Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 13, Episode 10 - Submerged - full transcript

[R&B music playing]

[Whimpering, crying]

[Scream]

[Screaming continues]

JJ: Well, I say just open your mouth

and get on in there.

Don't think I haven't considered it.

A late night?

Poker. My friends were losing,

so I let the game go on,

give them a chance to
win their money back.



Mm-hmm. Or ride your hot
streak a little longer.

JJ: So, uh, who was there last night?

Ooh, can I guess?

Um... Ringo.

Of course.

One of your 3-star general buddies,

and I saw Judge Judy was in town.

So close and yet... so far.

I hate to break this
up, but we have a case.

Garcia: So, remember
that old expression,

"don't go swimming while
tethered to a cinder block"?

No? Larry and Wanda Robbins
from Ramona, California.

Newlyweds. They were
found dead last night

in their backyard pool.



Wanda was shot once in the chest.

Larry was gagged and drowned

because that cinder block
thing I mentioned earlier.

Lewis: Anything stolen from the house?

Prentiss: Jewelry was
missing from Wanda's vanity.

This is the latest in a string

of backyard pool murders in Ramona

over the last two weeks.

Oh... that's my part. Victim number one,

Ben Stiles, 82-year-old widower.

He was found at the bottom of his pool,

tied to a cinder block,
like Larry Robbins.

Six days later, victim
number two, Bert Schofield,

divorced, lived alone,

as you can see, same kind of awfulness.

Were their houses also burglarized?

Yeah. Well, Ben Stiles' was.
His coin collection was missing.

I'm not sure about Bert Schofield.

Local law enforcement
has been treating these

as burglaries gone wrong, but...

The "gone wrong" part could
have been easily avoided.

Exactly. Straight-up burglary,
the unsub would have made sure

the homes were unoccupied first.

Lewis: And he wouldn't have wasted time

with drownings and cinder blocks.

He would have been in and out.

Simmons: Yeah, it's pretty obvious
the unsub wanted these occupants dead.

We've got a long flight ahead of us.

Wheels up in 30.

Aah! Aah! Uhh! Uhh!

[Gasping]

Aah!

Simmons: A Lakota proverb warns,

"do not speak of evil,

for it creates curiosity
in the heart of the young."

Have we found a connection
between the victims yet, Garcia?

None. All of them were
long-time area residents,

and they all had backyard
pools, but that's about it.

Simmons: It's possible
these killings are random.

Lewis: Except the items
taken were so specific.

I mean, the unsub must
have had some familiarity

with the people he targeted.

Garcia: Oh, and it turns
out that Bert Schofield

was, in fact, burglarized.

His bowling trophies were
missing from his garage.

Bowling trophies? Seriously?

I just report the facts
as I find them, sir.

Curious how only the female was shot.

Well, that means the men are
most likely the true targets.

He puts them through these
prolonged agonizing deaths

when the gun would have
done the job quickly.

Either that or he forgot
an extra cinder block

when he went to the Robbins' house.

Lewis: You know, this
unsub doesn't strike me

as the forgetful type.

Dave, JJ, go to the latest crime scene.

Luke, Tara, talk to the neighbors,

see what you can find out

about Ben Stiles and Bert Schofield.

Matt, you and I will
set up at the local PD.

_

Small town like ours,
we're not used to this.

Folks are jittery as hell.

Understandably.

Robbery's one thing, and Lord knows

we've had a lot of
that around here lately.

But these murders...

You've had an increase in robberies?

Yes, ma'am. Burglaries, petty thefts.

It's on account of the drought.

Why would lack of rain

cause an increase in burglaries?

Our local economy has taken a hit.

A big chunk of our
revenue is from tourism

and outdoor recreation...
Fishing, boating.

But everything's drying up.

We had to shut down the
marina up at Lake Palmer

and close it off from fishing.

I don't suppose you folks

brought some rain-making
secrets with you?

[Chuckles] Well, the BAU
has a variety of skill sets.

Unfortunately, that's not one of them.

Anyhow, uh, got you set up here.

Just let me know if
you need anything else.

Great. Thank you, sheriff.

That's interesting what the sheriff said

about the drought.

He might be on to something.

Well, except we're not
here to solve burglaries.

