Body of Proof

Nice street.

I thought you hated your life in Chestnut Hill.

"Hated" is a little strong. I loathed it.

Fancy cars, nice houses,

citywide recognition as a top neurosurgeon...

what's there to like?

The recognition was nice.

I wouldn't want to relive the rest.

Oh, and yet you jumped at the chance to take this case.

I still have a few friends here.

I hope this isn't one of 'em.

You flying solo today, Bud?

Excuse me.

Uh, Sam's in DC. Her father's sick.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear it.

That's Daphne Zimmer,

editor of "Society Fair" magazine.

- You know her? - My mother does. Did.

Really? How well?

Well enough.

Listen, if this is gonna be too difficult for you...

Death is always difficult, detective.

Is that Daphne's?

Color looks different than hers. Better bag it.

Okay.

Well...

What have we got?

The maid found the body a half-hour ago.

The alarm was off, no sign of forced entry.

The gate was left open.

- There was obviously a struggle. - Mm. Table overturned,

a sandal off her foot.

My guess is...

Daphne was reading here,

someone came in to rob the place,

came on Daphne by surprise, they fought,

and our bad guy vanished into this morning's traffic.

What makes you think it was this morning?

Well,the body's still limp. Hasn't gone into rigor mortis yet.

I've bent the pinkie, that's all!

Discoloration in the lower right quadrant.

You know what that is?

- Bruising from the attack. - It's decay.

But the body's limp. It hasn't gone into rigor.

She's already past rigor.

The skin is macerated.

She didn't die this morning. She died at least two days ago.

Thanks for playing.

All right, everybody.

Increase the timeline to 48 hours.

Daphne Zimmer... born in rural Ohio,

educated at Wellesley and Harvard Business School.

Ran a fashion house in New York, and then came here

to take over "Society Fair" magazine 11 years ago.

She became quite a power player.

Why is it whenever a man calls a woman a "power player,"

- it sounds pejorative? - Uh, your imagination.

So now you're patronizing me?

Okay, I'm not playing in this minefield.

You're already in it, pal.

Maceration is consistent with her position in the water,

so she wasn't moved.

And she was out in the open air for at least two days

near a garden.

So...

When there's a garden, there's entomology,

and when there's entomology, there's...

Curtis, just in time. I have a present for you.

And don't worry. He's got friends.

Second-stage calliphoridae.

Blowfly maggots to you.

By my estimate, she's been dead for at least two days.

How fast can you confirm that?

Well, there are six stages from eggs to adult.

I'd need to grow these little guys out,

- then calculate backwards. 20 days, maybe 25. - How about tomorrow?

I'll do my best.

Oh, a present for Ethan.

This is the only, uh, trace evidence we found.

Tell him I want a full analysis.

Full analysis. Got it. Come on, little guys. Let's eat.

What else does that thing tell you?

Uh, Daphne Zimmer... never married, no kids.

Apparently, that magazine was her life.

Guess where we're going.

You're not gonna open her up?

We have to wait for the body to dry out

before we make an incision.

In the meantime, let's go find a match for that hair sample.

There she is... Daphne Zimmer.

Modest.

Confident.

I don't see one hanging over your office.

Yet.

The show must go on, apparently.

Always busy between fashion week and charity ball season.

I'll take your word for it.

- Coming through. Sorry. - It's okay.

- Can I help you? - We need to see who's in charge here.

I don't know if I can get her right now.

- She's in a meeting. - Who's in a meeting?

- Daphne. - Are we talking about the same person?

Hang on a sec. Daphne Zimmer, the head of the magazine.

Her meetings are epic. She might be a while.

She might be a lot longer than you think.

Body of Proof 1x06 - Society Hill Original air date April 26, 2011

I see a lot of anxious people,

not a lot of grief.

Well, they just found out their boss died.

They're probably in shock.

Either that or work has taken its toll.

Look at these people.

He's got rhinophyma... Tip O'Neill nose.

Heavy drinker.

She bites her nails, wears acrylics to cover up the damage,

chews jewelry... keeps the nails out of the mouth,

and he has got trichotillomania.

Trichto... what?

Compulsive hair puller.

And he's just fidgety.

You are looking at some serious signs of stress.

In other words, somebody wanted the boss dead,

and I am looking at a room full of suspects.

Excuse me. Who's Daphne's assistant?

Oh. Let's start with him.

Hey. Kate Murphy returning your call.

Sorry, we keep playing phone tag.

Um, I'm at the office now,

but you could always call me on my cell.

- I didn't hear anything. - Next time, try knocking.

- Right. Sorry. Knock. - I'm pulling you off the Mackavoy case,

I want you to focus on Daphne Zimmer.

- What do you have so far? - About... the hair?

That Curtis gave me half an hour ago?

That's right.

It's human.

And?

It's human.

Daphne Zimmer was very well-respected

in this community.

A lot of people are asking questions,

and you have the only trace evidence

from the crime scene connected to the killer.

So top priority.

Start with the roots of the hair, look for any DNA.

Okay.

Let me get this straight.

You told the interns to say Daphne was in a meeting?

It's the standard blowoff when we didn't know where she was.

So she was in the habit of going missing?

Mm-hmm. For days at a time. We've all come to expect it,

and it's my job to cover for her.

Yeah, you were her first assistant, her gatekeeper.

And... you didn't know where she went?

Uh... St. Barths,

the vineyard...

It's a, uh, society magazine.

Daphne went out to society.

Uh, but she was paranoid about anybody knowing her schedule.

- But you set her schedule, didn't you? - In the office, yeah.

Daphne trusted me, and we got along great,

but she didn't tell me everything.

So when was the last time you had contact with her?

Five days ago. We spoke on the phone.

And I haven't seen or heard from her since.

It appears that your hair twirler, Stephen Burkett,

was the last person to see Daphne alive.

That was five days ago, so if we're saying

that she died two days ago, that's a lot of time

- that's unaccounted for, and... - Peter!

- Hi, mom. - Hey.

- Did you hear about Daphne? - Yes, I did.

Oh, boy, I'm gonna miss her. We were so close.

- I know. I'm very sorry. - Then tell me what you know.

Mom, you know I can't tell you anything.

Well, at least let me see you tonight.

I could do with some company.

- Uh... - Listen, the club is having a black-tie social.

- Will you come? - The last time you made me go,

you paraded me in front of 30 of your friends,

and all they did was ask about Todd.

Megan, please.

I'm sorry, mom. I...

I have a killer to catch.

How was your mom?

She wants me to go to some God-awful club dinner.

Sounds like real quality time.

No time with my mother is quality time.

What are you looking for?

You know how your skin prunes up when you take a bath?

When a waterlogged body dries out,

the skin smooths,

revealing marks that were sometimes overlooked.

Like those.

Mm. Nail marks.

From the struggle?

Maybe.

Bruising can show up to a week later.

Bring down that light, will you?

They're square.