♪ It looks like ♪ ♪ You won't be staying round ♪ ♪ Given the time and your mood ♪ ♪ You look a lot like her ♪ ♪ And you look so like ♪ ♪ You won't be staying around ♪ ♪ Here in this half light ♪ ♪ You look a lot like her... ♪ Stop. Oh, come on! We've gone way further than that.
♪ It looks like ♪ ♪ You won't be staying round ♪ ♪ Given the time and your mood ♪ ♪ You look a lot like her ♪ ♪ And you look so like ♪ ♪ You won't be staying around ♪ ♪ Here in this half light ♪ ( laughing ) ( screams ) BRASS: The vic's wallet was still in her purse. One credit card, couple of 20s. Nebraska ID. Her name was Alison Carpenter, age 28. A little old for a student. BRASS: School district has been contacted. They're checking their records.
Petechial hemorrhaging indicates strangulation. She definitely died here. Yeah, lividity bears that out. She wasn't moved. The padlock's been cut. It was rusted over, definitely not recent.
Beer bottles. Well, it's high school.
Lover's lane.
Defensive wounds on her hands. Sexual assault?
She's not wearing any underwear.
David, I thought you said she wasn't moved. Paramedics say they didn't touch her. Kids who found her swore they didn't touch her either, and they were so freaked out, I'd tend to believe them. There's still sweat on her upper lip. Take a liver temperature. Okay, let me just finish this up. Now, David.
98.1. She's been dead less than an hour.
The killer's still on her.
♪ 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... ♪ ♪ Come on, tell me who are you, you, you ♪ ♪ Oh, you! ♪
STOKES: Latent prints on skin, oil on oils. We're cutting it pretty close here. Yes, we are.
♪ ♪
Nothing usable around the neck.
I think I've got a partial on the ankle.
GRISSOM: Very few sweat glands around the ankle. Prints survive longer.
Fortunately for us.
There's nobody in the evidence vault. I guess we're still between shifts. Yeah, well, we'll log it in tomorrow. You know, O'Riley interviewed the victim's wife. Yeah? She said her husband was in the garage drinking and just "done fell over." Oh, the ever-popular DFO. Right up there with the "Mysterious Dude" defense. Right. You thinking poison? I wouldn't be surprised. Wife had two priors for spousal abuse. Seems pretty straight up to me. Well, that would be nice-- an easy case. Yeah. These double-ups are killing me. Although I'll take it when I can get it. These nannies do not work cheap. Yeah, how is Lindsey, by the way?
She got caught fighting at school. Lindsey? Fighting? Yeah, she lost her dad, you know? She's, she's... having a hard time.
SIDLE: Company said the vic checked the car out three days ago. The contract was for a week. STROKES: It's a generic econo-box. Might as well just paint a bull's-eye on it. You got the front? Yeah.
I've got a ripped-up pair of panties. Possibly the vic's. Bag that for me, will you?
Whoa. Sex in the backseat.
Blister pack.
What have you got? Ceramics, maybe? Hey, who's working Trace tonight? Hodges. Great. Guarantee you that kiss-ass will have the results to Grissom before we do.
So I'm thinking the vic was car-jacked, dragged to a secluded location... ( screaming ) raped, murdered, body dumped. What do you think? Killer had her in the car. Easy getaway. But still, why take her all the way up the bleachers, to risk getting caught in a room with only one way out? Cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. Multiple round oval bruises over the interior and lateral neck with occasional crescentic red abrasions.
GRISSOM: Fingertip bruises and fingernail scratches. Apparently. No ligature marks. None that I could find, but take a look at this. The, uh, bruises are concentrated on the left side of the neck. On the right side, there's only one. Killer strangled her with his right hand. One hand only. Yeah, prolonged pressure on the jugular.
He must have been looking right in her eyes. Well, that takes hate. I'll get a measurement of the, uh, grip size. What about the SART kit? It's on Graves' desk, but he's pretty backed up, more than usual.
Bruises on her hands, her arms, upper torso-- it's consistent with rape. Maybe not. I did a vaginal clock on her. Signs of activity at 11:00, 12:00, and 1:00, and that would imply rough sex, not rape. May have started as sex, but it ended as murder.
