( sirens wailing ) ( horns honking ) ♪ ♪
♪ ♪
( gasps )
Is this some kind of convention? Little People convention. Every year they come from all over the world to a designated city-- socialize, network. It's their prom, Olympics and New Year's Eve all rolled into one. Oh, hey. Excuse me. Don't think so, square jaw. SIDLE: Grissom, how do you know this? I get the newsletter.
BRASS: Lawrence Ames, clothing salesman from Phoenix. He's 35, four foot five inches tall. One of the, uh... convention organizers found him. She was checking out the stage. There's a fashion show tomorrow, if you're interested. She looked up and saw him. SIDLE: Guy does a suicide in a public place. He was trying to make a statement. Suicide? It's a reasonable suspicion. STOKES: Suicide among any disability group is above average. Being a dwarf doesn't mean you're disabled, Nick. It means you're... short.
I think we've got a little murder. ♪ ♪
♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ I really wanna know ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Who... ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Who... ♪ ♪ Come on, tell me who are you, you, you ♪ ♪ Oh, you! ♪
My favorite CSI. I was hoping you'd get the call out. Look who is back in town. So, what happened, Drew? You didn't like, uh... Idaho? Is that it? Had everything but you. ( chuckling ): Yeah, right. So, what do we got? One body, male Caucasian. Looks like a home invasion. Listen, I'm headed next door. I'm going to talk to a neighbor heard shouting, called 911. Keep me posted? Always did.
Hi. Willows. Akers. You clear the place? Just finishing. Okay.
( groans ) ( cell phone ringing ) Yeah? Oh, hey, Warrick. Uh... yeah, it's, uh... some kind of home invasion gone bad. Don't run any lights. I'll just process till the coroner gets here. Okay. Cool. We were just pulling out of the chili place when dispatch radioed. Uh, arrived on scene 1900 hours. My partner secured the perimeter. I've been in here... This your first time on body watch? Mm-hmm. ( gulps ) Well... alive... it's inside your bowels. Dead, it ends up on the floor. ( gagging ) Go. Go, go, go. Just get some air.
♪ ♪
( yelps, grunts ) Suspect on location! Suspect on location!
( grunts ) OFFICER: In here! Come on! ( moaning ) Out back. Cath, are you all right? He went out back. I'm all right. OFFICER: Back door! I'm all right. OFFICER: Back door! I'm okay. Move! Move! BROWN: Talk to me! Anything? OFFICER: No. I got nothing.
He must have gotten out the back window.
Were you the first officer on the scene? When you clear a place, you clear it! You understand? Yes, sir. I'm sorry. We lost a CSI two years ago because of the same mistake! Warrick, ease up. My fault. I sent him out. Use your radio and call for backup.
Hey... Hey. You okay? Yeah. I'm all right.
Don't touch me. I'm evidence.
I got some fibers here. Possibly secondary. This rope was identical to the rope around the victim's neck. It was used as a handrail. Wait, David.
Got a hair in the knot.
Killer's in the rope. I want to preserve this as is, so cut higher. Yes, sir.
Hey, um... hand me a swab, would you? You know, I could do this for you. Not going to hurt any less.
( groans softly ) That cut is deep.
Damn.
All right. Hey, can you turn around? Huh? Privacy. The guy bodied me full-on. I don't want Trace to miss one hair or one fiber.
You decent?
( indistinct chatter )
Looks like we're up.
These scars are old. Tell me this wasn't bone-lengthening surgery. Probably done when he was a teenager. Surgical pins are inserted into the bone and linked to an external screw. Turn the screw, it cracks the bones. Osteogenic cells flood in. Callus forms to bridge the gap. The fractures heal, and the bone gets longer. Have to break the bones every four to six hours a quarter millimeter at a time. Excruciating pain... for an extra few inches. What people will endure to be normal. "What fools these mortals be." Hmm. So, hanging? At least. COD was asphyxiation due to strangulation. Give me a hand here. Bruise behind the ear is characteristic of a hanging. This bruise is not. What is that? Blunt force? Take a look at this.
