# Hey, mambo, mambo Italiano Go, go, Joe #
# You mixed up Siciliano Look the Calabrese do the mambo #
# They go crazy with hey, mambo Don't like the tarantella #
# Hey, mambo Forget the mozzarella #
# Hey, mambo, mambo Italiano #
# Makes the girl go crazy When you say ti amo, baby #
# Hey goombah, forget you ever Learned to rumba #
# But take some advice, paesano Learn how to mambo #
# You may be good-lookin' but you still don't know what's cookin' #
# Hey, mambo, mambo Italiano #
# Hey, mambo, mambo... #
Hey, Mac. Got a Jane Doe. Looks like a body dump.
Killer busted the lock on the back door to gain entrance.
- Who found her? - Mr Beppe Romano, night janitor.
- He was dancing. - By himself?
Not exactly. Turns out Mr Romano's wife died five years ago.
Every year on their wedding anniversary,
he grabs a mannequin and does a tango.
It was their first dance as husband and wife.
Excuse me.
Still not sleeping, huh?
- Our vic have an ID? - No. I'm checking Missing Persons.
Thought she might have been at the club next door.
I had the unis do a canvass. No one saw or heard anything.
I know. She doesn't seem real, does she?
Halloween is next week. Maybe she came from a costume party.
I thought she was a dressed-up stiff.
Except this one has a very real bullet hole.
Yeah. Muzzle stamp, some stellate tearing.
Contact shot. What about TOD?
Early stages of rigor, about five hours ago.
You gonna answer that?
It's early. Probably important.
Surgical tubing around her wrists.
Hmm. What look like surgical cuts on her neck.
Yeah. Killer took his time before taking her life.
And brought her to a place where he'd have his own private audience.
Except these witnesses aren't saying anything.
# Out here in the fields #
# I fight for my meals #
# I get my back into my living #
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah #
Your Jane Doe recently had some work done.
Lasered eyebrows, scalp surgery and a contour thread lift.
Also known as a facelift in a needle. It's an outpatient process.
Very popular right now.
Well, Cosmo. My dentist subscribes.
- What about the cuts on her neck? - Made by a surgical scalpel.
Could they be related to the work she had done?
Doesn't look like any cosmetic procedure.
I did find this little guy near one of the cuts.
A tick. Doesn't look engorged with blood yet.
I'm thinking it burrowed into our vic just prior to TOD.
Could have come from your killer. You're also gonna want this.
.45 calibre. Unusual markings.
It's possible our murder weapon was fitted with a silencer.
This could be a pro job.
The cuts and the bound wrists were done to torture the vic.
So, what did our murderer want before pulling the trigger?
Mac, you gotta get a load of this.
- We identified your Jane Doe. - Where did you get this?
- Google Images. - The internet?
Adam saw me running the vic's photo through Missing Persons.
He recognised her from a video game.
It's not a game.
- What is this cartoon's connection? - She's not a cartoon.
- She's an avatar. Her name's Venus. - How do you know?
She's a cyber-celebrity, Paris Hilton of Second Life.
Second Life?
It's a metaverse, an online social network inside a virtual world.
First Lifers, guys like us, we log on and create 3D virtual characters.
Cruise simulated worlds, make friends, start businesses.
- Why? - It's fun?
- It's fun. - Yeah.
So our vic dressed like a virtual character.
It's cosplay, which is short for costume play.
Some people get off dressing like the avatar characters they created.
This could be your Jane Doe.
Track down who runs this site and get a real-world name for our vic.
Does look like her, huh?
- Hey, Stell. - Hey! I could use some good news.
Only 61 days until Christmas, but you've already got gifts.
Yeah. It's getting embarrassing.
This guy I met a couple of weeks ago.
He's extremely persistent. Last week it was a parachute.
This week it's rock climbing gear.
Sounds like Mr Adventure wants to get physical.
- What do you have? - Not a whole lot.
The prints I lifted, no hits in AFIS or occupational databases.
The doll Hawkes found doesn't belong to anybody at the warehouse.
- No prints on it or any DNA. - Who made it?
No idea.
The shirt it was wearing said "Johnny". Looks like a custom job.
