CSI: Miami s10e02 Episode Script

Stiff

Good morning, Miami Time, 96.
9.
Weather update: high 85, low 72 VALET: Welcome to the Ember.
Reception's right inside You did not just make it here before I did.
Good morning, slowpoke.
I live 15 minutes from here, and there's no way you made it here before me.
Unless you used the siren.
You used the siren, didn't you? Nobody told me I couldn't.
Cheater.
Do you want to tell me why I'm missing out an hour of beauty sleep? Yes, because we got a report of a dead body.
The cabana boy called it in, said he was spooked.
What do you mean, "spooked"? (car alarms blares loudly) Okay, well, I'm awake now, Oh, my stop! as is everyone else in a four-mile radius.
This has been doing this all week.
Tell you what.
You take care of that, I'll, uh, handle the situation inside.
Okay, I'll catch up with you.
(car alarm continues blaring) Stop! Hi.
Are you the hotel manager? Finally.
We called you 20 minutes ago.
Uh, where's the body? Keep your voice down, the guests could hear you.
Where's the body? It's in the cabana.
But the door is locked.
My security chief is on his way down with the master key.
- It's the last cabana on the left.
- Okay.
(whispers): Have a nice day.
(splashing, people laughing) Hmm.
No wonder the cabana boy was spooked.
(camera shutter clicks) BOA VISTA: Got the key.
Oh, no.
Is it that bad? I just don't want it to be a bloater.
I had two bloaters last week.
I just can't do another one.
Uh, it's not a bloater.
It's a, it's a It's a floater.
What do you mean? What a floater? How is it a floater? The hat what happened to the hat? It was just floating.
Like in the air, floating? As in three inches above the body.
Look, I got a photo of it.
That's a great reflection of you.
What? The hat was floating.
You might want to catch up on that beauty sleep.
I know what I saw.
I'll tell you, I know what I see.
This guy took a real-life beating.
Head injury with multiple contact wounds.
We've got numerous cast-off stains.
He was hit more than once.
Well, once could be an accident, but more than that is murder.
HOTEL MANAGER: His name is Derek Vaughn.
He's rented that particular cabana by the week for the last six months.
Did he have many visitors? My daughter Luisa handles day-to-day operations.
- I can ask her.
- No need.
I'll talk to her.
Listen, Lieutenant, I would really appreciate it if you kept this out of the press.
I can't afford to scare away my guests.
You know, Mr.
Romero, right now public relations is the least of your problems.
Yeah! We don't get fooled again Don't get fooled again No, no! (people talking, camera shutters clicking) I have no idea who Mr.
Vaughn entertained in his cabana.
You're the director of operations of this hotel, ma'am.
Lieutenant, we don't spy on our guests.
We value their privacy, so all that mattered was that he paid his rent on time.
What was the rent on the cabana? $2,000 a day, $14,000 a week.
That's a big number.
What was his method of payment? Mm, always paid by check.
Okay.
Where are those checks now? Hey, there he is! Our very own Criss Angel.
(chuckles) Better make sure that that bag is sealed tight.
You don't want the hat to float away.
Never going to live this down, am I? No, we've got some serious mileage left on this one, pal.
Okay.
Well, then, let's get this over with as quickly as possible, 'cause I don't want to spend any more time in this place.
Well, Natalia said that our victim got hit over the head with an object.
Any of those things our murder weapon? WOLFE: These? No.
They're negative.
But whatever hit him in the head was definitely heavy, 'cause it penetrated his skull.
We have oval-shaped droplets on the wall.
Tails arcing toward the door.
on the ceiling.
So my guess is the killer stood here.
He swung whatever weapon it was in a clubbing fashion.
Maybe we can find his footprints.
Well, uh what makes you so sure he's a he? You know something I don't know? Well, we got about five or six different strands of hair here.
They're all long, and they're all different colors.
And look at this.
Box of condoms.
Guess our victim was a player.
Maybe he played with the wrong girl.
Boyfriend got angry, showed up Tell you what I'll get in contact with Horatio, see if I can't get a list of our victim's guests.
You can't wait to get out of here, can you? I'm bringing the hat with me.
(car alarm blaring) Hello? No.
I can't bring it in, because as you can hear, it won't stop.
No, I need somebody to come here.
No! Three hours? I need somebody now! This is the third time today.
Can you hear me? You're breaking up.
Really? Wow, the tech gods must be angry at you.
I could hear your alarm all the way from the hotel bar.
Oh You need some help? If you're a mechanic, I guess.
