We open with one of the coolest transitions we've seen on this show: the colorful neon skyline of the Strip morphing into a series of perfume and cosmetic bottles on top of a bathroom counter. The camera passes the counter and goes down the hall to the bedroom, where we see a hamper and a treadmill blocking a barely-open door, and focuses on a sleeping woman. We hear a few rustles and rattles, which are enough to wake up the woman. She rolls over -- it's worth noting that she's in full makeup and lip gloss, which makes me suspect that either she went to bed massively drunk, or the makeup artist forgot that every chick magazine on the planet harps on its readers to wash off the war paint before bed -- and listens for a moment before walking downstairs toward her living room. She's wearing the kind of strappy camisole and boy-cut briefs that all but signal the serial killers to fire up the chainsaw and sprint in her direction. The woman notices lights on, her ceiling fan on, and a fresh drink with a moisture ring on the coffee table, and right before she takes a deep breath to begin screaming, her -door neighbor beats her to it.
The camera zooms through the first apartment's door lock, goes down the sidewalk to the house, and zooms in through that keyhole, twisting and turning until it comes to rest in the bedroom, where another nubile young lovely is screaming for help as she struggles beneath her black-clad assailant. The assailant sprints out moments later.
Cut to the sirens going around as Gil, Brass, and Catherine arrive on the scene. Gil asks, "Dispatch says breaking and entering, and sexual assault?" Brass clarifies, "Well, he never touched the first girl. The bedroom door was blocked." Gil asks for clarification, and Brass explains about the treadmill blocking the door, then points out that the two apartments are adjacent and they think the girl in the second one has physical findings. Catherine asks, "You think?" Brass elaborates, "The girl locked herself in her bedroom. Won't let anyone with a Y chromosome within fifty feet of her." He says this like a victim of sexual assault has never behaved this way before.
Catherine then saunters into the apartment, introduces herself, and asks nicely for everyone to clear the residence. A uniform does a swaggering sidle toward Catherine and tells her, "I'm first officer, ma'am. I can't leave the scene unless I get an order from my commanding officer." Catherine reflects on this in the time it takes to remove her hat, and tells the first officer, "The victim's well-being takes precedence over everything else. Right now, this is Joanne Crooks' apartment, not our crime scene, so...there's the door." As everyone leaves, Catherine awkwardly thanks them. She notices Joanne's door opening up.