♪ ♪
Now, wait, wait, wait.
Want something? Mojito.
Maggie, uno mojito, \h por favor, huh?
Hey, turn that up!
Come on!
Whoo!
Somebody call 911!
♪ ♪
Invite-only beach party crashed by our, uh, twice-baked friend here.
And I take it that he wasn't an invited guest, Frank.
No. All the guests are accounted for.
He's not one of them.
Do we have a host?
We're working on that right now.
Does anyone recognize the victim?
No, and by the looks of it, we won't, uh, find an ID, either.
Who's the young lady?
That's Dr. Tara Price.
It's our new M.E.
She's a little spark plug.
CAINE: Dr. Price.
Dr. Price.
You must be Lieutenant Caine.
Nice to meet you.
I'm glad to have you aboard.
Oh, you kidding me?
My first day on, I get to be at the beach with Fourth Degree Burn Guy.
Unfortunately, not so good for him.
What do we have?
Full-thickness burn injuries.
Causes plasma to leech through to the surface.
But the tissue's so destroyed, there's no skin left to blister.
Plasma mixes with the \h hemoglobin of the blood, causing it to appear purple.
It literally weeps from the skin.
Black burns are deep, well through the subcue tissue and muscle.
Down to the bone in his extremities.
Probably lost muscle control.
Explains why he didn't make the water.
His running didn't help.
The rush of oxygen actually helped fuel the fire.
Was there an accelerant?
Yep.
Over his entire body.
This guy didn't just catch fire by accident.
So somebody lit him on fire.
I won't know the type of accelerant until I get a sample to Trace.
What does the position tell you?
Pugilistic pose the body contorts to after being badly burned.
From the Latin, pugil, \h meaning "fights with fists."
A fight... to the death.
♪ Yeah! ♪ Captioning sponsored by\h CBS and C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS
♪ We don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ Don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ No, no! ♪
Excuse me, Lieutenant.
Paul Sanders.
You, uh... you wanted to talk?
I understand, Mr. Sanders, that this was your party.
It was until that guy tore through here.
Did you know the victim?
Well, it was kind of difficult to get a look, with him on fire, running.
What was the occasion?
We're in Miami.
Do we need one?
It was just a beach party.
It appears, Mr. Sanders, that none of your guests attempted to help the victim.
Wait, guy on fire crashes my party, and we're suspects?
You are holding a source of ignition.
Yeah, well, I didn't ignite him.
He was already on fire when he came running through here.
Have a seat.
Got another shoe print here with some residue.
Could be clothing.
I don't know, it's too little to tell.
All right, the farther we get from the body, the less physical evidence there will be to follow.
Especially now that we're running out of sand.
Here's one right here.
(camera clicking) It's a piece of melted rubber.
It's probably from the sole of his shoe.
It's got a shiny residue on it.
The M.E. said she thought an accelerant might have been used.
There could be traces of hydrocarbon.
All right, we'll use the MiniRAE to detect the hydrocarbons he left behind and find his point of origin.
That's a great idea.
Picking up six parts per million.
Through the parking lot, this way.
Victim's path was erratic.
I mean, why not take the fastest route and run a straight line?
Because he was running through parked cars that are no longer here.
(screaming) You know, one of them might belong to our killer.
I'm getting a higher reading this way.
DELKO: A sizable liquid burn pattern.
DUQUESNE: This is definitely our point of origin.
Okay, so our victim lit up here, and then he took off running for the beach.
He left something behind.
Take a look.
Some kind of melted fabric.
Some kind of clothing-- looks like he was wearing it when he went up in flames.
No sign of an ignition source.
Killer probably took it with him.
I'm gonna get Ryan on this, see if he gets an ID on our victim.
♪ ♪
I take it those are the melted clothing.
Yeah, think it might be part of a uniform.
And, uh...
guess what this used to be.
It is a name tag.
Unfortunately, the name is obscured.
The fabric has been melted to the surface.
This piece of plastic has been damaged beyond recognition.
So how do we get to the engraving?
I don't know, I was thinking about scraping the fabric off of the plastic or using some sort of chemical means, but I think that will just harm the plastic more.
What about the CT scanner?
No.
CT scanner won't read plastic.
Unless we use some sort of contrasting agent that can fill the voids in the fissures.
Could get to the engraving-- let's try that.
I'm on it.
(beeps) Name tag belongs to Sam at Select Exec Valet.
I think we just ID'd our man on fire.
So, the party had a valet service.
Is there a guy named Sam who works here?
Yeah.
We believe he was killed today.
No, he wasn't.
I'm Sam.
Sam Laughlin. Really?
