[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY MGM (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. JUST OUTSIDE CASINO - NIGHT]
(A man and a woman walking by sees a young man just outside a casino in distress. They look at each other and decide to try to help him.)
Matthew Orton: You all right?
Vincent Avery: I'm barred. I've got, like, ten thousand dollars in chips and I cannot cash it. Look, if I kept my eye on you two, could you please just go in there and claim my money?
Cindy Orton: Sure, we can do that for you, but you don't have to keep your eye on us ...
Matthew Orton: We're honest people.
Vincent Avery: I'm sure you are, but ... come on. If I'm going to be giving you ten grand in chips, I've just got to know that you're coming back.
Cindy Orton: We could give you a deposit.
Matthew Orton: What kind of deposit?
Vincent Avery: Two thousand dollars ... would give me peace of mind. Tell you what, you two come back and I will give you back your deposit plus another thousand?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CASINO - NIGHT]
(The hotel cashier holds up the $500 blue dummy chip and examines it.)
Cashier: I'm sorry sir, I can't cash this for you.
Matthew Orton: What? Why?
Cashier: (he shakes his head) They're worthless.
(The couple run out of the hotel to look for the young man.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. CASINO - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS]
(The couple exit the hotel looking for the man, but he's long gone. They look up and down the strip. There's no sign of him.)
(Sound of a gun shot coming from the parking structure followed by sounds of car tires screeching can be heard.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. TROPICANA -- PARKING GARAGE -- NIGHT]
(As they walk toward the crime scene, BRASS fills GRISSOM in.)
Brass: Guy was running one of the oldest scams in Vegas. Would have gotten away with it, to until the getaway driver put a nickel in the guy's jukebox.
(BRASS turns around and indicates the couple talking to DET. SAM VEGA. He's showing the couple an evidence bag. CINDY ORTON nods her head, yes.)
Brass: That's the Ortons from Florida. The, uh, couple ID'd the deceased as the con man.
(They both arrive at the crime scene. GRISSOM puts his CSI kit down and crouches low to get a better look. He notices three hundred dollar bills next to the body.)
Brass: That's the Ortons' money.
(GRISSOM looks up at BRASS.)
Grissom: It's mine now.
(GRISSOM looks around.)
Grissom: Surveillance?
Brass: Not in the garage.
Grissom: Banana skids and fresh blood -- that helps. Oil slick doesn't hurt us either.
Det. Sam Vega: Hey, Jim. Got these from the cage.
(DET. SAM VEGA hands BRASS the evidence bag full of dummy gambling chips.)
Brass: Thanks, Sam. The chip clip. Haven't seen that one in a while.
(He hands the bag to GRISSOM.)
Grissom: Striking resemblance to Judas.
Brass: How's that?
Grissom: Both men lost their lives over a worthless bag of chips.
HARD CUT TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- HALLWAY]
(GRISSOM maneuvers his way through the hallway traffic while carrying a plastic bottle of cockroaches and a large pexi-glass container. He's also sporting a traveling bag over his shoulder.)
(He passes by GREG'S LAB. GREG is busy at work while punk rock music plays loudly inside. GRISSOM opens the door.)
Grissom: Hey, Sanders, no punk rock.
Greg: What about black flag?
(GRISSOM glances down at his container full of cockroaches.)
Grissom: Are you nuts?
(He closes the door and continues down the hallway. As he hurries to his office, he nearly runs into CATHERINE who just turns the corner in front of him.)
Grissom: Whoa. Careful. Livestock.
(He holds up the container of cockroaches.)
Grissom: Hissing roaches from Madagascar.
Catherine: Sorry.
Grissom: These babies run two and a half miles an hour.
Catherine: I don't doubt that for a minute.
Grissom: Fifth annual entomological convention in Duluth. Cockroach racing finals.
(GRISSOM pushes the door to his office open and walks in. CATHERINE follows.)
Catherine: You're roach racing
Grissom: Actually, I'm giving a tutorial in preserving mass crime scenes. The sideshow is racing these guys.
Catherine: Ah.
Grissom: I mean, to have a chance to run against legendary roaches like Cocky Balboa; The Drain Lover; Priscilla, Queen of the Gutters. It's huge.
Catherine: What do you feed those guys?
Grissom: Dog food.
Catherine: And who's ... supervising night shift?
Grissom: You are.
Catherine: Me? I am on the red-eye to Reno. The Braun Family is opening a new casino. I am Sam's date.
Grissom: That's tonight?
Catherine: I told you once, memo'd you twice.
(CATHERINE sighs. GRISSOM is distracted by the roaches in the container.)
Grissom: Man, these guys are primed.
(CATHERINE leaves the room. On her way out, she reminds him ... )
Catherine: Better get somebody.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM]
Warrick: "A" slash? Acting supervisor? What about Nick? He's got seniority. Or Sara -- she'd jump at the chance.
Grissom: If it was about seniority, I'd ask Nick. If I needed someone to stay up for three straight days I'd ask Sara. Instead, I want you.
Warrick: And if I ask why?
Grissom: Your curiosity would be better served on the case.
(GRISSOM hands the assignment sheet to WARRICK.)
Grissom: The shooting death of a con man at the Tropicana. Our guys are already there.
(He turns to leave the room.)
Warrick: Hang on! Have you told NICK and SARA about this?
Grissom: No.
(WARRICK sighs. Camera holds on WARRICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. TROPICANA - PARKING GARAGE - LEVEL 5 -- NIGHT]
(NICK sets up a camera on a tripod. SARA walks around the crime scene looking for evidence.)
(Camera cuts to an oil spot on an oil spill on the ground. Two evidence markers #1 and #3 are coned next to the spill. Cut to NICK snapping a picture of a white strip. Flash to white. Cut to SARA still looking for evidence. She sees something.)
(Cut to NICK moving the tripod over to another spot. He sets up the camera pointing it straight downward over the tire treadmarks. He snaps a picture. Flash to white. He takes another photo of the treadmarks. He moves the tripod over to another spot along the treadmark. He does this several times to get one continuous picture of the treadmark.)
(SARA notices the film container under the car. She kneels in low to get a better look at it. She picks it up.)
(Cut to NICK continues to snap pictures of the treadmark.)
