CSI: NY (2004–2013): Season 7, Episode 7 - Hide Sight - full transcript

I received a memo
from my superior officers

just prior
to calling this meeting.

It reads as follows:

"There is no sniper."

Make no mistake about it.

New York City has a sniper.

And he's good.

Our victim was shot and killed
yesterday morning.

Ballistics tests
have determined

that the shot was fired
from approximately 300 yards.

From an elevated,
yet undetermined location.



The sniper fired a single shot

from what appears to be a rifle
of extremely high power.

The wound characteristics
are unique,

unlike anything I've ever seen.

He's precise...

he's determined,

and he leaves no witnesses.

Our hope is that this was
an isolated incident,

and that the shooter
will be in custody soon.

I know that's what the brass
wants the public to believe.

What I don't know...

what we can't know...

is when or where

the killer will strike again.



Sixty-five...

sixty-six...

sixty-seven...

sixty-eight...

There.

Yeah.

Sixty-nine...

I miss the no-vacancy sign
out front?

Uh, standing room only.

Three DUI vics in the corner,
a robbery gone bad,

and a pair of unrelated suicides
against the wall over there.

Perfect timing for
a sniper attack.

This victim number one?

Yeah. Elizabeth Grant.

Well, meet victim number two:

Vanessa Walters.

Looks like Mac was right
in his prediction.

Two bodies in two days?

That's a deadly pace.
Yeah.

Oh, the, uh, entry wound

is much smaller than with
the sniper's first victim.

Yeah, greater chance the
round is still intact.

We can run it through IBIS,
and hopefully, get a lead

on our shooter.

Let's have a look.

Looks like the round
is only slightly deformed.

It's a bit hard to tell

from the scan, but I think we...

Sid!

Hey, Sid, are you all right?

Sid! Hey, get EMS
down here now.

Sid, can you see?

Sid, look...

Doc, Doc, what happened?

Oh, my God.

Have we checked his pupils?

Are they constricted?

Is he responding?

You're gonna be okay.

Yup.

His vitals look good.

He's a little dazed
and confused,

but I think he's gonna be okay.

If it weren't for these,

he would be blind right now.

What the hell happened?

Well, he was
retrieving the slug from

our second sniper Vic,

and all of a sudden,
her head just... exploded.

Exploded?
Yeah.

The entry wound is now a match
to the one in the first victim.

And all our ballistics
evidence is gone now, too.

And I have techs collecting

fragments as we speak,
and they've already

screened for explosive residue.

Nitroglycerin.

Not bad enough
this guy's killing people,

but he's shooting them
with exploding bullets.

Heard about your antics
this morning.

By antics, you mean
telling the truth?

Look, your own people
is one thing.

I trust you're not going
to be tearing up any directives

from above
in front of the press.

No, no. They were
smart enough

not to send me anything
on paper this time.

All right, wait, wait, listen.

Neither of us is to utter
the word sniper, is that clear?

That's a direct order
from Chief Sinclair to me.

Now it is a direct order
from me to you.

Is that going to be a problem?

They have a right to know.
No. Why?

So they can turn this
into Son of Sam?

So they can post it
on their blogs?

Harry Smith does a segment

on the Early Show about
the psychology of a sniper,

and then introduces a new song
by Katy Perry?

No, the public has a right
to know what we tell them.

I'm not going to lie
for you or anyone else.

Who said anything about lying?

Mac, look, I walked the beat

just like you did, all right?

I know where you're coming from,
but there is a difference

between lying
and withholding a truth.

I don't think there is.

And I don't need an
IBIS hit to tell me

two exploding rounds
are a ballistic match.

These cases are related.

The sooner the people know,

the faster they can take
steps to protect themselves.

It's not your call, all right?

And I'm not about
to create a citywide panic.

Well, I don't think
we can control that

in this day and age, and why
even have me up there at all?

You're the head
of the crime lab.

It's gonna look like

I'm withholding something
if you're conveniently absent.

So just stand there.

It will all be over
in a few minutes, all right?

Thank you all for coming.

It is my hope that by answering
some of your questions,

we may clear up any rumors
and perhaps

get some information to help us
solve these heinous crimes.

Chief Carver,
are the two shootings related?

No. At this point
in the investigation,

there is no conclusive evidence
to indicate that.

Is there any evidence to
indicate they're not related?

Well, I cannot comment
on the evidence but,

yes, that is our belief
at this time.

