Original subtitles

The reason I came to New York was to teach a class in criminology.

We've had some problems on campus lately, muggings.

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.

Give me everything that you have on these attacks.

I would be willing to wager that I can find this guy.

To make it a competition is completely inappropriate.

I have $30 riding on you in the office pool.

Could you find this guy?

Oh, well, I don't know. Possibly, but...

Then you'll have to try. Please.

Yes, Harold, I got the galleys

and I finished going over them last night.

No, overall, it looks fine.

Just a couple of typos I'll give to Kathryn later.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. At the bottom of page 270,

there are three paragraphs that are really interior monologue,

and they should be italicized.

Well, I'm looking forward very much to seeing the book when it's done.

Well, I'd love to have lunch, Harold, but I can't.

Well, you see, the reason I came to New York

was to teach a class in criminology,

and today happens to be my first day.

Welcome to Manhattan University, Mrs. Fletcher.

I can't tell you how pleased we are to have you in the department.

Well, thank you, Dr. Auerbach.

Well, I think you'll find this class an interesting mix

of students and working professionals.

You see, the NYPD encourages its officers to take

extra college credit towards advancement.

This course is quite popular. Oh, look!

I'd like you to meet some of your fellow instructors.

This is Felice Ochola. I'd like you to meet Jessica Fletcher.

Welcome, it's so nice to have you here.

Thank you. This is Mark Orwoll.

A great pleasure.

And Wallace Evans, Jessica Fletcher.

Mr. Evans. Hi, how are you?

We were just talking about you.

As a matter of fact, Mark here has read every one of your books.

Of course, he's always able to figure out

who the killer is before chapter two,

but I guess that's why they call us professionals, right?

Well, I...

Anyhow, I gotta get back to class.

If you need anything, if I can help you in any way,

I want you to feel free to ask me, all right?

Thank you.

This should be a fascinating experiment.

A pleasure.

"A fascinating experiment."

Yes, well, we've never had a writer teach one of our courses before,

so there's bound to be a little bit of academic snobbery.

But don't worry, they'll come around.

As for Wallace, you see, he used to teach your class.

It's sort of the plum course around here.

But given the subtleties of the course, well,

he's not really suited to it.

It's his attitude, I suppose.

You see, he was on the NYPD for two years

and sometimes he acts as though he never left.

Why just two years?

Well, let's just say he had a tendency

to put the hardware of the law above the law itself.

Also, he'd hoped to be promoted chairman this term,

but it didn't quite work out.

Well, here you are.

Oh, one more thing. We've...

We've had some problems on campus lately, muggings.

Bad business.

So if you should happen to find yourself on campus after dark,

maybe you'd want to call for a student escort, just to be on the safe side.

Oh, listen, I'd better be going.

Again, let me tell you how delighted we are to have you with us

and good luck with the class, Mrs. Fletcher.

Thank you very much.

So, despite what you see in the movies,

the average person has to do a lot of rationalizing

to justify anything as drastic as murder.

You have to convince yourself that there's no other alternative,

that it's somehow cleaner than divorce,

or being revealed as an embezzler, or a thief.

The mind of a killer is one in which

every door but one has been closed.

A man on the razor's edge of murder will sometimes

force himself to believe that his crimes are in the service of a greater good,

or that his fate is somehow predetermined

by forces that are far greater than himself.

"I do repent,

"but heaven hath pleased it so to punish me with this, and this with me,

"that I must be their scourge and minister.

"I will bestow him, and will answer well the death I gave him.

"So again, good night.

"I must be cruel only to be kind."

Hamlet, right after he killed Polonius.

Exactly.

Polonius! It's Miss Aramendi, isn't it?

Roslyn, yes. Yeah.

Isn't that where he begins to see himself

as an appointed instrument of revenge?

And, of course, starts off by killing the wrong man.

The source is literary, but the emotion is real.

Jack the Ripper, for instance,

saw his murders as a means of cleaning up the streets of London.

Now we're in an English class.

Hey, will you give it a rest?

I signed up to hear Mrs. Fletcher, not you, okay?

Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Morelli?