What about the unknown substance you lifted?
That, I have.
Phyllostachys edulis.
Hmm. Moso bamboo?
Found in the south-eastern US. Could belong to our killer.
Let's hope this puts us on the trail of our killer.
Then Christmas will come early for all of us.
Makers of Second Life kicked back a name, Jane Doe is Cheryl Miller.
She lived alone. Never been married. She seemed pretty much a shut-in.
Safe to say she lived vicariously through her avatar, Venus.
Wallflower by day, cyber-celebrity by night. I swung by her place.
The area she kept her computer seemed the most lived in.
Hard drive was a good place to start.
- Find anything? - Can avatars fall in love?
Apparently, our vic was in a virtual relationship
with an avatar named Don Juan 2-3.
Cheryl Miller spent two to three hours a day in Second Life
searching for Mr Good Bite.
Their last online chat was yesterday morning.
The two planned on meeting last night for the first time in person.
- Where? - A place called Random.
That's the club next door to the crime scene.
Cheryl didn't wanna disappoint Don Juan 2-3,
so she made herself look like her avatar.
That'd explain the outpatient surgery and what she was wearing.
Second Life sent over this subscriber info for our cyber Romeo here.
- Jonathan O'Dell. - Jonathan. Like Johnny.
O'Dell. Why, you know him?
Yeah. I think I do.
Come on.
- Hawkes found this at the scene. - Bring him in.
One problem - subscriber info Second Life sent over is no good.
O'Dell's credit cards are expired and he moved away two months ago.
He's not in any of our systems and there's no other paper trail.
- Maybe there's another way. - How?
We find his avatar.
Before you go in-world, build yourself an avatar.
OK? So, right there. Double-click on that template.
Yeah. Now, male or female?
What? This is fantasy. Be all you can be.
I just wanna let you know your options.
Alright.
I would've gone for more of the bad boy, but that's cool.
How do I get in?
If you go in looking like Joe Boring, you'll get flagged as a newbie.
Let me get in here real quick.
Check this out.
Hip do, a little custom skin.
Cool coat. Alright.
Check it out.
Now you're ready to roll in-world.
Just use the arrow keys to get around and the headset to communicate.
What the hell is this?
Bonjour.
Uh-huh, oui-oui. What did I tell ya?
I don't have time for this. I need to find O'Dell's avatar, Don Juan 2-3.
If this is our guy, he won't respond to a shout-out.
We've gotta use the White Rabbit. He knows everyone and every island.
- How do I find him? - Send him a "tell".
It's a private message and then we wait for him in the Search Pavilion.
Lxodes scapularis, otherwise known as the black-legged tick.
He's not too far from home, native to the north-east forests of New Jersey.
- Did you get any DNA? - A bit from the vic, no donors.
Thing is, this tick is a carrier of Lyme disease,
but the victim didn't show signs of being infected.
An adult tick can stay on a host for up to a week.
It means our shooter might have Lyme disease.
So, maybe he's a hunter.
Picked up the tick when he was in the woods.
So maybe our killer is targeting humans, too.
That's him! That the White Rabbit.
- Taylor? - Yes.
- How can I help you? - I'm looking for Don Juan 2-3.
- Do you know where I can find him? - For 6,000 Linden dollars I do.
- What's Linden dollars? - The in-world currency.
It works out to be, like 20 bucks?
- OK. - Here's the TP. Follow me.
- TP? - Teleport. Sit back, enjoy the ride.
Here we are. Shangri-La.
He's with me.
You're in. I'm outta here.
Hey, I'm flyin' here!
There he is. Don Juan 2-3.
I'll get him talking. You trace his IP.
- Get a real-world address. - OK.
Hello.
Goodbye.
He's leaving.
- Oh, wait. We gotta switch sexes. - What?
O'Dell named his avatar after a legendary pick-up artist -
Don Juan 2-3.
If we're gonna catch him, we'll need some bait.
Wow! Who's the tacky dresser?
That's me.
OK. We are good to go.
- What about my voice? - Voice modulator. Say something?
Hello.
Hello?
Let's go fishin'.
Alright. Uh...
Hi.
I like your name.
