(Crossing bell rings) - Come on, come on, come on!
No!
Paramedics pronounced 20 minutes ago.
Megan Treadwell.
I ran her plates
33 tomorrow.
One-on-one with a train.
What did she think that she could beat it?
Hey.
Door handle
Point of impact: Passenger side door.
Dead centre
Question is...
why did the SUV cross the track s?
To get to the other side.
Sheriff says we're holding up trains all over the country.
The railroad depends on keeping the main line open.
We can't take this back to the garage.
Yeah, well, unfortunately, his priority is clearing this train from these track s.
You have two hours.
Well, where are you going?
Suspicious circs in town. This one's all yours.
Thanks, but you gotta give me some guys.
Sara's all you get.
All I need.
(Bell rings continuously)
Burglary-in-progress call.
Once we made entry, we found the victim downstairs.
Never knew this place existed.
The Western States Historical Society.
It's not on a lot of tourist maps.
(Bell stops) - I had them cut the wires.
We need to identify the source of the alarm, Ray.
Security company said it was downstairs.
The body's there too.
Trying to get them to turn some more lights on in here.
There are no more lights, O'Riley.
It's a controlled environment. Notice how you're not sweating? It's probably 66 degrees in here.
35% relative humidity Too much light too much heat
degrades the book s.
What? Nobody's got a key?
The curator's across town. He's on his way.
She looks dead to me.
You got first touch.
10:48.
Red foam. Blue tint.
The foam could be from blood in her lungs.
Oedema The skin is cyanotic
Maybe a blood disease. Leukaemia, meningitis.
We'll know more after the post
Hey, don't do that.
Excuse me?
These are very rare book s.
Aaron Pratt
Librarian. Only other person here when the alarm sounded.
Did he tell you what he was doing here?
Oh, yeah. Watching her.
Set off the alarm trying to get in the cage.
(Faltering) I wasn't watching her.
I always say good night to Veronica
because I have to leave at 8:03 to catch the 8:10 bus.
It's three blocks away.
And sometimes the bus comes at 8:08,
so I have to rush to catch it.
So you went down to the basement to say good night?
"Good night, Veronica."
"Good night, Aaron."
Sometimes she walks me to the bus.
Did she walk you to the bus tonight?
"Are you coming?"
"No, you go ahead without me.
I nave more work to do"
Then...
...a Uniball pen
rolled across the desk
fell onto the chair
nit the floor
and stopped rolling at the wastebasket
Then water...
...water falls
into her eyes.
You mean she was sweating?
From her forehead.
Lots
And then she grabs her stomach
with both hands.
"Aaron."
Then she put on her... new face.
Shelley's Frankenstein.
Up and down,
flopping around like
a salmon on my uncle's fishing boat
She was convulsing?
I...
couldn't help her
because the cage is locked and I don't have a key.
Hey there. Warrick's got three residential burglaries, so...
Mr Pratt, will you excuse me for a moment?
According to O'Riley, this guy's body language says he's guilty.
I think he's autistic.
Autistic? What, you mean like Rain Man?
Rain Man was a savant, extremely rare.
Aaron Pratt is a high-functioning autistic man with superior right-brain abilities.
Kinda sounds like you.
The crime scene's in the basement.
Man, I hate rushing through a crime scene.
Two years from now, no-one is gonna care the Sheriff turned this into a scoop-and-run.
The call was made above our heads.
Just document the time in your notes.
- I'll let you testify on this one. - Thanks.
(Dog bark s)
Hey, little guy.
Let's see.
His name is Maverick.
Lives on Martingale Street in Henderson.
That's not that far from here.
- Guess I'll go call Animal Control. - OK
I'll be right back.
Come on, boy. Let's get you home.
So all you saw was a car trying to beat the signal?
I'm puttin' 55 miles an hour. It's dark.
I got an oil leak. Can't figure out where.
I looked up and I saw something.
The SUV.
Like I said, it was dark. I thought it was stopping.
I turn my head for one second, next thing I know it's on the track s.
With all due respect, we've got the right of way out here.
Thanks for your time.
That's not yours, is it?
I am collecting evidence.
Do you have an address on the vic yet?
855 Martingale.
The vic had a passenger.
Say hello to Maverick.
Have you finished with our lady of the library?
As finished as I'm going to be.
You were right. Cyanosis.
The blood was unable to oxygenate her tissue.
Explains the blue face. Underlying cause?
With blood in her lungs, asphyxiation's out.
