The CSI team is called in when a famous real estate entrepreneur is found dead in a hotel elevator. When the body of Bob Fairmont, the real estate developer, is found, the team discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with and that the victim has been re-dressed. After tracing the cause of death to a lethal poison, the team is shocked to discover that Fairmont's organs have already been removed and donated, making the case a bit more difficult to solve.
[EXT. LAS VEGAS (STOCK) -- NIGHT] [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL -- LOBBY -- NIGHT] (A MAN and A WOMAN walk through the lobby, their arms around each other.) Man: You're going to like my room. You can see the entire strip from my balcony ... and the bed. (He turns her around, her back against the wall. Her hands come up against his chest.) Woman: (nervously) I usually don't do this. I-I mean, especially with somebody that I just met. Man: Yeah? Well, I could tell that just by looking at you. (The MAN presses the elevator door button. The elevator bell dings.) Woman: Uh ... Man: Come on, don't worry, all right? You can trust me. Okay? Woman: Promise? Man: I never lie. (The MAN starts to kiss the WOMAN. He backs her up into the elevator.) Woman: You are so bad. Man: Yeah, I am. (He lifts her up and carries her into the elevator. He presses her against the elevator wall and starts kissing her. After a moment, the woman looks down and sees the dead body on the floor ... ) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL -- NIGHT] (SARA and GRISSOM arrive at the scene. They duck under the crime scene tape and walk toward BRASS who is already there.) Sara: Hey. Dispatch said suspicious circs. Brass: Yeah. We got an anonymous call to 9-1-1 at the same time the couple found him. A male voice said: "A man has collapsed at the Devon. Hurry." Grissom: Where's the man? (GRISSOM looks at the empty elevator. There are two cones on the floor ... and no body.) Brass: Oh, he's unconscious, but breathing. So paramedics took him to Desert Palm Hospital. There was no bullet wounds, no knife ... nothing. Sara: You got a name? Brass: Bob Fairmont. Upscale home developer. Sara: "A Fairmont Home, You'll Never Roam?" Those billboards are everywhere. Brass: Well, they took these pictures before they moved him. (BRASS hands GRISSOM a stack of photos. GRISSOM puts his kit down and looks through the photos.) Grissom: Well, this is as phony as a chappaquiddick neck brace. See how the clothes are all bunched. Sara: Collar's off to the side, leg fabric's gathered. Grissom: It's impossible to redress an unconscious person to make it look like they dressed themselves. You notice anything about the suit coat? (GRISSOM shows the photo to BRASS. BRASS takes it and looks at it.) Brass: Well, unless he's going to court or to church, there's no way he buttons all three buttons. (BRASS gives the photo back to GRISSOM.) Grissom: Very good, Jim. (to SARA) Why do they think they can fool us? HARD CUT TO BLACK. END OF TEASER. ROLL TITLE CREDITS. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - LOBBY -- NIGHT] (SARA takes pictures of the elevator. GRISSOM studies the photos.) Brass: I'm going to go to the hospital to talk to Fairmont's wife. (SARA continues to take pictures.) Grissom: Call me if you learn anything. (BRASS leaves. NICK walks up to them.) Nick: Hey, guys. I just pulled the manager out of a restaurant. Bob Fairmont was staying in room 2927. Catherine's parking the car. Grissom: Let's go up. Sara: We'll meet you there. Nick: Okay. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - HALLWAY -- NIGHT] (GRISSOM walks toward room 2927. In front of them is the door to the stairs. NICK, SARA and CATHERINE follow. They all stop in front of the closed room door.) Grissom: Mr. Fairmont was staying in Murder Central. Catherine: (agrees) Mmm. Nick: "Murder Central"? Sara: You never heard that phrase? Nick: (exasperated) Well, if I did, would I have asked the question? (SARA looks smug as she got a reaction from NICK. Grissom: Sara, you're with me in here. (to CATHERINE and NICK) You guys get the elevator. Catherine: All yours, girl. Sara: Thanks. (GRISSOM unlocks the hotel room door. He and SARA enter. CATHERINE and NICK walk back down the hallway.) Nick: (disgruntled) Sara doesn't know what Murder Central means any more than I do. Catherine: (puts a hand on NICK'S shoulder) Oh, Nick, give it up. We got a death imminent to worry about. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM -- NIGHT] (BRASS questions JULIA FAIRMONT) Julia Fairmont: My husband's in surgery. Can't this wait? Brass: I'm sorry, no. He was found under suspicious circumstances. Do you have any idea who may have redressed him or moved him? Julia Fairmont: (shakes her head) He usually goes with women who look a lot like me ... only younger. And I'm embarrassed to say that I've been flattered by that, at times. Brass: Do you have a name? Julia Fairmont: I was very much on the outside of that part of his life. Brass: I see. (BRASS puts his notebook back in his jacket pocket.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - ROOM 2927 -- NIGHT] (Standing side-by-side, GRISSOM and SARA look at the room in front of them. They're silent as they look around the room.) Sara: I know. The room's talking to us. They had champagne. (SARA walks into the room, GRISSOM remains by the door.) Sara: They were celebrating something. (She looks at the glasses.) Sara: No lipstick on either glass. 9-1-1 did say it was a man's voice that placed the call. Grissom: Smell the musk? Hint of bleach? (GRISSOM looks up at the mirror over the bed. He notices that the bed is mussed.) Grissom: Sexual intercourse. (SARA turns around to look at GRISSOM.) Sara: They kept the drapes open. A married man who's not worried about ... photographs, long lenses ... Grissom: Well, he's either careless or arrogant, maybe. Sara: Or he has a death wish. (SARA looks down and picks up a bra.) 34 C? If he was with a woman, who was the guy on the 911 call? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - ELEVATOR -- NIGHT] (CATHERINE and NICK work on the elevator.) Catherine: Hand me that magnifier. (NICK hands her the magnifier.) Thank you. Nick: What do you got? Catherine: See those white specks? (Camera zooms for a close up of the white specks. Resume to present.) Nick: What do you think, cocaine? Catherine: No, I don't think so. Nick: How can you tell just by looking? Catherine: Never you mind. (CATHERINE takes a tape lift of the white specks.) Catherine: Let's just get this to trace. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - ROOM 2927] (NICK opens the hotel room door and walks inside. GRISSOM and SARA are just putting on their goggles and taking out the ALS.) Nick: Okay, we're done in the elevator. You guys need a hand? Grissom: Yeah, you want to dust the champagne bottle? Sara: The average American hotel room is covered with stains invisible to the naked eye. Grissom: Yeah, but they're not all biological. Some are soda stains, food stains, whiskey stains, you know. Sara: No matter how clean or expensive the room seems that why always travel with nonoxinol nine. (They stand up.) Grissom: You sound like you're making a commercial. Nick, hit the lights, will you? (NICK turns the lights off.) Grissom: Okay, we're looking for the freshest stains. Sara: Soda, maybe ... maybe champagne ... oh! Someone's little soldiers ... more champagne. (They look up at the walls.) Grissom: Hmm ... "starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight." (GRISSOM takes off his goggles and heads for the door.) Grissom: Okay, I'll let you guys do the collection. Nick: Thanks a lot. (GRISSOM turns around.) Grissom: Oh, and Sara? Sara: Hmm. Grissom: Last hotel room nearest the stairwell -- easy entry and egress for an intruder and if the victim fights back, fifty percent less chance of being heard. Sara: Rooms only on one side. Murder Central. (GRISSOM nods his head and leaves the room. The door closes behind him.) Nick: (smiling) You are so busted. (SARA turns around to look at NICK. She smiles.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- NIGHT] (Camera close up of a scope view of the "white specks" found on the elevator floor. The magnification view is increased. Camera turns around and goes back up the viewer to the eye looking through the scope. End of scope view.) Catherine: I gave this to trace. Why do you have Greg: Well, because I deal in DNA. The smallest sliver of epidermal tissue. Catherine: This is skin. Greg: Scalp skin. Itchy. Can be embarrassing in social situations especially if one is wearing a dark shirt. Catherine: Dandruff. (GREG reaches out and brushes non-existent dandruff from CATHERINE'S shoulder.) Greg: Good chance whoever moved the guy into the elevator ... Catherine: Had a bad case of seborrhea. (CATHERINE deliberately leans forward and brushes the non-existent dandruff from GREG'S shoulder.) Catherine: Thanks. (CATHERINE turns to leave the lab. GREG stops her.) Greg: Hey, Catherine? Do you think Sara would ever go out with me? Catherine: (thinks about it) Sure. (deadpans) As long as you don't tell her it's a date. (CATHERINE leaves the lab.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS] (CATHERINE exits the DNA lab and walks down the hallway. WARRICK catches up with her.) Warrick: Hey, Cath... are you on this Fairmont case? Catherine: House mogul caught with his pants on? Yeah, I'm just rolling to the hospital to get his clothes. Why? Warrick: You know the Fairmont house was one of my first calls three years ago? Catherine: You serious? For what? Warrick: Shots fired. He shot himself while he was cleaning his gun. Catherine: Wow! Warrick: Yeah. And after hearing about tonight I'm wondering if that's what really happened. I'm going to pull his file and check it out. Catherine: Let me know. Warrick: I will. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DEVON HOTEL - ROOM 2927] (NICK picks up the used condom from the fixture on the wall.) Nick: Nice shot. (looks inside) Reservoir's still wet. (NICK bags it.) Sara: Why did he throw it? Nick: Mmm. I'm only impressed if he aimed. Sara: I wonder if the woman has any idea she left her DNA behind? Nick: Not rocket science. Man's inside, woman's out. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- HALLWAY] (BRASS fills GRISSOM in about the 911 tape.) Brass: Wife says the guy's a player. She doesn't know the women. Grissom: You tell her about the 911 tape? Brass: The male voice? Oh, I just got back from central dispatch. The tape's lost. New computer system. Grissom: Any ear-witnesses? Brass: The dispatcher says it could've been a woman whispering. Or a very old person, gender indeterminate. Grissom: That's about as good as an eyewitness. (GRISSOM'S phone rings. He answers it.) Grissom: Grissom. (pause) What? (pause) I'll be right there. (He hangs up and looks at BRASS.) Grissom: No lunch. (GRISSOM turns around and heads back down the hallway.) [SCENE_BREAK] SCENE #13 [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY] (ROBBINS goes over the findings with GRISSOM.) Grissom: We got a time? Robbins: Well, all indications are he was brain-dead from the time he collapsed at the hotel Grissom: From? (Quick CGI POV to: A camera close up of the deceased's forehead. White flash to a view of the brain where blood starts to leak out.) Robbins: (V.O.) An artery out-pouches blood floods the subarachnoid space. (End of CGI POV. Resume to present.) Robbins: Heart still beats, but the brain's dead. And it doesn't regenerate. Grissom: Aneurysm from trauma ... infection...? Robbins: Genetic predisposition. Both parents went that way. It increases a person's chance of stroke ten-fold. He looks like an athlete. Grissom: Brain dead at 38, otherwise healthy and strong. Is this a Frankenstein? Robbins: I was wondering when you'd ask. Prime donor candidate. Next of kin signed off. Grissom: How many organs they take? Robbins: Eight in under two hours. Grissom: Man, those harvest doctors move, don't they? (Quick flashback to: The heart monitor beeps. The doctor puts the first organ in the pan.) Doctor: Kidneys, stat! DOCTOR: Go, go, go! (Various flashes of the organs being removed and of various machinery monitoring the donor.) Doctor: Here comes the liver. Ready with a basin, please. Nurse: For ... DOCTOR: Right now. DOCTOR: And here we go! (The second organ goes into the pan marked: "Liver".) Doctor: Clamp it. DOCTOR: Get it back, get it back. DOCTOR: Ready and got it. DOCTOR: Here we go. (The final organ is placed in the pan. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Grissom: (nods) All right, I'll notify the PD about the organs. (GRISSOM leaves the room.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB] (GREG takes a swab from the condom. SARA reads through some papers as she waits.) Greg: So I was thinking. Maybe we could take our break at the same time. (beat) Later this shift. (beat) Together. Sara: Sure. Greg: (surprised) Really. (GREG tests the swab. SARA leans in to look.) Sara: Semen. No surprise there. Greg: Well, without the DNA sample from the hotel guy this test is pretty useless. (SARA goes back to looking at the photos.) Sara: I'm more interested ... in who the woman is. Greg: Well, just like the bra, I'm going to need a reference of her DNA in order to do anything, and that's not going to happen until ... (SARA rifles through the autopsy photos. She sees something.) Sara: What the heck? Greg: What? Sara: (looking up) Stripes. (Without further explanation, SARA walks out of the lab.) Greg: Stripes. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY] (SARA and GRISSOM walk through the hallway. SARA shows GRISSOM the photos.) Sara: Transverse white bands that appear six weeks after the onset of symptoms of toxicity. Grissom: You got a closer view? (SARA hands GRISSOM the photo she was looking at. Camera zooms in to the fingernails to show the white stripes.) Grissom: Uh ... Sara: They look like mees lines to me. Grissom: Could be livor mortis. Sara: Or white striae, indicative of heavy metal poisoning. Grissom: We can't count on a photo to draw that kind of conclusion. We need the body. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY] (SARA, GRISSOM and ROBBINS look at the empty table.) Sara: Don't take this wrong, Dr. Robbins, but ... how do you release a body that's been redressed and dumped in an elevator? (ROBBINS pushes the table back into the cabinet.) Robbins: I deal with cause of death, which was an aneurysm and therefore, a natural, and based on that his body is released to a mortuary. (ROBBINS sits down at the computer monitor.) Sara: The whole transplant thing didn't raise a flag? Grissom: I thought I'd raised a flag with the good doctor when I told him I was going to notify the police department but evidently, I mis-communicated again. Sara: Great. (ROBBINS enters the search in the computer database.) (The results are as follows: [Name: FAIRMONT, ROBERT Cause of Death: Natural Date: 12/13/01 Time of Death: 4:00 a.m. Case #: 29574 Destination: Desert Haven Mortuary ] Robbins: All may not be lost. Here... body of Robert Fairmont released at 0400 hours to the Desert Haven Mortuary. Sara: I know that place. Grissom: Well, if they haven't embalmed him we can still get a blood sample test for heavy metal poisoning. Sara: Good. I'll drive. (SARA heads for the door. She turns around when she realizes that GRISSOM isn't moving.) Sara: You're not coming? Grissom: (looks up) You found it, you run with it. (SARA seems surprised.) Grissom: You can do it. Take Nick. Sara: Okay. (SARA leaves.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. DESERT HAVEN MORTUARY] (FURNACE POV: SARA looks in through the window. Her face shows her shock and surprise.) Sara: How long's he been in here? Randy Gesek: 92 minutes at 1,600 degrees. At, exactly, was it that you wanted to see? (SARA turns around to look at RANDY GESEK.) Nick: His fingernails. Randy Gesek: I'm very sorry. Nick: Who approved this cremation? (RANDY looks at his clipboard and sighs.) Randy Gesek: His wife, Julia Fairmont. Sara: Same person who approved the organ transplants. (RANDY nods. SARA turns to look at the furnace.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- LAB] (Camera opens on the evidence bag of ROBERT "BOB" FAIRMONT'S ashes. The bag is dated 12/6. Case # 81585171. Labeled: "Ashes of Bob Fairmont" and "DOB 2-25- (SARA picks up a piece of ash and places it in a mortar. She grounds it with a pestle.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - WAITING ROOM] (BRASS and SARA JULIA FAIRMONT.) Brass: You told me your husband was in surgery. Julia Fairmont: He was. Brass: Surgery to take his organs not to save his life. Julia Fairmont: He was technically ... dead. He wanted to donate his organs. I was following his wishes. Why are you being so hostile? Brass: Someone was poisoning your husband. Julia Fairmont: What? Sara: We don't know the dose or the duration but we do know the type of poison. We processed your husband's remains. (Quick series of flashes to match SARA'S narration. SARA in the lab taking the piece of ash. SARA testing a sample of the ash in the analyzer. SARA pressing the button to start the machine.) (Machine test results read as follows for "Alignment Mode Lamp 1": [Name: Se-02-196.1-lib3 Pulse: Wide Lamp: Se Buck sci Bkgnd: Off Wavelength: 196.0- Slit: 0.2 Pnt: 304.9V Energy: 2.652 ] Sara: (V.O.) Most poisons would be completely burned off by cremation but heavy metals are very resistant to heat. This heavy metal -- selenium. (White flash to the fire in the furnace. Printer prints results. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: Did you notice that your husband's breath might have been garlicky? Julia Fairmont: Garlicky? Sara: The body will excrete demethyl selenide -- smells just like garlic. Julia Fairmont: Uh... no. Sara: The white stripes on his fingernails--did you notice those? Julia Fairmont: Um ... we didn't see each other a lot. Bob was busy building his company. Sara: That bother you, him never being home? (JULIA FAIRMONT looks at BRASS.) Julia Fairmont: I think it would bother any woman. Sara: Did you know that the most common choice of premeditated murder among women is poison? They cite its passivity. Julia Fairmont: I did not poison my husband. Sara: You cremated his body. Julia Fairmont: He wanted to be cremated. I cremated him. He wanted to donate his organs. I did that, too. Now, if there's nothing else, I will be at home preparing for my husband's memorial service. Excuse me. (Angry, JULIA FAIRMONT grabs her jacket and stands up to leave. SARA stops her.) Sara: Do you want us to notify you? (SARA and JULIA turn around to look at each other.) Julia Fairmont: Of what? (SARA stands up and walks toward JULIA FAIRMONT.) Sara: When we find out the exact amount of selenium given to your husband and over what period of time? Julia Fairmont: I thought you couldn't tell. Sara: Your husband's gone, but his organs are still out there. Julia Fairmont: (nods) Well, good. Yes, I would like to be notified. (SARA turns to look at BRASS.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. HOSPITAL] (NICK stands behind the physician as they explain the situation to the PATIENT, CARL MERCER, in the bed.) Carl Mercer: Straight up, am I going to die? Physician: You have only a small fraction of the poison that was in your donor's body--one organ. With nothing new coming in it should work its way out. Carl Mercer: I must've had 100 tests. How'd you doctors miss this? Nick: A heavy metal like selenium presents so rarely that it's Carl Mercer: You don't look like a doctor. Nick: (smiles) No, sir, no, I'm not. I'm Nick Stokes. I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Physician: I'll be right outside. Nick: Thank you, doctor. (The doctor leaves. NICK steps up toward the bed.) Nick: I was hoping I might be able to get a sample of that new kidney of yours. Carl Mercer: A sample? Nick: Biopsy. A sliver. Carl Mercer: You mean open me up again? Nick: Maybe an invasive scope. The only way I can get an accurate barometer of the poison in Mr. Fairmont's system is through one of his organs. Carl Mercer: I'm sorry, young man but this is my kidney now. (He shakes his head.) I waited four years. I can't have anyone cut into me for it. I just can't. Nick: Hey, I understand. Thank you for your time. (NICK glances down at the watch on the railing.) Nick: I like your watch, man, that's cool. Carl Mercer: It broke while I was down in surgery--stuck on 11:00. Think the Lord's trying to tell me something? (NICK chuckles.) Nick: Yeah, get it to a watch repair shop. (pause) I hope you get to feeling better, Mr. Mercer. (NICK leaves the room.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- HALLWAY] (SARA updates GRISSOM.) Sara: Nick struck out on the kidney. I got four "no's" over the phone. One yes from a recipient in Illinois-- heart. Grissom: Useless-- heart has no memory for poison. Sara: Why can't we cut the middle man and just check the wife's house for selenium? (GRISSOM looks at SARA.) All right, I know, something about constitutional law. Get probable cause, then get a search warrant ... (GREG walks on into the hallway, directly in front of SARA and GRISSOM.) Greg: Sara! I was just looking for you. Still up for break? Sara: Sorry, Greggo-- hot case. I'm going to go look at Nick's champagne bottle. How you doing with our DNA? Greg: Uh ... inside-outside we're still looking for a reference for comparison but the epidermals are looking promising. Sara: Nice. (SARA leaves.) Grissom: You want to clue me in? Greg: Sara and I were just going out for dinner. Grissom: On the case, "Greggo". Greg: Oh. Right. (GREG turns back in to his lab. GRISSOM follows.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. HOSPITAL] (CLAUDIA GIDEON walks in and heads for the Nurse's station. CATHERINE is standing next to the station, waiting.) Claudia Gideon: Excuse me ... I'm Claudia Gideon, Bob Fairmont's secretary. I came to pick up his property. Nurse: Oh, I'm sorry, but Ms. Willows already asked for them. Catherine: His property is part of our investigation. I'm afraid I have to take it. Claudia Gideon: Oh, fine. I was just doing my job. Catherine: Yeah, me, too. Did you work for the Fairmonts three years ago, when Mr. Fairmont was shot? Claudia Gideon: I was out sick that day. Catherine: Interesting. (CATHERINE sees something on CLAUDIA'S sweater.) Catherine: You have dandruff. (CATHERINE turns to get tape from her kit.) Claudia Gideon: Is that really proper etiquette? Catherine: It is when I'm on a case. Do you mind? (CATHERINE takes a tape lift.) Claudia Gideon: Where did you say you worked? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (BRASS questions CLAUDIA GIDEON.) Brass: I'm going to ask you again -- were you in that hotel room with Bob Fairmont? (CATHERINE enters the room and closes the door.) Claudia Gideon: I was not, no. Catherine: But you did redress him and place him in the elevator. Claudia Gideon: You don't know what you're talking about. Catherine: Well, that's dangerous to say to a scientist. (CATHERINE puts her file on the table.) Catherine: Dandruff is nothing more than sloughed-off skin. It has a nucleus just like a cell on your arm or your big toe. (CATHERINE puts the test results and photo in front of CLAUDIA GIDEON.) Catherine: These 13 DNA markers from this dandruff cell are a match to the dandruff that I recovered from your sweater. You were there. At that hotel. Claudia Gideon: Okay, Mr. Fairmont told me earlier that day to meet him in his hotel room at 9:00 to pick up some papers, okay? When I got there, he was in bed -- naked, (Quick flashback to: CLAUDIA GIDEON finds BOB FAIRMONT in bed naked. She looks shocked.) Claudia Gideon: (V.O.) ... unconscious. (CLAUDIA moves and picks up his clothes.) Claudia Gideon: (V.O.) He always told me reputation before health -- no scandals. I dragged him to the elevator. (CLAUDIA drags BOB FAIRMONT into the elevator. She leaves him there. The elevator doors close. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Catherine: Let me guess -- you snuck out down the stairwell. (She nods.) Brass: Who was Fairmont partying with in that room? Claudia Gideon: I don't know. Catherine: Well, we won't mind if we compare your DNA to the vaginal contribution of a condom that we recovered from Mr. Fairmont's room? Claudia Gideon: (nods) Sure, go ahead. Catherine: Good. We'd like to show you something else -- about that accidental shooting three years ago at your boss' house. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - OFFICE] (On the monitor is a computer reinactment of the first shooting years ago. The green figure is sitting down at a table when the gun falls down and shoots the victim in the groin.) Warrick: In this reinactment, Fairmont shot himself while cleaning his gun? In this reenactment the story just doesn't add up. I think I fell for it because I was new and I wasn't too eager to talk to another guy about him almost shooting off his manhood. (BRASS sighs. WARRICK straightens the monitor.) Warrick: This is the room as it was then based off of my crime scene photos. This is crime scene reconstruction, new school. Works backward, reverse time. (On the monitor it shows a different scenario with the green figure standing in the foyer.) Warrick: The bullet hit here. (The screen backs up showing a red figure (the shooter) sitting in a chair and shooting the green figure (the victim) in the groin.) Warrick: The only logical place for that bullet to have been shot from is four meters away, one meter high. He didn't actually shoot himself. Someone shot him. Catherine: We're thinking it was you. Brass: Admission form from the ER, 9/6/98. The person who brought Fairmont in on the accidental shooting... was you. (BRASS puts a copy of the Record of Admissions Form from the Desert Palms Hospital in front of her. The application Information reads as follows: [Name: FAIRMONT, BOB Local Residence - Street: 41733 Calle Matria City - Town: Las Vegas State: NV County: Clark Date Admitted: 9/6/98 Time Admitted: 10:32 Patient Accompanied by: CLAUDIA GIDEON Address: 311 Sephill Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 Attending Physician: Dr. Tommy Liu Address: 826 Herrick Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89109 Alternate Physician: Dr. Sheryl Aragon Address: 311 Sephill Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89108 Next of kin or representative/Relationship: Tyson Green Brother-in-law Address: 493 Fairmark, Las Vegas, NV 89108 Person to notify in Emergency/Relationship: Tyson Green Brother-in-law Address: Same as Above ] Claudia Gideon: I didn't shoot him. Brass: You didn't poison him, either. All these bad things just happen to you. Claudia Gideon: I'm on call 24 hours a day, okay? Mr. Fairmont beeped me. I drove out to the house, and I took him in. Catherine: Where was his wife? (CLAUDIA shakes her head.) Claudia Gideon: You'd have to ask her. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM] (CATHERINE, WARRICK and BRASS requestion JULIA FAIRMONT.) Julia Fairmont: Yes, I shot him. He was supposed to go riding with me and he didn't show up till two in the morning. No calls, nothing. I was ... hurt. Catherine: So, you just sat there in the dark and aimed south of his belt. Julia Fairmont: I just wanted to scare him. (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT returns home and finds his wife angry and holding a gun on him.) Bob Fairmont: It was a business meeting. BOB FAIRMONT: I swear. BOB FAIRMONT: I-it wasn't like before. BOB FAIRMONT: I was thinking about you the whole time. (She shoots. He grunts from the impact. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Brass: So, why didn't you tell the truth then? Mrs. Fairmont: I wanted to, but Bob wouldn't let me. He said that it would ruin his career -- Fairmont Family Estates. Warrick: I'm presenting this case to the D.A., even if it is three years old. Claudia: My husband's dead. We had our problems but I loved him I don't ... I don't much care what you do now. Brass: Well, there's only two reasons a woman shoots a man. She either loves him or hates him. Catherine: Or both. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB] (GRISSOM looks through the scope at the dandruff sample.) Greg: That's the sample Catherine pulled off of the secretary's blouse and the hotel man's clothes -- same source. Grissom: Secretary moved the body. Catherine: We just interviewed her. She copped to moving him. We're looking hard at the wife on the poisoning. Grissom: The secretary has dandruff. Catherine: We know. Dermatomycoses seborrhea -- we got it. Grissom: Pical eczemas like that require prescription medication. The primary ingredient of those medications -- selenium sulfide. (CATHERINE sighs at missing the obvious. She heads out the lab.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. FAIRMONT RESIDENCE -- NIGHT] (BRASS and CATHERINE are on the porch talking with JULIA FAIRMONT.) Julia Fairmont: I don't really feel right about doing this. Brass: Oh, this is your residence. Everything in Claudia's office is your property. (CATHERINE and BRASS step inside.) Catherine: She could be back from dinner at any moment. This shouldn't take long. (The door closes behind them. CATHERINE and BRASS walk into the office and start looking around. JULIA FAIRMONT waits by the door. CATHERINE opens the cabinet and finds a large brown bottle in the back. She picks it up and looks at the label.) (The label reads: [Pharmacy / 493 Fairmark Ave., Las Vegas,NV 89107 CLAUDIA GIDEON Fill Date: 7/21/01 Phone: (702) 555-0150 Rx No: 4529975 Dr: Doty "USE AS NEEDED FOR SEBORRHEA" NIZORAL A-D 24 OZ DATE: 11/07/01 DISCARD AFTER: REFILL: 1 BY: 11/7/02 ] (The front door slams shut. CLAUDIA GIDEON walks in carrying a storage box.) Claudia Gideon: That's mine. Brass: Could you tell us why you keep your shampoo in your office? Catherine: Shampoo full of the same poison found in Bob Fairmont's remains? Claudia Gideon: I don't know. Brass: Aw, you have to do better than that. Claudia Gideon: Maybe I pied it up at the pharmacy on lunch and put it there. I don't know. (CATHERINE opens the refrigerator and looks inside. She finds a small tub of garlic cream cheese.) Catherine: Cream cheese. (CLAUDIA scoffs.) Catherine: Garlic cream cheese ... Brass: Hides the bitter aftertaste. (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT eating a bagel loaded with cream cheese. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Catherine: It explains away his bad breath. (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT finishing the bagel with cream cheese and laughing. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Claudia Gideon: I did not poison him. (The cabinet door closes.) Catherine: We'll see. Julia Fairmont: Aren't you going to arrest her? (CLAUDIA scoffs.) Claudia Gideon: I haven't done anything. Julia Fairmont: Other than poison Bob. Claudia Gideon: Poison? I'm the one who looked out for him. Julia Fairmont: You? I ran his home. I entertained his clients. Claudia Gideon: Who made all of his dental appointments, huh? His haircuts? Who got his taxes in on time? Julia Fairmont: You covered for his mistresses ... Claudia Gideon: Why did he need mistresses? Brass: Ladies ... don't go there. Catherine: This is yours ... and these are yours. (CATHERINE hands each woman a key.) There's the door. We build a case before we make any arrests. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. HOSPITAL] (NICK walks into CARL MERCER'S hospital room.) Nick: Hey, Mr. Mercer. I got your message. You wanted to talk to me? Carl Mercer: Did you find out who poisoned Mr. Fairmont? Nick: No. No, sir. ,I have found selenium in his office but... without actually knowing how much was in his system ... Carl Mercer: What if I could tell you? My body's rejecting the organ. Doctor says it's got nothing to do with poison. It's antibodies. Nick: I'm sorry. Carl Mercer: I told you this watch stopped while I was down in surgery? It's funny ... it's like it knew all along the kidney wasn't going to take. Anyway... there's one last good thing I can do before I leave this earth. So ... how do we do this? (NICK nods. Camera holds on CARL MERCER.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE] (NICK talks to GRISSOM about CARL MERCER.) Nick: I can't even talk Warrick into splitting a sandwich with me and this guy's willing to give us his kidney? Grissom: You asked for it. Nick: Yeah, that's my point. Carl Mercer risks dying sooner to help our investigation but who protects his rights? Grissom: He has free will. Nick: Well, so do I. I want to retract our request. I don't think any investigation for the dead is worth hurting the living. (GRISSOM turns around. He doesn't say anything.) Nick: What? (SARA calls out to them from the doorway.) Sara: Guys? You're not going to believe this. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - PRINT LAB] (SARA runs the print through the database.) Sara: Funny sometimes it is the simplest things that seems so difficult. I've been trying to match the partial from the champagne bottle to these known prints. It was upside down. (The computer beeps.) Grissom: Must've grabbed the bottle ... (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT in bed with someone. She reaches over and grabs the champagne bottle.) Grissom: ... upside-down to pour. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) (On the monitor, it shows that a match was found. The prints match up. GRISSOM looks at SARA.) Grissom: So ... who was he with? Sara: Mrs. Fairmont. Nick: (surprised) What? Player was in the hotel cheating with his own wife? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (BRASS re-interviews JULIA FAIRMONT.) Julia Fairmont: I was trying to ... rekindle our marriage. I ... got the room ... brought the champagne. (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT in bed with his wife.) Bob Fairmont: (moaning) Oh, yes. Yes. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Julia Fairmont: He squeezed me in between business meetings at the hotel. Brass: And you didn't think to tell me that when we first talked? (In the observation room, GRISSOM, SARA and NICK listen in on the questioning.) Julia Fairmont: No, because you asked me about him being redressed in an elevator ... and, besides, when I left him, he was ... alive watching the news. (Quick flashback to: JULIA kisses BOB FAIRMONT and leaves. The news can be heard on the television. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Brass: Oh, so, he had a stroke alone, after you left. (Quick flashback to: BOB FAIRMONT puts a hand to his forehead and collapses back on the bed. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Julia Fairmont: I'm not a doctor. I don't know when he had it. Brass: Well, CSI is testing that champagne bottle for selenium. Julia Fairmont: I didn't think poison caused strokes. Brass: You seem to know a lot about poison for not being a doctor. Julia Fairmont: I know a lot of things about a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that I killed my husband. [SCENE_BREAK] [OBSERVATION ROOM] (Upon hearing this, GRISSOM looks at SARA.) Grissom: Yeah ... but what never lies? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT CSI - EVIDENCE ROOM] (GRISSOM sifts through BOB FAIRMONT'S ashes. SARA sits on the table next to him and looks at the file.) Sara: Fairmont had three gold crowns. They should've survived the cremation. Grissom: At least partially. Heavy metal, after all. Sara: His wife ... had them removed at the mortuary. That adds new meaning to the phrase "gold digger." Grissom: Actually, that's how the phrase got started. People used to dig up the bodies to extract the gold. Sara: Now they just marry them. In some countries, this would be enough to have her arrested for murdering her husband. Grissom: What's the most important component in a poisoning. (Hmmm ... trick question. SARA thinks about it.) Sara: Poison. (GRISSOM looks up at SARA.) Grissom: Patience. (SARA smiles and shakes her head.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - PARKING LOT -- NIGHT] (JULIA FAIRMONT makes her way to her parked car. She staggers a little and appears to have difficulty walking. She makes it to her car and tries to unlock the door. NICK sees her duress and calls out to her.) Nick: Ms. Fairmont ... Ms. Fairmont, you feeling okay? (She waves him away.) Julia Fairmont: Yeah, I'm, I'm ... (JULIA doubles over in pain. NICK rushes over to help her.) Nick: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Julia Fairmont: Hey ... maybe I just need to sit down... for a minute. Nick: Yeah, yeah, let's sit down here in the car for a sec. (NICK opens the door and helps JULIA FAIRMONT sit inside.) Nick: There you go. Relax, relax, relax. (NICK takes out his cell phone and makes a call.) Nick: yeah, I need an ambulance. Uh, Vegas PD, west parking lot. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- OFFICE] (GREG is on the computer. NICK walks in through the hallway. He stops when he sees GREG at the computer, pauses for a moment, then walks by.) (GREG does a web search for "Julia Fairmont". He finds 900 matches.) (He narrows the search to "Julia Fairmont" in "Nevada". He finds 4 matches.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- HALLWAY] (NICK continues through the hallway. He meets up with CATHERINE and GRISSOM.) Catherine: Hey, what's going on? We called the hospital. She's been released. Nick: ER doc gave her a shot of hydropazeen ... sent her on her way. Grissom: Hydropazeen? That's an antiemetic used to counteract heavy metal poisoning. Nick: Which means ... somebody's been poisoning our suspect. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT] (BRASS questions CLAUDIA GIDEON.) (CLAUDIA GIDEON shakes her head: No.) Claudia Gideon: I don't know how it happened. Maybe she poisoned herself. Brass: Why would she do that? Claudia Gideon: (scoffs) Why would she hide my shampoo in my office? Brass: What, you know she did that? Claudia Gideon: Well, it wasn't her husband. He was already dead. She's trying to frame me for killing him. Brass: I mean, do you have anything beyond your suspicions that she did kill him? Claudia Gideon: She had his gold fillings removed. Doesn't that tell you something about her? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (BRASS questions JULIA FAIRMONT.) Julia Fairmont: I had his watch and ring removed, too. Do you want to see them? They're in a box at home. Brass: You realize that doesn't look good? Julia Fairmont: It can look however it wants. I have nothing to hide. Brass: You mean since you yourself have been poisoned? Julia Fairmont: Yeah, why aren't you asking Claudia Richards about that? First my husband, then me? Brass: Why would she want to kill either one of you? Julia Fairmont: I don't know. Maybe because he refused ... to leave me for her. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARMTENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (BRASS questions CLAUDIA GIDEON.) Claudia Gideon: I had to wash his grungy coffee mug every night. I had to clean his toenail clippings off of his desktop. Why would I ever ask Bob Fairmont to leave anyone for me? Brass: So, you think it was all in Mrs. Fairmont's head? Claudia Gideon: He always said she was crazy. Brass: (scoffs) Okay, that's it. All right ... look, we're not leaving here till we get to the bottom of this. Claudia Gideon: Then I hope she talks soon. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- OFFICE] (SARA walks by the offices. She looks and sees GREG will working on the computer. She walks into the office.) Sara: Greg? Greg: (smiles) Hey. I was just printing something out for you ... on your hot case. (SARA steps inside and looks at the monitor.) Sara: From the internet? Greg: Yeah, I ... I was... on break, had some time ... thought ... hey ... (GREG gives SARA the print out of his finds. SARA looks at it.) Greg: Sorry, I drew a blank on the wife. (SARA leans in toward GREG.) Sara: (thrilled) I could really, really just kiss you right now. (Smiling, GREG bashfully turns his head away from SARA. SARA leaves the office. He sighs. When he turns back, SARA'S gone.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- HALLWAY] (SARA shows GRISSOM the information. GRISSOM looks at a photo of "Claudia and John Gideon".) Grissom: So, this is Claudia. Sara: The secretary, ten years ago her husband, John Gideon. (Across the hallway, CLAUDIA GIDEON takes a drink from the water fountain. GRISSOM and SARA turn around to look at her. CLAUDIA GIDEON smiles back at them. She leaves.) Sara: Claudia's rich husband also died young-- 35. (GRISSOM looks down at the Obituary for "John Gideon, dies at 35".) Grissom: She donated his organs and cremated his body. Sara: We don't have to chase down these organs. Ralph Parks rejected the organ that he got from Claudia's husband. Grissom: An organ with a memory, maybe? Sara: The most. Liver. (SARA show GRISSOM the report. It reads with the following information: BLOOD TYPE: A-POS Rh: NEG DATE: 4-13-93 RECIPIENT INFORMATION: NAME: RALPH PARKS ORGAN(S): LIVER STATE: ARIZONA TRANSPLANT DATE: 5-3-93 DOB: 5-30-62 / GENDER: M / BLOOD TYPE: A-POS Rh: Neg NAME: JASON JUNG ORGAN(S): AORTA TRANSPLANT DATE: 4-15-93 ] Sara: He died two months after receiving it back in '93. Lived one state over in Arizona. I have the cemetery address. (NICK rushes up toward them holding a piece of paper.) Nick: Hey, Sara, got the warrant. Sara: Awesome. We'll keep you posted. (GRISSOM nods as SARA and NICK leave. He looks up at CLAUDIA GIDEON sitting in the waiting room.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. CEMETARY] (A large crane lifts the coffin out of the ground as SARA and NICK watch.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY] (ROBBINS holds the sheet over the body up. NICK looks up at the ceiling.) Robbins: Embalming certainly retards the decomposition process. Nick: Yeah, But it doesn't stop the smell. Robbins: The liver's degraded but any metal should still be there. (ROBBINS lifts the cloth over the metal pan to show NICK the liver inside.) Nick: We'll find out. (NICK takes the liver and leaves.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- LAB] (NICK cuts pieces of the liver off. He puts them into a blender and crushes them. He takes the liver mixture and puts it in a small container. He takes a small sample of the mixture and puts it in the machine to analyze. The results read on the monitor.) (The printer prints the results.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- LAB] (SARA walks into the lab. NICK reads the results off of the printout.) Sara: Nick, did you get anything Nick: Hey, Sara. Yeah. Sodium selenite-- selenium. 