[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - NIGHT]
(Lorenzo "Happy" Morales punches the punching bag.)
(CUT TO: In a boxing ring, Happy Morales spars with a partner.)
(CUT TO: Happy Morales jumps rope.)
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - NIGHT]
(CU: The bed sheets bounce and the bedsprings squeak rhythmically. The painting raps rhythmically against the wall. The headboard moves rhythmically.)
(The door flings open. Happy Morales, sweaty from his workout, enters the room.)
VARIOUS CUTS OF:
(One of the girls, dressed in lingerie, falls back onto the bed.)
(Cut to: Happy Morales is in the boxing ring sparring with someone.)
(Cut to: Happy Morales has a cigarette with his eyes closed.)
(Cut to: Happy Morales is in the boxing ring sparring with someone.)
(Cut to: A woman in red lingerie falls back onto the bed. )
(Cut to: Happy Morales exercises.)
(Cut to: Dreama Little is on the bed.)
(VARIOUS CUTS OF: Happy Morales exercising.)
(Cut to: A woman in leopard print lingerie falls back onto the bed.)
(Cut to: The door opens and Happy Morales, sweaty from his workout, dances into the room.)
(Cut to: Happy Morales throws a couple of punches.)
(Cut to: Two women fall back onto the bed.)
VARIOUS CUTS OF: The women look absolutely bored as they endure it.)
(Happy Morales leans against the boxing ring ropes, sighs and puts his head down.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[SWIMMING POOL]
(The swimming pool water ripples. Happy Morales is face down dead in the water. A crowd of old people and working women from the cathouse gather along the edge of the pool.)
FLASH TO:
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - BACKYARD - NIGHT]
(Sheriff Ned Bastille escorts Grissom and Sara to the swimming pool where the body is.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Yeah. One of the gals fished him out of the pool, and the owner called me. No one's touched the body since.
Grissom: Where's your coroner?
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Oh, couldn't get him on the horn. Probably out in some barn, up to his elbows in a cow's v*g1n*.
Sara: Excuse me?
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Oh. Yeah. Coroner's a part-time gig here in Brime County. He's a veterinarian. That's his money gig.
Sara: (to radio) Control, this is CSI Sidle. We're going to need a coroner for that 419 out at the Sugar Cane Ranch.
Dispatch: (from radio) Copy that.
(A crowd of women in their lingerie gathers outside near the pool. Ned cheerfully clears his throat.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Excuse me, ladies.
(The ladies move aside so Ned, Grissom and Sara can walk through.)
Grissom: This is a strange crowd for a cathouse.
Milton: (interrupts) Hey, Sheriff!
(Milton, an elderly man in his robe, is standing in front of the neon sign.)
Milton: Di-Did you hear about my wife? Somebody shot my wife. Yeah, I'm telling ya, they shot my wife.
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Yeah. Okay. All right. Settle down, Milton. Settle down. Okay.
(They continue on past Milton. The sheriff explains to Grissom and Sara.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: His wife died about ten years ago of a stroke.
Sara: What is with all the old-timers out here tonight?
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Oh, they live here. Yeah, all over these hills. Cheap rents, abundant sunshine. Life is good here in Brime County.
(They stop in front of the body.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Guy's name is Lorenzo Morales.
Grissom: "Happy" Morales. I saw him fight LeRoi Steele at the Sands a couple of years ago. Took a vicious beating. Never touched the mat once.
Sara: Well, he's definitely down for the count.
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Listen. I want to tell you something. George and Doris Babinkian own this place. Run a real tight ship. Never had a problem in all the years they've been here.
(Behind Ned, a working girl in tiny black two-piece lingerie walks up the steps toward him. She's carrying his gun belt. He doesn't see her.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Just good people. Pay their taxes, provide employment, pillars of the community. You know, last month actually, they had a ...
(Aimee taps Ned on his shoulder.)
Aimee: Ned, you left this in my room again.
(She gives him the belt and leaves.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: Oh. Thanks. Thanks, Aimee.
(Ned turns and looks at Grissom.)
Sheriff Ned Bastille: She ...
(Grissom smiles back at him. Ned turns and leaves. Grissom turns and finds Sara smiling at him.)
(They both turn their attention to the body.)
Grissom: Look at this.
Sara: Gunshot wound?
Grissom: Maybe.
(Grissom snaps a photo of it.)
Sara: He's got a contusion over his right eye. Could be associated with the incident.
Grissom: Well, he was a boxer.
(Grissom takes more photos. Sara turns around and finds a broken lawn chair near the edge of the pool. She sticks her hand in the water.)
Sara: Feels like bathwater. It's got to be 90 degrees. There's no way we're going to get an accurate TOD.
Grissom: Places like this always keep their pools warm. Encourages the girls to swim topless. It's good for business.
(Sara looks at Grissom.)
(beat)
Grissom: So they tell me.
FADE TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - NIGHT]
(The sign reads: BINKY'S WORLD FAMOUS SUGAR CANE RANCH.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DAY]
(The coroners remove the body on the gurney and put it in the back of the black vehicle.)
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DAY]
(The ladies are relaxing in the lounge. Brass interviews George "Binky" Babinkian and his wife, Doris.)
Brass: So when was the last time you saw the deceased?
Binky Babinkian: It was, like, an hour ago, when they took him away on that cart.
Brass: No, I ... you know, I meant the last time you saw him alive.
Doris Babinkian: I saw him around noon yesterday. Made him his ... favorite meal. Meat.
Brass: Yeah. Mr. Babinkian ...
Binky Babinkian: Oh, you call me Binky. Everybody call me Binky.
Brass: Okay, Binky, tell me about ...
Binky Babinkian: Lorenzo? Everybody call him Happy.
Brass: Mm-hmm. What? Does everybody have a nickname around here?
Doris Babinkian: Not me. I'm just Doris. Nut?
Brass: No, thank you, Doris. So tell me about Happy.
