( fast alternative rock playing )
♪ Oh... ♪
( pedestrians exclaim )
THACKER: DOA is Michael Starling.
Bike messenger for Speedball Express.
Several unpaid summonses for reckless bicycle riding,
and one prior for assaulting a cab driver.
That's still a crime in New York?
Hey, these guys consider a summons
a badge of honor.
Okay, we've got a stab wound to the upper right thigh.
This guy was training. He's wearing one of those
high tech heart monitors.
Do you have any witnesses?
There was a crowd of people standing on the corner
waiting for the light to change
and the victim comes barreling towards them...
BONASERA: He wasn't stabbed here.
So this is our secondary crime scene.
Who knows where this guy was stabbed.
Somewhere between Wall Street and right here.
What?
Delivery manifest.
Last drop, 200 Wall Street.
Next stop, 33rd and 8th.
He's gonna be a little late.
♪ Out here in the fields ♪
♪ I fought for my meals ♪
♪ I get my back into my living ♪
♪ I don't need to fight ♪
♪ To prove I'm right ♪
♪ I don't need to be forgiven, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Yeah. ♪
Watch your back.
Can I help you with something?
Yeah, who's in charge here, you know?
In the back. Hang on, I'll show you.
Thanks.
So what you, an inspector or something?
Yeah, something like that. NYPD, crime lab.
That's your man.
See ya, copper.
She could handle my package any day.
Am I right or am I right?
Maybe not.
Yeah, you know Michael Starling?
Yeah, what'd he do now?
He died.
Stabbed today while making a delivery.
What happened to his packages?
You're all bent out of shape about it, huh?
Is there anything you can tell me about him?
What's there to tell?
He took things from A to B...
Not today he didn't.
What do you want from me?
I don't know.
What do you want from me?
I don't know.
Is there anybody he had a problem with here?
Somebody, maybe,
another messenger gunning for his route?
I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about.
Come on, I know how this business works.
The faster you are, the better your route.
The better your route, the more cash you make.
Hey, look, I don't know nothin' about no stabbin', all right?
I gotta hire a new guy now,
and you're lookin' to take down one more?
I'm lookin' for the truth.
You don't seem so eager to deliver.
Funny, good pun.
Thanks for nothing, eh?
Elaine Curtis, elite dog handler.
Specialized in "Large sporting dogs."
"Dog handler"?
Someone who shows other people's dogs.
Can be a full-service commitment.
You're the dog's doctor, nutritionist, personal valet...
For people who want to leave the dirty work to professionals.
I'm all for that.
Where's the victim's dog?
Animal control.
She still had it on a leash, and it was going crazy.
They tranquilized it and took it to the pound.
Any witnesses?
None.
Any witnesses?
None.
When the dogs are showing, this grooming area
completely empties out.
The show vet, Ross Howell,
he found the body.
Detective Mac Taylor, NYPD Crime Lab.
You found the body?
Uh, yes, I did.
Anything you'd like to add to that?
Uh, well, I came out of my, uh, clinic,
and I found her lying there.
Did you hear anything?
Uh, no, nothing at all.
You touch her? Try to revive her?
No. It was clear she was deceased.
Take Maxwell back to the Saint Regis.
He can have anything from room service except the shrimp tray.
And don't let him know his event's been suspended.
You remember what happened last time.
Sorry, ma'am.
It's imperative that
I speak to the doctor.
Dr. Howell,
you assured me that Maxwell's medication would be ready.
Do you have it?
If it's an emergency...
Well, of course it's an emergency.
These animals are athletes.
Their metabolisms are calibrated to the enth degree.
Any disruption of medication schedules
can be disastrous to their performance.
Mrs. Soon, as I told you,
this medication is not indicated...
Thank you, doctor.
I believe I know what's best for my dog.
Ma'am, we have a crime scene here.
If you could...
Did you know it's harder to get into
veterinary school than med school?
And here I am.
Every one of these dogs
has at least nine or ten medications in them.
Where's the victim's grooming area?
Over there.
He says he didn't hear anything.
Mac, I found the twin to our murder weapon.
We got an owner for this?
Yoo-who, that belongs to me.
Well, I'm sorry, we're gonna have to hang onto this, Miss...
Millie Hanford. And it's Mrs.
This is terribly disruptive.
People who do this sort of thing don't usually come to dog shows.
Could I just have my bag?
We're gonna have to hang on to that as well.
You only have one of my needles.
Has someone stolen my other knitting needle?
( gasps )
Apparently riding a bike in New York
is as dangerous as ten rounds with Mike Tyson.
Well, playing chicken with buses and cabs will do that.
