Hmm.
I heard you got some head. Just came in. How'd you know? I arranged house seats for David to see Celine, so he pages me the minute you get anything perishable. Sellout.
Oh... formaldehyde. Yeah, it fixes tissue, but it destroys DNA. No ID through CODIS. Quite a bit of leaf litter. Puncture wound above the orbital plate. That looks like animal activity. Heavy decomp. It's going to be, uh... virtually impossible to determine time of death. This neck wasn't severed. It was disarticulated. No skill involved.
Oh-oh. I take that back. That took skill.
"The unkindest cut of all."
Captioning sponsored by CBS, C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS ♪ 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! ♪
There's more plant material here than geological. Hair roots and scalp are relatively clean.
So the vic wasn't buried? You tell me. I will. Leaves and needles and dirt-- that's good as a map.
Any idea when Grissom'll be back? Nope. It's going to be a while.
WILLOWS: Jackpot, Nevada. Where the hell is that?
( country music plays faintly) Good morning. I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and I... Hey, Alan! This guy's here about the head.
MAN: Bet a wolf got him. MAN 2: around here, dumbass. Bears. Ten bucks says satanic cult. Lieutenant Alan Brooks. This is my brother Leland. How do you do? Las Vegas Crime Lab. May I? Have a seat. Things must be pretty slow in Vegas to get one of you guys out here so quick. Well, the Elko County Sheriff made the request. We were happy to respond. It's an interesting case. Mmm, not particularly. LELAND: It was probably some hiker or transient who got lost, took a bad luck fall. Must have been a heck of a fall. His head's in a plastic jar. BROOKS: the report.iled I sent in the head. Five'll get you ten, there's not much left of that body out there but coyote turds. ( chuckles ) Look, nobody from been reported missing. And I just don't have the resources to go searching for what might be left. Well, you do now. There'd better be of you out there.
Have a good one, Marty.
Lieutenant, the preliminary autopsy revealed a single, straight, two-inch cut on the victim's jaw. It was a blade mark. So, there's not just a body out there, there's also a killer.
HODGES: gathered from the head, the conifers are the key. The one on the left-- Abies zasiocarpa. The one on the right is Picea engelmannii, Engelmann spruce. Spruce and fir trees. Typical mountain forest. Typical for 9,000 feet above sea level. The wood fragments are either cottonwood or aspen. And aspens only grow in areas that have been cleared. Fire, roads or... logging.
After a major forest fire, manzanita bushes grow like weeds for decades. No manzanita leaves here. Which means that the head was on a damp north-facing slope, at least 9,000 feet up, cleared, but not recently exposed to fire. ( phone rings ) Grissom. WILLOWS: Is the service actually bad out there or are you just keeping your phone off? I'm sorry. I should've called. This trip wouldn't have anything to do with you ducking case reviews, now would it? How can you think that? You wouldn't mind taking care of those for me, would you? Oh, your job, my pay. Why would I care? I'll make it up to you. Yeah, you had better.
Hodges ID'd your leaf litter.
Good. Thanks. I owe you one. Trouble with the wife? Yeah. She hates it when we're apart.
GRISSOM: So your dog found the head? WOMAN: Well, Tripper's not exactly a Chihuahua. Goes where he wants, comes back for dinner. Sometimes he brings dinner back. Tripper! Come on, buddy, dinner. Oh, what is it this time, a rabbit or a possum? Is he okay? Well, he got a little lethargic after chewing on that head. Took him to the vet, ran some tests. He got better. I just want to keep him that way. Where there's a head there's got to be hands and feet, and sooner or later, he'll dig 'em up. Or what's left of 'em. No offense, Sylvia, but he's not exactly a scent hound. GRISSOM: All animals can smell rotting flesh. Studies have shown that when domestic pets bring back human body parts, usually the remains are within a half-mile radius. They do studies on that? It occurs more than you think. Have you noticed any buzzards or vultures around? All the time. Thanks.
BROOKS: So, are we done here?
This slope faces north, doesn't it? BROOKS: Yeah. You know that old expression, "heads will roll"? It's true-- especially downhill.
