Elementary (2012–…): Season 5, Episode 4 - Henny Penny the Sky Is Falling - full transcript

You got about ten seconds
to reach a point with this

before this water
ends up on your head.

Describe the image I just
put on the cabinet over there.

And I'm not allowed to move?

You can,
but remember

Mr. Enriquez specifically stated

that he was walking the
punch bowl to the band shell,

about to set it thereupon,
at the moment

he heard the gunshots.
Also remember

there was no evidence
of spilled sangria--

as would happen if someone in
your position abruptly turned--

found at the scene.

There's no way Enriquez
saw the shooter.

His statement's a lie.

Think he's covering
for someone?

If by “someone”
you mean “himself.”

In the course of your
investigation you discovered

that the victim was
a wanted wildlife trafficker.

Wanted, most notably,
for smuggling

rare Galápagos iguanas
out of Ecuador.

Mr. Enriquez
is from Ecuador.

And in these photographs,
from the day of the murder,

I saw multiple scars
on his arms

consistent with those
of Galápagos iguana bites.

Trust me when I say
I know of what I speak.

You think this was
some kind of business dispute?

I think that in light of
Mr. Enriquez's false statement

he's worth a second look.

A poop emoji?

Oh, I thought
it was ice cream.

(indistinct conversations)

That's Deputy Chief Prosky,
isn't it?

That's him.

He's the captain's boss,
isn't he?

Is there a... problem?

BELL: Technically,
he's the captain's boss' boss,

which means he's my
boss' boss' boss,

which means I'm gonna
mind my own business.

But thanks, now that I know
you think something's wrong,

I'm gonna be worrying, too.
I'm gonna go spill this out.

You should take down your “ice
cream” before Prosky sees it.

(indistinct conversations)

MAN: No, no, no, no,
I'm not calming down!

Our place is trashed!

Len, keep your voice
down. Let her talk.

We'll take care
of everything, I promise.

It's in your contract.

I told you we did not need
renters, okay? We should have

paid for a house sitter.
AwayKay carries insurance

for just such situations.

Guests we paired you with
did all this damage,

so we'll cover all the costs.
Oh, really?

You see this rug?
It's an antique.

Are they gonna give me
50 grand for it?

No, that's what I thought.
Look, I'm calling the cops,

because this is vandalism.
AwayKaying

is against the co-op charter.
They could throw us out.

And you knew that?

It was 11 grand
a month, Len.

Now, what the hell?

What the hell is this,
a fireplace poker or something?

What were they doing in here?

AGENT: Wait, before you pull
that out, let me get a photo

for the insurance.

That's in there pretty tight.

Len, will you
stop it?

Now, honey,
could you get my tools?

You're gonna break the wall.

(grunting)
What is in there?

WOMAN (muffled): You're not getting that
out of the wall, so...

(Len grunting)

Len, stop it!

Stop it, please.

♪ Elementary 5x04 ♪
Henny Penny the Sky is Falling
Original Air Date on

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man

♪
♪

WATSON: Pretty sure we
solved all those cases.

You are right, we did.

So, why the trip
down memory lane?

Last night while I was at the
precinct I observed the captain

in a closed-door meeting with
a superior officer. I could see

they were reviewing
a number of closed cases.

I checked the file room to see
which files had been pulled, and

voilà-- our cases.

Or, rather, a curious
number of them.

Okay.

I'm attempting to determine
why they were

looking at these
particular files

and what they were discussing.

Are we in hot water again?
Has Internal Affairs

turned its Orwellian eye
on us once more?

So what if they have?

We've weathered
the storm before.

It's not like we've
broken any rules lately.

Well, any more than usual.
It's true.

But wouldn't you rather know
what kind of attack

we have to defend ourselves
against?

It could also be nothing.

How could it be nothing?

Just because those
weren't in the file room

doesn't mean that they're the
ones that they're looking at.

And whatever it is,
the captain's got our back.

So if it's something
he thinks that we need to know,

he'll tell us.
I'm gonna make some breakfast.

Do you want anything?
(phone rings)

It's Marcus.

Hello?

Yes, we'll be right there.

Well, at least we know we
haven't been benched just yet.

Make it breakfast
to go, Watson.

(indistinct
police radio chatter)

Victim's name is Russell Cole.

He owned this apartment.
Super found him.

Mr. Cole worked

for Barrett White Capital,
an investment firm.

He was a quant--
quantitative analyst.

Deep math guy. They use
complicated formulas

to analyze companies
and then make

investment
recommendations.

No sign of forced entry.

Looks like
there was a struggle, though.

