COLD OPEN:
[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
(Camera lingers on various Las Vegas city stock sh*ts. It rises up toward the starry night sky, passes the moon and moves down to the woods.)
[EXT. WOODS]
(A man carrying a telescope kit walks through the grass and trees to find just the right spot. He opens his case and sets up the telescope.)
(The man looks through the telescope.)
SCOPE VIEW
(Through the window of a nearby house, a man loosens his tie.)
(The scope moves up and focuses in on the starry sky above.)
RESUME VIEW
(The man looks through the telescope. He pulls his eye away from the scope, then goes back to look through the scope.)
SCOPE VIEW
(Through the scope, we see the starry sky lit by an unnatural glow on the right side. The light on the right grows brighter and brighter.)
RESUME VIEW
(The man lifts his head from the scope. We notice that his right side is lit by this unnatural light.)
(We also hear the crackling of fire.)
(The man lifts his head and sniffs the air.)
(We see burning particles flit across the screen. The man turns his head. The light is bright and upon him.)
(Right next to him, the grounds are afire. A burning wall of fire makes its way toward him. The man backs away. He stumbles and falls to the ground.)
(The burning block of fire moves toward him.)
(The man screams.)
(The screaming man rolls down the hill, burning.)
(On the ground is the man's pair of glasses. Reflected in the glass is the burning figure of a man consumed by fire.)
(The man screams echo in the night.)
(Through the reflection in the glasses, we see the man fall to the ground as he continues to burn.)
FLASH TO:
[EXT. WOODS - NIGHT]
(CLOSE-UP: The burned corpse.)
(Grissom talks with the Chief Rick Dysart.)
Chief Rick Dysart: Local homeowner called it in early. We got it contained pretty quick. We were lucky.
Grissom: Luckier than he was.
(Sara doesn't say anything. Grissom, Sara and Chief Rick Dysart are around the body.)
Grissom: Low humidity, dry brush. Perfect conditions for maximum damage.
Chief Rick Dysart: Firebugs listen to the weather reports just like we do. Only for different reasons.
Sara: Maybe some moron just threw a cigarette out the car window.
Chief Rick Dysart: You're an optimist.
Grissom: Do you have a point of origin?
Chief Rick Dysart: Not yet ...
(Grissom and Chief Rick Dysart stand and look around.)
Chief Rick Dysart: ... fire spread down the slope. Probably started along top of the ridge. I'll give you a shout when it's safe to come up.
Sara: Okay, Mom.
(Chief Rick Dysart smiles a little before he turns and heads back up the hill.)
Grissom: This area was always a good place for stargazing.
Sara: It's a good make-out spot, too. So I've heard.
(Sara snaps photos. Grissom glances at her.)
(Around them, the firefighters sh**t water on the smoldering area.)
(Grissom walks around. He looks around. He finds a second body under the trees. This one is just as burned.)
Grissom: Sara! We've got another body.
(The woman's eyes open.)
Grissom: (shouts) Get the paramedics!
FADE TO END OF TEASER ROLL TITLE CREDITS
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FADE IN.
[INT. HOSPITAL - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(The ER hallway is bustling as Greg walks through it.)
Woman: (over p.a.) Dr. Jacobs, dial 102, please. Dr. Jacobs ...
(A nurse works on a woman patient sitting on a gurney.)
Nurse: Are you okay? Is there anything else?
(Greg walks up to the nurse.)
Greg: I'm Greg Sanders from the Crime Lab. I'm here to collect trace from the arson victim.
Nurse: She was in the burn unit. (points) Bay number three.
Greg: Thanks.
Nurse: You're welcome.
(Greg heads for the burn unit.)
CUT TO:
[INT. HOSPITAL - BURN UNIT (ROOM 408) - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS]
(The door opens; Greg walks in. His steps slow down at what he sees.)
(Inside the sterile burn unit, a team of four work on the woman on the table. Greg stares at them.)
(The team work on removing and replacing the woman's burned skin. They work quickly and efficiently.)
(The doctor steps up behind Greg. Greg turns around slightly, noting his presence.)
Greg: I thought ... I just assumed she was dead.
Burn Unit Doctor: It's a miracle she's not. This is as bad as it gets.
Greg: How extensive are the burns?
Burn Unit Doctor: Eighty percent. Mostly third degree.
Greg: I hope the morphine's working.
Burn Unit Doctor: Third degree burns are painless. The nerves are burned away. She's not conscious of what's happening to her.
Greg: Not now.
SHORT TIME CUT TO:
[BURN UNIT -- CONTINUOUS]
(Greg is inside the burn unit. He's wearing a white smock.)
Greg: She's still a Jane Doe. I'm going to need all of her clothes, as well as any trace off her body.
Burn Unit Doctor: We'll save whatever we find during debridement.
Greg: Debridement?
Burn Unit Doctor: We scrape off the dead flesh, then cover it with cadaver skin. We then wrap it with gauze. It prevents infection and allows the remaining tissue to heal.
(Someone clips off the woman's wedding ring. Greg watches as they slip it off her finger. The doctor puts it in a metal pan.)
Voice: Seventy over sixty.
(He hands it to the burn unit doctor. The burn unit doctor hands the metal pan to Greg.)
Burn Unit Doctor: She's gonna lose those fingers.
(Greg looks up from the metal pan.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. VARIOUS LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[EXT. STEWART RESIDENCE -- NIGHT]
(Dani Stewart is on a gurney as the EMTs wheel her away.)
EMT 1: Continue chest compressions and manual oxygen.
EMT 2: ... vital support. ETA to Palm Desert -- eight minutes.
