[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
(Camera moves fast and low to the ground. Flash to white.)
[EXT. RESIDENTIAL AREA (STOCK) - NIGHT]
(Camera moves swiftly past residential homes. Past a home with a rickety wooden fence. The number painted on the sidewalk indicates that it's property lot #302. The camera turns into the driveway of this home, moving low to the ground. Flash to white.)
(The camera moves along the path past the lawn and the trash can. The camera moves along the sidewalk, still, low to the ground. It passes by an old car tire and turns up the porch stairs. The camera climbs up the porch stairs and heads straight into the house through the kitty door.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE -- NIGHT]
(Camera cuts into the house where we see a cat burst in through the kitty door. All during the intro, we were traveling through the eyes of the cat. The cat runs into the house and down the hallway.)
(The house is dark and unkempt. There are more cats. in the house. The cat we've been following heads to the living room where there are other cats also gathered. Cats meowing. They're gathered at the center of the living room. Growling. Hissing. Feeding.)
(The camera moves up along and we see that the cats are feeding on a dead body.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE - NIGHT]
(Close up on the back of SGT. O'RILEY'S neck. The camera follows behind him as he makes his way toward GRISSOM and CATHERINE, both carrying their CSI kits. Indistinct radio transmissions can be heard in the background.)
Sgt. O'Riley: Welcome to the wild kingdom. Vic's Ruth Elliot, 80 years old. Had at least 20 roommates, all of them feline. Animal control's rounding them up now.
Catherine: Who alerted homicide?
Sgt. O'Riley: Mail was piling up. Mailman looked in the window and called 9-1-1.
(SGT. O'RILEY turns around and heads back into the house. He calls behind him ... )
Sgt. O'Riley: Take a deep breath before you go inside.
(GRISSOM and CATHERINE follow. As they walk up the pathway, several animal control personnel carry cages with cats in them.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(CATHERINE and GRISSOM enter the house. CATHERINE'S reaction is instantaneous.)
Catherine: Oh, god! Ugh! I didn't think anything could mask the smell of a decomp.
Grissom: Male cat urine ... to us, smelly. To a female cat, it must be like aftershave.
Catherine: Me-ow.
(DAVID PHILLIPS walks up to them to give them his report.)
Grissom: David.
Catherine: You don't look so good.
David Phillips: Allergic to cats.
Catherine: Oh, bummer.
(DAVID PHILLIPS blows his nose.)
David Phillips: Rigor mortis has passed. Lividity is fixed. Extensive marbling on her limbs. She's been dead three or four days and I need a Benadryl. Excuse me.
(DAVID PHILLIPS walks out of the house past CATHERINE and GRISSOM.)
(GRISSOM hands the camera he was carrying to CATHERINE and turns on his flashlight. They approach the body.)
Grissom: Whoa.
Catherine: She could have died of natural causes. Three or four days, pets could have been looking for their next meal.
Grissom: Sure. Meat is meat.
(Behind them, a cat meows and hisses. They turn around to see Animal Control catch a white cat.)
Catherine: Or maybe they turned on her.
(They both crouch low to get a better look at the body. There are bloody injuries to the body's head and left side, the major feeding sites. Then GRISSOM sees it.)
Grissom: Whoa. Look at this. Flowing wound.
(Quick CGI POV from inside the wound as GRISSOM pulls it open with his fingers. The camera is inside the wound and pulls back to show us GRISSOM looking down through the wound. End of CGI POV. Resume on GRISSOM.)
Grissom: That's a deep wound track. This woman was stabbed. I guess the cats are off the hook.
FADE TO BLACK. END OF TEASER. ROLL TITLE CREDITS.
[Captioning sponsored by CBS CBS Productions and Volkswagen.]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT./INT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE - NIGHT]
(CATHERINE finds a single footprint on the hardwood floor. She dusts it and takes a print of it. GRISSOM enters the room.)
Catherine: Floor's covered with trash. Lots of partials. Mostly from animal control boots. But ... I got something here.
Grissom: Distinctive heel and toe. What, a high heel?
Catherine: Well ... an old lady wears flats or slippers. I can't imagine that this vic entertained.
Grissom: You got to be careful with isolation. It can escalate. Before you know it, you're the crazy cat lady living in the rundown house. People stop coming by to visit. You go outside, your neighbors run across the street to get away from you. Eventually, you stop going out altogether.
(WARRICK enters.)
Warrick: Whoo, man! It reeks in here. Who lives like this?
Catherine: Cat lover.
Warrick: You think? So, what do we know?
Grissom: Well, there's no signs of forced entry anywhere.
Warrick: Well, I can see why somebody would want to rob this place. I'll start in the bedroom.
(GRISSOM nods.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
(WARRICK turns the corner and slowly makes his way to the bedroom. He pushes the door open and looks in on the messy bathroom. He turns and notices the bedroom closet. The large wall safe in the closet bears a large black scorch mark. He opens the safe door. It's empty.)
(Cut to WARRICK dusting the door for prints. He finds a set.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE - KITCHEN -- NIGHT]
(GRISSOM holds out a large kitchen knife for CATHERINE to test. She swabs both sides of the knife.)
Catherine: No reaction. Knives are clean.
Grissom: Well, killer could have brought his own ... took it with him when he left.
(WARRICK enters the kitchen holding the prints he lifted from the bedroom safe.)
Warrick: We might want to reconsider "burglary gone bad." I found a busted safe in the bedroom. Empty. I lifted prints.
Willows: A high-heeled thief who knew exactly what to look for and killed the only obstacle in their path.
(Camera holds on GRISSOM.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT./INT. GARAGE -- NIGHT]
(NICK and SARA make their way to the garage. They meet up with BRASS who fills them in.)
Brass: Welcome to a 4-45.
Sara: Explosives. It's been a while.
Nick: Fatalities?
Brass: Just this $50,000 Beemer. Marcie Tobin. Her car. And Marcus Remmick, mechanic, an eyewitness. So, divide and conquer?
Nick: Yeah, I'll take the rig.