Separation of the first and second vertebra prior to death. He was paralyzed? That's something that would only happen to a dwarf with pseudoachondroplasia. Physiology can make for cervical spine instability. So it's possible that whoever did this knew something about dwarf anatomy.
Hmm.
♪ ♪
Suspect on location!
He was drinking.
It was beer.
I'll go process the back.
♪ ♪
Denim fiber from the cabinet. Could be nothing. And lots of smudges, but no prints worthwhile. Yeah. I didn't get any prints either, but I did get a partial shoe tread from the back gate. And I don't think our dead guy lived here. Based on...? These pictures. Got Detective Wolf looking for the homeowner's name from the real estate records. So, our home invasion robbery may not be a home invasion after all.
So, would you mind if we tape-lifted your shirt? Combed your hair for evidence? Evidence of what? Well, the first person at a crime scene often turns out to be a viable suspect. I'm the one that found his body. I'm the one that called it in. If you're innocent, it'll rule you out. Go ahead.
Does he ever talk? Yeah. At, uh... random intervals. I was admiring your reaching tool. I have one I use to wipe my tush with. Would you like to take a look at that, too? Hey, if the world doesn't adapt itself to you, you have to adapt yourself to it, right? Yeah. You know, you probably think I'm cold. Pulling slots after I found Lawrence up there. This is the convention. Everything moves at warp speed. I'm done. Thank you.
You know, 51 weeks in your hometown with nothing but average-sized people. I have to fit a lifetime into this week. We all do. Business connections, gambling, romance. Excuse me. Did Lawrence have any problems in those areas? Romance? Not at all. Lawrence was a pseudo. He could have his pick of any girl in here.
What's a pseudo? Dwarfs with pseudoachondroplasia have features and head size like normal people. Dwarfs with achondroplasia have shortened limbs and enlarged heads. Different types of dwarfs, different social status? Hey... discrimination isn't just for tall people.
Excuse me.
Isn't this, uh... Lawrence Ames's room? Yes. Who are you?
( sighs ) I'm his fiancée.
We always got those looks. I'm five-seven, in case you were wondering. Our concern isn't your height; it's your proximity. You're standing in a potential crime scene.
Would you please sit down here? We want to keep the contamination to a minimum. This is CSI Sidle. We need a uniform in room 312 right away. Thanks.
Didn't the police tell you not to come in here? Yes. But I wanted to be near Lawrence's things. And, um... these are Lawrence's things? Yes.
Sara? Yeah?
Gouge is deeper at the bottom than the top. So the strike was made coming down.
Grissom.
Did you and Mr. Ames have an argument, say, last night? No.
You don't believe me? Well, right now, we believe the evidence.
What are the marks on his forearms? Hmm. Can't say. But I do know that Teddy Henders died from blunt force trauma. From what, do you think? A hammer? Butt of a gun? I was just going to see if I could figure that out. ( electric razor buzzing )
( turns off razor )
"Z"?
There was a Z-Mover video game on the floor next to the vic.
Murder by Z-Mover. The neighbors heard shouting. Two guys break and enter and get into some kind of an altercation. It's mine! No way! It's mine! You bastard!
One ends up killing the other. And almost Catherine.
That had to be scary, huh? I didn't have time to be scared, David. Oh.
Is the lipstick on this champagne glass yours? No champagne for me. I'm pregnant. Only seven weeks. Is this your computer, or Lawrence's? Lawrence's. We're going to have to take it with us.
BROWN: Cath? You all right?
Don't let him get to you like that. I was scared... and I still am. Don't tell anyone, okay?
Hey, Greg. Hey. Get anything off the rope? Ah, a few brown hairs around the knot. Only one with a skin tag, though. And those fibers that Sara found on the body? Yeah? Polyester upholstery. Cheap rugs and tacky furniture. I need these hairs. Uh-uh. No DNA tags on those. Doesn't matter. ( scoffs ) You know, I hate it when he does that. I like to make a presentation, you know? So, present. Ah, forget it. Scope's interesting.
