Original subtitles

In Toronto's war on crime,

the worst offenders are pursued by the detectives

of the specialized criminal investigations unit.

These are their stories.

Hey, I got your number from a friend. Can we meet?

Never would've made you for a junkie.

You don't know me.

Wow.

We're a far cry from the little storefront you had on Dundas,

where we did my first show, if I remember correctly,

and you sold all my pieces.

Mm-hmm. Did you come all this way to talk about the past, Rick?

No. I've actually...

I've been working on a new series of prints.

Don't have anything to show you yet--

Wait, are you suggesting that I represent you again?

Thought we could talk about it, at least.

What? What, it's not a good time?

Oh, of course not. I'm just days out from opening this gallery on Friday.

I haven't even mounted Eve's show yet, which is going to be amazing, by the way.

But no, no, I'm not busy at all. - You know what you need?

You need a macchiato from next door.

Just take a little break. I'm buying, for once.

We'll have a little chat, I'll have you back here in 15 minutes, I promise.

Huh, Lee? The plumber is on the phone.

Oh, should he call back?

Absolutely not, I've been calling him all week.

Look... - To be continued.

Fine. Come to my lecture tonight.

See you later. - Wouldn't it be great to start fresh?

You have so much baggage with her.

What did I do to piss her off?

Stop it, you don't need Lee to put you on the map,

and you don't need to prove anything.

I think her problem was that you didn't produce enough fast enough.

I know how stressful that can be.

Oh yeah, do you, Ms. Paletto Award Winning Artist?

Did Lee really say I was too slow?

Tell me, Eve. This is my life. - Right, your life. Your career.

And what is that supposed to mean?

If you want a gallerist, do some new work, Rick. Good work.

Don't just talk about it. 'Cause there's no free rides, and this art career you want?

It's not all it's cracked up to be. - Neither was our marriage.

Which is why we're separated.

So essentially, if you're gonna make great art,

you need to pour your unique, authentic self into it.

And only by doing that will your work stand the test of time.

Thank you.

Over-served?

Understatement. He started early.

- Hi. - That was great.

This is Jasper Claes, one of our grad students.

Fantastic painter.

Well, I did learn from the best.

Yes, pile on the compliments.

We don't want her to quit teaching. - I do.

What? She's my best artist. I do.

Hey, buddy. Let me give you a hot tip.

If you want to be represented by the great Lee Sloane over here,

you gotta be more like Eve--

Okay, let's take a walk, alright?

Oh, let's take a walk, let's take a walk...

Oh, I'm in trouble now... How do you sell that drivel?

It's okay, it's okay. Oh, hey...

Hey, hey, hey.

Come back downstairs. Don't babysit.

Not here, okay?

That guy's such an asshole.

That's why I'm divorcing him.

Are you?

I saw you guys earlier.

Please. I just need to get through this week,

then everything will change.

Alright.

Jasper.

I love you. It'll be fine.

I'll be back. I gotta get more wine.

Janitor found Eve Kinwood at 6 a.m.,

stabbed multiple times in the back.

Also at the base of her skull.

You talked to the staff?

Most of them were at a party last night. No one saw anything.

No cameras?

No. No keyless logs either.

Nothing to monitor who comes and goes in this part of the building.

Oh. A trusting, close-knit community.

Or a jealous and divided one.

It's a Paletto Award. Highest art award in the country.

Graff, Bateman.

I was getting more wine... for the party.

I heard yelling. - An argument?

I think so. It was muffled.

But then something hit the floor. Hard.

What time was this?

Around 5:30.

I thought it was nothing. I didn't even go check.

Who would do this?

Everyone loved Eve.

Thank you.

So what do we have?

An argument, multiple stab wounds.

It could indicate a crime of passion.

Great. So our suspects are only...

everyone who ever loved or hated Eve. Easy.

It could be the person who touched this.

Had blood on their hand

and transferred it when they stood up.

Tech found this in a garbage can down the hall.

Dried blood.

Somebody tried to wipe this clean.

Let me see her!

So when was the last time you saw Eve?

The last time I saw her was at Lee's lecture. Yesterday.

- Who else was there? - Students, you know.

Some faculty.

I left early, I was unwell.

A whole bottle of scotch would certainly make one feel... unwell.