(Cut to SARA notices that there's something inside the film container. She opens it and empties it out into the palm of her gloved hand. Out pours nine pill-sized black capsules. She smells it.)
(WARRICK pulls up to the crime scene in his car. He exits the car and approaches the crime scene.)
Nick: I got one left. Smile. (He snaps the camera.) Lovely.
(SARA sees WARRICK approach. He steps over the crime scene tape.)
Sara: Hey.
Warrick: Hey.
Sara: Nice of you to show up.
Nick: Yeah, we're done here, brother.
Warrick: Yeah, I'm sorry, I got detained. I guess you did a "one-to-one" on these treads already?
Nick: Yeah, I just finished it.
Warrick: Put together an evidence list?
Sara: No.
Warrick: You've got to do it.
Nick: You were late.
Warrick: Ah, I don't think so. I got to go back with the body. Sara, can you get back to the lab and put a rush on this analysis?
Sara: Who died and made you boss?
Warrick: He's not exactly dead.
Sara: Grissom gave you shift tonight.
(SARA goes back to the body to finish up.)
Warrick: (to NICK) Anything you want to say?
Nick: Yeah. Good luck.
(NICK snaps the empty camera and it flashes at WARRICK. He leaves. Camera holds on WARRICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY -- TROPICANA & MGM (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- NIGHT]
(WARRICK enters the room. He tosses on his scrubs and puts his gloves on.)
Robbins: Get a speeding ticket?
Warrick: Side roads. So ... this is our con artist?
Robbins: Vincent Thomas Avery. I.D.'d him from his prints.
Warrick: Did it tell you anything?
Robbins: No mystery in cause of death. Gunshot wound to the outer ear.
(Quick CGI POV to the left side of VINCENT AVERY'S head. Camera moves in for a close up of the entry wound. Flash to white. Resume to present.)
Robbins: Left ear at that.
Warrick: Well. Probably when he was getting into the car.
(Quick Flashback to VINCENT AVERY running up to the car. Getting into the front passenger seat.)
Vincent Avery: All right, go, go, go!
(Cut to close up of a shadowed figure holding the gun to VINCENT AVERY'S head (left side). Flash to white. Resume to WARRICK.)
Warrick: He knew the driver.
Robbins: Soot depiction on the skin surrounding the entry wound tells the story.
(Quick CGI POV of the left side of VA's outer ear. Camera moves in closer, through the outer ear, into the ear, following the path of the bullet. The bullet stops. Flash to white. Resume to ROBBINS.)
Robbins: (V.O.) Bullet entered the external auditory meatus fracturing the skull base. Cracked the hardest bone of the skull.
Warrick: You got any pictures of that?
Robbins: Hot off the fluoroscope. Haven't had the pleasure yet.
(ROBBINS holds up the film. They both see the location of the bullet.)
Warrick: Whoa.
Robbins: There is your bullet. Deformed projectile in the right side of the calvarium.
Warrick: Can you fish that out for me?
Robbins: You bet.
(WARRICK glances at the other x-ray film. He sees something.)
Warrick: Wait a minute.
(WARRICK walks over to the light board and snaps the film in place. Several small balloon-shaped figures show on the film.)
Warrick: There's something in his stomach.
SHORT TIME CUT TO:
(ROBBINS starts the Y-incision and opens the chest to extract the stomach contents.)
(Quick CGI POV from inside the stomach looking up and out at both WARRICK and ROBBINS. The camera swings around inside the stomach to show several small white balloon-like capsules coated with green goo. One white balloon is ruptured. The forceps extracts the ruptured white balloon. End CGI POV.)
(ROBBINS holds up the white balloon.)
Robbins: Something tells me, this isn't filled with white sugar.
Warrick: How many more are there?
Robbins: I'd say about 50 balloons. Green dye you see here is probably from lime flavored gelatin. Makes them much easier to swallow.
Warrick: He's a mule. Why is a guy trafficking in big-pay drugs wasting his time on some nickel-and-dime chip scam?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT CSI -- LAB]
(NICK is using a magifying glass to examine the developed photos of the tire treadmarks from the garage. BRASS walks in.)
Brass: Hey, I got the horsepower on your Vic. Vincent Avery. Age 28, con man out of Atlantic City. Got enough petty thefts and grand larcenies on his record to choke a hippo.
Nick: Hey, Jim ... what do you make of that void? Nail?
Brass: Either that or a spot on your lens.
Nick: Don't say that.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(GREG carefully puts a black powder from a mortar into a test tube. SARA walks in.)
Sara: Hey. Are you baking a cake? What's the hold up on my pills?
Greg: Process. Just because you got passed over, don't take it out on me.
Sara: He didn't pass me over.
Greg: Really? What would you call it, then?
Sara: Grissom.
Greg: Ah.
(GREG puts a sample on the card. Sample A is placed ON THE SPECTRATECH CARD (PTFE) then placed in the machine. It's closed, then processed.)
(Quick CGI POV of blue light passing through the sample for analysis. End of CGI POV.)
(The following results show on screen: COAL [b289372] with short write-up and chemical break-down on the bottom. )
Greg: (reading) Coal.
(Cut back to computer screen.)
WOOD [wo83.20982] with short write-up and chemical break-down on the bottom.
Greg: (reading) Wood.
(Cut to computer screen.)
COCONUT SHELLS [cpd_93-049-023]
Greg: And ... coconut shells.
Sara: Activated carbon. Activated charcoal pills. Best antacid in the world. Coats the stomach and absorbs all impurities.
(WARRICK enters the lab.)
Warrick: It's great if you're a mule transporting drugs into the states.
Sara: Our con man's a mule?
Warrick: We found balloons of cocaine in his stomach cavity.
(Quick CGI POV of a see-through x-ray like skeleton swallowing several balloon-shaped items. It goes down its throat and into the stomach where a white cloud of gastric acid fills the stomach. End of CGI POV.)
Sara: Without the pills, one bite of a chocolate bar would produce enough gastric acid in his stomach to eat away the balloon. Causing him to O.D.
Warrick: Then he went out and got shot.
Sara: Speaking of which I found airline stubs in Avery's shirt.
Warrick: What?
Sara: Vincent Avery was four-A, Ellie Rebecca was four-B. Strange, right, using two first names?