Barry, drop the doughnut. You gotta earn your pay today.
BROOKS: Afraid you're going to trip over something? GRISSOM: I'm hoping. Bodies make good fertilizer. You often see fresh, green shoots near a gravesite. Must be nice to know the answer to every little thing. I prefer questions, actually. And I don't, I suppose. Remember that waitress, Doris? Well, she's got an ex-husband likes to smack her around every once in a while. High school's got a dozen meth-heads who like boosting motorcycles and then drag racing 'em down Main Street, when they think nobody's watching. Fire chief's a closet pyro, and so forth. See, I don't have a lot of time to ask questions about buzzards and such. That's an aspen tree, in case you were wondering. Lieutenant! Over here.
GRISSOM: Step away from there, would you please, fellas? Don't disturb the scene. ( retching and coughing )
GRISSOM: Carabid beetles. Second instar maggots.
Formica obscuripes. BROOKS: Let me guess. You like bugs? Yeah, I do. They're perfect. They always do their jobs. This body's been here four to seven days. How deep would you say this hole is, Lieutenant? I'd say about four feet, depending on... how he's stuffed in there. Takes a fair amount of dedication to dig a hole this deep up here, don't you think? Unless the killer had help. Maybe.
It's like you said-- he was cut. This blood's not from a cut. The drops imply directionality. The stellated circles imply... perpendicular impact. This spatter is in direct line with the victim's carotid. It's arterial spurt. Are you saying he was alive when he was buried? I think that the cut we found on his jaw... was a lure to draw predators. ( screaming ) ( screaming )
This wasn't just murder. It was torture.
BROOKS: Hey, Einstein, we going to stand here all day or what?
You're going to have to be patient, Lieutenant. The scene hasn't been released yet.
You know, this may be a variation on an old Native American form of punishment. The body was bound and buried up to its neck. Tree sap was poured over the head to attract ants. Punishment for what? You see? That's a good question.
Hello, Doc.
You are the coroner, I presume. Mr. Grissom. Dr. Dale Sterling. I sent you the head.
How can I help? Well, we can't touch the body until you authorize it. Oh.
He's dead. You're authorized. Thanks, Doc. That's nice work. Can we get it out now? There may be evidence in the gravesite. We need to preserve it. Okay, so what do you want to do, call your lab? Have them send the right gear, the right guys, what? The site's already been compromised. We'll make do with what we have here. Now, for each foot of dirt that's removed, go on a separate bag. I'll sift through it later. All right. Out of the way, Doc. Pardon me. Hold on. Make sure your shovels don't get within six inches of that body. Can we please get on with getting him out of there? We're losing light.
I was in the 99th percentile on the MCATs. I could have gone to med school. I chose to be a vet. Well, veterinary school's harder to get into than medical school. That's not what I was looking at. This is you and that gal from the diner. Doris. We were married. High school sweethearts. Didn't work out.
It's not all just cats and dogs and spays and neuters. I've delivered half a dozen foals by C-section. I know how to cut. I could... I could do the autopsy right here. Only a licensed pathologist can perform an autopsy. All we're allowed to do is search for evidence on the body. And then what? Then we take it to Vegas. Tonight. We'll need someone to drive the body. Barry, it's your lucky day. Get your car. Come on. Our medical examiner will send you his report. You'll need to sign the death certificate as to cause and manner of death.
No wallet and no ID.
What have you got there? Well, I'm not sure yet.
No ligature marks. Well, he wasn't tied up? Apparently not. Well, no one just lets themselves get buried alive. Well, maybe the killer had a gun on him. Well, you can't dig a hole and hold a gun on an unbound victim all at the same time. Well, maybe the hole was dug earlier? That would imply premeditation. Or more than one killer.
Maybe the victim was drugged. Sylvia Rogers's dog got sick after chewing on the victim's head, correct? That's right. Did you do blood work? I sent it off to a lab in Reno. Still waiting for the results. Call the lab. Have them do a full drug and tox panel on the blood.
Maybe whatever was in this man's body is also in the dog's.
Hold on a second, fellows.