I had a couple of drinks, okay? I was tired, I came up here,

I slept for a little bit and then I went home.

- What time was this? - About 7.

And when Eve didn't come home...

We were separated.

We had been for a little over a year,

so she kept the house and I moved out.

It must've been hard working so close to your ex.

There was always issues, but you know, she was my friend.

And we talked all the time about

life, and school, and my art.

- Not hers? - She was actually pretty modest about the whole...

success thing. She'd always been quiet.

A little distant.

I don't see much distance here.

You two were stuck together.

Oh God.

We... um...

had problems,

but I always thought there was a chance for us, you know.

- Is this your art? - Yeah.

That's screen print.

It--it's good.

Do they still do it with the squeegee thing and the ink

and... messy business.

Yeah, I teach that.

I also teach linocut and intaglio.

His fingernails are way too clean for someone who plays in ink all day.

He scrubbed that right hand raw.

A man with a clean hand is not a killer, Bateman.

Oh, come on. Sleeping in his office is not an alibi.

I bet he wiped that bloody mitt all over that arm rest

and called it a night. - Leave that to forensics.

All I know is Rick's got an inferiority complex

about Eve's art career that he's drowning in booze.

Yeah, I saw how he drank in your compliment,

but is being less talented than you ex a motive to kill her?

Seems like a divorce gone wrong to me.

We need to find everyone who was at that party.

See what happened between him and Eve.

Rick was hammered.

I was working refreshments.

He must've drank like a bottle of wine before the lecture even started.

Seems to me that Eve wouldn't stand for that at a talk she organized.

No. She hauled him right out of there.

- What time was this? - Around 5 p.m.

God, I can't believe this is happening.

Eve was my first real mentor.

How long did you stay at the party, Melinda?

Until Suyin and I taught Sculpture 120 at 6 p.m.

I'm her studio assistant.

Wait.

What are you asking me?

We just want to know if you saw anything.

Honestly, nothing. You should talk to Jasper.

When Eve took Rick upstairs, he went with them.

Rick was a mess.

I threw him in his office.

He was passed out before he even hit the couch.

The man's a drunk. It's not the first time he's passed out at school.

So a couple of glasses of scotch, maybe a bottle of wine,

and he's what, comatose?

Is that surprising?

It's featherweight for an alcoholic.

Okay, so maybe he had more.

All I know is he was embarrassing the hell out of Eve. I had to...

help her get him out of there.

She couldn't handle her own husband?

Ex-husband.

And no. No, he was making a huge scene.

It's a sticky thing to get in the middle of.

Yeah, well he started it.

He was harassing us about how Lee would only ever represent people like Eve.

He's so jealous of her.

I swear, if Rick did this, I'll...

Kill him for killing your girlfriend?

Who told you about us?

You did. Just now.

You know that Rick thought

that there still might be a chance for them.

Did he tell you that? Did Eve?

- No. - You sure?

Because if Rick was asleep like you said he was,

and you're left alone with Eve...

I would never hurt her. Ever.

I was trying to convince her to come back down to the party,

and she wouldn't. So I left.

Where did you go?

So Jasper has no alibi.

Well, we're checking cameras in the area to verify his stress stroll.

We do have alibis on the students and on the lecture guests,

including Lee Sloane who drove out of a paid lot at 5:15,

before Suyin heard the argument at 5:30.

So, it's between the boyfriend and the husband.

What do we have on Sleeping Beauty?

Well, Rick is an alcoholic. Lots of insecurities.

No domestic charges.

But he was being helped upstairs by his wife's younger boyfriend.

Well, that could turn into a crime of passion real fast.

And what about Jasper? - No record.

Not even a parking ticket. - Then my money is on Rick.

We're betting now? Last chance to place wagers

before I blow your minds with these epic traffic stills.

No takers?

No, they still owe me from last week.

Well, there we have the fair Jasper walking past a security camera at 5:20 p.m.,

so lover boy is cleared. And look at this,

Rick's car leaving the area at 1 a.m., way past 7.

What did I tell you?

My money's on the husband.

Then let's find him.

Now, if you came to Sloane gallery, I think I could do a...

Oh, excuse me for a minute.

Rick!

I've been calling you. Are you okay?

Hey.

Are you okay?

Everything is just... such a blur, you know.

