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."
As Linley details each step, we see Gil and Nicky examining corroborating evidence: the scrape on the bumper, the shoes in the grass, scattered buttons, an earring, a pile of torn fabric. And I have to say, this scene makes me glad I used to rip through the back roads of Loudon and Prince William counties with two pieces of driver safety advice. The first, from my mom: if someone pulls the tailgate-and-rear-end business, drive to the nearest police station and take care of your business there. The second, from a badass friend: anyone who's tailgating you in the middle of the night will usually back off once you shine a mag light straight in their eyes.
In any event, Catherine seems a little shaken as she says, "Thank you. That was very specific. You said that you looked at him. Could you describe him to a forensic artist." Of course Linley can.
Nicky's still out taking evidence in the field when Linley and the forensic artist begin talking.
Forensic artist: What do you remember most about the face?
Linley: He had bright eyes.
Mr. Sobell (from the depths of the couch): Turn around / every now and then, I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming 'round.
Forensic artist: What about the shape of the eyes?
Linley: Almond. Tiny pupils.
Mr. Sobell (from the depths of the couch): Turn around / every now and then, I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.
Forensic artist: What about the rest of the face?
Linley: He had a baby face. High forehead. Thin lips. Clean-shaven.
Mr. Sobell (from the depths of the couch): Turn around, bright eyes / every now and then, I fall apart.
Sobell: And I need you now tonight!
Mr. Sobell and Sobell: And I need you more than ever! And if you only hold me tight! We'll be holding on -- forever!
Sobell: I'm going to Hell for this.
Mr. Sobell: It was the bright eyes comment.
Sobell: Nothing I can say. It was a total eclipse of the heart.
Meanwhile, Sara's lurking in the hall, watching the artist work with Linley. Gil comes up, and Sara drawls insolently, "What?" Gil seems taken aback at this greeting, but rallies to ask how many vacation days Sara has on the books. "About ten weeks, I guess. Why?" Sara asks. Gil says, "I think you should take a week or two. Because if you leave now, you'll bankrupt Clark County if we have to pay out your vacation." Or something to that effect. Sara runs headlong into the tree, completely missing the forest in which it lives, by arguing, "I'm still on the case. I just didn't do the interview for once in my life." Gil looks away, thinking, "Curse these humans, with their illogic and counterarguments!" Then Sara snots, "When was the last time you took vacation?" Instead of shooting back, "When was the last time you were my supervisor and therefore professionally concerned about my job performance and possible burnout?" Gil just stares while Sara adds bitterly, "Never, right?" Gil! There's still time to say, "This isn't about me." Do it! Instead he just shrugs and says, "Okay." Sara stares straight ahead. Once upon a time, she was falling in love, but now she's only falling apart.
Is that song in your head yet? Then my work here is done.
Catherine, meanwhile, has taken Linley's license plate information and run with it. She quickly narrows the field of potential vehicles.
Shortly after his disastrous conference with Sara, Gil runs headlong into another interpersonal exercise that makes him wish he had never been promoted to a supervisory position: Liam the Lab Tech accosts him and says, "I have information that will be of use to you, but before you get it, I need a decision." Why are all of Gil's subordinates under the impression that he's there solely to be bargained with or sassed back? Was the "No, really. Speak your mind. I'm secure in my authority" tack part of the 7 Secrets of Highly Successful Bearded Managers? Gil snaps, and Liam says, "I'm tired of being on the fence. Either I'm in the lab, or I'm in the field. Which is it?" Gil does not point out that he's in a position to eliminate both options. Instead, he tells Liam that if he finds and trains a replacement, he's good to run in the field. Oh, lord. Just what we need -- another regular in the lab.
Anyway, Liam upholds his part of the deal, telling Gil the semen yielded a CODIS hit from a year-old rape/murder case. Gil asks if the case is still open, and Liam replies that Warrick's pulling the file. Gil winks and thanks Liam before heading off. After Gil goes, Liam does a dorky little dance of excitement.