I'm not, but I'm good with my hands.
Okay.
Is it all right? Yeah, be my guest.
Guys, I got it.
(car alarm continues blaring) You know what you're doing? (car alarm stops) Okay.
That should do it.
Shouldn't give you any more trouble.
I'd still see a mechanic.
Wow, thank you.
How did you learn to do that? It was awesome.
My dad.
I could change your oil, too, if you want.
No, I'm good.
I'm good.
Thanks.
Well, how about dinner, instead? What's your name? - It's Joe.
- Joe, hi.
Natalia.
Nice to meet you.
Uh, let me give you my card.
I have to run back to work.
Here you go.
Great, thanks.
Officer Boa Vista.
Officer.
Yeah.
Is that a problem? Not at all.
I'll call you.
Okay.
Thanks again.
Yeah.
(growls) (gasps) What are you, eight years old? Seven.
(laughing) What is wrong with you? Look, man, that hat seems like it's really messing with you.
Come on.
I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I swear to God, I saw this hat floating.
I saw it happen.
I believe you.
Yeah, keep busting my chops.
I know I'm not crazy.
The hat was floating.
It was up in the air.
Wolfe, I said I believe you.
You do? Yes.
I've seen my fair share of strange things on crime scenes.
- Yeah.
- Remember the "ghost"? - Yeah.
- See? The thing is, there's always a logical explanation.
Yes, there is.
- So, let's figure it out.
- Okay.
Horatio.
CAINE: These are the victim's rent checks.
Yeah, a runner just dropped them off.
They're all payable to Derek, and not the hotel.
Yes, but they've been endorsed to the hotel.
Yeah.
They're all from different women, too.
I mean, there's a $500 check for weeding? $700 check for tree-trimming.
$300 check for planting.
This guy must have a gold-plated hedge clipper.
He was no gardener, Frank.
He could be an escort.
There's only one dated yesterday, from a Gretchen Cambridge.
Cambridge.
Okay.
Take Natalia and go see Ms.
Cambridge.
I'm going back to the hotel.
Think they knew they were renting out a cabana to a gigolo? Let's find out.
My husband's going to be home any minute.
You're married? I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Steven.
Well, you can start by explaining it to us.
Steven travels for business.
But when he's home, it's golf, or the computer.
It's like I'm invisible.
I needed someone to fill the emptiness.
So you hired a gigolo? A friend of mine told me about this guy who worked out of the Ember.
She said he was discreet, and that's exactly what I needed.
A gigolo? BOA VISTA: You wanted a younger man to use for sex? - Good night.
- Good night.
GRETCHEN: It wasn't like that.
It wasn't about the sex.
He really cared about me.
You look incredible.
(laughs) It's the lighting.
DEREK: It's your eyes.
It's your mouth.
It's your body.
GRETCHEN: I'm too old for you.
DEREK: Your beauty is ageless.
TRIPP: The guy serviced a lot of women.
You sure you didn't get jealous? I didn't care about the other women.
When I was with him, it was just us.
BOA VISTA: And where does your husband figure into all this? Does he know about Derek? Steven didn't kill Derek.
He wasn't even here last night.
He was in Idaho all week.
(car door closing) That's my husband.
Please don't say anything about this.
He is going to find out eventually.
I've told you everything I know about Derek.
I have no idea what happened to him.
Everything okay, officers? Your, uh, your wife just made a very generous donation to the police fund.
Oh, well, Gretchen has a generous heart.
That she has.
BOA VISTA: So we'll be back to collect.
- You ready? - Yeah.
Watch and learn.
(hissing) What?! (chuckles) How did you? How'd you do that? Sulfur hexafluoride gas is denser than air.
So in a closed space, like this box, or an unventilated cabana, it sinks to the bottom, displacing the air upwards.
WOLFE: And along with it goes the Panama hat.
SIMMONS: Exactly.
You know what doesn't make sense, though-- if there was gas in that cabana, why wouldn't I have smelled it? Well, you wouldn't necessarily smell it unless the additive was there.
Suppliers are required by law to add a chemical that makes it smell so you can detect leaks.
Pure gases are odorless.
You'll never know they're there.
Okay, so we didn't have a pure source of sulfur hexafluoride.
What are some other gases that are heavier than air? - Butane, propane, acetylene - Wait a second.
WOLFE: There was a fireplace in the cabana.
One of those gas fireplaces-- that has propane.
Maybe.
I doubt a burning fireplace would put out enough vapors to float a hat.
Unless there's a leak.
