CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015): Season 14, Episode 17 - Long Road Home - full transcript

What have we got here?

Pretty woman.

Plenty of room to stretch out.

Didn't help her any.

No purse, no I.D.,

but she is wearing
a concert wristband.

You think that's important?
Maybe.

According to Sunburst Limo,

the owner of this
ridiculous 24-seater,

a rock band
rented it last night.

So, maybe our
pretty woman's a fan.



Who's the band?

Limo company said
they didn't get a name.

Band paid cash.

Owner said they were
flying under the radar.

The driver?

At Desert Palm Hospital
getting his stomach pumped.

Alcohol poisoning, maybe
from partying with the band.

All we got out of him

was that the band stole this
limo when he wasn't looking.

He pinged it,
found it parked in an alley,

tried to drive it back.

Nick's on his way
to the hospital now.

That's a lot of blood.

Yeah. On her,
but not in the limo.



I've been through
this whole mess.

This is not the primary.

She was killed somewhere else.

Hell of a party.
Yeah.

You know, Zeppelin once
sunk a limo in a hotel pool.

No.

It was The Who.

I'll check both their alibis.

You're funny.

Whoever "they" are,

the song remains the same.

We're gonna find them.

♪ CSI 14x17 ♪
Long Road Home
Original Air Date on March 12, 2014

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man

♪ 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!

Mr. Lassek.

I'm Nick Stokes, LVPD.

I heard you were driving
the limo last night.

Yeah. Until one of them
ballers in the band

stole my ride...
my livelihood, man.

Okay, which one
of the "ballers" was this?

I don't know. There was, like,
four of them, and all old dudes.

I ain't get any
of their names.

What else?

I think they were
rehearsing for, like, a...

some secret gig or
something like that.

What about the girl?

What can you tell me about her?

Was she partying
with the band, or what?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Both of them were.

"Both" of them were.
There was more than one?

Oh, yeah.
There were two of them.

See, the girl
in the limo,

her name's Marcy.

See, I picked her up
with the band

at the Mediterranean.

The night ended
at the Brimstone Club,

and, see, that's where they
met up with the other girl...

Tangerine.

"Tangerine"?

It was crazy.

I admit, they put me
under the table, literally.

Catch anybody's last name?

I wish.

Especially that
Tangerine, whoo!

She was prime.
See, I chatted her up.

Uh, and that's when
one of them rocker dudes

got all crazy with me.

Crazy? Crazy, how?

Aw, man, he was
talking about

how he was gonna knock
my teeth out if I touched her.

I said, "Try me then, bitch."

You know, and then he backed
down like an Otis elevator.

Yeah, I got you.
That's a good story.

But don't leave town, okay?

I'm gonna take
that limo for a while,

check it out very thoroughly.

So what is that anyway?

Shiva, the Hindu god
of fertility.

Making it official:
sex...

drugs...

and rock and roll.

We also have
bright green gumballs.

Not so "rock and roll."
Au contraire.

Bright green gumballs
are very "rock and roll."

According to this,

concert rider
rolled into a coke straw.

Take a look.

The band is referred to
as "the artist."

Backstage needs of each
member made very clear.

"Bassist, one dozen longneck
bottles of Chester Garden Red""

Check.

"Drummer, three jars
Vienna sausage.

"Guitarist, one bowl
Organi Chew Organic Gumballs.

Green tint only".

Sounds like Van Halen's
concert rider.

"No brown M&M's allowed."

Yeah, well, these guys are doing
more than gum and M&M's.

Could be drugs.

I'll get it to Hodges.

One girl dead,
another one missing.

Rock stars,

drugs and groupies.

Talk about a lethal
combination.

The victim's C.O.D.
appears to be exsanguination

due to multiple
sharp force injuries.

And I found
an I.D., as well.

Name is Marcy Cody;
she's in the system.

Arrests for solicitation.

So she was a working girl.

But I'm not sure she
was working last night.

Why do you say that?

Well, I found no signs
of sexual activity,

consensual or otherwise.

I did find something after
I washed away the blood.

Something that suggests,

whoever our mystery band is,

Marcy here was definitely a fan.

You know, only big name
rock stars leave their signature

on that part of the anatomy.

If our killer
left his autograph,

that certainly
would be convenient.

Indeed, if it were legible.

