Nick and Warrick investigate the suspicious murder of a young movie star who is found dead after a night of partying in his hotel suite. Meanwhile, Grissom, Catherine, and Sara uncover two murders among the immigrant laundry workers from the same hotel.
FLASH IN. [VARIOUS EXT. LAST VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT] CUE SONG: "Mad World", Gary Jules [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CLUB -- NIGHT] (Men and women drink. One man smiles as he's flanked by two women - one woman busy kissing his neck.) (Across the room, a blonde-haired woman stares worriedly at her cell phone.) [EXT. STRIP - NIGHT] (Outside, a limo passes by. In the back seat of a car, a young Vietnamese man sits and watches the limo pass by. His face is bruised and there are tears staining his cheeks.) (The cab he's sitting in drives away.) [INT. TAXI POV] (The young man looks out the windows as the taxicab drives around the strip. The bright lights from passing motels and other establishments reflect back through the rolled-up window.) (The taxi driver's sweating.) (The young man in the back seat glances over at the taxi driver.) [START: SPLIT SCREEN] (Top half: [INT. CASINO] The man from the bar leaves with two women.) (Bottom half: [TAXI CAB] The taxi stops and parks. The driver engages the brakes and sees the young man leave.) Taxi Driver: Hey! Where's my money? (The young man turns around and yells back to the taxi driver.) Young Man: You wait here! (Top half: Cameras flash as photographers snap photos of the man walking through the casino; several women follow him.) (A young woman in red snaps a picture of the man walking by. He notices her and turns back to look at her as he passes.) Man: You want to come with us? (A man standing in the back glares at the man walking by.) (Bottom half: The taxi driver waits. The fare changes from 7.20 to 7.40. The taxi driver continues to wait.) (Top half: The blonde-girl in red turns to her friend standing next to her.) Tally Jordan (woman in red): Oh, my God. Come on. (The two head out, following the man.) (Bottom half: The taxi driver takes out his log and writes in it: 270 7888 OAKEY ST.) (Top half: The party has moved outside to the pool.) (Bottom half: The taxi driver continues to wait. The fare changes from 8.00 to (Top half: The blonde-haired woman in red and her friend are now sitting on either side of the famous dark-haired man. He pays her special attention. (Bottom half: The taxi driver continues to wait. The fare changes form 8.20 to FLASH CUT TO WHITE: END OF SPLIT SCREEN Cue Sound: GUNSHOT FADE IN FROM WHITE [EXT. 7888 OAKEY STREET - NIGHT] (Police cars with their flashing lights are at the site. Officers mill about the area.) (Camera moves into the car and we notice the fare is now at 24.00. The taxi driver is slumped forward against the driver's wheel, his eyes closed. We note the blood coating the shirt covering his right shoulder.) (Sara turns on her flashlight and looks at the driver's wound.) Sara: Gunshot wound to the neck. No visible GSR. (She looks up and notices the visor. She flips it down and sees the money.) Sara: Money on the visor. It wasn't a robbery. (Grissom is looking in the back of the cab.) Grissom: Dirt clods on the floor mat look undisturbed. Could be from the last fare. I don't see any shell casings, though. Sara: Partition's closed. Bullet-proof glass. He was not shot from inside. (Grissom walks around the cab as Sara snaps photos of the dead body.) (He sees the bullet holes in the passenger door.) Grissom: Well, I got two bullet holes in the passenger door. Sara: That's a weird side of the car for a drive-by. Grissom: Maybe he wasn't shot here. Maybe he just ended up here. (Grissom looks around the area. He sees the detective talking with someone in uniform. Grissom calls out to him.) Grissom: Excuse me? (The man from the Transit Board looks up.) Grissom: Are you with the Transit Board? MTB Rep: Yeah. Grissom: Do you have the dispatch log? (He hands the log to Grissom. From what we can see, the log shows: 270 2549 LAS VEGAS --- 270 465 LEXINGTON 10:01 270 3900 LAS VEGAS 10:45 1040 270 2112 WESTERN BL. 11:01 420 270 4500 W. TROPICANA 11:30 780 270 20 FREMONT 12:10 980 270 7888 OAKEY ST. 12:55. {BLANK} ) (Grissom hands the log back.) Grissom: Thanks. (Grissom turns and leaves.) MTB Rep: Why's he leaving? (Sara takes a photo, then puts her camera down to answer the man's question.) Sara: Well, that's kind of what he does. (Sara leans forward into the cab and notices the camera.) Sara: Is this camera always on? MTB Rep: Only on HBO. It takes stills for ten seconds when the door opens, and then for the first ten seconds of the fare. Sara: We're gonna need the pictures. (Grissom is walking away from the site and dialing his cell phone.) Catherine: (from phone) This is Catherine. Grissom: (to phone) It's Gil. How you doing? Catherine: (from phone) I'm busy. Checking up on me? Grissom: (to phone) Why would I need to do that? Catherine: (from phone) You tell me. Grissom: (to phone) Look, I know you tend to get a little territorial about your crime scenes, and I don't want there to be any tension between us, so I'm giving you fair warning. (Grissom stops when he sees the tire treadmarks on the asphalt.) Catherine: (from phone) Fair warning for what? (cc) You're at 7888 Oakey Street. Am I right? [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT] (Catherine is kneeling down next to a dead body in the parking lot.) Grissom: (from phone) Hi. (She looks up and sees Grissom. He smiles and waves his cell phone at her.) (Jaw dropped open, Catherine closes her cell phone.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. -- NIGHT] (Julian Harper's dead body rests against the cushions as Robbins takes his liver temperature. Warrick snaps photos of the body.) Robbins: Julian Harper. If it weren't for the cyanosis, I'd say he was doing a photo shoot for GQ. Warrick: Yeah, I'm sure he wasn't ready for this photo shoot. Robbins: Body temp's 95. (Warrick snaps more photos. Robbins glances at his watch.) Robbins: That would make TOD approximately 3:00 A.M. (Warrick snaps photos of the bedside table with a couple of champagne bottles, a hotel room VIP card key, a rolled-up bill and some white powder on the black tabletop.) Warrick: Well, there's plenty of drugs around here. You think he OD'd? (Robbins checks the victim's mouth and eyes.) Robbins: Yeah, no edema. Some petechia. Could be suffocation or strangulation. But no ligature marks or bruising. However ... (Camera zooms in for an extreme close-up of black fibers on the victim's neck.) Robbins: ... some fibers under the chin. (Robbins puts the sample in a bindle. Warrick continues snapping photos.) (Robbins takes a digital camera out.) Warrick: What are you doing? Robbins: It's for my scrapbook. I've got a perfect spot for him -- a place of honor between Tupac and Entwhistle. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT -- NIGHT] (Close-up of the victim, his head in a pool of blood. Grissom and Catherine kneel down next to the body. Catherine snaps photos of the victim.) Grissom: The taxi's last drop-off was this address. This guy's got dirt on his shoes and pants. There was dirt in the cab. He's got to be the last fare. Catherine: So, somebody killed them both. And if it's about money, doesn't look like this guy has much. Grissom: Well, I guess it's relative. START: SPLIT SCREEN (Top screen: Robbins raises the digital camera to snap a photo of Julian Harper.) (Bottom screen: Catherine raises her camera to snap a photo of the victim.) Grissom: It depends on who you are. WHITE CAMERA FLASH TO: END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT -- NIGHT] (Catherine checks out the victim's identification.) Willows: Samay ... Samay Thao. 15527 East Charleston Road. That's a long way from here. (Grissom notes the wounds on the victim's chest.) Grissom: I count six shots in his chest. There were two in the cab, one in the cabbie. If the math is correct, that's nine. Catherine: Suggests semi-automatic, but I don't see any shell casings here. Grissom: Yeah, there were none in the taxi, either. Catherine: Killer could have picked them up. Grissom: To shoot a guy six times in the torso, you either have to be very close, or a hell of a shot. David Phillips: It's okay if I roll him? Grissom: Yeah. (David rolls the body onto its side and pushes up the shirt as Catherine snaps more photos of the victim's wounds.) David Phillips: Well, no through-and-throughs. We should be able to recover some bullets from the body. Grissom: Hang on. (points) What do you make of that? (He points to the markings on the victim's bloodstained shirt.) David Phillips: Looks like he rubbed up against something. (Catherine looks around.) Catherine: Could be transfer from that railing. There's some paint flaked off of that railing. (Grissom turns and looks at the railing on the second floor.) (Quick flash of: Samay Thao is on the second floor. Someone uses a semi-automatic weapon and shoots Samay Thao. The impact form the bullets pushes him up and over the railing.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) (Grissom and Catherine make their way down the second floor hallway. Grissom checks the concrete floor along the way and finds a lot of blood spatter.) Grissom: We got blood drops. (Catherine looks over at the metal gate. Grissom looks down over the railing at the body below.) (Catherine sees metal cut.) Catherine: Gil. This looks fresh. Grissom: Hey, Brass? SHORT CUT TO: (An officer kicks the door in and rushes into the apartment. A second officer and Brass follow. A man sitting on the floor starts shouting in Laotian.) Brass: Las Vegas Police! Put the gun down! Keo Vipraxay: (shouting in Laotian) Brass: (firmly) Put the gun down! (softer) Put it down. (The man puts the gun down. Immediately, officers push him to the floor and handcuff his hands behind his back.) Keo Vipraxay: (shouting in Laotian) (then, in English) I shoot ... burglar! [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [INT. PALMS HOTEL - HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT] (Nick and Warrick stand at the base of the bed looking down at the body as they both put on a pair of gloves.) Nick: Julian Harper. (Warrick nods.) Nick: Wasn't he supposed to be like, uh ... (very quietly) the next Brad Pitt or something? Warrick: Yeah. Now he's the next River Phoenix. (Warrick turns as he looks around and walks into the next room where Sofia Curtis is interviewing Gerald, also known as "Blinky". He stops and stands next to her.) Sofia Curtis: All right, Gerald. Blinky (Gerald Allison): Uh, they call me Blinky. Sofia Curtis: And what was your relation to Julian Harper? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Best friends since kindergarten. Now I work for him. Sofia Curtis: What did you do for him? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Pretty much everything. You know, bought his stuff, hooked him up. Drove him to meetings. Warrick: Did you find the body? Blinky (Gerald Allison): I ordered room service. I wanted to see if he was hungry. Boom, there he was. Warrick: Did you touch or move the body in any way? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Uh, no way. No. I watch those murder shows, you know? I know to just keep my hands to myself, and, uh, call the cops. Sofia Curtis: What is with the robe? (Warrick looks at the officer standing nearby.) Warrick: Did you pat him down? Officer: He's packing a small, friendly weapon. Warrick: Would you mind standing up for us, sir? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Nah, bro, I-I-I ... kind of got the angle of the dangle going. The boing, boing, boing. Sofia Curtis: Stand up. (Uncomfortable and awkward, Blinky stands up.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): I, uh, took a Prevalis on the plane over. I been pitching a tent for, like, eight hours. Yeah, I-I think I need to consult a physician. Sofia Curtis: It's called a priapism. Just in case you were wondering. Warrick: What else are you on, man? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Oh, uh, nothing. I mean, uh, I smoked a little herb at the club, but that's it. Warrick: What about Julian? Blinky (Gerald Allison): Oh, Jules? Oh, no, he, uh ... he won't even take aspirin. You know, he's organic. You know, treats his body like a temple. Sofia Curtis: Well, we're gonna need a list of everyone who was here worshipping the temple. (She hands him her notebook and pen.