Multiple healed fractures, collar bone...
Couple of ribs,
seven...
out of ten fingers.
Three more and he gets a free sub.
Here's the only one that's fresh.
Hairline fracture to the pelvis.
Consistent with where the victim was stabbed.
Used a lot of force.
What's this?
I was waiting for you.
Your killer left part of the murder weapon behind.
Looks like half a scissors from a pocket knife.
Transected the external iliac artery.
Lost a lot of blood.
He kept riding after he was stabbed?
It's unclear if he was riding when he was stabbed.
If he was, adrenaline probably kept him going for awhile.
Ride like the wind.
Thank you.
She wasn't well liked.
You saw her.
She shopped
for her show wardrobe in Milan,
Italy... the focus
is supposed to be on the dog.
There was a judge
in Cincinnati who developed an infatuation.
We circulated an anonymous petition,
and he was forced to recuse himself.
It was a terrible scandal.
Would anyone have disliked Ms. Curtis enough to kill her?
Detective, you seem like a nice man,
but obviously, you don't know
the first thing about animal people.
We wouldn't hurt a soul.
Mrs. Hanford, can you explain
what your knitting needles were doing
in the grooming area?
Hercule,
I knit him things.
Like his blanket.
It has a calming effect on both of us.
Doesn't it, Hercule?
( snarls )
Well, thank you for letting me sit.
Hold him for a minute.
Enough, Hercule.
( barks )
Thank you.
Mac?
Come check this out.
I LCV'd the floor.
Paw prints leading away,
so they couldn't have been the owner's dog.
A second dog?
We have a witness.
( dog barking )
Where do we find him?
Our vic was stabbed in the right leg, yes?
Yes, ma'am.
Looks like our killer left more than just a piece
of the murder weapon behind.
I've got blood on the left pedal.
Whoever stabbed the victim
also transferred blood onto his bike.
I've got a red mist here,
but it's too fine to be blood spatter.
And also a gray, granular compound
on the back of the jacket.
I have the same compound on the bike.
Let's see what we got.
♪ ♪
Two gray fibers on the knife are wool.
I'm going to take this blood sample down to DNA,
see if I can't get a hit off the second bleeder.
What about the jacket?
Red paint and concrete.
That could tell us where he's been.
Help narrow down the primary crime scene.
I'm thinking we can track the vic's path
using this heart rate monitor.
Transmitter's worn around the chest,
picks up signals from the heart.
It's interpreted wirelessly through this wristwatch.
Which records distance, speed and heart rate.
Thinking maybe we can figure out
where he was riding with this thing.
Hook it up.
Hawkes?
( loud bang )
One of the trainees
left the door open last weekend.
A couple of pipes iced over.
Places a horrible burden
on the whole system.
We run the risk of blowing a compressor.
But you're here about your dog show DOA.
Cause of death-- ruptured aorta.
Internal hemorrhaging, shock.
Dead in a matter of minutes.
That's some savage needlework.
She was unlucky.
The needle could have easily passed straight through
without doing any serious damage,
but the point caught the aorta just right...
and the dam burst.
Other than
the leash marks,
no injuries on her hands.
Suggests she didn't try to break her fall.
But there was
major disturbance at the scene.
I did find materials
under her nails.
Looked like skin.
Sent it over to DNA.
So she could have been attacked.
No defense wounds, no torn clothing,
no recent contusions.
I did find foreign hairs under her clothing.
And this...
was in her mouth.
Looks like latex.
I'll take a look at it. Anything else?
I saved the best for last.
You always do.
When I first saw this, I thought
it might have been a postmortem
dog bite.
Those are no canine's canines.
Uh-uh.
We know our victim's last delivery was made right here.
Okay, and then he ends up dead
on the corner of Hudson and Jane,
which is consistent with our 4.8 miles
recorded on the wristwatch.
His heart rate indicates
that he was riding a continuous path,
which means that he was riding
when he was stabbed.
All right, let's highlight
all possible routes
that he took to get from point A to point DOA.
Whew, we have to narrow that down.
All right, well, look here.
His heart rate goes up roughly a mile in.
Speed drops. So it looks like he's pumping pretty hard.
Show me elevation gradients on all routes.
Now eliminate all routes without an incline at mile 1.2.
( beeps )
All right, his heart rate plateaus...
The next mile or so,
no change in speed.
He was pedaling a straightaway.
Eliminate all the routes
that have him weaving in and out of side streets.
Okay. What do you make of this?
He slows down briefly, heart rate drops,
then accelerates hard.
He's coasting into a turn, maybe.
