09x14 - Palimpsest

[bunniefuu]

In new york city's w*r on crime,

The worst criminal offenders
are pursued

By the detectives of the
major case squad.

These are their stories.

Thank you for listening
to this whole thing.

I hope I, uh-
I can put it behind me.

As my friend, I thought
you'd understand.

I guess in the end, it
was just about a book.

You know, I don't think you
came all the way to london

To talk about a book.

What do you mean?

I mean... It's about
all the rest of it.

It's about her.

And you have to put it behind you.

Well, you say that like
it's, uh, easy, you know?

No one said life was easy.

It's like time stood
still or something.

It was like something
out of dickens.

No, zachary, it was
out of your life.

That was the problem.

I didn't think it would get
to me like that, you know?

And that was your second problem.

You know, if you'd
told me that...

I was gonna be there
in that house...

On that day with her...

Feeling the things that I did...

I wouldn't have believed it.

What's up?

Uh, ask me at the end of the day.

You okay?

Two dead inside.
Dylan weld, 36, art dealer.

And palmer abrigaille, 72, dealer,

And collector of rare books.

It appears--

It appears that they, uh...
k*lled each other.

Appears...

Oh, boy.

It's a little bit strange for me.

I know the abrigailles.

Zach, I'm sorry.

You wanna take the day?

No, no. I'll be okay.

I told her I'd be okay.

The truth was I didn't
know what I'd be.

I mean, it was like I was
walking into my own past.

A swordfight.

Some kind of duel?

Any violent confrontation

Was very, very unlike palmer.

Well, in any case,

They d*ed around 2:00 a.M.,

And the cause appears to
be exsanguination for both.

The way his sword is held--

It's in his right hand.

Palmer had nerve damage
from a sh**ting accident.

Poor control of his thumb.

We need to do extensive blood
spatter work here, please.

- I'll get them on it.
- Thank you.

Where's his daughter? - Uh...

They got her back there.

I think it's best if
she sees a familiar face.

Lenore?

Yes, come in. Sorry.

I'm a bit lost.

There are so many people here.

Zachary.

Hi.

Oh...

Do you know what... Happened here?

Between dylan weld
and your father.

I'm looking into that.

How is my father?

I'm so worried.

Has nobody told you...

Told you anything?

No, they...

They brought me
back here and, uh...

I--no.

I'm so sorry.

Your father...

Is gone.

What do you mean? Do you mean--

He's been k*lled.

So, so sorry.

Transcript by Adriano_CSI

- This is you.
- Yeah.

That's me and lenore.

Headed out to the, uh,
metropolitan opera

To see tristan and isolde.

See, palmer was an old
friend of my father's,

And his daughter lenore...

Ten years ago, he sent her
to my father for treatment.

She'd begun to exhibit-
show symptoms of...

Schizophrenia.

See, I, uh...

Knew her well.

We were, for a while,
more than friends.

And you didn't know
she was developing--

No, no, no.

At first the symptoms
were very odd, and...

You know, she was always odd.

Wonderfully odd.

Anyway, palmer was
a very sweet man.

I continued to see him
from time to time.

We played chess.

When did you last see him, zach?

I think it was about a year ago.

But who knows?

Time has its own
pace in this house.

Yes, captain, it's
definitely affecting him.

I think he should probably go home.

Good. We'll need to talk about it.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh. Uh-- - excuse me.

Hold on. Can I help you?

are you with these policemen?

- Yes.
- I'm richard celeste.

I serve the abrigailles
as caretaker.

I've a message from mr. Abrigaille.

Can I call you back?

Tuesday last, mr.
Abrigaille told me

To buy ts camera and set
it up in the library,

So I did.

And he recorded something into it,

And then he gave it back to me

And told me that I should
give it to the police

In the event of any misfortune.

Can I give it to you?

Sure.

Well...I've done my duty then.

You have blood on you.

Yes, ma'am. I tried to...

Resuscitate mr.
Abrigaille when I found him.

They've already taken
samples off me with swabs.