WOLFE: The propane-- one spark.
SIMMONS: Yeah.
(gas hissing) Oh, my God.
And Calleigh and Delko are still there! (cell phone beeps) (gas hissing) (phone ringing) Yes, Mr.
Wolfe.
Traveling now.
Get down! (screaming) (coughing) Eric! Get up! Come on, get up! Eric, come on, get up.
We got to get out of here.
Help! Help! Help! Help! Let's go! Get up! Get up! Help! Somebody help! Come on! Eric! Get up! (siren wailing) (garbled radio transmissions) WOLFE: Hey.
You guys okay? Yeah.
I got a hell of a headache, but I'll be all right.
Wish I could say the same for the evidence.
It's all been destroyed.
You said the hat was floating when you got on the scene this morning? Yeah, that's right.
The sinking propane caused it to rise off the floor.
- What are you thinking? - I'm thinking heavy gas like propane settles close to the floor.
Right where the victim was lying.
(phone ringing) Loman.
Haven't finished yet.
Listen, I've got some information I think might help.
The victim was exposed to high levels of propane gas.
I am seeing nonspecific acute visceral congestion.
Along with pinpoint hemorrhages in the epicardium.
All signs of asphyxiation.
LOMAN: Propane displaces oxygen in the lungs.
Without oxygen, Derek was likely dead within minutes.
What about the head injury? MAN (over P.
A.
): Dr.
Loman, code three.
I just got called to a triple.
You'll have to wait for my final report.
Derek didn't die from the head injury.
The propane killed him first.
Really? You know, the leak could have been a accident.
Maybe, but before the explosion, I noticed that the gas shut-off valve on the fireplace was dented.
We need to go back in and take another look at the fireplace.
Yeah.
Yeah.
CAINE: Everybody stay where you are.
What do you think you're doing? I'm shutting you down.
- Why? - You almost got two of my people killed, because your propane had no odor.
- That's illegal.
- What?! You take care of payroll, I got this.
I swear, I had no idea we were buying illegal propane.
Like you had no idea Derek Vaughn was a gigolo.
You're looking at some pretty serious charges, Hector.
Criminal negligence, running a prostitution ring And that's just for starters, Hector.
Okay, look, listen, I admit I knew about Derek's profession.
But I'm not a pimp.
He paid me for the cabana, that's all.
What about the propane? I want to get to the bottom of that as much as you do.
Call your supplier right now.
(phone ringing) Mitch, this is Hector.
We had a leak.
Can you come and take a look at it before your delivery guy fills the tank? Mitch Fielder.
My name is Lieutenant Caine.
Where's Hector? Hector is cleaning up your mess.
What's going on? This propane has no additive in it.
Therefore, it's illegal.
No way.
I'm completely aboveboard.
Is that right? So if I were to put this in your car, and turn it on, you'd smell the propane? Wait, wait.
Okay, you're right.
There's nothing to smell.
A man died because of that propane.
I'm not the only one responsible.
The hotel knew exactly what they were getting.
Not according to Hector.
Then he's lying.
I guess we'll see.
Hey, where you going, Mr.
Romero? I'm late for a staff meeting back at the hotel.
The meeting's been canceled, Hector.
Mitch Fielder told us that you knew exactly what you were buying.
That's a lie.
He cheated me.
Oh, so then these aren't your signatures on these purchase orders? There it is in black and white, Hector.
Listen, we've been losing money ever since the economy tanked.
And I did what I could do.
I got rid of the maid service.
You rented out the cabana to gigolos.
And you purchased cheap propane, Hector.
There are 200 fireplaces at the hotel.
On every balcony, by the pool, in the cabanas.
We burn through a tanker of propane every week.
That's why I had to switch to the cheapest supplier, you know what I mean? He doesn't get it.
No, he doesn't.
SIMMONS: Hector, this is no longer criminal negligence.
It's now negligent homicide.
What? I thought somebody hit him on the head.
They did.
And after he was hit, he died of propane asphyxiation.
Well, I didn't mean for that to happen.
CAINE: But it did.
And now you're under arrest.
Hey, take a look at this.
I found the shut-off valve.
Do you remember it being this dented before the explosion? DELKO: The dent looks the same.
Whoever did this used a lot of force to make this kind of a dent.
This wasn't an accident.
WOLFE: We got to put this fireplace back together.
It's the only way we're going to figure out who caused this leak.
I've got a torn piece of paper.
Must have blown here during the blast.
What does it say? I can't tell, it's been scorched.
