02x06 - Second Truths

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Previously on Continuum...

Alec: I have final say in all the science we develop and how we use it.

This is it.

You and me, partner.

Did you find anything?

Alec: No Escher anywhere.

I looked into Piron.

If Escher is running it, he's like the Great Oz.

Alec.

You lost a bet, right?

Right, because smart and funny is such a step down.

Wouldn't it be a shame to throw away your career on a woman that no one trusts?

Are you sure you don't have some questions of your own?

(INDISTINCT TALKING OVER PA)

It's the 13th m*rder with this profile in the past three years.

Eyes b*rned out, making retinal pattern retrieval impossible.

What about WASP surveillance?

Each m*rder took place outside the city confines.

These fringe cases need old-fashioned police work to solve them.

That's why I asked for you.

Sir? Your telemetric scores are top percentile.

You have a gift for deductive reasoning, Cameron.

Maybe a fresh set of eyes on this.

Put together a comparative profile matrix, help us zero in on a suspect.

Cross-reference with the other serial murders from the archives.

Draw down commonalities, deduce a pattern for our unsub.

Bundy.

Green River.

What about this one?

Ouroboros.

2009 to 2018.

The snake that eats its own tail.

38 victims, all dropped off on a circular bus route.

That's how it got its name.

It seems this Ouroboros k*ller was also obsessed with eyes.

Nice work.

And, similarly unsolved.

Most of the victims were child molesters.

It's a revenge k*ller.

They're the most fascinating, aren't they?

The ones that get away?

(SIREN BLARING)

Looks like your freak's back, Carlos.

Ouroboros.

This is your case.

Was.

But I didn't catch the k*ller, and the bodies stopped showing up.

Department slid it over to cold cases.

This isn't the first victim.

There were seven more before him.

Mostly men, one of them was a woman.

I figure this is a strap to secure the victim's head while he, uh, takes out their eyelids.

Son of a bitch doesn't want them to blink while he's k*lling them.

By suffocation.

It was never solved.

Hasn't been solved yet.

Kiera: 2077.

My time, my city, my family.

When t*rrorists k*lled thousands of innocents, they were condemned to die.

They had other plans.

A time-travel device sent us all back 65 years.

I want to get home, but I can't be sure what I will return to if history is changed.

Their plan, to corrupt and control the present in order to win the future.

What they didn't plan on was me.

I don't think I get that movie.

So, in order to prevent the future, he had to change the present by k*lling himself?

Well, we all want to believe we can change our own destiny.

Come on, I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, but that version of time travel just seems tragically flawed.

There's this self-consistency principle.

. . Novikov?

That's it! Well, if you mess with the consistency of time, you create a paradox, right?

And it's impossible to create time paradoxes, mostly.

We're not going to talk about wormholes now, are we?

I'm sorry, we'll talk about shoes and the Kardashians for the rest of the night in gratitude for what just happened.

Kardashian, is that some sort of Russian mathematician I don't know?

Are you okay?

Mmm.

I'm just saving this moment.

Uploading to my hard drive.

I'm so sorry...

It's okay!

I don't know anything about signals.

You're doing great.

I mean it.

Why don't we go back to your place, and talk about causality loops, see where it takes us?

I have roommates, there's no privacy.

Your place?

Can't.

What about that lab you were talking about?

It sounded nice and quiet, private?

The lab is...

It's a secret.

Okay, forget I asked.

It's not that I don't want to...

Look, you have your secrets, I get it.

So do I.

And, if we don't get too close, we both get to keep them.

Emily, it's not like that.

It is.

Anyhow, I gotta go.

You're leaving?

The movie was fun.

(LIGHT JAZZ PLAYING)

Thank you.

Alex, take five.

Carlos: Ms. Reynolds?

Yeah.

I'm Detective Fonnegra, this is Special Agent Cameron.

We're investigating your father's m*rder.

I see.

How can I help you?

Well, we're trying to track your father's movements in the last couple of days, maybe you can help us out.

Um, he was in and out yesterday.

I do most of the work here now.

He was more devoted to his teaching.

Carlos: Do you know where he was last night? No.

We led separate lives.

Do you have any idea who might want to harm him?

Does he have any enemies that you know of?

He was a narcissist and a perfectionist, he was respected.