It's mr. Abrigaille's blood.

I'll give them my clothes
as soon as I can change.

- Okay.
- Hey, zach.

The caretaker gave me this camera.

Supposedly has a message
from palmer abrigaille.

- Don't be ridiculous!
- Sir, I can't let you in.

Your authority
doesn't extend to me!

- Sir...
- This is my uncle's house.

- Hold on.
- I'm the attorney

For the estate and the executor.

Hey. This is a crime scene.

- Are you in charge?
- I'm detective nichols.

This is detective stevens.
We're from the major case squad.

Merrill abrigaille. My card.

I knew something like
this would happen.

My uncle was surrounded by leeches.

Can we step outside?

Palmer's income hasn't
matched his outgo in years.

He just wouldn't face reality.

Hat them? - Palmer's income
hasn't matched his good lord.Ears.

You wouldn't believe
the level of debt.

But thank god the
collection wasn't stolen,

So when can I get it out of here?

When did you last see palmer?

Yesterday, late afternoon.

And last night, where were you?

- Oh. Do you suspect me?
- Put it down to our nature.

I was at the union
club until 1:00 a.M.

And that's a long way
from this part of town,

Detective... What was your name?

Nichols.

Wait. Zachary nichols?

You knew my uncle. - Mm-hmm.

In fact, you're
named in his will.

That I didn't know.

Of course, the bulk of the
estate will go to lenore

Or her conservator when it--

Uh, I believe he left
you a chessboard.

Did you two play chess?
I enjoyed playing with palmer.

Hmm.

If anybody's watching this,

I suppose I should apologize
for being m*rder*d.

Oh, well. Brought it on myself.

But my daughter...

Please...Please see to it
that she's taken care of.

She does well on her medication.

Just please let her stay here.

It--don't--

Don't send her to one of
those horrible places.

You can sell my whole collection.

I don't care.

Within these walls, she
makes perfect sense.

I'm being blackmailed
by dylan weld.

Unless I continue to pay him

And allow him to continue to--

What he's doing with
lenore is unspeakable.

But she... Allows his liberties

In order to protect us.

In order to keep him
from throwing us out.

But I have failed to protect her.

It must end.

And, by god,

I will try to end it soon.

So...If I am k*lled,

Please--it's weld.

Dylan weld.

Dylan weld didn't k*ll him.
Someone k*lled both of them.

The swords, the way
the bodies are lying,

The whole thing.

There were disabling blows
to the heads of both victims.

Afterward, they were stabbed.

I think it's been staged.

Seeing her that way...

You know, just lost and...

You know, dancing like that,

And remembering what she
once was was, uh, tough.

Tough for me. - Well, of course.

And obviously, it must
have crossed your mind

That she'd k*lled them.

No. Yes.

Well, I didn't want to
think about it, you know?

So did you ask her
directly if she'd done it?

I couldn't do that.

And we both know why, don't we?

We both know what you were feeling.

Yes.

I still loved her.

Or what she'd once been.

You know, I was half hoping
that she would just say

That she'd k*lled both those guys,

And I coulda gotten-
gotten out of there.

When's father coming home?

- Lenore, your father--
- hang on.

Oh, lenore, lenore.

Is your father...

Away on a trip?

They said they took
him into the city.

- Oh.
- And so...

I'm without a protector.

Should I be on my guard,

Zach?

Nichols.

I don't think it's
right to charm her.

It's possible she k*lled them.

The m.E. Is calling
it a double m*rder.

Yes, but she now is certain
that what we found was staged.

Troubling, to say the least.

Anything stolen?
Impossible to say.

It's a huge collection of
rare books and manuscripts.

Did I read something
a while about

About an especially rare book
owned by a palmer abrigaille?

Something about the bible?

The lost licinianus.

It's ostensibly part
of a roman history

Written by...

This guy, granius licinianus

In the second century
of the christian era.

- So it's valuable.
- Priceless. If it even exists.

These are fragments
of one whole text,

The only one that was ever found,

But he might have written
36 other volumes.

That's a lot of subjunctive.

