Elementary (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Child Predator - full transcript

MAN:
Hey, Adam, remember me?

- Going to school, huh?
- Yeah.

MAN:
Come on, I'll give you a ride.

It's okay. It's on my way.

ADAM:
What are those for?

MAN:
They're for your parents.

Get in. I'll explain.

You're not dressed.

You said you'd go jogging with me
this morning.

Doesn't sound like me.

Have you been up all night?

I started digging
through one of the files

on open serial murders
after you'd gone to bed,

and I lost track of time.

Still losing track of it,
as a matter of fact,

so no jogging. Sorry.

I thought we both agreed
that a little exercise

would be a good addition
to your sobriety regimen.

For future reference,
when I say that I agree with you,

it means I'm not listening.

You know what else is great?

Jazzercise.

I'll get you some leg warmers,
a headband.

- You'll look awesome.
- I agree with you.

The Balloon Man?
Is that who you've been researching?

Yeah. Came to my attention
while I was still living in London.

New York's very own bogeyman.

Obviously, you've heard of him.

Yeah. He took his first victim
from Cobble Hill

about seven years ago.
I was living just a few blocks away.

Adam. Adam something.

I think he's taken six kids
since then.

- Seven as of last night.
- What?

I heard it on my police-scanner app
around midnight.

Ten-year-old Mariana Castillo

snatched from her bedroom
in Astoria, Queens.

The abductor's signature batch
of balloons left fluttering behind.

I'd like to think Fleet Street would've
devised a more inventive sobriquet

than the Balloon Man,

but I enjoy the inadvertent
E.E. Cummings reference.

If you heard it on the scanner,

you haven't actually
been assigned to the case.

Yet.

Child abductions and serial murders
mean psychiatric consultants

and joint task forces,
which in turn means

that Gregson can't call me in until
the police commissioner approves.

And he doesn't get in
until 8:30 a.m. Sharp.

Add approximately three minutes
for coffee,

another six for a trip to the loo.

Should be calling me in about,
hmm, 15 minutes.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Or sooner.

Holmes.

Crescent Street, Astoria.

I'll be there presently.

I could have sworn
I was wearing a shirt at some point.

The girl's bedroom is in the back.

Perp forced the lock on her window
around 9:30 last night,

took her,
tied the balloons to her bed.

Mom's a painter.

She went to a friend's gallery.

Dad went to the bodega on the corner
to get some wine around 9:45.

That's freshly broken.

By the girl, presumably,
grabbing for a handhold.

That's good. She's a fighter.

If little girls could actually win fights
against grown men,

then, yeah, it would be a cause
for great optimism.

WOMAN: Some more questions
that we've already gone over,

- so there'll be no surprises.
MAN: All right.

WOMAN: Look at me.
You don't have to look at the camera.

What's this?

Parents are making a plea
to the twist that took their kid.

HOLMES: They mustn't.
- Why not?

Excuse me. You can't do this.

- We're live in ten, buddy.
- You don't understand. It's...

We're on in ten, nine,
eight, seven, six...

- Look, I'm sorry, he's...
CAMERAMAN: Five, four, three...

- Two, one.
CAMERAMAN: What the hell, man?

- Sherlock!
- I'm sorry. I warned him.

- What is this? Who are you?
- The man trying to keep these people

- from killing your daughter.
- Mr. Holmes is a consultant

- with the department.
- Daniel Peters, Kayla Jackson,

Billy Crawford.
Victims 2, 3 and 5 of the Balloon Man.

The only ones
whose bodies were found.

Forensics estimated he kept Daniel
alive for a full day before burial,

Kayla for half a day,
Billy for almost two days.

- Why the discrepancy?
- They lost their daughter.

Last night,
I discovered a direct correlation

between the quickness with which
the killer dispatched his victims

and the extent
of their parents' media exposure.

I could show you the spreadsheet,
but in sum,

the more interviews,
the faster the children died.

Is he right?

Usually.

I don't understand.

What does it matter
how many interviews we do?