Yeah, the last name's
a disaster,

but the first letter
of the first name,

looks like it could
be a cursive "G".

Ay.

You do not look happy.

I'm having such
a tough time

with this breast-o-graph.

Well, guess I'm having
a better day.

The substance that
Morgan and Greg found:

Lexan plastic.

Found some ash in it,

and apparently
it was melted in an ashtray

along with a cigarette.

I was, however,

given my skills,
able to reconstitute it,

restore it roughly
to its original shape.

Turns out, it's a guitar pick.

Congratulations, but we already
know we're looking for a band.

Yes, but this is where my
good day becomes your good day,

because this is
a special guitar pick.

According to
the manufacturer,

it's custom-made
for one particular rocker.

And graced with
his signature.

Or in this case...

what's left of it.

That's my "G."
Mm-hmm.

And your "S".

I didn't know
it was an "S".

I know. You thought
it was an "H," right?

So, I assume
the manufacturer

has identified
the rocker in question?

Oh, yes.

Now your joy and my joy
together are-- wait for it...

...locked in a Kiss.

Hello, gorgeous.

Say, uh, you wouldn't happen
to have some, uh, orange juice?

I'm a little parched.

I don't believe so, sir.

Call me "Gene."

Is this gonna take long?

Don't worry, you'll be able
to "rock and roll all night".

Hilarious.

Funny guy.
Sorry.

I'm just a big fan.
I didn't mean to...

What do you say I go in there
and, uh, spit some fire?

I-I'm just kidding.

Let me in.
Right. This way.

You're a good guy.

You know this girl?

Let's see.

Oh, pretty girl.

Yeah, the face
looks familiar,

but, honestly, I
can't place the name.

Well, you placed
your name on her body

in a special place
last night.

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
This chick's dead.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa."
Yeah, she's dead.

She was murdered.

And the body
was found in a limo.

And in that limo,
we found your bass guitar pick.

Now that puts you
at the scene of the crime.

Also in the limo was another
young girl named Tangerine.

She's missing.

I would advise you, Gene,
to come clean.

Hey, man, I've never
been cleaner, okay?

I'm gonna lay out
what I think happened.

You and the Kiss band
played a secret gig last night.

Played for, like,
some prince from Dubai,

some Russian gangster.

So, in the after-party,
some women are involved,

things get out of hand,
everyone's wasted...

Whoa-whoa. Brother,
have you got this wrong.

Okay, first thing: I don't
drink, I don't do drugs.

High people bore me.

Another thing is,

I sign tatas every day.

That's my job.
That's what I do!

I'm a rock star!

And another thing is,

the Kiss boys and I

didn't have any kind of
secret gig last night.

Okay. How do you
explain this then?

Your rock and roll
party bus.

it's not real!

It's all part of a
package you can buy.

Look, it's called
"The Fame Experience".

You know, a bunch
of guys get together,

they pay heavenly
sums to feel famous

and to hang out with
a rock god like me!

"The Fame Experience."

Okay, so, this gig,
it wasn't real.

It was, uh, like,
theatrical and make-believe?

That's right.
That's what I'm saying.

That the guys that I
rocked out with last night

weren't even
my Kiss brethren.

They were some other
"creatures of the night".

Okay, these creatures
of the night have names?

You wanted it, you got it.

On guitar,
you got Arnold Borkowski,

an accountant from
Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On drums, Lex Young.

He can play.

He's an Internet-rich guy--
actually a good guy.

A good guy to know.

Finally, on bass, Ed Kapena.

Ed's from Honolulu.

Makes beer with his mom.

Lousy bassist,
but I do know he can

party hard like a rock star.

You don't
believe me, do you?

Look,

if you think
I'm a killer...

...you can kiss my ass.

Oh, yes.

"The Fame Experience".

It's kind of sad, huh?

Depends on how
you look at it.

Could be kind of
cool, I guess.

Up there,
living out your dream,

rocking onstage.

Okay, wait a minute.

Don't tell me Nick
was a young rocker.

High school band.

I see you let yourselves in.

You must be Marty Kirch.

Yeah.

I book the bands.
I recruit the clients.

My friends call me "The Cat."

Welcome to

The Fame Experience.

You want to be a singer?

An actor?

A dancer?

If you really want to be a star,
you came to the right place.

