CSI: NY (2004–2013): Season 6, Episode 3 - Lat 40° 47' N/Long 73° 58' W - full transcript
Mac and the crime lab deal with a killer who is using compasses to leave clues to his crimes.
Between 1 892 and 1 954, more than
1 2 million immigrants were processed
through the 30-plus structures
here on Ellis lsland.
But as you can see,
most of them are still abandoned.
So with the help
of preservationists like you,
hopefully we can give buildings
like this former powerhouse
a brand new chance at life.
Oh, my God!
This is Dario Gonzales.
He's been the night shift custodian
for four years.
Only by nine this morning,
he was permanently off the clock.
It's when a private tour group
found his body.
This is a national monument
to immigration.
Maybe he was trying to make
a statement.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck. I'm sorry."
Hmm.
- He left a wife behind.
- And two kids.
Yeah,
I spoke to Mrs Gonzales this morning.
She said she called
her husband's cell at eight.
When he answered,
she said he sounded upset.
When she asked him what was wrong,
he hung up.
That doesn't make any sense.
In fact, it's impossible
that he even talked to her at all.
It's 10 o'clock now.
And his core body temperature
is 89 degrees.
That puts time of death
at least seven hours ago.
So, how does a guy
hang himself at 3:00am
and answer a phone call
from his wife at eight?
Well, I'm not finding a cellphone
so maybe he didn't answer that call.
His killer did.
# Out here in the fields
# I fight for my meals
# I get my back into my living
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah #
I wonder why our killer
answered the phone.
His whole plan might have worked
if he hadn't.
It's obvious he went to a lot
of trouble to stage a suicide.
And the ferries operate
from sunrise to sundown,
so he had to get
onto the island yesterday,
hid on the grounds overnight
and left this morning.
I mean, why go through all that
and then answer the vic's phone
and risk getting caught?
Maybe he doesn't think he will.
Or he hopes he does.
Got definite signs of a struggle
up here.
Scuff patterns
from two different shoes.
Got directional drag marks
that lead up to the catwalk.
I got smudge prints up here
where the rope was tied.
No ridge detail.
Killer definitely wore gloves.
So he jumps him on the landing,
drags him up the stairs,
then left him hanging.
27...
28...
29...
30.
- Danny. What are you doing?
- Processing the vic's phone.
Of course. What was I thinking?
Flack had the vic's phone pinged.
It was in a skip.
Waiting on DNA results from the
trace. I figured I'd get a pump in.
Don't you have physio today?
Yeah. I'm getting ready for it.
What? You see Lucy lately?
She's standing up in her crib,
cruising along the apartment walls.
She's gonna walk soon.
Please say you're not competing
with our 10-month-old baby.
I'm not competing with our baby.
All right? I'm just sick
and tired of being in this chair.
I wanna run through Central Park
with my daughter on my shoulders.
I wanna chase down boys
who try to hit on her.
I wanna dance with you and her
at her wedding.
So, if you don't mind...
I don't mind at all.
I can tell you this much. Mr Gonzales
was dead before he was lynched.
You see the double set
of ligature furrows?
- He was strangled first.
- Correct.
Those are the marks that angle back.
And these marks that angled up
were caused by the hanging.
COD was asphyxiation.
But his larynx was crushed, Mac.
And judging by the extent
of the damage,
your killer was strong
and extremely violent.
What is it?
I don't know, Sid.
There's something about this
I can't shake.
The pointed, yet fake, suicide note,
a broken compass in the vic's pocket,
the crying his wife heard
on the phone.
The killer wanted
to tell us something.
I need to find out what that is.
I shouldn't have done it.
I have work to do.
I shouldn't have done it.
I should've...
The letter...
I shouldn't have written the letter.
I didn't have a chance to write...
I'm sorry. I can come back.
No, it's all right.
Go ahead and clean up.
- Detective T aylor.
- Yes?
I don't know if you remember me.
I'm Haylen Becall.
We met two weeks ago when l...
You found an undocumented
partial print at a crime scene.
I remember.
What can I do for you, Ms Becall?
I graduated cum laude
from Chelsea University,
got an undergrad in Biology
and a Masters in Forensic Science.
I've completed a full course
of lab safety training.
I already read the first three
resumes you mailed to my office.
But when you didn't respond,
I wondered why.
And then it hit me.
- You can't afford me.
- I'm sorry?
Well, not you, but the lab
with the layoffs and budget cuts.
- I'm well aware of the problems.
- OK. So, I wanna fix them.
What's this?
A New York State Police Forensics
lnvestigation's Honours Grant.
I applied for it and I got it.
So the state will pay 100%
of my wages up to the minimum salary
of an entry level tech.
So, all you have to do
is sign that form
and you and your staff
can take full advantage
of all the skill and enthusiasm
I have to offer for an entire year.
Absolutely free.
I appreciate your determination
and you're right,
I could probably use some help.
