CSI: The Hot Tub

"I wasn't sure what to do. Bob told me I should file the charges against Brett to help his case. It's the reason that he assaulted Brett, because he was trying to rape me."

"According to the court documents, you both decided to drop your charges if the whole mess would just go away. Is that true?"

"Yes, our attorney said that Brett was willing to drop the assault charges against Bob if I would drop the attempted rape charge against him."

"Is that part of the reason you moved to Ohio, to leave the mess behind?"

"Bob was offered a job here with a nice raise in salary. We thought this would be a great place to raise our family. We love it here."

"Does Bob get jealous of you or does he get mad when other men look at you?"

"I don't quite know how to answer that. I love Bob and he loves me. He takes a medication for stress. If he forgets to take them or drinks alcohol, he gets loud or aggravated. He's been really good about taking his medication for quite a while now. He's always under a lot of stress."

"Carly, about the day you were with Wayne."

"I already told you everything. I'm not going to sit here and repeat it on a tape recorder."

"Carly, we just need some clarification and also your fingerprints."

"Fingerprints? For what? I told you he was there for Christ's sake."

She was aggravated but let us take her fingerprints. We sent them out immediately to have them compared to our samples. Carly asked for something to drink so we had a beverage brought in.

In a few minutes the sample was returned. The unknown prints belonged to Carly.

Bobbie looked at Carly and said, "You lied to me. You told me that you had never seen the Moore's spa but your fingerprints are on them. How could that be? You were there, weren't you? You were there the night that Wayne Moore died. Admit it, we have the proof, admit it, you were there."

"Yes, yes, I was there. As soon as my oldest kids got home, I walked over and put the movie he wanted on their table. I then went out and looked at the spa. Wayne was already sleeping. I guess I put my hand on the spa while looking at it. I only stayed a couple of minutes. I had to get home and take the kids to a school function. Honest, I was only there for a minute. Wayne was very much alive when I left, just sleeping. I didn't want to wake him; I had to get back to my kids."

"Why did you hide this information from us? How did you get there?"

"After you said he was dead, I didn't come forward. What difference would it have made? I just dropped off the tape, that's all. I cut through our back yard. It's shorter and no-one would see me."

"Tell me, Carly, how did the tape get back to your house? When we came and talked to you it was sitting on your counter."

"I didn't know at the time but I think Bob must have brought it back. When we came back from the school function, Bob was home and so was the tape. I figured he went over to see Wayne and brought it back. I didn't want to say anything and talk about Wayne to Bob, so I kept quiet. Later when you guys came by, I figured Bob would have told you guys if he was there, so I didn't. I sure didn't want to make any waves."

"Does Bob know about you and Wayne, Carly?"

"God, no! He's been a wonderful husband since Wayne's death. He's been spending more time with me and the kids. That's why I didn't want to come down here. I don't want him to find out. Bob is very protective of me and would do most anything to protect me. I made a mistake with Wayne and didn't want Bob to find out."

"That's all we have for you, Carly. Thanks for talking to us. If you can think of anything else, please let us know."

Now it was time to talk to Bob. At first we excluded him as a suspect since he wasn't around during the day. After we checked with the coroner, he figured the time of death to be between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. So now we needed to talk to Bob. I was going to do this interview and Bobbie would be at my side. The DA was still listening in.

As we walked into the room, Bob stood up and said, "What the hell's going on? What do you want with me and Carly?"

"Please sit down, Bob, or we will have to cuff you to the chair. We will give you your rights and you can have an attorney present if you would like."

"What's going on, I got nothing to hide. I work for a living. I pay your wages."

"Easy now, Bob. We just have a few questions for you. Is it true that you moved here to get away from some troubles you had in Kentucky?"

"Man, that's old news. He was trying to rape my wife and I took care of business. He was coming onto Carly all night and then, when she went to the spa, he followed her. They dropped the charges; all I did was protect my wife."

"You put the man in the hospital for two weeks. You nearly beat him to death."

"Every upstanding husband would have done the same thing. If a man messes with my wife, he's going to pay the price."

"Did Wayne Moore ever come on to Carly?" I asked.

"What do you mean? He was just an old fuck who thought Carly was a pretty woman."