I just don't feel right.

It's not...

It's not just the hangover, it's just...

I can't remember anything.

Anything at all?

Hmm... When was the last time you saw me?

Uh, you... went upstairs, with Eve.

You honestly don't remember anything?

No. I saw her in the office, and...

she was on the floor.

But it was dark and... I mean...

I saw her in the office this morning with the police.

I don't know.

I just can't keep my head clear, you know.

What don't you...

go upstairs to my office,

and I'll be right there. Okay?

Hello? Yes, I...

I need the police.

No, right away.

So, first you said you were sleeping,

and now you think you were drugged? Which is it?

On behalf of Mr. Kinwood,

I would like to thank you for facilitating his drug test.

But you should also know that he's here against my advice.

I told you. I don't remember anything.

Let me jug your memory. You said you left school at 7 p.m.,

yet... there is your car,

leaving the area at 1 a.m.

My client has already said he has no memory of these events.

Well, that's a good thing you left a trail, then.

We got his DNA off a cup in his office,

it matches the DNA we found on Eve's couch.

Rick's epithelial cells and...

Eve's blood.

I've been in that office, what, a thousand times?

- Did you ever kill anyone in it? - Detective!

Your client was ten feet away at the time of the murder.

He told Lee Sloane he saw the body last night.

I think I would like to go, now.

We get it, Rick.

You know, you had too much to drink last night...

Thank you. You can't recall.

It happens to the best of us.

Okay, I'm not perfect. But neither was Eve.

But Eve didn't let anyone see that.

No one...

got to know the real Eve.

You know, she would just drop people,

for no reason. She did that to me.

She did it to her friends, she did it to her assistant Melinda.

You know, sometimes I wish that her work could talk.

Because I think that's the only place she put her real self.

And then yesterday, when we were walking, she said,

"A career in art is not all it's cracked up to be," so...

I don't know.

Don't ask me questions about who she is or what she wanted because...

I don't know who she was.

Can I have the report, please?

Seems my client had an enormous amount

of the sedative Zolpidem in his system.

No wonder he can't remember.

So, thank you for the hard seat

and the stagnant air, but we're leaving now. Come on.

How do you know he didn't dose himself?

Prove it.

What do we have on Rick?

Lab report doesn't lie. Rick had a lot of Zolpidem in his system,

and Jasper, who also has no reason to lie,

said he saw Rick out cold at 5 p.m.

And Zolpidem lasts what, eight hours?

That's 1 a.m. And what's Rick doing at 1 a.m.?

He's driving around in his car. Hopefully awake.

Maybe he's running scared because he just killed Eve.

Or somebody set him up.

Now, forensics just came back on the knife.

It's not just a knife. It's a tool used for intaglio printing.

Didn't Rick say he teaches that?

Yes, but something other than blood was found on the handle.

- Yeah... - So, it could be an art project?

Maybe, but it's also the moisture-wicking agent used in powdered latex gloves,

which we don't use at crime scenes, and neither do the techs.

And you think our killer wore powdered latex gloves?

Still could've been Rick. - It could've been anyone.

Everything we have on Rick is circumstantial.

It's true.

But I'm not saying Rick didn't do it. Let's keep him on the boil,

but he is an easy target. - Exactly.

Exactly. Everyone knows his flaws.

If somebody wanted to frame him, then nobody would bat an eye.

But we haven't looked at everything yet.

Including the most important thing. Eve.

We know the beloved professor.

Everyone did.

But Eve the painter seems to be a mystery.

That Eve was closed off, worked alone.

I think if we find the real Eve,

then we may well find the real killer.

Who is the real Eve?

This is Eve. In living colour.

Interesting brush stokes. Very gestural.

Impulsive, yet somehow... also restrained.

Apt description.

What you're seeing here is a woman in transition.

Breaking out.

Of course, she made these around the time she separated from Rick.

And these won her the Paletto award three months ago?

No. Those came later.

But number 15 is one of the award winners.

Whoa. Her style is evolving.

It's gaining momentum. Energy.

That burgundy is almost... primal.

Hmm, you got a great eye, Detective.

Yeah, these pieces are from a time

I like to call the Eve-olution.

Her rebirth. Her expansion.

She found a new gear.

I just can't believe that she's gone.