So, no one saw
or heard anything.

Well, the folks next door
had some noisy AwayKayers.

They'd moved on,

but the other neighbors
didn't know that,

so a few extra crashes
and bangs were just ignored.

Plus everyone thought
Cole was out of town.

They said they hadn't
seen him in weeks.

Overnight bag by the door
is full of clothes.

He must have just come home.

Anyway, nobody shows up
planning to commit a murder

with a fireplace poker, so

I'm thinking this wasn't
premeditated.

Cole let the person in,
so maybe

they knew each other
and for whatever reason,

things turned ugly.

You're incorrect.

About it not being premeditated.

The killer came armed with this.

It's a textured grip,
so it might be hard

to get prints,
but it's worth a try.

Magazine isn't seated properly.

That weapon
would have failed to fire.

Well, how'd you know
to look under there?

As you said, no one plans
to commit a murder this way,

and yet the specificity of the
crime suggests it was planned.

And that raises
another possible scenario:

the killer came better armed.

A fight ensued,
he or she was disarmed

before grabbing the poker
to finish the job.

WATSON:
What specificity?

Timing of the attack.

Just as Mr. Cole gets home.

Plus the fact that,
by appearances,

the only other thing missing

is his laptop.

This bag is dusty,
bleached by the sun,

apart from this area here.

Now, this bag comes with
a removable laptop sleeve.

It sits right there.
So, if his laptop is missing,

perhaps the killer has it.

Well, we haven't found it yet.
(phone dings)

Captain wants me
to stop by for a word,

as one does when one
wants to discuss nothing.

Cole was a Wall Street analyst.
His laptop could have contained

a lot of things
worth killing over--

insider information,
proof of a financial crime.

BELL:
Well, you go talk

to the captain, we'll
go to Cole's office,

see if we can find out
what he was working on.

Oh, my God.

This is horrible.

Were you and Mr. Cole close?

Oh, Russell didn't
just work for me.

He was family.

He started here
right out of school.

Can you think of any reason

someone might have
wanted to kill him?

I... I mean, people
get angry at us all the time.

Threaten us.
We give a company a poor rating,

millions of dollars disappear.
But...

nothing like this.

Was there anything that Russell
was working on in particular

that might have aroused threats?

I'm sorry, you seem pretty sure
he was killed because of work.

Is there a reason?

We think a laptop
was taken

from his apartment.
Could be whatever he had on it

is what the person was after.

Well,
the truth is

I have no idea
what he was working on.

Russell specialized in tech,
medicine, I.T.,

aerospace,
but as to what he was into

at any given moment, I...

He was my mad genius.

He'd beat the bushes on his
own, look for opportunities

no one else saw.
Go off somewhere private,

deep dive
into a company's numbers.

I gave him a long leash

because he always
came back with gold.

Was he on
one of these deep dives

the last few weeks?

His neighbors
said he hadn't been home.

Any idea
where he went?

No clue.

Oh. My wife
is gonna be devastated.

Is that her?

Laurie. She won a trip
to Maui in some

charity thing.
She took a girlfriend.

I want to help any way I can.
What do you need?

Well, we'd like
to go through Mr. Cole's office,

see if can figure out what he's
been working on. We'd also

like access to his e-mails
and correspondence so we could

look for
any threats.

I'll walk you
over there myself.

(muttering)

Oh, oh... come in.

Sit down.

Should I be concerned?

Relax. I had a hunch
you picked up a vibe last night

and I didn't want you
in your head about it.

The meeting that you saw--
it wasn't, uh, what you think.

Well, I haven't decided
what I think, but go on.

Did you ever hear of,
uh, Medal Day?

Mm-hmm. Annual NYPD tradition.

The, uh, mayor and the police
commissioner give out medals

to officers for valor,
distinguished service.

Not to mention purple shields

for those injured
in the line of duty.

They also give out something
called a unit citation

to squads that have done
exemplary work,

and this year they're
giving one out to Major Case.

The ceremony's in a few days.

Well, that's well deserved.
Congratulations.

I wasn't gonna say anything
to you and Joan

because it still
might not happen, but

civilian employees
are included in the award,

and I want your names
on the list.

It isn't money or anything,
you'd just

be part of the department's
official record

and you'd each
get a certificate.

Something to hang
on the wall.

I see.

I have been getting
some resistance.

I thought you should
know about it.

Mrs. Barrett.
Oh.

I don't mean to startle
you. I'm Joan Watson.

I work with the police.

I'm investigating the
murder of Russell Cole.

Yes, my husband told me.