(The EMTs and the gurney pass Catherine, Warrick and Brass.)
Brass: Just going through the motions. Kid's name is Dani Stewart; she's five. Neighbors saw her floating facedown in the pool from their second-story balcony, called 9-1-1.
Warrick: Why didn't they pull her out?
Brass: They couldn't get in the backyard gate. Childproof lock.
Catherine: No key, no access.
Warrick: Her parents protected that kid to death.
Catherine: Where the hell were they?
Brass: Home.
CUT TO:
[INT. STEWART RESIDENCE - KITCHEN -- NIGHT]
(Brass leads Catherine and Warrick into the house. He stops near the doorway. Catherine and Warrick step inside.)
Warrick: We'll call you, Dave, when we clear a path.
David Phillips: Okay.
(They walk in through the kitchen, shining their lights on the cluttered table top and counters. Half-eaten food on plates and food still on the cutting board shows they were interrupted at some point. The television set on the kitchen counter is still on.)
[INT. STEWART RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(Catherine and Warrick step out of the kitchen into the dining room. Catherine looks around and sees the various toys on the floor.)
(We hear dripping sounds.)
(Warrick follows the sounds into the living room. He sees the large decorated dish filled with blood. Blood drips down the stair wall as well. He follows the bloodstains and sees a bloodied arm hanging off the side of the stairs.)
Warrick: Oh, man.
(Catherine joins him as they get closer to the body.)
Warrick: Whew. Well ... she obviously fell forward ...
Catherine: ... as she ran down the stairs.
(They head for the base of the stairs to climb up to the second floor.)
Warrick: Lots of pictures of the kid. Family revolved around the child, huh?
Catherine: Yeah, way should be.
(They climb up the stairs. Catherine stops mid-way and sees the broken glass and picture frame of the family portrait still hanging on the stair wall askew.)
Catherine: Struggle?
(Warrick looks at the blood on the cracked glass.)
Warrick: She might have put her hand out to break her fall.
(The dripping sounds continue.)
(Catherine and Warrick head upstairs to the second floor.)
EXTREME CLOSE-UP: (SLOW MOTION) A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD FALLS INTO THE LIQUID
[INT. STEWART RESIDENCE - SECOND FLOOR BEDROOM -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(Catherine and Warrick step into the second floor bedroom. They find a second body on the bed.)
Warrick: Man. What a scene.
(On the floor, they notice the broken shards of glass and mercury tip.)
(The m*rder w*apon is in the dead body's right hand. The man is on the bed, the back of the neck resting near the edge of the mattress. On the floor, the carpet is soaked through with a pool of blood.)
Warrick: What are you thinking?
Catherine: Maybe m*rder-su1c1de.
(Warrick puts his kit down. He looks at the g*n.)
Warrick: I don't know. This g*n looks like it might've been wiped clean.
(Quick flash to: [EARLIER] A person holding the g*n walks into the bedroom and finds the man sitting on the bed.)
Catherine: (V.O.) You thinking professional hit?
(The k*ller walks up to the man and sh**t. The wife walks in and screams. She turns and runs. The k*ller chases her and fires.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Warrick: What about the little girl?
Catherine: Loose end.
(Quick flash of: [EARLIER] Dani Stewart is floating in the swimming pool in her floater. The k*ller walks up behind her.)
Dani Stewart: Mommy, why is everybody screaming?
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Warrick: There are three bodies in three locations. A lot of variables. Where do you want to start?
CUT TO:
[EXT. WOODS - DAY]
(The fire has been put out. Burned trees smolder from the heat.)
(Near the top of the hill, we see Grissom and Sara making their way up back toward the road.)
(They reach the top where other emergency personnel are.)
(Sara starts looking around. She finds something.)
Sara: I've got ... the business end of a disposable lighter. Could be an ignition source.
(Grissom walks over to her and snaps a couple of photos. She picks it up and looks at it.)
Grissom: Hey.
(Sara looks up. Grissom nods his head in a direction for her to look. He sees something.)
Grissom: What's that?
(They walk over to it. It's a smashed vodka bottle. Grissom snaps a couple of photos.)
Sara: Possible accelerant.
Grissom: Or possible martini.
(He snaps more photos.)
(Sara picks up the broken mouth end of the vodka bottle. She smells it.)
Sara: I didn't think you could smell vodka.
Grissom: Well, that depends on how long it was distilled.
Sara: Cheap stuff.
Grissom: Ironically, the word for vodka comes from the Russian phrase zhizennia voda. "Water of life."
CUT TO:
[EXT. STEWART RESIDENCE - BACKYARD/POOLSIDE -- NIGHT]
(CLOSE-UP: Garden statues of three bunnies - one adult bunny and two smaller bunnies.)
(A tech uncaps a sample jar and gets a sample of pool water.)
(David Phillips walks past on his way to the house.)
[INT. STEWART RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(David Phillips walks through the dining room and approaches the stairs.)
David Phillips: Hey.
(Warrick is dusting the stair railing.)
Warrick: Hey, Super Dave.
David Phillips: You have any idea when I might be able to process the bodies?
(David Phillips starts up the stairs. Warrick dabs the back of his wrist to his forehead as David walks past.)
Warrick: Uh ... that'd be a question for the boss lady. She's upstairs to the right.
David Phillips: Thanks.
Warrick: Yeah.
(David heads upstairs.)
CUT TO:
[INT. STEWART RESIDENCE - SECOND FLOOR BEDROOM -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS]
(Catherine and Nick are in the bedroom. Nick is working behind a large piece of equipment. Catherine sets up the red laser light. She takes out a flashlight and looks at the bed sheets.)
