The CSI team investigates the case of a woman found dead on the staircase of her suburban home. Suspicion quickly falls on the victim's husband, but the blood-spattered evidence tells a complicated story.
FLASH IN. [EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT] Operator: (V.O.) 911. What is your emergency? Ray Lester: (V.O.) (panicked) Yes. There's been an accident. An accident. Please ... [EXT. - NIGHT] Operator: (V.O.) What kind of emergency, sir? (A paramedic takes his kit from the vehicle.) [EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT] Ray Lester: (V.O.) Please, ma'am, I need you to send an ambulance. Please, just hurry. [EXT. LESTER RESIDENCE - FRONT DRIVE - NIGHT] Operator: Calm down, sir, paramedics are on their way. (The paramedics head for the house. A man with blood on his shirt runs out of the house.) Ray Lester: Oh, my God! Please, you've got to help me! Please, hurry! Paramedic: Sir, where are you injured? Ray Lester: What the hell? No, not me, my wife! (He turns and leads them to his house.) Ray Lester: Hurry! She's in here! [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS] (He leads them into the darkened house to show them the woman on the stairs in a pool of blood.) Paramedic 1: Get out of the way, sir. (Paramedic 1 rushes over to the woman. He steps in the pool of blood. He turns and looks over at his partner.) Paramedic 1: De-fib. Paramedic 2: Yeah. (The paramedic places the defibrillator on the ground. Ray Lester starts panicking.) Ray Lester: What does that mean? Paramedic: Sir, sir! Ray Lester: Wh-What does that mean? Paramedic: Sir, please stand back. (to the other paramedic) Go ahead. Go ahead. (He puts the electrodes on her and turns on the machine. There's a flatline and steady tone.) Paramedic: No response. WHITE FLASH TO: [EXT. LESTER RESIDENCE - FRONT WALK - NIGHT] (Catherine and Grissom, both carrying their kits, duck under the crime scene tape to meet up with Brass and the two paramedics.) (Brass turns around and immediately starts filling them in.) Brass: There was an emergency call-out; the paramedics responded. They found Mrs. Lester on the back stairs. They pronounced at 12:16 a.m. (Grissom notes the paramedics' bloodied shoes.) Grissom: And, of course, you walked through the house. Paramedic: We were responding to a traumatic injury. Our priority was to assist the victim. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS] (Brass leads Catherine and Grissom into the house. There are bloodied footprint tracks on the floor. Over in the living room, Ray Lester is sitting in a chair, his legs, shirt and hands bloodied.) Brass: That's Ray Lester, the vic's husband. (Brass continues into the house to lead them to the dead body.) Catherine: Was he injured? Brass: No, uh, that's his wife's blood. He said he checked to see if she was still alive and he held her until the paramedics came. Catherine: Wouldn't you? Brass: You never met my ex. [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - KITCHEN - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS] (They enter the kitchen and find a bottle of tequila, less than a quarter full, and two empty shot glasses on the counter.) Catherine: Tequila will always remind me of Señor Frog's. Brass: Which one? (Grissom looks outside Catherine: Cancun. My honeymoon. My dime. Brass: Well, if you ever want to go back, it's on me. Catherine: Is that a proposal? (They continue to follow the bloodied footprints through the kitchen and on into the next room where the body is.) David Phillips: It's like the Red Sea in here. Grissom: The Red Sea's not red, David. David Phillips: No, it's blue from afar and transparent when held in hand, like any other body of water. I was just speaking figuratively. Catherine: I'm assuming those boot prints aren't yours. David Phillips: Please, I was just waiting for you guys to clear a path. Blame the paramedics. Grissom: This girl's head and spine are perfectly aligned. Catherine: Yeah, when you fall down the stairs, your head tends to go in one direction, your body in another. Brass: I'll take a statement from the husband and the paramedics; see if she was moved. (Grissom looks at the door.) David Phillips: You know, twice as many people die each year from falling down stairs than from accidental gunfire? Brass: You didn't just get back from one of those coroner's conferences, did you? (Grissom looks at Catherine, who glances at him and sees his look.) Catherine: What are you thinking? Grissom: Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven." FADE TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LESTER RESIDENCE - FRONT DRIVE -- DAY] (The coroner's van is parked in the driveway. Officer keeps the crowd behind the taped-off area. One of the paramedics puts his shoes into the paper bag Greg holds for him. The other paramedic is doing the same.) (Sara parks the car. Warrick, Nick and Sara exit the car and walk over to Greg.) Warrick: Hey, Sanders. Greg: Hey. Back stairs. And, uh, you might want to hug the wall. (They turn and head for the house as Greg bags the other paramedic's shoes. He glances in the bag and takes a whiff of it.) Greg: Whew! Did you ever hear of Odor Eaters? Never mind. Paramedic 1: We don't get another boot allowance till spring. Greg: Well, I'll try to get 'em back to you before your next shift, okay? Uh, one more question: Did either of you guys move the body? Paramedic 2: Didn't have to. She was face-up. Paramedic 1: I unbuttoned her blouse to apply the leads, but that's it. Paramedic 2: We tried not to touch anything. Once we saw that blood, we knew you'd be showing up. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (Everyone stands at the base of the stairs looking down at Becky Lester's body as Grissom preps them.) Grissom: Becky Lester. Catherine and I got here a half an hour after her husband called 911. Catherine: Edges of the blood pools were already dry. The pools themselves were tacky. Nick: Which means she'd been down here at least an hour or two before you guys even got here. Sara: Why did the husband wait so long to call? Catherine: Good question. Grissom: Coroner won't touch the body till Catherine and I are done processing around it, so, Sara, would you please go up the front stairs and work your way down the back stairs? Sara: You got it. (Sara picks up her kit and leaves.) Grissom: Warrick, could you process the blood evidence from the front door to the back stairwell? And if you'll notice, she doesn't have any blood on her feet. Warrick: So I can assume those bloody footprints aren't hers. (Warrick turns and leaves.) Grissom: Nick, Brass is in the study with the husband and he's waiting for you. (Nick picks up his kit and leaves.) (In the kitchen, Warrick puts an evidence marker down on the floor and snaps a photo of the bloodied footprints.) (He continues to process the scene.) (Various dissolves of Warrick putting down more evidence markers and taking more pictures as he works his way to the door.) (Off on the counter, he notices a single blood drop. He snaps a photo of it. He puts a plastic protective covering over it, then looks around in the trash. He finds a napkin with blood on it. He picks it up.) (On the second floor, Sara examines the stairs, starting from the top, and works her way down.) (Grissom puts a measuring ruler near some blood drops and snaps a photo of it. (Catherine takes a swab of the blood pool.) (Sara prints the side of the stairway wall.) (Catherine measures the blood spatter on the wall near the body.) (Grissom is snapping photos of the contents in the hallway closet nearby.) Catherine: Hey, Grissom, spatter on the wall doesn't exceed 18 inches. Grissom: Well, that's consistent with the fall. (Quick flash of: Becky Lester appears at the top of the stairs and trips. She falls down the stairs. Blood spatters on the wall near the bottom.) (End of flash.) (Sara is dusting the stairway walls.) Sara: Guys, if she fell, even if she was pushed down these stairs, I would expect to find smudge marks on these walls. Catherine: Yeah, she would've instinctively reached out for leverage. Sara: There are none. Not to mention, that if she was up here before she was down there ... she should've landed head first. (Quick flash of: Becky Lester trips and falls. She lands head on the bottom of the steps. End of flash.) Sara: The body position is inconsistent with the fall. Catherine: Well, it's inconsistent if she fell down the stairs. Maybe she fell up. (Quick flash of: Becky Lester is walking up the stairs. She trips and falls, hitting her head on the stairs. She then falls a couple steps down. She gets up long enough to flip over, then falls back on the steps. End of flash.) Sara: Catherine, can I borrow your micrometer? (Catherine hands Sara the micrometer, which Sara uses to measure one of the blood drops on the wall.) Sara: Blood spatter measures two millimeters. Grissom: Medium spatter. Suggests impact with a blunt object. (Quick flash of: Becky Lester is being beaten with an object. End of flash.) Sara: But if she was hit, where's the castoff? (Grissom looks at the ceiling above them.) Grissom: It is a low ceiling. Pretty hard to swing a weapon. Catherine: Sometimes first blush gives you a head rush. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - SITTING ROOM - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (Brass interviews Ray Lester while Nick gathers evidence from him.) Ray Lester: I don't think I moved her. Um, I mean, I cradled her head in my lap. Tried to wake her up, but that's it. Brass: So, you and your wife went to Piero's for dinner, got home around 10:00, got out the tequila. Then what? Ray Lester: I, you know, got comfortable ... then we went outside and did a few shots. Nick: How'd the tequila get back inside? Ray Lester: Um, the phone rang and it was my daughter Susan. Brass: Your daughter? Ray Lester: Yeah, from my first marriage. She's, she's staying at Becky's dad's. (Quick flash of: Out the patio, the phone rings; Ray Lester answers it.) Ray Lester: (to phone) All right. It's Susan. Becky Lester: Oh. (to phone) Hey, babe. Uh-huh. (Ray pours himself a drink.) Becky Lester: (to phone) Okay. (to Ray) It's boy trouble. I'll take this inside. (She presses the hold button on the phone, stands up and heads inside.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Brass: What did you do after that? Ray Lester: Another shot or two and then I guess I fell asleep. And I woke up around midnight. (Nick looks up from what he's doing.) And I figured that she and Susan had just gotten into one of their talk-a-thons. (Quick flash of: Ray goes back into the house and puts the tequila and glasses on the counter.) Ray Lester: (V.O.) I took the tequila and the glasses into the kitchen and that's when I saw her. (He turns and sees Becky on the stairs.) Ray Lester: Oh, my God. Oh, please! (He runs over to her and holds her.) Ray Lester: Oh, please, please! Oh, God. Oh, please, Oh please. (He puts her back down, his hands in her blood.) (Flash to: He runs to the phone and dials, the blood from his hands all over the phone.