BRASS: Alison Carpenter was a waitress at a coffee shop outside Omaha. Her boss said that she asked for this week off over a month ago. And, uh, no immediate family. Single woman on vacation in Vegas... alone? Yeah, weird. We're looking into it.
Who takes a tape recorder with them on vacation? Well, I keep one by the bed. In case I dream anything useful. Hmm? What? I can't have deep thoughts?
( laughs ) Just kidding.
Hey, Boss. Just analyzed the evidence found in your vic's rent-a-car. You should be telling Nick or Sara. Yeah, couldn't find them. They must be on another break. Anyway, the blister pack was methadone. 40 milligrams, former smack addict dose. And that ceramic chip? Not ceramic. It's acrylic with a quartz resin composite used primarily in dental crowns. Cheap ones. Good work. Yeah, thank you. Listen, I'd like to think that you and I... Now go tell Nick or Sara.
( sighs ) Problem is AFIS doesn't play real nice with partials. So here's what I'm going to do. I'll pick eight or nine distinctive features, run those through the system, and examine anything with a 60% or better match. You could end up with over 100 hits. You trying to discourage me? It's all about interpretation. Knowing what's commonplace, and what's unique.
That's where skill comes in. You still have to check each one by hand. You're going to have to sign my time sheet. SANDERS: Grissom! I'm about to rock your world. The semen inside your victim-- I got a DNA match through CODIS. It's Jason Kent. Ring a bell? 1987, they called him "The Circle Killer."
Las Vegas Police. This a bad time?
You know, I know a couple of guys who worked your case. Viking Circle. Remember that girl you suffocated while you were raping her? What was she, a cheerleader, homecoming queen, or both? She was a friend. Oh, I didn't expect that. I expected you to say, uh, "No, I'm innocent" or "No, it was an accident." I served my time. That's right. You did the whole bit. The whole 15 years. You're a hard-core ex-con. This must really piss you off. You know what? I know the conditions of my release. So you can check whatever you'd like. You want to tell me what this is about? You're under arrest for the murder of Alison Carpenter. Last night, your old high school, Go Monarchs. I'm not talking to you without a lawyer. Looks like you bit your lip.
May I see your hands, please?
Recently clipped your nails, huh? BRASS: And you're such a smart guy, bet you flushed them down the toilet.
GRISSOM: Did you find it? Mm-hmm. Here you go. Okay.
How'd you do with the nail clippers? Right over here. Figured it wasn't a high priority since I'd already ID'd the semen in the victim. GRISSOM: That only proves that they had sex. The nail clippers can place Jason Kent at the murder scene. His nails, her DNA, traces of the booth, et cetera. Killer, victim, location. Holy Trinity, Greg. I need that.
So? STOKES: Hey, Archie's diging those tapes. I'll keep you posted.
SECRETARY: Mr. Grissom, I have your messages. Thank you.
Grissom, do you have a second? Of course.
His vitals are stable. He's got partial to full thickness burns on the neck and back.
( helicopter flies by ) ( inhaling )
PARAMEDIC: Coming through. ( indistinct chatter )
All right, let's move.
Clear.
( siren wailing )
Are you okay?
Uh-huh.
Honey, this doesn't look good. It's fine. Cleanup's going to be something. We should get started. You need to get stitches.
I'm okay. Would you take care of her hand, please? Sure. MAN: Yes, sir, I just got here. Several injuries, one serious. Fire department arson explosives are assessing the damage right now. What'd you do to my lab, Grissom?
I want a complete evidence inventory by case. What's been lost, what's contaminated, what's salvageable. We have LIMS backup for every computer on the network. I'm sure we've only lost an hour or two of data. Well, we'll never sell that in court. Defense attorneys will rip us apart. That, uh, double murder movie star case last year, compromised evidence, lax procedures, mistakes. We got a conviction on that. You got lucky. This is a priority. I want to know how this happened. And who's to blame?
I'm going to have Catherine run the investigation. I'm on a murder case. I'll be waiting for her report.