Binky Babinkian: Oh, Happy, Happy. He was a fighter. He was a born boxer. He had speed, he had skills, he had heart, he had ... punch! You know, four years ago, he was a top-ranked middleweight.
Doris Babinkian: That's right.
Binky Babinkian: Yeah. But he... I don't know ... stumble into hard times.
Brass: Oh, yeah? What do you mean?
Binky Babinkian: You know. Boompa, boompa sniff, sniff. Like, party time. And I... I mean, I buy his contract, I take him out here, I give him a double-wide. I build him a gym to train him, and I train him. I can make him a champion.
Doris Babinkian: He did that.
Brass: You took a boxer who likes to party to a whorehouse to train? Do you think that was smart?
Binky Babinkian: Well, in hindsight, maybe not so good idea.
Brass: So, anybody have a grudge against Happy that you know of?
Binky Babinkian: Everybody loved Happy.
Doris Babinkian: Yes.
Binky Babinkian: You ... I want you to catch this person. Find him, please. And, you know ... anytime your boys need a break, we have something here we call a cop special.
(Doris winks at him.)
Doris Babinkian: You'll like it.
Binky Babinkian: Any girl, no charge and one complimentary drink ...
(Doris slaps Binky's hand.)
Doris Babinkian: Oh, two!
Binky Babinkian: Okay, two complimentary drinks. And one appetizer of your choice here at the bar. Tonight, we have, uh ... ?
Doris Babinkian: Baba ghanoush.
Binky Babinkian: Yes.
Brass: Well, thank you. Thank you very much. You two really run a mom-and-pop operation.
Doris Babinkian: Oh, thank you.
Brass: And now, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to the hookers.
Doris Babinkian: Hooking is what girls do out on the street. Here we prefer the term "pleasure provider."
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH -BACKYARD -- DAY]
(Nick and Sara are going through the pool side. Sara opens the filter.)
Sara: Ooh! Beer caps, candy wrappers, cigarette butts, used condoms.
(She snaps pictures of the pool filter.)
Sara: This is one pool I am not feeling a pressing need to take a dip in.
(Sara takes the filter out and tips it to show Nick all the stuff inside.)
Nick: Ugh. Me either. This chair has taken quite a beating, and this cigarette looks like it was just left here and burned out. Hand me an evidence marker, will you?
(Sara hands him evidence marker 2, which Nick puts next to the burned-out cigarette. He takes a photo of it.)
Nick: There is a stain on the filter. Could be blood, could be lipstick. If this fellow was shot through the throat, and had a nasty lump on the head, --
(Quick flash to: A gunshot fires. Happy Morales falls into the pool.)
Nick: (V.O.) -- could be how he ended up face down in the pool.
(End of flash.)
Sara: Yeah, but there's no blood by the pool. If he was shot here, you'd expect spatter.
Nick: Back-splash could have washed it away when he hit the water.
Sara: I kind of doubt it. The bloodstains on his shirt were straight up and down. They had time to settle in. I think he was shot somewhere else, and just got dumped in here.
Nick: Well, it sounds like we need to play ... "Find the Bullet."
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - MAIN ROOM -- DAY]
(The ladies are lined up and Greg takes DNA samples from them.)
Greg: All right. Open up, please.
(Greg holds up the swab.)
Lulu: Honey, come see me later. I can show you a better way to get DNA.
(The girls laugh as Greg takes the swab sample.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DRESSING ROOM -- DAY]
(Brass interviews the girls one-by-one.)
Brass: So did you see Lorenzo "Happy" Morales last night?
Tiff: Uh-uh.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Lulu: No.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Dreama Little: I don't think so.
Brass: No?
[SCENE_BREAK]
Light Pink Robe Girl: No.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Aimee: Mm ... Mm-mm.
Brass: Did you hear any gunshots? Any shouting? Anything unusual?
[SCENE_BREAK]
Dreama Little: No.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Aimee: No.
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Tiff thinks about it.)
Brass: So what did you do last night?
Aimee: A guy came in, and he brought his 18-year-old son, and I made him a man. I popped his man cherry.
Light Pink Robe Girl: Oh, the usual stuff. I had a pretty good night. I tickled a guy.
Brass: That's it?
Dreama Little: I had a cold, so I stayed in my room and I read "Pride and Prejudice". (chuckles) I have a big fat crush on Mr. Darcy.
Tiff: I had two ... no, three dates. Then I hung around the bar and watched TV.
Brass: So, what did you think of Happy?
Light Pink Robe Girl: He was fine.
Lulu: Actually, he was kind of ...
Aimee: Cute. And he was ...
Dreama Little: I mean, I didn't have nothing against him.
Brass: Let me make something clear for you. This is a homicide investigation. If you're lying to me, even a little bit, I'm going to come down on you like a load of bricks.
(Aimee in the black lingerie bites her nails.)
Brass: So let me ask you again. What did you think of Happy?
(The light pink robe girl rattles off angrily in Spanish.)
Light Pink Robe Girl: (subtitled) I couldn't stand him. If it was up to me, ... he could die in hell! He was a thief!
Tiff: He was messed up, man. He took pills to get wood, then he couldn't even finish.
Lulu: Plus, he had the windy problem.
Brass: What does that mean? He talked too much?
Tiff: No. He passed gas too much.
Aimee: He smelled really bad.
Lulu: I mean, I know you're not supposed to be sensitive in this line of work ...
Tiff: -- but that guy could blister paint.
Brass: Wow.
Dreama Little: What pissed me off, he started coming around, and he just stopped paying for it.
Aimee: He thought he could get anything and everything for free.
Brass: So, did Doris and Binky have a problem with this?
(Quick flashback to: [POOLSIDE] Binky approaches Happy, who is lounging in a chair next to the pool with a cigarette and a bottle of beer.)
Girl: (V.O.) Binky had a big problem with it.
Binky: You keep your hands off my girls. Okay?