You want to ask me
some questions?

Yes, sir,
Mr. Kirch, we do.

Three wannabe rockers
on your stage last night

backing up Gene Simmons.

You're looking at Arnold,
Ed and Lex.

I should've known that
they'd cause trouble.

So they did this?
Yeah.

I came in this morning, I find
that they'd destroyed my place.

You think those boys

did a lot more than trash
a hotel room, am I right?

Actually,
it was a party bus.

I believe you know Marcy Cody.

We talked to her roommate,
and she that you hired her

to play groupie last night.

Oh, please.

What did they do to her?

The same thing they may
have done to another young lady.

A young lady
that you may have hired.

Goes by the name Tangerine.

I didn't hire anybody else.

I hired Marcy. She was a sweet,

kind kid.

Okay, whatever you want me
to do...

I'll make it happen.

I think we can start

by trying to figure out where
those three guys were staying.

And we're gonna need

to take a tour
of your experience.

I got a bloody knife.

So, we have two
distinct blood events.

You thinking what I'm thinking?

Got to be the two girls.

Stage left,

pattern and blood voids
are consistent

with Marcy Cody's stabbing.

Yeah, and over here,
I've got directional blood drops

on the amp that come all the way
back from center stage,

where we've got
high-velocity spatter

radiating outward.

That's an odd void
in the middle.

It's like somebody just...
exploded.

What the hell happened in here?

Arnold Borkowski.

Forgive me, but you don't
strike me as the rocker type.

Oh, rocker by night.

Uh, accountant by day.

Uh-huh.
I'm really out here

just for a, uh,
a CPA conference.

The Fame Experience
was all Lex's idea, really.

Lex? Lex Young?

Yeah, yeah, um, our drummer
and-and lead singer.

Lex, uh,

Ed and I had a-a band
in college.

Darwin's Monkey.

So, anyway, uh,

a few months ago,
Lex contacted us

and thought it would be cool if
we got the band back together.

The whole thing
was kind of a lark.

"A lark," Arnold?

Yeah, I don't think
it was a lark

for Marcy Cody.

And I don't think
it was a lark

for her friend Tangerine,
either.

Look, I wasn't the one partying
with those girls, okay?

If it was up to me,

we'd have spent all our time
in the studio,

jamming, not partying,

because for me,
it was all about the music, man.

And what about
your bandmates?

Was it all about the music
for them, too?

Hey, look, this whole thing

was, like, a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, you know?

Come on.

Who doesn't want to jam out
with Gene Simmons?

Mr. Kapena,

I don't think you understand

what kind of trouble
you could be in.

Okay, look, I confess,
all right?

I smoked a little weed,

I did a couple bumps,

but I didn't stab any hooker,
or hookers, last night.

I mean, I didn't...

didn't get any action at all.

Who did?

Same guy who always does,

even when we were back
in college.

We should've done an encore.

We should've did them.

How does he do it?

I guess he thinks
he can do every girl

the way he thinks he can
play every instrument.

He kind of can.

You really don't know anything
about music, do you?

So, you're telling me
that your buddy Lex

snagged the keys to the limo
and then stole your dates?

They weren't our dates.

B-But yeah, he-he took our ride.

I didn't care.

I mean, there's plenty of fish
in the sea, right?

You ever been
to the Brimstone Club?

So you stayed at the bar?

Yeah.

And Arnold?

I've known Lex since college,

but we're not really
good friends.

I mean, do you think

he could've done this?

Do you recognize this knife?

Yeah, that's Lex's knife.

Your buddy Lex didn't return
to the hotel last night.

Do you know
where we can find him?

I've been calling Lex all day.

Nothing.

This whole thing
doesn't make any sense.

Why do you say that?

Okay, so, like, last night,

Lex was on top of the word,
you know.

It wasn't just chicks.

I mean,

the first night we got here,

he came in,
he went in the studio,

he recorded one of his songs.

And I guess some producer
heard it,

and now a label's interested
in signing him.

Really?

A record contract?

So this guy Lex Young--
he's our prime suspect?

According to
his bandmates.

And he's also

been arrested twice for assault.

But it looks like

he really did have interest
from a record label.

A $1,000 deposit

from Cogitator Music
International?

I put a trap

on Lex Young's
credit cards.

No charges since he dropped
a grand on champagne

at the Brimstone Club.