We have a serial killer on the loose.

Like I said, he might
be on to something.

What, you think that drought

could also be tied into the killings?

Look at the crime scenes.

Pool...

Pool...

Pool.

It's curious

when a town without water.

Suddenly has a string of watery deaths.

Rossi: No forced entry up front.

Good bet the unsub came
right through the gate,

killed the victims out here and probably

accessed the home from the porch.

Yeah, it looks like
there was a struggle,

but the M.E. said that there
were no defensive wounds

on either of the victims.

Well, the unsub could have trashed

the place after the fact.

Mayhem for the hell of it.

Means our guy's got

a lot of rage.

Ok, so Wanda Robbins was partially nude,

but there were no
signs of sexual assault.

But Garcia did say they were newlyweds.

Warm night, champagne.

I'm guessing her top was already off

when the unsub crashed the party.

Excuse me, Agent.

Here you are.

- Thank you.
- ‭What's that?

The insurance company's
list of the missing jewelry.

Hmm, that's odd.

The unsub only took
Wanda's costume jewelry.

The valuable stuff he left behind.

Our unsub had too much planning on this

to drop the ball like that.

Maybe the theft is a smokescreen.

These were murders from jump,

and the unsub grabbed
the first thing he saw

afterwards so we would think burglary.

Hey.

Any information on
the first two victims?

Not much on Ben Stiles.

His wife died 10 years ago

and he pretty much kept
to himself after that.

He had health issues. Barely went out.

So that should make it easier
to narrow down who had access to him

or knew about that coin collection.

Which was just some silver dollars,

by the way, not worth much.

It was more of a hobby with Stiles.

I just got a call
from up at Lake Palmer.

Ben Stiles' coin collection

is scattered all along the shore.

It's quite all right.

Man: No way of keeping
some of these coins?

We need them for evidence for
an ongoing investigation...

Oh, ok.

Lewis: I just don't get
it. I mean, the unsub

goes through all the
trouble to steal these

only to turn around and
throw them in the lake?

The guy didn't put a whole
lot of heave-ho into it.

You know, we found them right
here at the water's edge.

Problem?

Gentleman said he found the
silver dollars an hour ago

walking the shore.

He's not too happy. I told
him he can't keep them.

Why did he call the police, then?

Prentiss: He didn't. A woman nearby

remembered that silver dollars
were stolen from Ben Stiles.

She's the one who called.

Practically in plain sight.

I mean, it's like the unsub wanted
these coins to be discovered.

It could have been a
forensic countermeasure.

Look at these shiny things over here

while I go over there.

That would bolster our theory

that the burglaries were just for show.

Lewis: Yeah, but if
the unsub wanted to sell

these home invasions as legit robberies,

he wouldn't have taken junk.

He would have stolen something valuable.

Is that a body bag?

Damn.

Another one.

What's going on?

Remember I said this town
is on pins and needles?

This is what kicked it off.

There are bodies in the lake?

Old bodies.

Skeletons, more like.

Lake Palmer is a man-made reservoir.

Before it got flooded,
all of this out here

was just rugged canyon.

So if someone drowns,

they tend to get tangled
in the submerged trees.

Hardly ever make it
back up to the surface.

But with this drought...

The surface is coming down to them.

[Indistinct chatter]

Hey, mister.

What happened to your eye?

Nothing.

It looks gross.

Are you living in there?

It's ok if you are.

I won't tell anybody.

My name's Tim.

Hey, they found another body,

you know, just now.

My mom and dad are freaked out.

They wouldn't even come to the lake now.

But I'm not scared.

What did it look like?

The body.

Uh, I don't know. It was in a bag.

[Indistinct chatter nearby]

[Vehicle door shuts]

[Engine starting]

[Siren]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Oh, me, too.

I bet there are tons of them out here.

And all these dead people coming out.

Lake Palmer's a good 10
miles from our crime scene,

and that's a long way to
go just to dump some coins.

Rossi: The killer might
work or live there.

What's the population
of Lake Palmer, Sheriff?

It depends on the season.

Year-round, a couple of
thousand, I'd say. Less, maybe.

There's a disconnect with this unsub.

On the one hand, the crime
scenes are extremely organized.

