COLD OPEN:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) -- NIGHT]
(Thunder rumbles.)
[EXT. UNDER THE BRIDGE - NIGHT]
(Under the bridge, homeless people keep warm by the flames of the burning barrels. Hookers and drug addicts try to keep warm.)
(A car drives by slowly and pulls up along side the curb. The hookers are already peering in through the car window asking questions.)
(The car drives off and slows down in front of another group of men. The car continues.)
(The man behind the wheel continues driving. He turns the corner and parks. He gets out of the car, shuts the door and looks down below at the group of people standing below.)
(He makes his way toward them.)
FLASH TO:
[LATER]
(Camera opens on the dead man lying face-up with bloodied stab wounds in his chest. GRISSOM and BRASS kneel down next to the body looking it over.)
GRISSOM: No watch, no wallet, no shoes. This guy was picked clean.
BRASS: In this neighborhood, he's lucky to have the fillings in his teeth.
(GRISSOM checks.)
GRISSOM: Still there.
(BRASS shakes his head and smiles. GRISSOM notices the MAN'S fingernails.)
GRISSOM: This guy was well-groomed.
BRASS: I don't care if he was lemon-scented and martinized, if he was on Washington and D, he was copping. He should have just said no.
(GRISSOM looks at the group of people standing nearby not caring that there's a dead body right there.)
GRISSOM: Maybe somebody wouldn't take no for an answer.
FADE TO
END OF TEASER
ROLL TITLE CREDITS
(COMMERCIAL SET)
FADE IN.
[EXT. JUNKYARD -- NIGHT]
(CATHERINE, SARA and DET. CAVALIERE make their way toward the body.)
CATHERINE: So, how long have you been in Vegas, Detective Cavaliere?
DET. CAVALIERE: Couple of weeks.
SARA: Welcome to Tranny-town. This is where the hustlers come.
DET. CAVALIERE: Yeah, I can see why. It's very romantic.
(They reach the body. SARA puts her kit down. They all step forward toward the body tucked inside a huge tire.)
SARA: This is new.
(DET. CAVALIERE snaps a picture. The flash startles SARA and she turns to look at him.)
DET. CAVALIERE: Don't get territorial. It's for my own personal collection.
CATHERINE: Whatever blows your skirt up. Burn me a copy.
SARA: There's a small cut on the forehead.
CATHERINE: Yeah, it looks like he's wearing makeup. Blush on the cheeks ... lipstick.
SARA: Transvestite. Fits the profile.
(She looks up at the junked bus nearby.)
SARA: Honeymoon suite's across the way. Anonyms sex becomes anonymous sex crime.
CATHERINE: Murder usually personal.
SARA: Maybe whoever had the last dance left behind a corsage.
CATHERINE: I'd settle for his clothes.
DET. CAVALIERE: Hey, I'll give you a hand.
(DET. CAVALIERE and SARA stand up and move away. DAVID PHILLIPS settles in next to CATHERINE. He looks over the tire.)
DAVID PHILLIPS: You think a hacksaw's going to do the trick?
CATHERINE: No. But that's why god invented sawzalls.
(Cut to: CATHERINE works at cutting the top of the tire off to expose the body. DAVID stands aside and watches.)
(Cut to: SARA and DET. CAVALIERE head toward the bus and step inside. They look around and find the place a mess, discarded used condoms on the seat.)
(Cut to: CATHERINE gets the tire cut through and the CORONERS remove the body from the tire and put it down on a plastic sheet on the ground.)
(Cut to: SARA and DET. CAVALIERE examine the contents in the bus.)
(Dissolve to: SARA finds a naked, decapitated Barbie doll on the bedsheet.)
(Cut to: CATHERINE waits for DAVID to finish with the body. SARA and DET. CAVALIERE join them.)
SARA: All we got is a decapitated doll.
CATHERINE: That's still legal in Nevada.
(They look at the body and notice that DAVID'S been awfully quiet.)
CATHERINE: Dave, what's up? You find something?
DAVID PHILLIPS: I was just thinking I wouldn't be caught dead in those shorts.
CUT TO:
[EXT. UNDER THE BRIDGE -- NIGHT]
(OFFICER cars surround the area. WARRICK tries to work as the HOOKERS nearby watch.)
HOOKER: Yo, baby, look, why're you rushing the day? We got plenty of night left.
WARRICK: I'm working, lady.
HOOKER: See, that's something we already got in common, 'cause I'm working, too.
WARRICK: Oh, yeah?
HOOKER: mm-Hmm.
WARRICK: Were you working him?
(WARRICK turns to indicate the dead body.)
HOOKER: Him? No. No, sir. But I tell you one thing. Good-looking white boy like that? I know plenty of women who'd be tripping over their platform to get a little somethin' somethin'. But no, sir, he wasn't nobody's customer.
WARRICK: Really?
(The HOOKER nods. WARRICK goes back to the body where GRISSOM is.)
WARRICK: This guy get here on foot? I don't see a car.
GRISSOM: They haven't found one yet.
WARRICK: I suppose nobody saw it drive away.
GRISSOM: They were all in the bathroom.
(He and WARRICK look out at the gathering crowd.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - NIGHT]
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- NIGHT]
(ROBBINS goes over the body with GRISSOM.)
ROBBINS: Multiple stab wounds. The deepest of which transected the thoracic aorta and the right mainstream bronchus.
GRISSOM: Anything else?
ROBBINS: His name is Ed Burnell. Matched his prints, prior for possession. And it's not the first time he stared death in the face. Our man had a double dose of cirrhosis. That takes work. Years of hard-core alcohol abuse, plus hepatitis, probably acquired by dirty needles.