Warrick: No, what's strange is going into the evidence locker after post and not finding anything left.
Sara: Hey, don't make me feel bad for doing my job.
Warrick: If it was your job, you couldn't feel bad.
Greg: Well, I think I hear some coffee perking.
(GREG stands up and leaves the room.)
Sara: What do you want from me? I'm working the case, the case is hot.
Warrick: It's my case. Tonight, I'm the primary. I have to process it. If you have a problem with that, you can clock out now. Am I clear?
Sara: Clear.
(SARA nods and leaves the room.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(WARRICK dusts the airline ticket boarding pass stub for prints. He finds one. The boarding pass stub has the following information on it: )
MONUMENT AIRLINES BOARDING PASS REBECCA, ELLIE
(He lifts the print and scans it into the computer. He does a database search on it.)
(He types in: )
REF#42_23: VINCENT THOMAS AVERY. (ON LEFT SCREEN)
(On the right screen, it returns: )
REF#33_A: ELLIE REBECCA BRASS
Warrick: It couldn't be.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - PARKING LOT - NIGHT]
(BRASS gets out of his car and starts making his way across the parking lot to the police department. WARRICK emerges from the building. He's carrying a file and meets up with BRASS.)
Warrick: Hey.
Brass: Hey.
Warrick: You have a daughter?
Brass: Where you going with this?
Warrick: Her prints came up on airline stubs relating to tonight's homicide.
Brass: Well, there's got to be more than one Ellie Brass in the world.
Warrick: Ellie Rebecca Brass. DOB 9/24/82. Essex County, New Jersey. Last known address 554 Applegate Way.
(BRASS grabs the file from WARRICK and closes it.)
Brass: Okay, you told me.
Warrick: Well, I've got to bring her in. You know that.
Brass: PD brings in suspects. I'll put Vega on it.
(BRASS starts to walk toward the building.)
Warrick: You're hands off.
(BRASS turns around.)
Brass: Of course.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY OUTSIDE INTERROGATION ROOM]
(DET. SAM VEGA accompanies ELLIE REBECCA BRASS along the hallway toward the interrogation room. WARRICK is there waiting for them.)
Warrick: Just go right in here.
(DET. SAM VEGA opens the interrogation room door and holds it open for ELLIE BRASS. They are all just about to enter the room when BRASS rounds the corner. He sees ELLIE BRASS. ELLIE BRASS turns and sees him.)
(He stands some distance away from them. She smiles and approaches him. When she reaches him, she stands there a moment, then spits on his badge.)
(WARRICK starts to move toward them. DET. SAM VEGA stops him. BRASS holds up a hand.)
Brass: I'm fine. I'm fine.
(He looks back down at his daughter.)
Brass: (softly) So, we're going to pick up right where we left off huh, Ellie?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(SARA sits at the table with rows of hundred dollar bills in front of her. RONNIE LITRE walks in carrying a box. He sets it down on the table.)
Ronnie Litre: You still documenting the money from the con man?
Sara: Every serial number -- evidence. (she sits up) Did you know that ninety-seven percent (97%) of all hundred dollar ($100) bills have traces of cocaine on them?
Ronnie Litre: I was the one that told you that.
Sara: Oh, yeah.
(SARA laughs. She turns back to the money.)
Sara: Hey, Ronnie you know what the intaglio script is.
Ronnie Litre: Engraving on Ben Franklin's collar?
Sara: I don't see it on this bill. Do you?
(RONNIE LITRE looks through the magnifying glass.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
Ellie Brass: Everyone I sleep with dies.
(ELLIE BRASS looks down at the photographs of VINCENT AVERY on the parking lot ground.)
Warrick: Excuse me?
Ellie Brass: I slept with this sailor once when I was fourteen. He died overseas somewhere.
Det. Sam Vega: What was your relationship to Vincent Avery?
Ellie Brass: There was no relationship. I barely knew him.
Det. Sam Vega: You knew him enough to fly to Baja with him.
Ellie Brass: He invited me for the weekend. I figured as long as he didn't chop me up I'd have some fun.
(ELLIE BRASS reaches into her bag and pulls out a cigarette pack.)
Ellie Brass: Mind if I smoke?
(She hits the pack intending to extract a cigarette. Instead, a single blue $500 dummy chip falls out onto the table.)
Warrick: Yeah.
Det. Sam Vega: Plain sight.
(Using his pen, WARRICK pulls the chip in front of him.)
Warrick: It's a dummy chip. No casino logo.
Det. Sam Vega: Exactly the same kind of chips Vincent Avery used to scam the casinos.
(SAM VEGA looks at ELLIE BRASS.)
Det. Sam Vega: Before he got shot.
Warrick: So, you two fly down to Baja, pose as a married couple brought back home a stomach load of blow and then you run chip scams? Who's taking your drug profits?
Ellie Brass: Man, I wish I knew what you were talking about.
Det. Sam Vega: Someone catch you and Vincent working on the side? Shoot him?
Ellie Brass: I wasn't even there.
Det. Sam Vega: Where were you?
Ellie Brass: Home. In the bathroom.
Warrick: Yeah, she was passing pellets of cocaine.
Ellie Brass: I'm out of here.
(ELLIE BRASS stands and heads toward the door. DET. SAM VEGA also stands and stops her.)
Det. Sam Vega: Sit down.
(ELLIE BRASS moves back to the table and sits down.)
Det. Sam Vega: Thank you.
Warrick: With your permission, we need to take some x-rays.
Ellie Brass: As long as you're the one doing them.
Det. Sam Vega: We'd also like to take a look at your car.
Ellie Brass: I lent it to my boyfriend.
Warrick: And what is his name?
Ellie Brass: You know, you have this whole Lenny Kravitz thing going on. I'm not one for brothers, but ... damn.
Warrick: His name.
(She smiles.)
Ellie Brass: Keith Driscoll.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- HALLWAY]
Brass: Now you're telling me to get involved.
Warrick: You were behind the glass. This evidence against your daughter doesn't look good.
Brass: Hey, listen, nothing places her at the murder.
Warrick: She mules drugs for a guy who ends up dead ten hours later? A BS chip scam, a lousy alibi?
Brass: Vega's on it, he'll find her boyfriend and if I know my daughter, that's your shooter.