Okay.
Say cheese.
Oh, what the hell was that for? Souvenir. Why, is that French for evidence? Straight drive, Barry. Stay out of the casinos. You got it, boss. You boys have a good night. ( engine starting )
Man. It was one hell of day.
You need a place to sleep? I need a place to work.
( rustling ) ( door opening )
Did I miss a memo or something? Oh, no. Grissom's on a safari. He's got you pushing his paperwork, huh? Oh, no. I'm trying to avoid that. His headless D.B. had a Western LVU bookstore receipt in his pocket. Grissom just unraveled it. Really? Wow! Some of these books are 100 bucks a pop. Tuition, plus room and board-- that's at least another 10K. You got to have money to go to college these days. Yeah, well, I missed that boat. So, most of these are freshman textbooks. Core curriculum. Well, that's at least 2,000 students. Maybe you'll get lucky with the victim's prints. Oh, wait. Hang on. Chiaroscuro Theory and Technique. It's a sophomore-level Fine Arts text. Freshman in a sophomore course? Narrows the field.
BRASS: Actually, we're here about your roommate, Ross Jenson. Do you know where we can find him? Uh, I actually haven't even seen him since last Friday. I had Wheezer tickets, and we were supposed to go, but he, uh, he blew me off. Gone almost a week. That normal? Yeah, he's an art student, you know. He goes off a lot, and for days sometimes. Uh-huh. I've been, uh, studying my ass off for this American History midterm, but, uh, feel free to have a look around.
That's not mine. I don't know what that is. Relax, buddy. This is a homicide investigation.
Are these Ross's shoes?
What do you got?
Aspen leaf. A little piece of the countryside. Has Ross spent a lot of time up in northern Nevada? Yeah, he liked the scenery up there. We're going to need to take that computer and a few things back to the lab. Okay.
( whirring )
WOMAN: Yeah. Came in here last week. Handsome boy. Nice clothes. Just passing through. There's, uh, fried chicken, me... Coffee's about all I can handle right now. Maybe some other time, okay? WOMAN: Guess you weren't his type. MAN: Wasn't he the guy driving that gutless little four-banger? What kind of car was it? I don't know. Kid's car. Something to drive around the city. It's no good for hills. Black, or, what, blue, maybe. Lieutenant? Yeah. The victim was on his way out of town. We know he didn't get very far. So where's his vehicle? Anybody here seen a black or blue mystery vehicle? No. Uh-uh. No. Well, I'd say that car's long gone by now. If the killer was a local, he could have ditched the car somewhere near here.
Do you have a local suspect? It's a theory. Oh. And like any theory, it doesn't mean anything unless you can prove it. Yeah. May I borrow this?
The victim was last seen here, right? Yeah. We found his body Yeah. We found his body here. Mm-hmm. This is the only way out of town. The killer had to intercept him somewhere along this road. Knock yourself out.
( car alarms beeps )
( creaking ) ( car alarm blares in distance ) ( car alarm blaring ) ( alarm stops )
( sighs )
Hey, Doc, I need to use some of your medical supplies and make a telephone call. It's local. Uh... okay.
Did you tint these windows yourself? M...aybe not the best job in the world, but it does the trick. Do you have any tinting film left? Think so. May I use it? Okay. I'll have to go check.
Oh, good, the police. I'd like to report a crime. No kidding? Yeah, my vehicle was broken into and my field kit was stolen. That's going to cramp your style. Not necessarily.
( bell dings, door creaks ) Would you keep an eye on this for me? Sure. Thanks. Excuse me.
( bell dings )
Listen, why don't you come on by and fill out a report about that kit. You think that would help? ( chuckles ) It wouldn't hurt. I, uh, found the victim's car. Well, I am impressed. Wh... Where was it? It was, uh, ditched in an old barn up in the hills. Uh-huh. I know you don't have any men to spare, so I called the Highway Patrol. They're sending troopers up there to secure the site. Oh, well, nearest station's in Elko. Should take 'em a couple hours to get here. Well, that should, uh, give you enough time to burn down the barn.
