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.

On behalf of the crew at 104,

I just wanna say how honoured we are

to be here with you today.

When I ran into this building a year...

When I ran into this school? No.

We... When we ran into this school a year ago.

When we ran into this school a year ago,

we weren't thinking about...

appreciation or thanks.

We were thinking about your safety.

Pinewood Elementary and the family of Penny Campbell

would like to formally thank the firefighters of station 104.

And who better to do that than one of our students.

Ben?

When our school was on fire last year, you came to help us.

We remember all the smoke and being so scared.

How you came and got us out safely.

You will always be heroes to us.

Lieutenant Rhys Manning,

would you please come up

and accept this painting and this plaque.

Thank you to everyone for coming out today.

On behalf of the rest of the crew at 104,

I just want to say how incredibly honoured we are

to be here with you.

When we ran into this school a year ago...

This one...

five bedrooms, four bathrooms.

Media room, gym in the basement.

You're going to love it.

Rear windows face west, so the light hits perfectly.

Right at cocktail hour. - Hmm.

More like bedtime.

Three kids under ten, I'm not making a lot of cocktails.

Your wife could make them.

Yeah, she could. At her house.

Holy God.

I've been in the Annex for too long.

I wouldn't even know what to do with a yard this big.

Pool. Patio. Potato patch.

Everyone figures it out once they have the space.

And I was gonna say putting green,

but potato patch, there's an idea.

So, Blair.

Tell me, what are the schools like around here?

- Hey, Simms! - Yo.

That saw caught on the garage door latch.

Check the blade for me? - Aye-aye, captain.

Acting captain. I'm not dead yet.

Detached garage fire.

We knocked it down before it made an extension

to the main house. No injuries.

That's what I like to hear.

Hey, listen. Those conference people called again.

Cap, you know I don't want to do that.

I don't want to hear it, Hollywood.

You're the one who sent your five-point

rescue leadership strategy up the chain.

They want you to go to Vegas this time.

One hour, talking to a bunch of keeners. The rest?

You are carousing in Sin City. - Cap, you know me, though.

I'm just gonna spend the whole time talking shop

with these guys. - No one's choice but your own.

You're allowed to have a little fun once in a while.

Okay, Smokey. You get your fix.

And I get mine.

You're jittery. Second cup?

I thought you were off work today.

Yeah, well, my coverage booked off sick last minute.

So... Working today. I'm fine, though.

Still got enough time to prepare.

Vegas isn't until the weekend.

Right. Vegas.

Come on, don't look at me like that.

You know I don't want to go, right?

Yeah.

- Whoa. - What?

It's your first grey.

Pretty soon you're gonna be all salt and pepper

like old Smokey there.

Hey, I'm trying to reach Rhys,

but he's not picking up, would you grab him for me?

He's not in today.

Oh, he said he was working today.

Well, he's not on the schedule.

- Where is he? - Blair, I have no idea.

I know he's seeing someone, Easton.

I just want to know who it is, what's her name?

- What are you talking about? - Forget it.

What brings you to town, Chief?

Uh, speaking at a conference. Fire safety.

Seen plenty of guys start the day at a seminar

and end it in a chapel.

I'm already married.

Well, we got the call at 8:08 last night.

Soon as we heard the address, we moved double time, but, uh...

it was too late by the time we got in here.

What is it about the address?

House belonged to one of our senior crew.

He's at a firefighter conference in Vegas.

Left the night before last.

- Thanks. - Yeah.

We believe the victim is, uh, Blair Manning.

34-years-old, real estate agent,

wife of Lieutenant Reese Manning.

He's a firefighter at station 104.

Firefighter's wife dying in a house fire.

That's a little strange, isn't it?

Must've heard all the horror stories from her husband.

It's not like she was racing down the stairs in a panic.

Exactly. One of two reasons why I called Viv Holness,

requested her best. - What's the other reason?