"The day he died, didn't you get a call, something about taking care of your wife? According to your caller ID, you called the house. Did Carly answer it or was something happening at the time?"

"How do you know that?"

"It's our job to find information. Did you get mad all day wondering what your wife was doing? We know you came home and your wife wasn't there."

We could see him starting to get mad and he jumped out of his seat. Two uniformed officers came in and cuffed him back down to his chair. He was beginning to fume.

I continued, "We know that when you got home, you headed over to the Moore's house to confront Wayne. Did their phone number show up on the caller ID at work? We have eye witnesses who saw you going there. We also know that you took your, 'Mash', tape back home so no-one would know that Carly was there. I bet you were fuming looking at Wayne lying there naked after doing your wife. I bet it really got to you. Tell me Bob, what did you do? What did you do?"

"That dirty old cock sucker. He's wanted my wife ever since he first saw her. He went to my house and probably tried to molest her. I'm guessing he tried to have sex with her and then came home and got in his damn hot tub. I couldn't take it seeing him sleeping there with a grin on his face, lying naked in the tub.

"It was so easy; I just put one hand on his shoulder and the other on his head and just pushed down. I just wanted to scare him. I wanted him to wake up and I was going to beat the shit out of him. He started kicking and eventually I let go and he just stayed there, under the water. I got a little nervous and saw our tape on the table and grabbed it and went back home. I changed my shirt and waited for my family to come home."

"Does Carly know what you did?"

"No, I did it to protect her. That old man probably tried to have sex with her and I know she was afraid to tell me, so I took care of business. You guys came by to talk to us about an hour or so later."

"Bob, we are going to have to arrest you and charge you with murder. We will read you your rights again since you are being charged."

"It's okay. He got what he deserved; I did it to protect my wife. The old man tried to rape her and, when she tells the judge, he will let me go again, just like last time. All I was doing was protecting my wife."

-----------------------

We went out and broke the news to Carly. She started crying and asked to see Bob. We told her he was being booked and she should go home and come back tomorrow. Bobbie did ask her if she had any idea that Bob killed Wayne and she said she knew he was capable but was hoping he didn't do it. She hoped that Wayne's death was an accident. It was the reason she didn't want Bob to find out about her affair. She said she knew he couldn't handle it well.

The DA came out to talk to Bobbie and me. "Wow, that was quite unbelievable. Of course he will be charged with murder. His wife can't claim rape like she said she did the last time. Bobbie got her statement the other day saying she was a willing participant. Let me tell you two something I find quite odd. Edna Moore could have been charged with the evidence you two found. It would have been a really rough case due to the type of evidence. It's why I wasn't going forward with a charge against her. The jury would have been against us as he was a cheating husband and there were no witnesses.

"We also could have charged Carly Smith and made a case there also. The idea of her coming back and we would have believed she was the last one to see Wayne Moore alive, other than if it was Edna. It would have been a hard case to prove also but the evidence showed she was there and that she lied. It would have been two things in our favor.

"Now, let's look at Bob Smith. If he wouldn't have admitted to it, we didn't have enough evidence to prove him guilty. No fingerprints, no evidence against him other than what he told us. After he admitted to it, it pretty much closes the case. I want to congratulate you two on another job well done. I know it's not easy dealing with crime every day."

We thanked the DA and went to finish our reports. In the days that followed, charges were brought against Bob Smith for second degree murder. The DA said by Bob's own testimony was that he was intending to beat Wayne up, not kill him. He thought that eventually the lawyers for the defense would ask for the charges to be reduced to manslaughter or have Bob plead temporary insanity.

It would probably be a month or more before the case would be brought to trial. Bobbie and I were now working on separate cases. We weren't together everyday and I kind of missed that. I was thinking about her often and it always bothered me when I heard other guys saying how they would like to get in her pants or similar things. It was pretty much guy talk but we never said it in front of a guy's girl or wife. Most didn't know she was my girlfriend or they wouldn't have said anything in front of me. I corrected them a few times and they told me to chill; they liked Bobbie as a friend too. They told me that they just thought she was a fine looking woman and I was lucky to have her as a partner.

Bill, one of the guys that knew I had a crush on Bobbie asked me why didn't I ask her out and to be my girlfriend. Maybe then the guys would lay off the talk. I had to admit I was really falling for her but we both agreed on no commitment right now.