Yeah, well, actually, it's Officer Morelli, NYPD.

And I guess that is the question, isn't it?

I mean, Hamlet and Polonius?

This isn't an English class here, this is a criminology class.

You know, in the criminology department,

usually taught by a criminologist?

But you're a writer. No offense meant.

Oh, none taken.

Come on, man, let it go, huh?

No, no, no, that's all right. It's a fair question.

Go on.

Look, all I'm trying to say here is, you're not a cop

and you're not a professional detective.

I am a cop, so I guess my question is, what can I learn from you?

Well, perhaps as much as I've already learned from you.

That, for instance, you had bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning,

then stopped by the precinct's target range to get in some practice.

You've recently given up smoking.

You were born in the Midwest and you've been married only a few months.

How did you...

I happened to walk into the room after you

and smelled the cordite on your clothes from the firing range.

Then, a few moments ago, I saw you pop a slice of nicotine-based chewing gum,

which cuts down on cigarette withdrawal.

And you keep playing with that wedding ring on your left hand,

as though you weren't used to it being there.

What about all the other stuff?

All in good time.

If you're prepared to come to class with at least the expectation

that I just might have something to offer?

Mrs. Fletcher, you've got yourself a deal.

Mrs. Fletcher, hi, I'm Luke Phillips. I'm in your class and...

Anyway, I just wanted to say how excited I am to be in your class.

I'm a big fan. I've read all your books twice.

Oh, you make me feel like I'm slacking off.

I only had to write them once.

Are you a criminology major?

Oh, no, I'm not really into all that stuff, you know.

That's just mechanics. Who cares?

Oh, then why are you taking the course?

To meet you, of course. That's the main point.

How much is that?

It's $2.

Mr. Phillips, please.

Look, I don't quite know how to say this,

but if your only reason for taking this class was to meet me,

then I think you should consider

some other means of getting your three units.

Why?

Because this is a class in which people are going to be working very hard.

These are professionals.

They care about what they're doing immensely.

We can't just have sightseers.

But I bought all your books. You owe me.

Mr. Phillips, that you've bought and read all my books is very nice,

but that is the sum total of our relationship.

As for the class, well, I genuinely believe that

your presence there could not serve a purpose for the other students or yourself.

I'm sorry.

That's how it goes, isn't it?

You make some money, you become a big shot,

and all of a sudden you forget who got you where you're at.

Well, here's a flash for you, Mrs. Fletcher.

If it wasn't for readers like me,

you'd be back in Cabot Cove, baking brownies!

Here you go, ma'am.

Oh, thank you very much.

May I? Oh, please.

I caught the exchange back there.

I guess that's the price of fame, huh?

That's what they keep telling me.

Mr. Bryce, isn't it? That's right.

By the way, I wanted to congratulate you

on the way you handled Morelli back in class.

Thank you. It's a little something I picked up from Sherlock Holmes.

Well, it sure worked on Morelli.

I mean, the guy really burns my butt.

You don't know what it's like working with him.

Then I take it you're also with the New York Police Force.

Five years now. And loving every minute of it.

It's all I ever wanted. To be a cop.

I mean, a really good cop.

I see.

So, are you a second or third generation police officer?

Let's just say I recognize the sentiment.

Second generation. My dad was a cop.

It meant the whole world to him.

Worked like a demon, days, nights.

Got two commendations.

On Sundays, he used to let me polish his badge.

Got it so bright, you could use it as a mirror.

That's wonderful.

I take it he's retired.

Yes. Some time ago.

But he really wasn't ready for it.

We never are. What about you?

Oh, not much to say.

Right now, I'm trying to pass the sergeant's

test. Failed it three times so far.

You know, I study till my eyeballs melt.

I just don't take tests well. I freeze up.

Hmm.

You know, back in Cabot Cove, I had several young students who had the same problem.

They were young and gifted, but when it came to tests...

Look, I'm a pretty good coach.

If you like, I'd be willing to work with you.

See if we can get you past that sergeant's test.

You would?

That's... I mean, that's great!

Jeez, you don't know what this means.

I mean, how do I repay you? I don't know...