But even if I did take you on, it's
very likely once the year was up,
I couldn't give you anything else.
Are you kidding?
You'd be giving me everything.
Detective Taylor, working a crime lab
like yours is all I've wanted to do
since I was nine years old
and the neighbour poisoned our cat.
It's a long story.
All you have to do
is give me an opportunity.
I promise I'll take care of the rest.
I'll think about it.
Thank you, sir.
Stella.
We watched the surveillance footage
from Battery Park
where we found our vic's phone.
Due to all the tourists there,
we only got crowd shots.
That's exactly where our killer
would have boarded the ferry
to go to and from Ellis lsland.
Even checked all the ticket receipts
but got nothing.
I was thinking
about that suicide note.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck."
- Does it mean something?
- On a janitor's salary? No.
Then I found out what
Gonzales liked to do on his off-time.
# Don't, don't, don't say nothin'...
You lose on red,
you win on ace. Here we go.
# Hey doc
# Check this out...
I'm gonna go with that one.
We got a winner in the house, huh?
Beautiful.
# I'm in my zone, man...
# Let's get it
# So I threw it like a chip
so I made a song...
All right. Where is the ace?
- Um, right there.
- This one right here?
All right. Let's see.
- Better luck next time.
- Damn! That's too bad.
Here, let me show you
where the real ace is.
Heads up, heads up!
Got an officer pursuing a
suspect towards Bowery and Grand.
T urn around!
Time to fold.
Three priors in five years
for aggravated assault.
What are you wasting your
time palming aces for, Curtis?
Shouldn't you be beating people up?
I did my time.
I was trying to go legit.
Three Card Monte
doesn't exactly qualify.
I had to hustle up some cash. Why
don't you just write me the ticket?
We both know flipping cards
is just a misdemeanour.
Yeah.
But murder? Not so much.
Remember him?
Nice necktie.
That a little thank you gift
from you?
Wack wannabe. He said
he used to do sleight-of-hand.
Starts stepping on my game,
watching which cards I bent,
telling marks how to bet
and taking money.
So I taught him
how to get bitch-slapped.
And that minor altercation cost you
eight more months at Rikers.
That stung.
Not as bad as a rope around the neck.
"l shouldn't have tried to
make a fast buck. I'm sorry."
Should that mean something to me?
Between your rap sheet
and the beef you had with Gonzales,
it might make a good case
for pinning you as the guy
who strung him up
and posted a fake suicide note.
Sounds like he definitely made a few
extra bucks at your expense.
Then paid for it with his life.
Look, I am tickled sideways that
that bastard is dead.
But if you actually think that l...
What I think is you're gonna
give us a handwriting sample.
And if your scrawl matches
the writing on that letter...
Then you are gonna be
somebody else's mark.
For 25 to life.
I know that face.
- What face?
- The "l don't like what I see" face.
Like the way you look at me
when we try to change Lucy's diaper.
Well, I did find a faint watermark
on the corner of the suicide note.
Looks like a letter P design?
Yeah. But I haven't placed it yet.
And I ran three different handwriting
samples from the suicide note,
the vic and the suspect in lockup.
None of them match.
If it makes you feel any better,
I got DNA from biologicals on the
phone that doesn't belong to our vic,
but no hit in CODlS.
- Saliva trace?
- No.
Actually, it came back ALS positive
and amylase negative.
So it was tears?
Maybe when the vic's wife called,
it upset the killer.
He saw the image of the family come
up and realised what he'd done.
Hello? Dario?
Hello?
What kind of cold-hearted killer
feels guilty over murder?
- I understand.
- Cliff Angell.
- How are you? Good to see you.
- OK. Good to see you too.
T rust me. We're doing all we can
to find the suspect.
Thank you. You, too. Bye.
- Hey, stranger!
- Cliff!
What are you doing here?
I had to get a photo for my lD card.
Apparently I'm not the, uh, strapping
young cadet I was 28 years ago.
- You been good?
- Uh, yeah. Yeah.
- How about you?
- Hey. A day at a time.
Jess was my only daughter,
so it's tough.
I was telling the boys
I haven't seen you since the funeral.
- Called you a couple times.
- Yeah, I know. Thank you.
I, I got the messages. I, uh...
I've just been...
Don, believe me. I get it.
Took me mandatory retirement and
a hacksaw to get out of this place.
- Anyway, it was good to see you.
- You, too.
- Say hello to everybody.
- I will do.
Unless you wanna do that yourself?
How's that?
Sunday would have been
Jess' birthday.
I know.
We're having supper at the house.
It's nothing fancy. Just family.
No pressure, but if you feel
like a nice pot roast, you can...
- You cooking?
- You kidding me?
Then count me in.
Sherry will be tickled.
Set a place for your ugly mug.
- I'll see you about seven?
- Sounds good.
- Good to see you, Don.
- You, too. Thanks, Cliff.
I don't know if I can, I can...
bring it.
Tell me one thing.
No. No.
I don't know.