Warrick dolefully recites the stats on the case -- a 32-year-old Caucasian female, one Emma Dobbins, who was sexually assaulted and then strangled with her own pantyhose. Gil asks where they found the body, and Warrick tells him, "Off Blue Diamond road, in the southern highlands." Hey, that's right near that development. Quelle coincidence! Gil makes the connection. Warrick's back on the Dobbins case, noting that other than the semen, the only other evidence on the scene was a man's size nine shoe print, and "I talked to Nick. He also found a size nine print." Gil asks about a car; Warrick tells him they never found the vintage Pontiac registered in Emma's name. Gil wonders what else the two vics had in common. Answer: not much, aside from the rapist.
Linley's still working with the sketch artist, refining the nose. The artist holds up a sheet of faces with the noses all circled, and asks which one seems right. Linley picks. Catherine comes over just in time to watch Linley huddle in her jacket as the artist instructs her to "close your eyes and tell me everything that happened. Visualize everything up until the time he raped you." Linley flashes back to the moment-by-moment replay, which I refuse to recap because really, when you've gone back through one stylized flashback sequence and noticed, Wow. They've really imbued this assault with erotic overtones -- well, you've seen 'em all. Anyway, the artist tells Linley to open her eyes and holds up the picture. It must be an excellent likeness, because Linley's suddenly sick to her stomach. Catherine looks agonized.
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."
Back in the Labitrail, we see that Nicky's apparently knocked Warrick unconscious and taken over his duties as primary shoe wrangler. He's checking the soles of all of Todd's shoes to see if they match the prints found at the scene. Meanwhile, Liam sequences some DNA.
In the scene, everyone's taking their daily constitutional through the Labitrail, while Nicky explains that he checked all eight pairs of Todd's shoes against the prints and came up empty. Catherine points out, "He could have ditched the shoes anywhere." She, Gil, and Nicky all stop short at Liam's lab bench and ask about results; Liam tells them that "according to the results, Todd Coombs is not your rapist." Catherine's very surprised by this news. Liam explains, "It was only seven out of thirteen, which means we're looking for a sibling." Gil dryly points out, "I believe the semen means we're looking for a brother." Nicky attempts to salvage something from this by pointing out that Linley picked Todd out of a lineup, so perhaps there's a strong family resemblance. Catherine's a little shaken by the DNA results, commenting, "[Linley] was so sure."
Brass tells Todd he's free to go. Mrs. Coombs launches into a diatribe, but she's too tiresome to bother paying much attention to. See you, Generica!
Meanwhile, Catherine's got the unpleasant task of visiting Linley on the job and giving her the heads-up that they've let Coombs go. I can't believe Linley didn't take, like, a week off after what she went through. Is working the fastest way to get back to normal? Anyway, Linley insists quite vehemently that she recognizes her assailant as Todd Coombs, and Catherine says, "DNA ruled him out." "Then you made a mistake. That man raped me," Linley counters. Catherine replies that she's got some leads she's working on, but it sounds weak and she knows it. Linley's not having any of it; she says, "I saw him. He wanted me to see his face." Catherine tries to convince Linley she didn't see what she thought she did: "It was dark. You were under attack. Under those conditions, pupils dilate, it's hard to focus. You can't always trust your eyes." You know what a rape victim needs after hearing the man they're convinced raped them was released? A CSI telling them, "You can't trust your first-hand experience. Who you gonna believe? Yourself or me?" Linley spits out, "He wanted me to see his face, because he was going to kill me. And now you're letting him go?" Catherine hands over her cell phone number. Linley's doomed now. She might as well just put on the bulls-eye t-shirt and wait. She correctly points out that Catherine's cell number hardly has magical, rapist-repelling properties, and what she needs is actual protection. Catherine's all, "If you don't feel safe in your home, stay with a friend." What if she doesn't feel safe on the road, Catherine? That is where she was pulled over and raped. Linley stalks off, and Catherine's all, "The nerve! Dozens of men would be grateful for my cell number."
