03x01 - The Reaper

[bunniefuu]

["DEATH ROW" BY CHRIS STAPLETON PLAYING]

FOLSOM: Mom, what's this?

You're using again.

♪ Little piece of window sittin' ♪

♪ Way up high ♪

♪ I can't look up enough ♪

♪ To see the sky ♪

♪ There ain't no good
light here below... ♪

ROBY: We're gonna find
the people who did this.

CHAVEZ: Josh, what are you
planning to do when you find

your mom's deale?

♪ Death row ♪

- ♪ Don't want no preacher man to ♪
- TREY: Who posted my bail?

♪ Come around ♪

Kahn Schefter will know.

♪ I don't need him... ♪

- Jeanette Folsom.
- Who did it?

FOLSOM: Was it Raphael Tarquenio?

- No!
- It was you.

♪ I already told Jesus ♪

♪ Everything I know ♪

♪ Death row ♪

♪ Death row ♪

WILLOWS: Kahn worked
for Raphael Tarquenio.

Major narco trafficker.

♪ When it's time for my ♪

♪ Last request ♪

FOLSOM: I found him. I
found the guy who did it.

ROBY: We know.

♪ Tell my mama that I did my best. ♪

CHAVEZ: Josh. Josh.

Josh.

- Are you ready?
- I'm not.

I need a little more time.

Come on, please.

Labs came back.

The DNA under your mom's
nails was Kahn Schefter.

I know.

He k*lled her.

Joshua, you haven't denied it.

I'm sorry, Max.

I think I better not say
anything else right now.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[SIREN WAILING]

Okay, we've got no cameras,
LVPD canvass was a bust,

and nobody saw any suspicious
activity in the area

around the time Kahn's body showed up.

That's too bad.

Or not. It's good?

Depends if you think they saw

Folsom heaving a corpse
into this dumpster.

No, it doesn't depend.

We don't have a choice.

We have to figure out what happened.

PARK: Did Allie leave the scene?

Where the heck is our actual supervisor?

Yeah, I don't know where she is.

Seriously, I take one day
off and all hell breaks loose.

Can someone tell me why
Folsom is a prime suspect here?

- Who's the victim?
- Well, the victim's name is Kahn Schefter.

A dancer from the club
in there found the body

and recognized him 'cause
apparently he's a regular.

The not-so-dearly
departed was a big fan of

lap dances and heroin distribution.

We think that he was
working with the dealers

that Folsom's mom was tied up with.

We also think Kahn k*lled her.

Oh, could you open this?

Do you see the missing skin?

We found that under Jeanette
Folsom's fingernails.

But we don't arrest
people for having motives.

No, Folsom was working
this case off the books.

He flashed his credentials
outside of an airport hangar

where Max found a bloody box cutter.

Kind of thing that would
make marks like those.

PARK: You find Folsom's
prints on the w*apon?

No, he was probably wearing gloves.

GILL: Beau.

We don't know that it was him.

Listen, if the k*ller, whoever it was,

left a trace of himself somewhere,

then it might still be in the dumpster,

so we need to get that back to the lab.

You can trust me.

I'm sorry.

- WILLOWS: Maybe that's a good sign.
- ROBY: Hmm?

Serena. She's fired up.
She wants to work the case.

Maybe she's got some reason to
think that Folsom's innocent.

Yeah, same reason she's off the
case. She's in love with him.

Yeah.

Makes fools of us all.

You think he did it?

I don't know, Max, I mean,

last time I saw him, he was hurting.

[KNOCK ON GLASS]

- Yeah?
- Dr. Roby, Catherine... tough night.

Yeah, you said it, Bobby.

I mean, Undersheriff Zhao.

Oh, it's okay. I'm still
getting used to it myself.

This is one of those days I
wish I'd turned the job down.

I have to make some admonishments.

- A formality.
- We know.

We've got to run a very tight game
on this matter involving Mr. Folsom.

- Who do you have on it?
- Uh, all hands.

Our shift supervisor
Allie Rajan is on point,

but I'll be supervising personally.

