Compulsion

And now, in a scene proving that Cavaliere doesn't just appear on CSI, he watches it too and is therefore familiar with the thesis "when in doubt, assume the kid did it," the cop pins the murder on baby-faced Matt. As Nicky tries to process evidence, Cavaliere snarls, "The second I laid eyes on you, I knew what went down. You took a pipe from the backyard, you went into Ty's bedroom, and while he was sleeping, you beat his brains to a pulp." Nicky looks up all, "Do you mind? Some of us have delicate stomachs here." Cavaliere continues, "What the hell is wrong with you, kid? Your little brother is dead. What'd he ever do to you? Don't you look at [Nicky]. He can't help you. Nobody can help you. You're going to prison. And at 14, that means life. I'm TALKING TO YOU, YOU LITTLE --" "Detective!" Nicky interjects, thinking that perhaps before Cavaliere introduces any new words to the would-be perp's vocabulary, now might be the time to see whether they should maybe have a parent or advocate or lawyer present during this minor's interrogation.

Nicky and Cavaliere repair to the hallway for a frank and open exchange of views:

Nicky: We don't have enough evidence to suggest that the boy killed his brother.
Cavaliere: What are you getting at?

Nicky then suggests that Cavaliere maybe try talking in his indoor voice, and consider catching flies with honey rather than vinegar. Cavaliere suggests that perhaps Nicky would like to bypass using the urinal in the men's room in favor of pissing up a rope.

We then move on to a plot where someone from the swing shift isn't picking a fight with a coworker. I know! Radical idea! But try working with me here. Anyway, Sara wanders in as a bearded Jason Segal burbles, "Call me a geek, but this background subtraction application software is the bomb!" I wouldn't have called you a geek over that, boy-o. I would have called you a geek because the beard makes me think "Gil Grissom; the Larval Years." Clearly, it's having the same effect on Sara too, as she says amiably, "Only geeks still say 'the bomb.' But if you ask me, geeks should be revered." Can you imagine a geek temple? Wouldn't it be awesome? Of course, you'd have to have a sacrificial platform on top, upon which you'd offer up violators of Godwin's Law to a harsh pantheon of left-brainers.

Okay, stepping out of my happy place and back into the sceneJason Segal gets all kerfuffled in the presence of a live female human who is not recoiling from him or asking for help on her homework, and dives back into the safety of software talk: "The technology's pretty new, you'll get hammered on cross, but it definitely works." And how: the algorithm is cued to recognize the dominant red color and wipe out all the others so that only the splotch remains. Sara asks, "Mind if I watch?" Jason Segal gets all flustered again and says, "Voyeur, huh? I like that." Sara's all, "Oh, if only I had the ability to more sharply focus my power to turn grown men into tapioca." Within seconds, all that's left is the big splotch, and then Jason Segal amplifies the fingerprint, scans it into AFIS, then finds a hit. Unsurprisingly, the splotchy print belongs to a splotchy guy -- one Jesse Acheson: "Multiple convictions. Cocaine, possession, intent to sell. In and out of jail for the past seven years," Jason Segal rattles off. And also, Jesse's in an acting gang. All the members swell up like beached whales and travel on a trail of their own perspiration. As luck would have it, Jesse was out during both murders.

Yay! It's Warrick! He spent the first 34 minutes allegedly "testifying," and tells Nicky in the locker room, "I ran into the D.A. He filled me in on your case. Looks like Matt Hawkins' confession is going to stand up in court." Nicky says, "Suspects are tricked into confessing all the time, but I'm telling you, Cavaliere intimidated that boy. Man, he would have signed anything." Warrick asks if Nicky thinks Matt's innocent. Nicky's not discounting it, but he'd like to eliminate all the other possibilities before declaring Matt guilty. He had checked the crime stats for the neighborhood and noticed "there's some homeless guy out there running around, peeping in windows, urinating on stuff, attempted B&E." "Sounds like a suspect," Warrick says. "I'm going to go out there and see if the Hawkins[es] know anything about it," Nicky replies. Warrick offers to help out, 'cause he's a pal.

And now, the scene that makes me think, "Wow, does it suck to be a judge," what with having to deal with warrant requests based on five-year-old fingerprints manipulated via a new computer program. "It wasn't manipulated. It was fabricated. There's a difference," Gil explains to the judge. No, not really. He says, "It wasn't manipulated. It was processed. That's what we do." The judge is all, "Feel free to make that distinction to the defense attorney. It's one thing to put the print through AFIS. It's another to use a background subtraction algorithm to isolate the print from a bedspread." Gil snaps, "It's not my fault the courts lag behind the technology." He leaves the "Judge Luddite" hanging in the air. The judge says, "I'm sympathetic to your request, but if I grant a warrant based upon this print, and the print is later thrown out of court, then everything you find as a result of it would be excluded and your pattern rapist could be back on the street. Give me something else, I'll be happy to grant you a warrant." "Your Honor, are you propositioning me?" Gil asks. Oh, he does not. But wouldn't this scene go in a whole new weird direction if he were? What Gil really does is argue that he needs the warrant. The judge says she'll be the judge of that, and tells him to find another way. Gil stares, clearly exasperated with these puny humans and their antiquated justice system.

