Perception (2012–2015): Season 3, Episode 13 - Mirror - full transcript
Pierce and Moretti undercover an international scandal while investigating the murders of a Bangladeshi diplomat and a Chicago reporter.
"It was Bagheera, the black
panther, inky black all over.
But with the panther markings
showing up in certain lights
like the pattern of watered silk.
He had a voice as soft as wild honey."
Mmm.
Delicious.
I mean that.
When I read the words "wild honey,"
it lit up my gustatory cortex...
The region of the brain
that registers taste.
And "watered silk" triggered
my somatosensory cortex,
home to my sense of touch.
That's why when we read literature,
it makes us feel alive...
It serves up a-a feast for the senses.
So, this weekend, I am
challenging Mr. Lewicki here
to put down the comic books and pick up
some Kipling or some
Faulkner or some Joyce.
And it wouldn't kill you
knuckleheads to do the same thing.
Whatcha writing?
No peeking.
What, are you keeping a diary now...
Little I's dotted with hearts?
Very funny.
Uh, it's my vows for the wedding.
Thought Father Pat wanted those yesterday.
I know. I am just, uh,
just tweaking them a little.
You're not even close to finished, are you?
Moretti.
I'll be right there.
Special Agent Moretti, FBI.
We're good here.
Open-and-shut case.
You mind giving me the details
anyway? You know how it is.
I don't want to go back
to the boss empty-handed.
Guy under the sheet is Ahmad Khan,
Consul General of Bangladesh.
He was stabbed in the
neck by his secretary.
Woman's name is Nasim Shah.
She confess?
Didn't have to. She was found
holding the murder weapon.
She's on her way to county lockup.
You want to muscle in on a case,
I got a dozen open homicides.
You're not taking this one.
"Taking"? It's FBI jurisdiction.
The victim's a foreign official.
And he was murdered on a city street.
This case belongs to the CPD.
Ms. Shah? Special Agent Moretti, FBI.
I'd like to talk to you
about what happened tonight.
I swear, I did not kill the consul.
The police will not listen to me.
Okay.
Just... Tell me what happened.
Uh, Mr. Khan had just left the office.
He was meeting some friends for
dinner a few blocks from the consulate.
But then I realized that he had
left his phone in the office.
And so I went after him.
Mr. Khan?
The pain was excruciating.
I managed to crawl over to
Mr. Khan to pull out the knife.
That's when I fainted.
Did I miss something?
Were you attacked, as well?
N-no.
No.
But when I see someone in pain,
their suffering becomes my suffering.
So you're saying you literally
felt like you had been stabbed
and the pain made you pass out?
I know how it sounds.
But everything I've told you is true.
Chandra is punishing me.
Chandra?
The Hindu god of the moon.
In our culture, we bear the burdens
of sins committed in our past lives.
This is my curse.
Clear the gate.
Gate clear.
Here she is.
Ms. Shah, this is my associate, Dr. Pierce.
He has a few questions
he'd like to ask you.
Are you okay?
The woman in my cell is sick.
All night, she was crying, saying
that she would die without a fix.
Now she is quiet, but
she cannot stop shaking.
- Ow!
- Ow!
Sorry. Just confirming my theory.
I'm fine. Thanks for asking.
When did you start experiencing
other people's pain?
When I was 5,
a boy in my village tripped
my sister and broke her leg.
I fell down, too, because
the pain was so intense.
That's when the village
elders said that I was cursed.
You're not cursed.
I think you have a neurological
condition called mirror-touch synesthesia.
I-I don't understand.
When most of us see someone being touched,
our brains create a simulation of
what we think that touch feels like.
But when you see someone being
caressed or... Or pinched or stabbed,
your brain responds as if it
was happening to you.
I'm guessing you also know
what people are feeling...
- Whether they're happy, sad, jealous?
- Yes.
That's because your brain
mimics emotional reactions, too.
We all make micro-facial expressions
that telegraph what we're feeling.
Most people can't perceive them, but a
synesthete unconsciously picks up on them.
She's at the mercy of everyone around
her and whatever they're going through.
She wouldn't stab anyone. It'd be like
plunging a knife into her own neck.
Yes. That's exactly it.
P-please, please, can you
get me out of this place?
So, you think this woman is innocent,
but you want me to charge
her with murder anyway.
- Why?
- Look, she's unusual, all right?
She literally had withdrawal symptoms
just because the junkie in
the cell with her did, too.
Daniel says that she could suffer
a serious psychological breakdown
if we don't get her out of county lockup.
And take her where?
It's not like things are gonna be much
better for her at a federal jail.
Well, once you charge her,
we can put her in a motel
with a Marshal watching her.
Meanwhile, Daniel and I
will go find the real killer,
and then you can drop the charges.
Ah. I see.
And I'm supposed to sell this little
plan of yours to a judge how, exactly?
If Nasim... Stays in jail...
She could see someone get shanked,
pass out again from the pain.
You'd be looking at a
brain injury, maybe worse.
"Foreign national dies in U.S. custody"...
That's not a headline
anyone wants to see, right?
Mnh-mnh.
I hope you're putting some of
that creativity into your vows.
Agent Moretti, Dr. Pierce.
I'm Vice-Consul Rashid Prasad.
Please.
Thank you for making time for us.
You have our condolences.
Thank you.
The consul was a man of great service.
And Nasim is adored by everyone here.
I can't believe she would harm anyone.
We agree.
Good.
There must be some other explanation.
You know, there's a facility
for the mentally ill nearby.
Perhaps one of those people got loose.
"Those people"?
Now that the consul is gone,
you're in charge here now, is that right?
Temporarily.
I'm still vice-consul until
a new appointment is made.
I'm sure it's a very
short list of candidates...
With your name at the top?
I don't appreciate what you're implying.
We do need to be thorough in
our investigation, Mr. Prasad.
I'm sure that you can appreciate that.
Of course.
But I assure you, this is not how
I would choose to advance my career.
Did the consul have any
enemies that you're aware of?
No.
But you should talk to the head
of our security, Officer Mehta.
There were no specific threats
against the consul that I knew of.
But there was a-an incident a few
hours before the consul was murdered.
Tell us about it.
A reporter showed up,
claiming to be writing an expos?
for The Chicago Star-Herald.
The consul told me he'd
already given this reporter
an interview a few weeks
before, told me to turn him away.
When I did, the reporter got very angry.
Started making accus...
accusations regarding the consul.
Such as?
Please understand,
I don't wish to insult the
integrity of the consul,
particularly now that
he can't defend himself.
Officer Mehta, anything you share
with us may help us find his killer.
Of course.
The reporter said that
the consul was responsible
for the deaths of thousands
of people in Bangladesh.
What did he mean by that?
He didn't say specifically...
Just that it was related to
the recent cholera epidemic.
He also gave me this.
He said to call him if
I cared about justice.
Mr. Pineda?
You hear that?
It's a car running.
Mr. Pineda?
I got it. I got it.
Hold your breath.
Grab his feet.
- What's this?
- Diazepam.
One of the crime techs found it
on an end table in the living room.
Not uncommon with suicide.
Takes the edge off so they can do the deed.
'Course, this wasn't a suicide.
- Daniel, no.
- Come on, Kate.
A reporter accuses the Bangladeshi consul
of being complicit somehow in
the deaths of thousands of people,
and within a day, the reporter
and the consul wind up dead?
