( tires squealing )
( train crossing warning bell ringing ) Come on, come on, come on, come on!
( bell ringing ) ( brakes screeching )
( screaming )
Paramedics pronounced 20 minutes ago.
Megan Treadwell.
I ran her plates.
33 tomorrow.
One-on-one with a train.
Did she think that she could beat it?
Hey.
Door handle.
Point of impact: passenger-side door.
WILLOWS: Dead center.
Question is: Why did the SUV cross the tracks? To get to the other side.
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Sheriff says we're holding up trains all over the country. This entire railroad division depends on keeping the main line open. Well, it's not like we can take this back to the garage. Yeah. Well, unfortunately, his priority is clearing this train from these tracks. You have two hours.
Well, where you going?
Suspicious circs in town. This one's all yours. Thanks, but you got to give me some guys. Sara's all you get.
All I need.
( alarm ringing ) O'RILEY: "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. ( alarm stops ringing ) 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 6♪ degrees in here.
35% relative humidity. Too much light, too much heat degrades the books.
What-- nobody's got a key? The curator's across town. He's on his way.
She looks dead to me.
( power tool buzzing )
You got first touch.
10:48.
Red foam, blue tint.
Foam could be from blood in her lungs.
Edema.
Skin is cyanotic.
Maybe a blood disease. Leukemia. Meningitis.
We'll know more after the post.
Hey, don't do that.
Excuse me?
These are very rare books.
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.
PRATT: 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 have more work to do."
Then... a Uniball pen rolled across the desk... fell onto the chair... hit 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.
( groans ) "Aaron... 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? 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.
Kind of 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 going to care that the sheriff turned this into a "scoop and run."
Call was made above our heads.
Just document the time in your notes. Yeah, well, I'll let you testify on this one. Thanks.
Aw... Hey, little guy.
Hey. Hey. Let's see.
His name is Maverick.
He lives on Martingale Street in Henderson.
That's not that far from here.
Guess I'll go call Animal Control. Okay.
I'll be right back.
Hey.
Come on, boy.
Let's get you home. So let me get this straight. All you saw was a car trying to beat the signal? I'm putting 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 turned my head for one second. Next thing I know, it's in the middle of the tracks. 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 we have an address on the vic yet? 855 Martingale.
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.
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, hemolysis and some irritation of the mucous membrane on her tongue. I won't know more till I get the blood test 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, whoa. Sir, you can't come in here. I told the officer upstairs. I'm Stanley Hunter.
The curator.
Do you have any idea the damage you're causing with your dust, flashbulbs?
You see that? Right there, behind you.
That is a 17th century text by Johannes Van Den 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 a statement to Detective O'Riley. Statement? Mm-hmm. 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.
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 marks.
One set going forward... ( tires squealing ) 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 tires were spinning in place.
In reverse.
Burning rubber. Going nowhere.
So... which set of skid marks are telling the story?
Maybe they both are.
So, all of your chemicals in here are alkaline?
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 neutralize them by a solution that's slightly basic. To reach "7," the neutral pH. Exactly. Imidazole. 15% ammonia. That's the sort of thing we work with here.
It's all about preserving the books.
No, 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 a Gutenberg Bible. It sold at Christie's for $5.3 million.
Lewis and Clark's Elk Skin 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.
Is this one of the books that Veronica was restoring? Yes. It... it was published in 1797. 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 One, Scene One. Line 61 and ♪2, Iago to Roderigo. Very good, Aaron. Now, you want to tell me how Othello ended up in your briefcase?
It's my... favorite 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.
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 whole wheat... and Veronica.
What do you mean, "and Veronica"?
She's eating and he takes her sandwich... and he puts his hand on her breasts.
And then he puts his tongue... Aaron, I get it.
Did they know that you were watching them?
Hey, you know that filament you picked up? Yeah.
Lamp cover's smashed, but the filament's intact.
So, what, the filament's from another car? Well, taillights have different filaments, so... yeah.
Paint transfer. Recent? Hard to say.
You know, this right rear tire's lost a lot of rubber.
I got a cell phone.
Battery's dead.
Hey, Catherine... her emergency brake was on.
Maybe her brakes failed.
She had to engage it for some reason. You know, I'm thinking that maybe another vehicle was involved. Engineer didn't mention anything about a second driver.
Maybe he didn't see it.
15 minutes before my next post. Bottle 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.
Well, there's no smoking gun in any of these bottles. What's on the label is what's in the bottle. Isopropyl alcohol... 15% ammonia solution... imidazole... bleach. Well, when you isolate the toxin, you'll have a better idea where it came from.
Nick.
Hmm?
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 our SUV.
Accidental or intentional?
Hard to tell.
Maybe not.
These books are from the Historical Society. That's my mail.
Aaron, what about these books? Don't... 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're just witnessing displaced anxiety.
I mean, look around.
Everything's in precise order.
Organized by size. GRISSOM: Order provides comfort. His 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.