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): Can I sit down? Sofia Curtis: Yeah. (In the background, we hear the shower water running.) Warrick: Did someone turn a shower on or something? Sofia Curtis: You cleared that room, right? (The officer takes out his gun and heads for the bathroom.) (Warrick and Sofia both follow. They both draw their weapons as they head into the bathroom.) (In the shower, a young woman in her underwear is on the floor in a fetal position.) Warrick: Hey! Are you okay? (Warrick tries to help her sit up. She immediately throws up.) Sofia Curtis: (calls out) Hey! We need a medic! (The young woman continues throwing up.) Warrick: And a bag for stomach contents. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. MOTEL - HALLWAY OUTSIDE APARTMENT -- NIGHT] (The officer escorts Keo Vipraxay out of the room. They head downstairs past Catherine and Grissom. Brass steps out of the room.) Brass: His name is Keo Vipraxay. He barely speaks English. He's south Asian, I think. Anyway, it's all clear. Catherine: Thanks, Jim. (Grissom and Catherine enter the room.) SHORT TIME CUT TO: [EXT. MOTEL - APARTMENT -- NIGHT] (Catherine looks at the end of the shot.) Catherine: Double *** buck. Standard shot is nine pellets. Grissom: That would account for all the hits. Catherine: So you're saying that a single shotgun blast, through a security door, took out two separate victims in two separate locations? Grissom: Weird, huh? (Quick flash of: [NIGHT] The cab pulls up.) Grissom: (V.O.) The cab drops Samay Thao in front of this building. (Cut to: The cab door slams shut and Samay Thao heads toward the building.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) (Grissom stands in front of the door as Catherine turns the laser on through the small hole cut in the wire door. A red dot appears on Grissom's chest.) Grissom: And the position of the blood drops gives us a pretty good idea of where Samay was standing when he was shot. He was a little shorter than me. (Catherine adjusts the laser light.) Catherine: Shots were centered on his chest, about there. (Quick CGI visual image: A blue light visualization of Samay Thao stands outside the door near the railing. He's shot and the image vanishes, leaving just the red laser pointing in the direction of the shot.) Grissom: My guess is, the cab was parked down there. (Grissom points behind him.) (Quick CGI visual image: A blue light visualization of the taxicab down on the parking lot. A gunshot fires and the taxi takes off.) Grissom: The driver peeled out when he got shot. (End of CGI visual image. Resume to present.) (Catherine takes out a measuring device and places it on the laser.) Catherine: Vertical deflection down to the cab is roughly 60 degrees. Standard shot won't spread that far. Grissom: The pellets must have come through the screen. (Quick flash of: Keo Vipraxay raises the gun and fires. The pellets go through the screen, then hit Samay Thao in the chest. Some of the pellets miss him and go on to hit the taxi driver.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Grissom: The old billiard ball effect. Catherine: The cab driver was collateral damage. Catherine: Okay, but the man with the shotgun said he shot a burglar. What's here to steal? [START: SPLIT SCREEN] (Bottom half: Grissom looks around the room and notes the various items in the sparsely furnished room.) (Top half) [INT. PALMS HOTEL - HOTEL ROOM - DAY] (Nick puts on his protective eye gear and turns on the ALS.) Nick: Semen on the bed sheets, as well as every other flat surface in here. Warrick: (chuckles) Yeah. I've got vodka, champagne, cocaine ... Nick: Hey, hey. Pantyhose. [END: SPLIT SCREEN] (Nick picks up the pantyhose. Warrick pushes the curtains aside and lets the light into the room.) (He looks at the glass windows.) Warrick: I've got some smudges over here. (Nick steps up to the window and looks at it. Warrick kneels down to look at the floor.) Warrick: I've got some footprints. (Warrick looks at the footprints and visualizes a body standing in front of the window. End visualization.) Warrick: I think someone was standing right there. Nick: Was this guy just doing it all over the hotel room? (Quick flash of: Julian Harper presses a woman flush up against the window glass as he kisses her neck. They're both laughing. End of flash.) Warrick: If those are his footprints ... where are hers? Nick: Or her feet were up ... in the air. You tell me -- you just had your honeymoon. Warrick: You want to swab this? (Warrick hands Nick a swab.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. BAR -- DAY] (Sofia Curtis interviews Eva, Julian's ex-wife, as she nurses her drink at the bar.) Eva: I just don't understand. I mean, who would want to kill Julian? I mean, he'd had some weird fan mail, but I don't think any of those kinds of people would be able to get in his suite. Sofia Curtis: Were you in his suite? Eva: The ex-wife isn't exactly the best person to have around when you're looking to get laid. Sofia Curtis: Was that your choice or his? Eva: It was mutual. I'm strictly his manager now. Sofia Curtis: So if you weren't in his suite, where did you go? Eva: I was taking care of business. Checked the boys in, made sure the suite was copasetic, had a drink at Skin, and played Pai Gow until hotel security came to get me. Sofia Curtis: So how did you get to be his manager? Eva: When I was with him, he was broke. Then after the divorce, I still ... did his laundry, paid his bills, read his scripts. After a while, I wanted to get paid. Now I get ten percent of everything. Look ... I need to make some calls. Julian's parents, the studio ... can we talk about this later? Sofia Curtis: Sure. But I need your prints and your DNA now. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY] (Robbins reports his findings to Warrick.) Robbins: Tox shows low levels of cocaine, alcohol and Prevalis. Rules out overdose. Warrick: Really? I guess he was just acting about the clean-living part. COD? Robbins: Asphyxia. Warrick: Asphyxiated how? Robbins: I don't know. No broken hyoid. That and the absence of ligature marks or bruises makes strangulation unlikely. Warrick: Did you find any fibers in his nose or mouth? Robbins: Nope. Warrick: That doesn't rule out suffocation. Killer could have used something that didn't shed fibers. Robbins: Or maybe they came from whoever he was rolling around with in bed. Found, uh, lubricant on his genitals, probably from a condom, and minor abrasions on his pen1s, indicative of vigorous, prolonged activity. Warrick: s*x, drugs and movies: the American Dream. Robbins: Mm-hmm. [SCENE_BREAK] (COMMERICAL SET) [SCENE_BREAK] [CGI EFFECTS: STOMACH CONTENTS DRAINED] [INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY] (Warrick and Sofia Curtis interview Kate, the young woman found in Julian Harper's bathroom shower.) Warrick: Your stomach contents contain alcohol and traces of Triazolam. Katie: Try-as-a-what? Warrick: It's a sleeping pill, has you reading the inside of your eyelids for a week. Katie: I didn't take any pills. Warrick: We also found cocaine in your bloodstream. I guess you didn't take that, either? (She shrugs and rolls her eyes.) Katie: So I did a couple of lines, but I didn't take any pills. If I was gonna take a pill, I would've popped e or a perc. Sofia Curtis: Miss Villa, we found you in Julian Harper's suite. Were you ever in his bedroom? Katie: (shrugs) Who knows? I don't even know how I ended up in Blinky's room. (groans) Oh, my ... I swear, if that guy slipped me something ... Sofia Curtis: Tell us what you do remember. Katie: Um ... me and my girls were at Skin, and, uh ... Blinky came over and said he was partying with Julian Harper. (Quick flash of: Julian Harper and the woman in red are in the pimpy booth kissing.) Katie: (V.O.) And he said they had this pimpy booth, so we went over. It didn't turn out the way I hoped. (Kate turns around and sees them. Blinky is sitting next to her and offers her a drink. She reaches for the drink.) (End of flash.) Katie: And the next thing I know, Blinky's on top of me. Sofia Curtis: We could assist you in reporting a date rape. (She shakes her head.) Katie: Thanks, but no. Warrick: It's not an offer, it's our job. Katie: There's this Stuff Magazine party at Ghost Bar tonight. I'm not gonna make it harder for me to get in because I tattled on Julian Harper's best friend. I mean, if I run into them tonight ... Warrick: Julian Harper will not be there. Katie: Trust me, he will. Warrick: The coroner finished the autopsy early this morning. Katie: He's dead? Sofia Curtis: Yeah. Katie: I was in Julian Harper's suite when he died? You're kidding me, right? Sofia Curtis: And being in his suite makes you a suspect. Katie: I am? Warrick: Yes. So we're going to need to take a sample of your DNA. Katie: Oh, man. (She thinks about it and starts to smile.) Katie: I am so getting into that party tonight for sure. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. - DAY] (Sara interviews a convenience store owner.) Store Owner: Yeah, I remember that guy. He's, like, Chinese or something, real spun out. Sara: He was on meth? Store Owner: Well, he was on something. He was acting all shady. Downed a bottle of soda before he even paid for it. Sara: And that's how you knew he was on something? Store Owner: There ain't nothin' out here. People here act messed up because they are messed up. Sara: The Metro Transit Board said that he caught a Sunstar taxi from this address. Store Owner: I called it for him. Anything to get that tweaker out of here. Sara: Any idea how he got here in the first place? Store Owner: All I saw him do was walk through the door. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - DAY] (Robbins shares his findings with Catherine.) Robbins: Samay Thao. I don't even need to open him up to guess COD. (Robbins checks the victim's eyes.) Robbins: Ocular inflammation. Laceration of the sclera. Hurts like hell when you get a grain of sand in your eye. Imagine this. (He takes a piece of glass out from the victim's eye.) Robbins: Bad night for Laotians. Catherine: What other Laotians are having a bad night? (Cut to: Robbins pulls out one of the tables from the morgue.) Robbins: Solo traffic collision on Mount Charleston. Came in early this morning. Noy Vipraxay. Catherine: Vipraxay? Well, that's a hell of a coincidence. Robbins: Does it mean something to you? Catherine: Yeah, he's got the same last name as the guy who shot him. In fact, Grissom said that our vic over there caught a cab at a gas station near Mount Charleston. I'll have Auto Detail bring in his car. Robbins: Sounds like your double's becoming a triple. Catherine: Unless you got any more in your drawers? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - A/V LAB - DAY] (Nick walks into the lab; Archie is standing in front of the computer.) Nick: Hey, Archie. See if you can help me out. There was a smear on the window at the hotel. It came back saliva. So I ran it through CODIS, got a hit--felony battery on this guy, Willie Angel. (Nick hands Archie a photo of Willie Angel.) Nick: Now, he's a Las Vegas resident, but he wasn't a registered guest at the hotel. He has no affiliation with Julian's little entourage whatsoever. Archie: I think I scoped this guy earlier. Nick: Really? Archie: Yeah. Nick: Do it up. (On the monitor in front of Archie, we see that he has the security video from the hotel elevator cued up. He goes through the video and finds Willie Angel.) Archie: Yeah, there he is. Nick: Mm-hmm. Archie: (chuckles) Looking dapper. All right. (He runs the tape and notes the time when Willie Angel steps off the elevator.) Archie: 12:31 A.M. Gets off on the high-roller floor. (He runs the tape and notes the time on ELEVATOR 3 CAM when Willie Angel steps back into the elevator - this time carrying a shopping bag with him.) Archie: Hey, 2:45 A.M. Nick: Shopping bags? There's no mall on that floor. He was shopping at Julian Harper's. Archie: Enough time to shop and kill. Nick: (sighs) The Palms issued two card keys -- one to Julian, and one to his boy Blinky. But the database shows ... one, two ... three keys were used to access the suite? Archie: Well, assuming the third card was Willie's. You can't just walk up to the front desk and pull the "I lost my key" scam on a VIP suite. Nick: So ... how'd Willie get it? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB - DAY] (Catherine walks into the lab and finds Hodges yawning.) Catherine: Hi. Hodges: (yawning) Sorry. I just started seeing someone. Had a bit of a late night. Let me ask you something. How do you know when it's gone from just friends to more than? Catherine: Well, if you have to ask, it's just friends. Hodges: She is making dinner for me this weekend. Catherine: Are you the only guest? Hodges: Do her roommates count? (Catherine doesn't say anything, but he catches her look. He turns reports.) Hodges: The splinter from your vic's eye has four distinct layers: polycarbonate plastic, aluminum, acrylic and dye. Being an audiophile, I prefer the sound of vinyl. Catherine: It's from a compact disc? Well, how did it end up in Samay Thao's eye? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - GARAGE] (Catherine walks into the garage. Grissom is already there with a smashed-up car.) Catherine: Noy Vipraxay's car. Grissom: Easy for you to say. (Catherine reaches for a coat and puts it on.) Catherine: Find anything? Grissom: Take a look at this. Gravitational pooling directly under the steering wheel. (Inside the car, there's a large amount of blood on the steering wheel and a big pool of blood on the floor.) (Quick flash to: The car is at the bottom of the hill.) Catherine: (V.O.) The car was found at the bottom of a steep incline. (End of flash. Resume to present.) Catherine: So he was leaning over it when he bled out. Grissom: Except he wasn't. Take a look. See this? (He shines the flashlight on the crime scene photo he has out on the roof of the car. It shows Samay leaning against the driver's window.) Grissom: (cc) These were taken at the crash site. (audio) If he'd have bled out in the position he was found, there'd be blood on the door, not under the steering wheel. (He points to the door in the photo. Catherine turns and looks at the bloodless car door behind her.) Catherine: So someone moved the body? Grissom: There was plenty of mud at the scene, and Samay had mud on his pants. Now, maybe we can match soil samples. (Catherine looks at the CD player in the car.) Catherine: Hang on. (In the CD player is a broken CD. Catherine reaches in and removes the disk.) Catherine: Trace came back on the splinter that was in Samay's eye. It was a CD fragment. Samay was in this car. Sara: (o.s.) Hey, guys. (Sara walks into the garage. She's reading an open file folder.) Sara: I got work card hits off prints from the two dead Laotians and the shooter. Grissom: We already know their IDs. Sara: Well, did you already know that they all worked together? [SCENE_BREAK] [VARIOUS CUTS OF WORKERS AT A LAUNDRY BUSINESS] [INT. LAUNDRY BUSINESS -- DAY] (Brass interviews Joe Cavanaugh, the owner of the laundry business.) Brass: So Samay Thao worked for you? Joe Cavanaugh: Yeah, runs the dryers. Brass: When was the last time you saw him? Joe Cavanaugh: He's been off a couple days now. Brass: Did you know, uh, Noy or Keo Vipraxay? Joe Cavanaugh: Sure. They work here, too. Brass: They brothers or cousins, or what? Joe Cavanaugh: Brothers. Keo's older. I hear they got six more back in Laos. They work swing -- they're on at 4:00. Brass: Were they friends of Samay's? Joe Cavanaugh: No! No way. Keo and Noy are Lao Loum. They're lowlanders. Samay's Hmong; he's in the hills. They're born to hate each other. Some tribal crap. What kind of trouble are they in? Brass: The kind where you stop breathing. Noy's dead -- car accident. Samay's dead, too -- Keo shot him. (Joe Cavanaugh turns and sees one of the workers lighting a cigarette. He starts shouting to him in Lao.) Joe Cavanaugh: (shouts) (untranslated Lao) (The worker turns and quickly puts the cigarette out.) Joe Cavanaugh: (shouts) (untranslated Lao) (The worker goes back to work.) Brass: You speak Lao? Joe Cavanaugh: And Thai, Vietnamese, Tagalog. I pulled a stint straight out of high school. I got southeast Asia; lucky me. Brass: Yeah, I know how you feel. Joe Cavanaugh: Did Keo tell you what happened? I mean, his English isn't very good. (Brass looks at his watch.) Brass: No, we're, uh, we're still waiting on an interpreter. Joe Cavanaugh: If you need any help, you let me know. Brass: Yeah, maybe ... maybe I'll take you up on that. (The owner turns and walks away.) Joe Cavanaugh: (shouts) (untranslated Lao) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. HOTEL - KITCHENS / CASINO] (On one floor, the kitchen workers are busy cleaning the dishes. Camera continues upward. On the next floor, the chefs are busy preparing meals. Camera continues upward. On the floor above that is the casino main floor.) (Sofia Curtis walks up to Willie Angel, who is playing a slot machine. Nick and a couple of officers follow her.) Sofia Curtis: Willie Angel? (He doesn't answer her.) Sofia Curtis: You can't fool the eye in the sky, Willie. There's a lot of people looking for you. Willie Angel: Okay, you got me. What do you want? (She motions to the officer and they step closer to Willie, who stands up.) Willie Angel: Hey, what are you doing? (They start to search his pockets.) Willie Angel: Hey, you can't do that. (She holds out the warrant.) Sofia Curtis: Oh, this here says we can. (The officer finds in one pocket that Willie has a card reader. He hands it to Nick.) Nick: Ho-ho-ho! Slick Willie. Look out now. (Sofia reaches into Willie's other pocket and takes out a handful of cards.) Sofia Curtis: You collect card keys, Willie? Willie Angel: I won at those places. Sofia Curtis: Really? Willie Angel: I hang on to them for good luck. Nick: Well, I bet you're real lucky with this cheap magnetic stripe reader and palm top, huh? (to Sofia) You know you can get into most hotel rooms in the city with this thing? (Quick flash to: Willie stands in the casino behind one of the large machines and punches the information into the stripe reader. He swipes the card.) Nick: (V.O.) You take the old card key, you input the room number, a little magnetic encoding ... (Quick CGI POV: The machine puts the information on the new card.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Nick: ... and Bob's your uncle. [SCENE_BREAK] [FLASHBACK] (Willie swipes the card into the security lock. He opens the room door.) Nick: (V.O.) You used the card to open the door. You get into his suite and hide. (Willie hides behind the curtain, against the window.) Nick: (V.O.) Julian comes back - (cc) drops his wallet and takes off his watch - (audio) he falls asleep. (Willie steps out from his hiding place and starts picking up the things off the bedside table.) Nick: (V.O.) You rob him blind. (Julian Harper stirs.) Nick: (V.O.) But he wakes up. So it's kill him or go back to jail. (Julian Harper sits up in bed and sees Willie Angel.) Julian Harper: What the ... ? Who the hell are you? (End of flashback. Resume to present.) [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (With a hand to his forehead, Willie's eyes are closed.) Willie Angel: Stop, okay? Just stop. (He looks at Nick and Sofia sitting across the table from him.) Willie Angel: I was in his suite. And, yeah, I'm a thief. But I didn't kill anybody. Nick: You were in his suite for over two hours, man. That's more than enough time to snag a couple shopping bags. Willie Angel: 'Cause that sick, rich freak wasn't going to sleep. He was banging some blonde for, like, two hours. (Quick flash of: Willie is stuck in his hiding place while Julian and the blonde-haired woman are on the bed. He shakes his head. End of flash.) Willie Angel: Talk to her. Sofia Curtis: We're talking to you. Willie Angel: (sighs) I don't know what the hell they were doing, but when she left, he wasn't moving. I thought he was asleep. Then I saw the news this morning. If it's a killer you're looking for, talk to the girl in the red dress. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY] (Brass interviews Keo Vipraxay.) Brass: We believe that Samay Thao killed your brother and tried to make it look like an accident. (He looks across the table at Joe Cavanaugh and nods. He starts translating.) Joe Cavanaugh: (in Lao) (untranslated) (When he's finished, he turns and looks at Brass.) Brass: Did you know about it? Joe Cavanaugh: (in Lao) (untranslated) Keo Vipraxay: (in Lao) (untranslated) (Brass watches Joe Cavanaugh translate.) Joe Cavanaugh: (in Lao) (untranslated) Keo Vipraxay: (in Lao) (untranslated) (He looks at Brass.) Keo Vipraxay: (in Lao) (untranslated) Joe Cavanaugh: He says he thought Samay was there to rob him. That's why he shot him. [SCENE_BREAK] [ELEVATOR 3 CAM] (At 12:56, Julian Harper is holding the woman in the red dress. Also in the elevator is Blinky with two other women. The elevator stops and everyone gets off the elevator) [INT. CSI - A/V LAB] (Camera pans out and we find Archie, Nick and Warrick going over the security camera footage.) Archie Johnson: The girl in the red dress gets off with Julian's entourage at (He shows footage of the girl in the red dress entering the elevator.) Archie Johnson: Then gets back on at 2:33. Nick: Certainly looks like she's been through something rough. (Archie sees something and smiles.) Archie Johnson: She forgot her pantyhose. (He enhances the focus on the girl's legs.) Nick: Good eyes. Archie Johnson: Great legs. Warrick: Been a while, Arch? Nick: Can you follow her out? Archie Johnson: Yeah. I just got this footage ... (Archie goes to work as Greg walks into the lab.) Greg: Hey, I heard you guys are having trouble with the Julian Harper case. Warrick: Who'd you hear that from? Greg: Ecklie. He's putting me on it. Nick: Man, you gotta quit kissing his ass. (Warrick chuckles.) Archie Johnson: All right, fellas, check this out. (Archie finds the footage of the casino floor and they watch as the girl in the red dress steps out of the elevator.) (Eva runs out of the elevator and catches up with the girl in the red dress.) Warrick: Okay, that's Julian's manager. (They watch as Eva puts some money in the girl's hand. Eva leaves.) Archie Johnson: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on. (Archie rewinds the footage. They watch as Eva takes some money out of her back pocket and gives it to the girl in the red dress.) (Archie enhances their hands.) Nick: That's got to be at least a few G's. Greg: She a hooker? Warrick: I don't know. I think she could be the killer. Nick: Solicitation murder? Manager pays to have her client whacked. (Archie follows the cameras and they watch as the girl in the red dress goes to the bag shop.) Archie Johnson: She went shopping. Warrick: Wait a minute. What kind of hired killer takes their payoff and goes to the mall? Archie Johnson: I don't know. (Archie fast-forwards, freezes and enhances the girl in the red dress as she fills out the form.) Archie Johnson: This one put herself on a mailing list. (reads) Tally Jordan. There's the phone number. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM 1] (Warrick interviews Tally Jordan.) Tally Jordan: You call my cell, I answer, and we talk. And then you guys show up and arrest me at the pool, in front of my friends. Is that fair? Warrick: You left Julian Harper's room at 2:33. A couple of minutes later, you're taking money from his manager. Tally Jordan: I'm not a prostitute. Warrick: Couple hours later, Julian's dead. Tally Jordan: Okay, this is crazy. I would never even think of killing Julian Harper. I've been a fan of his since he was doing cereal commercials. Warrick: Oh, so you stalked him? Is that it? And then you killed him? Tally Jordan: I'm in Vegas for a speech tournament - (off their skeptical look) -- Okay, a school-supervised trip. Does that mean that my school is stalking him, too? Warrick: Is the club Skin on your school schedule? Tally Jordan: When I found out that Julian was going to be in Vegas at the same time I was, I freaked. Okay, I wanted a look, an autograph, or a picture at most. And what I got was incredible. (Quick flash of: Tally turns and looks at the blonde-haired woman next to her.) Blonde Woman: Go for it. You're the one he wants. (Tally turns and kisses Julian Harper.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Tally Jordan: It was like I was in one of his movies. Until he kicked me out of bed and ... and then I get off the elevator, and there's his manager handing me a wad of money. (Camera swings over to the next interview room.) [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM 2] (Sofia interviews Eva.) Eva: I tip all the girls Julian's with. Sofia Curtis: So you're his pimp? Eva: It keeps them from running their mouths. It protects Julian's image. It's just a part of managing his career. [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM 1] Tally Jordan: I had s*x with Julian because I wanted to. Warrick: But you took the money, and you bought a purse with it. (Warrick indicates the purse on the table in front of her.) [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM 2] Sofia Curtis: I had a conversation with Julian's lawyer. And he said you weren't only his ex-wife, you were about to be his ex-manager. That piss you off? Eva: His lawyers and his agents don't like me. They pressured him to drop me. But Julian and I are family. That wasn't going to happen. [INT. CSI - INTERVIEW ROOM 1] Tally Jordan: Eva said if anyone asked, Julian was a gentleman. Later he took me out and got me a Katherine Baumann purse. It's a much better story to tell my friends. [SCENE_BREAK] [CRIME SCENE PHOTOS] (Various photos of the two crime scenes.) Grissom: (o.s.) Samay and Noy go for a drive after work. (Quick flash to: [NIGHT] The car is parked.) Grissom: (V.O.) They stop at Mount Charleston. (The two men are talking in the car when Samay grabs Noy and smashes his head hard against the steering wheel several times.) Grissom: (V.O.) Samay kills Noy ... (Noy struggles and smashes the CD; a piece of it gets into Samay's eye. He groans with pain.) (He turns, grabs Noy and continues to smash his head against the steering wheel.) Grissom: (V.O.) ... and makes it look like an accident. (Cut to: [NIGHT] The car is off the steep hill.