Sara comes swaggering -- or staggering, depending on how into this whole Sara-as-drunkard plotline you're into -- in and tells Gil word in the Labitrail is that he's looking for the Brothers Coomb. She volunteers to work out the family tree. It's quite the extensive task. Evidently, the Coombs believed in being fruitful and multiplying, what with Roger (b. 1965), Kevin (b. 1967), Todd (b. 1969), Bailey (b. 1970), Sandra (b. 1974), Georgia (b. 1976), and Joss (b. 1985, d. 2001). Sara also enters in someone named Larry, who's evidently part of the Coombs swarm, yet not listed in the family tree. Regrettably, the "Coombs Family Cars" record doesn't give me a clear shot at his birth date.
We head over to the Coombs Family Cars, where one of the brothers is all, "Yeah, I read about it in the papers. I'm just sorry our parents weren't alive to see it." So did Mrs. Coombs expire from exhaustion after having spent 1965-1985 pregnant? Did Mr. Coombs drop dead in the traces trying to raise eight kids? Inquiring minds want to know. Brass snaps, "Your brother's being hauled in on a rape charge. Does that seem funny to you?" The Coombs brother says that yes, it does. He explains, "Todd was due…for a reality check. Most people go through life, suffer the ups and downs? Todd only got the ups until now." With that attitude, I bet family dinners are fun. Roger Coombs comes over then, and Larry tells them the cops want some DNA. "I'm going to need a Hustler and a cup," he deadpans. I bet Warrick and Brass never get tired of hearing that joke. Warrick assures Larry that the swab don't need no foreplay, and then Roger drops the L-word. No, not that one. Brass snaps, "Let me tell you how this works. First things first. We do the tests, then the lawyers come in." Warrick's tuned him out and is focusing on the grill over in a corner; he imagines it slamming into Linley's bumper, then getting lifted off the car later.
Back in the world outside Warrick's imagination, Brass establishes that Larry and Roger are fraternal twins. Well, that clears up my confusion over Larry's age.
We then move on to the Coombs brother, Bailey. He's a rent-a-cop for some gated community, and pretty mouthy with Sara and Detective Artan. Sara has no patience for him. Once upon a time, there was light in her life, but now there's only swabs near a park. And here you had probably just gotten that song out of your head.
The computer then spits out Kevin's name. This is the subtle way of moving the investigation along; Nicky looking peeved as he lopes through the Labitrail and noting that Kevin's not at the address given in the files.
Catherine's in her corner of the lab cleaning instruments when her cell goes off. She looks irritated for a moment -- maybe Krycek's getting clingy? Maybe this "Lindsey" keeps calling her? -- but picks up the phone. It's Linley, who's sounding a little panicky. She's someplace noisy, and she's saying, "I can't wait 72 hours for a gun! I need it today! I need it now!" Linley gets in her car, tells Catherine she's on Fremont Street, and pleads, "Just give me a name! I know you can tell me where to go." Just then, there's the sound of breaking glass and a long, drawn-out scream on the line. Catherine's all, "Linley?" In the annals of incisive questions, that one's not going to be making any top-ten lists, unless it's "top ten things you don't want to ask when it's important to know what the hell's going on."
We're now on Fremont Street. Catherine charges through a crowd of people gawking at an overhead light show, and heads over to Linley's car across the street. She looks inside the empty vehicle and asks, "Where is she?" You're the investigator, Catherine. You figure it out. She get an Oh, this is so NOT GOOD look as she realizes that nobody saw what happened.
