02x12 - When the Dust Settles

[bunniefuu]

♪ And so you're back, from outer space ♪

♪ I just walked in to find you here ♪

♪ With that sad look upon your face ♪

(CONTINUES OVER SPEAKERS):
♪ I should have changed that stupid lock ♪

♪ I should've made
you leave your key... ♪

♪ With my sis, doing my hair. ♪

(LAUGHING): You're so crazy.

Okay, you know what?

- Oh. Oh, wait.
- Come here. Get in here.

Only you would want to take
a picture looking like this.

Five, six, seven, eight.

- Okay.
- (LAUGHING)

Okay, scary face.

Okay. All right, all right.

- Okay.
- Okay, classic beauty.

Aw.

Oh, my beautiful sis.

Oh, I love it, I love it.

- (CLATTERING)
- We're great, we're great.

We're fabulous, we're fabulous, totally.

Did you hear that?

♪ I will survive ♪

Oh, Mimi, it's just the wind.

(CLATTERING)

No.

I heard something in the back.

Or somebody.

I already locked up
for the night, honey.

- ♪ I will survive... ♪
- (CLATTERING)

(WHISPERING): You hear that?

Do you think someone broke in?

I...

♪ ♪

Stay right there.

(COUGHING)

Sasha?

- (COUGHING)
- Sasha. Are you okay?

- (GASPING)
- (BOTH COUGHING)

♪ Walk out the door ♪

♪ Just turn around now 'cause
you're not welcome anymore ♪

♪ Weren't you the one who tried
to break me with goodbye? ♪

♪ You think I'd crumble ♪

♪ You think I'd lay down and die? ♪

♪ Oh, no, not I, I will survive ♪

♪ I'll survive, I will survive... ♪

WOMAN: "Because now she
was confused and afraid

and wondering if what
she thought she'd heard

wasn't what Bertie had said at all."

(MONITOR BEEPING)

And we will find out
what happens next...

... same time tomorrow.

(MONITOR ALARM BEEPING)

Mimi? Nurse!

Mimi?

Hi. Hi.

NURSE: Call the
attending. She's waking up.

WOMAN: Mimi.

(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

Ready?

Ready!

Yeah, let's do it.

(LAUGHING)

Whoa.

- Oh, that's a little bruiser.
- (LAUGHING)

What-what's she in for?

Breaking and entering,

- her mother's room.
- Ah.

My granddaughter doesn't want to stay

in her own bedroom, right?

Is that true?

(LAUGHS)

Yeah, so Lindsey's a little tired.

I said I would take
Hannah on my day off and...

- of course Max wanted to see me today.
- HANNAH: Ready?

- Ah.
- Yeah.

Favor. Can you just...

entertain her for, like,
five minutes is all?

Mm-hmm.

Thank you. I'll be right back, okay?

Pinky's in the bag.

- Pinky.
- How old are you?

Eight? ?

Pineapple.

That's wild.

- I'm pineapple years old too.
- Whoa.

ROBY: So, this child
psychiatrist, Dr. Auerbach,

you think this one little doodle

means that she's behind
all these killings?

I'm not ready to say that, yet.

But look at it, Max.
That was in her notes.

ROBY: It does look like
all those silver glyphs

that've been popping up.

What's her explanation for this?

She's out of town,

at a psychiatric
conference until Thursday.

You ought to meet her at the airport,

see what she has to say for herself.

Catherine. You look rested.

Must've been that morning I took off.

Sorry about that.

Um... but there's this case,

actually, an old case,

and you're gonna want in on it.

It's old, but it couldn't
wait until tomorrow?

It's waited four years.

The incident happened January of ,

and CSI never investigated it.

I don't understand.

A crime during my tenure?

Coroner said noxious fumes

from a hair treatment k*lled this woman

and that her sister slipped into a coma.

This is my handwriting. I remember this.

It happened the same night
as a major pile-up on I-.

Remember? And-and folks here
were just stretched thin.

No signs of forced entry.

LVPD let it drop. You know how it is.

Not every borderline case
gets the full-court press.

This file hasn't been touched
in four years. What changed?

During those four years,

Mimi Kahn was in a coma.

She woke up two days ago.

She says that her sister's
death was not an accident.

And they are exhuming
the body as we speak.

Well, I want to talk with her.

Kind of thought you might.

(HANNAH LAUGHING)

HANNAH: Peekaboo!

(GASPS)

Rarr!