You worked together a long time.

- Fifteen years, yeah. - Wow.

I met her when I closed my first gallery.

I'd moved to a smaller space,

and she had just finished her master's.

A talent, but she wasn't here yet. So, we grew together.

No kidding. This place is beautiful.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah, I really needed to expand.

I've got a lot of new clients recently, so...

Everyone wants you to get them to Paletto-level success.

Oh, well, that's not up to me, it's up to them.

Which is why you only represent people like Eve.

We heard that Rick thought you may have a bias.

To people who are talented and hardworking? Yes, of course.

Don't get me started on Rick.

I used to represent him, and his...

work was in decline.

And to be honest, I don't know if he was really that good in the first place.

But I can't help but think that if I had just taken him back, that maybe Eve would still...

Anyways. I...

have to put that out of my mind

and get back to working on Eve's exhibition.

The opening is Friday, if you'd like to come.

Oh, excuse me, I have to take this.

"Behind the pedestrian world of appearances,

there is a realm of formal perfection."

Sounds like the opening credits of Days of Our Lives.

I think it's Plato-adjacent.

There's engine grease on this painting.

Are you the gallery assistant?

Uh, yes. Callie.

Detective Graff, Bateman.

Do you write those statements for the shows?

Me? Sometimes, but not Eve's.

She was very specific about what she wanted it to say.

She even got these printed herself.

I'd like to see her studio.

Oh, we don't know where it is.

She was very secretive.

I don't know where Eve's studio is.

I don't think anyone does.

Not even Lee?

Definitely not Lee.

You don't think that's strange?

No. Eve wanted to be alone.

Away from the chatter, from the school... - From Rick?

From everyone.

Before she and Rick broke up,

Eve was having a really hard time, you know.

She said she couldn't make anything good. She needed...

A room of her own.

Yeah.

Wherever that was, it worked.

She made all those intense paintings in a year,

won the Paletto... - She was inspired.

Jasper, why do you think Eve became a painter to begin with?

She always was.

She told me once that as a kid she would break into this old body shop

and make crazy paintings on car parts.

Like in a garage?

Yeah. I guess so.

I know exactly where that studio is.

I thought the key in her office was weird.

Jimmie's garage.

A room of her own.

A gateway to the Eve-olution.

You know, Sushi's no good for an opening.

The idea that it's out for so long...

So, passed hors d'oeuvres? Crudité?

Chopped up vegetables? Don't be cheap.

I need to speak with Lee.

In private.

I... Find out what MOCA did for their last event.

Melinda, hey.

I know I said that you should come by any time,

but I'd appreciate if you call first. - Really?

This is Eve's work.

Where did you find these? - You want them?

Of course I do. Anyone would.

And... Eve wouldn't want her work rotting away in...

what is this place?

Just give me the address and I'll send a truck.

I'll take care of it.

The one isn't quite finished,

but a dead artist's work is worth something, right?

How much do you want for them?

Yeah.

Oh, seems like the place, doesn't it?

What gave it away?

Maybe the grease we found on the painting at the gallery.

This doesn't add up.

Let me guess, the...

brush stokes are a little too far apart

to have been painted by a woman who works with her ex-husband but has a devoted young lover...

You jest, but you're not wrong.

Eve didn't paint these...

because this one's still wet.

So unless she's back from the dead,

Eve's a fraud.

We found these paintings and documentation

of a group show that Eve was in three years ago.

Jasper said she was in a slump, but...

These paintings are nothing like the works we found in that garage Eve was renting.

How does this get us any closer to a suspect?

Well, the real artist killed Eve because they were tired of doing all the work

while she got all the credit. - That's a powerful motive.

I guess we'd better find out who was actually holding that brush.

I've been going through the phone.

Haven't been able to find any conversations with anyone about the garage or her work.

But I did find one very suspicious thing in her camera roll.

Turns out she made a video the night before she died.

Never would've made you for a junkie.

You don't know me.

Why would Eve made a video of herself buying heroin?

I mean, Da Silva said that her blood screen was clean

and there was no history of drug use.

Was the buying it for someone else?

Was it a payment for making her work?

Maybe, but it couldn't be just anybody. I mean...

if the real painter is the killer,

they'd have to be able to get in and out of that school without being noticed.

