The lone holdout on a jury is found dead in the jury room. The eleven jurors who were voting guilty and who hated the dead juror are the natural suspects. Nick reopens a four year old case when the sister of the victim comes forward with new evidence.
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - MGM GRAND -- NIGHT] (Lightning flashes; thunder crashes.) Man: (V.O.) I saw you with him. I know you're lying. Woman: (V.O.) (screaming) You've got it all wrong. I'm telling you. Nothing happened. (Quick flash to: The MAN wraps the belt around the woman's neck and chokes her.) Man: Nobody cheats on me. (The WOMAN continues to scream and yell.) Man: I hate you. How could you do this to me? (The MAN chokes the WOMAN. She struggles.) Lizette: (V.O.) His fingerprints were all over that belt. [INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY] Lizette: That's the only way it could have happened. Bob Durham: I'm with Lizette, all right? We heard from the D.A. They called the cops last week on a domestic disturbance. Davis: Kimble was just getting warmed up. Believe me. I know the type. Brown-haired Juror: Husband was a casino host. Just happens to come home in the middle of a shift? Come on. Jervis: Oh, look, we've really talked this thing to death, haven't we? Tara Newsome: (stilted) Chris, can we please put this to another vote? (CHRIS looks around the table at the faces of the other anxious jurors. After a long pause, he comments.) Chris Gibbons: The burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. (Everyone lets out a frustrated breath.) Chris Gibbons: We don't have that. There was somebody else in the house that day. The cable guy. (Quick flashback to: The CABLE GUY is choking MRS. KIMBLE when MR. KIMBLE comes in and breaks it up.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Chris Gibbons: Cable guy's got priors. He skipped town. Bob Durham: You're still on the cable guy theory? His fingerprints weren't even on the belt. (JERVIS bites his nails nervously.) Chris Gibbons: He could have worn gloves. Jervis: (frustrated) I can't take this anymore! (JERVIS stands up and goes to the window. He opens it.) Jervis: Who keeps shutting this damn window? Lizette: Lunch will be here soon. Let's take a break. (Everyone stands up.) [SCENE_BREAK] [HALLWAY NEAR VENDING MACHINES] (JERVIS stands at the vending machine with the DARK-HAIRED WOMAN.) Jervis: This guy is driving me nuts. (On the other side of the hallway, BOB DURHAM talks with DAVIS. Bob Durham: We've got to get Chris Gibbons replaced. Davis: Oh, I pointed him in the right direction, but he didn't snap. (TARA NEWSOME walks up to the JERVIS: Tara Newsome: I'd kill for a candy bar right now. (The BAILIFF walks out into the hallway to make an announcement.) Officer: Hey, people. Your lunch is getting cold. (Everyone heads back into the conference room.) [SCENE_BREAK] [CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (The jurors open the double doors to the conference room and the group walks inside. They're preoccupied chatting with each other. Suddenly they stop and notice CHRIS GIBBONS lying on the floor dead.) WHITE FLASH TO: [INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY] (GRISSOM ducks under the crime scene tape barring the doorway. He walks into the conference room carrying his kit. He meets BRASS who is standing over the body.) Brass: Chris Gibbons, UNLV grad student. The jury's been sequestered two and a half weeks on a murder trial. Grissom: Twelve strangers ... stuck in a room with no exit. It's like Sartre said: "Hell is other people." FADE TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. COURTHOUSE -- DAY] [CAMERA VIEW] (The camera flashes on a close up of the cut on CHRIS GIBBON'S forehead.) (White flash to: [INT. COURTHOUSE - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY] (GRISSOM stands over the body taking pictures. BRASS walks up to him.) Brass: What do you got? Grissom: My early opinion? Blunt force. (Quick flashback to: CHRIS GIBBONS sits at the conference table. Someone walks up to him, grabs his head and slams it against the table. End of flashback. Resume to present.) (They both kneel down to look over the body. GRISSOM notices the bracelet.) Grissom: He's got a, uh, medical alert bracelet. Allergy to penicillin. Brass: Well ... we got eleven potential suspects. (GRISSOM finds a strand of hair on the victim's shirt. He picks it up with a tweezer.) (Camera zooms in for a close up of the hair.) Grissom: Do you have one with blond hair? Brass: Yeah. There's one I know of. Um, Miss Davis -- she's a stripper at The Shimmer. (GRISSOM looks at the hair and notices that it doesn't have a tag.) Grissom: There's no tag cells, and she's not a natural blonde, and it looks synthetic. (BRASS stands over by the counter looking through the slips of paper.) Brass: Hey, this is Vegas, baby. (GRISSOM looks at BRASS.) Brass: (reading) Guilty. Guilty. "Not Guilty." Eleven "guilty," one "not guilty." Now that's motive. (BRASS turns to GRISSOM and holds up the slips of paper.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - HALLWAY -- DAY] (The jurors stand out in the hallway talking amongst themselves. CATHERINE walks up to them.) Catherine: (loudly) Excuse me. May I have your...? (The crowd doesn't notice CATHERINE and continues conversing.) Catherine: (louder) Excuse me. May I have your attention, please? (The crowd slowly quiets down.) Catherine: Thank you. I'm Catherine Willows. I'm from the crime lab. (The BROWN-HAIRED JUROR gets to his feet.) Brown-haired Juror: So it's a mistrial, right? Tara Newsome: Can we go home? Catherine: No. I'm sorry. No one is going anywhere. Ms. Davis. I'll start with you. Will you follow me, please? (CATHERINE turns and leads MS. DAVIS off to another room. Conversation resumes with the other jurors.