NCIS: New Orleans (2014–…): Season 2, Episode 21 - Collateral Damage - full transcript
♪ Remember the last time ♪
♪ You had promised me
the world ♪
♪ Remember how you said ♪
♪ That I'm your only girl ♪
♪ Well, maybe the next time ♪
♪ I'll see that you were a ♪
♪ A liar and a cheat ♪
♪ Just forget it ♪
♪ What was I thinking ♪
♪ Ooh... ♪
♪ Forget all the times
that you said ♪
♪ It was all my fault ♪
♪ Remember how
nothing was ever good ♪
♪ I swear I gave it my all ♪
♪ But maybe
the next time you'll see ♪
♪ When you're with a...
a girl that ain't me ♪
♪ You'll regret it ♪
♪ And be thinking ♪
♪ What I gotta do ♪
Sorry. I Forgot my key.
♪ The last time you asked... ♪
We have to stop
meeting here.
No one saw me.
I was careful.
♪ Remember how you said... ♪
I ordered wine.
It's in here.
Thank God.
Not the same kind
as last time, right?
That finish was
a little bitter.
Well, you're learning.
And no.
It's new.
Here.
“Marcienne.”
Never heard of it.
Ah, it's a small
Bordeaux estate in Pomerol.
Only produces one wine.
Long day?
I really need to talk to you.
You okay?
Becca!
Oh, my God.
Becca!
♪ NCIS:New Orleans 2x21 ♪
Collateral Damage
Original Air Date on April 19, 2016
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ Bang, bang, bang, bang ♪
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ How, how, how, how ♪
♪ Hey, hey ♪
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man
♪ You gotta come on. ♪
Special Agent Pride.
Dwayne. Hey.
I'm sorry to wake you, man.
It's, uh, it's Samuel. Nilsen.
Sam.
Wow, it's been years.
What-what time is it?
It's late.
I'm, uh, I'm in New Orleans.
I got a situation.
Could use your help.
A Navy sailor died
about an hour ago.
Unclear if it's foul play.
I didn't get a call.
I'm the first one on scene.
Before NOPD?
There are some
complicating factors
at play here.
I'm at the, uh,
Hotel Monteleone.
Why don't you come meet me,
I'll fill you in?
What you're asking me to do
is against protocol, Sam.
Dwayne, come on, man, it's me.
Huh?
Just give me the benefit
of the doubt.
30 minutes.
Thank you.
Hey, Chris.
Text me when you get off.
We'll do breakfast.
How you doin', boo?
What'd you do,
step out of Pat O'Briens
and cross the street?
I met her over
the weekend.
Small world.
Too small.
Expand your horizons,
Christopher.
You know, try a real
'Nawlins hangout.
I Ubered from
Sweet Lorraine's.
You Ubered?
From a bar,
in the middle of the night?
Well, it's my
monthly poker game.
It's fun, and I'm on
a winning streak.
And don't try telling me you
were home, 'cause I smell smoke.
Yeah, what's that
I see on your hand?
A “21 and Legal” stamp?
Since when do
you go clubbing?
Since awhile.
Maybe you don't know me
as well as you think.
Ready to work?
What are we doing back here?
My request.
Hey.
Dwayne.
Sam, hey, man.
How are you?
Colonel Samuel Nilsen.
Special Agents Lasalle, Brody,
How you doing?
medical examiner Doc Wade.
Hi.
Welcome.
Can we speak
privately?
Sure.
Excuse us.
I wasn't expecting
an entourage.
Team comes
to every scene.
You know that.
NCIS policy. Mine, too.
Yeah, well,
the situation is sensitive.
I thought I explained that.
All you told me
is that a sailor's dead,
making this my jurisdiction.
Now, I assume,
since you called me,
this sensitive situation
involves your boss,
General Matthews.
He had nothing to do
with the sailor's death,
but he was there.
Look, I know
you got to investigate.
But the general's been nominated
to a post in Homeland.
Now, there's a lot eyes on him.
We're trying to avoid scandal.
What are you asking me, Sam?
Just a little discretion,
is all.
I mean, your team,
your agents...
they kind of stand out.
We'll be discreet.
But my team is non-negotiable.
And I expect full cooperation.
Absolutely.
We good, King?
Yeah.
Yeah, but, uh...
hats and jackets off.
We're going in
the service entrance.
Lieutenant Rebecca Peterson, 33.
Works for the Port Services,
overseeing Navy contractors
in New Orleans.
She lives in town;
suggests this room wasn't hers.
Two wine glasses.
She was being entertained.
That's an assumption.
No, sir. Observation.
What do you got, Loretta?
There's no sign
of external trauma.
Copious amounts of blood;
possible internal bleeding.
Bloody T-shirt.
Men's extra-large.
Probably used
in an attempt
to staunch
the bleeding.
Who'd you say
the room belonged to?
I didn't.
Time to talk to him, Sam.
Wait in the hall,
please.
Outside, please.
Thank you.
General Matthews, sir.
I tried to help;
the blood just kept coming.
Just, why don't
you sit down, sir?
I'll get you something.
Here you go.
General, can you
tell me what happened?
Yeah, but...
Becca had barely
walked in the room,
just started coughing and...
bleeding.
She was dead
before I could dial 911.
Have to tell David.
Yes, sir.
Her father.
He was the general's
roommate back at VMI.
That how you knew Rebecca?
Our kids grew up together.
He's had a hard time
since his wife died.
Becca was...
his whole world.
We'll have, uh,
CACO make that notification.
Rebecca sick?
Have allergies?
I have no idea.
You feeling all right, General?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Uh... migraine coming on.
It happens.
Maybe we could do this
another time.
Why was Rebecca
in your room, sir?
She knew I was in town.
Dropped by to say hi.
Just to say hello?
Noticed that
the two of you were
sharing a bottle of wine.
How is that relevant, Dwayne?
Come on.
Standard question, Sam.
That's a loaded question.
I know what you're thinking,
same as your other agents.
Becca's an old
family friend.
Hadn't seen her in years.
That's all.
So, Nilsen
works with
Owen Matthews?
Three-star general.
Been in every major war
since 1990.
Rumor is he's on track to be
Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs one day.
Yeah, well,
I don't care what track he's on.
Fraternizing
with a junior officer--
that's no bueno.
Look, I know you want
to take things slow, Sam,
but we're gonna need to loop
NOPD and Army CID in on this.
Can't it wait
till after autopsy?
I mean, if there's
no signs of foul play?
Don't need this secrecy.
It's not warranted
if-if he's telling the truth.
He is.
- She's been poisoned.
- Are you sure?
'Cause usually, it's
“gotta wait till autopsy,
I'll know more when...”
Leukonychia striata.
It's a telltale sign
of arsenic overdose.
And by the bloody vomit,
I'd say it was ingested.
She did have wine
before she died.
And she wasn't
drinking alone.
But the headlines, man...
You know, “dead girl found
in general's hotel room.”
I mean, it doesn't matter
what the truth is.
People survive bad press.
Maybe in your line of work.
But the general
is a public figure
looking to take on
a high-profile position.
There's no way he weathers
a news cycle like this.
I don't care
if the president's in there,
I'm going in.
Open the door!
Okay, let her in. Let her...
The general, where is he?
- Where is he?
- Wait, ma'am!
Sir, I'm Dr. Wade.
I need to know
how you're feeling.
Okay. A little headache.
Chest tightness? Stomach pains?
What's going on?
- Did you have wine tonight?
- Wait, wait, wait!
You can't ask him that!
Loretta...
I'm not drunk!
Loretta, what...
Sir? Sir, sir!