So is the killer a student?

Hungry for success, willing to do anything for a mentor like Eve,

including making her art for her?

And who do we know, according to Rick, who was mentored by Eve

and then dropped for no reason? - Melinda.

She makes a bunch of paintings, gets turfed,

Eve's career takes off, Melinda decides to take her out...

And sets up Rick.

She was manning that refreshment stand...

Maybe she gave him more than wine.

I didn't drug Rick.

I didn't lie about liking Eve. I... used to like her a lot.

Before she got rid of me for no reason.

Well, that's not what the registrar said.

There was a reason. You were redundant.

That's gotta hurt.

When was the last time you were at Eve's studio?

The day she fired me. Maybe a year ago?

Yet the paint on the sole of your shoes is the same color

as accents in Eve's latest work.

We saw it at the garage. - And so did you.

But I don't think Melinda here painted those works.

Hers are nothing like Eve's. Energy's all wrong.

Yeah, thanks for the critique, but--

So why did you go to the garage this week?

I... I wanted some of my stuff back.

What? She's gone.

It's mine.

And... I used to use that space as a studio too,

before she... had her revival,

decided she didn't need me anymore and fired me.

Wouldn't even let me back in to get any of my brushes.

So you lost a job, a mentor

and a place to work all on the same day.

I don't know how much brushes are,

but I feel that getting those back

really doesn't compensate for your hardship.

You went there to see if Eve had any of her work lying around, didn't you?

Because you know that Lee Sloane doesn't know where the studio is.

Okay. Fine, yes.

But I only showed her a photo of them.

And when I went back to get them, they were gone.

I haven't told her yet. And... Look. I didn't take them.

Yeah, we know.

Around the time that she fired you, was she hanging around anyone new?

Unusual? Different?

- What, like a bunch of artists? - Sure.

Yeah. She, um...

did a couple of forums, panels.

She taught art therapy classes.

Where?

This is where we held the class that Eve taught.

She was big on unconventional art spaces.

So we've heard.

She was one of the best art consultants we had.

Worked seamlessly with the therapist.

We're really grateful we got her in here before her career took off.

Do you recall who was in the classes Eve taught?

- I can't divulge their names. - But this is their work.

This is work from all the sessions,

but these pieces are from when Eve was here.

Eve hung her own work?

No. That's definitely by one of our clients.

We can't afford a real Eve. - Of course not.

Maybe this person, Nikki, is the real Eve.

Excuse me?

It may well be that Eve co-opted Nikki's work.

And if so, she may be involved in Eve's murder.

Nikki? No.

What happened during these sessions?

You know I can't talk about that. And you're wrong.

Nikki loved Eve. She was a positive influence on her recovery.

Still I'd like to talk to her myself.

Do you have her last name?

Sure. It's spelled: get a warrant.

Nikki?

Nikki, are you here?

Nikki?

Nikki?

Hi.

I thought you didn't want to be in contact anymore?

I was just really worried about you.

You... owe my assistant. Getting a production order for psychiatric records

is nearly impossible.

But he caught Judge Parker on a good day.

Thank you, counselor.

Behold Nikki Trettini.

Eve's favourite student.

She was treated for opioid addiction over a year ago.

According to her case worker, she's been clean ever since.

Eve helped Nikki get off the street.

Got her clean, got her an apartment, paid her expenses.

And in exchange, Nikki made her art.

Says here Nikki was hopeful she was gonna make her own work soon.

Have an art career.

Now that could be a statement... or a threat.

Except I just ran her into the database, no drug charges, no history of violence.

Well, maybe someone's never stolen her whole life's work before.

I'll get a warrant.

Eve was killed on September 18th, right?

Says here Nikki met with her case worker on September 18th at 4 p.m.,

was in a group therapy session from 5 to 7.

Nikki Trettini?

Nikki?

Nikki!

Clear!

Clear.

She's gone.

Must've relapsed.

What's this?

Maybe she didn't overdose.

Looks like she hid this in a hurry.

Her case worker wasn't wrong.

Ms. Trettini has been clean for about a year.

So it's possible this wasn't an accidental overdose?

I doubt it. She had a bad mix of drugs in her system.

Sadly, if someone takes a sedative and opioid,

their airway can collapse and they asphyxiate.