Tell me what you want me to do.
Just tell me.
OK, OK.
No.
T ell me something.
How does a man put a compass in his
pocket without leaving prints on it?
No partials, no nothing?
I fumed every inch of this.
Didn't find a single one.
Our victim, Dario Gonzales,
never touched it.
- You said the killer wore gloves?
- Yeah.
That's why it was in the vic's
pocket. The killer put it there.
It's his message.
He wanted us to find it.
He didn't want us to find everything.
No. But I wouldn't let that stop you.
Hey, Stella.
Did you ever have a pen pal?
I did. Uh, Ellen Thornberry
from Columbus, Ohio.
I think my third grade teacher
gave me her name.
I had one, too. Suzanne Wacker.
She was from Jenks, Oklahoma.
- Hmm.
- OK.
Now we've established our letter
writing skills, can you tell me why?
Here's why.
There's a faint watermark
on the suicide note.
It's from the Preston Pen Company,
but they haven't used the logo
in 40 years.
Now, it turns out, they invented
the whole pen pal concept
for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
They had an old computer to match
you up with someone in the world.
Then they gave you a pen
and paper to write to them with.
Now, I'm thinking
that one of those same pens
was used to write the suicide note
on a vintage piece of that paper.
OK. What about the handwriting?
It's not a match to Dario Gonzales
or Kimball Curtis.
So our handwriting
has gotta be our killer's.
If we can find out who has access
to that kind of paper stock...
We could give our killer
something to write home about.
Any luck with the compass?
Well, it's American-made, early
19th century and fairly valuable.
- Uh-huh. But broken.
- More like fixed.
- Someone super-glued the needle.
- So that it only points south.
Probably the same person
who put the engraving on the back.
"Happy B-Day. Yours 4Ever, CE."
Is it an engraving
by the original owner?
Ah, it looks too recent. And those
are contemporary abbreviations.
So, CE may be the initials
of our killer
or someone
who meant something to him.
And by leaving it behind,
he wants it to mean
something to us, too.
Hey, what's up, Doc?
Just on my way to search
arrest records through the OLBS,
hoping I can find some kind of match
to the initials off our compass.
What about you?
I gotta go calibrate
the genetic analyser.
Why not just let
the new tech do that?
New tech?
- You didn't hear?
- Hear what?
Mac hired that hottie from the
crime scene cleanup crew. Part-time.
Twice a month. You know the one.
Haylen...
- Becall?
- Exactly.
- Oh, God.
- Come on. You're fine.
This is gonna be good.
Thanks.
Remember?
Can you see me?
Do you even know which way to look?
- A second compass.
- And this needle's pinned north.
So you think we have another body
on our hands?
Our first vic was found
on Ellis lsland,
off the southern tip of Manhattan.
And the compass at the scene
was also pointing south.
Now our killer sends us
a second compass directly.
Which says he wants us
to look for a second body.
So we turn our attention north.
Along with the new compass,
that's where he seems
to be pointing us next.
The stamp shows the envelope
was mailed from the Bronx.
Well, that is the northern edge
of the city.
All right.
The avenues in Manhattan deviate
from true north by 29 degrees.
If we run that
through tactical crime analysis,
this seems to be
the optimal area to search...
in the northernmost regions
of the city
between Broadway
and the Bronx River Parkway.
That's a hell of a lot of ground
to cover.
Flack and his men are focused
on high-profile locations
and cross-referencing all missing
person reports for the area.
Mac, is this a hunt for
the second victim or for a killer?
Could be both.
While they pound the pavement,
we stick to the science.
Hawkes, what did you get
from the Ellis lsland rope?
It's artificial turf.
Strictly old school.
It was a match to a vintage
manufacturer samples
from the mid-1960s.
It's like the ink and paper used
for the suicide note.
Find the source yet
on either of those?
It could have come from anywhere.
That paper was distributed
to millions of people.
- But we're checking with collectors.
- This guy seems seriously retro.
I'm gonna take a look at the second
compass he sent us.
Maybe it'll tell us
how to find a killer
who's pointing us in every direction
but his own.
From 1964,
here's Gerry and the Pacemakers
on New York's Big Apple Oldies.
# Don't let the sun... #
Hello, sleepyhead.
Did you get some rest?
You must have needed it.
I'm just... I'm glad you're here.
There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
It's a beautiful day outside. What do
you say we open up these drapes?
- No, no. No.
- Oh, oh, all right.
- No, I like them like that.
- OK. We'll leave it just like that.
I'm sorry. I don't...
I don't mean to snap.
Don't worry.
I understand.
It's a tough time and,
and you've got a lot on your mind.
Remember,
as long as we're side-by-side.
And going in the right direction.
I know.
I know.
I love you.
I love you so much.
I love you too, baby.
Everything's gonna be fine.
I'm right here.
Danny, you haven't seen a cute but
evil job-stealing blonde, have you?
What? No, no. Let me ask you this.
