Somebody behind the camera likes blondes. At least, that's one reason why the camera is zooming from one blonde casino staffer to another, with intermittent stops on blonde casino patrons. There's a few swoops into streaky territory -- you know, that brown hair that looks like the wearer plunked down in a hairdresser's chair and said, "Make it look like Mrs. Robinson's, only all over" -- and one brunette, and then we're back to scoping out the blondes. Eventually, the camera rests on a tired-looking Nina Siemaszko, lingering in such a way as to make sure we all get that she's being stalked by someone who's not staring simply because she bears a passing resemblance to Hope Davis. The camera -- and presumably, the predator -- follow Nina out to her car and watch her drive off.
And then there's a horrible screen as the scene changes from the yellow tint of a parking lot lit by sodium lamps to the bluish woods Nina's running through. She's considerably less dressed than she had been in the prior scene; we can also tell she's been assaulted because her hair is no longer pinned up. Nina runs into a backyard, slams into a patio door, and gives a series of bloodcurdling screams. The dog on the other side of the patio doesn't respond well. So Nina takes the screaming to the streets, shouting for someone to help her. She collapses, screaming, "Somebody help me!" and I wonder if this is going to be a modern-day Kitty Genovese case.
The shot, of her bloody feet resting atop a gurney, does little to dispel that impression until some random voice talks about the victim being stable and ready for transport to -- you guessed it -- Desert Palms hospital. Gil is photographing Nina and her purple face while she lies on the gurney and just blinks. Can you blame her? Brass comes over and, as befits the occasion, exposits quietly: "Nobody knows who she is. The Andersons, they called the security company. They thought somebody was trying to break in their back door." Gil gives Brass a You've got to be ki -- well, actually, they do kind of look like nitwits look. Brass points out that Southern Highlands is a new development and rather remote, so the appearance of a brutalized, screaming semi-naked woman isn't nearly so common as it might be in, say, Lady Heather's neck of the woods. Gil aims the flashlight at Nina's feet and says, "She has severe lacerations on her feet. She was running hard from somewhere." That effectively shuts down the conversation.
Gil goes over to look at the door Nina crashed into, and takes a lot of pictures of it. He also photographs the bloodstains from the assorted places in the backyard Nina ricochets into on her way in and out of the Andersons' yard. Then he heads into Vancouver. Oh, I'm sorry -- that's actually "the Las Vegas foothills." You can see where the swampy similarity threw me. Gil wanders around for a while until he notices the hatchback car with the door open and the lights on. Miracle of miracles, it's got Nina's wallet in it, only here she's "Linley Parker." So Nina = Linley. We've all been introduced. Gil looks around, completely confused.
The Who want to know who the bearded stranger without the catchy bumper lines is.
When we get back from commercials, a whole lot of extras are waving flashlights around and moving slowly in the misty moors, knocking aside the occasional wandering woman and some guy bellowing for his girlfriend Kathy. They must be doing the evidence sweep. Gil's got the trusty camera back in hand, and he's using it on the car. Nicky helpfully points out that there aren't any skid marks or any other signs that it was forced on the road. Gil irritably adds that the engine's running and there are no flat tires, and wonders why Linley stopped.
Now the Sensitive Situation Sonata in C minor is playing as Linley lies on an examining table. She's more or less in shock, so Sara cuts the small talk while she photographs the other woman's extensive array of injuries. It's kind of unfortunate that Sensitive Situation Sonata in C minor sounds a lot like David Banner's exit music, so I half-expect to see Bill Bixby hitchhiking his way through the ward. In any event, Sara soon pops out and tells Catherine, "I'm going to take the SAE kit to Liam the Lab Tech." Catherine asks, "You don't want to take the statement?' Sara can barely ask, "Do you mind?" Catherine doesn't. Well, it's more opportunities for Catherine to be all empathetic and whatnot. What is it with this franchise and the red-headed misery vampires?