Brass: I'll take the grease monkey.
Sara: I guess I got the driver.
(SARA makes her way to MARCIE TOBIN who is already speaking with a police officer.)
Marcie Tobin: (to the officer) How does that make any sense? I mean, why would somebody put a bomb in my car?
Sara: Ms. Tobin? Hi. I'm with the Crime Lab. Mind if I ask you a few questions?
Marcie Tobin: Have you reached my husband?
Officer: I'll check on it, ma'am.
Sara: Thanks. Can you tell me what happened?
Marcie Tobin: I was on my way to my father's office.
(FLASHBACK of MARCIE TOBIN driving her car along the street.)
Marcie Tobin: (V.O.) On Thursdays we have dinner and then I help him with his payroll.
(Flash to white as MARCIE TOBIN drives, her car begins clanging. Flash to white as MARCIE TOBIN pulls into a garage. She gets out of the car and approaches MARCUS REMMICK, the mechanic.)
Marcie Tobin: Excuse me?
Marcus Remmick: We're closed.
Marcie Tobin: My car is making a really strange noise.
Marcus Remmick: Take it to the dealership in the morning.
(End of MARCIE TOBIN'S Flashback. Resume to MARCUS REMMICK talking with BRASS.)
Marcus Remmick: Lady's driving a brand-new Beemer. First service is 15,000 miles. Things don't go wrong.
Brass: Yeah. But you checked it out anyway, huh?
Marcus Remmick: You know how women get.
(Flashback to MARCUS REMMICK and MARCIE TOBIN at the garage.)
Marcus Remmick: Go ahead, pop the hood.
(Flash to white as the hood is up and MARCUS REMMICK checking the car out. MARCUS REMMICK sees the timer. He turns to MARCIE TOBIN.)
Marcus Remmick: Back away.
Marcie Tobin: Why?
Marcus Remmick: Run, run!
Marcie Tobin: Why?
Marcus Remmick: Run!
(Car explodes. End of flashback. Resume on MARCIE TOBIN.)
Sara: Ms. Tobin, where did you last park your car?
Marcie Tobin: In my house, in my garage.
Sara: And who would have access?
Marcie Tobin: Just me... and my husband. But Johnny had nothing to do with this. He's been at work all day. You can ask him as soon as he gets here.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. THE GARAGE - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(Still at the same crime scene, NICK is examining the damaged car ... back seat ... front seat. SARA approaches to lend a hand.)
Sara: Anything probative?
(NICK signals to her.)
Nick: Check out this displacement. Detritus blew backwards.
(Quick CGI POV Flashback of the car exploding from the perspective of the driver's front seat. The explosion blows outward disintegrating the driver's seat. End of CGI POV Flashback. Resume to present.)
Nick: Right into the driver.
Sara: Uh-huh.
(NICK sighs. They both stand.)
Nick: That's intentional.
Sara: Bombs are personal.
Nick: So ... assuming Mrs. Tobin was the intended target the bomber knew what he was doing.
Sara: Yeah, a hired hit on a housewife.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY]
(Camera top view down on MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S sheet-covered body. ROBBINS, GRISSOM and CATHERINE stand near the table.
Robbins: Glad I'm a dog person.
Grissom: You know, house cats have only been domesticated for 4,000 years. They still have predatory instincts.
Catherine: Only 4,000?
Grissom: Yeah.
Catherine: But a cat didn't kill her.
Robbins: You're right. No vital reactions around the bite marks. Predation is all postmortem. Cause of death: cardiac trauma. She was stabbed lateral to the sternal border, just below the fifth intercostal space
(Quick CGI POV that starts with a top view of the wound and goes straight down into the wound. Down, down, down into the flesh and past the bone and to the heart. Flash to white. End of CGI POV. Resume to present.)
Robbins: ... Straight into the right ventricle. Muscle layers decrease with age. Fascia and tissue layers are easy to penetrate. Can't tell you much about the weapon but the wound track is slick.
(Quick CGI POV that again starts with a top view of the wound and goes straight down into the wound. It stops mid-way and shows muscles slick with dripping clear-colored liquid. Flash to white. End of CGI POV. Resume to present.)
Robbins: I swabbed the foreign substance sent it to Greg.
Grissom: Anything else?
Robbins: Well, vic's lungs were full of fluid. Probably not relevant to your investigation, but the lab cultured her blood. She had a severe staph infection.
(A cell phone rings. GRISSOM answers it.)
Grissom: Grissom. (pause) We'll be right there.
(He closes his phone.)
Grissom: Homicide has a witness.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. TRENT'S HOME - PORCH -- DAY]
(On the porch of home #223, SGT. O'RILEY, GRISSOM and CATHERINE question MRS. JANET TRENT'S two daughters.)
Janet Trent: (prompting) Tell them what you told me. Come on, Jessica. What did you see?
Jessica Trent: Oh, the lady over there the one that died, she was nice. She had cats. Lots of them.
Jackie Trent: Yep.
Catherine: My name's Catherine. What is your name again?
Jessica Trent: Jessica Rachel Trent. I'm eight and a half.
Catherine: Oh, eight and a half. So, I bet you're in the third grade?
Jessica Trent: Yeah. My teacher's Mrs. Armstrong. She's really nice. Except I hate multiplication especially the eight's.
Catherine: You know, I have a daughter. She hates the eight's, too. So, Jessica, can you tell me what you told your mom?
Jackie Trent: I can. Jessica and I were playing handball against the garage door. We saw Mrs. Stein go into Mrs. Elliot's house and they were yelling.
Jessica Trent: When Mrs. Stein came out she looked really angry. K-Kind of like when mommy's boyfriend is late for dinner. She hates that.
Grissom: And, uh ... who is Mrs. Stein?
Sgt. O'Riley: Mrs. Elliot's next-door neighbor. Ran a background check. The good neighbor filed three nuisance complaints against the victim.
(In the house across the street, a woman stands in the window looking out at the crowd on the porch. She moves away when she sees them looking at her.)
(JESSICA TRENT and JACKIE TRENT whisper in each other's ears.)