GRISSOM: In Chinese medicine, the liver is the organ of anger. Addicts and alcoholics medicate their anger, consequently, destroy their liver.
ROBBINS: Actually, half the liver is pretty healthy.
(ROBBINS reaches for the side and puts a metal tray with a new liver on the body to show GRISSOM.)
ROBBINS: The new half.
GRISSOM: Oh ... a graft from a less angry donor.
ROBBINS: Organ recipient procedure is pretty clear. They only do transplants on people who test clean for a year.
GRISSOM: Well, he probably got his new liver, figured he could, uh, start all over again.
ROBBINS: Is that what you think? That once an addict, always an addict?
(They share a look.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - LAB]
(GREG checks the body's underwear as CATHERINE instructs him.)
CATHERINE: Don't let the scope touch the garment. You don't want to contaminate the evidence. And work systematically.
GREG: Up-down, left-right, what?
CATHERINE: Oh, Well, whatever works for you. Just don't miss any spots.
(CATHERINE sees something on the monitor.)
CATHERINE: All right, hang on. What do those look like to you?
GREG: Semen stains.
CATHERINE: Yes.
GREG: Which, on a man's underwear, aren't exactly probative.
CATHERINE: No.
GREG: Can't tell you how long they've been there, or how often the guy changes his shorts. You know, I knew guys that could go up to four days on one single pair of tighty-whities.
CATHERINE: Thanks for putting that picture in my brain.
(GREG nods.)
CATHERINE: All right, so ...
(She uncaps a pen.)
CATHERINE: I want you to outline each individual stain with dots. But keep
them at least an eighth of an inch from the edge to avoid contamination.
GREG: And then, cut out the swatches and send them to myself in DNA.
CATHERINE: You got it.
(She leaves the pen and heads out of the lab.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - FORENSIC AUTOPSY -- NIGHT]
(Extreme close up of something in hair. Camera pulls back and we see something is being removed from the body's nose.)
CATHERINE: A fiber in his nose.
SARA: Yeah, I'll get it to trace.
(SARA puts the fiber in a baggie. She checks the eyes.)
SARA: Petechial hemorrhaging.
CATHERINE: I would've thought he was strangled during some kind of rough sex-play, but there's no marks.
SARA: Suffocation maybe?
(In the back of the room, DAVID is working on another body. He overhears and can't help but comment.)
DAVID PHILLIPS: That's why undertakers love smother-victims.
SARA: He's got something under his nails.
(SARA takes another instrument to dig out the stuff from his nails.)
SARA: Looks like silver paint.
(CATHERINE notices the shadow on the man's eyes.)
CATHERINE: Vegas brow. (SARA looks at CATHERINE. She shrugs.) A showgirl thing. Eyebrows thin out from all the plucking and waxing and filling in.
SARA: Well, we can kind of rule him out as a showgirl.
CATHERINE: Yeah.
SARA: And, you know, he's hairy for a drag queen. Hey, David?
DAVID PHILLIPS: Yeah?
SARA: Could you hit the lights?
(SARA reaches for the ALS as DAVID PHILLIPS reaches for the lights.)
(As she shines the light on his face, the make-up removed shines through.)
CATHERINE: His face looks painted. (SARA nods.) Kinda looks like a clown.
(CATHERINE and SARA share a look.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. ROAD -- NIGHT]
(EMERGENCY CREWS work to cut JAMAL out from the car. He's drugged up and stuck in the car wreck, his mouth going off loudly and a mile-a- minute.)
JAMAL: Yo, man, get these spiders off my face, man! I gotta beam up outta here. I need my medication. I'm a CEO of a five-bag-a-day corporation, you know that?
(The door opens. JAMAL looks at the OFFICERS.)
OFFICER: Uh, come on. Let's go.
(They help him out of the car.)
JAMAL: Thank you.
(The officers hold on onto him in front of WARRICK and BRASS.)
JAMAL: (laughs) Y'all look like cartoons, man. Okay, thank you.
(JAMAL extracts himself out of the OFFICER'S grips and nearly falls down.)
BRASS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy, pal. You're not running the four-minute mile on those pins.
WARRICK: Nice shoes.
JAMAL: It's all good, it's all good.
(The officers help him onto the gurney where JAMAL finally gets a good look at the damage to the car.)
JAMAL: Whoa! Who gonna pay for that hole in my ride, man?
BRASS: Your ride? This was never your ride. This car belongs to Ed Burnell.
JAMAL: Finders keepers, baby. I gotta bag me some ho's.
WARRICK: What drug is he on?
BRASS: I don't know. Whatever it is, he either took too much or not enough.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - EARLY MORNING]
[EXT. BUILDING - HALLWAY -- MORNING]
(SARA and CATHERINE walk down the hallway toward the BUDDY WEEK, CLOWN AGENCY.)
SARA: Just 'cause the guy looks like a clown doesn't mean he is a clown.
CATHERINE: Description didn't match anyone in missing persons. If you've got a better idea, now's the time.
(CATHERINE opens the door and walks inside. SARA follows and closes the door behind her.)
[INT. BUDDY WEEN CLOWN AGENCY - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(CATHERINE and SARA make their way to the office where BUDDY WEEN yells on the phone. They pass by several clowns sitting in the waiting room.)
CATHERINE: I'd say we're in the right place.
SARA: Yeah. Either that or they're casting a John Wayne Gacey revue.
BUDDY WEEN: (to phone) And you can tell that putz that Buddy Ween doesn't send cruise ship talent for bar mitzvah wages. You got that? (He hangs up, looks at them and points.) Uh, strippers are down the hall, girls. This is clowns.