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Brass: Now, is there any reason you can think of why your wife would be using the back stairs? Ray Lester: From the kitchen, it's closer to the bedroom. Brass: You never mentioned anything about the bedroom. Ray Lester: Are you trying to trip me up or something? I mean, I don't ... maybe she went to, uh, brush her teeth or put on her nightgown. I really don't know. Nick: Okay, sir. I'm going to need to take your clothing. Ray Lester: I'll go upstairs and change. (Ray stands up; Nick stops him.) Nick: No, that's okay. We're still processing upstairs. You can remove them right here and I'll give you a jumpsuit. (He turns and looks at Brass.) Brass: I'll close my eyes, if you're shy. (Ray removes his shirt to show teeth marks on his chest.) Nick: Those don't look like mosquito bites. Ray Lester: My wife likes to bite, and I don't mind it, okay? Nick: (nods) Okay. (Nick puts the shirt in a bag.) (The coroners wheel out the body on a gurney. Ray's eyes follow the gurney as it passes the sitting room doorway on its way out of the house. He appears very upset.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - BACK ROOM - DAY -- CONTINUOUS] (Brass walks back into the room where Grissom and Catherine are working.) Brass: Okay, the husband says he fell asleep, he woke up his wife was dead. Grissom: He's a good sleeper. Brass: Yeah, I'm sure he's gonna say something like that. Anyway, there's a daughter. She spent the night at her grandfather's, who lives a few blocks away. I'm gonna check it out. (Brass leaves.) Warrick: I'm ready. (Grissom and Catherine head for the kitchen where Warrick is.) Warrick: The blue markers denote the footprints. They're all consistent with the husband. (Quick visualization of: Ray is near Becky's body. He's already stepped in the pool of blood. He runs over to the phone, leaving bloodied footprints behind him.) Warrick: The footprints are associated with gravitational blood drops. (The visualization continues: Ray puts the phone down and runs back to the body. The wet blood from his hands drops to the wooden floor.) (Warrick points to the other markers.) Warrick: The yellow markers denote the paramedics' boot prints. (Quick visualization of: The two paramedics are at the body. They stand up and head back out, leaving a trail of bloody prints on the floor. Visualization ends.) Catherine: And what about this here, on the counter? Warrick: It's a single blood drop. (Quick flash of: A single blood drop falls and hits the counter.) Warrick: I'm thinking that's from when the husband reached for the phone. Grissom: That's a good observation. What do you got in the bag? Warrick: This ... (Warrick opens the bag and takes out a paper towel.) Warrick: ... is a bloody paper towel I found in the trash. It's too textured to print, but Sanders talked to the paramedics, who confirmed that it wasn't theirs. I'm thinking it was from the husband when he tried to clean up and saw it wouldn't be too easy. Catherine: Lucky for us. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE - SECOND FLOOR BEDROOM - DAY] (Grissom climbs up the stairs and reaches the top. He looks around. The nearest bedroom is a girl's room. He looks around inside from the doorway.) (He turns and walks down the hallway. At the end is another bedroom. He looks inside and notes it's a man's bedroom. A pair of reading glasses and a wallet are on the nightstand; a pair of shoes is next to the bed.) (He turns and finds Sara in the woman's bedroom.) Sara: Hey. Husband slept in the other room. His reading glasses are on the nightstand. Clothing's in the dresser. (Sara looks under the bed covering.) Grissom: That's odd. A man and a woman who don't share a bedroom arrange to have a night alone, send their daughter to a relative, go out to dinner, have drinks by the pool, but they sleep in separate bedrooms. Sara: Maybe one of them snored or had insomnia or liked to work at night. Grissom: Or maybe they were suffocating each other and he couldn't breathe. (Sara turns and opens the nightstand drawer. She finds a tube and picks it up.) Sara: Sexual lubricant. It's half empty. Sticky. You know, you don't have to sleep in the same bed together to have s*x or ... have romance. Grissom: I'm going to go see the doctor. Sara: I'll grid the house. (Grissom turns and walks out of the bedroom.) [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS COMMUNITY (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE -- DAY] (Open on various framed family photos on the counter. Brass interviews Susan Lester and Grandpa Stein.) Grandpa Stein:I don't understand. Becky was in perfect health. Can I see her? I'd like to see my daughter. Brass: Well, her body's with the coroner, sir. There will be an autopsy as a part of our investigation. Grandpa Stein:But you said she fell. Brass: Yeah, um, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you both a few questions. Grandpa Stein:Anything. Brass: When was the last time either of you saw her? Grandpa Stein:When she dropped Susan off yesterday evening, she came in for a few minutes. Said she was headed home and out to dinner with Ray. Brass: And that's the last time you spoke with her. Grandpa Stein:Yeah. Susan Lester: No. I called her. A little after 10:00, after Grandpa went to bed. Brass: What did you talk about? Grandpa Stein:Why is that important? Brass: Well ... Susan Lester: Stupid stuff. My best friend Jamila and I, we both like Leon. And I know, friendship first. I just wanted Becky to say it, you know? Brass: Uh, yeah, okay. Thank you. Thank you, Susan. Grandpa Stein:Susan, would you give me a moment with the detective? Susan: Okay. (Susan leaves.) Grandpa Stein:You said you found my daughter's body on the stairwell? Brass: That's right. Grandpa Stein:You're aware that Ray's first wife, Susan's mother, was found the same way? Brass: Well, now I am. Grandpa Stein:They said Susan's mom died of a stroke. Brass: But you don't think so? Grandpa Stein:I never had any reason to doubt it. Brass: So how would you, uh, how would you characterize your daughter's marriage? Grandpa Stein:Ups and downs. About a year ago, Ray's business went under. And Becky works for Western Airlines. They've been downsizing since 9/11. It's been rough. Brass: Yeah. Mr. Stein, does your son-in-law have a temper? Grandpa Stein:Do I have to answer that? Brass: You just did. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY] (Robbins goes over the findings with Grissom.) Robbins: Becky Lester, 32. Final meal, pasta. I can't tell you the variety of the noodle, but there was a white sauce with clams. And I found some blood in her stomach. Her tongue was lacerated perimortem. Grissom: She probably chomped down on it when she hit the stairs. Robbins: I sent a blood sample to Tox and Nick asked for teeth impressions. Husband claims she's a biter. Fine line between pleasure and pain. But who doesn't like to cross it every once in a while, right? (Grissom gives Robbins a look.) Robbins: Anyway, um, I don't know if it's probative, but there's semen in her vaginal vault. Sperm motility and positive acid phosphates suggest intercourse approximately six to 12 hours prior to death. Grissom: Yeah, I'm mostly interested in cause. Robbins: Exsanguination from five lacerations: two to the forehead, one to the right temple, and two to the occipital bone. Grissom: Are they consistent with a fall? Robbins: Yes, but I'd expect to see hand fractures as a result of the impact, and there are none. Grissom: Are they consistent with blunt force trauma? Robbins: Sure, but if the husband bludgeoned her, there'd be fractures to the skull. Grissom: And there are none. Robbins: None. Grissom: Well, you've given me a lot of information, doc, and none of it very helpful. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB -- DAY] (Grissom spits out some ketchup onto a wall. He looks at the spatter, then pours more ketchup into a plastic teaspoon. He puts the ketchup in his mouth.) (Catherine walks up to him.) Catherine: You want fries with that? (Grissom spits the ketchup onto the wall.) Grissom: Robbins said the vic bit her tongue. Theoretically, she could've expirated the blood on the wall, providing an alternative explanation for the medium velocity spatter. (He looks at her.) Grissom: Do me a favor, check it out. (Catherine measures the spatter.) Catherine: Well, it looks like two millimeters--same as the blood at the scene. So, maybe it was just an accident. (Quick flash of: Becky Lester goes to climb up the stairs. She trips, falls and hits her head against the steps.) Grissom: (V.O.) As she tried to get up, she expirated the blood on the wall. (She gets up and spits blood on the wall.) Grissom: (V.O.) She failed to regain her footing, impacting her temple ... (She falls back down, flips over and dies.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Grissom: ... and then she bounced on her occipital bone. Catherine: So we've got two theories, supported by physical evidence. Grissom: Yeah, if we ever find a murder weapon, my theory's done. Catherine: Well, I know that there was no blood found in the car, so it's unlikely that Ray took a drive to dispose of the weapon. (Brass walks in carrying a file folder.) Brass: Hey, ready for a quiz? Guess how Ray's first wife died? Grissom: Wait. She had a stroke on a stairway. Robbins told me. Is that the autopsy report? Brass: No, these are medical records. There was no autopsy. Jackie Lester had a heart condition. Three weeks before she died, she was admitted to a hospital with vertigo. She ignored the doctor's warnings, didn't take her medication. Family physician pronounced it a stroke. Catherine: Well, if she wasn't cremated, it's not too late for a postmortem examination. Brass: Judge Witherspoon is issuing a court order for exhumation. Now, look, I just came from the DA. I gotta tell you, he's already made up his mind. Husband and wife, home alone, all that blood, shaky alibi. Plus, he says, "He just looks guilty." Grissom: How does one "look" guilty? Brass: You know, I'm just a messenger. What do you think the chances are he didn't do it? Catherine: Well, what do you think the chances are we're going to give you an answer before all the evidence is in? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB -- DAY] (Greg walks through the hallway when Henry Andrews stops him.) Henry Andrews: Greg ... Becky Lester had a BAL of .18. And I found trace amounts of diazepam. Greg: Thanks! Henry Andrews: Hey, I heard the coroner found semen, so I tested for birth control. Estrogen and progesterone levels were spiked. Greg: Where did you hear about the coroner's findings? Henry Andrews: Actually, I read the report. Maybe I don't want to be a toxicologist my whole life. I mean, you went from DNA to the field, and I guess you're kind of a role model to me. Greg: A role model, huh? Henry Andrews: Yeah. By the way, where do you get your hair cut? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB] (Nick is examining the photos of the bite marks from Ray Lester's chest.) (He makes a teeth print from a mold of Becky's teeth. He matches the bite marks to the mold print. They don't' match.) (He tries to match the mold to the bite marks. Still, they don't' match.) (Catherine walks in.) Nick: Quick. How many teeth in the human mouth? Catherine: Without wisdoms? 28. Nick: Yep, and the 28 teeth in Becky's mouth do not match the bite impressions on her husband's body. Catherine: I guess Ray found himself another set of pearly whites. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (Catherine interviews Ray Lester.) Ray Lester: Look, I loved my wife. But, a year into our marriage, she told me that she wasn't into s*x anymore. And, uh, she went frigid on me. Asked me to move into the other bedroom. Catherine: And you were okay with that? Ray Lester: Well, I kept hoping things would get better. And we had fun and we respected each other. And she was a great mom to Susan. Catherine: I'm still confused about the bite marks. Ray Lester: I found a way to make our relationship work. Catherine: You found yourself a vampire? Ray Lester: I met a girl online. She liked biting. I liked being bit. It just seemed like a good match, and it never got sexual. Catherine: Uh-huh. And, uh, what is her name? Ray Lester: I know her as buffy227(a)gmail.com. Catherine: And your wife never suspected anything? Ray Lester: We'd meet at a motel ... every few weeks. I'd tell Becky that I was going out for a bite. It was consensual and it wasn't sexual. It was not cheating. Catherine: But you never told your wife? Ray Lester: I didn't tell Becky everything I did every minute of the day, but that doesn't mean that I was unfaithful. Catherine: When, exactly, was the last time that you had sexual intercourse with your late wife? Ray Lester: Four years ago. (He holds up his hand.) Rosy Palm and Thumbelina are the only action that I get. Catherine: Uh, wow, you know, uh, a joke like that doesn't quite seem appropriate for a distraught husband. Ray Lester: I'm just answering the questions. Catherine: Mr. Lester, did you know that your wife was having an affair? The day that she died, she had had intercourse. Ray Lester: Are we done here? Catherine: For now. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - A/V LAB - DAY] (Archie and Nick are watching the monitor where a beautiful blonde woman leans forward and bites a man on the chest.) Archie Johnson: Ow ... ooh. She's hot. But I still wouldn't let her fang me. Nick: No, no. I'm with you. Was the video encrypted? Archie Johnson: No. I was processing Ray's computer and it was just sitting on the desktop ... in a folder called "dental records." Nick: Did you get an ID on Buffy? Archie Johnson: Grissom got us an administrative subpoena. ISP sent over the subscriber information: Dr. Jeri Cohen -- aka Buffy227 -- is a dentist. Nick: Are you kidding me? Archie Johnson: I could not make this stuff up. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARMENT - WAITING ROOM] (Nick and Brass talk with Dr. Jeri Cohen.) Jeri Cohen: I'm not ashamed of my predilection. Assuming both parties are healthy, biting can be orgasmic. Nick: Huh. Brass: Dr. Cohen, where were you last night? Jeri Cohen: Home alone, like most nights. Brass: Ma'am, we're here to talk about your relationship with Ray Lester. Jeri Cohen: Well, I wouldn't call it a relationship, per se. There was no s*x, no commitment. We'd meet at a motel room, once or twice a month. Nick: You e-mailed Ray digital video of your sessions together. Jeri Cohen: Ray bought me that camera for, uh, my birthday. It was fun. Brass: If you say so. Jeri Cohen: The Kama Sutra says that any place on the body that can be kissed can also be bitten--except the upper lip, the interior of the mouth, and, of course, the eye. It also goes on to describe eight different ways to bite your partner. Ray liked "the broken cloud." Teeth ... are sexual organs. Nick: (clears throat) Um, Dr. Cohen, did, uh ... did, uh ... Brass: Ray. Nick: ... Ray ever mention his wife? Jeri Cohen: He told me he was married. It wasn't a problem for me. He said they made better friends than lovers and she was a good mother; that's about it. Brass: Was he violent? Jeri Cohen: Ray? No, he was nothing like that. (Jeri Cohen undoes the top buttons on her blouse and shows them her chest - her unbitten chest.) Jeri Cohen: See? No bite marks. I'm the aggressor. Ray just lies there and takes it. He's a real sweetheart. (Nick picks up the mold.) Nick: Uh, ma'am ... would you mind biting down on this for me? (She smiles at him.) Jeri Cohen: You know I wouldn't. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY] (Warrick and David Phillips are with Robbins and the coffin.) Warrick: They don't tell you about this part of the job when you're training to become a CSI. Robbins: Come on, after five years, at least they don't smell anymore. David Phillips: Always with the silver lining. Robbins: Right. Warrick: You ready? (David and Warrick open the coffin. Inside is a corpse.) Warrick: Well, hello, Jackie Lester. On three. (Warrick and David reach into the coffin.) Warrick: One ... two ... three. (They lift up the corpse and put it on the empty table next to them.) (Robbins puts a hand on the corpse's head and looks at Warrick and David.) Robbins: If you two don't mind ... we'd like some alone time. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- DAY] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY] (Robbins goes over the body.) (Various dissolves of: Robbins cuts her hair off. He shaves the head, then cuts and peels the remaining skin off. He sees something.) SHORT TIME CUT TO: (Warrick walks in.) Warrick: You done with your alone time, Doc? Robbins: Just completed my prelim, but check this out. Subgaleal hemorrhages, consistent with lacerations to the occipital bone. Warrick: So both of Ray's wives end up dead at the bottom of the stairs with lacerations to the head. Robbins: If my full autopsy confirms murder, you may be looking at the first serial stairway killer. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY - DAY] (Sara and Catherine walk through the hallway.) Sara: If there was a murder weapon, it was not in that house. We searched everywhere. Catherine: What's in the bag? Sara: s*x lube, found at the crime scene. Autopsy revealed that Becky was sexually active. Ray claims that they've both been celibate for the past four years. Catherine: And you wanted to see if her lover's prints were on that bottle. Sara: Two viable prints, both in a light coat of lube. One was Becky's and the other is an Adam Gilford. Work card is in the system. He's an executive at Western Airlines. Catherine: Lovers and co-workers. That never works. Sara: If Ray did find out about the affair, that's motive. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. WESTERN AIRLINES BUILING - GILFORD'S OFFICE -- DAY] (Catherine and Sara interview Adam Gilford.) Adam Gilford: Of course I knew Becky Lester. I'm her boss. I'm the one who hired her. Hard to believe that was six years ago. And it's such a tragedy. She was loved. Catherine: By some more than others. Adam Gilford: Excuse me? Sara: Mr. Gilford, we know that the two of you were sleeping together. Adam Gilford: Becky wasn't in love with Ray. They'd stopped having s*x. If they divorced, she'd owe him alimony, and Becky didn't think that was right. Sara: Becky told you that? Adam Gilford: She told me everything. She and Ray were living on vapors. They'd just taken a second on the house. She also told me that Ray was hiding money from her -- the insurance payout on his first wife. Look, if you suspect she was murdered, I can tell you why Ray did it. Catherine: We're listening. Adam Gilford: At Western Airlines, VP's and above receive corporate life insurance policies--quarter mil payouts. Last week, a round of pink slips went out. We both got hit. Two weeks, she would have been out of here. And the insurance policy, suspended. Catherine: And Ray is the beneficiary. Adam Gilford: He killed her just in time to make a killing. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE -- DAY] (Grissom's behind his desk when Ecklie walks in.) Conrad Ecklie: DA's planning to file charges against Ray Lester -- tomorrow, after an ADA stops by the crime lab for a full briefing. Grissom: That's too soon. Conrad Ecklie: Tell me about the first wife. Grissom: Preliminary investigations suggests foul play, but we've got nothing definitive until she's fully posted. And the physical evidence in Becky Lester's death is completely ambiguous. Conrad Ecklie: The DA figures he'll make a headline while you find corroborating evidence. You think he's guilty, right? Grissom: I don't think that yet. (Catherine walks in.) Catherine: Oh, um, am I interrupting? Grissom: No. Catherine: Brass just called with a heads up. Since when does the DA's office tell us when we're ready? Conrad Ecklie: When the case is high profile and the DA is feeling heat from the sheriff. Look, you'll just walk him through the evidence. You won't bias your reports or skip anything ambiguous. It is what it is. If the DA wants to shoot his wad too early, we can't stop him. Grissom: Okay. (Ecklie leaves.) Catherine: Sara and I may have uncovered motive. In the last two weeks, Ray filled out five loan applications--200 g's a pop. All denied. With his wife dead, he is the beneficiary of a $250,000 policy. Grissom: Huh. I wonder what he needed the money for. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (Brass interviews Ray Lester.) Ray Lester: I was ... being blackmailed. Um, someone found out about Buffy. I ... I got a letter and a photo in the mail. They wanted 200 grand or the .... Brass: Otherwise, they'd share your biting secret with your wife. Ray Lester: Yeah. Our marriage was having enough problems. Brass: I mean, you're covered in those bite marks. Didn't your wife ever ask where they came from? Ray Lester: She hadn't seen me naked in a long time. I just ... I would've been humiliated if she found out about Buffy. She was a great mom. And she kept ... she kept me sane when my business went under. Brass: You still have the blackmail note? Ray Lester: Yeah. I couldn't risk letting Becky find it. Soon as I opened that letter, it went right into my briefcase. I've got the only key. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - EVENING] [INT. CSI - LAB -- NIGHT] (Catherine and Sara look at the note. There are fingerprints on the front.) Sara: (reading) "Send $200,000 to P.O. Box 4976, Searchlight, Nevada, 89431 within two weeks or I'll send photos to your wife." Catherine: P.O. Box was through a private company, paid for in cash with a pseudonym: Abe Lincoln. Ninhydrin picked up six distinct prints. Five were matched to Ray. Sara: What about the sixth? Catherine: Becky Lester. Sara: Hold on. Ray told Brass that Becky never saw that note, which means he was lying. If she read the note, then it's possible that Ray freaked out, bludgeoned her to death. Catherine: What if Ray's telling the truth? Sara: Well, Catherine, if he was, her fingerprints would not be on this note. Catherine: Unless she touched the letter before it was sent, which would make her the sender. Sara: Well, that doesn't make