Please!
We have to call the paramedics.
No! We can't.
Rebecca Peterson was poisoned.
General could have been, too.
He has to get
to the hospital right now
or he could die.
I understand.
Yep. Uh-huh.
We'll speak again soon.
Thank you.
How's the general?
He's hanging in.
He's on hemodialysis
and chelation therapy
for the arsenic overdose.
I also spoke to CID.
They have asked us
to keep them updated.
Well, here's what we got so far.
Our forensic scientist
tested the wine
from the general's room--
no poison.
He and Brody are
at the Monteleone,
looking other
possible sources.
And, yes,
they're being discreet.
I looked into Rebecca.
Now, she is a squared-away
sailor, pays her bills on time.
I mean, no one had
an obvious motive to kill her.
Well, of course,
they didn't, right?
The arsenic was clearly meant
for General Matthews.
He's done a lot of good work
for our country, but he's
made some of enemies
in the process.
You're saying enemy of the state
poisoned your guy?
Or some whack-a-do activist,
doesn't like the Army.
Or given the general's
nomination to Homeland,
we might even be
looking at espionage.
Let's not forget
who our actual victim is here--
Rebecca Peterson.
It's unfortunate
collateral damage.
“Collateral damage”?
Oh, all right, okay.
Until we know more,
we'll investigate
both victims.
Sam, start a list
of potential suspects.
And, Chris?
Go see Rebecca's father.
Not so fast.
The general has operated at the
highest level of the military.
Yeah, so you've said.
And protecting him is matter
of national security.
This investigation
is compartmented.
It's on a need-to-know basis.
Well, Lieutenant Peterson's
father needs to know.
You can speak to him.
Just no details
about her cause of death.
We cannot let it get out
that General Matthews
has been poisoned.
Hey, are you asking me
to lie to a grieving father?
The order came from
the Army Chief of Staff.
Well, you answer
to the Army, not us.
Christopher, Colonel's right.
Till we have a suspect
in custody,
the general's safety
is paramount.
Case is on a need-to-know basis.
Look, this isn't us, King.
All right,
this is not what we do.
We'll make sure the ends
justify the means.
Right, Sam?
That's right.
No signs of arsenic anywhere?
The room,
the elevator, in here?
Nope, the kitchen
is officially...
Okay, guys,back to work.
Which is a huge relief.
Guess General Matthews'
food poisoning must've come
from somewhere else.
As I assured you
it did.
All VIP guests are assigned
a private concierge.
Mr. Shapiro attended to
the general's needs last night,
as he does every visit.
What time did
General Matthews check in?
A little after midnight.
I had his wine waiting
in his room, per his request.
Yeah, but the wine
wasn't contaminated.
We tested it--
Which, uh, seems odd...
That's weird-- there's only been
two recorded cases.”
But you know, it never
hurts to-to be, uh, safe.
Did anyone else had access
to General Matthews' room?
VIPs have special keys.
Not even housekeeping
has copies.
Well, uh, actually,
General Matthews
asked for an additional key.
For a friend.
Why didn't I know about this?
Oh, “a friend”-- the plot
is thickening, that's...
I'm sorry, I never get a chance
to see this side of it.
You know? It's really fascinating.
Who was the key for?
I don't know her name,
but she was here last night.
Comes to see General Matthews
whenever he's in town.
Rebecca Peterson's
stomach and intestines
were saturated
with inorganic arsenic.
It's the bad kind.
I didn't realize
there was a good kind.
Well, everything
in moderation.
So, C.O.D. is official?
Yes.
There were over 600 milligrams
of arsenic in Rebecca's body.
Enough to kill her
two times over.
So, whoever did this
wasn't messing around.
Any idea how much was
in the general's system?
Mm-mm, but he's still alive.
With his build--
bigger body type--
the dose must've been
much smaller.
Do we know how
they were poisoned?
Well, Rebecca's
digestive system
worked far too
well for that.
But based on toxicity levels
and rates of absorption,
the when--
between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.
That's 15 hours before she went
to General Matthews' hotel room.
Give or take.
Could the general
have been exposed
by coming in contact
with Rebecca's blood?
Bodily fluids?
Uh, it doesn't work like that.
You have to receive
a dose firsthand.
That doesn't add up.
You sure you're not
missing something?
Of course you're not.
I'm sorry, I'm...
I'm getting a little pressure
on this and...
Because of your friend Nilsen?
Yeah, known him
since grade school.
Saved him from getting
beaten up more than once.
He was that kid who
always told the truth,
even when he should've
kept his mouth closed.
And now?
Same guy.
Different loyalties.
Military chain of command
is extremely efficient
at protecting national security.
But when it comes
to internal investigations,
they can lack
a certain objectivity.
Well, I don't envy you.
Must be the reason
why I chose this line of work.
No one argues with me here.
But this one
might see more fraught
than usual,
but it's painfully
simple in the end.
All you have to do is find
justice for this young woman.
Mr. Peterson?
NCIS.
Special Agent Lasalle.
And I'm so sorry
for your loss.
This is your daughter's house?
The officer who called
said Becca died unexpectedly.
That's all.
You here to tell me
what happened?
We can't release any details.
I'm just here to ask
a few questions
for our investigation.
“Investigation”?
Means this is more
than an accident, right?
Well, NCIS reviews
all Navy deaths--
I know how it works.
Spent my life in the service.
But if it was straightforward,
you wouldn't be dodging
my questions.
Sir, I...
I know how upsetting
this must be.
How the hell would you know?!
You're the one painting
a fence your daughter
asked you to about a month ago,
but you never maime?
Now it doesn't matter.
Look, I give you my word
that I'll come back here,
and answer every
question you have.
But as for right now,
all I can say is
I need your help.
All right?
For Rebecca.
What can I tell you?
Becca loved her job,
worked all the time.
Kept her private life private.
Though...
I suspect
she was dating someone.
What made you think that?
Well, she, she'd been
busier than usual.
Out a lot, at-at nights.
Something had
her attention.
Then there was
her unexpected trip
to Florida.
Mind if I take a
look in the house?
Look at whatever you need to.
Just want to know
what happened to my girl.
Tell me things.
Just heard from the hospital.
General Matthews is
gonna pull through.
Nilsen's over there
now getting updated.
That's good news.
What are you two doing?
Well, Nilsen gave us access
to the general's Army files.
Mostly redacted.
Even travel itineraries.
Why travel itineraries?
Concierge at the Monteleone says
that every time
Matthews is in town,
he has one regular visitor.
Rebecca Peterson.
She even has
her own key.
The general said
he hadn't seen her in years.
Rebecca's father thought
she had a boyfriend.
Said she was secretive about it.
Makes sense--
no fun telling Daddy
you're dating
his college roommate.
Affair between officers
of different ranks
is a violation of the Uniform
Code of Military Justice.
Which brings us back to travel.
Rebecca went to Miami,
supposedly to visit a friend.
Matthews travels
to USSOUTHCOM
in Miami regularly
on Army business.
The general's travel itinerary
and Rebecca's
credit card bill.
Take a look.
Miami dates overlap.
Charges at the same restaurant.
Matthews stayed
at the Rey Del Mar.
And Rebecca doesn't have
any hotel charges
on her card.
Well, hold on a second.
I saw that name somewhere.
Personal items
from Rebecca's home,
including hotel
stationary--
Rey Del Mar.
And inside...
is a note.
“To Becca”"
“You know how I feel
about you,
“but if what we're doing
gets out, my career is over.
“You can't let that happen.
O.M.”
General Matthews just went
from victim to prime suspect
in Rebecca Peterson's murder.