He was not well-liked.

What about the two of you?

Any conflict?

We tolerated each other.

Sorry, you must think I'm being cold.

My father and I worked together but that was the extent of our relationship.

Did you love him?

He was my father.

Any history of abuse?

What kind of question is that?

My father just d*ed.

He never touched me!

Ms. Reynolds.

If there was some sort of a schedule of his comings and goings in the last week, that'd be very helpful.

I can e-mail it to you.

I want to get back to work.

Look, here's my card, we may need to talk again.

What the hell was that?

Did Section 6 take a pass on sensitivity training?

She's lying.

About what?

I don't know, she's all over the map.

(CHUCKLING) You know, Kiera, sometimes I am thankful for your help and sometimes...

(SIGHING)

Didn't go so well, huh?

Pardon me?

The meeting. 35th floor.

Yeah. Well, I guess I wasn't quite what they were looking for.

Kellog: Then they weren't looking properly.

You're Todd Sanchez.

Do we know each other?

We do now.

Name's Kellog.

Let's just say I'm a big fan of microbial reverse electrolysis, it has such potential.

(STUTTERING) That's what I keep telling them.

I mean, to create electricity and clean water simultaneously using microbial fuel cells, this could be the future.

It will be the future.

They only see the bottom line.

The cost is greater than the return.

But one day, you'll reduce the cost, and your technology is going to be worth...

A lot.

I like your optimism, Mr. Kellog.

But, without investment...

I can make that happen for you, Todd, you name your price.

I don't know, I just met you.

Why wait for the future, when the future came looking for you?

Clayton: I'm afraid it's official.

All the markers are the same.

Carlos: Decamethonium?

In the blood work.

Decamethonium causes paralysis in all the major muscle groups.

Yeah. So, even if the victim was conscious, he wouldn't be able to move beyond speaking.

Eyelids removed with a scalpel, it's very precise, certainly suggests the work of a surgeon.

Or someone with fine motor skills.

And no g*dd*mn heart.

So they're alive when he mutilates them.

You read the other files?

Yeah.

Clayton: Oh, so you know the cause of death?

k*ller suffocates the victim by forcing an unknown object into the throat?

Something about melamine.

Excuse me?

Have you done a biopsy of the trachea looking for toxic residue or cell trauma?

Bunt force trauma wouldn't cause that.

Are you sure?

Yeah. Pretty sure.

There is no connection that we can find between today's victim and the previous seven.

The only consistency is the k*ller's MO.

The disfigurement, decamethonium, suffocation, the early morning discovery and the pose, each of them looking towards the road.

Anything to where they're looking?

Sometimes east, sometimes south, there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it.

But what about the shape?

It could be a circle.

Wait, I see it.

It's more like...

More like a bunny.

(ALL CHUCKLING)

We have unis going door-to-door looking for a witness to the drop.

I'll be right back.

All right, since this was a cold case, we need to re-visit all of our previous leads.

Alec? Are you there?

Yeah.

Are you alone?

Yeah.

Thanks for the reminder.

What's up?

Only one of the worst serial murderers this city has ever known.

Oh, yeah, I heard about that this morning.

That's grisly, it's got like eight bodies?

Try 38.

Kiera: I studied this case when I was a CPS cop.

No hard leads, no witnesses, no arrest.

Well, that's good, at least you're ahead of the k*ller.

We found a few common threads, but none of them were consistent with every victim.

Alec: What about victim's names?

Maybe you can warn them before the k*ller gets to them.

Except, I reviewed dozens of cases, solved, unsolved, it's foggy.

What, the great Kiera Cameron, foggy on details?

I wasn't born with a CMR, you know.

Yeah, but you have one now.

You can help Carlos stop this...

This freak.

I hope so.

I just don't know how I'm going to explain it.

You always find a way.

You mean I always lie.

You don't have a choice.

I have to go.

You mind telling me what's up with this circle crap?

Just an idea.

Yeah, well it doesn't make any sense.

I'm trying to help you, Carlos.

What about a history of sexual abuse?

No.

Not even a few of them?

We have eight unconnected victims, eight drops all over the city, and out of that you get sexual abuse and a circle?

Oh, not to mention you telling the coroner how to do his job earlier.