Happy Morales: Hey, this is a whorehouse. That's what they're here for.
Binky: You lazy, fat bum. Why you don't make yourself useful around here, eh? Look at this piece of falling apart crap of a chair.
(Binky grabs the chair and tilts it, causing Happy to stagger out
Binky: You pick up a tool and fix it! All right?
(Binky leaves. Happy drinks and burps.)
(End of flashback.)
Dreama Little: Doris, uh ... she had a little thing for Mr. Happy, if you know what I mean.
Brass: Did he reciprocate?
Tiff: What?
Brass: Was it a one-way thing or a two-way thing?
Aimee: I don't know what you're saying.
Brass: Did Binky know?
Dreama Little: (shrugs) I don't know.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - MAIN OFFICE -- DAY]
(Grissom takes Doris's cigarette out of her mouth.)
Grissom: May I?
(He swabs her mouth, then puts her cigarette back in her mouth.)
Grissom: Thank you.
Doris: Mm-hmm.
(Grissom notes the security video feeds.)
Grissom: These monitors are live-feed only? Nothing taped?
Doris: Absolutely not. If we did that, and word got out, we'd be out of business in about a week.
(Grissom picks up the headphones.)
Grissom: But I see that the rooms are wired for sound as well.
Doris: Yeah. Well, that's for the girls' protection.
Grissom: And to make sure that they don't short you on their financial transactions?
Doris: I just spot-check from time to time. I trust my girls.
Grissom: Did you hear anything unusual last night?
Doris: Believe me, if I had heard anything, you'd have known about it already. I want to know what happened to that poor boy just as much ... just as much as anybody.
Grissom: You cared about him.
Doris: Happy was a child in a man's body, you know? He had no family. He had nobody. He was scared. His big comeback was going nowhere. He was finished, and he knew it. Happy knew it. Binky knew it. Everybody knew it.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH -- DAY]
(Grissom and Sara walk out of the main house on their way to Happy Morales's lodging.)
Grissom: Twenty-five people here last night, and nobody sees anything.
(A couple of working girls walk by.)
Woman: (to Grissom) Nice hat, honey.
(Grissom watches them go. He and Sara continue.)
Sara: So you've been to a place like this before?
Grissom: I worked a murder-suicide at the Naughty Kitty once.
Sara: No, no, come on. You know what I mean.
Grissom: As a customer? No.
Sara: You never paid for s*x?
Grissom: I have not. I find the whole idea very ... bleak.
Sara: Really? How come? GRISSOM: s*x should provide the opportunity for human connection, but paid s*x does the opposite of that. To me, s*x without love is pointless. It makes you sad.
Sara: Well, I'm pretty sure I don't make you sad.
Grissom: No. You make me happy.
(They head up the stairs to the lodge.)
[INT. HAPPY MORALES'S ROOMS - DAY -- CONTINUOUS]
(The door opens. Sara and Grissom walk in and look around. They note the plate with various pills on it. On the table, Sara sees more pill bottles. Grissom walks over to the counter. Sara sees the old boxing posters on the wall.)
(Grissom reads the hand-written labels on the label-less bottles.)
Grissom: Methaqualone ... benziazepine; antidepressants.
(Sara finds more pill bottles.)
Sara: Anabolic steroids, beta blockers, high-blood-pressure meds, Prevalis.
Grissom: There's no prescription labels. It's all written in Spanish. Looks like a lot of this stuff came from south of the border.
Sara: Blood drops on the floor. Smears on the furniture and the walls.
Grissom: This might be where they ran the opening bell.
(She turns and looks at Happy Morales's picture on the poster.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY]
(Happy Morales is dead on the autopsy table. Catherine snaps photos while Robbins and Warrick talk.)
Robbins: Boxers all end up the same--beaten, broken and forgotten.
Warrick: Hmm, yeah, Joe Louis, George Foreman, Ali, Marciano, Frazier, Tyson -- Who are those guys?
(Warrick pulls off Happy's boxer shorts. Catherine stops taking photos.)
Catherine: Whoa.
Robbins: Genitals are distended and patchy and covered with large red welts. Testicles are swollen, roughly three times the average size. Scrotum is filled with fluid. It's consistent with cardio edema or an STD. Maybe an infection of some kind.
Catherine: Either that or this guy's got the world's ugliest Johnson.
(Warrick shakes his head and holds back a laugh.)
Robbins: Okay, I'll just slice the scrotal sack and draw out a fluid sample.
Warrick: Oh, Doc, could you wait till I leave? Thanks.
Catherine: This guy's got a nasty crack on his head.
(Catherine continues taking photos.)
Robbins: Yeah. Probably a fracture. Wouldn't surprise me if there was a hematoma to go along with it.
Catherine: There's linear markings on the contusion.
(Warrick turns on the ALS and looks at the markings while Catherine snaps a photo.)
Warrick: Looks like letters of some kind. What is that?
Catherine: I think it's backwards.
(She looks at the digital image on the camera and flips it.)
Catherine: (reads) I-N-C-H.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - MAIN ROOM / ROOMS -- DAY]
(Nick walks through the hallway on his way to the rooms while Binky rushes after him.)
Binky: Please, listen. You make me close down my doors, cop cars in front! It's not good for the business. I know a man die here, but dead is dead. I lose my shirt.
Nick: Are the girls allowed to keep any weapons in the room for self-defense?
Binky: No weapons. Strictly forbidden.
Nick: Then you won't mind if I check for myself, right?
Binky: What do you mean, check for yourself? How long will this take?
Nick: As long as it takes.
(Nick enters the first bedroom and closes the door behind him, leaving Binky out in the hallway.)
Binky: (mocking) As long as it takes. Your mother sleep with Azerbaijani.
(Binky walks away.)
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - BEDROOM - DAY -- CONTINUOUS]
(Nick looks around the room. He opens the drawer and finds condoms, some other stuff and pepper spray with UV dye.