So they're isolated incidents?

It appears that way, yes.
It appears that way?

Or are they are, in fact,
isolated incidents?

At this juncture,
with limited information...

Chief Carver,

is there or isn't there
a sniper in the city?

Please, let's not jump to
conclusions, people, all right?

Isn't there
a sniper in the city?

Please, let's not jump to
conclusions, people, all right?

We are using all resources

at our disposal
to get to the bottom of this,

but until we have
more information, it will be...

Detective Taylor, your team

must have ballistic evidence
from the shootings.

What type of firearm was used?

Was it the same caliber
in each murder?

At this time,
we don't have specifics

on the type of guns used,

nor can we state
with any accuracy

the caliber of the bullets.

The rounds were
too badly damaged.

Both victims were shot

through a window,
isn't that true?

Yes, it is.

So it's safe to assume that
the shots came from a rooftop

or from a window
across the street?

I wouldn't assume anything.
Were there any witnesses

to either of the shootings?

No, there were no witnesses.

So what you're saying is

both victims were shot
from a distance,

through a window,
by an unseen gunman

who was possibly perched
on a rooftop?

Sounds like a sniper to me,
Detective.

Me, too.

Thank you.
That's all for now.

What the hell was that?

Look, ask yourself
one question.

If you were a civilian,
would you want to know?

You're a piece of work, Taylor,
you know that?

What the hell am I supposed

to tell the commissioner
and the mayor now?

You tell 'em
I never uttered the word sniper.

Boot tread impressions.

You find something?

Based on the length
and diameter,

I'm thinking this is a hair
from our shooter's forearm.

Okay, so, our sniper
could have been standing

right here when he fired.

Definitely could have been
his hide site.

Any DNA?

Doesn't look like
there's a root.

Must have been shed, not pulled.

Danville.

Right.

Ah. Okay.

Thanks.

That was Flack.
There's still no connection

between Elizabeth Grant
and Vanessa Walters.

Right. So this guy's just going
around shooting anybody?

Starting to look like it.

So many people.

So many targets.

We walk around down
there every day.

You never think about
how vulnerable you are.

Vanessa Walters was shot
and killed in her office

surrounded by people
who cared about her.

It's so scary.

And random.

I didn't know you were
so interested in bugs.

I'm not.

But I am interested
in witnesses.

Insect blood is green, not red.

There's no indication our
shooter was bleeding here.

So whose blood is this?

Hey. Perfect timing.

So I just filled the tip
of a bored-out round

with nitroglycerin...

and fired it into
the anatomical gel.

And boom! Explosion.

Just like our first victim.

Wound characteristics
appear to be a match.

You know, I already checked.

I mean, there hasn't been
anything like this on the market

since Hinckley's assassination
attempt on Reagan in '81.

Means it's homemade.

Our guy's modifying store-bought
rounds to explode.

Damn.

Well, what about
chemical analysis?

Anything unique
about the composition

of the bullets we can chase?

Nah. Centerfire
300 Magnums.

It's the kind of stuff you can
find at any hunting store.

But I'm trying to
find the source

of the nitroglycerin.

Could be homemade, too.

What about the second round?

Any idea why it didn't explode
till it got to Autopsy?

Well, nitroglycerin
detonates due to shock.

So I constructed a second round

with half as much explosive.

Okay. Allowing
for some cushion.

Yeah. Take a look.

Round's still intact.

Until it's agitated.

Go ahead.

It's just like what
happened to Sid in Autopsy.

He's lucky he didn't lose
a finger or two.

I know.
How's he doing?

Well, doctor says he's fine.

In fact, I hear he's already
back at the office.

They told him to take
the rest of the week off,

but you know Sid.
Right, right.

I mean, he's not happy unless
he's looking at dead things.

We still haven't found
a personal connection

between Vanessa Walters
and Elizabeth Grant.

What about the fact
they're both women?

Strawberry blonde,
both blue-eyed.

Could be a pattern.

Well, Vanessa Walters was killed

in the middle of celebrating
a multimillion dollar deal

for her corporate law firm.

So maybe there's a motive
in there somewhere.

What about the first victim,

Elizabeth Grant?
How does that theory

explain the murder, if
there's no connection?

Maybe Elizabeth was killed

to make Vanessa's
murder look random.

Yeah. Kill several victims,
hide your intended target.