Is there anything less vague

Than the possible theft of a book

Palmer abrigaille could
have possessed?

A lost licinianus transcript

Was passed from collector
to collector to collector

To collector over the years,

But there's a tradition-
we don't admit we have it.

But it's human nature to
brag about something like that.

It's rumored people were m*rder*d

For simply having read it.

We just heard.

Please tell us the
diocletian wasn't stolen.

Or the ravenna codex. Oh, my god.

The licinianus.

Hello.

Oh, we're dear friends
of the abrigailles.

Now...Who did this ghastly thing?

And why?

So we know quite
a bit about palmer.

So tell us about-
about this dylan weld,

Our other m*rder victim.

- Shall I?
- Go ahead. I'll interject.

Every field has its parasites,

And dylan weld was one of them.

He was a rare book dealer
who sold to palmer.

He'd sell something

Then come back months later
to reveal the ugly truth

That it had been
stolen or smuggled.

Then he'd thr*aten
to make it public.

Dylan was brilliant.

He knew palmer would be humiliated

If anyone found out he'd
bought stolen goods.

So palmer paid the blackmail.

Now, get out.

Where's the girl?

Go to bed, father.

It's horrible to think
what lenore went through

To help protect her father.

When that slimy book dealer
had taken advantage of her,

Yeah, I can imagine
that she'd k*lled him.

But why would she have
k*lled her father?

She was schizophrenic.

I mean, she was
capable of anything.

That's right.

Stevens.

How is lenore?

Hold on. We've got a uni
calling from the crime scene.

There's a moving van
pulling up to the mansion.

Mr. Abrigaille!

- Put everything down.
- Stop moving. Hey!

- Get out of the truck.
- Detective...

Detective, I'm the legal
executor of this estate--

- What the hell are you doing?
- I have every right--

No box. Gimme the
box, gimme the box.

I have every right to ascertain

What this property is.

I'm sorry, but
that man's a thief.

Merrill was here last night.

Yes.

What did he want?

T-to convince father to...Move

And put me in a puzzle house.

The usual. - When did he leave?

I don't know.
Sometime before midnight.

That book.

You carry that book always. - Here.

Oh, a catullus.

In a wonderful translation.

I have something
important to tell you.

Yes?

I love you dearly, zachary.

I do.

But...I am not free to marry.

I can't go out there and
be part of your world.

I must remain here and...
Take care of my father.

But if you promise to tell no one--

I have my reputation to think of--

We can again be lovers.

That's a wonderful offer, lenore.

If we were lovers,

Would we always be
honest with each other?

Of course.

- How can I be sure?
- You want to test me?

- Tell me a secret.
- About what?

Tell me about...

Who was here last night

After merrill left.

Well...Dylan weld, of course.

Mm-hmm...

And...

Yes?

And the man who comes at night.

"the man who comes at night"?

Who's he?

I don't know.

No one sees him.

I just hear him.

But...

If you came one night...

Maybe we could look for him.

We've done background checks
on all our potential suspects,

And they've all come back clean.

As for the caretaker,
richard celeste,

We've got nothing on him.

Talking to callas.

He claims he's a
british subject, so...

We might have some
luck with the embassy.

Hey, hey, stop right there.

I caught you red-handed!

I'll call you back.

Open your coat! Stop right there.

I'm not gonna let
you steal from me!

Hey! Let him go!

What, are you kidding me?

I caught him red-handed.
Look inside his coat!

Open your coat. What's going on?

Bernard, do not say a word.
We must demand a lawyer.

What's happening?

What's this?

What is this?

The objects we remove--

They're not even noticeable!

And--and...

Well, how do you think the
damn bills there get paid?

Tell them, bernard.

We've kept palmer
afloat by pilfering.

But every cent went
to pay the bills.

Even cent. I keep the accounts.

Well, we'll need more
than your word on that.

Look--look! My checkbook.

Everything that has abrigaille
within a parenthetical.

There's quite a bit.

Poor palmer had
no head for figures.

No interest in anything
less than four centuries old.