Well, the burner was still on when our fire crew arrived.

Cooking is the leading cause of residential fires.

But as you say, she's a firefighter's wife.

It'd be highly unusual

if she'd leave food on the stove unattended.

- Where's the cat? - Well, we didn't find a carcass

if that's what you're asking. - So, if it wasn't the food,

what do you think it was?

Well, when you've been on the job as long as I have,

you develop a pretty good nose. You smell it?

- Is that gasoline? - Yeah.

I'm gonna take some samples. The countertops, the floors.

Test for residue.

DNA tests confirm the victim's ID.

This is Blair Manning.

- Any soot in her airways? - Good question. And no.

She didn't die in the fire. She was dead before it started.

What's her actual cause of death?

All of her injuries are consistent

with a fall down the stairs.

Except for one.

Hyoid bone.

It was compressed inward.

Blair Manning died by strangulation.

- Any idea when? - No.

Too much thermal damage to narrow it down.

Okay, so, strangle Blair, throw her down the stairs

to mask any injuries, then set a massive fire.

It's a distraction, sleight of hand.

A real magician's trick. - So who's our magician?

Dead wife, I'm looking at the husband.

- Hmm. - If we're talking fire,

I'd be looking for a fireman.

Hi, I'm Detective John Darcy.

- And I'm Detective Bateman. - Thank you.

Um.

I hopped on the first flight after I got the call,

and the next thing I know, I'm being escorted here by cops.

So... - Mr. Manning,

I'm so sorry to have to tell you,

your wife was murdered.

Uh... I thought Blair died in a fire?

It was an accident.

It sure looked that way.

So what makes you think it was a... murder?

We're still gathering the facts.

Maybe you could help us out?

Okay, um... yeah. I wanna help any way I can.

- Great. - Yeah.

Blair was my best friend.

My biggest cheerleader.

Why don't you start by telling us how your wife was

before you left. Was she happy? Was she upset?

Was she alive?

Excuse me?

What, are you asking if I had something to do with this?

Given the fact that she was dead before the fire,

it's a possibility.

Oh, my God.

We were texting...

all day that day.

Right up until I spoke at the conference.

A conference in Vegas. 2,000 miles away.

Mr. Manning, did your wife have any enemies?

Anyone who might want to hurt her.

Uh, no. No.

Everyone loved Blair.

I don't believe him.

I hear you, but for now, let's go with the evidence.

Husband's alibi checks out.

Rhys Manning was leading a seminar on rescue leadership

in Vegas the same time his house was burning down.

And he was texting with Blair right up to the fire.

Have you spoken to her friends? Family?

Did she have any enemies?

Rhys said she didn't.

And her friends and family all agree.

No one saw her or spoke to her in the last 48 hours,

but everyone said the same thing.

Rhys and Blair had the perfect marriage.

If I had a nickel.

What's your problem?

"Blair was my biggest cheerleader."

Is that the first thing you say when you find out

your spouse has been killed?

It's a statement about him, it's not about his dead wife.

- Do we have motive. - Not yet.

And I'm sorry, but how would he kill her

all the way from Vegas?

We don't have time of death.

Rhys could've strangled her before he left,

walked out, got on a plane to Alabi-ville USA.

He could've paid someone to set the blaze.

The guy's a firefighter, it can't be that hard

to track down an arsonist for hire, right?

What about all the texting?

Blair's phone was a melted brick.

But we did get her tablet from her office.

It's mostly work stuff, but like most people,

she got her messages on here as well.

Day of the fire, Blair didn't text

anyone besides Rhys.

But a guy named Hendrix Lane texted her a lot.

Blair sold him a house three months ago.

Blair seems like the type of woman who went above and beyond.

Yeah, she was great.

She helped me find my house.

Sent flowers the day we closed.

Set me up with a decorator. - Wow.

Would you call her a friend? - Yep.

That's interesting, because your text messages

suggest you were something more.