(Cut to: In a snake-shaped lamp, he finds brass knuckles.)
(Cut to: He opens another drawer and finds a knife among the boxes of condoms.)
(Cut to: He moves the sheets and lifts the mattress and finds an electric prod.)
(Cut to: He finds a large knife.)
(Cut to: He finds a stun gun in a drawer.)
(Cut to: Under the bed, he finds high-heeled shoes, flimsy lingerie and a crowbar.)
(Quick CGI flash: Along the grooves are splotches of red. We pull back and see: -I-N-C-H-. We pull back further and see: MADE IN CHINA. End of CGI flash
FLASH TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
Brass: (V.O.) Dreama Little.
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY]
(Brass interviews Dreama Little.)
Brass: Is that your real name?
Dreama Little: (sings) Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper "I love you," birds singing in the sycamore tree, dream a little dream of me.
Brass: Do I look like Paula Abdul to you?
Dreama Little: My daddy gave me that name 'cause he liked that song. BRASS: (sighs) Happy was hit in the head with a crowbar we found in your room. You wiped off your fingerprints, but you didn't wipe off his blood from the grooves.
Dreama Little: He was always ... coming up to my room, getting all up on me. He liked them other girls, but he was obsessed with me. Look, look what he did.
(She lifts up her blouse to show Brass the bruise on her side.)
Dreama Little: He punched me right there in the ribs just for fun. Stupid.
(She shows him the bruise on her back.)
Dreama Little: Then he flipped me over and then he started punching me back here. Every night, drunk, crazy, messed up--whether he could get it up or not.
(Quick flash of: Dreama on her bed.)
Dreama Little: (V.O.) Last night I was just about to take my week off to bleed, and I wasn't in the mood.
(Happy bursts into the room. He throws Dreama on the bed. She reaches under the bed and grabs her crowbar.)
Dreama Little: (V.O.) So yeah ...
(She hits him on the head. Happy groans in pain.)
Dreama Little: (V.O.) ... I hit him.
(He staggers out of the room.)
(End of flashback.)
Dreama Little: So what? He deserved it. It didn't even drop him. He just wandered off.
Brass: I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You don't get to decide whether you kill somebody or not.
Dreama Little: I just explained to you ...
Brass: You whacked him on the side of the head with a crowbar.
Dreama Little: I know, but I didn't ...
Brass: That's assault with a deadly weapon.
Dreama Little: He came over ...
Brass: It doesn't matter whether he wandered off or not. He's bleeding from the brain. If he dies later on, that's murder on you.
Dreama Little: (shocked) I killed him?
Brass: You know, a jury may take into account the fact that you were abused, and I hope they do. But you're not gonna just walk out of here.
Dreama Little: (crying) I killed him!
(He gives her a pen.)
Brass: You know, sometimes it helps to write it down.
Dreama Little: Okay.
(She takes the pen and paper.)
(Brass's phone buzzes. He looks at it and sees its DR. ROBBINS.)
(Brass stands up to answer the phone.)
Brass: (to phone) Yes.
Robbins: (from phone) Understand you'll be talking to the girl who crowbarred the boxer.
Brass: (to phone) Well, yes, Doctor, I'm actually with her right now.
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY]
(Happy is on the table, his head cut opened and brain removed.)
Robbins: Yeah? Well actually I'm with him right now. And that blow to the head wouldn't do him much good. But it's definitely not what killed him.
(Robbins looks at Happy's brain.)
(Brass hangs up. He turns and looks at Dreama, who has her head down on the table while she cries.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- DAY]
(Robbins shares his findings with Catherine.)
Robbins: The blow to the forehead caused bruising to the right frontal lobe. It's significant, but definitely sub-lethal by itself.
Catherine: And what are those gray spots?
Robbins: Just old scar tissue. See it on boxers all the time. It's impossible to know what kind of brain damage the guy was already living with.
Catherine: So what killed him?
Robbins: In addition to the brain trauma and the holes in his throat, he has needle marks on his thighs, arms and buttocks. I don't know for certain what he was shooting up. Still waiting for tox.
Catherine: Well, he was found floating face down in a pool, so let's start with the obvious. Any evidence of drowning?
Robbins: His lungs were partially filled with blood and water. However, the neck wound transected the trachea below the epiglottis.
(He sticks a pink tube through the holes in the neck.)
Robbins: So the air and the water could have entered passively postmortem.
Catherine: Well, the entry and the exit are the same size, but ... it doesn't look like a bullet wound to me.
Robbins: No, it seems more like a straight-through puncture. The bruising here is more developed than here. At this point, all I can say for sure is the neck wound occurred before the blow to the head.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DAY]
(Sara walks outside the ranch, following the blood drops on the ground. She finds blood and puts evidence marker #14 down next to it. She takes a moment and looks around the spot. She continues looking around the area. She finds more blood drops and puts evidence marker #15 on the ground.)
(Nick walks over. He's finishing his phone call.)
Nick: (to phone) Okay. (to Sara) Hey. Catherine said we might not be looking for a bullet anymore.
Sara: She happen to say at we are looking for?
Nick: Not a bullet.
Sara: Well, it looks like we have blood drops heading towards Happy's trailer.
Nick: Mm-hmm.
Milton: (o.s.) Hey!
(Nick turns and looks at Milton, the old man, walking toward them.)
Milton: You kids, you caught your, caught your guy?
Nick: No, sir.
Milton: You going to catch him?
Sara: We certainly hope so.
Milton: Well, think this might be of some help?
(He shows them a photo of his wife with an arrow stuck in her forehead. Nick looks at Sara. They both stand up. He gives the photo and arrow to Nick.)
Milton: I told you, somebody shot my wife. Come in. I'll show you.
(He motions for them to follow him.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. MILTON'S TRAILER - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(Nick hangs the framed photo back up on its spot on his wall. Sara snaps a photo of it.)