"Personally." That's the fear, right?

I'm not saying you're conflicted out.

Aside from Detective Chavez,
I'm not pulling anyone on this, but...

Come on. I have my
own copy of the manual.

Just highlighted some
sections to keep in mind.

Nobody upstairs wants
another scandal around here.

I think it'd be a good idea if you and I

were shoulder to shoulder
at the press conference.

Hold on. You don't need
to go on camera tonight.

No one in the press is
even aware of this yet.

I have been instructed
to get ahead of this.

- We all have our orders.
- ROBY: But there's no hard evidence.

Hell, there's not even a charge.

He's gonna get tried in the press.

Max, he's gonna get tried in court.

You may not be aware.

Yesterday, after you sent him home,

Josh Folsom went and posted bail

for a man he helped arrest.

Some kind of foster brother of his.

Are you familiar with Trey Cahill?

WOMAN: Is this a joke?

Is this your first day
on the job or something?

You can't find it?

- VALET: No, ma'am.
- It's a silver Maserati.

What do you mean, you can't find it?!

MAN: Donna, keep your voice down.

My name is Dana.

It's Dana!

Dana... if you don't lower your voice,

they'll never find you.

[CLEARS THROAT] I'm
sorry, Mr. Tarquenio.

- I don't know what is going on, but I...
- You were supposed to keep my car up front.

Right here.

Where is it?

What in the actual... ?

Josh...

look at me.

You shouldn't be here, Allie.

Neither should you.

You didn't do this.

Am I wrong?

- Allie...
- You shouldn't have bailed out Trey.

You should have known what would
have happened, but you're not...

You wouldn't...

I know who you are.

It was Trey.

- You don't know that.
- Maybe you don't know that.

But you're worried about it,
and you're not gonna let him

take the fall.

What if it wasn't Trey?

What if it was Kahn's people?

You have a job to do.

I can't help you.

Just tell me where he is. Where is Trey?

Oh.

[ENGINE STARTS]

[ENGINE REVVING]

[TIRES SQUEALING]

♪

♪ 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! ♪

[GARBLED RADIO TRANSMISSION,
CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

If I stole a $200,000
car from a drug lord,

you know what I would probably not do?

Crash it into a frozen yogurt shop?

Crash it into a frozen yogurt shop.

Well, this wasn't a joyride.

Front end censors are
disabled, fuel line's been cut,

there's a trail of gas, and...

look.

Oh, that explains the
lack of a dead driver.

Trey's not a genius, but he's
too smart to blow himself up.

Everyone at the station's buzzing.

You got a matching VIN to
Raphael Tarquenio's stolen car?

Police report said it was towed,

and Trey's a tow truck driver,
so, we thought... you know?

Wasn't enough to take
out Jeanette's k*ller.

Now Trey's going kamikaze
against the boss who ordered it.

I'll update the ATL on him.

ROBY: You should not be
the one to make that call.

And why not?

I'm a cop.

This is a crime scene.

The undersheriff took me off
Folsom's case, not every case, Max.

Now is not the time to get cute.

Come on.

You saw Josh.

He looked...

I don't know... almost
surprised when we took him in.

What if he's covering for Trey?

That'd be just like him...
protecting his friend.

- Look, I don't want to believe that...
- I know.

But belief has no
place on my crime scene.

And today, neither do you. Sorry.

Josh is never going to flip on Trey.

- If you don't find him...
- We will.

- FINADO: Hey, boss?
- Yeah.

You got to come see this.

[GASPS]

If you're a fan of variety,

you've come to the wrong yogurt
shop... only two flavors here.

Heroin and fentanyl.

RAJAN: A foreclosed storefront.

Pretty clever place to stash your dr*gs.

Oh. I think it's more
than a stash house.

They set up for cutting
and repackaging here.

I don't suppose Raphael Tarquenio

is conveniently listed as
the owner of this place?

Paperwork isn't gonna be
enough to prove why Trey chose

this place for a demolition derby.

RAJAN: Tarquenio's only on the books

as the victim of grand theft auto.