Your husband has a photo
in his office of you at a luau.

I noticed

there was something blocking
the lens in one corner.

I had an idea what it was,
so I looked into it.

That picture was taken
on Russell's phone.

His case was broken,
and a piece of plastic

was sticking out
over the camera.

Police thought it had been
damaged during the murder.

But then I remembered seeing
a picture at his place

with the same obstruction.

So the case had been
broken for some time.

Russell was the friend
you took to Maui.

You were having an affair.
And considering your husband

has a memento from the trip,
I'm guessing he doesn't know.

No, he-he doesn't.

And I swear, I had nothing to do
with what happened to Russell.

I'm a wreck about it.
Right now you're not a suspect.

But I need some information from
you-- we're trying to find out

where Russell had been staying
the last few weeks.

Police checked his car
and his credit cards.

They're pretty sure that
he didn't drive too far outside

the city. Now, you went
all the way to Maui with him.

So I thought maybe
he'd taken you to the place

where he does his deep dives.

He has a...

a cabin near Bear Mountain.

It's about
an hour upstate.

(birds chirping)

(car doors shut)

Copious amounts
of poison ivy around.

Watch your step.

How'd you get here
before us?

You'll recall I know the owner
of a helicopter company.

There was one going this way.

I hitched a ride.

You been inside?
No.

I just got here
a short while ago.

Plenty to keep me occupied
out here.

So, only one vehicle has
left recent tire tracks.

The tread matches that
of Russell Cole's.

And, likewise, the only recent
footprints are his.

So he was here, and he
didn't have any visitors.

Guess he didn't like mixing
business with pleasure.

I mean, besides sleeping
with the boss' wife.

I'm no expert,
but this doesn't look financial.

More like science.

Stuff about
masses and radii

and reflection
coefficients.

WATSON:
You're right.

These are physics equations.

Astronomy, to be exact.

Okay, so Cole was
up here stargazing.

What does any of this have
to do with Wall Street?

That's difficult to say.

But I do think I understand
what he was killed over.

Nothing less than the fate
of life on Earth.

GREGSON:
So, all these dots

are asteroids?

An approximation
of them, yes.

Not all asteroids in existence,
of course.

Obviously, there are hundreds
of millions of those.

These are the 5,000 or so

that NASA has deemed
potentially hazardous,

those whose
orbits intersect

with the Earth's
and therefore pose a threat

of cataclysmic collision.

Such a collision wiped out
the dinosaurs,

along with most other life
at the time.

Any one of these dots could
represent the next such event,

which would be the last event
in human history.

But there are only 5,000
of them,

so that's reassuring.

Emphasis
on “potentially” hazardous.

But brace yourself, because
that existential knot of terror

you're feeling in your stomach
is about to grow tighter.

A week ago,
Cole submitted

a paper to a science blog,

saying that he believed
the whole way

we're looking for asteroids
is wrong.

“Miscalculating
Near-Earth Asteroids

and the Threat
to Human Existence”?

He wrote

that scientists have detected
thousands of new asteroids

in the last few years.

But according to him,

our measurements of their sizes
are useless.

And when it comes
to protecting the human race

from an extinction-level impact,
obviously size matters.

It's not just enough to know
that an asteroid is there.

We need to know
which ones are the big ones.

So that, what,
Bruce Willis can go nuke it?

Surprisingly, yes.
We've been reading up

on this stuff today--
there are proposals in the works

to send rockets to asteroids,

to nudge them
or even blow them up.

So was
Cole right?

Are we measuring them wrong?

No idea.
Do we have

any idea why a Wall Street guy

was studying this stuff
in the first place?

We don't.

So where does
all this put us?

Sounds like you're not even sure
this is what got him killed,

let alone why.

The technical minutiae of the
paper are beyond my expertise.

I'm at something of a loss.

But...?
Well, there's an expert

in the field
I consult from time to time.

But doing so
is never really my first choice.

Well, I'm gonna make it easy
for you. Do it.

And not just to solve
this murder.

If the world is
coming to an end,

I want to know about it.

We scientists estimate
that our universe

is 14 billion years old.

Ever wonder how we know?

Actually, in a number of ways.

One of them is by measuring the
radiation that's left over...

“Julius Kent,
'Ambassador to the Cosmos.'”

He's on TV all the time.
He's famous.

Yep.

Celebrity astronomer.
Because apparently the world

needs science explained to it
with jazz hands.

We were at boarding school
together.

He was every bit the blowhard
then that he is now.

Ten years ago, he helped me
time a break-in to coincide

with a solar flare.