That would suggest a killer
with maturity and skill.

But then he grabs these
bright, shiny items

of little monetary value...

The silver dollars, costume
jewelry, bowling trophies.

Yeah, it's like he suddenly reverts

to immature and impulsive behavior.

The thefts could be purely
symbolic, but of what?

It might be about the lake,

I mean, with everything going on there.

Human remains fished from tree limbs?

As unsub triggers go,
that's hall of fame material.

Prentiss: How many have
drowned there in the last years?

9 that we know of.

Sheriff, when they were
pulling the body in,

you said "another one."

Yes, ma'am.

They've pulled 5 out of there so far.

Prentiss: When was the
first body retrieved?

November 22nd.

I remember because I was getting

my Thanksgiving turkey
when I got the call.

Any other retrievals?

Well...

The next was pulled out of
the lake on November 28th.

The other two bodies were
recovered on December 3rd.

I'll be damned.

And that is what we in
the serial killer business

refer to as a pattern.

Prentiss: We need to
notify every homeowner

within a 20-mile radius
who has a backyard pool.

This unsub will strike again
within the next 24 hours.

[Muffled yelling]

No! What are you doing?

Aah!

Uhh!

[Crying]

What are you doing?

Aah... aah... ohh!

Aah, aah, aah! Aah...

The place was ransacked.

We don't know what
was taken, if anything.

Lewis: The victim's
name is Walter Knight.

Married, father of two.

The unsub didn't need a
cinder block this time.

This chair was heavy enough
to sink him to the bottom.

It almost looks like a shroud.

California King, 500-weave.

It's a bed sheet.
Unsub took it from inside.

We know where Walter's
wife and kids are?

Florida, visiting relatives.

This is a deviation from his usual M.O.

It could be a sign of remorse.

Not that remorseful.

So the unsub sewed him up,

stuck this needle through his nose,

dumped the chair into the pool.

Level of sadism's ratcheting up.

We gotta find this guy fast.

Prentiss: The unsub appears to
be killing as a direct response

to the old accident victims
being pulled from the lake.

So why is he dumping the
stolen property into the lake

instead of ‭the victims themselves?

Maybe the coins are an offering,

some kind of superstition.

Prentiss: What if we've had
this all backwards until now?

In what way?

We were thinking that the items he stole

were unimportant, afterthoughts.

But what if just the opposite is true,

that it's 100% about the stolen items?

Rossi: I just got off
the phone with Reid.

That stitch through the nose,

it's an ocean-burying tradition

from centuries ago.

It was especially common among pirates.

JJ: Lovely. And the reason being?

Rossi: To make sure that the body

they were about to throw overboard

was really dead.

So death by drowning,

pillage and plunder,

now this pirate burial tradition.

I think I know why the unsub

is choosing these pools over others.

Diving boards.

They all have a plank to walk.

Hey.

I thought nobody could
fish on the lake anymore.

They can't.

You look like a pirate
with that thing on your eye.

What did you just say?

Lewis: Rossi just called.

They just recovered

another body from the lake.

Now, it was all done covertly,

so, hopefully, the unsub is unaware.

JJ: Ok, well, we profiled
the unsub was stuck

in early adolescence.

Something had to have
happened to him, what,

20 years ago, to cause
the shock to his system.

You're right. I mean, if
this is arrested development,

something arrested it.

The reservoir was
created around that time.

Yeah.

What if the killer's trauma occurred

out there before the
reservoir was formed?

Alvez: Or during.

Garcia?

Come get it, bae.

The land that was flooded
to form Lake Palmer,

did anyone live or work out there?

It's pretty remote country,

but, yeah, it looks like there
were 3 homes in the canyon.

Alvez: I assume they were
all subject to eminent domain?

Garcia: Correct. The city
bought out those 3 families.

Do we know what happened
to the residents?

Two of them moved to houses

by the side of the new lake.

The third one is proving
to be a little trickier.

Bob Turner, an off-the-gridish type,

but he vanished right before
the new reservoir was created.

I don't have a trace of him
after that, but fret not.

There's the grid, and then
there's the Garcia grid,

and that one is not
as easy to stay off of.

Do you know what I'm saying?
Of course you know what I'm saying.

