WOMAN: This won't help you, don't you see? After me, there'll be others. You'll have to go on killing, on and on until they catch you. I won't be the last; there'll be others after me. You can't help yourself because you're mad, mad, mad! ( cell phone rings ) ( phone rings on screen ) WOMAN: Hello? MAN: Turn it off. ( cell phone rings ) Shh! ( cell phone ringing ) WOMAN: Burgess! Burgess!
( glass shattering on screen) ( ringing ) ( glass shattering on screen) ( ringing ) Excuse me, sir. I'm gonna have to ask you to turn the phone off. Sir? I have to... ( whoops ) Theaters are like nightclubs; they should always keep the lights off. This is the last art house left in Vegas. I saw Baraka here, on a double bill with Koyaanisqatsi. Was anyone else here? Sure. Was anyone else here? Sure. With you? No. BRASS: Thursday night is Noir Night. The poor sap was slumped over like a sack of potatoes, oozing blood like a broken bottle of ketchup.
His name is Gus Sugarman. Runs a dental practice in Henderson. Cell phone went off three times during the movie. So, an usher finally came over to shut him up. Yeah, somebody beat him to it.
Single puncture wound to the base of the skull. And nobody saw anything? They were watching the movie. Dark room. Loud music. Four exits. Everybody looking the other way. Professional killer? Or a movie buff.
♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ I really wanna know ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Who... ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Who... ♪ ♪ Come on, tell me who are you, you, you ♪ ♪ Oh, you! ♪
It was Build My Gallows High, with Robert Mitchum, 1947. It was Out of the Past, with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. And Kirk Douglas. Trust me, the book was Build My Gallows High. Mr. Siskel, Mr. Ebert, may I have a cause of death, please? Puncture wound is small. Not a knife. Seems like it penetrated all the way to the brain stem, and there's some bruising around the mouth. Well, the killer could have stood over him, placed his hand over his mouth, stabbed him in the back of the head. Didn't Telly Savalas do that in The Dirty Dozen? Anthony Quinn did it, too, in Guns of Navarone. Right. Anthony Quinn did it, too, in Guns of Navarone. Right. Well, what movie did you see this in?
DR. ROBBINS: Looks like somebody ripped something off his neck. Small patterns; could have been a chain, maybe, huh? Or necklace. Oh! ( sighs ) Butterfingers. ( flashlight rolling on floor)
What you got? Well, whoever called him didn't leave their number.
♪ ♪
Hey! I wasn't the only one who dropped something tonight.
I got a witness. I only noticed 'cause she got up during the best part of the movie, right before the gunfight. Is the gunfight loud? Yeah. I mean it's not THX Surround-sound. This was 1950 and mono optical track, but... I like how loud this theater keeps it. Perfect moment to do it. Cover up any noise the victim might make. Did you get a look at her? I drove 40 minutes to see this flick; my eyes were on the screen, but, uh, she was tall, not old... a redhead. Did she come back in? No. And, uh... I-I don't see her here.
Did anyone see her come into the lobby? BRASS: Well, the manager had left for the night. The usher who found the body, he had left before we got here. He had been smoking blunts. He was afraid we were going to bust him for marijuana. I'll be tweaking him when I call him for my statement. If you ask me, anybody who leaves their phone on in a movie deserves to get stabbed in the head.
That's why nobody asked you.
STOKES: Detective. O'RILEY: Guys. Who called it in? Passing motorist heard gunshots. First Officer did a drive up. Found the scene. Called in the world. I hope you brought extra supplies. Why's that? You're gonna be here awhile.
Looks like a war zone.
BROWN: We got an I.D. on the body? O'RILEY: No cash, no ID, just a driver's permit. Driver's permit. What is he, 16? O'RILEY: Fifteen-and-a-half. Timmy McCallum. Coroner's on his way. Tell them to watch their step. There's casings and blood everywhere. Divide and conquer. Inside or outside? Outside perimeter. I'm Dennis Rodman. I'll take everything below the knee. Question isn't what we're going to find on your murder weapon; question is what isn't on it. The sticky substance? Soda. Yellow crumbs? Popcorn. Yellow crumbs? Popcorn. Carpet fibers. It wasn't the cleanest theater in the world. I just want to match the blood to our victim. And you want to know if there's a recoverable print. Uh-huh. You want to race? What's the bet?