The only payment I want is to see you with that sergeant's badge.

Properly polished, of course.

Of course.

What happened? Another mugging.

That's the third one this month.

But in the daytime?

Yeah, he's getting pretty brazen.

Oh, my Lord!

Roslyn!

I really appreciate you stopping by, Mrs. Fletcher.

So tell me, how are you feeling, really?

Better.

But scared.

I mean, it all happened so fast.

I was just walking along, and someone grabbed my pack

and I didn't let go, and then he started hitting me.

That's all I remember.

And I tried to get a look at him.

I did, but I couldn't.

And now I'm afraid to go back to school.

I mean, knowing he's still out there, I can't do it.

Yes, you can. You just need a little time.

You know, there are counselors at school who can help you to get past this.

And if there's anything that I can do...

There is. I mean, could you find this guy?

Well, I don't know. Possibly, but...

Then you'll have to try. Please.

Roslyn,

I want you to understand that the police are already handling this.

And with me being new at the university,

they might not appreciate me being involved at this point.

It might make things difficult for them.

You do understand that, don't you?

Well, I should let you get some rest.

Don't worry about the class. You just concentrate on getting well.

You know something? The class will still be there when you get back.

I just don't think I can come back.

Not as long as he's still out there.

A good detective

investigates both, the clues you can see,

and the clues that you can't see.

I mean, clues of attitude and approach.

Does the crime scene suggest cool efficiency, or rage finally expressed?

If the former, the job may have been done by a professional,

uninvolved with the victim,

while the latter implies the possibility of a grudge.

Meaning that either the victim knew his assailant,

or the assailant knew him.

Which provides the first connection.

The crime scene thus becomes more than just

an inventory of fibers and hair and samples of ballistics.

It tells a story of passion, or jealousy, or anger.

Something, Mr. Evans?

Oh, no, no. I'm just listening,

I mean, I figured since I taught this class last term,

that I'd hang around and see if you needed any of my help.

Oh. Thank you.

I think we've got a handle on it.

You know, Mrs. Fletcher, it's just sometimes

it helps to have another perspective on these things.

I mean, I've found through real experience as a cop,

that it tends to provide you with a better understanding towards the criminal mind.

You see, you take what's happening here right now, on the campus.

The muggings. The escalation in violence into a daytime mugging.

And this guy's just running around scot free.

Now, to me, that is a fine example of a criminal mind in action.

Is there, by any chance, a point buried in here somewhere?

Well, apart from

the unfortunate aspects,

what we have here is a wonderful workshop opportunity.

I mean, a challenge right here in our own backyard.

Now, Mrs. Fletcher,

I must confess that I, too, have read all your books,

and I find them very interesting.

But only up to a point.

You see, to me, each case, you seem to limit yourself.

You start off with a murder in a house with five people,

then soon after, two people are killed,

and it doesn't take that much to figure out who did it, does it?

Well, I don't think that that is...

You know, it's the same with small town Cabot Cove.

I mean, what, population, three suspects, two dogs and a duck.

I mean, you barely have to break a sweat to solve a murder there.

But here, right here is the challenge.

I mean, a campus of 30,000 students,

hundreds of staff and faculty, in a city of eight million.

And somewhere,

somewhere out there is the mugger.

Now, based on my prior experience,

I would be willing to wager that I can find this guy.

What about you, Mrs. Fletcher?

Mr. Evans, the very idea of a competition...

No, no, no, no, not competition.

Academic exercise.

And what you gotta think about is how this is gonna benefit your class.

I think that my students will most benefit

by our continuing our discussion in the hall.

Please excuse us for a moment.

Mr. Evans,

you and I didn't get off to a very good start, and that is regrettable.

But any problems that we have

must end at the classroom door.

So what you're saying is that you're not up for the exercise, right?

How curious.

You know, for a moment I could have sworn

that we were speaking the same language.

Perhaps I should be plainer.

People are being hurt on this campus, Mr. Evans.

Now, perhaps you view that as the foundation for a game, I don't.

Now, if you want to pursue this investigation on your own, fine.

For what it's worth, I hope you succeed.

But to make it a competition is completely inappropriate.