280 milligrams for a 180-pound man... (NICK gives the printout to SARA. She looks at it.) Sara: That's murder. Nick: Yeah, well, it would have been murder for a 300-pound man. Sara: This is different than the shampoo compound. Nick: Yeah, it contains polysorbate 80 and vitamin E. That combination's found in selenium supplements injected in animals. Sara: Animals? Like cats, dogs? Nick: Mostly livestock, grazers. Sara: To make up for the lack of selenium nutrient in the soil. How did Claudia get access to this stuff? Catherine: (o.s.) A dairy farm. (SARA and NICK look up to see CATHERINE standing in the doorway reading a file.) Catherine: "Gideon Dairy and Cheese." Largest supplier of milk in Connecticut, in fact. Brass talked to a local chamber-of-commerce type about Claudia's husband. You want to know who his secretary was? Sara: Yeah. (CATHERINE puts the open file on the table for NICK and SARA to look at. The photograph in the picture is of John Gideon and Julia Fairmont.) Sara: Our Julia Fairmont. (SARA looks up at CATHERINE and smiles.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (CATHERINE and SARA interview CLAUDIA GIDEON and JULIA FAIRMONT, together. SARA puts the photographs of each woman with JOHN GIDEON in front of each of them.) Sara: Ten years ago, you played secretary and you played wife. Claudia: We have never represented we didn't know each other previously. Julia: And I wasn't playing. I was a hard-working secretary. Catherine: And you loved your husband Right up to the day he died ... of 240 milligrams of selenium. Sara: Animal selenium, the kind used for cattle. Claudia: Well, we did live in grazing country although, I have to say, Julia knew more about livestock than I did. She rode horses. (CLAUDIA smiles.) Julia: I took the job because Mr. G let me board my horse at the family stables. Claudia: Oh, I hated the stables. The smell. Never stepped foot in them. Sara: Implicating you, the secretary. (SARA sits down.) Sara: I don't believe this. Catherine: Bravo. Ladies. You have got this down to a science. (CLAUDIA looks at JULIA. JULIA continues to look at CATHERINE.) Why did it happen the first time? Hubby ignored you or abused you or you got sick of him fooling around so you started slipping the ... (Quick flashback to: CLAUDIA stands in front of the table. In one hand she holds the bottle of selenium. In the other, she grabs the glass of drink. JULIA walks in on her.) Catherine: (V.O.) ... cow stuff into his chocolate milk? Julia must have caught you. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Catherine: So the two of you struck a deal. (Quick flashback to: CLAUDIA looks at JULIA. JULIA puts the scenario in front of her together.) Claudia: I'm, uh ... I'm coming into a lot of money. (JULIA puts the things she's carrying down. She sits down and looks at CLAUDIA.) Julia: No, we are. (CLAUDIA smiles. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Sara: And then what? The two of you realized how quickly you could run through a couple million? So you went looking for another mark here in Nevada? Catherine: But the difference is that you actually loved Bob Fairmont. (Quick flashback to: JULIA in bed with her husband. End of flashback. Resume to present.) Catherine: You shot him because he was cheating but that didn't get in the way of your long-term goals, did it? (GRISSOM peers through the door and taps on the glass. CATHERINE looks up. She and SARA go to see what GRISSOM wants.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS] (SARA and CATHERINE walk out of the interview room.) Grissom: I just came from the D.A. Their attorneys were there as well. Based on everything we have the D.A. Is not going to move forward. He says it's a reject. Sara: Brass doesn't have anything? Grissom: Brass is still in the field. (GRISSOM looks into the interview room and tells the two women: ) Grissom: You're free to go. (They stand up to leave. SARA looks at GRISSOM. She's not happy with the outcome of the case. CATHERINE is taking it in stride.) Julia: (to CATHERINE) Where's the ladies' room? Catherine: It's down the hall to your right. Julia: Thanks. Claudia: Pardon me. (The two women leave.) Catherine: Well, no big surprise. We have proof of poison but no way to prove which one of them did it. Sara: I like either one of them for the murder-- so will a jury. Catherine: She-said/she-said defense? It's never going to fly. They'll raise each other as a viable suspect just like they did with us. Grissom: That's what the D.A. said verbatim. Catherine: See you back at CSI. (CATHERINE leaves. SARA is completely unhappy with the results.) Sara: Wait. What? So, what, and just let them move on to another state, another husband? Grissom: It's not always up to us. (Without another word, SARA walks out into the parking lot. GRISSOM turns and watches her leave. He takes off after her.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- PARKING LOT - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS] (SARA walks across the sidewalk and heads for her car. GRISSOM rushes out to catch up with her.) Grissom: Sara ... look ... (SARA stops and finally turns around to look at GRISSOM. She's disillusioned.) Grissom: I know this isn't news to you but sometimes science isn't enough. Sara: What are we doing? Digging up graves, chasing prints -- if it's no good in court ... if the killers win ... Grissom: It isn't a competition. We don't win. (SARA turns her head as GRISSOM continues.) The courts are like dice. They have no memory. What works one week doesn't work the next. Sara: (nods and looks at GRISSOM.) I know that. I do. I know that. That's why I'm mad. Grissom: But, see, if you get mad, then they do win. Sara: You just said ... This is one of your riddles isn't it? Grissom: (gently) One of life's riddles ... (GRISSOM turns around to head back to the building. He turns back to SARA.) ... But, hey ... the good news? There's no statute of limitation on murder. (GRISSOM makes his way back to the building. SARA turns and walks away.)
Organ Grinder