Part 4

"There's medium splatter over the bed." Sara took a few shots of the blood on the ceiling. She was on a crime scene of a homicide. Only a few inches away from her was a young woman laying on the bed. Her eyes were wide open and so was her throat.

"With all this blood on the bed it's very possible that she was killed here." Grissom looked closer at the body. They were waiting for the coroner to move the body.

"The door was open. The question is was she killed by somebody she knew or was it a random kill?"

"And who killed her." Grissom took a photo of the throat.

"She is dressed, no signs of sexual violence."

"Sorry I'm late." David came in and stopped when he saw the body.

"Everything alright?" Grissom asked who had observed the coroner.

"Don't you recognize her?"

"No. Shall I?"

"Emily Emmerson, she's singer. Very successful in Scandi-navia and got her own show in the Golden Nugget last month. What is she doing here?" They weren't downtown Las Vegas, where the Golden Nugget was. At the moment they were in a small room in a motel in the south.

"Why is a singer of the Golden Nugget in a motel room here? If she needs a room the Golden Nugget has plenty of them." Sara wondered.

"And why isn't she on stage? It's only eleven, most shows end around this time."

"A night off?"

"A Saturday night?"

"TOD is around four hours ago."

"I'll call the casino and ask if they're not missing their singer." Sara took her cell phone.

"She lives in the north." Grissom had the wallet.

"Strange. She lives in the north, works downtown and was found dead in the south. What is she doing here?" David asked.

"Who killed her?"

"And why. Why kill a singer?"

"You don't like her songs?"

"If you don't like her songs you don't go to the show. No need to kill every singer you don't like. The show business would be very empty."

"True."

"She was supposed to be on stage at eight." Sara came back in the room.

"What did they do when she didn't show up?"

"Got the supporter to play longer and called for a replacement."

"As Freddie said so right, show must go on." Grissom said dryly.

"We found the boyfriend of Emmerson." Sofia had to breathe hard. Walking a few stairs made her almost losing her breath.

"Are you alright?" Sara was more concerned about her wife than the case. It was supposed to be Sofia's last case out of the office. Well, the third time that it was her last case out of the office. Every time Sofia had taken her decision back and went back to the field work.

"Yes. I need to get used to walk around with all these extra weight. Ten pounds. If I go on like this somebody from Greenpeace will start to roll me to Lake Meat because he'll think I'm a whale stranded in the desert."

"You're crazy. Shall we come over for the interview with the boyfriend?"

"You, Grissom, both of you, as you like."

"He's in his office with the Sheriff, I don't think it's good to interrupt him there."

"He'll be glad to escape with a good excuse."

"Yes he will but the Sheriff will tell me I can do the interview because it's not a high priority case."

"True. You're coming with me?"

"Yes." Sara took the folder with the evidence.

"How are Dorian and Jonah?"

"Good boys. I think they're used to the police job already. Listen careful, boys, your moms will interrogate a suspect now."

"Mom Sofia will be the bad ass cop while mom Sara has to be the nice one."

"I think we should change that. A pregnant bad ass cop isn't scary. When you talk to him with your own charm you'll have him crying within seconds."

"Bitch." Sara shot an evil look to Sofia.

"Like that and you'll be fine." Sofia smirked. She opened the door for Sara and let her enter the room first.

"Mister Shoes, I'm lieutenant Curtis, that's Misses Sidle with the crime lab."

"What do you want?"

"We found your girlfriend dead, what do you think we want?"

"Tell me what she did in that motel?"

"We hoped you'd tell us."

"I thought she was on stage where she belonged."

"Really?" Sofia cocked her head. As far as she knew the boyfriend, Miles Shoes, was also the manager of Emily Emmerson.

"Yes. She has a contract she's suppose to fulfill."

"You're her manager and the boyfriend."

"And?"

"Any problems with that? I mean the manager wants the star on stage all the time, making money. The boyfriend should ask for some private time. How could you arrange that?"

"I saw her when she was on stage, I was with her all the time."

"And you didn't notice that she wasn't there last night?"

"Of course I did. I tried to call her."

"What time did you see her last?"

"In the early afternoon. She said she wanted to go to the gym, have a swim and come to the Golden Nugget. I waited until six, when she didn't show up I tried to call her. The cell phone was off. I started to call friends and asked if she was there but nobody could tell me where she was. What can I do? If I call the police they'll tell me I've to wait a whole day until I can call her missing."

He was right with that. Usually the police didn't start searching for an adult after four hours. And there was no reason why anybody should have thought of that something happened to Emily Emmerson. She wouldn't have been the first star who was sick of the show and took a night off.

"Did you look for her?"

"Of course but I was also busy trying to find a replacement. The casino wasn't happy when I told them Emily isn't there."

"You lost some money."

"I lost fifty thousand this night. The casino paid her for the shows, now I've to pay them back for the shows she can't make."

"I wonder if the boyfriend or the manager worries more about the death of Emily Emmerson." Sara cocked her head. So far it was only the manager who felt sorry; sorry for himself. There hadn't been a personal word of sorrow from Shoes.

"We are not the perfect couple, if you look for a man who's crying all the time you're wrong here. I fucked her, I managed her, we had some fun, that's all. Having her cheating on me is something that doesn't really bother me. You can replace every girlfriend even when women will never understand that, but it will be hard to replace the singer."

"Charming." Sara handed him some photos of the crime scene. "Ever saw that room?"

"No."

"Any witnesses for your whereabouts in the late afternoon to the early evening, Mister Shoes?"

"I was in the casino from six and before that I was home. Alone. Tell me why I should kill the one who brings me money?"

"Because she cheated on you?" At least Sara suspected that.

"I told you I don't care about that. I care about my money."

"You have any idea whom she met?" Sofia asked.

"No."

"Any idea who could know?"

"Maybe one of the background singers. She spent some time with them and women are always talking."

Sofia sighed. She didn't like this man but when she checked his whereabouts and he was really at the casino from six on, he couldn't be the killer. And she really believed he didn't kill the woman, he was too much into money. Emily Emmerson brought him money alive, now she would cost him money.