So what was your relationship again with Alison Carpenter? Once again, my client asserts his Fifth Amendment rights and declines to answer. Why bother? His semen was found inside the victim. A finding from a crime unit that blows up its own DNA lab? You really think that's going to carry a lot of weight? BRASS ( over speakers ): I understand you're in a methadone program. WOMAN: So what? My client's a recovering addict. He got hooked in prison. The war on drugs works about as well on the inside as it does on the street. Well, methadone puts him in the victim's car. There are thousands of methadone users out there. With chipped dental crowns?
We're going to need an orthodontic sample. This is harassment. We're done cooperating here.
My third week in prison. Break the new guy's teeth, he can't bite down on something that's shoved in his mouth.
JOHNSON: All right this is the third audio tape we found from that bunch in the hotel room. She recorded about nine hours in total. Started like this. CARPENTER: It's almost 6:00. I'm almost ready. I know there's nothing to be nervous about, but I am. He's suffered so much. I'm going to help him remember who he really is. So, she knew Jason Kent. He wasn't just some random pickup. At first I thought maybe she was working on a book or something. Then I hit this. Day two. You threw four touchdowns that game, didn't you? And ran for one from right here. Everybody was thinking pass... I ran it right up the middle for six. Sounds amazing. I wish I could have been there with you. Is it just me or does it sound like she's in love with this guy? Maybe she was a murder groupie. Hey, Manson, the Night Stalker-- all those guys had them. I think for some freaks, killing's a turn-on, you know?
Well, check this out. Day before the murder. Last thing on her tapes. Well, this is an apartment and it is the right address, so I guess I'm just waiting here. Let's go. Let's go. Start the car. Jason, what happened? ( spitting ) I don't want to talk about it. This about Jesus Carden... Jesus Cardenas is a scumbag convict, and we're not talking about him. Okay, I'm sorry. Shut that thing off. Run Jesus through NCIC. Cardenas.
Jesus Cardenas. Heroin, possession for sale and manslaughter. Currently serving 25 at the Western Nevada Correctional Facility. And former residence of Jason Kent.
Look, I'm pretty tired. WILLOWS: This won't take long, Greg. We promise. BROWN: Why don't you tell us exactly what happened. As best as you can remember. I was working three cases. Mixing solvents. Did you notice anything prior to the explosion? A power surge, a spark, a smell? Plastic.
Burning plastic. I turned around to see where it was coming from.
After that... I'm sorry. It's okay. We done? Yeah, we're done. Feel better, all right? Get some rest.
( printing )
STOKES: Jesus Cardenas and Jason Kent were two prisoners with the same taste in visitors. Alison Carpenter. Yeah, she visited Jason 13 times in the last 18 months. And the last two times, she also visited Jesus. GRISSOM: A murderer, his groupie and a heroin dealer, what a team. Mm. Does Western Nevada Correctional use surveillance cameras in their visitation room? Yeah, and it's all cued up.
JOHNSON: It's pretty casual for prison. It's medium security. Nicer criminals. Right. Anyway, every time we visit it pretty much went the same way. She sits down with Jason Kent, they talk for a little while, and Kent goes back to his cell. Then the last two visits, she stayed behind.
Jesus Cardenas.
JOHNSON: They're offscreen here for about five minutes. Then they come back to the table and she leaves. Run that again.
Can you enhance that? Yeah, I think so.
Jason's little girlfriend was screwing a guy he hates. Well, if you can't kill the one you want... ...kill the one you're with.
What a mess. Want to strip it? I'm thinking spiral with an overlap. I'll head this way. All right. I'll head this way. All right. ♪ ♪ ( singer vocalizing )
♪ Why so green ♪ ♪ And lonely? ♪ ♪ To happen. ♪
Damage radiates from here. Well... there's no crater.
Yeah, so it's not a high explosive. I guess we're looking for a combustible liquid? Yeah. That narrows things down.
Oh. Somebody left the hot plate on inside of the fume hood. Genius.
( sighs )
What do you think?
Developer pan? Presence of acetone, methanol, all kinds of combustibles. Mix that with a heat source, and what have you got? This.
Hey.
You back on? Yeah. I hear you're going to prison. Mm-hmm. I'll meet you outside.