Do you have any idea why a murder victim was wearing your vest?
It went missing.
Someone stole it from my stand.
Yeah, or you were wearing it, which incidentally puts you at the murder scene.
Well, look, I heard screaming and yelling down on the beach, but I didn't even see anything.
I'm stuck between here and the lot where I park the cars.
The lot around the corner?
Yeah.
That's where our victim was killed.
Actually, he was set on fire.
Well, it couldn't have been me.
I was busy parking cars.
You can ask any one of the guests.
How many other valets you got working here?
Just me.
I'm independent.
Contracted for smaller parties.
Well, right now you're our only suspect.
We'll be in touch.
Dr. Price?
I haven't the foggiest idea where anything is down here.
Do you?
(chuckling): I'm afraid not.
I'm, CSI Delko.
You can call me Eric.
Um, tell me, Eric.
I've got signatures on reports from three different M.E.s, yet I'm the only one down here.
There's been a bit of a problem with turnover since Alexx Woods' departure.
Well, let's hope that ends with me.
Well, I was hoping to get an ID on this guy.
Any luck?
Uh, don't have that yet.
It's taking me a little bit to get started.
Oh!
But I did get rush results back from Trace on the accelerant I swabbed from the body.
I was dying to know what we were dealing with.
See what we got.
High octane gasoline.
Straight from the station pump, head to toe.
Take a look at this.
I'd use a spreader if I could find one.
Third degree burns extend all the way down the esophagus.
From breathing in the fire?
No.
Accelerant burns, like this, are much more severe than proximity burns.
He swallowed gasoline.
So what are you saying?
It's a suicide now?
No, but it does raise an interesting question.
If Crispy here were conscious enough to run all the way to the beach...
Why would he swallow gasoline? Yeah.
Maybe he was forced?
Well, we won't know until we can ID the body.
Got you covered.
Fingerprints are a bust, but...
Grab that for me.
Sure.
Okay, what's this for?
Get the tooth to DNA.
Tell them to give it the old Nicholas the Second treatment.
Seriously?
Yeah, seriously.
It's called cryogenic grinding.
Forensic scientists used it last year to identify the Czar's family remains.
Why didn't she just ask you to grind the tooth for DNA?
Maybe she was trying to impress you.
Score one for the new medical examiner.
And she's cute, too.
I'll bet, Romeo.
Why the cryogenics?
The extreme cold preserves the sample's composition, and then the freezer mill chills the tooth with liquid nitrogen, and then it magnetically pulverizes it into a very fine powder.
And there it is.
The perfect DNA sample.
Your murder victim has a name and a record.
Dan Granger, student at Dade University, priors for trespassing and petty theft.
I bet I know what he was stealing.
MAN: Three bucks a gallon.
That's great, man, thanks a lot.
TRIPP: Why don't you leave that here.
Yeah, yeah, no problem. Thank you.
You, Johnny Young, Dan Granger's roommate?
Yeah.
Have you seen Mr. Granger today?
No. He was gone before I got up.
You see, son, the fire damage on your truck tells me you're lying.
TRIPP: So does the gas station you got back here.
So, why don't we employ the truth?
Okay.
Yeah.
Dan and I siphon it from expensive cars down at the beach-- I mean, from types who can afford it anyways-- and we sell it to students who can't afford the high prices.
And that explains how Dan swallowed gasoline, doesn't it?
(gagging) You both siphoned gas, Dan died covered in it, inside and out.
Yeah, we stole a vest from the valet around the corner.
But we only hit one rig before... I heard... Dan scream.
Um... I saw him on fire running.
(screaming) I-I ran to help, but he hit that party by then.
I... I panicked.
I grabbed the gas can and took off.
Why didn't you call the authorities, son?
TRIPP: Maybe someone caught him.
What kind of car was he siphoning from?
From an Escalade.
Black, late model, tricked out.
It tore out of there same time Dan took off for the beach.
(Dan screaming) (engine revving) (tires screeching)
(tires screeching) Where is the fuel that Dan siphoned?
We'll be confiscating the rest of the gasoline, too.
Let's take Mr. Young in, Frank.
Why? I told you everything there is to know about the gas we stole.
Because you're not talking about the murder.
♪ ♪
Eric.
Hey. The gasoline you collected from Johnny Young is high octane.
Matches the gas that was poured on Dan Granger.
So we have half a murder weapon.
Mm-hmm, the ignition source is still out there.
So is our killer, Eric.
Now, Mr. Young says he witnessed the Escalade leaving the scene.
Black Escalade in Miami.
Yes, but if we find the station we'll find the vehicle.