Catherine: Hey, are you girls sharing secrets? Can you share it with me?
Jessica Trent: All right.
(JESSICA TRENT motions for CATHERINE to lean in close. She whispers something into her ear. CATHERINE smiles when done.)
Catherine: (smiles) Thank you.
Jessica Trent: No problem.
Catherine: (to GRISSOM) I think that we're done here.
Grissom: Okay. Thanks for your help.
Janet Trent: Sure.
(MRS. TRENT and her two daughters go back into the house. SGT. O'RILEY, GRISSOM and CATHERINE move off of the porch to discuss the case.)
Sgt. O'Riley: I'll get a warrant for Mrs. Stein's shoes. See if we can place her at the crime scene.
(O'RILEY walks away and out of screen presumably back to his car to get the warrant. GRISSOM and CATHERINE follow behind at a more leisurely pace.)
Grissom: Don't you have a secret to share with me now?
Catherine: Oh, uh, Mrs. Stein? She hates cats.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GARAGE -- DAY]
(NICK and SARA work on the car. SARA picks up a package full of evidence or rather, parts of evidence and empties it all over the table. NICK helps spread it around as they go through it. NICK picks something up.)
Nick: Another spring.
Sara: Did you know there's a dozen moving parts inside a ticking clock?
Nick: I do now.
(NICK finds something else.)
Nick: Hmm ... hello, sweetheart.
Sara: End cap?
Nick: Pipe bomb.
(He examines it under a hand-held magnifying light.)
Nick: End cap at both ends. Either one could have come in contact with the explosive inside the pipe. I'll swab it see if trace can identify it.
(SARA also found something.)
Sara: I will see your end cap and raise you a grommet.
Nick: A grommet? Inside a pipe bomb?
Sara: Not in the bomb, itself, but embedded in the end cap. The wires from the timing device enter the pipe through a hole in the grommet.
(Flash to white. CGI-POV of a pipe bomb with end caps on both ends. There's the grommit in one of the end caps with a wire running through the hole, along the side, to the alarm clock attached to the side of the pipe. The clock has a nail where the 12 should be and when the clock alarm hits 12, an electrical pulse emits from the alarm clock, along the wire, in to the pipe through the grommit. The pipe bomb explodes. Flash to white. End of CGI-POV. Resume to NICK.)
Sara: (V.O.) When the timing device is activated, it sets off an electrical charge that detonates the explosives inside the pipe.
Nick: Yet the grommet's fully intact. How did it survive the blast?
Sara: I don't know, but they always do.
Nick: And just when I thought you knew everything.
(SARA smiles, embarrassed. BRASS enters.)
Brass: How's the puzzle?
Nick: Hey. Pieces are small, but it's coming together.
Brass: Well, I got a corner piece. The 4-1-1 on Marcie Tobin's husband? Junior foreman on Tobin C & D, Incorporated. The "C" stands for "Construction" the "D" is for "Demolition."
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. TOBIN C & D -- DAY]
(JONATHAN CLADDON is speaking with an employee when NICK and SARA enter the garage.)
Jonathon Claddon: I got to do my job, you got to do your job. So, if this stuff isn't taken down there then we all lose. So, you just make sure that you are in touch with me ...
(JONATHAN CLADDON sends the employee on his way and starts writing on his clip board when NICK gets his attention.)
Nick: Jonathan Claddon?
Jonathon Claddon: Yeah.
Nick: I'm Nick Stokes. This is Sara Sidle. We're with the Vegas Crime Lab. We're here about your wife's car.
Jonathon Claddon: Yeah, she told me you might stop by.
Sara: Mr. Claddon are you a Demolitions expert?
Jonathon Claddon: That's what we do. You must have seen our work on TV. We imploded most of the old strip hotels.
Sara: Do you personally know how to make a bomb?
Jonathon Claddon: It's not hard. Anybody here could show you how.
Nick: So, I take that as a "yes"?
Jonathon Claddon: If you're implying I had anything to do with all this ... I love my wife.
Sara: Not enough, apparently, to be there for her last night.
(BARCLAY TOBIN approaches the group.)
Barclay Tobin: Johnny, Reynolds needs help loading the truck.
Jonathon Claddon: (to BARCLAY TOBIN) These folks are from the crime lab. They're here about Marcie.
Barclay Tobin: I'd like to talk to them. Alone.
Jonathon Claddon: (to BARCLAY TOBIN) Sorry. (to NICK and SARA) Well, let me know if I can help.
Nick: Will do.
(JONATHAN CLADDON leaves.)
Barclay Tobin: Oh. Barclay Tobin. This is my company. Any leads on my daughter's case? At this point, we're still asking questions.
Sara: Can you tell us about your son-in-law?
Barclay Tobin: Well, I got him his first and only job when he married Marcie.
Nick: You, uh ... you don't think too much of him, huh?
Barclay Tobin: Even less these days. Marcie says that he's cheating on her but I don't think he has the stones.
(He sighs.)
Barclay Tobin: But after last night ...
Sara: Does Johnny have access to explosives?
Barclay Tobin: All my foremen have access to dynamite.
Sara: Mr. Tobin, do you fingerprint your employees?
Barclay Tobin: Sure do. It's standard for the industry. Just let me know what you need.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - LAB -- DAY]
(NICK enters the lab. GREG is looking through the microscope. He stands when he sees NICK.)
Greg: Before you ask that swab of yours, from the end cap ... let's play "name that chemical compound." Today's category: "Explosives." 30 seconds on the clock.
Nick: Get ...
(Using a black marker, GREG starts to compose a compound on the glass board. We see GREG write the following (please note that it's incomplete) ...)
H
H - C - ONO -
H - C -
H
Nick: (reading) C-3 ... H-5 ... and three molecules of NO-3... nitroglycerin. The explosive component of dynamite.
Greg: Now, the other component for dynamite is either silica or sawdust. Your sample contains sawdust.
Nick: Thanks, Greg. What'd I win?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - PRINT LAB]
(SARA lifts the print off of the end cap and takes a photo of the print, then scans it into the computer.)
(From the current database on screen, she runs a comparison:
Tobin Construction *Allen, P. *Barrington, D. *Claddon, J. *Elwes, ...
From the above list, SARA selects "CLADDON, J.")
(The computer screen immediately brings up JOHN CLADDON'S prints from TOBIN CONSTRUCTION on the left side of the screen, and the extracted print from the end cap on the right - Ref#:_938-2038-4937.)
(From the TOBIN CONSTRUCTION fingerprint card, she selects a L. Index finger to compare the mystery print from the end cap. The click and drags the end cap print to the Card print. It immediately finds its fit. It's a perfect match.)
(SARA smiles. NICK enters the Print Lab.)
Nick: Hey.
Sara: Hey.
Nick: Well, you look ...
Sara: Happy?
Nick: Smug, actually.
Sara: I got a perfect print off the end cap. Husband.
Nick: Nice. I got the type of explosive used in the pipe bomb. Dynamite -- nitro and sawdust. The same kind used at Tobin C & D.
(They both smile and laugh.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM -- DAY]
Jonathon Claddon: You found the end cap? That's not easy.
Nick: Hey, if I were you I'd worry about my fingerprint. How'd it get there?
Jonathon Claddon: My father-in-law's company is the largest purchaser of end caps in Nevada. I log inventory.
Brass: Well, speaking of inventory, I checked the books. As you know, per the ATF every stick of dynamite is catalogued. You logged-out a case of 24. When the demolition project was postponed you returned the case ... one stick short.
Jonathon Claddon: It was stolen. Look, I'm the one who reported the theft. I kept the dynamite in my SUV, inside a storage magazine.
Nick: So, you're telling us someone broke into your vehicle and stole a single stick of dynamite?
Jonathon Claddon: Yes.
(JONATHAN CLADDON looks at NICK, SARA and BRASS.)
Brass: Tell about your girlfriend.
Jonathon Claddon: Is that what Mr. Tobin told you? Marcie's the best thing that ever happened to me. Plus, I've got an ulcer. Do you have any idea what an affair would do to me? I work my butt off for her old man. I barely have enough time to sleep let alone Romeo some other girl. And the truth is, nothing I ever do is good enough. Tobin wouldn't even let Marcie take my name.
Brass: Cry me a river, Johnny.
Jonathon Claddon: You're looking at the wrong guy.
Brass: Then point us in the right direction.
Jonathon Claddon: Marcie handles the payroll and she has a rep for shortchanging overtime. Talk about pissing people off. Any one of those guys could have put that bomb in her car.
Sara: Why didn't you tell us this before?
Jonathon Claddon: Because it's not her fault. She's just doing what her father tells her.
(Camera holds on SARA as she glances over at NICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. DEBBIE STEIN'S HOUSE -- DAY]
(Camera starts from MRS. ELLIOT'S front walkway and unkempt lawn and moves one house to the right to a cleaner, neater home. CATHERINE walks up the sidewalk carrying her CSI kit. She knocks on the door. It opens.)
Catherine: Debbie Stein?
Debbie Stein: Yes.
Catherine: I'm here for your shoes.
(CATHERINE holds out the warrant. DEBBIE STEIN takes it and reads it. She looks up at CATHERINE.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(Lined up on the table are DEBBIE STEIN'S shoes. Methodically, CATHERINE and WARRICK print the bottom of every left shoe trying to find a match to their print. WARRICK inks the bottom of the shoe, and CATHERINE puts the shoe to paper.)
(The next shoe WARRICK inks, he notices the smell.)
Warrick: Phew. Eau de cat.
(He hands the shoe to CATHERINE. She prints it. She smiles.)
Catherine: Eau de match.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
Debbie Stein: She was a pig. Her house stunk. She didn't belong in the neighborhood.
Grissom: So, I guess it's safe to say you weren't friends? Why were you in her house?
Debbie Stein: I wanted to give her a chance to find homes for her cats before I called the Humane Society. To report her. By law, you can only own three.
Catherine: Well, a witness heard you scream at her.
Debbie Stein: She was irrational. I was angry.
<FLASHBACK>
Debbie Stein: This is disgusting. Nobody lives like this. You've got to get rid of them.
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: These cats are my children, and no one's going to take them away from me.
Debbie Stein: Then you clean up after them. I can smell your house from my kitchen.
</FLASHBACK>
Grissom: When, exactly, did you confront Mrs. Elliot?
Debbie Stein: I don't know. Maybe ... six days ago. Before my trip to L.A. I went to visit my sister. Look, if you have any other questions, I want a lawyer.
Catherine: You're free to go.
(DEBBIE STEIN gets up and leaves the room.)
Catherine: Well, she had an answer for everything.
Grissom: You know, according to Mark Twain the most striking difference "between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives".
Catherine: What are you saying? That she's lying?
Grissom: Unless her alibi checks out.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(NICK makes a casting of the striations found on the end cap. He examines the casting under a magnifying light.)
Nick: Bomber fastened the cap to the pipe leaving behind tool marks. Check it out.
Sara: What kind of tool leaves evenly-spaced vertical striations?
Nick: A vice grip.
(Flash to white. Quick CGI-POV of a vice grip around an end cap. The vice grip releases and the markings are left behind. End of CGI POV. Resume to present.)
Sara: A vice grip?
Nick: Yeah. Let's get a warrant for Johnny Claddon's home and for Tobin C & D.
(NICK puts the end cap casting in a plastic evidence baggie #1245689. They both exit the lab.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS]
(NICK and SARA walk out of the lab. NICK, carrying the plastic evidence baggie and SARA taking off her latex gloves. They round the corner and encounter WARRICK walking toward them carrying a file.)
Warrick: Hey, guys.
(The camera focuses on WARRICK and follows him back up the hallway. He meets CATHERINE in the hallway. They both make their way back to the Print Lab.)
Catherine: Hey!
Warrick: Talked with O'Riley. The neighbor's alibi does check out. She was at her sister's in L.A. During the time of the murder.