( explosion )
STOKES: What can you tell us about Alison Carpenter? Knew her real well, but I guess you already know that.
How did you like the show? Alison Carpenter is dead. I got an alibi. Yeah, you're completely innocent, and so, tell me, why would a woman like Alison Carpenter, who was obsessed with Jason Kent, have anything to do with you? STOKES: You remember Jason. Two cells down. Hates your guts. A lot of anger in that boy. Not much sense. Doesn't understand how things work. In here or out there? Either way. It doesn't matter. This is still the U.S. of A., my man. It's capitalism. Every one of us a buyer or seller. Which one was Alison? Exchange of goods for services. I gave Jason credit, he walks out of here in debt. Thinks because he's on the outside, he don't have to pay. Man who doesn't pay his debt undermines the whole system. What did he owe you for?
STOKES: We pulled Jason Kent's disciplinary file. He spent some time in solitary. His CO caught him with heroin on two separate occasions. Once in, uh, '97 and again in '99. Did our lab examine the physical evidence? Yeah, we pulled those records, too. The analysis yielded a black tar heroin with trace amounts of blue and red linen fibers.
Linen? In a prison? You know, they got him on the heroin once. They didn't follow up with the trace. So how did Jason Kent get the heroin? STOKES: Uh... you-you know how these guys are. All they do 24/7 is figure out how to beat the system. We figure the drugs probably came from Jesus. So what are we saying? Jesus sells Jason Kent heroin. Kent falls into debt, and pays him off with Alison Carpenter? I'll-I'll get the money somehow. I'll work another shift, and we'll... pay him later. I owe him. And one way or another, he's going to collect. I'll do whatever I have to do. Yeah, they passed her around like a party favor. Actually... she passed around herself.
Hmm. We understand that you handled a meth lab yesterday. Contaminated filter papers. So what? So, you had to do a solvent extraction? What did you use? Chloroform, methanol and acetone. I cleaned the pan. Same way you turned off that hot plate? If it was on, it wasn't my fault. That thing gets turned on by accident all the time.
Mysterious dude defense.
Well, our report is going to reflect the fact that an active heat source was under the fume hood.
I know what this is. You guys hear the lies and rumors about me from L.A. You know how much Grissom depends on me. So you figure, let's get rid of him. I'll lawyer up before I let you pin the tail on the new donkey. Start dialing.
WOMAN: Partial from your vic's ankle on the left. Jason Kent on the right. One point of commonality? That's it. So it's not his print? Couldn't be. 'Cause it belongs to another guy. Ten points of commonality. I think I could get a couple of more, not that we need it. Miguel Dorado. Mickey D. Las Culebras.
What's the connection? Jesus Cardenas is in the same gang. Mickey D. could be the guy who's getting the heroin into the prison. How did his prints turn up at the scene? I'm not sure how, but I may see a potential why.
Could be Mickey D. was collecting Jason Kent's debt. ( thudding ) ( screaming ) ( groaning ) ( sighs ) One way or another, you got to pay what you owe. Jesus can't wait to see you again.
Jason Kent was suitable for framing.
♪ ♪
Hey. Hey. Wow, you work fast.
Which color charts Hodges' developer pan? Blue. The blue. That's 180-degree array. That's not the epicenter of the explosion. Hodges' pan wasn't the source. It got pushed out.
By what?
By this... the primary frag. The green glass.
Then who blew up the lab? I did.
Las Vegas Police! Miguel Dorado. We know you're here! Come out!
You-- go, go, go! There, there. ( glass breaking ) Go. I got him!
Get back! ( grunting ) Okay. You got him? Yeah. I got him. Okay. You got him? Yeah. I got him. Okay. Holster your weapon. What were you doing? What were you thinking? You know that we clear the room, not you. I got him. You're all done, hombre.
( sighs )
( phone rings ) Grissom. WOMAN: Director Covallo is ready to see you. Okay, thank you.
CSI Brown and I had collected evidence on a case involving a woman whose husband had collapsed. We suspected poison. When we returned to the lab... You hadn't identified the liquid? Not yet, no. And it was consumed in the explosion so I guess we'll never know what it was. In any event, you placed this unidentified chemical under the fume hood. Right. Next to an active heat source. I didn't know that at the time. Because you didn't check.