The Balloon Man feeds off
the public grief of his victims' families.

You nourish him, he'll get bored,
end the game.

Keep him hungry,
we might have two days.

You wanna get your little girl back?
It's simple.

You do everything I say.

WATSON: Kemper.
- Hmm?

The name
of the Balloon Man's first victim.

Adam Kemper. I just remembered.

The police found those balloons
on the sidewalk

where he'd taken Adam,
the ones that said "Thank you."

Like Adam's parents had given him
some sort of gift.

I read all the articles over the years.
I know it destroys the victims' families,

- but being here in person is just...
- Perhaps you'd like to go outside.

I'm fine, thanks. I just...

No, it's not an expression of concern.
It's a request. You're distracting me.

I'm distracting you.

Because, clearly,
this is all about you.

Excuse me.

No, no, no, it's okay.

Mr. Castillo, you can't blame yourself
for what happened.

Actually, he can.

- Excuse me?
- Not for your daughter's abduction.

The kidnapper would have found a way
to take her eventually.

But you can and should blame yourself
for impeding our investigation.

I told you everything.

If everything
includes one very big lie.

Where's the wine you were buying
when your daughter was taken?

In your hand.

And there's the lie.

Bodegas put the price tag
on the cap itself.

It saves stacking time.

Tag, bottom. You, liar.

Obviously, you bought this
at another time,

presumably from the liquor store
on Atlantic,

where you purchased the case
of prosecco you have in your pantry.

The bottle was already in your fridge.
It provided an effective cover

as to why you were really out
of the house.

Tell us her name, Mr. Castillo,
right now.

Whose name?

His mistress.

[SCOFFS]

There's no point trying to deny it.
Your lemon press gave you away.

Well, presses, to be precise.

One old.
One quite new, less than a year.

The pattern repeats itself with your
two corkscrews, two pepper mills.

The older items belong
to you and your wife.

The doubles were bought when you
moved into your place on Long Island.

- How?
- I found a letter in your mail

forwarded to you from a long-term-stay
hotel chain in Islip.

I assume that you and your wife
separated for a while

and then reconciled?

Which brings me to your caller ID.

You took a 15-second call
from a Long Island area code

last night
before you stepped out of the house.

Presumably from the woman
who precipitated your separation.

She rang,
you walked out of the house.

Why else would you hide information
from the police

when you're clearly desperate
to get your daughter back?

When Sara and I were separated,
I dated a coworker.

She called me last night,
said she was in the neighborhood

and needed to see me, but I swear,
I only went out to tell her

- that she had to stay away for good.
- How could you not say anything?

- Where did you meet her?
- On the street,

a few houses down from here.

But I swear, I didn't go into her car.
I just talked to her through her window.

I'd like to speak with her.

- She had nothing to do with this.
HOLMES: Probably not.

Can you think of anyone else
parked on your block last night?

If she was waiting for you,
I assume she was facing your house.

- If she was facing your house...
GREGSON: Maybe she saw something

that could help us find the guy
who took your daughter.

I'm sorry.

I just...

I can't believe I'm the reason

that lunatic got his hands
on Roberto's daughter.

If I hadn't called him...

GREGSON:
Ms... Ms. Thomas, it's all right.

Did you see or hear anything
out of the ordinary?

I never got out of my car.

- So, what now?
THOMAS: I was looking at Roberto...

Go back to the Castillo house,
talk to the parents?

You're doing it again. Talking.

What? I'm not supposed to talk?

Situations like these, cases
that require my total concentration,

I talk to you,
never the other way around.

- What in the hell...?
- Shush.

THOMAS: Started my car,
and I headed for the corner,

and then, um, some other car
ran the stop sign, almost hit me.

This was approximately when?
Never mind.

I already know. Nine-forty.

The vine that the girl managed
to pull free from the house

means she was awake
and struggling

- when the Balloon Man took her.
- So?

So examinations
of the three victims recovered

indicated that he chloroformed them.