The radio interference
enabled me to avoid detection.

It was good.

So why didn't
you want to call him?

Because every time I ask
for his help, he gloats.

Oh, how did that conversation
with Gregson go?

Are we fired again?
The opposite, of sorts.

The Major Case Squad is
receiving a commendation,

and he's lobbying
to have us included.

Thanks to our habit of
keeping our names out

of official reports, or at
least minimizing our roles,

he's having trouble convincing
the honor committee.

Well, however
it goes down,

it's nice that he's sticking
his neck out for us.

I'd rather he didn't.

I eschew such recognition,
Watson. You know that.

I've reminded the captain
of such, but he's persisting.

So I initiated other steps.

“Other steps.”

You know what you could do?
You could just say thank you,

like a normal
human being.

JULIUS:
Sherlock.

And this must be Joan.

It's a pleasure.
Sherlock never said

that you two
knew each other.

Yes. I'm not surprised.

My very existence seems
to embarrass him.

You know, if it weren't for me,
our friend Sherlock

would still think that the Sun
revolves around the Earth.

(laughs) I was eight when I
made that mistake.

You chose to wear
that vest this morning.

(chuckles)
It was a gift from a fan.

How could I resist?

With self-respect.

So, Russell Cole

and his Asteroid Admonition.

Sherlock said that you were
already aware of his paper?

It made quite a splash
in my circles.

Come, I'll explain it to you.

In layman's terms, of course.

So, in a nutshell,

asteroids are warmed by the sun.

They're very hard to see
by conventional means,

so instead we look
for their heat, using infrared.

And, theoretically,
we can tell the difference

between a large warm object
and a small one,

i.e., the size of the asteroid.

Makes sense so far.

But according
to Russell Cole,

this fails to take into account
what the asteroids

are actually made of.
Some are mostly carbon,

others more iron, many
even contain platinum and gold.

Which means that some asteroids
have dull, dark surfaces

and others have
light, shiny ones.

And I'm sure even Sherlock
can tell us

the effect that that would have.

Dark surfaces get hotter
than light ones.

Which,
if Cole is right,

means that we've been seeing
asteroid sizes all wrong.

Was he right?

No one knows.

Cole was a fine mathematician,

but astrophysics
wasn't really his field.

His paper was rife with errors
and incomplete work.

It'll take the community months
to reach a consensus.

I'll help, of course.

The world will sleep easier.

Cole mentioned in his paper that
he was working on a solution.

Can you think of anyone
who would want to stop him?

Well, naturally.
Anyone whose livelihood depends

on the current methods
of determining asteroid size.

Because of Cole's paper, NASA's
already shelved one proposal.

An orbiting infrared telescope
called Piazzi.

And much of the equipment
would have been bought

from small private companies.

Those companies have just lost
their prime source of income.

Maybe someone associated
with them killed Cole in anger.

So how much money
are we talking about?

The total budget for Piazzi?

Around $500 million.

You really thought the Sun
revolved around the Earth?

(phone rings)
I was eight.

(chuckles)
It's Marcus.

Hey. We're both here.

Just got a message about a call
that came in.

A waitress up in New City
recognized Cole on the news.

Said he was in her diner
a bunch of times

over the last few weeks.

That's a long drive
from his cabin for coffee, no?

It's halfway between here
and Bear Mountain.

Maybe he was meeting
someone?

That's as good a guess as any.

All she told the detective
who talked to her

was she thought
Cole behaved strangely.

I figure it's worth a drive
to check it out.

Watson will join
you presently.

Just me?

A waitress who may have seen
Cole leave his cabin for meals--

both of us checking that out
seems a little excessive.

Thanks to Julius, we now have
a concrete theory of motive.

A dozen companies lost millions
upon the death of Piazzi.

One of us should stay behind
and start combing through them.

You could work
in the car, you know.

I also have an appointment
to keep here in the city.

♪ ♪

That's him.

Came in once every two
or three days,

always right between lunch
and dinner.

Did you ever see him meet
with anyone while he was here?

He always ate alone,
didn't talk to anyone.

BELL: When you called,
you mentioned some kind

of strange behavior. Can
you tell us what you meant?

It might be
nothing.

But I saw he was murdered.

And you know what the news
always says--

see something, say something.

He always had a laptop with him,
but he never used it in here.

After he'd eat, he'd take it
out there to the parking lot.

He'd do a little work on it,

just standing over there,
by the wall,

and then get
in his car and go.

Customers work in here
all the time. We encourage it.

Why'd he need to go outside?

BELL:
Maybe Cole was looking

for a Wi-Fi signal.

Could have been hacking
into a business,

maybe one inside
this building.

I don't think that's it.

Is that a thumb drive?

Looks like
someone drilled a hole

so they could bury it
in the mortar.

I think it's a dead drop.

I've seen it done like this
before. It's so two parties

can exchange data without
leaving a trail online.

I don't think Cole was out
here looking for a signal.

I think he was plugging
his laptop into that

to get information
on and off of it.

I think I've got
some tools in my car.

HOLMES:
Thank you for seeing me.

Do I address you by the full
“Deputy Chief Prosky”,

or just “Chief Prosky”?
(chuckles) Come on.

After all Tommy Gregson has told
me about you and your partner,

you can call me
anything you want.

What can I do for you?

Um, I'd like
to talk to you

about your conversations
with Captain Gregson,

and about Medal Day.

Fire away.
Well, first of all,

I would like to say, that, uh,
I have the greatest respect

for the men and women in blue,
and commendations for service

are not something
I take lightly.

(chuckles)
No argument here.

But, um...
(clears throat)

...if you don't mind,
Mr. Holmes, uh,

let me jump in here.

It sounds like you
know that Tommy

has put us in
a tough spot.

Now, under perfect
circumstances,

including you in a Unit Citation
would be, uh...

Well, unorthodox.

And on top of that,
you and Ms. Watson

have had your share of, uh,
controversy,

to say the least.

The Honor Committee

is not saying no, yet,

but we may not be able
to square it.

I think you'll be relieved
by what I have to say.

Respectfully, I'd like to bow
out of consideration.

I tried to persuade
the captain

to rescind his request,
but, uh, to no avail.

So instead, I, um, I've compiled
a list of technicalities,

which, I think,
the department could invoke.

Any one of them

should compel the captain
to withdraw,

whilst keeping me out of it,

and allowing you to tell him
that you did your best.

Uh, boy...

You and your partner need to get
straight what it is you want.

I beg your pardon?

Your partner.

She was all for it
when she was in here.

My partner.
Yeah.

Was here.
Yeah.

GREGSON: This is everything you found
on the thumb drive?

WATSON: These messages, plus multiple
drafts of Russell Cole's paper.

He didn't write it by himself,
he had a partner who helped.

They went over every detail
together, word by word.

This partner have a name?

They didn't use names
when they communicated,

which makes sense, they were
already using a dead drop

to keep their
partnership a secret.

Here's what I don't get.

You talked to someone who said

that that paper was
full of sloppy work.

Now, we find out
two people

went over it
with a fine-tooth comb.

Well, that's the thing,
it looks like

all these mistakes
were deliberate.

They wanted it
to take months

for experts in the field
to untangle.

The paper was designed to kill
the Piazzi telescope project.

The one that's worth
half a billion dollars.

Cole's partner
was the instigator.

He promised to pay Cole big time
for publishing the paper.

But check out the last
couple of messages.

GREGSON:
He was upping the price.

Cole wanted more money.

The partner agreed
to talk about it,

and told him to come back
into the city.

They were gonna meet at Cole's
apartment two nights ago.

GREGSON: The night Cole
was murdered.

WATSON: We've been thinking
someone who was hurt

by Cole's paper
killed him in anger,

but it turns out,
he may have been killed

by whoever hired him
to write it.

Is this how you people conduct
your business?

You lie to someone who does
nothing but cooperate.

Lure me here
under false pretenses.

BELL: We told you

we had some questions about
the case, we're asking them.

You didn't tell me
I was a suspect.

I loved Russell like a brother.

Why would I have killed him?

The paper Cole published
was hand-crafted

to kill a NASA project.

It cost multiple
private companies millions.

We think it was
market manipulation.

You said yourself how your
quants can destroy a company,

and you were in the perfect
position to conspire with Cole.

HOLMES: Based on our research,
the likely target

was a telescope manufacturer
named Cygnus Optics.

Their value's plummeted

as a result of the shelving

of the Piazzi project, creating
an ideal investment opportunity.

One that you
have taken advantage of.

Knowing the company to
be fundamentally sound,

you'll be confident
that its value will recover.

WATSON: Once the paper
was published,

you told Cole
to lie low.

You wanted him to
stay in his cabin,

supposedly working
on a solution,

so that he would
be unavailable

to answer questions
while the damage took hold.

BELL: Then Cole
got greedy.

Asked for a bigger cut.

Told him to come back to his
apartment, where you killed him.

You took his laptop,
so no one would find

the messages
you'd been trading.