Why do you think the tear I swabbed
off our Ellis lsland vic's phone
was spiked so high for calcitriol?
Uh, Vitamin D?
Those levels... Probably taking
supplements for a deficiency.
All right.
What would be the possible causes?
Cystic Fibrosis?
Crohn's Disease? Colitis?
Or maybe he just
doesn't get a lot of sun.
Hi, guys. What's going on?
Haylen's new to our team.
I invited her to observe
the process on this compass.
Oh. Right. That's, that's great.
There's a fine layer
of some kind of trace on the crystal.
How should we take a closer look?
Scanning Electron... microscope.
Go ahead.
Cypripedium Fasciculatum.
Also known as, um,
Clustered Lady Slippers.
They're a, a rare orchid indigenous
to the Pacific Northwest.
How does this information help us?
We could run a search,
see if there are any growers
or suppliers
of that species in the city.
Great minds think alike.
They're on display right now
at the T riborough Gardens.
- lsn't that in the Bronx?
- Yeah.
It says the conservatory housing them
now is under temporary renovations.
Which makes it a perfect place
to plant a body.
We're too late.
"l should have written the letter
when I had the chance. I'm sorry."
What letter?
No clue.
But her name was Carole Hillcroft.
She was a 40-year-old widow.
According to the management here,
she was a regular patron and member
of the Bronx Garden Guild.
She last used her membership card to
gain admission at the front entrance
yesterday evening.
Looks consistent with lividity
and rigour.
Wasn't this exhibit closed
for renovation?
Back entry deadbolt lock was bumped.
I seriously doubt
she was responsible.
No. She could have been lured in here
by someone who was.
Got unis canvassing her contacts
right now.
They're looking to see if she told
anybody at all why she was here.
Hey, listen. You two
don't need me to stick around?
I got a bunch of fives
to type back at the precinct.
- Go ahead, Don. We got it.
- Thank you.
You know, he used to shave every day.
He'll get through this.
Just takes time.
Hey, I've got some partial shoeprints
from whoever else was here
with our vic.
The same ligature patterns
as the last one.
Find something?
Maybe it came off his glove
when he covered her mouth.
What do you think it is?
Asbestos.
Of course they didn't call it that
in the mid-60s
when they made kitchen countertops
and floor tiles out of it.
But that's what this sliver
in her mouth was made of.
They discontinued
this type of material years ago.
We'll be lucky to get a match
but we must run with it.
I'll do it.
We get anywhere
with the partial footprints?
Yeah, I ran it
through the sole print database.
I found a corresponding tread pattern
from a men's size 1 1 tennis shoe
with wear marks matching
the scuff marks at Ellis lsland.
Let's break them down.
Our perp is a muscular male,
size 1 1 shoes,
approximately 6ft 2.
Judging by the damage,
your killer was strong.
Potentially pale skin.
Or maybe he just
doesn't get a lot of sun.
Each victim
is accompanied by a compass.
Which means he wants us to find them.
And he chokes his victims
with a rope first.
Then he hangs them
to simulate suicide.
With written confessions of guilt
pinned to each.
Apparently he feels a level
of remorse in the process.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck."
"l shoulda written a letter
when I had the chance."
"I'm sorry."
Maybe the killer thinks all these
people should feel guilty enough
over something to kill themselves.
- That may be the link.
- It must be.
We didn't find anything else to link
Carole Hillcroft to Dario Gonzales.
We have a working class janitor and a
wealthy widow. They're worlds apart.
Whatever it is, something
brought them together in the morgue.
So, we'll work night and day
to figure out why this killer
chose his victims
and we'll use that link to catch him
before the press gets wind of it
and panics the whole damn city
over some kind of compass killer
or worse...
Before he adds another victim
to the map.
- Oh. Can't you stay in tonight?
- No, no, no.
- Do you have to go out again?
- I still have work to do.
- All right. Just be careful.
- Yeah. OK.
- To Jess.
- To Jess.
Your old man dust you for prints
after every date?
If it was up to them, I wouldn't have
known boys existed until I was 21.
I'm sure the boys knew you existed.
Is that a line, Flack?
Did you just bust out
your game on me?
- Well...
- It was, wasn't it? Look at you.
- You're blushing.
- My game. Game?
I have no game.
If I did,
that's probably as good as it gets.
I think it's pretty good.
Uh, Mac. It's Sid.
Listen,
I know you've been at it pretty hard,
but I just wanted to give you a call.
I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to
post the second victim 's report yet.
But her husband came in
to view the body
and kinda threw me
a little off schedule.
So, uh, anyway. I'll, I'll get it
done first thing tomorrow.
Her name was Carole Hillcroft.
She was a 40-year-old widow.
40-year-old widow.
Her husband came in to view the body.
Sid?
Hey.
Is he still here?
- Who?
- The husband.
- The man who lD'd her body.
- Uh, he left. He was so upset.
- I hope he went home...
- Where exactly did he stand?