- Rarr!
- (YELLS)

(LAUGHING)

Catherine. She's adorable.

Right? Hannah,

I have to take care of
one more thing, okay?

So, um...

since you're between cases,

could one or both of
you keep an eye on Hannah

- just for a little while?
- Look up there.

There's snacks and toys

and a change of clothes in the bag.

Okay?

FOLSOM: Uh, just asking...

- for how long?
- WILLOWS: An hour.

Uh, two hours tops.

- Definitely less than three.
- Okay.

Bye, Grandma.

Let's play.

FINADO: Okay, be prepared.

(COUGHING)

Oh, nope. Mm-mm. Tap me out.

Dock my pay. I don't care.

Come on. Big boy pants.

I'm with Beau on this one.

Bodies from mausoleums are ripe.

(COUGHING)

Ms. Kahn was embalmed and
hermetically sealed in that box.

The stench of formaldehyde
is still so strong.

It's not just coming from her body.

Take a look at Sasha's hairline.

- See?
- FINADO: It almost looks like it kept growing

after she d*ed. I didn't
think that was a thing.

JACK: It's not. Her scalp dried
out and shrank after she d*ed.

Which is how we can see exactly
where her processed hair ends.

It makes sense.

She d*ed in the middle
of a keratin treatment.

I use Pert Plus. You're
gonna have to translate.

We're looking at two
forms of formaldehyde here.

JACK: One in her body
for the embalmment,

the other one applied to her hair

for the chemical straightening.

How do you know this stuff?

My sister has curly hair.

And I pay attention.

The assistant M.E. at the
time ruled it an accident.

She said it was an overexposure
to the chemicals used.

But her sister woke up convinced
that it was m*rder, so, uh...

She didn't happen to
mention how, exactly?

I'll take a run at it,

but I am not optimistic.

Sasha was fully embalmed.

Her arteries and organs were drained,

then plumped back up
full of formaldehyde,

glutaraldehyde, methanol,
ethanol, phenol and water.

There's not much of the original
Sasha Khan left to examine.

If you want answers, you're probably

gonna have to go back
to the crime scene.

It's nearly four years old.

Geriatric crime scene.

Sounds like a good time to
get back up the horse, huh?

Lovely invitation, boss.
I told you: I'm a lab rat.

We don't ride horses.

No.

♪ ♪

Mimi Khan?

I'm Catherine Willows with CSI.

This is Detective Serena Chavez.

We're very sorry for your loss.

- Thank you.
- And that it's taken us this long

to investigate what happened.

Well, you're here now.
Thank you. Hi, I'm Heather.

- Hello.
- Doctor says you were with Mimi

when she woke up. That's very lucky.

Odds were pretty good.

They always said there was a chance Mimi

would come out of it, so I...

She came and read to me. Every day.

WILLOWS: Ah.

Could you hear her?

I-I don't think so.

But we were reading Beaches,

and I was thinking about
Bette Midler when I woke up,

so something was getting through.

HEATHER: She was ventilated.

Her mouth is dry.

- You want a mint?
- No, no.

No, that's okay.

Doctors said that your coma was caused

by severe systemic toxicity.

And Sasha went through the same thing,

except the chemicals were on her scalp.

It was too much.

What do you think happened that night?

Well, I...

I already told the police.

I-I've done keratin treatments
in my salon for years.

This was different.

My sister and I were poisoned.

This was m*rder.

I'm not sure I understand
what's being alleged.

All we have is a report
from first responders.

A Good Samaritan was
walking by your salon,

saw you and your sister on
the floor and called .

Some... someone or-or...

something...

broke into the salon that night.

Before I blacked out, I saw a monster.

A monster?

Mm-hmm.

It-it was Sasha's husband Ken.

He did this.

He k*lled her. I-I know it.

HEATHER: It was so long ago.

Do you think that it's too late

to find out what really happened?

To find the truth? No.

It's never too late.

♪ ♪

♪ 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... ♪

♪ Come on, tell me
who are you, you, you ♪

♪ Are you! ♪

- No luck finding a sitter?
- ROBY: Please.

Grandmas are the reigning
queens of babysitters.

WILLOWS: It's just gonna be
a couple hours before I get

Hannah back to Lindsey, right?

And it's not like Bryan didn't see

a bunch of minor crime scenes

- when he was a kid, and he's okay.
- That's right.

This one's not even fresh, come on.

(LAUGHING)

Wow.

No one's set foot in here for
four years since Sasha d*ed?

The sisters own the building.