I talked to the doctor.
General Matthews
had less than 10 milligrams
of arsenic in his system.
Enough to give him symptoms.
But not actually
put him at risk.
Yeah, doses himself
to take suspicion off.
General's files are fascinating.
He's monitoring safety issues
I never even heard of.
You-you know what zoonosis is?
No, but I do know it's
time for us to bring
the general in
for questioning.
Not yet.
Pride, he lied to us.
All right, hid the fact
that he'd been seeing
Lieutenant Peterson for months.
I know that,
but it's not enough.
He had the means and the motive
and the opportunity
to kill Rebecca Peterson.
If it was any other suspect
they'd be in
that room right now.
But it's not any other suspect!
It's a three-star general.
He's a war hero!
It doesn't
make a difference
who it is
if he's a murderer.
Petty officer,
that's one thing.
A flag officer, okay?
There's scrutiny at every level.
Yeah, I'm not scared.
Listen to me, Chris.
Matthews,
if we're wrong--
hell, even if we're right--
he'll bring fire
and brimstone down on us.
And that will become
our focus, not the case.
So before we move on him,
we need to dot our I's
and cross our T's.
And that is the best way
to find justice for Rebecca!
This--
Spoke with Rebecca's CO.
He said she reported for work
yesterday at 6:46 a.m.
and didn't leave till noon,
which means the arsenic
was ingested while there.
Go to Rebecca's office,
find that poison.
We connect it to the suspect--
whoever it is--
we'll bring him in.
That's everything
from Becca's office.
Get it to Sebastian,
see if he can find
any traces of arsenic.
Find any prints?
Checked doors, desk,
water coolers.
No prints.
All wiped clean.
Well, someone else was
in there before us.
I've got a list of the people
who have access to the building.
All right, let's check 'em out.
Hey.
You and Pride okay?
I want to bring General Matthews
in for questioning, all right?
He disagrees.
Typical politics.
Sounds like you've been
down this road before?
Yeah, I had a case
once with NOPD.
Double homicide.
All right,
high-profile suspect.
Pillar-of-the-community
business type.
Guy had guilt
written all over him.
Our bosses wouldn't
let us touch him.
Afraid of exposure.
Red ball case.
Rules change.
Yeah, we were told
to bide our time.
Three months later,
“pillar” struck again.
Finally able
to put him away
after the third person died.
That victim's on me.
Doesn't work like that.
Yeah, well, you see what I see?
Guy checking pallets?
Been watching us
since we got here?
NCIS.
May, uh,
we help you, sir?
Uh, hey there.
No.
I'm sorry.
Uh, I guess
I was curious.
You're here about Becca?
I saw you coming
out of her office.
And you are?
Uh, Walt Jeffries.
I have a facilities
contract here.
Look, I work with Becca.
I haven't seen her lately,
getting worried.
It's a Navy matter.
Nothing good, I assume.
All the people going in and
out of her office today.
Someone else was here?
Couple hours ago.
Man in uniform.
Was inside for a while.
Is this the guy
you saw?
Uh, no, not him.
But the guy did have
a military haircut like that.
If that helps.
This guy?
We need to talk.
I'm on my way to a meeting.
Gonna be late.
You've been
playing me, Sam.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
You were in
Rebecca's office today.
Well, I was acting
on behalf of CID.
You were covering up
for your boss.
Destroying fingerprints,
his prints, right?
And we're not talking
as friends right now.
Choose your words carefully.
He's my superior officer.
He gives me orders,
I execute them.
You call it following orders,
I call it obstruction
of justice.
Lieutenant Peterson
was poisoned in that office.
You destroyed evidence.
When you were young,
you dreamed of joining the Army,
serving with honor,
distinction.
This isn't who you are.
I don't have the answers
that you want.
I hadn't even heard of Rebecca
Peterson before last night.
I have to bring the general in.
That is not a road
you want to go down.
No choice.
Whatever happened to Rebecca,
he's a part of it.
I'm trying
to protect you, Dwayne.
Believe it or not.
The general is...
he's a force of nature.
Yeah, well...
consider me warned.
Thank you
for coming in, General.
Go ahead and have a seat.
Please.
You told me you hadn't
seen Rebecca in years.
But according
to the hotel staff,
she visited every time
you were in town.
And often late at night.
And you didn't see Rebecca
just in New Orleans.
You met in Miami.
You have a question here?
Because I don't know
where this is leading.
Pattern of behavior.
Secret meetings with
a subordinate female officer.
Your friend's daughter.
Let me be extremely clear.
I wasn't sleeping
with Rebecca Peterson.
Rebecca was poisoned
with arsenic
at her office yesterday morning.
You're not just accusing me of
fraternization but murder, too?
You were there during that time.
That's why you ordered
Colonel Nilsen
to wipe her office
clean of prints.
That's quite
a conspiracy you're building.
He already admitted it.
You gonna sell out your own man?
How dare you question
my loyalty.
Loyalty to who?
Colonel Nilsen?
Rebecca's father?
Rebecca?
You have no right to judge us.
Picking through our private
lives, looking for dirt.
You're a trashman.
I'm done here.
Sit down, General.
I don't answer to you.
In this room,
your stars mean nothing.
I'm in charge.
Now sit down.
Let me be clear.
Your career is in my hands.
I got more than enough
to bring you up on charges.
Is that a threat?
No, General.
It's a forgone conclusion.
Unless you tell me why you were
seeing Lieutenant Peterson.
I didn't hurt Becca,
I was helping her.
She'd discovered
a discrepancy at the port,
financial fraud,
millions of dollars.
Something to do with
the contractors she oversaw.
We'd meet.
Talk about the issue.
There was so much
red tape for her.
But you could
cut right through it.
She didn't have clearance
for the documents she needed,
wasn't getting traction
from her superiors.
You gave her access
to classified material?
Sensitive material.
“For official use only.”
Nothing illegal.
But unethical.
Whatever you want to call it.
It helped.
I went by her office
yesterday.
She couldn't talk,
said she'd found something,
something big.
She was going to tell me
at the hotel.
She could have been killed
for what she found out.
Thought the poison
was for me, not Becca.
I need to see those files.
What I did
was to help.
If this comes out...
There'll be repercussions.
And not just for me.
For you, too.
And I assure you
that's no threat,
Special Agent Pride.
That's a forgone conclusion.
These files the general shared
with Rebecca Peterson,
it's not exactly
the Pentagon Papers.
No. But it's likely Rebecca
was killed over something
inside of them.
Yeah, I can't imagine what.
Background checks
on Navy contractors,
their subcontractors, and
the subcontractors' principles.
Mmm. My head is spinning, too.
That's 'cause
you didn't get any sleep.
What makes you say that?
Well, that's your fourth cup
of coffee this morning,
and you came in
with an energy drink.
I smell you, Nancy Drew.
Happen to have experience
in this area.
It's easier to go out
than to stay at home
thinking about the hard stuff.
Used to be my sweet spot.
I would stay up all night,
stewing over Emily's death.
And now I know
what happened to her, and...
I still can't sleep.
You want to talk
about it?
I know where to find you.
So, are you buying
the general's line that he
and Rebecca were just friends?
Well, I don't know
what to think.
But he stuck his neck out
on the line either way.
He'll be brought up
on charges.
This could be the end
of his career.
Could be the end of ours, too,
just like Pride said.
He and Nilsen are out
takin' a walk,
sussing out damage control.
We've been aboveboard.
Doesn't matter
with men like the general.
He can be vindictive.
Retribution--
that's no bueno.
Totally worth it though.
The way Pride took
him on in there.
Sebastian.