Catherine: Well, there goes our only suspect.
Warrick: Not so fast. I got another one. We have a match on that print that we found on the wall safe.
Catherine: Right!
(WARRICK brings up the print and the identification on the bottom reads: )
TYLER ELLIOT Work Card Status: Non-Gaming Work History: Electrician 1997-1999
Work Location: Tangiers Age: 45 years
Warrick: Yeah. He has a non-gaming work card. He's 45 years old. He was an electrician at the Tangiers from '97 to '99. His name is Tyler Elliot.
Catherine: That's the same last name as the vic.
Warrick: Victim's son. Only child.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM -- DAY]
Tyler Elliot: I wasn't skipping town.
Sgt. O'Riley: That why you had a duffel bag in the back seat?
Tyler Elliot: I was going camping out at Red Rock. And suddenly, these cops pull me over. They take me into custody. My car's still up there.
Grissom: Your mother died and you never claimed the body. How come?
Tyler Elliot: Funerals are expensive. I'm broke.
Sgt. O'Riley: Records show he filed for bankruptcy last month.
Tyler Elliot: I figured ... let the county pick up the tab. No one was going to show up anyway. It's not like we were close.
Sgt. O'Riley: So, how often did you see her?
Tyler Elliot: Twice a month. Went over, made sure her bills got paid. Brought her medication. Stocked the fridge. All the stuff any good son is supposed to do.
Catherine: Mr. Elliot, we found your mother's safe. It was busted open and your prints were all over it.
(He scoffs.)
Sgt. O'Riley: Something funny?
Tyler Elliot: About a month ago, she called me up -- middle of the night -- hysterical. Her precious tabby was locked inside. She couldn't remember the combo.
(He sees CATHERINE and GRISSOM'S doubtful looks. He elaborates.)
Tyler Elliot: I didn't steal her money. She didn't have any. The only thing she owned was the house. And she left that to some damn cat sanctuary.
Grissom: And so ... that's it?
Tyler Elliot: I'm flat broke and she gives her house to complete strangers. Can, uh ... can somebody drive me back to my car, if we're done?
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. TOBIN RESIDENCE -- DAY]
(MARCIE TOBIN and JONATHAN CLADDON walk outside to meet with NICK and SARA.)
Marcie Tobin: You know, since my car blew up everybody is in my business. All of a sudden, everybody has something to say. You know, an opinion, a theory. My life is an open book and my father wants me to hire a bodyguard. For what? To protect me From who? You know what I think? Someone put the bomb in the wrong car. I think they confused our house with somebody else's because stranger things have happened.
Sara: Marcie?
Marcie Tobin: Yeah. Sorry.
Sara: Maybe we should talk alone.
Marcie Tobin: Uh, we don't have any secrets.
Sara: Okay. Listen - about your marriage -- your father said ...
Marcie Tobin: ... oh, my god. My father shouldn't have said anything.
Jonathon Claddon: Your father ran his mouth about our personal life?
Marcie Tobin: Johnny, you know what? I, um ... a couple of weeks ago I thought that maybe Johnny was fooling around just because he was never home ...
Jonathon Claddon: I was working.
Marcie Tobin: And never interested ...
Jonathon Claddon: Marcie, we talked about this. You know the pressure your father has me under.
Marcie Tobin: I know. I know.
Jonathon Claddon: It's not fair.
Marcie Tobin: And you know what? You shouldn't put too much stock in this because every couple has their problems.
Jonathon Claddon: Marcie and I have had enough. That's it. Now, you have your warrant, fine. But please no more questions.
(JONATHAN CLADDON puts his arm around MARCIE TOBIN. Marcie sighs. With a hand to her head, she walks away.)
Marcie Tobin: Just take what you need.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(NICK is in the lab working on getting samples on the vice grips. SARA walks in.)
Sara: Hey. You got a head start.
Nick: Yeah, didn't even have to wait for my warrant. I just rolled over to Tobin C & D and before I could say "vice grip" the senior foreman gave me every grip in the house.
Nick: Bad news, though. No matches.
Sara: Ah! One more vice grip compliments of the Tobin/Claddon household.
(SARA gives the baggied vice grip to NICK who immediately takes a sample of the grip markings and makes a casting of it. He compares it to the end cap sample. No match.)
Sara: Aw ... teeth aren't even the same size.
Nick: No. And we're out of vice grips.
Sara: We're out of luck.
Nick: Let's unwrap the Beemer.
(SARA smiles.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- GARAGE]
(NICK tears through the plastic wrap covering MARCIE TOBIN'S car.)
Nick: You know, when I was 16, I begged my mom for a car. Swore she'd come through.
Sara: What happened?
Nick: Encyclopedia Britannica.
(He chuckles at the thought.)
Nick: All 24 volumes. Still own them, still use them. Okay.
(NICK and SARA look at the decimated car engine.)
(CGI POV as the car engine morphs back into its pre-explosion state as NICK speaks.)
Nick: Mechanic found the bomb next to the engine mount closest point to the driver. Bomb was on a delay. Clock with a ticking second hand and a nail driven into "12."
(Quick CGI POV camera close up of the alarm clock ticking.)
Sara: That means the bomb was triggered 60 seconds before detonation, one rotation of the second hand.
Nick: Question is, what started the clock?
(NICK and SARA ponder the possibilities.)
Sara: Something Marcie Tobin touched inside the car?
(SARA moves to look into the front seat of the car.)
(Quick CGI POV as the front driving panel and steering wheel morph back into pre-explosion order.)
Sara: Ignition, door locks window, radio, A/C ... turning signals, hazard lights ...
Nick: Yeah, but we're only dealing with a 60-second time frame.
Sara: Okay, she pulls into the lot, she gets out of the car, and she asks for help.
Nick: Mechanic offers to take a look.
Sara: So, she pops the hood for him.
Nick: Hood release.
(NICK looks at SARA, then looks down at the hood release. The camera moves to close-in on the torn hood release.)
Nick: Whoa. The latch has been blown apart. Which means the hood was down when the bomb was detonated.