Let's run with it.
Wouldn't be the first time

we've seen something like that

out of a spree killer.

And, at this point,
we're not ruling anything out.

How about Flack's canvass?
Come up with anything?

It's ongoing.

As of right now, lots of
people heard lots of shots.

Nobody knew where to look.

Lots of shots?

Yeah. Sound waves
were probably bouncing

off the concrete buildings,
creating echoes.

That leaves us with the insect
you collected from the rooftop.

The cochineal beetle,

to be exact.
It's indigenous

to subtropical Mexico

and South America.
It produces carminic acid,

which is a crimson red pigment
that's used

in everything from
bug repellent

to food coloring,
clothing dye...

Run a stable isotope analysis.

Let's see if we can find out
where that beetle came from.

So far, that's our only lead.

Blood on the beetle
and mitochondrial DNA

from the hair both got hits
in CODIS Missing Persons.

To the same person?

A nine-year-old boy who
went missing 15 years ago.

Michael Reynolds.

You know him?

I spent three years
searching for him.

Let me out!

Let me out! Let me out!

Michael!

Michael had been
missing for 72 hours

when this case file
came across my desk.

He was on his way home from
school when he was abducted.

Did you catch the guy?

Took three years.

Arthur Francis.

Twice convicted sex offender.

Whole time he was missing,

we didn't know
whether he was alive or dead.

It was the first case

I ever questioned which
of those two options

might be worse.

I'm sure his own parents

asked themselves
the same thing.

At age 12, he finally
managed to escape.

Clawed his way through the
floorboards to a crawl space.

I can't imagine that moment
for a 12-year-old kid.

It's heartbreaking.

I went to see him a few times
after he returned home.

Made sure
he was doing all right.

He always wanted
to wear my badge.

He asked me

if it was pure gold
the first time he put it on.

His brother Tom, too.

I thought for sure one of
those boys would become a cop.

I tried to stay in
touch with the family,

but then another
case came along,

then another case,
and I lost touch.

Now he's the primary suspect
in a murder investigation.

Mac...

there's only so much
this job allows us to do.

Hey. I just got off
the phone with Flack.

There are no bank accounts under
the name Michael Reynolds.

No credit cards, either.

In a lot of cases
like Michael's,

victims just want to fall off
the face of the Earth;

Disappear; hide somewhere
no one can find them.

Consistent
with the method of killing.

What about a home address?

Nothing, Mac.

Well, then we'll start

with the last
address on record.

The place he grew up.

I'm thinking "guilty."

Wow. I'll go chat
with the landlord,

and see if he knows
what happened to the parents.

There's no one there, you know.

No one's been
there for a while.

What's "a while"?

The boys moved out when
they were teenagers.

Parents have been
going to Florida

every winter since
the father retired.

Been gone about a month.

How long have you lived here?

Long time.

Are you a cop?

I'm with the crime lab.

So, then, you know what
happened to Michael?

I was one of the detectives
working the case... Mac Taylor.

Hayley. Hayley...

Montgomery.

Yeah.

I interviewed you, sitting
right there in that window.

You were probably about...

Nine. Just like Michael.

I'll never forget when my
Mom told me what happened.

What happened to him could
have happened to any of us.

When he came back,

he had nightmares.

I remember that the most.

God, those screams.

I could hear 'em all the way
over here through the glass.

Mom!

Mikey, Mikey, it's okay.

I'm here.

Every night was the same.

And it went on for years.

The only thing that
seemed to help him

was his painting.

That's when he seemed
to be at peace.

When did Michael leave home?

When we were 18.

Where'd he go?
I don't know.

I don't even think
he told his parents.

He just left.

Mac?

We got another victim.

Find the sniper's hide site?

Still looking.

Witness accounts?
Conflicting, just like

in the first two.

It's a male Vic this time.

Rules out gender as a pattern.

What do we know about the Vic?

Brian Sanders,
accountant, commutes to the city

every day from Connecticut.

Married?
Yeah.

Kids?

Single-entrance wound,
extensive trauma.

Consistent with
exploding rounds.

You prepared to tell
the public the truth now?

How sure are we

it's the same guy?

Sure as I was before.

So, I hear you've got
a primary suspect.

Somebody you're familiar with?

Michael Reynolds, missing
person 15 years ago.

I handled the case.

Complete whack job?
Well, he was held

against his will
for three years,

physically and emotionally
abused the whole time.

