FLASH IN:
[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
Radio: (V.O.) Welcome back to the voice of Las Vegas, KWMS Radio.
[EXT. LAS VEGAS DESERT ROAD - NIGHT]
(A lone car drives along the road.)
Radio: (V.O.) The city remains in mourning, as we try to make sense of the murder of Assemblyman Danilo Zamesca.
(At the end of the road is another parked car. Danilo Zamesca parks his car and engages the brakes. He looks over at the driver in the next car.)
(Zamesca gets out of his car.)
Radio: (V.O.) After his only son was gunned down by a drug dealer, Zamesca dedicated his life to public service.
(Zamesca heads over toward the other parked car. The other car door opens and a man gets out.)
Radio: (V.O.) He set his sights on the drug traffickers and the drug suppliers.
(The man is holding a extra-large drink and a folded photo. He hands the photo to Zamesca.)
Radio: (V.O.) He believed you get drugs off the streets by putting the suppliers out of business.
(Zamesca takes the photo, looks at it, and rips it to shreds while saying a few choice words to the man.)
Radio: (V.O.) That was his mission.
(He tosses the ripped photo to the wind. A piece of the photo falls to the ground.)
(CLOSE-UP: It shows Zamesca doing lines with a woman with a Scorpion sign tattooed on her inner left arm.)
Radio: (V.O.) His murder's rocked headlines, --
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. DESERT ROAD -- DAY TIME (PRESENT)]
(A corner ruler is positioned next to the photo.)
Radio: (V.O.) -- uniting Democrats and Republicans alike, all of us asking the same question:
(Nick snaps a couple of photos of the picture.)
INSERT: FLASHBACK
(Zamesca turns away from the man and heads back to his car. The man tosses his extra large drink to the ground.)
Radio: (V.O.) What happened out there?
BACK TO SCENE.
(Nick snaps several photos of the drink cup.)
Radio: (V.O.) Peg from Sunrise Manor, you're on.
INSERT: FLASHBACK
(The man takes out a gun, points it at Zamesca's back and fires.)
Peg: (V.O.) Danilo Zamesca spoke truth to power and got killed for it.
(The empty shell casing falls to the ground.)
BACK TO SCENE.
(Nick snaps photos of the empty shell casing with a ruler on the ground.)
Peg: (V.O.) I don't think there's anybody out there who has the courage to stand up and take his place.
INSERT: FLASHBACK
(Zamesca manages to open the car door and get inside. Before he can start the engine, the gunman fires twice. Blood spatters on the passenger window.)
BACK TO SCENE.
(Nick takes more photos of the body slumped over on his side in the car. Photos of drugs in a plastic bag on the passenger seat are taken.)
Radio: (V.O.) Roger from MacDonald Ranch.
(Nick picks up the plastic bag. He turns and looks over at Brass.)
Roger: (V.O.) If this guy was pure as the driven snow, what's he doing out in the middle of nowhere with drugs in his car? Give me a break. He was dirty, just like the rest of them.
(Nick continues to process the evidence in the car.)
Radio: (V.O.) Okay, Roger, thank you for calling.
(Brass makes a call on his radio.)
INSERT: FLASHBACK
(The gunman runs to the car, leaving shoeprints in the dirt.)
BACK TO SCENE.
(Nick snaps several photos of shoeprints in the dirt and some foam.)
(Catherine picks up a piece of foam and looks at it.)
Nick: Looks like some sort of foam.
Catherine: Found it next to the tire impression.
(Nick stands up and heads back to the car. Catherine prepares and makes a shoeprint cast.)
CU: BULLET
(The bottom of the bullet is for a PMC 9MM LUGER.)
[INT. CSI - BALLISTICS LAB]
(Bobby scans the bottom of the bullet into the computer and runs it through the database.)
(He finds a match.)
[INT. CSI -- PRINT LAB]
(Nick dusts for prints on drink cup cover. He finds a print on the straw.)
(CUT TO: He runs it through the database and finds a POSITIVE MATCH to:
NAME: THOMAS SIMON
DOB: JULY 21, 1972
AGE: 34 HEIGHT: 5'8"
WEIGHT: 147 LBS. EYES: BLUE
RACE: CAUCASIAN s*x: MALE
HAIR: BROWN
LAST KNOWN ACCRESSESS:
431 DADSCELL CT.
LAS VEGAS, NV 69117
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY - DAY]
(Brass walks with Undersheriff Jeff McKeen.)
Brass: So CSI got a fingerprint off the drinking straw we found at the scene.
Jeff McKeen: Guys like Thomas Simon never get their hands dirty.
Brass: No. It was a very clean print. And Ballistics matched some shell casings that we found at Simon's McMansion on that raid last year.
Jeff McKeen: Did you find the gun?
Brass: No. So Zamesca was trying to put Simon out of business, and it cost him his life.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. STRIP CLUB - NIGHT]
(Girls dance on stage, music blaring. The club is sparsely filled. Several officers enter the club, looking for someone. Brass walks in and looks at Officer Mitchell, who shakes his head and indicates that the person they're looking for isn't there.)
(Brass turns and heads for the bartender. He shows him his badge.)
Brass: Hey. I have a warrant for Thomas Simon. Is he here?
Bartender: He's the owner, man. But even I haven't seen him in, like, three weeks. Sorry.
[INT. RESTAURANT - DAY]
(Undersheriff Jeff McKeen meets with Brass, Catherine and Keppler over breakfast.)
Jeff Mckeen: The biggest drug supplier on the West Coast kills a public official, and we can't find him. I'm just the undersheriff. I have one job: make the sheriff look smart. You're not helping.
Brass: We busted our hump trying to find this guy.
Catherine: Science can only do so much with a cold trail.
Jeff McKeen: You ever seen a man's face change into that kind of a demon?
Keppler: My eggs are runny. I couldn't have been more specific with the waitress. (to Brass) You gonna eat those?
Brass: Oh, you want my pancakes? Yeah, sure, knock yourself out. Here.
(Keppler switches plates with Brass.)
Keppler: Thank you.
Jeff McKeen: I don't hear a solution.
Keppler: We could try something I did in Philly. It's, um, a little unorthodox.
Jeff McKeen: I only want to know if it works.
Keppler: Philly, yes. Baltimore, no.
Catherine: Is that why you're in Vegas?
(Keppler smiles a little.)
Jeff McKeen: Fifty-fifty. I can live with those odds.
Brass: So, are you waiting for a drum roll?
Keppler: It's called "reverse forensics."
Catherine: Oh. We fake a crime scene.