I found vomit in her throat bloody stool
haemolysis and some irritation of the mucous membrane on her tongue.
I won't know more till I get the blood tests back. Could be blood-borne disease.
I'm thinking about homicide.
Then you know more than I do.
Excuse me sir
- It's fine. - Whoa, whoa.
Sir, you can't come in here.
I told the officer upstairs. I'm Stanley Hunter.
The curator? Do you have any idea of the damage you're causing?
With your dust,
flashbulbs.
You see that? Right there behind you.
That is a 17th-century text by Johannes Vanden Avelen.
It's one of two volumes in the world.
Now, do you go to the Louvre and put your hands all over the Raft Of The Medusa?
Officer, Mr Hunter would like to give his statement to Detective O'Riley.
Statement? I just got here. I don't even know what happened.
But what I do know is that these are masterpieces.
One of a kind.
They're evidence in an active criminal investigation. Also one of a kind.
Mr Hunter
why don't we go upstairs and talk?
The good news, Nick. We had a camera in here.
But there's no surveillance system.
Yeah, there is. Aaron Pratt.
We just have to figure out how to get the film out of his head.
Filament.
Train probably busted out her headlights.
First thing on our list when we get to the tow yard.
Catherine?
Check this out.
Two sets of skid mark s.
One set going forward...
These skid marks are about seven feet shy of the gate.
The second set of skid marks are darker.
More rubber residue
Could be an overlay.
Looks like the tyres were spinning in place.
In reverse
Burnin' rubber. Goin' nowhere.
So...
which set of skid marks are telling the story?
Maybe they both are.
So all of your chemicals in here are alkaline?
No. We're not dealing with the far ends of the pH range.
See, old book pages are slightly acidic.
The acid eats away the paper. We neutralise them by a solution
- that is slightly basic. - To reach seven. Neutral pH.
Exactly. Imidazole.
15 per cent ammonia.
That's the sort of thing we work with here.
It's all about preserving the book s.
You know, not that you could even assign a value,
but do you have any idea how much each of these books is worth?
No.
The first printed book was the Gutenberg Bible.
It sold at Christie's for $5.3 million.
Lewis and Clark's Elkskin Journal
sold for $500,000.
We have an illustrated Audubon, The Birds Of America, which is worth an estimated $300,000.
All of that and you never thought about beefing up your security?
Special collections are kept in the vault.
Any rare book removed from the vault
gets scanned through a coder.
If the book is to be read,
it's delivered to a secure room upstairs,
and if Veronica was going to work on it, it stayed down here.
Was this one of the books that Veronica was restoring?
Yes.
It was published in 1 T9T.
The author was a British botanist.
It's worth an estimated $300,000.
It's really not a dangerous profession.
We got a situation.
You know that weird guy?
He's not weird, O'Riley, he's autistic.
Whatever. First on the scene and he's got sticky fingers.
"But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am."
Othello, Act 1, Scene 1, lines 61 and 62. Lago to Roderigo.
Very good, Aaron. Now, you want to tell me how Othello ended up in your briefcase?
It's my favourite Shakespeare tragedy.
I like Hamlet myself. And I bet Mr Hunter is into King Lear.
He's very concerned with property rights.
He tells me the rare books are kept in the vault and they're not allowed off site
(Whispers) Well, Mr Hunter doesn't like me.
I don't think the rule was made with you in mind.
He breaks the rules all the time.
He takes the books home?
No, he... eats his lunch in his office.
Carrots celery
tuna on wholewheat...
And Veronica.
What do you mean "and Veronica"?
She's eating, and he takes her sandwich...
and he puts his hand on her breast
- And then he puts his tongue Aaron!
I get it.
Did they know you were watching?
You know that filament you picked up?
Yeah?
The lamp cover's smashed but the filament's intact.
So the filament's from another car?
Well... tail-lights have different filaments,
so yean
Paint transfer.
- Recent? - Hard to say
This right rear tyre's lost a lot of rubber.
I got a cellphone.
Battery's dead.
Hey, Catherine?
Her emergency brake was on.
Maybe her brakes failed.
She had to engage it for some reason. I'm thinking maybe another vehicle was involved.
The engineer didn't mention a second driver.
Maybe he didn't see it.
15 minutes before my next post.
Bottled chemicals from the library?
Great room.
Great table.
I could use this.
Lay out all the body parts,
get a real overview.
Is that a light under there?
- Do you have something for me? - Oh, your vic?
Poisoned. Substance as yet unidentified.
There's no smoking gun in any of these bottles. What's on the label is what's in the bottle.
Isopropyl alcohol, 15 per cent ammonia solution, imidazole, bleach.
When you isolate the toxin, you'll have a better idea where it came from.
- Nick? - Hm?
I love this table.
There's no glass on the filament.
10:30 at night?
Crim 101. If a guy's driving along at night with his lights on,
gets in a wreck glass breaks fuses to the filament
Instant evidence.
But there's no glass on the filament. His headlights weren't on.
Black car, headlights off...
Easy for an engineer to miss.
So he hit her SUV.
Accidental or intentional?
Hard to tell.
- Maybe not. (Dials)
- These books are from the Historical Society. - That's my mail.
Aaron, what about these book s?
No, d-d-don't mix those up.
I have two bills due tomorrow, gas and electric, and I have to mail them on my way to work.
Don't. You're messing everything up.
Aaron, may I have a glass of water, please?
- Of course you may. - Thank you.
Is this guy the real deal?
I think he's incapable of deception, Nick.
We were just witnessing displaced anxiety.
I mean, look around.
Everything's in precise order.
Organised by size.
Order provides comfort. His whole life is based on routine. Without it, he can't function.
I'll check out the bedroom.
Mountain Spring Water, Calistoga, California. Bottled at the source.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Now, how did these books get here?
- Veronica brought them. - She was here?
Yes, she was here.
We date.
What do you mean you date?
We have dinner.
Roast beef, baked potato,
organic broccoli
Acacia Pinot Noir.
Shakespeare In Love.
DVD, Miramax.
MCMX CVIII.
You two were involved with each other?
Why, don't you think she would date someone like me?
No. You told me Veronica was involved with Mr Hunter.
I have a Masters in Library Science
and an English degree from UNLV.
And some people, like Mr Hunter, treat me like a freak.
But Veronica didn't.
She...loved me.
Not him.
Grissom?
You might want to come back here a sec.
Thank you.
Personal effects.
Like some... creepy little shrine.
Vic's hair. She was seeing Hunter.
Aaron got jealous.
Incapable of deception, huh?
How do you feel about murder?
"Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men.
Put out the light, and then put out the light."
Last call on her cellphone was to 911. Reel to reel's already interfaced on my computer.
911 What's your emergency?
On my God you've got to help me!
- Try to calm down Where are you? - There's this maniac he's following me
(Train horn)
- Help me please! - What's your location?
(Dog whimpers)
- Can you isolate the individual track s? - Yes, ma'am.
- Good. Lose the dog. - Train too, please.
- Ma'am what's your location? - Help me please!
- On God no! (Small creak)
- Please stop! Help! (Engine revs)
No!
She was flooring it.
With the emergency brake on. It doesn't make any sense.
OK. Lose the victim's voice and let's just hear the car.
(Revving)
Two engines.
- Separate them out. - Yeah.
(Revving)
SUV
Sounds like any regular four-cylinder.
(Revving)
- Sounds like the same thing. - No, no. Hang on.
(High-pitched revving)
You hear that? Turbo.
Probably diesel.
She definitely likes you.
Did you ever see Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes?
Cos there's something in your victim's blood that looks like one of those Heirlooms.
No, it's not pulling a spectra, it's not a chemical.
No, it's a large, ugly, globular mass.
You know, it's probably a protein. That's the largest mass of anything in the body.
Except organs, of course.
But it's foreign. How did it get in there?
Cart before the horse, Nick.
First you identify it, then you figure out where it came from.
- I always thought you kept your porn in there. - Uh, move it around.
OK, this is a 66-kilodalton globular protein.
Composed of two disulphide linked sub-units, A and B.
Very impressive.
I know what you all think of me.
That I'm just another pretty face
that got to where I am by sleeping with Catherine.
But seriously,
Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford.
Can I help it if I'm hip?
Yeah, yeah. Which one of your relatives got you in?
Full ride.
Hey, eyes forward.
Now, A and B chains link together to form
a large three-dimensional structure of these beta sheets and helices.
- Translation? - Wait.
You just drew the molecular structure of a foreign protein. Plant?
Correct. But more specifically, lectin.
(Gasps) This is nastier than I thought.
It's ricin. A biotoxin.
- Biotoxin? - Yeah.
"A B chain binds to glycoside residues
which trigger endocytotic uptake of the protein, which internalises the toxin and begins..."
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop now. Biotoxin
as in... anthrax, smallpox?
I was at that crime scene for eight hours, man.
Relax, man. It takes, like, two hours for ricin symptoms to show
- and, like, 48 more to kill you. - What kind of symptoms are we talking about?
Um...
Sweats?
- Cramps? - No.
- Convulsions? - Uh-uh.
Then you're fine.
Now, where did you say this woman worked?
Western States Historical Society.
Hey.
I just got the word on our library victim.
How does ricin grab you?
Wow. Ricin. I never would have gone there.
But it explains the irritation of the mucous membrane on her tongue.
So you think she ate the poison?
I don't know about ate,
but the ricin made contact with her tongue,
which means you're probably looking for a powder.
A day in the life.
Megan Treadwell
Wakes up at home on Martingale Street puts the dog in the car
heads to work, at her desk by 9am.
And we know this how?
Brass. Talked to her boss.
- Why the dog? - Dog went with her every day.
- So she works till six? - Eight, actually. Hard worker.
She packs up and leaves the office.
Except she doesn't go home. She runs an errand.
I found these in the front seat of her SUV.
There's only one store in Las Vegas that makes them.
Yeah, but it happens all the time.
The parking spaces are too narrow.
And at a premium now that the restaurant moved in.
This guy was out of line.
Almost... psycho.
Because of this woman?
Yeah. Maverick's owner.
I think her name was
um... something with an M.
- Megan. - Yeah.
And this guy yelled so loud. I came out here just to check it out.
- He said something like... - "You could nave killed me bitch!"
I heard it too.
- Did you see it? - Kind of
I mean, I didn't hear a crash or anything, just brakes.
It seemed like she backed out didn't see him
Happened right over there.
Oh. Oh. Hey! Hey!
And that set him off?
The last thing this guy needed was coffee.
Hey! Pull your head out of your ass and use your mirror!
Was he a regular?
Double latte, tall. Monday through Friday between 8:30 and 9:00.
Does Mr Double Latte have a name?
I think it's Croft.
Works right down the street CPA
He's always telling us how to streamline our business.
How did Megan react to Mr Croft?
She told him to go to hell.
- Go to hell! - No you go to hell!
You're an ass!
And then just drove off.
And what about Mr Croft?
Everyone was just staring at him, and then he got in his car and peeled out.
Ricinus communis.
Un castor beans Like in castor oil
Botanically speaking, it's a spurge, not a bean.
Ricin is made from the husk
Castor oil is made from what's inside.
Hm. Which makes two people who know that.
- You and the guy who wrote the book. - Three
Someone knew how to turn this spurge into a poison.
Hey, guys. That's Aaron's book, right?
Mm-hm.
Shouldn't you be looking at that under a fume hood?
We brought this from his apartment, not his office.
What makes you think there's a difference? He probably cooked up that ricin in his kitchen.
Our guys didn't find anything there.
So he cleans up well.
What, you're not feeling sorry for this guy now, are you?
- Hey, man, he is autistic. - Anybody else would be in a cell.
Yes, I've heard of ricin.
Georgi Markov, 19T8.
Bulgarian political refugee in London
Assassinated
by injection with a ricin pellet shot out of a black umbrella.
Died two days later.
Not that different from the way Veronica died, is it?
I found this book in your apartment.
What if I also told you that I found your fingerprint on this page?
Page 153.
I... don't touch that book any more.
But you did touch it.
Why are you mad at me?
Answer the question.
I don't touch this book any more! It... doesn't feel right.
Ever since you killed Veronica?
I loved Veronica.
What do you mean it doesn't feel right?
Like
a new bus pass.
Smooth. Feel the page.
It used to feel like my bus pass after a month.
Now...
rough.
Did you tell anyone that the illustrations felt different?
Yes.
I told Veronica and I told Mr Hunter.
She said that sometimes
the books feel that way after they've been restored.
What did Mr Hunter say?
He said, "Get out of my office, Aaron. I'm having my lunch!"
Was Mr Hunter having lunch with Veronica again?
Hard-boiled egg, celery, fruit salad,
iced tea
Veronica was on a diet
She had to lose three pounds.
Was this lunch different from the other lunches you told me about?
Yes.
How?
They fought.
Aaron,
I want you to be very specific. Tell me what you saw.
You did what?
All I have is my reputation and I am not gonna let you ruin it!
Veronica started crying.
Mr Hunter stopped yelling.
He sat down
He started eating
He cut the hard-boiled egg in half.
He reached in the drawer
and pulled out the salt shaker
No sex, no food, no salt.
- Poison? What are you talking about? - We're talking about ricin
The toxin that killed Veronica Bradley. You were dating her.
- You ate lunch together. - Opportunity. You mix up a batch of ricin,
put it in the shaker. Next time you break bread, she asks for the salt...
Never happened.
We have a witness who says he saw you try to kill her.
What? Aaron?
Are you sure you trust him?
Normally an eyewitness is the least reliable evidence, but here, it's the most reliable.
Veronica knew about the forgeries
A career-ender, huh, Stanley?
For her, not for me. She's the forger.
Oh, Aaron, Aaron, Aaron.
(Tuts)
I suppose he indicted me for that, too?
He's the one who came to me. Told me about the illustrations.
Said they felt like his bus pass, whatever that means.
Go on.
He even knew the page numbers. So I checked it out and he was right.
Veronica was using me.
Mea culpa.
Why didn't you tell us about the forgeries earlier?
When she died I thought the problem was solved.
In this business, all you have is your reputation.
It was a dozen books I was going to remove them from the collection
inform the board, collect the insurance and cut my losses.
If you don't believe me, go ask your very reliable witness.
Tell me again. What did you see?
Uniball pen rolls across the desk,
falls on the chair, hits the floor,
and stops rolling at the wastebasket.
Then water falls into Veronica's eyes.
Aaron,
when you look at things, you see pictures in your mind.
Tell me the first picture you see
- of Veronica in this cage. - I already told you.
Tell me something you haven't told me.
Tell me what Veronica was doing before you said good night.
She pulled out a canvas bag.
Then she looked around.
Why was she looking around?
She was deciding something.
Tell me what Veronica deciding something looks like.
Thank you, Aaron.
Veronica Bradley must have loved Uniballs. She had about a dozen at her house.
Plus every known piece of forgery equipment.
Some people bite their nails, she bit her pens.
Bad habit.
I also found this
Under her refrigerator. Funny how people don't think to clean there.
Castor bean
Ricinus communis.
If we find ricin on any of the pens from her house,
we'll know where she cooked up the castor beans.
And maybe how she died.
Get these to Greg right away. We need the results of the ricin ELISA test.
I came home straight from work. I don't know what you're talking about.
You want to submit to a line-up?
A line-up?
What for?
His car, out in the parking lot, it's a rental.
Rented this morning
- Let's just cut the BS. Where's your car? - I sold it.
You got proof of sale?
- An accountant who doesn't keep receipts. - Hey, you don't know anything about me.
I know you've got a temper.
Hey. Brass did the legwork and rushed the warrant.
Found it in a body shop a mile from his house.
Black Excursion. Turbo diesel.
- Gutted. - Gets better
The vic's SUV was silver.
What do you think?
- Well this is a lot more than a fender bender - Sustained contact
Get some scrapings.
Yeah.
I think I may know what set this guy off.
He spilled his coffee.
Not a good colour for Croft.
Coffee on the outside, coffee on the inside.
Lipstick on the lid.
She threw her coffee at him.
Croft chases her from the parking lot caught up to her at the light
they said their screw you, screw yous.
I think I know the word that made her throw the coffee.
I hate that word.
Does this ever fit? She nailed him
The light turns green and the chase is on.
Now she's got a problem
She's got a pursuit on her hands.
- And she's the pursued. - So she dials 911
- 911 What's your emergency? - Oh, my God! You've got to help me.
But somehow she loses him.
And she's still spooked.
All she wants now is to get home.
Please... Please!
(Crossing bell rings)
Hey, sweetie.
Help! No!
Stop!
That's why she had the emergency brake on.
She could have jumped out.
Not without her dog.
Help!
(Engine fails to start)
No!
And that's why you always cut the other driver some slack.
I'll call Brass. Tell him to make the arrest.
Veronica removed the original illustrations from the books and replaced them with forgeries,
which she then left at your house,
so that she could point the finger at you if it ever came to that.
She never thought you'd find out, but you did.
And you told Mr Hunter.
All you have in this business is your reputation.
So Veronica tried to save hers, but instead of killing Mr Hunter,
she ended up killing herself.
- Sorry. - That's OK.
I like order.
Me too.
That's why I was scared.
Scared?
Of Veronica.
Being in love.
I was stupid.
I thought she loved me.
"Then must you speak of one that loved not wisely..."
"...but too well."
Othello, Act 5, Scene 2, lines 343 and 344.
But Othello killed Desdemona.
I didn't kill Veronica.
No. You didn't.