THIS EPISODE CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[EXT. RESIDENTIAL SIDEWALK - NIGHT]
(Libby Cooperson and Cammie Brookston walk home. They're dressed in sweats and carry their duffle bags with them.)
Libby: (laughs) Oh, you were so on tonight, Cammie.
Cammie: I was channeling my nerves in a positive way. Somebody's got to hold it together.
(They head inside.)
[INT. HOUSE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS]
(The women laugh as they enter the house.)
Cammie: I swear, Janice can't dance a straight line.
Libby: Pigeon-toed. Should have stayed on the bluebell line. BG.
(They put their bags down on the hallway chair in the living room. They take their jackets off.)
Cammie: Well, you know how she scored that principal role, right? Bad on her feet, good on her back.
(They laugh. Cammie stops and looks at the mess in the kitchen. On the center counter is a bottle of wine and two glasses.)
Cammie: Oh, Libby, can you believe this? I am so sick of this pig sty.
Libby: Been like this ever since Lauren got her creepy new boyfriend.
(Libby puts the car keys back on the hook. Cammie washes her hands in the sink.)
Libby: He's a musician. My mom dated a musician -- total freeloaders.
(Libby stacks used pots on the stove as Cammie wipes her hands.)
Cammie: If I get bumped to principal this week, I am so out of here.
Libby: Take me with you.
(She turns and points to the burning cigarette in the ashtray on the table.)
Libby: Becca fell off the wagon again.
Cammie: The nicotine dancer diet.
(Suddenly, they hear loud music blasting from upstairs. The two girls look at each other and smile.)
(They head upstairs.)
FLASH TO PRESENT:
[INT. HOUSE - NIGHT - PRESENT]
(The cigarette in the ashtray on the table is burned out completely to the edge of the filter.)
(Sara notes it and continues looking around in the kitchen on her way to the living room. The house is eerily quiet. She shines her light back into the kitchen - there's half a six-pack of soda on the counter near the stove. There's the empty wine bottle on the kitchen floor.)
(Sara turns and slowly walks through the living room. She carries her kit and looks around as she goes.)
(The phone rings, startling Sara. The answering machine kicks on.)
Roommates: (on machine) Hey! You've reached Showgirl Heaven. Please leave a message at the tone. Thanks. Bye.
Agent (woman): Cammie, great audition today. You made it, girl. You're principal. Call me for the details. Congrats!
(Sara passes the line of duffle bags on the floor against the wall. The machine beeps off. Sara heads for the stairs.)
(On the step, she notes a bloodied shoeprint. She looks up at the second floor, then cautiously makes her way up the stairs.)
WHITE FLASH TO:
[INT. HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR -- NIGHT - FLASHBACK]
(Libby and Cammie reach the second floor.)
Libby: Everyone's in my room. Follow the music.
(Cammie pauses to pick up some clothes hanging on the stairway bannister.)
Cammie: Be right there.
(Libby hurries to her room. She pushes the door open --
Libby: Hey, guys.
(As Cammie turns to her own room, she smiles and glances at Libby long enough to hear a muffled scream and see Libby disappear into the room.)
(The bedroom door slams shut.)
Cammie: Libby?
(Cammie takes a couple steps toward the room.)
Cammie: Libby!
FLASH BACK TO PRESENT:
[INT. HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY / BEDROOM 1-- NIGHT - PRESENT]
(Sara reaches the second floor. On the carpet are bloodied shoe prints between the rooms.)
(We hear the snap of a camera shutter. Sara turns to Cammie's room and finds Warrick snapping photos. Warrick turns and looks at Sara. Sara nods back to him.)
Warrick: Hell of a way to spend your night off.
Sara: How many bodies do you have in there?
Warrick: Three.
(PHOTO FLASHES of the three girls - one on the floor and one on each bed. They are all tied with their hands behind their backs and gagged.)
Warrick: Grissom's down the hall, first door on your right. Just follow the blood.
(Sara turns and heads for the hallway bedroom. She looks down at the bloodied shoeprints on the carpet.)
FLASH TO:
[INT. HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR -- NIGHT - FLASHBACK]
(Cammie makes her way slowly to Libby's room. The music is loud. She comes up even to the door when someone reaches out and grabs her, pulling her into the room.)
(There are four other girls sitting on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs and gags in the mouths.)
WHITE FLASH BACK TO:
[INT. HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR BEDROOM 2 -- NIGHT - PRESENT]
(Sara shines her flashlight into the room.)
Sara: My date got canceled.
(An answering light shines back on Sara. Grissom looks at her.)
Grissom: I'm sure he had a good excuse.
(Sara steps cautiously into the bedroom. Grissom is kneeling next to the bed with a dead body on it.)
Sara: Looks like sexual assault. Bound, pants pulled down.
Grissom: Yeah.
Sara: Where do you want me?
Grissom: Next bedroom. There's another body in there.
Sara: Well, that makes five. The dispatch said there were six.
(Grissom stands up.)
Grissom: According to Brass, the boyfriend of one of the victims found the bodies. Said there were six roommates, all showgirls. Evidently, one didn't come home.
Sara: She picked the right night.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR BEDROOM 3 -- NIGHT - PRESENT]
(Sara walks into the third bedroom. There's a dead girl on the bed. She pauses a beat by the doorway and looks inside. She walks in.)
(Sara puts her kit down and steps closer to the bed, studying the scene. She looks around and notices some blood smeared on the floor next to the second bed in the room.)
(She walks over and kneels down to look under the bed. She shines her flashlight.)