At that table right over there.
Here.
- Oh, no.
- The killer was here.
And I don't know
where the hell he's going next.
1 2 million immigrants were processed
through the 30-plus structures
here on Ellis lsland.
But as you can see,
most of them are still abandoned.
So with the help
of preservationists like you,
hopefully we can give buildings
like this former powerhouse
a brand new chance at life.
Oh, my God!
This is Dario Gonzales.
He's been the night shift custodian
for four years.
Only by nine this morning,
he was permanently off the clock.
It's when a private tour group
found his body.
This is a national monument
to immigration.
Maybe he was trying to make
a statement.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck. I'm sorry."
Hmm.
- He left a wife behind.
- And two kids.
Yeah,
I spoke to Mrs Gonzales this morning.
She said she called
her husband's cell at eight.
When he answered,
she said he sounded upset.
When she asked him what was wrong,
he hung up.
That doesn't make any sense.
In fact, it's impossible
that he even talked to her at all.
It's 10 o'clock now.
And his core body temperature
is 89 degrees.
That puts time of death
at least seven hours ago.
So, how does a guy
hang himself at 3:00am
and answer a phone call
from his wife at eight?
Well, I'm not finding a cellphone
so maybe he didn't answer that call.
His killer did.
# Out here in the fields
# I fight for my meals
# I get my back into my living
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah #
I wonder why our killer
answered the phone.
His whole plan might have worked
if he hadn't.
It's obvious he went to a lot
of trouble to stage a suicide.
And the ferries operate
from sunrise to sundown,
so he had to get
onto the island yesterday,
hid on the grounds overnight
and left this morning.
I mean, why go through all that
and then answer the vic's phone
and risk getting caught?
Maybe he doesn't think he will.
Or he hopes he does.
Got definite signs of a struggle
up here.
Scuff patterns
from two different shoes.
Got directional drag marks
that lead up to the catwalk.
I got smudge prints up here
where the rope was tied.
No ridge detail.
Killer definitely wore gloves.
So he jumps him on the landing,
drags him up the stairs,
then left him hanging.
27...
28...
29...
30.
- Danny. What are you doing?
- Processing the vic's phone.
Of course. What was I thinking?
Flack had the vic's phone pinged.
It was in a skip.
Waiting on DNA results from the
trace. I figured I'd get a pump in.
Don't you have physio today?
Yeah. I'm getting ready for it.
What? You see Lucy lately?
She's standing up in her crib,
cruising along the apartment walls.
She's gonna walk soon.
Please say you're not competing
with our 10-month-old baby.
I'm not competing with our baby.
All right? I'm just sick
and tired of being in this chair.
I wanna run through Central Park
with my daughter on my shoulders.
I wanna chase down boys
who try to hit on her.
I wanna dance with you and her
at her wedding.
So, if you don't mind...
I don't mind at all.
I can tell you this much. Mr Gonzales
was dead before he was lynched.
You see the double set
of ligature furrows?
- He was strangled first.
- Correct.
Those are the marks that angle back.
And these marks that angled up
were caused by the hanging.
COD was asphyxiation.
But his larynx was crushed, Mac.
And judging by the extent
of the damage,
your killer was strong
and extremely violent.
What is it?
I don't know, Sid.
There's something about this
I can't shake.
The pointed, yet fake, suicide note,
a broken compass in the vic's pocket,
the crying his wife heard
on the phone.
The killer wanted
to tell us something.
I need to find out what that is.
I shouldn't have done it.
I have work to do.
I shouldn't have done it.
I should've...
The letter...
I shouldn't have written the letter.
I didn't have a chance to write...
I'm sorry. I can come back.
No, it's all right.
Go ahead and clean up.
- Detective T aylor.
- Yes?
I don't know if you remember me.
I'm Haylen Becall.
We met two weeks ago when l...
You found an undocumented
partial print at a crime scene.
I remember.
What can I do for you, Ms Becall?
I graduated cum laude
from Chelsea University,
got an undergrad in Biology
and a Masters in Forensic Science.
I've completed a full course
of lab safety training.
I already read the first three
resumes you mailed to my office.
But when you didn't respond,
I wondered why.
And then it hit me.
- You can't afford me.
- I'm sorry?
Well, not you, but the lab
with the layoffs and budget cuts.
- I'm well aware of the problems.
- OK. So, I wanna fix them.
What's this?
A New York State Police Forensics
lnvestigation's Honours Grant.
I applied for it and I got it.
So the state will pay 100%
of my wages up to the minimum salary
of an entry level tech.
So, all you have to do
is sign that form
and you and your staff
can take full advantage
of all the skill and enthusiasm
I have to offer for an entire year.
Absolutely free.
I appreciate your determination
and you're right,
I could probably use some help.
But even if I did take you on, it's
very likely once the year was up,
I couldn't give you anything else.
Are you kidding?
You'd be giving me everything.