♪ ♪
JOHNSON: Is that our guy?
Phone company unblocked all his private numbers for us. They can do that now? Yeah. On the left side of the screen are the outgoing calls. On the right, the incoming. What time did the movie start? 10:40. Last outgoing call your vic made was at 10:38. 555-0110. 26 seconds. That sounds like a no answer. Yeah, but 555-0110 was the number that called him three times in a row: 11:26, 11:27, 11:28. Someone needed to talk to him pretty bad. Yeah, well, he was already dead by then. Dr. Robbins was that accurate with the T.O.D.? That's when the gunfire erupted. There was gunfire? In the movie. I'll need an address on that number.
♪ For each a road ♪ ♪ For every man a religion ♪ ♪ Find everybody and rule ♪ ♪ Everything and rumble ♪ ♪ Forget everything and remember ♪ ♪ For everything a reason ♪
♪ Forgive everybody and remember ♪ ♪ For each a road ♪ ♪ For every man a religion ♪ ♪ Face everybody and rule ♪ ♪ Everything and rumble ♪ ♪ Forget everything and remember ♪ ♪ For everything a reason. ♪
Hey, guys. What do you make of this piece of bamboo? I found it on the roof. STOKES: Bag it. That's funny. Very funny.
♪ You got the fear... ♪ Did you get the hole in the roof? Did you find anything else up there? No. Got some shards of glass. Clear in color. Next to some pieces of black pl-plastic.
BROWN: You almost finished with that? What's your count? Yeah. 109 rods. 109 bullets? How in the world do trajectories occur 15 to 20 feet off the ground? Horizontally? What in the hell went on here?
Audrey Hilden? Yes. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Do you know a Gus Sugarman?
Why don't you come inside? Please.
He was my dentist. That's terrible. He'd asked me to go to the movies, and I said yes, but... it was a late show, and I had to get up early for work. Well, we know that Dr. Sugarman called you at home two minutes before the movie started, and that you didn't pick up. I was screening. I figured he'd get my message. Then why did you call him three times in a row, 40 minutes later? I felt bad for standing him up. I called to apologize. I figured I'd get his voice mail, but when I didn't, I tried again. And you were here alone? Yes. Can anyone verify that? Why? ( phone rings ) ( ringing continues ) Still screening?
( phone ringing ) ELECTRONIC VOICE ( fades): Please leave a... Do you see a lot of movies at the Art House Theater? Sure. I love old movies. I see they recently had a Hitchcock Retrospective. I prefer French New Wave. If you'll excuse me now, I-I have to go to work. We'll be in touch.
Geez, what was this kid, tortured? Couple of fractured ribs. Deep purple contusions of the presternal chest wall. Each one around two inches in diameter. I stopped counting around nine. What do you think could've done this? A baseball bat? It's hard to tell. Whatever it was had a great deal of velocity. Cause of death: single gunshot to the chest. No evidence of, uh, gunshot residue. Shot from a distance.
And at a downward angle... It's, uh... It's about 25 degrees. He was shot from above. No, dude. ( gun cocking ) Rooftop is 45 degrees and this is 25 degrees? That's impossible. If that's the case, he was shot by somebody ten to 15-feet tall. What else you got? Uh, scabbing abrasions on the elbows, the back and kneecaps. Looks to be harmless "boys will be boys" stuff. There's nothing harmless about death.
Don't tell me-- Greg won the bet. The blood on the screwdriver definitely belongs to your victim. It was incredible how fast he got me back the results. I don't know how he does it. Now I got to wear this stupid thing all day. ( knocking on window ) Oh, look at him, hovering. Making sure I still have it on. Do us all a favor and get him out in the field, will you, Grissom? He's going stir crazy in here. Jaqui, do you have anything for us? A palm print. Oh, great. Let's, uh, go back to Audrey's and see if we have a match. Not quite. Look at the ridges. Too consistent. Looks like fine grain. Leather. Killer wore gloves. BRASS: Okay, here's what's happening-- three months ago, Audrey Hilden filed a sexual malpractice suit against our Dr. Sugarman. The suit claims that she was molested while she was under anesthesia. And she was going on a date with this guy? Yeah. Sugarman countersued. He's represented by big-time attorneys, so she backed down. Well, a screwdriver's cheaper than an attorney. ( chuckles ): Yeah. Well, uh, there's more. Remember the usher who likes to smoke the chronic? He claims he saw a redheaded woman make a phone call halfway through the movie, so I'm going to check it out. Want to tag along?