It's just been sitting here empty while

Mimi's health was in limbo.

ROBY: I mean, come on.

You got to love this.

(LAUGHS) Yeah, well,

lots of things get better with age.

I know it's counterintuitive,

but a crime scene is one of them,

if it's well-preserved.

DNA and prints just
waiting to be collected.

It doesn't seem like there's been much

human interference since the paramedics

wheeled the sisters out of here.

Little chance of
degradation of prints or DNA.

Oh, oh. Hannah, Hannah, Hannah.

- Oh.
- ROBY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hey, you know what?

Why don't we both go
outside and we'll look

for clues and we'll maybe get a snack?

Yeah?

How about you stay and I'll...

- Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.
- Hannah.

Hey, should we go outside?

Okay, I'll see you a little later.

- Let's go outside.
- Wow. After you, my love.

- HANNAH: Yeah.
- PARK: Oh, hi.

WILLOWS: Oof, this dust.

It's everywhere.

ROBY: Yep.

And it's not even my birthday.

- It's actually my birthday next week.
- Yeah?

And, look, I got you a
pre-dusted crime scene.

PARK: I feel like, uh, the desert air

and the passage of time
ought to take the credit,

but thanks.

Mimi told us that she mopped
up after the last customer,

so every footprint was
made after the fact,

and the oils they left
prevented dust collection.

Each set is gonna tell the story

of who was here in the salon after hours

the night that Sasha d*ed.

The victim did say she saw the m*rder*r

shortly before she lost consciousness.

A monster, actually.

She said she saw a monster.

Monster prints, then.

I'll keep a lookout.

We can rules these out.

That's paramedics.

(CLANKING)

Two down.

A zillion to go.

♪ ♪

(CAMERA CLICKING)

ROBY: What you got?

A birthday present.

And it reeks of formaldehyde.

ROBY: Ooh, thank you.

- FOLSOM: Hey, Beau.
- Hey.

Figured you could use a hand processing

the products from the salon.

Yeah, it's starting to stack up.

We barely even scraped the crime scene,

we've already got an exhumed body,

a bottle seal, bottles of
shampoo and conditioner,

and a Panamanian Perm.

Oh, it must be like a Brazilian blowout.

Okay, that doesn't help me.

I-I don't even know if
that's a noun or a verb.

It's a noun. "I just
got a Panamanian Perm."

- Noun.
- Noun.

Anyway,

it's either an embarrassment of riches

or a colossal waste of time.

Well, around here, Beau,

we choose to be optimists.

♪ ♪

FOLSOM: Looks like Mimi was right.

Someone did tamper
with the keratin bottle.

Too much CHO?

Yeah. Way too much. How'd you know that?

This puppy's drenched in formaldehyde.

Somebody must've spiked the treatment.

But even if the k*ller
added extra formaldehyde

to the formaldehyde that
was already in the bottle,

how'd he know it'd be enough
to poison the two sisters?

Well, I know there's .mg per g

of formaldehyde in Coca-Cola.

And I know that formaldehyde

played a pivotal part in
Jonas Salk defeating polio,

but I don't know that.

- (INSTRUMENT BEEPING)
- Oh.

FOLSOM: And... no formaldehyde

in the shampoo or conditioner.

No, but you know what
is in those bottles?

Whole bunch of stuff that shouldn't be.

FOLSOM: You're right.

Almost none of the ingredients match

what's supposed to be in those products.

How can that be?

The list of "Stuff I Don't
Know" is getting longer.

♪ ♪

Coming down here to my job.

Is this an intimidation tactic?

No, it's a fingerprint kit.

Dinking a Wiffle ball. That's your job?

I'm an accredited pickleball instructor.

Ooh. Accredited. Wow.

Have you gone to visit
your sister-in-law

Mimi since she woke up?

We weren't close.

Well, I guess you never will be.

What with her accusing
you of m*rder and all.

(LAUGHS)

Are you really gonna believe someone

who just took a four-year nap?

They said it was an accident.

You know, she woke up
convinced that you came

into the salon right
before they fell ill.

(LAUGHS)

CHAVEZ: How was your marriage?

Mimi said you and Sasha fought a lot.

Our son William was, uh, then.

I thought he deserved to have some fun.

Sasha wanted him to... grow up.

She made him work at the salon.

They were oil and water,
and... it spilled over.

Do you have an alibi
for the night Sasha d*ed?

I was out for a drive. Alone.

I remember being at exit

when I got the call from the hospital.