Catherine: I've got some long hairs on the pillow -- brunette. Wife was a blonde.
Nick: So was the daughter, right?
Catherine: Yeah.
Nick: Well, I'll collect the sheets as soon as I'm finished up here.
(David walks into the room.)
David Phillips: Hey, Catherine, um, I was wondering if I ...
Catherine: Oh, I'm sorry, David. We're going to need to keep the bodies in their original position for a while longer.
(Catherine collects the hair strands and puts them in a bindle.)
Nick: Yeah. Crime scene this messy, gotta bust out the big g*ns. You know what I mean? (David leaves the room.) Hey, did you know that Ecklie volunteered the lab to evaluate this scanner for Third Tech?
Catherine: I'm sure he's hoping they'll give us one for free.
Nick: Hmmm. I wouldn't count on it. But I am definitely going to enjoy using this while it's here. Virtual crime scene sketch. Sure beats doing it by hand.
(The red laser starts from the machine and scans around the room. The image is reconstructed onto the monitor.)
(Nick presses a couple of buttons.)
(On the monitor, the wire-frame of the crime scene room rotates.)
CUT TO:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - BRASS' OFFICE -- DAY]
(Brass interviews Annabelle Frost.)
Anabelle Frost: The whole family ... dead? Dani, too? She just had her birthday.
Brass: How long have you been Morgan Stewart's assistant?
Anabelle Frost: Uh ... about two years now.
Brass: Did you and Morgan ever see each other outside of work?
Anabelle Frost: Well ... I baby-sat Dani sometimes for some extra cash. I'm putting myself through school.
Brass: We found a brown hair in his bed. Your color.
Anabelle Frost: I wasn't sleeping with Morgan, and if you knew him, you wouldn't bother implying it. He was devoted to his wife. He was a ... he was a wonderful father.
Brass: Hmm. Were you ever in his bedroom?
Anabelle Frost: (scoffs) No.
Brass: Then you wouldn't mind giving us a sample of your hair.
Anabelle Frost: No. Be glad to ... as soon as you show me a court order.
Brass: You know how that makes you look?
Anabelle Frost: Save it. I'm pre-law.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - LAB -- DAY]
(Greg uses a hand-held device and tests the level of hydrocarbons on the victim's burned clothes.)
(The beeping speeds up as Greg measures the top part of the woman's jacket near the pocket.)
(He puts the device down and removes something from the victim's pocket.)
(Grissom appears in the doorway.)
Grissom: I hear our victim is still alive.
Greg: I don't see why.
Grissom: Well, she's not ready to let go yet.
Greg: A plastic card. I found traces of alcohol all over her clothes. She was doused in it.
Grissom: The accelerant and the probable ignition source were found at the top of the hill.
Greg: That was the point of origin.
Grissom: But the victim was found, almost completely burned, at the bottom of the hill.
(Greg nods.)
Grissom: I don't think she was caught in the fire ...
(Quick flash of: [NIGHT] The woman screams as she burns. She trips and falls down the side of the hill.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
Grissom: I think she started it.
(Quick flash of: The large ball of fire rolling down the hill straight for the camera.)
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FADE IN.
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(Sara processes the glass from the vodka bottle for fingerprints.)
(A print is found and is scanned into the computer. The computer searches for a MATCH to the print. The monitor reads:
<< PATRICK BROMLEY >>
HGT: 6'2" WGT: 205 LBS EYES:
HAIR: BROWN RACE: CAUCASIAN
ADDRESS: TALARUS COURT APARTMENTS
91334 RANCHO DR., APT #24-
LAS VEGAS, NV 89156
WORK HISTORY:
2001 - 2003 PALMS CASINO BUS BOY
2004 - CURRENT DAWSON TRUCKING COMPANY DR--
{PHOTO ON LEFT}
Sara: (V.O.) I got a work card hit off the vodka bottle -- a Patrick Bromley.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY]
(Sara walks with Grissom through the hallway and fills him in on what she's found.)
Sara: He used to bus tables at the Palms. These days, he's driving a big rig.
Grissom: He's a trucker. Let me guess: He's on the road.
Sara: According to his employer, yes. Vartann is working at bringing him in.
(They turn into the lab.)
[INT. CSI - LAB - CONTINUOUS]
Sara: (continuous) But, as it turns out, the company tracks its drivers via GPS, and they were kind enough -- under threat of subpoena -- to give me access to Mr. Bromley's route data for the last 24 hours.
(Sara types in the route data for BROMLEY, P. The map appears with emphasis on:
STOP: Exit 19 A
TIME: 12:49 AM
33, 10, 11: LATITUTDE
110, 05, 24: LONGITUDE
Sara: And what do you know.
Grissom: He was in the area of the fire an hour before the alarm went out?
Sara: Yes. And about a half hour before that, he made a stop at the local Gas
'n' Sip.
(She brings up info on another stop on Blue Diamond RD.
STOP: Exit 30 B
TIME: 12:19 AM
36, 12, 52: LATITUTDE
115, 10, 08: LONGITUDE
Grissom: Well, see if the store's got video surveillance.
Sara: Done. Footage is on its way in.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
[EXT. TRUCK STOP - NIGHT]
(Sara and Det. Vartann interview Patrick Bromley, who is holding a cardboard drink holder with cups.)
Patrick Bromley: You got my dispatcher crawling all over my ass for the past five hours. You know, you pull off a route, that costs me money.
Det. Vartann: Hey ... shut up.
Sara: Why don't you tell us about your friend here.
(He watches security camera video of Tara Matthews in a pink sweater getting into Patrick Bromley's truck.)