He got sloppy with Mariana Castillo,
rushed things. Why?

Because of the sirens.

What sirens?

Listening to my scanner,
I heard a report

that preceded Roberto Castillo's call
to 911 by mere minutes.

Some sort of domestic dispute.

A squad car was dispatched
to an address less than two blocks

from the Castillo home,
sirens blaring.

You think the perp panicked
and thought the sirens were for him.

So he grabbed the girl and ran.

Stashed her in his car
and then tore through the stop sign.

Right in front of Miss Thomas here.

The car that almost hit you,
do you remember what it looked like?

Um, actually, it was a van.

A kidnapper's vehicle of choice.
What else? Make? Model?

It happened so fast. Uh...

- I'm not really a car person.
- Are you a color person?

- I'll get you started. Red? Blue? Black?
- Brown. Dark brown.

So, what are we looking for?

Home security camera.

Neighbor
with a photographic memory.

Hey, care to explain what you said
back at the station

about, you know, you talking to me,
not the other way around?

Yes, well aware I'm doing it again.

I've found that nothing
clears up a difficult case

so much as stating it
to another person.

I talk, they listen,

and in talking, I make connections
I may have otherwise missed.

One-way street, not two.

Who did you speak to
back in London?

Oh, lots of people.
Waitstaff, cabdrivers.

The occasional prostitute.

- Better listeners than you might think.
- Right.

You don't look good.

My appearance has always meant
so much to me.

You haven't eaten today, have you?

- No sleep, no food...
- Will make Sherlock a dull boy.

People in recovery have a tendency
to relapse when they haven't eaten...

You know what, Watson?

I take it all back.

I'm beginning to find the chatter
that accompanies your companionship

extremely useful.

A bit like white noise.

It puts me in a state
where I think and I observe better.

For example...

What?
If this is your idea of a brown van,

you're even more sleep-deprived
than I thought.

Note the parking tickets. Hmm?

It's been here for days.

Yet there are small skid marks
beneath each tire,

indicating it's been moved
several inches.

Someone sideswiped it.

My money is on a speeding van
driven by a panicked kidnapper.

Well, the paint from the other car
is supposed to be...

It's dark brown,
as per Miss Thomas' description.

But there's blue and white paint
mixed in with the brown.

Means it's brown now but was
originally painted white and blue.

A very distinctive white and blue,
as a matter of fact.

- Detective Bell.
BELL: Excuse me.

We are looking
for a decommissioned N.Y.P.D. Van,

presumably sold at auction,
then painted brown.

It has a long scrape down one side
where it struck this sedan.

Issue the BOLO now, we may
find the Balloon Man before lunch.

I'm not sleeping. I'm just reviewing
the details of the case in my mind.

I'm sorry, were you talking to me?

Because I thought I was just a
cavernous expanse between two ears.

You mustn't be so sensitive,
Watson.

The service you're providing
is quite valuable.

For a brief stretch in London,

I talked only to a phrenology bust
I kept in my study.

I named him Angus.

Wasn't the same.

I realized when it came to listeners,
I preferred animate to inanimate.

It was quite a breakthrough, really.

Angus.

I'm glad I made it
to the animate category.

Just got a hit on our BOLO.

GREGSON:
Car 5, you still got the eye?

OFFICER 1 [OVER RADIO]:
Driver's male, white, wearing a hoodie.

All I can make out.

GREGSON: Aviation 1, you getting
anything on the thermal imaging?

OFFICER 2 [OVER RADIO]:
Negative. We're too high.

OFFICER 1:
He made us. Head north on 78th.

[SIRENS WAILING]

OFFICER 1:
Police!

Police! Stay where you are!

[BOTH GRUNT]

BELL:
Get on the ground!

Don't move!

Let me see your hands.
Let me see your hands.

- Behind your back.
GREGSON: She's not here.

OFFICER 2:
Let them call the shot.

OFFICER 3:
All right, we'll stop it off.

Captain, that's not our guy.

He would have been in sixth grade
when Balloon Man took his first victim.