He's excited
about something.
Go. I will take a turn
with these super boring files.
Thank you much.
I never meant to put you
in a jam, Dwayne.
Whatever happens,
I just... I need you
to know, please,
that I... I never wanted
to play you.
Yeah, but you did.
You put me and my team
in a bad situation.
Well... I had no idea
about the files
or the meetings
with Lieutenant Peterson.
Any chance we can fix it?
Won't be part of a cover-up.
That's not what I meant.
No more stalling
or discretion.
We submit an
official report.
I know. Dwayne,
I know.
I talked to Chief of Staff
this morning.
Told him to expect your call.
There'll be fallout for you.
No matter how this plays out,
man, my days are numbered.
But it's the right thing to do.
That's what matters.
As... someone
recently reminded me.
Whoever that was
sounds wise.
Pride,
I think I found
something.
The files have info
on contractors
that do business
with the Navy.
Tugboat companies,
container suppliers, et cetera.
A handful of these businesses
seem to do nothing at all.
They just exist.
Shell companies?
They all have addresses,
background checks,
but no obvious purpose
except to invoice the Navy
a ton of money.
And where are these
companies located?
The Port of New Orleans,
where Lieutenant Peterson
worked.
Can't be a coincidence.
Let's check 'em out.
Anything?
Two empty offices.
Third one with
exactly one employee.
Secretary who gets paid
to sit by the phone
and watch a lot of Netflix. You?
Same story.
Bored temps playing
video games.
All these companies
running the same scam.
Well, we find the mastermind,
we find
Lieutenant Peterson's killer.
Where's Brody?
She's got one more
contractor on her list.
Jeffries Consolidated.
Oh, hey.
It's you again.
Walt Jeffries?
I remember.
Friend of Becca's.
You were very
helpful yesterday.
Any, uh, news on her?
That you can share?
Uh, not yet. Hopefully soon.
So you work here?
Jeffries Consolidated.
Warehousing Logistics.
I'm the owner.
Well, technically,
it's Dad's company, but, uh,
he's not doing well.
I'm so sorry.
You have a few minutes to talk?
Of course.
Come on.
I'll show you
to my office.
All right,
so I tested everything
that you brought back
from Rebecca's office--
no arsenic.
Which seemed weird,
until I realized
that if she ingested
most of the poison,
then only minute residue
would remain.
I'm guessing you found
a way to test for that.
Yeah.
Test tube, check.
Add zinc, check.
Add acid, check.
And you have to use water--
it won't work on particles.
So you put everything
we brought you into water?
Like that chewing gum.
Yeah.
It seems low-tech,
but it works.
The mixture
results in gas.
Arsine if
there's arsenic present,
otherwise hydrogen.
Now, you're probably
gonna ask me
how do I know
which gas is which?
Well, I was kind of waiting
for you to tell me that.
All right. Well, what you
do is you ignite the gas.
Then you hold a piece
of glass over it.
Like... so.
When arsenic is present,
you see a silvery-
black deposit.
Kind of like this.
Where's it from?
That is from this.
A coffee pod?
A coffee pod.
Delivered in bulk.
Anyone in Rebecca's
building would've had access.
You just inject arsenic
into the top of the pod,
make sure it finds its way
to the right office and then...
whoever drinks it dies.
So General Matthews
visited Rebecca's office
the morning she died.
Yeah. Which would explain
how he got dosed.
If she made him a cup coffee
after using a poisoned pod,
then traces of arsenic
would've leaked into his drink.
I've seen a lot
of murder weapons.
This one's... pretty genius.
Fresh, hot coffee,
any way you like it, anytime.
It's a lifesaver.
So, uh... warehousing logistics.
Your company
billed the Navy
$800,000 last year.
Lucrative, but boring.
You really can't tell me
what this is about?
Security issue at stake.
Oh, it just... feels very
cloak and dagger, you know?
It's kind
of exciting.
We don't see much of that
in the warehousing game.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
So, about these
specific bills...
Um...
Brody, don't drink that!
You all right?
Yeah, I'm good. Go, go!
You all right?
Yeah, I'm good.
Where's Sam?
Here.
I-I saw that move
back there, man.
You still got some jam.
Yeah, more than you.
Someone gonna explain to me
why you karate-chopped
my coffee back there?
You'll thank me later.
Come on.
Your family's company
has been operating
Navy contracts out of
the port for generations.
Accounts started
suffering after you took over,
so I guess you don't have
your dad's head for business.
You got creative--
invented dummy companies
to subcontract from you
and other businesses
at the port.
Charging for services
never rendered.
You stole four million dollars.
That's embezzlement and fraud.
The coffee you gave Agent Brody
was full of arsenic.
Just like the coffee
that killed Lieutenant Peterson.
First degree murder,
attempted murder.
Thank you.
Last chance
to get ahead of this.
Tell us how you figured out
Lieutenant Peterson
was onto you,
who else was involved,
and we'll do our best
to keep you off death row.
I want a lawyer.
Call the federal marshals.
Have 'em come pick up
Mr. Jeffries.
Can't believe it comes down
this greedy little thief.
You were right
about the general.
Thanks for keeping me
in check, King.
We spur each other on.
Watch each other's backs.
Save each other's lives.
Aw, you're tough.
Little arsenic in your brew
wouldn't have bothered you.
Do you know what
gastrointestinal
decontamination is?
No.
Okay, well,
thanks to your quick call
to Pride,
neither do I.
Oh. Need me at the bar.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Soon as my would-be killer's
in custody.
Yeah, not this time
for me, King.
Got somewhere to be.
You know where I'll be.
You're back.
I told you I would be.
I'm here to tell you
what happened to Rebecca.
How she died and why.
And I'll stay here
as long as you need
and answer
every question you have.
Give me a hand.
Now, your daughter--
she was a hero.
She knew somebody
was taking money
from the government.
She stuck her neck out...
So, uh, how long are you
gonna keep up this, uh,
side bartending gig?
Well, you want something
done right...
There you go.
Any update on General Matthews?
There's been
an official inquiry.
Already?
Yeah.
Time-sensitive.
Homeland Security post
needs to be filled ASAP.
So, the general
may still get the job?
Army weighed the gravity
of the offense
against the general's
distinguished record.
Made a judgment call.
Out of my hands.
Nomination's supposed
to be announced tomorrow.
On your tap? Oh.
Ah, Loretta.
Hey, Loretta.
Thought you were supposed
to be joining us tonight.
I'm at the prison.
Your suspect
Walt Jeffries is dead.
You got it.
I'll put you on speaker.
How did Jeffries die?
Could be arsenic.
He poisoned himself?
I won't be able to confirm
timeline until autopsy,
but the guards say Jeffries
wasn't out of their sight
since they took custody.
He must have dosed himself
before we caught him.
It makes no sense.
Why poison me and take off
if he's already a dead man?
That is the question.
I'll let you know what I find.
But I can tell you right now
this doesn't
look like a suicide.
Pride!
Hey.
You know, if you were unhappy
about the Army's decision,
you could have come to me.
Not the press!
I trusted you!
Whoa, whoa, Sam.
I don't know what the hell
you're talking about.
The general's nomination's been
put on indefinite hold.
I thought the Army
wasn't pressing charges.
They aren't. Someone leaked
the general's predicament
to the press.
Dead girl
in general's hotel.
It's a real three-star scandal.
None of it's true.
It doesn't matter.
Matthews is done.
Dwayne...
I'm done.
Sam, I'm sorry.
But I had nothing
to do with this.
It doesn't matter
whether that's true or not.
As far as the general's
concerned, the Army--
the leak came from you.