I talked to her a few times but our schedules didn't allow us much time to get together. I often wondered if she missed me as much as I missed her. I thought that we better start discussing our feelings. I was hoping it was a two way street.

I rode through the Moore's and Smith's neighborhood one day and saw The Able's sitting on their porch swing. Mrs. Moore was sitting on a chair talking to them. They all waved to me as I rode by. As I passed the Smith's house, I noticed the kids playing in the yard. It made me think how it's always the kids, the innocent ones that suffer for their parents' wrong doings. I saw a 'For Sale' sign in the yard. I guess Carly either couldn't afford the property anymore or couldn't take the abuse she and her kids must be getting.

It was a sad situation, but that's what my job was all about, finding the bad in people, or at least collecting the evidence to help find the wrongdoers. I would never be out of a job.

I was heading home when I my cell phone started ringing. It was Bobbie.

"Hi, Jim. Are you busy?" she asked.

"I'm never too busy to talk to you, Bobbie. What do you need?"

"I could use some help on this case I'm on. I want to try and get it done tonight but I can't have it done by myself. Do you have the time to come by and help me?"

"Sure, I was just headed home. Where exactly are you?" I asked.

"Right now I'm at the Ramada Inn on Hayward Blvd. Just go to the desk and tell them you're Detective Jim Lee and they will give you the key to room one-twelve. It's on the first floor. I have to keep the door closed to preserve the evidence."

"Okay, I'll be there in about ten minutes. See you then?"

"Thanks, Jim. Please hurry. We have a lot to accomplish if we are to finish tonight. Bye."

I drove over to the Ramada Inn and headed up to the desk clerk. "I'm Detective Jim Lee, I'm suppose to meet..."

"Yes, sir, here's your key. Room 112 right around the corner. Have a good evening," he said.

I thought, "A good Evening?" He sure doesn't know much about our job. The only thing good was that I was going to see Bobbie.

I headed to Room 112 and slipped the key into the door and opened it. I looked up and I saw a platform with a hot tub on it and inside the spa was Bobbie grinning at me.

"It's about time you got here; I was afraid I would turn into a raisin before you got here. Hurry up and get in, the water feels great and lots of bubbles."

"I thought you had a case you wanted to finish before morning?"

"There is! I have a case of twelve wine coolers to finish by morning and with your help, I think we can do it. Bring us both one and get in the tub."

"Are you naked in there?" I asked.

"Come on in and find out. After all, the room is in your name and you might as well get your money's worth."

"My name? You put the room in my name."

"You promised me that you would take me to a spa after our last case. I'm just holding you to your promise. Now get naked and get in here with me." She smiled.

I stripped and climbed into the hot tub. I laid and just felt the bubbles and jets hit my body. It felt so relaxing. Bobbie was smiling at me so I asked her, "Why are you smiling? You didn't pee in the tub, did you?" and I smiled back at her.

She came over to me and started rubbing my chest. I pulled her to me and kissed her. I pulled her nude body to me and kept kissing her.

"What is it, Jim? Why the deep kiss? Is something bothering you?"

"I want you to be my girlfriend. I know you don't want a commitment right now, but I do. I want to tell all the guys that you're my girl. There I said it."

"Your girlfriend? Is this kind of a guy thing? You want to be able to tell the guys that I'm your girl?"

"Yes, I want to kick their butt when they talk about you. Shit, Bobbie, I love you. I'm sorry but I do."

"Sorry? You silly man, I've loved you for months. I just didn't want to push you into any relationship that you weren't comfortable with. You want me to be your girlfriend, that's fine with me. You can tell all the guys that we are now a couple. Remember, that makes you my boyfriend too. So are you ready to make love to me now? Let's do it on the bed and get rid of that stress and then we can jump back in here and relax some more."

We did get on the bed and make love. That night we were gentle with each other. Light touches, light kisses and a lot of tenderness. After we both climaxed, we went and jumped into a quick shower. We wanted clean bodies when we went back into the spa.

We were resting and feeling the jets of bubbles hitting us. I just laid back and relaxed. I looked over at Bobbie and thought about what a wonderful person she was and that I would do anything for her. My mind started to wander and I started to think about the Smiths, Carly and Bob.

