Hudson & Rex - Fifth Season

All right, players!

It's your last chance to cross the snake pit

and rack up those points!

This round is coming to a close!

Action card. Now, do I risk going over the bridge

or do I cross through the jungle?

Fortune favours the brave, Jesse.

Well, maybe, but Snakepit favours the cutthroat.

One push from me

and you're heading into that pit

and out of the race for the 100K.

Okay.

Don't worry about it, Raya!

We've got a hit game!

Over a thousand people signed up to play

- in today's anniversary tournament. - And that's great,

but where does Cottage Games go from here?

- Maybe we should consider... - We've talked about this!

We're going to merchandise the hell out of Snakepit!

- And what about...? - The next game?

- Mm-hmm. - You'll come up with something!

Snakepit sales will fund your R&D.

It's gonna be great! You'll see!

Markus. You like working with your dad?

I do. Yeah, it's been awesome.

Snakepit's already sold like half a million copies.

So we think we're going to start franchising into toys and movies.

- The whole thing. - Wow!

So long, sucker.

- Unbelievable. - All right!

That's it for this session!

Surviving players are still in the running

for our one hundred thousand dollar prize!

Next session starts in ten.

Sarah.

Hey.

- I thought you could use some caffeine. - Oh! Thank you.

- What time did you get up this morning? - Just after six.

I hope you two were able to get more sleep.

Yeah, Rex was snoring before your side of the bed could even got cold.

The victim is Alex Davies,

owner of a local board game company.

What's with all the snakes?

According to the janitor who found the body,

they're decorations from a tournament held yesterday.

- A tournament? - Yeah.

Celebrating the oneyear anniversary of their big game.

Apparently, the top prize is a hundred thousand dollars.

That's a lot of money for a game.

- Could be our motive. - I've seen people kill for a lot less.

Wow, it looks like he was in some fight.

- Was he beaten to death? - Yeah, I'm not sure.

Something looks off. I was actually just about to go in there

- and have a look. - This is like your worst nightmare.

- What do you mean? - Your snake phobia.

It's not a phobia.

Well, you did have your head under the pillow

for the whole asp scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Yeah. That's because they were real snakes. These are toys.

Okay.

- I see. - Yeah.

What is it, pal?

What's the matter, Rex? Hey look!

Look! They don't bite!

It's okay, pal.

I'm going to talk to the janitor.

- Okay. - Rex. Come on.

Sir?

Hi, friend Who are you?

This is Rex. He's my partner.

Detective Hudson, SJPD.

What time did you get here this morning?

Uh... About 5:30.

Did you notice anything suspicious when you arrived?

No.

Wait, that can't be.

No, no, no! No, no, Rex!

Stay back! It's not safe.

- What's going on? - Help me out.

You okay?

What? What is it?

I think he was killed by a snake.

There are least two sets of puncture marks.

The swelling and discolouration weren't from a beating.

I think they're the result of venom poisoning!

- You're shaking. - Well, I can't stop thinking

what if there was a snake in the box with me?

Yeah.

Are you okay? Your energy is...

Whoah.

There might be a venomous snake in our crime scene.

We're just waiting on Animal Control.

A snake?

Oh, cool!

What? Snakes are fascinating!

Hey, why wait for Animal Control?

I mean, can't we just send Rex to sniff it out?

Did you miss the part where I said venomous?

Yeah, what are you doing here anyway?

I heard the victim's Alex Davies.

I know his son, Markus. I was here with him last night.

- Come on. - Yeah.

Is Mr. Davies' body still in there?

- Karma, it's not safe. - Oh, I'll be fine.

Statistically you're more likely to get attacked

by a dog than a snake.

Sorry, Rex.

But it's the truth though.

How are you holding up?

I think I'm in shock.

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

Look, did you see him

at all after the tournament?

I mean, we locked up together and then I met you.

He came back to the office.

Why?

I don't know.

Maybe he had a date.

With who?

We didn't really talk about that kind of thing.

Oh, Markus.

I'm so sorry.

I can't believe it.

- You're with the police? - Mm-hmm. Detective Hudson.

- You are...? - Raya Knight. Alex's business partner.

And friend.

Um, Raya and my dad

pretty much created the Snakepit together.

It really is a good game, Charlie.

I'm really sorry for your loss.

When was the last time that you spoke with Alex?

Last night. We awarded the tournament prize money together.

What did you do after?

I spent the night with my sister.

Am I free to go into my office?

Unfortunately no. There may be

- a venomous snake on the premises. - What?

Sorry. Did you just say snake? Like a real snake?

Is that what killed my dad?

Uh, it's a possibility.

Listen, has your father...

Has he had issues with anyone recently?

Raya?

Steve Sader.

He was a former junior designer. He was going to sue.

Insisted Alex stole his idea for Snakepit.

So there's two suspects.

This Steve Sader and the mystery woman

- that Alex went on a date with. - Yeah.

I'll see what I can dig up on his phone.

I'll bet there was a long list of women wanting to date him.

- Why's that? - Well, I mean Alex was just a total legend

- in board game circles. - I mean,

- bit of a niche market there. - Oh, not at all!

I mean last year, the tabletop game industry

raked in ten billion dollars.

And because of Snakepit, Cottage Games is valued at six mil.

So a lot of money at stake, then.

I just never got the impression

it was about that for Alex, you know?

He just seemed to really love games.

That's what they all say.

They're ready for us downstairs. Come on. Let's go, pal.

Dr. Truong's initial assessment was correct.

The victim was bitten nine times

and died of venom poisoning.

Can we be sure Alex was the intended target here?

It's likely. His arm was broken right before he died.

So he was forced into the box.

- Do we have a time of death? - Alex's fitness tracker

stopped recording a heartbeat at 12:15 AM.

And I'm not so sure that a time of death

is really going to help in this case.

Venom poisoning can take hours to kill somebody.

So what we really need to find out

is when he was bitten by the snake.

And to know that, we need to figure out

what kind of snake bit him. Do you have a blood sample

I can use to run an ELISA?

Identifying a species should help you find the owner as well.

Snakes are highly regulated.

Thank goodness.

Killed by a snake at a tournament

for the game that he created about snakes.

That can't be a coincidence.

Jesse, find this Steve Sader.

Yeah, will do.

Okay team, let's stay frosty!

That is to say, let's keep our eyes open!

This snake has already killed one person today.

Tracing the snake back to its owner

could help lead us to the killer. I'll track that.

You know that the owner could have other snakes.

It's not a phobia.

Okay and look, even if it was,

the best way to get over it would be to expose myself

to the thing that frightens me, so...

Anyone ever tell you that

you're kind of sexy when you try and intellectualize

- an irrational fear? - Okay first of all, it's not irrational.