Gil and a dozen squad cars have arrived on the scene in the time it takes to fast-forward through the commercials. He says hello, and Catherine tells him there's no new damage, save for the window. That's kind of an understatement, given the condition of the window. Catherine notes the blood on the glass is probably from whomever broke the glass, not from the victim. Well, that's a small comfort. Brass materializes right then to tell us that Linley had just been in to see a pawn shop owner for a gun, and she was not down with the waiting period. Catherine wonders if there are witnesses, and Brass says, "The problem is, when the light show starts, everybody's looking up. I mean, what's the chance that this crime is unrelated to the first attack?" Catherine snaps that it's the same guy, because he's getting rid of the witness. "Who identified the wrong guy," Brass shoots back. So, in theory, the assailant shouldn't have struck again since he was misidentified? What is he trying to say here? Gil's all, "Sooner or later, we'll work our way through that family tree…" but Catherine's about as patient as the pre-abducted Linley in the pawn shop. Brass tries to head Catherine off by saying he's got officers combing the downtown area -- which seems pretty darn far from the scene of the two crimes, but what do I know? Catherine snaps back, "You should have had eyes on the brothers!" And you should have figured out a way to help Linley get some protection if you were that damn concerned, Catherine. I'm just sorry this is the last episode, because we won't have time to get to the inevitable hearing where someone somewhere points out, "Twice this year, rape victims have spoken out in the interest of solving their crime, the police did nothing to protect them, and harm befell them. Is this acceptable to you?"
Anyway, before Catherine and Brass can move up to the varsity-level blame game, Gil focuses on actually figuring out where Linley is by asking Catherine if she was on the phone with Linley when she was abducted (answer: yes), then asking if Catherine found the phone (answer: no).
Then the camera does some swoopy-doopy business establishing the confirmed locations of Roger Coombs (planted in front of a slot machine), Larry Coombs (parked behind a welding mask at work), and Bailey Coombs (driving and crying -- no, not really. Driving and rolling his eyes is more like it.) And then we go to a shot of Generica trying to give Brass some guff as she parrots Todd's alibi for taking her car out after dark.
Catherine's still hanging on Fremont Street and talking with Nicky, who asks over the cell phone how Catherine knew Linley's cell phone was E911 capable. Catherine replies, "Took a shot. She's got a lot of new gadgets in her car." (For those of you who were wondering, "E911" is "enhanced 911," a FCC-mandated feature that requires wireless carriers to pinpoint a caller's telephone number to emergency dispatchers, and provide call locations from cell phones. It's the number one location-based service in the U.S., and its rollout is still pretty sketchy, with only 20 percent of all U.S. 911 centers E911-capable as of January 2004.) Catherine then adds, "Most new cell phones come embedded with a GPS chip." That doesn't seem quite right (there's a difference between E911 capability and GPS technology), but I'm not quite sure why, so we'll leave it for you to dissect in the episode thread.
Speaking of the episode, let's get back to recapping it: Nicky's managed to bludgeon Linley's service provider into letting him hop on the network and track her phone, and within moments, he's found a location -- "Nearest cross-street: out in the middle of no-goddamned-where." Or something to that effect. Nicky then drawls, "Hey, Catherine. She's moving." Catherine begins the dramatic shouting.
In the Brassmobile, Captain Exposition orders, "We've got a BOLO for a beige 2004 Ford Taurus, license plate Nevada 396RGF. The driver's name is Todd Coombs." Just then, as Brass passes an all-night bail bonds place, and checks the 24-hour car wash to it. He just happens to see a beige Taurus parked at a stand while its owner vacuums it out. All hail Brass's ability to spot things! Plus his uncanny ability to recognize late-model Ford Tauri! However, him not saying anything about finding the car to the dispatcher seems odd.