Catherine heads on in and begins her spiel. Linley's sitting up now, although it's going to be a while before she's not hunched over. As Catherine begins, "I know that you've been through a horrific ordeal --" Linley interrupts, "Four-four-six." Catherine gives a "Come again?" look and Linley explains, "That's all I got. Nevada plates. Some kind of SUV. Black, I think." Catherine can barely believe her luck in interviewing a witness that isn't either incoherent or lying. Yet. She asks Linley to begin at the very beginning. Linley obliges. "I was, um, driving home from work. There's hardly any traffic once you cross Horizon Ranch. He was tailgating. I slowed down to let him pass and he hit me. I wasn't going to stop, but he did, so I pulled over. You're not supposed to leave the scene of an accident. He looked like a normal guy. He asked if I was okay. Apologized. He went to his car to get his insurance and policy information. I was looking at my bumper. He punched me in the face, threw me over his shoulder, I lost my shoes. He threw me on the ground, took off my jacket, ripped open my shirt. He kept trying to kiss me on the mouth. And I kept turning away, so he bit my ear. He wanted me to look at him. He was going to kill me. He ripped off my skirt off, he raped me. He didn't use a condom. He got up to zip, and I kicked him in the groin, and I ran. And the rest, I guess you know."
“ Todd protests his innocence, on the off chance that Gil will throw down his swab and say, 'You know what? No one has ever admitted to being innocent before. I consider myself an excellent judge of character, and I think you're telling the truth. Go ahead! You're a free man.' ”
The police sketch then transitions into a shot of what we can safely presume will be Suspect Number One; he's feigning attentiveness as a woman whines, "My husband keeps dropping hints about my anniversary present. Says he hopes I like calypso music. I think it's a cruise." "You don't like cruises," Suspect Number One asks. "Hell, no! I read David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and I still haven't recovered," she replied. Oh, she does not. She says, "God, no. I'm afraid of large ships. It runs in the family." Kidding again! She actually just feels guilty. Suspect Number One prods, "Because you don't love him any more? Or because you think he can't handle knowing?" We don't find out the answer to this domestic dilemma because Brass comes in right then, and he's wearing his arresting pants. Some generically pretty brunette flutters around and is generally ineffective in the background.
We quickly establish that Suspect Number One's name is Todd, his wife Crystal typically runs interference for him, and he just happens to own a dark blue SUV with Vegas plates that begin "446." Catherine's snapping photos outside while Brass frog-walks Todd to the car. Crystal protests that she's going with her husband, but Brass disabuses her of that notion, and there's some hoo-ha from Todd to Crystal about calling the family retainer to see about getting hooked up with the finest in attack lawyers. Brass shoves Todd into the car, then snarls at Catherine, "The victim said the car was black." "Well, blue looks black at night," Catherine counters. She goes back to examining the SUV and notices a scrape of paint on the front bumper.
Down at the station, Linley's examining the participants in the police lineup. She's remarkably composed, but she still looks like hell; getting punched in the face -- or having a makeup team that knows its stuff approximate the effect -- will do that to you. She unhesitatingly selects lineup guy #3, who happens to be Todd. Catherine and Brass seem startled at how quickly and decisively she made the choice.
Gil walks down to the holding cell where Todd is pacing around; the uniform accompanying him sagely notes that the guilty guys always fall asleep. Gil declines to dignify that with an answer, heading inside instead to introduce himself with "Dr. Coombs? My name is Gil Grissom. I'm with the crime lab. I'm here to collect a DNA sample, so if you'd open your mouth" "DNA?" Todd asks wonderingly. "Yes. Some call it 'the blueprint of life.' Deoxyribonucleic acid, a bipolymer consisting of nucleotides whose nitrogenous bases are attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone, contains a wealth of information dependent on the sequences of those specific nitrogenous bases. The molecule is inherited from your forebears and used to propagate traits," Gil explains. Oh, he does not. But would it surprise anyone if someday he did? Todd makes noises about not releasing a DNA sample until he's cleared it with the attack lawyer, and Gil points out that "We have a warrant, so we can compel a sample. Either way I'm going to get it." Todd protests his innocence, on the off chance that Gil will throw down his swab and say, "You know what? No one has ever admitted to being innocent before. I consider myself an excellent judge of character, and I think you're telling the truth. Go ahead! You're a free man." Gil wields the swab and says, "If you're innocent, this will prove it."