(whimsical music plays on TV)
(elevator bell dings)
(labored breathing)
(groaning)
(rings)
MAN: Be right there.
(thud)
Hello.
Hello?
Help us.
(indistinct conversations)
(indistinct radio transmission)
Thank you.
Hey.
Our victim's name is Brooke Hallworth.
She's 21 years old.
Paramedics found her unconscious,
blunt force trauma to the head.
She's at Trinity Hospital.
They're taking her into surgery now.
We know if she was a guest here?
Nothing registered in her name.
Okay.
Let's see what we've got.
BONASERA: Oh.
This blood trail indicates she came from somewhere upstairs.
BONASERA: Looks like the brood trail leads into the elevator.
She definitely pushed the lobby button.
All right, so how do we know what floor she came from?
Only one way to find out.
(doors close)
(elevator bell dings)
Police business.
(elevator bell dings)
Here we go.
FLACK: Door's been left open.
Flack, we got a victim here.
I'm not catching any vitals.
Hey, Stell.
Take a look at this.
(sighs)
Well...
looks like we can rule out robbery.
Sync by honeybunny www.addic7ed.com
Is Stella canvassing for witnesses?
She's on her way to the hospital to get an update
on our female vic.
So, Mac...
luxury suite...
champagne...
cash...
ski mask.
Which item doesn't belong?
What about this gunshot wound to the abdomen?
Any sign of a casing?
Uh-uh. Shooter either used a revolver
or took the casing with him.
This guy's all banged up.
It's consistent with defensive injuries,
but the coloration suggests
they were sustained over a period of time.
Could be he's just clumsy.
Or he's got a painful job.
Yeah.
This abrasion here is very recent.
Could have happened during a struggle with the killer.
Looks like there's some kind
of pattern to it.
It's tough to make out.
I'll get a digital copy to AV,
see if we can enhance what's there.
(people talking indistinctly in next room)
Metal housing on the privacy chain is bent.
This door was forced open.
So, room invasion
without the robbery.
One dead.
One barely makes it out of here alive.
Whoever did this was looking to hurt these people.
If robbery wasn't the motive,
why not take the money anyway?
Hey.
Room's registered to a Jesse Lewis.
Checked in a few hours ago with a woman
matching the description of our female vic.
If she was inside this room
when the ski mask came off the killer's face,
she may be able to make an I.D.
If she makes it at all.
Race you to the end of the hallway.
Oh, hey!
Just a little humor there.
Yeah, well, uh, where are we at
on this hotel room murder?
Well, behind door number one,
we have a silver vase, champagne bottle
and all the matching stemware. Behind door number two,
we have a wool ski mask,
presumably worn by the killer.
So, what's it going to be, Messer?
It's going to be door number one. Ah.
Feeling lucky about getting some prints, huh?
No, it's just a little closer.
(chuckles)
HAWKES: When I worked as a medical intern,
we'd get these kids coming in
with injuries like you wouldn't believe.
Hyperextended vertebrae,
cranial contusions, spiral fractures.
Football players?
You'd think so,
but believe it or not, they were dancers.
Okay. What kind of dance moves cause injuries like these?
Okay, well,
this stress fracture here is caused by torsional motion,
most likely the result
of a pretty popular dance move called an air flare.
(bone crackling)
All right, it looks like he also suffered
a herniated cervical disc.
Highly indicative
of gradual strain and repetitive motion.
(squishing)
So, our vic was a dancer.
More specifically, a street dancer.
Hmm.
Now, this wound here has formed a callus,
indicating that it's partially healed. Mm-hmm. It's not from dancing,
and most likely not related to our crime.
I'd say it happened within the past few months.
Hmm. What about C.O.D.?
Sid recover a slug?
No.
This is all he was able to remove
from the wound.
Some type of metallic powder.
And it wasn't a through and through.
That's odd.
Yeah.
But you can see the round only penetrated
a few inches into the body,
then stopped dead.
So, we have no exit wound and no bullet.
Where did it go?
And what exactly is this?
*
(typing)
Any word on our victim's girlfriend,
Brooke Hallworth?
Yeah, she's still in the hospital,
but she's showing signs of improvement.