Brass moseys on over as Todd vacuums out his car trunk, and impishly asks, "You make a mess?" Todd looks peeved. He replies, "That's your job. Unless you got a warrant, you can't touch this car." Ah, but you're forgetting the vacuum cleaner, Sunny T. Brass declines to mention this -- the better to let Todd deposit the evidence, my dear -- and settles for murmuring, "I'm just looking." Brass notices the flat of plants in the backseat and asks how Wal-Mart was. Todd rolls his eyes and says he was at the House Company, buying some plants for his wife because nothing cheers her up than an impetus to garden. Well, it gets her out of the house. I can see where he's killing two birds with one alibi-laden stone. So to speak. There's a little badinage over whether or not Saying It With Flowers works, and Brass asks if Todd would mind turning off the vacuum. "When the quarters run out," Todd replies. Brass then asks when Todd was at the store, and instead of digging out a receipt and saying, "According to this, at such-and-such time," Todd demonstrates that he's been taking lessons in lipping off to the police from Generica. The vacuum stops, and Todd climbs up on a nearby cross so he can point out, "Last time I cooperated with you guys, you put me in a lineup, and I spent the night in jail." Instead of replying, "Yeah, but you got out, so it's not like there's been any real lasting damage," Brass shouts, "Twelve hours after Linley Parker ID'd you as her rapist, she was dragged out of her car on Fremont Street and now she's missing." Todd snots, "Why are you wasting time talking to me?' Ooh, that's weak. Todd should have shot back, "Correlation does not equal causation." Anyway, he peels out, which is surprisingly hard to do convincingly in a Ford Taurus, and after he goes, Brass picks up the vacuum head and calls dispatch to ask for an evidence-recovery team. Go, Brass!
Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, Gil, Catherine, and Nicky are stumbling over the terrain with flashlights raised while Nicky tracks Linley's phone. Gil screams Linley's name, which surprises me since he's not big on the bellowing. Nicky ticks down the distance, "Eighty, seventy, sixty -- still moving! Okay, okay, she stopped. Thirty feet. She's right here." Gil leans in with a flashlight, and we see that Linley is not, in fact, "right here." Her phone, which stayed inside her jacket, was. The wild dog that's been nosing around the garment gives everyone a "Whaaaaat?" look and runs off. Catherine looks like she's been punched in the stomach. The three of them hunker down to look at the jacket, but before they get too comfortable, the poignant background music swells and someone off-screen calls, "Over here!" Everyone dashes on over, and the camera closes in first on Catherine's appalled face, then Gil's sorrowful one (it's the beard, I tell you! It makes Biblical miens really easy to pull off), then Nicky's rueful expression. And finally, the camera rests on the flashlight-illuminated body of Linley Parker. She's been strangled with what looks like piano wire. Fortunately, there was enough left to the piano to launch into the Sorrowful Situation Sonata in C Major. The camera pulls back enough to let us know Linley was sexually assaulted again, then goes to commercial so we'll have plenty of time to chew on how miserable this character's last 24 hours were -- brutalized by one assault, then alarmed when her assailant was set free, then terrified for her life, then having all her worst fears confirmed as she was abducted, assaulted and then killed.
Well, now that we've had the commercial break to get our brooding out of the way, it's time to tune in and watch Catherine work her way through the guilties. She photographs Linley's bruised knees, her face mottled with fresh and old bruises, the rag that strangled her. And then she begins lifting all the dirt and detritus off the body; around the navel, she finds a hair.
Then we go to a very striking panorama of the flat, creosote-bush-studded desert under a sullen, stormy sky. When we zoom down, Sara's telling Artan that the land on which Linley was found is part of a twenty-acre plot owned by the Coombs Brothers company. Quelle coincidence! Sara and Artan pass a lot of junk that looks like it was possibly arranged by a tornado with artistic aspirations; then she points out the black SUV. And then the Airstream trailer's door bursts open and a rifle-totin' maniac is all, "Git off mah land!" He repeats this -- hackneyed accent and all -- until Sara and Artan successfully draw his attention to the firearms they're aiming in his general direction. Artan then cuffs the guy none-too-gently while Sara trains a gun on him and ponders whether or not she'll get farmed out to the spin-off CSI: New Freedomburg. Sara shouts, "Are you Kevin Coombs?" "I can see the resemblance," Artan snarls. Sara rolls her eyes and wonders if she'll be off shift in time to nab the free wings during happy hour.