Nick: There is what appears to be blood on the shaft.
Milton: I told 'em. I told 'em, but would they listen? No, no, just an old man running off at the mouth.
Sara: Did you see this happen?
Milton: No. Woke up this morning and found it like that. I shot an arrow into the air, and it fell to Earth I know not where.
(Nick glances at Sara. She turns away with her camera.)
Milton: (quoting) Oh, so swiftly it flew, the sight could not follow it in its flight. Long, long ...
Nick: (interrupts) Sir. That's, that's really sweet.
Milton: That's Longfellow. (chuckles wryly) What do you kids know 'bout poetry?
Sara: Nick, arrow came in through that window.
(She turns to indicate the window on the other side of the trailer. Just outside is a short path next to a toolshed.)
Nick: (nods) Yeah.
(Nick heads out.)
Milton: (mutters) Even an idiot could see that.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - TRAILERS -- DAY]
(Nick walks away from Milton's trailer and heads over toward the path next to the nearby toolshed.)
(He takes his glasses off and stops near the blood on the ground near evidence marker #15. He pauses and looks back at Milton's trailer. He looks over by the toolshed, then over by Happy's rooms. Nick puts his glasses on and heads over to the path by the toolshed.)
(Nick stops. He finds a second arrow stuck in the ground near the side of the toolshed. He has a clear sight to Milton's trailer window. Nick leans up against a board and pretends to hold a crossbow.)
(Quick visualization of: He shoots Happy. Then the arrow goes clear through the window and stops in the framed photo of Milton's wife. End of visualization.)
(Nick walks over to the trailer window with the arrow.)
Nick: Hey, Sara. Found another arrow shot in the ground near that old toolshed.
Sara: Maybe the shooter got nervous.
Nick: Well, to work in a brothel you're required to register your fingerprints, so ...
Sara: I'm almost done here. I'll catch up.
Nick: Okay. I'll let you know if we get lucky.
(Nick takes the arrow and leaves. Sara turns back to the arrow in the photo.)
Sara: A long time afterward, in an oak ...
(Milton perks up.)
Sara: ... found the arrow, still unbroke And the song, from beginning to end,
(She removes the arrow from the picture.)
Sara: I found again in the heart of a friend.
(Milton looks at Sara.)
Sara: Keep the faith, Milton.
(Sara smiles and heads out. Milton smiles as he watches her go. He turns and winks at his wife's photo. We hold on the picture of his wife.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DAY]
(Nick finds a print off the arrow and scans it into the computer they've set up in the back of the SUV. He sends the print to: MANDY.WEBSTER(a)LVPDSCI.COM
FILE # BIN30974-2946
(He exhales as he waits.)
[INT. CSI - PRINT LAB - DAY]
(Mandy receives the print and scans it through the database. She finds a POSITIVE MATCH to Connor Foster, a bartender at the Sugar Cane Ranch.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH - DAY]
(Doris and Nick walk up to the bar.)
Doris: (whispers) Connor. Honey, are you asleep?
(Connor, the bartender, has his head down on the bar.)
Doris: Connor.
(Connor wakes up.)
Connor Foster: Hello, Doris.
Doris: Are you drunk?
Connor Foster: No. Not too much.
(With her eyes, she indicates Nick standing just behind her. Connor looks at Nick.)
Connor Foster: What's up, dude?
Nick: Mr. Foster, we're going to need to talk to you down at the police station. Okay?
Connor Foster: Okey-doke.
(Connor stands up, then promptly falls on the floor.)
(Nick smiles and looks at the officer behind him.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM - NIGHT]
(Brass interviews Connor Foster.)
Connor Foster: Okay. So I shot Happy. I hated that guy. But it was self-defense.
Brass: Self-defense, really? How?
Connor Foster: I myself was trying to defend the girls. They needed me to protect them. They depended me on that. So that's what I done. (whispers) This guy was a monster!
(Quick flashback to: [EXT. NIGHT (BLACK & WHITE)] Happy staggers off into the night. He roars.)
Connor Foster: (V.O.) He was all puffed up ...
(End of flashback.)
Connor Foster: -- like some big-ass ... lizard monster guy.
(Quick flashback to: [EXT. - NIGHT (BLACK & WHITE)] Connor aims at Happy through his crossbow. He shoots and hits Happy through the neck. Happy groans. He turns and sees Connor aiming to shoot him again.)
(Connor gets scared and puts the crossbow down to put another arrow in. Happy charges over toward him. Connor gets scared and flees.)
(End of flashback.)
Brass: So this is your idea of an assassination attempt? This is your Lee Harvey? You hide behind a toolshed and shoot him with a crossbow, which we all know you own -- is that it?
Connor Foster: Yeah, but he wouldn't die. And I'm glad he did. And anyway, I wasn't the one that killed him. (whispers) He just ... kept coming at me. He wouldn't lie down.
Brass: Right.
Connor Foster: It was horrible.
Brass: Connor. You shot a guy in the neck, and you don't think you killed him?
Connor Foster: Uh-huh.
Brass: Well, how do you know you didn't kill him? How do you know he didn't stagger off somewhere and ... you know, drop dead in the pool? I'm liking you for Happy's murder. I'm liking you a lot.
Connor Foster: But I didn't kill him! And I'd do it again if I had a chance!
(Brass looks at him.)
Connor Foster: (whispers) I killed him?
Brass: Yeah.
Connor Foster: I killed him? I killed him!
(He covers his face with his hands and sobs loudly. Brass's phone buzzes. He looks at it and sees its DR. ROBBINS.)
(Brass doesn't answer it.)
Connor Foster: Are you gonna get that?
Brass: Yeah.
(Brass picks up the phone and answers it.)
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - NIGHT]
(Dr. Robbins has Happy's body open in front of him.)
Brass: Listen, I just got a confession from the crossbow guy, so we're all set.