(BRASS starts on down the hallway and stops when WARRICK calls to him.)
Warrick: Brass. It's a big city. Boyfriend could disappear. But, hey, it's your kid.
(WARRICK leaves. Camera holds on BRASS.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(SARA is looking at the bills through the microscope. RONNIE LITRE stands next to her.)
Ronnie Litre: Left scope is a government- issued $100 bill. Right scope is the money from your tourists. Scope confirms what you saw with the naked eye.
Sara: On a genuine bill, the words "United States of America" are written on the border of Ben Franklin's portrait. On the Ortons' bill the intaglio script is blacked out.
(Camera view through the microscope of both the genuine bill, then cut to the Orton's bill with the intaglio script smudged. Resume to present.)
Ronnie Litre: It's called microprinting. A little trick treasury uses to thwart photocopying a U.S. bill.
Sara: What about pigmentation? Treasury seals and serial numbers are the same color, right?
Ronnie Litre: They are ... on the bill on your left.
(Camera close up of two hundred dollar bills side-by-side. The bill on the left #B3915497L. The bill on the right is B471152 ... The bill on the right doesn't hold the green pigmentation.)
Ronnie Litre: No printer on the market can make a true green. Blue and yellow hues always bleed in. Our monetary system depends on it.
Sara: Who do we notify? Treasury?
Ronnie Litre: Secret Service branch. They've got a field office in Vegas.
Sara: I'll put these back in the evidence room.
(SARA puts the counterfeit bills back in the evidence bag.)
Sara: Wait till the Ortons find out what we do with counterfeit money.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - X-RAY ROOM]
(ELLIE BRASS has a chest x-ray taken. CGI superimposes a skeletal frame on her bare back to give us a glimpse inside.)
FADE INTO:
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(X-ray film on the vertical light board. There's no evidence of drugs inside ELLIE BRASS.)
X-ray Technician: Nothing.
Ellie Brass: Told you I was clean.
Warrick: So you gave up your drugs to your boss, huh?
Ellie Brass: Boss?
Warrick: Do you realize every time you ingest one of those pellets that you risk dying from an overdose?
Ellie Brass: Only if I eat. Releases gastric acids, blah, blah, blah...
Warrick: So you can just not eat?
Ellie Brass: Well, you see, the thing with me is I'm mind over matter. I can imagine a hamburger, and I'm full. Will you fill me up, Warrick?
(Camera holds on WARRICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAB]
Warrick: I don't think I can handle this. I got to call Grissom.
(WARRICK pulls out his cell phone and turns it on. NICK stops him.)
Nick: Then call him.
Warrick: But?
Nick: I didn't say anything.
Warrick: I heard it, bro -- a "but" in there.
Nick: You know how Grissom is. If you ask him for the keys to the car he's going to ask you if you've done your homework.
Warrick: Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
Nick: It's like a multiple choice question. You know? Go with your first choice.
Warrick: Sack up.
Nick: Sack up.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAYLIGHT]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. BRASS CAR]
(BRASS is driving. He punches in some information on the ElectroCom Communication Systems L.P. monitor. The following information returns: )
LICENSE NO: QLF 084
YR: 1976
TYPE: CAMARO
VEHICLE REGISTERED TO:
ELLIE REBECCA BRASS
(A cell phone rings. BRASS answers it.)
INTERCUT WITH:
[EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY]
Brass: (over phone) So, what, did Warrick tell you to call me?
Catherine: Do you think you're the only friend I've got in the police department? I'm just telling you, be careful.
(CATHERINE opens her car door.)
Brass: What am I supposed to do? Hold my breath and count to ten?
Catherine: Hey, look, we all get a little crazy when our kids are involved.
Brass: Look. I go on the job, it's standard police work. Enjoy Reno. I got this.
Catherine: Okay. Hey, but listen. If you find the boyfriend, don't go it alone.
(Suddenly, a red camaro pulls up in front of BRASS. It's tires squealing. BRASS notices the license plate: NEV 428 RQV and registration 3/2002. BRASS begins to pursue the car.)
Brass: (to CATHERINE) Don't worry, I won't.
(He hangs up. He picks up his police radio and calls it in.)
Brass: (to radio) Dispatch, Navaho 41 niner seven. In pursuit of a '78 red camaro. Suspect wanted for questioning.
(A car chase ensues. BRASS' black car, license # 29979 chases the red camaro. The red camaro does a 180 then manages to turn off into a deserted site. BRASS catches up with the red camaro as it comes to a halt.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. CONSTRUCTION LOT -- DAY]
(BRASS exits the car. He swings and breaks the driver side window and opens the door. He grabs the driver and looks in the car at the passenger.)
Brass: Which one's Keith Driscoll?
Hitchhiker (Marty Gillmore): I was just hitchhiking. I told the guy to let me out. I begged him.
Brass: Get lost.
(The Hitchhiker opens his door, unbuckles his seat belt and runs out of the car.)
(BRASS pulls the driver out of the car and holds him against he car.)
Keith Driscoll: Easy man.
Brass: I'm only going to ask you once. What are you and Ellie into?
Keith Driscoll: What do you mean?
Brass: You got her muling in drugs from Mexico. You got her mixed up in homicide over at the ...
Keith Driscoll: No, you got it backwards, man. She turned me on to coke so I could stud for her.
(BRASS pulls out his weapon. Sirens can be heard in the distance. Three cop cars approach the two cars.)
Keith Driscoll: Hey, you can't just shoot me, man.
(BRASS reholsters his weapon and takes a step back. DET. SAM VEGA emerges from his car - license #574-6ZI.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
Det. Sam Vega: Brass! Yo, Jim we got it.
Brass: Everything's cool.
Keith Driscoll: Hey, this guy was going to kill me, man. He pulled his gun.
Det. Sam Vega: (interrupting) I'm sure the officer felt his life was in imminent danger, sir. We're detaining you for questioning related to the murder of Vincent Avery.
Keith Driscoll: I'm not riding with him.
Det. Sam Vega: You're right. You're not.
(DET. SAM VEGA walks past BRASS. Their eyes meet. Camera holds on BRASS.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. HOTEL POOLSIDE -- DAY]
Matthew Orton: What do you mean, you can't give it back? That's all the money we have for our vacation.