Good luck, Dwayne.
You're gonna need it.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man
♪ You had promised me
the world ♪
♪ Remember how you said ♪
♪ That I'm your only girl ♪
♪ Well, maybe the next time ♪
♪ I'll see that you were a ♪
♪ A liar and a cheat ♪
♪ Just forget it ♪
♪ What was I thinking ♪
♪ Ooh... ♪
♪ Forget all the times
that you said ♪
♪ It was all my fault ♪
♪ Remember how
nothing was ever good ♪
♪ I swear I gave it my all ♪
♪ But maybe
the next time you'll see ♪
♪ When you're with a...
a girl that ain't me ♪
♪ You'll regret it ♪
♪ And be thinking ♪
♪ What I gotta do ♪
Sorry. I Forgot my key.
♪ The last time you asked... ♪
We have to stop
meeting here.
No one saw me.
I was careful.
♪ Remember how you said... ♪
I ordered wine.
It's in here.
Thank God.
Not the same kind
as last time, right?
That finish was
a little bitter.
Well, you're learning.
And no.
It's new.
Here.
“Marcienne.”
Never heard of it.
Ah, it's a small
Bordeaux estate in Pomerol.
Only produces one wine.
Long day?
I really need to talk to you.
You okay?
Becca!
Oh, my God.
Becca!
♪ NCIS:New Orleans 2x21 ♪
Collateral Damage
Original Air Date on April 19, 2016
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ Bang, bang, bang, bang ♪
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ How, how, how, how ♪
♪ Hey, hey ♪
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man
♪ You gotta come on. ♪
Special Agent Pride.
Dwayne. Hey.
I'm sorry to wake you, man.
It's, uh, it's Samuel. Nilsen.
Sam.
Wow, it's been years.
What-what time is it?
It's late.
I'm, uh, I'm in New Orleans.
I got a situation.
Could use your help.
A Navy sailor died
about an hour ago.
Unclear if it's foul play.
I didn't get a call.
I'm the first one on scene.
Before NOPD?
There are some
complicating factors
at play here.
I'm at the, uh,
Hotel Monteleone.
Why don't you come meet me,
I'll fill you in?
What you're asking me to do
is against protocol, Sam.
Dwayne, come on, man, it's me.
Huh?
Just give me the benefit
of the doubt.
30 minutes.
Thank you.
Hey, Chris.
Text me when you get off.
We'll do breakfast.
How you doin', boo?
What'd you do,
step out of Pat O'Briens
and cross the street?
I met her over
the weekend.
Small world.
Too small.
Expand your horizons,
Christopher.
You know, try a real
'Nawlins hangout.
I Ubered from
Sweet Lorraine's.
You Ubered?
From a bar,
in the middle of the night?
Well, it's my
monthly poker game.
It's fun, and I'm on
a winning streak.
And don't try telling me you
were home, 'cause I smell smoke.
Yeah, what's that
I see on your hand?
A “21 and Legal” stamp?
Since when do
you go clubbing?
Since awhile.
Maybe you don't know me
as well as you think.
Ready to work?
What are we doing back here?
My request.
Hey.
Dwayne.
Sam, hey, man.
How are you?
Colonel Samuel Nilsen.
Special Agents Lasalle, Brody,
How you doing?
medical examiner Doc Wade.
Hi.
Welcome.
Can we speak
privately?
Sure.
Excuse us.
I wasn't expecting
an entourage.
Team comes
to every scene.
You know that.
NCIS policy. Mine, too.
Yeah, well,
the situation is sensitive.
I thought I explained that.
All you told me
is that a sailor's dead,
making this my jurisdiction.
Now, I assume,
since you called me,
this sensitive situation
involves your boss,
General Matthews.
He had nothing to do
with the sailor's death,
but he was there.
Look, I know
you got to investigate.
But the general's been nominated
to a post in Homeland.
Now, there's a lot eyes on him.
We're trying to avoid scandal.
What are you asking me, Sam?
Just a little discretion,
is all.
I mean, your team,
your agents...
they kind of stand out.
We'll be discreet.
But my team is non-negotiable.
And I expect full cooperation.
Absolutely.
We good, King?
Yeah.
Yeah, but, uh...
hats and jackets off.
We're going in
the service entrance.
Lieutenant Rebecca Peterson, 33.
Works for the Port Services,
overseeing Navy contractors
in New Orleans.
She lives in town;
suggests this room wasn't hers.
Two wine glasses.
She was being entertained.
That's an assumption.
No, sir. Observation.
What do you got, Loretta?
There's no sign
of external trauma.
Copious amounts of blood;
possible internal bleeding.
Bloody T-shirt.
Men's extra-large.
Probably used
in an attempt
to staunch
the bleeding.
Who'd you say
the room belonged to?
I didn't.
Time to talk to him, Sam.
Wait in the hall,
please.
Outside, please.
Thank you.
General Matthews, sir.
I tried to help;
the blood just kept coming.
Just, why don't
you sit down, sir?
I'll get you something.
Here you go.
General, can you
tell me what happened?
Yeah, but...
Becca had barely
walked in the room,
just started coughing and...
bleeding.
She was dead
before I could dial 911.
Have to tell David.
Yes, sir.
Her father.
He was the general's
roommate back at VMI.
That how you knew Rebecca?
Our kids grew up together.
He's had a hard time
since his wife died.
Becca was...
his whole world.
We'll have, uh,
CACO make that notification.
Rebecca sick?
Have allergies?
I have no idea.
You feeling all right, General?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Uh... migraine coming on.
It happens.
Maybe we could do this
another time.
Why was Rebecca
in your room, sir?
She knew I was in town.
Dropped by to say hi.
Just to say hello?
Noticed that
the two of you were
sharing a bottle of wine.
How is that relevant, Dwayne?
Come on.
Standard question, Sam.
That's a loaded question.
I know what you're thinking,
same as your other agents.
Becca's an old
family friend.
Hadn't seen her in years.
That's all.
So, Nilsen
works with
Owen Matthews?
Three-star general.
Been in every major war
since 1990.
Rumor is he's on track to be
Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs one day.
Yeah, well,
I don't care what track he's on.
Fraternizing
with a junior officer--
that's no bueno.
Look, I know you want
to take things slow, Sam,
but we're gonna need to loop
NOPD and Army CID in on this.
Can't it wait
till after autopsy?
I mean, if there's
no signs of foul play?
Don't need this secrecy.
It's not warranted
if-if he's telling the truth.
He is.
- She's been poisoned.
- Are you sure?
'Cause usually, it's
“gotta wait till autopsy,
I'll know more when...”
Leukonychia striata.
It's a telltale sign
of arsenic overdose.
And by the bloody vomit,
I'd say it was ingested.
She did have wine
before she died.
And she wasn't
drinking alone.
But the headlines, man...
You know, “dead girl found
in general's hotel room.”
I mean, it doesn't matter
what the truth is.
People survive bad press.
Maybe in your line of work.
But the general
is a public figure
looking to take on
a high-profile position.
There's no way he weathers
a news cycle like this.
I don't care
if the president's in there,
I'm going in.
Open the door!
Okay, let her in. Let her...
The general, where is he?
- Where is he?
- Wait, ma'am!
Sir, I'm Dr. Wade.
I need to know
how you're feeling.
Okay. A little headache.
Chest tightness? Stomach pains?
What's going on?
- Did you have wine tonight?
- Wait, wait, wait!
You can't ask him that!
Loretta...
I'm not drunk!
Loretta, what...
Sir? Sir, sir!
Please!
We have to call the paramedics.
No! We can't.