(Flash to white. Quick Flashback with camera focused on the hood release with the hood closed. The car explodes and the latch tears the hood release. Flash to white. End of flashback.)
Sara: How is that possible? The mechanic saw the bomb.
Nick: X-ray vision? (he laughs)
Sara: Okay, maybe he took one look at it, and he slammed the hood.
Nick: Sara, if you found a bomb in your car would you close the hood?
Sara: No, I would back away fast. Um... maybe the hood dropped?
Nick: No way. BMW has built-in hood shocks.
Sara: Liar, liar, car on fire.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY]
(The camera moves down the hallway toward GREG'S Lab. The glass doors are closed. GREG'S sitting at his lab table with his back to the door.)
(Loud music is blaring. GREG is swinging and swaying to the beat of the music.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI - GREG'S LAB - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(GRISSOM and CATHERINE enter GREG'S Lab. He's wearing a latex glove blown up on his head, a paper mask with lips and teeth on the front, and plastic glasses. He's playing air drums to the extremely loud pulsating music with a test tube grasped in each hand as drumsticks while wearing thick black rubber gloves.)
MUSIC Lyrics: ... doesn't exist / I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a sh1t / (chorus) And when we were good / You just close your eyes / So when we were bad / We'll ...
[Note: From Marilyn Manson, "The Fight Song"]
(CATHERINE looks amused. GRISSOM looks ... "Grissom-ish". CATHERINE turns the tape off. The music stops.)
(GREG stops. He takes the paper mask off of his mouth and smiles.)
Greg: I could have been a rock star.
Grissom: There's still time, Greg. Tell us about the foreign substance we found in the vic's wound track.
(GREG removes the goggles and glove from his head.)
Greg: Uh, well, I like to rub it all over a lady's body. Even better ... I, uh ... like it when she rubs it all over me. And it's also used as a stool softener.
Catherine: It's also the only open lead in our case. Spit it out, Greg.
Greg: Mineral oil.
Grissom: Possibly used as a preservative to prevent rusting of high-carbon steel.
Catherine: Like the blades of knives.
Greg: Old knives. New ones are made from stainless steel. Yeah, I'm like a sponge. I just absorb information.
Grissom: I thought that was my line.
Greg: Yeah, and I absorbed it.
Catherine: (clears her throat) Okay, so ... knives, screwdriver, ice pick, letter opener. We're looking for a weapon with a splash of mineral oil. I'll grab the A.L.S.
Greg: An A.L.S. For mineral oil?
Grissom: Mineral oil fluoresces at 525 nanometers when filtered through a kv590. A little more absorbing ... a little less rock and roll.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT./INT. MRS. RUTH ELLIOT'S HOUSE]
(A dog can be heard barking outside the house.)
(Cut to Inside the house. CATHERINE turns the power on and goes through the items on the counter top.)
(Cut to GRISSOM using an ALS in the bedroom. Opening drawers.)
(Cut to CATHERINE in the kitchen going through the drawers.)
(Cut to GRISSOM looking at various items in the bedroom ... glasses ... and umbrella.)
(Cut to CATHERINE going through the unwashed dishes in the sink.)
(Cut to GRISSOM moving out of the bedroom and into the hallway.)
(Cut to CATHERINE finishing in the kitchen. GRISSOM finishes up and hangs in the doorway, leaning on the doorjam.)
Catherine: Now what?
(From behind him, a cat trots by past his legs and out the kitty door. GRISSOM looks at the cat thoughtfully.)
Catherine: I thought animal control rounded up all the cats.
(CATHERINE takes off her goggles. GRISSOM walks toward the door after the cat and opens it.)
Catherine: Where are you going?
Grissom: Following the evidence.
(He walks out of the kitchen to follow the cat.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. OUTSIDE TRENT HOUSE -- DAY]
(JESSICA and JACKIE TRENT are playing jump rope when the cat from MRS. ELLIOT'S house crosses the street toward them. The cat meows.)
Jessica Trent: Wait.
(They stop jumping rope and turn their attention to the cat.)
Jessica Trent: Rascal. Hi. How'd you get out?
(JESSICA TRENT picks the cat up.)
Catherine: Hi. Girls.
Jessica Trent: Say Hi, Rascal.
(The cat purrs in her arms.)
Catherine: Hi, Rascal.
(GRISSOM notices that the cat has an open wound.)
Grissom: Excuse me, uh ... may I hold your cat?
Jessica Trent: No. He doesn't like you.
(From the house, MRS. TRENT opens the door and calls out to her daughters.)
Janet Trent: Girls, dinner.
Jackie Trent: Doesn't she see we're playing?
Jessica Trent: Just ignore her.
Janet Trent: Girls. I see you've met rascal.
Grissom: Mrs. Trent, I noticed this cat has a sore on its leg. I'd be happy to swab it for you. Might need medical attention.
Jessica Trent: No.
Janet Trent: I don't think that that's really necessary. It's just a cut; it'll heal.
Grissom: But I mean, for your daughter's sake, wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?
Jessica Trent: I think it's time to go inside.
Janet Trent: Uh, Jessica ... I-I think he might have a point.
Jessica Trent: I want her to do it.
(GRISSOM hands CATHERINE the swab and CATHERINE gives him the goggles to hold. He tucks them in his shirt pocket.)
Catherine: Okay. Rascal.
(CATHERINE swabs the wound. The cat growls.)
Catherine: All righty. Thank you.
Janet Trent: Okay, girls, go wash up.
Jessica Trent: Come on, Jackie, let's go.
(The two girls head back to the house.)
Janet Trent: Kids these days, they just don't listen.
Catherine: Two against one.
Janet Trent: Thank you. See you later.
(MRS. TRENT heads back to the house.)
Grissom: One thing about my mother even though she was deaf, she was always the boss.
Catherine: Huh. Well ... single mom ... juggling a job, a boyfriend. It's just easier to say yes than no and then eventually, they just keep asking for permission. You want to tell me why I swabbed their cat?