Keppler: Basically.
Jeff McKeen: How do we get around entrapment?
Keppler: Well, it's not entrapment if you're not enticing anyone to commit a crime. The goal is to make Simon think he's off the hook.
Brass: So what's the catch?
(Catherine gets it and doesn't like it.)
Keppler: Whole thing's a catch. The hardest part is stopping leaks. You've got to be willing to deceive the people you work with.
Catherine: Assuming they can be deceived, which they can't.
Jeff McKeen: Not your call.
(Catherine definitely doesn't like it.)
Brass: You know, I can think of nine, no, ten ways that this could screw up.
Keppler: At least.
Jeff McKeen: So don't screw it up.
Keppler: The first thing we need is a victim, somebody we own. You need a fall guy to play the role of "killer," somebody who's jake with having his mug shot everywhere. In Baltimore, we used a snitch. So you're going to have to bring the DA into this.
Jeff McKeen: (scoffs) The DA?
(He shakes his head.)
Jeff McKeen: That bitch won't like it. (to Keppler) Thanks for breakfast.
(McKeen stands up and leaves.)
Keppler: You ever notice how it's the, uh, guys with all the money that never pay?
Brass: Sure, that's how they keep all the money. (Brass offers his portion.) Here, let me get it.
Keppler: No, I got it. New guy.
Brass: Thank you.
Keppler: You know, Catherine, if we do our job right and catch the bad guy, nobody's going to remember the rest.
Catherine: I'll remember.
FADE TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY]
(Warrick walks in carrying a file box, a couple of evidence envelopes and wearing a suit. He walks into the evidence room and finds Keppler there leafing through the filing cabinet.)
Warrick: Hey, Mike.
Keppler: Hey. Do you guys, uh, organize your files by case number?
(Warrick signs in a clipboard.)
Warrick: In a perfect world. We hired this, uh, knucklehead named Mahoney. He had this dyslexic filing system.
Keppler: So what do you think? Does the dyslexic atheist not believe in dog?
(Keppler pulls out the file for DANILO ZAMESCA.)
Warrick: What?
(Warrick looks up and sees the file folder a second before Keppler pulls it out of the cabinet. Keppler turns and looks at Warrick.)
Warrick: Oh ... I get it.
(Keppler closes the file cabinet.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM]
(Nick shuts his locker and tucks his gun in his holster. He heads out.)
(Catherine finds him.)
Catherine: Hey. I need you on a 411 tonight.
(She gives him the assignment paper.)
Nick: Stolen motor vehicles? You got to be kidding me.
Catherine: PD recovered twenty stolen motorcycles. They're at the Dupont Towing Lot.
Nick: Can't you slide it to days?
(Warrick walks by.)
Warrick: Hey, guys.
Catherine: Take Warrick with you. It'll go faster.
(Catherine leaves.)
Nick: (amused) Okay.
Warrick: What'll go faster?
(Nick gives Warrick the assignment sheet.)
Nick: Giddyup.
(Nick turns and heads down the hallway. Warrick looks at the assignment sheet and follows him out.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT]
(A stray cat meows and runs across the alleyway. Rat is selling drugs to a kid. He takes the kid's money and gives him a pack of drugs. The kid turns and runs.)
(Brass walks up to Rat.)
Brass: What's happening, Rat? (They wave to each other.) Boy, you got to love junkies, huh? What stamina, what willpower. I mean, even the rain doesn't keep them away.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: It doesn't keep the cops away either, I guess, huh?
Brass: You nervous, Rat? Relax, relax, I'm just here to talk. Listen, you like game shows? Because I got a deal; listen to this. First place is a life-changing experience. You get a whole new life.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: What's second place?
Brass: There is no second place, Rat. Either way, you don't get to work the alley anymore.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: Screw you.
Brass: Screw me? No, no. Screw you.
(Brass reaches into Rat's shirt pocket and pulls out a packet of drugs.)
Brass: Look, take my deal. Otherwise, you're in possession of a controlled substance, and with your record, that's a mandatory sentence.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: Okay. If you want information, just ask me. Just that I'm ...
Brass: All right, let's walk, walk with me.
(Brass and Rat walk along the alleyway.)
Brass: It's a little complicated. You own a gun?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - TRACE LAB --]
(Hodges is on the phone.)
Hodges: (to phone) That's K-E-P-P-L-E-R, Michael Keppler.
(Just out in the hallway, we see Sara walk past, a box tucked under her arm.)
Hodges: (to phone) Yeah, check it out. Okay, I got to go.
(He hangs up the phone.)
(Sara stops and watches Keppler put up sheeting over the glass windows to block out prying eyes. She watches for a moment, then stops Catherine on her way in.)
Sara: What's going on?
Catherine: Um, nothing I can talk about. Keep me posted on the 419. Greg's going to meet you at the scene.
Sara: Okay.
(Catherine enters the lab and closes the door.)
(Hodges slides up next to Sara.)
Hodges: (in confidence) Ten to one, it's Internal Affairs. Got a vibe off Keppler the minute he blew in. Always with a suit. If you got any dirty laundry, I hope you used bleach.
(Sara hugs the box to her and heads out to the -
[INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS]
(The locker room is empty. Sara walks in and opens her locker. She looks as if she's going to put the box in the locker, then she has second thoughts. She looks at the label and sits down on the bench. The label reads:
(TO)
SARA SIDLE
3057 WESTFALL AVE
LAS VEGAS, NV 89156
(FROM)
GRISSOM
WALDEN POND RESEARCH CENTER
CONCORD, MA 01742-4511
(She cuts the tape and opens the box. She lifts up the packing paper and finds a branch with a cocoon. She smiles. How Grissom.)
(She picks up the branch and looks at it. She digs further into the box and finds the box empty. That is the only thing in the box. She shakes her head. How Grissom.)
(She puts the packing paper back in the box, looks at the branch and sighs.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LVPD IMPOUND LOT 17 - NIGHT]
(Warrick and Nick are outside the impound gate. They press the buzzer. The lot attendant opens the gate.)
Lot Attendant: What?
Nick: I'm CSI Stokes, this is Brown.
Lot Attendant: Where's your paperwork?
Nick: We're from the Crime Lab, dude.
Lot Attendant: I still need paperwork.
Warrick: We're here to process those stolen motorcycles, man.
Lot Attendant: I need authorization, fellas, in writing.
(And with that, the lot attendant closes the gate. He leaves Nick and Warrick outside the lot.)
Nick: Wh-What if, what if I promise to come back and give it to you later?
