After three seasons, Emmanuelle Vaugier’s Det. Jessica Angell was killed off in the opening scene of CSI: NY’s tear-jerking, season-ending finale. Here’s why the show did it and what she’s doing next (Hello, Charlie Sheen!)

How did you learn Jessica was being killed off?
One of the executive producers called me at home several weeks before we were going to shoot. It was right before the script was going to come out. She said, “I just wanted you to know first so you didn’t hear it from someone else.” And she was really great about it. She said, “We hate to do this. We’re going to get so much crap from the crew and everybody. Gary [Sinise] doesn’t know yet and he’s not going to be happy.” It was really sweet.

Did they tell you why?
They’re just cutting back to save some money. Also, it makes sense for ratings to kill off a character that people have grown to like. It wasn’t personal. They wouldn’t have kept me for three years if they didn’t like me. I just told them to if they’re going to kill me off they better give me a really cool death. And they did. They wrote a really sad, heartfelt episode. Reading it was awful.

How did the cast react?
Word spread like a wildfire the next day. Everybody was really sweet and complimentary. There were tears—mostly mine.

How do you feel about the timing of her death?
I think it would have been nice for my relationship with Eddie [Cahill, who plays Det. Flack] to have developed a little more. We were just starting to have a lot of fun with it. I think they did as much as they could on a procedural show.

How was it shooting your death scene with Eddie?
It was awful. He was emotional. I was emotional. It was the last scene of the day at 4 in the morning and everyone was tired. I was a mess. I’m not a very good dead person. Eddie said, “I could see your eyes were tearing.”

You’ve seen enough dead bodies over the past three seasons. What’s the key to playing a convincing corpse?
It’s just a matter of really relaxing so your eyes don’t flutter. The slightest move of the eyelids the camera picks up. And you’ve got to keep your breathing really shallow.

Didn’t you die on Smallville (in 2003, as Dr. Helen Bryce)?
I did. I got thrown out of a plane, but they never actually saw me exit the plane. You never saw if I grabbed a parachute. I was just gone.

Did you get a CSI goodbye cake?
The producers and Eddie had a coffee truck and In N Out Burger, which was very generous.

But you live on Two And A Half Men as Charlie’s ex-fiancee Mia in the season finale (airing Mon., May 18).
I’m back to stir the pot after my character splits with her husband and bumps into Alan. I’ve returned to live in Malibu and am still carrying a torch for Charlie. It’s a To Be Continued…so I’ll be back in the season premiere, which we shoot in August. Now that I’m off CSI, I’d be happy to go play with them for awhile.

Why the heck is Mia still interested in Charlie?
There’s always that bad boy thing that girls like.

Do you still have that in your personal life?
I think everybody harbors some of that, but eventually you try to get over it. And I am over it. That stuff never lasts. To be in a relationship like that with someone long-term is torture.