If someone wanted to murder Pineda,
there are much easier ways of doing it
than dragging him into a car and
forcing him to inhale exhaust fumes.
So maybe he was already dead
when they put him in the car.
The M.E. said that his skin discoloration
is consistent with
carbon monoxide poisoning.
Okay, so maybe he was
unconscious. I don't know.
We need to find out whatever
story that reporter was working on.
I mean, that's got to be part of it.
I'll have cyber go through
his phone and computer.
What about the crime scene photos?
You can get your hands on those?
I'll get them for you, but right now,
there's just somewhere
else that I've got to be.
Well, nobody serves better
greasy food than Moretti's.
Plenty more where that came from.
Now, why are you trying
to ply me with food?
Come on, Father Pat.
Can't a couple of old friends
just get together for a bite?
Okay, here's the thing.
I'm hoping that you can let
me get a look at Donnie's vows.
Don't you want to wait
till the wedding day?
Look, I just want to make sure
that Donnie and I are
on the same wavelength.
I don't want to write something funny
if he's written something
more serious, or vice versa.
So you haven't written yours yet.
Why does everyone assume that?
Yes. I've written lots of vows.
Just none that I like.
Fine. But you're not gonna get the
inspiration you need from Donnie's.
- Why do you think that?
- 'Cause I'm not gonna show them to you.
It's not fair to Donnie, first of all.
And second of all, I happen
to remember "Mount Moretti."
What?
That amazing volcano that you built
for sister Margaret's
science fair in the 4th grade.
You spent days complaining
that you couldn't do it.
Then the night before, you pulled
it off, won the whole science fair.
You can do this, Kate.
But why do I have to?
It's a traditional catholic ceremony.
We're not even supposed
to write our own vows.
There's nothing traditional
about you two getting married,
divorced, annulled, then remarried.
This is what Donnie wanted to do,
so this is what we're gonna do.
- Who the hell are you?
- Hey, hey, hey.
Take it easy, mate. I'm a friend.
I've never seen you before in my life.
I don't know how you got in here, but...
No, no, no, no, no. Uh, sorry.
I'm a friend of Natalie's.
Great.
My hallucinations are making
friends with each other.
Yeah, we are. Met Natalie a
few months ago in Bangladesh.
What a great lady. Just an amazing energy.
When I told her I was headed to Chicago,
she said I should crash with you.
Natalie would never say something like that.
Well, she was on a spiritual sabbatical.
That doesn't sound like her at all.
No, she's made some incredible progress
in her practice since she left here.
She's really discovered
her bliss, you know?
She's so much happier.
And the, uh... The few
days that we spent together
were, uh... Mutually spiritual...
If you catch my drift.
Okay. Get out.
Mate, I'm sensing some real hostility here.
Really? Really? You're vulgar and
disgusting, and I-I can't bear the thought
of you and Natalie having mutual
anything, even if you are both imaginary.
Now go. Get your filthy feet
off my couch and out of my house.
They're not even that dirty.
Oh, are you ki... Look
at them. They're fi...
I'll be damned if you
weren't right, Dr. Pierce.
There is a microscopic
puncture mark along the hairline
with residual traces of Diazepam around it.
Explains the metabolized levels
we found in his bloodstream.
Enough to knock out a horse.
Would've assumed it was from
the pills if you hadn't called.
Well, it's practically invisible.
How the hell did you know to look?
- His feet were clean.
- I'm sorry. Come again?
It rained that night.
The yard between Pineda's
house and the garage was a mess.
If he'd gone out there to kill himself,
his feet would've been covered with mud.
I think the killer broke into the house...
Found Pineda sleeping,
injected him with Diazepam...
Subdued him... which wouldn't have
been that hard because of the Valium...
then left those pills on the end table
to account for the drug
showing up in the tox report.
He took Pineda's body through the yard,
making sure that he didn't
get footprints in the garage,
put him in the car...
Started the engine...
- And left him to die.
- Pretty slick. Sounds professional.
Well, I'm changing the
cause of death to homicide.
Cyber didn't find anything on Bangladesh
or cholera on Scott Pineda's computer.
His hard drive was wiped. So was his phone.
And the editor at the Star-Herald
said that Pineda never filed his story.
What about phone-company records?
The last call Pineda made
before he died was to a doctor.
His name is... Trevor Rhodes?
Scott and I were roommates in college.
Why are you asking?
He was murdered last night.
I'm very sorry.
Oh, God.
I never should've told him.
Told him what?
I, uh... I work in infectious diseases.
I-I-I volunteer for the
World Health Organization.
You were working in Bangladesh.
Yeah. Last year, they had over a
quarter million cases of cholera.
And the Bangladeshis task their
international consulates
with sourcing vaccines.
Six months ago, I heard the Chicago
consulate had ordered a shipment
of one of the newer ones... Uh, Bactra-Vox.
For one of the poorer
regions of the country,
so I went to Bangladesh
to help administer it,
but when the shipment arrived...
Damn it.
I was pissed, because
instead of Bactra-Vox,
they sent us Numoral...
An outdated vaccine.
All I could do was inoculate the
locals with what we had and...
Pray to God no new strains
of cholera appeared.
Let me guess... Your
prayers weren't answered.
It was devastating.
Thousands died... Mostly kids, old people.
Where does Scott come in?
When I got back to Chicago,
uh, we met for dinner to catch up.
I told him about all the money and the
lives wasted on this outdated vaccine.
And Pineda smelled a story.
We both just figured it was
bureaucratic incompetence.
But then Scott went and
interviewed the consul,
and the guy lied right to his face.
He kept insisting that he
had bought the newer vaccine
for his people, not Numoral.
Maybe the consul didn't lie.
Maybe Navilet Pharmaceuticals
did a bait-and-switch.
Well, that's what we thought, too.
But then Scott did some digging
and found out something much worse.
There was a rumor that the W.H.O.
was going to decertify Numoral.
Scott discovered that
Navilet had a whole stockpile
just sitting in a warehouse that
suddenly no one wanted to touch.
And then he tracked down some
suspicious offshore deposits
made by one of their senior VP's
right around the time of the sale.
So Navilet bribed the consul to take
the outdated vaccine off their hands?
That was Scott's theory.
Do you know who at Navilet
negotiated the vaccine deal?
I assure you, my client
didn't bribe anyone.
Mr. Sloane is Navilet's
senior vice-president of sales.
He wouldn't risk his or
the company's reputation
on a vaccine deal
worth... What, $50 million?
I told the consul six months ago
that I'd give him a
discounted price on Bactra-Vox.
But demand was high,
and it was gonna be eight weeks
before the order was fulfilled.
The consul told me that cholera
season was fast approaching
and his government just
couldn't wait that long.
So he agreed to purchase Numoral,
hoping it would be as effective.
Unfortunately, we all know how
that turned out. It's tragic.
Oh, come on, you had inside information
that the old vaccine was about
to be yanked by the W.H.O.,
so you paid off the consul to take it.
I assume you work on
commission, so who cares
if a few poor people die so
that you can line your pockets?
Daniel.
I understand the impulse to
find a bad guy, Dr. Pierce,
but what you're alleging simply isn't true.
We donate millions of dollars of
lifesaving medicines every year.
And we reinvest a significant
amount of our profits
to help improve the living conditions
of people in developing countries.
Oh, spare me the corporate
bullshit. You bribed the consul.
When the reporter found out
about it, you had him killed.
- Have you lost your mind?
- What?
What I haven't figured out is why
would you kill the consul, too?