any sense. Catherine: Becky thought that Ray was squirreling away money. Maybe this is her way of getting her hands on it. Sara: She used his fetish against him? Catherine: She blackmailed her own husband, knowing that he would pay up, so she wouldn't find out his secret. Sara: That's ingenious. And really sad. (Catherine laughs.) Sara: If it's true. Catherine: Well, if Becky's saliva's on that envelope, it's indisputable. [SCENE_BREAK] [CGI EFFECTS] (Quick CGI POV of: Camera reverses out from inside a brain.) [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - NIGHT] (Robbins points to the brain on the metal tray as he explains to Warrick what happened.) Robbins: This is a blood clot. Take a look. (Robbins pries the brain apart to show Warrick what it looks like inside.) Warrick: Huh. The blood's continuous. Robbins: Comes from deep within the parenchyma. The first wife had a stroke and it was fatal. Warrick: What about the scalp lacerations? Robbins: Perimortem. Warrick: So she must've hit her head on the stairs on the way down. Robbins: Well, I can't tell you about the second wife, but this was a natural. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB -- NIGHT] (Greg runs an ALS over the blackmail note. He finds a watermark on the bottom.) Sara: That's the Western Airlines logo. Greg: Over the past few years, corporations have begun embedding their insignia into the stationery for security purposes. (Catherine's phone rings; she answers it.) Catherine: If Becky wrote the note, she wrote it at work. (to phone) This is Catherine. Oh, yeah. I'm on my way. (Catherine leaves the lab.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - LAB] (Grissom meets with Ecklie and ADA Jeffrey Sinclair.) Grissom: For the record, I think you're filing prematurely. ADA Jeffrey Sinclair: As always, I value your opinion. But I'm confident in our decision to move forward. But, come on, Grissom, granted the first death was a natural -- but two dead women married to the same guy found in a stairwell? Lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. Grissom: Actually, it does. The Empire State Building gets struck twenty times a year. (Sinclair looks at Ecklie, who rolls his eyes.) Conrad Ecklie: Let's just run the case. (Catherine rushes into the lab.) Catherine: Sorry, I got held up. Grissom: No, you're just in time. Ms. Willows, would you bring Mr. Sinclair up to speed? Catherine: I'd be happy to. Ray and Becky Lester were unhappily married. She was having an affair with her boss; he was indulging his biting fetish. They were having financial problems. But Becky believed that Ray was hiding money. Two weeks ago, Ray received a blackmail note demanding 200 grand or the wife finds out about bite girl. Well, we have just confirmed that the blackmailer and the wife are one and the same. Grissom: Based on what? Catherine: The envelope of the ransom note. DNA was a match. ADA Jeffrey Sinclair: The wife was blackmailing the husband? Catherine: (chuckles) Never underestimate the deviousness of a malcontented spouse. ADA Jeffrey Sinclair: Well, he found out and he killed her. Grissom: We don't have any evidence to support that. ADA Jeffrey Sinclair: Run the timeline. Grissom: Couple got home around 10:00 P.M. They went outside and had some tequila. At 10:08, Ray's daughter from his first marriage phoned. Becky went inside to take the call. ADA Jeffrey Sinclair: How long did they talk? Grissom: It's not in Brass's notes. Catherine: Well, I have the phone records here, so ... uh, the call lasted ... two minutes? Conrad Ecklie: I thought the husband told Nick it was a marathon call. Catherine: Yeah, I'm just seeing this for the first time here. Um ... the incoming call did not come from the grandfather's house. (Catherine turns her phone on.) Catherine: I'm gonna call this number. (The phone rings. An answering machine goes on.) Ray Lester: (answering machine) You've reached the home office of Ray Lester. Please leave your details after the beep. Catherine: Susan called her stepmother from inside the house. Conrad Ecklie: Did anybody process that office phone? Grissom: The office was away from the crime scene. We, uh, checked it for a murder weapon, but that's about it. I'll get an investigator over there. Unless you're in too much of a hurry. (Grissom leaves.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LESTER RESIDENCE -- DAY] (Greg and Sara enter the house. They look over at the desk and see the phone.) Greg: There it is. (Greg snaps a photo of the phone. Sara picks the phone up and checks it. She flips it over and finds the blood on the back.) (Camera zooms in for a close-up.) Sara: Greg ... there's a fingerprint in blood. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT./INT. STEIN RESIDENCE -- DAY] (Brass knocks on the door. Grandpa Stein answers it. Catherine and Brass are on the front porch.) Grandpa Stein:Detective, what's going on? Brass: Mr. Stein, where's Susan? (Susan steps out from the back.) Susan Lester: Is everything okay with Dad? Brass: We have a warrant to search your house. (Catherine slips inside the doorway.) Grandpa Stein:A warrant?! What? Brass: Would you both please step outside with this officer? Susan Lester: Can I get my homework? Brass: Well, uh ... (Catherine turns and looks at Brass.) Catherine: Sure. That'd be all right. Susan Lester: Okay. (Susan hurries to her room. Catherine follows her.) (In the bedroom, Susan is closing her backpack. She turns around just as Catherine steps in the doorway.) Catherine: I'm gonna need to see inside your backpack. Susan