Never mind.

I think there's something to this, the pattern, the child abuse, that's what I...

(SIGHING) That's what I remember.

Did you ever see Groundhog Day?

Bill Murray, say no more.

So he's stuck in this nightmare where he's living the same day over and over again until he learns something valuable that changes him for the better.

So...

I'm stuck in this nightmare and I keep trying to learn this lesson about being more open, but, I guess I'm not hiding behind a computer screen by accident.

So stop hiding.

Come out from behind the screen.

And if that doesn't work, let me come back there with you.

Your life is yours to decide, Alec.

I want you to come to the lab for dinner.

You're gonna cook?

In a secret lab?

I'm intrigued, Mr. Heisenberg.

It won't be illegal, and it'll be great.

Or, it could suck, and we'll both end up in the hospital with food poisoning, but at least it's a bonding experience.

What do you say?

Ms. Reynolds.

I have the schedule for you, for my father.

How far do you want it to go back?

He was a teacher, wasn't he?

Yes.

Then I'd like a list of his students, as well.

Why?

We have to look at everyone in his past.

Is it possible your father was abusing his students?

This again.

I thought my father was k*lled by someone who m*rder*d other people.

He was.

Then how can my father's students have anything to do with these murders?

It doesn't add up.

Then why are you so upset?

I'm not upset!

Your questions don't make any sense and that is a horrible thing to say about my father.

I won't give you that list, it's private.

You can't change what happened.

I think you should go.

Leave!

Wow.

Kellog really knows how to bait a hook.

Nice upgrade.

So what is it about this girl?

Is she one of the suspects?

Maybe, maybe not.

So you really think this girl m*rder*d all those people just to get back at her dad?

It feels like a stretch, but...

There's something about her.

So, I did some research on melamine, it's actually toxic stuff.

They banned it after they found it in baby formula, plastic toys, animal feed...

Could it be lethal?

Enough exposure on a cellular level can cause cancer, but, it can't cause suffocation.

But, something made with it?

Yeah, I don't know.

But, I took a look at that drug, decamethonium, and, it's actually pretty easy to make at home if you have a basic chemistry skill, which, Patsy Reynolds has. Hmm.

Double major, music and biology.

Yeah, she knows the right side of a scalpel.

Patsy was away for six months between victim number seven and her father.

(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)

What's that?

It's Dillon.

He wants to meet me alone.

Dillon: Kiera.

Glad you could make it in the middle of an investigation.

The invitation was intriguing.

Looks like you've landed on your feet.

I wouldn't say landed.

Not yet.

Let's just say, there are forces at work that see great value in letting us do our jobs.

There's a hundred ways to serve, Kiera, you know that.

Are you all right?

He's waiting for you.

He's got some interesting ideas.

I apologize for the theatrics, I just wanted you to feel at ease.

Escher.

Yes.

You wanted to meet?

Or did I misunderstand?

No, you're right, I have questions.

I can provide answers.

Where should we start?

Dillon.

Other business.

A convenient coincidence.

I don't believe in coincidences anymore.

Because your eyes have been opened.

Because there are agendas everywhere.

What's yours?

If you have to ask, you're not ready for the answer.

Fine.

Then tell me, how did you do it?

How did you get Agent Gardiner off my ass that day at the City Plaza expl*si*n?

We are still years away from enjoying complete surveillance.

But the network's out there, if you know how to use it.

That's how.

I want to know why.

Well, you're both fighting the same enemy.

But, I think that our specific interests are more naturally aligned.

You need a friend.

And I can be a very effective one.

I'm pretty selective about the people I call friends.

What about allies?

Tell me who you are.

What you know.

When you are from.

How many people know who you are, Kiera?

Truly know?

I can still see the circle.

Yeah, I can't un-see it.

Is there anything to it?

Well, look at these drops.

There's nothing coherent about them, right?

But the victims are all staring at the road.

It's like something was coming for them.

Patsy Reynolds was away during the k*ller's gap year.

She lives alone, she has no alibi for the night of the m*rder.

You can't believe she did this.

No, not really.

But there is something about her.

I know it.

What does this look like to you?

Bus route?

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Fonnegra.

Okay, thanks.

That was the coroner, said he was investigating your crazy theory.