Sara: Well, it's counterfeit. We have to take it out of circulation.
Cindy Orton: What?
Sara: Mr. Orton, you don't look so surprised.
Cindy Orton: Matt? Honey?
Matthew Orton: I went to the gas station. The attendant told me the hundred I gave him was phony so I went to our branch bank here and I tried to exchange the bad money for the good but they said we couldn't do it. I mean, why would anybody turn in bad money if they can't get reimbursed for it?
Sara: Because it's in violation of Title 18, Section 473 of the United States Code punishable by up to fifteen years for knowingly passing on bad money.
Cindy Orton: Oh, my! God.
Matthew Orton: I just didn't want to get stuck holding the bag.
Sara: Do you have a $20 bill?
Cindy Orton: No, our wallets are up in the room.
Sara: Uh, I may have something. You see that ghost? Right there on the right?
(SARA fishes out a $20 bill #BC66600758B. She holds it up to the light.)
Cindy Orton: Oh, yeah.
Sara: Government embeds them in all bills. Protects against forgeries. You should see Lincoln on the five; he looks really stressed out.
(SARA hands the bill to MATTHEW ORTON who takes a look at it also.)
Matthew Orton: Wish I had met you last week.
Sara: A Special Agent from Secret Service is going to want to talk to you about the final disposition of this case.
(CINDY ORTON and MATTHEW ORTON look at each other.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- HALLWAY]
(While walking down the hallway, WARRICK drops off a file at the main desk. He's stopped by a man waiting at the counter.)
Special Agent Beckman: Warrick Brown? Special Agent Beckman, Treasury Department. You're subbing in tonight, right?
Warrick: Treasury department?
Special Agent Beckman: Wanted to be sure CSI's on the same page on this counterfeit case.
Warrick: Counterfeit?
Special Agent Beckman: Our lab's going to want to analyze that money, too.
Warrick: What money?
(SARA approaches the group.)
Sara: You were with Brass's daughter. I didn't want to interrupt you.
Warrick: On a federal case?
Sara: Agent Beckman? I'm Sara Sidle. We spoke on the phone. Could you excuse us for a minute?
(SARA and WARRICK move to the side. SPECIAL AGENT BECKMAN gives them some privacy.)
Sara: Warrick ...
(NICK meets up with them.)
Nick: You got to turn on your pager. I got Brass' daughter's car in the garage.
Warrick: Hold up. I'm dealing with something.
Sara: This is why I didn't bring this to you.
Nick: Hey, Vega says we won't be able to hold the suspect more than half an hour.
(SPECIAL AGENT BECKMAN interrupts the group.)
Special Agent Beckman: Did Sidle hold back information on this money?
Sara: I didn't not tell him. I ran with the case. I do it with Grissom all the time.
Warrick: Well, I'm not Grissom!
Nick: Guys ...
Sara: I didn't say it.
Warrick: Sara, brief Special Agent Beckman on the funny money. Nick, the garage.
(WARRICK leaves the group. NICK looks at SARA.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GARAGE -- DAY]
(Music fades up.)
Lyric:
["Time Has Come Today", by W. Chambers / J. Chambers]
"Time has come today / Young hearts can go their way / Can't put it off another day / I don't care what others say / They say we don't listen anyway / Time has come today / hey / oh / The rules have changed today / hey / I have no place to stay / hey / Thinking about the subway / hey / My love has flown away / hey / My tears have come and gone / Oh, my Lord, I have to run / hey / I have no home / hey / I have no home / hey ... "
(NICK and WARRICK work on getting the car (NEV license #428 RQV) tires printed. They grease the tires.)
(Cut to WARRICK measuring the diameter of the tire. Cut to them cutting the paper. Cut to the paper being slid under the car. Cut to the tires being marked. Cut to the car being lowered onto the paper. Cut to them rolling the car forward. Cut to them putting black powder on the paper.)
(They examine the car tire print. NICK notices the void.)
Nick: Tire plug. That's a nail in sheep's clothing.
(NICK hands a photo to WARRICK for comparison. He himself picks up a photo for comparison.)
Nick: Treads from the crime scene.
(NICK compares the void in the photo to the void on the tire print.)
Nick: The void on the one-to-one matches the void on Ellie's left rear tire. Siamese twins.
Warrick: Proves one thing. This was the getaway car used in the murder.
Nick: Yeah.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM -- DAY]
(Two tire print photos are placed on the table. There is an additional woman there, KEITH DRISCOLL'S LAWYER. She picks up the photographs to examine.)
Warrick: We printed the vehicle your client was found driving. It puts the car at the scene of Vincent Avery's murder less than twelve hours ago.
Lawyer: Come off it. The car's not even registered to him.
Det. Sam Vega: Right. It's registered to the girl he bought tickets to Baja for.
Warrick: Bought tickets for Victor Avery as well.
Det. Sam Vega: Tickets were bought with your credit card but we have no proof he ever went down there.
Lawyer: He's a generous guy.
Det. Sam Vega: Till Avery made him mad.
Lawyer: You want to talk out the gun your captain pulled on my client -- an unarmed man? That's got P.D. brutality written all over it.
Warrick: Vega?
Det. Sam Vega: Safety precaution only. We're done.
Lawyer: Let's go.
(KEITH DRISCOLL stands and leaves. WARRICK and DET. SAM VEGA look at each other.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - EVIDENCE VAULT]
Special Agent Beckman: They don't have any money in their bathing suits so you suspect them of a high-end counterfeit operation.
Sara: No, but it did get me thinking. If something doesn't feel right it probably isn't. Take a look. This is the money we got from the con man. See the serial numbers? Each one is different.
(White flash close up to the serial numbers on the bills: AB84954856G ... AB33915497L ... AB58365105R ... AB49705903A ... AB66465742I ... AB23494506R ... AB48302606X ... AB47063492G. White flash to present.)
Special Agent Beckman: Just like real money.
Sara: That's what threw Ronnie and I off the scent. This couple didn't make one bill and run off 100 copies with the same serial number.
(Quick Flash to a single hundred dollar bill #AE49705903A(E5) being photocopied. Resume on SARA.)
Sara: They had to burn separate plates for each serial number.