"What are you thinking about, Honey?" asked Bobbie as she looked over at me.

"I'm thinking about how I feel about you and how I would do anything for you and then I thought about the Smiths."

Bobbie looked over at me as we were feeling the hotness of the spa. "The Smiths? What about them?"

"I know this is pure speculation and we have no legal proof, but I was thinking what if Bob went over to see Wayne to argue with him, but when he got there he was already dead. He looks on the table and sees his movie. He thinks that Carly must have killed Wayne for him trying to molest her. So, he takes the tape to hide the fact that Carly was there. I wonder if he loved her enough to take the rap for her."

"Well Jim, you could go one step further and, even though he thought Carly killed Wayne, just maybe Edna did it but of course Bob wouldn't have known it," said Bobbie.

"You're right; all we can do is our job to the best of our ability. It's why we have a legal system. It's up to the judge and jury to make what they feel is the right decision. Bobbie, did I tell you I love you?"

"Yes, you did and I told you I love you too."

"Bobbie, can we lay here in this spa and go over that case some more? There is something out of sync, I need to find it. Would you just mention things and I listen to you?"

"What brought all this on about the Smiths, Jim?"

"I got a call from the DA today. Bob wants to change his plea to not guilty."

"It happens all the time. Jim, suspects always change their pleas. Why is this so different to you?

"The DA said that Carly told Bob about her affair with Wayne. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She also told him she didn't kill Wayne. Bob told the DA that he admitted to the murder because he thought that Carly did it and he took the rap to protect her."

"Do you believe it, Jim? Do you believe that he is innocent?

"Yes, I said from the beginning that I believed Edna did it. I just don't have the proof. Now we find that if Bob is telling the truth, then Wayne was dead before 5:30 p.m. when Bob went there. What are we missing, Bobbie?"

"For one thing we're missing out on a good hot tub. It's hard to enjoy it when you're thinking about a murder. Okay, Honey, I'll try to remember some key points. Stop me when you hear something that catches your ear."

"I love you, Bobbie."

"You're going to owe me another trip to this motel and this hot tub. I'm naked in a hot tub and we're talking about a murder victim."

"I promise you we are not done making love tonight. We are enjoying being naked together in the hot tub and we just have to add a little business."

"Okay, Jim, Wayne goes to the Smith house. Carly and Wayne have sex. Must be around noon. Around 2:00 p.m., Wayne goes home and Carly showers before kids get home from school which is around 2:30 p.m.

"Wayne goes home and gets in the hot tub. His wife gives him pills and goes shopping. Around 4:00 p.m., Carly goes over and leaves a tape. At around 5:30 p.m., Bob goes over and sees a dead Wayne. Grabs tape to protect wife and goes home. At 6:30 p.m., Edna comes home, discovers body and calls 911. What do you think, Honey?" asks Bobbie, as she sinks deeper into the hot tub.

"Something is wrong with the time line. What is it? Didn't the Able's say they saw Bob around 5:30pm?

"No, they never mentioned the time. It was the time when Bob came home from work." Bobbie replied to my question.

"What's wrong here? What else did the Ables say, Bobbie? They saw Edna leave for shopping and they left about an hour later."

Bobbie screamed out. "That's means if they are telling the truth and Bob got home at 5:30 p.m. then they saw Edna leave at 4:30 p.m. Edna said she left at 2:30 p.m. I wonder which is right?"

"What if they are both right? What if Edna left at 2:30 p.m. and came back home and then left again when the Ables saw her at 4:30 p.m...."

Bobbie took over, "Then Bob went over and saw a dead Wayne. You know what, Jim? It would also explain the pills and the scratches."

"Explain what, Bobbie?" I asked her, not thinking about the overdose.

"The pills found in his body were not whole pills. Tell me, Jim, if I were to give you two aspirins right now, how would you take them? Swallow them whole or crush them?"

"You're right! The pills found in his body were crushed, not whole. So Edna could have crushed up more than one and put it in his beer glass. No one else said anything about his pills. Did I tell you how much I love you, Bobbie?" I was so excited.

Bobbie said, "Remember Edna said she knew Wayne had sex when she saw the scratches on his back? If he was in the bathroom when she left, then she wouldn't have seen the scratches on his back till she came home."