CSI Miami - Episode 423 - Shock

[Jojo]

The episode takes us to the shores of Miami, where fashion designer Patricia Novak intends to unveil her latest designs. The crème of the crème is there, including the obligatory paparazzi, who snap pictures wildly as the celebrities begin to arrive. Brandon Hess and Nikki Beck are the first ones to do so. Young and sexy, the couple quickly becomes the center of attention... until another young attention grabber and Manhattan's favorite socialite, April Goodwin, arrives, along with an impressive entourage and the obligatory mini-dog in her arms.

April and Nikki try to decide who is more popular in front of the cameras by pulling cheap stunts: while Nikki grabs Brandon and blatantly makes out with him, April "accidentally" loses one of the straps on her dress, revealing herself in front of the paparazzi. April wins and Nikki isn't happy, not even during the after party, where April continues to make a bigger impression. Nikki tries to make herself feel better by getting a sulk in the tub; a short time later she's found dead.

At the scene, the CSIs find blonde hair, but this hair isn't human. Calleigh talks to April, who admits her dog was around the scene of the crime because she was there as well. April, apparently, was trying to help Nikki, because even though they were enemies in front of the cameras, they were friends in real life. Nikki was also fresh out of rehab, and was having some problems staying clean during the party. While she was in the tub, Nikki attempted to take a couple of pills, but April took them all away from her, or so she thought. The autopsy found one of those pills in Nikki's throat. Someone must've given Nikki more pills and April is pretty sure who: Melinda Carson, Nikki's assistant.

Calleigh talks to Melinda, who claims she gave Nikki everything she wanted so long as it didn't endanger her life, like the pills did. Nikki must've gotten the drugs at the party. Calleigh is reluctant to believe Melinda, especially since Melinda's rap sheet includes a little thing called identity theft. Melinda claims that the charges were a misunderstanding: she can't do her job unless she pretends to be the person she's working for, and unless Calleigh has more substantial evidence than her past, she's leaving to plan Nikki's funeral. Melinda seems devoted to Nikki even after her death, but sometimes things aren't what they seam. Nikki's status as the famous hairess of her parents' fortune combined with her unconventional lifestyle makes for an interesting, and long, list of suspects.

Meanwhile, tensions rise between Delko and Horatio when the former finds out the latter has proposed to his sister. Horatio and Marisol have decided to tie the knot as soon as possible, but Delko never got to hear the news from his sister, and what's worse, the gossip has spread through the grapevine and the entire lab is in the know. Delko is worried about this huge development, particularly since Marisol never told their parents of her plans, but despite Delko's protests and concerns Horatio and Marisol are determined not to let him stop them and continue getting ready for their wedding, which will take place that afternoon.

[Jojo]

More Details:

Socialite fashion designer Nikki Beck is found dead upstairs in the bathtub at her own party, the victim of an electrocution when a tanning lamp was pushed into the tub. Her manager, Chad, found her before the DJ who called in her death did, but he claims all he did was redress her. A dog hair leads the CSIs to rival heiress April Goodwin, but she tells Calleigh that she and Nikki were "frenemies"--enemies for the tabloids but friends behind closed doors. She was in the bathroom before Nikki was killed, but she claims she was there to keep Nikki, recently done with a stint in rehab, from popping another pill. When she learns a pill was found in Nikki's mouth, she suspects Nikki's assistant, Melinda, gave it to her, but Melinda denies it.

Delko, who is working on the pill in the lab, is none too happy to learn his sister Marisol is going to marry Horatio that day, and won't promise to be at the wedding. He shows Horatio a word, 'ghost' on the pill, clearly a designer drug, and the two trace it to an experiment being run by a professor at Dade University, Colin Danville, who has a grant to create drugs. His latest batch was stolen out of a filing cabinet in his lab. Delko finds a toothpick beside the cabinet and takes it back to the lab, where he runs into Marisol. She defends her decision to marry Horatio, but her brother has serious reservations. Natalia Boa Vista notices something is bothering him when he comes for the toothpick, but he's reluctant to open up. She gives him the results from CODIS on the DNA on the toothpick: Dario Sanez. A trip to Sanez's house proves dangerous as the drug cook is armed and spots them. Horatio takes Sanez down with a shot when he threatens them, and discovers several women from El Salvador being kept as slaves, including one named Isabella, who is looking for her sister Lucia, who was also taken. Horatio vows to find the girl.

The CSIs trace the tanning lamp to Brandon Hess, Nikki's boyfriend, who is found getting cozy with April, but he says Nikki always supported him and he had no reason to kill her. Back at the lab, Delko translates 'ghost' into a text message and arranges a meet to buy the drug. The police apprehend the dealer, but he refuses to give them any information on Lucia or the other girls being held. Calleigh has dug up some interesting information: April's family is broke, and Nikki had planned to dump April from the reality show they were doing together. They confront April hoping for a confession, but she's shocked by the news. Tripp and Horatio locate another meth lab, but when they catch the cook, he's already sold Lucia to a man he refuses to identify. Calleigh and Ryan return to the crime scene and find three sets of shoe prints in the bathroom, meaning only Chad, April and Melinda were present when Nikki was killed. They focus on Melinda--Nikki's manager told them it was her, not April, who Nikki was dropping from the reality show. Melinda brought her drugs and was enraged when Nikki told her about the reality show. When faced with the evidence that places her at the scene--tiny particles of florescent glass from the tanning lamp's light bulb--Melinda snaps and says Nikki didn't deserve the life she had.

Delko finds traces of iodine on the money used to purchase Lucia, leading the CSIs to Professor Danville. The professor denies touching the girl, but Horatio is skeptical. He leads the CSIs to an abandoned warehouse, where the CSIs find Lucia in a back room. Horatio reunites her with her sister, and turns to more personal matters: his upcoming marriage. Calleigh gives him a bottle of champagne and Horatio goes off to meet his bride at the courthouse. Both Horatio and Marisol are thrilled when Delko shows up, a flower in hand for his sister. But as the three walk off, a shooter takes aim at Horatio...