I didn't kill anyone.
- Oh, come on. What else...
- Thank you for your time.
What the hell are you doing?
They're lying through their teeth.
And you are making wild accusations.
Sloane paid off the consul...
Why would he kill him?
Maybe the consul had a change of heart
and threatened to come clean
after all those people died.
Or maybe he just demanded
a bigger kickback.
Assuming a kickback
happened in the first place.
Until we have evidence, it's just
speculation from a dead reporter.
But...
If the consul did take a kickback and
he suddenly came into a lot of money,
maybe he started spending it.
Someone would've noticed.
Like the woman who
handles all of his affairs.
The consul was not greedy.
He led a simple life.
So you never noticed any change
in his financial affairs...
An investment in real estate
or an offshore account?
No.
None of us joined the
foreign service to get rich.
The consul believed that his
purpose in life was helping others.
Perhaps he changed his mind?
I don't think so.
Why are you asking these questions?
We think the consul may
have accepted a bribe
in exchange for buying
outdated cholera vaccines.
No.
No, I cannot believe that he
would betray our country for money.
Many of us lost people that
we love in the epidemic.
Officer Mehta... He lost
a son and a daughter.
I lost a cousin.
And how did the consul react to all this?
He grieved with us.
It does not make sense.
Rashid. What are you doing here?
It's my job to look after
the welfare of our citizens.
Why are you talking to the
FBI without your attorney?
You don't understand.
Dr. Pierce and Agent Moretti...
They don't believe I'm guilty.
Then why are you here?
We're investigating a deal
that your consul made with
Navilet Pharmaceuticals.
Do you know anything about it?
I'm aware the consul
authorized the purchase
of a vaccine for cholera,
but that's all I know.
Nasim? Are you okay?
We should go.
Nasim?
Nasim gets sick, and you go running
out of the room? What's that about?
Nasim threw up, but she's not
the only one that felt sick.
How do you know Nasim didn't just
eat some bad chicken for lunch?
She threw up at the precise moment
we told Rashid about the drug deal.
She was mirroring his
feelings. He was anxious.
Yeah, because he was the official
taking kickbacks from the drug company.
Okay, but as I understand it,
the consul would've had
to sign off on this deal,
so why would the number-two guy
be the one getting kickbacks?
Maybe they were co-conspirators,
splitting the money.
We don't know yet. At the very
least, Rashid knew about it.
Think about it... Sloane sells $50 million
worth of useless vaccines
at... what, 2% commission?
That's a million dollars.
Then he pays off the vice-consul
to push the deal through.
Well, it's a nice theory.
What do you want from me?
You can start with a subpoena
for Navilet's financial records,
see if they show the deposits that
Sloane made into that offshore account.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. No judge is going
to sign off on a fishing expedition
against one of the
biggest companies in town.
Well, if we can't go after Navilet,
then let's get Rashid's financials.
He's a diplomat for a sovereign nation.
We start digging around
there without evidence,
I'll be getting calls
from the State Department.
Moretti.
Yeah.
Look, I want to help
you guys. You know this.
But you got to bring me
more than a puddle of puke.
Got it. Yes.
I'm on it.
I'm sorry. We're gonna have
to talk about this later.
Daniel, I've got another
case I need your help with.
- We have a new case?
- Yes... the case of the missing vows.
What?
That was Father Pat on the phone.
I was supposed to have my
wedding vows to him two days ago,
and I've written thousands of
versions, but all of them suck.
Now, you are a great writer.
You come up with all of
these brilliant lectures.
- Oh, no. No, no, no.
- I'm desperate.
I'm not writing your wedding vows for you.
- I don't see why not.
- Because it's wrong on so many levels.
I wouldn't even...
Maybe there's something here that you
could just use as a jumping-off point.
Kate, I...
Daniel, please. I have already
let Donnie down so many times.
I am begging you here. You are
the only one who can help me.
"Today, I promise myself
to you and this marriage.
"To be faithful, loving, and true,
"without any of the
increased brain activity
"that's associated with
hesitation or doubt.
"A true promise, made in earnest,
"literally puts the brain at ease.
"And if you could scan my
anterior cingulate cortex
"right now, Donnie, you'd see
that it has never been more relaxed."
Mate, that is awful.
Who asked you?
No, I'm just saying, you know,
are you writing wedding vows
or the world's worst greeting card?
You think you could do better?
No, you're right. I can't.
But Rumi can.
"In your light, I learn how to love.
"In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you."
I think I'm gonna throw up.
You okay, Doc?
I'm fine.
You sure? 'Cause if you're not
feeling well, I can just get you...
Lewicki. Lewicki, Lewicki,
I'm fine. Just... Get lost.
All right.
You know, you should really
show that guy some respect.
You know, it's always
"Lewicki this, Lewicki that."
Why don't you try calling him
by his first name for once?
I have called him by his...
His first name.
Hello, Dr. Pierce, Agent M...
You're upset, doctor.
Did I do something wrong?
You didn't tell us the truth about your
relationship with Vice-Consul Prasad.
There's nothing to tell.
I've noticed how formal you
are when you talk to people,
always addressing them
by their proper titles...
"Dr. Pierce," "Agent Moretti," "Mr. Khan."
But you call the vice-consul
by his first name... Rashid.
And now you're blushing.
I don't have to be a synesthete
to figure out what that means.
You're in love with him, yes?
Mm. We have been seeing each other.
But I am Hindu, and he is Muslim,
and our families never would
approve, so we kept it quiet.
You sensed how nervous Rashid was
when we brought up the vaccine deal.
- We think he's hiding something.
- Hiding what?
That he was involved in the murders
of the consul and the reporter.
What?
No.
Rashid is not a killer.
He was not the only one who was
nervous. I was nervous, too, be...
Because of what happened to the contract.
The contract with Navilet?
What happened to it?
Rashid came to the office to pick it up.
He was supposed to deliver
it to the drug company.
He brought me a coffee,
as he sometimes does.
I was terrified.
I knew that the consul
would lose his temper
if he found out the paperwork was ruined.
Oh, what am I going to do?
He'll fire me. He'll send
me back to Bangladesh.
I won't let that happen.
It's okay. I've got another copy.
What do you mean?
The consul gave me a copy to review.
It's in my office. I'll get it.
All you need to do is sign for him.
You've signed his name before, haven't you?
The consul told the
reporter the truth after all.
He did buy the new vaccine.
Or at least thought he was buying
it when he signed the paperwork.
I-I don't understand.
The contract that Rashid brought you,
the one you forged the
consul's signature on,
was for the old vaccine.
All those people who died...
I am to blame.
You couldn't have known.
Rashid was using you.
But if his feelings were not real,
I should've been able to
tell... Because of my condition.
His feelings for you might be real.
That doesn't mean he's not a killer.
- This doesn't prove anything.
- We'll subpoena the contract.
Handwriting analysis will
prove that Nasim signed it.
You switched out those
contracts, Mr. Prasad.
Nasim also told us that you
brokered the deal with Navilet,
that you met with Gordon
Sloane a half a dozen times.
You cooked up this scam
together, didn't you?
- This is ridiculous.
- It was a win-win.
Sloane sells a warehouse full
of drugs that nobody wants,
and you get a big kickback. It's
only a matter of time before we find
that offshore account
and link it back to you.
I saw that silver Mercedes
parked in your spot.
That does seem a little bit
obvious, though, don't you think?