Warrick: Okay, cut us some slack here, man. You think we really feel like being down here?
(The gates clang shut.)
Warrick: How do you want to handle this?
Nick: You want to shoot our way in?
Warrick: I'd love to bust a cap in his knee.
(Nick chuckles.)
Nick: Sir, don't make us call your supervisor. Now, come on. (bangs on door) Come on!
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. APARTMENT -- NIGHT]
(David Phillips picks up a maggot off the maggot-infested face of the dead body in the motel room.)
David Phillips: (exhales) We got third Instar maggots.
(Sara snaps photos around the apartment.)
David Phillips: With this smell, she's been dead at least 48 hours.
(Sara looks at the contents on the table - drug paraphernalia and pizza boxes.)
Sara: Toys are all here. Needle, syringe, tubing, candle, spoon.
(Sofia walks into the room. Sara picks up what looks like a black drop wrapped in plastic.)
Sara: It looks like heroin.
Sofia: Manager said he found her like this when he came by for a visit. Said they were friends, but he was a little unclear of her name. Monique something or other.
Sara: Maybe she was, uh, working off the rent.
David Phillips: No ID on the body.
Sofia: I'll take a look around for it.
(Sofia steps out of the room. David pushes the victim's sleeve up and finds a scorpion tattoo on her inner forearm.)
David Phillips: Needle marks are sclerotic. Chronic user. Probable OD.
(Sara snaps more photos off screen.)
(Sofia looks around the kitchen. There are dirty dishes and stacks of pizza boxes.
(Sara snaps photos of the needle marks on the victim's arm.)
(camera shutter clicking)
Sara: Scorpio. Ruled by Pluto. Although since it's not a planet anymore ... I'm not sure how that works.
David Phillips: (serious) Maybe it's a "dwarf" sign. Like Pluto is, you know, a "dwarf" planet now.
(David nods. Sara smiles.)
(Sofia check's the victim's cell phone.)
Sofia: Car keys. Cell phone.
(The list of CONTACTS reads:
FARCROFT, ETHEL 702-555-0169
FAUREAU, MITCHELL 702-555-0143
FINKELMAN, CONRAD 702-555-0123
LIGHTOWER, ROBERT 702-555-0106
WELLSLEY, GETRUDE 702-555-0139
Sofia: No "Mom" or "Dad" listed. There's a lot of food for a junkie.
Sara: Maybe she had a roommate.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAB - NIGHT]
(Catherine looks over the crime scene photos with Keppler.)
Catherine: Zamesca was shot three times with a nine millimeter. We've got two sets of shoe impressions. Two sets of tire impressions. A plastic "Jumbo Cola" cup. Drugs were found in Zamesca's car, in plain view, but his tox was negative.
Keppler: Drugs were planted.
Catherine: Crime scene was a remote location.
Keppler: That's in our favor.
Catherine: Car was a bloody mess.
Keppler: Our "victim" was kind enough to donate a pint of his blood.
(Keppler has a bag of blood from "EZEKIEL HOLSTEIN.")
Catherine: Did Mr. Holstein also donate his brain matter and bone fragments?
Keppler: Brass recruited him from Narco, undercover cop. Opted to keep his brains intact.
Catherine: Well, without actually shooting the guy, this scene is going to be slightly less than perfect, but it's just you and me out there.
Keppler: No, can't be. We're going to need a third person processing the scene to make it look kosher -- someone who's not in on it.
Catherine: Well, if we use one of my guys, they're going to figure it out.
(He offers her the spray bottle filled with blood.)
Keppler: Keep them away from the car.
(She takes it.)
Catherine: I'm not used to faking it.
Keppler: When's the last time you had to?
(Keppler smiles.)
(Catherine climbs into the front seat of the car and sprays the blood on the passenger window.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. CAR -- DAY]
(Greg pops open the glove compartment and snaps a photo of its contents. He reaches in and checks the registration. It's registered to:
CARTER, MONIQUE
155 NORTH COURT
HENDERSON NV 89176
VALIDATED: 06/13/06
EXPIRES: 06/13/07 )
(Sofia walks down the steps. She's looking through her notes.)
Greg: Registration's expired. Want to bet she's not insured?
(He shows the registration to Sofia.)
Sofia: Monique Carter, 155 North Court, Henderson.
Greg: Oh, that's a good neighborhood. Well, this used to be a nice car. Maybe she traded in her old lifestyle to ride the "H" train.
SOFIA; Now the manager wants it out of here. So, I'll have it towed.
(Greg nods.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY]
(David Phillips is washing the maggots off the face of the victim.)
(Robbins walks in, puts his glasses on and examines an injury on the victim's skull.)
David Phillips: It looks like an impact from a weapon.
Robbins: Very good observation, David. Shave the area. Call Sara. We may be looking at a homicide.
(David takes photos of the injury.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- DAY]
(Henry processes the drugs. He puts a sample into the machine.)
(Quick CGI flash of: The sample is heated and processed and analyzed into a colored graphical output on the monitor. End of flash.)
(Catherine walks in.)
Catherine: Hey, Henry.
Henry Andrews: Hey. It's heroin mixed with cocaine and methamphetamine, which are the same drug components you found in Zamesca's car.
Catherine: Really?
Henry Andrews: Should I call Sara? It's her case.
Catherine: Henry, I need you to step out and get a cup of coffee.
Henry Andrews: Well, I can't leave my evidence out.
Catherine: This is not a request.
Henry Andrews: Oh ... okay.
(Henry leaves the lab. Catherine takes a plastic bag and cuts off a piece of the drug. She puts it in the bag and pockets it.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BALLISTICS LAB -- DAY]
(Keppler test-fires a gun.)
Keppler: Firing one.
(He fires. Hodges, who is standing in the next lab over, enters Ballistics and heads toward Keppler. Keppler removes the cartridge from the gun.)
(He goes to retrieve the bullet.)
Keppler: Is there a problem?
Hodges: FYI, Bobby Dawson is a bit of a control freak. Doesn't like anyone in here unsupervised. So he got one accidental discharge on his record. I'm sure he doesn't want another one. Unless ... of course, this is an IA investigation, and, uh, Bobby is his subject.
(Keppler puts the bullet in a container.)
Hodges: Interesting that Grissom, champion of the little guys, is on sabbatical.
Keppler: Interesting, especially if he planned it that way.
(Keppler leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. DESERT -- DAY]
(Edwin "Rat" Dennison sips from his Jumbo Cola cup.)
(Camera slides down to his white tennis shoes ... then on to the shoeprints in the dirt.)