Robbins: Well, then I am sorry to ruin your day, but I certainly appreciate the company. Your guy might be the shooter ... but he's not the killer.
Brass: He-he's not ... What do you mean?
Robbins: I mean ... It's not him.
(Brass turns and looks at Connor. Connor sobs loudly.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[FLASHBACK]
(Happy staggers along the grounds. His throat is swollen.)
Robbins: (V.O.) Happy was on the verge of anaphylactic shock. His trachea was almost completely blocked.
(Quick CGI POV of: A view of the inside of Happy's swollen neck. The arrow pierces through his neck, letting air in and Happy can breathe again.)
Robbins: (V.O.) And then he got shot.
(Down in Happy's chest, his lungs fill with air.)
Robbins: (V.O.) The arrow reopened his airway--
(End of flashback.)
Robbins: -- in essence gave him an emergency tracheotomy.
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - NIGHT]
(Robbins goes over his new findings with Brass and Catherine.)
Brass: So the guy took an arrow through the throat, and it prolonged his life?
Robbins: Apparently.
Catherine: And what are the odds of it not hitting a major artery?
Robbins: Whatever comes right before zero.
Catherine: So COD is anaphylactic shock?
Robbins: Not entirely. The epiglottal tissues are only slightly swollen, which suggests the anaphylaxis had enough time to subside.
(The door opens and David Phillips appears in the doorway. He clears his throat.)
Robbins: Not now, David.
David Phillips: I'm sorry, but Happy's antigen assay came back. The anaphylaxis was a reaction to shellfish.
Robbins: I didn't find any seafood in his stomach or small intestine. Just six and a half pounds of undigested red meat.
Brass: Well, that explains the flatulence.
Catherine: And nothing else.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - LAB - NIGHT]
(Greg and Hodges go through the evidence gathered from the Sugar Cane Ranch.)
Hodges: Anything?
Greg: No shellfish yet, but plenty of used condoms, as well as antifungal powder, vaginal lubricant, hair balls, toenail clippings, hemorrhoid cream and lice-killing shampoo. Somehow, the whole brothel mystique is wearing thin.
(Greg finds a syringe in a tampon tube. Hodges watches him.)
Hodges: I found a couple of syringes, too.
Greg: I thought these girls were supposed to be drug-free.
Hodges: Well, maybe there's a legitimate medical reason for that.
Greg: Yeah. That's why it was stuffed inside of a tampon applicator.
(Greg snaps a photo of the syringe.)
Greg: You know, I kind of feel bad for these girls.
Hodges: Don't feel too bad. They have health benefits, good pay. Women get regular checkups. The industry is well-regulated, as opposed to picking a hooker up off the street. (rambles) Does she have a disease? Multiple diseases? Is she crazy? Is she gonna roll you? Where do you go? Do you do it in your car? Behind a building? Down a dark alley? So you drive around, scared out of your mind. You finally get the nerve up, pick one you like, call her over, she gets in - next thing you know, you're down on the pavement, cuffed, 'cause she's an undercover cop, but luckily, you're three months shy of your 18th birthday, so when you call your mom to come get you, it doesn't go on my permanent record.
Greg: Okay.
(Hodges lifts the newspaper and finds a partially eaten shrimp tail. He holds it up.)
Hodges: We've got a winnah!
[SCENE_BREAK]
VARIOUS CUTS OF:
(Hodges takes a swab of the lipstick around the shrimp tail. He takes a sample of the tail shell, spins it, takes a sample of the liquid and puts it in the machine for analysis.)
(The machine finds the color of the lipstick: SUPERLA LUSTY LAVENDER LIPSTICK
(Greg sprays the shrimp tails and hangs it in the hood. He finds a print.)
(Quick flashback to: Doris and Binky clink glasses.)
Grissom: (V.O.) The prints on the shrimp tails all came back to George Babinkian, but whoever was eating the shrimp was wearing lavender lipstick -- so I'm guessing it wasn't Binky.
(Binky takes a cocktail shrimp and feeds it to Doris.)
Brass: (V.O.) Well, that's Doris's color.
(End of flashback.)
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE - NIGHT]
(Grissom shares his findings with Brass.)
Grissom: Doc was bothered there was no sign of shellfish in Happy's digestive tracts, so he went back and checked the genital area -- there are clear indications that the point of entry of the anaphylaxis ... was through the urethra.
Brass: Oh ... Yeah. Oh. You know, when I talked to the girls, they told me that Doris and Happy had a thang. You add Binky into the mix, and that is one nasty little love triangle.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH]
(Grissom and Brass interview Binky and Doris.)
Binky: So, are we making progress?
Brass: Well, actually, it's a ... it's a very complicated case. We were hoping maybe you'd help us out a little.
Binky: Well, of course, gentlemen, anything.
Brass: Well, apparently, Happy was in the midst of a life-threatening anaphylactic collapse. Do you know what that means?
(Doris and Binky look at each other.)
Binky: Um ...
Brass: It's a very heavy allergy attack ... to shellfish.
(Doris stops.)
Brass: But the strange thing is, the allergen, it seems, was introduced into Happy's system through oral-genital contact.
Binky: I have no idea what you're talking about now.
(But Doris does. She starts hyperventilating with anger. Grissom watches her reaction. Binky glances at her.)
Binky: Now ... Uh ... gentlemen, she's very hot my wife. She was very fond of ... of this boxer.
(Binky puts a hand on her shoulder and Doris grabs Binky.)
Brass: Apparently.
Binky: Will you excuse us? (Binky grabs Doris and pulls her up.) I would like to ... comfort and talk to my wife.
Brass: Well, no, wait a minute, wait a minute.
Grissom: No. I think it'll be all right. Go ahead.
Binky: Thank you, thank you.
Grissom: Take your time.
(Binky and Doris exit the main room and head for one of the back rooms.)
Brass: What was that about?
Grissom: (motions) Come on.
(Grissom walks over to the security desk with Brass. He watches Binky and Doris enter a back room and waits for the door to close.)