Care to read those out for us, Hendrix?

No?

All right.

"Blair, what the hell was that. Answer my call."

"Blair, call me back. We need to talk this out in person."

"Hey, call me please or else I'm coming over there."

Oh, Hendrix, I'm not gonna lie to you,

this does not look good. In fact,

it looks like Blair ended your... friendship

the day before the fire and you weren't taking it well.

So what happened?

You've seen the texts.

Okay, well, Blair won't write you back,

so maybe you follow up. You go over there.

You try to make her talk to you in person, she says no.

You get angry... - No.

You probably didn't mean to do it,

but once you did, you decided to cover it up

with a fire as some messed-up nod

to the hero husband she dumped you for.

He's not a hero, he's a fraud.

And you know what, I wish I had gone to her house,

because maybe then she would still be here.

But it was my weekend with my kids.

After Blair broke it off on Friday afternoon,

I picked them up from my ex

and I drove straight to my cottage in Haliburton.

I've got a doorbell camera and three kids who will tell you

that I didn't leave the dock until this morning.

What did you mean, "He's a fraud?"

Blair sent me this message

the day before she died.

We can't do this anymore.

Rhys is freaking me out.

I'm just... I'm actually very scared.

I... I don't want to drag you into it. At all.

I'm just, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Does that sound like a good guy to you?

Someone she was terrified of?

He was completely self-absorbed.

Super controlling, the way that she looked,

what she ate, what she wore.

I'm sure he promised that he would change

after he found out.

Wait, he knew about the affair?

Yeah, Blair said he found out last week.

I... I told her that she could leave him

and come and live with me, but she couldn't.

She was afraid that he was gonna kill her.

I... I just thought that she was being hyperbolic.

Hmm...

If there's anyone that you should be investigating

for Blair's murder, it's her husband.

So much for the perfect marriage.

Controlling husband

who thinks he's God's gift to public safety.

Imagine what that affair did to his ego.

Tell me that guy strangled his wife in a jealous rage.

That's something I'll believe.

I just got a message from Adams.

They want to meet us back at the crime scene.

Rhys, you'll never guess what.

Six years on the job,

first goddamn time saving a cat from a tree.

Smokey! Hey.

Hey, uh, you should take my room tonight.

You need some sleep, all right?

I can take the couch.

I can't close my eyes...

without picturing what happened to her.

Just tell me what it was like.

In the house.

With Blair.

If the cops think someone hurt her, I need to know why.

And what happened exactly. And what I could've done.

You sure you want to know?

Yeah.

I want to know everything.

Our tests confirmed it.

There were traces of gasoline on the countertop and the floors.

See this clean spot here?

It's what we call a protected pattern.

That's what happens in a fire when a heavy object

blocks the airflow

and it protects the surface underneath.

This is our true point of origin.

- May I? - Yeah.

Huh, very good.

Could someone put gasoline in this coffee maker

and then use it as an ignition device?

Well, if they filled the reservoir with gasoline,

it would drip onto the heating element and vaporize.

The vapor would hit the open flame on the stove...

Flash fire.

We'll have to test the coffee maker to be sure.

BRA. It's Brava Brew, it's a high-end coffee machine.

And the timer to turn it on can be delayed up to 24 hours.

That's the exact amount of time

between when Rhys left for the airport

and when the fire started.

- It was the husband. - Guys.

We're talking about a decorated firefighter.

Exactly. His house burning down in an arson

isn't tragic irony,

it's a cover-up by a man who murdered his wife

after finding out about her affair.

An affair he didn't tell us about.

This is a man who stands to collect three million dollars

in insurance if this was an accident.

There's motive times two.

What about the timeline?

According to your case notes,

Rhys was in Vegas the day of the fire.

The fire marshal confirmed they found traces of gas

in the reservoir of the coffee maker.

Rhys killed her,

set the 24-hour timer on the coffee maker,

then walked out the door.