(We follow the shoeprints to the car. The driver's door is open and there's a man slumped over in the front seat, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head.)
INSERT: CAMERA FLASHES
(Catherine snaps photos of the body in the car. The body talks.)
Ezekiel Holstein: This is my own blood, right? 'Cause it's starting to drip in my mouth.
Catherine: It's all yours. You can get out now, Detective, and ...
Ezekiel Holstein: I know, don't touch anything.
Catherine: You got it. Oh, and there's some fresh clothes in the back of the vehicle.
Ezekiel Holstein: Got any brandy?
Catherine: Sorry, man.
(Ezekiel Holstein gets out of the car. Catherine snaps another photo. Keppler walks up to her.)
Catherine: So, Mike, you said reverse forensics didn't work in Baltimore. How come?
(Keppler uses his elbow and shuts the driver's door. He uses a shock plug and punches a hole in the driver's window to make it look like a bullet went through it.)
Keppler: Smart cops.
Catherine: (doesn't look up) You steal cars before you became a CSI?
(She puts some blood on the bullet.)
Keppler: Stealing cars gets old fast. I like more of a challenge.
Catherine: Note to self.
(Catherine puts the bullet in the car.)
Keppler: Okay, you can drop that cup now.
(Dennison stands by another car.)
Edward "Rat" Dennison: Yeah, I'm not done yet.
(Ezekiel Holstein walks toward them.)
Ezekiel Holstein: He said drop it.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: About my new identity, um, I don't want to go to Denver. I think I'd rather go someplace where I'd fit in ... like Maui.
(Keppler glances back at Catherine. She steps away from the car.)
Ezekiel Holstein: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I want a threesome with Beyonce and Scarlett Johansson. Drop the cup and get your rat ass in the car.
Edward "Rat" Dennison: I drop the cup.
(He drops the cup. The cup hits the ground, the cap pops off and spills on the dirt.)
(Keppler sees something. He removes his glasses and thinks about it.)
INSERT: REVERSE FOOTAGE
(REWIND: The cup undrops and ends up in the killer's hand.)
BACK TO SCENE.
Keppler: (mutters to himself) Casual.
(Catherine turns to look at Keppler.)
Catherine: Excuse me?
Keppler: Simon. His soda. He wasn't expecting trouble.
(Quick flash to: [NIGHT] Danilo Zamesca stands in front of his car facing the killer. Keppler imagines himself facing Zamesca.)
Keppler: (V.O.) Get out of my car ... walk over to Zamesca.
(Keppler walks toward Zamesca.)
Keppler: (V.O.) Didn't come here to kill him ... came to talk.
(He shows Zamesca the photo.)
Keppler: (V.O.) Hand him the photo.
BACK TO SCENE.
Keppler: Then something doesn't go as planned.
(Quick flash to: Zamesca rips the photo into pieces and tosses it to the air. He turns and heads back to his own car.)
Keppler: (V.O.) I drop the drink ...
(Keppler drops the drink.)
Keppler: (V.O.) -- grab my gun.
(FLASH TO: Keppler changes to Thomas Simon. Thomas Simon grabs his gun and points it at Zamesca.)
BACK TO SCENE.
Keppler: Murder was Plan B.
Catherine: Plan A was the photograph. Anti-drug crusader doing lines. Career buster.
Keppler: Looks like he underestimated Zamesca.
Catherine: He was a hard man to kill. Simon panicked. Which explains why he left evidence behind this time.
Keppler: And why he had to disappear. And why we have to do this.
(Catherine drops the drugs in the car.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Catherine puts up crime scene tape around the area. Keppler watches a car arrive.)
Keppler: I'm going to call it in.
(Keppler takes his phone out. The car stops just outside the tape and Brass steps out. He holds up his radio.)
Dispatcher: (from phone) 911, is this an emergency?
Keppler: (to phone) Yes, someone's been shot. I'm a quarter mile west of Mountain's Edge and Durango. There's a man bleeding from the head in his car. Looks like a gunshot wound, but I didn't see a gun. He's dead for sure.
Dispatcher: (from phone) Sir, may I have your name?
(Keppler shuts the phone off and removes the card.)
(The call comes over Brass's radio.)
Control: (from radio) 419, possible 420, quarter mile west of Mountain's Edge and Durango. Possible man down, gunshot wound to the head. 2-0cean-2, 2-0cean- 34, please respond.
Keppler: Show time.
Brass: (to radio) Control, this is 2-Zero-3, Charlie-Captain-Brass. I am with Charlie-Zero-4-Willows and Charlie-Zero-9-Keppler. We're around the corner. Our ETA is five minutes. We'll be responding also.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - DAY]
(Robbins shares his findings with Sara.)
Robbins: COD was blunt force trauma to the right temporal region.
(A phone rings.)
Robbins: Wound's inconsistent with a fall. (Sara glances at the phone.) You fall into something, say a coffee table, wound's always deeper on one end.
(The phone continues ringing.)
Robbins: Depth here is uniform. (shouts) Would someone please answer that phone? (Someone o.s. picks up the phone.) (to Sara) I'm sorry. Tox confirms high level of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine in her system. I opened up her arm under a fresh needle mark, drew out one milliliter of dark liquid.
(Sara opens the cut and sees the black goo in the arm.)
Robbins: The drugs were puddled. Means they didn't circulate in her bloodstream. Injection was postmortem.
Sara: Dead girls don't shoot up.
(Robbins nods. David Phillips peers into the room.)
Phillips: (to Robbins) Sorry. Catherine needs to speak to you. Says it's urgent.
Robbins: Right.
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. DESERT - DAY]
(Catherine is on the phone with Robbins.)
Robbins: I'm in the middle of an autopsy, Catherine.
Catherine: Sorry. I'm at a 420. Similar MO to Zamesca. (approaching sirens wail in the distance.) Press is all over us. I need permission to get the body out of here ASAP.
Robbins: That's fine. Just photograph and diagram it before transporting.
Catherine: Of course. Now, which mortuary's on call?
Robbins: Kentworth. You have that number?
Catherine: I'll take care of it. Thanks, Doc.
(She hangs up just as the police cars arrive at the scene.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LVPD IMPOUND LOT 17 - DAY]
(Nick and Warrick are working on the bikes.)
Nick: This is so lame. How much do you want to bet half the prints come back to the cops who recovered these bikes. They never wear gloves.
(Warrick's phone rings; he answers it.)
Warrick: (to phone) Brown. Hey, Cath. We'll see you there. Well, in that case ... I'll see you there.