Detective Taylor, working a crime lab
like yours is all I've wanted to do
since I was nine years old
and the neighbour poisoned our cat.
It's a long story.
All you have to do
is give me an opportunity.
I promise I'll take care of the rest.
I'll think about it.
Thank you, sir.
Stella.
We watched the surveillance footage
from Battery Park
where we found our vic's phone.
Due to all the tourists there,
we only got crowd shots.
That's exactly where our killer
would have boarded the ferry
to go to and from Ellis lsland.
Even checked all the ticket receipts
but got nothing.
I was thinking
about that suicide note.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck."
- Does it mean something?
- On a janitor's salary? No.
Then I found out what
Gonzales liked to do on his off-time.
# Don't, don't, don't say nothin'...
You lose on red,
you win on ace. Here we go.
# Hey doc
# Check this out...
I'm gonna go with that one.
We got a winner in the house, huh?
Beautiful.
# I'm in my zone, man...
# Let's get it
# So I threw it like a chip
so I made a song...
All right. Where is the ace?
- Um, right there.
- This one right here?
All right. Let's see.
- Better luck next time.
- Damn! That's too bad.
Here, let me show you
where the real ace is.
Heads up, heads up!
Got an officer pursuing a
suspect towards Bowery and Grand.
T urn around!
Time to fold.
Three priors in five years
for aggravated assault.
What are you wasting your
time palming aces for, Curtis?
Shouldn't you be beating people up?
I did my time.
I was trying to go legit.
Three Card Monte
doesn't exactly qualify.
I had to hustle up some cash. Why
don't you just write me the ticket?
We both know flipping cards
is just a misdemeanour.
Yeah.
But murder? Not so much.
Remember him?
Nice necktie.
That a little thank you gift
from you?
Wack wannabe. He said
he used to do sleight-of-hand.
Starts stepping on my game,
watching which cards I bent,
telling marks how to bet
and taking money.
So I taught him
how to get bitch-slapped.
And that minor altercation cost you
eight more months at Rikers.
That stung.
Not as bad as a rope around the neck.
"l shouldn't have tried to
make a fast buck. I'm sorry."
Should that mean something to me?
Between your rap sheet
and the beef you had with Gonzales,
it might make a good case
for pinning you as the guy
who strung him up
and posted a fake suicide note.
Sounds like he definitely made a few
extra bucks at your expense.
Then paid for it with his life.
Look, I am tickled sideways that
that bastard is dead.
But if you actually think that l...
What I think is you're gonna
give us a handwriting sample.
And if your scrawl matches
the writing on that letter...
Then you are gonna be
somebody else's mark.
For 25 to life.
I know that face.
- What face?
- The "l don't like what I see" face.
Like the way you look at me
when we try to change Lucy's diaper.
Well, I did find a faint watermark
on the corner of the suicide note.
Looks like a letter P design?
Yeah. But I haven't placed it yet.
And I ran three different handwriting
samples from the suicide note,
the vic and the suspect in lockup.
None of them match.
If it makes you feel any better,
I got DNA from biologicals on the
phone that doesn't belong to our vic,
but no hit in CODlS.
- Saliva trace?
- No.
Actually, it came back ALS positive
and amylase negative.
So it was tears?
Maybe when the vic's wife called,
it upset the killer.
He saw the image of the family come
up and realised what he'd done.
Hello? Dario?
Hello?
What kind of cold-hearted killer
feels guilty over murder?
- I understand.
- Cliff Angell.
- How are you? Good to see you.
- OK. Good to see you too.
T rust me. We're doing all we can
to find the suspect.
Thank you. You, too. Bye.
- Hey, stranger!
- Cliff!
What are you doing here?
I had to get a photo for my lD card.
Apparently I'm not the, uh, strapping
young cadet I was 28 years ago.
- You been good?
- Uh, yeah. Yeah.
- How about you?
- Hey. A day at a time.
Jess was my only daughter,
so it's tough.
I was telling the boys
I haven't seen you since the funeral.
- Called you a couple times.
- Yeah, I know. Thank you.
I, I got the messages. I, uh...
I've just been...
Don, believe me. I get it.
Took me mandatory retirement and
a hacksaw to get out of this place.
- Anyway, it was good to see you.
- You, too.
- Say hello to everybody.
- I will do.
Unless you wanna do that yourself?
How's that?
Sunday would have been
Jess' birthday.
I know.
We're having supper at the house.
It's nothing fancy. Just family.
No pressure, but if you feel
like a nice pot roast, you can...
- You cooking?
- You kidding me?
Then count me in.
Sherry will be tickled.
Set a place for your ugly mug.
- I'll see you about seven?
- Sounds good.
- Good to see you, Don.
- You, too. Thanks, Cliff.
I don't know if I can, I can...
bring it.
Tell me one thing.
No. No.
I don't know.
Tell me what you want me to do.
Just tell me.
OK, OK.
No.
T ell me something.
How does a man put a compass in his
pocket without leaving prints on it?