So if our rock star's
on the run,

he's not leaving any tracks.

What about this missing person,
Tangerine?

Well, no word
on her yet, either.

And her killer did
a good job cleaning up,

'cause Henry wasn't able

to develop any DNA profiles
from the crime scene.

Now, Nick and Sara
are pretty sure

that that blood event

is consistent
with Marcy Cody's injuries.

Okay.

What about this one?

Your guess is
as good as mine.

I've seen a lot
of weird blood patterns,

but I have no idea
what's going on there.

Okay.

What is that, ballistics?

Actually, that sounds like
it was coming from the garage.

Whoa!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Dude!

What are you doing, man?

Hi.

Sorry about the mess.

We can blame it on my insomnia
and late-night TV marathons.

Have you ever seen
the documentary on The Who

where Keith Moon hits the drum
and it looks like

glitter comes jumping
off of it?

No.

In that documentary,
they pour water

into his drum kit,
and then during the solo,

they light up the spray as it
just leaps up off the drum.

So, I think, I hope,

I'm duplicating
the blood pattern

from the crime scene.
What do you think?

I'll be damned.

All right,
back up, though.

How do you figure the blood got
on that drum in the first place?

From Lex Young.

I think the combination
of the alcohol,

the cocaine, the pills,

him thinking he has
a music deal,

put that in combination
with the adrenaline

of being onstage,

he thought at some point
that he was a rock god.

Rock goddesses were gonna fall
from the sky.

No, thanks!

But when they weren't
in the mood,

he got enraged.

Oh, my God!

And then he just
went back to playing.

But we still have
a lot of it left to do.

We didn't find a bloody drum kit
at the crime scene.

Any ideas?

Well, we might find the drums

in the same place
we find Tangerine.

This place reeks.

Really?
I hadn't noticed.

Well, at least we're
in the right place.

Driver said he found the
limo bus a block that way.

The Fame Experience studio
is just around the corner.

Definitely promising.

Hey.

It's a drumstick.

With blood on it.

You see that?

Throw this over there?

Yeah.

Bloody drum

and a very bad smell.

That's Lex Young,
the drummer.

So much for our prime suspect.

The Fame Experience is becoming
more like "Hotel California."

"You can check out
anytime you like,

but you can never leave".

Our drummer,
Mr. Lex Young,

sustained at least eight
sharp-force injuries.

Wounds are consistent
with the stiletto knife

found at the crime scene.

Henry processed the blood
on the drum?

Yeah. It's definitely
Mr. Young's.

Got a wallet, Doc.

Phone, too.

Looks like he made some friends
while he was in town.

One friend in particular.

Ooh, boy, that's Tangerine,
our missing girl.

Maybe they made
a love connection.

Although, if she was
a working girl,

it was probably
one-sided.

Torn up pieces of paper
in his wallet.

Must've meant something to him.

That looks like a lyric sheet,
handwritten.

"'Long Road Home,'
A song by Lex Young."

He scribbled a
dedication underneath.

"For Tangerine."

I doubt Mr. Young tore up
his own song.

It's bad for him, good for us.

Yeah, 'cause if Tangerine
tore it up,

that means she touched it.

"Long Road Home" could be
a short road to finding her.

So, we got an I.D.
on Tangerine.

Surprise, surprise,
it's not her real name.

Angela Glenn.

Arrests for solicitation,
pandering

and fraud.

At first, we thought
she was our next victim.

Turns out, she may have
been involved

in the murders of Marcy Cody
and Lex Young.

All right,
tell me what you got.

Well, let's start with
Lex Young's phone

and a series of photos
of him with Tangerine.

And the time stamp says that
they first met six days ago.

When The Fame Experience
started.

A dream come true, right?
Lex Young meets his muse.

That night, he goes home
and writes and records

a song dedicated to her.

And then, poof, all of a sudden,
he's got a record deal.

Yeah, what are the odds
of that happening?

100-to-one it's a scam.
Yeah.

And we've got a lead on
who might be behind it.

Couple of hours ago,
a check transaction cleared

Lex Young's personal account.

$50,000 written to
Cogitator Music International.

Deposited by the owner himself,
one Alex Gradenko.

I'm assuming you've checked up
on the label.

Yeah, it's an offshore account
in Belize.