M-C-M-X-C-V-I-I-I.
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.
STOKES: 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 betray more men.
Put out the light, and then put out the light."
Last call on her cell phone was to 911. Reel to reel's already interfaced on my computer.
DISPATCHER: 911. What's your emergency? MEGAN: Oh, my God! You've got to help me. Please, help me.
Ma'am, try to calm down. Where are you? I'm in my car. There's this maniac-- he's following me... Ma'am, what's your location? Help me, please! What's your location?
( dog whimpering ) Can you isolate the individual tracks? Yes, ma'am. Good. Lose the dog. Train, too, please.
DISPATCHER: Ma'am, what's your location? MEGAN: Help me, please!
Oh, God!
No! Please don't! Help!
No! She was flooring it. With the emergency brake on. It doesn't make any sense. Okay, lose the victim's voice and let's just hear the car.
( tires screeching ) ( engines running ) Two engines.
Separate them out.
( engine running ) SUV-- sounds like any regular four-cylinder.
( engine running ) Sounds like the same thing. No. Hang on.
( whirring ) You hear that?
Turbo. Probably diesel.
She definitely likes you.
You ever see Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?
'Cause there's something in the victim's blood that looks like one of those Heirlooms.
Well, 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. It'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.
I move it around.
Okay, now, this is a 66-kilodalton globular protein, composed of two disulfide-linked subunits, A and B. Very impressive.
And I know what you all think of me-- I'm just another pretty face who 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.
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, a lectin. ( gasps ) This is nastier than I thought.
It's ricin, a biotoxin. Biotoxin? Yeah. "B chain binds to glycoside residues "which trigger endocytotic uptake of the protein "which internalizes the toxin and begins the irreversible effects..." 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 here?
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?
Well, 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 the tongue, which means you're probably looking for a powder.
Day in the life.
SIDLE: Megan Treadwell wakes up at home on Martingale Street, puts the dog in the car, heads to work, at her desk by 9:00 a.m.
We know this how? Brass talked to her boss.
Why the dog? Dog went with her, every day.
So she works till 6:00? 8:00, 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, it happens all the time.
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 have 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.
( engine starts ) Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey!
And that set him off. The last thing this guy needed was coffee.
Hey! What? 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.
Castor beans, like castor oil. Well, botanically speaking, it's a spurge, not a bean. Ricin is made from the husk. Castor oil is made from what's inside. Hmm. Which makes two people who know that-- you and the guy who wrote the book. Three, actually. Someone knew how to turn this spurge into a poison. Hey, guys.
That's Aaron's book, right? Mm-hmm. 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 right now.
Yes, I've heard of ricin. Georgy Markov, 1978. 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 anymore. But you did touch it.
Why are you mad at me? Answer the question. I don't touch this book anymore. 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.
And 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'm not going to let you ruin it for me!
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? GRISSOM: We're talking about ricin-- the toxin that killed Veronica Bradley. You were dating her. You ate lunch together. O'RILEY: Opportunity. So, you mix up a batch of ricin, put it in a salt shaker. Next time you're breaking bread, she asks for the salt... It 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 we have. But, in this case, 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, there, there, there.
( clicks tongue ) 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 and 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.
There 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.
STOKES: I also found this under her refrigerator.
Funny how people don't think to clean there.
Castor bean.
Ricinus communis.
STOKES: But 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 lineup? A lineup?
What for?
His car, out in the parking lot, it's a rental. Rented this morning. Let's just cut the b.s. 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.
Vic's SUV was silver.
What do you think? WILLOWS: Well, this is a lot more than a fender bender.
Sustained contact.
Get some scrapings. Yeah.
I think I may know what... ( sniffs ) set this guy off.
He spilled his coffee.
Not a good color for Croft.
Coffee on the outside, coffee on the inside.
Lipstick on the lid. She threw her coffee at him.
WILLOWS: 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.
SIDLE: Those lids never fit. She nailed him.
Light turns green, and the chase is on. WILLOWS: And now she's got a problem.
( tires screeching )
She's got a pursuit on her hands. And she's the pursued. So, she dials 911. ( voice over phone ): 911. What's your emergency? Oh, my God! You've got help me! Please. Help me!
Somehow she loses him. And she's still spooked.
All she wants now is to get home. ( tires squealing ) Please... pl-please. ( train whistle blowing ) ( brakes screeching ) ( crossing-guard bells ringing ) ( sighs with relief ) Hey, sweetie... Oh, God, no!
Help me!
( train whistle blowing ) That's why she had the emergency brake on.
( train whistle blowing ) She could have jumped out.
Not without her dog.
Help!
( tires squealing ) ( train whistle blowing )
No! ( starter grinding ) ( screams )
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 that 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.
Oh.
Sorry. That's okay.
( giggling )
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 Five, Scene Two, lines 343 and 344.
But Othello killed Desdemona.
I didn't kill Veronica.
No, you didn't.
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