We loved palmer.
And lenore--please protect her.

We are antiquarians.
We choose to live in the past.

But she...Has no choice.

She lives the same day
over and over again.

But it's such a lovely day.

Have you ever heard
her refer to...

The man who comes at night?

No. It must be a delusion.

Unless she means merrill.

Merrill was always there.

He constantly pressured palmer.

Merrill, do me the courtesy.

You never cared a
damn for this place

Or all that I've collected.
That's not true.

If you move here and we liquidate,

You can save the better-- - bah.

Is something the matter, sir?

Yeah. This place
is a damn madhouse.

You're a good fit here.

Merrill needed palmer
and lenore out of the way

To take control of the estate.

Good night, sir.

Palmer was surrounded by greed.

Most of us think greed's

A pretty common motive for m*rder.

Yes, greed, jealousy, and hatred.

Those are the standards.

But this case was
anything but standard.

Merrill is facing disbarment.

Apparently, he is accused

Of setting up various
legal wealthy clients

With a certain blackmailer.
Dylan weld.

With whom he was
partners years ago.

So merrill sets dylan
up with his clients

As a purchasing advisor

On their arts and
antiquities acquisitions,

And then dylan later
struck off on his own.

I have something on celeste.

His british passport's a fake.

Call I.N.S.
We'll thr*aten deportation.

I say wait till we
have more answers.

Let him be.

Whe-when--

When did this...Get here?

Oh, it's from lenore.

We've been invited
to a dinner party,

An informal wake for palmer.

And you're actually
suggesting we...

Palmer has a
legendary wine cellar.

No better way to interact
with our players.

Whatever will I wear?

I can't grace this table
as my father once did

With his wit, his vast knowledge

Of all that was beautiful
and steeped with meaning.

Yes. You've got something
here, just a little...

I will miss him so.

This wine goes poorly
with my medication.

You know, zachary,

I have another secret.

I imagine you have several.

That book everyone was
wondering about some time ago?

The lost licinianus?

Yes?

Well...He did buy it.

And it's the strangest thing.

Father says I've seen
it a hundred times,

But I have no memory of it.

Isn't that odd?

Lenore, where do you
think it might be?

I haven't the slightest idea.

You know how I am with
keeping track of things.

Hmm. Hey, would it be
okay if, after dinner,

We took a little look?

It's fine.

More wine?

Would I know it if I saw it?

Well, it's a bound manuscript,

And it's... Written in latin.

Half these books are in latin.

- Mm-hmm.
- Are these, uh, greek?

That's pindar.
That's a very famous poet.

You read greek?
I'm very impressed.

Yeah, well, p.S.
91-- not heavy on the classics,

But my father did force
the alphabet on me.

Alpha, beta, gamma, delta-- here.

"aristoteles."

Here, here.

"platonos." I don't know
what that is.

Politeia.

It's a 17th-century dutch edition.

Full of errors. Dreadful.

But lovely binding, though.

Since you're in
the trade, regina,

What's the supposed value
of the lost licinianus?

It's impossible to say.

Everything has an assessed value.

It's one of only two portions
of licinanus's history of rome,

Assuming it exists.

The other is a tiny fragment

In the palimpsest in
the british museum.

Palimpsest?

It's an ancient book
that's been erased

And written on a second time.

Very common in the middle ages.

When books were
made of parchment,

And parchment was expensive.

With modern technology,
it's possible to read both

Without destroying either text.

Is it the content that makes
the licinianus so valuable?

It's generally believed
that it deals with

Certain events in
the first century...

In palestine.

The official roman
view of a certain trial

That could differ greatly
from what we believe we know.

The trial of jesus.

Did you hearhat?

well, what is it?

I don't know.

Let's go see.

Have you noticed any
stairs up to the attic?

- Uh-uh.
- I can't seem to find

Any way to acc--

This is palmer's room.

There's somebody in there.

What are you doing?

Putting mr.
Abrigaille's clothes away.

Step away from that chest.
Why are you doing that?