The minute she's conscious, I'm getting back there.
Did you see the paper today?
Yeah.
Adam said he saw a quiz on Facebook called:
"If you were the Compass Killer, where would you strike next?"
He told me.
We're going to get this guy, Mac.
But right now, let's just focus on the hotel murder.
Take a look at this.
The abrasion on our vic's neck...
it's some kind of crosshatch pattern.
Took sustained force to cause that kind of impression.
It's not just a glancing blow.
And Hawkes was right
about our vic's other injuries.
Jesse Lewis was a dancer.
In fact, he was performing last night
just hours before he died.
I got this off the Internet.
Jesse performed under the stage name Mechanicx.
This particular competition is known as Battle Step.
I thought this type
of dancing went out with Ms. Pac-Man
and the Rubik's Cube.
Definitely went underground and advanced,
only to resurface with a new name.
It's now called street dancing, and it's gone pro.
Street dancing.
(upbeat music playing over speakers)
(music continues)
(cheering, applause)
(cheering, applause continues)
(shouting) (grunts)
TAYLOR: What's the guy in red uptight about?
Could be
the fact that our vic won first place
in the singles event.
Ten grand. All cash.
Everyone in that audience saw him win.
Our suspect could have been there,
followed Brooke and Lewis back to their hotel room.
Strange thing is,
if the prize money was the motive,
then why was it still there?
Why don't we ask the guy who came in second.
* Beggin', beggin' you *
* Put your lovin' hand out, baby *
* Beggin', beggin' you *
* Put your lovin' hand out, darlin' *
* Ridin' high *
* When I was king
* Played it hard and fast 'cause I had everything *
* Walked away
* Wonderin' then *
* Would easy come and easy go when it would end *
* So why anytime I bleed, ya let me go *
* Anytime I reach, ya get me yo *
* Anytime I seek, ya let me know *
* But I planted that seed, just let me go *
* I'm on my knees while I'm * * Beggin' *
* 'Cause I don't wanna lose * * You *
* I got my arms all spread
* I hope that my heart gets fed *
* Matter of fact, girl, I'm beggin' *
* Beggin' *
* Beggin' you *
* Put your lovin' hand out, baby *
* Beggin' *
* Beggin' you *
* Put your lovin' hand out, darlin' *
* I need you to understand
* Tried so hard to be your man
* The kind of man you want in the end *
* Only then can I begin to live again *
* An empty shell I used to be
* Shadow of my life was hangin' over me *
* A broken man but I don't know *
* Won't even stand a devil's chance to win my soul *
* What we doin'? What we chasin'? *
* Why da bottom? Why da basement? *
* Why we got good... don't embrace? *
* Why the feel for the need to replacement? *
* You're on a wrong way track from the good *
* I only painted a picture, anywhere we could be at *
* Like the heart in the best way should *
* You done gave it away, ya had it till you took it back *
* But I keep walkin' on, keep open doors *
* Keep hopin' for, that call is yours, keep browsin' halls *
* 'Cause I don't wanna live in a broken home *
* Girl, I'm beggin' *
* Beggin' you... *
You ever see this guy before?
It's Jesse Lewis.
Thinks he's got skills for battling.
Yeah, we heard you two exchanged
skills last night.
You came in second place. Yeah, well,
the judges must've been high or something.
Why you asking me about Jesse?
He do something wrong?
FLACK: Yeah.
He stepped in front of a gun
while someone else was pulling the trigger.
TAYLOR: We're thinking that someone might be you.
Couldn't accept you'd lost,
decided to take the battle outside to another venue.
No, that-that ain't how it went down.
Then why does Lewis have an injury on his neck
that matches your wrist guard?
FLACK: I'll tell you why.
You were tired of coming in second place,
right?
Tired of missing out on the bragging rights,
sponsorships, endorsement deals.
And with Jesse in your way,
none of that was ever going to be yours.
TAYLOR: So you follow him back to the hotel room,
you take him out, but you leave all the money behind
knowing that if you stole it,
you'd take first place on our suspect list.
And Jesse's girlfriend?
What, she just get in the way,
or was there something else going on there?
We may have done some after-hours battling,
but I didn't kill him.