I love waterfalls, don't you?
- Oh, my God! - What?
- You have no game whatsoever. - I don't need a back-seat avatar!
Alright, then move over. Come on. Before your suspect bails.
Hey, Don. Sorry about that. I was distracted by a phone call.
My name's Taylor. What do you say we go for a walk?
Go for a walk?
It worked.
So Don, why don't you tell me about yourself? I wanna know everything.
I got him! Johnny O'Dell is logged on at 24817 th Ave.
Johnny O'Dell. Where is he?
Thank you.
He's running.
Gun, Flack!
Don't move!
- Sorry, I don't know that lady. - How about this one?
- This is Venus. Everyone knows her. - You know her better than most.
You guys spend quite a bit of time chatting.
- We're in love. - Excuse me. What, love?
- That's right. - In the Second Life.
You understand that she's not real, Venus.
Right?
Johnny, do you hunt? Get out into the woods often?
Kid doesn't look like the hunting type.
Poor eyesight, speech pattern, coordination problems.
He's exhibiting all the symptoms of Lyme disease.
The tick could have come from him.
When was the last time you slept?
I'll be alright.
Peyton decided to stay in London.
Day after I got her letter, I bought a ticket, figured I'd fly there,
but I couldn't get on the plane.
What happened?
I realised what she said in her letter was right.
It couldn't work. New York was never her home, London is.
She's got family. She's very close with them. That's where she belongs.
I never realised that until I was there this summer.
So, you knew it was coming?
Being together means one of us has to move.
Peyton couldn't leave England any more than I can leave the US.
Why don't you tell us about last night?
- I was gonna get to meet Venus. - Where?
Random. Club on 34th and Broadway. I didn't feel up to it, so I bailed.
You sure about that?
Very sure.
I made that, for Venus,
so she'd know what I looked like when I showed up at the club.
She said she'd bring it with her. Where did you get this?
Johnny, would you be willing to give us prints and take an ELISA test?
A what? I won't give you anything until you tell me what's going on.
I don't understand why you'd stand up the woman
you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.
I didn't go because I'm dying.
I have acute multiple sclerosis.
It's a disease that, well, no one can do anything about.
But in Second Life... I beat it.
When I'm in-world, I'm fine.
I can do anything, even fall in love with someone
and have them love me back.
No questions asked.
You didn't wanna start a relationship in the real world you can't finish.
If you never met up with Cheryl,
why did you run when the detectives came to your office?
I thought it was about the gun. I bought it off the street.
Why did you buy a gun?
Why did you need a gun, Johnny?
What I got...
...ain't curable.
So what do you think I needed a gun for?
I don't understand. Did Venus do something wrong? Is she in trouble?
- Cheryl was murdered last night. - That's not possible.
We found this guy at the crime scene.
No. No way.
- I was just with Venus. - You were? Where?
In Second Life. La Citta Eterna, Ancient Rome.
I was talking to her before you guys showed up.
I don't know. Kid could be lying.
Maybe he did show up at the club, Cheryl rejected him.
Things went south from there.
Well, it's possible.
But if he is telling the truth,
why is someone using a dead woman's avatar?
Come on, come on, come on.
No!
Johnny's gun isn't our murder weapon.
Not surprised. His alibi checked out.
His reference prints didn't match prints pulled from the scene.
The kid already made bail on the gun charge.
- Any hits in IBIS? - I ran all our ballistic evidence.
No matches to any murder cases.
Alright. Try a wider search. Run it through NIBIN.
If our killer's a pro, the vic wasn't his first hit.
There it is. La Citta Eterna.
Our suspect said he saw Venus here a couple of hours ago.
We need to find out who's using her avatar.
What does he want?
- That's C-Zar. He's the landlord. - This island's off limits.
Ask him how many Lindens it'll cost to get in.
- Can I pay you? - Admission is free.
All you need to do is perform two tasks.
The first, a question. Which death is preferable to every other?
- The unexpected. - Correct.
And the second task?
Take this teleport and follow me.
Prepare for battle.
- He's serious, Mac. - He has too much time on his hands.
Well, it's his world. If we don't do what he says, we're not getting in.