Patrick Bromley: She's not my friend. I picked her up hitching out on Sunset.
Det. Vartann: Did she tell you her name?
Patrick Bromley: Never came up.
Sara: Where and when did you see her last?
Patrick Bromley: Dropped her off on Blue Diamond Road.
Det. Vartann: In the middle of nowhere, just like that?
Patrick Bromley: Yeah. She wanted out.
Sara: I bet she did. Where did you get the, uh, scratches on your neck?
Patrick Bromley: A bar fight, couple of nights ago.
Det. Vartann: Hey, do you mind if we look inside your truck?
Patrick Bromley: If that's what's gonna get me back on the road.
(Sara climbs into the truck and looks around. In the back of the truck, she finds a woman's pink sweater.)
(Sara pops out of the truck and holds the pink sweater up.)
Sara: Mr. Bromley! Pink is not your color.
(Det. Vartann takes the cardboard container from Patrick Bromley and drops it on the ground as he puts the handcuffs on him.)
CUT TO:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM - NIGHT]
Patrick Bromley: Look, I was just trying to help that chick out.
Sara: And then you helped yourself.
(Quick flash to: [BACK OF TRUCK - NIGHT] Tara Matthews struggles against Patrick Bromley.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
Patrick Bromley: Uh-uh. Wasn't like that.
Det. Vartann: Are you saying you never touched her?
Patrick Bromley: No way. I mean, yeah ... the girl was ready to party. We had a couple drinks, and a smoke. She was definitely checking me out, but I'm a happily married man. I just gave her a ride.
Sara: We already know what you did.
(Quick flash to: [EXT. TRUCK - NIGHT] Tara Matthews' back hits the truck. Patrick Bromley raises the bottle of vodka, spilling it over Tara Matthews, drenching her in the flammable liquid. He drops the bottle and takes out a lighter.)
(He flicks the lighter on.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Patrick Bromley: Looks like you guys already got your answers. Which means I want a lawyer.
CUT TO:
[CLOSE-UP OF CRIME SCENE PHOTOS]
(Warrick goes through the photos of the bedroom crime scene.)
Warrick: Bobby matched the b*ll*ts to the g*n that was found at the scene. He also ran a registration check.
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY]
(Catherine, Nick and Warrick walk through the hallway.)
Catherine: Let me guess: g*n was clean.
Warrick: No, it was registered to Morgan Stewart.
Nick: So, what, we're looking at a m*rder-su1c1de? Guy kills his family and then turns the g*n on himself?
Warrick: Well, you know it's a possibility. Brass pulled his financials. Morgan Stewart was in debt up to his eyeballs. He was in danger of losing his house.
Catherine: Never underestimate the fragility of the male ego.
(Warrick laughs wryly; Nick smiles.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY]
(Robbins goes over the body with Catherine. The plastic rod is inserted into the b*llet hole in the underside of the victim's chin.)
Robbins: b*llet enters with a marginal abrasion on the underside of the chin. The wound path traverses the oral cavity, brain, and the high scalp, just right of the mid-line. b*llet exited with a stellate laceration in the right parietal scalp.
(Robbins turns to the second body on the second exam table. A plastic rod is inserted into the b*llet hole in the victim's back.)
Robbins: Mrs. Stewart ... b*llet penetrates the back. The hemorrhagic wound paths traverse the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and the deep musculature on the right side of the back. Trajectory is back to front, right to left and slightly downward.
Catherine: And what about the daughter?
(Robbins opens the morgue cabinet door where Dani Stewart's body is. He pulls the table out and lifts the sheet.)
Robbins: Cause of death was drowning.
Catherine: Any trauma to the body?
(Robbins puts the sheet back.)
(Robbins walks over to the x-ray viewbox.)
Robbins: I noticed a fracture on the left fourth costosternal junction-- with virtually no hemorrhage -- caused by excessive pressure on the upper aspect of chest.
Catherine: Broken rib. Now, I know the paramedics performed CPR ...
Robbins: Right, but the EMTs' report states that she already had the injury when they found her at the scene.
Catherine: So maybe this all started with the accidental death of a child.
(Quick flash to: [EXT. POOLSIDE - DAY] Corrine Stewart sees Tara Matthews floating head down in the pool. She screams and runs over to the pool, jumping in to get her daughter.)
Corinne Stewart: Oh, my God!
(She grabs Dani out of the pool.)
(Cut to: Corinne performs CPR on Dani.)
(Quick CGI POV of: Camera zooms in on Dani's chest. The rib cage is viewed as Corinne starts CPR. End of CGI POV.)
(Corinne cries.)
Catherine: (V.O.) Wife tells her husband, whose mental state is already hanging by a thread ...
(Flash as: Corinne turns and sees Morgan Stewart standing behind her. He says something to her.)
(He reaches into the drawer and takes out the handgun. He raises the g*n and points it at Corinne.)
(Corinne turns and runs.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Robbins: Eh, that works.
Catherine: Except how do you perform CPR on your child and then toss her back into the pool?
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY]
(Grissom and Mia Dickerson walk through the hallway as she reports to him.)
Grissom: Did you get an I.D. on our arson victim yet?
Mia Dickerson: I ran the DNA through CODIS and Missing Persons, and I came up empty. But one thing I do know is that one of her markers is out of the control range.
Grissom: "Off-ladder" peak?
Mia Dickerson: You talk the talk, but did you know the frequency of that anomaly is one in every 250?
Grissom: I learn something new every day around here.
(They walk out of camera frame.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(Greg processes a burned piece of paper found on Tara Matthews.)