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - ROOM - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (CATHERINE interviews MS. DAVIS.) Catherine: Miss Davis, we found a synthetic blond hair on the victim's body. Care to explain? (MS. DAVIS removes her wig.) Davis: Girl to girl. I'm a dancer. I came off the pole. I teased him a little bit. (Quick flashback to: CHRIS GIBBONS stands in front of the vending machines. MS. DAVIS approaches him and leans her back against the machines, looking at CHRIS.) Davis: I need a release, so why don't you get us out of here, and I'll ... (She moves closer to him, her arms around his neck and whispers into his ear.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Catherine: Did he take you up on your offer? Davis: Well, if you ask me, arguing was his turn-on. Catherine: Lucky for you. Attempting to influence is a category D Felony. It's up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Davis: Am I under arrest? Catherine: Woman to woman? The pole is there for a reason. It's what you hang on to so the creeps don't pull you out of there. Smarten up. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- DAY] (NICK is at the front counter signing some papers.) Nick: Thanks, man. (He finishes and heads out when DETECTIVE VARTANN rounds the corner and finds him.) Det. Vartann: Stokes. Nick: Detective. Hey. Det. Vartann: Hey. You've got a minute? (They shake hands.) Nick: Yeah. Sure, what's up? Det. Vartann: Four years ago, you and Grissom worked a missing persons out in Moapa Valley? She lived on a farm with her husband? Nick: Wow. Um ... (trying to remember) ... yeah, I remember uh-uh, Rita? Det. Vartann: Rita Westonson. Nick: Found nothing suspicious. Nothing criminal. Figured she wanted to skip town, disappear. Det. Vartann: Rita's sister is in interrogation. She's claiming Rita was murdered. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (NICK and DET. VARTANN interview FAYE MINDEN.) Nick: Faye, it's been four years since your sister went missing. Now, CSI conducted a full investigation -- found nothing suspicious, nothing criminal. Why are you coming forward now? Faye Minden: I lied to you back then, and I live with the guilt every day. Det. Vartann: Miss Minden? It's my duty to advise you of your right to counsel. Faye Minden: I don't want an attorney. I admit I withheld information. That's why I'm here. And if I have to go to jail, so be it. I just want to do right by my sister. Nick: Okay. Let's start from the beginning. Your sister disappeared over a weekend ... Faye Minden: Rita didn't disappear. Her business trip to Fresno got cut short, and she came home early. (Quick flashback to: The barn door opens and RITA WESTONSON sees her husband AARON with another woman.) Faye Minden: (V.O.) And she found Aaron, her husband, in the barn with another woman. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Faye Minden: Rita freaked out and started screaming and saying she was going to leave him. Aaron saw red and lost it. (Quick flashback to: RITA is hit and she falls to the ground. AARON stands over her.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Nick: Now if memory serves, her husband had an alibi? Faye Minden: Yeah. He was camping in red rock with Harris Mathey. Nick: That's his business partner, right? Faye Minden: Yeah, but Harris owed Aaron a lot of money. He would have said anything. Det. Vartann: If that's true, Mr. Mathey is guilty of conspiracy after the fact. Faye Minden: He died last month. And he's the only one who knew, besides me. Nick: Do you know what Aaron did with Rita's body? (She looks at NICK and nods.) (Quick flashback to: AARON carries RITA'S body and puts it in a barrel. He slides the barrel to the back of his truck and fills the barrel up with gas.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Faye Minden: He drove her out to the river, about a half mile from his farm, and, um, set her on fire. She burned all night, and then in the morning, he dumped her ashes in the water. Det. Vartann: Miss Minden ... how did you come across this information? (She looks at them both.) Nick: You were the other woman. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. COURTHOUSE (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. COURTHOUSE - CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY] (Camera opens on a close up of a blood-stained window handle. WARRICK swabs the blood and tests it. SARA'S also in the room and she's writing on a clipboard.) Warrick: Hey, Sara. Any jurors have blood on their hands? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (CATHERINE interviews MR. JERVIS as he bites his nails.) Catherine: Mr. Jervis. Why are your fingers bloodied? Jervis: You ever been on a jury before? (Quick flashback to: The jury sits around the table.) Lizette: How many grad students does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Jervis: I can't take this anymore! (JERVIS surges to his feet and heads for the window to open it. He uses his hand, the one that he's been biting, and opens the window leaving a smudge of blood on the opener.