.

What'd you find?

Looks like a piece of ceramic.

Came off the victim.

Could indicate a struggle.

Could you drag the
stepladder back in here?

Hey, Tom, there's a picture
of a little boy on here.

I don't think Renee was a mother.

In fact, I believe Tripp
mentioned her next of kin

being out of state.

This could've been
left by our lumberjack.

Huh...

Uh, Ryan, um, uh...
Uh, could I come down

the ladder?

We, uh, found this next to the body.

It... looks like a
piece of a coffee mug.

Yeah, and on it was a
photo of a red-haired boy.

According to your
coworkers, that's your son?

Yeah, the coffee mug
was a father's day gift.

I was kind of wondering where it went.

Well, then I guess I'm wondering

why your father's day gift ended up next

to Renee Dorsett's body.

Anything left on the
drying rack is fair game.

Somebody probably just
walked off with it.

Walter?

Walter, you're being a little creepy.

Yeah? Watch this.

Why does this picture look
like it came from a magazine?

It is,

'cause that boy is not his son.

He's a catalog model.

Where'd all this, uh...
kids' art come from?

I did it.

Yeah, look, my last job,
you know, I was always

stuck with weekends, overtime.

All the moms and dads got
to have their, you know,

half-days and their
choice of vacation weeks.

This job, just wanted to
even the playing field.

And Renee Dorsett sniffed it out.

She was gonna report you.

I slipped up, she figured it out,

we had words this morning.

Renee, you're overreacting!

Nobody got hurt!

Please don't tell the boss.

I never tell him anything.

I don't want to get laid off
again just 'cause I don't have

as many dependents as the next guy.

God, parent-teacher conferences,

pediatricians'
appointments, field trips.

What exactly were you doing
with all that time off, Kent?

Yeah. You can't lie about having a son.

You need to come clean.

You just... Hey!

I don't take orders
from secretaries, okay?

So you two have a heated
argument this morning,

then she ends up dead.

Hey, I had nothing
to do with her murder.

You gotta believe me.

No, actually, we don't
have to believe you... Dad.

All right, Ryan and Walter took

our faux family man downstairs.

I thought you could use
a hand at Renee's desk.

What about the office assistant?

We're checking the airport
security cams right now

- to corroborate her story.
- Hang on.

You hear that?

Yeah.

I thought the building was secure.

The uniforms were instructed
not to let anyone back in.

What is that?

It's headed to the other room!

H, he's headed back your way!

- Get your hands where I can see them.
- My back!

Get your hands where I
can see 'em, right now!

Ow!

Right now.

Keep your hands on your head. That's it.

What were you doing in the ceiling?

What were you doing up there?

I was living there.

Go look for yourself. You'll see.

You were living in the ceiling?

Do you have any idea how much money

these cubicle monkeys waste
each month on rent, huh?

Yeah, well, not me.

I have a plan. I'm saving
up for a down payment.

See, I think that you were
spying on Renee Dorsett.

That's why you were up there.

I wasn't spying on anybody.

Then why did you run from me?

I just don't want to get in trouble.

Well, mission not accomplished.

Geez, Louise... This dude
really was living up here.

Yeah. I think we should
just bag everything,

see if we can tie any
of it to the murder.

Okay.

Oh...

Oh, look at that, huh?

I guess we caught Teddy
on his lunch break.

You'd think a coworker getting murdered

might ruin a man's appetite.

Well, unless...

it was his idea.

So, the bloody towels
were a match to our victim,

but the ceiling dweller's
feigning innocence.

So you want to tie him to the body.

Fingers crossed.

Six-and-a-quarter
inches.

Consistent with our axe.

All right, and you think
that's the first attempt?

This is odd.

Was Renee a smoker?

No.

Look in the cabinet over there.

I believe I have some
nail polish remover.

What are you thinking, Tom?

You'll understand soon enough.

What's the matter, Tom?

Don't you like her shade?

No, I don't care for it.

Wait a minute. Are those...?

Transverse white lines
on the fingernails;

aka Mees' lines.

She was being poisoned.

Mees' lines are generally the result

of small-dose poisoning
over a long period of time.

Maybe whoever did it just got impatient.

I'll run tox, let you know
exactly what we're dealing with.

Tom's saying he found arsenic.

Yeah, not enough to kill her,

but enough to make her really sick.

Wait a second.

Here, test this.

Someone was tainting her food.

Yeah, and I think I know who.

I told you- I don't
know how those got there.

What about this, Teddy?

We found that in your hideout,

and I need you to know that
someone was poisoning Renee.

I wouldn't poison anyone.

Are you sure about that, Teddy?

Look...

I'm not proud of this, okay, but...

I take other people's leftovers,

you know, to eat, so I don't
have to spend money on f...

So, you did steal this sandwich.

Yeah. Yeah, I always got
the best stuff from Renee.

- She was always on some kind of diet...
- Put your hands on the table, please.

Notice the white lines, Teddy?

The white lines means the
poison is affecting you, too.

Oh, god, am I gonna die?

I need to know who else
had access to Renee's food.

I- I don't know.
They-they ordered out

from a different restaurant every day.

A name.

Uh, the same person delivered it.

Um, Valerie Metcalf,
the office assistant.

Thank you very much, Teddy.

Thank you very much.

Calleigh, listen...

I totally aced poli
sci, and this is, like,

unreasonable search and
seizure and invasion of privacy,

so whatever you find is poisonous fruit.

That's exactly what I'm
looking for, Ms. Metcalf,

Poisonous fruit.

Renee was being poisoned.
You brought her her food.

That gives me probable
cause to search you.

This looks like element 33 to me.

We can talk about it here,
or we can go down to lockup.

Fine. Busted.

It was just a little bit.

I wanted to give her
the case of the runs,

not the Anna Nicoles.

You were poisoning her for weeks.

Yeah, well, she was always
telling everyone what to do,

and if you didn't listen,
then she'd announce

your personal business
like she worked on TMZ.

Hey, Valerie, the pharmacy called.

Your herpes medication
is ready to be picked up.

Oh, and they close at 6:00.

Renee, what is your problem?

Have you ever heard of a post-it?

I thought you'd want to know now.

Sorry.

Okay, gotta go.

So, you wanted revenge.

Any day without Renee was a good day.

I just wanted to make her
sick enough to stay home.

Look, I was only using a
teensy-weensy bit at a time.

Well, it's just a teensy-weensy felony.

Hey, H.

Take a look at what I
found on Renee's desk.

"You've ruined my life.

You'll pay for what you've done."

Mr. Wolfe...

This is a death threat.

There's no signature.
Maybe we could trace it

back to one of her coworkers.

Note the date.

It's June, 2007. That's
over two years ago.

Yes, before Renee went
to work at the ad agency.

I guess it looks like someone's
been trying to kill her

a lot longer than we thought.

I should have been a receptionist.

How does a single woman afford
this house on $30,000 a year?

Maybe she has a rich family.

I want one of these.

All right, let's focus.
We need to figure out

if someone outside of the
office wanted her dead.

Well, look at this. I mean,
somebody was definitely

in a hurry to get out of here.
These tire tracks look fresh.

Okay, so maybe the
confrontation began here

and then ended at the office.

I'll check it out.

I guess that means you
and I will take the inside.

I guess it does.

So, what was Renee Dorsett
doing two years ago?

You mean, aside from
receiving threatening letters?

Well, I'm thinking if we can figure
out what she was doing back then,

we might be able to learn
who sent her the letter.

Check that out.

Yeah, our victim got an MBA

from one of the most prestigious
business schools in the country.

So, why was she working the front desk?

It says here that in 2007, Renee Dorsett

was a vice president of
a major investment firm.

Oh, yeah? Well, I got
a checking register

right here from a couple years ago.

And?

And, starting in 2007, she made...

Monthly payments to a local cemetery.

For what?

I don't know.

You know, the more we
learn about this victim,

the less she makes sense.

Well?

Uh, I'm afraid I can't identify

a specific vehicle with motor oil.

If you had a car for
me to compare it to...

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

You still haven't run
it through the FTIR?

I don't expect you to know this,

but all of the motor
oil used in this country

has the same basic chemical structure,

tThe same chemical makeup.

This is a waste of my time and yours.

Okay, give it a try. I have a hunch.

Based on what?

Based on the tire treads I found
at the scene. They were bias

Ply, and they were awfully narrow.

What does that mean?

It means, "run the sample."

All right, fine.

At least now, you've got me interested.

Well, that's good.

You find a girlfriend yet, Travers?

Normal. Normal.

Hold up.

What is it?

1,600 parts per million of
zinc dialkyldithiophosphate.

Is that strange?

It's very high.

I mean, it's been decades

since that amount of
phosphorous has been

allowed in motor oil.

So, we're talking old oil.

More likely, an older car.

You know, a lot of, uh, classic
car collectors do use oil

specifically designed
for their older cars.

A classic car. You see?

I knew there was something
up with those treads.

Well, southern Florida's

got the perfect climate
for classic cars.

Now, there are probably
hundreds, if not thousands.

How are you going to find the one

that ran over your victim's lawn?

Well, you know, I'm going to start

with our known suspects, Travers.

I'm Mark Bullock.

I understand you
gentlemen want to see me?

Yes, Mr. Bullock.

You have lemon peel in your tire tread.

Okay. Is that a crime?

It is when you get it doing donuts

in Renee Dorsett's
front yard, smart ass.

I'll show you.

Wait, now, ho... Hol-hold on...

You vandalized her property

just this morning, Mr. Bullock.

No. No.

It was yesterday.

You want to tell me what happened?

I got this call that hr
wanted to see me today at 4:30.

Now, we all know that's
the kiss of death.

So, you-you blame Renee for that?

Mark?

What the hell are you doing?

Hey.

Let's see if your stupid lemons

win any ribbons this year, bitch.

- Have you lost it?
- No, no.

But I-I am going to get fired.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

What? No.

I
- I'm sorry. Mark, I didn't know.

Yeah, right. You're the
one who told the boss

that I brought my dog
to work, didn't you?

So, you were pissed
when she got you axed,

so you axed her in
return? Is that the story?

No, no. Now...

Now, I was angry at
first, then I-I realized

it wasn't her fault.

I had it all backwards.

I told him, um, that
that was your service dog.

Mark didn't tell you?

His seizures have gotten a lot worse.

And the doctor ordered him to get a dog.

I don't have epilepsy...

I know.

Ren-Renee, what are you talking about?

They've been laying
people off for months.

And I've been in this business
long enough to see the signs.

I didn't want anyone, you know,

from our department to-to suffer.

You were covering for me?

You've been riding
our backs all this time

'cause you were protecting us?

Yes.

I know a few people who
maybe might be looking

for a good jingle guy.
I'll-I'll put you in touch.

After you help me replant my garden.

So, it was her complaining
that actually saved your job.

Yeah. That's what I think.

It's just too bad that she died

before the rest of
the office realized it.

I'm going to have to take you
in while we check out your story.

Mr. Wolfe.

So, I tracked down the cemetery

that Renee Dorsett was
sending checks to. And?

She was having flowers delivered
to a gravesite every month.

This is the caretaker of the cemetery.

Officers. I'm Luis.

Hi, Luis. Thank you for coming in.

And, um, this is the plot that, uh,

miss Dorsett paid me to tend.

Paige Shoreham.

She was 28 when she died.

Luis, did Renee mention
how they knew each other?

I think they must have been close.

She came every Friday.

And she always brought flowers.

I tried to console her, uh...
I asked her what was wrong.

Did she say anything?

She said she was, uh, going to hell.

Okay. What were the flowers, Luis?

Um, the same every time.

Uh, purple hyacinth.

Renee Dorsett was
asking for forgiveness.

Yes. The question is,
forgiveness for what?

I got the police report
on Paige Shoreham's death.

Great. Let's check it out.

Let me clear some room here.

All right, well, it looks like
we've ruled out any foul play.

It was a clear-cut suicide.

Girl jumps from bridge.

There were witnesses.

Yeah, she even left a note.

You know what? Pull that up.

Let's see if she wrote
the note under duress.

Wait a second.

What?

I scanned something in.

Yeah, right there.

This is the threatening letter

that Ryan found on Renee's desk.

On the right is Paige
Shoreham's suicide note.

Calleigh, look at the handwriting.

It's the same.

Exactly.

Okay, so Paige sent Renee the letter.

Before she killed herself.

You know what? Let's
find out more about Paige.

Does she have an obituary?

Well, she should.

Here it is.

"Paige Shoreham was distraught
after being fired from her job

at Gressinger McDowell,
an investment firm."

Gressinger McDowell
is where Renee worked.

Think it's a coincidence?

No, I don't.

I think this is the connection we want.

"Despite windfall profits in 2007,

"Gressinger McDowell decided to ax

its workforce by 20%"

Calleigh, look right here.

Says, "The
initiative-

"an attempt to maximize
productivity and profits

for the firm- was initiated by
Renee Dorsett, vice president."

Okay, so Renee Dorsett fired Paige.

Paige committed suicide.

Renee felt responsible
for Paige's death.

Maybe that's why she
decided to be a receptionist.

She didn't want to have
to fire anyone ever again.

You can change all you want.
You can't escape your past.

You know, that obituary
said that Paige had a fianc?.

Will you see if you can find him?

Sure.

His name is Jeffrey Lipton.

Oh, my god, that's the
guy from the elevator.

What does Paige have
to do with anything?

She was your fianc?, for one.

We were, um...

We were saving up for the
wedding when she passed.

Jeffrey, we know that Paige
and Renee Dorsett had history.

Yeah, you know, I... I'm sorry.

This really isn't a good time.

Why?

Planning a trip, Mr. Lipton?

I need you to leave my property.

We need to get some evidence asap.

Otherwise, Jeffrey
Lipton's gonna split town.

Hey, Jesse, are you
still by the courthouse?

Oh, good. We need a warrant.

Well, I searched Jeffrey's
house, and I didn't find

the clothes that he was
wearing this morning.

Yeah, I'm not having any luck
with the, uh, suitcase either.

Don't you think it's strange

that Jeffrey Lipton kills Renee Dorsett

and throws her down an elevator shaft,

and the elevator was working fine

all morning till the moment he steps in?

What do you think, she was trying

to, uh, avenge her own
death from the grave?

I don't know, but if so,

we are really letting her down.

Gentlemen, Jeffrey's missing clothes.

Wow.

The hospital was planning
to dispose of them tonight.

Huh. Well, let's take a look at this.

These strands are fibrin.

Dense centers to the spatter.

Yeah, they've got a
fried egg appearance.

It's consistent with
partial blood clotting.

Which would make sense, because Renee

was killed before she fell
through the elevator shaft.

Well, look at this.

Well, this blood's a little different.

Look at that.

Gentlemen,

that drop of blood was
fresh when it hit the shirt.

All the spatter from the elevator
should be gravitational, low-velocity.

Yeah, but this one has
an elliptical shape.

It suggests that the blood

- came in horizontally, not vertically.
- Yeah.

Yeah, the size and tail
mean this is medium-velocity.

I think we're looking at
perimortem backspatter.

Created by an axe to the head.

So you, uh, killed Renee
during the fire alarm.

Are you kidding me?

The blood on your shirt

confirms it, Jeffrey.

I got Renee's blood on me when
she fell into the elevator.

After you killed her.

Bet you had the surprise of your life

when you saw her body hanging there,

after you killed her this morning.

I took the job at tabula
rasa just to get near her.

So you planned on killing
her the whole time?

I wanted to figure her
out. It didn't make sense

that she was working as a receptionist.

Paige's suicide really
changed her life, didn't it?

Well, not as much as it changed mine.

You think this is funny?

Do you?

I worked with her for over a year.

I watched her,

and I waited.

Is anybody else up here?! Hello?!

Renee?

I been, uh, I been wanting a moment

alone with you for a while now.

Okay, Jeff, it's just...
It's gonna have to wait.

We gotta get downstairs now.

What are you doing with that?

- You killed my fianc?e.
- What?

Paige Shoreham?

Jeffrey, I'm sorry.

I have completely turned
my life around since then.

- No!
- And...

No, you're exactly the same.

Take him.

Oh! Hi.

Oh, what's up, Tripp?

Hey, good-lookin'.

Hey. What's up?

On second thought, I
think I'll take the stairs.

I forgot my...

Ah... That's not a bad idea.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Oh, come on.