All right. Fresh epithelials. Yeah, I found them on the rope near the anchor points. Minuscule samples, but useable. How long for DNA? Well, give me something to compare it to. Get me the fiancée's blood. Well, I can't just give you her blood. That takes a court order. I'm open 24 hours.
"Met you in a pseudo chat room. Do you remember me?" "I remember you." ( muttering ) "...to the convention this year? "I'd love to meet you. "See if you can pick me out.
"Perfect face. Perfect body. Count of three, handsome."
Danielle.
SIDLE: Jessica, you knew Lawrence was having an online affair with another woman, didn't you? BRASS: You logged on at times when Lawrence was at work. We checked his work records. A lot of girls liked Lawrence. He was funny and smart and sweet. Danielle was different. She was his size. She was... perfect. We found your skin cells on the rope that hung Lawrence. You're making that up. No, I'm not. BRASS: Our court order, your blood. I did not put a noose around my fiancé's neck. Then explain how your skin cells got on the rope. I can't.
Hey. Confronted the fiancée; she stonewalled us. Brass told her not to leave town. He sounded a bit like Jack Lord, don't you think? Well, she can go wherever she wants to. She didn't do it. Take a look. Hair from the knot.
They look thin. Diameter's 60% less than normal. Tensile strength is also way below normal. You have a cross section? Mm-hmm.
Hmm. No pigment at the central core. No color. Cartilage hair hypoplasia. C.H.H. It's characterized by fine, brittle body hair. It's an extremely rare syndrome. It's a form of dwarfism. Okay. So, back to the midgets. Nick... dwarfs or little people. You'll need to know what to look for, so I'll compile a list of C.H.H. attributes. Well, you better do it fast. The convention's over in two days. After that, the little people go home and we lose all our suspects.
♪ Come fill my senses up with you ♪ ♪ You, you, you, you, you, you... ♪ Ms. Grace?
Excuse me. I need your help. What now? My DNA? No, actually... your eyes.
GRACE: I'm sorry. I don't recognize her. And a girl this pretty I would remember. The guys would still be drooling. Well, according to the police, there's no one named Danielle registered at the hotel or at the convention. You expected an Internet handle to be a real name? Maybe the girl got cold feet. My first IOLP convention-- I walk in, see 200 dwarfs staring back at me, and what goes through my head? "There's no way I look like these people." I ran. But you went back. Eventually. I guess I realized it's nice to see eye-to-eye with someone. Mmm. I get the impression that's a little tough for you.
"The freaks had looked at her in a secret way "and tried to connect their eyes with hers "as though to say, 'We know who you are. We are you.'" Faulkner. Close. Another southern writer. Carson McCullers. I think we look for the differences in each other to prove that we're not alone.
What's yours? Your difference?
Mine's the worst. Random gene. Anyone can have a dwarf. Sometimes I've even seen terror in average-size people's eyes. I remind them that their little carbon copies might not be such a copy after all.
Well, mine's genetic, progressive, and impossible to predict. And hard to notice... unless you tell someone.
Got your beep. What did you get? Denim fibers at 400x.
The skin from the dead guy, and the denim found in the cabinet, are both coated in the same substance. You get a breakdown? Yeah. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil, traces of beef fat, sugar and potato starch. Cooking grease. That would explain the marks on the guy's forearms-- grease burns.
So there's a good chance the victim worked in a fast-food joint. WOLF: I got a feeling they both did. The owner of the house has a franchise of fast-food places-- Fast and Fresh Burgers. I just got off the phone with him from Hawaii. Alvin Jackson. Three stores in the Vegas area. And he's on his yearly vacation. Something his employees would definitely know.
Get any addresses? You bet. Let's go check it out.
SIDLE: We're looking for anything in the picture that might give us a way to find her. Something in the background that determines location, a useful reflection, anything. Huh... Oh, I get it. This is like a test, right? What do you mean? Individual hair shadows are amorphous when they should be distinct. In these two areas-- here and here-- they're on the same focal plane, but this one's sharp and this one's fuzzy. This picture's a fake? A composite. A very good one.