SARA: (dryly) No kidding.
(CATHERINE shows him her I.D.)
CATHERINE: I'm Catherine Willows. This is Sara Sidle. We're with the crime lab.
BUDDY WEEN: Well, why didn't you say so? We do lots of police parties.
CATHERINE: The party has already happened.
(She shows him the photo of the dead clown.)
BUDDY WEEN: What am I supposed to do with this?
CATHERINE: Identify the body. Did that man ever work for you?
BUDDY WEEN: Well, let me put it this way: I rep clowns. (He points to the
clowns in the waiting room.) That's Flappy, that's Flappy Junior, that's Allen
... he doesn't work that much ... Popo ... get it? All I do is book the face.
I don't care what's underneath.
SARA: If our victim was a professional clown, would he be in this book?
BUDDY WEEN: Uh-huh.
SARA: What are these numbers for?
(She indicates the numbers under the photos in the book.)
BUDDY WEEN: That's the national clown and character registry.
CATHERINE: How do you register a clown?
BUDDY WEEN: Well, not the clown. The look, the face. Each one is unique. It's like snowflakes.
SARA: We're going to need to take this with us.
BUDDY WEEN: You got a warrant? I'm kidding. Okay, it's just a loaner, though.
CUT TO:
[INT. HOSPITAL -- EMERGENCY ROOM - DAY]
(JAMAL is on the bed, his foot up in traction, and his mouth continuing to yell loudly.)
JAMAL: I know you stealin' my medication. I am in pain, damn it! Bring me some stuff!
(He looks up at the nurse down the hall who doesn't move. GRISSOM and WARRICK
both stand at the foot of JAMAL'S bed. He stares at them.)
JAMAL: What are you two ladies lookin' at?
GRISSOM: Uh ... (reading) Jamal ... we're with the Las Vegas crime lab. It
seems you were driving a dead man's car when you got in your accident.
JAMAL: Half the peoples I know be dead. It don't mean they can't own a
vehicle.
WARRICK: Hey, Vanilla Ice ... at this point you're lookin' at a murder rap,
which may end you up on death row, and I'm not talking about the record label.
JAMAL: (shouting) Nurse, this be cruel and unusual!
GRISSOM: Look, pal, right now the evidence tells us that you killed the man
whose car you were driving. You want to explain that?
JAMAL: Explain what, B? I was laid up shootin' speedballs all day. Look, man,
when I get off, I'm gone. Feel me? I can't see nothin', I can't hear nothin'.
Wherever high is, that's where I take the elevator up.
(The nurse pushes past GRISSOM and WARRICK to attend to JAMAL. He looks at her and starts criticizing her.)
JAMAL: Oh, you damn cow! Took you long enough. When I call you, you come, you understand me?
(She pushes the contents of a syringe into his I.V.)
JAMAL: Why you got to do me like this? That's right. (panting) Man's dead. What difference it make how he got there? Now, if you'll excuse me, I got a date with Mrs. Jones. (sighs) Man's already dead. Why he be needing shoes, anyway?
WARRICK: Was that a confession?
GRISSOM: I think a plea of insanity.
FADE OUT
(COMMERCIAL SET)
FADE IN.
[INT. CSI - GARAGE -- DAY]
(The car is in the garage. WARRICK opens the front passenger door and waves away the fumes inside. He looks through it and finds an unopened condom on the dash. GREG hangs just outside the door.)
GREG: DNA results on the blood from Jamal's clothes. It's his own.
WARRICK: Well, the blood spatter's consistent with a front end collision.
GREG: So he didn't kill him in the car.
WARRICK: Doesn't mean he didn't kill him. What I want to know is how's a
strung-out junkie like Jamal get a guy out of the car with just his knife?
GREG: Yeah, and why stab him six times?
WARRICK: Well, let's just say for argument's sake that Jamal is telling the
truth and that Burnell was already dead when he took his wallet, his shoes and
his car.
GREG: Well, if the motive wasn't robbery ... what was it?
(WARRICK finds a small packet of powder in the middle of the car.)
WARRICK: Maybe this'll tell us.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - DNA LAB -- DAY]
(GREG tests the contents of the package. He puts a sample of it under a scope.
GRISSOM walks up to him.)
GRISSOM: Heroin?
GREG: Negative on marquis-mecke-froede.
GRISSOM: So, if it's not an opiate, what is it?
GREG: I don't know. I've never seen it before. I ran a color and crystal test. Take a look.
(GRISSOM looks through the scope.)
[SCOPE VIEW: PINK CRYSTALS]
GREG: All I can tell you is it's an indole alkaloid.
GRISSOM: Did you run it through the GCMS?
GREG: Yeah, but it's not in the library.
(GREG hands the results to GRISSOM.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - AUDIO/VISUAL LAB -- DAY]
(CATHERINE uses the photo and digitally adds the paints on the dead clown's face while SARA goes through the book and tries to find a visual match.)
(CATHERINE paints the eyebrows, the eyes and the area around the mouth. SARA finds the photo in the book.)
CUT TO:
[INT. BUDDY WEEN CLOWN AGENCY -- LATER]
(CATHERINE and SARA sit in BUDDY WEEN'S office.)
BUDDY WEEN: That's Doodles. A.K.A. Donny Zanko.
SARA: So you know him.
BUDDY WEEN: There are two kinds of clowns: There's your ex-circus pros, washed out of Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey, and then there's your basic chuckleheads.
CATHERINE: Which kind was Doodles?
BUDDY WEEN: Basic chucklehead. You know, buy a getup, learn some tricks, and grab some scratch boring the crap out of nine-year-olds. He was a good birthday man, except when he, uh ...
(He motions drinking with his hand.)
SARA: So, he made money boring kids?
BUDDY WEEN: Parents throw parties. They like clowns because they think their
kids like clowns.
CATHERINE: Mm-hmm. Lindsey's fourth ... bad scene.
SARA: Oh.
CATHERINE: So, what was the last gig you booked for him?
BUDDY WEEN: Uh ... car wash, couple of weeks back. Why?
SARA: Mr. Ween, he's been dead less than 48 hours and he was wearing his makeup when he was killed.
BUDDY WEEN: That son of a bitch. He was working off the books. I never thought Doodles would try to stiff me.
SARA: He, actually, was the one who got stiffed.
(BUDDY WEEN looks at SARA.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - GRISSOM'S OFFICE]
(GRISSOM pours over books at his desk when BRASS walks in.)
BRASS: So, it turns out Burnell's tox report was clean. Not only that, he
works at some sort of recovery center.
GRISSOM: Well, that makes sense.
BRASS: It does?
GRISSOM: Well, the substance we found in his car was ibogaine.
BRASS: What's that, the stuff that grows hair?
GRISSOM: A choline-esterase inhibitor that acts as a stimulant in the central
nervous system.
(GRISSOM hands BRASS a piece of paper for him to look at.)
GRISSOM: In the liver, it converts to an active metabolite ... noribogaine.
Noribogaine locks onto addiction receptors ... blocking the feedback loops that
reinforce dependency.
BRASS: In human speak?
GRISSOM: Well, apparently, in some cases, one dose of ibogaine can cure
physical addiction.
BRASS: Does it come with a free set of steak knives?
GRISSOM: It comes with a free trip. Curing physical addiction is a side
effect. Its intended use is to facilitate visual, tactile, and auditory
experiences of alternate realities.
BRASS: So it's an hallucinogen.
GRISSOM: Mm-hmm. Used by the Bwiti tribe of Central Africa. It comes from the
powdered bark of a tree growing in Cameroon.
(Quick flash of: A huge bon fire probably in Central Africa. End of quick
flash. Resume to present.)
BRASS: No kidding.
GRISSOM: Many ethno-botanists believe that the iboga is what the bible is
talking about when it refers to the tree of knowledge.
(Quick flash of: A huge bon fire probably in Central Africa. Several young men
drink from a bowl, most probably of the Bwiti tribe.)
GRISSOM: (v.o.) The Bwiti consume the powdered bark as part of an initiation
ceremony.
(End of quick flash. Resume to present.)
GRISSOM: After the ritual, a man is called baanzi, one who has seen the other
world.
BRASS: No way it's legal.
GRISSOM: Not in the U.S.
BRASS: So, Ed Burnell was a drug dealer.
GRISSOM: Well ...
BRASS: He's either dealing in the addiction or the cure, and a dealer's a
dealer. And this guy's dealing out of a halfway house.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - EVENING]
[INT. DONNIE ZONKO'S RESIDENCE]
(CATHERINE and SARA walk into DONNIE ZONKO, a.k.a. "Doodles" apartment and look
around.)
SARA: Well ... I can see why Doodles drank.
CATHERINE: So, if he's hooking up in Tranny-town, you'd expect to find some
man-on-man porn.
(CATHERINE picks up the BIG BODACIOUS magazine.)
CATHERINE: All we've got is varying flavors of juggs.
SARA: Hmm.
(They look around some more. SARA turns around a clown blow-up punching bag and
finds some tape around its mouth.)
SARA: Looks like Doodles was working out some animosity.
(CATHERINE finds the answering machine with three unheard messages..)
CATHERINE: Oh, an answering machine with messages.
(She hits the button. It beeps.)
ANSWERING MACHINE: Friday, 11:02.
(SARA opens the closet door and looks inside. CATHERINE looks at the mess of
things on the table.)
WOMAN: Hey, Doodle-pie. I can't stop thinking about your enormous feet. Call
me.
(The machines beeps.)
CATHERINE: You know what they say about big feet.
ANSWERING MACHINE: Saturday, 7:00 P.M.
MIME: Ay, paddle boy, you want a war, you got one. And just so you know, I do
appreciate the irony of me leaving you a message.
(The machine beeps.)
CATHERINE: Interesting.
ANSWERING MACHINE: Sunday, 11:45 A.M.
TAXI DRIVER: Hey, Mr. Doodles, your taxi's here.
DONNIE ZONKO (DOODLES): Yeah, yeah, cool your jets. I'll be right down.
(The answering machine beeps.)
SARA: He took a cab ride two days ago ... and his costume's not here.
CATHERINE: Makes sense if he's out of town on a job. I'll call Detective
Cavaliere and have him pull the phone records.
CUT TO:
[INT. HALFWAY HOUSE -- DAY]
(The worker talks with BRASS and GRISSOM. They peer in through the door window
into room 1e as a drug addict throws up into a pan.)
WORKER (MAN): Ed Burnell worked here for about a year. We're a halfway house.
We provide a safe place to live. I mean, if they're going to do ibogaine, I'd
rather have them do it in here than out in the street.
(They turn away from the door and he leads them down the hall.)
BRASS: And despite the fact that San Quentin is your alma mater and you have a
record as long as my leg, you wouldn't do anything illegal, right?
WORKER (MAN): I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize this place, and we don't
give out illegal drugs. We do a lot of good work here.
BRASS: You know, if ibogaine is such a miracle cure, wouldn't it make your life
easier?