In spite of the
condition of this house,

I've always made an
effort to be orderly, sir.

Sleeping pill.

- Did you touch those?
- No, sir.

I left it there for him last night.

How do you get to the attic?

Beg pardon, sir?

The attic. Where are the stairs?

I don't know, sir.

I've never had call
to enter the attic.

How long have you worked here?

Three years.
If you'lexcuse me, sir.

Hmm.

Isn't this, uh...

Oh. What a priest carries
for his final unction.

Why would celeste have
this, unless he was a priest?

Let's get my laptop.

Well, this old bio
from that diocese

Has him born in quebec.

- Mm-hmm.
- Actually ordained in canada.

Well, does it actually...

Say that, uh...
He served as a priest?

Uh-huh. Nine years.

He belonged to an order, a
sect called the conclave.

- Conclave. Wait, does that-
- is that like the...

Knights templar?

- Or not, that's like the--
- opus dei?

- Yeah.
- In fact, the conclave

Were more extreme
ultra-traditionalists.

They were...
In fact, excommunicated.

Charged with destroying
church documents

Relating to the purging
of the jews from Spain.

Now we know a little
something about him.

Yeah.

That's all very helpful.

But, uh, you know
what I'm thinking?

Those noises at night...

We need to find an attic.

hmm?

hear that?

- False back?
- I'm not sure.

Uh...Maybe there's a
latch someplace here.

Hello.

Oh, yeah.

Look at all these books.

Ah, I think I know.

You see anything like a hand truck

Or some kind of...

Here.

Okay. There a way
to turn that on?

Uh-huh. All right.

Like to share, or are
you content just to gloat?

infrared, ultraviolet.

This is how you read a palimpsest.

The erased ink is visible

Only on the edges of
the visible spectrum.

Somebody...Set all this up,

Came up here at
night, making noises,

Thumping up those stairs with...

Box loads of books
on that hand truck.

Looking for the lost licinianus?

- That's right.
- Who?

I have a good guess.

But I haven't the slightest
ability to prove anything...

Yet.

It's so lovely after it rains.

The light through the oak leaves.

That book...
That you carry always?

Catullus. You like it, huh?

Ever since father gave it to me,

I can't seem to put it down.

He wrote of such ordinary things--

A night...A love...

Laughter.

It's a comfort to believe
such things endure.

May I see that, please?

- You may have it.
- No. Just for a little while.

Then I'll give it back to you.

Are you cold?

A bit.

You're lucky, zachary,
you're not sick.

Sick?

In the way that I'm sick.

I'm not...Unaware of
what is wrong with me.

I'm fine.

You had no choice
but to leave me.

I understand.

Don't be sad.

Here in this place with...

My dreams or... Whatever they are,

I'm fine too.

Some things are gonna happen.

Some, uh, confusing and...

Disturbing things.

But, uh...

This will always remain your home.

Was she able to help?

Yes, she was. Um...

Do you have a pen? - Uh-huh.

Mr. Celeste.

Yes, sir.

I'd like to get everybody

Except miss abrigaille

Brought to the attic.

I'm gonna reveal the identity

Of mr. Abrigaille's k*ller.

Yes, sir.

I didn't know if I was right,

But the pieces were
starting to...Fit.

But why not have lenore there?

Risk her but the pieces
having a nervous breakdown.

So now it was about the book.

Yes. The lost licinianus.

And who wanted it most... And why?

Merrill, this lands
squarely on you.

You k*lled your uncle. - What?

I did no such thing!

I wasn't here, okay?
I was in the club.

But you brought dylan
weld into his life.

For what? Money.

- I didn't know--
- you knew, you knew!

Because that was
your deal with dylan.

And your uncle d*ed while
preparing to confront him.

No. What happened
was never intended.

You can't blame me.
Palmer thought

That it was so likely that
dylan weld would k*ll him

He even left a video
message saying so.

And later that night
when dylan was here,

He heard something--

The man who comes at night.

And he came to this attic,

And he saw someone.

Dylan couldn't have
known about this attic.

No.