After the reporter threatened to
blow the lid off your little scheme,
you realized that you had to
kill him and the consul.
I didn't kill anyone.
If you've got evidence, then
you charge me. Otherwise...
No one said anything about charging you.
The State Department
will have you expelled.
I'm sure the Bangladeshi government
will be thrilled to have you back
when they learn about your
plan and all the lives it cost.
Oh, and don't think Gordon
Sloane is gonna help you.
He's got millions of
dollars to spend on lawyers,
and they are all telling him to
let you take the fall for this.
What do you want?
Testify against Sloane.
The U.S. Attorney has assured
me that if you cooperate,
you'll serve a reduced
sentence in a U.S. prison.
Look...
I didn't know this new strain of cholera
was going to spread to my country...
Certainly not this fast.
Eventually, the new strain
may find its way to South Asia,
but in my opinion, it's not something
your government should
worry about right now.
The Numoral vaccine will
meet your needs. I assure you.
But Bactra-Vox is effective
against the newer cholera strains.
How can I justify buying one that isn't,
especially if the price is the same?
Don't you want to sell
me your best product?
Well, the truth is,
we've had some problems
producing the new vaccine.
There's a backlog.
It'll be months before it's available
in the quantities that you need.
Then I guess I'll have to see
what your competitors are offering.
Hold on.
If you were willing to
consider the older drug,
I might be able to offer
you... An incentive.
How much?
$100,000 to make sure
the contract went through.
But I knew the consul
wouldn't sign the contract.
He had all of my research on the vaccines.
So you and Sloane made the consul
think he was buying the new vaccine.
Then you switched out the
paperwork to cover your asses,
so it looked like he knowingly
bought the older drug.
You and Nasim were
already in a relationship.
She was in love with you.
You knew that she'd forge the
consul's signature when you asked.
Then the deal was done.
You thought you were in the clear,
until the reporter showed up.
Yes.
When I overheard him talking
to our security chief,
I knew we had a problem.
I'm sorry.
You're not gonna let me
talk to the consul? Fine.
But you have no idea
what your boss has done.
He took a payoff to
ship a worthless vaccine,
and now thousands of your people are dead.
He was onto the scheme.
So I called Gordon Sloane.
He told me not to worry,
that he had a guy who
could take care of it.
But I thought that meant he
was going to bribe the reporter.
I never thought for a second
he was going to kill him.
Let me get this straight.
You think that you can charge
my client with two murders
because of a coffee-stained contract
that was replaced with a clean copy?
It wasn't a clean copy.
It was a completely different contract...
One the consul never would've signed.
Really? The consul tell you that?
No, your client made sure
that wouldn't be possible
when he had the consul killed.
This is absurd.
Mr. Sloane was at a shareholders
meeting when the consul was killed.
There was at least 50
people who saw him there.
It's a meaningless alibi.
You told Rashid that you had a
guy who could take care of it.
You hired a professional.
We don't have to listen to this.
We're gonna put you in
jail for fraud, Sloane...
- 5, maybe 7 years.
- Take your best shot.
And after you get out, we're gonna
turn you over to the Bangladeshis.
Yeah.
They want you extradited to face
fraud charges in their country.
No reason for us to stand in their way.
Thing is about the Bangladeshi court
system, it's extremely understaffed.
It could take years for
your case to come to trial.
And all that time, you'll be
sitting in a Bangladeshi prison.
Must be all kinds of diseases
you could catch in there.
Better make sure your
vaccinations are up to date.
Can they do that?
What are you offering?
Your client gives us the
name of the killer he hired
and pleads guilty to
solicitation for murder.
Why don't you guys take a few minutes?
Think he'll fold?
I think we got a pretty decent shot.
- It... it still doesn't add up.
- What?
Rashid told us that the consul
had nothing to do with the scheme.
So... Why did Sloane kill him?
Well, maybe the consul caught on
after the reporter came
to see him the first time.
You know, the capitalist
economy is disgusting.
What?
Daniel, are you okay?
Your country gives corporations
the same rights as people.
But people are flesh and
blood, mate, you know?
They're... they're...
They're... they're mothers,
and they're fathers and they're children.
Our drug salesman has blood on his hands.
But it's not the consul's.
The U.S. Attorney is moving
forward with Nasim's prosecution.
But Dr. Pierce and I don't
think that she did it.
We're wondering if there's
anything else that you remember,
if you can think of anyone else who
might've wanted to hurt the consul.
Oh. Um...
I'm sorry. I-I can't think of anyone.
Mr. Mehta, we understand that
you lost a son and a daughter
in the cholera epidemic.
How did you know that?
Nasim.
We're very sorry.
My children had been vaccinated.
They were supposed to be safe.
The reporter told you that the vaccine
the consul supplied was
out of date, didn't he?
I can only imagine how you felt.
And then when you found out
that the man you worked for
was responsible... You
must've been outraged.
That's why you told us
about the reporter...
So that we'd uncover this awful crime.
But you didn't mention your children
because you knew that
would make you a suspect.
You seem like an
honorable man, not the kind
that would let an innocent
woman go to prison for murder.
Nasim is a daughter, too.
How do you think her parents
are gonna feel if they lose her?
If I tell you what happened...
Will they let Nasim go?
Depends what you tell us.
After the reporter told
me about this... Scheme...
I went to Rashid.
I'm shocked.
I didn't know anything
about these kickbacks.
How could you let this happen?!
Do you have any idea how many people died?!
I told the consul our people
deserve the newest vaccines,
but he wouldn't listen to me.
Now I know why.
He can't get away with this.
The consul's family is powerful.
If I go to our superiors,
nothing will come of it,
and we'll be sent home.
I think it's best if we just
forget this conversation happened.
That's when I realized what I had to do.
For the consul, death was quick.
For my children, it was not.
I didn't realize Nasim had come running
after him and had seen everything.
I delivered justice.
I can accept the consequences.
Rashid lied to you.
He was the one who took the payoff.
The consul... He had nothing to do with it.
Are you saying I killed an innocent man?
I don't know what to say.
They're touching without being sappy.
They're just the right amount of funny.
They are perfect!
Of course they are. They're your words.
I found this at the back of your journal.
I didn't change a thing.
This is one of the first
things that I wrote.
I was at a pancake house on Milwaukee,
and I was waiting for Donnie to show up,
and the words just... Came to me.
Thank you.
There's no way I could've
figured this out without you.
Oh, Donnie's gonna love it.
Doc?
You have a visitor.
I'm glad you're both here.
I wanted to thank you for
everything that you have done for me.
Of course.
Uh... If you'll excuse me one second...
Max, is there a fax machine around here?
Sure.
Got to get these to Father Pat.
Agent Moretti is a
special woman, isn't she?
Hmm.
Dr. Pierce, it is not
my place to say, but...
Perhaps you should tell
her how you really feel.
W...
I...
The poets tell us to listen to our heart.
What a load of crap.
Seriously.
Have you ever listened to
one through a stethoscope?
It's just valves opening and
closing and opening and closing.
It sounds like a sump pump.
It may feel like our
emotions are down here,
but they're really up here,
knocking around our limbic systems.
When we face the hard decisions,
we often have to choose
between the emotional
response and the rational one.
And more often than not, it
seems emotion wins the day.
Some of us act out of greed.
Others are motivated by rage or revenge.
So, if our feelings are that destructive,
maybe it's better if we hide them...
Tamp them down, keep
them from boiling over.