And we figure you would have
picked up the thumb drive

in New City eventually,
but who knows?

It was well hidden.

Probably, you just figured
no one would find it.

You're right about one thing.

I invested in Cygnus Optics.

You would have, too,

after the nosedive
it took.

But I didn't know anything about
Russell writing a phony paper.

He was killed on Monday night,
right? What time?

M.E. puts it
between 7:00 and 9:00.

I had a dinner.

We were going over a new IPO.

A dozen witnesses
can put me there.

You don't believe me

when I say I cared
about Russell.

You think I only care
about money.

So fine, let's talk about money.

I told you before,
he was my golden goose.

Look at my annual reports
over the last eight years.

They're all on file
with the SEC.

Count up how much money he
was worth to me over time.

You said Russell wanted his
partner to pay him double?

I would have given him ten times
what he was asking... 20.

It would have been easy.

You want to arrest me? Fine.

But you're gonna embarrass
yourselves.

You've got the wrong guy.

Cutting Cole's boss loose?

For now.

We're not liking him as
much as we did an hour ago.

He gave us an alibi,
I'm gonna check it out.

Are we still thinking
this is all about tanking

a telescope company?

Cygnus Optics is
still our best theory,

but if Mitch Barrett didn't have
anything to do with it,

we have to find out who else
had reason to hurt them.

HOLMES: One project's
$500 million loss

could be another's gain.

Now, whilst researching
the information

that Julius Kent gave us,

I identified somebody
who could speak to

all the asteroid-hunting
projects

in consideration--

Congresswoman Kristen Salazar,

from New York's 31st District.

She sits on the House
subcommittee

for space and science funding.

Turns out she's in her
Manhattan office all this week.

GREGSON: You're thinking
talk to her,

see if any other
suspects jump out.

When I attempted
to contact her

several times earlier
in the day,

my calls went unreturned.

So I asked Julius
to try and leverage

his celebrity, see if he
could get her attention.

And she made space
in her schedule

first thing tomorrow.

I'm sorry to
keep you waiting.

I was on a call.

It's always a madhouse
around here.

Of course.

I see you've already met
my science advisor, Grant,

which is good because
he's the expert on all this.

GRANT:
Everyone, please.

I'm sure you heard that
we are investigating

the murder of Russell Cole?
Of course.

He wrote the paper that
forced us to mothball Piazzi.

It's simply tragic.

And whether his assertions
turn out to be right or wrong,

clearly Mr. Cole had
a singular mind.

HOLMES: In ways that
you may be unaware.

We've discovered evidence
that Mr. Cole

undermined Piazzi...
intentionally.

So we'd like to know
who profits from his actions.

I don't understand.

Are you saying
we were played?

In so many words.

The $500 million that
would have gone to Piazzi,

is it going to be allocated
to a different project?

No, no, the money
doesn't go anywhere,

it just doesn't
get allocated.

But I think you're missing
the bigger picture.

That paper hurt all asteroid-
hunting projects equally.

Obviously, there are
competing projects

that would have loved
to cut ahead,

but they all rely
on the same principles

that Cole's paper
attacked.

They all failed
to take into account

what asteroids are made of.

According to his paper,

everyone is making
the same mistake,

so all proposed projects are
on an indefinite hold.

I mean, if what
you're saying is true,

Russell Cole has done
something catastrophic.

Whatever his motives,
his paper raised

real, legitimate
questions.

We can't un-ring
that bell now.

We've gotta let
the peer review play out.

And government funding
doesn't come easily,

especially not
for space research.

Even if the experts
decide that he was wrong,

it could take a decade
to get asteroid research

back on track.

(footsteps)

(sighs)

Contemplating the mysteries
of the universe?

Just one, actually.

I've developed
a new theory of the crime,

which I'm liking
more and more.

Why do you smell like
a banana muffin?

Oh, its a paste
of oatmeal,

baking soda, banana peel,
and goldenseal root.

It's a homemade
anti-itch remedy.

I seem to be
developing a rash.

Well, you must have touched
some poison ivy

when you were
up at Cole's cabin.

I most certainly did not.

You were walking around
outside before we arrived.

I'm the foremost expert
on poisonous plants

you'll likely ever meet.

I did not touch
poison ivy.

Proof is in the oatmeal.

So what's your theory?

Since leaving
Congresswoman Salazar's office,

I've been thinking about
what she

and Mr. Huber told us.

That the effect
of Cole's paper

was to delay the hunt
for asteroids

for as much as a decade.

I started wondering
if that was the point.

So you think someone
wants us all to be killed

by a giant rock?