(The paper reads:
(LIC)ENSE EXTENSION
02/02/04 EXPIRATION DATE: 02/??/0-
TARA MATTHEWS
17011 COLLIE LN LAS VEGAS NV 8910?
ONLY *** TO ORIGINAL ***
(Greg smiles.)
CUT TO:
[INT. MATTHEWS' RESIDENCE -- DAY]
(Greg and Grissom interview Neal Matthews.)
(Camera opens on the framed photos hanging in the hallway. There are three, all of Neal and Tara Matthews.)
Grissom: Mr. Matthews ... when was the last time you saw your wife?
Neal Matthews: Last night, about six.
Greg: She hasn't been home since?
Neal Matthews: No. We had a fight, she left. It's happened before.
Grissom: Do you have a lot of fights?
(He sighs.)
Neal Matthews: I don't know; what's a lot? Look, things have been a little rough for us lately. Tara's been on anti-depressants for awhile. I own my own business, so she's home most of the time. What's this all about? Where's my wife?
(Greg looks at Grissom.)
Grissom: She's been in an accident.
(Neal Matthews takes a deep breath.)
Neal Matthews: I want to see her.
CUT TO:
[INT. HOSPITAL - BURN UNIT - DAY]
(CLOSE-UP: MONITOR VIEW OF TARA MATTHEWS. The monitor beeps and the ventilator hisses. The camera moves down off the monitor and we see Tara Matthews in bed completely wrapped in gauze bandages. The burn unit finishes wrapping gauze around her burned leg.)
[OBSERVATION ROOM]
(Greg and Neal Matthews look into the room through the glass.)
Neal Matthews: I don't know who that is, but ... that's not my wife. That's not Tara.
(Greg holds up the small evidence bag.)
Greg: Is this her ring?
Neal Matthews: Oh, my God.
(The label on the evidence bag reads:
WEDDING RING
3-29-05
BURN UNIT *** ***
S. SIDLE )
(Neal Matthews looks at the ring. He starts crying.)
Neal Matthews: Oh, my God. Tara.
(Inside the burn unit, we're shown Tara's hand wrapped in gauze, the blood stains from where her fingers used to be starting to soak through.)
Neal Matthews: How did this happen?
(Greg swallows.)
Greg: We're still investigating.
Neal Matthews: All day ... I've been waiting for her to get home. I was really going to make it up to her.
FADE OUT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FADE IN.
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(Greg holds a small glass sample container in his hand and looks at Tara Matthews' fingers inside. He stares at its contents.)
(Grissom walks in through the doorway. He watches Greg.)
Grissom: How'd it go at the hospital?
Greg: About as well as could be expected. Doctors had to amputate the fingers from her right hand. Too great a risk for infection.
(Greg puts the container down on the table.)
Greg: They gave them to me to process for trace.
Grissom: You've pulled a double, Greg. You need a break. I'll process it.
(Greg looks at Grissom. Grissom nods back, encouraging him to take that break.)
Greg: Thanks.
(Greg stands up and leaves. Grissom puts on a glove and sits down.)
(Grissom looks at the container and uncaps it. He takes the finger out and looks at it.)
(He picks up a magnifying glass and looks at the finger.)
(He flips the finger over and sees something underneath near the first knuckle.)
(He stares at it.)
[INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM]
(Sofia Curtis walks into the locker room where she finds Greg sitting on the bench.)
Sofia Curtis: Hey.
Greg: Hey.
(She opens her locker.)
Sofia Curtis: What's the problem?
Greg: Nothing. I'm fine.
(She puts her bag down inside.)
Sofia Curtis: You're not.
Greg: I feel like a wuss. Grissom told me I should take a break, and I did.
Sofia Curtis: Your burn victim.
Greg: (nods) How do you get an image like that out of your mind?
Sofia Curtis: You go home. You, uh ... hug your cat, your dog, your pillow. You have a beer, you watch a movie, and then you come back tomorrow.
Greg: Is that supposed to make me feel better?
Sofia Curtis: Rumor has it you used to be a pretty funny guy. (She closes her locker.) Don't lose that.
(Sofia leaves.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI -- DNA LAB]
(Various cuts of: Mia Dickerson looks at the bed sheet under an ALS.)
(The Crime Evidence tag reads:
BEDSHEET
03-29-05
STEWART RESIDENCE
LPD 150389-??????
(She circles the stains she finds.)
(She cuts the stains out.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI -- TRACE LAB -- CONTINUOUS]
(As Mia works, Hodges watches her through the glass walls. He sighs.)
(In the doorway, Catherine watches Hodges.)
Catherine: It's hard to look and not touch, isn't it?
(Hodges is startled.)
Hodges: That poor kid has been working her tail off. Only fair, considering how DNA gets most of the glory these days.
Catherine: Have something for me?
Hodges: Of course.
(Catherine walks into the lab and over to Hodges, who shows her the print results.)
Hodges: The dark hairs you found on Morgan Stewart's bed were not a match to his wife. Pretty bold, to bring another woman into his matrimonial bed. Begging to get caught.
Catherine: Well, so far, you haven't told me anything I didn't already know.
(Hodges points to the monitor.)
Hodges: This is the broken glass and paper found on the floor of the master bedroom.
Catherine: Uh, looks like a thermometer.
Hodges: Yes, but what kind?
Catherine: Do tell.
Hodges: Notice how the gradations are broken down by tenths of a degree?
Catherine: Yes. And most thermometers aren't that specific.
Hodges: Correct. It's a BBT, a Basal Body Temperature thermometer, used by women to pinpoint a temperature spike that occurs ...