It affected him, if
that's what you mean.

Your stunt at
the press conference

didn't stop him from killing
this guy, did it?

It could have.
Come on, Taylor,

if it wasn't him, somebody else
would be dead right now.

You know that...
that's how these things work.

You trying to convince
me or yourself?

Why don't we try to get on
the same page here, all right?

Exactly what
do you want from me?

I want you to go
to the commissioner,

tell him we're going public...

with the whole thing;
Everything we know.

This whole city should
be on high alert.

Otherwise, I promise you,
there will be a fourth victim.

Oh, damn it.

Stable isotope results
on the beetle?

Matched water sample ratios pulled
from the Palmas region of Brazil.

Do a lot of insect suppliers
get their beetles

from that part of South America?

Well, one does,
so I cross-referenced

their customer records
with the customer records

of paint supply retailers
who carry

items like we confiscated
from Michael's bedroom.

They brought me to this.

Michael Francis?

Another dead end.

Francis...
Francis, Francis.

Stockholm Syndrome.

In a lot of abduction cases,

the victim will actually
start to sympathize

with his captors. Right, especially
when they're held a long time.

And Arthur Francis
was Michael's abductor.

Michael Reynolds
is Michael Francis.

He took his
kidnapper's last name.

We need a current address
for Michael Francis.

Mike Francis! Police!

Move! Go! Go!

Go, go, go!

Go!

House is all clear!

It's all clear!

Neighbor confirmed
the I.D. on our Vic.

Michael Francis.
Lives here alone.

Wound's consistent
with a small-caliber round.

Muzzle stamp, must have been
a handgun of some sort.

It's a close-contact shot.

Maybe he decided
to do us all a favor

and took himself out.
It's hard to tell in this place,

but I am seeing
indications of a struggle.

And if he took himself out,
where's the gun?

Could be under his body.

No.

No gun here.
Well, I'm no expert,

but I've seen enough guns
in my time

to know that they don't
just grow legs and walk away.

No, he didn't commit suicide.

Michael Reynolds was murdered.

What a life.

He gets kidnapped,
kept for three years,

escapes... only to be
murdered 12 years later.

Rigor's broken in his leg.

That means he's been dead
at least 48 hours.

Well, that puts his death
before the first sniper attack.

Michael's not the sniper...
he's dead. Murdered.

Danny and Flack
just found his body.

Oh, Mac, I'm so sorry.

Any idea who killed him?
Had to be

the sniper, whoever that is.

Well, that explains the beetle

we found at
the sniper's hide site.

It had Michael's blood on it.

The beetle jars at Michael's
home were knocked over.

Probably happened
during the struggle.

Gunshot wound must have misted

some of the beetles
with spatter.

The sniper kills Michael

and transfers the
beetle to the rooftop.

So if Michael isn't
the sniper, who is?

The hair you collected
from the rooftop.

Blood on the beetle and
mitochondrial DNA from the hair,

both got hits
in CODIS missing persons.

There's only one other person
that could've come from.

Michael had a brother...

Tom Reynolds.

Mitochondrial DNA from the hair
was a match to Michael.

Mito's shared by
all maternal relatives,

including brothers,
so it would also

be a match to Tom.

So he's our shooter.

Why?

Off to one side, unnoticed.

Everyone else around him is
celebrating Michael's return.

Tom is just standing there.

Emotionless,

neglected.
So you're telling me

he starts shooting people
'cause he didn't get

enough hugs and kisses
from Mommy and Daddy?

I've studied
a lot of spree killers...

Jeff Weise, David Gray,

Charles Whitman.

Neglect, it was
the most common form

of abuse in their childhood.

He murdered his brother,

then he goes on
a shooting rampage.

Getting to that point
cannot be that simple.

No, it's not.

It's usually
a preexisting condition,

a genetic anomaly of some sort,

that renders them susceptible.

Nature combined with nurture.

Taylor.

Detective Taylor, he's back.
Hayley.

Tom, uh, he's in there...

acting crazy,
throwing things around

like he's searching
for something.

Has he seen you?

No, I don't think so.

Hayley, step away
from the window.

Why? Why? What's going on?

He's a suspect in a murder case.

Tom killed somebody?

Oh, my God.

What?

What's going on?

I think he just saw me.

Hayley Montgomery's apartment,
and the Reynolds place.

Send units now.

Now he's gone.

But where is he going?