Well, I'm sorry, I thought you would appreciate

the opportunity to prove yourself.

Well, I've found that those who feel they have something to prove

never succeed in doing so.

My sleep is untroubled, Mr. Evans.

I wish you the same.

Kevin!

I've been looking all over for you. Look, I need favor from you.

I need whatever you've got in the files on the muggings,

so I can start building a profile on the suspect.

You gotta be kidding. After the way you treated Mrs. Fletcher?

No, no, listen to me, listen to me.

No, no, you listen to me, listen to me.

Now, if you really cared about the kids that got attacked, that's one thing.

But if all you want to do is show up Mrs. Fletcher, you can forget it.

That's not a very good idea, Mr. Bryce.

Now, you still

have to get through Forensic 201, right?

Now, that's my class, Kevin.

Well, then I'll take it at night.

Or I'll get the credit somewhere else.

I'll take a correspondence class if I have to.

But the answer's still no.

I thought you might want to see this, Mrs. Fletcher.

It's an advance copy of tomorrow's student newspaper.

You planted this! How could you?

Publicity.

And a little harmless fun.

But it isn't harmless, and I don't care about publicity.

Well, you should.

I mean, after all, that's the reason why you're here, isn't it?

What do you mean?

Well, last term, enrollment in the Criminology Department,

it was down about 15%.

Now, fewer bodies means fewer dollars,

fewer resources, less priorities.

And that is when our fearless chairman

came up with the bright idea of how to generate publicity.

How to draw in a lot of crossover students from the English Department.

Now, that would mean you, Mrs. Fletcher.

I mean, after all, you're a one-woman road show.

You're the biggest thing to hit here since the Ringling Brothers.

Don't you get it?

You were hired strictly for marquee value.

I don't believe you.

You don't?

Well, he broached the idea at a staff meeting months ago.

I mean, everybody in the department knows about this.

Look, he's probably still in his office right now.

Why don't you go over there and ask him yourself?

I don't believe it. How could you do this to me?

Mrs. Fletcher, Jessica, you have to look at it from my perspective.

We had to find some way to draw more students into the department.

What choice did I have?

Well, you could have told me the truth. That would have been nice.

If I had, would you have taken the job?

Absolutely not. Well, there you are.

Dr. Auerbach, when I took this post,

I believed that I was being hired because of my ability,

not because of my name.

But as that is not the case,

I don't know what possible gain there could be in me staying on.

Now, out of an obligation to my students, I will stay in the class

until a suitable replacement can be found. But after that...

Jessica, please. Can't we just discuss this?

I believe we just did.

Mrs. Fletcher, what are you doing here?

Well, I was working late. What happened?

Oh, another attack.

Just one difference, it went too far this time.

Looks like he was killed by a single gunshot.

I recognized the victim from the basketball team. I guess he put up a fight.

Kevin, can you give me everything that you have on these attacks?

Coroner's reports, forensics, eyewitnesses.

The young woman asked me for a favor this morning, and I said no.

I let her down. It was a mistake.

I'm going to do everything I can to correct it.

Does that mean you're in?

I'm in.

So, after arriving at a murder scene,

what seven items must be assembled

for the initial investigation packet?

Witness statements and IDs,

First Officer's Report,

the primary detective's report,

the medical examiner's report,

fingerprints and body custody forms,

and... Evidence submission slips.

You've got to be able to track

who got what and when and in what condition.

I knew it last night.

Don't worry, you're doing fine.

And you've still got two weeks before the sergeant's test.

More than enough time to get this down to a fine art.

Does that mean we can take a break now?

Sure. Good.

Any news about the murder?

Going from the theoretical to the practical, huh?

Well, something like that.

Well, we still don't have much to go on.

Not even a single witness.

Well, what about the crime scene?

We found a knife which matches the description

of the knife used in previous attacks.

We're still waiting for Forensics to finish, but

there's a preliminary lab report which shows there were

two types of blood found at the scene.

Two blood types, but only one victim?

And only one bullet.

Well, the detectives heading up the case figure it went down like this.

The mugger jumps the victim, they struggle.