Good-bye. [Hangs up]

Everything all right?

They just identified the
most recent set of remains.

Tyler Hart, college kid who got killed

in a jet ski accident back in 2003.

Did you know him?

No. But every time they
bring in someone new,

it's like playing Russian roulette.

Well, it can't be Russian roulette

unless there's a bullet
in one of the chambers.

You're right.

Please.

Her name was Holly Freeman.

She was my high-school sweetheart.

She drowned out on the
lake a couple years ago

while boating with her family.

I'm sorry.

Me and Holly ended up
marrying different people.

Didn't work out so well for me,

but hers did.

Nice husband.

Had 3 beautiful daughters.

It wasn't in the cards,
Agent Rossi, but...

I always felt like she
was the one who got away.

Crazy, right?

The girl you took to the prom.

No. Not so crazy.

I hold my damn breath every time they

bring in someone new,
afraid it might be her.

The chance for a proper burial

might not be the worst thing.

It gives her loved ones some closure.

Closure.

[Sighs]

You want to hear my idea about closure?

Let the dead rest in peace.

I want to remember Holly like she was,

not like this.

Whoa.

This is so cool.

How long have you had it?

A long time.

What's this?

It's a flag.

From what?

Well, I had a friend,

and we made a blood vow.

Recited the pirates' code,

and then... and then we
cut our hands and we...

And we held them together.

Mm... We could do it, too.

You and me.

Really?

Yeah.

But...

Well, first you'd
have to prove yourself.

How?

You'd have to spend a
night out at the lake.

Alone.

The whole night.

I can't.

Wait. Are... are you afraid?

No. But my mom and dad

will get worried if I don't get home.

Are you a pirate or a scared little boy?

Gotcha.

[Telephone rings]

What is it, Garcia?

Garcia: Bob Turner, our
missing canyon dweller,

has gone from off the
grid to gridlocked.

Turns out Bob Turner
isn't even his real name.

It's Casey Peters, and Mr. Peters

has what I would diplomatically call

a sketchy history.

Sketchy how?

Embezzlement, fraud,
forgery. I could go on.

He's lived mostly in
Florida and the Carolinas.

What brought him to Ramona, California?

A place to hide out, apparently.

From what?

Something to do with money.

Months before the canyon was flooded,

federal treasury agents
were closing in on him.

And that's when he pulled up
stakes in Ramona and vanished.

Do we know where he is now?

We do not, but I am on the hunt.

I am sending you a DMV
photo of Casey Peters

from his Bob Turner days.

I know that guy... From the lake.

Yeah. That's the guy
who found the coins.

Help you with something?

Actually, yeah.

You mind taking off
your hat and sunglasses?

Do what?

The hat and glasses, just for a second.

Sorry. That's not gonna happen, pal.

Seriously, man, I'm drying
to dry-dock my boat, ok?

What the hell is your problem, huh?

The sunglasses.

Are you drunk or
something? Do not touch...

FBI!

Alvez: Casey Peters,
let me see your hands.

JJ: Ah-ah-ah. Don't even think about it.

So, which one of us tells
them Peters is not our unsub?

He doesn't remotely fit the profile.

I know. It doesn't mean
he's guilt-free, though.

Peters is tied into this somehow.

Escondido PD just called.

Casey Peters was locked up

over there November 20th through
the 24th on a drunk and disorderly.

Means he was in custody
when Ben Stiles was murdered.

Rossi: Convenient.

Happy accident or part of
his plan to build an alibi?

Prentiss: Why don't we ask him?

I gotta warn you, he's not

in a very talkative mood.

Oh, that's ok.

We specialize in mood adjustment.

Good evening, Mr. Peters.
I'm SSA Prentiss.

This is SSA Rossi. We're with the FBI.

We have some questions to ask.

So, what brings you to Lake Palmer?

Prentiss: Do you live in the area?

Rossi: Well, how about this?

We'll talk, and you sit there
practicing your stonewalling,

because we already know a lot.

Back in the nineties,
you got into trouble

with the law down in Florida...

Embezzling, writing bad checks.

Then you moved to Ramona,

you changed your identity,

and you hid out in the canyon.

And then right before
they flooded the canyon,

you packed up again and took off.