My theory is much
more out there,

so to speak.

I'm all ears.

What if what was bad
for asteroid hunting

was good for asteroid mining?

Excuse me?

There's gold in them
there rocks, Watson.

Platinum, too. Lots of it.
Just as Julius said.

Yeah, but nobody's gonna
be able to fly a ship

to an asteroid until
sometime in the 2020s.

A crucial element to my theory.
Come on.

“Michael Hines,
CEO Aurum Aeronautics.

Barbara Torrissi,
CEO Exterral Dynamics.”

I thought everyone
was hurt equally

by Cole's paper.

I no longer think
that's true.

Combined,
those four companies

are investing billions
towards

the long-term prospects
for asteroid mining.

The world's governments
are also investing

in missions to asteroids,
which greatly reduces

the cost
to those companies.

Governments, however--
they're driven only

by their fear
of asteroid impact.

NASA, for example,
cares only about

saving the human race,

not about mining
for rare metals.

And the truth is the chances
that anything really bad

is going to hit us anytime soon

is infinitesimal.

The last extinction-level impact
was 66 million years ago.

Even an event that would be
locally devastating--

the loss of a city,
for example--

that only comes along
every 5,000 years.

Decade here or there,
meaningless.

So you think experts are mapping
out asteroids too quickly.

If they finish,
and it turns out

the world is safe
for the foreseeable future,

the governments
will cut off the funding.

Which gets one or more
of these CEO's

motive to slow things down.

Cole's paper creates
a fog of uncertainty,

humanity's fear of
the unknown is prolonged,

and they get to ride
that rocket of terror

to their gold mine in the sky.

You're right.

It's out there.
But it makes sense.

As long as whoever it is
doesn't mind

rolling the dice.
If we're all wiped out

by an asteroid
in the next few years,

they're gonna feel pretty silly.

Mm. I'm certain
that they're certain

the odds are in their favor.

Oh, speaking
of being blindsided,

I had a meeting with
Deputy Chief Prosky yesterday.

Mm-hmm?

You've known
about the unit citation

for weeks--
why didn't you say anything?

Well, because I knew
you'd be against it.

So you knew I'd object...

yet you conspired with the Honor
Committee's inquiry nonetheless.

And this is why
I did not bring it up.

I want to show you
something.

I didn't conspire.

The Honor Committee called
about a week ago.

You weren't here.
I went to Prosky's office,

answered some questions.
That's it.

What's this?

It's your one-year
sobriety chip.

Yeah, and what's this?

Also my one-year
sobriety chip.

One is my first
one-year chip,

the other is my
second one-year chip.

So?

So they're
indistinguishable.

These awards, these
ribbons, trinkets,

they're-they're just symbols;
they don't matter.

Not really.

The work we do does.

The work is all that matters.

If symbols matter
so little to you,

why are you so against
accepting a certificate?

Captain Gregson wants to do
something nice for us.

He's also our friend.

I appreciate it.

I'd like to let him.
So where's the harm?

It's the camel's nose
in the tent, Watson.

What?

It's a
slippery slope.

I saw it during my time
at Scotland Yard.

The reason I refused to accept
any official police credit

is that once I allow it,

there's no official line
as to where it stops.

And then soon I begin to eclipse
the whole department.

And-and resentment
and its inevitable harm

to working relationships
quickly follows.

So you don't want to accept
any credit

because the truth is

you deserve too much credit.

The work we do is too
important to jeopardize.

I give up. I'm going to bed.

(sighs)

(groans)

I assume that's not you
bringing me breakfast in bed.

I thought you
might need

some of my remedy--
I was wrong.

So you checked me
for poison ivy in my sleep?

That is not creepy.
I had no need

to look anywhere
other than your arms.

You appear
to have been unexposed.

My own rash, however,
has spread.

You still sure
you didn't touch any?

I am.

Then how could you have a rash?

I continued working

after you went to bed
last night,

poring over information on the
four asteroid mining companies.

I believe I've not only
identified a suspect,

but also the explanation
for my rash.

I maintain I did not
come into contact

with poison ivy--
but you and I

have come into contact
with Russell Cole's killer.

(footsteps approaching)

Oh. Marcus just called.

The police got permission
to go ahead.

So we should
head out soon.

I also heard from the
deputy chief's office.

They're including us
in Medal Day.

The captain is gonna go
on behalf of the squad,

and then he's gonna bring
back the certificates

to hand out at the station.

What would you do, Watson,
if you knew the world was ending

in, say, one month's time?

Hmm? Indulge me.