Grissom: These rooms are all wired for sound.
Brass: We can't use this as evidence.
Grissom: They have no expectation of privacy in those rooms. Binky and Doris are the ones who wired them, and they listen to their clients all the time.
(Grissom hands Brass the earphones. He puts on his own. He flips the switch for ROOM 3.)
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. ROOM 3 -- CONTINUOUS]
(Doris and Binky talk.)
Doris: That's why you did it. That's why you fed me the shrimp.
Binky: I feed you shrimps because I love you. And you love shrimp, no?
Doris: Don't play dumb with me, George. Somehow you figured out that Happy was allergic.
Binky: Oh, you crazy talk, crazy.
Doris: No, it's all clear to me now. How long have you known?
Binky: Known about what?
Doris: About me and Happy.
Binky: (oh) You were doing boxer?
Doris: Screw you, George. You know damn well I was.
Binky: I don't care if you have your flingy-flingys. We're living in America, no? I mean everybody's entitled to pursuit of happy. What's done is done, Doris. He was turning into big drag. He's dead now. May God take his soul and rest.
Doris: You're setting me up, George.
Binky: I ...
(Binky turns and notices the mic. He shushes Doris, but she's too angry to notice.)
Doris: Now don't you shush me, George. You know what? You've pulled some really out-to-lunch crap in your life, George, but this ... is ...
(He grabs her face and turns her head and points to the mic. She stops.)
(Grissom turns and looks at Brass.)
George: What you just said ...
Doris: I didn't mean it. That was just crazy talk.
Brass: Yeah.
Doris: Yeah. I mean, nobody would ever possibly believe, not for a single solitary moment, I mean not for a single solitary moment, that you, that I, that Happy ...
Binky: Oh, come here, baby, baby, come.
(Binky awkwardly holds Doris.)
Doris: Oh. I love you.
(Grissom and Brass take the earphones off.)
Binky: I love you.
Doris: (sobbing) I love you.
Binky: I love you.
(The door opens and Brass walks in.)
Doris: (sobbing) I love you, too.
Brass: And I love you both. Let's go. You're under arrest.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(Grissom walks and talks with Catherine.)
Grissom: Binky used Doris to induce Happy's allergic reaction to shrimp as a sort of test of her fidelity ...
Catherine: And Happy ends up dead. Not bad. Who's Brass going to charge?
(Robbins appears behind them. They turn around.)
Robbins: Don't bother. You can't charge either one.
(Grissom looks at the report in Robbins' hands and he closes his eyes.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - NIGHT -- FLASHBACK]
(Robbins is examining Happy's legs.)
Robbins: (V.O.) On secondary examination of the body, I noticed a patch of necrotic skin on the right calf. Looked like a bite of some kind.
(Robbins puts a ruler down near the wound marks.)
Robbins: (V.O.) So I sent blood off for prothrombin time and blood venom ratio.
(End of flashback.)
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE - NIGHT]
(Robbins is talking with Catherine and Grissom.)
Robbins: It came back positive for snake venom.
Catherine: Smashed with a crowbar, shot by a crossbow, poisoned by shrimp and now bitten by a snake?
Robbins: Sort of-- Happy had Western Diamondback Rattlesnake venom in his system -- the real deal -- but it wasn't from a bite.
(Quick flashback of: Robbins cuts the piece of flesh off Happy's calf.)
Robbins: (V.O.) I histo-ed the wound and checked the cross-section.
(Cut to: Robbins is looking at the sample under the scope.)
Robbins: (V.O.) Snake bite punctures are typically curved ...
BACK TO SCENE.
(Photo scope view of a cross-section of the puncture wounds.)
Catherine: Yeah, these are straight. And one's deeper than the other. Look like needle marks.
Robbins: As you can see, the tissue around he wound was pretty badly degraded.
(Grissom finds a photo of the syringe.)
Grissom: Greg found this in the trash of one of the girls' rooms.
Catherine: Which girl?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM 1 - NIGHT]
(Brass is interviewing Dreama Little.)
Brass: So I think you'll be happy to know that your little crowbar stunt didn't kill Happy.
Dreama Little: Really?
Brass: Really.
Dreama Little: Oh, that's great. That's like I told you. So can I go now?
(She stands up.)
Brass: Well, don't you even want to know how he died?
(She sits down.)
Dreama Little: Well ... yeah, okay.
Brass: You know, it was the damnedest thing. He had snake venom in his system.
Dreama Little: Huh.
Brass: Hmm.
Dreama Little: A snake bite. Isn't that a hoot?
Brass: Yeah, that's just what it is -- a hoot.
Dreama Little: You know, there's a bunch of those rattlers all up over those hills. I bet he just ...
Brass: Oh, he wasn't bitten. No, he was injected. Yeah. Somebody took a syringe full of snake venom and injected it in his leg.
Dreama Little: I don't know nothing about that.
Brass: Oh, we found the syringe with the venom in it and your DNA on it in the tube you hid it in. I mean, you might have walked on the crowbar thing, but this is premeditated. And that can be very, very bad for you. Look, I know that you and Connor did this together. He's already going down for the crossbow shot. That's probably why he gave you up.
Dreama Little: He-he blamed ... he blamed it on me?
Brass: He said that you cooked up the whole thing from top to bottom.
(She thinks about it and smiles.)
Dreama Little: Mm ... Connor would never say that. He was in love with me.
Brass: Are you saying that faking the snake bite was his idea?
Dreama Little: No. Connor ain't that smart. It was my idea.
(Quick flash of: [EXT. HOUSE] Dreama handles two snakes out of a crate and one is wrapped around her neck.)
Dreama Little: (V.O.) My daddy was a serpent-handling preacher. My people all had the holy fire. I had it, too, but mine came from below.
(She takes the venom from the snake.)
(End of flashback.)
Dreama Little: I caught and milked that rattler.