Now, lo and behold, you are back

at the exact same time

these murders started up.

News flash... I was in jail
when the first guy got killed.

Rossi: Well, that guy you
were hassling out on the dock,

what was that all about?

You can ask all the questions you want.

I'm done talking.

[Frogs croaking]

[Owl hooting]

Ohh! Ooh!

No! No!

[Gasping]

Prentiss: Yeah, Garcia.

It's pieces-fall-into-place
day here at Garcia central.

I have been looking at
old Ramona public records

for all things Bob Turner,

and another Turner caught my eye...

A Leland Turner.

In 1997, he was 13 years old.

He has a long juvie
record, no family history.

And he listed his address
as Palmer Canyon Road.

That's the road that used
to lead to the residences

in the flooded canyon.

Casey Peters had a son.

I did it.

I spent the whole night by the lake.

You're ready now.

Come on.

Well, I gotta give you
a tip of the hat, Casey.

It is not easy to evade

law enforcement for 20 years.

And if you hadn't come
back to Lake Palmer,

you'd still be out there free as a bird.

But you're here. Why?

That boat owner down at the dock...

I think you were trying to see

if maybe that was your son Leland

behind those sunglasses.

How do you know about Leland?

Casey, people are dying,
and we're on a clock.

So if you know where Leland
is, you need to tell us.

I don't.

I haven't seen my boy in 20 years.

But when you heard about these murders,

you thought he might be involved.

That's why you came back.

Leland didn't want to leave Ramona.

They were supposed to go.
We got into this fight.

Boy runs away. That's
the last I ever saw him.

He was 13 years old.

Did you look for him?

Called around, asked some people.

I mean, it's not like I could
walk into a police station

and file a report. I
had my own problems.

Casey, did your son like
to play at being a pirate?

Yeah.

He did. Why?

Whoever's committing
these murders in Ramona,

it's tied into a pirate fantasy.

Are you smiling, Mr. Peters?

He's alive.

My boy is out there.

What's that for?

To sterilize it.

Does it hurt?

A real pirate doesn't care about pain.

And after we do this, we can go.

Go where?

The lake. To the treasure.

There's treasure at the lake?

Do you trust me?

Give me your hand.

All right.

We sail under a black flag.

We live the way that we want to live.

And we train to fight
against all of our enemies.

Yaah!

We take what we want.

But we... we always defend our treasure.

And that's why you take the blood oath.

We swear to defend the treasure

to the death.

To the death.

And beware the curse.

To any pirate who would
go against the oath,

may he be visited by the ghosts

of all the pirates who have gone before.

Leland knew the... the
power of the curse.

Who's Leland?

We have to defend the treasure.

Then they... they flooded
our hiding place. They...

You mean the treasure got flooded.

Leland said... he said that
we needed to stand guard

until we could move the
treasure someplace else.

You gotta do it.

It's really important.

And then that morning,
he went down to the treasure

to stand guard, and...

And I was... I was too afraid,

so I stayed home, and it...

I broke the oath.

And then they let all the water in.

I better get going.

I told my parents I spent the night

at Kevin's house.

What are you talking about?

Pirates stick together.

I need to go. I just...

No. You can't go.

No, you can't.

I came back to the lake to make it right

and to add to the treasure.

And then... and then I found you,

a fellow pirate.

Leland's gonna forgive me now. I know.

We're brothers now, all three of us...

In life...

and in death.

It's not just my blood
that's inside of you.

It's somebody else's, too.

Well, Leland’s juvie
history was pretty innocuous.

Vandalism, shoplifting.
Hardly gateway crimes

to the life of a serial killer.

Well, every grown-up monster

was once a cute little baby monster.

Alvez: The bigger issue for me

is how does a 13-year-old boy

stay off the radar for 20 years?

When Garcia can't find a breadcrumb,

it's usually because the
bread was never baked.

Alvez: Yeah, at some point, it's time

to stop thinking about what's possible

and start thinking about what's likely.

Which, for me, is that Leland is dead

and has been dead for a long, long time.

JJ: Which would leave us where?

Well, Emily said that Peters told her

Leland had other kids
he'd play pirates with.

[Dialing]

Release the genie.