But he was texting with his wife the day of the fire.

You gonna get that?

- What is this? - I scheduled those texts

to go out to you ten minutes ago.

Rhys could've easily scheduled those texts

from Blair's phone to himself to make it look like

she was still alive when he left.

That's clever.

But it's not a confession.

We're not getting a confession.

We've already questioned the guy three times.

He's exercising his right to remain silent.

He's already got Lee Hynes on retainer.

He's circling the wagons.

Which is why we need you to get him in court.

Let the evidence do the talking.

Come on, Theo, we're telling you,

Rhys Manning murdered his wife.

He had the means, he had the motive,

he had the opportunity.

Rhys Manning, you're under arrest

for arson and for the murder of Blair Manning.

What do you think you're doing?

This man just lost everything. - Not everything.

He still has his right to due process.

You performed the autopsy on Blair Manning.

So which came first,

the fire, the fall, or the strangulation?

There was no soot in Mrs. Manning's airways,

and there was no bleeding associated

with any of her fractures from the fall.

The only injury with any localized hemorrhaging

was the hyoid bone in her neck.

It's a small, U-shaped bone right here.

The fracture pattern indicates strangulation,

and the blood around it proves

that she was alive when it happened.

Mrs. Manning was dead before she hit the stairs

and before the fire started. This was a homicide.

So, it is possible that Mrs. Manning

could've been killed before her husband Rhys left for Vegas.

Yes, it's absolutely possible.

Thank you, Doctor.

No more questions.

Doctor, a charred body presents

one of the most challenging scenarios

in forensic pathology, does it not?

It complicates the examination, yes.

Because intense heat can cause all kinds of damage,

like contractions so intense they can snap

the fragile hyoid bone.

Yes, but in this particular case...

Yes, let's get specific.

In this particular case,

were you able to determine the exact time of death?

No. The heat damage was too severe.

So you can't say for certain

that Blair Manning was dead before her husband

left for his work trip?

No. I cannot.

You cannot.

No further questions.

Investigator Adams.

Your report states that you found gasoline residue

in this coffee maker's reservoir. Is that true?

Uh, yes, as well as the countertop around it.

The fire was called in exactly 24 hours and eight minutes

after the defendant left for the airport.

So in your professional opinion, is it possible

that an experienced firefighter like Mr. Manning

could set this incineration device to burn down his house

while sitting in a casino in Vegas?

Calls to speculation and leading the witness.

I don't require an answer, Your Honour.

No further questions.

That is a remarkably complex hypothesis, Investigator.

A Rube Goldberg machine

made of coffee timers and gasoline.

But let's look at what else you found in that kitchen.

On page three of your investigation report,

you noticed severe heat damage

on and around the stove, correct?

- Yes. - And you found a skillet

with charred food in it on the active burner, did you not?

Yes, but it was the gasoline that...

According to Statistics Canada,

32 % of all residential fires,

nearly one third, are caused by cooking accidents.

Does that sound accurate?

Statistically, yes, but that doesn't...

Right. Simple, tragic accidents.

You yourself never left a pan on a burner a minute too long?

I certainly know I have.

Objection. Irrelevant.

Withdrawn.

Blair said her husband was very controlling.

Withholding.

Said that he only cared about his job,

said that she felt like a prop.

She wanted out.

And yet she ended things with you.

Did she give you a reason?

She said she wanted to end things

because she was afraid of her husband.

I asked her for an explanation. The day before the fire,

she said that Rhys had found out about us,

and that she was scared

that he would kill her if she tried to leave.

No further questions.

Your Honour...

defence has no interest in dignifying

the fan fiction of a jilted lover.

No questions.

Hynes is a bulldog.

Hendrix just laid her client's motive bare

for the entire courtroom to see

and she passes up his throat? Doesn't make sense.

Well, she didn't want to dignify the affair

in front of the jury. - Or she wants them

to hear about it from someone else.