Maybe.
But can we really deny
our emotions forever?
Sooner or later,
will they bubble to the surface...
And force us to act?
panther, inky black all over.
But with the panther markings
showing up in certain lights
like the pattern of watered silk.
He had a voice as soft as wild honey."
Mmm.
Delicious.
I mean that.
When I read the words "wild honey,"
it lit up my gustatory cortex...
The region of the brain
that registers taste.
And "watered silk" triggered
my somatosensory cortex,
home to my sense of touch.
That's why when we read literature,
it makes us feel alive...
It serves up a-a feast for the senses.
So, this weekend, I am
challenging Mr. Lewicki here
to put down the comic books and pick up
some Kipling or some
Faulkner or some Joyce.
And it wouldn't kill you
knuckleheads to do the same thing.
Whatcha writing?
No peeking.
What, are you keeping a diary now...
Little I's dotted with hearts?
Very funny.
Uh, it's my vows for the wedding.
Thought Father Pat wanted those yesterday.
I know. I am just, uh,
just tweaking them a little.
You're not even close to finished, are you?
Moretti.
I'll be right there.
Special Agent Moretti, FBI.
We're good here.
Open-and-shut case.
You mind giving me the details
anyway? You know how it is.
I don't want to go back
to the boss empty-handed.
Guy under the sheet is Ahmad Khan,
Consul General of Bangladesh.
He was stabbed in the
neck by his secretary.
Woman's name is Nasim Shah.
She confess?
Didn't have to. She was found
holding the murder weapon.
She's on her way to county lockup.
You want to muscle in on a case,
I got a dozen open homicides.
You're not taking this one.
"Taking"? It's FBI jurisdiction.
The victim's a foreign official.
And he was murdered on a city street.
This case belongs to the CPD.
Ms. Shah? Special Agent Moretti, FBI.
I'd like to talk to you
about what happened tonight.
I swear, I did not kill the consul.
The police will not listen to me.
Okay.
Just... Tell me what happened.
Uh, Mr. Khan had just left the office.
He was meeting some friends for
dinner a few blocks from the consulate.
But then I realized that he had
left his phone in the office.
And so I went after him.
Mr. Khan?
The pain was excruciating.
I managed to crawl over to
Mr. Khan to pull out the knife.
That's when I fainted.
Did I miss something?
Were you attacked, as well?
N-no.
No.
But when I see someone in pain,
their suffering becomes my suffering.
So you're saying you literally
felt like you had been stabbed
and the pain made you pass out?
I know how it sounds.
But everything I've told you is true.
Chandra is punishing me.
Chandra?
The Hindu god of the moon.
In our culture, we bear the burdens
of sins committed in our past lives.
This is my curse.
Clear the gate.
Gate clear.
Here she is.
Ms. Shah, this is my associate, Dr. Pierce.
He has a few questions
he'd like to ask you.
Are you okay?
The woman in my cell is sick.
All night, she was crying, saying
that she would die without a fix.
Now she is quiet, but
she cannot stop shaking.
- Ow!
- Ow!
Sorry. Just confirming my theory.
I'm fine. Thanks for asking.
When did you start experiencing
other people's pain?
When I was 5,
a boy in my village tripped
my sister and broke her leg.
I fell down, too, because
the pain was so intense.
That's when the village
elders said that I was cursed.
You're not cursed.
I think you have a neurological
condition called mirror-touch synesthesia.
I-I don't understand.
When most of us see someone being touched,
our brains create a simulation of
what we think that touch feels like.
But when you see someone being
caressed or... Or pinched or stabbed,
your brain responds as if it
was happening to you.
I'm guessing you also know
what people are feeling...
- Whether they're happy, sad, jealous?
- Yes.
That's because your brain
mimics emotional reactions, too.
We all make micro-facial expressions
that telegraph what we're feeling.
Most people can't perceive them, but a
synesthete unconsciously picks up on them.
She's at the mercy of everyone around
her and whatever they're going through.
She wouldn't stab anyone. It'd be like
plunging a knife into her own neck.
Yes. That's exactly it.
P-please, please, can you
get me out of this place?
So, you think this woman is innocent,
but you want me to charge
her with murder anyway.
- Why?
- Look, she's unusual, all right?
She literally had withdrawal symptoms
just because the junkie in
the cell with her did, too.
Daniel says that she could suffer
a serious psychological breakdown
if we don't get her out of county lockup.
And take her where?
It's not like things are gonna be much
better for her at a federal jail.
Well, once you charge her,
we can put her in a motel
with a Marshal watching her.
Meanwhile, Daniel and I
will go find the real killer,
and then you can drop the charges.
Ah. I see.
And I'm supposed to sell this little
plan of yours to a judge how, exactly?
If Nasim... Stays in jail...
She could see someone get shanked,
pass out again from the pain.
You'd be looking at a
brain injury, maybe worse.
"Foreign national dies in U.S. custody"...
That's not a headline
anyone wants to see, right?
Mnh-mnh.
I hope you're putting some of
that creativity into your vows.
Agent Moretti, Dr. Pierce.
I'm Vice-Consul Rashid Prasad.
Please.
Thank you for making time for us.
You have our condolences.
Thank you.
The consul was a man of great service.
And Nasim is adored by everyone here.
I can't believe she would harm anyone.
We agree.
Good.
There must be some other explanation.
You know, there's a facility
for the mentally ill nearby.
Perhaps one of those people got loose.
"Those people"?
Now that the consul is gone,
you're in charge here now, is that right?
Temporarily.
I'm still vice-consul until
a new appointment is made.
I'm sure it's a very
short list of candidates...
With your name at the top?
I don't appreciate what you're implying.
We do need to be thorough in
our investigation, Mr. Prasad.
I'm sure that you can appreciate that.
Of course.
But I assure you, this is not how
I would choose to advance my career.
Did the consul have any
enemies that you're aware of?
No.
But you should talk to the head
of our security, Officer Mehta.
There were no specific threats
against the consul that I knew of.
But there was a-an incident a few
hours before the consul was murdered.
Tell us about it.
A reporter showed up,
claiming to be writing an expos?
for The Chicago Star-Herald.
The consul told me he'd
already given this reporter
an interview a few weeks
before, told me to turn him away.
When I did, the reporter got very angry.
Started making accus...
accusations regarding the consul.
Such as?
Please understand,
I don't wish to insult the
integrity of the consul,
particularly now that
he can't defend himself.
Officer Mehta, anything you share
with us may help us find his killer.
Of course.
The reporter said that
the consul was responsible
for the deaths of thousands
of people in Bangladesh.
What did he mean by that?
He didn't say specifically...
Just that it was related to
the recent cholera epidemic.
He also gave me this.
He said to call him if
I cared about justice.
Mr. Pineda?
You hear that?
It's a car running.
Mr. Pineda?
I got it. I got it.
Hold your breath.
Grab his feet.
- What's this?
- Diazepam.
One of the crime techs found it
on an end table in the living room.
Not uncommon with suicide.
Takes the edge off so they can do the deed.
'Course, this wasn't a suicide.
- Daniel, no.
- Come on, Kate.
A reporter accuses the Bangladeshi consul
of being complicit somehow in
the deaths of thousands of people,
and within a day, the reporter
and the consul wind up dead?
If someone wanted to murder Pineda,
there are much easier ways of doing it
than dragging him into a car and
forcing him to inhale exhaust fumes.
So maybe he was already dead
when they put him in the car.