This explains why nobody ever saw her. She only exists in pixels.
Nat King Cole. Excuse me? Archie, would you separate the composite elements, please? Yup.
The image was built out of these. GRISSOM: Now, if you could, pull up a photo of the victim, grayscale.
There's a theory in art that the Mona Lisa was really a feminized version of Leonardo da Vinci himself. Concept suggests... deep down, we're all narcissists? Yeah. What attracts us the most is ourselves.
Scale to match the original picture of Danielle.
SIDLE: Danielle is a virtual woman created to attract and lure Lawrence Ames... away from his fiancée, maybe? BRASS: Boy, do I have good timing, or what? I did a little checking with the phone company. In the past year, Lawrence Ames received over 200 calls from Melanie Grace. The same woman that found him dead. He got call-blocking against her two months ago. Well, that's interesting. That's the same time Danielle started sending him instant messages.
Yes, I called Lawrence. We met in a chat room. He also called me. Did you look at my phone records? He eventually blocked your calls. The same week he got engaged to Jessica Marcus. GRISSOM: It was at that time he began receiving messages from... a perfect woman... ...who doesn't really exist.
You think that I would do that? Present myself to a man as anything other than who I am? If it would break up his new engagement.
So what happened? You went to the convention, you saw him with his tall girlfriend, and you go to Plan B?
You think I'm capable of that? Killing because a woman has some height on me? Pretending to be an ideal... If you think that... then I was wrong about you.
( indistinct announcement )
( whirring )
Hey. Do you mind, little man? I'm trying to work here. Really? Yeah. You making any progress, CSI man?
Some. Uh-huh. Are we getting your A-game or your B-game? Come again? You see, us little people, we're used to getting the short end of the stick. ( chuckles ) You don't get to laugh at that.
What I want to know is, are you treating this like a case or like a joke? Well, a man was killed; that's no joke.
You got my A-game. Yeah? Yeah. Carry on.
This is very, very nice. It's very easy to articulate. It comes in several different colors. You will enjoy this very, very much.
Uh... Grissom. There's, uh... something weird going on with the hairs from the ropes. Well, not weird. More like... hair-raising.
Sorry. Bad one. Um... okay, at first I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong-- running too many DNA samples, you know? Seeing things. Greg? ( exhales ) Uh... the dwarf hair has seven alleles in common with Jessica Marcus's skin cells.
The two donors are related? Profiles say so. ( cell phone ringing ) Grissom. STOKES: He looked like he fit your profile, so I asked around. Two little people confirmed he has C.H.H. Okay, thank you. Yeah. 100% nylon-- it's very, very, very easy on the hands. Oh, yes, yes. Sure. Anytime. Mm-hmm. Kevin Marcus?
Buying or browsing? Maybe a little bit of both. Rope for makeshift banisters, huh? That rag rope... cuts the hands. Now, you feel this nylon. Go ahead, feel that. I do trade shows, mail order... I even sold to this convention. So what, do you, uh, buy from wholesalers and then repackage in your home? Yeah, Chicago. BRASS: Well, that explains how your daughter's skin cells got all over the rope that hung Lawrence Ames. Your daughter's name is Jessica, right? BRASS: The lab also found your hair all over that rope. Well, I touch all the merchandise. Nice try, Kev. The hair was caught in the noose.
Did you know your father killed Lawrence? That's what they told me, but I couldn't believe it. I still can't. So you created Danielle to break up your daughter's engagement. That's an interesting theory.
What? You guys trace an online account to my credit card or something like that? Oh, no, wait. Um.... I use a free ISP. That means no name, no trail, no case.
Mr. Marcus, in your business you deal with proportions, correct? You provide little people with what they need to compensate for their proportions, and to live with them. You know what little people aspire to be. Your, uh... logo is interesting. Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.
In the perfect human form, arm span equals height.
You're very aware of what, uh... people are looking for in a mate, aren't you? The night before he died, Lawrence and I had a fight about Danielle. Are you still in contact with her? She emails or I.M.'s. I don't answer. I love you. You're cheating on me!