This where the limbo party is? Can I come in? Yeah. Can I come in? Yeah. Sorry, I don't want everyone in here. Well, I've got your one-to-ones. The tire treads, there's nothing specific here. Bummer. But the shoe prints that you took, they look interesting. It looks like five suspects walked in, and four ran out. Four guilty people out there somewhere. No doubt. How's it coming with your big bamboo here? Well, I have black lung from all the powder, and not a single print, nothing, nada. You test for GSR? The place was riddled with bullets-- it wouldn't hurt. Wouldn't hurt. ♪ ♪
Nothing. Maybe this has nothing to do with the case. Maybe it was just a piece of debris left at the scene. No, no. I-I'm not quitting. No. I am in too deep.
Where you going? Trace. Maybe Hodges can find something. Oh, coming through. Careful, people. Easy. Mr. Brown. PD called. Mrs. McCallum's there. The mother. Tell them I'm on my way. Okay.
I was getting myself a soda. You know, we're allowed to do that. A tall redhead came out of the theater, and then she made a phone call from over there.
From the pay phone. What? I... What? I'm on it. I'm on it. Did you happen to notice if she was wearing gloves? Yeah, she was, actually. I thought it was really weird, 'cause it's, like, 70 degrees in here. Did you notice anything else? No. She just threw something in the trash and headed out.
The cleaning crew's in the theater now. They got a late start 'cause of you guys.
Excuse me. What happened to the garbage that was in the can in the lobby? Well, it's already been bagged up, but it should be around here somewhere. Excuse me. Where'd you get those gloves? If it's garbage, it's hers. They let us keep whatever we find as long as it's been thrown out. I'll tell you what-- I'll buy you a new pair of gloves.
♪ 99 bottles of beer on the wall ♪ ♪ 99 bottles of beer ♪ ♪ You swab one down ♪ ♪ Run it through CODIS ♪ ♪ 98 bottles of beer on the wall. ♪ Whatever happened to "Take one down, pass it around"? That's the best part. You know us lab rats have to do something to get through the day. Yeah, I know, I just dumped a sack of bullets on Bobby Dawson. So, why don't you sing me a tune I want to hear? Well... how about... Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. He ain't heavy. He's my brother. DNA? From the beer bottles? Five different donors-- two of them are related. Donor number one, Tim McCallum, the victim; donor number two, his relative, most likely a brother. No telling if he's heavy or not. I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. McCallum.
Are you Timmy's brother? Yeah. Kevin's the only son I have left. We were able to identify Timmy by the driver's permit that we found at the scene. Had he been driving long? A few months. I know the law says you're supposed to have an adult present, but I work graveyard. Kevin usually drives with him. What kind of car does Timmy drive? We have a minivan. It's more safe. This is an ongoing investigation, so we are going to need to see that vehicle.
Do you ever drive the minivan, Kevin? Sometimes, yeah. Did you drive Timmy to the warehouse the other night? No. What warehouse? We have reason to believe that Kevin was at the warehouse that night. We found his DNA on some beer bottles.
Beer? Kevin... Mom... I bought beer for Timmy. I don't do it all the time. He begged me. He... he said he was going out partying with some friends. If Mom catches you with these, you didn't get them from me. Bro, there's one missing. I got thirsty. Later, freak.
I took a sip and I gave him the rest of the 12-pack.
Sorry, Mom. Mr. Brown, I-I don't know what to say. I'm a single mother... I work nights, and you can't keep your eyes on your kids all the time. At a certain age, you just have to trust them. I understand. We are going to need to keep Kevin here to ask him some more questions about that night. Do you object?
N-No.
Spiral gouges. Check it out.