OFFICER 3: We good?
GREGSON: Hey.

Holmes, what are you doing?

- Holmes.
- Sorry, it's just that, well,

according to that birthmark
on his neck, you're quite right.

This is not the man
that took Adam Kemper back in 2005.

This is Adam Kemper.

BELL:
Adam.

Adam, please talk to me.

Now, we know who you are, Adam.
Your fingerprints confirmed it,

so come on,

tell me how you ended up
in that van.

We've got a psychiatrist coming,

but I don't think
it's gonna make much difference.

This kid just doesn't wanna engage.

Well, have you notified his parents?

Commissioner made the call.
They're on their way.

Should only take them an hour
to fight through all the media outside.

Story of the century, this.

Missing boy presumed dead,
recovered after all these years.

WATSON:
The fact that he was found in the van

we thought belonged
to the Balloon Man,

that's obviously more
than a coincidence, right?

I read about a case like this.

Police in Dubuque found a 15-year-old
who'd been missing for seven years.

Now, the man who had taken him
had enrolled him in school.

He even let him have friends
over to the house.

The boy never tried to leave.

He had grown to sympathize
with his captor.

If that's what's happened here,
it would explain

why Adam was running from the police
instead of to them.

Because he's actually grown
to care for the lunatic.

If Adam's still alive, maybe some
of the other victims are too.

Adam was special, his first.

Balloon Man's second and third victims
are two of only three to be recovered.

Their condition suggests
that he rather liked the killing.

After he had a taste,
I don't believe he ever looked back.

The question now is:

What role did Adam play
in their deaths?

You think Adam helped him?

Well, you said it yourself.
He sympathized with his captor.

Question is, to what degree?

We did find him in that van.

CSU is processing it for evidence

to try and prove
whether Mariana Castillo was inside.

In the meantime,
we've got Adam on auto theft,

but if he doesn't start talking
to us soon,

we're going to run out of time
to find the Castillo girl.

I wanna talk to him.

I think I can get through to him.

Holmes, this is a delicate situation.

And I can, on occasion, be indelicate,
I'm well aware.

But if you think I'd do anything
to jeopardize the life of that girl...

Intentionally, of course not.

We're talking about a kid here.

A kid that's been traumatized,
maybe even brainwashed.

A kid who wouldn't even be here
if it wasn't for me.

What, you think that gives you the right
to question him?

You're a consultant, not a cop.

And given the very real possibility

that the young man is accessory
to several horrific crimes,

maybe "not a cop" is exactly
what he needs at the moment, hmm?

Ten minutes, that's all I ask.

You've got five.

[HOLMES SIGHS]

Hello, Adam.

My name is Sherlock.

You can probably tell from my accent
I'm not a New York City police officer,

nor am I a psychiatrist,

which makes me the only person
you're going to talk to today

who isn't going to lie to you.

The people who were here earlier,
Detective Bell and the others,

they told you that the man
who took you seven years ago

was a bad man,
that he hurt you, abused you.

But they don't know the whole story,
do they?

I mean, he also took care of you,

kept a roof over your head,

taught you to drive.

Loved you.

My father packed me off to boarding
school when I was just 8 years old.

Heh.

I was a little bit of a know-it-all.

Well, I was a massive know-it-all,
actually.

Turned a lot of the other boys
at the school against me,

especially one
by the name of Anders Larson.

Now, over the course of the next year,
Anders took his anger out on me

in myriad cruel and terrible ways,

nothing close to what you experienced,
of course,

but it seemed worth mentioning.

You see,

the more Anders hurt me,

the more I felt gratitude that
he was actually paying attention to me.

That in tormenting me,
he was attempting to correct

what I knew to be wrong
with myself.

One day,
after a particularly brutal "lesson"

that left me in a very bad way,

a teacher asked me
who was responsible.

I said I'd fallen down the stairs.

Funny the things that we do
for the people that we care about.

Did he do that to you,
the person that you care about?

No.