I think she's gonna put Rhys on the stand.

Well, that's defence suicide.

So I certainly hope she does.

First of all, Mr. Manning,

I want to offer you my condolences

on the loss of your wife.

Sir, I only have a few questions.

The Crown alleges you discovered your wife's affair

three days before you left for Las Vegas.

Is that true?

No, uh, it's not.

The truth is I learned of Blair's affair

a month before she died.

Objection, self-serving narrative.

Mr. Forrester does not

a monopoly on the narrative of this tragedy.

My client's state of mind's

the very definition of relevant, Your Honour.

I'll allow it. Proceed, Mr. Manning.

About a month before she died,

I asked Blair what was going on with her

and that's when she told me everything.

And your reaction?

I was devastated.

I wanted to be the man Blair married, you know?

But this job, it...

it can be tough sometimes, as you can imagine.

What my wife saw as me being withholding

was actually me trying to leave the job at the fire hall.

Misguided as it was.

So when she told me about the affair, I wasn't angry.

I sort of understood.

But Blair and I, we were trying to save our marriage.

And that's why she called it off with Mr. Lane.

Thank you.

No further questions, Your Honour.

Mr. Manning.

When was the last time you spoke with your wife?

Uh, we texted back and forth while I was in Vegas,

the day of the fire.

Your honour, I would like to show the witness exhibit 44.

Mrs. Manning's text messages. - Go ahead.

Please read the last two messages

you received from your wife.

"You're gonna smash it, babe. Sending love."

And, "Just cooking dinner. Night, love."

Blair wrote "love" twice. Spell it for the jury.

L-O-V-E.

Now, flip back three weeks. Tell us how she spelled it then.

She spelled it L U V.

L U V.

Every single time.

Right up until the moment you left for the airport.

Then suddenly, your wife discovers the correct spelling?

No.

Because I suggest you wrote those texts

after you strangled her.

You scheduled the texts to send while you were in Vegas

to give yourself a thousand-mile alibi.

True or false? - False.

Okay, fine.

Let's go back to the day in question.

There's a text message from your wife's cousin, Susan.

What does it say?

Uh, it says, "It's a boy."

"It's a boy." Susan had a baby.

Yet your wife didn't answer, did she?

No congratulations, no nothing.

Your wife didn't answer

her mother, her cousin, her work.

She didn't go anywhere.

Send an email, she didn't use a bank machine.

For the last 24 hours of Blair Manning's life,

the only thing she did was text her ever-loving husband?

Okay, can you explain that?

'Cause to me it sounds like you sent those texts.

Objection, Your Honour! Council is testifying.

I'm putting the Crown's theory to the accused.

He can answer it.

Answer the question, Mr. Manning.

I can't answer it!

Because I didn't send those text messages.

And I sure as hell didn't kill my wife.

I didn't do it, okay?

- Thanks, man. - Yeah.

I was just thinking about that five-alarm

on Royal York three years ago.

Yeah, floor gave up right under me.

Still got the scar on my knee.

Smoke so thick I couldn't even see my own boots.

Didn't even know it was you when I grabbed you.

I almost pulled you down with me. But, um.

I knew you'd get us out.

I'm gonna miss it.

- What're you talking about. - The job.

The guys.

Standing on the front line with you.

Rhys... come on.

You were there in the court today, Simms.

You saw me.

I lost it on the stand.

That's all the jury's gonna be thinking about

when they're deliberating.

I loved her so much.

The defence calls Easton Simms.

What do you think the play is?

Character witness?

Get Rhys's crew to talk about

his heroism in the field? - Maybe.

... that the evidence being given by you to the court

shall be the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth? - I do.

Mr. Simms, how do you know the defendant?

We're both on A-Platoon at Station 104.

Station 104 responded to the fire

at the Manning residence, correct?

- Yes, that's correct. - And you were a first responder on that call.

Define your role to the jury.