Convince me.
I spent months working on a new move.
It's called the elbow air flare.
I'm getting ready to rock the crowd with it, right?
But before I get a chance, dude comes out
and hits me with my own move.
So I called him out.
Yo.
You been scoping
my practice sessions?
You busted my elbow flair.
Yo, man, I told you.
I got my own moves.
Step outta my face. BROOKE: Oh, my God!
Jesse!
If I'm gonna kill somebody, I'll do it in the ring.
We'll see about that.
(siren wailing)
(overlapping chatter)
WOMAN (over P.A.): Any available thoracic resident...
Hi, Brooke.
I'm Detective Stella Bonasera with the NYPD.
We believe we found the man who killed Jesse.
Nick?
It's very important
that we get an I.D. from you.
Is this something you normally do?
I mean, she just
regained consciousness.
Her memory's not all there yet.
Recollections from traumatic events are often most vivid
just after regaining consciousness.
So, yes,
this is standard procedure.
Are you a family member?
I'm a friend of Brooke's.
Nick Emerson.
A colleague of mine is going to escort our suspect
into the room, Brooke.
I need you to look at him and tell me
if it's the same man that broke into your hotel room last night.
Okay?
Okay.
I guess. Good.
Tell 'em I didn't do it.
What did I tell you about talking?
I don't know.
Take your time.
I'm sorry.
I honestly don't remember.
It's okay.
(car horns honking)
(siren wailing)
Right there, on the left.
Fairly substantial contusion, swelling of the brain.
No evidence of subdural hematoma.
The attending physician diagnosed it
as a grade five concussion.
That would explain the loss of consciousness and amnesia.
Even if she was staring Dot Com
in the face, that memory would be wiped out of her brain.
She's lucky her entire life wasn't wiped away.
If this had been a grade six concussion,
we'd be investigating a double homicide.
Any insight
from the doctors regarding her memory loss?
Yeah.
Only time will tell.
Helpful.
Any idea when she'll be released from the hospital?
Well, her vitals are normal.
But her physician wants
to keep her for observation. He seems pretty confident
that she'll be released within 24 hours.
I know it's the last place
she'd want to go, but a trip back to the crime scene
might spark a memory or two.
Any progress on the metallic powder
from the vic's gunshot wound?
XRF indicated copper
and zinc metalloid. Still trying to track
down a source.
From now on I want to be called
Adam Ross Dot E-D-U.
(singsongy): * 'Cause all day long *
* I'm giving people education. * Uh!
Huh?
Nothing?
Ski mask.
Right.
Uh, I found a few hairs within the fibers
but nothing with roots on it
to give us DNA.
Class characteristics? Same color
and pigment distribution as the sample we got from Dot Com.
But it doesn't definitively say it's his.
See if we can get mitochondrial DNA.
What about surveillance footage?
Nothing on our killer.
Prints Danny lifted off the vase?
One belongs to Brooke Hallworth, which we expected.
But there was a second print.
No match to Brooke,
Jesse, or Dot Com.
Ran it through AFIS and I got nothing.
If Brooke used that vase during the struggle,
chances are the other print belongs to our killer.
Run the prints through any
civilian databases.
Any place that requires fingerprint identification
from their employees.
(siren wailing)
(horn honking)
(indistinct radio transmission)
(phone ringing)
What do you got, bud?
This was not the first time our vic was robbed.
Yeah, I don't think you can claim New York residency
unless you've been robbed twice, no?
(chuckles)
M.O. is practically identical.
According to the report, three months ago
Jesse wins a local dance contest.
First prize is 3,000 clams, cash.
Not a night
you want to walk home.
All right, so you're thinking that this guy targeted
Jesse again after he won this contest?
That makes sense.
Says here they made an arrest.
Yeah.
Al Santiago.
He's number five.
Picked him up trying to pawn Jesse's watch.
No hit. Jesse didn't I.D. him.
That's what I don't get it.
He was staring the guy right in the face
according to the complaint.
Right, so why doesn't he identify this guy?
Who is this clown?
Me... me no speaky English.
FLACK: Yeah, all right, you know what?
Knock it off, Alice.