WORKER (MAN): The drug doesn't promise anything. You got to earn it. If a
user doesn't realize why he used in the first place, I mean, no power in the
world is going to make him stop. Right here is a good case in point.
(He leads them to room 1g. Inside, MINDY DUPONT is packing, taking her clothes
out of the dresser drawer and shoving them into a package. She looks up when he
opens the door.)
WORKER (MAN): So, you're going?
MINDY DUPONT: Yeah.
WORKER (MAN): You sure that's what you want to do?
MINDY DUPONT: Yeah. This place just reminds me too much of Ed.
WORKER (MAN): Look, I really wish you'd stay here a little longer.
MINDY DUPONT: I can't.
(She walks past him and out the room.)
WORKER (MAN): You did a good job here, Mindy.
(She turns around to look at him.)
MINDY DUPONT: I'm still doing it.
(She turns and leaves.)
[HALLWAY]
BRASS: What's her story?
WORKER (MAN): Ed got her clean. Let me show you what she looked like two
months ago.
(He leads them into another room.)
(Cut to: [ON VIDEO TAPE] A close up of MINDY DUPONT'S entrance interview. She
looks ragged.)
ED BURNELL: (on video, o.s.) Why are you here, Mindy?
MINDY DUPONT: Wanna get off. I ... I don't got another run in me, but I can't
stop. (She cries.)
ED BURNELL: (on video, o.s.) My name is Ed Burnell. I'm here to help you,
Mindy.
MINDY DUPONT: This place is nice. Can I stay here, Ed?
ED BURNELL: (on video, o.s.) Yes.
MINDY DUPONT: 'Cause you're gonna take care of me, right?
ED BURNELL: (on video, o.s.) Yes, I'm going to take care of you.
(The WORKER turns the video tape off. He sits down opposite BRASS and GRISSOM.)
WORKER (MAN): So, was it the ibogaine or the months she spent here?
GRISSOM: You don't believe in ibogaine?
WORKER (MAN): I don't believe in miracles.
BRASS: But Ed did?
WORKER (MAN): Look, when Ed first came here, he was an asset to the place. And
then he got ... religious about it. You know, there's a reason why Mohammed
kept his ass on the mountain. It was safe there. The thing about recovery is
it only works for those who want it, not for those who need it.
GRISSOM: But Ed came down from the mountain, and he brought the ibogaine with
him.
WORKER (MAN): Yeah, and he started pushing it on everyone. Sometimes he won,
sometimes he lost.
GRISSOM: From one addiction to another.
FADE OUT
(COMMERCIAL SET)
FADE IN.
[INT. MAGUIRE'S RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM -- DAY]
(CATHERINE and DET. CAVALIERE interview the MACGUIRES.)
MERRILL MAGUIRE: I can't Doodles is dead. When did it happen?
CATHERINE: We're hoping you can help us find out.
DET. CAVALIERE: Yeah, according to Sunburst Taxi one of the drivers dropped off
the clown here two days ago.
AL MAGUIRE: Yeah, that's right. My son was having a birthday.
MERRILL MAGUIRE: It's my own little tradition. Birthdays, special occasions, I
always hire a clown. The kids love them.
AL MAGUIRE: (chuckles) Except this time, I think maybe we should've gone to
Circus Circus.
CATHERINE: What do you mean by that?
AL MAGUIRE: Well, we hired a clown -- squirting flower, big floppy shoes and
all that -- what we got was a smackdown.
(Quick flashback to: [PARTY] Doodles is putting on his act for the small crowd
of kids.)
AL MAGUIRE: (v.o.) Doodles was going through his clown bit, and, uh, then
this mime comes through our kitchen, which at first we thought it was part of
the act.
(A MIME walks in behind DOODLES.)
DONNIE ZONKO (DOODLES): What the hell are you doing here?
(DODDLES turns around, sees the MIME and they start fighting. Really fighting
in front of the kids. They destroy the birthday cake.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
AL MAGUIRE: So, uh, I jumped in and broke it up and dragged the Mime into the
kitchen. I was going to call you guys ...
DET. CAVALIERE: Mmm.
AL MAGUIRE: ... But he apologized and said that, uh, there was bad blood
between him and Doodles. And he gave me a hundred bucks for the damages, which
I thought was a pretty stand up thing to do, so I let him go.
DET. CAVALIERE: Did you get his name?
AL MAGUIRE: I did better than that.
(AL digs into his pocket for the MIME'S business card.)
AL MAGUIRE: He, uh, told me he'd give me great rate if I ever wanted to upgrade
from clowns.
(He hands it to them. It reads:
JOEY SIZEMORE
ARTISTIC MIME ...
2529 HARMON HTS
LAS VEGAS, NV 91...
(702) 555-019...
CATHERINE: And what time did Doodles leave?
AL MAGUIRE: The kids were really upset after the fight, so I took them out for
ice cream.
MERRILL MAGUIRE: Doodles stuck around to help me clean up, and then he asked me
to call him a cab.
CATHERINE: Do you remember the name of the taxi company or the time of the
call?
MERRILL MAGUIRE: Well, he'd been such a good sport that I offered to give him a
ride home. I dropped him off at his place at around 8:30.
CUT TO:
[EXT. SIDEWALK -- DAY]
(JOEY SIZEMORE, the MIME, does his routine in the middle of the sidewalk. SARA
and DET. CAVALIERE walk up to JOEY. He shows him his badge.)
DET. CAVALIERE: Hey, excuse me.
(He shows JOEY the photo of DOODLES.)
DET. CAVALIERE: Take a look.
(JOEY continues with the routine.)