From tip to tip. What do you think caused these marks? Give me more time-- I'm not a miracle worker. Well, that's obvious, Hodges. If you were a miracle worker, you wouldn't be rude. I wasn't being rude, I was being curt. Rude would be, "When I know, you'll know." Friends? No. Hodges, how's it coming with that glass?
Looks like there's some kind of a coating on it. More specifically, crystallized calcium fluoride. You ran it through the I.R.? Please. I.R. says fluorspar. I say high-end optics. Camera lens. You think someone has this murder on tape? WILLOWS: So, the gloves match the palm print on the murder weapon as well as the pay phone in the theater lobby. Unfortunately, there were no epithelials inside the gloves because the cleaning woman had ammonia on her hands. Ah, I see. Well, according to this, a phone call was made from the theater lobby to Audrey's home at 11:25. Well, Audrey called Dr. Sugarman's cell from her home at 11:26. Well, obviously, she didn't make it home in one minute. We're looking for someone else. The mysterious redhead in the theater? Maybe Audrey hired a pro who called up to say, uh, "It's done." Well, if she couldn't afford a powerful attorney, how did she pay for a hit man? Hit woman. Why don't we ask her? ( knocking on door ) ( disconnect tone beeping ) You hear that? Phone's off the hook.
There must be another way in.
WILLOWS: She used an extension cord and tied it to the railing and must have jumped off.
Yeah, this is Brass. I got a D.B. Yeah. Well, drop what you're doing.
WILLOWS: Our only suspect apparently commits suicide. Convenient.
Too convenient.
Catherine... she's got a whole another set of horizontal marks on her neck, below the cord. And postmortem bruising. I think she was strangled first, and then hanged. ( groaning ) WILLOWS: No signs of a break-in... or struggle. She may have been killed by someone she knew. She was dragged. She's got carpet fibers on her heels. ( grunting ) Yeah, she was dragged over here, tied off and shoved over. ( grunting )
You got something? When we were here earlier, there was a movie schedule pinned up there that had a handwritten note on it. I'm not sure she wanted me to see it. Now it's gone. Well, maybe she threw it away.
♪ ♪
Venus and Serena. Perfect match.
♪ ♪
Timmy's 15, I'm 18. He's got his friends, I got my friends. We don't do the same things. We don't hang together. Evidence says you were there. You want to go down for suspicion of murder? ( sighs ) ( over speaker ): Or you want to stop digging your own grave? Just talked to Bobby Dawson. All the bullets came from the same gun: nine-millimeter semi-automatic. How's this going? I found a 12-pack container in the McCallum minivan. Sales slip said "Jenko Liquors." I'll check their surveillance, see if we can get some footage of this guy. What is that on his elbow? It's just a scab. Got it skateboarding. Can we see it? ( sighs ) Peel it back.
Skateboarding?
Why don't you stand up and take off your shirt. Don't you guys need a warrant for that? We get a warrant, we're gonna strip you down to nothing, then ask you to bend over. Choose. ( sighs )
BROWN: Geez, man, what happened to you? Turn around.
Those are the same markings your brother had. You want to tell us what went down here? I can't talk about it.
I'm sorry. Hey, listen, if-if you're the victim here, you can tell us. Okay?
Kevin, who did this to you, man?
Well, there's an awful lot of water damage, but, um... there's some kind of an impression. GRISSOM: Well, maybe this will bring it up.
( computer beeping and whirring ) GRISSOM: It's written above Strangers On A Train. Strangers On A Train. Isn't that the one about the perfect murder? Two strangers meet on a train, make a pact to get rid of each other's problems. They figure since neither has a motive for the killings, they won't be caught. Life imitating art? In the movie, Robert Walker kills Farley Granger's wife. Granger didn't think he was serious, so when he refuses to kill Walker's father, Walker goes after him. So if Audrey is Farley Granger... Who's playing Robert Walker's part? ( beeping ) WILLOWS: "Sphere E4-117." Well, that's got to be the Sphere hotel. GRISSOM: It's not a hotel room, though. Locker, safety deposit box... Parking space, maybe. Yeah.