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) [INT. CSI - LAB] (Grissom, Catherine and Sara are looking at the photos from the various crime scenes.) Grissom: And then he goes to Keo's apartment and Keo shoots him, claiming self-defense. Catherine: I don't buy it. Keo shot him from the other side of a locked door. He was waiting to blow the guy away. Grissom: Which indicates that Keo knew Samay was coming. Sara: Maybe he hired Samay to kill his brother, and then he decided to cut him out of the deal. Noy had a life insurance policy issued through his union, worth ten grand. Catherine: Life's getting cheaper. Who's the beneficiary? Sara: Keo was the primary, but check this out. Half the payout goes to Joe Cavanaugh. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - BRASS' OFFICE] (Brass, Grissom and the interpreter review the tape of Joe Cavanaugh "interpreting" for Keo.) Joe Cavanaugh: (in Lao) (untranslated) Brass: He's not a court-approved translator. That's why I taped it. I just didn't tell him. Interpeter: So far, he's saying what you asked him. (The time/date stamp on the recording is: 5:33 PM (The interpreter translates.) Interpeter: "You must help me. That's why I'm here. Just tell them what they want to know." This is the part that's different. Keo Vipraxay: (in Lao) (untranslated) Interpeter: "There are many things I can tell him about you, so you tell him this: "Samay came to my home. I was afraid. I thought he was there to rob me or kill me. So I shot him." Brass: So our interpreter is hiding something. Grissom: Well, that's not lost in translation. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LAUNDRY BUSINESS] (The workers are busy. Brass walks through with a couple of officers. He heads for Joe Cavanaugh's office.) Brass: Mr. Cavanaugh, can you come out here, please? (Joe Cavanaugh stands up and steps out of the office.) Brass: We're going to have a private chat. Let's go. (One of the officers takes Cavanaugh by his arm and leads him back out the way they came.) (As he walks by, one of the workers takes out a cigarette and lights it.) [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. LAUNDRY BUSINESS - BASEMENT] (Brass talks with Joe Cavanaugh.) Brass: In the interview, remember Keo said, "There are many things I can tell them about you"? You didn't tell me that. You left that part out. Why? Joe Cavanaugh: I told you what he said. You're not arresting me because I screwed up my translation? Brass: You're a co-beneficiary of Noy Vipraxay's life insurance, right? Joe Cavanaugh: So what? I help my guys try to get a little security for their families. I help them in a lot of ways. Driver's licenses, green cards ... Brass: Oh, what, what? Out of the goodness of your heart? Come on, they have to come to you. Joe Cavanaugh: Without me, they're back in a rice paddy making three cents a day. Look, some of these guys put me on their policy. It's their way of saying "thank you." Brass: So when one of your guys kills another one of your guys, you make money out of it? We both know that insurance companies don't even investigate claims under ten grand. So you get a free pass. Joe Cavanaugh: You don't really think I'd have somebody killed for five grand? Brass: I've seen it done for a lot less. Joe Cavanaugh: That don't mean I did it. There's new casinos that open all the time. They all got laundries. I bring home 15 G's a month on the side. So I am not going to bend over a dollar to pick up a dime. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- DNA LAB] (Warrick and Nick walk into the DNA lab and up to Hodges who is looking through a scope.) Warrick: Hodges, do you have the results on the fibers that we dropped off to ... ? (Warrick stops as he gets a good look at Hodges, who is sleeping.) Warrick: Hodges? (Hodges doesn't move. Warrick looks at Nick.) Warrick: Dude. He's asleep. (Warrick and Nick both laugh.) Nick: (loudly) Let me guess! ... (Hodges is startled awake and sits up abruptly.) Nick: (normal voice) ... the fibers are wool. Are you bagging Z's right now, man? Hodges: I was just having the greatest dream. Warrick: You were out. Hodges: It was the '80s and I had this Don Johnson beard, you know, the Miami Vice stubble. It just gave me this air of danger. My lady loved it. (Warrick nods.) Um, I found two types of fibers on your guy's chin: cotton and a polyester-Lycra blend. Both dyed black. (He gets up and lets Nick have a seat at the scope for a look.) Warrick: Dyed black? The bedding might have been cotton, but it wasn't black. (Nick looks through the scope.) [SCOPE VIEW: BLACK FIBERS] (Warrick continues.) Warrick: The comforter and draperies may have been poly, but they weren't black, either. Nick: I bagged some black socks and some black pantyhose. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI -- LAB] (Warrick is looking at the socks under a lit magnifying lamp.) Warrick: This could be the source of the fibers. He wasn't suffocated with his crew sock. (He drops the sock and picks up the pantyhose.) Warrick: (to Nick) Did you notice the burn mark on the knot in these pantyhose at the crime scene? Nick: No. No, they were all balled up. I just bagged them and tagged them. (Nick looks at the burned pantyhose under the magnifying lamp.) Nick: Oh, yeah. Yeah, we've got to get this to DNA. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- NIGHT] (Greg is back in the lab. Warrick and Nick are walking up to him from behind, both talking loud enough for him to hear.) Nick: I thought Greg was in the field. Is he back in the lab? Warrick: I don't know. Nick: We've got to clear this up. It's like he's confused. Lab, field, field, lab. We have a lab on wheels. Greg: How about you guys just shut up, all right? I'm doing this as a favor for Ecklie. It's a one-time thing. He's still interviewing lab techs. Warrick: You making overtime? Greg: I'm taking one for the team. Warrick: Mm-hmm. NICK: Mm-hmm. Warrick: Tell me about these pantyhose. Greg: Well, I found Tally's epithelials on the inside, which is no surprise, since she was wearing them. (Warrick looks through the scope.) [SCOPE VIEW] (Warrick sees skin cells on the pantyhose fibers.) (Greg continues.) Greg: I also found black cotton fibers on the outside -- highest concentration near the crotch. Insert joke here. Nick: The vic had a pair of black cotton socks. Warrick: Well, I did find black cotton fibers under his chin. Nick: Okay, transfer from the sock to the pantyhose, to the neck. So the sock was in between the pantyhose and the neck? Greg: Padding. BCP, breath control play. (Warrick nods.) Greg: Couples increase their partner's pleasure through strangulation. And if you're not careful, it leaves marks. Warrick: Yeah, this guy Julian Harper's an actor, so I'm sure he didn't want bruises on his neck to be showing on camera. Nick: There were only two girls in the suite. Which one of them killed him? [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. PALMS HOTEL -- BEDROOM] (Warrick and Nick are standing in the bedroom looking around.) Nick: Burnt pantyhose. Okay, evidence of s*x games gone wrong. Warrick: I don't see how we could have missed anything. There's no fireplace here. I haven't seen any lighters. Nick: Well, something singed the hose. (Warrick looks around as Nick puts his kit down. Warrick finds something black on one of the wall lamps.) (Zoom in for camera close-up of the burnt black substance.) Warrick: Hey. Nick: Hmm? Warrick: There's some burnt residue on this lamp. (Warrick puts the residue in a bindle.) Warrick: You know what I think? I think someone tied him up, and they couldn't get the knot undone, because it melted. So they panicked. And they pulled the hose down. (Nick nods.) Warrick: I'll print the light. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (Sofia Curtis and Warrick interview Blinky.) Warrick: I guess even having an unlimited supply of hot women is not enough, huh? Bondage s*x with your best friend? Sofia Curtis: It's cool, you guys were on the down low. Blinky (Gerald Allison): I don't understand. Warrick: Well, we found both your prints and Julian's prints on a light fixture above the bed. (He tosses the LAS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTMENT AFIS REPORT toward Blinky. It has a single print on the center with his name on the bottom: ALLISON, GERALD ALIASES: BLINKY Blinky (Gerald Allison): Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We were not down like that. (Quick flashback to: The bedroom door opens and Blinky walks in, calling out to Julian Harper.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): Rise and shine, buddy! Room service. (His eyes widen with horror as he sees his friend on the bed, the black hose still around his beck and tied to the lamp.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): Dude, Julian? (He goes over to his friend and removes the hose from around his neck. Julian falls face down on the bed.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): (V.O.) He did it to himself. He did it to himself. So, I took the pantyhose, and I took them off the light. (The hose starts to melt on the hot lamp.) (End of flash. Resume to present.) Blinky (Gerald Allison): And then I put his boxers back on. I wasn't going to let his mom open up US magazine and see her boy like that. Jules, he always did me right. Now I just wanted to do him the same. [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. CSI - HALLWAY] (Catherine and Grissom walk through the hallway.) Catherine: I got the serial number rundown from Keo's shotgun. He bought it last week, two days before he shot Samay. Grissom: The guy's barely scraping by, and he spends $250 on a brand-new Mossberg? Catherine: There's a word for that. "Premeditation." [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM] (Brass interviews Keo Vipraxay with his lawyer and an interpreter sitting next to him.) Brass: Your brother gets killed. You killed the guy who did it with a shotgun you just bought. And end up $5,000 ahead. (Keo turns and looks at the interpreter.) Interpeter: (in Lao) (untranslated) Brass: In Nevada, that's murder one. Twenty years to life. Unless you get the death sentence. Interpeter: (in Lao) (untranslated) Lawyer: What are my client's options? Brass: A full confession. We make a recommendation to the DA; maybe he gets murder two. Interpeter: (in Lao) (untranslated) (He shakes his head. The interpreter stops. Keo turns and looks at Brass.) Keo Vipraxay: (in English) I brought Noy here to help me. Brass: What? Keo Vipraxay: To work hard and save. To bring our family here. Our parent. Our sister. My wife. Instead he waste the money--on the DVD, gambling, clothes. Keo Vipraxay: Noy's life was worthless. His death is not. [SCENE_BREAK] [EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT] [INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE -- NIGHT] (Grissom is in his office. Warrick knocks on the door. He looks up.) Warrick: Griss, we closed that actor case. Grissom: And? Warrick: Accidental death as a result of auto-erotic asphyxiation. Grissom: Strangled himself to death to enhance his own pleasure. (Warrick nods.) Grissom: It was in the days of public hangings that people first noticed that men would get erections and sometimes even ejaculate. They called it "The Killer Orgasm." Warrick: It's a waste. Guy had everything -- money, fame ... Grissom: Yeah, look where he ended up. CUE SONG: "Mad World", Gary Jules [SCENE_BREAK] [INT. MORGUE] Lyric: All around me are familiar faces, worn-out places, worn-out faces (The gurney carrying a body is wheeled down the hall. The identification tag around the body's big toe reads: N. VIPRAXAY A. ROBBINS C. WILLOWS (The gurney table stops next to a second body with the tag that reads: HARPER, JULIAN DR. ROBBINS W. BROWN Lyric: Bright and early for the daily races going nowhere, going nowhere (TOP VIEW DOWN: The two dead bodies are side-by-side.) (Someone pulls a sheet over the first body over his face.) Lyric: ... Mad World ... (Camera rises to show the face of the second body. Someone pulls the sheet over the second body to cover his face.) Lyric: ... Mad World ...
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