I was part of the fire crew that attacked

and suppressed the fire.

Later, under Investigator Adams' direction,

I assisted in evidence recovery.

I removed sections of the kitchen countertop

and flooring at the fire's point of origin.

And what was the inspector looking for?

Evidence of an ignitable liquid.

Like gasoline, for example?

Yes.

And what equipment did you use to pull the samples?

A gasoline-powered saw.

Objection, the defence gave no notice

they would present such evidence.

And if that's where we're going,

I request an adjournment to review...

If Mr. Forrester looks at the fire marshal

investigation report, which the Crown itself

disclosed months ago, it notes,

"a firefighter removed those samples."

That firefighter is my witness.

Request denied.

Defence may proceed.

So, Mr. Simms, are you saying that the gas

the fire marshal found, the same gas the Crown claims

Mr. Manning used to burn down his own home

might have leaked from your power tool?

- Yes. - And where was the coffee maker

when you were pulling those samples?

On the floor.

On the floor near the gas-powered saw

you were using to take the samples?

Yes.

I'm sorry, I should have spoken up earlier,

I was embarrassed by my mistake.

Yes, the truth is, I may have contaminated the scene.

Quiet, please.

Thank you, Your Honour.

So, to be clear, Mr. Simms,

based on your first-hand actions,

this jury is looking at a compromised crime scene.

A fire of uncertain origins and an inconclusive timeline,

all of which points to reasonable doubt.

Objection.

Council is presenting closing arguments mid-trial.

Withdrawn, Your Honour.

No more questions.

Be seated.

Will the defendant please rise?

Ladies and gentlemen, do you have a verdict?

Yes, Your Honour.

On the counts of arson and murder,

how do you find the accused?

We the jury find the defendant Rhys Manning

not guilty.

Hey!

Quiet, please.

Ugh.

Adams said they stepped away from the crime scene

to grab their field kit while Simms was pulling the samples.

But Simms was using a manual chisel at the time.

Adams never heard or saw a gas-powered tool.

So Simms perjured himself.

- Yeah. - 'Cause Rhys convinced him to.

We can't just let this guy go.

Then what do you suggest we do?

The Crown can't appeal based on fresh evidence,

even if it shows there was perjury.

Double jeopardy kicked in the second that jury

gave their verdict. - The guy's guilty.

Oh, very helpful. And no, he's not.

You know why? Because the jury said so.

Rhys Manning is a free man.

Theo, if you had just caught Simms in disclosure...

It was your crime scene.

This is over, Detectives.

Theo, wait, I'm sorry.

We all got played.

Rhys obstructed justice in his own trial.

It's not murder, but it puts him in a jail cell.

Mm, no, no, no. This department just suffered

a very public loss. You're not going near him.

Wait, what if we don't have to?

Rhys wasn't the only one who lied on the stand.

If Simms talks, we can make sure

the next front page has Rhys in a jump suit.

Okay. Talk to the friend.

But if he doesn't give you anything to move on

in the next 24 hours, I'm with Forrester,

and this is over.

Go ahead, ask any one of my guys on the crew.

They'll tell you I had the saw.

Oh, right, the sacred brotherhood.

You guys always have each other's backs.

On the job. On the witness stand.

Aren't you one to generalize. Look at you guys.

Dead wife, so it has to be the husband.

It's a little lazy.

The man's job is saving lives.

Doesn't mean he's incapable of taking them.

- Rhys didn't kill Blair. - Oh, right.

And you didn't perjure yourself under oath.

Come on.

Give me a name.

Who killed her? - You want suspects?

Have a closer look at Blair. - Why?

She was the one with the secret life.

Cheating, sneaking around, being a complete hypocrite.

Hang on, what do you mean, "hypocrite?"

She called me a few days before the fire,

said she was looking for Rhys at the station.

And when I told her that he wasn't there,

she asked me who he was seeing.

And what did you tell her?

I said I didn't know what she was talking about.