He found traces of melamine in the victim's trachea.

Maybe my theories aren't so crazy after all.

Hey, Betty?

Mmm-hmm?

See if any bus routes line up with this circle, huh?

Yeah, you got it.

Come on, let's go investigate your other crazy theory.

Carlos: Melamine.

How'd you get that?

A case I know, from the past.

Forensics eventually found it, probably transferred from the object used to suffocate the victims.

You believe this is connected to Patsy somehow?

I'm going to level with you, Carlos.

I went to see her earlier, by myself.

It didn't go so well.

What? I wanted to try and get a reaction out of her, I suggested her father may have been abusing his students.

What the hell is your problem?

Look, some of the other victims, they may have been abusing children too, possibly the k*ller.

Kiera, there is no proof of that!

Imagine that there is.

If you found that proof, what would you do next?

If I had found it, then that means there would actually be something.

I'm trying to help.

I'm sorry.

Yeah, well, you can stay sorry.

In the car.

You're not coming in.

Kiera, you're trying to stop another m*rder.

Dozens more.

I can't remember enough of this case.

I'm grasping at straws, making it harder for him.

There's something about Patsy.

You need to find out what it is.

What if my interference makes it worse?

Maybe the totals go up because I think I know something?

Instead of 38 it becomes 138.

Focus on Patsy. What do you know about her from the future?

Her father, he was known.

Famous, I guess.

There was so much media coverage.

You still there?

Alec, the media. It wasn't because her father was famous, it was because Patsy was k*lled shortly after he was.

A father-daughter m*rder.

I have to tell Carlos!

(CAR ENGINE STARTING)

Patsy?

Have you seen Patsy?

Man: She was just here.

What the hell did you do to my bass?

Kiera: Police!

Stop right there!

Put your hands where I can see them, get out of the car!

Get out.

What's going on?

Cuff him.

Get out of the car!

Turn around, interlock your fingers.

What do you got?

It's Patsy. She's alive.

Eldridge.

So we have forensics tying you to the bodies, your truck leaving the crime scene, and trace DNA on Patsy from when you tried to grab her.

Still have nothing to say?

If you had done your job in the first place, none of these alleged victims would have been k*lled.

Really?

So you want to explain to me how your m*rder spree is my fault?

People do bad things.

You stop them, make them pay for their transgressions.

That makes you a hero.

When I do the same, why does that make me a monster?

You staged the bodies to be staring at the road.

Why?

I liked the way it looked.

Look, Detective. I'm not trying to hide anything.

I've essentially confessed.

And I already know what the future holds.

You're a therapist.

Yes, that's right.

I run a clinic. So you work with abuse victims.

Detective, tell me something.

How well did you know your father?

I thought you two had no workable leads?

Detective Fonnegra thought Patsy would be able to shed some light on who might want to k*ll her father.

We got lucky.

Lucky.

Yes, that seems to describe a lot of your solves.

Good work, however you got it.

There he is.

Nice job.

Thanks, guys.

Well, you're the man of the hour.

And, as man of the hour, I've got a list of questions about this high and you're going to answer all of them right now.

First, you started in on Patsy from the get-go.

Why?

She seemed off.

No, you were convinced.

Now, I know you can be a bull in a China shop sometimes, but the way you handled her?

That was way beyond that.

And asking about abuse?

With no evidence?

Oh, and who's the perp?

Just so happens to be a guy that knows the victims and can find the abusers.

I got lucky.

Yeah?

Was that luck with the coroner, too?

Nah, there's no way you could have made those leaps, not even with the help of your mysterious Section 6.

Hell, the way I see it is, the only way you could have known all that is if you were in on the plan.

You know that's not true.

No, it's not true.

But you aren't, either.

Okay, if I can't trust you then I can't be partners with you.

And I'm not sure anyone else here will.

Is that a thr*at?

No, that's the truth.

It's just too bad you don't recognize it.

Alec: It's not exactly homey, but...

Emily: Wow!

This is incredible.

I love it.

It's very you.

Thank you, Alec, for letting me in.

Yeah, any time.

What smells so good?

Ah, lemongrass with dragon fruit Thai basil, served in a test tube, short ribs braised for a microsecond at 2100 degrees Kelvin, and for dessert, Yuzu snow made with liquid nitrogen.