And there goes our chances of ever finding Venus.
Destroy him!
Cut his head off!
Oh, come on!
Uh, dude, uh, I mean... Sorry, boss uh...
With all due respect? You don't stand a chance.
And you do?
I got skills.
I think so.
Alright, you lose, we lose the only solid lead we have.
I can do it.
Warriors, fight!
Here we go.
Take some of this.
Say my name.
Who's your daddy?
- You got one more. - Whoa.
Weapons, weapons. Hello!
- Good job. - It's not over yet. Here we go.
- Adam! - I know what I'm doing.
Yes! Great!
Oh! Whoo!
Whoa. Whoo!
Yeah, I'm gonna get some water.
Alright, Venus. Where are you?
Let's see. Where is she?
- Any luck? - There she is.
Johnny told the truth. Venus is still active.
I'll distract her, you ping her IP.
Forget it, she's wi-fi fishing. Her signal's bouncing all over Midtown.
Whoever's controlling Venus, doesn't want us to find them.
Stop pretending you're Venus!
- What the hell? - A Griefer, when you harass someone.
How did he know someone else was using Venus' avatar?
- Where did she go? - Don't know. She could be anywhere.
Hey, you.
I wanna talk about Venus. Do you know who stole her avatar?
He's making a run for it, boss.
OK, here. Put this on, alright?
Adam. This guy knows that Cheryl's not in control of the Venus avatar.
Get me a real world address on him.
He stopped.
Why did you shoot Venus?
How did you know somebody else was controlling her avatar?
- Adam? - He's link-dead.
Which means he's lost his internet connection or his computer's crashed.
I got him. I got him.
I have his address.
NYPD. Police.
Let's get some eyes in there.
Got a man down.
The bullet pulled from Johnny is a. 45.
It matches the one that killed Cheryl. Same calibre, same markings.
- We're looking for the same killer. - Yeah.
The only problem is, Johnny's body didn't show any signs of torture.
If the killer didn't want something, why kill him?
Johnny knew Cheryl was dead,
which meant her Second Life as Venus was over.
I'm thinking after we told Johnny Cheryl was murdered,
he went back into Second Life, only as a different avatar.
He knew we'd recognise him as Don Juan 2-3.
So he changed things up.
Became the Furry and attacked the person pretending to be Venus.
I mean, Johnny's form of retribution.
Only our killer used his tech savvy to track Johnny down and shut him up
so he couldn't tell anybody Cheryl was dead.
Because he needed Venus to live. Only why is that so important?
Did you ever find anything in NIBIN?
Yes. I got a case-to-case hit on the first slug from Cheryl.
Unsolved murder, last week, high-profile judge, New Jersey.
Judge McHenry never returned from a hunting trip.
Searchers found him in the woods, dead.
Police first thought it was a hunting accident,
but the bullet in his forehead and the. 45 said otherwise.
Another pro job.
And finding him in the woods might explain the tick
we found on Cheryl's body.
When he went to kill the judge, it may have gotten on his clothes
and transferred to Cheryl when he murdered her.
Question is, what do Johnny and Cheryl, our two New York vics,
have to do with a New Jersey judge?
Old Gearhead.
- Bonasera. - Stella, it's Mac.
Grab Danny. I've got a lead.
Yeah, I know her. It's Venus.
- She bought shoes from you today? - That's right.
As a Second Life vendor, I don't interact with my customers,
but Venus is a special case.
- Is she a regular? - I wish. She's a trendsetter.
She wears my boots, I double sales.
- Why did she go to your store? - She's got a hot date tonight.
- Real world or Second Life? - Maybe both.
Sometimes they start in Second Life and end up in the real world.
Venus mention who this hot date was with?
Mr TCB. He's got a store credit. Told her to go to Old Gearhead's.
- Who is Mr Taking Care of Business? - I don't know.
He sends lady friends to my online shoe store when they want to glam up.
Anything else like where they're going on this date?
Why don't you ask her yourself? She just walked in.
Says she lost her shoes, is looking to buy another pair.
Keep her busy.
I followed up on the Moso bamboo trace.
Our vic didn't have any plant like that but I did find out
that Moso bamboo is used in flooring and cabinetry.