I almost drove off the road.

What else?

I'm in the middle of a lesson.

Just the fingerprints for
now. We'll see you again later.

Scoot.

There you go.

Ready?

Really? Nothing?

I just made a coin vanish

and you're not even a little impressed?

What's that?

PARK: That...

could actually be useful.

HANNAH: It's a telephone.

PARK (LAUGHS): It is a telephone.

HANNAH: Phone.

I think we've got a budding CSI here.

Runs in the family. Hey, Chris?

Could you take Hannah outside

- and show her how to bag the phone?
- HANNAH: Yeah.

We got to protect the crime scene.

Ooh.

Doesn't that sound fun? Come on.

WILLOWS: What do you have there?

I don't know.

Some kind of black powder.

I'll get Beau to test it.

So, do you think the k*ller's footprints

will lead us to some kind of proof?

Hope so. I've already
identified different sets

of footprints but
several are the same size.

- Eleven?
- Mm.

Didn't Mimi say that she mopped
the floor at the end of the day?

It may not be as bad as it seems.

We know one set belongs to Sasha.

Mimi's is the most common size.

(LAUGHING)

Yeah, and we already know about

the two that belong to the paramedics.

Yep. Those will be the patrol officer

that turned up at the scene.

That still leaves six.

Six sets of footprints that
could belong to the k*ller.

We got our work cut out.

But Folsom and Chavez are helping,

getting foot sizes and gait analysis

for everyone here that night.

It was a Saturday, Saturdays
were usually very busy,

so there were a lot of us working.

Oh! (CHUCKLES)

I'm ticklish.

Sorry, we just need to
get an accurate foot size.

That and gait analysis
will tell us who was where.

CHAVEZ: Gives us a range
of possible shoe prints,

tells us who went near the keratin
treatment that was poisoned.

Oh. Okay.

I was restocking product
at the front of the store.

We moved a lot of product.
Great margins at the salon.

I kept the books.

Sasha and Mimi were really smart
about how they ran the place.

Did anyone feel like they deserved

more than they were getting?

I don't know if you've ever
worked in a salon before,

but there was a ton of drama.

Do you remember any drama
involving Sasha and Mimi?

No. I loved Sasha and Mimi. Loved.

Until they fired my ass.

And...

when was that, Nick?

The day Sasha d*ed.
Which sounds bad, I know.

Yeah. It does.

What were you doing at
the salon that night?

Closing up my station.

For good.

FOLSOM: Can you pick up your pace?

'Cause if we can't gauge
how long your stride is,

it's hard to tell which
footprints were yours.

Anyway, Sasha and Mimi were sweet,

but they didn't know who to trust.

I mean, the fact that they
kept that backstabbing...

"... talentless diva."

- He called me that?
- Mm-hmm.

That's rich.

Like, look in the mirror, bro.

You know, Nicky,

would you say that a
lot of the salon's drama

centered around you?

I like it better when
she asks me the questions.

CHAVEZ: Uh...

did you have any issues
with Sasha or Mimi?

Never.

Do you remember what you were doing

at the salon that night after closing?

Yeah. My hair.

There was kind of an incident
earlier that day when...

I grabbed as much of
Nicky's hair as I could

and I cut it off.

- Not proud of it,
- (CAMERA BEEPS)

but it felt damn good.

Back up.

There was a Nick,

a Nicky, and a Nicole working
at the salon at the same time?

Two words: scheduling nightmare.

Looking back at it,

I'm happy that I found out that Nicky

was sleeping with my boyfriend.

I kicked him out, got a dog,

living happily ever after.

But you weren't so zen back then.

Why'd you stay so late at the salon?

NICOLE: Honestly?

I wanted to watch that bitch try to fix

the hole in the back of her head.

- (LAUGHING)
- Uh, can you please?

How'd you find out about the affair?

Sasha "accidentally" told me.

I know you're not supposed
to sh**t the messenger,

but it left a bad taste.

But the important thing is I've grown.

And the woman you see today would never

cut somebody's hair
without their consent.

That's real progress.

WILLIAM: days of being sober?

Yeah. I got my chip and everything.

Sure your mom would've been proud.

I think so.

But she's also the reason
I drank in the first place.

- What'd you two fight about?
- Nothing.

Everything.

That day, it was about
being late to work.

I didn't know it was gonna
be the last time I'd see her.

If I did, I wouldn't
have been stomping around

the front desk like a little kid.

You know, I left without
saying goodbye to my mom.