Belize!

Which brings us
to Lex Young's e-mail.

He and Gradenko have been
communicating

for the past four days.

"Mr. Young,

"your demo is incredible.

"Excited to meet you
in person finally.

"However, we have a problem
with our digital distribution

"that has resulted
in unexpected costs.

"We will need $50,000
to avoid any unwanted delay

in the release
of your single."

That sounds like your classic
Nigerian e-mail scam.

You give us a little now, we'll
give you so much more later.

You know that thousand dollars

that Lex Young received
from Cogitator Music?

Right. That was just
the come-on.

Like a sweet young Tangerine

fawning over an aging,
wannabe rock star.

Okay, so how does
the con turn into murder?

Well, I'm thinking that the torn
lyric sheet that we found

says that Tangerine,
at some point,

maybe lost her stomach
for the grift.

And maybe even started
to feel for her mark.

So, Lex Young realizes maybe
that he's being conned,

so he confronts Gradenko

back at the studio.

Gradenko kills him
to cover up the scam.

And Marcy Cody's just
collateral damage.

Okay, what about, uh, Tangerine?
Her neighbors say

she hasn't been around
for a couple days.

So we have a broadcast out

on her car and we're sitting
on her place.

If I were her,
I'd be in the wind.

If I were this guy Gradenko,

I'd be in the wind, too.

Uh, maybe not.

I.S.P. trace we ran on
Gradenko's e-mails to Lex Young

came back to Vegas,
not Belize.

And to a "cat" we all know.

Marty "The Cat" Kirch.

Pleasure to meet you.

Captain Jim Brass.
How are you?

Or maybe I should say...

Comrade Gradenko.

Captain, I can explain this...

No, no, no.

No explanation necessary,
really. This, you know...

You got a really nice
side business here.

The company provides
a taste of fame.

And you provide
to would-be rockers

the dream of Alex Gradenko,
record producer, right?

Some poor schmuck gets to
dream of being discovered

and getting
a record deal

and becoming famous;
it's kind of slick.

Exactly. That's why
I invented Alexander Gradenko.

The world's best
record producer, right?

Just like you said,
it's like selling dreams.

Yeah. It's called
fraud, Marty.

I don't understand.
Well, you know,

Lex young understood;
he understood the reality

that you had scammed
him for 50 grand.

And now he's dead.

Wait a minute.
I mean, you got it all wrong.

Are you saying that I killed Lex Young?
Did you?

And what about Marcy Cody?
I mean, geez, that poor kid

just got in
the way, I guess.

That poor kid was like
a daughter to me.

You know, we're gonna find
the other girl, Tangerine.

We're gonna find her dead
or alive, and when we do,

she's gonna have
a story to tell.

Well, I sincerely hope
you do find her,

because the story
that she's gonna tell you

is that I didn't hire her.

Lex Young hired her.

Lex Young? Really?

I thought you hired
all the groupies.

Captain, when you're a client
and you go off the menu,

I'm not gonna stop you.

So if you're looking for
what happened to Lex and Marcy,

maybe you need to look
at Tangerine

and not me.
Why's that?

Because he had that hooker
on his arm all weekend long.

The last day of it,
they had this massive fight.

That's why.
Oh, really?

Do you know what it was about?

I have no idea.

But to me...
it's always about money.

Yeah.

Well, for me,
it's always about the crime.

And you're under arrest,
Marty, for fraud.

For now.

So, do you believe his story?

I don't believe a thing that guy says.
Well, truth is,

we didn't find
any evidence that put him

in the room at the time
of the murders, so...

And the only people
who were there that night

are either dead, or in the wind,

or dead.
Captain?

You got a visitor. He
said that it's important.

Oh, yeah?

Actually, he says
he's important.

Captain, permission to board?

Permission granted,

Sailor.

So you've met
Officer Mitchell?

Yes, sir.

That's CSI Russell.
This is Gene Simmons.

Oh. Oh, I'm sorry.

Hey.
Yeah, nice to meet you.

Wife's a huge fan
of your, um...

reality show.

Oh. What about you?

Uh, I'm more of a Nature Channel
kind of guy.

Oh, nature's cool.
So, Gene,

what brings you by?
You paying a parking ticket?

I bring you treasure.

But first, a little
DNA for your Q and A.

Oh.