Rhys just wants to put this all behind him

and get back to work. I mean, we all do.

So can I please go now?

Sit tight.

Okay, if Blair was worried about Rhys seeing someone else,

then maybe she wasn't the only one

who wanted out of the marriage.

Divorce costs money, a dead wife pays three million.

What we know for sure is that Blair was looking for answers.

Let's find out if she got them.

You sure this is it?

Yeah, this is the address Blair put into her GPS

the day she talked to Simms.

Mark said that she checked Rhys's location

before she got here.

Owner died two years ago. No family.

Property's in limbo with the trustee office.

Police?

Anyone there?

Pull it up.

Well, whatever Rhys was doing in here,

it was not getting lucky.

Hey, there's something under here.

These look like burn marks.

These circles are protected patterns.

The numbers must be variables.

I'm starting to think Rhys's house

isn't the first fire he's set.

I have seen these grids before at training seminars.

Rhys was experimenting

with spontaneous chemical combustion.

Delayed arson, like his house fire.

Yeah, except this is a totally different method.

The circular protected patterns, they all represent

different sized metal containers like cans.

You add a drying oil like teak or linseed,

and then you pack it really tightly

with a cotton rag.

The oil oxidizes until the cotton rag heats up

until the point of ignition.

What about the numbers on the grid?

It looks like Rhys was calculating

the math of the countdown.

Small versus large, uh, 100 millilitres versus two.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

Is there any record of any arsonist in the city

ever using this method?

No, I mean, that's the clever thing about it.

The evidence incinerates itself.

All you're left with is a container.

And if the can is small enough, it'll be displaced

by the high pressure of a fire hose.

Especially if the arsonist is the one holding it.

What if the reason Rhys was trying to get the delay

down to a science was so that he could plant

the ignition device and make sure he was on duty

when the call came in?

We should start with his schedule.

Jodie, do you have the forensic files

for the fires that Rhys responded to?

Yeah.

Guys.

Hey...

I got it. All right, cap?

Yeah.

Welcome back, brother!

Wait, are you serious, man?

Come on! You're gonna squish the donuts!

- Oh, are these for us? Aw! - Yeah!

Now, looking at the area of origin

in all four of these fires,

they all have the same small circular protected pattern.

The same as the last row on Rhys's test grid.

Looks like that's the size of the container he settled on.

Now, all of these fires started in storage rooms.

They would've been packed with combustibles,

they would've accelerated the flame

and hid the ignition source.

And Rhys was the lead on all four?

Ah, make that five.

A restaurant on Kipling.

Wow, these go back two years.

- Any casualties? - No.

We've only just scratched the surface.

I'm gonna text Mark.

Get him to dig into every fire that Rhys was ever at.

I've seen this before.

Can you pull this restaurant fire up on your monitor?

Uh, bottom left corner. Can you zoom in?

"The... Cutest Carnivore?"

That's the same brand of cat food at Rhys's house.

That's what caused all those protected patterns.

This guy lights fires so he can be the hero and put them out.

And maybe Blair knew it.

That's why he killed her.

I give you guys 24 hours to prove that Rhys Manning

tampered with a witness, and you come back claiming

that he started several unrelated fires instead?

Respectfully, they're not unrelated.

We lost that trial because the jury didn't believe

that Rhys started a delayed fire at his own home.

But we had the wrong motive.

Say more.

His wife found out he was an arsonist.

After we realized what Rhys was doing,

we found a folder for a fake property listing

on Blair's tablet.

She created it the day after she tracked Rhys's location.

It had photos of his garage lab, hardware store receipts

for rags, teak oil, all kinds of...

Whoa, wait. If Rhys was a teak oil rags guy,

why didn't he use that method in his own house?

Because it would take too long to ignite.

Rhys's experiments gave him a 36 to 48 hour window.

If he used his usual method, he would risk arriving

home from Vegas before his house burned down.