ROBY: If you want to change
that, you better find something

smaller here than a
b*rned-out Maserati.

- Penny, time for triage.
- GILL: Be right there.

Beau, I'm gonna swab every surface here.

I want you to go back to Tarquenio's
hangar and do the same thing.

Catherine's finishing
up there, loop her,

let's see if we can make a connection.

Oh, that's a lot of dr*gs.

RAJAN: Pen, we're going
to be partnering up.

Is there any professional
or personal reason

why I shouldn't assign
you to work with Chris?

Chris? Heck no. I love Chris.

Then I want you to go back to
the lab and help him process

the dumpster that Kahn was found in.

Let's hit it, guys.

Any reason you're worried about
pairing Chris and Penny up?

No, just thought, "Speak now
or forever hold your peace."

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

They're gonna be partners.

Forever?

One broken lock.

One bloody box cutter.

Absolutely zero fingerprints anywhere.

Everything got a wipe-down.

You ever seen Folsom's
locker? Spic and span.

Yeah, don't go there, partner.

You want me on photos or luminol?

I'll spray. You click.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

Hey, it looks like Kahn was being paid

as a vendor through a legit business.

Anything here connect to Jeanette?

Raphael Tarquenio's a lot of things,

but careless ain't one of them.

What is your history with
this Tarquenio guy, anyway?

Uh-oh.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that's
picking up bleach, not blood.

That amount of ammonia in
a giant wiped-up circle?

Right where Max found
the bloody box cutter?

Could be where Kahn bled out.

HUDSON: Nope. All I can say for certain

is this man did not bleed to death.

- ROBY: Really?
- Cause is still TBD,

but it is definitely not exsanguination.

ROBY: I mean, there got to be at least

a dozen lacerations here.

Superficial, and, you'll note,

the skin is too pink.

If he bled out, he'd be blue.

- So this was just cruelty.
- JACK: t*rture.

And it's not just the cuts.

He's got burns and bruises on both arms,

ligature marks on both wrists.

ROBY: Kahn was bound twice.

Once by something hard...
maybe a zip tie... and once

with rough cordage, probably a rope.

- Wonder why.
- [CLEARS THROAT] While we're stacking mysteries,

take a gander at his shoulders.

HUDSON: Severe posterior
dislocation in the left and right.

- Both of them?
- It's weird.

There's no external markings.
No bruising on the skin.

So, are these all of Kahn's clothes?

Yeah. Uh, watch out, they're fragrant.

ROBY: Shoulders of this
jacket show no signs of damage.

No, just dumpster juice
like the rest of them.

ROBY: Maybe one of these stains
can tell us where he was k*lled.

Folsom won't tell you?

What makes you think Folsom would know?

Told you.

Gentlemen, just let
me know what you find

when you finish cutting, okay?

Mm-hmm.

Hold on. What am I feeling?

Under your glove?

Um...

- an engagement ring.
- Are you messing with me?

You said you've been on, like,
three dates with this mystery dude.

Five.

[LAUGHS]

The drinks at NoMad are
strong, and when we woke up...

This is like the plot of Hangover 4.

I don't know.

I don't know if it'll stick.

I really like him,

but I just haven't told
anyone who it is yet.

Wow. Well, I will keep

your super weird secret safe,

I guess. I'll be cool.

You know, Beau actually
thought it was you.

I won't be cool for long.

Okay, people, Max had a brainstorm.

We've got Kahn's clothes.
We've got the dumpster.

You tell us which stains came from
the stuff in there and which didn't.

The ones that didn't tell
us where he fell dead.

♪

Ooh.

Ooh.

RAJAN: I count 87 stains on
Kahn's clothing, or maybe 63.

There's a lot of overlap.
Gonna have to get topographical.

GILL: I think I can b*at that.

Got about a thousand
right here. I stink.

- [RAJAN CHUCKLES]
- Today stinks.

- How's Folsom?
- Quiet.

If we want answers, we're gonna

have to find out where it all went down.

Or find Trey.