(Suddenly, a BLOODY HAND SWIPES AT HER, SCRATCHING SARA'S FACE -
(Sara pulls back and reaches for her gun while shouting.)
Sara: Hot scene! Suspect under the bed!
(Grissom appears in the doorway.)
Grissom: Sara!
(Sara looks under the bed and sees Cammie huddled in a pool of blood, her hands tied in front of her.)
Cammie: (gasps) Please ... please help me. Please.
(Sara puts her gun aside and reaches for Cammie.)
Sara: Hold on. Victim down! Call an ambulance!
Grissom: (o.s.) Dispatch, this is CSI Grissom ...
(Sara holds Cammie's hand.)
Sara: You're safe now, okay? You're safe now. It's going to be okay.
Cammie: (gasps) Help me. Help me.
(We hold on Sara.)
SMASH CUT TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[EXT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN RESIDENCE -- NIGHT]
(The street outside the residence is cluttered with officers, emergency personnel and news reporters.)
News Repoter (man): Up until a few hours ago, this was considered one of the safest neighborhoods in Las Vegas. But with the discovery of six young women brutally slain in their beds ...
(Nearer the house inside the taped-off area, Brass talks with Jonathan Alaniz, Becca's musician boyfriend.)
Jonathan Alaniz: I got here at 3:45. I've been dating Becca about a month. When I saw all that blood on the stairs, I just ... I just knew.
Sofia: Jonathan, do you have a key to the house?
Jonathan Alaniz: Becca gave it to me. I usually try to come over and say good night, but I was ... I was late. Had a couple clients in town. But I didn't need the key. Front door was open.
Sofia: If we brought you some photos, would you be able to ID the girls for us?
(He nods.)
(Greg walks past them. An officer lifts up the tape for Greg to duck under. We STAY WITH Greg. He walks up to Brass and Sara waiting outside. There's a large scratch on Sara's left cheek. She has a jacket draped over her.)
(Greg doesn't say anything and continues on to the house.)
(We stay with Brass as he talks with Sara.)
Brass: Look, I know this is tough, but did she give you anything?
Sara: She told me her name. When I went into the room, she thought that I was him.
Brass: Anything else?
Sara: (shakes her head) It didn't make any sense.
(Quick flash of: Sara holds Cammie.)
Sara: Can you tell me your name?
Cammie: Ca ... Cam ... Cammie.
(Sara sits on the floor and holds Cammie.)
Sara: Cammie, I'm Sara. Who did this to you, Cammie?
Cammie: Mm-an.... mm-an.
Sara: The man, what did he look like?
Cammie: Poor w ... Poor wine ...
(Sara shakes her head. It makes no sense to her.)
Cammie: Breast ... Breast ... knife ...
Sara: He-he stabbed you in the chest?
(Cammie grunts and shakes her head.)
Cammie: No.
Sara: (shouts) I need some help here!
Cammie: Bye ... Fin ...
(And Cammie dies.)
Sara: No, no. No.
END OF FLASHBACK
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN RESIDENCE - STAIRS - NIGHT]
(Nick snaps photos of the bloodied shoe print on the stairs.)
(Greg walks in and starts climbing the stairs.)
Nick: Looks like he was about a size 11.
(Greg stops and looks at Nick.)
Greg: You been up there yet?
(Nick looks at Greg and raises his eyebrows. Greg nods back. Greg continues up the stairs, around Nick's shoe prints.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - BEDROOM 2 - NIGHT]
(As David Phillips reports, Grissom tries to take a photo of the window while holding the ALS in his hand.)
David Phillips: I've been through all the bedrooms. She's the last. Rebecca Mayford. Boyfriend ID'd her. Neck's clean. The other five victims' throats were transected. There are at least a dozen stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.
Grissom: Yeah. He took his time with her. The others were killed efficiently.
David Phillips: Liver temp is 95.6. Been dead at least two hours, which is consistent with four of the five other victims.
(CAMERA POV: Grissom finds footprints on the window and is taking a photo of them.)
Grissom: David, don't move any of the bodies just yet, okay?
David Phillips: You got it.
(David leaves the room. Greg walks in.)
David Phillips: (to Greg) Hey.
Greg: What did you find?
Grissom: Partial footprint. Whoever kicked in this window was barefoot.
Greg: She's wearing socks.
Grissom: Yeah, but some of the others weren't.
Greg: Means one of them must have been in here at some point.
(Greg looks at the photos in the bedroom.)
Greg: I don't think this was her room.
(Grissom looks around.)
Grissom: What else?
Greg: Looks like the bindings were cut from the sheets.
(Quick flash of: The killer rips the sheets. End of flash.)
Greg: It takes at least a few minutes to cut up a sheet.
Grissom: I think when he came to this house, he was unprepared. He had to use things that were already here. They say a disorganized killer is apt to obtain his victims by chance.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - BEDROOM 1 - NIGHT]
(Warrick is gathering evidence from the body on the bed.)
Grissom: (V.O.) Luck of the draw.
(He puts it in a bindle. Catherine walks in. She stops in front of the body on the floor.)
Catherine: Busy night.
(Warrick stops gathering evidence as he pauses to really look at the face of the girl on the bed.)
Warrick: She looks so familiar.
Catherine: When I first started doing this, everybody I worked on reminded me of someone.
(Warrick stands up.)
Catherine: Somehow, we all get past it.
Warrick: I'm not so sure that's a good thing.
(Catherine heads for the bathroom.)
Catherine: I'll start with the bathroom.
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - SECOND FLOOR BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS]
(Catherine walks in. There are photos tucked in the mirror frame and a long-white feather boa draped on a second wall mirror.)