Remember, the victim was on the basketball team,

so he's a strong guy.

He was able to get the knife away and turn it on the attacker,

who then shot him.

So he was carrying a gun and a knife?

Mrs. Fletcher, we've picked up perps and gang members

carrying enough hardware to take over a small Latin-American country.

Guns, pipes, chains, knives, you name it.

Well, what about local hospitals?

If he was injured badly enough,

he might have had medical attention.

Yeah, we're already looking into that.

We've got guys checking every clinic in the area

for anyone who might have come in with a knife wound.

So far, nothing concrete.

There's one weird thing, though.

Another student was hospitalized across town with a gunshot wound.

Looks like a drive-by shooting.

Could the shootings be connected?

I don't know, but it's a mess.

Look, if you're tired, we can finish the tutoring later, you know.

No, no, I'm fine. Let's keep going.

All right.

Now, let's just see where we left off.

Bryce. Yeah, Captain?

How long have you been providing privileged information

to Jessica Fletcher about these campus attacks?

How'd you know about that?

How doesn't matter, and you still haven't answered my question.

Just since last night, Captain.

Yeah, well, I want you to stop, effective immediately.

That woman attracts publicity like a lightning rod,

and that's just what we don't need right now.

The campus is tense enough without creating a media circus.

Now, I've got five good detectives on the case.

We don't need civilians getting in the way.

Well, not even if she can help us out?

That's not the point. Then what's the point?

The point is, either you're part of this team, or you're not.

And if you're not, well, it's your career.

You want to screw it up like your old man, it's your business.

Just a minute, Captain! I mean, is that what you want?

You want to end up like your old man?

Because that's where you're headed if you keep this up.

Now, nobody here's gonna back you up if you're out there playing games.

Bryce, you're a good cop.

You got a bright future ahead of you.

I just don't want to see you throw it away on some troublemaker, okay?

All right, Captain.

All right, that's all, then.

"I am the Sword of Justice.

"Death sings to me.

"Alpha and Omega."

Hi.

Oh.

I don't suppose you'd mind telling me what you're doing here,

or why you've been following me around?

Hey, I got a right

to use this library just the same as anybody else.

Yes, that may be, but...

No, no, no, no! There's no buts here, okay?

I can't believe I used to admire you.

Perspectives on the criminal mind.

Right.

Mrs. Fletcher,

you don't know the half of it.

The situation's getting out of control.

We're gonna have a panic on our hands unless we stop this guy.

Exactly.

You see, that's what he wants. He wants the fear, Captain.

It reinforces his senses of power.

I mean, all this stuff, the graffiti, the notes.

And now some of the students

are getting threatening phone calls from this guy.

All since last night.

I mean, he's got half the campus scared spitless.

I thought this was supposed to be your basic mugger.

Well, obviously, he's escalated.

You see, Captain,

the way I look at it, this murder

could have been a primal triggering device,

a sort of rite of passage,

that's awakened an even more dangerous personality. Do you understand?

Look, cutting out the psychobabble, what're we looking at here?

All right, well,

I've narrowed down the field to two kinds of suspects.

Number one, it could be somebody with a grudge against the university.

A former employee, ex-student. Number two, an outsider.

A truly psychopathic individual.

Now, my guess would have to be the latter,

with all this "Sword of Justice."

You see, this is a classic delusion of grandeur, Captain.

Terrific. No, no, no, listen, listen.

This guy could be a drifter just passing through.

Now, if we don't see another murder in, say, the next 72 hours,

then we can assume that he's gone elsewhere.

Yeah? Well, let's just hope you're right.

Excuse me. Can I talk to you a minute?

Sure.

I couldn't help overhearing.

Don't you think it's kind of premature

to be making these kinds of judgments on such little evidence?

No, I don't think so.

Besides, I think there's more than enough

to put together a detailed profile of this killer right now.

The criminal mind in action, Mr. Bryce. What, you don't remember?

Or, what, you got a better idea?

Well, no, I don't. Not yet, anyway.

I didn't think so.

See, what you don't understand

is I'm closing in on this guy. I can feel it.

How can you be so sure?