It's Al. It's Al, scumbag.
MESSER: Al Scumbag?
I thought you said his name was Santiago.
Yeah, right here on your rap sheet.
It says your name is Alice Adrienne
Santiago.
With a name like that, you probably had
to mail your milk money to the school bully.
It's of German descent.
It means "noble."
Yeah, you're obviously living up to your name.
Yeah, yeah.
You guys are funny.
So, what'd I do now?
You know what you did-- robbery,
with a homicidal twist.
Yeah.
Yeah, that-that sounds like me.
Tell us about Jesse Lewis.
You gotta give me more specifics, man.
I don't know the name of every dude that I rob.
Hip-hop dancer,
followed him from a club, took him for three grand.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
(both grunting)
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That guy, uh-huh.
But you see, I didn't do that
because he couldn't I.D. me, remember?
Yeah, exactly. That's why you weren't gonna
give him another chance,
that's why you wore a ski mask, right?
See, now I know you definitely
got the wrong guy 'cause I don't ski.
Three thousand, that was a score.
But ten large- you weren't passing that up
even though it was the same mark, right?
FLACK: So, what happened? What went wrong?
Did Jesse bum-rush you again?
Did he get in another punch?
He rips off your mask? You figure you can't
leave him alive to I.D. you
'cause you're not gonna get that lucky again.
So what happens next?
Somebody hears the commotion,
they come in the room to intervene,
they force you out of there
before you can pocket the cash, huh?
First I'm gonna go on record right now and say
I don't know what the hell you two idiots are talking about.
And second, anybody that wears
a ski mask is a punk.
And as for that robbery three months ago...
It must really hurt, huh?
To know you're sitting across from the dude
you're so sure who did it,
but there's nothing you can do about it.
Everything about this guy says he did it.
But until the mitochondrial DNA from the hair in the ski mask
comes back a match,
we don't have anything that puts him in that hotel room.
Something's off, though.
Based on the complaint of the first robbery,
Jesse stared right at the guy.
Why'd the I.D. go south?
Well, you know how unreliable eyewitnesses can be.
Especially when they're staring down the barrel of a gun.
That's it.
It's the same color and consistency
as the powder recovered from the vic's gunshot wound.
I made a few calls to some of my military contacts.
It turns out
a copper and zinc metalloid is used in the construction
of a tactical training round known as simulated ammunition.
Yeah, used for marking your shots.
But I thought all simulated ammunition
was ink-filled nonlethal.
Similar to paintballs.
There's actually two kinds.
The ink-filled, nonlethal type.
And then there's these.
SafeFire rounds.
They're frangible.
Designed to disintegrate on impact with hard targets.
So this must've cut through our vic's flesh
and then broke up on impact with the underlying dense tissue,
resulting in the metallic powder. ROSS: I just heard back
from the SafeFire manufacturer.
Our sample is a match
to the impurity levels in one of the lots.
And that lot was sent to?
A weapons training facility
called Center Ring Firing Range in Brooklyn.
That's where we'll find our killer.
MAN: You're dead, Frank.
Well, that's what happens
when you don't check your danger areas.
You die.
Only managed to kill eight innocent civilians today.
See everyone next week.
Craig Roberts?
Classes are a hundred dollars a person,
no more than seven people per group.
All instructors are licensed and trained in various firearms.
Kill House.
Nothing can touch it in terms of reality.
Except maybe reality.
Sorry.
I thought you were auditing the last class.
Mind if I check out your firearm?
Mind if I ask what this is about?
This.
Your simulated ammunition
was used to commit a murder the other night.
Well, you don't think I had anything...
Relax, Mr. Roberts.
I'm not accusing you of anything.
Not yet, anyway.
But I do need you to explain to me
how one of your rounds ended up being used in a homicide.
I have a lot of students.
I guess any one of them
could've walked off with some of my practice rounds.
Don't you account for all the simulated rounds
distributed to the people in your class?
Should I be talking to a lawyer?
Do you need to? Look, every day
I meet dozens of people who want to learn how to fire a gun.
I can't be held responsible for the actions of every person
who comes in and out of this place.
Somebody has to.
This man is dead because of one of your rounds.