DET. CAVALIERE: Look, you do have the right to remain silent, but unless you
want a trip to the station, I really wouldn't keep it up.
JOEY SIZEMORE: You want to talk about Doodles, fine.
Take a look at what that skeek did to me.
(He starts rubbing at the make-up on his face to show them his black eye.)
SARA: You got that at Maguires'?
(Quick flashback to: [MAGUIRE PARTY] DOODLES punches the MIME in the face as
they fight. End of flashback. Resume to present.)
JOEY SIZEMORE: Stick a mime and a clown in the same place, it's like a cobra
and a mongoose.
SARA: You crashed Doodles' party, he kicked your ass, and now Doodles is dead.
JOEY SIZEMORE: I didn't kill him.
SARA: You left a threatening message on his answering machine. You declared
war.
JOEY SIZEMORE: Look, the creep was a parasite. When he wasn't bad-mouthing me,
he was horning in on my gigs. Every time I line up a job, "ring-ring," Doodles
calls the mom, gets her to hire him, too. That's money out of my pocket. So,
yeah, I figured a little payback was in order.
DET. CAVALIERE: Yeah, what did you do after you left the Maguires?
JOEY SIZEMORE: I had a strip mall opening out of town.
DET. CAVALIERE: You didn't stop by his house? You know, wait for him to come
back?
JOEY SIZEMORE: No. I got two hookers in Pahrump who can verify.
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. MINDY'S RESIDENCE - DAY]
(BRASS and GRISSOM walk up the front.)
GRISSOM: We found prints belonging to three separate people in Ed Burnell's
car: His, Jamal the thief, and Mindy.
BRASS: He could have given her a lift.
GRISSOM: Except we found her print on a condom.
BRASS: Well, she said she loved Ed.
GRISSOM: Yeah? How much, I wonder.
(BRASS knocks on the door. RILEY RENALDO opens the door. In the back leaning
on a door jam, a drug addict inhales from his pipe. He looks up, sees BRASS at
the door, then slips into the backroom.)
BRASS: We're looking for information on Mindy Dupont. This was her last known
address.
(BRASS shows RILEY his badge.)
RILEY RENALDO: Yeah, she's here.
BRASS: Mind if we talk with her?
(Inside the room, GRISSOM notes the various drug paraphernalia and broken vials
on the floor.)
RILEY RENALDO: You got a search warrant?
BRASS: You don't need a warrant just to talk. But if you want, we'll go get
one and come back.
RILEY RENALDO: Hey, it's a free country.
BRASS: Yes, it is.
(BRASS and GRISSOM walk into the residence. They walk into the back room and
find MINDY DUPONT stoned on the couch.)
[BACK ROOM]
BRASS: Mindy Dupont. We heard you cleaned yourself up.
MINDY DUPONT: I tried so hard. He said I would feel again. I never wanted to
feel.
(BRASS glances at GRISSOM.)
MINDY DUPONT: Ed saved my life.
BRASS: How do you repay a favor like that?
MINDY DUPONT: I tried.
(Quick flashback to: [ED'S CAR] MINDY slips into the car.)
ED BURNELL: We're going to clean you up.
MINDY DUPONT: What if I don't want to be clean?
(She takes out a condom and moves toward ED.)
ED BURNELL: No. I'm going to help you.
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
MINDY DUPONT: He was an angel. He gave me that stuff.
GRISSOM: And you didn't want to get high anymore.
(She whimpers.)
(GRISSOM sees the knife with blood on it.)
GRISSOM: Did you come here to remember or to forget?
(MINDY starts to cry.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY]
(SARA and CATHERINE walk through the hallway.)
SARA: Well, the mime's alibi checks out. He took polaroids, with the hookers.
Strip mall opened at 7:30. He didn't leave Pahrump till the next morning.
CATHERINE: Uh-huh. So that leaves us with what?
(They walk into the locker room.)
[LOCKER ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
SARA: Nothing.
CATHERINE: Hmm.
(CATHERINE opens her locker.)
CATHERINE: What about timeline? Mrs. Maguire gives Doodles a lift, getting him
home around 8:30.
SARA: As far as we know, he didn't have another job that night.
CATHERINE: Doodles goes home, having performing all day for kids, wrestling
with mimes. His costume would've been a little skanky, yet he doesn't change
out of it?
SARA: Maybe he never got inside.
CATHERINE: And he walks around town in his clown suit until he gets killed?
SARA: Okay, what are the knowns? Um ... Doodles was suffocated. We found
yellow fibers up his nose.
CATHERINE: Greg analyzed the semen stains on his boxer shorts and found an
unknown vaginal contribution in the sample.
SARA: Mrs. Maguire was the last person to see him alive.
(CATHERINE shuts her locker door and smiles.)
CUT TO:
[INT POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM -- DAY]
(BRASS and GRISSOM interview MINDY DUPONT.)
BRASS: The night Ed Burnell was killed you never checked into the halfway
house.
GRISSOM: Mindy, we found a knife in your basket of clothes with Ed Burnell's
blood on it.
BRASS: Help us connect the dots.
MINDY DUPONT: We all have this secret, terrible cave in our hearts, and the
more we try to escape it, the deeper we drive ourselves inside of it.
BRASS: This isn't the halfway house, Mindy. You're looking at a murder rap, so
let's talk specifics.
GRISSOM: There were fifty-seven micrograms per milliliter of monoacetylmorphine
in your urine sample. That means you were using for a while.
MINDY DUPONT: Ed gave me ibogaine.
BRASS: That was months ago. Where were you the night Ed was killed?