Okay, it's a North Biscayne High School parking pass.
The student's last name is Davis.
Yeah, uh, North Biscayne High School, please.
Yeah, this is, uh, CSI Simmons from the Miami-Dade crime lab.
Trying to figure out if you have a student there named Davis.
No, last name-- Davis.
Uh-huh.
Really? Emma? And she's there today? Okay, thank you.
Did you find the student? Not exactly.
(school bell rings) I can't lose my job.
You're a teacher, Ms.
Davis.
You probably should have thought about that before you solicited a man for sex.
He solicited me! I can tell you I'm not surprised that he's dead.
Oh, really? Did you know he was gonna be killed? No! No, God, no.
It's just that I'm not surprised that the first guy that I slept with wound up dead hours later.
Yeah, I was a 30-year-old virgin.
In high school, it was a choice.
In college, it just never happened.
And it became this insurmountable thing.
(sighs) I just figured I had to do it, get it over with or I never would.
And that's why you went to Derek.
We met at the Ember last week.
(champagne cork pops) DUQUESNE: Did you hook up with him that night? No.
I finally did it yesterday after school.
DUQUESNE: And when you found out that you were just another paying customer (thud, Derek grunts) that make you mad? No! No, I-I had a great time.
It felt like a real date.
He made me feel so comfortable.
He was he was really nice.
I've never done this before.
(pouring liquid) There's nothing to be ashamed of.
No, I mean, it's my first time.
It's my first time, too with you.
We'll take it slowly.
(school bell rings) Well, I appreciate your time, and your candor.
Oh, wait.
I don't know if this'll help, but yesterday when I was, um, at the hotel, I saw Derek arguing with a man.
Oh, really? Did you hear what they were arguing about? Um (women scream) Clients and money.
I think he was a gigolo, too.
What'd he looked like? (tires screech) (grunts) Get up! Get over there! Is this because I didn't call you? Oh You're really good.
You actually had me.
I would never known what you did for a living.
Can't a guy hit on a beautiful woman? Not when you take money for the privilege.
It's called prostitution.
A witness saw you fighting with Derek last night.
What were you fighting about? He stole a girl from me; virgin.
You know how much we can make off one of those? That was fun.
DEREK: Come back anytime.
Hey, Derek, are you kidding me? She had her eye on me.
I was about to close that deal.
You scared her off, so she came to me.
Hey! You owe me money, all right? You can't keep taking my clients.
Really? What are you gonna do about it? Look, Derek didn't just rob me of my fee.
These women shower us with gifts.
He cost me those, too.
Guy turns up with a bashed-in skull.
Makes you suspect number one.
I'm not saying another word.
You want to play it like that? Fine, pretty boy.
Let's see how you do in county lockup.
Get his ass out of here.
You all right? Yeah, thanks.
Still don't know what Derek was hit with.
We didn't find any weapon at the scene.
Maybe Derek here can help us out with that.
BOA VISTA: Damn, those are some nice abs.
This guy must have lived at the gym.
Where did he find time to squeeze in all the women? Always time to squeeze in women.
Especially if they're paying.
(scoffs) A lot of coagulated blood.
Probably suffered an intracranial hemorrhage.
My guess is he would have bled out if the propane hadn't gotten to him first.
Got a little something in this wound.
Would you do me a favor and hand me the magnifying glass and tweezers, please? - Gracias.
- Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Are those dandruff flakes? Maybe from our gigolo Joe.
His dandruff could have fallen onto the vic when he attacked him.
Care to take it to Trace? Thank you.
The flakes are PVC plastic.
But I can't think of anything made of PVC heavy enough to fracture a skull.
What if it were part of a weapon? Hmm? This may help.
The flakes are coated with water and glycerin.
Why would that be on the outside of a weapon? It's not what's on the outside.
It's what's on the inside.
Hmm.
I'm totally lost.
Okay.
When I was a little, my dad used to take me to the Derby.
I loved horses.
And I would always beg him to buy me a horse.
So my dad bought me a snow globe with a stallion on the inside.
So, you're saying that the flakes we found on the body is actually snow from inside a snow globe? Exactly.
It's the water-glycerin mixture that makes the snow float.
What if these leaked out when Derek was hit on the head? What kind of guy brings a snow globe to attack someone? Could be a woman.
You know, Joe did say that a lot of women give gifts to the gigolos.
Maybe one of the women bought it as a gift but ended up using it as a weapon.
Really? Got Paris here.
Vacation.
- Perfect place to pick up a souvenir.