Rebecca Peterson was poisoned.
General could have been, too.
He has to get
to the hospital right now
or he could die.
I understand.
Yep. Uh-huh.
We'll speak again soon.
Thank you.
How's the general?
He's hanging in.
He's on hemodialysis
and chelation therapy
for the arsenic overdose.
I also spoke to CID.
They have asked us
to keep them updated.
Well, here's what we got so far.
Our forensic scientist
tested the wine
from the general's room--
no poison.
He and Brody are
at the Monteleone,
looking other
possible sources.
And, yes,
they're being discreet.
I looked into Rebecca.
Now, she is a squared-away
sailor, pays her bills on time.
I mean, no one had
an obvious motive to kill her.
Well, of course,
they didn't, right?
The arsenic was clearly meant
for General Matthews.
He's done a lot of good work
for our country, but he's
made some of enemies
in the process.
You're saying enemy of the state
poisoned your guy?
Or some whack-a-do activist,
doesn't like the Army.
Or given the general's
nomination to Homeland,
we might even be
looking at espionage.
Let's not forget
who our actual victim is here--
Rebecca Peterson.
It's unfortunate
collateral damage.
“Collateral damage”?
Oh, all right, okay.
Until we know more,
we'll investigate
both victims.
Sam, start a list
of potential suspects.
And, Chris?
Go see Rebecca's father.
Not so fast.
The general has operated at the
highest level of the military.
Yeah, so you've said.
And protecting him is matter
of national security.
This investigation
is compartmented.
It's on a need-to-know basis.
Well, Lieutenant Peterson's
father needs to know.
You can speak to him.
Just no details
about her cause of death.
We cannot let it get out
that General Matthews
has been poisoned.
Hey, are you asking me
to lie to a grieving father?
The order came from
the Army Chief of Staff.
Well, you answer
to the Army, not us.
Christopher, Colonel's right.
Till we have a suspect
in custody,
the general's safety
is paramount.
Case is on a need-to-know basis.
Look, this isn't us, King.
All right,
this is not what we do.
We'll make sure the ends
justify the means.
Right, Sam?
That's right.
No signs of arsenic anywhere?
The room,
the elevator, in here?
Nope, the kitchen
is officially...
Okay, guys,back to work.
Which is a huge relief.
Guess General Matthews'
food poisoning must've come
from somewhere else.
As I assured you
it did.
All VIP guests are assigned
a private concierge.
Mr. Shapiro attended to
the general's needs last night,
as he does every visit.
What time did
General Matthews check in?
A little after midnight.
I had his wine waiting
in his room, per his request.
Yeah, but the wine
wasn't contaminated.
We tested it--
Which, uh, seems odd...
That's weird-- there's only been
two recorded cases.”
But you know, it never
hurts to-to be, uh, safe.
Did anyone else had access
to General Matthews' room?
VIPs have special keys.
Not even housekeeping
has copies.
Well, uh, actually,
General Matthews
asked for an additional key.
For a friend.
Why didn't I know about this?
Oh, “a friend”-- the plot
is thickening, that's...
I'm sorry, I never get a chance
to see this side of it.
You know? It's really fascinating.
Who was the key for?
I don't know her name,
but she was here last night.
Comes to see General Matthews
whenever he's in town.
Rebecca Peterson's
stomach and intestines
were saturated
with inorganic arsenic.
It's the bad kind.
I didn't realize
there was a good kind.
Well, everything
in moderation.
So, C.O.D. is official?
Yes.
There were over 600 milligrams
of arsenic in Rebecca's body.
Enough to kill her
two times over.
So, whoever did this
wasn't messing around.
Any idea how much was
in the general's system?
Mm-mm, but he's still alive.
With his build--
bigger body type--
the dose must've been
much smaller.
Do we know how
they were poisoned?
Well, Rebecca's
digestive system
worked far too
well for that.
But based on toxicity levels
and rates of absorption,
the when--
between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.
That's 15 hours before she went
to General Matthews' hotel room.
Give or take.
Could the general
have been exposed
by coming in contact
with Rebecca's blood?
Bodily fluids?
Uh, it doesn't work like that.
You have to receive
a dose firsthand.
That doesn't add up.
You sure you're not
missing something?
Of course you're not.
I'm sorry, I'm...
I'm getting a little pressure
on this and...
Because of your friend Nilsen?
Yeah, known him
since grade school.
Saved him from getting
beaten up more than once.
He was that kid who
always told the truth,
even when he should've
kept his mouth closed.
And now?
Same guy.
Different loyalties.
Military chain of command
is extremely efficient
at protecting national security.
But when it comes
to internal investigations,
they can lack
a certain objectivity.
Well, I don't envy you.
Must be the reason
why I chose this line of work.
No one argues with me here.
But this one
might see more fraught
than usual,
but it's painfully
simple in the end.
All you have to do is find
justice for this young woman.
Mr. Peterson?
NCIS.
Special Agent Lasalle.
And I'm so sorry
for your loss.
This is your daughter's house?
The officer who called
said Becca died unexpectedly.
That's all.
You here to tell me
what happened?
We can't release any details.
I'm just here to ask
a few questions
for our investigation.
“Investigation”?
Means this is more
than an accident, right?
Well, NCIS reviews
all Navy deaths--
I know how it works.
Spent my life in the service.
But if it was straightforward,
you wouldn't be dodging
my questions.
Sir, I...
I know how upsetting
this must be.
How the hell would you know?!
You're the one painting
a fence your daughter
asked you to about a month ago,
but you never maime?
Now it doesn't matter.
Look, I give you my word
that I'll come back here,
and answer every
question you have.
But as for right now,
all I can say is
I need your help.
All right?
For Rebecca.
What can I tell you?
Becca loved her job,
worked all the time.
Kept her private life private.
Though...
I suspect
she was dating someone.
What made you think that?
Well, she, she'd been
busier than usual.
Out a lot, at-at nights.
Something had
her attention.
Then there was
her unexpected trip
to Florida.
Mind if I take a
look in the house?
Look at whatever you need to.
Just want to know
what happened to my girl.
Tell me things.
Just heard from the hospital.
General Matthews is
gonna pull through.
Nilsen's over there
now getting updated.
That's good news.
What are you two doing?
Well, Nilsen gave us access
to the general's Army files.
Mostly redacted.
Even travel itineraries.
Why travel itineraries?
Concierge at the Monteleone says
that every time
Matthews is in town,
he has one regular visitor.
Rebecca Peterson.
She even has
her own key.
The general said
he hadn't seen her in years.
Rebecca's father thought
she had a boyfriend.
Said she was secretive about it.
Makes sense--
no fun telling Daddy
you're dating
his college roommate.
Affair between officers
of different ranks
is a violation of the Uniform
Code of Military Justice.
Which brings us back to travel.
Rebecca went to Miami,
supposedly to visit a friend.
Matthews travels
to USSOUTHCOM
in Miami regularly
on Army business.
The general's travel itinerary
and Rebecca's
credit card bill.
Take a look.
Miami dates overlap.
Charges at the same restaurant.
Matthews stayed
at the Rey Del Mar.
And Rebecca doesn't have
any hotel charges
on her card.
Well, hold on a second.
I saw that name somewhere.
Personal items
from Rebecca's home,
including hotel
stationary--
Rey Del Mar.
And inside...
is a note.
“To Becca”"
“You know how I feel
about you,
“but if what we're doing
gets out, my career is over.
“You can't let that happen.
O.M.”
General Matthews just went
from victim to prime suspect
in Rebecca Peterson's murder.
I talked to the doctor.
General Matthews
had less than 10 milligrams
of arsenic in his system.