The M.E. said that his skin discoloration
is consistent with
carbon monoxide poisoning.
Okay, so maybe he was
unconscious. I don't know.
We need to find out whatever
story that reporter was working on.
I mean, that's got to be part of it.
I'll have cyber go through
his phone and computer.
What about the crime scene photos?
You can get your hands on those?
I'll get them for you, but right now,
there's just somewhere
else that I've got to be.
Well, nobody serves better
greasy food than Moretti's.
Plenty more where that came from.
Now, why are you trying
to ply me with food?
Come on, Father Pat.
Can't a couple of old friends
just get together for a bite?
Okay, here's the thing.
I'm hoping that you can let
me get a look at Donnie's vows.
Don't you want to wait
till the wedding day?
Look, I just want to make sure
that Donnie and I are
on the same wavelength.
I don't want to write something funny
if he's written something
more serious, or vice versa.
So you haven't written yours yet.
Why does everyone assume that?
Yes. I've written lots of vows.
Just none that I like.
Fine. But you're not gonna get the
inspiration you need from Donnie's.
- Why do you think that?
- 'Cause I'm not gonna show them to you.
It's not fair to Donnie, first of all.
And second of all, I happen
to remember "Mount Moretti."
What?
That amazing volcano that you built
for sister Margaret's
science fair in the 4th grade.
You spent days complaining
that you couldn't do it.
Then the night before, you pulled
it off, won the whole science fair.
You can do this, Kate.
But why do I have to?
It's a traditional catholic ceremony.
We're not even supposed
to write our own vows.
There's nothing traditional
about you two getting married,
divorced, annulled, then remarried.
This is what Donnie wanted to do,
so this is what we're gonna do.
- Who the hell are you?
- Hey, hey, hey.
Take it easy, mate. I'm a friend.
I've never seen you before in my life.
I don't know how you got in here, but...
No, no, no, no, no. Uh, sorry.
I'm a friend of Natalie's.
Great.
My hallucinations are making
friends with each other.
Yeah, we are. Met Natalie a
few months ago in Bangladesh.
What a great lady. Just an amazing energy.
When I told her I was headed to Chicago,
she said I should crash with you.
Natalie would never say something like that.
Well, she was on a spiritual sabbatical.
That doesn't sound like her at all.
No, she's made some incredible progress
in her practice since she left here.
She's really discovered
her bliss, you know?
She's so much happier.
And the, uh... The few
days that we spent together
were, uh... Mutually spiritual...
If you catch my drift.
Okay. Get out.
Mate, I'm sensing some real hostility here.
Really? Really? You're vulgar and
disgusting, and I-I can't bear the thought
of you and Natalie having mutual
anything, even if you are both imaginary.
Now go. Get your filthy feet
off my couch and out of my house.
They're not even that dirty.
Oh, are you ki... Look
at them. They're fi...
I'll be damned if you
weren't right, Dr. Pierce.
There is a microscopic
puncture mark along the hairline
with residual traces of Diazepam around it.
Explains the metabolized levels
we found in his bloodstream.
Enough to knock out a horse.
Would've assumed it was from
the pills if you hadn't called.
Well, it's practically invisible.
How the hell did you know to look?
- His feet were clean.
- I'm sorry. Come again?
It rained that night.
The yard between Pineda's
house and the garage was a mess.
If he'd gone out there to kill himself,
his feet would've been covered with mud.
I think the killer broke into the house...
Found Pineda sleeping,
injected him with Diazepam...
Subdued him... which wouldn't have
been that hard because of the Valium...
then left those pills on the end table
to account for the drug
showing up in the tox report.
He took Pineda's body through the yard,
making sure that he didn't
get footprints in the garage,
put him in the car...
Started the engine...
- And left him to die.
- Pretty slick. Sounds professional.
Well, I'm changing the
cause of death to homicide.
Cyber didn't find anything on Bangladesh
or cholera on Scott Pineda's computer.
His hard drive was wiped. So was his phone.
And the editor at the Star-Herald
said that Pineda never filed his story.
What about phone-company records?
The last call Pineda made
before he died was to a doctor.
His name is... Trevor Rhodes?
Scott and I were roommates in college.
Why are you asking?
He was murdered last night.
I'm very sorry.
Oh, God.
I never should've told him.
Told him what?
I, uh... I work in infectious diseases.
I-I-I volunteer for the
World Health Organization.
You were working in Bangladesh.
Yeah. Last year, they had over a
quarter million cases of cholera.
And the Bangladeshis task their
international consulates
with sourcing vaccines.
Six months ago, I heard the Chicago
consulate had ordered a shipment
of one of the newer ones... Uh, Bactra-Vox.
For one of the poorer
regions of the country,
so I went to Bangladesh
to help administer it,
but when the shipment arrived...
Damn it.
I was pissed, because
instead of Bactra-Vox,
they sent us Numoral...
An outdated vaccine.
All I could do was inoculate the
locals with what we had and...
Pray to God no new strains
of cholera appeared.
Let me guess... Your
prayers weren't answered.
It was devastating.
Thousands died... Mostly kids, old people.
Where does Scott come in?
When I got back to Chicago,
uh, we met for dinner to catch up.
I told him about all the money and the
lives wasted on this outdated vaccine.
And Pineda smelled a story.
We both just figured it was
bureaucratic incompetence.
But then Scott went and
interviewed the consul,
and the guy lied right to his face.
He kept insisting that he
had bought the newer vaccine
for his people, not Numoral.
Maybe the consul didn't lie.
Maybe Navilet Pharmaceuticals
did a bait-and-switch.
Well, that's what we thought, too.
But then Scott did some digging
and found out something much worse.
There was a rumor that the W.H.O.
was going to decertify Numoral.
Scott discovered that
Navilet had a whole stockpile
just sitting in a warehouse that
suddenly no one wanted to touch.
And then he tracked down some
suspicious offshore deposits
made by one of their senior VP's
right around the time of the sale.
So Navilet bribed the consul to take
the outdated vaccine off their hands?
That was Scott's theory.
Do you know who at Navilet
negotiated the vaccine deal?
I assure you, my client
didn't bribe anyone.
Mr. Sloane is Navilet's
senior vice-president of sales.
He wouldn't risk his or
the company's reputation
on a vaccine deal
worth... What, $50 million?
I told the consul six months ago
that I'd give him a
discounted price on Bactra-Vox.
But demand was high,
and it was gonna be eight weeks
before the order was fulfilled.
The consul told me that cholera
season was fast approaching
and his government just
couldn't wait that long.
So he agreed to purchase Numoral,
hoping it would be as effective.
Unfortunately, we all know how
that turned out. It's tragic.
Oh, come on, you had inside information
that the old vaccine was about
to be yanked by the W.H.O.,
so you paid off the consul to take it.
I assume you work on
commission, so who cares
if a few poor people die so
that you can line your pockets?
Daniel.
I understand the impulse to
find a bad guy, Dr. Pierce,
but what you're alleging simply isn't true.
We donate millions of dollars of
lifesaving medicines every year.
And we reinvest a significant
amount of our profits
to help improve the living conditions
of people in developing countries.
Oh, spare me the corporate
bullshit. You bribed the consul.
When the reporter found out
about it, you had him killed.
- Have you lost your mind?
- What?
What I haven't figured out is why
would you kill the consul, too?
I didn't kill anyone.
- Oh, come on. What else...
- Thank you for your time.