Or "I love you."

I'm kind of ashamed to say it, but...

I haven't seen Aunt
Mimi since she woke up.

(SHAKY BREATH)

It's just all too much.

- (CAMERA BEEPS)
- RAJAN: And then there was one,

but no one's story or shoe size
matches this last set of prints.

WILLOWS: Which leads...

nowhere. You got anything?

PARK: Just fungal bloom
for days, on the walls,

in the plants. (CHUCKLES)

Even fungus in this
anti-fungal Barbicide.

How does fungus grow in
an anti-fungal solution?

It was a sauna in here.

You know how it goes.

degrees is when the magic happens.

You know, you two are on to something.

It got hot in here.

I think I know why
the k*ller was so sure

that souped-up keratin would be deadly.

♪ ♪

The footsteps to nowhere end right here.

Hmm.

I don't think a rat did this.

Unless it could handle a Kn*fe.

WILLOWS: System was
serviced a week before

the sister d*ed. It had
to have been working then.

So the first casualty that night

was the ventilation system.

WILLOWS: The k*ller made
sure the keratin treatment

was more potent than ever.

And there was nowhere
for the fumes to go but

- into the sisters' lungs.
- (COUGHING)

Pretty ingenious.

And pretty damn evil.

♪ ♪

If this really is the
k*ller's footprint,

he's no giant. This is like a...

men's size running shoe.

Or a woman's size and half.

Sasha's son William is too big.

Nicky and Nicole are too small.

That Leaves us with Sasha's husband Ken,

her best friend Heather,

and Nick, the employee they fired.

Only one of them was ID'd by the victim.

Ken for sure is suspect number one.

Did I hear right, his
thing is pickleball?

I happen to love pickle ball.

It's not as fun as
badminton, but it's easier

to find a game in this country.

I thought it was more like ping-pong.

Chris, can you at least

pretend to be useful?

Track the k*ller's footsteps.

Oh. Oh.

♪ ♪

Hey, you know the, uh, black powder

- you found earlier?
- Mm.

It's all along the k*ller's route.

I'm thinking maybe they left it.

- We, uh, should test it.
- RAJAN: Yeah. Along with this.

- What?
- Have a look for yourself.

Oh, wow.

It's the only fungal bloom in the vent.

I doubt much organic
material was in here

when the system was up and running.

Maybe this sprouted from

something the k*ller left
when they cut the air.

A girl can dream.

(RAJAN CHUCKLES)

♪ ♪

RAJAN: I mean...

you have to agree that
is a beautiful thing.

It's a single follicle of
hair in-in a dirty salon.

I mean, couldn't it belong
to, you know, anyone?

It was in an industrial-grade
ventilation system.

(WHOOSHING)

I think it would've
been sucked out unless

the k*ller left it there
when they disabled the system.

(GRUNTING)

In that case, you're right.

- It's so beautiful, I want a closer look.
- (CHUCKLES)

FOLSOM: Hey.

You know your mystery black powder?

Uh-huh.

- It's charcoal.
- Oh.

That's not so much a mystery after all.

It's not?

No. It's probably all
hype, but tons of shampoos

advertise that they contain charcoal.

Removes residue, adds
volume, that sort of thing.

It is strange that we'd
find tiny chunks though,

although some vegan products
do add in raw ingredients

instead of synthesizing...

Aw.

- You're in over your head, aren't you?
- FINADO: Whoa. Look at this.

Hey, we've got finasteride.

Hair loss medication.

You take it to block the formation

of dihydrotestosterone,
which leads to hair loss.

It looks like broken glass
underneath the 'scope.

- FOLSOM: That was on the hair you found?
- FINADO: Mm-hmm.

So our k*ller's going bald.

Ken has been balding
ever since I've known him.

See?

Oh, no, I believe you,
Mimi. It's just that

we didn't get any
usable DNA on the hair.

And hair loss medication
just isn't enough.

So... there's nothing you can do?

No, we're not giving up.
We're still looking at Ken,

but we're also looking
at everyone who...

You don't need to.

It was Ken.

It's not uncommon for coma
patients to recover slowly.

For memories to reemerge in time.

I told you what I think
happened that night.

But can you be more specific?

I...

I remember the treatment smelled...

different, more intense.

Yeah, that would make sense.

Someone doctored the treatment
with added formaldehyde.

What else?

I remember...

the music, it-it got loud.

♪ I will survive ♪

N-not at first,

- but then it got loud.
- ♪ Hey hey... ♪

That tracks, too.