He needed to pivot to something faster.

That's where the coffee maker came in.

This changes nothing about his acquittal.

Can't try the guy a second time for the same murder.

No, I know.

But we can get him on arson.

So, what? Put him away for a few years,

hope he comes out a changed man?

Theo, it's not just one fire, he's... he's escalating.

He's doing this for the praise, for the attention.

He's sociopathic.

Fire after fire, after fire, after fire.

He murdered his own wife just to protect his own mythology.

Pinewood Elementary...

Last June.

We covered that with Adams.

Rhys wasn't working that day,

he wasn't working that fire, so why was he there?

Rhys was originally scheduled to work

the day of the Pinewood fire but he rolled his ankle

the day before so I sent him home for the week.

But he came back?

Crew told me showed up the next day

with a box of donuts.

I ended up sticking around, which...

...was a good thing, too.

That school fire got out of control real fast.

Yeah, so we heard. It took out a few classrooms.

Yeah, well, it could've been worse.

We only lost one.

What do you mean, "you only lost one?"

Mr. Manning!

A few words?

It's fine.

Depends on the words.

How about "We're sorry?"

Look, Rhys...

Cops and firefighters, We're not that different.

We're all here to save lives, right?

Yeah.

Appreciate the apology.

But, if that's all, I got work to do.

Hey, Toronto Fire passed you over for lieutenant...

three times before you finally made the cut, right?

Apparently, there was a...

issue with your leadership abilities,

you were more of a crew guy.

But you didn't like that, so you found a shortcut.

You started setting fires yourself

so you could be the hero who put them out.

And it worked.

You got promoted.

Conferences started calling.

- What are you talking about? - Oh, he knows.

No idea what these guys are talking about.

Is that what you told Blair?

When she figured it out, after she called Simms here,

followed you back to your little fire lab?

Your wife finally saw you for what you really are.

A sociopath and an arsonist.

And so you killed her.

I was acquitted of my wife's death.

You're right. Legally.

You can't be tried for it again.

But the Crown hasn't tried you for the death of Penny Campbell.

Remember Pinewood Elementary?

Everyone made it out safely.

Except Penny.

Eight years old, she snuck off to the supply room

off the library to read over lunch.

She ended up with third-degree burns all over her body.

There were cover stories.

With your face on it.

But none about that little girl who died three months later

when she got sepsis from the injuries that you caused.

She got two paragraphs in a local paper.

I saved 12 kids that day.

I was the first one in the door, and I didn't stop.

- You were a hero. - Yeah, actually. I was.

I am. We are.

Yeah.

You couldn't do what we do. Neither could you.

Takes a certain type of person to run into a burning building.

You know why?

Because it's counterintuitive.

The body just doesn't want to do it.

So you have to override that instinct,

and you have to run into that fire to save lives.

And then you know what?

The little kids thank you for it.

Yeah, they do. Everyone thanks you for it.

Everyone except you two.

You have no idea who I am. - Oh, we do, actually.

As a matter of fact, catch.

You were so busy pulling kids out

for your photo op that you forgot to retrieve

the ignition device you left behind.

That's the stuff you feed your cat.

Imported from California.

It's actually quite hard to find.

This is ridiculous.

You realize that, right?

Because I have no idea what he's talking about...

I've got five more photos just like that.

Your lieutenant here has been setting the fires

you're risking your lives to put out.

Rhys.

Look at me.

You really think your brotherhood's

gonna protect you this time?

Cap, come on.

Come on, you can't believe this, right?

Come on... hey, gets your hands off me!

Simms!

Today marks the beginning of the Crown's prosecution

of Rhys Manning for the arson at Pinewood Elementary

and for the resulting death

of eight-year-old Penny Campbell.

We also hope that these proceedings

will bring a measure of justice to Blair Manning's family.

You think this gets us back in Theo's good books?

I don't know.

Let's wait for the smoke to clear.

difuze