I was in my room the other night
and it was hot.

I tried to open the window
but it was stuck,

and my hand went
through the pane.

And he took care of me.

He put a bandage on it.

Of course he did. He loves you.

He does everything for me.

He comes home every morning
and brings me doughnuts.

He doesn't need to, but he does.
I never even asked...

No more questions. He lawyered up.

Via telepathy?

Via his parents. They're here.

MAN: I'm sorry, I know you have
questions for Adam, but come on.

You think we don't know you think
Adam may have had something to do

with what happened
to the other children?

It's a possibility, yes,

which is why we'd like
to keep talking to him

to see if he can help us
find Mariana Castillo.

I can't imagine
what they're going through right now.

HOLMES:
Hmm?

That was really something
back there with Adam.

AMANDA:
We have to think of our child.

The story about your bully
was really moving.

Any of it true?

AMANDA: He needs help...
- I went to boarding school.

You should know, captain, that
we've already broached the possibility

of an immunity deal
with the district attorney's office.

Adam would be given immunity
for any crimes

he may have been compelled to
commit by the individual who took him,

and in exchange he'd tell you
everything he knows about the man.

He'll also help you locate the bodies
of victims that were never recovered.

We expect to hear from the DA
by morning.

By then, it may be too late
for the Castillo girl.

ATTORNEY: Which is why we very
much hope you'll support our proposal.

Excuse me, I'm sorry.

Yes?

Support the proposal, don't support it.
It doesn't matter.

Conversation with Adam
may have been aborted,

- but it was far from a total waste.
- What do you mean?

Adam said the Balloon Man comes
home every morning with doughnuts.

That means he works nights.

It doesn't sound like much, I know,

but it's more than
we previously knew.

You think you can run with that?

You can... From a drop of water,

a logician can infer the possibility
of an Atlantic or a Niagara

without having seen
or heard of either one.

I've got my drop of water.

Now allow me to infer.

WATSON:
He worked nights. Think that's enough

to identify the Balloon Man?

Of course not, but it's a start.

Our previous suspect pool
included virtually every man in the city.

Now it's been reduced
to every man who works nights.

- You're gonna stay up all night again?
- You can't stop me, Watson.

I don't care how I look,
I don't care how I smell,

I'm not going to sleep.

Well, I have no intention
of stopping you.

I mean, what you're doing
to your body isn't healthy,

you know, especially for someone
so fresh out of rehab, but I get it.

I'll happily loan you my ears if it means
getting Mariana Castillo back

- alive and well.
- I appreciate that,

but at the moment,
I do not require a listener.

I'll have nothing to talk about
until I've reviewed all of these files.

- All right, then I'll take a box.
- No, no, no, it doesn't work like that.

My brain is the filter all this needs
to go through, not yours.

I need to read every word,
study every image.

All right, I'll help you stay awake.

- You know where the coffee is.
- It's not about the coffee.

Whoa.
Then what are you proposing?

I'm gonna teach you something,

a little trick that I learned
back in medical school.

This is what they taught you
in medical school?

When I was cramming for a test
and I was tired,

I would do a hundred of these,
get my blood pumping.

Kept me from falling asleep.

I was valedictorian.

I'm just saying.

Watson!

- He changed jobs.
- Who?

The Balloon Man.

A few years ago, the FBI worked
a theory that he was an exterminator.

Adam Kemper's family
had had their house fumigated

just the week
before he disappeared.

Yes, I'm still holding, yes.

No one thought much of it
until these were taken

right outside the homes
of Victims 2 and 3.

Oh, both neighbors
had their houses tented.

In 2008 the FBI interviewed all 35
of the employees of the company

that fumigated the Kempers' home
but failed to elicit any strong suspects.

And they eventually discarded
their theory

when no connection
to extermination was found

in or around homes
of the subsequent victims.

See, the thing is,
I think they were onto something.

I think the Balloon Man
was an exterminator

but then changed jobs
between Victims 3 and 4.

See this?

It's a copy of The Investor's Post.