(Quick Flash to a single hundred dollar bill without serial number having the following serial nos. lasered into it: AB49705903A ... AB66465742I ... AB58365105R ... Resume to present.)
Sara: Much harder to catch.
Special Agent Beckman: Very high-end. The Duffys are major counterfeiters.
Sara: You mean the Ortons.
Special Agent Beckman: Our investigators tell me they're the Duffys from Las Vegas County. Orton's their assumed names.
Sara: How long have you known that?
Special Agent Beckman: As soon as you phoned me I went on a T-Department Database. They've each done time for interstate fraud. And, yes, high-end counterfeiting.
Sara: You federal guys are sneaky.
Special Agent Beckman: Access. So, what do you want to do with the money?
Sara: It's your money now. Well, the Treasury's.
Special Agent Beckman: Thanks. I'll take it from here. Find their operation and shut it down.
(SPECIAL AGENT BECKMAN gathers up the bills and starts to leave the room. He turns around when SARA protests.)
Sara: Hey! I'm still part of this.
Special Agent Beckman: Not really. But you're making me look good to my superiors so if you want to tag along ...
Sara: I don't "tag" along.
Special Agent Beckman: Suit yourself.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Warrick
: (V.O.) We got bad news from the garage.
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- HALLWAY]
(WARRICK and BRASS walk down the hallway.)
Brass: Give it to me.
Warrick: The tire evidence puts Ellie's car at the murder scene. We'll be pressing charges, murder of Vincent Avery.
Brass: Oh, come on -- you know she didn't kill him. Keith Driscoll did.
Warrick: Maybe so, but we don't have Driscoll.
Brass: What?
Warrick: Vega had to turn him loose after your gun episode.
Brass: Oh, I get it. So Vega thinks she'll eventually rat out Driscoll.
Warrick: That's what you cops think.
Brass: Yeah, well, let me tell you something about my daughter.
(They stop walking. BRASS turns to WARRICK.)
Brass: Never happened.
(BRASS leaves. Camera holds on WARRICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT -- BRASS' OFFICE - CONTINUOUS]
(ELLIE BRASS stands by the shelf. She fingers one of the numerous awards. BRASS walks in. She turns around.)
Ellie Brass: Are they arresting me?
Brass: I'm going to bail you out. You can stay at my place.
Ellie Brass: I have a place.
Brass: You have a place?
Ellie Brass: Keith and I do. We share everything.
(BRASS signs and moves around the desk to stand in front of ELLIE.)
Brass: Ellie, why do you do this to yourself? You're better than that. You're better than him.
Ellie Brass: No, I'm not.
(Camera holds on BRASS.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE -- NIGHT]
(WARRICK is alone in Grissom's office. He's going through the file when the phone rings.)
Warrick: (to phone) Grissom's office. CSI ... Warrick speaking.
Det. Sam Vega: Warrick. It's Vega. We've got a four-forty-four.
Warrick: Officer-involved shooting? Who?
Det. Sam Vega: One guess.
(WARRICK hangs the phone up and leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. DRISCOLL RESIDENCE -- NIGHT]
(Police officers and an ambulance is there. BRASS is sitting alone on the low brick fence. He's holding an ice pack to the back of his head. Behind him, the coroner wheels out a bagged body on a gurney. It's KEITH DRISCOLL.)
(ECKLIE follows the body out. WARRICK and NICK arrive at the scene.)
Ecklie: Congratulations, Brown. You just bounced off the glass ceiling.
Warrick: Excuse me?
Ecklie: Brass buys his daughter a get out of jail free card and her boyfriend ends up on a gurney. Good call.
Warrick: Ecklie, you're day shift. And you're here because ...
Ecklie: I'm dedicated.
Warrick: Yeah, picture that.
(WARRICK and NICK pass ECKLIE. They're met up by DET. SAM VEGA who fills them in.)
Warrick: What the hell happened?
Det Sam Vega: Keith Driscoll shot in the throat. First officer here found Brass in the apartment, woozy. Keith Driscoll on the floor, lights out.
Nick: Where's his daughter?
Det. Sam Vega: No one knows. I got guys out looking for her right now.
Nick: Check his weapon?
Det. Sam Vega: Waiting on you guys.
(DET. SAM VEGA holds out the gun. NICK puts his case down and takes the weapon. He pauses and looks up at WARRICK. NICK gives the gun to WARRICK. WARRICK releases the cartridge and hands the gun to NICK. WARRICK counts the rounds. NICK hands him the bullet from the chamber. Fifteen total.)
Warrick: There's one round missing.
(They all turn to look over at BRASS.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
Det Sam Vega: It's just you and me talking now, Jim. Off the record. You went to the apartment?
Brass: Yeah.
Det Sam Vega: You notify dispatch?
Brass: It was a personal visit.
Det. Sam Vega: You went looking for Keith Driscoll?
Brass: No. I went looking for Ellie.
(Quick flashback to KEITH DRISCOLL opening the front door and BRASS pinning him up against the wall.)
Brass: Where is she?!
Driscoll: She's not here, man! Hey, you got a warrant?
(BRASS tosses him to the sofa.)
(BRASS leaves KEITH DRISCOLL to look in the back room. KEITH DRISCOLL knocks BRASS out with a baseball bat. BRASS falls to the floor. Flash to white. Resume to present.)
Brass: Everything's a blur after that.
Det Sam Vega: Do you remember drawing your gun?
Brass: No.
Det Sam Vega: But you're leaving something out.
(Quick flashback to KEITH DRISCOLL on the sofa.)
Driscoll: Hey, you got a warrant?!
(BRASS ignores KEITH DRISCOLL and goes to look in the back room. KEITH DRISCOLL grabs the baseball bat and gets off of the sofa. BRASS pushes the beads aside.)
Brass: Ellie, are you here?
(KEITH DRISCOLL hits BRASS with the baseball bat on the back of his head. BRASS falls to the floor unconscious. End of flashback.)
Brass: I'm not leaving anything out.
Det. Sam Vega: Your daughter lives there. She probably saw what happened. We're going to pick her up eventually.
Brass: Careful, she spits.
(BRASS puts the ice pack back to the back of his head.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(WARRICK swabs the gun handle. NICK stands next to the table.)
Nick: One shot?