I got this in the mail, from the killer.

"I am the Alpha. I am the Omega, the Sword of Justice.

"Death sings to me. I am its song.

"Last night was the first stanza in the Armageddon cadenza.

"Catch me if you can."

Now, obviously he considers me a real threat, huh?

Mrs. Fletcher.

Oh, Kevin, good.

I wanted to show you something I received in the mail.

No, Mrs. Fletcher, please.

Mrs. Fletcher, I've been trying to figure out all morning

how to tell you this,

but I can't help you anymore with the investigation.

Captain says I...

Well, I just can't, that's all.

Oh, I see.

I'm really sorry, Mrs. Fletcher.

Look, it's all right.

You've been very helpful, and if that's the extent of it,

well, it's more than I would have gotten otherwise.

I understand.

I wish I did.

I know that you're getting ready to close,

but I wonder if you could help me.

I'm looking for a copy of

The Psychopathic Psyche: A Qualitative Analysis by Lawrence.

All right, let me check the computer.

Oh, I'm afraid it's been checked out.

Well, that's rather what I suspected.

We do have some other texts in the area, if you're interested.

Oh, no, no, thank you.

You see, it was one of several texts

that I had examined for possible use in my class.

And this morning I came across something unusual and familiar,

and it has to do with that book.

I don't suppose you could tell me who checked it out.

I'm sorry, but that's against our policy. If you like,

I can let you know when the book comes back in, Ms...

Fletcher. Jessica Fletcher.

Oh, of course! I should have recognized you from your photo.

We have the devil's own time trying to keep your books on our shelves.

Well, that's nice.

I heard about the competition you're in with Professor Evans.

Good for you. I never did like that man.

I have $30 riding on you in the office pool.

Like I said,

it is against our policy to tell you who checked the book out.

But it is on the screen,

and if I just happened to walk away from my desk,

and you just happened to glance at the screen, well...

It's hardly my fault, now, is it?

Are you okay?

Oh, yeah. What's that?

Well, it's Greek.

It's the characters for the Alpha and the Omega.

And whoever shot at me put it there.

Yes? Hello.

I was looking for Kevin Bryce.

I was told that I might find him here.

Well, he should be home from his shift any time now.

You can wait for him inside, if you like, Ms...

Thank you. Mrs. Fletcher. Jessica Fletcher.

Oh, you're his instructor from the university. Yes.

Well, have a seat. Thank you.

Is there a problem?

Well, I suppose that's what I'm here to find out.

He's a fine young man, your son.

But the last time I saw him he seemed so... So troubled.

Almost as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Oh, that's Kevin.

When he was just a kid, we used to call him "Grandpa."

He was always so serious.

You must be very proud of him.

If Kevin doesn't make it back before you have to leave,

is there a message I can give him?

Oh, just say that I came by to see how he was doing

and to tell him that my offer of tutoring still stands.

And that sergeant's test

is still coming up in less than a week.

I don't think that's a good idea.

I appreciate your concern,

but I really don't think that being a cop

is the best thing for him.

Oh, but he has been working so hard.

I know. Every day, every night, he's either working,

or studying, or reading, or taking classes.

Hardly ever goes out anymore.

Yes, he's very dedicated.

That's one word for it.

Mrs. Fletcher,

I lost my husband to a badge.

I won't lose my son, too.

I'm sorry.

I was led to believe that Kevin's father retired, not that he had been...

What you believe is not the point.

Look, I am sorry, Mrs. Fletcher,

but could you just please go?

Yes, of course.

This is Kevin's father, isn't it?

You know, he's told me so much about him.

Kevin really loved his father, didn't he?

Yes, he did.

That's the problem.

I'm not sure I understand.

Dan was a good man, Mrs. Fletcher.

And a good cop.

He worked for years to get that badge, but he just...

He found out some of the other officers were on the take.

Seemed like everybody was doing it, except Dan.

He never took a dime, but he never reported it, either.

They told him, you gotta go along to get along.

That tore him up inside, but he stayed silent.

And then the hammer fell.

The other officers got found out,

and Dan got indicted right alongside.