An asteroid 20 miles wide is
hurtling towards us as we speak.

You made your point
last night, okay?

We would both continue doing
our jobs to the very end.

The work we do
is important.

I think I could have
done a better job

explaining why
it's important.

At least explaining why
it's important... to me.

When you and I
first started...

I quickly recognized
your merits,

both as a detective
in your own right...

and in that you facilitated
my own process.

I'm better at the work I do
because of you.

But over the years...

the relative importance
of those two values has flipped.

I now value the work that we do,
first and foremost,

because I do it with you.

So if at times
I seem overprotective

of the system that we've built,

if I worry that the resentments
of others might disrupt it...

I have good reason.

Those chips you showed me
last night...

you don't accept them
for yourself.

You accept them
because you're part of a group.

You accept them because...

the work you did
to stand up at a meeting

inspires others.

It's bigger
than you.

Or us.

So you show up.

I'm gonna go get ready.

(footsteps ascending stairs)

Hello?

HOLMES:
Mr. Huber.

Thank you for coming.

Mr. Holmes,
Miss Watson.

I got a call
from Julius Kent.

Are you meeting him here, too?

We asked Julius to
invite you here.

We'd seen how much
influence he has,

so we knew you'd come.

It's so police could
search your office,

with Congresswoman Salazar's
permission, of course.

Why do the police
want to search my office?

Why not just ask?
I'd have let them.

HOLMES:
You're confident

you have nothing to fear
because you think

there's no evidence there of you
having murdered Russell Cole.

You are wrong.

You think I killed Russell Cole?

We do.

After the two of you
wrote that paper together.

(scoffs)
That makes no sense.

What possible reason
would I have

to sabotage the funding
I helped get?

You're referring to the
funding for asteroid hunting.

As it happens, we've
shifted our focus

more towards asteroid mining.

While looking into the
companies involved in that,

a familiar name
kept recurring.

Prior to your current
job with Ms. Salazar,

you were a lobbyist with
deep ties to those companies.

We believe it was
in that capacity

that you first
met Mr. Cole.

He conducted an analysis
of one of your clients.

His calendar showed
a number of dinner dates

between the two of you.

You also helped get
legislation passed

giving those companies
the right to mine asteroids.

And based on your
social media photos,

you spend way too much money
for a public servant.

Which indicates

that your former employers
are paying you

to make sure that government
decisions go their way.

And most recently,
that included you

killing Russell Cole.

You people are crazy.
(chuckles)

Do you have even a shred of
proof to support any of this?

HOLMES:
That brings us

to the search currently
underway at your office.

At some point
after the crime,

you brought Russell
Cole's laptop there.

The case was covered
in urushiol.

It's the oil which comes
from poison ivy leaves.

You'd be surprised at how
easily that oil transfers

from one surface to another.

For example, you put
the case on your couch.

I sat there, and my skin
reacted to the toxins.

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

I don't have poison ivy.

Assuming that's true, it
is possible that you are

in the 20% of people who
are not sensitive to it.

Either way, police are
taking your couch to the lab

to collect oil samples.

They're also showing
your photograph

around a diner
in New City.

I think it's only
a matter of time

before you're recognized.

If you want to cooperate,

and share the names of
the people who hired you

to conspire with Cole,
now is your chance.

HOLMES:
In case you're wondering,

urushiol contains DNA.

So a definitive match between
the oil on your couch

and the plants at Cole's cabin

will be attainable.

I should say,
might be.

I'm not sure of the odds, but...

I think they're better than
an asteroid showing up

to put you out of your misery.

♪ ♪

GREGSON: I've been a cop
more than 30 years now.

I've seen this city go through
its share of ups and down.

Crime rates rise and fall.

People get along or they don't.
These days,

you watch the news
and it can feel like

everything's falling apart.

And I don't mean just here.

Bad stuff happening all over--

cops getting killed.

Makes it tough some mornings

to want to get out of bed.

Not that the bad guys
will ever take a day off.

Now I don't say all this

to bring everybody down,

I say all this because
I want you to know

what gets me out of bed
in the morning.

What gets me back here, at work,

doing the job,
every day.

♪ We are one... ♪

You guys do.

All of you.

This squad is the finest
group of men and women

I've ever had the
honor to serve with.

And that's not just a line.

It's what our
clearance rate says.

That's why it was
important for me

that you all got
recognized today.

Because the extraordinary work
you do,

day in, day out, it...

it amazes me.

This team,
this family--

you guys are what keep me going.

So, do me a favor, would you?

Give yourselves a hand?

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man