And a couple more turns,
into a downhill at roughly mile 1.8.
And boom--
that's the route he took.
Now we got to figure out where he was stabbed.
Hold on. See this?
Right here.
There was a spike in his heart rate
at mile 2.1.
Something made his heart jump.
Somewhere between
Clarkson and Walker.
Medullary index value of the hair on our DOA
is more than 50%.
The index in human hair is less than 30.
Well, she was a dog person.
It makes sense that she'd have animal hair all over her.
One reason why I can't own a dog.
Did you ID our dog witness?
Pad size
and gait length
make a pretty reliable ID possible.
I'd say it's some kind
of spaniel
or a small hunting dog.
It's time for a lineup.
MAN: This is outrageous and cruel.
Do you have any idea of the stress
this is placing on these animals?
I have already spoken to my attorney.
And we will be disputing
any unfavorable results of the competition.
Can you tell us what you're looking for, at least?
If you'll run your dogs, please.
Can't you see the effect this is having?
Look at my dog.
He's almost
in tears.
Okay, place your dogs on the podium
one at a time, please.
It's going to be all right, Gwyneth.
Do you realize my dog feels this as a rejection?
It's appalling.
Have you no shame, sir?
Didn't you teach your dog to wash his hands?
Elaine and I were involved for about six months.
That's why your dog's hair was all over her.
Why didn't you tell us sooner?
I would have been dismissed.
We worked for rival owners,
and we're not supposed to fraternize.
There have been issues.
Gambling--
big money.
The dog world's not the paradise people think.
You know anything about this bite mark?
Oh, my.
( whimpering )
Elaine has some, uh...
strange peccadilloes.
( dog barking )
My dog adored her.
So...
he found her and came to find you.
I was going crazy trying to find him.
If a dog's found running loose,
it could mean disqualification.
And you didn't notice the blood on his paws?
No. I swear to you.
TAYLOR: Please don't leave town without
notifying the NYPD.
Of course not.
Tomorrow is the finals.
We're odds on to be Best In Show.
Frisky little fella.
Friendly.
We know our victim's heart rate spiked between these two blocks,
so we can assume that he was stabbed
somewhere along this path.
We can use the jacket
to provide a sequential timeline.
What do we have?
We've got the red paint and cement.
You know, I think he might have done some off-roading.
That's a safe bet.
Check that out.
We still have the pictures of the victim's bike?
Yeah.
Hey, we got a match on the tires.
Nice. Looks like he took this turn
and came right through here.
Paint's still fresh.
And our victim's speed never went under 25 miles per hour.
So he was flying through here.
These bike messengers are out of their minds.
Hey, Danny.
Looks like we may have found our primary crime scene.
I'll be right back.
So what is this, like, a crime scene or something?
Or something.
Nice.
It's the real deal here.
Great.
There's no blood drops
leading up to this point,
so this is where our victim was stabbed.
Hey, Danny.
Yeah.
Bring me that telescopic magnet, will ya?
Here.
Thanks.
Fit for a million and one uses.
( techno music playing )
DNA came back on the blood sample
from the victim's bike pedal.
Please tell me we got a hit.
Brett Stokes.
Reference sample came from a prior assault
on a hansom cab driver.
He threw down with a horse and buggy guy?
She. She also works at the same company as our victim.
Really.
I think I mighta spoke to her this morning.
Really?
She seem suspicious?
I didn't think anything.
Because she's a girl?
No.
What did you get on the knife?
Found some oily residue caked on the tip of the blade.
Checking it out.
Got long-chain and aromatic hydrocarbons.
Could mean some sort of lotion or something.
I'll work on the source. And...
Brett Stokes did some fingernail scraping for us.
Nice. Well, if her DNA's on the murder weapon,
she'll be delivering mail at Hudson Correctional.
Mac. Tox results from Elaine Curtis.
She was on antidepressants.
Phenelzine, one of the monoamine oxidase inhibitors. MAOIs.
Pretty high dose.
What's this other peak?
Clomipramine.
Another antidepressant.
One of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
SSRIs and MAOIs
taken together would likely trigger
serotonin syndrome.
Would induce nausea, disorientation, hypomania.
That's why she was heading to the medical tent.
( gasping )
Maybe she was overcome
by the symptoms and fell... onto the needle.
Accidental overdose?
She handled medications for a living.
Do we buy that she would make that type of mistake?
Could she have been poisoned?
We're gonna find out.
( rap music playing )
Where is your partner?
Excuse me?
That guy who was here yesterday. Mr. Crime Lab.
Guess you're stuck with me.
Hmm. Pretty smart.