What the hell are you doing?
They're lying through their teeth.
And you are making wild accusations.
Sloane paid off the consul...
Why would he kill him?
Maybe the consul had a change of heart
and threatened to come clean
after all those people died.
Or maybe he just demanded
a bigger kickback.
Assuming a kickback
happened in the first place.
Until we have evidence, it's just
speculation from a dead reporter.
But...
If the consul did take a kickback and
he suddenly came into a lot of money,
maybe he started spending it.
Someone would've noticed.
Like the woman who
handles all of his affairs.
The consul was not greedy.
He led a simple life.
So you never noticed any change
in his financial affairs...
An investment in real estate
or an offshore account?
No.
None of us joined the
foreign service to get rich.
The consul believed that his
purpose in life was helping others.
Perhaps he changed his mind?
I don't think so.
Why are you asking these questions?
We think the consul may
have accepted a bribe
in exchange for buying
outdated cholera vaccines.
No.
No, I cannot believe that he
would betray our country for money.
Many of us lost people that
we love in the epidemic.
Officer Mehta... He lost
a son and a daughter.
I lost a cousin.
And how did the consul react to all this?
He grieved with us.
It does not make sense.
Rashid. What are you doing here?
It's my job to look after
the welfare of our citizens.
Why are you talking to the
FBI without your attorney?
You don't understand.
Dr. Pierce and Agent Moretti...
They don't believe I'm guilty.
Then why are you here?
We're investigating a deal
that your consul made with
Navilet Pharmaceuticals.
Do you know anything about it?
I'm aware the consul
authorized the purchase
of a vaccine for cholera,
but that's all I know.
Nasim? Are you okay?
We should go.
Nasim?
Nasim gets sick, and you go running
out of the room? What's that about?
Nasim threw up, but she's not
the only one that felt sick.
How do you know Nasim didn't just
eat some bad chicken for lunch?
She threw up at the precise moment
we told Rashid about the drug deal.
She was mirroring his
feelings. He was anxious.
Yeah, because he was the official
taking kickbacks from the drug company.
Okay, but as I understand it,
the consul would've had
to sign off on this deal,
so why would the number-two guy
be the one getting kickbacks?
Maybe they were co-conspirators,
splitting the money.
We don't know yet. At the very
least, Rashid knew about it.
Think about it... Sloane sells $50 million
worth of useless vaccines
at... what, 2% commission?
That's a million dollars.
Then he pays off the vice-consul
to push the deal through.
Well, it's a nice theory.
What do you want from me?
You can start with a subpoena
for Navilet's financial records,
see if they show the deposits that
Sloane made into that offshore account.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. No judge is going
to sign off on a fishing expedition
against one of the
biggest companies in town.
Well, if we can't go after Navilet,
then let's get Rashid's financials.
He's a diplomat for a sovereign nation.
We start digging around
there without evidence,
I'll be getting calls
from the State Department.
Moretti.
Yeah.
Look, I want to help
you guys. You know this.
But you got to bring me
more than a puddle of puke.
Got it. Yes.
I'm on it.
I'm sorry. We're gonna have
to talk about this later.
Daniel, I've got another
case I need your help with.
- We have a new case?
- Yes... the case of the missing vows.
What?
That was Father Pat on the phone.
I was supposed to have my
wedding vows to him two days ago,
and I've written thousands of
versions, but all of them suck.
Now, you are a great writer.
You come up with all of
these brilliant lectures.
- Oh, no. No, no, no.
- I'm desperate.
I'm not writing your wedding vows for you.
- I don't see why not.
- Because it's wrong on so many levels.
I wouldn't even...
Maybe there's something here that you
could just use as a jumping-off point.
Kate, I...
Daniel, please. I have already
let Donnie down so many times.
I am begging you here. You are
the only one who can help me.
"Today, I promise myself
to you and this marriage.
"To be faithful, loving, and true,
"without any of the
increased brain activity
"that's associated with
hesitation or doubt.
"A true promise, made in earnest,
"literally puts the brain at ease.
"And if you could scan my
anterior cingulate cortex
"right now, Donnie, you'd see
that it has never been more relaxed."
Mate, that is awful.
Who asked you?
No, I'm just saying, you know,
are you writing wedding vows
or the world's worst greeting card?
You think you could do better?
No, you're right. I can't.
But Rumi can.
"In your light, I learn how to love.
"In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you."
I think I'm gonna throw up.
You okay, Doc?
I'm fine.
You sure? 'Cause if you're not
feeling well, I can just get you...
Lewicki. Lewicki, Lewicki,
I'm fine. Just... Get lost.
All right.
You know, you should really
show that guy some respect.
You know, it's always
"Lewicki this, Lewicki that."
Why don't you try calling him
by his first name for once?
I have called him by his...
His first name.
Hello, Dr. Pierce, Agent M...
You're upset, doctor.
Did I do something wrong?
You didn't tell us the truth about your
relationship with Vice-Consul Prasad.
There's nothing to tell.
I've noticed how formal you
are when you talk to people,
always addressing them
by their proper titles...
"Dr. Pierce," "Agent Moretti," "Mr. Khan."
But you call the vice-consul
by his first name... Rashid.
And now you're blushing.
I don't have to be a synesthete
to figure out what that means.
You're in love with him, yes?
Mm. We have been seeing each other.
But I am Hindu, and he is Muslim,
and our families never would
approve, so we kept it quiet.
You sensed how nervous Rashid was
when we brought up the vaccine deal.
- We think he's hiding something.
- Hiding what?
That he was involved in the murders
of the consul and the reporter.
What?
No.
Rashid is not a killer.
He was not the only one who was
nervous. I was nervous, too, be...
Because of what happened to the contract.
The contract with Navilet?
What happened to it?
Rashid came to the office to pick it up.
He was supposed to deliver
it to the drug company.
He brought me a coffee,
as he sometimes does.
I was terrified.
I knew that the consul
would lose his temper
if he found out the paperwork was ruined.
Oh, what am I going to do?
He'll fire me. He'll send
me back to Bangladesh.
I won't let that happen.
It's okay. I've got another copy.
What do you mean?
The consul gave me a copy to review.
It's in my office. I'll get it.
All you need to do is sign for him.
You've signed his name before, haven't you?
The consul told the
reporter the truth after all.
He did buy the new vaccine.
Or at least thought he was buying
it when he signed the paperwork.
I-I don't understand.
The contract that Rashid brought you,
the one you forged the
consul's signature on,
was for the old vaccine.
All those people who died...
I am to blame.
You couldn't have known.
Rashid was using you.
But if his feelings were not real,
I should've been able to
tell... Because of my condition.
His feelings for you might be real.
That doesn't mean he's not a killer.
- This doesn't prove anything.
- We'll subpoena the contract.
Handwriting analysis will
prove that Nasim signed it.
You switched out those
contracts, Mr. Prasad.
Nasim also told us that you
brokered the deal with Navilet,
that you met with Gordon
Sloane a half a dozen times.
You cooked up this scam
together, didn't you?
- This is ridiculous.
- It was a win-win.
Sloane sells a warehouse full
of drugs that nobody wants,
and you get a big kickback. It's
only a matter of time before we find
that offshore account
and link it back to you.
I saw that silver Mercedes
parked in your spot.
That does seem a little bit
obvious, though, don't you think?
After the reporter threatened to
blow the lid off your little scheme,
you realized that you had to
kill him and the consul.
I didn't kill anyone.