Enough to give him symptoms.
But not actually
put him at risk.
Yeah, doses himself
to take suspicion off.
General's files are fascinating.
He's monitoring safety issues
I never even heard of.
You-you know what zoonosis is?
No, but I do know it's
time for us to bring
the general in
for questioning.
Not yet.
Pride, he lied to us.
All right, hid the fact
that he'd been seeing
Lieutenant Peterson for months.
I know that,
but it's not enough.
He had the means and the motive
and the opportunity
to kill Rebecca Peterson.
If it was any other suspect
they'd be in
that room right now.
But it's not any other suspect!
It's a three-star general.
He's a war hero!
It doesn't
make a difference
who it is
if he's a murderer.
Petty officer,
that's one thing.
A flag officer, okay?
There's scrutiny at every level.
Yeah, I'm not scared.
Listen to me, Chris.
Matthews,
if we're wrong--
hell, even if we're right--
he'll bring fire
and brimstone down on us.
And that will become
our focus, not the case.
So before we move on him,
we need to dot our I's
and cross our T's.
And that is the best way
to find justice for Rebecca!
This--
Spoke with Rebecca's CO.
He said she reported for work
yesterday at 6:46 a.m.
and didn't leave till noon,
which means the arsenic
was ingested while there.
Go to Rebecca's office,
find that poison.
We connect it to the suspect--
whoever it is--
we'll bring him in.
That's everything
from Becca's office.
Get it to Sebastian,
see if he can find
any traces of arsenic.
Find any prints?
Checked doors, desk,
water coolers.
No prints.
All wiped clean.
Well, someone else was
in there before us.
I've got a list of the people
who have access to the building.
All right, let's check 'em out.
Hey.
You and Pride okay?
I want to bring General Matthews
in for questioning, all right?
He disagrees.
Typical politics.
Sounds like you've been
down this road before?
Yeah, I had a case
once with NOPD.
Double homicide.
All right,
high-profile suspect.
Pillar-of-the-community
business type.
Guy had guilt
written all over him.
Our bosses wouldn't
let us touch him.
Afraid of exposure.
Red ball case.
Rules change.
Yeah, we were told
to bide our time.
Three months later,
“pillar” struck again.
Finally able
to put him away
after the third person died.
That victim's on me.
Doesn't work like that.
Yeah, well, you see what I see?
Guy checking pallets?
Been watching us
since we got here?
NCIS.
May, uh,
we help you, sir?
Uh, hey there.
No.
I'm sorry.
Uh, I guess
I was curious.
You're here about Becca?
I saw you coming
out of her office.
And you are?
Uh, Walt Jeffries.
I have a facilities
contract here.
Look, I work with Becca.
I haven't seen her lately,
getting worried.
It's a Navy matter.
Nothing good, I assume.
All the people going in and
out of her office today.
Someone else was here?
Couple hours ago.
Man in uniform.
Was inside for a while.
Is this the guy
you saw?
Uh, no, not him.
But the guy did have
a military haircut like that.
If that helps.
This guy?
We need to talk.
I'm on my way to a meeting.
Gonna be late.
You've been
playing me, Sam.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
You were in
Rebecca's office today.
Well, I was acting
on behalf of CID.
You were covering up
for your boss.
Destroying fingerprints,
his prints, right?
And we're not talking
as friends right now.
Choose your words carefully.
He's my superior officer.
He gives me orders,
I execute them.
You call it following orders,
I call it obstruction
of justice.
Lieutenant Peterson
was poisoned in that office.
You destroyed evidence.
When you were young,
you dreamed of joining the Army,
serving with honor,
distinction.
This isn't who you are.
I don't have the answers
that you want.
I hadn't even heard of Rebecca
Peterson before last night.
I have to bring the general in.
That is not a road
you want to go down.
No choice.
Whatever happened to Rebecca,
he's a part of it.
I'm trying
to protect you, Dwayne.
Believe it or not.
The general is...
he's a force of nature.
Yeah, well...
consider me warned.
Thank you
for coming in, General.
Go ahead and have a seat.
Please.
You told me you hadn't
seen Rebecca in years.
But according
to the hotel staff,
she visited every time
you were in town.
And often late at night.
And you didn't see Rebecca
just in New Orleans.
You met in Miami.
You have a question here?
Because I don't know
where this is leading.
Pattern of behavior.
Secret meetings with
a subordinate female officer.
Your friend's daughter.
Let me be extremely clear.
I wasn't sleeping
with Rebecca Peterson.
Rebecca was poisoned
with arsenic
at her office yesterday morning.
You're not just accusing me of
fraternization but murder, too?
You were there during that time.
That's why you ordered
Colonel Nilsen
to wipe her office
clean of prints.
That's quite
a conspiracy you're building.
He already admitted it.
You gonna sell out your own man?
How dare you question
my loyalty.
Loyalty to who?
Colonel Nilsen?
Rebecca's father?
Rebecca?
You have no right to judge us.
Picking through our private
lives, looking for dirt.
You're a trashman.
I'm done here.
Sit down, General.
I don't answer to you.
In this room,
your stars mean nothing.
I'm in charge.
Now sit down.
Let me be clear.
Your career is in my hands.
I got more than enough
to bring you up on charges.
Is that a threat?
No, General.
It's a forgone conclusion.
Unless you tell me why you were
seeing Lieutenant Peterson.
I didn't hurt Becca,
I was helping her.
She'd discovered
a discrepancy at the port,
financial fraud,
millions of dollars.
Something to do with
the contractors she oversaw.
We'd meet.
Talk about the issue.
There was so much
red tape for her.
But you could
cut right through it.
She didn't have clearance
for the documents she needed,
wasn't getting traction
from her superiors.
You gave her access
to classified material?
Sensitive material.
“For official use only.”
Nothing illegal.
But unethical.
Whatever you want to call it.
It helped.
I went by her office
yesterday.
She couldn't talk,
said she'd found something,
something big.
She was going to tell me
at the hotel.
She could have been killed
for what she found out.
Thought the poison
was for me, not Becca.
I need to see those files.
What I did
was to help.
If this comes out...
There'll be repercussions.
And not just for me.
For you, too.
And I assure you
that's no threat,
Special Agent Pride.
That's a forgone conclusion.
These files the general shared
with Rebecca Peterson,
it's not exactly
the Pentagon Papers.
No. But it's likely Rebecca
was killed over something
inside of them.
Yeah, I can't imagine what.
Background checks
on Navy contractors,
their subcontractors, and
the subcontractors' principles.
Mmm. My head is spinning, too.
That's 'cause
you didn't get any sleep.
What makes you say that?
Well, that's your fourth cup
of coffee this morning,
and you came in
with an energy drink.
I smell you, Nancy Drew.
Happen to have experience
in this area.
It's easier to go out
than to stay at home
thinking about the hard stuff.
Used to be my sweet spot.
I would stay up all night,
stewing over Emily's death.
And now I know
what happened to her, and...
I still can't sleep.
You want to talk
about it?
I know where to find you.
So, are you buying
the general's line that he
and Rebecca were just friends?
Well, I don't know
what to think.
But he stuck his neck out
on the line either way.
He'll be brought up
on charges.
This could be the end
of his career.
Could be the end of ours, too,
just like Pride said.
He and Nilsen are out
takin' a walk,
sussing out damage control.
We've been aboveboard.
Doesn't matter
with men like the general.
He can be vindictive.
Retribution--
that's no bueno.
Totally worth it though.
The way Pride took
him on in there.
Sebastian.
He's excited
about something.
Go. I will take a turn
with these super boring files.