The person

That b*at him unconscious

Then dragged him down those stairs

And stabbed him...
Wasn't dylan weld.

That person also k*lled dylan weld

And then staged a cover-up.

Be careful placing
that tray, celeste.

The note in the bag is evidence.

Merrill...

You will leave this house,

And you will never, ever

Come back here again.

- You can't give me orders.
- You forget.

I'm named in the will.

And an heir can
contest an executor.

And this heir will
see you prosecuted

For bringing down a scheme
of blackmail on palmer.

It's a felony.

So go and find an attorney.

If not dylan or
merrill, then...Who?

We have the name.

Palmer himself wrote it
down on a piece of paper

When he looked up
those attic stairs

And saw his k*ller.

Thank you. - My pleasure, sir.

In the ensuing struggle,

The paper must have
fallen out of his pocket.

But in typical palmer fashion,

He wrote that name
in ancient greek.

- I read greek.
- Yes!

But you didn't read
that piece of paper.

There's only one person here
who has read that name...

Somebody who wants this book

More than anything in the world,

Wanted it so badly that
they'd k*ll for it.

That person... Has read the name.

Who...

Are...

You?

What?

Who are you?

I am, as I've said,
richard celeste.

Just downstairs when I said

That we had identified
palmer's k*ller,

You froze momentarily with concern.

But now just a moment ago

When you were serving
me the brandy,

You were getting a
little... Smiley.

What happened?

I don't know what
you're talking about.

When you first came in here

And you put down your brandy tray,

You peeked at that piece of paper.

Do you read ancient greek?

Read greek? I'm a servant.

The name that you read is...

His name.

Isn't that why you were smiling?

All right, suppose I did read it?

It says I didn't k*ll him.
Classical greek...

That you learned from the seminary.

And from the conclave.

You learned about licinianus

And his account of a trial

That might possibly
differ from the gospel.

What does it matter?

Palmer's note-- I did not k*ll him!

Problem is palmer
didn't write this--he did.

Your reaction's as
good as a confession.

I confess to nothing!

And for years...

You followed this,
planning to burn it.

That's it. That's the book.

Never on the shelves.
It was in lenore's hand.

She did the strangest thing

You can do with a priceless
book--she read it.

Licinianus...Lies beneath
the lines of catullus.

This is a palimpsest.

But you know that, don't you?

That's why...

You rigged these lights.

There it is. An ancient account

Of a trial that might shake
your single-minded faith,

Because maybe the
trial was political.

Maybe jesus was never
denounced by the jews.

Is that the knowledge
that you fear?

you could never understand.

And k*lling palmer
was never my intent.

He was merely an obstacle.

Right.

And when you realized
that he saw you here

And you were gonna get
fired and be forced away--

Give it to me!

I'm on a mission from god!

If you were on a
mission from god,

You wouldn't have k*lled

For this.

Please.

Please let me have it.

Let me touch it.

No.

So when I-
-I found that priest's kit

That's when I knew.
In that drawer of palmer's,

So he k*lled them then
gave them last rites.

Yeah. How 'bout that?
A priest till the end, huh?

So what will happen to lenore?

She's gonna be...Okay,

'cause the collection of palmer's

Turned out to be more
valuable than anybody thought.

She's gonna be in that
house if she wants to be,

You know, for the rest of her life.

- Where are they taking celeste?
- Uh, don't worry, my dear.

Things will come back to normal.

Now, we intend to be
part of your life,

Look after things here.

Good night.

We'll see you tomorrow, dear.

- Zachary.
- Yes.

You're leaving too.

Yes.

May I ask you a question?

Yes, ocourse.

Why do you never kiss me?

I will...

When?

Tomorrow.

You know, you only fall
in love for the first time

Just once.

And she was that person for me.

You know, she was
not just beautiful.

She was just magical.

I've gotta finally let
go of this whole thing.

Ha, it's so mysterious, isn't it?

It's kind of like when we
first fell for each other,

I suppose.

And, you know, if you
really love somebody,

Maybe it never goes away.