I mean, is he still out there

waging his own private w*r
against Raphael Tarquenio?

PARK: I think Catherine's
planning one of her own.

Heard she found a friendly judge.

I'm looking for Raphael Tarquenio.

That's my uncle.

- I'm his nephew.
- Yeah, that's how it works.

- I don't know where he is.
- RAPHAEL: Catherine Willows.

How's the arm?

Found him.

How long has it been?

Not nearly long enough,
Raphael. Here. Have a warrant.

What's this?

I was the victim of a crime last night.

Yeah, yeah. Did you hear the good news?

We found your car in your stash house.

Judge agreed we ought to
come take a look around.

Wow. You're way off.

- I don't have a stash house.
- How about a pantry?

Hey.

- Why are you raiding my...
- Sir.

Why are you raiding my kitchen?

WILLOWS: It's okay.

Because we think someone
did a lot of bleeding

in your hangar, and someone else

did a lot of cleaning up with bleach.

- If we find a match...
- RAPHAEL: Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Is cleaning a misdemeanor
or a felony these days?

Destroying evidence in a
capital case? That'd be a felony.

Look, I know that you don't do
any of the dirty work, Raphael,

but how many guys would you trust

with something bloody?

[ZACH COUGHING]

Hey, big guy, seem a little nervous.

If you ever want to talk
when your uncle's not around,

- you give us a call, okay?
- He's not nervous.

He's sweating because he
likes his hummus spicy.

What about running dr*gs?
Does he like that, too?

WILLOWS: Hey, Zach, the
name "Jeanette Folsom"

mean anything to you?

She was one of your uncle's drug mules.

Got m*rder*d for skimming.

No? How about Kahn Schefter?

RAPHAEL: You're out of
line. Kahn was a friend.

We did business together.

Legitimate business.

I run a construction company

and own an import/export business.

That's it.

I wonder why all this
is happening to you.

My car was torched.

My friend was k*lled.

Now, are you gonna find the
people responsible or not?

TREY: Anyway, Fols,
just call me back, man.

Little worried I haven't heard from you.

I'm, uh, thinking about
taking a little, uh...

little trip.

Thought you might want to come along.

Tarquenio's got his
people looking for us.

Uh, call me.

[HORN HONKS]

♪

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- CHAVEZ: Trey, it's me. I just want to talk.

Right. Yeah, I can tell.

- I'm not here to arrest you.
- [SCOFFS]

I was thrown off the case
after we took Josh in.

You arrested Folsom?

Oh, you two are so right for each other.

- Does he belong in prison, Trey?
- What makes you think I know?

You're the one who kidnapped Kahn.

You knew he worked for Tarquenio.

You stole the car

and crashed it.

I don't think any of
this was Folsom's idea.

You're right. But so what?

You think the cops will even believe me?

You're such a coward.

Josh is done unless
you straighten this out.

You're always saying he's family, Trey.

That just talk?

- Max.
- Hold on.

- You're really gonna want to hear this.
- ROBY: Just a minute.

PCR's gonna do its thing here,
and we're gonna be able to prove

- it was Trey who sent that Maserati...
- Trey Cahill just turned himself in.

He says that he k*lled Kahn Schefter.

- Really?
- But there's a problem.

Trey didn't do it.

He's lying.

He's trying to protect me.

- Joshua, please. Listen...
- FOLSOM: Don't listen to him.

He has no idea what happened to Kahn.

TREY: I'm the one with the drug arrests.

You know I stole Tarquenio's
car and blew it up.

- I mean, who are you gonna believe here?
- This whole thing is just a mess.

And you are just making it worse.

- You're covering for each other, lying to the...
- Okay, okay. Okay. Look at me.

Trey's the reason I didn't k*ll Kahn.

No!

FOLSOM: When I realized
that he m*rder*d my mother...

- Let him bleed.
- FOLSOM: ... he stopped me.

So when did this happen?

I mean, he was upset, right?

But you know Folsom. He
would never... He can't.

I made sure he got out of
there, but then I doubled back.

That part is true. We both left.

But then... ?

All I can say is, I know
it wasn't Trey who did it.

There's only one way you could know.

TREY: Don't-don't let
him do this. Don't let him

- go down based on a lie.
- WILLOWS: Oh, don't worry.

Both of your testimony is worthless.

We don't know who to believe, Trey.

- Max.
- ROBY: I'm shutting this down.

You cannot be in here without a lawyer.

- He's lying.
- Not another word!

I'm going to find out
what happened to Kahn.

And you're not gonna say
another word until I do.

It didn't go down quite
the way we thought it did.

If I can direct your attention
to the coronal sectioning.

Wow, that is gorgeous work.

HUDSON: Mr. Schefter
had a hemorrhagic stroke.

You can see the clot that
cut off the blood flow

to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

- That's a whopper.
- Mm.

But you are not saying that
this was a natural death.

No, I certainly couldn't say that.

There's nothing natural
about the shoulders.

Or the abrasions to his wrists.

Or the shriveling of his carotid artery.

Someone placed this man

under enormous stress and essentially

broke his brain.

RAJAN: A t*rture-induced stroke.

I've never seen that before.

HUDSON: The box isn't
on any of our forms.

But there's your cause of death.

As for the precipitating factor, the...

cause of the cause, so to speak, well,

I'm afraid your guess
is as good as mine.

ROBY: And we know it wasn't any of these

'cause they were all made post-mortem.

Someone was selling you an M.O.

Maybe that's why they
left that box cutter.

HUDSON: For what it's
worth, I don't think

that Mr. Folsom would ever imagine

that I would fall for such hackery.

Something doesn't add up.

RAJAN: So where are we?

Any of that crud left by the k*ller?

PARK: Color me skeptical.

So red is rust from the
edge of the dumpster.

Pink is fetid garbage water.

- A lot of shrimp cocktail from the strip club.
- Delicious.

GILL: Green is mold from some
old lumber that was tossed in,

and the as-yet-to-be-
determined stains which were

mostly topographically
toward the bottom,

are in our default color...

- puce.
- "Puce"?

We love puce. We're the Puce Squad.

Did you know it was Marie
Antoinette's favorite color?

I need you to solve the puce problem.

Where are the mystery stains from?

Nothing in the dumpster, we don't think.

Most of it was already covered
up when he was tossed in.

RAJAN: All the more
reason to think they could

lead us to the m*rder scene.

We can't just settle for
whatever the GCMS spits out.

- I want FTIR, Raman, and electron microscope.
- Whoa, wait, that's gonna take forever,

- at least...
- 20 to life?

That's what Folsom's
looking at if we don't

figure out who really
k*lled Kahn Schefter.

- I thought Trey said that...
- They're covering for each other.

For all we know, it's a big mistake.

Could've been one of Tarquenio's people.

I'm... so sorry.

I didn't mean to upset you.

It's okay to be emotional.

No, I-I'm okay.

And GCMS results should be in.

I'll be back.

Pen's in a weird place right now.

- It's not just the case.
- I saw the ring.

Apparently she woke up
engaged two days ago.

She won't even tell me
who it is. It's weird.

Hmm.

You know, your eyes are red, too.

Long day.

ROBY: Come on, little fella.

You just can't be popping and locking.

You got to break something for real now.

Just the woman we're all looking for.

The district attorney sent me
to see how your report is coming.

What's the delay?

She wants to charge.

The D.A. could charge this case

whenever she wants to charge.

My report... will have all the facts

when I hand it over.

I wish that were so, Max.

But you don't have all the facts.

- What do you mean?
- There's an errand I have to run.

You should come with me.

You'll have to forgive me,
but I wanted you to watch this

in the presence of my
attorney, Mr. Gettleman.

What is this?

- You didn't tell them?
- I don't know, either, sir.

Uh... the mayor called
me, told me to bring

- Dr. Roby and Catherine.
- Okay.

Well...

uh, well, I'm doing my part

as a friend of the deceased.

As a person who's also
been wrongfully accused.

As a citizen really.

Anyway.