Lester: It's just my books and stuff. Catherine: I'd like to see what you're studying. (Catherine takes the backpack from her. She puts it on the bed and opens it. Inside the backpack, Catherine finds books ... and a bloodied shirt.) Catherine: What did you hit her with? (Susan looks around. Catherine looks at the closet door.) Susan Lester: I want to talk to my dad. Brass: Why don't we take a ride downtown. You can call him from there. (Susan leaves.) Brass: (to Catherine) Nice work. (Catherine puts the shirt aside. She picks up the camera and opens the closet door. She takes a photo of the shirts hanging inside.) (She takes out her flashlight and looks around. She pushes the clothes aside and finds a cane leaning against the wall. She looks at the cane handle and puts it on the doorknob. She takes a swab and tests for blood. The swab turns pink.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (Brass interviews Susan Lester. Ms. Karpell sits next to her.) Susan Lester: My stepmom was a bitch. Ms. Karpell: Susan, you're not helping. Please, stay quiet. Brass: Excuse me for a minute. (In the observation room, Grissom and Catherine watch the interview.) Grissom: You know, I guess this could explain why Becky's skull was lacerated and not fractured. Catherine: She wasn't strong enough. [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] Susan Lester: I had to protect him. Brass: Protect who, Susan? Ms. Karpell: Susan! Brass: Protect your father? Protect your father from what? Susan Lester: She was gonna leave him. Brass: So that's why you killed your stepmother--to protect your father. Susan Lester: Last week, I skipped soccer practice and came home early. (Quick flash of: Susan rushes up the stairs and puts her backpack in her room. She hears Becky and a man laughing.) Becky Lester: You are so damn brilliant. Adam Gilford: I just found the digital video and printed out the stills. (Susan heads for Becky's bedroom and finds Becky in bed with Adam Gilford.) Becky Lester: "Dental records." I married a moron. (She sees them kiss.) Adam Gilford: Did you check the P.O. Box today? Becky Lester: Empty, but he's got another week. Ray's whipped. He brought up counseling again. The idiot would die before letting me in on his freak-ass fetish. (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Susan Lester: My dad only married Becky because of me. Brass: Explain that to me. Susan Lester: Well, he thought I needed a mom and that's why he stayed with her. Catherine: Blaming herself for the marriage. Grissom: She doesn't seem to blame herself for ending it. Brass: So you waited for your granddad to go to sleep and you snuck out of the house, snuck back into your house then you called your stepmom from your dad's telephone line. Pretty tricky. And then, you must've ... hid somewhere. Susan Lester: I hid in the closet. I told her we had to talk and that I knew about her boyfriend. (Quick flash of: Susan is in the closet and on the phone.) Susan Lester: (to phone) Uh, hey, Dad. Is Becky there? Could I talk to her? Ray Lester: (to phone) All right. (He hands the phone to Becky.) Ray Lester: (to Becky) It's Susan. Becky Lester: (to phone) Hey, babe. Susan Lester: (to phone) Just tell Dad you'll take the call inside and meet me in my room. Becky Lester: (to phone) Okay. (to Ray) It's boy trouble. (she puts the call on hold) I'll take this inside. (Flash to: Becky heads inside. As soon as she passes the closet and heads upstairs, Susan rushes out and uses the cane to hit her over the head.) (Becky hits her head on the stairs. She gets up and turns around. Susan hits her again. She falls backward. Susan hits her again, blood spatters on the wall.) (She looks at the blood on the cane handle and on her shirt.) (End of flashback. Resume to present.) Ms. Karpell: Are we done here? Brass: Almost. We're almost done. You know, Susan, there was a bloody paper towel left in the trash. Can you tell me about that? (Quick flashback to: Susan runs to the kitchen and grabs a paper towel to wipe the blood off the cane handle.) Susan Lester: (V.O.) I went into the kitchen. Tried to clean up. (She tosses the paper towel in the trash.) (End of flashback.) Susan Lester: I put the phone back in my dad's office and I walked back to Grandpa's. Brass: Where was your father when you killed your stepmother? Susan Lester: He was outside. Asleep. (In the observation room, Grissom and Catherine listen.) Grissom: Did you catch that? Catherine: Timeline is off. Grissom: Curious. You want to talk to the dad and I'll call the DA? Catherine: Sure. (Grissom leaves.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - WAITING ROOM] (Ray Lester waits in the waiting room with an officer. Catherine walks in.) Catherine: You knew. Ray Lester: What? Catherine: Your daughter killed your wife and you knew it. Ray Lester: I don't know what you're talking about. Catherine: Susan attacked Becky as soon as she went into the house. But you admitted to having another drink. You would've heard the attack. Ray Lester: I'm sorry, but that's what happ ... Catherine: You went into the house and found Susan wiping blood off of her hands. You sent her back to her grandfather's. You came up with a story to tell the cops, and then called 911. You were protecting your daughter. And now she's protecting you. Ray Lester: You can't prove it. Catherine: Well, either way, you have to live with it. (Catherine turns and leaves. She walks down the hallway. Susan Lester, Ms. Karpell and an officer exit the interview room. Catherine walks past them.)
Bite Me