Grissom: That cat has an open sore and a missing patch of fur -- both indicative of possible staph infection.
Catherine: And we know that our victim had a staph infection.
Grissom: Staphylococcus bacteria can jump the species barrier -- be passed from human to animal.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. MARCUS REMMICK'S GARAGE]
Marcus Remmick: (o. s.) Guess I must have shut it, then. I wasn't thinking; I was reacting, you know? No harm, no foul.
Nick: No prints.
Marcus Remmick: Come again?
Nick: Well, if you were pawing all over the hood then your prints should be on it.
Sara: And they're not.
Marcus Remmick: I wear gloves.
Sara: You're not wearing them now.
Marcus Remmick: I wear them most of the time.
Sara: Mind if we take a look around the garage?
Marcus Remmick: Knock yourselves out.
(NICK and SARA look around the garage. They spot the vice grips on the table.)
Nick: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Sara: Mechanics use vice grips?
(NICK picks up the vice grips from the tool chest and looks at it.)
Nick: You got any clay?
Sara: No.
Nick: Well... we can't just take the tool without a warrant.
(SARA looks down into the trash bin and picks up a sandwich thrown in there.)
Sara: But ... we can improvise. Trash is trash.
Nick: Cheese. Nice.
(SARA hands the sandwich to NICK who works on making an imprint on the cheese.)
Nick: I'll compare this with our case toolmark.
(Behind him, MARCUS REMMICK reaches over the table to pick up a clipboard. He glances at what NICK is doing. He walks away.)
Marcus Remmick: You guys having fun?
Nick: A blast. Hey, man ... these yours?
Marcus Remmick: Don't use vice grips -- pipe wrench has a better feel. Must belong to one of my mechanics.
Sara: Thanks ... I'll take the prints on those.
(SARA takes the cheese and walks over to her CSI kit.)
Nick: Boy, you just have an answer for everything, don't you?
Marcus Remmick: Yeah, I guess I do.
(MARCUS REMMICK turns and walks away. Camera holds on NICK.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(NICK takes the cheese out of the plastic baggie and puts it under the microscope for comparison with their existing cast of the end cap. The prints match perfectly. NICK looks up. He walks over to the next lab where SARA is at the computer.)
Nick: Striae are identical. Auto body vice grip was definitely used to tighten the end cap. Mechanic's prints on file?
Sara: Marcus Remmick. Arrested for fraud in 1994. He was selling used parts as new. Prints are in AFIS, but they don't match the vice grip. And, in fact, AFIS drew a blank.
Nick: Hmmm. Then what are you running?
Sara: I'm running a Tobin C&D database.
Nick: Oh. Shot in the dark.
(The computer beeps as it runs a print comparison from their existing print to the prints in the database.)
(It finds a match.)
Sara: Even a shot in the dark hits sometimes.
(SARA smiles.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
Marcie Tobin: Why would I put a bomb in my car?
Sara: Not only did you put a bomb in your car -- you made it yourself.
Marcie Tobin: Why would I do that?
Brass: The business registration shows that you own 25% of your father's company. So Nevada's a community property State-- you divorce Johnny he becomes a part-owner of Tobin Construction. That wouldn't sit too well with dad, would it?
Sara: But if Johnny goes down for attempted murder, he goes to jail and you get to keep everything, because a criminal can't benefit from his own malfeasance.
Marcie Tobin: This is absurd.
(MARCIE TOBINS stands to leave. She stops at the door.)
Brass: You know, for your information, um ... your mechanic friend lawyered up. Guys with records roll fast.
Marcie Tobin: He's not my friend.
Nick: Really? Because we found your prints on a tool at the body shop. It was the same tool we know was used to make the pipe bomb.
Brass: (quietly) Sit down.
(MARCIE TOBIN sits back down at the table.)
Sara: You and Marcus tag-teamed us. You never popped the hood; he never shut it-- it was latched.
Nick: Fortunately for you, you only worked Thursday nights, because your little plan took a lot of extra time and effort.
(Quick flashback to MARCIE TOBIN taking the one stick of dynamite out of her husband's car. She's wearing thick, black gloves to do the deed. Flash to white as MARCIE TOBIN removes an end cap from the box on the shelf. Flash to white. MARCIE TOBIN and MARCUS REMMICK standing at the work table in the back of his garage. Flash to white. MARCIE TOBIN tightening the end cap to the bomb with the vice grips. Flash to white. The end cap on the pipe bomb. Flash to white. End flashback. Resume on MARCIE TOBIN.)
Nick: (V.O.) You snagged a stick of dynamite out of Johnny's SUV, took an end cap out of inventory, knowing we'd trace it back to Johnny if we found it. And then at the body shop, you put it all together.
Marcie Tobin: So what if I made a bomb? That's not a crime.
Nick: Really? You sure about that?
(MARCIE TOBIN swallows nervously.)
(Quick Flashback to MARCUS REMMICK putting the finished pipe bomb in the engine. Flash to white as MARCUS REMMICK shuts the hood of the car. Flash to white as MARCUS REMMICK leans over the driver window.
Marcus Remmick: Ready.
(Flash to white as MARCIE TOBIN turns on the car's CD player (Track 12). She smiles.)
Marcie Tobin: 60 seconds.
(Quick CGI POV Close up as the electric charge starts with the CD player. Camera moves forward through the dash board and follows the electric pulse through the wires, through the engine, past the engine piece BMW 11.61-1729 / PA66+GF-3 ... )
( ... all the way through to the alarm clock that sets it off. Cut to clock ticking down 12 - 11 - 10 ... Cut to MARCUS REMMICK and MARCIE TOBIN move to stand behind the wall. Cut to a close up of the alarm clock running down ... 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3- 2- 1. Cut to MARCUS REMMICK and MARCIE TOBIN watching as the car explodes. Flash to white. End of flashback. Resume on MARCIE TOBIN.)
Brass: You used to own a '92 volvo. I ran your credit card. You owe $20,000 in auto body repairs. Your dad kicked in $30,000. I ran his credit card, too. That's 50 g's for a leaky transmission.