Is that Jesse?
Jesse Lewis?
You know him?
This is crazy, yeah.
Jesse was a student in one of my classes.
You think our vic was shot by his own gun?
(grunting and groaning)
(gunshot)
The problem is, I don't know anyone who carries a gun
for protection and loads it with practice rounds.
Hey, guys. There's no record
of our vic owning a handgun license.
But Adam got a hit from the prints
lifted off the vase from the hotel room
and they match prints from an employee database
of a Zenith Limos.
It's a car service owned by retired police officers.
The prints belong to a Nick Emerson.
Wait a second.
He was visiting Brooke in the hospital.
I'm a friend of Brooke's.
Nick Emerson.
Said he was a friend of hers.
He's also friends with Jesse,
our male vic.
They were business partners.
Jesse would do the dancing.
Nick provided the hype.
Seems that he also goes by the name of Nick "Cool."
(chuckling)
Well, it looks like it's time to talk to Nick,
see how cool he really is.
You never heard of a day gig?
Means I don't have time for this.
You got a lot more time than Jesse Lewis does.
According to some of your
B-boy associates,
you and Jesse were tight.
Yeah, we grew up together.
Started a merchandising line for street dancers--
hats, T-shirts, gloves.
Anyway, Jesse was my best friend.
You should've seen him, he tore up the stage.
(whimpering) Which was all part of the plan.
Jesse would rock the crowd, become a star.
I would amp the hype, kick-start
a marketing campaign using the prize money.
Sorry.
Can you explain your fingerprint
at the crime scene? Yeah. I was there.
Earlier in the evening,
after Jesse won the contest.
We all went back to the hotel to celebrate.
Who's "we all"?
Jesse, Brooke and I.
I mean, the party was on.
(music playing) What?!
Whoo!
Okay! (laughing)
Nice, man.
All right, my man, let's see what you got.
Yeah! Come on, man,
dancing is your thing, business is mine.
Yeah, yeah, come on, here we go.
Let's see it, let's see it. Whoo!
Whoa! (laughing)
I reached out to the table to steady myself.
My fingers must've touched the vase somehow.
How come you failed to mention earlier
that you were in the room the night of the murder?
'Cause it looked like you guys had a suspect in custody.
Seemed like it was all wrapped up.
I didn't see why it was pertinent.
You know what, I still don't.
So how did the party end?
Brooke and Jesse wanted to do
a little celebrating of their own.
So I took the hint, went back to my pad.
What time was that?
You serious, man?
You want an alibi?
Jesse was my best friend.
I'll also need hair and a DNA sample.
If at any point you feel like you need to leave,
you just tell me, okay?
All right, baby, check it out.
I think we deserve to have a little celebration.
Start out with a little champagne.
Thank you. You're welcome, babe.
We're the best.
(glasses clinking)
I remember coming back to the room.
Jesse had just won the dance battle.
We were celebrating.
(laughing)
We won! We won, babe!
Look at it! Whoo! This is crazy.
I love you.
Who was in the room with you?
Me and Jesse.
What about Nick?
He said that the three of you
left the competition together and then came up here.
I don't think so.
(gasping)
Jesse?
Jesse, please...
Oh, my God.
(grunting)
(whimpering)
(breathing heavily)
What did he want?
I don't know.
It was like...
It was like he was gonna help me...
and then he just left.
Brooke, did you see his face?
I don't know.
I can't remember.
Okay. (crying)
Okay, okay, okay.
All right, all right.
Come on, let's get you out of here.
It's okay.
(siren wailing)
Mac, I've gone over the evidence from the hotel room three times,
and Jesse and Brooke-- they're here.
They're on the champagne bottle, the glasses.
They're on the money, but nobody else.
If Nick was partying in that room,
his prints would be there, too.
Yeah. That's the thing.
Unless he didn't eat,
he didn't drink, basically didn't move,
there's no way that he was celebrating in that hotel room
the way he told us he was.
(laughter)
Which is consistent with the little Brooke could remember
during her walk-through.
Yeah, so he's lying to us.
Big time.
Mito DNA from the hair on the ski mask just came back.
Matched the DNA from our vase fingerprint.
Nick was there.