(Two evidence markers are near two shoe prints leading up to the bathroom sink.)
(Catherine looks at the spilled powder on the counter. There are impressions in the powder. She snaps several photos.)
(In the trash bin she finds a bloodied paper towel. She snaps photos of it, then picks it up and puts it in a paper package. She puts the evidence package on the side.)
(She snaps more photos of the tissues in the trash bin and bags them.)
(There are many paper evidence bags on the side.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - BEDROOM 1 - NIGHT]
(Grissom finds a picture of Becca.)
Grissom: The girl in this picture is the victim from my room.
(He picks up the picture and the recording in the bear activates.)
(Warrick looks up.)
Jonathan Alaniz's Voice: (recorded) Becca, I'm so crazy about you. I just wanted to tell you happy three-week anniversary! You're awesome! And I love you bear-y much. (chuckles)
Warrick: Sounds like Becca was still a kid.
(Grissom puts the photo back on the shelf. He looks at another set of photos of Becca in her showgirl costume.)
Grissom: Yeah. Well, not when she was onstage.
Warrick: So, Grissom, I found beige carpet fibers on all three victims. It's consistent with the hallway carpet. I've also found rug burns on their knees.
(ZOOM for CU of the abrasions on one of the victim's knees and the carpet fibers caught inside.)
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - HALLWAY- NIGHT]
(Grissom and Warrick walk outside the bedroom. They follow the bloodied shoe prints on the carpet.)
(They follow the shoe prints to the second bedroom.)
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - BEDROOM 2 - CONTINUOUS]
(They look inside where the sheets have been pulled off the beddings.)
Grissom: Killer herded them all into here. He used the sheets from that bed to tie them up, then dragged them all down the hallways to the other two bedrooms to kill them.
(Quick flashback to: The killer ties the girls up.)
(CUT TO: The killer grabs the girls down the hallway.)
(CUT TO: The girls are dead on the bed.)
(End of flashback.)
Warrick: What about Becca? Why wasn't she dragged somewhere else?
Grissom: Maybe he wanted to get her alone. Maybe she excited him ... or pissed him off. Either way, he was brutal with her. She was the messiest kill.
(Catherine walks into the room.)
Catherine: He had a gun. I found grip and slide impressions in some powder on the bathroom counter.
Warrick: Well, a gun is one good way for crowd control. Why didn't he just shoot them?
Catherine: Noise factor? You can't scream once your throat's been slit.
Grissom: Yeah. He had all the time he needed 'cause the neighbors couldn't hear a thing.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - BACKYARD - NIGHT]
(Sara walks around the side to the back of the house. She sees a porch chair jammed under the back door knob.)
(Sara puts her kit down and snaps several photos of the chair. She dusts the chair arm rests for prints and finds several.)
(Quick flash of: SOMEONE jams the chair under the knob. End of flash.)
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. SHOWGIRL HEAVEN - KITCHEN - DAY]
(Nick snaps pictures of the photos pinned to the bulletin board in the kitchen. He pauses a moment to really look at the faces of the women who lived in the house. He continues to take photos.)
(He stops when the back door opens.)
(Sara opens the door and nods to him. She walks into the house, closing the door behind her.)
Sara: He used a chair to jam this door.
Nick: I heard about what happened. You okay?
Sara: I'm fine.
Nick: There's a custom-made label on a wine bottle over there.
(Nick points to the wine bottle on the kitchen floor. Sara kneels down and reads the label.)
Sara: "Love, Lewis."
(Quick flash of: Sara holds Cammie.)
Sara: Who did this to you, Cammie?
Cammie: Mm-an .... mm-an.
Sara: The man. What did he look like?
Cammie: Poor w ... Poor wine.
(End of flashback.)
(Sara looks at Nick.)
Sara: Cammie said something. "Poor wine." Maybe it had something to do with this bottle.
(She looks at the bottle.)
Sara: "Poor wine."
Nick: Maybe he forced wine down her throat. Tox will tell us.
(Sara puts the wine bottle down on the floor and looks around. Nick watches her.)
Nick: It was good that you were there for her, Sara. She didn't have to die alone.
Sara: We usually show up too late to meet the victim.
(Nick nods and turns his attention back to the bulletin board. We hold on Sara.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. ROAD - DAY]
(A red Chrysler is parked on the side of the road, license #011-SUZ. As we move in closer to the car, we hear the radio on.)
Reporter: (from radio) Police have confirmed there are a total of six victims in the Green Valley showgirl murders. The names have not yet been released pending individual identification and notification of their families.
(The driver sits, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.)
Reporter: (from radio) According to police sources, there are no suspects at this time. LVPD has asked anyone with any information to call the following hotline number: 702-555-0132.
(The killer takes a drink from a flask. He hangs his hand outside his open window, his finger drumming against the side of his car.)
Reporter: (from radio) Again, that number ...
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY OUTSIDE FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY]
(Five bodies are on gurneys against the hallway walls. David Phillips and another coroner take notes and fill out a clipboard.)
(We continue through the wall and into -
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(Inside the room, Sara works on one of the bodies. She carefully snips off the sheet tying the girl's wrists together. She removes the sheet and puts it in an evidence package.)
(On another table, David Phillips snaps photos of another showgirl's mouth. He puts the camera down and removes a ball of bloodied sheet stuffed in her mouth. He puts the sheet in an evidence package.)
(CUT TO: David Phillips washes the neck wound on one of the girls.)
(On the other table, Sara washes the wounds off another blonde-haired girl. Her showgirl make-up is still on, enhancing her blank, glassy stare.)
(CUT TO: Sara snaps photos.)