Catherine: ... during ovulation. I know. It maximizes your chance of conception. So ... Corinne Stewart, I guess, was trying to have another baby.
Hodges: With no clue as to what her husband was doing when she was out of the house.
Catherine: Or with whom.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY]
(Mia catches Grissom in the hallway.)
Mia Dickerson: Grissom -- hey, it's about your arson victim.
Grissom: Greg beat you to it. I got an I.D.
(Grissom continues walking.)
Mia Dickerson: Yeah, well, I got something you don't have.
(Grissom stops walking and turns around.)
[INT. CSI -- DNA LAB - CONTINUOUS]
(Mia shows Grissom and Catherine the results on the monitor.)
Mia Dickerson: This is the standard ladder of alleles that I run against every unknown DNA. And it contains all of the commonly encountered alleles within the population. As you can see, at locus d3 the alleles are 12 through 19.
Catherine: Which is normal.
Mia Dickerson: Right. Now, as you can see on the sample on the bottom, the locus d3 alleles are 15 and 21.
Catherine: Not normal. The 21 allele is outside the normal range.
Grissom: An "off-ladder" peak. Like Tara Matthews.
Mia Dickerson: Right. This is her profile. And this ...
(She drag and drops the two together.)
Mia Dickerson: ... is the DNA that was extracted from the vaginal contribution to the sheets at the Stewart house.
Catherine: Tara Matthews' DNA in Morgan Stewart's bed.
Grissom: (smugly) We're working the same case.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - BREAK ROOM -- NIGHT]
(Grissom, Sara, Catherine and Warrick meet to go over their cases together.)
Grissom: There were several spots of high density polyethylene embedded in the fingers of Tara Matthews' right hand.
Sara: According to Hodges, the material is consistent with the plastic tanks in most disposable lighters. (She picks up a photo and hands it to Warrick.) We found the top of one at the scene of the fire.
Warrick: Well, heat melts plastic and butane will explode under pressure.
Catherine: So the lighter blew up in her hand? Are you saying that she ... set herself on fire?
(Quick flash to: [ROADSIDE - NIGHT] Tara Matthews pours the vodka over her head. She drops the bottle and takes out a lighter. She flicks the lighter on and catches on fire.)
(Quick CGI POV: The fire burns her and goes back to her hand holding the lighter. It explodes.)
(White flash back to present.)
Sara: It was attempted su1c1de. She'd been assaulted by a truck driver shortly before her death. She was clinically depressed. She was having problems in her marriage.
Grissom: You know, some eastern cultures believe that fire cleanses the soul.
Catherine: Well, Tara Matthews was having sex with Morgan Stewart. So, if she attempted su1c1de several hours after the Stewarts died, she's a possible suspect.
Grissom: Yeah, but just having her DNA in the bed doesn't prove she was there for the murders.
Sara: What about Tara's husband Neal?
Warrick: Well, according to Brass, Neal and Morgan were good friends since they were kids. Neal was good at making money, and Morgan was good at making debts.
Sara: Maybe Morgan was jealous of Neal, sleeps with Tara out of spite, Corinne finds out ...
Grissom: And three people end up dead. So the critical question remains. If Morgan shot himself, then he's the prime suspect in the murders, but if he, in fact, was m*rder*d, then somebody else was in the house.
CUT TO:
[INT. HOSPITAL - BURN UNIT - OBSERVATION ROOM -- NIGHT]
(Neal Matthews sits in a chair in the observation room doorway looking at his wife inside. Brass walks up to him. He looks at Tara Matthews in the burn bed.)
Brass: Mr. Matthews. Detective Jim Brass, Las Vegas Police. How's your wife doing?
Neal Matthews: How does it look like she's doing?
(Brass turns around and looks at Neal Matthews.)
Brass: You know, I just have a couple of questions. Maybe we should talk outside.
Neal Matthews: We can talk here.
Brass: Okay. You know, when the detective interviewed you earlier, why didn't you tell him that your best friend and his family had just been k*lled?
Neal Matthews: I didn't know then.
Brass: Were you at Morgan's house yesterday?
Neal Matthews: No.
Brass: How about your wife?
Neal Matthews: Not that I know of. Why would she?
Brass: Well, she's been spending a lot of time there.
Neal Matthews: What's that supposed to mean?
Brass: Your wife was having an affair with your best friend. Look, I feel for you, Neal; I do. Friends don't sleep with their friend's wives.
Neal Matthews: You think you know how I feel?
Brass: Guilty? I don't know.
Neal Matthews: (scoffs ironically) Yeah. I do feel guilty. I was unable to give my wife what she needed. If she went to Morgan, that's the reason. She never handled rejection well.
Brass: So, if Morgan rejected her, how would she have taken that?
Neal Matthews: Badly.
Brass: Bad enough to k*ll?
(He looks at Brass.)
Neal Matthews: (shakes his head) Not Tara.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - A/V LAB]
(MONITOR: Morgan Stewart Crime Scene. Nick is working on the 3-D digital image on the monitor. He goes from photo to wire frame. The b*llet trajectory angles are indicated through dotted lines.)
(Warrick walks into the lab.)
Warrick: How's it going?
Nick: Hey.
Nick: Checking out trajectory angles. This is the shot coming out of Morgan's body.
Warrick: What's the trajectory going into the wall?
Nick: Oh, the wall trajectory is a constant. Morgan's is the variable here.
Warrick: Well, there's no way those lines are gonna match up with Morgan all the way over on the bed.
Nick: So let's make them line up.
(Nick moves Morgan from the bed to the floor. The trajectory angles match.)