You can tell from the distinctive
salmon-colored paper.

Parents of Victim Number 4
had a subscription.

As do the parents of Mariana Castillo,
the most recent victim.

I saw one in their kitchen yesterday.

The parents of Victims 5, 6 and 7
are not subscribers

but have neighbors who are.

So the Balloon Man
was an exterminator.

Now he delivers papers at night
for The Investor's Post.

Mm. He identified his first three victims
through his first job,

his last five victims
through his second.

I'm on the phone with the paper.
They're telling me the name

of the man responsible
for the Castillos' route.

They think I'm a subscriber
looking to send a belated tip.

Yes, yes, hello.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

See any familiar names?

Samuel Abbott.

Abbott's mother is listed
as the owner of the apartment,

but she died six months ago.

He put it as his home address

the last time
he renewed his driver's license.

OFFICER 1:
Clear!

OFFICER 2:
Clear!

OFFICER 3: Clear!
- We got nothing, captain.

The place is clean.

What's that?

Head back to that room.

"Congrats." To who?

To us. For finding his place.

GREGSON [OVER RADIO]:
What is that on the balloon?

OFFICER 3 [OVER RADIO]:
Bringing it to you, captain.

You have something that's mine.

You have Adam.

You know who I am,
and you know what I can do.

I've already killed six people.

If you haven't released my son
back to me by noon tomorrow,

you can make it seven.

[SOBS]

Please. Make the trade.

Bring us back our daughter.

I'm afraid it's not that simple,
Mrs. Castillo.

The department can't trade one victim
for another.

Is that what you really think
Adam Kemper is?

I saw on the news this morning
the DA offered him an immunity deal.

If he's just a victim,
what does he need immunity from?

Given the givens in this case,
the DA felt he had to offer that deal.

Now, I know the media
has broached the possibility

of Adam being involved somehow
in the Balloon Man's crimes,

but we haven't confirmed
any of that yet.

Okay, so how long do we wait
for you to confirm something?

An hour, a day, a week?

I mean, he just said
we only have till noon tomorrow.

- Mr. Castillo...
- Has anybody asked Adam Kemper

what he wants?

He's 19, an adult.

If he was really some sort of partner
to this monster,

then isn't it possible
that he wants to go back?

Victims of horrific abuse
are often protective of their abusers.

It doesn't mean we should send them
back for seconds.

No, listen,
the immunity deal is on the table.

- Then why hasn't he taken it?
- Because he's been traumatized.

He's hardly speaking,
even to his own parents.

ROBERT:
Come on.

If anything happens to our daughter,

your head is the one
we're gonna be calling for in the press.

- So now what?
- We go back to the files.

We see if there's any clue
that we missed

as to where Abbott
is keeping the girl.

That's one option.

You have another?

When Adam's parents hired a lawyer,
they put a wall

between him and the N.Y.P.D.

No cop can talk to him.

No cop.

That's interesting.

And where is he now?

- What?
- I'm sore.

Only did about a thousand squats
last night.

Listen, I wanted to thank you
for all of your help.

Well, always happy to listen.

No, no, no. Actually, I was the one
who listened last night,

and I heard someone who was willing
to accommodate the difficult process

of a difficult person
for the greater good.

It's a rare quality in my experience.

And I may even listen to you again
in the future.

Not your sobriety twaddle, of course.

Just your thoughts on cases.

Thank you for seeing me, Adam.

You're the only one who gets it.

Well, you know by now
we've identified him, don't you?

Samuel Abbott?

Are you worried about him?

He's my dad.

Is that why you've been hesitant
to sign the immunity deal?

Would you turn in your dad?

I'd trade my dad for a Tic Tac,
but that's my dad, not yours.

The sooner we find him,
the better off he'll be.

He hasn't hurt Mariana Castillo yet.

You loved him,

but you didn't love what he did.

I can tell.

He did make you help
with the others, didn't he?

He's my dad.

That doesn't mean it wasn't hard.