It's a sustainable material.
Green buildings use it because it's a renewable resource.
So, maybe our vic was looking for a new apartment?
The bamboo you found was untreated,
so we're looking for a new building or one under renovation.
Compile a list. See if there's any connection to the vic.
- Taylor. - Mac, it's Stella.
Our girl's gone shopping again.
- I'm heading to AN. - She's on her way out.
We got her!
Venus is leaving Gearhead's store.
My name is Taylor. I'm a friend of the White Rabbit.
- Can we talk somewhere in private? - Of course. Follow me.
Venus?
Venus, where are you?
Where you won't find me, Detective Taylor.
How did you know?
The White Rabbit told me, never trust someone you haven't met face-to-face.
What the hell?
It's a trophy room.
Judge McHenry.
Cheryl Miller.
Johnny O'Dell.
Everyone is someone our killer put in the ground.
- What's that? - A calling card.
Avatars use them to transfer messages. Pick it up.
Actually wait. Don't pick it up.
- Why not? - It could be bad.
- We need to talk. - We need to talk.
Why did you kill Cheryl?
It's bad.
Why did you kill Cheryl?
She infected the card with a virus. Throw up a firewall. Stop it!
- It's not coming from Second Life. - Where's it from?
I don't know. It's uploaded and replicating code!
- Our system is overloading. - Log off.
- If I log off, we lose her. - Log off.
Log off! Now!
Whoa!
IT said it'd be another hour or so before our systems are back online.
By that time whoever assumed Venus' identity could have changed avatars.
I don't think that'll happen.
Our shooter murdered Cheryl and became Venus for a reason.
But why? Why become an avatar?
Because Venus' popularity gave her access to exclusive areas and people.
By co-opting her avatar, she could make contact with her next target.
- Mr TCB? - I got his info from Second Life.
Venus and Mr TCB had several conversations in the last few days.
Venus was setting him up.
- What's the name on the account? - David King with a PO box in DC.
Here's a video conference number for you.
Congressman Devane's office.
My name is Mac Taylor with the New York Crime Lab.
- Who am I talking to? - David King.
We're investigating a series of murders in New York.
Do you have an account with Second Life?
Your avatar's name is Mr TCB.
Mr King!
Mr TCB is actually my boss, Congressman Devane.
I opened the account for him.
We need to speak with him.
He's in New York. He keeps an apartment in the city.
- He's in New York. - Mr King, his life is in danger.
We need a local address and a phone number now.
4325 West 57th Street, Apartment 806.
555-0121.
Thank you.
That address is on my list of buildings using Moso bamboo.
Our shooter was staking out the building.
That's where this is going down.
I got voice mail. Congressman Devane, this is Detective Taylor...
The identity theft was all about a hit.
Our killer knew Devane was having affairs with woman in Second Life.
His affairs had to be discreet.
Travelling without a security detail - an easy target.
He went right for the bait. Who could resist Venus?
- What's the connection? - There is none.
Cheryl was needed for her avatar.
Johnny was killed because he was about to blow our killer's cover.
Cheryl was killed for her avatar and password.
- Devane and the judge? - Jobs.
Our suspect is a contract assassin.
How's it going, Chief? Seen Congressman Devane?
He went up to his apartment about an hour ago.
That young woman's on her way up to see him now.
Down! Everybody get down!
Clear the lobby. No one in or out. Stella, Danny, elevator.
Flack, we got the stairs.
Everybody this side of the lobby.
Hello?
This is Detective Mac Taylor with the NY Crime Lab.
What?
Stella, Danny. Clear the rest of the apartment.
Flack, check the other floors. She's here somewhere.
Excuse me!
Is there a problem?
NYPD. Please return to your apartment.
Of course.
Thank you.
Be aware, suspect has changed her look. I've got her coat and wig.
Stop! Stop!
Turn around!
Let him go. Put your hands where I can see them.
Please. She just knocked on my door. I don't know who she is.
Please, just let me go.
Mac?
Call an ambulance.
I need an ambulance. Man down. 4325 West 57 th.
I've got eyes on her. She's moving to the seventh floor.