No partials, no nothing?
I fumed every inch of this.
Didn't find a single one.
Our victim, Dario Gonzales,
never touched it.
- You said the killer wore gloves?
- Yeah.
That's why it was in the vic's
pocket. The killer put it there.
It's his message.
He wanted us to find it.
He didn't want us to find everything.
No. But I wouldn't let that stop you.
Hey, Stella.
Did you ever have a pen pal?
I did. Uh, Ellen Thornberry
from Columbus, Ohio.
I think my third grade teacher
gave me her name.
I had one, too. Suzanne Wacker.
She was from Jenks, Oklahoma.
- Hmm.
- OK.
Now we've established our letter
writing skills, can you tell me why?
Here's why.
There's a faint watermark
on the suicide note.
It's from the Preston Pen Company,
but they haven't used the logo
in 40 years.
Now, it turns out, they invented
the whole pen pal concept
for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
They had an old computer to match
you up with someone in the world.
Then they gave you a pen
and paper to write to them with.
Now, I'm thinking
that one of those same pens
was used to write the suicide note
on a vintage piece of that paper.
OK. What about the handwriting?
It's not a match to Dario Gonzales
or Kimball Curtis.
So our handwriting
has gotta be our killer's.
If we can find out who has access
to that kind of paper stock...
We could give our killer
something to write home about.
Any luck with the compass?
Well, it's American-made, early
19th century and fairly valuable.
- Uh-huh. But broken.
- More like fixed.
- Someone super-glued the needle.
- So that it only points south.
Probably the same person
who put the engraving on the back.
"Happy B-Day. Yours 4Ever, CE."
Is it an engraving
by the original owner?
Ah, it looks too recent. And those
are contemporary abbreviations.
So, CE may be the initials
of our killer
or someone
who meant something to him.
And by leaving it behind,
he wants it to mean
something to us, too.
Hey, what's up, Doc?
Just on my way to search
arrest records through the OLBS,
hoping I can find some kind of match
to the initials off our compass.
What about you?
I gotta go calibrate
the genetic analyser.
Why not just let
the new tech do that?
New tech?
- You didn't hear?
- Hear what?
Mac hired that hottie from the
crime scene cleanup crew. Part-time.
Twice a month. You know the one.
Haylen...
- Becall?
- Exactly.
- Oh, God.
- Come on. You're fine.
This is gonna be good.
Thanks.
Remember?
Can you see me?
Do you even know which way to look?
- A second compass.
- And this needle's pinned north.
So you think we have another body
on our hands?
Our first vic was found
on Ellis lsland,
off the southern tip of Manhattan.
And the compass at the scene
was also pointing south.
Now our killer sends us
a second compass directly.
Which says he wants us
to look for a second body.
So we turn our attention north.
Along with the new compass,
that's where he seems
to be pointing us next.
The stamp shows the envelope
was mailed from the Bronx.
Well, that is the northern edge
of the city.
All right.
The avenues in Manhattan deviate
from true north by 29 degrees.
If we run that
through tactical crime analysis,
this seems to be
the optimal area to search...
in the northernmost regions
of the city
between Broadway
and the Bronx River Parkway.
That's a hell of a lot of ground
to cover.
Flack and his men are focused
on high-profile locations
and cross-referencing all missing
person reports for the area.
Mac, is this a hunt for
the second victim or for a killer?
Could be both.
While they pound the pavement,
we stick to the science.
Hawkes, what did you get
from the Ellis lsland rope?
It's artificial turf.
Strictly old school.
It was a match to a vintage
manufacturer samples
from the mid-1960s.
It's like the ink and paper used
for the suicide note.
Find the source yet
on either of those?
It could have come from anywhere.
That paper was distributed
to millions of people.
- But we're checking with collectors.
- This guy seems seriously retro.
I'm gonna take a look at the second
compass he sent us.
Maybe it'll tell us
how to find a killer
who's pointing us in every direction
but his own.
From 1964,
here's Gerry and the Pacemakers
on New York's Big Apple Oldies.
# Don't let the sun... #
Hello, sleepyhead.
Did you get some rest?
You must have needed it.
I'm just... I'm glad you're here.
There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
It's a beautiful day outside. What do
you say we open up these drapes?
- No, no. No.
- Oh, oh, all right.
- No, I like them like that.
- OK. We'll leave it just like that.
I'm sorry. I don't...
I don't mean to snap.
Don't worry.
I understand.
It's a tough time and,
and you've got a lot on your mind.
Remember,
as long as we're side-by-side.
And going in the right direction.
I know.
I know.
I love you.
I love you so much.
I love you too, baby.
Everything's gonna be fine.
I'm right here.
Danny, you haven't seen a cute but
evil job-stealing blonde, have you?
What? No, no. Let me ask you this.
Why do you think the tear I swabbed
off our Ellis lsland vic's phone
was spiked so high for calcitriol?
Uh, Vitamin D?
Those levels... Probably taking
supplements for a deficiency.
All right.
What would be the possible causes?
Cystic Fibrosis?
Crohn's Disease? Colitis?
Or maybe he just
doesn't get a lot of sun.
Hi, guys. What's going on?
Haylen's new to our team.
I invited her to observe
the process on this compass.
Oh. Right. That's, that's great.
There's a fine layer
of some kind of trace on the crystal.
How should we take a closer look?
Scanning Electron... microscope.
Go ahead.
Cypripedium Fasciculatum.
Also known as, um,
Clustered Lady Slippers.
They're a, a rare orchid indigenous
to the Pacific Northwest.
How does this information help us?
We could run a search,
see if there are any growers
or suppliers
of that species in the city.
Great minds think alike.
They're on display right now
at the T riborough Gardens.
- lsn't that in the Bronx?
- Yeah.
It says the conservatory housing them
now is under temporary renovations.
Which makes it a perfect place
to plant a body.
We're too late.
"l should have written the letter
when I had the chance. I'm sorry."
What letter?
No clue.
But her name was Carole Hillcroft.
She was a 40-year-old widow.
According to the management here,
she was a regular patron and member
of the Bronx Garden Guild.
She last used her membership card to
gain admission at the front entrance
yesterday evening.
Looks consistent with lividity
and rigour.
Wasn't this exhibit closed
for renovation?
Back entry deadbolt lock was bumped.
I seriously doubt
she was responsible.
No. She could have been lured in here
by someone who was.
Got unis canvassing her contacts
right now.
They're looking to see if she told
anybody at all why she was here.
Hey, listen. You two
don't need me to stick around?
I got a bunch of fives
to type back at the precinct.
- Go ahead, Don. We got it.
- Thank you.
You know, he used to shave every day.
He'll get through this.
Just takes time.
Hey, I've got some partial shoeprints
from whoever else was here
with our vic.
The same ligature patterns
as the last one.
Find something?
Maybe it came off his glove
when he covered her mouth.
What do you think it is?
Asbestos.
Of course they didn't call it that
in the mid-60s
when they made kitchen countertops
and floor tiles out of it.
But that's what this sliver
in her mouth was made of.
They discontinued
this type of material years ago.
We'll be lucky to get a match
but we must run with it.
I'll do it.
We get anywhere
with the partial footprints?
Yeah, I ran it
through the sole print database.
I found a corresponding tread pattern
from a men's size 1 1 tennis shoe
with wear marks matching
the scuff marks at Ellis lsland.
Let's break them down.
Our perp is a muscular male,
size 1 1 shoes,
approximately 6ft 2.
Judging by the damage,
your killer was strong.
Potentially pale skin.
Or maybe he just
doesn't get a lot of sun.
Each victim
is accompanied by a compass.
Which means he wants us to find them.
And he chokes his victims
with a rope first.
Then he hangs them
to simulate suicide.
With written confessions of guilt
pinned to each.
Apparently he feels a level
of remorse in the process.
"l shouldn't have tried
to make a fast buck."
"l shoulda written a letter
when I had the chance."
"I'm sorry."
Maybe the killer thinks all these
people should feel guilty enough
over something to kill themselves.
- That may be the link.
- It must be.
We didn't find anything else to link
Carole Hillcroft to Dario Gonzales.
We have a working class janitor and a
wealthy widow. They're worlds apart.
Whatever it is, something
brought them together in the morgue.
So, we'll work night and day
to figure out why this killer
chose his victims
and we'll use that link to catch him
before the press gets wind of it
and panics the whole damn city
over some kind of compass killer
or worse...
Before he adds another victim
to the map.
- Oh. Can't you stay in tonight?
- No, no, no.
- Do you have to go out again?
- I still have work to do.
- All right. Just be careful.
- Yeah. OK.
- To Jess.
- To Jess.
Your old man dust you for prints
after every date?
If it was up to them, I wouldn't have
known boys existed until I was 21.
I'm sure the boys knew you existed.
Is that a line, Flack?
Did you just bust out
your game on me?
- Well...
- It was, wasn't it? Look at you.
- You're blushing.
- My game. Game?
I have no game.
If I did,
that's probably as good as it gets.
I think it's pretty good.
Uh, Mac. It's Sid.
Listen,
I know you've been at it pretty hard,
but I just wanted to give you a call.
I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to
post the second victim 's report yet.
But her husband came in
to view the body
and kinda threw me
a little off schedule.
So, uh, anyway. I'll, I'll get it
done first thing tomorrow.
Her name was Carole Hillcroft.
She was a 40-year-old widow.
40-year-old widow.
Her husband came in to view the body.
Sid?
Hey.
Is he still here?
- Who?
- The husband.
- The man who lD'd her body.
- Uh, he left. He was so upset.
- I hope he went home...
- Where exactly did he stand?
At that table right over there.
Here.
- Oh, no.
- The killer was here.
And I don't know
where the hell he's going next.