Unlogged evidence gets placed under the fume hood. A hot plate was left on. It's a lab. It's nobody's fault. It's my responsibility. I didn't follow procedure. Why not?
Because there's 24 hours in the day and I'm pulling 16 for the County, spending three pretending to sleep and the other five lying to my daughter that everything's going to be all right. There were 13 active cases in DNA. They are all now tainted or destroyed. What do you want to hear? I screwed up. I'm sorry. "Sorry" doesn't cut it. You're on suspension. Five days unpaid leave.
Grissom. We're not done here. I've heard rumors that you've been kicking back Willows' reports. One report. The Jenkins case. She made a miscalculation. I've asked her to reissue the report. Great. Well, while you're at it, maybe she can reissue the lab explosion.
Let me explain something to you. Every one of us ( audio fading ): in this building, all of us... ( no audio ) Robert.
If you have something to say to me, say it to my face. Okay. It's not your job to protect your people. It's to protect the integrity of this lab. Without the people... there is no lab.
( police radio droning )
I hear you think you're indestructible now, Sara.
Have you ever had a gun drawn on you, Sara? No, I haven't.
Hey, Nick. Hmm? You know those red and blue fibers we found Hmm? You know those red and blue fibers we found in Jason Kent's heroin? Mm-hmm. I think I know where they came from.
Take the G.W. Bridge? I don't know what you're talking about.
Did you cut yourself shaving or were you just thinking too hard? Police brutality. You ever hear of it? Those are human bite marks. Yeah? His.
You're not looking at assault, Mick. You're looking at murder. What? You have Jason Kent's teeth marks on your head.
( groaning ) STOKES: And your fingerprints are on Alison Carpenter's body. You're not putting this murder rap on me. It was that freak Jason. He did it. We're placing you at the scene. Yeah. I was there... for the money. I told him that he had one day to pay up what he owed. Make everything right with Jesus. That's it.
You know, it's not a bad deal for prison. Mickey D. brings the heroin to Jesus Cardenas and you trade him a woman for smack. Testimony from Mickey D.? Hearsay from a gangbanger? Oh, there's more. You left prison without paying your tab, and when Jesus sent his collection agency after you, you figured you'd pay him back just the way you did in the joint. GRISSOM: We know that you had sex with Alison Carpenter that night. Most probably in her car. BRASS: Get her in the mood.
I want you to do something for me. Anything you want. Good, come on.
This get us square? Yeah. For now. Take care of him. No, I don't want to. You said you'd help me. I did help you. Alison, just one time. Come on. No!
( hands pounding on walls ) ( pounding continues ) ( squeaking ) ( pounding stops )
You're in on this.
You're going back in the joint, you freak.
You can't prove any of this. You have no evidence that places my client at the scene.
Would you place your hand-- your right hand-- on this paper, please?
Extend the fingers outward. ATTORNEY: You have a known gang member in custody, and yet you persist in harassing my client. You're protective, aren't you? Of my clients. Do you pay the rent for all your clients or just the ones you really like?
Mickey D... has a hand span of 19 centimeters.
The hand that strangled Alison Carpenter... has a span of 22 centimeters.
And your hand... ...22 centimeters.
You going to go to the DA with a connect- the-dots hand on a piece of tracing paper? It's all we got that links him to the murder. Everything else blew up in the lab. The guy's going to walk. Yep.
( groans )
What time is it? Late. How long have you been here? Awhile. I got a little time on my hands.
You figured out what happened in the lab, didn't you? Yeah.
( sighs ) Yeah, and, um... I wanted you to hear it from me.
( knocking ) You... got a minute? I was just leaving. Yeah, the, uh, schedule says you're off tonight. I am. Me, too. You should be on paid leave. I'm fine. You were fortunate. And I'm not talking about the explosion. You, uh, you talked to Brass? And Nick. We got the guy. Is that all you have to say? Would you like to have dinner with me?
No. Why not? Let's... let's have dinner. Let's see what happens. Sara... ( sighs ) I don't know what to do about this. I do.
You know, by the time you figure it out, it really could be too late. ure it out,