David the Welcome-Addition-to-the-Episode coroner walks Gil through Linley's many nonfatal injuries and the big fatal one, noting that there are fresh contusions that indicate a second rape. Gil's appalled by this: "She was raped again?" David says, "I did a wet mount of the vaginal secretion with a Christmas tree stain. Slide's under the scope." Gil leans in, and we see red sperm standing out on a field of green cells (hence the name, I'm guessing). Gil's a little surprised to see the fallopian swim team, and David blurts, "If he was trying to silence a witness, why not just kill her? Why rape her again?" Gil hypothesizes, "Maybe rape was just foreplay for this guy. Maybe what he really gets off on is killing."
And then we go to a close shot of Kevin Coombs. Clearly, he doesn't get off on bathing. Artan stands so we can all admire his cheekbones standing out in stark relief, and then assumes a noble expression so he looks appropriately law-enforcing when Sara tells him she thinks she's unearthed Emma Dobbins's missing Pontiac.
Artan is trying to talk with Kevin, an experience that's not unlike listening to nutball talk radio. After Artan mentions DNA sampling, Kevin's all, "You know what happens when the guv'mint gets your DNA? They put it in the database, then they look at your driver's license picture, then all those cameras? Traffic lights, parking lots, grocery stores -- they can find you. Whenever they want." Why is it that the paranoid wingnuts who hate the government are also the only ones who believe it's a purposeful, well-oiled machine?
Gil's wandering around the Labitrail when he stumbles over Todd Coombs chilling in the hall. They exchange formal titles, and then Todd says, "I suppose you're compelling a DNA sample from my brother now." Gil allows that they are, then asks why Todd's there. Todd replies, "Are you an only child?" To the surprise of nobody, Gil replies that he is. Todd explains, "You've got my brother in that room. He's family. I didn't want him to be alone." Gil asks about the other brothers, and Todd says, "Bailey only looks out for Number One. Roger and Larry -- they do their best to avoid Kevin. They don't understand him…he's harmless. He chooses to live alone, he lives off the grid, and he spends all his time turning junk into art." Gil asks where Kevin gets all the raw materials, and Todd replies, "Most of the time, from my brothers' garage. Every once in a while, Roger lets Kevin take his pick of the wrecks. It beats inviting him over for Thanksgiving, you know?" Gil says, "Dr. Coombs, we found a 1968 Pontiac outside your brother's house. The VIN matched the car of a victim who was raped and murdered by the same person who raped Linley Parker. And we found Linley Parker's dead body on your brother's property." Todd's all, "You guys have been wrong before." Gil gives him a look that says, That's true. But we're never wrong twice in the same episode. And after the 48-minute mark, I'm bulletproof. We're at fifty minutes, so draw your own conclusions.
Meanwhile, Nicky sorts through the vacuum bag contents. Given what a fussy old maid he is, this seems like the worst possible task he could do. Anyway, he looks down the vacuum hose and notices a sticker of some sort, so he pulls it out and examines it just as Warrick comes in to comment, "Guys like Brass have it easy; all they gotta do is call it in." Nicky hands over what turns out to be the plastic tag identifying a potted plant, and dolefully notes, "It confirms Todd Coombs's alibi." But Warrick turns Nicky's frown upside down by pulling a pin out of the detritus, noting that it's from the Palms, and reminding us all that Linley Parker worked at the Palms. Nicky's resisting the good news with, "A lot of people work at the Palms. And it doesn't nail Todd Coombs." Warrick stares at him, as if to say, Where have you been all season? Are you not aware of how all the case-cracking clues now show up after the 48-minute mark? Respect the mark! We're at fifty-one minutes!