(CUT TO: Sara scrapes under the girl's nails.)
(We linger on the dead girl's blank, glassy eyes.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - DAY]
(Robbins and Sara go over the findings of all the bodies. The bodies are lined up next to each other in the large room.)
Robbins: All six victims had ligature marks on their ankles and wrists. Jenn Smith was the only one with rib fractures. She took some abuse. Except for Becca Mayford, COD was exsanguination through incised wounds to the neck with a sharp-edged instrument.
Sara: How did Cammie Brookston survive until we got there?
Robbins: Well, in her case, there was only a partial transection of the jugular. Shallower cut, slower bleed.
Sara: I found her at least two hours after the attacks.
Robbins: She must've applied pressure to her wound. That would've bought her some time.
Sara: So if we'd have found her sooner, she would still be alive.
Robbins: Sara, there's nothing you could've done.
(Sara is quiet. Robbins continues.)
Robbins: Well, she has a C-section uterine scar. Hairline, almost invisible.
Sara: She has a child.
Robbins: Well, she gave birth some time ago.
Sara: Any signs of sexual assault?
Robbins: Not with Cammie. I found semen in the vaginas of Emily Wilson and Lauren Walderson. Both had mild reddening and some superficial abrasion at the vaginal introitus. They could have had consensual s*x in the hours prior to the attack. This young lady was raped.
(He turns to the body on the table set aside.)
Robbins: Rebecca Mayford had lacerations at three o'clock. Contusions extended from four to eight and ten to twelve.
Sara: Any semen?
Robbins: No. But, uh, look at these puncture wounds. Stab wounds have a large cutting component to the margins. Several of these stabs have additional tracks through the organ, suggesting a partial withdrawal and re-thrust of the blade.
Sara: Is that everything then?
Robbins: Not quite. He left something behind.
(Robbins points to the film on the viewbox.)
Sara: The tip of the knife.
(Quick CGI XCU of: The knife inserted through the flesh, hitting the bone and the tip breaking off. End of CGI.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE - DAY]
(Grissom is on the phone.)
Grissom: (to phone) Yes, sir, I understand that, but, uh, we're still analyzing the evidence. As soon as we have something to report, we'll report it. Okay.
(He hangs up. Catherine is sitting in the seat opposite his desk.)
Catherine: I may have something for you to feed to the monster.
(Catherine hands him the results.)
An attack order based on the blood evidence. In the bathroom trash, I found six bloody paper towels. Wendy ran the DNA. Each towel has blood from only one victim.
Grissom: Bottom of the pile -- first victim, top of the pile-- last.
Catherine: And the pattern on each is consistent with the knife being wiped off. I think that the killer cleaned off the knife after each kill.
(Quick flash of: The victims:
Catherine: (V.O.) First was Emily ...
(The killer wipes the knife in the bathroom.)
(Lauren is on the bed.)
Catherine: (V.O.) -- then Lauren ...
(The killer wipes the knife again and tosses the paper towel in the trash.)
(End of flash.)
Grissom: Both found in Warrick's bedroom.
Catherine: Libby was next.
Grissom: She was found dead in Sara's bedroom.
Catherine: Then Cammie was attacked, followed by Jennifer.
Grissom: She was found on the floor in Warrick's bedroom. There's no logic to any of this.
Catherine: But you were right--Becca was attacked last. It was all of her blood that was tracked throughout the house.
(Quick flash of: The killer steps in the blood --
Catherine: (V.O.) He stepped in her blood, walks into the bathroom to clean off the knife, back out into the hallway, down the stairs.
(End of flash.)
Grissom: But why would he clean off the knife between victims?
Catherine: To maintain control. I see a clean knife, I think that the others are still alive and ... I'm more compliant.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - TRACE LAB - DAY]
(Hodges is on the phone.)
Sara's Voice: (from phone) This is Sara Sidle. Leave a message after the tone.
(The machine beeps.)
Hodges: (to phone) Sara, the knife tip Doc Robbins extracted from Becca Mayford isn't metal, it's ceramic ... and extremely sharp. I accept your thank you in advance and you're welcome.
(Hodges hangs up. He puts his goggles on, then picks up the ALS to start checking the victim's clothes out on the table.)
(Someone's phone buzzes.)
(Hodges sees the phone in the evidence bag and puts the ALS down. He removes his goggles and picks up the phone. The CALLER ID reads: MOM.)
(Hodges answers the phone.)
Hodges: (to phone) Hello? Uh, no, ma'am, Libby's not here. My name is David Hodges. I work for the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Well, ma'am, uh ... I can't really say ... but I can give you the number of someone who can.
(Hodges glances down at the heart-shaped necklace in the evidence bag.)
Hodges: (to phone) Did your daughter Libby wear a heart-shaped necklace?
(Hodges stops and sits down.)
Hodges: (to phone) Y-Y-Yes, yeah, I-I'm still here. Uh, ma'am ... I don't know quite how to say this, but, um ... I'm afraid I have some bad news.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY - DAY]
(Sara and Greg are on the move as Greg reports his findings to Sara.)
Sara: I matched Jenn Smith's footprints with a partial Grissom lifted from that broken window.
Sara: According to Catherine's attack order, Cammie was stabbed first and then Jenn. He didn't get sloppy with Cammie; he got distracted.
Greg: So he was with Cammie when Jenn tried to escape.
(Quick flash of: Jenn is on the bed trying to kick out the window.)
(The killer hears her and enters the room. He drags her off the bed and kicks her on the floor.)
(End of flash.)
Sara: Which explains Jenn's fractures. He kicked the crap out of her.
Greg: He must have gone to the bathroom, cleaned off the knife, then dragged Jenn down the hallway to kill her.
Sara: He never went back to check on Cammie.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - A/V LAB - DAY]
(Archie has a LAS VEGAS GLOBE article on the monitor. The headline reads: SHOWGIRL MANOR: SIX GIRLS, ONE LOCK. The subheadline reads, "Living the Dream," by Lewis Greyburg.)
Warrick: Six girls, one lock.
Archie: I ran the names of all the victims. This article's the only common link.
Warrick: "They pooled their money and lived the dream in style."
Archie: This could definitely bait a killer. The only thing missing from this is their address.
Warrick: Well, it says "Green Valley," it's got a photo of the house. If you looked hard enough, you could find it.
Archie: Lewis Greyburg wrote the article.
Warrick: "Lewis" is the name on a custom wine label that we found at the crime scene. Do me a favor. Could you zoom in on that photo?
(Archie zooms in and Warrick recognizes one of the girls.)
Warrick: Oh, my God. I knew I recognized her. Emily Wilson.
Archie: Figures you'd know a showgirl. Take it you've seen her dance, then, huh?
Warrick: No, last time I saw her, she was still wearing braces.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. STREET - DAY]
(A kid on a bicycle rides by. Warrick leans against his car parked on the side of the road, looking at the house across the street.)
(The front door opens and Warrick straightens as he sees Mary Wilson exit the house carrying a garbage bag. He walks over to her.)
Mary Wilson: Warrick Brown. I remember you standing on my steps with those guilty green eyes, afraid to come in because you knew your grandma would size you up no matter what kind of trouble you got into.
Warrick: I don't remember any trouble.
Mary Wilson: Like when you were 13 years old and you took her new Buick out for a spin.
Warrick: Oh, and I banged the bumper trying to parallel park. I forgot about that one.
Mary Wilson: Mm-hmm. I haven't seen you since your grandma passed.
Warrick: Yeah, the old neighborhood reminds me how much I miss her.
(They walk. Warrick takes the garbage bag from her.)
Mary Wilson: So why you here?
Warrick: I came to see you.
Mary Wilson: Oh.
Warrick: Let me take that for you. New family painted right over my history.
Mary Wilson: That's 'cause they're making their own history.
(He throws the trash away for her.)
Mary Wilson: You know, my daughter Chelsea died last August.
Warrick: Oh, God.
Mary Wilson: Mm-hmm. Lung cancer. She never smoked a day in her life, but her sorry husband did. He's healthy as an ox.
Warrick: (interrupts) Mrs. Wilson ...
Mrs. Wilson: You were always interrupting your grandma. But-but she liked that. That's because you were thinking, she said. Oh, she was proud of you. You remember my little granddaughter, Emily. The next time you drive up the Strip, you, you going to see her little buns in lights 'cause she's a dancer now. Uh-huh.
Warrick: Um ...
Mary Wilson: What, what, what, what?
Warrick: I'm working this case. Those six showgirls ...
Mary Wilson: The ones in the news?
Warrick: Emily listed you as the next of kin.
Mary Wilson: No. No. Oh, oh, please, God ... (screams) No!
(Warrick holds her as she cries.)
Warrick: I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.
Mary Wilson: Oh ...
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. TRIP WIRE BAR - DAY]
(Brass is on the television monitor at a televised police conference.)
Brass: (from tv) We're pursuing a number of leads based on evidence gathered at the scene. Now, we believe that our suspect targeted one individual in particular and that's where the investigation is focused.
(The killer is at a bar having a drink.)
Brass: (from tv) Look, look, we have every available police officer out looking for him.
(He puts his glass down on the counter and drums his fingers against the bar.)
Brass: (from tv) He can run, but he can't hide.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY]
(Nick and Sara interview Mr. Greyburg. Sara puts the photos out on the table between them.)
Nick: So, Mr. Greyburg, you don't want a lawyer?
Lewis Greyburg: Why would I need a lawyer? I sent the wine over to express my gratitude for their cooperation on the article.
Nick: How did you get to know them?
Lewis Greyburg: I followed them around for a week as part of my research. They were nice kids ... uh, with big hearts.
Sara: It's an airhead piece.
Lewis Greyburg: My editor gave me an angle, I ran with it. But those girls raised $12,000 for a fellow showgirl with breast cancer. They organized their own walk-a-thon. They gave out swag bags, kitchen stuff.
Sara: What kind of kitchen stuff?
Lewis Greyburg: Uh ... cutting board, juicer, kitchen knife.
(Something he says triggers a memory in Sara.)
(Quick flash of: Cammie struggles to talk.)
Cammie: Breast ... breast. ..
Sara: He stabbed you in the chest?
Cammie: No!
(End of flash.)
(Sara stares out in front of her. Nick notices her.)
Nick: Sara.
Sara: What did the knife look like?
Lewis Greyburg: It had a purple handle embossed with the name of their friend and the date. It was ceramic.
Nick: Killer shoes. There were multiple shoe impressions in blood at the house, looked just like those.
Lewis Greyburg: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look, I didn't kill those girls.
Sara: Where were you last night, Mr. Greyburg?
Lewis Greyburg: I was at home alone working on my novel.
Nick: Prove it. We'll take your little ceramic knife, give us your shoes, and we'll take a sample of your DNA.
Lewis Greyburg: You can have whatever you want. (to Sara) Just stop looking at me that way.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAYOUT ROOM - DAY]
(Nick takes prints off Greyburg's shoes. He compares the two prints.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE - DAY]
(Greg walks in to report results to Grissom.)
Greg: Wendy swabbed the ligatures cut from the sheet for epithelials. Each knot had one DNA source on it--female, but not from the victim who was tied up.
Grissom: So he forced them to tie each other up.
(Quick flash of: [BEDROOM] The killer holds his gun against one of the girls' heads as someone ties up another girl.)
Killer: Tighter!
Girl: Please don't make me do this.
(End of flash.)
Grissom: Thanks.
Greg: It was all Wendy.
(Greg starts to leave.)
Grissom: Hey, Greg. The, uh, civil suit that was filed by the Demitrius James family, DA decided not to go to trial. So the city's agreed to a payout; $2.5 million.
Greg: $2.5 million? That's like saying I'm the guilty one.
Grissom: It's just political pragmatism. City wants to cut their losses.
Greg: So they did throw me under the bus.
Grissom: Comes with the job.
(Greg turns and leaves. Grissom watches him go.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - TRACE LAB - DAY]
(Hodges has the knife tip on the monitor, as he reports his findings to Sara.)
Hodges: Ran a laser ablation on the knife tip from Becca's spine. Zirconium oxide, otherwise known as ceramic. Basically, ceramic is glass. Both the exemplar that you got from the reporter and the murder weapon have the same composition, color, texture and thickness.
Sara: The killer could have gotten the knife from a swag bag at the walk-a-thon. Either that or he could have gotten it from the house.
Hodges: You find me the broken knife, and I'll match the tip.
(Sara watches Hodges.)
Sara: What's wrong with you?
Hodges: Nothing.
(Sara turns to leave. Hodges stops her by the door.)
Hodges: You ever do the right thing and still feel guilty about it?
Sara: Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?
Hodges: Yeah.
(Sara turns and leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - PRINT LAB -- DAY]
(Mandy Webster shares her findings with Nick.)
Mandy Webster: So I lifted two sets of prints from the wine bottle, but there's no match to any of the victims.
Nick: Any hits?
Mandy Webster: One set was smudges. I'm guessing whoever they belonged to works with their hands. You know, calloused, cut. The other set came back to a Chris Mullins. His work card's in the system. He's a musician at the Legs show where all the girls danced.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. MULLINS' RESIDENCE - DAY]
(Brass exits the residence and heads for Sara and Nick waiting outside. Officers are around the area.)
Brass: Well, there's a cold brewski on the table. We must have just missed him.
(Officer Mitchell catches up with Brass.)
Officer Mitchell: Captain?
Brass: Yeah, what?
Officer Mitchell: Neighbor gave this guy up. Mullins hangs out at a bar right down the street.
Brass: All right, we'll check it out. But first we're going to lose the radio cars. Post an unmarked. I'm going to put a broadcast out on his vehicle. He's gotta come home sometime. (to radio) Control, this is 2-0-3 Charlie, Captain Brass.
Control: (over radio): Go ahead, Captain.
(Just then, two officer cars with their sirens wailing, turn the corner and speed off in front of them.)
Nick: Whoo! Did you call for backup?
Brass: (to radio) Look, uh, two squad cars just passed rolling Code Three. I'm at 562 Herrick Drive. Where are they en route to?
Control: (over radio): Units are responding to a 415 Baker in progress outside the Trip Wire Bar. Person down, suspect possibly still in location.
Brass: (to radio) All right, copy that. I'm headed to the 415B location.
Sara: Assault with a deadly weapon?
Nick: Feeling lucky?
(They all head off in that direction.)
[EXT. TRIP WIRE BAR - DAY]
(Sofia and the paramedic are with the injured victim, Marlon Frost.)
Paramedic: Sir, could you move your hand, please? Please? Thank you.
(Brass, Sara and Nick turn the corner.)
Brass: Hey, what do you got?
Sofia: Marlon Frost, out of state. Bar patron found him.
Brass: Anyone see the suspect?
Sofia: Mm-mm, no witnesses.
Brass: Okay, I'm going inside. Chris Mullins hangs out here. Somebody's got to know something.
Sara: Incise wound to the neck?
Sofia: Yeah. Seems to be flavor of the week.
Sara: Did he say anything?
Sofia: I don't think he can.
(Sara watches as the paramedics put Marlon Frost on the gurney.)
Nick: (o.s.) Hey, Sara?
(Sara turns.)
Nick: Got a knife over here.
(Sara and Nick look at the bloodied knife.)
Nick: Tip's broken off. That's probably going to be the murder weapon right there.
(Quick flash of: [BEDROOM] The killer raises the ceramic knife as Becca struggles on the bed.)
(She whimpers as he stabs her. When he raises the ceramic knife again, the tip is broken off. End of flash.)
Nick: And it matches the one from the swag bag.
(The label on the knife reads:
TAWNIA'S RUN
FEBRUARY 18, 2007 )
Sara: Crime scene's only a couple blocks from here. I'm going to go with the vic. I'm going to collect his clothes.
(Sara stands up. Nick stands up with her.)
Nick: You sure that's really such a good idea?
(Sara runs to the ambulance.)
Sara: (to the paramedics) Hold up! I'm coming with you.
(Nick watches her go and shakes his head.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. AMBULANCE (MOVING) - DAY]
(Sara holds Marlon Frost's hand.)
Sara: My name is Sara. Just hold on. You're going to be fine.
(Quick flash of: Sara holds Cammie's hand. End of flash.)
Sara: Do you know who did this to you?
(Marlon looks at Sara. Sara holds his hand.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. TRIP WIRE BAR - DAY]
(Brass questions the bartender.)
Brass: You see this guy? Marlon Frost? He was just stabbed in the parking lot.
Bartender: Yeah, I seen him around last couple of days. Friendly enough.
Brass: What, did he get into an argument or something here?
Bartender: It's not that type of place.
Brass: Yeah, right.
(Brass shows him the NON-GAMING PERMIT for CHRIS MULLINS.)
Brass: Uh, how about this guy? You see him? Chris Mullins?
Bartender: Yeah, he's a regular of mine. A-lister with the ladies, you know.
Brass: Has he been in lately?
Bartender: Why don't you check in the back?
Brass: (nods) Great.
(Brass heads for the back. Chris Mullins exits from the bathrooms.)
Brass: Chris Mullins?
Chris Mullins: Yeah?
Brass: I hope you washed your hands.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY]
(Brass interviews Chris Mullins.)
Chris Mullins: I didn't stab that guy, I didn't kill those girls. I will cop to drinking their wine.
Brass: So you're in the house the night of the murders.
Chris Mullins: I'd been messing around with Lauren since last weekend.
Brass: You know, you don't seem too upset that she's dead. How come your fingerprints are in every single room of the house?
Chris Mullins: It's kind of an inside joke. We did it in all her roommates' beds just to see if they noticed.
Brass: But you're only having s*x with Lauren, right?
Chris Mullins: She was a good place to put it till something better came along.
Brass: I guess that's funny to somebody. But when we get a warrant for your DNA and match it to the semen we found in Lauren and Emily, the joke is going to be on you, pal.
Chris Mullins: I was supposed to meet Lauren after her last show. She was late. Emily was home.
Brass: And you couldn't help yourself, right, stud?
Chris Mullins: Girl politics. One wants what the other has. Why not give it?
Brass: So I guess when Lauren came home, you gave it to her, too. Is that right, Santa? And what about Becca?
Chris Mullins: Was she blonde? I didn't meet all the roommates.
Brass: Boy, you have an answer for everything, huh? What about the guy in the bar? What about him, what did he do, look at you the wrong way, bum a smoke? Or did he want you to give it to him, too?
Chris Mullins: You know what? Lawyer. Now.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAYOUT ROOM - DAY]
(Grissom, Warrick, Catherine and Nick meet.)
Warrick: Well, DNA confirmed that Mullins had s*x with Emily and Lauren. Assuming he's the killer, why didn't we find any semen in Becca?
Catherine: Maybe by the time he got to her, he was unable to ejaculate.
Nick: I was able to make a physical match between the broken tip in Becca and the knife recovered from outside the bar.
Grissom: Was the same knife used to stab Marlon Frost?
Nick: We don't know yet. Sara's at the hospital now -- she's bringing back a DNA sample to compare.
Warrick: Whoever ... shanked Frost killed those girls.
Catherine: Did you get any prints on that knife?
Nick: Yeah. No ridge detail. Same smudges were found on the wine bottles and in the bedrooms.
Grissom: Smudges won't put the knife in Mullins' hands, though.
Warrick: I don't get it. He stabs the guy and walks back in the bar.
Grissom: All the evidence at the house suggests that the killer was unfamiliar with the layout.
Catherine: And by his own admission, Mullins had been in that house at least a couple of nights.
Warrick: Well, that's also how he could've made the connection to Becca.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. HOSPITAL - MARLON'S ROOM - DAY]
(Sara snaps photos of Marlon Frost's wounds.)
Sara: Mr. Frost, I'll be out of your way soon. I'm sure you want to get some sleep.
(Sara turns to get the ink and paper.)
Sara: I just need to get your fingerprints. It's routine. I promise it won't hurt.
(She takes his prints. He watches her.)
(She notices the smudges on his fingertips. When she finishes printing him, she turns his hands over to look at his fingertips. The skin is callused.)
(She turns and looks at Marlon Frost. He stares back at her.)
(Suddenly, he grabs her hard with both hands. Sara tries to get away.)
Sara: (grunting) Get off me! Get off me!
(She frees herself from him. In the struggle, his gown slips off his shoulders, revealing a large discoloration - a birthmark.)
(Quick flash to: [BEDROOM] Cammie sees the birthmark on Marlon Frost's shoulder as he cuts her neck. There's a noise from the other room and he gets up to check it out, leaving her on the floor.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
Cammie: Port... port wine... port wine.
(End of flashback.)
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY - DAY]
(Sara reports her findings to Grissom.)
Sara: He has a vascular birthmark, a port wine stain, on his upper chest -- that's what Cammie was trying to tell me. We can get DNA off his bloody clothes, but we have no blood or semen at the scene to compare it to. His prints are useless -- they're all calluses. They only leave smudges, like the kind we found on the broken knife. I think the b*st*rd tried to kill himself.
Grissom: Sara, slow down. Frost isn't going anywhere.
Sara: I am going to nail this son of a bitch, and I don't want him to think for a single second that he is going to get away with this.
Grissom: Okay, one step at a time.
Sara: Frost smelled like alcohol when they took him into the ER so they ran a tox. His BAC came back .34 -- only a chronic alcoholic can function at those levels. You know what I think? I think he polished off the wine at the scene straight from the bottle.
Grissom: So his DNA should be on it.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[DNA RESULTS]
(The DNA results are a MATCH.)
(The suspect is ID'd as DAVID MARLON.)
(The view REFOCUSES, revealing Sara's reflection in the monitor.)
Brass: (from conference) The suspect's name is David Marlon. M-A-R-L-O-N.
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY]
(Brass is talking with the press.)
Brass: (from conference) Also known as Marlon Frost. Released from California State Penitentiary where he served time for sexual assault. Mr. Marlon is also wanted in the questioning of the assault of an elderly woman in North Lake Tahoe one week ago. We believe he stole her vehicle and then fled to Las Vegas.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GARAGE - DAY]
(Nick and Sara are in the garage with the elderly woman's vehicle.)
Nick: Where'd Brass find it?
Sara: A block away from the bar. Guy didn't even bother to switch plates.
Nick: Smart.
(Nick opens the trunk and looks at Sara. He snaps photos of the garbage bags in the back.)
(CUT TO: Nick and Sara open the garbage bags and find various articles inside.)
Nick: Whoa. One, two ... three, four, five, six.. . ladies' handbags.
(He opens one and finds REBECCA MAYFORD's driver's license inside.)
Nick: Rebecca Mayford. Becca.
(He finds nicotine gum.)
Nick: Mm. Looks like she was trying to quit smoking.
(He also finds a pack of cigarettes.)
Nick: And failing. Miserably.
(He opens the cigarette pack and checks it.)
Nick: There is only one missing.
(He puts the cigarettes aside and looks in the wallet. He finds a receipt.)
Nick: Here we go. Bought at the Trip Wire Bar at 12:48 a.m. same night as the murders.
Sara: That's where Marlon and Becca crossed paths.
(Quick flash to: [TRIP WIRE BAR - NIGHT] The bartender puts a pack of cigarettes on the bar for Becca. She smiles. Marlon sits at the other end of the bar and watches her.)
Bartender: There you go.
Becca: Appreciate it. Bye.
(She leaves the bar. Marlon watches her leave.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Becca is walking home. Marlon follows her.)
(End of flash.)
(Sara continues to search through the clothes. She finds a gun.)
Sara: I got a gun.
(Sara picks it up.)
Sara: It's plastic. It's a toy.
Nick: Looks real to me. Imagine if you're petrified.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. CSI - ROOM - DAY]
(Sara is looking at photos of a baby. Corey Archfield sits at the table.)
Corey Archfield: How'd you find me?
Sara: Cammie had these in her wallet. We tracked you from the birth certificate. She's a cutie. What's her name?
Corey Archfield: Fin. After Cammie's grandmother. But her adoptive parents call her Annabelle.
Sara: She kept in touch with them?
Corey Archfield: They're pretty cool. We didn't have contact, but ... they would send Cammie a photo every year on Fin's birthday. And every year, Cammie and I would get together, have a beer, look at it. Biggest regret of my life is not marrying Cammie and raising Fin together. I wanted to, but ... she said we were too young. Maybe if we had ...
Sara: (interrupts) Corey ... you can't blame yourself.
Corey Archfield: Were you with her when she died?
(Sara nods.)
Corey Archfield: At least Cammie died knowing kindness.
(Quick flash of: Cammie struggles to breathe.)
Sara: Stay with me, Cammie.
Cammie: Bye ... Fin ...
(Cammie gasps and her eyes grow blank.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. HOSPITAL - MARLON'S ROOM - DAY]
(Marlon talks with Brass.)
David Marlon: I watched the life go out of their eyes. Um, life drains. That's ... that's how you can tell they're dead. They have, uh, empty eyes.
Brass: That's not what I asked you. What I asked you was, why did you kill them?
David Marlon: I saw this girl I liked at the bar.
(Quick flash of: Becca smiling at the bartender at the bar. End of flash.)
David Marlon: I followed her home. I knew she wanted to party. I chose her. Girls act ... sometimes like they don't want what they want ... because they want you to take it. They like that. But this girl ... she was flirting with me.
(Quick flash of: Becca smiling at the bartender at the bar. End of flash.)
David Marlon: And I ... I just gave her the party of her life.
Brass: You know, there's something I don't understand, Marlon. Why are you smiling? You feel good about this?
David Marlon: I don't feel anything. Nothing.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BREAKROOM - NIGHT]
(The news report is on the monitor.)
Reporter: (on TV) Las Vegas PD has confirmed that David Marlon confessed earlier today to the murders of the six Green Valley showgirls.
(Grissom and Sara watch the report.)
Reporter: (on TV) He was found within a block of the crime scene in an apparent suicide attempt. I've just been informed ...
(The report continues in the background.)
Reporter: (b.g. on TV) ... has confirmed the names of the six victims. They are Cammie ... Libby Cooperson 22, Becca Mayfield, 20 ...
Sara: I held his hand.
(Sara is crying. She glances back at Grissom, who is standing just behind her.)
Sara: Just like I held hers. I lost perspective.
(Grissom wipes the tear off her cheek. Sara turns and looks at Grissom.)
Reporter: (b.g. on TV) ... Lauren Walderson 21 and Emily Wilson, 19. Their families have organized a candlelight vigil that will begin here tonight.
(He looks at her. She nods.)
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS]
(With his arm around her, they walk out the hallway and turn the corner out of view.)
(In the back of the hallway, a janitor mops the floor. And we --
Plan: A: Six showgirls; Q: How many women are murdered in the rented house? A: Sara; Q: Who is haunted by the dying words of the last victim? A: Sara's arms; Q: Where did the last victim die? A: The investigation; Q: What reveals that the women's necks were slashed with a knife? A: Warrick; Q: Who believes he knows one of the victims? A: Greg; Q: Who gets information from Grissom about the civil suit filed against him? Summary: Six showgirls are murdered in their rented house and Sara is haunted by the dying words of the last victim, as she dies in Sara's arms. The investigation reveals the women's necks were slashed with a knife and that Warrick believes he knows one of the victims. Also, Greg gets some disturbing information from Grissom about the civil suit filed against him.