Warrick: Fifteen bullets left in brass's gun. There should be sixteen.
Nick: What kind of cop doesn't empty his magazine? They're trained to shoot to kill.
(NICK slowly walks out of the lab. WARRICK stops him.)
Warrick: Hey. Look where I just located this blood? Back of the grip.
Nick: Novice shooters get their hands pinched in the slide.
(Quick CGI POV of the gun firing and the slide leaving blood behind. End of CGI POV.)
Warrick: Slide bite. Man, Brass didn't shoot this guy.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
Warrick: I need you to show me your hands.
Brass: You going to test for gunshot residue? It's a little late for that.
Warrick: Your hands, Captain.
(BRASS holds out his hands. WARRICK checks BRASS' right hand. He steps back.)
Brass: Satisfied?
Warrick: I'm going to need to take your badge.
Brass: It not your job to take my stripes. In this case it is.
Warrick: Detective Vega.
(BRASS holds up his hand.)
Brass: No.
(BRASS pulls out his badge and places it on the table. WARRICK puts it in an envelope.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. THE ORTONS'/DUFFYS' PRESS ROOM -- NIGHT]
Sara: AB Dick forty-nine ten (4910). Eleven by fourteen (11x14) offsets this is the Rolls Royce of printers. Closest thing to what the government uses. Multiple inks. Disaperf computer paper.
Special Agent Beckman: Heavy rag. Twenty-five percent (25%) content. Makes for durability.
Sara: Mr. Duffy, can Agent Beckman and I see your burn plates please.
(MATTHEW ORTON/DUFFY goes to the printer to get the burn plate. He hands it to SARA.)
Sara: Press, ink, paper, burn plates ... the only question now is ... where's the money? Mr. and Mrs. Duffy?
Cindy Orton (Duffy): There isn't any.
Sara: Oh, come on. You can print a million dollars a day with this operation. Where is it?
Special Agent Beckman: There is no money.
Sara: Excuse me? I don't get this. Beckman ...
Special Agent Beckman: Congratulations, Sidle. You passed.
Sara: Passed?
Special Agent Beckman: Duffy is their code alias. This is Special Agent Conners. This is Special Agent Tessari. We're all with service. Quality control.
Sara: I don't ...
Special Agent Beckman: We put bait money in the hands of bad people. In this case, a reputed con. Our directive is to see how the money leads to law enforcement.
Sara: What if Vincent Avery wasn't murdered in that parking lot?
Special Agent Tessari (Cindy Orton/Duffy): Murder wasn't on the agenda.
Special Agent Beckman: However, in light of unpredictable events this sting still upheld. It came to you, Sidle, and you didn't take. You should be very proud.
Sara: Wow. I don't feel that at all.
Special Agent Beckman: It never feels right when it works. Only feels wrong when it doesn't.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- NIGHT]
Greg: First, I have the saliva sample taken from captain Brass's badge. Better known as Ellie's DNA. Take a good look at her markers. Second, blood sample from Jim Brass.
Warrick: They're nothing alike.
Greg: From parent to child seven of thirteen markers should match up minimum. In this case there's not a single marker in common. I don't have Ellie's mother's DNA on file but my guess is ...
Warrick: What, is she adopted?
(WARRICK sighs.)
Warrick: What about the blood on Brass's gun?
Greg: Not Brass's, not Ellie's.
Warrick: Not Ellie's?
Greg: No, or her boyfriend Keith Driscoll. You still got a shooter out there.
Warrick: With a pinch on his hand. All right. Where's that manifest?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI]
(WARRICK goes through the manifest matching credit card numbers to names.)
MANIFEST:
PASSENGER NAME / SEAT ASSIGNMENT TREASDEN, ALICE / 1A SHELTON, CARRIE / 1B MC MANUS, BARON / 1C GLOVER, JANE / 1D LADD, FRED / 1E GRIMSAW, LANA / 2A GRIMSHAW, LANEY / 2B WHITING, LARRY / 2C VALPO, NICK / 2D HANSON, DALLAS / 2E REYES, MARIA / 3A CONNORS, TYRONE / 3B / CREDIT CARD / 5479 ... CONNORS, TYRELL / 3C / CASH ANDERSON, LUCY / 3D / CHECK / 83398
WHITING, NANCY / 3E / CASH AVERY, VINCENT / 4A / CC / 5412 4023 8092 2034
REBECCA, ELLIE / 4B / CC / 5412 4023 8092 2034
BENNETT, MEL / 4C / CHECK PACQUETTE, DAVID / 4D / CHECK
(WARRICK finds VINCENT AVERY'S name and also the credit card number.)
Warrick: Vincent Avery ...
(He flips to page two of the manifest.)
PAGE 2 OF MANIFEST
??? / 9C / CREDIT CARD / 5439 3939 3839 383
TRUMAN, SIDNEY / 9D / CASH / ***
FRAM, KIMBERLY / 10A / CHECK / 9727
ARAGON, SHERYL / 10B / CHECK / 9727
BENNETT, MARK / 10D / CASH / ***
LAMBERT, ERIC / 11A / CHECK / 1425
ZIEGLAR, TAYLOR / 11C / CASH / ***
GILLMORE MARTY / 11D / CREDIT CARD / 5412 4023 8092 2034
BELL, DUSTIN / 12A / CASH / ***
HOLOWELL, JAMES / BLANK / CREDIT CARD / 5429 3839 ... NEWSOME, BERRY / 12C / CREDIT CARD / 5428 ... ARRINGTON, THOMAS / 12D / CREDIT CARD /
ROCKWELL, AL / 13A / CHECK /
MC FEE, WILLESTSA / 13B / CHECK /
DOYLE, JAMES / 13D /
Warrick: Two-zero-three-four ... two-zero-three-four...
(WARRICK finds a match to the credit card number. He puts an "X" by "GILLMORE, MARTY'S" name.)
Warrick: Marty Gillmore.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. MARTY GILLMORE'S RESIDENCE -- NIGHT]
(MARTY GILLMORE is on his bike. He's starting the engine when two cop cars pulls up the drive to block his exit.)
Brass: Hold it. Hold it.
Warrick: Game's over, Marty.
Brass: The hitchhiker.
Warrick: You know this guy?