Well, Miami's gasoline comes from the same central distribution point, individual stations, they add unique additives.
Yes, performance enhancers, octane boost...
Take a look at that, Eric.
Toluene.
Hmm.
I can run a search for local stations that use toluene as a gasoline additive.
"ARAGO fuel."
West Miami.
Good work, Eric.
Mr. Nelson, we matched the additive in your station's fuel to gasoline we found in a black Escalade.
The driver of which is a suspect in a homicide investigation.
Yeah, had a black Escalade in here yesterday.
Towing an Airstream trailer.
But he didn't buy any fuel.
What was he doing?
Looked like engine trouble.
The driver was under the hood.
Is your station equipped with security cameras?
No, system's out.
Did you get a look at the driver?
I was busy and he didn't ask me for any help, so...
Excuse me, Mr. Nelson.
Can you come here for a sec?
These, uh...
these access your subterranean fuel tanks, don't they?
Right.
Fuel cap's under there.
Okay, so, tell me something.
These marks.
They look strange to you?
Fuel delivery wouldn't leave those.
Looks like someone forced it open with a crowbar.
(softly): Oh, come on.
I'm down about 1,500 gallons.
That's over $7,000 retail.
How is that possible?
They stole the gasoline directly from your underground tank.
That trailer that you saw, it was probably equipped with its own pump and tank.
WOLFE: Inside the trailer, \h the thief accesses He pries open the manhole cover \h with a crowbar, then cuts the lock, \h breaking into a fill cap.
Once in, he snakes in his \h own hose and starts to pump.
right into his own tank \h in the trailer.
That's a... pretty serious job.
This could be organized crime.
DUQUESNE: If that's what Dan Granger stumbled upon, it could have been what got him killed.
Yeah, but you know what doesn't make sense?
I mean, to do all this takes, like, at least 20, 30 minutes.
I mean, you didn't sense that there was anything weird going on during that time?
I was busy in back with a customer.
Okay, now you're sure that you weren't being distracted?
I knew it was too good to be true.
There was this girl.
Legs till Tuesday.
I mean, she was banging, off the chain, man.
All right, we got it, she's pretty.
Did you get her name?
No. She tells me she's strapped for cash and willing to do anything for a free tank.
She's going to do "anything" anything?
(music playing) (clears throat) Hi.
Problem with the pump?
Mm-hmm.
Maybe you can help me.
Well, that's pretty, uh...
it's risky behavior, so I'm assuming that you wore protection.
With a girl who will give it up for a free tank of gas?
Hell, yeah.
We can get her DNA off of that.
It's in the ladies' room.
Okay.
It's in the ladies' room.
I'll go get it.
Ms. Rinell, we have DNA proof that you had a liaison with that man.
From the gas station.
Ms. Rinell, we know that you've been arrested for solicitation in the past.
I've made mistakes in the past, but what happened between the gas station guy and me was legal.
Organized gas theft is not legal.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.
Thieves hit the Arago Fuel station early this morning for 1,500 gallons.
So do you understand that your conduct with Ross Nelson makes you look like an accomplice?
Ms. Rinell, were you sent there to be a distraction?
I don't know what you mean.
Can I go now, please?
Okay.
Thanks for coming in, Ms. Rinell.
The officer will see you out.
You think she's telling the truth?
Well, either she is or she's covering for a killer.
Mr. Wolfe, what did we get?
Well, unfortunately there were no cameras at Arago Fuels, but in this digital age, we're always being watched, so I checked with the bank that's adjacent to the station, and they lent us the footage from the security cameras at their ATM.
Show me, please.
Because of the distance, we're only gonna get a partial view of the fuel station.
And...
there it is, there's the Escalade that was seen fleeing Dan Granger's murder.
It's a towing trailer.
Yeah, let me zoom in a little bit.
This is where they keep the stolen fuel.
I you look, you can see there's the hose.
Did we get a look at the driver?
No, unfortunately, that's all we got.
What about the license plate?
Yeah, driver pulls away, gives us a full shot of the plate.
Run that for me, please.
Uh-huh.
That plate is...
not registered to the Escalade.
It's not registered to any vehicle.
That's a cold plate.
Cold plate or not, we still have it.
Send out a BOLO and contact me.
You got it.
DISPATCHER (over radio): All units, be on the lookout for an '08 black Escalade.
License plate: king, Peter, nine, one, nine, ocean.
Approach with caution.
Suspect considered dangerous.
(siren chirping) (horn honking) Come on, move it.
Come on.
(siren wailing, tires screeching) HQ, this is 3106.
Priority.
Suspect has been spotted.