Is that why you didn't want
to sign the deal?

Because you don't feel
you deserve it?

I never knew
why it was so important to him.

But I loved him,
and when he asked me to take...

Help take the others,
then I told him I'd do that.

- It's okay.
- No, it isn't.

Nothing's okay. I'm so confused.

I don't know
what I'm supposed to do.

You told me the other day
that you'd never lie to me.

That's right.

So tell me.

If I sign that deal, and
if I tell you where you can find him,

do you think that will make up
for the things that I've done?

No, I don't.

Six other children are dead,
thanks to your dad.

To whatever degree
you assisted him,

you will never get their blood
off your hands.

But that doesn't mean
you shouldn't try.

Okay.

I'll sign the papers.

I'll tell you where we live.
That's where you'll find the girl.

[DOOR BANGS]

OFFICER:
N.Y.P.D. Drop it! Don't move!

Drop the gun and let her go.

Let her go.

Now.

Don't do it.

Tell Adam I'm sorry.

[GUNSHOT]

Mariana's okay. She's terrified.

She hasn't been hurt.

You can go home, get some rest.

- You okay?
- He wasn't what I was expecting.

- Who?
- Samuel Abbott.

He dominated Adam.

I was expecting a more virile man.

Just seems a bit

feeble.

[WIND WHISTLING]

And that back brace.

Three scars means major surgery,
multiple operations.

Fused vertebrae. Makes sense
he would've needed Adam

- to help him get around.
- Do you hear that?

- What?
- What?

My God. This is where Adam slept?

What's wrong?

That man out there, Abbott,
is not the Balloon Man.

HOLMES:
Hello, Adam.

Mr. Holmes,
what are you doing here?

Thought it was time
for one of our little chats.

- How did you get into my room?
- The window.

Somehow I managed to open it
without slicing my hand.

You said that you cut your hand
trying to open a window in your room.

Your room. Not Samuel Abbott's.

Don't you imagine my surprise
when I saw your room today.

Two lamps, proper bed, television.

Virtual palace
compared to Samuel's room.

All he had was a stained mattress
and a tattered sheet.

No, you're talking about my room.
That's where he made me sleep.

No, don't lie to me, Adam, not again.

You told me when we met
that you injured your hand

trying to open a window
in your room,

the master bedroom.
That's where the broken pane was.

Samuel Abbott
was not the Balloon Man.

- You were.
- Mr. Holmes, l... You don't think...

I examined the pillows
in the larger room.

I found nothing but short dark hair.
Your hair.

On the pillows in the smaller room,
I found nothing but Samuel's hair,

stringy and gray.

You occupied the master bedroom
because you were the master.

You tricked me, Adam.

That doesn't happen very often.

I thought you were a dullard.

You're actually

quite brilliant.

It must take a huge intellect

for a boy to turn the tables
on the man who abducted him.

You have no idea.

Whose idea was it
to take more children?

Was it his, or was it yours?

I'd just turned 14. I was lonely.

No. What you wanted
was to make someone else the victim,

hurt them like you'd been hurt.

No, you're forgetting the parents.

They're the ones
that I got to see on TV,

crying, begging the monster
who took their son or daughter

to give them back.

See, when Samuel took me,
it was very difficult at first.

I had to put up with a lot.

But he did let me watch TV,

and so I got to see my parents
on the news at least once a day,

pleading with Samuel to let me go.

And the funny thing was,
he wasn't the least bit affected.

- But I was.
- You got off on it.

I really found myself.

And as for how I turned the tables
on him,

let's just say it's not very difficult

when your captor has an IQ
south of 90.

Psychological abuse followed
by physical, all very standard.

And the trade he proposed yesterday,
Mariana for me, wasn't even his idea.

It was a contingency plan.

If I ever got caught, he was supposed
to use the hostage we had

or take a new one
to secure my release.

The idiot didn't even have a clue

that the police would never go
for that in a million years.

But you knew
it would give them incentive

to offer you an immunity deal.