Not to party, but to kill.
(siren wailing)
(horn honking)
(siren wailing)
* Ooh, ooh
* I never knew a love could make me feel this way... *
And this is based on what evidence?
Sometimes
the absence of evidence is the best evidence of all.
We found nothing
in that room indicating you were partying with Brooke and Jesse.
We did
find one of your hairs on the ski mask.
The DNA matched back to your fingerprint.
No way to dance around that.
* I'm asking for a better explanation, please *
* Tell me
* If you don't love me so... *
I loved Jesse, man.
Everyone did.
So, you killed him.
Makes perfect sense.
You have no idea how this went down.
It's not what you think.
Doesn't matter what I think.
The evidence says everything.
That I did it?
Okay.
Okay, I killed him.
Why?
Because...
...Jesse asked me to do it.
* I'm living in the... *
NICK: It's crazy.
I mean, you know...
(laughs, sniffles)
Nobody's gonna believe me.
I wouldn't believe me.
But you got to understand, I'm-I'm telling you the truth.
And it all started with that first robbery.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
We read the police report, Nick.
We already know what happened.
Jesse couldn't I.D. the robber.
But you see, I didn't do that,
because he couldn't I.D. me, remember?
What you don't know is,
Brooke was with Jesse in that alley that night.
She was there.
That's the part he left out.
Why would Jesse lie about her being there?
Brooke was pretty shaken up by it,
so Jesse told her to go home.
Said he was gonna handle everything
with the police.
Why didn't Jesse I.D. the robber?
'Cause he was embarrassed about the way he handled himself.
He thought he should have done something,
tried to rescue her somehow.
My man, up against the wall. You, too. Up against the wall.
Say one word, I'm gonna shoot you both in the back
of the head, you understand me? Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
That's what I'm talking about.
(whimpering)
(whimpers)
(panting)
Eyes straight ahead, Romeo.
Don't even think about
going hero on me. No.
No. No.
(whimpers)
(crying)
Huh?
(muttering)
(Brooke and Santiago grunt)
He was convinced
that Brooke didn't see him the same way anymore.
You know, I told him he was crazy.
I mean, the robber had a gun.
He could have killed 'em both.
But Jesse blamed himself...
...for not being able to protect her.
It was like he couldn't live with it anymore.
So Jesse came up with this plan
to redeem himself in your eyes.
You're telling me he planned the whole thing?
You're wrong.
He would never do anything like that.
He wanted there to be another robbery,
another chance to protect you,
to be your hero.
Hey, pour me some more champagne.
Just tell us what you want. Shut up!
In the corner-- both of you!
Now! Anything you want.
Look, just don't hurt her.
Here, here.
I have money. Take it.
There's more over there.
(grunting)
(gunshot)
It was just supposed to be a warning shot
against the wall to make it seem real.
He used simulated rounds so that nobody would get hurt.
But I saw him get shot.
He told me that the ammunition was safe.
Simulated rounds.
That's what he called them.
And that was Jesse's fatal mistake.
He gave you those rounds
without realizing they could be lethal.
That's when things went from bad to worse.
Jesse?
(crying) Jesse.
Oh, my God.
(panting)
(shouting)
(groaning)
(shouts)
Nick?!
(Brooke gasps)
(grunts)
NICK: When Brooke saw my face,
she could I.D. me.
I just panicked.
I never meant to hurt her or Jesse.
(panting)
That explains why he knelt down
to check on you, see if you were okay.
I just can't believe it was Nick under that mask.
He was our friend.
He came to visit me in the hospital.
He was going to go to the police to confess,
but before he did, he wanted to see you
to try to explain, to apologize
as best he could.
But when he walked into your hospital room...
He realized I didn't remember anything.
He thought the whole thing
would just go away.
(sighs)
Jesse didn't need to do any of this.
I loved him for who he was.
God...
he could make me smile.
(laughing)
Um, Brooke,
I have one last thing to ask of you.
Okay, number one, follow me in here.
All the way to this end line.
That's him.
Number three.
Number three, step forward.
TAYLOR: Everyone else can go.
Put your hands behind your back.
TAYLOR: We got him, Brooke.
It's over.
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