You going to just stand there, or are you coming in? Oh, I don't want to disturb the scene. You carry on. Shame to see so much work go to waste.
What does that mean exactly? Well, unless you've managed to improvise yourself a warrant as well, this is an illegal search. This barn had been broken into, which makes it a crime scene, even without the murder victim's car inside, so I don't need a warrant.
Who owns this place? Nobody. Owner died a few years ago. Well, then who's responsible for the property? His nephew. Marty Cooperman. Runs the gas station. Is that who you're protecting?
Hey, you think you can fix this window?
Yeah, I think I can fix that. You know that kid that got murdered? We found his car up in the hills. In your uncle's old barn.
Oh, I haven't been up there for years. That's understandable. It's hard to get to. Not too many gas stations around here. You must do pretty good business. Yeah, I got the only pumps for 23 miles. I do pretty good.
You know, uh, the victim's car was full of gas.
So you must've seen him, right, even though you said you didn't? I can have your window fixed in a couple hours, Mr. Grissom, and then you can get back home. I think you should do that.
( phone rings ) Grissom. Everybody in Sleepy Hollow still drawing a blank on the victim? More or less. Well, then somebody's lying. Ross Jenson was having a relationship with someone in Jackpot. Greg traced a series of romantic IMs from your victim's computer. Greg did? Yeah, he knows stuff. Pretty hot stuff, too. Sounds like he was in love. Brass is still working on a court order for the name. You ever coming back?
Hopefully. Ms. Willows, this came for you, certified mail. Oh. Thanks, Judy.
( footsteps approaching ) STERLING: Just got the blood test results back from Sylvia's dog. There were traces of GHB in his system. I thought GHB was a party drug. It is. It's also a powerful sedative. Could be what was used to subdue him. You know anybody in town that would use this? ( chuckles ): Uh, weed and speed are the drugs of choice around here. Hey, Doc, take a look at the scope, will you?
I found some hairs in Ross Jenson's shirts. That is cat hair. Tricolored. Probably... Abyssinian. You wouldn't happen to have any Abyssinian patients? One.
Uh... Ah. Here she is. Isis. Her owner has allergies. He needed an aggressive, shorthair mouser.
Excuse me, Lieutenant. We need to talk. So talk. Privately, please. Just call them.
What? Ross Jenson was having a romantic relationship with someone in this town. And you can you prove that? Yes. I believe he was up here visiting that person. I found cat hairs on his T-shirts. From an Abyssinian cat. The kind your brother owns. Just what the hell are you saying? Does your brother live alone? Yes.
Is he gay? That is nobody's business. I realize that, but it's relevant to this investigation. No, he was married. He has a kid. Was married? She left him flat, ten years ago. So, what? Look, whether you like it or not, Leland is a suspect. But you already knew that. I'm giving you an opportunity, Lieutenant. So far, you're only guilty of being a good brother.
Get in.
What are you worried about? You do have a gun, don't you? ( engine starting )
Look, um, just give me a minute with him.
Hey, Bubba. Leland. We need to ask you a few... What's he doing here? Never mind him. You and I need to have a talk.
( door closes )
( cat meows ) LELAND: I said I don't know what you're talking about. BROOKS: Leland, you cannot hide this anymore and I am tired of looking the other way. What are you doing? You put that... Put that down! I don't know what you're talking about. Put that down! I don't know what you're talking about! Put that down! I don't know what you're talking about! ( gunshot ) Let me do this! Don't you...! Leland! Let me do this! Leland! Let me do this! Leland! Let me do this!
( sobbing )
You're going to keep Leland in there, right? Yeah, until he's ready to go home. He took at shot at me, and he tried to kill himself. That's not the way I saw it. FYI, Leland's always run pretty hot. That's no secret.
Matter of fact, back in high school he and Marty Cooperman played football together. One Friday night, after a couple of beers, Marty started busting on Leland. And Leland just busts him back. And I helped.
And we fractured Marty's leg in three places. So I should be grateful that you showed restraint with me. No, I didn't do it for you.
A man shouldn't go through life ashamed of who he is.