Oh, we figured it'd make a difference

that he never took any of the money.

But the Mayor was on a justice kick, said they all had to go.

That it would send a message.

Yeah.

It did that, all right.

I'm so sorry.

It was like they took a crowbar and shattered his heart into 1,000 pieces.

He never could find them all again, or

put them back together.

It was like he died inside.

Only took five years for his body to catch up.

But he was a good man, Mrs. Fletcher.

I knew it, and Kevin knows it.

And I worry sometimes that he's trying

to make up for his father's mistakes.

Maybe trying too hard.

You know, I think...

I think that you should go, Mrs. Fletcher.

I know why you're here and I can appreciate it,

but damn it, this is my problem and I can handle it on my own.

I just wish everyone would leave me alone!

You're quite right, and I'm sorry for intruding.

Thank you for your time, Mrs. Bryce.

Mrs. Fletcher,

you'd do yourself a favor if you dropped this investigation of yours.

It's just going to get you into trouble.

I'm afraid I can't do that, Kevin.

You see, last night, someone took a shot at me.

Three shots, actually.

I tend to take that very personally.

Captain, I gotta talk to you.

I just wanted you to know that I've changed my mind.

Don't do it, Bryce.

Your father... Messed up!

That's right.

Because he didn't do what he thought was right.

And if I don't do what I think is right,

I'll be making the same mistake he made!

And I can't let that happen, Captain. I just can't.

You're all alone in this, Bryce.

You could end up cutting your own throat.

I know.

One more thing.

Departmental rules say you don't take anything outta here.

No reports, no paperwork, no nothing.

No originals, no copies, nothing leaves this station. Are we clear on that?

But, Captain! Are we clear?

Yes, Captain.

It's really not as bad as you think, Kevin.

No?

Mrs. Fletcher, we've been over this stuff 10 times

and we still keep coming up empty.

These things take time.

I mean, detective work, like God, is in the details.

Kevin, I didn't really want to ask you this,

but I know what the captain told you

about not taking paperwork out of the station.

But here are all these files, forensics, autopsy reports.

I don't want you getting into trouble on my account.

All I did was call the county coroner's office

and tell them we needed extra file copies.

So they sent them over,

and I picked them up at the door before they got inside.

So I couldn't have taken them from the station,

because they never got inside the station.

Like you said, it's all in the details.

So, you want to switch reports?

Oh, I couldn't be happier.

I just wish I could shake this feeling that we're missing something.

We're missing it because it isn't here.

Say what? Sometimes in a report like this,

what isn't there is almost as important as what is there.

Now, there were two types of blood found at the scene, right?

Well, yeah, but we already knew that.

We found one expended cartridge and one knife.

One guy got shot, and one guy got cut.

Except... Wait a minute.

Look at this.

What am I supposed to be looking for?

Something that's not there.

Now, take a closer look. You see?

The knife had a serrated blade, lots of ridges,

but there was no skin tissue

found on the blade, only blood.

That is weird.

How do you cut someone, and get blood and no tissue?

And here, there were no prints found on the knife handle?

Well, right. The mugger was wearing gloves.

Yeah, but the victim wasn't.

So if he'd used it, it would have had his prints, right?

You're right, it doesn't make sense.

But it does.

But you said it...

That it doesn't make sense, yes.

Which makes it make perfect sense.

But there's one more thing that we have to do first.

Are you coming?

The admissions desk at the hospital told me that we'd find you here.

They said that you'd checked out this morning.

I take it your arm is better.

It was a gunshot wound, I understand?

Now, you're a student here, right? Yeah.

Yeah, I believe I saw you working in the cafeteria.

That's right, I'm a busboy.

It costs lots of money to go to college these days.

They cut off all the grants.

So, yeah, I'm a busboy. You got a problem with that?

Oh, absolutely not.

But I do have a problem with some of your other means of making money.

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

On the night of the murder, you said that you were walking

on 14th Street, clear across town,

and that a car drove by and took a shot at you.

Yeah, that's right. But the police

failed to recover a cartridge.

And while they found blood in your car,

there was no blood at the place where you were supposedly shot.

Hey, look, I don't have to talk to you, right?