If the lady likes.

The lady does.

No one's ever done something like this for me.

You deserve to feel special.

You are special, and if that just means being friends...

The timing of the molecular cooking is extremely precise.

Will it taste good later?

Who cares?

You're going to want to hear this.

Not to put a damper on your party, but I have an update on Eldridge you should be aware of.

Continue your work building the case, but he'll likely never see sentencing.

He's got cancer.

Stage four.

He's not expected to live more than a few months.

Regardless, a serial k*ller off the street, some much needed good PR for the department, well done.

That's fantastic.

That's impossible.

There has to be a second k*ller!

A second k*ller?

Where do you come up with this stuff?

I need you to consider the possibility.

Kiera, Eldridge confessed.

He told us everything.

It's a righteous bust, why do you want to sh*t all over it?

He's working with someone.

I know it.

Yeah?

How do you know that?

Please, Carlos.

Trust me.

'Cause that's worked out so well.

Wait.

Then let me explain.

Okay.

38 victims, laid out in a circle, that turns out to be a bus route.

The victims were mostly child molesters.

We called it the Ouroboros case.

No beginning, no end.

Only death.

The case was never solved.

If Eldridge is dying of cancer, he can't commit the other 30 murders.

So he has to be working with an accomplice.

If we are going to save anyone, we have to figure out who this second k*ller is, right now.

So, all of this, what, because you're having delusions of being a psychic?

A time traveler.

Look. Carlos.

I know how this sounds, but if you think about it, about some of the experiences we've had that didn't feel quite right?

You know what I'm talking about.

Suppose for one second that I am telling you the truth right now.

We could save those people if you just believe me.

No, no, no.

You know what?

I need to save myself from this insanity!

Carlos, please.

Kiera, enough!

Come on, you've never sounded more crazy than you have in this very moment.

Are you even listening to yourself?

If we could look at Eldridge's patients, his employees, anyone who had meaningful contact with him, I know...

Stop! Okay?

I really don't care where you go, okay, I don't care what you do, but this, this stops.

We are done.

What's this?

Kiera asked me for a list of employees and patients from Eldridge's clinic.

Just thought you'd be interested.

Yeah, right.

And I ran the bus route theory.

Nothing lined up.

Then, I thought to check old routes that have been discontinued, and got a match.

Turns out Eldridge's clinic is on the same route, and get this.

It's the house he grew up in.

All right, thanks, Betty.

(RINGING)

Yeah, put me through to holding.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hey, can I help you?

Mike Venables?

I'm Agent Cameron with the VPD.

I'd like to ask you a few questions about the clinic you work at.

Yeah, I heard the news reports about Dr. Eldridge.

We're all in shock.

What can I do?

How long have you worked there?

A couple years.

I just can't believe he could be responsible for something so horrible.

I think we both know he's not the only one responsible, Mike.

He was working with an accomplice.

I'm going to have to take you in for questioning.

Hey, stop!

(GASPING)

(GRUNTING)

(SIGHING)

Are we just going to sit here and admire each other?

I was just thinking...

The weird thing about cops and K*llers is, we're obsessed the same way you are.

And you, you k*lled pedophiles.

There's not one of us alive that doesn't understand that.

On top of that, you dedicated your life to helping abused kids.

It's incredible.

I just...

I gotta say thanks.

Sincerely.

You had 30 more victims picked out.

Each of which you were going to drop along your old bus route.

You're hurting my hand.

Who is helping you?

I need to understand who you're working with.

I know someone's helping you.

Come on, Eldridge, tell me who it is.

Is it an employee?

Or maybe a patient?

Lawyer.

You're gonna need one.

(EXCLAIMING) I'll grab another bottle?

I won't be held responsible for my actions.

(MUSIC PLAYING IN BACKGROUND)

Well, well, well.

Oh, Christmas came early.

Who are you?

I'm the guy that pays the rent around here.

Am I supposed to be impressed?

Kellog?

Alec?

Look, sweetheart, I'm glad Alec has a playmate, but, we have work to do so run along.

Emily is my guest.

I invited her.

Oh, um... I don't care.

We don't have visitors here.

It's okay, Alec. I'll go.

No, it's not.

No, she's right.

She'll go.