Must have taken everything you had
not to jump on that deal

the first time it came up.

Are you here to kill me,
Mr. Holmes?

Because I have to admit
I find the possibility very exciting.

I'm gonna go brush my teeth now.

I don't think you're gonna be here
when I get back.

If it's any consolation, I don't think
I'm gonna stay in this city much longer.

I think it's time
to move someplace else,

meet new people.

I'm gonna miss our little chats.

WATSON: I just got an e-mail
from my friend from the DA's office.

He said the language from the
immunity agreement is pretty ironclad.

"Adam Kemper is immune
from prosecution..."

"For any crimes committed
in consort

with Samuel Abbott,
a.k.a. The Balloon Man."

Yes, I'm familiar with the phrasing.
I've been reviewing it myself.

Look, what that kid did is disgusting.

I hate the fact he's out in the world.

But you did make a difference.

You saved Mariana,
and you told the police

what kind of person
Adam Kemper really is.

I handed a psychopath
a get-out-of-jail-free card.

You're not the only one he fooled.

If you're trying to blow off steam,
squats would be cheaper.

Easier on the decor too.

I can't. I overdid it last night.
I pulled a muscle.

My back's been sore all day.

I said a hundred squats,
not a thousand.

Back pain.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Dear sweet back pain.

[HOLMES CLEARS THROAT]

Morning, Adam.

Picturing those two
begging for their son's life?

No, it's nice out.
I'm just passing the time.

You look kind of tired.

I'm getting that a lot lately.

Listen, before you leave town,

I wanted to ask you
about William Crawford.

Your fifth victim.

- Parents called him Billy.
- Mm.

You abducted him
on April 3rd, 2009.

Right, yeah. Blond boy.
He cried a lot.

Well, yes,
I'm sure you could reminisce all day.

Still, not your cleanest work.

Police found his body
on April 7th.

Yeah, we buried them deeper
after that.

Actually, let me be clear about that,

in case you have somebody listening
to our conversations.

Mr. Abbott made me bury them
deeper after that.

Whoever had the idea,
I think it was a good one,

because the police found skin
under William's fingernails.

Definitely came
from one of his attackers.

We ran it against
Samuel Abbott's DNA this morning.

- And let me guess, it didn't match.
- Hmm.

Is this supposed to be scaring me?

It's probably mine. So what?

- I have an immunity deal.
- Yes, you do.

You cannot be prosecuted
for any crimes committed,

quote, "in consort with," unquote,
the Balloon Man.

Thing is, Samuel Abbott
broke three vertebrae in his back

on March 23rd, 2009.

That's why he couldn't work
as an exterminator anymore.

That's why he wore a back brace.

The surgery had him in hospital
for three weeks.

I believe he was in traction
the entire time.

Difficult to abduct
and murder a young boy

when you're feeling well,
I'd imagine.

From a hospital bed,
I'd say it was impossible.

I have an immunity deal.

For crimes committed in consort
with Samuel Abbott.

But you took William Crawford
on your own, didn't you?

What happened?

You get bored
while your playmate was in hospital?

Actually, you know what?
Don't tell me, because I don't care.

ADAM:
Are those for me?

I called them right after your parents
told me you were in the park.

You're welcome to try and run.

I've recently started
developing my core, you know?

Could use a bit of a workout.

Oh, no.

A fair fight's not really your speed,
is it?

It was only one murder.

And Samuel abused me.

I'll be out soon.

What are you doing?

Depriving you of all stimuli.

It's time for you to get some sleep.

What? No, no, no.

Right after you solve a case
you're flushed with success.

We should double down on work.

- We?
- You, me, Angus.

Some combination of the three.

You already know I favor you. Hmm?

Hey! No. No. This is...

Right now, I'm full of energy,
ideas, momentum.

- What kind of tea is that?
- Drowsy-time tea.

It detoxifies
and cleanses the system.

Now is the moment when
a true detective digs into his old files.

You see everything with a new light.

You'll see.

I'm gonna solve three cases
by nightfall.