Brass: Yeah, we met. When the three of you got back from Baja.
Warrick: You conned the captain. I got to shake your hand.
(WARRICK holds out his hand.)
Marty Gillmore: What? Is this a joke?
Warrick: No, on the real.
(MARTY GILLMORE takes WARRICK'S outstretched hand. WARRICK flips it over to check for the slide bite. There is one.)
Warrick: You shot Driscoll ... ...with his firearm.
Brass: That was you in the other room.
(Quick flashback to MARTY DRISCOLL coming out of the room after BRASS is unconscious on the floor. )
Keith Driscoll: I think I killed him.
(MARTY GILLMORE checks BRASS' pulse and takes his gun at the same time.)
Marty Gillmore: Wrong ... he killed you.
(He turns around and fires at KEITH DRISCOLL. Camera close up on the gun slide cutting MARTY GILLMORE'S hand. MARTY puts the gun back in BRASS' grip as KEITH DRISCOLL falls to the floor dead. MARTY GILLMORE leaves the room. Flash to white. End of flashback. Resume on WARRICK.)
Warrick: So you off'ed Driscoll to take over his drug op. What about Ellie?
(MARTY GILLMORE doubles over.)
Marty Gillmore: She's supposed to be in jail for shooting Avery at the casino.
Warrick: You eat something?
Marty Gilmore: I took a laxative.
Warrick: Oh, god, he's going to OD. Can we get a medic?
(BRASS doesn't move. WARRICK looks at BRASS.)
Warrick: Can we get a medic?
(BRASS still doesn't move.)
Warrick: Brass?!
(BRASS pulls out his cell phone and makes the call.)
Brass: (to phone) I need rescue. 826 Herrick Lane. Overdose. Send an ambulance.
Marty Gillmore: Oh, my god, I'm going to die.
Brass: No, worse-- you're going to live.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. HALLWAY]
(BRASS walks through the double doors. WARRICK runs to catch up to him.
Warrick: Brass. Hang on.
(WARRICK returns BRASS' shield to him.)
Warrick: I only took it to get Ellie's DNA off of it. That's it.
Brass: A man's got to do ...
(WARRICK nods slightly and says nothing. He does look as if he has something else on his mind.)
Brass: What is it, Rick?
Warrick: We were checking out the blood from your gun. We compared your DNA to her DNA.
Brass: Yeah?
Warrick: You never said anything about her being adopted.
(BRASS looks around and puts his badge back on. He looks up at WARRICK.)
Brass: She's not. Call it the mailman. Ellie doesn't know.
(WARRICK nods. BRASS walks away. Camera holds on WARRICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. FOUNTAIN -- NIGHT]
(ELLIE walks by the fountain on her way somewhere. She's carrying a large traveling shoulder bag with her. She stops when BRASS calls out to her.)
Brass: Ellie.
(ELLIE signs.)
Ellie Brass: How'd you find me?
Brass: I'm a detective. Listen, I heard that you never went back to Driscoll's apartment that night.
Ellie Brass: It's true.
Brass: I could have sworn I heard you in that other room.
Ellie Brass: No, dad. I was never there. Never.
Brass: I guess I've been doing that since you've been born. I mean, I know I was never around, but ... you know, no matter where I am ... no matter what I'm doing ... I always think that you're there. Even if you're not. Come back to me, Ellie.
Ellie Brass: Dad, it's way too late. I got to catch a flight to Jersey. Midnight. Mom says that I can stay with her for awhile.
Brass: Sure. Okay. You need a ride to the airport? I can get you there fast.
Ellie Brass: Thanks. I'm taking the shuttle.
Brass: Oh. Yeah. Okay.
(ELLIS starts to walk away.)
Brass: Catch you later.
(ELLIE turns around and smiles at BRASS. Camera holds on BRASS.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT CSI - HALLWAY]
(SARA walks through the hallway. She carries her CSI kit with her and passes WARRICK as he walks in the opposite direction.)
Warrick: Hey, Sara.
Sara: Hey.
(WARRICK stops and turns around calling back to SARA.)
Warrick: Hey ... I'm a little short on cash. Can you loan me a hundred?
Sara: Funny, very funny.
(SARA deliberately glances down at her wrist watch.)
Sara: Oh, look, shift's over. Guess you're one of us again.
(SARA smiles and walks away.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY]
(GRISSOM walks though the hallway, his traveling bags slung over his shoulder and container of cockroaches in his left hand. As he passes the Break Room, WARRICK calls out to him.)
Warrick: Hey, Griss. How'd it go?
(GRISSOM detours into the Break Room to stop to talk with WARRICK.)
Grissom: The seminar was fine. Every one of my roaches got stage fright. They came in fourth, third, second and dead last. How about you? How'd you do?
(GRISSOM puts his bags down.)
Warrick: Well, the job is fine. It's the other stuff -- the personalities.
Grissom: "I love mankind, it's people I can't stand."
Warrick: Is that Einstein?
Grissom: Linus.
Warrick: Charlie Brown. Figures. Is that why you put me in charge?
Grissom: You think I like dealing with people? Remember when you asked me what I was in high school?
Warrick: Yeah, you said "A Ghost".
(GRISSOM sits down.)
Grissom: When I leave CSI, there won't be any cake in the break room. I'll just be gone. So I wanted to see if you could step in.
(WARRICK nods.)
Grissom: Tell me ... all of it, from the top.
Warrick: From the top?
(WARRICK sighs and sits down across GRISSOM.)
Warrick: I don't know where to start. It was wild.
Grissom: Couldn't have been that bad.
(Camera pulls back down the hallway on the two men.)
Plan: A: Grissom; Q: Who is away when the team investigates the murder of the con artist? A: Warrick; Q: Who is in charge of the investigation when Grissom is away? A: the con artist; Q: Who is killed in the parking lot? A: Captain Brass' daughter; Q: Who is the prime suspect in the murder of the con artist? A: the investigation; Q: What does Captain Brass take himself off of professionally? Summary: With Grissom away, Warrick is in charge for the first time as the team investigates the murder of the con artist, who has run off with some tourists' money only to get shot and killed in the parking lot. The prime suspect in the case turns out to be Captain Brass' daughter, which causes Brass to take himself off the investigation professionally, but not personally.