MAN: Audrey who? Hilden. Nah, I never heard of her. What's this about? WILLOWS: E4-117. Your assigned parking space. It was written on a movie schedule we found in Ms. Hilden's home. Well, look, I meet a lot of women. She a dancer? She work for me before? Hey, Michelle. Mmm! I'll tell you guys something: this show is very hot, all the chicks want to be in it, and actually, they, uh, got to go through me.
Ever been to the Art House movie theater? No. Where's that? WILLOWS: Have you ever seen any Hitchcock movies? Strangers On A Train?
BRASS: Alfred Hitchcock? Mr. Haines? Whose station is this one? Oh, that's Kelly Goodson's. Royal pain in the ass. ( show music strikes up in distance ) WOMAN: It's a quick turnaround, ladies.
Can I help you? That's my locker. It was open. You always snoop through other people's things? I'm with the Crime Lab. I'm a professional snoop. Do you, uh... ever wear that wig when you go out? I never get to go out.
Two shows a night, three on weekends. Why? You have something in mind? Do you like the movies? I, uh, noticed you have an Art House Theater schedule on your mirror. Yeah, I've been there a few times. Ever seen Strangers On A Train? No. Is it any good? Yeah, it's good.
You use a lot of creams, huh? 16 shows a week in these shoes, your legs would be killing you, too. Is that your own recipe? What was it you said you do for a living? I'm a scientist. And, um, I'm up in five minutes, so... you mind? I don't mind. ( brassy music ends with a flourish ) ( typing ) I'm sorry I'm late. What bullet are you on? 109, finally. Height, distance, angle. This has been a very laborious shift. Are you in the mood for a light show? Yeah, hook it up.
( computer beeping ) BROWN: The trajectory is all pointing in one uniform area. It's like some kind of a pole. Or a bamboo stick. ( weary laugh ) The whole case has been like this. It's like you can't wrap your head around it, you know? A bamboo cane with black swirls descending downward, no GSR, 109 rods, 109 bullets, all fired from the same gun. We got camera glass, blood droplets everywhere, DNA that says five people were there, one boy's dead, one boy's injured, and he ain't sayin' nothin'... ( sighs ) Is this the end of the road? Forensically? Yes.
Hey. Hey, Sara, I was just coming to get you. Hey. Hey, Sara, I was just coming to get you. Surveillance footage from Jenko Liquor. Archie just put together some black-and-white stills. Check it out. Kevin, the older brother, buying beer.
Looks like he wasn't alone. No, you're right. He had four other friends with him, including Timmy.
And here you go. ( both chuckling ) It's a classic distraction technique. Did it many times. You go in with a group of buddies and you cause a little ruckus. Store owner gets flustered. He wants the kids out of his store. So, he sells them the beer, even though they're underage, and of course they drink it. Well, you know about the camera glass Warrick found, right? That means someone has this all on tape. I say we track down the other kids, see which one of them thinks he's Tarantino.
So, get this-- Anthony Haines had a sexual harassment suit filed against him recently. There's a lot of that going around. Uh-huh, from one of the showgirls. Kelly Goodson? She claims that he threatened to fire her if she didn't perform certain sexual favors. You know, she had a business card in her locker-- Langly & Langly, Attorneys-at-Law. It'd be interesting to find out... If Audrey hired the same firm? She did.
So, they liked the same movies... they had the same problem... and they hired the same lawyers?
Knees bothering you?
The extension cord used to strangle Audrey Hilden. The dentist's gold chain. The murderer's gloves. Well, any physical evidence on those gloves would've been compromised by the ammonia. Only on the inside; not necessarily the outside. You use two hands to put on gloves. You're looking for transfer. A special recipe. ♪ ♪
We go to the warehouse all the time. Just go there to party, talk about chicks. Sometimes we smoke out. You take off your shirt, please?
I ride BMX bikes... play soccer. Man, I wake up with bruises. We were just messing around. I'm not. A kid's dead. Back to the question. How'd you get the shiner? ( laughs ) JJ found a gun in North Town. You know, we were messing with it, shooting the walls. So, one night, I- I brought my hi-eight camera in, and one of the stray bullets shot my lens out.