- Right? "La Tour d'Argent, Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, Claudine Cadeaux, Bon Marche.
Wait-wait-wait.
Go back.
Was that Claudine Cadeaux? It's "Claudine's Gifts.
" "Maison Du Chocolat uh a boule de neige.
" "Snow globe.
" That's the snow globe! Whose statement is that? BOA VISTA: It's Gretchen, our housewife.
Ah! (sirens wailing) (indistinct radio transmission) I told you it's not here.
I gave the snow globe to Derek.
He kept it in the cabana.
Anyone could have hit him with it.
Well, if that's the case, Ms.
Cambridge, then you have nothing to worry about, right? CAINE: Eric.
Sticky.
(indistinct radio transmission) This hammer's got some white flakes on it.
I'll bet you this was used to smash the snow globe.
Where's the trash? Mrs.
Cambridge? Do you recognize that? It's a piece of a snow globe.
And can you tell me how it got that way? GRETCHEN: I uh I, uh I hit Derek on the back of the head with it.
You hit him on the back of the head? That's that's strange, because Derek was actually hit on the front of the head.
Mrs.
Cambridge, you are clearly covering for someone.
GRETCHEN: No, no, listen, you have to believe me.
I'm telling you the truth.
It's me.
It's me.
Enough! Enough.
All right? No more lies.
I suspected you were cheating on me, so I waited until you left the house, and I followed you.
It couldn't have been you You weren't I came back from my business trip a day early.
GRETCHEN: That was amazing.
DEREK: Good night.
CAINE: And that's when you confronted Derek.
I thought I could convince him to stop seeing her.
Just leave my wife alone.
Well, maybe if you paid better attention to her, she'd stop coming back to me.
Where did you get this? Gretchen gave it to me.
(groaning) STEVEN: I saw you buy that snow globe when we were in Paris.
I just assumed it was for me.
(sighs) And when I saw it at the cabana I lost it.
All those nights alone all those endless business trips I thought you stopped loving me.
STEVEN: I never did.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Don't.
Mr.
Cambridge, one more question.
Did you break the valve on the fireplace before or after the attack on Derek? I don't know what you're talking about.
I didn't go anywhere near the fireplace.
Take him.
I believe him.
So do I.
Well, if he didn't cause the gas leak, that leaves one question.
Who did? That's made of leather.
SIMMONS: That doesn't belong in a fireplace.
Are those traction ridges? They are.
It's from the sole of a shoe.
Yeah, the killer must've left it behind after he kicked the valve.
So we find the shoe that matches We find the killer.
(elevator bell dings) DELKO: H I got something on the propane leak.
Based on the flow rate and the size of the cabana, it would've taken about two hours for the propane to become deadly.
Yeah, but there was no guarantee that Derek would stay in there the entire time.
Okay Maybe the killer didn't plan to suffocate him.
Well, that's true, because I think they were counting on him to light the fireplace, to cause an explosion.
That's a good plan in theory, except the victim would have smelled the gas and decided to leave.
Unless the killer knew he wouldn't.
Well, Hector Romero wouldn't have had a motive, then.
'Cause he was making a lot of money off Derek.
He certainly was, which means somebody else knew about the propane.
(sirens wailing) Hang on a second, folks.
We posted bail.
They said I could leave.
Why do you want to talk to my dad again? I don't want to talk to your dad.
I want to talk to you.
You run the day-to-day operations at the hotel.
Yes, so? So, you would know that the propane was odorless.
Let me see your shoes, please.
They're clean.
They may be, but the foot isn't, is it? You just weren't wearing these shoes last night.
You had open-toe shoes on? How do you know that? Because you have frostbite.
BOA VISTA: It's from exposure to propane.
From when you kicked the valve on the fireplace.
(grunts) (gas hissing) Want to tell us what happened? Derek and I were seeing each other.
What?! You were with that gigolo? I knew what he was, and I thought I could handle it.
But then I kept seeing those checks.
Here, babe.
This should cover the rest of this week's rent.
Hmm.
Busy week.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Sorry enough to quit? We've been through this.
I know.
But um I'm falling in love with you.
Me, too.
I'm gonna hit the showers.
(groans) LUISA: I knew the next girl he brought in here, he'd light the fireplace and they'd both die.
(grunting) CAINE: I hope you're satisfied.
Take her, please.
Come on.
No, no.
No, no, no.
Dad? (sinister laughing) That's not funny, Walter.
(cackling) - Come on! - Not funny! - It's funny.
- No, it wasn't.
Thank you, Walter.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode