CSI: Crime Scene Investigation s13e14 Episode Script
Exile
Bravo, Silvana, save some of that for opening night.
Silvana's on fire.
We're gonna make some money, bro.
Good for you and for your club.
Well, good for all of us, right? This is not about the money for me, bro.
It's about the soul of Cuba.
The music.
Venga.
Cuidado, Vegas, Silvana has arrived.
Vegas is just the beginning.
Sure, sure, sure.
Necesitamos hablar press.
We do the local news, and after the first show, CNN, Fox, MSNBC.
The sky's the limit.
Come on.
Marta! Marta! No! Oh, Marta! Thank you.
Hey, fellas, what do we got? Marta Cuerto, Sister to Silvana Cuerto, Cuban pop star.
Who found the body? Silvana and her manager.
So, no signs of a disturbance.
No blood, no cleanup, which means this isn't the primary.
The body was staged, just like that, and one of Silvana's costumes was taken off the rack and put on the victim's body.
That explains the lack of blood on the dress.
What do we got going here, bud? Blunt force trauma-- the face and most of her upper torso.
Semicircular impressions all over the body.
Liver temp is 90.
4.
She died about six hours ago.
I'll get the gurney.
So our killer brings her here, stages the body nobody even notices? She was rehearsing for a couple of hours onstage.
The music's loud, people are distracted.
How many ways in and out of here? Only two.
Door from the stage, and there's a back door down that hallway leading to the alley.
Well, that's the how; I'd like to know the why.
Silvana's sister in her dress, sitting at her vanity staring into her mirror.
You got something? Yeah.
"Silvana, eres la proxima"? "Silvana, you're next.
" Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Who are you? Who, who, who, who? I really wanna know Who are you? Oh-oh-oh Who Come on, tell me who are you, you, you Are you! Silvana Cuerto is the hottest ticket in Vegas.
Next to rum and cigars, Silvana is Cuba's biggest export.
So, how come I've never heard of her, then? I don't know, I mean, she's been touring Europe, now she's finally coming to the States.
Didn't know you were such a big Cuban music fan.
You know, Sex Pistols, Sinatra, Silvana-- I'm equal opportunity like that.
If she's so popular, why are all these people here protesting? I'm very sorry for your loss, Ms.
Cuerto.
It's like part of me is dead.
I do have to ask you some questions.
I'm sorry.
I understand.
I know that you and your manager found your sister Marta.
Right? Was there anyone else backstage, anyone who didn't belong? No, just us.
When was the last time you saw Marta? Yesterday.
We had lunch, then she went shopping.
Shopping? Marta does wardrobe for the show.
She made all of my costumes.
My whole life, she's taken care of me.
And coming here, I was so scared.
But Marta gave me the strength.
She was so happy for me, like it was her up in that stage and I felt her with me.
Did your sister mention receiving threats? Everyone loved Marta.
Okay, how about you? Have you received any threats? Silvana received threats every day, ever since we arrive in this country.
Threats from whom, Mr.
Ficha? Los Gusanos-- the so-called Cuban exiles who want Silvana to go home or die.
You're talking about the people outside.
That's right.
It's a long way from carrying a sign to killing someone.
I don't expect you to understand.
Politics in your country is entertainment.
In Cuba, it's passion; it's blood.
These threats against Silvana-- were they anonymous? The threats, yes the source no.
What do you mean by that? The leader of the exile community-- Eddie Santos-- he's been following us ever since we landed-- outside the hotel, outside the restaurant where we eat, outside this club.
Why didn't you report him? I did-- to your State Department.
Obviously, your government is deaf to the concerns of the loyal Cuban citizens.
Some more loyal than others.
Hmm.
Couldn't help but notice on your passport there's an entry-- "Gobierno Cubano"" My Spanish is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure that means "Cuban government"" You're not just Silvana's manager, are you? I was assigned to accompany Silvana on her tour-- Marta, too.
You're a handler.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, a talent like Silvana-- you're the guy assigned to make sure that she, uh finds her way back home.
Perhaps if I had been more vigilant Marta would still be alive.
Got black streaks on the floor here.
Looks like some kind of oil residue.
I've got a fiber here.
Could help us find our primary.
More fibers at the base of the chair.
There's a trail heading right out of the room.
And down the hallway to the door to the alley.
You thinking what I'm thinking? When fibers get snagged on the floor like that, it means material was dragged.
Weighed down like a body in some kind of sack.
Body dump.
But where did the killer stash the sack? What are the odds? So much for security at your club, Mr.
Mejia.
In fact, the only functioning camera in this entire club that's working is aimed at the cash register behind the bar.
Kind of sums up your priorities, don't you think? You're out of line.
I don't think so.
Given what I saw outside, you have no excuse for not providing adequate security.
I tried.
I installed these cameras this month.
I've had to fix 'em four times already.
Ever since I announced that Silvana was performing at the club, I've had acts of vandalism every night.
You're pointing a finger at the exiles? All I'm saying is, I don't get how people who are otherwise calm and law-abiding can go crazy over ancient history, wounds that are over 50 years old.
Aren't you Cuban? Cuban-American.
My parents and I came here This is my country, not Cuba.
My generation-- here.
Marta's and Silvana's-- over there.
We just want to be free to live our lives, follow our dreams.
Yeah, well, somebody ended that for Marta Cuerto, and Silvana may be next, so, if this show must go on, then you have to fix these cameras.
Beautiful music, Doc.
Oh, brings back memories.
Have you been to Cuba? I was invited to a symposium on forensic pathology in Havana.
Hmm, you must have some good stories.
Actually, that's why I called you here.
But this story is far from good.
This pattern of injuries is quite specific and not new to me.
What do you mean? Injuries on the wrists indicate the victim was forcibly restrained.
Ligature marks.
Width suggests rope.
Same ligature marks on her ankles.
Slight bruising on her shoulders from a hyperextension of the muscles.
And this bruising on her abdomen says the victim was subjected to an extended period of intense pressure.
Which all adds up to what? She was hog-tied.
So you're saying systematic torture? I met a journalist in Cuba who claimed to have been arrested by the authorities.
He described an account of torture referred to as "la silla.
" Which means"the chair".
According to him, it was a technique commonly employed by the Cuban police.
After a few hours, they lifted him off the floor, tied him to a chair, and beat him into submission with a pipe.
The pipe would be consistent with the semicircular gashes all over her body.
Do you have anything else? Well, no obvious signs of sexual assault.
I sent the SAE kit to DNA.
But I did find this partially embedded in the skin of her left heel.
Hmm.
Looks like some kind of metal.
Whoa.
Lurk much? You know, if you weren't my boss and dating my mother, I'd say I hate that.
Well, I'm not too happy myself, Depardieu.
Or I guess you're really Andie MacDowell, aren't you? What are you talking about? Green Card, the movie.
Saw it with Morgan's mother.
At least the first paged to an even worse crime.
Right.
This is about the immigration investigation? Yes, it is.
What the hell were you thinking? What do you mean? You meet a woman in Italy and a week later, you're engaged? You don't even speak the same damn language.
Which has its advantages.
All right, you think this is funny? This is Morgan's deposition supporting your story.
I know; I didn't ask her to do that.
I'm your supervisor, David; we're family here.
You should've told me.
And you sure as hell should've told your mother-- she's beside herself.
Default position.
That's not funny.
My daughter went to bat for you here.
You better not be making her a liar.
You have good news for me; I can always tell.
Well, at least someone still has faith in me.
Oh, Lord.
Family? Yes.
Um, never mind.
Good news item number one: the residue Morgan and Greg found in Silvana's dressing room Was motor oil.
Mm-hmm.
Which was also found on the burlap sack used to transport the body, along with flecks of dried blood matching our victim.
What else you got? Item number two: the chip found embedded in our victim's heel is not just one metal, but four.
A metallic layer cake, if you will.
"Trivalent chromium, nickel, copper, flat carbon steel".
Steel for the body, copper for the surface, nickel for the shine, and tri-chromium for the polish.
Auto body shop.
Actually, it's a chrome-plating facility.
There's only three in Vegas, one of which is only two blocks from the club.
Check out the name of the owner.
Eddie Santos-- face of the Cuban exiles.
Good work.
I'll call Brass.
Doesn't look like they're open for business.
Well, it looks like somebody's home.
Hey, Jim Yeah? Metal chips look just like the trace Doc pulled out of the victim.
Yeah.
Nick.
Yeah? I got blood.
Looks like we found our primary.
Eddie Santos, LVPD.
You going somewhere, Eddie? We found all that stuff in your shop, Eddie, but it was a match to Marta Cuerto.
So let me guess, uh, you were headed back there to clean up when we arrested you, right? I had nothing to do with that or killing anyone-- I was going to my office to get paperwork.
Paperwork? Mm.
Your last customer picked up his car at 11:30 yesterday morning, right before you closed up the shop at noon, right? And we know that Marta Cuerto was killed between and then delivered to her sister's dressing room, which is a block away from your shop.
Guilty until proven innocent! I feel I'm back in Cuba! Is that were you got those scars? In Cuba? I was in a room like this, with police like you.
They beat me and threw me in la gaveta.
La gaveta.
They threw you in a drawer? Ten guys in a six-by-eight prison cell filled with rats, roaches, feces, Eddie, save the history lesson.
This isn't Havana, Cuba.
This is Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and here we go on evidence, and we found a lot of it in your shop.
I have no reason to kill anyone.
We checked you out, Eddie-- the way you were following around Silvana, Marta, her manager-- everywhere they went, - there you were.
- It's a free country.
Right, where Silvana Cuerto can cash in.
"Bringing the Benjamins back to her repressive government.
" Those are your words.
Last I checked, I have the right to speak my mind.
Yeah, but you don't have the right to commit murder to exact revenge on traitors who aren't loyal to your cause.
And you damn sure don't have the right to torture people the way that you were tortured.
I didn't kill anyone! Oh, right-- you're one of those romantic revolutionaries.
We ran a rape kid on Marta.
We found semen.
We found contributions on a sofa in your shop! If you want us to compel your DNA and match it to the DNA we found, we're happy to do that.
You want evidence? You don't need to compel anything.
Go ahead, take my DNA.
You sure DNA's not a match? I ran it twice, then called Greg.
Which is when I noticed that the result wasn't a total bust.
Eddie Santos's DNA profile showed a second-order relative match to the profile of our suspect.
Second-order, as in a half sibling? Or a grandson, maybe a nephew.
Either way, our suspect is definitely a member of Eddie Santos's family.
Well, sounds like you need to shake the Santos family tree, right? Or, you know, we could call our friend Donna Hoppe.
Well, at this point, I may not be a genealogy Jedi, but Padewan, at least, I am.
I got this one.
Hey, Doc.
You said you had some news? An unexpected detour on the road to determining cause of death.
Take a look at these internal organs.
Wow.
The heart and brain look really swollen.
Lungs are lined with this cherry red mucosa.
So Marta was poisoned.
What about the beating? While poisoning appears to be the ultimate C.
O.
D.
, vital response in the wounds suggests they were simultaneous events.
So the killer poisoned her and beat her.
You were talking about Cuban police torture.
Did you ever come across anything like this? Never.
And the cherry red color is indicative of cyanide, isn't it? Well, the short answer's yes.
I can't tell you how it would have gotten into her system.
Didn't find any injection marks, no inhaled residue in her nasal passages.
What about her stomach contents? Already sent that off to Hodges.
Silvana's manager, Antonio, provided everybody in the band with prepaid cell phones; I pulled up every call that Marta made the day that she died.
Made calls to her sister, Antonio, couple of calls to the Rumbason Club, also some fabric stores and fashion outlets.
Well, that makes sense.
Silvana said that Marta went shopping for wardrobe for the show.
Rehearsal wasn't until 8:00.
Here are the last calls she ever made-- three in a row right around 2:30 p.
m.
Couple hours before she died.
No caller I.
D.
's.
another prepaid cell.
Well, that's Washington, DC.
Yeah.
Let's do a reverse .
Read my mind.
Access denied.
Put that together with Cuba and Washington, DC.
The plot thickens.
You know, I don't want to go to that CIA place, but I'm kind of going to that CIA place.
Want a bite? Here you go, bud.
Easy, easy.
Dog walker on vacation? Yeah, stomach flu.
Huh.
Speaking of, is that the report on Marta Cuerto's stomach contents? This? Uh, no.
This is personal.
Okay.
No problem.
If you must know, uh, it's Morgan's character reference to Immigration in support of my engagement to Elisabetta.
Wow.
Well, you know, I would've been happy to write you a character reference-- I mean, I would've left out the part about your criminal record but Well, clearly, I should've talked to you first.
Congratulations, buddy.
I look forward to meeting her sometime.
An oversight I plan to correct.
Hear that, Sam? He's getting married.
So, stomach contents.
Yeah, in my office.
All right.
Sammy, I got some work to do now, boy.
Stay here, I'll be right back.
Based on my analysis of Marta Cuerto's stomach contents, I know how the cyanide got into her system.
GCMS picked up linamarin, lotaustralin cyanogenic glucosides.
Well, how the hell did they get in there? Page two.
Lovely illustration.
Behold the cassava leaf, which has been known to produce medicinal properties, only if processed carefully.
And if not? Uh, nasty business.
Especially in the hands of our killer, who, it seems, force-fed them to Marta, knowing that the glucosides from the unprocessed leaves would react with stomach enzymes to produce hydrogen cyanide.
Which is then absorbed through the stomach lining into the bloodstream.
Once in the blood, cyanide binds to hemoglobin more strongly than oxygen, preventing the oxygen from getting to the cells.
The result-- asphyxiation.
Suffocation.
And death.
Heard our suspect's DNA shows he's related to Eddie Santos.
Russell said you were doing a little genealogy? Yeah.
And this family tree has some seriously poisoned roots back in Cuba.
I accessed the Clark County Museum of Hispanic Heritage database.
I found this.
Cuban Army photo.
Guy on the left-- Colonel Carlos Cuerto.
Cuerto? Related to the Cuerto sisters? Grandfather, and the guy next to him-- Eduardo Santos.
Young Eddie Santos.
A year after this, Eddie and two comrades made a crack about Colonel Cuerto's ties to the black market.
They were arrested and thrown in jail.
Where they were tortured.
For six years at the hands of Colonel Cuerto himself.
This may have nothing to do with politics at all.
It's a feud between the Cuerto and Santos family.
Yeah, simmering for 40 years.
And I think I know which family member exacted revenge.
Hilda Santos, sister of Eddie Santos, emigrated from Cuba in '92, married Oscar Mejia.
They had one son together.
Estefan Mejia, owner of the Rumbason.
Also Eddie Santos' nephew.
What do you guys want? We just want to talk to you about your uncle, Eddie Santos.
And the vendetta your family has against the Cuertos family.
Vendetta? I have no part in any vendetta.
Really? Then why don't you explain to us how we found your DNA on Marta Cuerto's body in your uncle's auto shop? The DNA you left behind when you raped and killed her.
Mitch, call an ambulance! I'm going with her.
Sir, I'm sorry.
I can't let you in there right now.
Get your hands off me.
I demand to be inside with Silvana.
Mitch, I've got this.
Mr.
Ficha, I'm so sorry.
Let me talk to you just for a second.
Silvana's exhibiting the same signs of poisoning as Marta-- cyanide-- now, I've told the doctors, so they know what to do.
You saw the message scrawled in Silvana's dressing room.
Those animals said she was next.
Where were you? We do have a suspect in custody, sir.
A little late, don't you think? Why won't you tell me what's happening with Silvana? Why? You trying to figure out if you're on the hook for one murder or two? What?! Your club is getting a bad rep, Estefan.
First Marta.
Now your star attraction, Silvana, collapses on stage.
Yeah, at first we thought you just had lousy security, given the angry crowd outside, but now we know that the real threat was coming from inside.
Coming from you.
I told you, I don't share the same beliefs as the exile community.
Maybe not them, but what about your uncle? That's a different story.
Blood is thicker than politics, right? I don't know what you're talking about.
You know exactly what we're talking about.
Let me show you something.
I think you referred to this as "ancient history"" Let me show you a little recent history.
I think you recognize that, don't you? Look familiar? How'd it go down? Did your uncle watch while you raped her? And then, you two guys, what, you tied her up, then you beat her.
And then forced cassava leaves down her throat and watched her suffocate.
No.
DNA doesn't lie, man! We know it was you! I didn't.
I couldn't hurt her.
So? It was your uncle then.
No! I mean, I don't know.
You don't know? No, I wasn't there when this happened.
Look, my uncle tried to turn me against the Cuertos, but Silvana, Marta and I were friends.
I lived with them when I was a kid.
Even when I came to this country, we stayed in touch.
When Silvana's career took off, I saw it as a chance to bring them here.
No, you saw it as an opportunity to lure the Cuerto sisters and settle an old score.
My uncle's fight is not my fight! I couldn't hurt her! I couldn't hurt Marta! Her and I were in love.
Is that why you took her to your uncle's body shop? That's not my idea of romance.
It was the only place near the Rumbason where we could meet in secret.
Marta called me, and I went to her.
We made love.
I got to go.
I'll see you tonight.
Marta was still alive when I left.
I swear.
What about your uncle? Where was he at? I can't tell you.
You can't or you won't? Si, si, si.
Sono contento.
No, Elisabetta, I'm-I'm very happy.
It-It's just that it's-it's hard.
Um difficile, uh, for me to express it in Italian.
It's, uh it's the language barrier and Elisabetta.
Hello? Hello? Sorry to interrupt.
Hi.
I brought you Silvana Cuerto's stomach contents for analysis.
Aw, you shouldn't have.
So, everything okay with Elisabetta? Yeah, uh, great.
Yeah, in-in fact, uh, she just heard from Immigration.
Uh, they processed our application, and, uh, because of your help, uh, we've been approved.
Wow.
Yeah.
So, what what does that mean? Well, uh, it means that we have 90 days to get married, or she gets put back on a plane home.
Well, it's a good thing you live in Vegas.
You can just get hitched at a drive-thru.
Well, don't take your foot off the gas.
Thanks.
Look who's back.
CSI Russell, right? Yeah, that's right.
How are you feeling? I don't know.
What happened? Well, we're gonna find that out.
Seems somebody tried to poison you.
Like they did to Marta? Antonio told me.
Well, the person who poisoned your sister forced her to ingest cassava leaves.
Now, clearly, that was not the case with you, but do you remember if anyone offered you any food, or something to drink before your rehearsal? No.
But I-I can't remember much.
Okay.
What I do remember, I wish I could forget.
I was so happy to come here.
To be a star in this country.
Now, Marta Marta's dead.
I should never have Please find who did this.
Please tell me that you have something.
You know we had to let Eddie Santos go.
Well, we just sprung his nephew Estefan, as well.
So I am hoping that we can tie at least one of them to Silvana's poisoning.
Well, I can tell you this much.
Silvana Cuerto was poisoned with cyanide by way of unprocessed cassava leaves.
So at least our killer is consistent.
Not entirely, because in Silvana's case, he changed the method of delivery.
In addition to the cassava leaves, I found gelatin and plant polysaccharides.
Which is from soluble capsules? Yes.
So, Silvana ingested pills filled with poison.
Yes, again, but I don't think she knew that they were filled with poison.
I suspect that she thought they were filled with justicia pectoralis, which I also found in the mix.
It's an herbal remedy, primarily used for relaxation.
Cubans call it tilo.
Tilo.
You know it? Yeah, I just saw it on the evidence list.
Greg found a bottle of it in Silvana's dressing room.
Maybe somebody who had access-- perhaps Estefan-- spiked Silvana's calm pills, tried to kill her buzz.
I'll get Greg to run the tilo.
Thank you.
Pleasure.
So, Hodges confirmed that the tilo capsules we found in Silvana's dressing room contained ground-up cassava leaves.
Source of the cyanide.
Right.
Lucky for Silvana, that when you put the poison in a capsule, it reduces the-the potency.
All right.
And we know the print Greg assembled came back to Antonio Ficha.
So much for him being her handler.
Looks like he's our killer, but I-I don't I don't get it.
Well, I may have something for you.
Just got off the phone with the State Department-- Cuerto sisters were seeking asylum.
That explains the phone call to to DC.
Sisters defecting, bad news for Antonio.
All right.
So what are we thinking? That he killed Marta and then left the warning for Silvana, "You're next"? Obviously, she didn't get the message.
Right.
I'm on my way.
You got something? Yeah, Antonio Ficha checked Silvana out of the hospital about a half hour ago.
Where were they going? Patrol spotted them returning to their hotel.
I'm meeting Brass over at the Palermo.
Crawford.
Okay I'm on my way.
Guy at the front desk says Antonio and Silvana arrived about 20 minutes ago.
Went straight up to the room.
Were they alone? They were.
What do you mean "they were"? A few minutes after that, another guy showed up.
His description matches Estefan Mejia.
What the hell is he doing here? - Uh-oh - - No! LVPD! Drop the gun! Drop the gun, Antonio! Drop the gun! Show me your hands! Against the wall! Come on! It's Estefan.
He's dead.
Silvana? It's okay.
Everything's okay.
Antonio's crazy.
He was going to kill me.
It's all right.
It's all right.
You're safe now.
You're safe.
It's all over.
All right, what do you got for me, David? Broken nose, bruises.
Took a few shots to the face before a single GSW to the forehead.
And there's no exit wound.
It's a large caliber, consistent with a .
45.
Check this out.
It's a compound fracture of the right index finger.
That's the trigger finger.
Antonio must've wrenched the gun out of his hand.
Hey, Morgan take a look at this.
Seen that before.
In Silvana's dressing room.
Yeah.
Killer used the burlap sack to transport Marta's body with.
But what's it doing here? Hey, guys, look what I found.
Antonio's bag.
Yeah.
With blood on it.
It's like a regular murder kit.
What do we have here? I'm guessing those are cassava leaves.
It happened so fast.
Estefan pushed his way into the room.
Then he and Antonio started to argue.
What were they arguing about? He said Antonio had murdered Marta, tried to poison me and that he wouldn't let Antonio hurt me again.
What made Estefan think that Antonio was the one behind it all? He said his uncle told him.
When Estefan pulled out a gun, I ran into the bathroom to hide.
Then I heard a shot.
And I was sure he'd killed Antonio.
Then the police arrived, and I saw Estefan lying on the floor.
He was just trying to protect me.
You're gonna be all right.
I think we should get you to the hospital, just to make sure.
No, I don't want to go to the hospital.
I just want to go home.
Silvana's returning to Cuba.
And so am I.
You have no right to hold me here.
I've done nothing wrong.
Antonio, we walked in on you standing over Estefan Mejia with a gun in your hand.
Yeah, man, I think the gun was still smoking.
That was in self-defense.
Mm.
Silvana and I were packing our bags when Estefan showed up.
I tried to reason with him, but his head was filled with lies.
You son of a bitch! I know what you've done! Oye, tranquilo! Tranquilo! Cálmate! You killed Marta! You poisoned Silvana! What are you talking about?! That was your crazy uncle.
Not me! I am the one protecting Silvana, and I'm taking her home.
No, you're not going anywhere! No, no, no! Ooh! Now you get the hell out of here.
No! Estefan gave me no choice.
Let's say I buy self-defense.
We still found your fingerprints on Silvana's tilo capsules.
They were filled with cyanide.
So you think I poisoned Silvana? Why would I do such a thing? She's Cuba's gift to the world.
Gift to the U.
S.
, you mean.
She and Marta wanted to defect.
But you weren't gonna let that happen.
I don't know what you're talking about.
He's lying.
Maybe.
And I don't know anything about any poisoned pills.
I gave Silvana my tilo to calm her down after Marta's death.
I guess you don't know anything about this bag.
Same one with your name on it.
It also has Marta's blood on it.
And that's the same kind of rope you used - to tie her up with.
- And the fiber is a match to the same burlap sack used to transport her to the Rumbason from Eddie Santos's auto body shop.
You've been trying to frame Eddie Santos from day one.
No.
I am the one being framed here.
Don't you see? I thought justice in your country wasn't about what you believe.
It's about what you can prove.
No? What can we prove? We're running everything right now.
State Department's all over this.
We can't afford any mistakes.
Well, neither can he.
Hey, boss.
I've got confirmation of our preliminary results.
Blood on Antonio Ficha's duffel bag matches Marta Cuerto.
That's good.
And the fibers that we found from the burlap sack match the burlap sack that the killer used to move the body.
Also good.
The rope, the cassava leaves are all consistent.
But? But Henry couldn't recover any DNA from the gloves.
And I found this little mystery in the duffel.
What's this? Mouton.
Lambskin.
With a particular acrylic dye recipe commonly used in the restoration of classic American cars.
Which you're thinking the killer used to transport the body.
Yes.
And according to the fiber, we should be looking in the trunk of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air.
Oh.
Now, that's the same car that Eddie Santos drives.
I went there, too.
There's just one problem.
I processed Eddie's Chevy while he was in custody, and his car hasn't seen a carpet upgrade since 1956.
Oh.
Well, that's not good.
Of course, Eddie has a stable of classic cars.
Could be one of them.
Or the car, like our killer, could've been staring us in the face the whole time.
I checked with Sunstar Auto Rental.
They said they wrote a two-day contract on this '56 Chevy for Antonio for-for your photo shoot.
But the kid behind the desk said that he was such a big fan, that when you came back to rent it for an extra day, he gave it to you for free.
Off the books.
I guess like me, he was won over by your-your beautiful voice, your warm heart, your trusting face.
Anyway he said something else that was very interesting.
He said that he wasn't used to having people return vehicles cleaner than when they drove them off the lot.
Silvana I know you did it.
I know you killed your sister.
I loved my sister.
I don't doubt that.
Because, in my experience, a brutal murder like Marta's can only come from deep emotions.
Love turned to hate through betrayal.
You don't even know what you're talking about.
Actually, I do.
Let me back up a second.
Estefan brought you and your sister here, but it was Marta who contacted the State Department.
So that you could have a career in this country.
But more importantly, so she could be near Estefan.
But you wanted Estefan for yourself, didn't you? You loved him.
Ever since you were kids.
And the more you loved him, the more you hated your sister.
You're forgetting I'm the victim of Antonio's betrayal.
Well, it does look like that.
Because you made it look like that.
Antonio's bag, incriminating.
Antonio's tilo pills, poisoned just enough to make you sick but not enough to kill you.
These are lies.
These are all lies! Why can't you see the truth? You know, actually, I-I heard the truth, Silvana.
Because you've already given us your confession, haven't you? All this time, listening to these lyrics but not really hearing them.
These words of-of love, loss, revenge redemption.
No matter what she's done, she still believes that her lover will forgive her.
Come to rescue her.
Just like you believed when you called Estefan, and begged him to come to the hotel to rescue you.
But Antonio was trying to kill me.
No, you murdered your sister, and you told Estefan that Antonio did it.
You do realize, don't you, that your lies got Estefan killed? Marta knew how much I loved Estefan.
Since we were children.
Every song I wrote was about him.
She should have never come between us! Forced me to punish her for what she took from me.
I beat her.
I killed her! And I would do it again if that would bring Estefan back! You tried to tell me that you should never have come to this country.
You're right.
Unlike your song, Silvana, you'll find no redemption here.
Silvana's on fire.
We're gonna make some money, bro.
Good for you and for your club.
Well, good for all of us, right? This is not about the money for me, bro.
It's about the soul of Cuba.
The music.
Venga.
Cuidado, Vegas, Silvana has arrived.
Vegas is just the beginning.
Sure, sure, sure.
Necesitamos hablar press.
We do the local news, and after the first show, CNN, Fox, MSNBC.
The sky's the limit.
Come on.
Marta! Marta! No! Oh, Marta! Thank you.
Hey, fellas, what do we got? Marta Cuerto, Sister to Silvana Cuerto, Cuban pop star.
Who found the body? Silvana and her manager.
So, no signs of a disturbance.
No blood, no cleanup, which means this isn't the primary.
The body was staged, just like that, and one of Silvana's costumes was taken off the rack and put on the victim's body.
That explains the lack of blood on the dress.
What do we got going here, bud? Blunt force trauma-- the face and most of her upper torso.
Semicircular impressions all over the body.
Liver temp is 90.
4.
She died about six hours ago.
I'll get the gurney.
So our killer brings her here, stages the body nobody even notices? She was rehearsing for a couple of hours onstage.
The music's loud, people are distracted.
How many ways in and out of here? Only two.
Door from the stage, and there's a back door down that hallway leading to the alley.
Well, that's the how; I'd like to know the why.
Silvana's sister in her dress, sitting at her vanity staring into her mirror.
You got something? Yeah.
"Silvana, eres la proxima"? "Silvana, you're next.
" Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Who are you? Who, who, who, who? I really wanna know Who are you? Oh-oh-oh Who Come on, tell me who are you, you, you Are you! Silvana Cuerto is the hottest ticket in Vegas.
Next to rum and cigars, Silvana is Cuba's biggest export.
So, how come I've never heard of her, then? I don't know, I mean, she's been touring Europe, now she's finally coming to the States.
Didn't know you were such a big Cuban music fan.
You know, Sex Pistols, Sinatra, Silvana-- I'm equal opportunity like that.
If she's so popular, why are all these people here protesting? I'm very sorry for your loss, Ms.
Cuerto.
It's like part of me is dead.
I do have to ask you some questions.
I'm sorry.
I understand.
I know that you and your manager found your sister Marta.
Right? Was there anyone else backstage, anyone who didn't belong? No, just us.
When was the last time you saw Marta? Yesterday.
We had lunch, then she went shopping.
Shopping? Marta does wardrobe for the show.
She made all of my costumes.
My whole life, she's taken care of me.
And coming here, I was so scared.
But Marta gave me the strength.
She was so happy for me, like it was her up in that stage and I felt her with me.
Did your sister mention receiving threats? Everyone loved Marta.
Okay, how about you? Have you received any threats? Silvana received threats every day, ever since we arrive in this country.
Threats from whom, Mr.
Ficha? Los Gusanos-- the so-called Cuban exiles who want Silvana to go home or die.
You're talking about the people outside.
That's right.
It's a long way from carrying a sign to killing someone.
I don't expect you to understand.
Politics in your country is entertainment.
In Cuba, it's passion; it's blood.
These threats against Silvana-- were they anonymous? The threats, yes the source no.
What do you mean by that? The leader of the exile community-- Eddie Santos-- he's been following us ever since we landed-- outside the hotel, outside the restaurant where we eat, outside this club.
Why didn't you report him? I did-- to your State Department.
Obviously, your government is deaf to the concerns of the loyal Cuban citizens.
Some more loyal than others.
Hmm.
Couldn't help but notice on your passport there's an entry-- "Gobierno Cubano"" My Spanish is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure that means "Cuban government"" You're not just Silvana's manager, are you? I was assigned to accompany Silvana on her tour-- Marta, too.
You're a handler.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, a talent like Silvana-- you're the guy assigned to make sure that she, uh finds her way back home.
Perhaps if I had been more vigilant Marta would still be alive.
Got black streaks on the floor here.
Looks like some kind of oil residue.
I've got a fiber here.
Could help us find our primary.
More fibers at the base of the chair.
There's a trail heading right out of the room.
And down the hallway to the door to the alley.
You thinking what I'm thinking? When fibers get snagged on the floor like that, it means material was dragged.
Weighed down like a body in some kind of sack.
Body dump.
But where did the killer stash the sack? What are the odds? So much for security at your club, Mr.
Mejia.
In fact, the only functioning camera in this entire club that's working is aimed at the cash register behind the bar.
Kind of sums up your priorities, don't you think? You're out of line.
I don't think so.
Given what I saw outside, you have no excuse for not providing adequate security.
I tried.
I installed these cameras this month.
I've had to fix 'em four times already.
Ever since I announced that Silvana was performing at the club, I've had acts of vandalism every night.
You're pointing a finger at the exiles? All I'm saying is, I don't get how people who are otherwise calm and law-abiding can go crazy over ancient history, wounds that are over 50 years old.
Aren't you Cuban? Cuban-American.
My parents and I came here This is my country, not Cuba.
My generation-- here.
Marta's and Silvana's-- over there.
We just want to be free to live our lives, follow our dreams.
Yeah, well, somebody ended that for Marta Cuerto, and Silvana may be next, so, if this show must go on, then you have to fix these cameras.
Beautiful music, Doc.
Oh, brings back memories.
Have you been to Cuba? I was invited to a symposium on forensic pathology in Havana.
Hmm, you must have some good stories.
Actually, that's why I called you here.
But this story is far from good.
This pattern of injuries is quite specific and not new to me.
What do you mean? Injuries on the wrists indicate the victim was forcibly restrained.
Ligature marks.
Width suggests rope.
Same ligature marks on her ankles.
Slight bruising on her shoulders from a hyperextension of the muscles.
And this bruising on her abdomen says the victim was subjected to an extended period of intense pressure.
Which all adds up to what? She was hog-tied.
So you're saying systematic torture? I met a journalist in Cuba who claimed to have been arrested by the authorities.
He described an account of torture referred to as "la silla.
" Which means"the chair".
According to him, it was a technique commonly employed by the Cuban police.
After a few hours, they lifted him off the floor, tied him to a chair, and beat him into submission with a pipe.
The pipe would be consistent with the semicircular gashes all over her body.
Do you have anything else? Well, no obvious signs of sexual assault.
I sent the SAE kit to DNA.
But I did find this partially embedded in the skin of her left heel.
Hmm.
Looks like some kind of metal.
Whoa.
Lurk much? You know, if you weren't my boss and dating my mother, I'd say I hate that.
Well, I'm not too happy myself, Depardieu.
Or I guess you're really Andie MacDowell, aren't you? What are you talking about? Green Card, the movie.
Saw it with Morgan's mother.
At least the first paged to an even worse crime.
Right.
This is about the immigration investigation? Yes, it is.
What the hell were you thinking? What do you mean? You meet a woman in Italy and a week later, you're engaged? You don't even speak the same damn language.
Which has its advantages.
All right, you think this is funny? This is Morgan's deposition supporting your story.
I know; I didn't ask her to do that.
I'm your supervisor, David; we're family here.
You should've told me.
And you sure as hell should've told your mother-- she's beside herself.
Default position.
That's not funny.
My daughter went to bat for you here.
You better not be making her a liar.
You have good news for me; I can always tell.
Well, at least someone still has faith in me.
Oh, Lord.
Family? Yes.
Um, never mind.
Good news item number one: the residue Morgan and Greg found in Silvana's dressing room Was motor oil.
Mm-hmm.
Which was also found on the burlap sack used to transport the body, along with flecks of dried blood matching our victim.
What else you got? Item number two: the chip found embedded in our victim's heel is not just one metal, but four.
A metallic layer cake, if you will.
"Trivalent chromium, nickel, copper, flat carbon steel".
Steel for the body, copper for the surface, nickel for the shine, and tri-chromium for the polish.
Auto body shop.
Actually, it's a chrome-plating facility.
There's only three in Vegas, one of which is only two blocks from the club.
Check out the name of the owner.
Eddie Santos-- face of the Cuban exiles.
Good work.
I'll call Brass.
Doesn't look like they're open for business.
Well, it looks like somebody's home.
Hey, Jim Yeah? Metal chips look just like the trace Doc pulled out of the victim.
Yeah.
Nick.
Yeah? I got blood.
Looks like we found our primary.
Eddie Santos, LVPD.
You going somewhere, Eddie? We found all that stuff in your shop, Eddie, but it was a match to Marta Cuerto.
So let me guess, uh, you were headed back there to clean up when we arrested you, right? I had nothing to do with that or killing anyone-- I was going to my office to get paperwork.
Paperwork? Mm.
Your last customer picked up his car at 11:30 yesterday morning, right before you closed up the shop at noon, right? And we know that Marta Cuerto was killed between and then delivered to her sister's dressing room, which is a block away from your shop.
Guilty until proven innocent! I feel I'm back in Cuba! Is that were you got those scars? In Cuba? I was in a room like this, with police like you.
They beat me and threw me in la gaveta.
La gaveta.
They threw you in a drawer? Ten guys in a six-by-eight prison cell filled with rats, roaches, feces, Eddie, save the history lesson.
This isn't Havana, Cuba.
This is Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and here we go on evidence, and we found a lot of it in your shop.
I have no reason to kill anyone.
We checked you out, Eddie-- the way you were following around Silvana, Marta, her manager-- everywhere they went, - there you were.
- It's a free country.
Right, where Silvana Cuerto can cash in.
"Bringing the Benjamins back to her repressive government.
" Those are your words.
Last I checked, I have the right to speak my mind.
Yeah, but you don't have the right to commit murder to exact revenge on traitors who aren't loyal to your cause.
And you damn sure don't have the right to torture people the way that you were tortured.
I didn't kill anyone! Oh, right-- you're one of those romantic revolutionaries.
We ran a rape kid on Marta.
We found semen.
We found contributions on a sofa in your shop! If you want us to compel your DNA and match it to the DNA we found, we're happy to do that.
You want evidence? You don't need to compel anything.
Go ahead, take my DNA.
You sure DNA's not a match? I ran it twice, then called Greg.
Which is when I noticed that the result wasn't a total bust.
Eddie Santos's DNA profile showed a second-order relative match to the profile of our suspect.
Second-order, as in a half sibling? Or a grandson, maybe a nephew.
Either way, our suspect is definitely a member of Eddie Santos's family.
Well, sounds like you need to shake the Santos family tree, right? Or, you know, we could call our friend Donna Hoppe.
Well, at this point, I may not be a genealogy Jedi, but Padewan, at least, I am.
I got this one.
Hey, Doc.
You said you had some news? An unexpected detour on the road to determining cause of death.
Take a look at these internal organs.
Wow.
The heart and brain look really swollen.
Lungs are lined with this cherry red mucosa.
So Marta was poisoned.
What about the beating? While poisoning appears to be the ultimate C.
O.
D.
, vital response in the wounds suggests they were simultaneous events.
So the killer poisoned her and beat her.
You were talking about Cuban police torture.
Did you ever come across anything like this? Never.
And the cherry red color is indicative of cyanide, isn't it? Well, the short answer's yes.
I can't tell you how it would have gotten into her system.
Didn't find any injection marks, no inhaled residue in her nasal passages.
What about her stomach contents? Already sent that off to Hodges.
Silvana's manager, Antonio, provided everybody in the band with prepaid cell phones; I pulled up every call that Marta made the day that she died.
Made calls to her sister, Antonio, couple of calls to the Rumbason Club, also some fabric stores and fashion outlets.
Well, that makes sense.
Silvana said that Marta went shopping for wardrobe for the show.
Rehearsal wasn't until 8:00.
Here are the last calls she ever made-- three in a row right around 2:30 p.
m.
Couple hours before she died.
No caller I.
D.
's.
another prepaid cell.
Well, that's Washington, DC.
Yeah.
Let's do a reverse .
Read my mind.
Access denied.
Put that together with Cuba and Washington, DC.
The plot thickens.
You know, I don't want to go to that CIA place, but I'm kind of going to that CIA place.
Want a bite? Here you go, bud.
Easy, easy.
Dog walker on vacation? Yeah, stomach flu.
Huh.
Speaking of, is that the report on Marta Cuerto's stomach contents? This? Uh, no.
This is personal.
Okay.
No problem.
If you must know, uh, it's Morgan's character reference to Immigration in support of my engagement to Elisabetta.
Wow.
Well, you know, I would've been happy to write you a character reference-- I mean, I would've left out the part about your criminal record but Well, clearly, I should've talked to you first.
Congratulations, buddy.
I look forward to meeting her sometime.
An oversight I plan to correct.
Hear that, Sam? He's getting married.
So, stomach contents.
Yeah, in my office.
All right.
Sammy, I got some work to do now, boy.
Stay here, I'll be right back.
Based on my analysis of Marta Cuerto's stomach contents, I know how the cyanide got into her system.
GCMS picked up linamarin, lotaustralin cyanogenic glucosides.
Well, how the hell did they get in there? Page two.
Lovely illustration.
Behold the cassava leaf, which has been known to produce medicinal properties, only if processed carefully.
And if not? Uh, nasty business.
Especially in the hands of our killer, who, it seems, force-fed them to Marta, knowing that the glucosides from the unprocessed leaves would react with stomach enzymes to produce hydrogen cyanide.
Which is then absorbed through the stomach lining into the bloodstream.
Once in the blood, cyanide binds to hemoglobin more strongly than oxygen, preventing the oxygen from getting to the cells.
The result-- asphyxiation.
Suffocation.
And death.
Heard our suspect's DNA shows he's related to Eddie Santos.
Russell said you were doing a little genealogy? Yeah.
And this family tree has some seriously poisoned roots back in Cuba.
I accessed the Clark County Museum of Hispanic Heritage database.
I found this.
Cuban Army photo.
Guy on the left-- Colonel Carlos Cuerto.
Cuerto? Related to the Cuerto sisters? Grandfather, and the guy next to him-- Eduardo Santos.
Young Eddie Santos.
A year after this, Eddie and two comrades made a crack about Colonel Cuerto's ties to the black market.
They were arrested and thrown in jail.
Where they were tortured.
For six years at the hands of Colonel Cuerto himself.
This may have nothing to do with politics at all.
It's a feud between the Cuerto and Santos family.
Yeah, simmering for 40 years.
And I think I know which family member exacted revenge.
Hilda Santos, sister of Eddie Santos, emigrated from Cuba in '92, married Oscar Mejia.
They had one son together.
Estefan Mejia, owner of the Rumbason.
Also Eddie Santos' nephew.
What do you guys want? We just want to talk to you about your uncle, Eddie Santos.
And the vendetta your family has against the Cuertos family.
Vendetta? I have no part in any vendetta.
Really? Then why don't you explain to us how we found your DNA on Marta Cuerto's body in your uncle's auto shop? The DNA you left behind when you raped and killed her.
Mitch, call an ambulance! I'm going with her.
Sir, I'm sorry.
I can't let you in there right now.
Get your hands off me.
I demand to be inside with Silvana.
Mitch, I've got this.
Mr.
Ficha, I'm so sorry.
Let me talk to you just for a second.
Silvana's exhibiting the same signs of poisoning as Marta-- cyanide-- now, I've told the doctors, so they know what to do.
You saw the message scrawled in Silvana's dressing room.
Those animals said she was next.
Where were you? We do have a suspect in custody, sir.
A little late, don't you think? Why won't you tell me what's happening with Silvana? Why? You trying to figure out if you're on the hook for one murder or two? What?! Your club is getting a bad rep, Estefan.
First Marta.
Now your star attraction, Silvana, collapses on stage.
Yeah, at first we thought you just had lousy security, given the angry crowd outside, but now we know that the real threat was coming from inside.
Coming from you.
I told you, I don't share the same beliefs as the exile community.
Maybe not them, but what about your uncle? That's a different story.
Blood is thicker than politics, right? I don't know what you're talking about.
You know exactly what we're talking about.
Let me show you something.
I think you referred to this as "ancient history"" Let me show you a little recent history.
I think you recognize that, don't you? Look familiar? How'd it go down? Did your uncle watch while you raped her? And then, you two guys, what, you tied her up, then you beat her.
And then forced cassava leaves down her throat and watched her suffocate.
No.
DNA doesn't lie, man! We know it was you! I didn't.
I couldn't hurt her.
So? It was your uncle then.
No! I mean, I don't know.
You don't know? No, I wasn't there when this happened.
Look, my uncle tried to turn me against the Cuertos, but Silvana, Marta and I were friends.
I lived with them when I was a kid.
Even when I came to this country, we stayed in touch.
When Silvana's career took off, I saw it as a chance to bring them here.
No, you saw it as an opportunity to lure the Cuerto sisters and settle an old score.
My uncle's fight is not my fight! I couldn't hurt her! I couldn't hurt Marta! Her and I were in love.
Is that why you took her to your uncle's body shop? That's not my idea of romance.
It was the only place near the Rumbason where we could meet in secret.
Marta called me, and I went to her.
We made love.
I got to go.
I'll see you tonight.
Marta was still alive when I left.
I swear.
What about your uncle? Where was he at? I can't tell you.
You can't or you won't? Si, si, si.
Sono contento.
No, Elisabetta, I'm-I'm very happy.
It-It's just that it's-it's hard.
Um difficile, uh, for me to express it in Italian.
It's, uh it's the language barrier and Elisabetta.
Hello? Hello? Sorry to interrupt.
Hi.
I brought you Silvana Cuerto's stomach contents for analysis.
Aw, you shouldn't have.
So, everything okay with Elisabetta? Yeah, uh, great.
Yeah, in-in fact, uh, she just heard from Immigration.
Uh, they processed our application, and, uh, because of your help, uh, we've been approved.
Wow.
Yeah.
So, what what does that mean? Well, uh, it means that we have 90 days to get married, or she gets put back on a plane home.
Well, it's a good thing you live in Vegas.
You can just get hitched at a drive-thru.
Well, don't take your foot off the gas.
Thanks.
Look who's back.
CSI Russell, right? Yeah, that's right.
How are you feeling? I don't know.
What happened? Well, we're gonna find that out.
Seems somebody tried to poison you.
Like they did to Marta? Antonio told me.
Well, the person who poisoned your sister forced her to ingest cassava leaves.
Now, clearly, that was not the case with you, but do you remember if anyone offered you any food, or something to drink before your rehearsal? No.
But I-I can't remember much.
Okay.
What I do remember, I wish I could forget.
I was so happy to come here.
To be a star in this country.
Now, Marta Marta's dead.
I should never have Please find who did this.
Please tell me that you have something.
You know we had to let Eddie Santos go.
Well, we just sprung his nephew Estefan, as well.
So I am hoping that we can tie at least one of them to Silvana's poisoning.
Well, I can tell you this much.
Silvana Cuerto was poisoned with cyanide by way of unprocessed cassava leaves.
So at least our killer is consistent.
Not entirely, because in Silvana's case, he changed the method of delivery.
In addition to the cassava leaves, I found gelatin and plant polysaccharides.
Which is from soluble capsules? Yes.
So, Silvana ingested pills filled with poison.
Yes, again, but I don't think she knew that they were filled with poison.
I suspect that she thought they were filled with justicia pectoralis, which I also found in the mix.
It's an herbal remedy, primarily used for relaxation.
Cubans call it tilo.
Tilo.
You know it? Yeah, I just saw it on the evidence list.
Greg found a bottle of it in Silvana's dressing room.
Maybe somebody who had access-- perhaps Estefan-- spiked Silvana's calm pills, tried to kill her buzz.
I'll get Greg to run the tilo.
Thank you.
Pleasure.
So, Hodges confirmed that the tilo capsules we found in Silvana's dressing room contained ground-up cassava leaves.
Source of the cyanide.
Right.
Lucky for Silvana, that when you put the poison in a capsule, it reduces the-the potency.
All right.
And we know the print Greg assembled came back to Antonio Ficha.
So much for him being her handler.
Looks like he's our killer, but I-I don't I don't get it.
Well, I may have something for you.
Just got off the phone with the State Department-- Cuerto sisters were seeking asylum.
That explains the phone call to to DC.
Sisters defecting, bad news for Antonio.
All right.
So what are we thinking? That he killed Marta and then left the warning for Silvana, "You're next"? Obviously, she didn't get the message.
Right.
I'm on my way.
You got something? Yeah, Antonio Ficha checked Silvana out of the hospital about a half hour ago.
Where were they going? Patrol spotted them returning to their hotel.
I'm meeting Brass over at the Palermo.
Crawford.
Okay I'm on my way.
Guy at the front desk says Antonio and Silvana arrived about 20 minutes ago.
Went straight up to the room.
Were they alone? They were.
What do you mean "they were"? A few minutes after that, another guy showed up.
His description matches Estefan Mejia.
What the hell is he doing here? - Uh-oh - - No! LVPD! Drop the gun! Drop the gun, Antonio! Drop the gun! Show me your hands! Against the wall! Come on! It's Estefan.
He's dead.
Silvana? It's okay.
Everything's okay.
Antonio's crazy.
He was going to kill me.
It's all right.
It's all right.
You're safe now.
You're safe.
It's all over.
All right, what do you got for me, David? Broken nose, bruises.
Took a few shots to the face before a single GSW to the forehead.
And there's no exit wound.
It's a large caliber, consistent with a .
45.
Check this out.
It's a compound fracture of the right index finger.
That's the trigger finger.
Antonio must've wrenched the gun out of his hand.
Hey, Morgan take a look at this.
Seen that before.
In Silvana's dressing room.
Yeah.
Killer used the burlap sack to transport Marta's body with.
But what's it doing here? Hey, guys, look what I found.
Antonio's bag.
Yeah.
With blood on it.
It's like a regular murder kit.
What do we have here? I'm guessing those are cassava leaves.
It happened so fast.
Estefan pushed his way into the room.
Then he and Antonio started to argue.
What were they arguing about? He said Antonio had murdered Marta, tried to poison me and that he wouldn't let Antonio hurt me again.
What made Estefan think that Antonio was the one behind it all? He said his uncle told him.
When Estefan pulled out a gun, I ran into the bathroom to hide.
Then I heard a shot.
And I was sure he'd killed Antonio.
Then the police arrived, and I saw Estefan lying on the floor.
He was just trying to protect me.
You're gonna be all right.
I think we should get you to the hospital, just to make sure.
No, I don't want to go to the hospital.
I just want to go home.
Silvana's returning to Cuba.
And so am I.
You have no right to hold me here.
I've done nothing wrong.
Antonio, we walked in on you standing over Estefan Mejia with a gun in your hand.
Yeah, man, I think the gun was still smoking.
That was in self-defense.
Mm.
Silvana and I were packing our bags when Estefan showed up.
I tried to reason with him, but his head was filled with lies.
You son of a bitch! I know what you've done! Oye, tranquilo! Tranquilo! Cálmate! You killed Marta! You poisoned Silvana! What are you talking about?! That was your crazy uncle.
Not me! I am the one protecting Silvana, and I'm taking her home.
No, you're not going anywhere! No, no, no! Ooh! Now you get the hell out of here.
No! Estefan gave me no choice.
Let's say I buy self-defense.
We still found your fingerprints on Silvana's tilo capsules.
They were filled with cyanide.
So you think I poisoned Silvana? Why would I do such a thing? She's Cuba's gift to the world.
Gift to the U.
S.
, you mean.
She and Marta wanted to defect.
But you weren't gonna let that happen.
I don't know what you're talking about.
He's lying.
Maybe.
And I don't know anything about any poisoned pills.
I gave Silvana my tilo to calm her down after Marta's death.
I guess you don't know anything about this bag.
Same one with your name on it.
It also has Marta's blood on it.
And that's the same kind of rope you used - to tie her up with.
- And the fiber is a match to the same burlap sack used to transport her to the Rumbason from Eddie Santos's auto body shop.
You've been trying to frame Eddie Santos from day one.
No.
I am the one being framed here.
Don't you see? I thought justice in your country wasn't about what you believe.
It's about what you can prove.
No? What can we prove? We're running everything right now.
State Department's all over this.
We can't afford any mistakes.
Well, neither can he.
Hey, boss.
I've got confirmation of our preliminary results.
Blood on Antonio Ficha's duffel bag matches Marta Cuerto.
That's good.
And the fibers that we found from the burlap sack match the burlap sack that the killer used to move the body.
Also good.
The rope, the cassava leaves are all consistent.
But? But Henry couldn't recover any DNA from the gloves.
And I found this little mystery in the duffel.
What's this? Mouton.
Lambskin.
With a particular acrylic dye recipe commonly used in the restoration of classic American cars.
Which you're thinking the killer used to transport the body.
Yes.
And according to the fiber, we should be looking in the trunk of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air.
Oh.
Now, that's the same car that Eddie Santos drives.
I went there, too.
There's just one problem.
I processed Eddie's Chevy while he was in custody, and his car hasn't seen a carpet upgrade since 1956.
Oh.
Well, that's not good.
Of course, Eddie has a stable of classic cars.
Could be one of them.
Or the car, like our killer, could've been staring us in the face the whole time.
I checked with Sunstar Auto Rental.
They said they wrote a two-day contract on this '56 Chevy for Antonio for-for your photo shoot.
But the kid behind the desk said that he was such a big fan, that when you came back to rent it for an extra day, he gave it to you for free.
Off the books.
I guess like me, he was won over by your-your beautiful voice, your warm heart, your trusting face.
Anyway he said something else that was very interesting.
He said that he wasn't used to having people return vehicles cleaner than when they drove them off the lot.
Silvana I know you did it.
I know you killed your sister.
I loved my sister.
I don't doubt that.
Because, in my experience, a brutal murder like Marta's can only come from deep emotions.
Love turned to hate through betrayal.
You don't even know what you're talking about.
Actually, I do.
Let me back up a second.
Estefan brought you and your sister here, but it was Marta who contacted the State Department.
So that you could have a career in this country.
But more importantly, so she could be near Estefan.
But you wanted Estefan for yourself, didn't you? You loved him.
Ever since you were kids.
And the more you loved him, the more you hated your sister.
You're forgetting I'm the victim of Antonio's betrayal.
Well, it does look like that.
Because you made it look like that.
Antonio's bag, incriminating.
Antonio's tilo pills, poisoned just enough to make you sick but not enough to kill you.
These are lies.
These are all lies! Why can't you see the truth? You know, actually, I-I heard the truth, Silvana.
Because you've already given us your confession, haven't you? All this time, listening to these lyrics but not really hearing them.
These words of-of love, loss, revenge redemption.
No matter what she's done, she still believes that her lover will forgive her.
Come to rescue her.
Just like you believed when you called Estefan, and begged him to come to the hotel to rescue you.
But Antonio was trying to kill me.
No, you murdered your sister, and you told Estefan that Antonio did it.
You do realize, don't you, that your lies got Estefan killed? Marta knew how much I loved Estefan.
Since we were children.
Every song I wrote was about him.
She should have never come between us! Forced me to punish her for what she took from me.
I beat her.
I killed her! And I would do it again if that would bring Estefan back! You tried to tell me that you should never have come to this country.
You're right.
Unlike your song, Silvana, you'll find no redemption here.