Enjoy.

I'm so sorry.

TARQUENIO: Yeah, well,
there's no more after that

until you folks show up.

But don't take my word for it.

- You can have the tape.
- Why did you invite us out here?

- You could've just sent the tape with him.
- Well...

I guess it wasn't very nice of me.

But you harassed me.

My family.

I guess I just wanted to see...

Yeah.

That look on your face.

So how long are you gonna wait
before you charge these criminals?

They're getting charged today.

Today.

♪

- You look terrible.
- [CHUCKLES]

You're sweet.

I'm worried about you.

I'm not your problem anymore.

Um...

they took me off your case.

But I-I hear things.

You won't speak up in your own defense?

Josh, you're being arraigned today.

m*rder One.

[STAMMERS]

I know you want to protect
Trey, but your whole life

is on the line.

Do you get that?

Wake up!

I'm wide awake, Serena.

[SCOFFS]

The D.A. has video of you and
Trey leaving the hangar with Kahn.

You're looking at 20 to life unless
you tell me what happened next.

Josh, please.

Give me something.

Anything.

[EXHALES]

What were you doing out
there where we found you?

I don't know.

A magnet was pulling me
out there, where I grew up.

I wanted to be with her.

I drove past our movie theater.

The park where my granddad
taught me to throw a baseball.

The ice cream shop
in Red Rock she loved.

Wait.

Y-You went to Red Rock?

- That means you didn't have time to...
- We're done here.

Josh. You have to tell them.

Josh!

- CHAVEZ: Max.
- This better not be about Folsom.

It's about Folsom.

I went to see him, I got him to talk.

Between the time they went to the hangar

and the time we found him, Josh says

he drove out to Red Rock.
If Josh drove all the way

out here before going
to the water tower here,

when did he have time to k*ll Kahn

and dump him here?

- What do you think?
- I think it's not enough.

Timeline theories and solo drives are

not gonna be enough to
get Joshua off the hook.

We need proof of who k*lled that man.

So you're going to solve
this with what, a cartoon?

This is a kinesthetic wireframe model.

And I am trying to make sense

of how Kahn's shoulders

got dislocated.

He had no external
bruising on his shoulders,

but the autopsy revealed

extensive damage to
his teres minor muscle

and the infraspinatus tendon.

Those words mean nothing to me.

I don't think Kahn's injuries

were caused by somebody b*ating on him.

I think that Kahn
dislocated his own shoulders.

While writhing in pain.

- [SHOUTING]
- [SHOULDER CRACKS]

CHAVEZ: You'd have
to be in serious agony

to dislocate your own shoulders.

- What causes that kind of pain?
- You know, I don't know.

But the answer to that question

just might tell us who k*lled him.

ROBY: Allie, so it finally happened.

Josh was officially charged.
Bail hearing tomorrow.

He can't afford bail unless
he closed out his bank account,

sells his car.

He's still got that horse, right?

- Kings Gambit?
- Dennis.

He renamed it.

I mean, who names

a horse Dennis?

Don't start crying on me.

- You'll get me going, too.
- Oh, no.

I'm okay. I'm just irritated.

Something in the
dumpster's stinging my eyes.

Also I have some bad news.

- Hmm?
- Chris and Penny sourced

five of the six mystery
stains from Kahn's clothing.

They came from in here.

So we're down to one that
could've come from the k*ller?

That piece of wood lay diagonal
across levels one through four.

Kahn was laying right on it.

There's some liquid
there that either came

from his jacket or vice versa.

[INHALES]

Smell that.

- Smells like alcohol.
- Mm, alcohol in a strip club dumpster.

- Not exactly shocking.
- Except the kind of alcohol you drink

when exposed to sunlight,

it does not

turn into paint thinner.

FINADO: Bottle six.

Not chemically identical.

Bottle seven. Not chemically identical.

- Bottle eight.
- Beau, you sound a little frustrated.

Oh, I'm a lot frustrated, boss.

None of the cleaning products
we found in Tarquenio's mansion

were the ones used on
the floor of the hangar.

How's GCMS treating you?

RAJAN: I got ethanol
denatured with chloroform.

That would explain why the
paint on the wood was stripped.

The chloroform decomposed
into dichloromethane

after it was hit by sunlight.

Yeah, but chloroform is
poisonous if ingested.

So it didn't come from the
cocktails that Kahn drank.

Well, then what was
it doing on his jacket?

I don't know.

But I know where I might
find some more of this stuff.

Well, that was a big
ole swing and a miss.

- I'm not finding any ethanol.
- Or chloroform.

Or ethanol denatured with chloroform.

You know, I thought
your eyes were irritated

because you were upset about Folsom,

but mine are bugging me too.
Can I borrow those eyedrops?

Mm-hmm, I thought it was
something in the dumpster.

But I feel it here, too.

GILL: This won't help.

- What is that?
- That's the stem of a pepper.

A Carolina Reaper, I think.

- World's hottest pepper.
- And how do you know that?

I've gotten addicted to those videos

of celebrities answering personal
questions while eating hot wings.

I like it when they cry.

Why would a pepper stem be here?

[SHOUTING]

Guys, come with me.

♪

- 48 peppers and that's all we get?
- It's plenty.

Pure capsaicin packs a punch.

How much of a punch really, though?

Here.

Dab some on your tongue.

You're the skeptic.

Ah.

Oh!

[COUGHING]

- What... ?
- Sorry, Chris.

Drink some milk!

I think someone made
a batch of capsaicin

and used it to k*ll Kahn.

[STAMMERS] Clearly, it's very spicy,

- but can hot sauce k*ll a man?
- Hot sauce can't.

It only has 5,000 Scoville units.

But this is capsaicin.

It has nearly 15 million Scoville units.

Too much in the body can cause
degeneration of brain tissue.

Way too much can cause
an hemorrhagic stroke,

which is what k*lled Kahn.

But I read the autopsy report.

There was no capsaicin
in Kahn's stomach.

Maybe he didn't eat it.

♪

I guess now's not the
best time to ask, but...

when are you two getting hitched?

How did you know? Blood tox reports.

Jack always calls you about
blood toxicology reports.

I mean, no one needs a UV light
to see the vibes between you both.

People have a hard time
hiding their feelings.

We haven't set a date just yet.

I'm licensed to officiate weddings.

- Just saying.
- That's great.

But we're gathered here today to...

Are you sure we're gonna see anything?

I mean, even if he was injected,

his body might have already
processed the capsaicin,

in which case...

- Never mind...
- You were right.

He was injected.

RAJAN: Whoa. Can you imagine the pain?

There's no way Joshua
would've done this.

Question is, who did?

You're telling me that
this is what k*lled Kahn?

- Spicy pepper juice?
- Capsaicin isn't juice.

It's a neurotoxin.

Direct exposure can
cause burns and blindness.

Ask Chris. He had a taste.

The man's still chugging milk.

RAJAN: But the k*ller
didn't feed it to Kahn.

He pumped it into his veins.

When the capsaicin coursed
through Kahn's body,

it shrank nerve endings, shriveled
arteries and k*lled neurons.

Blood flow to his brain was restricted.

It caused a fatal hemorrhagic stroke.

Well, it couldn't have
happened to a nicer guy.

But this doesn't get
Folsom off the hook.

ROBY: No, but I was with him that night.

He was a mess. There was no
way he was cooking this up.

RAJAN: And let's not forget
we found a Reaper stem

- at Tarquenio's stash house.
- ROBY: Circumstantial, but suggestive.

Actually, I think I
might have a suspect.

Raphael's nephew. Zach Tarquenio.

I think I might've seen
him destroying evidence.

[SIRENS WAILING]

Okay, people, let's hit it.

We're looking for ethanol
denatured with chloroform.

We find it, we've found our k*ller.

WILLOWS: The Ramans are calibrated.

Point and sh**t. Happy hunting.

What is this? Some sort of a joke?

You know, the last person in
your job made the same mistake.

That sounds like a thr*at.

Did Kahn Schefter find out
what happens to somebody

who lands on your bad side?

I was in San Diego the night he d*ed.

Who says we're here for you?

[BEEPING]

♪

RAJAN: Max?

Yeah.

Look at the arm.

The scratches. It's right
where you'd tie someone down.

And there's a small fiber here.

ROBY: This chair was broken
and glued very recently.

This is where it happened.

- Where what happened?
- Where Kahn Schefter was m*rder*d.

You said your nephew is the only
other person who lives here, right?

- ZACH: What'd you give to CSI?
- Nothing. You-you got to believe me.

That's the problem.

I don't.

[SCREAMING]

I-I don't know where Zach is.

He took off yesterday. Didn't
tell me where he was going.

- What a coincidence.
- I'm actually starting to worry.

Don't worry, Raphael.

- 'Cause we're gonna find him.
- RAJAN: And when we do,

we'll be sure to give him
a nice set of handcuffs.

Hey.

I had a photo. My mother.

A woman with red hair. It's not here.

Sorry. I don't fill the envelopes.
Just hand them out at discharge.

Hey.

I want to, um...

I want to say thank you
for-for believing in me.

I know it wasn't easy.

- You're upset.
- You know, I don't know what I am, Joshua.

I mean, I thought I knew you.

I thought I knew you
as well as my own blood.

I-I know, I know you're disappointed.

Mm, and I know you've been through hell.

Losing your mom...

I mean, my-my heart...

My heart breaks for you.

But the lines...

The lines you crossed...

I'm not sure you're
gonna keep your job, Josh.

Isn't that your decision?

No.

It's not. And even if it was...

Hey. I'm sorry.

- [STAMMERS]
- Not now, Joshua. Not now.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Hey. Hey, man.

Can I have a word with Mr.
Cahill before you take him in?

Okay.

m*rder charges got dropped.

Yeah, Tarquenio cleaned up his own mess.

I'm glad they got you out.

You're way too soft for this place, man.

I'm probably gonna be here a minute.

They found my prints in Tarquenio's car.

Oops.

I'm facing GTA,
destruction of property...

I know we aren't good right now.

But you were there for
me when I needed you.

I didn't do it for you.

No, I know. I know.

But, uh...

I still owe you, Trey.

OFFICER: All right,
hat's enough. Let's go.

We're family, Fols.

You might've forgotten that.

I never did.

ROBY: Trial by fire there today.

You did good.

I was a little skeptical
about pairing folks up, but...

- it worked out pretty well.
- I'm glad you approve.

That's how I'm gonna run my shift.

I'm sorry, what do you mean?

Catherine will work with
Beau, and Chris with Penny.

It's all set.

So, permanently?

Folsom and I worked together for years.

That's what made me the CSI I am.

I want my people to
feel the same support.

Mm. Allie, we don't really
do permanent partners here.

I find it's best to keep things fluid...

But it's my shift to run, right?

You picked me. Now you have to trust me.

- Partners. You'll see.
- [DOOR OPENS]

WILLOWS: Sorry to interrupt. I just
got a call from Raphael Tarquenio.

You need to come with me.

♪

RAPHAEL: Ladies.

My nephew has something to tell you.

I'm, uh...

I'm here to, uh...

I k*lled Kahn Schefter.

I acted alone.

He called me the other
night, freaking out.

Demanded I pick him up at his apartment.

He disrespected me, and...

So, we're supposed to
believe this was your idea?

That you acted alone?

ZACH: Yeah.

Come on.

I have to admit I'm
embarrassed, Ms. Willows.

I was dismissive of
your earlier efforts.

And I shouldn't have been.

I trust this concludes the matter?

Oh, yeah.

It's a dark day for my family.

Oh, but it's a great day
for your business, isn't it?

Yours, too.

CSIs always get their man, right?

Stay strong, Zachary.

Lord, I hope this doesn't
mean Folsom's gonna take

another run at that man.

He's gonna have to get in line.

Hey, Raphael.

I'll see you real soon.

♪