When the ventilation system went off,

the music probably did sound louder.

Right.

That's all I can remember.

Except for just this...

sense that it was Ken.

He and Sasha had been fighting,

about William, about Ken
spending too much money.

Mimi, did you see Ken that night?

(GASPING)

It's complicated.

Kind of.

I know Ken was there.

I just... can't
remember seeing his face.

I remember...

a-a haze of grey.

And a snout.

Like a monster.

I know it sounds crazy.

- A grey face and a snout.
- Yeah.

And then the monster...

crouched down low, like it was gonna...

jump out at us.

Mimi, could you be describing a dream?

I'm telling you, it wasn't a dream.

(RUMMAGING)

- Hey.
- So, I spoke with Mimi again

and, honestly, her
testimony's gonna be worthless.

What are you looking for?

Nothing.

Hmm. Doesn't look like nothing.

Okay, I'm looking for a cord

to fit that phone that we found.

Don't we have a whole
lab for things like that?

Yeah, but, you know, they get, you know.

WILLOWS: Oh, Max.

You're an undercover mess.

Do not tell a soul.

Our secret.

So, Take Your Granddaughter
to Work Day, hmm?

How'd Linds handle that?

Handle what?

The fact that you took her
daughter to a crime scene.

It was a stale crime scene.

- As you know.
- Mm-hmm.

And I didn't tell her.
It's just easier that way.

So you think that a toddler

is not gonna tell her mama
that her grandmama took her

to an old creepy hair salon

with no lights on and
dust all over the place?

Uh, maybe not, I hope not.

That's my special stuff.

I'm just always skating on
such thin ice with Lindsey.

Okay, I don't mean to overstep,

especially since I am
the one to call you in

- on your day off...
- Well, I'm the one who took the case.

... but what's it gonna take to
make things right between you two?

(GASPS) I found it.

Suit up. Time for work.

WILLOWS: This is Sasha's phone.

PARK: Last call made
was : that night,

but... check these timestamps.

ROBY: Wow.

Final moments here.

Wait. Go back.

What is that in the
background, on the wall?

Is that a person?

ROBY: It's got to be.
Someone was in the salon

with them, or something.

"A monster."

And damned if it doesn't have a snout.

Maybe Mimi wasn't dreaming.

No. Maybe she was living a nightmare.

♪ ♪

So, there's the source
of Mimi's coma dream, huh?

Mm-hmm.

It looks like between this photo,

the finasteride that
we found on the hair

that was in the vent,

and the k*ller's shoe size...

Everything that Mimi
told me about that night,

about Ken, it's all adding up.

- Mm-hmm.
- But still...

If I'm Ken's attorney,

I'm probably not too
worried about casting doubt

on Mimi's recollection.

Well, sure, I mean, she
was drugged, traumatized...

And most witnesses aren't
popping out of a four-year coma.

Eyewitness testimony
and-and physical evidence

don't always line up under
the best of circumstances.

Half the time I
reconstruct a crime scene,

- I find serious discrepancies.
- Mm-hmm.

Just means that if Ken is really...

the monster, we just have to prove it.

I can go back to the salon,
take a look at the space

with fresh eyes, and try
to explain this shape here.

Forensic shadow puppets?

I'll let you know if we're
up against a wolf or a bunny.

(CHUCKLING)

- So...
- Hmm?

What do you think she means

when Mimi says she
remembers Ken as a monster?

Okay. Even a healthy brain

is-is an imperfect storage for memory.

Our synapses, they-they fire
and they rewire together.

And there are neuroscientists who say

that it is impossible for
someone to have a memory

without altering it in some way.

(CHUCKLES)

What?

That, my friend, is Lindsey

and my problem in a nutshell.

I mean, what that girl
remembers from her childhood

is so wildly different
than what I experienced.

What you think you experienced.

Okay.

But I do think that Lindsey is...

a little prone to embellishment.

Maybe Mimi is, too.

ROBY: A snout-nosed monster.

- I mean, it's a better story, right?
- Sure.

But it might not be intentional.

For either of them.

Yep.

I'll be in my office
if you need anything.

- Oh, hey, Max?
- Yeah.

Uh, do you have or
rubber bands I can borrow?

- (BOTH LAUGHING)
- (PHONE CHIMING)

Is that a yes?

Oh.

Oh, Linds.

- (SIGHS)
- (PHONE RINGING)

This is Catherine.

Hey, it's Chavez.

So, Ken Taylor agreed to
come in for questioning.

I thought you might want to join.

I'm on my way.

How exactly is my hair, or
lack of it, relevant here?

We found a hair in the salon...

A hair in the hair salon?

Nice work, Detective.

In the ventilation system

next to a wire that had been cut.

Which is how the k*ller knew

that Sasha and Mimi
would die from the fumes.

That... That's why Sasha d*ed?

Yes, we performed a chemical analysis

on the hair and found finasteride.

Have you ever used finasteride, Ken?

Yeah, I have. I did. In the past.

When I was starting to
lose my hair in the 's.

It didn't work well, obviously.

(CHUCKLES)

So, you gave up in your s?

Just accepted your
fate from the Hair Gods?

Never picked up finasteride again?

Ladies, believe me, I would
k*ll for a thick mane of hair.

Would you now?

Bad choice of words.

But finasteride wasn't just a bust.

I'm allergic to it. Severely.

If you want my medical records,

you can see for yourself.

So? Is that it?

We're gonna need to see those records.

Fine. But I didn't k*ll my wife.

No matter what my sister-in-law says.

♪ ♪

- Rarr.
- (FOLSOM LAUGHING)

(LAUGHING) How is this?

FOLSOM: The size is right.

And the angle, too.

So that's got to be about
where the monster was standing,

but the snout is all wrong.

Let's have a look.

It really doesn't seem human.

Well... whatever it is had to be moving

because the shadow isn't
in all of the pictures.

Maybe a person behind
a piece of equipment?

Hmm. Whatever it was,
it's not there now.

If we find it, could be
something the k*ller handled.

FOLSOM: Yeah, I mean...

Explore the salon. Knock yourself out.

I'll... I'll judge from here.

Or I could help.

I got it.

♪ ♪

Okay, well, that was a bust.

- Yeah, whose terrible idea was that?
- (SIGHS)

What are you, giving up?

No. Mimi said the monster

crouched down as if it was
ready to spring at them.

But there's a wall here.

Maybe it got closer.

That's where Mimi lay,

with her head to the side.

Do you see there?

Yeah.

Hey.

Check that out.

It's almost like...

Say it.

- Talons.
- (CHUCKLES)

Okay, I don't believe this.

Everything in this case seems
to be leading to some sort of

murderous, fantastical creature.

- With a snout.
- (SIGHS)

Fine. If you can't b*at
them, join them, right?

Let's see if this creature
left any droppings.

(CHUCKLES) Magical scat.

(VACUUM WHIRRING)

♪ ♪

Hey.

Is it possible that
this fancy pants salon

was selling knock-off products?

FINADO: %.

Y-you remember when we couldn't
figure out how the ingredients

in the shampoo and conditioner

didn't match the
ingredients in the bottles?

Never mind. Of course you do.

But it wasn't because
someone added something

like they did with
the-the Panamanian Perm,

noun, not a verb.

But the shampoo and conditioner,

it was because the original ingredients

were never there in the first place.

Now, after we tested each component

of what we did find in the bottles,

I can officially confirm:

that-that it's barely
bargain bin drugstore quality.

I-I don't know if it
would qualify as soap.

- (CHUCKLES)
- So, what is in there?

Oh, just a cocktail of
your cheapest fragrances

and chemicals available.

Anionic surfactants, parabens,

polyethylene glycol,

all being sold at $ a pop.

That is a crime in and of itself.

But is it motive for m*rder?

(SIGHS)

Always with the last word.

Just... always.

Always?

- Always.
- Always.

Can't really hear through the glass.

Can't hear you.

Wait a minute.

Here we go.

Bag three. Where's this from?

RAJAN: Here. Right next to
the talon markings we found.

Do you know what this is?

A bit of plastic?

It's a very special hunk of plastic.

See the tessellation?

It wasn't a monster in that photograph.

It was a person wearing a gas mask.

(TYPING)

The mouthpiece.

Tessellated plastic.

There is your snout.

And what kept the k*ller
alive in a toxic environment.

So that's one small mystery solved.

Actually... I think this
tiny piece of plastic

might just help us solve the whole case.

- Hey. Somebody's having a good day, huh?
- I sure am.

I can now definitely report:

there is not a violent,
fantastical beast

roaming the streets of Las Vegas.

Yay, what a relief.

Mimi didn't see a monster
the night her sister d*ed.

She saw someone wearing a gas mask.

And she didn't see a
monster crouch down,

she saw a masked poisoner fall down.

It's hard to see in those masks.

They probably tripped.

The k*ller's gas mask
must've broken on impact,

that's why remnants
of its charcoal filter

were scattered on the floor.

So the bits of charcoal
you found on the floor,

- weren't from a hair product.
- Mm-mm.

I mean, there was a mystery,
just not the mystery we thought.

What about the talon
markings in the dust?

Plain old forearms and pinkies.

Yeah, that one's a little embarrassing.

Hey. I blame Folsom.

And?

- What, that's not enough?
- No.

- Are you not satisfied?
- No.

Who was wearing that damn gas mask?

RAJAN: Oh, we're going to find out.

♪ ♪

Hey. What do you got?

- Nothing yet. You're about two minutes too early.
- All right.

- Hey.
- Hey.

What's up?

Oh, Lindsey's furious with me. Again.

It'll be fine.

Sorry about that.

Yeah, we both saw it coming.

Listen, when this case is over,

I'd like to take some time.

To really be there
for Lindsey and Hannah.

If they'll have me. I don't
know if the timing is right.

Catherine. You built this Lab.

You do whatever the hell you want.

Thank you, Max.

- I'll tell you what.
- What?

I think your k*ller
had minty fresh breath.

Picking up something
in that charcoal filter.

It-it's synthetic
flavoring for spearmint.

There's traces of mint?

You know what else we'll
find in that charcoal?

The k*ller's DNA.

Mint?

No, I'm... I'm good.

Well, not for long.

It was a tiny mint like this

that got you in trouble, Heather.

Excuse me?

ROBY: There were traces
of a synthetic spearmint

on the charcoal that
we found at the salon.

WILLOWS: We knew that the
charcoal came from the filter

in a gas mask the k*ller wore,

breathed through, so, we
thought we'd run some tests.

Did you really think
that your DNA would...

fade or something?

This is... I don't understand.

It seems like I should
be asking for a lawyer.

ROBY: Oh, you'll get one.

But you don't need a lawyer

to hear that your hair looks good.

Yeah, her hair looks good, doesn't it?

It looks good.

That finasteride works wonders.

- ROBY: Right?
- How did you... know?

We found this photo of you.

WILLOWS: And one of your hairs

in the vent, right next
to the wire you cut.

ROBY: And we not only figured out how

you k*lled Sasha and put your
best friend Mimi in a coma,

we figured out why.

You kept the books for the salon.

You stocked the supplies,
you bought the products.

ROBY: You were buying knock-off
shampoo and conditioner,

selling it as the real thing,

and pocketing the difference.

WILLOWS: How long were you
at it before Sasha found out?

Was she gonna press charges?

Oh, it's really a moot point

'cause she didn't give her a chance,

'cause you knew that
Mimi was giving Sasha

a keratin treatment that night.

You were an expert on the products

so you doctored the bottle.

WILLOWS: And snuck back
in to k*ll the HVAC system.

And your bosses.

ROBY: But Mimi...

she is a fighter.

Yes, she is.

Doctors always said she
might wake up someday.

WILLOWS: Right?

So you had to be thorough.

Just in case she ever
did come out of it,

she wouldn't be able to ID you.

ROBY: You weren't just
reading to her, were you?

You were telling her a story.

Ken k*lled your sister.
Ken k*lled your sister.

WILLOWS: "Ken k*lled your sister."

Almost worked.

No. Mimi will defend me. Watch.

She will always believe it was Ken.

WILLOWS: Have a little
faith in people, Heather.

They usually see the truth

when you show them
what they need to see.

("DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER" PLAYING)

Hey.

Will.

I'm so sorry about your mom, honey.

♪ Now I'm walking again ♪

♪ To the b*at of a drum ♪

♪ And I'm counting the steps
to the door of your heart ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Only shadows ahead ♪

- _
- ♪ Barely clearing the roof ♪

♪ Get to know the feeling
of liberation and release ♪

♪ Hey now, hey now ♪

- _
- ♪ Don't dream it's over ♪

- _
- ♪ Hey now, hey now ♪

♪ When the world comes in ♪

- ♪ They come, they come ♪

- ♪ To build a wall between us ♪

♪ We know they won't win ♪

♪ Oh, no, no ♪

♪ Hey now, hey now ♪

- ♪ Oh, no, no ♪

(PHONE WHOOSHES)

♪ Hey now, hey now ♪

(WILLOWS CHUCKLES)

♪ Hey now, hey now. ♪