Sending a woman. Figured I'd
warm up to you?
We'd have a little Oprah Winfrey heart-to-heart.
I tell you who killed Mikey.
Don't expect me to buy you a car,
but since you're in the chatty mood,
let's start with that.
It comes with the job.
What about murder? Is that part of the job, too?
Found your blood
on Mikey's bike.
You're way off base here.
These guys here are like my family.
We always hurt the ones we love.
What you want to hear?
That I hated Mikey?
I did.
Dispatcher gave me
his route last week, so jackass slashed my tires.
And you never slashed his?
I wouldn't do that.
Out of respect... for the bike.
You still haven't explained
how your blood got on a dead guy's bike.
All right, listen.
We got into it yesterday, but not the way you think.
We was racing.
That's the last time I saw him.
When I turned around, he was gone.
So? Am I under arrest?
We're running some tests on the knife
that was used to kill Mr. Starling.
If your DNA shows up on it,
I can guarantee you, you will be under arrest.
( phone ringing )
Bonasera.
All right, Danny, how does the DNA
from the fingernail scrapings on the knife
not match Brett Stokes?
She's got motive
tattooed on her forehead.
Don't kill the messenger.
See what I just did there?
Yeah, it's cute.
All right, whose DNA is it?
Theodore Gates. Convicted seven years ago
on sexual misconduct with an eight-year-old boy.
And he's out?
Living on Hudson and Walker.
That's one block from where
our victim was stabbed.
Exactly.
You must be a mind reader.
I wish.
I was just about to call your office.
Got a full DNA profile from the skin
underneath your victim's fingernails.
Nice work.
And... I matched it to a name in CODIS.
Several priors, all through the 90s.
Picked up in a couple of bookmaking stings.
In the last one, he lost the plot entirely,
and assaulted an officer.
Gets him a lifetime pass to CODIS.
You're a compulsive gambler.
You bet a lot of money on another dog
in Elaine Curtis's group to win.
No, that's all behind me.
You don't think the NYPD knows who runs book in this town?
Want me to bring in the bartender
from the Charlton Lounge?
So I had a slip. What are you going to do? Tell my sponsor?
We matched DNA found under Elaine Curtis's
fingernails to samples taken from you.
How'd you get that scratch
on your hand, Doctor?
One of the dogs.
You offered her money to take a dive.
She blew you off,
so you decided to poison her instead?
Opportunity,
means and motive, Dr. Howell.
She was one of those people, you know,
works the angles. I figured
I could get her on my team.
Works the angles?
You know. Like, the way she dressed,
the way she acted.
She was working it.
Someone wears a nice shirt, and that makes them a player?
She wasn't interested.
I grabbed her. That's when she scratched me.
No, I'm not interested.
As a matter of fact...
I'm reporting you to the Oversight Committee.
Oh, come on, lighten up.
It was just an offer. What do you care?
Some people like to maintain their integrity.
Yeah, you're one of those people?
I'm going to the Committee.
Oh, wait a minute.
Let me go.
Ow.
So when she came
to look for you, crashing and banging
around the grooming area,
you just figured you'd just let her die?
I wasn't there.
I was at the Charlton.
When I came back and found her, I pretended I hadn't heard her
so no one would know I wasn't there.
LOUDSPEAKER: May we have the Working Group
in the ring, please.
( crowd applauding )
You don't want me to go check this out
and find out that you were lying, now.
Oh, do whatever you want.
I became a vet because
I wanted to alleviate some suffering, and I end up
dealing drugs to manic-depressive shih tzus.
Hey, sweetie.
Where's your mommy?
Let's go see Mommy.
Come on.
( whistles )
I registered my change of address
with the proper authorities.
We're not here for
a Megan's Law visit, Mr. Gates.
Although seeing you within
ten feet of a child is nauseating.
We're here about Michael Starling.
I'm sorry, am I supposed to know who that is?
Usually when you stab somebody, you know the guy's name.
Just common courtesy.
Well, I didn't stab anyone.
What on earth is he talking about?
Your DNA was found on the knife
that was used to stab Michael Starling.
I see.
Was it a Swiss Army knife?
Nice job, you got it on the first try.
Is it necessary that he be here?
Why, what's the matter, am I'm too old for you?
I lost my knife about a week ago.
God only knows where.
You know, I go fishing for change in my pocket
and pull it out and leave it somewhere.
Where were you yesterday morning?
The Javits Center.
There's a model airplane convention there until Friday.
I have the brochure if you'd like to see it.
Did you buy something while you were there?
Yes. I bought a special adhesive.
It helps to preserve...
Oh, you just want to know if I have a receipt, right?
Right.
I think so.
( coins clatter on floor )
Thanks for stopping by.
You know what?
If you're still here in five minutes,
it's going to be your parole officer
thanking me for stopping by.
The doctor's alibi checked out
and we're out of suspects.
Maybe if we can figure out what she ate,
we'll know how the medication got into her system.
♪ ♪
Doesn't look like anything was in her food.
There were no signs of injection on the body,
so it was most likely administered in liquid form.
That's almost impossible to detect in the stomach.
Somebody really knew what they were doing.
( dogs barking )
♪ ♪
Run this liquid, will you,
against the standards for the SSRI
we found in Elaine's bloodstream.
This animal's day was scheduled
down to the last minute.
This lock's been tampered with.
I've got hair from four breeds of dog on my coat
while I was at the show.
I've compared them all to your sample.
We got a perfect match.
Where'd the other hair come from?
Our killer.
The person who doped Elaine Curtis's water.
I know that look.
If you wanted beauty tips, all you had to do was ask.
Did you know that waterproof mascara
dries out your lashes?
That's amazing.
What are you doing?
I'm looking for this.
Remember the substance on the knife?
I was right, it's hand lotion.
I tried to find out what stores carry it,
but none of them sell it.
So who sells it?
No one. It's brand new.
You only can get it
in these little sample packets.
Only question now is,
how'd it get on the knife?
NYPD.
Don't make a scene.
Good, good.
Here you go.
What's going on?
Nice gloves.
Let me guess, 100% wool.
What's this all about?
About 25 to life, give or take.
I see you switched from
the Swiss Army knife to the box cutter, huh.
Fibers from your gloves,
lotion on your magazine,
not to mention you're the sole employee
at the scene of the crime.
Why'd you do it?
Why?
Hey, don't judge me lady.
Just because I had the cojones to do what everyone
walking down these streets wishes they could do
on a daily basis.
What's that, take an innocent life?
Innocent my ass.
These freakin' bike messengers
think they own these streets.
Son of a ...!
Pedestrian rage. Why do I even ask?
Son of a bitch!
Makes you want to murder them, don't it?
Get in the car.
I've told you everything I know.
Mrs. Hanford, take a seat.
You put some of your dog's
depression medication into Elaine Curtis's water bottle.
Don't be ridiculous.
When you closed the bottle, one of the hairs from your dog
was sealed into the screw-on top.
That might have been from any dog.
The hair was consistent
with that of a West Highland Terrier.
It could've been anyone, it could've been weeks ago.
Elaine had a feeding schedule, she kept very accurate records.
That bottle was empty
until an hour
before the qualifying round.
( sighs )
All right.
It was stupid of me.
I just got so tired of her wearing those low-cut dresses
when she was meant to be showing the dog.
Hercule's medication comes in
liquid form;
I put a few drops of it in Elaine's dog's water.
To slow it down a little, make it sleepy.
That's all.
But I had nothing to do with her death.
You had everything to do with her death, Mrs. Hanford.
I don't understand.
Elaine Curtis
was taking her own medication.
When she ingested the dog's water...
...the reaction between the two caused her to collapse.
On to your knitting needle.
ANNOUNCER: Number five...
( gasps )
You mean I...?
That's impossible.
It's what happened, ma'am.
Well, that's wasn't what I intended at all.
Hey.
Wrap up the dog show?
You know, the more people I meet,
the more I think about getting a dog.
When was the last time we grabbed a bite to eat?
That wasn't in the lab?
Uh...
Sometime in the last millennium.
You have anything you have to get finished?
Paperwork.
Do it tomorrow.
Let's have a sit-down dinner someplace.
Sure.
What'd you have in mind?
Thank you.
Boy, you really know how to treat a girl.
ANNOUNCER: Doberman Pinscher number ten.
Kuvasz number five.
Gait, personality, presentation.
Which of the animals most brings the breed to life.
That's your winner.
ANNOUNCER: Newfoundland number 17.
What?
You're not wearing a tie.
I don't think I've ever seen you without one.
I never wear a tie to a dog show.
Okay.
So, are we betting?
Sure. A couple of bucks.
I got ten bucks on the basset hound.
Ten bucks, okay.
I'll take the Doberman.
ANNOUNCER: We'd like to thank the Timothy Rider Corporation
for tallying up the votes for us today.
Ladies and gentlemen, and the winner is...
Ms. Pinochle with the basset hound.
( applause )
You're gonna make me pay?
Yeah, I'm gonna make you pay.
I thought you were kidding.
Some days you're the dog
and some days... you're the hydrant.