What is this? A way to get you to talk to me. Well, I didn't come here to talk. I came to give it back. Not enough?
You're a murderer. Not in the eyes of the law.
You look good, Mugs. How's Lindsey? She likes horses, right? Lindsey's none of your business. You keep her out of this. I'm her grandfather. Yeah, well, nothing I can do about that. Catherine, it's just a gift. You need the money. And the next time you stab one of your showgirls and you need CSI to cover it, I'm supposed to help you out, right? Take a good look at me. Plenty of fresh air, sun on my face.
You think I need your help?
I don't need your charity. You know what your problem is? You enjoy making life hard. You're lucky Lindsey's too young to understand that. Cash it, or tear it up. Do whatever you want. I have one son in jail... another in the ground. I never did right by your mother. But I'm damn sure going to try to do right by you.
Hey, Catherine... Hey. What's up? A possible inconsistency.
Hey... you have a phone call. Line two. I think it's your wife. Thanks.
Hello, dear. The day Ross Jenson left Vegas, he used MapQuest to get directions from his dorm to Jackpot. Well, that makes sense. From what I've been able to gather, this was his first and only visit up here. Well, that doesn't make sense. He was involved with someone in Jackpot for several months. There were traces of aspen leaves in his dorm room closet. I just assumed he'd been there before. Well, if I believe this was his first and only visit, how do we explain the leaves in his closet? He has a roommate. Does the roommate have a name? Yeah, his name is... Eric Brooks. Eric Brooks? Oh, yeah, that's Leland's boy. You guys going to tell him about his dad?
BRASS: Did you know your father was having a sexual relationship with Ross Jenson? My dad's not gay. Was Ross? We never talked about it. BRASS: Were you in Jackpot, Nevada last weekend? No. Ross Jenson was... visiting your dad. We found his car ditched in a barn outside town. We got your fingerprints from a former ROTC commander of yours, and... they matched a print that we recovered from the steering wheel. He let me borrow his car all the time. We were roommates. BRASS: That's right. You don't own a car. You ride a motorcycle.
Yeah. So? Could I see the bottom of your shoes, please?
Well, that's an unusual wear pattern. Matches the shoe print we recovered from the barn near the vehicle. Put a lot of miles on your bike. It shows.
You were there.
GRISSOM: Eric must've known for a while. How did you intend to keep the relationship from your own son? I've been hiding it my whole life.
You knew. Yeah... I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. I saw you with Ross. I stopped by here last weekend.
You and he were taking a walk.
I'm sorry. You got nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry. You got nothing to be sorry about. Nothing.
Lee, it turns out Eric... Mr. Brooks, your son killed Ross Jenson. That is not possible. According to the evidence, it is. WILLOWS: We tested the thermos and found traces of GHB. You used Ross' drugs to subdue him. BRASS: It's a long drive from Jackpot to Vegas. You knew he'd stop for a refill before he left town.
( horn honking )
Eric never could deal with the fact that his mother left. She just wanted a husband. All I wanted was a family.
ERIC: People in town... they said my dad was "different." But he wasn't. He was just lonely. And Ross, like, totally used that to ruin him.
It was all Ross. That why you drugged him? Drove him into the woods? Put him in a hole... buried him up to his neck... cut him... ROSS: What are you doing? ( screams ) Why didn't you go the distance? Why didn't you finish him off yourself? Because I wanted him to suffer. finish him off yourself? Because I wanted him to suffer.
Because he was in love with your father?
Or because he wasn't in love with you?
I don't suppose that comes with a warranty? Nothing around here does, Mr. Grissom. Thanks for the business. Hey, Marty.
Does he ever talk to you? Not one word since high school.
Listen, when we found that torso in the hole, on the crest of that hill... I recognized the kid's shirt, and I knew he'd been with Leland, so... So you assumed your brother was capable of murder. Didn't even ask him what happened. Questions, remember? Not asking them is what got everybody in trouble here in the first place. You don't keep any secrets, Mr. Grissom? Not even from your wife?
I used to. I'm trying to change.
It's a bitch.
Have a good trip.
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