MINDY DUPONT: It was like Adam and Eve taking you to the movies except the
movie was your life and you were watching it and in it at the same time.
GRISSOM: (sighs) Why would you have a knife with his blood on it?
(GRISSOM puts the photo of the knife on the table. MINDY doesn't say anything.)
GRISSOM: I think Ed Burnell knew you were using again and he was out there that
night looking for you.
MINDY DUPONT: The spirits ... they protect you.
BRASS: Well, you better hope so, because you're under arrest for the murder of
Ed Burnell.
(Camera holds on MINDY DUPONT.)
FADE OUT
(COMMERCIAL SET)
FADE IN.
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY]
(GRISSOM catches up with SARA in the hallway. He pulls her away from talking
with someone.)
GRISSOM: Sara. Excuse me. Could you, uh, help me out?
SARA: Yeah, with what?
GRISSOM: A woman. I need you to process a female suspect for me.
SARA: Sure.
CUT TO:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - ROOM -- DAY]
(SARA takes samples from under MINDY DUPONT'S finger nails.)
SARA: Palms down.
(SARA looks at MINDY.)
(Cut to: SARA snaps photos of the bruises and markings on MINDY
SARA: Would you hold your arms out, please?
(She snaps more photos, then finishes.)
(Dissolve to: SARA combs out MINDY'S hair allowing the particles to fall to the
paper below. Camera zooms in for a close up of the things falling to the
paper.)
(SARA kneels down and picks up a skin sample.)
SARA: (quietly) Thanks. You can get dressed now.
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI - HALLWAY -- DAY]
(SARA finds GRISSOM in the hallway. She reports her findings to him.)
SARA: Samples from your suspect. There's nothing but a few track marks. No
defensive wounds, no bruising. Junkies usually bruise if you breathe on them
too hard. She is a pile of twigs, very frail.
(GRISSOM looks at SARA.)
SARA: What?
GRISSOM: I haven't seen you for a while, have I?
SARA: You see me every day.
(Finished, SARA leaves. GRISSOM stands there a moment, then takes the samples
and leaves.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS COMMUNITY (STOCK) - DAY]
[EXT. MAGUIRE RESIDENCE - FRONT PORCH -- DAY]
(DET. CAVALIERE escorts the MAGUIRES and their two children out of the house.)
DET. CAVALIERE: It's all yours.
SARA: Thanks.
DET. CAVALIERE: Yeah.
(They head into the house.)
CATHERINE: So, we're looking for clown sex ...
SARA: ... and clown murder.
CUT TO:
[EXT. MAGUIRE RESIDENCE - FRONT PORCH -- DAY]
(CATHERINE and SARA use the ALS on the bedsheets looking for body fluid. They
lift up the cover and continue to look for body fluids.)
(SARA notes the pillowcases.)
SARA: This fabric is consistent with the fibers we found in Doodles' nose.
CATHERINE: You notice how everything matches except this one pillow sham?
SARA: Yeah.
(Quick flashback to: [BEDROOM] SOMEONE grabs a pillow and holds it over
DOODLES' face. End of flashback. Resume to present.)
CATHERINE: The white-faced clown with a pillow covering his face. There
must've been some transfer.
SARA: If a pillowcase like that had grease paint on it, would you throw it out?
CATHERINE: I'd clean it first.
(Cut to: [LAUNDRY ROOM - DAY] SARA goes through the laundry.)
INTERCUT WITH:
([BED ROOM - DAY] CATHERINE looks at the framed photos on the dresser. She
puts the photos down and opens the dresser drawer.)
(SARA digs through the laundry basket and finds the sham with the yellow fibers.
She takes out the ALS and finds the evidence of body fluid on the covers.)
(SARA smiles.)
(CATHERINE opens the drawer and finds DOODLES' clown costume inside.)
CUT TO:
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM A]
(CATHERINE interviews MERRILL MAGUIRE.)
CATHERINE: You lied about driving the clown home. He was in your bedroom.
(She puts the test results on the table in front of her.) DNA on his boxer
shorts indicates that you had sex with him. We checked with the Buddy Ween
Agency, and, uh, you hire clowns on a fairly regular basis: Four, five, six
times a year. That's a lot of clowns.
MERRILL MAGUIRE: I already told you. I like clowns.
CATHERINE: I think you like them more than most people.
(Quick flashback to: [BEDROOM] DOODLES falls down backward on the bed.
MERRILL MAGUIRE crawls on top of him and they start kissing.)
(End of flashback. Resume to next interview room.)
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM B]
(SARA and DET. CAVALIERE interview AL MAGUIRE.)
SARA: Mr. Maguire, I hate to tell you this, but while you were off driving the
other kiddies home, your wife was doing the clown.
DET. CAVALIERE: We figured you must've walked in on them ... in flagrante.
(Quick flashback to: [BEDROOM] AL MAGUIRE walks in on his wife with DOODLES.
He rushes up to them and breaks it up.)
AL MAGUIRE: My wife!
(He grabs the pillow and smothers DOODLES.)
(End of flashback. Resume to CATHERINE'S interview.)
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM A]
CATHERINE: You stripped the body and dumped it in an area frequented by
transvestites, hoping that it would just... go away. Another forgotten sex
crime. You covered your tracks. You cleaned the house. You washed that
pillowcase. What I don't understand, though ... why did you keep the clown
suit?
(CATHERINE puts the photos of the clown suit on the table.)
(Quick flashback to: [BEDROOM] MERRILL holds up the clown jacket and looks at
AL. She smiles at him.)
(End of flashback. Resume to SARA'S interview.)