Nick: Boy, she has got it in for me today.
Warrick: Well, giddyup.
(Nick laughs.)
(Warrick picks up his kit and leaves Nick to work on the bikes - alone.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. DESERT ROAD -- DAY]
(A small crowd of press has gathered just outside the crime scene tape. Warrick arrives and heads for the scene.)
Warrick: CSI coming through.
(The officers lift the tape for him and he continues.)
Warrick: Thank you.
(Warrick shakes Brass's hand. Brass is on the phone. Warrick arrives at the scene. Catherine and Keppler are already processing the car.)
(Warrick notices the missing body.)
Warrick: Where's the body?
Catherine: Called the morticians to get it out of here. Gunshot victim.
Warrick: Got ID?
Keppler: Ezekiel Holstein. Local. Brass is running him now.
(Warrick looks around the area.)
Warrick: Hey, Cath, didn't you find Zamesca near here?
Catherine: Yeah.
Warrick: Got the "Jumbo" cup. Shoe and tire impressions. Shot in his car. Think Simon's coming out of hiding?
Keppler: Or it's a copycat.
Warrick: Want me to take the backseat?
Catherine: No, um, take the perimeter, get started on a diagram.
Warrick: Okay, sarge. Not my first barbecue.
Catherine: Thanks, Warrick.
(Warrick turns and heads out.)
(The reporters' voices rise and we hear them shouting questions to Undersheriff Jeff McKeen.)
Reporter: Undersheriff McKeen, is this related to the Zamesca murder?
Jeff McKeen: We're in the process of conducting an investigation, so I don't have all the facts. But there does appear to be some similarities to Assemblyman Zamesca's murder.
Reporter: Right. Right, but his body was found near here --
Jeff McKeen: Uh, I have no further comments at this time.
(Jeff McKeen heads for Brass as he notes the CSIs working on the car.)
Brass: (to phone) Ezekiel Holstein. Date of birth: 07-14-72. Do a records check. Oh, and, uh, contact Narco. May be drug-related.
Jeff McKeen: I really feel good about this.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY]
(Sofia talks with the apartment manager.)
Apartment Manager: Monique's dead body means I got to get the carpet cleaned. You said the scene was clear; I called the cleaning service.
Sofia: It's a good way to cover your tracks.
Apartment Manager: Like I said, she'd been shacked up with some guy.
Sofia: Can you describe him?
Apartment Manager: (sighs) Average-looking, white dude. I only saw him from a distance. He was driving her car. Look, she was a nice, smart lady. She helped me get out of a jam with my insurance company. I know she liked the "candy," but she did not deserve to go out that way.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY - DAY]
(Greg shares his findings with Sara.)
Greg: I ran Monique Carter's phone records. Someone made a dozen calls from her cell yesterday.
Sara: She was dead yesterday.
Greg: Yeah, and we recovered her phone from her apartment, so someone was yakking while she was lying dead on the floor dead.
Sara: Let's run those numbers.
(They walk past Nick. We stick with Nick and follow him back through the hallway in the opposite direction. He's looking through a file folder.)
(Nick glances up as he passes by the lab and he notices the JUMBO cup out on the counter. Hodges catches Nick.)
Hodges: Hey, how's the king of property crimes? My socks keep disappearing in the dryer. You want to tackle that one?
Nick: What are you doing with the cup from my Zamesca scene?
Hodges: That's not your cup. It's from Catherine and Warrick's 420.
Nick: They found the same kind of cup at their scene?
Hodges: Same everything. Watch the news lately?
(Nick doesn't like it. He turns and leaves the lab.)
Hodges: (calls out) Hey, what about my socks? They're not gonna find themselves.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BALLISTICS LAB -- DAY]
(Keppler slips into the Ballistics Lab and heads for the counter. He glances around, then looks through the stack of file folders.)
(Bobby Dawson returns to the lab.)
Bobby Dawson: Uh, excuse me. Uh, what are you doing?
(Keppler shakes Bobby's hand.)
Keppler: Hi, Mike Keppler. Sorry, didn't get a chance to introduce myself before I, uh, invaded your lab.
Bobby Dawson: Uh, well, can I help you with something?
Keppler: Yeah, I'm looking for the ballistics on Holstein.
Bobby Dawson: Uh, yeah, just about to run them.
Keppler: Great. Mind if I sit in?
(Bobby sits down at the counter and runs the ballistics. Keppler stands behind Bobby, then leans in close to watch the search over Bobby's shoulder.)
(The search stops: NO MATCH.)
Bobby Dawson: Bullet that killed Holstein was a nine-mill, same caliber as Zamesca, but no match. Killer could have used a different gun.
Keppler: Thanks, Bobby. See you later.
(Keppler leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- NIGHT]
(Nick walks in as Robbins is sewing up the body.)
Nick: Hey, Doc.
Robbins: Hey, Nick.
Nick: Want you to catch me up with Catherine and Warrick.
Robbins: I haven't seen them.
Nick: Where's the body from their 420?
Robbins: Uh, it hasn't come in yet. It was a mortuary pickup.
Nick: Who's this?
Robbins: It's Monique Carter. Heroin addict, got whacked on the head.
(Nick notices the Scorpio sign tattoo on the inner forearm.)
(Quick flash to: [PHOTO] The photo of Zamesca with the girl with the same tattoo on her inner forearm. End of flash.)
Nick: She involved with Catherine's 420?
Robbins: If she was, nobody told me.
Nick: Will you send me a photo of this tattoo? And when the body comes in at the mortuary, will you give me a call?
Robbins: I'll get right on it.
(Nick leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GARAGE -- NIGHT]
(Sara dusts the steering wheel of Monique's car. Greg is working on the passenger side.)
Sara: Seat's been pushed all the way back.
Greg: Manager said he saw a guy driving.
(Greg finds an envelope under the chair. It's addressed to:
MS. MONIQUE CARTER
32 POINT VIEW LANE
LAS VEGAS, NV 89102
(He opens and reads the letter. From what we see, the letter reads: On behalf of the Board of - writing you to inform you of your -- attempts to have you resolve the unpaid -- informed 4 months ago, you would be dropped - ineligible status if payment was not made. - outstanding amount of $8,342.00 is paid. --
Greg: She was a lawyer. Suspended for failure to pay her Bar Association dues.
Sara: Lose all that to drugs, you gotta be in a lot of pain.
Greg: Or you think you're too smart to get addicted.
(Nick walks in.)
Nick: You guys seen Catherine around? She's not answering her cell phone.
Sara: Mm-mm.
Nick: Anything from your scene link back to Zamesca?
Sara: No. Why?
Nick: Because I think your DB's the unidentified woman in the photo I found.
Sara: Really?
(Nick nods. He looks down and notices the foam in the cut in the front seat upholstery. Nick kneels.)
Nick: And, excuse me, we found this same type of material at the Zamesca scene. If we can match it back to this car ... you could place the car at the scene. And Simon behind the wheel.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BREAKROOM -- NIGHT]
(Catherine meets with Keppler and Warrick.)
Catherine: Got a partial print off the straw from the soda cup. AFIS hit Edwin Dennison, aka "Rat."
(She hands the photo to Warrick.)
(Quick flash to: Dennison sips from the straw.)
Warrick: Small-time drug dealer with a big-time rap sheet.
Keppler: Well, I'll get Brass to bring him in, huh? Nice work.
(Warrick hands Keppler the file folder. Keppler gets up and heads out of the room. Nick walks in.)
Nick: I just connected Sara's vic to Simon.
(Keppler stops. Nick turns around and motions Keppler back into the room.)
Nick: Yeah, you might want to hear this.
Keppler: What's the connection?
Nick: Well, I think, that Simon was driving her BMW to meet Zamesca.
Catherine: Nick, we got a print from the Holstein case. Street dealer. We're bringing him in now. And he looks dirty for Zamesca, too.
(Catherine gets up and walks past Nick. Warrick notes the brush-off. Nick turns and looks at Warrick. Something's going on.)
(Catherine walks down the hall with Keppler.)
Catherine: Excuse me. I grew up in this town. I know about playing the odds. You are gambling with my team.
Keppler: We talked about the risk going in. It's not like we can quit now.
Catherine: I'm not quitting. But I don't like it. And I hate lying to my guys.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(The officers bring Edwin "Rat" Dennison in through the hallway in handcuffs. The press are there snapping photos.)
(Brass follows Dennison.)
Reporter: Mr. Dennison, could we have a comment? REPORTER: Is this relating to the ...
(They walk out of the hallway. Undersheriff Jeff McKeen enters the waiting room where the reporters are gathered.)
Jeff McKeen: Good afternoon.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BREAK ROOM - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(In the breakroom, Nick is eating and watching the press conference on the television.)
Jeff McKeen: (from tv) The Las Vegas Police Department has successfully apprehended a suspect, one Edwin Dennison, who's confessed of multiple homicides, including that of Assemblyman Danilo Zamesca.
(The caption on the set reads:
UNDERSHERIFF MCKEEN PRESS CONFERENCE
ASSEMBLYMAN ZAMESCA'S MURDERER ARRESTED )
(Nick definitely doesn't like this.)
Jeff McKeen: (from tv) Mr. Dennison admitted to luring Mr. Zamesca to a remote location, while seeking his help to escape the drug trade. When Mr. Zamesca encouraged him to surrender to police, Mr. Dennison shot him. He later shot Mr. Holstein during a dispute over a drug deal.
(Nick is more than pissed. He throws the remainder of his sandwich away and heads out of the breakroom.)
Jeff McKeen: (from tv) I'd like to say how very proud I am of the swift and efficient work done that my department has done in tracking down and apprehending this dangerous criminal ...
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BALLISTICS LAB -- NIGHT]
(Keppler enters the Ballistics Lab and finds Warrick working on the bullet.)
Keppler: You know that Dawson guy gets kind of uptight when people touch his stuff.
Warrick: Well, the Holstein scene bullet was fired from the same gun that you found in Rat's car.
(Quick flash to: Keppler fires the bullet in the Ballistics Lab.)
(Cut to: Catherine tosses the bullet into the front seat of the car.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
Keppler: Done deal.
Warrick: I'm not so sure. If this bullet went through the window and a guy's head ... it would have pieces of glass and bits of bone in it.
(Quick CGI flash of: A gun fires. The bullet breaks through the glass and goes through the person's brain. It comes out the other side and falls onto the front seat of the car - a mess.)
(End of CGI flash.)
Warrick: This hollow point's clean. There's no sand-blasted effect.
Keppler: Hmm. The DNA sample yet, might have been cleaned already.
Warrick: There's still blood on it.
Keppler: I see your point. Maybe autopsy will show something.
(Keppler turns and leaves the lab. Warrick notes he doesn't appear concerned at all.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - EVIDENCE LOCKER -- NIGHT]
(Nick is looking for the evidence in the Holstein case. Catherine walks past and stops in the room.)
Catherine: Hey, Nick.
Nick: I can't find the evidence in the Holstein case.
Catherine: What do you want it for?
Nick: Because that guy who confessed to killing Zamesca didn't do it. Sheriff's jumping the gun.
Catherine: We have evidence and a confession. You can't just come in here and take over my case.
Nick: Is there a reason you don't want me to see that file, Catherine?
Catherine: Nick, as your supervisor, I'm ordering you to back off.
(Catherine turns and leaves. Nick definitely doesn't like it at all.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SIDEWALK -- NIGHT]
(Greg opens the door for Sara. They exit the building.)
Sara: (to Greg) Thanks.
(They join Nick and Warrick, who are already waiting outside.)
Sara: Uh, it's freezing. Why are we having a meeting outside?
Nick: 'Cause Catherine and Keppler are in there.
Greg: What, have you guys been listening to Hodges?
Nick: No, and this isn't about Keppler being IA anyway. This is about Catherine having a false confession and standing by it.
Warrick: You'd better be able to back that one up, man.
Nick: Zamesca knew Sara's and Greg's vic. He's dead, she's dead, same drugs are found at both scenes, and then ... those same drugs showed up at your crime scene?
Warrick: Could have come from the same supplier.
Greg: We see that all the time. I don't think it's a coincidence.
Sara: (hesitates, voice lowers) You know, Catherine ... (glances behind her) ... Catherine ordered Henry to step out of his lab without putting drug evidence away.
Greg: Why would she do that?
Warrick: I did see Keppler checking out Zamesca's file yesterday. I didn't think anything strange about it then, but now ...
(Sara again looks around.)
Sara: Okay, so ... maybe there is an IA investigation.
(Nick doesn't want to say it.)
Nick: I can't find the Holstein evidence.
Sara: What?
(Nick nods.)
Warrick: Catherine put it in a temporary locker.
Nick: Yeah. Why didn't she put it where it belongs?
Warrick: The Holstein bullet was a little bit too clean, and Keppler didn't seem at all concerned about it. He said that we would see at autopsy.