Cut to Grasshopper, Gil's Adopted Son Number Three and some detective watching Jesse, a.k.a. the guy who used to be known as the Thin Baldwin. So does Stephen Baldwin get his BioDome residuals in the form of Cheetos? Did someone press an "inflate" valve on the back of his neck? Did he and Daniel swap bodies on a dare? I mean, I'm sympathetic to the metabolism deciding that your thirties are a fine time to slow down and all, but this is stunning. The detective watches Jesse take a swig of his coffee, and cracks, "It's kind of like bird-watching, isn't it?" "I wouldn't know. I haven't been able to do it since I watched The Birds," Grasshopper, Gil's Adopted Son Number Three replies. Or maybe that's my excuse. Grasshopper, Gil's Adopted Son Number Three just wouldn't know about birding. The detective asks, "So I got a question. I hear the killer completely wiped down the crime scene. So why do you think he left his semen behind? He could have worn a condom." Grasshopper, Gil's Adopted Son Number Three explains, "Before committing a crime, a typical serial rapist will often masturbate to the perfect rape-murder fantasy. Didn't wear a condom then, didn't want to wear one during the act." You know what they say -- it's like killing with your raincoat on. Another consideration: if the cops don't have your DNA on file, why bother? Anyway, Jesse wanders off without tossing his coffee cup, thus making it fair game for Grasshopper, Gil's Adopted Son Number Three to collect. He explains, "If the DNA on this cup matches the seminal DNA, then Grissom won't need a warrant, we'll be making an arrest."

The Bad Boys of the Swing Shift are in the Hawkins living room, while the parents plead to see their son. I'm sure what they're saying is very heart-rending, but frankly, I'm more enthralled by the gorgeous built-in bookcases wrapped around their large living room window. "You could frame the Hawkinses for a crime they didn't commit, then snap up the house at a police auction," the husband suggests from the depths of the couch, and I consider it for a moment before remembering that this is a fictional show. Curses!

Anyway, in the scene, Nicky explains, "Right now, your son's under investigationthe detective asked him if he wanted a parent or advocate present at the interrogation. He's 14 years old, so it's his right to say no." Martin Hawkins protests that Matt's just a kid and only got a C+ in social studies, so it's not like he even grasps his rights. Or something like that. Yvonne Hawkins protests, "Matt's sensitive. He doesn't handle stress well. If we could just talk to himhe may need a change of clothes." Warrick has to look away, with an expression like, Days like this, I wonder why I didn't find a job petting kittens or something. Nicky cannily establishes that those clothes in the washer were Matt's, and promises to try and bring him a fresh change. Warrick's all, "Hi there -- topic. Homeless guy?" Yvonne alleges that "He's nuts. He scared the boys once or twice --" "How did he scare them?" Warrick asks, and Martin says that Ty caught the homeless guy writing "Brat" on the window, and "I chased him away, Matt cleaned off the window." And that explains the shoe impressions outside the window. Yvonne goes into a fit of remorse over not calling the cops on the homeless guy, and Martin tells Warrick that he sees the homeless guy's camp in the park that he jogs through every evening.

Cut to a bazillion cops rousting the homeless guy out of a sound sleep inside his makeshift shelter. Walter is not one of those people who snaps awake in the blink of an eye. As he's hauled out by two cops, Nicky's got his Toughskins on and he's all interrogative with, "Hey! What's your name!" The homeless guy, under the impression that it's polite to answer a question the same way in which it's delivered, shouts, "My! Name! Is! Walter!" Nicky then "asks," "Walter. That's a nice blue sweater! Where'd you get it!!" And it is a nice sweater -- except for the huge blood spray across the front. That's an unfortunate accessorizing choice in this context. Walter's wondering why he was rousted out of a sound sleep to talk fashion: "What?!" Nicky says, "I said I liked your sweater! Where'd you get it!" "It's mine! Yes! This is my sweater!" Walter replies. Warrick laconically inquires as to whose blood is on the sweater, and Walter has no idea where this is going. "We're going to give you a nice warm place to sleep tonight," he adds. Because Walter's getting arrested on suspicion of murder. Walter tries to make a break for it, but is quickly subdued. As he screams and flails on the ground, pummeled by cops, Nicky's all, "Take it easy on the sweater! It's evidence." Nice.