Warrick: Hang on. If he shot himself there ... how did he end up on the bed?
Nick: He was moved.
Warrick: Where is the blood spatter from the initial wound?
Nick: Wait. Morgan's wound bled out here. The blood puddle covered the initial spatter.
(Quick flash to: [STEWART RESIDENCE] The k*ller grabs Morgan, aims the g*n and fires. Blood spatters on the carpet.)
(White flash to: The k*ller moves Morgan Stewart to the bed and puts the g*n in his hand. The blood from the wound falls onto the carpet.)
(Several dissolves on a close-up of the blood puddle: Over time, the puddle of blood gets bigger and bigger.)
(End of flashes. Resume to present.)
Warrick: There was someone else in that room.
CUT TO:
[INT. MATTHEWS RESIDENCE - HALLWAY]
(Grissom and Sara are at the house. They pass by the framed photos on the wall.)
Nick: (V.O.) So maybe Neal or Tara Matthews has blood on their clothes.
Warrick: (V.O.) Time to check the house.
(Camera lingers on a photo of Tara and Neal smiling.)
CUT TO:
VARIOUS SCENES OF SARA AND GRISSOM IN THE HOUSE
(Sara turns on the ALS and checks the clothes in the closet.)
(Grissom opens a door to a nursery all in white.)
(Sara picks up hanger by hanger and runs the clothes through the ALS.)
(Grissom stands in front of the vanity and closes the overhead cabinet door)
(Sara continues to check the clothes.)
(Grissom looks at the items on the vanity.)
(Sara checks Tara's shoes.)
(Grissom opens the vanity drawer and looks inside.)
(Sara checks Neal Matthews' shoes. Under one of the sneakers, she finds a piece of broken glass. She removes the glass sliver from the rubber and looks at it.)
(Camera zooms for a close-up of the glass sliver.)
(Grissom searches through the drawer. He finds a basal thermometer from the BLESSINGS FERTILITY CENTER (800) 555-0185.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - CATHERINE'S OFFICE]
(Grissom rushes up to Catherine's office. He hastily knocks on the door. Catherine looks up from her desk.)
Grissom: You found a basal thermometer at the Stewart house?
Catherine: Yeah. It was crushed on the master bedroom floor. Why?
(He holds up the evidence bag.)
Grissom: I found one in Tara Matthews' vanity drawer.
Catherine: I was just looking at Corinne Stewart's autopsy report. Uh ... she had a tubal ligation, so ... she obviously wasn't trying to have kids.
Grissom: Tara was.
FADE OUT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FADE IN.
[INT. HOSPITAL - BURN UNIT - TARA'S ROOM]
(Tara is in bed and hooked up to a ventilator. Yellowish urine drains out from a catheter tubing.)
(Someone is taking a urine sample out from the bag on the side of the bed.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY]
(Robbins holds up the container of Tara Matthews' urine sample. He opens the container and sticks the stick inside. The tip of the stick is blue-ish.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE]
(Catherine sits in front of Grissom's desk and reports.)
Catherine: So it's been confirmed. Tara Matthews is pregnant.
Grissom: Third-degree burns on most of her body and she doesn't miscarry?
Catherine: A mother's body is designed to protect her baby. I don't know, all that trauma and morphine ... it'll be a miracle if she brings it to term.
Grissom: Do we have any idea who the father is?
Catherine: Too early to tell. She's just a few weeks pregnant.
Grissom: Okay, we know that Morgan and Tara were having sex. The broken basal thermometer we found in the bedroom implies that she was trying to conceive with him, and not her husband.
Catherine: Neal could've been sh**ting blanks. GRISSOM: Well, medical records will confirm that.
CATHERINE; And Neal and Morgan were best friends ...
Grissom: ... somebody she may have felt comfortable with.
(Quick flash to: [STEWART RESIDENCE - BEDROOM] Morgan opens the bedroom door and finds Morgan in bed with Tara.)
Catherine: (V.O.) Neal catches Morgan in bed with his wife ...
Neal Matthews: Hey, buddy!
Tara Matthews: Let me explain ...
Neal Matthews: Shut up!
(Neal heads for the bedside table. He steps on the basal thermometer.)
Catherine: (V.O.) And now, he knows where the best friend keeps his g*n.
(He opens the bedside drawer and takes out the g*n.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.
Grissom: The glass in Neal's shoe just puts him at the scene. We didn't find any blood on the clothes we recovered from his house.
Catherine: Clothes are easy to dump. The glass was an oversight; he didn't even know it was there.
Grissom: Or maybe he didn't k*ll anybody.
Catherine: Which leaves Tara.
Grissom: There was no blood on her clothes either. At least nothing at the house. And the clothes she was wearing went up in flames.
(Catherine looks at the open file folder in her lap and looks at the EVIDENCE sheet.)
PACKAGE #4597-1
ITEM #17 TWO MEN'S SOCKS
PACKAGE #4597-2
ITEM #18 PINK SWEATER, WOMEN'S
SIZE: MEDIUM
ITEM #19 BOOK OF MATCHES
ITEM #20 TRUCKER'S LOG BOOK )
Catherine: Not everything.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(Catherine runs the pink sweater under the ALS. She finds something and reaches for the scissors to cut it out.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - DNA LAB]
(Hodges opens the bindle and takes out the piece of pink sweater. He cuts a piece off and processes it.)
(The labels on the tubing read:
IN #27
*N *28
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM]
(Brass interviews Neal Matthews. His lawyer sits next to him.)
Brass: We got a problem, Neal. We found chlorine from the Stewarts' pool on your wife's sweater. That puts her at the scene. We're going to be charging her with the murders.