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM 2]
Connor Foster: Dreama said she did it? By herself?
Brass: That's right. You're going to walk out of here a free man. And she's going to jail, and you can visit her every third Thursday until she's a very old lady. Is that the way you want it to be?
Connor Foster: No.
Brass: Well, that's the way it's going to be. Unless you can convince me she's lying just to save your sorry ass.
Connor Foster: That ain't the way it went down. Dreama thought it up, but I'm the one who stuck it in.
(Quick flashback to: Happy is passed out on Dreama's bed. Connor prepares the syringe.)
Dreama Little: Come on. DREAMA LITTLE: Put it in.
(Connor injects Happy. He stirs and mumbles.)
Dreama Little: (to Happy) That's okay. Shh. Go back sleep.
Happy: (mumbles) Later, I'll get you later. Okay?
Dreama Little: It's okay. (to Connor) Two holes.
Connor Foster: Two holes. What?
Dreama Little: Two holes.
Connor Foster: Oh.
(He injects Happy again.)
(Cut to: Connor carries Happy's body.)
Connor: And then I went and I dumped his body into the culvert. Me, by myself.
(Connor runs away.)
(End of flashback.)
[INT. CSI - LAYOUT ROOM - NIGHT]
(Grissom, Catherine and Nick look over the photos.)
Grissom: Right now the DA's not sure who he's going to charge. What he needs from us is the most accurate timeline we can provide.
Catherine: Well, according to Tox, the hemolytic component of the venom had time to break down tissue, which means that it had to have been in his system at least a few hours.
Grissom: So the fake snake bite is around 1:00.
(Quick flashback of: Happy is down in the culvert. His eyes open and he wakes up.)
Grissom: (V.O.) Happy's down ... but not out.
(Happy gets up and climbs out of the culvert.)
(End of flashback.)
Nick: Well, that gets Dreama and Connor for attempted murder with conspiracy to commit.
Grissom: And earlier that night, Binky fed Doris some jumbo tiger shrimp, --
(Quick flash of: [INT. SUGAR CANE RANCH] Happy is in the hallway.)
Grissom: (V.O.) -- knowing that she'd eventually find Happy for round two.
Happy: (shouts) Dreama!
(Doris steps out into the hallway.)
Happy: Oye, mamita. I don't feel too good.
Doris: Come here, baby. I know what you need. I'm going to make you feel all better. Come to Doris, baby.
(Doris leads Happy into one of the rooms.)
(End of flashback.)
Catherine: Doris administers some very special first aid ... and Happy's little soldier swells to battalion size.
Nick: Babinkian knew about that shellfish allergy -- that's intent, right?
Grissom: In any event, Binky and Doris lawyered up. They're sticking together.
Catherine: How romantic. So, now Happy is not so happy, because he'd heading into anaphylactic shock.
(Quick flashback to: Happy staggers out into the night. His neck is swollen as he heads for his trailer.)
Grissom: According to Narco, Happy had epinephrine in his trailer, which is probably what he was trying to get to in round two.
(Connor fires the arrow and hits Happy in the throat. He aims for a second shot. Happy turns around and sees him.)
(Connor tries to put in the second arrow and instead, turns and runs away.)
(Happy runs to his trailer.)
Nick: (V.O.) That's assault with a deadly weapon.
Grissom: (V.O.) But not necessarily murder.
(End of flashback.)
Nick: So the field tracheotomy buys un-Happy enough time to get the epi.
(Quick flashback to: Happy reaches his trailer and enters. He looks for the medicine and sticks himself in the leg. He sighs with relief and collapses on the floor.)
(End of flashback.)
Catherine: At this point, you'd think he would've just called it a night. Watched a little TV, hit the sack, but no.
(Quick flashback to: Happy gets up again.)
Happy: Dreama. I'm going to get you, you little bitch.
(Cut to: Happy opens Dreama's room door and she hits him in the head with the crowbar.)
(He turns and runs away.)
(End of flashback.)
Grissom: Which brings us to round four.
(Quick flashback to: Happy staggers over to the pool. He sits down in the lawn chair, picks up a cigarette from the ground and lights it. He inhales. The smoke escapes out the holes in his neck.)
(Happy takes a moment and just sits there.)
(Then the lawn chair's broken leg gives way under him. Happy falls into the swimming pool with a SPLASH!)
(End of flashback.)
Grissom: The TKO.
Nick: You do know what a good defense attorney is going to say to all this, don't you?
Catherine: What?
Nick: The lawn chair did it.
(Catherine turns and shares a smile with Grissom.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY - NIGHT]
(Robbins is typing up his final report.)
(He types: SNAKE VENOM PUNCTURES.)
INTERCUT WITH:
[MORGUE DRAWER]
(Happy is on the drawer and is pushed into the morgue cabinet. The cabinet door slams shut.)
(Robbins continues typing.)
1A. First: LORENZO
1B. Last: MORALES
22. DEATH WAS CAUSED BY:
UNKNOWN/ CARDIAC ARREST
(Robbins shakes his head.)
(Under:
DUE TO, OR AS A CONSEQUENCE:
(He types:
FELL OFF A CHAIR
(He continues typing:
(Under:
OTHER CONDITIONS:
(He types:
CONTUSION
BFT - CROWBAR
TRACHEA PUNCTURES
CROSSBOW
ANAPHYLAXSIS
SHELLFISH
(Robbins sighs as he continues typing -
URETHRA - P.O.E.
GENITALS DISTENDED
(And as Robbins continues to type, we --
Plan: A: the murderer; Q: Who did the team try to identify? A: prostitutes; Q: What group of people detested the boxer? A: the team; Q: Who must establish which of several life-threatening acts enacted against the boxer that night actually killed him? Summary: In their attempt to identify the murderer of a has-been boxer who lived among a group of prostitutes who detested him, the team must establish which one of several life-threatening acts enacted against him that night actually killed him.