So why don't you just leave me alone, okay?

I could go.

However, I think you might find yourself

on the receiving end of a murder charge.

I don't know what you're talking about, all right?

I checked with the doctors and your blood type

matches that found at the murder scene.

All right, look, I was there, all right?

But I didn't kill anybody, all right? You gotta believe me.

Strange as it may seem, the fact is, I do believe you.

However, a jury may not.

Which means that you have to help me if I'm going to help you.

Well, well, well.

What do we got going on here?

Let me guess.

You couldn't solve the murders on your own,

so now you're going through my stuff to find out what I came up with, right?

I'm very disappointed in you, Jessica.

Actually, I just came here to borrow a book. This one.

The Psychopathic Psyche: A Qualitative Analysis.

I tried to find a copy at the library,

but it had already been checked out. By you.

It's basically a laundry list of aberrant criminal behavior.

Well, yeah, it lets you look at a series of typical clues

to determine what kind of personality's behind it.

Or you could use it the other way,

to create a series of clues that would seem to lead to a criminal personality.

Just like the things we've been seeing here lately.

The notes, the Alpha and the Omega signature.

They all came straight out of this book.

Well, that's a very interesting theory,

but who would want to go to all that trouble?

Exactly what I was wondering.

Then it all made sense, when I saw the forensics report.

The types of blood, one bullet and one knife,

without skin tissue or fingerprints.

Let me tell you what I think happened.

You were determined to catch the murderer.

You assembled the clues, talked to students,

stayed late, prowled the campus,

and you stumbled upon an assault in progress.

Since you have a permit to carry a gun, you were armed.

You saw your chance to make an arrest. You got reckless.

You fired when you shouldn't have.

The bullet hit the suspect and went right through, without hitting the bone.

It happens all the time. Except, when it passed through the mugger,

it hit the young man standing behind him,

killing him instantly.

The mugger escaped in the confusion,

and you were left with one dead body

and two different blood types on the ground.

So you kicked the knife into one of the pools of blood,

making it look like there had been a struggle

in which the suspect was cut.

Except, there was no tissue on it.

Impossible, if it had been used in the attack.

Then you created an imaginary killer

and flooded the campus with strange clues.

Even tried to scare me off the case,

with three gunshots that were clearly intended to miss.

You were hoping to drown the police in so many clues

that the important one,

the blood, would be overlooked.

Forget it, lady! What you got here is purely circumstantial,

and without an eyewitness, you got nothing.

You're quite right.

But, you see, we have a witness.

Half an hour ago, he picked your picture

out of a photographic lineup.

You're bluffing.

Kevin!

You want to tell me what you see?

The same thing I said at the station.

That's the guy that shot me.

This is ridiculous. Is it?

You said yourself, Wallace, a campus of 30,000 students in a city of 8 million.

But whether it's Cabot Cove, with our three suspects,

two dogs and a duck, or here,

you start with the best available facts.

Now, once we knew what to look for, a man with a bullet wound,

not a knife wound,

inflicted on the night in question,

we were able to find him.

And once we had him, we had you.

You should have seen his face. We had him, and he knew it.

And Captain Lupinski's reaction, that was the best part.

I've never had anyone congratulate me through gritted teeth before.

Don't brag with your mouth full.

Your mother's right.

Oh, and you're saying you didn't get a kick out of it

when the department chairman apologized?

Well, I wouldn't say that.

So how about it? After all this,

you think you'll reconsider and come back next semester?

Well, let's just say that I'm going to give it great consideration.

But best of all,

I heard this morning that Roslyn is coming back to class,

starting on Tuesday.

Hey, that's great.

Dessert!

What, study, now?

Well, don't talk to me. It was her idea.

Now, you two slug it out.

I'll be in the kitchen where it's safe.

Mrs. Fletcher, come on, this is a party.

Was. Come on, move over.

Your sergeant's test is only three days away,

and we've got a great deal of ground to cover.

You're a hard woman, Mrs. Fletcher.

You know something, Mr. Bryce? You're right.

Good.

I was afraid for a moment there that I was starting to slip.

Now, to work.