Anyway, as Brass continues to grill Lucy over who could have had access to her bleach and why, Gil lets his eyes wander all over Hayden's desk. There's one picture of him with what looks to be two teenagers, and another of him with his new trophy wife and a baby one presumes is his. The music swells all dramatically as Lucy notes, "We've had problems with theft," but I don't think we're about to discover that a bleach thief unwinds with a little rape-and-murder. What we find out is that Hayden's two oldest kids are at UNLV, and his baby son is only six months old. Going by the looks of Wife #2, he met her while he was moving the kids into UNLV. What, was she their RA? Anyway, Gil muses, "So you must have had your vasectomy reversed." Hayden's all, "And why are we talking about my vasectomy?" but Gil plows on, "You also have access to the bleach. So you won't mind if I take a DNA sample." Actually, it turns out he will. And he's now more eager than ever to keep this whole thing out of the media. Lucy is giving Hayden a look like she is not at all surprised that he's a serial rapist-murderer too.

And now, Catherine's working with her boys, outlining the problem: "So we got three suspects, three scenarios." Nicky elaborates, "Matt could have worn his dad's sweater when he killed Ty, then dumped it in the park where Walter found it." Catherine rebuts, "Or Dad could have worn it and dumped it in the park." Warrick adds, "Or the sweater could have accidentally been left in the park, and Walter the homeless guy could have picked it up and worn it, when he entered the house through the screen door and killed Ty. But none of the evidence goes to motive." "Not our problem," Catherine says. She adds, "Let's just stay focused on the sweater. It's tied to the victim and the scene. We need to tie it to the killer."

So Catherine gets a bright idea: Martin Hawkins is about 6'2" -- Warrick's height. Walter is about 5'10" -- Nicky's height. And Matt Hawkins is 5'. She's off to round up a five-footer, and tells the boys to meet her in the garage in half an hour.

But first, there's an A-plot to get through. Gil is busy stating, "Mr. Michaels, in my work over the last 25 years, I've come to understand the kind of person who's a rapist killer." "Is that an accusation?" asks the attack lawyer. Gil says coolly, "Well, a woman was murdered in your client's hotel. He has a right to hear our theory. The killer is clearly a psychopath. He's killed more than once. I'm sure that before his first rape and murder, he fantasized about it for years. During that time, he engaged in behavioral tryouts, stalking women and attempting to coerce them sexually, each time moving closer and closer to the actual event. I believe that after you consummated your first attack, you felt excitement greater than you anticipated. Your only regret was that she died too quickly. But you took solace in the knowledge that, uh, you could do it again. In fact, your subsequent victim had similar characteristics to your first victim." While Gil's been talking, every time the camera closes in on Hayden's face, we go to a flashback scene of one of the rapes and murders. It's not clear if we're getting the rapist's-eye view of what happened, or if Gil is imposing his narrative on Hayden or what. The attack lawyer makes a dominance display, and Gil shoots back, "What differentiates a psychopath from a heat-of-the-moment killer is forethought. And you thought about for a long time." "Thank. You. For the fascinating seminar, but you have no evidence so we are free to go."

Warrick tells Martin to go on into the room, and he does. Matt all, "Dad?" in a tone that's halfway between "Can you get me out of this?" and "Are you going to ground me for this?" Martin's all, "Don't you 'Dad' me, you little goblin. You're clearly the son of Satan." Oh, he is not. Instead, he rasps, "Why? I want to know why?" Matt, who is dissolving under his dad's gaze, chokes, "Dad" and his father grits, "Why? I want to know why, dammit. Ty looked up to you. Hehe loved you." Matt's face screws up in embarrassment, remorse and rage, and he shouts, "He told! He told everyone!" Martin's honestly puzzled: "That you wet the bed?" "SHUT UP!" Matt screams, livid that the police now know his horrible secret too. Both Matt and his father are absolutely stunned as it sinks in for both of them how jacked up the kid was over his bedwetting problem, and how permanent his solution was. Matt collapses into his chair and weeps, "Dad, I'm sorry." He struggles to say something, anything else as Martin looks toward the window his wife's hidden behind. Everyone is crying. Nobody has it together enough to say, "Sorry doesn't reattach your brother's skull now, does it?"

The shot is of Matt's small hands cuffed behind his back. He's walked down the hall, past his parents, and his sobbing mother reaches out to him as he passes. Martin holds her up and comforts her. Nicky watches all of this, deeply bummed, so of course that's when Cavaliere swings on by. "You owe me an apology," he says. Nicky gives him A Look and replies, "I'm sorrythat you feel that way." B-U-R-N, burn! He walks off, leaving Cavaliere to reach down and gently snap his own unhinged jaw back into place.