Leland Peters... did his juvie trouble

ever involve another kid?

Uh, yeah. A whole group of kids.

They ran in a pack.

Does one name pop up
more than the others?

Oh. Like B-14 in a bingo parlor.

Jess Carney. He and Leland
were thick as thieves.

Literally. Stole stuff, truancy.

But this is weird.

At age 14, Jess... poof...

like disappears.

His behavior took a violent turn

shortly after the canyon flooded.

His parents couldn't
control him anymore.

And as soon as the
mystery presents itself,

the mystery is solved.

Jess was institutionalized out of state

and put on antidepressants.

That would explain the
arrested development.

He was medicated and isolated

during some crucial formative years.

Jess Carney returned to
California when he was 24

and worked odd jobs in
and around San Diego.

And then... Suddenly left
the area about a month ago.

That's right around the
time the killings started.

Do we know where Jess is now?

Oh. Oh, we do not.
After he left San Diego,

he... he... poof... vanished again.

It's like a re-poof,
I guess you'd call it.

Is there a recent photo of Carney?

The best I have is a DMV
photo from 6 years ago.

Sending it now.

[Muffled shouting]

It's time to go.

Leland is waiting for us down there.

It's time we join him.

[Muffled cries]

Officers canvassed the
crime scene neighborhoods.

Nobody's recognized the photo.

It's 6 years old. Jess Carney
could look a lot different now.

It might not have
anything to do with this,

but a 12-year-old
kid's just gone missing.

His name's Timmy Kane.

Rossi: When was he last seen?

Yesterday afternoon.

What's got me worried is, parents say

the boy spends a lot of
time up at Lake Palmer.

[Dialing]

Hi, Emily.

Matt...

[Muffled cries]

We need to get down to Leland.

We've gotta guard the treasure.

Jess: Say "I cannot
leave my pirate ship..."

[Muffled cries]

Emily, I need backup now.

Jess: You don't cry if you're a pirate.

Real pirates don't cry.

There's no crying when you're a pirate!

You've just made it
worse. You want to cry?

FBI!

Hands where I can see them!

Let the boy go.

Let him go!

Uhh! Oh!

Ohh...

[Muffled screaming]

No!

[Both gasping]

You're ok?

Rossi: This kind of thing
we don't see enough of.

Drink it in.

Tim: I'm sorry, Mommy.

Chopper found Jess' boat

drifting in the middle
of the lake, empty.

Was there a cinder block on board?

No, sir. Nothing.

We're searching the
perimeter of the lake now

just in case he swam to the shore

and made a run for it.

He didn't.

Jess went back to a place
where you'll never find him.

It's over.

Casey.

We found the killer.

It wasn't your son.

It was a friend of his,

a kid he used to play
pirates with, Jess Carney.

Do you remember him?

It wasn't Leland?

No.

He died that day, didn't he?

When they flooded the lake.

We may never know exactly
what happened, but, yes,

it points that way.

Mr. Peters...

You're being transferred
into the custody

of Agent Samuelson of the U.S. treasury.

I wanted it to be him.

Excuse me?

The killer.

I wanted it to be Leland.

Because if it was,
it meant he was alive,

he's always been alive,

breathing the same air
I've been breathing.

Is that wrong?

You loved your son.

Let's leave it at that.

Appreciate everything you've
done for us, Agent Rossi.

I'm just glad the boy's safe.

It's a beautiful lake.

Yes, it is.

I have to remind myself
of that now and then.

Take care.

You, too, sir.

Ready?

Avanti.

[Engine starts]

JJ: You hear that?

Hear what?

Cut the engine.

[Thunder]

[Rain falling]

Singer: ♪ who you gonna
call when the rain comes... ♪

Well, I'll be damned.

♪ And you're drowned out
with something left to say? ♪

♪ And the windows won't close ♪

♪ and the wind is spinning out... ♪

Let's get out of the water.

♪ And the sound
drips down our house ♪

♪ for the soil to hold me ♪

♪ ooh... ♪

Rossi: "Where there is ruin",

there is hope for a treasure."

Jalaluddin Rumi.

Singer: ♪ so who you gonna call ♪

♪ when the rain comes ♪

♪ and you're drowned out
with something left to say? ♪