It's kinda like sleep apnea on steroids.

Wait. Nikki was sedated?

Her plasma tox showed a high concentration of Zolpidem.

You're thinking what I'm thinking?

Couldn't be clearer.

Lee Sloane?

Yes. She has a vested interest in keeping Nikki from making her own art.

She knows Rick well enough to frame him.

And she happened to be at school the day that Eve was killed.

Nikki hid this before she OD'd.

Our thinking is that Lee showed up,

Nikki panicked and hung this on the wall to conceal it.

Nikki lets Lee in.

Lee handed her a latte laced with Zolpidem,

pumped her full of heroin, made it look like an OD.

I've never liked art dealers.

And I don't like half-baked theories.

Can't take them to court.

We know the Zolpidem link is tenuous.

More than tenuous.

You can't prove Lee Sloane gave sleeping pills to either of them.

People take that stuff of their own volition all the time.

Neither Rick nor Nikki had a prescription for it.

Bet Nikki didn't have a prescription for heroin either.

Forget about the drugs. We need proof of murder.

What about Lee's alibi?

So, Mark took another look into the parking stub Lee's assistant sent us.

The credit card used was a company card,

but the pin wasn't Lee's, it was Callie's.

Lee's assistant.

Callie drove that car off the lot to give Lee an alibi.

Okay. That, I can use.

But why kill Eve, though?

I mean, Eve is your star, Eve is your money maker.

Okay, I can see Lee finding out that Eve was faking it

and then killing Nikki to protect Eve's secret...

But that secret hadn't come out yet.

Even if it had, why not just throw them both under the bus?

Lee could say she was a victim to their lies too.

No murder necessary.

But Lee was complicit.

Lee was definitely aware of Nikki and Eve's arrangement.

I've been going through Nikki's phone.

So first, I found this weird video.

Nikki in Eve's office with her Paletto award?

Then, after Eve's murder, a whole text exchange

between Lee and Nikki about the paintings.

So Lee wants to know where the paintings are.

Nikki responds with, "I'm broken. I can't work on them."

"You know those ones are worth the most.

Please, do it for Eve."

"Fine; Pick them up on Friday. Usual spot."

Knowing, of course,

that Lee doesn't know where that usual spot is.

- Eve's studio. - Power move.

So when Melinda offers to deliver the pieces,

Lee decides that she no longer needs Nikki.

And so she kills Nikki to tie up the final loose thread.

Which makes Lee's last message to Nikki so significant.

"Nikki, we owe it to the world to share Eve's incredible work

because behind the pedestrian world of appearances

is a realm of formal perfection."

Now, where have we heard that before? And don't say Days of Our Lives.

The artist statement.

Now, Callie told us that Eve wrote and printed this statement herself, but...

Eve didn't write it. Lee did.

This isn't what Eve intended to say.

So let's find the real statement.

I'm sorry, this was the earliest I could get these loaners here.

Eve's collectors were very reluctant to part with them.

Uh... what happened to the work that was supposed to come from her studio?

Well, Melinda said that she'd help me find them, but she flaked.

Stay on him while I greet.

Kit, hi.

Oh, it's so good to see you.

I wish it were under better circumstances.

Me too. Me too.

But Eve's work lives on, right?

Speaking of, there is a piece that I earmarked just for you.

Don't you think this would look great in your place in Prince Edward County?

It's hard to believe Eve painted that.

She means it's so... perfect.

Like a Platonic form, but in this world.

Is that what I mean?

That was quite eloquent.

Oh, I can't take credit for it.

My interpretation is definitely influenced by Eve's words.

If you'll excuse me a minute.

Of course. I...

Hey there, Callie.

Detective Bateman. Hi.

1998. It's your birth year, right?

It's also the pin to your company card.

Lee wasn't with you in her car when you drove it out of the lot the day Eve died.

Yeah, Lee said she'd been drinking. Couldn't drive.

What are you suggesting?

You're an accessory to murder.

Unless you tell me exactly what happened.

Oh, and this is one of my favorite pieces by Eve.

It's so emotional.

It's beautiful. Very melancholy.

Is there something that you would like to say, Detective Graff?

Actually, there is, if you don't mind.

It'll only take a minute.

Excuse me. One moment, please.