And I ran out of the hotel, and I went to my dad. I was crying, and he told me to leave Lawrence, but I couldn't because... I... I loved him. And I'm having his baby. And I went back to our room and we made up.
And the next night... he said he was going out to meet a friend.
I'll be back in an hour, babe.
And he never came back.
So what did you have against the guy? What are you, blind? He was a dwarf. My wife and I-- our daughter-- a genetic miracle. One-in-four shot she'd be an average. And she was a beautiful average. So your wife is also a dwarf. Yeah. Jessica didn't have to fight the world every day, like we did. We freed her from all that. But that little bastard kept dragging her right back down into it. So you killed him. I said I didn't like the guy. I didn't kill anybody.
( exhales deeply ) Can we prove it? Not yet. The rope was anchored to the lighting truss, which was at least five feet over his head. So? Well, he can barely lift his arms above his shoulders. He suffers from lumbar lordosis-- swayback-- which is typical of C.H.H., and it limits his mobility even more. Hey, the guy put a rope around the victim's neck. Yeah, but how did he hang him?
Listen, Catherine, me and Warrick can handle this.
I'm going in. Well, the guy assaulted you. You don't have to put yourself through this, you know. I don't, I'll be scared of the next guy and the one after that.
Shoe tread, denim fiber, a lot of cooking grease. Based on that evidence, they all did it. All right, so we take them one by one. Transfer works both ways.
( unzipping ) Warrick?
Blow your nose. I don't gotta.
( blowing )
Guess.
( blowing )
I don't think so. Then I guess I'll just have to look for myself. You want to look at my boogers, lady, go ahead. Hey!
Nose hairs... are nature's filter. Traps all kinds of things. Dust, dirt... ...fingerprint powder. ( exhales ) You did it. ( grunting ) You inhaled the fingerprint dust I was using. We went up there to party 'cause the boss was out of town, and I saw the Z-Mover first, but Teddy... Teddy... Sweet. Z-Mover. I saw it first. What? I saw it first. It's mine. I saw it first. I called it.
I didn't mean to kill him. It was an accident. I mean, I... Get up. I didn't mean... You all right? Yeah. NICK: Hey, did you get anything else off that laptop? No. A bunch of the files were corrupted. Archie's taking another run at them. ( sighs )
The victim was paralyzed-- couldn't fight back. Kevin Marcus puts the rope around his neck, makes a slipknot. And ties off the other end on the truss even though there is no way he could have reached it. No way he could've reached it.
Nick, what are you doing? Changing my perspective. ( groans ): Oh, man. Can you imagine going through life at this height? They do okay. If the world doesn't adapt itself to you, you... Adapt yourself to it.
Where's Grissom? ( patrons talking )
Grissom?
We know how he did it. BRASS: Your wheelchair was in the booth at the convention. The fibers from the seat cover to your wheelchair match the fibers we found on the victim. Uh... faux-- fake sheepskin.
We also know how you got Mr. Ames into the theater. Our lab retrieved a final instant message to Lawrence from Danielle.
Mr. Marcus, what are you doing here?
It's enough to convict you.
GRISSOM: May I ask a question? How did you get him into the wheelchair?
Well... I appealed to his vanity.
I told him I needed a brochure model to sell my new chair. You don't want me near your daughter, but you want me to hawk your chairs? I never said you weren't handsome. I mean, come on-- your face, your build-- a million chairs: "Sold." Great. Come on. Hop in. Hop in. Let me see you in there. Come on. Model for me.
There you go. Wait, let me make an adjustment for you here.
I paralyzed him.
I couldn't let Jessica marry him.
Any kid they have... a 50% chance it would be a dwarf. You have to understand that.
( sighs ) It's genetics.
Mr. Marcus, I think you should know... your daughter is already pregnant by Lawrence Ames.
You know what's really sad? This wasn't just a murder. It was a hate crime. Kevin Marcus hated himself.
♪ ♪
Dr. Grissom, welcome back.
Take care of yourself. ack.