Neal Matthews: Whatever happened, Tara couldn't have done it on purpose. It must've been some sort of accident.
Brass: Well, the way we see it, you know, Tara went back to Morgan's house to tell him that she was pregnant with his child, and ... what, she told you the baby was yours?
Neal Matthews: (nods) Yeah.
Brass: And you believed her?
Neal Matthews: We were trying to have a baby. Why wouldn't I?
Brass: Oh, well, sure. I mean, you and Morgan are close enough in looks. She probably would've gotten away with it.
Neal Matthews: She always said that a woman without a child of her own wasn't a woman. We tried in vitro fertilization a half a dozen times.
Brass: Yeah, we know. We subpoenaed your medical records. You had bad sperm.
(Neal nods.) Anyway ... Tara went over to try to get Morgan to leave his family, he said no, she flipped out, she went nuts. She's got a history of depression, right?
Neal Matthews: Right.
Brass: I mean, I suppose Morgan got what he deserved. But just because you're defective doesn't mean that Tara's gonna jump in bed with him.
Neal Matthews: I told Tara we could adopt. She wouldn't.
Brass: And Corinne and the kid ... wrong place, wrong time, I guess.
Neal Matthews: She wanted to have a family so bad ...
Brass: ... and you couldn't give it to her, so she took her business elsewhere. And it didn't take long for Morgan to hit a home run ...
Neal Matthews: Stop talking about it like that.
Brass: Look, Neal. Just because she's lying burned up in a hospital room carrying your best friend's kid ...
(Everyone starts shouting at each other.)
Neal Matthews: No!
Brass: ... Isn't going to cut it with the D.A.
Neal Matthews: No, I'm ...
Brad Lewis (lawyer): Look, Neal, not another word.
Brass: She k*lled three people.
Neal Matthews: (shouts) I want you to shut up! Just shut up!
Brad Lewis (lawyer): Neal, please. Let's go.
Brass: Go ahead and walk. Go ahead, let Tara take the fall. She's probably not gonna make it anyway.
Neal Matthews: I love my wife.
Brad Lewis (lawyer): Please, Neal. Let's go.
Brass: We know you were there. We got a fragment from a basal thermometer found in your shoe.
Neal Matthews: You don't know anything about her.
Brass: I know she wanted a baby more than she wanted to be your wife; I know that much. So tell me what I don't know.
(Neal nods and falls silent.)
Neal Matthews: We were just hanging out, having a couple beers and I got a splinter.
(Quick flashback to: [STEWART RESIDENCE - BATHROOM - DAY] The bathroom door opens.)
Neal Matthews: (V.O.) Morgan said the tweezers were up in his bathroom.
(Neal opens the medicine cabinet and finds the basal thermometer. Suddenly, he knows what's going on.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Neal Matthews: He said it was Corinne's idea. They were just trying to help us.
(Quick flash of: [BEDROOM] Morgan tries to explain but Neal is too angry.)
Morgan Stewart: We did it for Tara.
Neal Matthews: You slept with my wife!
(Neal starts hitting Morgan. He reaches for the g*n in the bedside table drawer.)
Morgan Stewart: No.
(They struggle for the g*n.)
Morgan Stewart: Corinne!
(Outside, Corinne is watching Dani in the pool. She turns when she hears Morgan call her.)
(Inside, Neal steps on the basal thermometer, breaking it.)
Morgan Stewart: (o.s.) Corinne! Call the police!
(Outside, Corinne turns.)
Dani Stewart: Mommy. I want to get out.
Corinne Stewart: Morgan!
(Corinne heads for the house.)
(Inside, Neal sh**t Morgan just as Corinne reaches the bedroom door.)
Corinne Stewart: Morgan!
(Neal turns around and sees Corinne. Corinne turns and runs.)
Corinne Stewart: Morgan!
(Neal gets up and follows her. There's a second g*nsh*t.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Neal Matthews: She ran. She was going to call the cops. I was just trying to stop her.
Brass: You shot her.
(Neal Matthews nods.)
Brass: What about Dani?
Neal Matthews: I didn't know what else to do, so I called Tara. When she came over, saw what I'd done ... She just freaked out.
(Quick flash to: [STEWART RESIDENCE - DAY] Tara runs toward the house. Neal is crying as he paces back and forth in front of the pool. She hits Neal as he explains.)
Neal Matthews: I made it look like Morgan shot Corinne and then he k*lled himself.
Tara Matthews: Are you out of your mind? Do you know what you've done?
Neal Matthews: This is all because of you.
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Brass: Neal ... what happened to Dani?
(Quick flashback to: Tara turns.)
Tara Matthews: Dani!
(She runs and jumps into the pool. Dani is floating inside. She grabs Dani.)
(End of flash. Resume to present.)
Neal Matthews: She said we didn't deserve to live, neither one of us. And then she just ran out the door. I was afraid she was going to try to k*ll herself. All we wanted was a baby.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY LIGHTS (STOCK) - DAWN]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY]
(The body bag is zipped up over Morgan Stewart.)
(The coroners stand around the table pulling the plastic bag over Corinne Stewart.)
(The body of Dani Stewart is zipped up.)
CUT TO:
[INT. HOSPITAL - BURN UNIT]
(Tara Matthews is on the bed. The camera stops in front of the monitor focused on Tara Matthews' face.)
(Her eyes flutter open.)
FADE TO BLACK.
End
05x18 - Spark of Life
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An elite team of police forensic evidence investigation experts work their cases in Las Vegas.
An elite team of police forensic evidence investigation experts work their cases in Las Vegas.