Episode 18: Truth or Consequences
A member of a secret "hack-tivist" group is murdered, leading Henry and Jon into the world of cyber-terrorism. And another threatens Henry's true 'identity" when she finds falsified records. She threatens to share these records with his co-workers. Faced with risking his co-workers finding out about his immortality or providing a fake death certificate for the hacker to disappear with Henry tears the certificate in front of the hacker. Before the hacker can send an email about Henry's records she is hit by a car. Later another hacker working for the cybercrime division of NYPD, finds the Faceless hackers phone and discovers Henry's false records on it. Henry then has to make a choice between saving the life of the Faceless hacker and keeping his secret, again.
Eric Shaw, one of these anonymous hackers, ends up dead, Jo, Henry, and Hanson get the help of the cyberterrorism division to try to find the killer.
Unlike other cases, so much of the action here takes place remotely. Thermostats trigger gas leaks. Cell phones control traffic signals. Murderers no longer need to be anywhere near their victims. Hanson notices a loose panel in the cealing, "I think we got something here." He picks up a broom and uses the handle to move it. A mask drops to the floor.
"You know what that is?" Lucas asked a little nervously, "That's a faceless."
"The computer enthusiasts from the news?"
"They're called hackers Doc." Henry was a little behind on the times. "And I believe we should be leaving now because they're probably watching us." He takes a glance at the computer screen. "Yep. Mmm hmm right there. Ok. guys come on." He rushes toward the door already marked with crime scene tape but stops when no one is following him. Jo, Henry and Hanson give him peculiar looks. "Alright, maybe you guys don't have anything to hide but I uh.. have some photos and some web searches that I'm not very proud of and I'd rather not have my secrets leaked to the world."
The Cyber crimes division confirms that Eric was one of The Faceless. They weren't able to get anything else the laptop fried when they touched it. The murder weapon, the thermostat. It received a system command at 1 am that activated the gas and turned off at 4. They have suspects that targeted 11 figures of government in that past. Irene tells Jo and Hanson that they got this and can relax.
Jo enters the morgue, "Great news, the Cyber-crimes division is on the case." They were just as bad as the FBI taking cases from them.
"Cyber-Crimes division?" Henry looked up from Eric's body. "There is such a thing?'
"We got computer dating, computer virus, why not computer cops? Press a button and boom. What do you have?"
"Time of death, between 3:30 and 4 am two days ago. Victim was in otherwise good health with no suspicious marks or injuries." He produces a bag that reads Bio-hazard, filled with a dark greenish liquid.
"What is that?"
"Victims last meal. Pastinero, squid ink. Otherwise, Eric Shaw died how he lived. With his secrets hidden."
"Maybe they're right. Murdered by computer, solved by computer. Shouldn't we feel very old?"
"Yes, I do know the feeling. Did they confirm how the gas was triggered?"
"Remotely. Between 1 am and 4 am."
"Hmm, so gas flows anywhere between a hundred and twenty cubic feet per hour. It wouldn't have filled the room but he was in bed. So fatal density would have to reach say 2 to 3 feet of the ground. Could work." He was itching to go back the crime scene and he just new the right words.
"Could?"
"Well most likely." He started to untie his apron, "There is only one way to find out."
"How's that?"
"We go gas ourselves."
"Now you're talking."
Jo and Henry were lying on Eric's bed, gas masks on, talking about the worst ways to go. "Why death, Henry?"
"I think the gas is actually working."
"I mean why choose death what happened to you? Did you grow up near a cemetery or something? I mean your file says you were a grave digger." And he answers her as honestly as he can. Telling her, but not telling her. "Yes, right. I guess... I like solving puzzles. What greater riddle is there?"
"But what's to solve?"
The timer goes off. "Time's up." He gets off the bed and takes off his gas mask. "The levels are quite low. And these windows are badly sealed. Most of the gas would have escaped through here. It might have rendered him unconscious but."
"He didn't axficiate."
"No. He did."
"But not by the gas."
They reexamine Eric's body, having shaved his beard, Henry finds a faint contusion around the victim's mouth. Caused by someone's hand.
They track down Eric's girlfriend, Liz Chamberlain but she escapes on her motorcycle. She eludes them by having someone hack the traffic system so the lights all turn green for her. But she looses her phone. Forensics extract a thumb print form the phone, and her last text to a known cyber criminal, warlock. Bernard Belcheck They question him. He was at Eric's place the night he died for a group meeting. He told Liz that Eric was sleeping with another girl.
"Any idea where we can find Liz?" Hanson asks.
"If she doesn't want to be found, good luck."
Back at the Morgue, Henry gets a message on a lab computer, "Loose something, Dr, Morgan?" Dr, whoever you really are"
He types "Who is this?"
A video feed of Liz pops up, "You are the slowest typer ever."
"Typist,"
"Whatever." She blackmails him, telling him she knows that his social security number, medical credentials and birth certificate only appeared in the system 6 years ago. She wants to disappear. If he forges a death certificate for her she won't give the information to his co-workers.
Later when Liz shows up at Abe's antiques for her death certificate, "You may think it's a new beginning but the running never ends. Exposure always looms. You will never ever be your full true self even with those you love."This new life, your old life will catch up with you." Henry is about to hand it to her.
"I'd rather take me chances."
"As will I." He rips it up. "You live be a code, so do I."
"Your funeral." As she leaves she texts someone on her phone, probably a burner. She doesn't notice the walk signal turn to Walk when there is still on coming traffic and she gets hit by a car.
She is sent to the hospital in a coma. Jo asks Henry what he sees. Liz was struck on her left side, faced away from traffic and in the middle of the road. She could have simply just stepped off the curb if she wanted to kill herself. She simply walked when the light told her too.
Hanson thinks it's the same person that hacked the traffic lights for her, Warlock.
Irene orders a lock-down, anything connected to a life support to a network, cut it. Henry decides to stay with Liz in case she wakes up.
"Is this the future of murder? Killing someone from miles away with a key stroke?" He asks Irene. He notices Irene's expression change, while she is looking at Liz, like she knows her. "This must be difficult for you. Looking at her like this."
"Why do you say that?"
"The gross stuff grosses you out. I believe were your exact words."
"When did I say that?" When they were in the elevator at the precinct and she couldn't look at the photos of Eric's body. "Oh. Yeah." She turns on her phone.
"You were Eric's lover. He didn't look away from gross stuff. You looked away from the image of your lover, dead. He seduced you didn't he? He stole the codes and went back to Liz. So you killed him. And then you tried to kill her. Why did you go back to his apartment?"
"To wipe his internet history."
"And you found him still alive."
"Barely. I... you know what it's like. You work so hard to build a career and a life and then you meet someone. And they end up being the one slip that destroys everything."
"Yes I can well imagine what that's like."
"I'm sure you can. We all have your secrets, Doctor Morgan. Let's talk about yours." She blackmails him with the information that Liz has.
Liz starts going into shock. "Why aren't the alarms sounding?"
"They won't. I disconnected her from the hospital system. Let her go Doctor Morgan. Our secrets die with her."
Henry hits the emergence button on the wall, the alarms sound and he starts chest compression's on Liz.
Irene runs from the room. The police now after her when they discover it was Irene hacked the system. She commits suicide but stepping in front of an ambulance.
After her recovery, Liz does Henry a favor and creates a graduation record for him from Oxford. Henry can breathe a little easier knowing that there is now a documented backup for his life story.
While Henry was being threatened, his fear of exposure led him to consult the only other living person who knows the truth: Abe. Abe always manages to shed some light on Henry's cases with his astute observations about human nature.