Currently in pursuit.
We are headed east on Eighth and Prentiss.
Requesting backup.
Copy, 3106.
Patrol units are en route.
Pursuit now high-speed.
We're still on Eighth, we're reaching...
Southwest Palmer.
(tires screeching) (horn honking) (tires screeching)
(explosion) This is CSI Duquesne.
I need Fire/Rescue at Sumner Causeway.
WOLFE: Hey.
This the, uh, runaway Escalade?
They ditched and torched it as soon as they got some distance from me.
Is that right?
So how'd he get away?
He made the red; I didn't.
I almost swapped paint with a boat and a truck.
A boat.
Serious.
I see a trailer hitch, but I don't see any trailer.
He wasn't pulling anything.
So that means that there is a trailer out there full of stolen fuel, huh?
Well, I guess, luckily, Fire and Rescue were able to put out the flames before it engulfed the entire vehicle.
Well, that makes sense.
Uh, it matches our murderer's fire-centric MO.
Actually, it doesn't.
There's no accelerant, no pour pattern.
And I found a used flare in the back.
That explains why the damage is limited to the rear here.
Yeah, unfortunately for us, what the flames didn't destroy, the driver did.
Everything has been wiped down.
Would you mind if I, uh...
Not at all.
A fresh pair of eyes is always nice.
Thank you very much.
Did you check this glove box?
I collected everything from it.
There was a dead cell phone, some papers, trash.
I bagged it-- it's ready for processing.
Well, I just found a souvenir.
It's a fingernail.
Great, that'll work for DNA.
Hopefully, it'll help us find our mystery driver.
Yeah, it looks like the rig that took off from the lot this morning.
I couldn't tell you for sure, I was so far away.
Oh, I think you got a pretty good look at it, Johnny.
We found your fingernail inside the Escalade.
You see, that's the, uh... the downside of siphoning gas.
It's called onychosis-- it's a skin irritation.
That's why you lost your fingernail.
TRIPP: That Escalade is tied to an organized gas theft ring.
Now, you've already admitted to siphoning.
Tell us that's a coincidence.
Dan and I had a system.
I... I found the cars and popped the gas cap top.
That's... that's all I was doing.
Yet we found your fingernail in the glove compartment.
What were you doing digging around in there?
WOLFE: And by the way, a search warrant for your dorm room at this point...
that's a given.
All right... yeah, I opened it.
I was hoping to find some loose cash.
But you found something else, didn't you?
There was a plastic bag.
It had a bunch of passports.
Ow, damn it.
Man, she's all yours.
All right.
Hey, hurry up and find our next target.
Yeah, you got it.
With all the restrictions on people coming to the States, I figured I could get a nice chunk of change for these things.
I'm talking a couple grand a pop, at least.
WOLFE: So you're, uh, siphoning gas, you're stealing passports.
You are... (chuckles) you're becoming quite the little junior criminal, Johnny.
I never meant for anyone to get hurt.
I just, I mean, with school and gas and food, I was just trying to keep my head above water.
Well, you're gonna like jail, then...
'cause it's got a low cost of living.
(typing) (trilling beeps) Frank.
Got all the passports from Johnny's dorm room.
What do they tell us?
Running them through U.S. Immigration right now, but I can already tell you something's not right.
Why do you say that?
All the passports belong to women, all in their 20s, all from Central and South America.
That's not a coincidence, Frank.
How the hell does this fit in to organized gas theft?
And why would somebody hold on to a bunch of passports, much less kill for them?
Hang on.
U.S. Immigration confirms that all the ladies are in the country.
Yeah, not only that, they did it legally.
And they all applied for student visas.
Student visas.
Frank, don't you need a local address to do that?
Uh-huh.
(beeping) Wouldn't you know it.
They're all the same address, Frank. Yeah.
Think these girls are being held out there?
There's one way to find out.
♪ ♪
Windows are painted over, no sign of life.
All by design, Frank.
Take the back, please.
Gentlemen.
Miami-Dade Police!
Gentlemen?
Clear!
Clear! (clattering) Lieutenant, we got somebody back here.
Show them, please.
Ms. Rinell.
It's you.
Lieutenant.
They told us we had to go.
He was in a hurry, so I hid.
It's okay.
But why didn't you ask me for help?
He said if we ever told anybody about what happened, if we asked for help, he'd kill our families back home.
Kill us.
And that's why you distracted the station owner.
Yes.
Our handler made me lie to you before.
He makes us do other things.
It's okay.
He's gonna take care of you.
All right?
Come on.
Dan Granger stumbled into a hornet's nest.
This is a full-fledged human trafficking operation.