Nick: Well, it's kind of hard to have an autopsy when you don't have a body, man. I talked to Doc Robbins; he's still trying to track it down. And the mortuary has no record of Catherine's phone call whatsoever.
Sara: Do we have access to any of the Holstein evidence?
Warrick: We got the car.
(Warrick remembers something.)
Warrick: Catherine sent it to the impound.
Greg: Well, at least we know where it is.
Nick: All right, that's it. We're a team now, the four of us. We can't trust Catherine and we can't trust Keppler. I'm serious. I'm gonna run with this one.
Warrick: (nods) I'll run with you.
(Nick slaps Warrick's shoulder. He knew he could count on him.)
Warrick: (to Sara) You?
(Sara looks at Nick as she weighs it. Then --
Sara: I'm in.
(They turn and look at Greg.)
(Greg nods.)
(Nick nods. It's settled. He heads inside.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LVPD IMPOUND LOT 17 -- NIGHT]
(A tow truck exits the open gate. Nick walks in. The lot attendant turns and sees Nick. He tries to stop him.)
Lot Attendant: Hey. Hey, you!
Nick: Try to stop me and I'll have you put in jail.
(The lot attendant backs off. Nick heads over to the car. He cuts the seal open.)
(Nick opens the car door and checks the blood spatter on the seats, on the door and on the inside car window.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE -- NIGHT]
(Sara is in Grissom 's office. The box delivered to him from 7X11, "Leaving Las Vegas," is still on his desk. Sara slides some magazines on his desk closer to her and toward the top drawer. She opens the desk drawer, reaches under the small animal skull and pulls out a key. In one smooth movement, she tucks the key under the magazines and things, closes the desk drawer and heads out.)
(We linger on the large unopened box on Grissom's desk.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LVPD IMPOUND LOT 17 -- NIGHT]
(Nick is on the phone.)
Warrick: (from phone) Brown.
Nick: (to phone) Hey, Warrick, it's Nick. When is the last time you found high-velocity exit spatter with no brain and no bone?
Warrick: (from phone) Never.
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. CSI - EVIDENCE (TEMPORARY) LOCKER -- NIGHT]
(Sara knocks on the door and walks in.)
Nick: Got the evidence yet?
Warrick: (to phone) You know what? Sara's here. And she has the key. Got to go.
(Sara shows Warrick the key. She's still hesitant about all of this.)
Sara: You know. I really hate deceiving people because, eventually, you get what you give.
Warrick: I hate being deceived.
(Sara unlocks the door and she opens it. Inside are two boxes marked HOLSTEIN.)
Warrick: Yes.
(Warrick grabs the first box and heads back to the table.)
Warrick: All right.
(Sara reaches for the second box.)
Warrick: Anything I collected, we ignore.
(Warrick cuts the seal.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - TRACE LAB -- NIGHT]
(Nick is in Trace processing his own samples. He runs several samples through the machines.)
(Hodges returns.)
Hodges: You running your own samples? Smart, considering that you're the odds-on favorite in the IA pool.
Nick: There's a pool now?
Hodges: Oh, yeah.
Nick: Who's number two?
Hodges: That would be me.
Nick: Number three?
Hodges: Grissom.
(The machine beeps. Hodges reaches for the printout, but Nick stops him. Hodges backs off. He tries to look at it, but Nick folds it in half. Nick leaves the lab.)
(When Nick leaves, Hodges presses REPRINT on the printer. The printer reprints the results.)
OPERATOR: HODGES
ACQUIRED: 01/25/07 14:39
INSTRUMENT: GC/MS Ins
(The results for whatever Nick was processing show ETHYLENEDIAMINE TETRA-ACETIC ACID "EDTA".)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAB -- NIGHT]
(Warrick places the driver's window glass on the table. He examines it and finds something. Nick walks in.)
Nick: How's it going in here?
Warrick: This glass wasn't shot out. Take a look at that.
(Warrick steps aside to let Nick look through the magnifying glass.)
Nick: Spark plug?
Warrick: The only mark a spark plug makes is a nick at the center. Now, who would know about that?
Nick: Crooks. And cops. And, hey, get this. The blood found in Holstein's car had high levels of EDTA. Anti-coagulant.
Warrick: Means the blood didn't come from his head; it came from his arm.
Nick: That means this crime scene was staged.
Warrick: Well, if Keppler is IA, Catherine can't tell us anything if she wanted to.
Nick: Yeah, if this is all IA BS, then why would they play it out in the press?
Warrick: Maybe Brass can help us out.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(Warrick enters the hallway. He sees Brass exit his office. Warrick starts toward Brass and starts to call out to him, but stops.)
(Keppler steps out of Brass's office and they talk.)
(Warrick watches them for a moment. They appear to be on the same page and very friendly.)
(Brass and Keppler both turn and look at Warrick.)
(Warrick backs away and leaves without speaking to Brass. Brass walks over to the group of officers in the hallway.)
Brass: Let's roll.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. STRIP CLUB -- NIGHT]
(Thomas Simon is back and is talking with someone. Brass and some officers walk into the strip club.)
Officer Mitchell: (to radio) I got a 20 on Simon, right here.
(Thomas Simon looks up.)
Brass: (loudly) Thomas Simon, you're under arrest! You two -- step over there.
(The girl and the man Thomas Simon was with leave. The overhead music stops.)
Thomas Simon: Is there a problem, Detective?
Brass: A problem? We're charging you with the murder of Danilo Zamesca.
Thomas Simon: You already got a guy for that murder. I saw it on the news.
Brass: Well, it's good to meet an informed citizen.
(Officer Mitchell finds a gun.)
Officer Mitchell: Nine-millimeter.
Brass: Get him out of here.
(Officer Mitchell pulls a handcuffed Thomas Simon out with him.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(Keppler and Jeff McKeen stand outside in the hallway. Inside the interview room, Catherine and Brass talk with Thomas Simon and the lawyers.)
Woman: Even your own district attorney said she wasn't aware.
Man: There's no way you'll get a jury to believe this evidence wasn't fabricated.
Woman: We're done here.
(She stands up and heads out. She slows and looks at Jeff McKeen as she passes him.)
(The team of attorneys leaves. Brass steps out into the hallway and sighs.)
Jeff McKeen: All right. Which one of you screwed this up?
Brass: I'm looking at him. You dropped the ball, man. You never cleared this operation with the DA, and now, she says she can't tell fact from fiction. She's not going to file charges against Simon.
Jeff McKeen: She's a tight-ass. I told her what I thought she needed to know.