( gun fires/moans ) Who was the shooter? ( chuckles wryly ) You can tell us and save yourself, or you can let the tape tell us. It's your call. KEVIN: What up? My name's Kevin. These are my boys-- JJ, Earl, Zach, and my little bro Timmy, and this is called... ALL: Speedway surfing! ( yelling and laughing ) Timmy was a big fan of all those reality shows. You know, the "don't try this at home" stuff. We-We all watched it on TV. So, one day, we're bored. We started making up stunts on our own, trying to outdo each other.
Speedway surfing.
That was my idea. ( shouting ) Come on, hit it! Yeah! Whoo! ( engine racing ) Whoo!
We all did it. Some ate it bad. JJ bruised his tailbone. ( snorts ) We were just messing around.
Whoo! ( boys yelling ) KEVIN: Then Zach got the fever. Next day, he came up with one. The Human... ALL: 150-Yard Marker. ( cackles ) Ready, boys? Suck it up, big boy. ( cackles ) ( laughing ) KEVIN: Then it came time for Timmy's turn.
He stayed up all night... and by morning he had it. Hi. My name is Timmy McCallum, and this is my debut stunt, so I'm really psyched. It's called... Bamboo Russian Roulette! You ready? ( shouting, clamoring ) Whoo! We did it a bunch of times. You know, we all took turns going up on the roof. We almost stopped when I got shot in the arm... but we were drunk, and so... ...we decided to try it one more time. Yeah!
( gun firing ) ( whooping ) ( firing continuing ) ( laughing ) Whoo! ( gun fires )
( gasping ) KEVIN: He kept trying to breathe. I didn't know what to do.
I came down from the roof. I went over to his side.
I kept saying... "Come on, breathe, bro. You can't die on me, man."
Why didn't you call an ambulance? I didn't want to get in trouble. So, you just left him for dead? It was an accident.
It's not like we had a death wish. You sure about that?
Langly & Langly. Mm. I'm sorry? Oh. It's the law firm that both you and Audrey hired to... deal with your problems-- Gus Sugarman and Anthony Haines. Tony Haines is a pig. But who is Gus? Well, we're guessing that that's where the two of you first met, at the lawyers'. GRISSOM: Or they could've met at the movie theater. Right. Right. I mean, either way, you ladies had a lot in common. ( indistinct chatter on movie screen ) Boy, can't you see them watching Strangers on a Train together? Oh, yeah. GRISSOM: I'm thinking that Audrey told her everything about her dentist, and she told Audrey everything about Haines. ( speaking indistinctly ) WILLOWS: You needed them both dead. So, right out of Strangers on a Train, if you swapped murders, no one could tie you to the victims, and then you started talking specifics-- where the best place would be to kill Haines... someplace dark, secluded-- the parking lot right here at the Sphere.
After you stabbed Sugarman, you ripped the gold chain off of his neck as proof that you'd kept up your end of the bargain.
And then you walked out into the lobby and called Audrey on the pay phone, to say that the deed was done. And then Audrey called Sugarman three times in a row to see if it was true. She was the one who picked the movie... and made the date.
But that's all she did, isn't it? 'Cause just like in the movie, she had no intention of killing Haines... and that's when you started harassing her.
WILLOWS: You'd killed for her. Now she wasn't holding up her end of the bargain. GRISSOM: You couldn't let her betray you. So, unfortunately, she had to die, too.
So, you made it look like she committed suicide, and then you planted Sugarman's gold chain, in hopes that we would think that she killed him, too. The only thing that she had on you was that movie schedule. That had to go.
( toilet flushing ) Wow... that is a really good story. You guys must be movie fans yourselves. You're right. It's just a story... ...but the chemicals that we found on your gloves and on the extension cord that was used to kill Audrey, that's our proof. Menthol... trolamine salicylate... capsaicin.
Eucalyptabalm... Isorcreme... capsaicin ointment-- a unique concoction-- your unique concoction.
And this stuff is all over the evidence.
Yeah, it's a pretty good movie. Well, the character that you've been playing, the character that Robert Walker played in the movie?
He dies at the end.
( movie music playing ) ( gunshot fires ) ( dramatic movie music playing) MAN: I said he'd be alone. Hi. What'd I miss? Murder, seduction, deceit-- the usual. Mm. This one of your favorites?
Actually, I'm not a big fan of noir.
Okay. Well, what do you like?
I like silent movies. ke?