Hayley, is anyone
there with you?

No, no, I'm-I'm all alone.

Listen to me.

Lock the door
and stay where you are.

Keep her on the phone.
Yeah.

Hayley?

Hayley!

It's Detective Taylor! Hayley!

Hayley.

Hayley, it's me.

You all right?

Yeah. I think so.

Shh, shh, shh. He's gone.

It's gonna be okay.

Why do you think
he came back here?

What is he looking for?

I don't know.

But I'm gonna find out.

Okay.

Shh. It's all right.

Welcome home!

Welcome home!
We missed you so much!

Mom! Mom! Mom!

Michael, are you okay?

Mama's here.
Mama's here.

Calm down.
You're home.

It's gonna be okay, buddy.

Emptiness.

Loneliness.

Abandonment!

How much can one person take?

How much can one person do?

'Cause I've tried.

God, how I've tried.

Run this image against
lower Manhattan's

Homeland Security
surveillance footage.

If he's on the move,
one of our cameras

might be able to pick him up.

But it's too late for that now.

You make my life a living hell!

And for what?

What did I do to deserve this?

I'm tired of...

of waiting
for something to change,

because nothing changes.

Always just stays the same!

Always like this...

He looks younger here.

Like, 17.

I've seen this type
of behavior before.

They start off
by killing a loved one.

The one that they think is
responsible for their neglect?

Yeah.

And then things spiral
out of control from there.

So what I don't get is why did
he go back for the tapes?

Tom knows we're going
to figure out it's him,

and the videos confirm it.

Over and over.

So the only option
was to destroy them.

They're very revealing.

His recordings are
clearly an outlet

for this kid's anger.

I tried everything...

to make you notice me.

But you look past me.

You realize this means
he knows we're on to him.

He'll be looking
at his next attack as his last.

You cast me aside.

Like I'm invisible.

But I'm not invisible.

I'm right here.

Right here in front of you.

You turned my life into a hole,

empty of everything.

One day...

you'll pay.

Nothing.

I'm not getting anything.

There has to be a
better way to do this.

NY-Alert system.

We can use it to get Tom's image

to every cell phone
in the city.

And all we need is for one
person to recognize him.

This is Taylor.

On my way.

That was Flack.
Your NY-Alert just got a hit.

We have a location?

Midtown.
Grand Parker Hotel.

Everybody, stay calm!

Just start moving
down the street.

Let's go!

The sniper suspect
is considered armed and dangerous.

Proceed with caution.

Move, move, move!
Move, move!

Contact. Northwest corner.

Flack, we're on the roof.

He's been
spotted on the northwest corner.

Repeat.
Northwest corner.

Air support?

Denied,
due to exploding rounds.

Damn it.
That's a miss.

Snipers aren't going
to get a clean shot.

He's too well-protected.

Reposition
to better line of sight.

It's over, Tom!
Put down your weapon!

I know what happened
to your brother!

You don't know anything!

I know what happened to him.
I was there.

I know what happened to you.

Man down.

Repeat. Man down.
I need EMS standing by.

Officer down.
Repeat. Officer down.

I need to go to my man, Tom.

You need to let me do that.
Do you hear me?

Let's go!
Move up, move up!

Damn it.

Your family turned
away from you.

We all did.

I know what that
must have been like.

You don't know anything.

No one knows what that's like
living in a hole!

Abandoned.
Ignored.

No one knows what that's like!

Killing people
won't change that!

Look around you.

What's going on.

All of this is because of me!

Because of what I'm doing!

There are other ways, Tom!

I've tried all the other ways.

Nothing changes.

It's just the same!

But now?

Now it's different.

People will know me.

They'll know my name.

They'll know my face.

They'll know me because of this.

No!

Go, go, go, go!

Go, go, go!

Move in!

Move, move.
Hang in there, all right?

You're gonna be okay.
You hear me?

You're gonna make it.

Come on, come on.

Would these help?

They're a perfect match
to the other ones.

Thank you.

You're so welcome.

How they feel?

Little heavier, maybe?

Well, now that you
mention it, yeah.

Impact-resistant glass.
Just in case.

Call it the mom in me.

Well, the thing
I can't figure out is,

how did you know
my prescription?

Well, I'm a Detective, Sid.

Oh, yeah.
And a very good one, I see.

I don't like to brag,
but yes, I am.

Good night, Jo.

Good night, Sid.

Thanks.