Brass: Did you hear what I said? Now, what are you going to tell the sheriff?
(Jeff McKeen turns and leaves.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BREAKROOM -- NIGHT]
(Catherine and Keppler talk with Nick, Warrick, Greg and Sara.)
Keppler: It's called reverse forensics.
Greg: Reverse forensics?
Catherine: Simon had to believe it when he saw it on the news.
Keppler: He was a fugitive. The only way to get him to show his face was to make him think he was off the hook.
Warrick: And your only option was to fabricate evidence and make me process it?
Greg: How could you think that we wouldn't figure it out? It's kind of what we do.
Catherine: I understand how you all feel. I am sorry. I did not have a choice.
Nick: We trust you with our lives, Catherine. You could have trusted us with this.
Catherine: Sara?
Sara: If I have something to say to you, Catherine, I'm gonna say it in private. No offense.
Catherine: Okay, look. We can still get Simon. He only walked on Zamesca. He drove Monique Carter's vehicle out into the desert. Nick's established that. Did he kill her, too?
(Nick looks away and shakes his head.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY - NIGHT]
(Greg shares his findings with Catherine.)
Greg: Three calls were made from Monique's cell phone to Simon's strip club after she died.
Catherine: There's another half a dozen calls to Hugh Griffin, Bud Small, Frank Townsend. All known associates.
Greg: He was using her phone to do business, thinking it was safe.
(Quick flash to: [APARTMENT] Thomas Simon is on the cell phone as Monique's dead body is on the floor.)
Greg: (V.O.) Oh, yeah, the last call was made to his wife's cell.
END OF FLASH. CUT TO:
[INT. MONIQUE'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT]
(The door opens. Nick and Sara)
Nick: What hasn't been cleaned?
(Nick looks around and heads for the kitchen.)
Sara: Furniture.
Nick: If Simon was hiding out here for a couple of weeks, he had to eat, sleep and use the bathroom. So, what did the cleaners miss?
(Sara takes out the crime scene photos and compares it to the room.)
Sara: There used to be a pillow here. Maybe ... he slept on the couch. I'm going to pull some hair 'cause you never know.
Nick: We'd have to get a court order to compel a DNA sample from Simon. That takes time. Brass can only stall this guy's release for a couple hours, you know.
(Sara does a tape lift and finds a lot of hairs.)
Sara: Yeah, it's going to take days to sort through these.
(Nick sighs and looks under the sofa cushions. He finds a bedsheet. He lifts the cushion and finds the handle. He smiles at Sara.)
Nick: Sara.
Sara: It's a pullout.
(Sara dusts the handle for prints as Nick watches.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - PRINT LAB]
(Nick is running the print through the database. He finds a POSITIVE MATCH for:
THOMAS SIMON
DOB: JULY 21, 1972
AGE: 34 HEIGH: 5'8"
WEIGHT: 147 LBS EYES: BLUE
RACE: CAUCASIAN s*x: MALE
HAIR: BROWN
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS:
431 DADSCELL CT.
LAS VEGAS, NV 89117
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - BALLISTICS LAB]
(Keppler takes Simon's gun out of the box as Warrick watches. He removes the cartridge and finds blood and hair stuck to the bottom.)
(He shows it to Warrick.)
(Quick flashback to: Monique fights with Thomas Simon.
Monique Carter: (screams) Give me something. You better give me something!
(He hits her on the head with his gun. She falls to the floor.)
INSERT: PHOTO OF MONIQUE'S POST-MORTEM SHAVED IMPACT INJURY
(Simon injects Monique's arm with the drug.)
END OF FLASHBACK. CUT TO:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY - NIGHT]
(Officer Mitchell escorts Thomas Simon down the hallway. Brass steps out right in front of them.)
Radio Host: (V.O.) Welcome back to the voice of Las Vegas, KWMS radio. Today, Thomas Simon, alleged drug kingpin, was charged with the slaying of former attorney Monique Carter.
(Officer Mitchell pulls Thomas Simon off to the side hallway as Brass watches.)
Radio Host: (V.O.) Ms. Carter and Assemblyman Zamesca were classmates in law school, and police are continuing to investigate the link between the two crimes.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. RESTAURANT -- NIGHT]
(Catherine and Keppler talk.)
Keppler: So I dig up a ghost. I know he has a son who was killed by drug dealers, she's being killed by drugs. He's got a savior complex, so I use her to lure him out into the desert. It's why I drive her car. So he'll recognize it, feel safe.
Catherine: You are aware that you talk about the killer in the first person?
Keppler: That's the point, isn't it? Clouds my judgment to identify with the victims. Our job is to catch killers. (sighs) Guess it helps me to think like one.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(Warrick and Nick step out from the locker room into the hallway. Warrick is carrying his bag while Nick is putting his jacket on.)
Warrick: You want to, uh, get a drink or something?
(Nick starts down the hallway.)
Nick: Nah. No, I'm, I'm tired. I'm going home.
Warrick: Nick. Nick!
(Nick stops and turns to look at Warrick.)
Warrick: (quietly) Let it go, man.
(Nick doesn't say anything. He turns and leaves.)
(We hold on Warrick. After a beat, Warrick turns and leaves as well.)
Radio Host: (V.O.) Tonight we're talking about anti-drug legislation sponsored by the late Assemblyman Danilo Zamesca. It was passed into law today by the Nevada State Legislature. Tony from Seven Hills, you're on the air.
Plan: A: a crime scene; Q: What does Catherine fake to help Keppler catch the drug supplier? A: their colleagues; Q: Who does Catherine deceive? A: the west coast's biggest illegal drug supplier; Q: What is the leading suspect in the murder of an anti-drug assemblyman? A: the desert; Q: Where was the anti-drug assemblyman killed? A: the plan; Q: What does Keppler concoct when the suspect disappears and his trail grows cold? A: his trail; Q: What grows cold after several weeks? A: a heroin addict; Q: What was the victim of Sara and Greg's investigation? A: her apartment; Q: Where was the heroin addict found dead? A: blunt force trauma; Q: What is the cause of death of a heroin addict? Summary: Keppler persuades Catherine to help him fake a crime scene and deceive their colleagues in a controversial plan to catch the west coast's biggest illegal drug supplier, who is the leading suspect in the murder of an anti-drug assemblyman who was gunned down in the desert. Keppler concocts the plan when the suspect disappears and his trail grows cold after several weeks. Meanwhile, Sara and Greg investigate a heroin addict found dead in her apartment due to blunt force trauma.