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Jervis: It's the worst experience of my life. Catherine: Would you hold your hands up for me, please? (CATHERINE walks over to him as he holds out his hands over the table, palms down.) Jervis: The case was a lock anyway. I mean, Kimble obviously had... Catherine: Mr. Jervis. I need to remind you that you're still under judge's orders not to discuss the case. (CATHERINE puts on her gloves.) Jervis: That's great. This guy's dead, and I still can't go home? Let me tell you something. (CATHERINE swabs JERVIS' bloodied fingertips.) Jervis: From the very beginning, day one day after day, this guy is the only holdout. Do you want to know what my boss calls me? "Mr. Replaceable". (Quick flashback to: The jury argues around the table while CHRIS GIBBONS sits at the head smiling, watching yet not participating . JERVIS sits next to him and finally blows up. He grabs CHRIS GIBBONS by the arms.) Jervis: (V.O.) (yelling) I had to get back to work. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Jervis: I lost my temper. Catherine: You sure it's lost? (JERVIS looks at CATHERINE.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB -- DAY] (NICK takes out the photos from the closed case box and goes through them. GRISSOM walks past the evidence room and finds NICK looking over the file. He walks into the room.) Grissom: Homicide just called. They're reopening the Rita Westonson case based on new information from the eyewitness? Nick: File's thinner than I remembered. Grissom: You think we missed something? Nick: We figured she skipped town, wanting to disappear. At the time, that was a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence. Grissom: Does the witness seem credible to you? Nick: Well, if she's lying, she's obstructing justice and wasting my time, but if she's telling the truth, we may have closed the investigation early. Grissom: At the time, you were a level two, I believe. So closing the case would have been my decision. Nick: Yeah, it would have. I'm checking out her story. I'll see if it holds up. Grissom: Let me know. Nick: Mm-hmm. (GRISSOM walks out of the lab.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY] (ROBBINS goes over CHRIS GIBBONS' body with SARA.) Robbins: Blunt-force trauma didn't kill him. But this might have. (He points to the hives covering CHRIS GIBBONS' chest.) Sara: Hives? Whoo. Severe allergic reaction. Robbins: Cause of death: Anaphylactic shock. Outer skin becomes irritated, the eyes inflamed, throat closes ... (Quick CGI POV of the throat as the camera pulls back. The walls in the throat constrict and the person gasps. Camera pulls back out through the mouth. End of CGI POV. Resume to flashback of CHRIS GIBBONS standing in the conference room choking.) (CHRIS falls and hits his head against the table.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: He was allergic to penicillin, but that's not the kind of thing you can just easily slip someone. Robbins: No, but you can inject it. (ROBBINS moves further down the body and lifts up the sheet to show SARA the puncture wound in CHRIS GIBBONS' thigh.) (Camera zooms in for a close up of the puncture wound.) Robbins: Puncture wound is consistent with a hypodermic needle. Sara: He wore a medic alert bracelet. Everyone hated him, and everyone knew how to kill him. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MOAPA VALLEY -- DAY] [EXT. WOODS NEAR RIVER - DAY] (FAYE MINDEN shows NICK and DET. VARTANN where the body was burned.) Faye Minden: Haven't been back here since that night. Sometimes it feels like yesterday; sometimes it feels like it never happened. Funny, the things you remember. (She looks around and continues walking. NICK eyes her strangely. She comes to an area and slows as she takes in the place.) Faye Minden: Who could've imagined? (She sighs.) Faye Minden: This is it. This is the spot under the tree. (DET. VARTANN points.) Det. Vartann: You sure? Faye Minden: Yes. This is where Aaron burned her body. (Quick flashback to: [NIGHT] AARON lights a match over the barrel as FAYE watches. Inside the barrel is RITA'S body in gasoline, her dead eyes wide open and staring at nothing. He tosses the match in and watches it burn.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Faye Minden: I remember the ... yucca plant was flowering. (DET. VARTANN turns around to look at the plant. NICK steps forward to look at the burn spot.) Nick: Right here? Faye Minden: Yes. (NICK kneels down and takes out a large bag and a small hand shovel.) Faye Minden: What are you doing? Nick: Well, if Rita's body was incinerated here, the gasoline fumes would have settled into the soil... (Quick flashback of: [NIGHT] Ash from the burning falls onto the ground.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) (NICK shovels up some dirt and puts it in the bag for testing later.) Nick: ...and trace amounts of hydrocarbon would still be detectable. Faye Minden: (nods) Good. (He looks up at her.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - TRACE LAB -- DAY] (DORSEY takes out the dirt from the bag and while some nifty music plays in the background, he tests it.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - TRACE LAB - DAY -- LATER] (DORSEY looks over the results when NICK walks into the lab.) Nick: Mr. Dorsey. Dorsey: I just analyzed your dirt. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and where there's no smoke ... (He holds out the test results for NICK who grabs it.) Nick: There are no hydrocarbons. Damn. (NICK looks at the report.) Nick: There's no evidence of gasoline whatsoever. Where's Hodges? Dorsey: Conference in San Francisco. Total boondoggle. Three days of sourdough and seafood. (DORSEY glances around and lowers his voice confidentially.) By the way ... I heard the rumor, and I'm sorry. Nick: What rumor? Dorsey: Everybody on the day shift says that you deserved that promotion. You ask me, Grissom only gave Sara a higher evaluation because of their history. Nick: He gave Sara ... ? (DET. VARTANN walks into the lab.) Det. Vartann: Hey. You get anything? Nick: Well, science seems to have trumped the eyewitness. That story doesn't hold up. Det. Vartann: I may know why. I ran a background. Faye had two sisters -- Rita, older and Terry, younger. Now get this -- a couple weeks ago Terry and Aaron ... got engaged. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY - LAB -- DAY] (CATHERINE sees GRISSOM in the lab and rushes through the hallway toward him.) Catherine: Hey, Gil. (GRISSOM finishes up with the tech and turns to walk out of the lab to meet CATHERINE and they walk down the hallway together.) Catherine: So tox came back on Chris Gibbons. He may have been allergic to penicillin but didn't have any in his system. Grissom: We sent a sample of his pants to trace. The area around the injection mark ... (GRISSOM shows CATHERINE the file folder.) Catherine: Epinephrine. So maybe Mr. Gibbons had an allergic reaction to something else. Such as...? (She hands the folders back to GRISSOM.) Grissom: I don't know, but if Gibbons knew he was severely allergic, I bet he carried one of those auto-injector pens. Catherine: So we're looking for a used hypodermic. Grissom: And another allergy. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- DAY] (CATHERINE goes to talk with GREG.) Greg: (shakes his head) I'm not the allergy ace. I'm trying to get out in the field, and you're multitasking me in the lab. Catherine: Greg, I'm the one that actually put you on a case, not just talked about it. Greg: You're also the one who took me off the case. (GREG stands up and heads for the lab table. CATHERINE turns around and follows him.) Catherine: You know what? You started, and you gave me six strong innings, and I brought in the closer. What's wrong with that? Greg: So what am I? Fish or fowl? Catherine: Fish -- that's a good place to start. I need you to check the victim's blood for shellfish, egg whites, nuts and soy. Greg: The biggies. (GREG takes the paper from CATHERINE.) Catherine: (smiles) Got to start somewhere. (CATHERINE leaves.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- DNA LAB -- LATER] (GREG processes the blood.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - CONFERENCE ROOM -- EVENING] (WARRICK hangs up and turns to look at SARA.) Warrick: That was Catherine. Sara: What are we looking for? Warrick: Nuts. Specifically those that begin with a "P." (SARA nods.) (Cut to: WARRICK takes out BOB DURHAM'S lunch from the box. He puts it on the table in front of his name card.) (Cut to: SARA kneels down and goes through CHRIS GIBBONS' lunch.) (WARRICK sees something under the lunch delivery box. He moves the box aside and finds some broken peanut skin. He picks one up with the tweezers. Camera zooms in close.) Warrick: Take me out to the ball game. Sara: Buy me some peanuts. (WARRICK looks and finds some peanut shells under GIBBON'S seat.) Warrick: There's peanut skins under Mr. Durham's seat. (SARA pushes her chair back and also checks the floor. She sees something.) Sara: That's very interesting. (She picks up some peanut shells.) Sara: There's peanut shells under Mr. Gibbon's seat. Warrick: Mr. Gibbons couldn't eat peanuts. What are they doing under his seat? Sara: Let's ask Mr. Durham. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY] (SARA and WARRICK interview BOB DURHAM.) Bob Durham: Just 'cause he's allergic doesn't mean I can't have them. Sara: Chris Gibbons died from a severe allergic reaction. You were the only guy in the jury room who was eating peanuts. You might have killed him. Bob Durham: I was only messing with his head. (Quick flashback to: BOB DURHAM pops peanuts into his mouth and flicks the empty shells at CHRIS GIBBONS. It nearly hits him.) Chris Gibbons: What are you trying to do, kill me? I'm allergic! (He flicks another peanut shell and it hits him in his arm.) Bob Durham: You're a hypochondriac. (CHRIS GIBBONS rolls up his sleeve and shows him the welt on his arm.) Chris Gibbons: Does that look like hypochondria to you? (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Bob Durham: Look, I didn't know that just by touching a shell it would send him into some kind of fit. (Quick flashback to: CHRIS GIBBONS starts to gasp and cough in front of the other jurors. He reaches into pocket for the syringe and sticks it in his leg. He sits back down in his chair.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Bob Durham: I apologized. Sara: None of the other jurors mentioned anything about Chris throwing a fit. Bob Durham: Hey, look, it wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, we went back to work, deliberated for a couple hours ... the guy was fine. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - EVENING] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- EVENING] (NICK and DET. VARTANN re-interviews FAYE MINDEN.) Nick: You withheld information. Faye Minden: No, it's not like that. You don't understand. Nick: They why didn't you tell us about your younger sister? Faye Minden: Because I knew it would come to this. I was dumped by Aaron for my younger sister. I was hurt and angry and jealous, and I wanted to get back at him, so I falsely accused him of killing Rita. I am not jealous of Terry. I'm scared for her. I don't want her to end up like Rita. Nick: Did your relationship with Aaron end amicably? Faye Minden: It ended. After the night he killed Rita, I saw him handful of times. I want nothing to do with him. Det. Arten: So why not warn Terry? Tell her what you told us. Faye Minden: Because she's in love with him. If I told her what Aaron did to Rita, she'd run right to him. "Crazy Faye always causing trouble." Aaron would like nothing more than to drive a wedge between me and my sister. I've seen what he's capable of. (Quick flashback to: AARON pushes FAYE to the ground and shows her the barrel with RITA inside.) Faye Minden: (V.O.) That night he made me help him. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Faye Minden: Her eyes were still opened. Nick: It was muddy? Faye Minden: Yeah. Nick: Okay, was it raining? Faye Minden: No, not that night. It was a wet winter. (NICK nods.) Faye Minden: Say you believe me. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB ] (WARRICK sifts through the trash and finds the used injector.) Warrick: One auto-injector... used. Sara: That's substantiates Bob Durham's story that Gibbons had a reaction to peanut shells. (WARRICK puts the used auto-injector in a baggie.) Warrick: What do you want to bet he only brought one of these with him. (SARA goes through CHRIS GIBBONS' chili.) Sara: Well, he was sequestered. He couldn't exactly go out and get another one. Warrick: Ah, he was later held defenseless against the attack of the killer peanut. Sara: I guess it's possible. We're not finding anything in Chris Gibbon's chili. No peanuts, no shells, no skins. (WARRICK finds a partially crushed soda can with peanut butter smudged on the mouth hole. He smells it. Inside the can, he finds a discarded peanut butter wrapper.) Warrick: What about peanut butter? (Camera zooms for a close up of the wrapper. WARRICK removes the wrapper from the can.) Warrick: In an individually wrapped tube? Sara: That could belong to any of the jurors. (SARA goes through the chili and finds a clump of peanut butter.) Sara: Hold up. This looks like peanut butter right here. Someone was doing more than just flicking peanut shells. (Quick flashback to: A hand squeezes out the peanut butter into the chili, then mixes it into the chili.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: If Gibbons had that severe a reaction to peanut shells, imagine what eating peanut butter would do to him. Warrick: Yeah, that's more than just messing with a guy's head. Sara: That's murder. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY] (SARA catches GRISSOM in the hallway.) Sara: Hey, defense motioned for a mistrial. Suspicion of jury tampering. Grissom: Based on peanut butter in the chili? How does a juror benefit from Gibbons' death? Sara: I don't know. Lone hold out, now they get to go home? Grissom: That's nuts. The risk isn't worth the reward. Sara: Well, Warrick's still working on that print. Grissom: Good. What are you working on? (SARA stops walking; GRISSOM turns and leaves. She shakes her head, then turns.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MOAPA VALLEY -- DAY] (NICK heads out to the burn site. He tests the soil with an M-300 soil moisture meter. It reads 18%.) (Dissolve to: NICK cuts off several branches off the tree nearby.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- LAB] (NICK studies the rings of the tree branches. GRISSOM walks into the lab carrying the soil report.) Grissom: So the soil doesn't support the eye witness testimony. Nick: No. So I stuck a moisture testing probe into the ground at the burn site, registered 18%. Now anything over 10% is indicative of full saturation over the last couple of years. Grissom: The river might have washed away all trace of hydrocarbons. Nick: Exactly, but before it washed away, some of the hydrocarbons could have seeped into the ground into the tree's roots. Roots carry nutrients to the tree. Some of the hydrocarbons could have hitched a ride. Oaks don't bear fruit, but this one bears witness. (NICK turns around to the board where he has more than 18 photos of the tree rings posted. He explains it to GRISSOM.) Nick: Every year, a branch grows a new ring composed of alike, dark band. Counting from the outside in, going back four years -- one, two, three, four ... Grissom: The ring from four years ago is thinner and distorted. Nick: Yeah, the same distortion is present in ring four of every branch. Grissom: And distortion could mean evidence of a toxic event. Nick: I'm thinking the burning of gasoline under the tree. Grissom: How are you going to prove it? Nick: (holds up the branch piece) Saw dust. (NICK turns and leaves the lab. A tiny smile crosses GRISSOM'S face.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. TRACE LAB -- DAY] (DORSEY takes a sample of sawdust from the tree branch and starts to test it.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY] (DORSEY catches up with NICK in the hallway.) Dorsey: Nick, I think you're going to like this. (DORSEY hands the report to NICK.) Nick: Affirmative for hydrocarbons. Now we're talking. (NICK continues down the hallway, DORSEY tagging along.) Dorsey: Nick, no offense, but proving the boss wrong is not the quickest path to career advancement. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. COURTHOUSE - HALLWAY -- DAY] (SARA talks with the BAILIFF.) Bailiff: The trial lasted four weeks. They've been locked in deliberations for two and a half. Sara: Sequestered? Bailiff: Well, it's a high-profile case. Judge Slater limited contact, censored newspapers, no television, shuttle between here and their hotel. That's a juror's life. Sara: What about the food, how does that work? Bailiff: This case, uh, jurors had breakfast and dinner at the hotel. Lunch, I brought in a menu, they order ... (Quick flashback to: The BROWN-HAIRED JUROR (MALE) grabs the menu from CHRIS.) Brown-haired Juror (male): Gee, let me guess. For the 17th day in a row, you're going to order chili. Chris Gibbons: Oh, now you're criticizing my food choices. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: Chris Gibbons had chili the day he died. Bailiff: Yeah, the guy had food allergies. We had one place we ordered from. He had chili every day. Sara: Did jurors have access to these vending machines? Bailiff: Uh, yeah, that's why they're here. It's their nickel. I mean, they got to have something. They're away from their families. (Camera shows us the peanut butter in the vending machine.) Bailiff: I have all their cell phone ... well, almost all of them. Caught a guy double packing. (Quick flashback to: The BROWN-HAIRED JUROR (MALE) casually removes his cell phone tucked inside his socks as it beeps from its low batter.) Brown-haired Juror (male): Can't anybody make a battery that lasts more than a couple of hours? (The BAILIFF walks up to him.) Bailiff: Give it up. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Bailiff: Hey, I confiscated his primary at the beginning of deliberations, but I don't do cavity searches. (SARA chuckles.) Sara: How do you burn out your cell phone battery when you're not allowed to use your phone? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (BRASS and SARA interview the BROWN-HAIRED JUROR.) Brown-haired Juror (male): They don't make cell phones like they used to. (SARA looks over his cell phone.) Sara: That's true, actually. Now they make them better. Did you know that this one takes pictures? And having met your fellow jurors, I think you really captured them. Brass: Okay, let's start with the misdemeanor. Cell phones and cameras or cell phones with cameras are prohibited in the jury room. Somebody must have told you that. Brown-haired Juror (male): See, after a while they're family. I-I thought I could throw a scrapbook together for everyone for after the trial. Sara: Oh, and-and when where you planning on handing that out? At Mr. Gibbons' funeral? I guess you would consider the folks at the credit company family, too. Brown-haired Juror (male): What? Brass: Yeah, according to them, uh, you got a little bit of a gambling Jones, hmm? $25,000 in markers all over town. So what's your game, dice, cards, sports book? Or all of the above? Brown-haired Juror (male): Let's just say it was a bad month. Sara: Not that bad. $30,000 deposit two days ago. Brass: All right, now the questions get hard. I mean, you can't be getting rich on jury duty, forty bucks a day. Or can you? Brown-haired Juror (male): Look, I'm self-employed, which means I've been unemployed for the last six and a half weeks. Sara: You just made $30,000. Brass: To deliver the jury? Brown-haired Juror (male): No. My story. To a tabloid. Hey ... it's one of those cases-- high-profile, jurors at each other's throats. (Quick flashback to: [CONFERENCE ROOM] The jury is in heated discussion as CHRIS GIBBONS sits back and smiles. JERVIS loses his cool and grabs GIBBONS in frustration.) (The BROWN-HAIRED JUROR (MALE) reaches down and adjusts his cell phone secretly tucked away in his socks.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Brown-haired Juror (male): Why should the guy that killed his wife be the only one to make a buck? [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. WESTONSON'S RESIDENCE -- DAY] (DET. VARTANN and NICK head for the WESTONSON'S front gate. DET. VARTANN knocks on the gate. NICK puts his kit down on the road and waits as the gate opens.) Terry Minden: Can I help you? Det. Vartann: I'm Detective Vartan. This is Nick Stokes from the crime lab. Terry Minden? Aaron Westonson: Honey, who is it? Terry Minden: It's the police. (AARON WESTONSON looks at NICK.) Aaron Westonson: I remember you. You were here about Rita. Nick: Yeah. Aaron Westonson: You found her. Nick: No, no, not exactly, but we have a potential new lead. (DET. VARTANN takes out the warrant from his jacket pocket and hands it to TERRY MINDEN.) Det. Vartann: And we have a warrant. Terry Minden: I'm an attorney. You want a sample of gasoline? Nick: Uh, yes, ma'am -- eight ounces from Mr. Westonson's pump. Terry Minden: Why? Aaron Westonson: This is about Rita. I have a right to know. Terry Minden: Warrant was issued by Judge Brenner. I'll make a call. Nick: Say hello for me. Aaron Westonson: Four years ago, you tore this place apart. That was okay with me. Now you come back with no answers, and you're looking at me with that same face. I'm going to tell you the same thing I said before. I had nothing to do with Rita's disappearance. Nick: Fuel pump's behind the barn, right? Aaron Westonson: Yeah. Help yourself. [SCENE_BREAK] [FUEL PUMP BEHIND BARN - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (NICK stands at the distance looking at the fuel pump. DET. VARTANN joins him.) Det. Vartann: What are you looking at? (NICK looks around and shakes his head.) Nick: I was standing right here four years ago asking myself the same question. (NICK picks up his kit and they both head over to the fuel pump.) Nick: You know, Aaron Westonson's right about one thing. Back then Grissom and I processed every inch of that house and this barn and found no signs of a struggle. Det. Vartann: Aaron versus Rita? He's twice her size. Nick: Yeah, it would've been over before it started. (NICK takes out a jar and DET. VARTANN fills it up with gasoline.) Nick: Okay, fill her up. Det. Vartann: Smells like diesel. Why is it red? Nick: It's an EPA requirement. Farm's don't have to pay taxes on fuel, so refineries, they mark their agricultural diesel by dying it red. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. CSI - PRINT LAB -- DAY] (WARRICK processes the Poncho's Peanut Butter Stix wrapper for prints. He finds one.) (Cut to: WARRICK runs the print through the database and finds a match to: LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN AREA LAS VEGAS WORK CARD TARA NEWSOME SOUS CHEF ORPHEUS HOTEL/CASINO ISSUED: 10/23/2001 EXPIRE: 12/23/2004 [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY] (WARRICK interviews TARA NEWSOME.) Tara Newsome: I'm getting married in five days. Warrick: Not if you can't explain to me how your fingerprints ended up on this peanut butter tube. (He puts a photo of the Poncho's Peanut Butter Stix wrapper on the table to show her.) Warrick: Stuffed inside a soda can. We found it in the jury room. Tara Newsome: I just wanted to go home, have my fittings. I spent my bridal shower with eleven strangers. My sister filled in for me. I'll never get to experience that. Warrick: Mr. Gibbons will never get to experience the rest of his life. Tara Newsome: We were on a break, and the lunch order came. (Quick flashback to: [CONFERENCE ROOM] The BAILIFF carries in the box of lunches and finds TARA NEWSOME in the room.) Bailiff: Hey. What did you order? (She takes the box of lunches from him.) Tara Newsome: Don't worry, I'll pass it out. (She puts the box on the table and quick takes out the chili and puts the peanut butter inside the container.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Tara Newsome: I got the peanut butter out of the vending machine a couple days ago. I wanted to stuff it down the guy's throat, but I didn't. Warrick: So you decided to put it in his chili instead? (Quick flashback to: TARA mixes the peanut butter into the chili and covers it. CHRIS GIBBONS walks into the room.) Chris Gibbons: Great, food's here. I'm starving. Where's mine? (He heads for his seat and looks at her.) Tara Newsome: (V.O.) But at the last minute, I couldn't do that. (TARA gets up and reaches for a fresh one from the box.) Tara Newsome: Here's yours. (She hands it to him and spills it on the carpet.) Tara Newsome: Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. Chris Gibbons: No, that's okay, I'll take yours. You can reorder. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Tara Newsome: Then I cleaned up and I walked out. Warrick: You had to know it was going to kill him. Tara Newsome: No, I didn't know it was going to be lethal. When Bob was flicking peanut shells at him, it's not like he choked up. I swear, I didn't know it was going to kill him. I just thought that it would get him replaced with one of the alternates who would vote guilty. Warrick: Well, Miss Newsome, you are officially off of jury duty. Tara Newsome: Oh, I killed him. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- DAY] Greg: (shakes his head) No, she didn't. (GREG stands in front of GRISSOM, SARA and WARRICK.) Sara: Greg, she told Warrick she put peanut butter in the chili. Greg: I don't care if Mr. Peanut was taking a bath in the vic's lunch. It's not what killed him. Grissom: Be specific, Greg. Greg: I got the detailed results back from the assay test. The level of immunoglobulin e was insufficient to cause a lethal reaction. Warrick: Well, that does go along with what the bride-to-be said about the victim. That he had a dermatological response to the allergen and not a respiratory one. Grissom: Did the assay test show any other food allergies? Greg: No, uh-uh. Warrick: So the cause of death is still anaphylactic shock. Sara: Okay, what caused it? Grissom: And who? [SCENE_BREAK] [MONITOR] (The NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DATABASE is loading up to the computer. NICK waits. DET. VARTANN walks into the lab.) Det. Vartann: I got your page. Who shot your dog? Nick: Trace Tech. He analyzed the fuel from Aaron's pump. Confirmed it's diesel. The hydrocarbons found in the tree were from unleaded gasoline. Det. Vartann: Means the fuel on Aaron's farm was not used to cremate Rita's body. Maybe it pumped unleaded four years ago. Converted to diesel at some point since. Nick: Ah, I thought the same thing myself, so I called the NDEP. Det. Vartann: Mm-hmm. Nick: The permit for Aaron's fuel tank was specifically for diesel. Det. Vartann: Where does that leave us? (The database finishes the search and a map appears on screen.) Nick: NDEP's database for Clark County. Now, the red dots represent the areas of permitted fuel tanks. Det. Vartann: Isolate Moapa. Nick: Yeah. Det. Vartann: Aaron's farm's located at the cross streets of White Oak and Stansberry. Det. Vartann: The burn spot is a half mile east along the river. Nick: Mm-hmm. Nick: Only two permitted fuel tanks up in that area. The one on the left is Aaron's. We can exclude that one . Det. Vartann: Who owns the other one? The information box appears: LOCATION: 2157 Whispering Leaves Dr. REGISTERED Owner: FAYE MINDEN Nick: Faye Minden. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY] (ROBBINS examines the hives on CHRIS GIBBONS' body and explains it to GRISSOM.) Robbins: We've ruled out food allergy as the cause of death. If it was an environmental agent, I expect one of the other jurors had a reaction as well. His body reacted to something. It's why I'm reexamining the exposed areas of his body -- face and the neck. (ROBBINS finds something. Camera zooms in as ROBBINS extracts the stinger from CHRIS' neck.) Robbins: Look at this. (He holds it out to GRISSOM.) Grissom: Apis mellifera linnaeus. We're looking for another body. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS COURTHOUSE (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. COURTHOUSE - CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY] (GRISSOM and SARA search the floors for the source of CHRIS GIBBONS' allergies.) Sara: Greg ran the assay test for bee venom on Chris Gibbons. IG levels were spiked. Grissom: Was Gibbons even aware that he had a bee allergy? Sara: Brass finally tracked down his allergist. Gibbons was allergic to a lot of things. (They continue to search the floors. SARA finds it.) Sara: The killer, I presume. (She picks up the dead bee from the table leg. GRISSOM kneels down next to her.) Grissom: Or what's left of him. (Quick flashback to: [BEE'S POV] The bee flies around the room and stings CHRIS GIBBONS on the neck. CHRIS starts to gasp for breath.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: He had an immediate reaction to a bee sting. Grissom: Lost consciousness, fell forward, hit his head on the table. Sara: You know how Jervis was complaining that it was too hot. He said he opened the window. (Quick flashback to: [CONFERENCE ROOM] JERVIS stands up, frustrated.) Jervis: I can't take this anymore! (He heads over to the window.) Jervis: Who keeps shutting this damn window?! (As he holds the window open, we see the bee slip into the room.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Grissom: Well, that explains it. It was an outside job. (GRISSOM glances at SARA. She smiles.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MINDEN RESIDENCE -- DAY] (NICK and DET. VARTAN'S car drives up and parks in front of FAYE MINDEN as she speaks with the FOREMAN.) Faye Minden: Okay, good. Thank you. (NICK and DET. VARTANN exit the vehicle. FAYE sees them and smiles.) Faye Minden: Hey. Nick: Hey. Faye Minden: Heard you were over at Aaron's farm. Nick: Yep. Faye Minden: (smiling) I bet that shook him up. Thank you for pushing forward with the investigation. Det. Vartann: And we continue to push forward. We need to take a sample of fuel from your pump. Nick: Yeah. Yeah, you wouldn't mind, would you, Faye? Faye Minden: My pump? Nick: Yeah. Faye Minden: Well, what'd he say? Didn't I tell you he'd turn on me? Nick: Oh, he didn't say anything. Just want to take a look. (NICK walks over to the gasoline tank. It's green and labeled: UNLEADED. He puts his kit down.) Faye Minden: My trees are Douglas Firs. The ... the needles grow in spirals around the twigs. It's amazing. Any time you guys want, you come back here, take your pick. Free of charge. Nick: The pump on Aaron's farm is diesel. Your sister was cremated with unleaded. (He looks at her for an explanation. She thinks about it.) Faye Minden: You know what? Thinking back now, I-I remember Aaron's pump was empty, and, uh, he insisted we drive over here. He used mine. Sorry for the confusion. (NICK looks past FAYE at her barn.) Nick: Excuse me. Faye Minden: Please say you believe me. (NICK doesn't say anything and heads for the barn.) [BARN] (The barn doors open and NICK walks inside. He looks around. The camera notes the barrels lined up along side the inner wall. NICK walks inside and sees the various tools lined up on the table. He sprays the tools looking for evidence of blood.) (The cutters glow.) [EXT. - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (NICK walks out of the barn carrying the cutters.) Nick: I believe you, Faye. You see, blood evidence doesn't disappear over time. Your sister was murdered ... by you. (Quick flashback to: [BARN] The barn door opens and RITA walks inside.) Rita Minden-Westanson: Faye? Faye, you in here? (FAYE jumps RITA from behind and hits her with the cutters.) (Cut to: FAYE lights a match and throws it into the barrel.) Nick: (V.O.) Unleaded gasoline, barrels for incineration, cast off on the walls. DNA consistent with Rita Westonson. (End of flashback. Resume to GRISSOM'S OFFICE.) [INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE] (NICK explains the results of the investigation to GRISSOM.) Nick: Faye killed Rita to be with Aaron. And a couple of weeks ago, hears he's getting engaged to her younger sister Terry. They couldn't handle it, man. She just freaked. So she tried to pin Rita's murder on Aaron. Grissom: Four years ago when I decided to close the case, did you agree with my decision? (GRISSOM takes the file and heads back to his desk.) Nick: Well, you were following protocol. Grissom: And now? Nick: Now I'd fight you on it, yeah. Grissom: Why? Nick: Rita Westonson was a dependable, predictable girl. We never answered the question why she just woke up one morning and walked away from the rest of her life. Grissom: It happens. And that's what the evidence was telling us. Nick: Well, that's what the physical evidence was telling us. We should have dug deeper. You can't just ignore the human element, Grissom. Grissom: I agree, Nick. But when you start to have feelings for the people involved, you risk your objectivity. Nick: So what? You know, I'm always getting criticized for empathizing with the victims and their families, but that's who I am. That's how I do my job. And as far as the promotion goes, it's all good, man. I can live without it. I'm not you. Grissom: Good. We certainly don't need another me around here. (NICK leaves. GRISSOM starts typing.) To: Robert Cavallo, Assistant Director, CSI From: Gil Grissom, Night Shift Supervisor, CSI Subject: CSI promotion Dear Sir, I strongly recommend Nick Stokes for the promotion to Lead CSI. (GRISSOM stops typing and he smiles.) FADE TO BLACK
Eleven Angry Jurors