If you've got evidence, then
you charge me. Otherwise...
No one said anything about charging you.
The State Department
will have you expelled.
I'm sure the Bangladeshi government
will be thrilled to have you back
when they learn about your
plan and all the lives it cost.
Oh, and don't think Gordon
Sloane is gonna help you.
He's got millions of
dollars to spend on lawyers,
and they are all telling him to
let you take the fall for this.
What do you want?
Testify against Sloane.
The U.S. Attorney has assured
me that if you cooperate,
you'll serve a reduced
sentence in a U.S. prison.
Look...
I didn't know this new strain of cholera
was going to spread to my country...
Certainly not this fast.
Eventually, the new strain
may find its way to South Asia,
but in my opinion, it's not something
your government should
worry about right now.
The Numoral vaccine will
meet your needs. I assure you.
But Bactra-Vox is effective
against the newer cholera strains.
How can I justify buying one that isn't,
especially if the price is the same?
Don't you want to sell
me your best product?
Well, the truth is,
we've had some problems
producing the new vaccine.
There's a backlog.
It'll be months before it's available
in the quantities that you need.
Then I guess I'll have to see
what your competitors are offering.
Hold on.
If you were willing to
consider the older drug,
I might be able to offer
you... An incentive.
How much?
$100,000 to make sure
the contract went through.
But I knew the consul
wouldn't sign the contract.
He had all of my research on the vaccines.
So you and Sloane made the consul
think he was buying the new vaccine.
Then you switched out the
paperwork to cover your asses,
so it looked like he knowingly
bought the older drug.
You and Nasim were
already in a relationship.
She was in love with you.
You knew that she'd forge the
consul's signature when you asked.
Then the deal was done.
You thought you were in the clear,
until the reporter showed up.
Yes.
When I overheard him talking
to our security chief,
I knew we had a problem.
I'm sorry.
You're not gonna let me
talk to the consul? Fine.
But you have no idea
what your boss has done.
He took a payoff to
ship a worthless vaccine,
and now thousands of your people are dead.
He was onto the scheme.
So I called Gordon Sloane.
He told me not to worry,
that he had a guy who
could take care of it.
But I thought that meant he
was going to bribe the reporter.
I never thought for a second
he was going to kill him.
Let me get this straight.
You think that you can charge
my client with two murders
because of a coffee-stained contract
that was replaced with a clean copy?
It wasn't a clean copy.
It was a completely different contract...
One the consul never would've signed.
Really? The consul tell you that?
No, your client made sure
that wouldn't be possible
when he had the consul killed.
This is absurd.
Mr. Sloane was at a shareholders
meeting when the consul was killed.
There was at least 50
people who saw him there.
It's a meaningless alibi.
You told Rashid that you had a
guy who could take care of it.
You hired a professional.
We don't have to listen to this.
We're gonna put you in
jail for fraud, Sloane...
- 5, maybe 7 years.
- Take your best shot.
And after you get out, we're gonna
turn you over to the Bangladeshis.
Yeah.
They want you extradited to face
fraud charges in their country.
No reason for us to stand in their way.
Thing is about the Bangladeshi court
system, it's extremely understaffed.
It could take years for
your case to come to trial.
And all that time, you'll be
sitting in a Bangladeshi prison.
Must be all kinds of diseases
you could catch in there.
Better make sure your
vaccinations are up to date.
Can they do that?
What are you offering?
Your client gives us the
name of the killer he hired
and pleads guilty to
solicitation for murder.
Why don't you guys take a few minutes?
Think he'll fold?
I think we got a pretty decent shot.
- It... it still doesn't add up.
- What?
Rashid told us that the consul
had nothing to do with the scheme.
So... Why did Sloane kill him?
Well, maybe the consul caught on
after the reporter came
to see him the first time.
You know, the capitalist
economy is disgusting.
What?
Daniel, are you okay?
Your country gives corporations
the same rights as people.
But people are flesh and
blood, mate, you know?
They're... they're...
They're... they're mothers,
and they're fathers and they're children.
Our drug salesman has blood on his hands.
But it's not the consul's.
The U.S. Attorney is moving
forward with Nasim's prosecution.
But Dr. Pierce and I don't
think that she did it.
We're wondering if there's
anything else that you remember,
if you can think of anyone else who
might've wanted to hurt the consul.
Oh. Um...
I'm sorry. I-I can't think of anyone.
Mr. Mehta, we understand that
you lost a son and a daughter
in the cholera epidemic.
How did you know that?
Nasim.
We're very sorry.
My children had been vaccinated.
They were supposed to be safe.
The reporter told you that the vaccine
the consul supplied was
out of date, didn't he?
I can only imagine how you felt.
And then when you found out
that the man you worked for
was responsible... You
must've been outraged.
That's why you told us
about the reporter...
So that we'd uncover this awful crime.
But you didn't mention your children
because you knew that
would make you a suspect.
You seem like an
honorable man, not the kind
that would let an innocent
woman go to prison for murder.
Nasim is a daughter, too.
How do you think her parents
are gonna feel if they lose her?
If I tell you what happened...
Will they let Nasim go?
Depends what you tell us.
After the reporter told
me about this... Scheme...
I went to Rashid.
I'm shocked.
I didn't know anything
about these kickbacks.
How could you let this happen?!
Do you have any idea how many people died?!
I told the consul our people
deserve the newest vaccines,
but he wouldn't listen to me.
Now I know why.
He can't get away with this.
The consul's family is powerful.
If I go to our superiors,
nothing will come of it,
and we'll be sent home.
I think it's best if we just
forget this conversation happened.
That's when I realized what I had to do.
For the consul, death was quick.
For my children, it was not.
I didn't realize Nasim had come running
after him and had seen everything.
I delivered justice.
I can accept the consequences.
Rashid lied to you.
He was the one who took the payoff.
The consul... He had nothing to do with it.
Are you saying I killed an innocent man?
I don't know what to say.
They're touching without being sappy.
They're just the right amount of funny.
They are perfect!
Of course they are. They're your words.
I found this at the back of your journal.
I didn't change a thing.
This is one of the first
things that I wrote.
I was at a pancake house on Milwaukee,
and I was waiting for Donnie to show up,
and the words just... Came to me.
Thank you.
There's no way I could've
figured this out without you.
Oh, Donnie's gonna love it.
Doc?
You have a visitor.
I'm glad you're both here.
I wanted to thank you for
everything that you have done for me.
Of course.
Uh... If you'll excuse me one second...
Max, is there a fax machine around here?
Sure.
Got to get these to Father Pat.
Agent Moretti is a
special woman, isn't she?
Hmm.
Dr. Pierce, it is not
my place to say, but...
Perhaps you should tell
her how you really feel.
W...
I...
The poets tell us to listen to our heart.
What a load of crap.
Seriously.
Have you ever listened to
one through a stethoscope?
It's just valves opening and
closing and opening and closing.
It sounds like a sump pump.
It may feel like our
emotions are down here,
but they're really up here,
knocking around our limbic systems.
When we face the hard decisions,
we often have to choose
between the emotional
response and the rational one.
And more often than not, it
seems emotion wins the day.
Some of us act out of greed.
Others are motivated by rage or revenge.
So, if our feelings are that destructive,
maybe it's better if we hide them...
Tamp them down, keep
them from boiling over.
Maybe.
But can we really deny
our emotions forever?
Sooner or later,
will they bubble to the surface...
And force us to act?