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM B]
AL MAGUIRE: You don't understand. Merrill and I have been married nine years.
We have two kids.
SARA: Not much left to get excited about?
AL MAGUIRE: I love my wife.
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERVIEW ROOM A]
MERRILL MAGUIRE: When Al wore the suit ... it worked ... and it was good. If
you found something that got you off ... wouldn't you keep it?
(CATHERINE smiles.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CSI -- LAB]
(WARRICK picks up MINDY'S panties off the table.)
WARRICK: Man, there is something so heartbreaking about a woman with raggedy
drawers.
NICK: Mm-hmm.
(NICK tests the clothes for GSR.)
(GRISSOM walks
WARRICK: Grissom, we've gone through all of Mindy's stuff twice. There's no
trace of blood.
NICK: Doesn't make any sense. If she disposes of her clothes, she's not just
going to forget about the knife.
(GREG walks into the lab.)
GREG: Hey, guys, got a male DNA skin sample collected from Mindy's hair.
WARRICK: Burnell?
GREG: Yes and no. The blood is Burnell's, but the skin belongs to another guy.
GRISSOM: Do we know who?
GREG: The gods of CODIS have blessed us with a hit: Riley "Boom-Boom" Renaldo,
proud owner of two assault and battery charges and a possession with intent to
distribute.
(GREG reads off the rap sheet.)
GREG: Current occupation: Apartment manager.
GRISSOM: What do you bet Boom Boom's estate is on the corner of Washington and
D Street?
NICK: Renaldo was Mindy's landlord?
WARRICK: That'd make her a bag-bride ... a strawberry. Paid her rent
horizontally. As long as a dealer keeps a strawberry high, the strawberry does
whatever the dealer wants.
(Quick flashback to: MINDY is face down on the bed, her eyes staring out blankly
at nothing in front of her. RILEY REYNOLDO is behind her. He digs his fingers
into her hair pulling her head up. Camera close up of the skin sample in her
hair.)
(End of flashback. Resume to GRISSOM.)
CUT TO:
[INT. CRACKHOUSE -- NIGHT]
(BRASS, GRISSOM and WARRICK walk up to the CRACKHOUSE. BRASS pounds on the
door.)
BRASS: Las Vegas Police. Open up.
(The door opens. RILEY RENALDO puts his shirt on. Behind him, another woman
walks out of the bedroom.
CRACKHEAD GIRL: Riley ... you said I could have a taste when we were done.
Riley!
RILEY RENALDO: Shut up, sunshine.
BRASS: Nice. We keep Mindy for a couple of hours, and you've already moved on.
GRISSOM: What's the matter? Lose faith in Mindy? She always comes back to
you.
BRASS: Guess Burnell was bad for business, huh?
(Quick flashback to: [ED BURNELL'S CAR] The door opens and MINDY DUPON slips
inside. He drives off as RILEY RENALDO watches them. End of flashback. Resume
to present.)
WARRICK: Yeah, old Ed gets enough people in the 'hood clean, you get no love.
CRACKHEAD GIRL: Riley ... I need it.
RILEY RENALDO: I said shut up.
GRISSOM: Mindy didn't need it anymore, right? That's why you helped her
remember.
(Quick flashback to: [CLOSE UP of a packet of drugs] RILEY holds the packet
out in front of MINDY.)
MINDY DUPONT: I don't need that anymore.
RILEY RENALDO: What do you mean, you don't need it?
MINDY DUPONT: Just one more, and that's it.
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
BRASS: Burnell wasn't hard to find, was he?
(Quick flashback to: [CRACKHOUSE] The door opens and a DRUG ADDICT reports to RILEY.
DRUG ADDICT: Yo, man ... that jackass who be messin' with Mindy is back ...
(Cut to: [NIGHT] RILEY turns and walks toward ED BURNELL who is looking for MINDY.)
(Cut to: RILEY removes the bloody knife from ED BURNELL'S dead body. He walks away leaving him there.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
RILEY RENALDO: (smiling) You've got nothing on me.
GRISSOM: Yeah, we do: Burnell's blood on your skin.
(BRASS steps forward and leads RILEY RENALDO out of the house.
BRASS: So, come on, let's go, let's go. Come on, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say ...
RILEY RENALDO: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(GRISSOM turns back and sees the CRACKHEAD GIRL slowly slide down the wall to sit on the floor.)
WARRICK: It's her choice, right?
GRISSOM: (nods) Unfortunately.
WARRICK: What do you want to do, take her to lock up?
GRISSOM: Lateral move. She's already there.
(They both turn and walk away.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. LAS VEGAS CITY (STOCK) - CIRCUS CIRCUS - NIGHT]
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY -- NIGHT]
(The officer leads RILEY RENALDO down the hallway to be processed. MINDY DUPONT watches. GRISSOM walks up to her.)
MINDY DUPONT: One guy's dead. One guy's going to jail.
GRISSOM: Well, you're free to go.
MINDY DUPONT: Go where?
(MINDY turns and slowly walks out. GRISSOM watches her leave.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. CSI - PARKING LOT -- NIGHT]
(CATHERINE walks out of the building. She stops and sees the car parked on the curb waiting for her.)
CATHERINE: You got my message.
CHRIS BEZICH: Yeah. You sounded hungry. I was thinking ... dinner at the Bellagio.
CATHERINE: (smiling) All right.
(CATHERINE gets into the car.)
CHRIS BEZICH: What are you in the mood for?
CATHERINE: Room service.
(CHRIS smiles.)
(Camera holds on the car's tail lights as it drives away.)
BLUR OUT TO
FADE TO BLACK
THE END.
Fait par Wella