Thank you much.
I never meant to put you
in a jam, Dwayne.
Whatever happens,
I just... I need you
to know, please,
that I... I never wanted
to play you.
Yeah, but you did.
You put me and my team
in a bad situation.
Well... I had no idea
about the files
or the meetings
with Lieutenant Peterson.
Any chance we can fix it?
Won't be part of a cover-up.
That's not what I meant.
No more stalling
or discretion.
We submit an
official report.
I know. Dwayne,
I know.
I talked to Chief of Staff
this morning.
Told him to expect your call.
There'll be fallout for you.
No matter how this plays out,
man, my days are numbered.
But it's the right thing to do.
That's what matters.
As... someone
recently reminded me.
Whoever that was
sounds wise.
Pride,
I think I found
something.
The files have info
on contractors
that do business
with the Navy.
Tugboat companies,
container suppliers, et cetera.
A handful of these businesses
seem to do nothing at all.
They just exist.
Shell companies?
They all have addresses,
background checks,
but no obvious purpose
except to invoice the Navy
a ton of money.
And where are these
companies located?
The Port of New Orleans,
where Lieutenant Peterson
worked.
Can't be a coincidence.
Let's check 'em out.
Anything?
Two empty offices.
Third one with
exactly one employee.
Secretary who gets paid
to sit by the phone
and watch a lot of Netflix. You?
Same story.
Bored temps playing
video games.
All these companies
running the same scam.
Well, we find the mastermind,
we find
Lieutenant Peterson's killer.
Where's Brody?
She's got one more
contractor on her list.
Jeffries Consolidated.
Oh, hey.
It's you again.
Walt Jeffries?
I remember.
Friend of Becca's.
You were very
helpful yesterday.
Any, uh, news on her?
That you can share?
Uh, not yet. Hopefully soon.
So you work here?
Jeffries Consolidated.
Warehousing Logistics.
I'm the owner.
Well, technically,
it's Dad's company, but, uh,
he's not doing well.
I'm so sorry.
You have a few minutes to talk?
Of course.
Come on.
I'll show you
to my office.
All right,
so I tested everything
that you brought back
from Rebecca's office--
no arsenic.
Which seemed weird,
until I realized
that if she ingested
most of the poison,
then only minute residue
would remain.
I'm guessing you found
a way to test for that.
Yeah.
Test tube, check.
Add zinc, check.
Add acid, check.
And you have to use water--
it won't work on particles.
So you put everything
we brought you into water?
Like that chewing gum.
Yeah.
It seems low-tech,
but it works.
The mixture
results in gas.
Arsine if
there's arsenic present,
otherwise hydrogen.
Now, you're probably
gonna ask me
how do I know
which gas is which?
Well, I was kind of waiting
for you to tell me that.
All right. Well, what you
do is you ignite the gas.
Then you hold a piece
of glass over it.
Like... so.
When arsenic is present,
you see a silvery-
black deposit.
Kind of like this.
Where's it from?
That is from this.
A coffee pod?
A coffee pod.
Delivered in bulk.
Anyone in Rebecca's
building would've had access.
You just inject arsenic
into the top of the pod,
make sure it finds its way
to the right office and then...
whoever drinks it dies.
So General Matthews
visited Rebecca's office
the morning she died.
Yeah. Which would explain
how he got dosed.
If she made him a cup coffee
after using a poisoned pod,
then traces of arsenic
would've leaked into his drink.
I've seen a lot
of murder weapons.
This one's... pretty genius.
Fresh, hot coffee,
any way you like it, anytime.
It's a lifesaver.
So, uh... warehousing logistics.
Your company
billed the Navy
$800,000 last year.
Lucrative, but boring.
You really can't tell me
what this is about?
Security issue at stake.
Oh, it just... feels very
cloak and dagger, you know?
It's kind
of exciting.
We don't see much of that
in the warehousing game.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
So, about these
specific bills...
Um...
Brody, don't drink that!
You all right?
Yeah, I'm good. Go, go!
You all right?
Yeah, I'm good.
Where's Sam?
Here.
I-I saw that move
back there, man.
You still got some jam.
Yeah, more than you.
Someone gonna explain to me
why you karate-chopped
my coffee back there?
You'll thank me later.
Come on.
Your family's company
has been operating
Navy contracts out of
the port for generations.
Accounts started
suffering after you took over,
so I guess you don't have
your dad's head for business.
You got creative--
invented dummy companies
to subcontract from you
and other businesses
at the port.
Charging for services
never rendered.
You stole four million dollars.
That's embezzlement and fraud.
The coffee you gave Agent Brody
was full of arsenic.
Just like the coffee
that killed Lieutenant Peterson.
First degree murder,
attempted murder.
Thank you.
Last chance
to get ahead of this.
Tell us how you figured out
Lieutenant Peterson
was onto you,
who else was involved,
and we'll do our best
to keep you off death row.
I want a lawyer.
Call the federal marshals.
Have 'em come pick up
Mr. Jeffries.
Can't believe it comes down
this greedy little thief.
You were right
about the general.
Thanks for keeping me
in check, King.
We spur each other on.
Watch each other's backs.
Save each other's lives.
Aw, you're tough.
Little arsenic in your brew
wouldn't have bothered you.
Do you know what
gastrointestinal
decontamination is?
No.
Okay, well,
thanks to your quick call
to Pride,
neither do I.
Oh. Need me at the bar.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Soon as my would-be killer's
in custody.
Yeah, not this time
for me, King.
Got somewhere to be.
You know where I'll be.
You're back.
I told you I would be.
I'm here to tell you
what happened to Rebecca.
How she died and why.
And I'll stay here
as long as you need
and answer
every question you have.
Give me a hand.
Now, your daughter--
she was a hero.
She knew somebody
was taking money
from the government.
She stuck her neck out...
So, uh, how long are you
gonna keep up this, uh,
side bartending gig?
Well, you want something
done right...
There you go.
Any update on General Matthews?
There's been
an official inquiry.
Already?
Yeah.
Time-sensitive.
Homeland Security post
needs to be filled ASAP.
So, the general
may still get the job?
Army weighed the gravity
of the offense
against the general's
distinguished record.
Made a judgment call.
Out of my hands.
Nomination's supposed
to be announced tomorrow.
On your tap? Oh.
Ah, Loretta.
Hey, Loretta.
Thought you were supposed
to be joining us tonight.
I'm at the prison.
Your suspect
Walt Jeffries is dead.
You got it.
I'll put you on speaker.
How did Jeffries die?
Could be arsenic.
He poisoned himself?
I won't be able to confirm
timeline until autopsy,
but the guards say Jeffries
wasn't out of their sight
since they took custody.
He must have dosed himself
before we caught him.
It makes no sense.
Why poison me and take off
if he's already a dead man?
That is the question.
I'll let you know what I find.
But I can tell you right now
this doesn't
look like a suicide.
Pride!
Hey.
You know, if you were unhappy
about the Army's decision,
you could have come to me.
Not the press!
I trusted you!
Whoa, whoa, Sam.
I don't know what the hell
you're talking about.
The general's nomination's been
put on indefinite hold.
I thought the Army
wasn't pressing charges.
They aren't. Someone leaked
the general's predicament
to the press.
Dead girl
in general's hotel.
It's a real three-star scandal.
None of it's true.
It doesn't matter.
Matthews is done.
Dwayne...
I'm done.
Sam, I'm sorry.
But I had nothing
to do with this.
It doesn't matter
whether that's true or not.
As far as the general's
concerned, the Army--
the leak came from you.
Good luck, Dwayne.
You're gonna need it.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man