I watch a lot
of cop shows.

Okay, so... so, what's, uh...
what's the story behind these?

Well, here's the deal.

See, this girl gets my
number the other night.

And, uh, I'm a gent.

I never say no.

Lo and behold, the phone
goes off this morning,

and it's her, and she says,
"Uh, hi. Do you remember me".

And I say, uh,
"Honestly, no".

And she says, "How can you
forget a name like Tangerine".

Where is she now?

Outside in my limo.

Take her down.
I'll call you.

Thank you very much, Gene.

I'm always at the service
of law enforcement.

She doesn't look like
she could do it.

Then again, she did take
a swing at Gene Simmons.

Well, that's not
a huge surprise.

He dimed her out.

Doesn't make her
a murderer.

So your money's on,
what, Marty "The Cat"?

I don't know.

Do you really think
a falling out

between a hooker
and a john could turn

into such a brutal homicide?

Committed by the hooker?

This kid, what,
goes into a rage,

wants to drum the john
out of this world?

Oh, seen crazier things.

True.

We need a why, D.B.

I think we just got it.

Text from Henry.

Okay.

Been sitting here an hour.

It's costing me money.
You wanted to talk?

So, talk.
Or arrest me.

Do something, so I can just
get the hell out of here.

You're not going anywhere!

You think you're here

for solicitation?

You're here for this,
and you're here for this.

Now, we've done our homework;
we know your story.

You had a single mom
who left you in foster care.

You grew up as

a ward of the state
in a state-fun facility.

It's a tough place.

I'd say you see people
really at their worst

in places like that.

You also grow up with
a propensity for violence.

Would you
agree with me?

Look, Tangerine,

we ran your DNA.

You may not share
Mr. Young's last name,

but you do share
13 genetic markers with the guy.

He's your father.

But then, you
knew that, didn't you?

Guy hires you for a week.

Somewhere down the line,
you realize

that he's your father.

How'd you find
out the truth?

So, you're in the hotel room
with Lex Young.

He starts telling you a story

how he came to Vegas,
he met a woman,

he had an infant daughter, and
he abandoned that little girl?

And somehow, you pieced together
that that little girl was you?

I mean, we understand.

Hell, a jury would understand.

Of course you went
a little crazy

when you found out the guy

you were sleeping with
was your father.

That's not what happened!

Okay, look, we just want
to help you out here.

I didn't sleep with my father.

I didn't kill him.

Or anyone.

You people don't know...
anything.

Well, then tell us
what we should know.

Look, I thought he was just
some rich guy.

Okay, he hired me
for the week, another date.

Until it wasn't.

Tangerine.

That's a pretty name.
I like it.

Do you want to know
how you got it?

My mom told me it was a nickname

my dad gave me when I was
little, before he took off.

I'm sorry about that.

Hey, it's...

it's not your fault.

It is.

What?

I came to Vegas
for you.

There's no way
for me to make right

what I did, but...
I want to try.

What are you talking about?

I've never been
very good

with words;
there's, um, only one way

that I've been able
to express myself.

What the hell is this?

It's something
I wrote for you.

It's a song.

When was this?

Monday night.

Monday night?
Wait a minute.

I don't...
I don't get this.

Tuesday night,
the next night,

you were seen leaving
the Brimstone Club

with Marcy Cody
and your father,

and you were
all friendly,

and then one hour later,
they're both dead?

I mean, help me
understand that.

My dad came back to the club
that night.

He apologized.

I mean, my mom's dead.

I didn't think I had anyone.

It's something
I fantasized about

since I was a little girl.

You know,
my dad coming back to us.

I never thought it would
take this long, but...

He said he just wanted
the chance to play me the song.

And that girl, Marcy,

she just wanted to get
out of the club.

So my dad got the keys

to the limo,
and we went back to the studio.

What happened then?

My dad played me the song.

It was nice.

Said a producer was interested.

He'd heard the demo

and wanted my dad
to record another

with backup vocals.

My dad said someone was gonna
come by the studio later

and help him out.

I wished him luck,

and I left.

I swear...

...my dad and Marcy were alive
when I walked out of there.

So, these are
the recordings

from The Fame Experience
studio, huh?

Marty Kirch
turned them over.

Must be some
great listening.

I can load them
onto your iPod, if you like.

No, thanks.

The important
song is the one

that was recorded at 3:12
the night of the murder.

♪ Years ago, I split home...

That's Lex Young singing.

Mm-hmm.
And playing guitar.

He put both of those
on the same track,

track one.

What about the
background vocals?

His daughter said that another
vocalist was going to help.

Well, it looks like there were
no other recordings. But...

look at the waveform
on this one.

Think I can isolate
the background noise.

♪ Yeah, it's a long

♪ Road home...

Sounds like
another voice.

It sounds like singing.

♪ It's a long road home...

What are you thinking?

Well, an omnidirectional
microphone

can pick up a lot
of extraneous audio.

So you're thinking that someone
was there recording vocals.

Maybe our killer.

And they erased
their track.

But their vocals still
bled onto track one.

Well, I'm not sure
we have enough here

to be able
to identify the voice.

We've got the
microphone.

Maybe we don't have to.

We know you were there, Arnold.

That night onstage
singing backup.

Your DNA's all over
that microphone.

Respectfully-- a-and I don't
mean to tell you your job--

but my DNA on that
microphone proves nothing.

I-I was singing into that mic
all week long.

I know.
You know how I know?

Organi Chew Organic Gumballs.

Green tint kind of proves
it was you.

This is the color
you like, right?

I read your band's rider.
I know you're the gumball guy.

Found quite a few particles
of it in that microphone.

And since you know how to do
my job so well...

I'm sure you know
what that is, right?

Um...
It's a trace report.

You know
what that tells me?

That tells me that the gum
contains xylitol.

You know what xylitol is?
It's an organic sweetener.

It comes from corn.

Which is really good for us.
It can tell us a whole lot.

'Cause thanks to you,
you left a whole lot of it

on that microphone.

♪ It's a long...

You see, xylitol breaks
down in a very predictable way.

And when measured
in concentrated levels,

it can give me
a very specific timeline.

Think of this gum,

when chewed,
as a... as a body decomposing.

Oxygen dissipates, muscles
stiffen at a certain rate.

That's what gives us
the time of death.

In your case,

that's what gives us
the, well... time of song.

The last few particles
that I found in that microphone

put you at the crime scene

during the time
of the murders, Arnold.

So, here's what
I think happened.

I think that
after Tangerine left,

you waltzed in,
and Lex

was all too happy,

because he needed a little help
with the background vocals.

Am I right?

It's always background.
Yeah, yeah.

How's that make you feel?

Makes me really mad.

Pisses you off, right?
Yeah.

You get more and more mad

with every passing verse.
Mm-hmm.

And he's like, what, uh,
"Stop, do it again.

This time, with more feeling."
Bastard!

He thought he was Phil Collins,
you know?

But I was better than he was.

I was the heart and soul
of Darwin's Monkey.

But Lex always had
to call the shots--

when we broke up, when we got

back together,
even this whole...

Fame Experience crap.

I was sick of it, you know?
And I told him so!

Arnold,

what's your problem?

You. You're my problem.

You want to be front man?

Lead? Your entire
existence is background.

Now let's go again.

I won't tell anybody!

No!

And afterwards, you dumped
her body in the limo and...

disposed of Lex's body where
we wouldn't find it, right?

It worked.

For a while.

I mean, you thought
Lex killed her and...

ran off, right?

But then...

you found him.

Even in death,
Lex makes me look like a chump.

You ever been in a band, man?

Thought you were good?

Lex was right.

The only time I was ever really
alive was when we were together.

Playing.

And I swear...

...we were really good.

Well, Arnold,

unfortunately for you,

the music has stopped.

Angela, I need
to talk to you.

Your dad reached out,
tried to make things right.

I feel bad about
what happened to him.

So, as a favor
to your father,

or even
as a favor to me,

you got
to stop the hustle.

You got to ease out
of the street life.

And do it now while
you're still young, because...

it doesn't end pretty.

You don't know me.

I do.

Yeah, I spent, um,

a lot of my life being a cop
rather than being a dad.

I made a mistake.

And I don't want you
to make the same mistake.

So, if you
get in a jam,

you get in trouble,
you need some help,

or even if you just want to have
a cup of coffee, you call me.

Thanks.
Oh.

This is from your dad.

I listened to it.

It's a...
it-it's a pretty good song.

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man