CSI: Miami (2002–2012): Season 8, Episode 20 - Backfire - full transcript

Help! Oh, my God,
there's a kid in there!

Calleigh, wait, it's too dangerous.

Your lungs haven't
healed from a year ago.

He'll never make it out!

Calleigh!

Calleigh, put this over your mouth.

Ready? Ready.

Miami-Dade PD!

Hey! We don't need any more heroes.

Yeah, but you might need
an extra set of hands.

There could be others.



I'm going to check downstairs.

Hello, is anybody down here?

Are you in here?

Ryan, he's over here!

I need help!

Is he alive?! Barely.

Come on. Help me up.

Calleigh!

Calleigh!

I got her!

Come on.

Come on, come on.

Mr. Wolfe, where's Calleigh?!

She's still inside!



I'm stuck!

Are you okay?

I'm fine. She's stuck!

Okay. Can you walk?

Calleigh!

Come on, kid!

I'm sorry, but he's gone.

Hey, wait. I'm-I'm not dead.

There's no white light,
no choir of angels.

I-I can't be dead.

His hands are burned.

Maybe he started the fire

or maybe he was playing
with matches. I don't know.

Hey, no-no way! I didn't
do that, all right?

That didn't happen!

We gotta go now!

I'm stuck.

Hang on!

I gotta call in the M.E.

Can I use your phone?

Can-can you hear me?

Calleigh?!

Are you okay?

My belt's stuck! I can't get out!

Here we go! Here we go!

Get me a paramedic right now!

Paramedic!

I'm fine.

She's had respiratory problems before.

Calleigh, we're gonna
get you to a hospital.

You're gonna be okay, all right?

Okay. Thanks.

Officer's name is Montoya.

Here husband is waiting at the hospital.

Hang in there, Leah.

How is she?

Too soon to tell.

What do you think started
this fire, Mr. Wolfe?

I think the kid set the fire.

His hands were burned.

I think it was an accident.

Okay, or murder.

Stay with his body. We see what we see.

Got it.

Where are they taking my boy?

To the morgue for an autopsy.

We're very sorry about your loss.

I saw Patrick leave
for school this morning.

I waved good-bye to him.

He wasn't supposed to be here.

You the boy's father?

Grandfather.

Henry Dawson.

I was Patrick's legal guardian.

He's lived here with me since

he was ten years old.

Why do you think he'd set the fire?

Why? No, he-he wouldn't do that.

No, this-this was our home.

We had almost finished renovating it.

Why would he do that?

I was all he had.

He was all I had.

Mr. Dawson, anything you can tell me

is gonna make this easier.

Patrick wasn't perfect.

He talked back, he broke curfew,

and I didn't always
approve of his friends,

but he was a good kid.

There's no way he would have done this.

Okay. Thank you for your help.

Frank.

Yeah. Thank you, sir.

Hello, Doctor.

Concentration of carbon
monoxide in his blood was 70%.

That makes the cause
of death asphyxiation.

Or you could just say he
died of smoke inhalation.

You say potato...

What about his hands?

I'm thinking he may have set the fire.

Third-degree full thickness burns.

Take a whiff.

Oh, yeah, definitely.
It's some sort of chemical.

Do you think you could find
it somewhere in your heart

to get me a sample?

Thanks, Doc.

All right, I am back!

They ran some tests
and cleared me for duty.

I wish I could say the
same for Officer Montoya.

You know, she's still in the hospital.

Okay, Ryan, look, I am sorry.

I know that I should have
waited for the fire department.

It was a really stupid thing to do.

Calleigh, Calleigh, Calleigh,
you always got to be a hero.

You couldn't have saved that boy.

I know.

He's probably the one
that started the fire.

What?

Can I take a look?

Looks like it's some sort
of an oil-based solvent.

Hey, Jesse?

Yeah, do me a favor.

Find Dawson's painter,

because I think this might be arson.

So I found turpentine on
Patrick Dawson's hands.

Well,

that's an accelerant.

Wow.

I think this kid
intentionally set this fire.

Huh.

What if there's another
explanation for the turpentine?

After all, it is a painter's tool.

This house was being renovated.

I talked to the painter on the phone.

He said he hadn't worked in this room.

If we find evidence of turpentine,

it means that Patrick
Dawson set this fire.

Now, the body...

the body was found over here.

All right, first things first.

Let's locate the area
with the deepest charring.

That'll tell us where the fire began.

Start measuring.

Eight millimeters.

Seventeen.

I got 22 millimeters.

Eighteen.

Nine millimeters.

Twenty-six.

15 millimeters.

Hey, guys, I think I got the big one:

33 millimeters.

Anybody got one deeper than that?

No.

Okay, here's the point of origin.

Let's see what the MiniRAE picks up.

700 parts per million of turpentine.

Maybe the kid did start the fire.

You're wrong! I didn't do this!

You guys feel a draft?

Walter, there's, uh, plenty of room

for drafts to come in here.

I don't know, man. This place is weird.

I think you've been watching
too many Rob Zombie movies.

We're done here, right?

Wait a minute! You're leaving?!

That's it? You don't believe me?

I'm gonna go with Walter.

I don't believe this!

Hey.

Check this out.

This house has a sprinkler system.

Hey, I was here during the fire.

Believe me,

the sprinklers weren't on.

Maybe they shut it off
during the renovation.

Hey, you know what else, guys?

That's not the only thing wrong here.

I don't see any insulation
in this whole mess.

Do you?

No passive fire protection.

That's highly illegal.

Whoever was working on this
house, turned it into a killer.

We need to find out
who that contractor was.

This is crazy. I didn't start
that fire. You didn't start it,

but you allowed it to burn.

You don't know what
you're talking about.

I've been building houses for ten years.

I know what I'm doing.

Then why did you violate every
one of the Miami fire codes?

Everything I did met the
minimum code requirements.

Okay. What about insulation?

Did you install that?

I was going to put it in.

I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

You're lng.

You already installed the drywall.

What other corners did you cut?

Look, Dawson had no concept
of how much things cost.

He wanted everything done on the cheap.

So I went cheap.

Sue me.

I'd rather arrest you.

Arrest me? For what?

Negligent homicide resulting in
the death of a 15-year-old boy.

Okay, I'm following the fire

starting with the point of origin.

There's a strange
surface burn on the wall.

It's inconsistent with
normal fire movement.

Looks like the mark continues
out into the hallway.

There's some sort of an
oily substance in the burn.

I've got wax paper.

This looks like a
second point of origin.

It's a totally different
fire from the turpentine.

Hey, Horatio, give me a
call when you get a chance.

I'm got a wax paper trail

leading to a second point of origin.

It's way to sophisticated for this kid.

I don't think he did it.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Y-you heard me?

Yeah.

You-you can see me?

Why?

I don't know.

All right, pull it together.

Pull it together, Duquesne.

Hey, I'm not going anywhere
until I clear my name.

You believe me, right?

You believe I didn't set the fire?

I don't know what to believe.

Would you believe me if I wasn't dead?

I'd have to follow the evidence.

You had burns on your hands.

It's possible those could
have come from starting a fire.

But-but they didn't.

Oh, come on, why would I lie?

Okay, look, just give
me a second, okay?!

It's not like I've ever seen a...

a call to the Dawson's place last month.

Why did that happen?
Neighborhood dispute.

And get this-- the neighbor
set the lawn on fire.

Okay, well, that certainly could
escalate an argument, couldn't it?

I am not the criminal
here. Henry Dawson is.

Why do you say that, ma'am?

His workers aren't supposed
to start until 8:00 a.m.

But there they are every day at 6:00

making noise.

I work nights. I need my sleep.

Why didn't you notify
the proper authorities?

I made complaint after complaint

to the building department.

Nothing was ever done about it.

I had to go to Key West just
to get away from the noise.

That sounds real rough.

Why did you set the lawn on fire?

I just wanted to send Dawson a message.

Did you send him one todam?

Absolutely not.

Where were you this morning?

Sleeping--
or trying to,

just like every other morning.

Can, uh, anyone confirm that?

Isn't that your job?

Look, I am done talking about this.

If you can prove I was at
that house, you go ahead.

Don't leave town.

She's hiding something, Frank.

Yeah.

I'll go up to the house,
see if we find anything

that puts her there during the fire.

Hey, Tripp, we could be looking at

a second point of origin here.

I've got more bits
of that same wax paper

running all along the
upstairs hallway and bedroom.

Wax paper's combustible, right?

Yep.

Just like any accelerant.

Spreads the fire slowly,

giving the perpetrator time to escape.

Also making sure that the fire
travels over a longer distance.

Hell, that could have come
from our fire-starting neighbor.

Well, look what I found
downstairs under the sink.

Wax paper? Yeah, and
it's almost all used up.

Could be the stuff on the wall.

Hey, guys, check this out.

These look like teeth marks to you?

I guess, but what's the deal
with the gap in the middle?

Here's your gap.

The wax paper came from this box.

I've been trying to quit.

For Patrick's sake.
Hardly seems important now.

Let's talk about the
wax paper, Mr. Dawson.

We found this in your kitchen,

and it was used to set the fire.

Did you set that fire, Mr. Dawson?

No.

And I can explain the wax paper.

Patrick and I used it
to make paper boats.

It's a hobby we shared
since he was a boy.

You guys share any other hobbies?

How about arson?

Maybe you guys did it together.

I wasn't even home
when the fire started.

I was at the market.

Fine. The wax paper was in your kitchen.

Patrick had access to it.

Maybe he did it alone.

I already told you folks,

there's no way Patrick would do this.

You tell 'em, Pops.

We, uh, called Patrick's school.

He's been out sick eight
times in the last month.

Are you aware of that?

No, I wasn't.

I stayed home to work on the house.

I wanted to surprise you.

You know, according to your will,

Patrick would have inherited
the insurance payout.

Only in the event of my death.

Well, maybe the fire
was meant for you, sir.

No, they're wrong, right?

The fire... the fire
started in the hallway.

Oh, God! Oh, God!

Mr. Dawson,

if you think about it,

your grandson had 200,000 reasons

to set that fire.

I don't see Patrick doing this.

But maybe.

No.

Don't-don't listen to them, Pops.

All right, they got it all wrong.

Hey, Henry Dawson just admitted

his grandson might have wanted him dead.

"Might" isn't good enough, Jesse.

Let's discuss it on
the way to the hospital.

WOMAN Dr. Lawrence, dial 112, please.

Dr. Lawrence, please dial 112.

Hey, what are you doing here?

I thought you were in Tampa.

I knew you were going to be mad

that I went into that house,

but you would have done the same thing.

Oh, my God.

Look at her.

She looks terrible.

This is worse than I thought.

Let's go find Horatio.

That's me.

Eric?

Eric?!

Guys, what's going on?

They can'tear you.

Henry Dawson just admitted

his grandson might have wanted him dead.

Let's talk about it on
the way to the hospital.

Calleigh, Calleigh, Calleigh,
you always got to be the hero.

Calleigh, are you okay? I'm fine.

She's had respiratory problems before.

We're gonna get you to a hospital.

You're gonna be okay, all right?

Okay.

She's in respiratory distress.

Come on, out of the way.

One, two, three. Calleigh!

Am I dying?

I don't know.

All I know is I see you,

and... you see me.

Hey, how's Calleigh?

Uh, she's hanging in there.

It's good to hear.

Stop by there later today.

So, uh, what exactly are we here for?

Well, Horatio isn't convinced

that the kid intentionally set the fire,

so we need to re-attack.

What do we know so far?

Well, we found two points of origin.

One fire was started with wax
paper by an unknown perpetrator.

Right. And the other one was started

with turpentine here by the kid.

We got a bunch of
paint tools over there.

Maybe the boy was using the turpentine

to clean some brushes.

Hmm.

Well, if that's the case, then
it definitely was an accident.

Man, you feel that draft?

Okay, again with the drafts, man?

I get it. You don't like this place.

No, listen,

Jesse, I'm telling you...

some sort of breeze
coming from this wall.

Hey, pass me one of those feathers.

A feather's not gonna
scare away a ghost.

Just pass me the
feather, please, Cardoza.

Feather.

Thank you.

You think it still has some loft?

Why, you need it to fly?

Huh?! See?!

Told you, Jesse!

Feather floated.

Means this wall isn't sealed properly.

Yeah, you're right.

It's like someone put this
up to cover up something.

Only one way to find out what.

Guess we found what they were hiding.

Fire damage must have
covered up the smell.

He's wearing a uniform.

Must be one of the guys
working on the house.

Yeah, question is,

did he die from the fire or before it?

Let's call this in.

Meet Ralph Zimmerman,

card-carrying member
of the plumber's union.

What do we know about Ralph?

He's burned, but he's
not in a pugilistic state.

So he died before the fire.

I found ventricular fibrillation
on the respiratory muscles

which resulted in respiratory paralysis.

We're talking about a heart attack.

And nothing in his
medical history to indicate

that he should have, but then

I found these.

Burn marks.

With dry parchment centers
and rims of congestion.

Those weren't caused by the fire.

Electrocution, Doctor.

He was electrocuted through his knees.

But how?

He's a worker.

Maybe he was kneeling on the floor.

And maybe that floor was hot.

So Henry Dawson said that
the plumbers were over here

working on the sink.

Yes, this must be where
he got electrocuted.

Which begs the question

how do you conduct electricity
on a linoleum floor?

You start with an exposed wire.

Huh.

Wire's hot.

Our dead plumber was working over here.

So how do you conduct
electricity from that hot wire

all the way over to his knees?

Water?

There's a little bit of bubbling here.

Bingo. Circular brown stain

on the concrete.

That's definitely water damage.

Yeah, water and concrete's
a deadly combination.

But why didn't the circuit breaker trip?

This is an old fuse box.

What is that, a penny?

Yeah, it's a common trick in old houses.

These fuses are only 15 amps,
so when the power would surge,

the fuse would blow.

And the electricity stops flowing.

Yeah, but you stick
a penny in the fuse...

Electricity keeps flowing.

Wires get hotter,

they get deadlier.

Looks like one of those novelty pennies.

What does it say right there?

"Key West."

Horatio said the neighbor
just came back from there.

I've already told you people

I'm done talking about this.

Where did you get that? That's mine!

Mrs. Hollister, you want to do
us a favor and just sit down?

I'd prefer to stand, thank you.

We found your penny in
Henry Dawson's fuse box.

You put it there when you
murdered Ralph Zimmerman.

Who?

Dawson's plumber.

Oh, that guy.

He started working at the
crack of dawn yesterday.

I went down and very politely
asked him to stop making noise.

He did not do as I asked.

Hey! Hey, you in the ugly shorts,

I've been banging on this door

for the last 20 minutes!

You cut that out right now!

So you're admitting to,
uh, to murdering him.

I didn't murder him.

I treated him in kind.

That's it? That's your explanation?

He ignored me.

He couldn't hear you.

He was working.

He could have heard me

if it wasn't for the
pounding and the banging

and that-that saw, that buzz thing.

Buzz saw? Thank you.

It was all day long.

I couldn't get the
pounding out of my head.

I hadn't slept for eight months.

I had to stop the noise.

Okay, let's just... slow down,

get this straight.

You electrocuted him,

then you stuck his body in the closet.

You bet I did.

And then I went home...

and I slept like a baby.

It was divine.

So you set the fire to
cover up your handiwork.

Look, I just confessed to murder.

If I started the fire, I
would tell you, believe me.

Well, that's the thing, Mrs. Hollister.

We don't.

Hey, Wolfe.

I got something for you.

Fire department sent this over.

This is weird.

The fire department said
they ran a sprinkler test

on Henry Dawson's system
and it worked fine.

That means that contractor
never turned it off.

So why didn't the water
come on during the fire?

Maybe somebody didn't want it to.

Yeah, the inspector test
valve indicates that water

is flowing from the main
valve to the supply pipe.

No, no one's tampered
with the sprinkler system,

and, uh...

it's been a huge waste of time.

Hey, Ryan, wait a minute.

I think you're on to something.

Six...

seven...

eight...

nine.

This is it.

Did we find something?

Carbon dioxide sublimates
at minus 78 degrees Celsius.

Uh, carbon dioxide?

I don't... I don't understand.

Are you talking about the fire, or...?

This explains everything.

So how do we tell them?

What's wrong?

What's wrong? Calleigh!

Hey! She's in V-fib. No pulse.

Hey, come on. Charging to 200.

Calleigh, come on!

Clear!

Calleigh, come on!

Asystole.

You're not gonna shock her again?

Do something! You have to save
her! That's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm gonna give her an amp of epi.

Hey. Come back!

Hey, there you go. There
you go. Calleigh, it's okay.

We're right here.
Look at me. Look at me.

It's okay. It's all right.

Mr. Delko?

Hiya, Doctor.

How is she doing?

The smoke this morning

aggravated her preexisting lung disease.

Well, why did her heart stop?

We're not sure.

But she responded well
to the defibrillation

and the medication.

She'll be weak for a few hours,

she may have trouble speaking,

but her exam and test
results are normal.

All right, thanks.

Don't try to speak.

Just relax.

You want to write something down?

Okay, calm down.

What does this mean?

Okay.

All right, I'm going to bring it to him.

Just relax.

Relax, okay?

She wanted me to give you this.

She said she doesn't know
what it means; she dreamt it.

This is about the case, Eric.

I know.

She's been here all day.

It doesn't make sense.

You know what?

It makes perfect sense.

She was first on scene.

She must have seen something.

The numbers are used by land
survey to measure distance.

Right, so we've got 48
degrees southwest from the door

and nine meters out.

What about the 36?

36 is exactly how deep

Miami buries its water lines, Jesse.

Well, there you go.

There's the water line.

It feels like the water's flowing fine.

Okay.

Well, then why did the
fire sprinklers not work?

Because the water...

wasn't flowing this morning.

Take a look at this.

Looks like ice.

That is CO2 in solid form.

Dry ice.

Yeah, which turns into gas
at minus 78 degrees Celsius.

Right. So someone used
it to freeze the pipe

and stop the flow of water.

So, as soon as the ice melted,
the water started flowing again.

So whoever set this fire
really wanted this to burn.

What is that?

Looks like a
reddish-brown liquid stain.

I'll get that over to Trace.

No need, Jesse.

I know who did this.

I can't see too well
without my glasses, son.

You mind telling me what that is?

That's a tobacco stain.

I admit, I don't have the
best aim when I'm spitting.

Can't say that I knew
that that was a crime.

Well, it isn't. But murder is.

You tampered with the sprinkler system

and caused it to malfunction

during a fire that you started.

The same fire that killed

your grandson, Mr. Dawson.

And you would've let
him take the fall for it.

You murdered

your own flesh and blood.

Patrick was supposed to be in school.

He wasn't supposed to be there.

And what I did,

I did for both of us, for a better life.

Yeah? How's that?

The renovation was supposed
to add value to the house.

Eight months in, and
that shoddy contractor

is behind schedule.

And I'm hemorrhaging money.

That house drained me of my last penny.

Patrick and I would've
been on the street.

You torched the house
for the insurance money.

hip-hop music playing over headphones)

I just wanted to make our lives better.

Yes, but you failed.

You did this to me.

Patrick?

Mr. Dawson?

Take him please.

Hey.

Babe, work will still be here tomorrow.

Should be back at the hospital.

Yeah, you know...

You've had this job before.

You know sometimes there are
just things you need to do.

It's the strangest thing,
but I feel like I knew him.

Rest in peace.