"I waited a long time to tell my community

about something I have hidden." - What are you doing?

I'm reading from Eve's real statement.

There is a lot in here I doubt you want people to hear.

How about we go somewhere a little more private?

- None of this is true. - I think it is.

It clearly states that you knew Eve wasn't producing her own work

when you nominated her for that Paletto award.

I did not know that.

And you also knew she had a change of heart after she won.

The guilt of profiting from another artist was driving her crazy.

Eve didn't want to exploit Nikki anymore,

but you pressured her to continue this charade so you could profit.

Eve makes way more money than I do from her paintings.

And Nikki made nothing from them.

Eve knew you'd never let her out of this lie,

so she and Nikki hatched a plan.

They were going to distribute this statement on opening night,

come clean, give Nikki the credit she was due,

and take you down in the process. - Okay.

And you got all that from this little piece of paper?

Oh, I did, yeah.

And I know you've read it too.

You see, I think Callie told you

that Eve was printing her own statement herself.

You were curious, you know,

busy woman taking on admin tasks, that's strange.

So you went down to the print shop a week before Eve died,

and you... you had a look at the proof of the statement.

You read it and you realized that if the truth came out,

you'd lose everything: your reputation, your revamped career.

All you'd be left with is this big brand new gallery,

a ton of debt,

and no clients to fleece to help you pay it back.

So, you killed Eve

to prevent all that from coming to life.

You came up with a new statement full of...

pseudo-philosophical drivel,

and then you killed Nikki to keep your fraud a secret.

Everyone knows Rick killed Eve.

Now, that's the story you wanted people to see.

Because you're what, a curator, a gallerist.

You... ...take all these pieces,

and you put them together.

I do that too in my job.

See, you knew everyone knew about Rick's drinking,

about how he'd often pass out in his office.

You knew how adept he was at failing to produce work.

And you knew about his explosive volatility.

So all you had to do was light the fuse by crushing his dreams.

So you spike his red wine with sleeping pills

and meanwhile your assistant moves your car

so it looks like, ladies and gentlemen, Lee has left the building.

But really, you haven't. And then, with everyone downstairs enjoying themselves,

you kill Eve, and then drag Rick into her office.

Voila. Perfect frame job.

Okay. I've had enough.

Wait. Not exactly perfect.

You see, these gloves, they're not great for moving artwork or committing murder.

They leave a residue behind.

On frames, and on the handle of the weapon we found at the scene.

The knife you used to kill Eve.

Eve was my friend, okay?

My client of 15 years. I didn't kill her. I loved her.

Whatever you're trying to do or say here is disgusting, and it is so upsetting.

No, what's upsetting is that according to the autopsy,

you stabbed her here first. Her brain stem.

It controls her movement, her breathing, her ability to speak.

You wanted it so that she wasn't able to run or cry for help.

This was no crime of passion,

this was a calculated premeditated murder.

Well, if I'm not being charged with something,

I think I'm free to go.

Oh, yeah, yeah, no, you can go.

And you'll probably just catch the end of my partner's presentation of Eve's statement,

exposing what a charlatan you actually are.

I bet it's already trending.

Because it's not just words. It's...

Eve and Nikki, they made a little art film.

It's actually quite an eloquent piece.

But you've never seen it, you couldn't have.

Eve only added a QR code to the statement the night before she died.

It links to the film with Eve posing as a heroin addict,

and Nikki playing the role of a Paletto-award-winning professor.

Yeah, that's quite the commentary.

It was just their statement on the irony of raw talent

being subsumed by middle-class greed,

ambition, and fear of irrelevance.

Sound familiar?

No.

You can't ruin my reputation. You can't.

You don't have a reputation without Nikki and Eve.

Neither one of them would have careers if it wasn't for me.

Me!

I was saving her reputation.

And it doesn't matter that Eve's dead. Art lives forever.

So if she goes around telling everyone that she didn't make it,

she destroys her legacy. Forever. Do you understand?

Forever.

I like that word. "Forever."

I'm sure that soon enough,

you'll find out what it really means.

Is there a saying about success being wasted on the talentless?

If there isn't, I think you just coined it.

I'll take credit for it.

Speaking of,

I hope Nikki gets the recognition she deserves.

Me too.

I just wish she was around to appreciate it.

difuze