Frank, they coerce these ladies into coming here, and then they sell them to the highest bidder.
Probably move them all over the country.
That's why they're stealing gas, to keep the operation running.
We've got to find the others.
Hey, Eric, do you have the evidence from the Escalade?
I wanted to give it a run through DNA.
Well, I was giving the MiniRAE a shot first.
We still haven't found the source of ignition from the fire that killed Dan Granger.
And whatever was used should be covered in hydrocarbons.
Oh, the MiniRAE will tell us which one it is.
Yeah. Well, we find the murder weapon, might be able to track it back to the people that are still holding those girls.
(rapid clicking) Got a hit on the cell phone. Really?
I've read the warnings at the gas stations about not using your cell phone, but that would be a bizarre way to start a fire.
Hold on a second.
This wasn't being used to make any phone calls.
This was tampered with.
(electrical sizzle) Someone rigged this to be a stun gun.
It's got a xenon flash, requires a pretty powerful charge.
Switched a few wires around the capacitor, drilled a couple of holes, it wouldn't be hard to do.
It's got a 300-volt punch.
That's enough spark to ignite a gasoline vapor.
We're looking at our murder weapon.
I'm gonna print this.
♪ ♪
Calleigh, I just got a hit off of the rigged cell phone from the Escalade.
It's Sam Laughlin, the valet parker.
We found this custom trailer at your place.
It's being taken apart as we speak.
We know that you killed Dan Granger in order to protect your gas theft organization.
I was stealing fuel from stations.
But I didn't murder that kid.
We found the cell phone that you converted into a stun gun, and we know that's what started the fire that killed Dan.
I caught the kid stealing gas from me.
It was an accident.
I just wanted to teach him a lesson.
What are you doing? Oh!
Uh, nothing!
Nice vest.
What, are you stealing gas from my ride?
Just because you park 'em don't mean you own 'em.
I caught you stealing gas.
I'm sorry. You can have it back.
No one steals from me, kid.
Ow!
(groans) What else did you take from me? Nothing! I swear!
You were in my Escalade! What did you take?!
I swear I didn't take anything!
Stop it, please!
I had no idea he'd ignite.
(electrical sizzling, screaming) (screaming) You also think that he stole passports out of your glove box, and he was gonna expose your human trafficking ring.
Human trafficking?
I steal gas.
That's it.
We have Andrea Rinell.
I don't know any Andrea Rinell.
Let me refresh your memory.
She's the young girl that you used to distract the gas station attendant while you were siphoning fuel from their underground tanks.
Does that sound familiar?
(clears throat) Hi.
NELSON: Hi.
Problem with the pump?
Mm-hmm.
ANDREA: Maybe you can help me.
I was told that the attendant would be distracted so that I could access the fuel.
But I didn't know who'd be doing it.
She's one of many.
The Escalade and the trailer aren't even mine.
I was hired.
I steal it, I deliver it.
I didn't know what the gas was being used for.
Okay.
Who does the Escalade belong to?
I'm not ratting anybody out.
These guys have a long reach.
And even if they don't come after me in prison, I'm not going in with that label on my back.
Then you'll go in with the label of murderer.
Mr. Wolfe?
So far, so clean.
Mr. Wolfe, Sam Laughlin has copped to the murder, but is unwilling to give up his stolen fuel connection.
This trailer is our only link.
I just don't get it.
Why go through all the trouble of rigging something like this?
Think how expensive it is to transport these women across country.
Yeah, I guess it makes sense.
You steal a thousand gallons of gasoline every other day, you're saving over, uh...
Over 60 grand a month. Wait a minute.
The Escalade had cold plates.
These could be the real ones. Let's run it.
(computer trilling) (beeps) (computer trilling) The plates are registered to Paul Sanders. Paul Sanders.
The host of the party.
It says here he's got a shipping business.
Yes, Mr. Wolfe, to transport women.
Thank you.
Okay, let's go.
Rapido. Out of there.
Where are you taking us?
What does it matter?
Let's go!
Muevalo! \h No!
Which one?
Huh? Who said that?
Who?!
CAINE: I said it.
CAINE: Ladies.
Get down on the ground.
Put your hands on your head.
I'm not gonna say it again.
I give these women an opportunity they might never get.
I pay for them to come into this country legally.
What, you think their lives would be better off where they're from, huh?
They owe me!
Now you owe them.
They come here willingly for their own piece of the American dream.
And you provided them with a nightmare.
Get him on his feet.
What's going to happen to me?
You are gonna get what you deserve.
Take him.
Captioning sponsored by\h CBS and C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH\h access.wgbh.org