She appreciates the situation.

(KIERA STRUGGLING)

Venables: Don't struggle.

It won't do any good.

You're looking for these?

Fascinating little device.

And this other one, like a g*n handle with no g*n, very curious.

You did this together.

Not in the beginning.

I mean, I would have, but Dave wanted to protect me.

Keep me from the truth of what he was doing.

But when I understood, really saw the value in his actions, I knew I had to help.

Dave Eldridge was a good man, he wanted to make them pay.

If you think he was such a good man, why did you stop him?

There are other ways to punish pedophiles.

But first, someone has to report them.

You know what's worse?

Others who keep their secrets.

Patsy. Her father.

She could have stopped him from hurting those kids.

She knew.

But she said nothing.

Dave wanted to show Patsy her complicity.

But you stopped that.

So now, you're guilty.

Listen to me, Mike.

Dave is dying.

His need for vengeance dies with him.

Until his list is complete, he won't have any peace.

That's why I have to open your eyes to the truth.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

What's up, Carlos?

You said that Kiera asked you to get a list of names and patients from Eldridge's Clinic?

I've got a copy right in front of me.

See if any of those names match up as both employee and patient.

Betty: Got it.

Mike Venables works at the clinic.

Was also a patient of Eldridge's.

(SIGHING) I need that address, Betty.

The doll heads.

You suffocated your victims with them by forcing them down their throats.

What?

How did you know about the doll?

Melamine.

A toxic substance.

You used it on all 38 victims.

There's only eight.

So far.

But you and Dave have 38 names on that list.

All of them found with eyes wide open, just like those dolls.

Why do you k*ll them like that?

All those kids, their abusers treated them like playthings.

What better way to take them out?

Were you one of them, Michael?

One of those children?

This is going to hurt.

(SHIVERING)

What is that?

What you see, those are cameras.

Everything I see is being recorded.

I don't believe you.

It's true.

The reason I know about the doll heads, the tech I brought with me...

I have knowledge.

From the future.

I can prove it.

My g*n handle.

Pick it up.

Go on.

What have you got to lose?

Put your thumb on the grip, tap it with your index finger.

Whoa.

Now, sh**t me.

I'm not on Dave's list.

You cut my eyelids, you ruin everything he was working for.

His statement.

sh**t me, and you can finish this clean.

Now, sh**t me.

Do it.

I'm doing this for the victims.

All of us.

I know.

(BEEPING)

Oh, sh*t!

(GRUNTING)

(GASPING)

I'm so sorry about that.

It's okay.

You'll make it up to me.

I'm in.

Carlos: Kiera! You here?

Kiera: Down here!

(PANTING)

You okay?

Todd!

Oh, uh, hey, hi.

Hey, I've been looking for you.

Never got the signed deal memo.

Right.

Right.

So? When do we sign?

Uh, we, uh, we don't, I'm afraid.

Todd.

I thought we had a connection here.

I believe in your technology, Todd, we are going to jump into the future together.

We were, but then things changed.

What?

Look, I appreciate the belief and your offer, but...

Apparently you're not the only one who can envision the future.

You made a deal with someone else.

That's not possible.

What's happened here?

Mr. Escher happened.

Who?

Piron Corp.

Look, it's nothing personal, it's just Escher really understands my vision.

I'm sorry.

Escher?

Whoa, take it easy.

I almost d*ed in here, and it made me think.

What if I had?

You would have found me, just another victim.

I would have achieved nothing.

And with all the changes I've caused, I may never come to exist at all.

Never be born, never become a soldier, a cop, a wife, a mother!

It's okay.

And life, life would continue on with nobody knowing I had ever lived.

All of my secrets, for nothing.

I don't want to keep those secrets anymore.

Kiera, you don't have to.

Here, here you go.

Shh, it's okay.

You're okay now.

It's okay.

You believe me.

The only way that you could have known what you know is if you were working with the K*llers.

And that's impossible.

So if you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left over, however improbable, has got to be the truth.

But couldn't you have told me before?

How?

Well, you found a way to lie to me, and keep lying to me.

I know, and I'm sorry.

It's okay.

Would you ever have believed me before now?

No.

Tell me everything.

(SIGHING)

My name is Kiera Cameron, and I came here from the year 2077.