Nick: You needed Marcus' help to wire the bomb and substantiate your story. So the two of you paid him $50,000 for services rendered.
Marcie Tobin: Look, I'm fine, and my husband is fine, and it was my car that exploded so does this ... really need to go any further?
Brass: Ma'am, you and your father conspired to frame your husband for attempted murder.
Nick: So, you're both looking at, what, uh ... twenty-plus.
Sara: Oh, and Johnny's getting a promotion.
[SCENE_BREAK]
(Camera close up of a petrie dish with culture growing. Time camera on fast forward.)
(GRISSOM opens the door and removes the petrie dish.)
Grissom: Girl's cat ... positive for staphylococcus.
Catherine: You know, I spoke with Janet Trent. She and her daughters are all healthy.
Grissom: Could their cat have been infected by Mrs. Elliot? Could rascal have been her cat at one time?
Catherine: What, and she ... gave it to the girls?
Grissom: No.
Catherine: So if it was hers, and she... didn't give it away ...
Grissom: Maybe someone in the Trent house adopted it.
[SCENE_BREAK]
[EXT./INT. TRENT HOME -- NIGHT]
(JESSICA TRENT is holding Rascal. JACKIE TRENT stands nearby. Their front door is open and an officer stands next to it. A blue-ish colored light from the ALS glows inside.)
(Cut to GRISSOM using an ALS to search for the murder weapon. Camera pans to the framed family photos on the table.)
(Cut to CATHERINE using an ALS in the girls' bedroom. She searches the shelf and sees something. She puts the light down and picks up a pen. Camera close up notes that the part of the pen that contained water is chipped and the water is missing.)
(CATHERINE opens her kit and tests for blood on the pen. The test is positive.)
(Quick CGI-POV close up of the pink floaty pen piercing through MRS. RUTH ELLIOT. End of CGI-POV.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM]
(CATHERINE holds up a plastic evidence bag with the pen.)
Catherine: We know that Mrs. Elliot was killed by this pen. Can one of you tell me what happened?
Child Advocate: Girls, do you understand what Ms. Willows is asking you?
(The two sisters look at each other.)
Jackie Trent: I'll tell.
Jessica Trent: No. You promised.
Catherine: Jessica, in this room, the only promise you make is to tell the truth.
Jessica Trent: She didn't mean to do it. I'm sure she didn't.
Catherine: Who?
(JESSICA turns her head slightly toward the mirror.)
Jessica Trent: Mommy.
(Cut to inside the Observation Room where we see a reflection of JANET TRENT in the mirror. She looks absolutely shocked at what she's hearing. GRISSOM is there in the room standing next to her. CATHERINE looks up at them surprised at the girl's response.)
Catherine: What did your mother do?
Jessica Trent: Mrs. Elliot should have just given us the cat.
<FLASHBACK>
Janet Trent: He's always at our house. Rascal likes it there.
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: I won't give them away.
Janet Trent: Look, then I'll pay you for him.
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: I'm sorry. Every child should have a cat but these are mine.
Janet Trent: Just give me ...
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: Oh!
Janet Trent: Girls, take the cat and run. Go. Go.
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: (crying) No! Please... no!
</FLASHBACK>
Jessica Trent: So then we ran, and that's when we heard the old lady scream.
Catherine: Jackie?
(JACKIE TRENT doesn't say anything. She doesn't even look at CATHERINE.)
Catherine: Girls, do you ... know about fingerprints? When you ... touch something -- like this floaty pen, for instance -- you leave behind an invisible mark that's special, that's yours. I have a way to ... see these invisible marks. And we found these fingerprints on the pen. And they don't belong to an adult.
(JACKIE and JESSICA look at each other. JESSICA shakes her head. JACKIE looks back at CATHERINE.)
Jackie Trent: They're not mine.
Jessica Trent: Tattletales burn in hell.
(JESSICA turns to CATHERINE and sits back in her chair.)
Jessica Trent: The old lady should have just given me the cat. I lied before. She wasn't nice. She was mean.
<FLASHBACK>
Jessica Trent: My mom said we can keep him. Please?
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: These are my babies. I don't give them away.
Jessica Trent: But you have so many. We don't have even one.
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: I'm sorry.
(MRS. RUTH ELLIOT smiles and holds out her hands for the cat JESSICA'S holding. JESSICA doesn't move. MRS. ELLIOT doesn't smile as she realizes that JESSICA'S not going to give her cat back. JESSICA hands the cat to JACKIE.)
Jessica Trent: Run, Jackie!
(JESSICA runs toward MRS. ELLIOT and knocks her over.)
Mrs. Ruth Elliot: I'll tell your mother!
Jessica Trent: You won't!
(JESSICA uses her pen and stabs MRS. ELLIOT. She looks down at her hand holding the pen and covered with blood. She rubs the blood off her hands onto her shirt. She stands and runs.)
</FLASHBACK>
(CATHERINE sits back in her chair. The CHILD ADVOCATE stands and moves to the two girls where she starts speaking with them.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
[OBSERVATION ROOM NEXT DOOR]
Grissom: Did you know?
Janet Trent: (crying) I told the girls that they could have a cat if Mrs. Elliot gave them one. I knew she never would. That's why I made the promise.
Jessica Trent: No, I need mommy. (crying) Mommy. I want my mommy! No!
Jackie Trent: Jessica!
Jessica Trent: Please ... mommy ...
(JANET TRENT watches through the mirror.)
Jessica Trent: (crying) Mommy ...
(Camera holds on GRISSOM.)
Plan: A: Catherine; Q: Who is Grissom's partner in the investigation of the death of the woman? A: 80-year-old; Q: How old was the woman who was stabbed to death? A: cats; Q: What animal did the woman who was killed have in her house? A: Sara; Q: Who is Nick's partner in the investigation of the car bombing? Summary: Grissom and Catherine investigate the stabbing death of an 80-year-old woman who lived in a run-down house full of cats; Nick and Sara comb through the remains of a car bombing that was, apparently, a murder plot gone awry.