Gil and Catherine are conferring in front of the case board with the new crime scene photos. Gil tells her that the blood found on the smashed window matches the semen from Emma's rape, plus both of Linley's assaults. Catherine sighs, "Except it doesn't match Todd Coombs." Gil throws up his hands and replies, "Or Kevin Coombs. Or any of the rest of the Brothers Grimm!" He stalks off, glad to be an only child. Catherine muses that Linley was dead certain it was Todd. Gil stubbornly insists that the evidence says otherwise. Catherine says, "Maybe the evidence is wrong." Gil replies, "You can be wrong, I can be wrong. The evidence is just the evidence. Supple, yielding, intoxicating. Baby, did the mean redhead say hurtful things?" Or maybe he stops short of that. I like how neither one of them are considering the possibility that the evidence is incomplete. Catherine snaps, "Tell me you don't think this guy is good on this!"
As she gestures towards the Coombs family gallery, Liam slides open the door and drawls that he got the DNA off the hair Catherine found near Linley's navel. It's Todd Coombs. Catherine snarls, "That puts him with the body." "It doesn't prove rape," Gil reminds her. Catherine figures they'll doctor that evidence when they get to it, or some other forensic equivalent to "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."
Lucky Gil! He gets to hang with Todd again, asking him to strip down to his shorts so he can examine the guy's clothing. What, for brand names? Oh, no. I wrote too soon -- for evidence. Gil also wants to document any recent injuries. Todd tries to stall him and fails. As he undresses, he says in superbly frustrated tones, "I did not rape that woman. I did not kill her. You guys proved that, and you let me go." Gil begins collecting clothing, and as we see Todd's bare back, the revelatory background music starts up. Gil takes some photos of Todd in his skivvies, then notices the big-ass horizontal scar at the base of Todd's spine. Todd explains that he was a bone marrow donor for his leukemia-stricken youngest brother Joss. Gil photographs the scar, and as the camera flashes, a branching pattern appears on the base of Todd's spine. Gil gives it the "Hey…wait a minute" look, then takes another photo to confirm it. Gil gets another questioning look, then puts down the camera and asks the officer to turn off the lights so he can get a good look at Todd's back with the UV light. Gil flashes the light and confirms that he didn't just see afterimages from the flash, and Todd asks, "What are you looking at?" Gil doesn't reply; he simply takes off the Cyclops goggles and seems somewhat startled.
Then we cut to Gil doing his homework. After reading up on chimerism (more on that below), he checks photos from Todd's office and sees a statue of a chimera. Gil looks up, wearing an expression that can be roughly translated as: That sneaky bastard knew.
Cut to Gil wrapping a tube around Todd's arm as a prelude to drawing blood, while Todd snaps, "This is harassment! I've already given you guys a DNA sample." Gil declines to answer directly, saying instead, "You know that bone marrow donation you gave your brother? I checked your medical records. His body rejected it, and he died. My guess is that's how you first found out about your unique condition." The transformation that Todd's face undergoes is striking: it's like the live-action shift from Smeagol to Gollum. Todd breathes, "The doctors explained it. I'm a creature of myth." You're mything the bigger picture on chimerism, buddy. Gil's all, "A chimera. Head of a lion, body of a goat, tail of a dragon." Todd gives an evil little smile. Gil continues, "You're a genetic anomaly: one person, two completely complete sets of DNA." Gil holds up a blood sample, and we now see that we've got what I presume will be the DNA matching him to the crime.
And now, let's break down the science: more and more people have become hip to the phenomena of mosaicism and chimerism. People affected by the former have patches of tissue that differ genetically from the rest of their body, owing to some sort of mutation or chromosomal anomaly. This often leads to unusual pigment patterns and skin blotches called Blaschko's lines; as Nature notes, "V-shaped streaks on the back...are sometimes only visible under ultraviolet light." Note that this is what Gil saw.
Chimerae carry tissues that originated in two separate embryos and are therefore carrying two separate genetic make-ups. We learned about chimerism once blood-typing became common and some people showed that they had more than one blood type group. The "blood chimeras," are often fraternal twins who shared a blood supply in utero; twin embryos often share a placenta, and it's estimated that up to 8 percent of fraternal twins have chimerical blood. Non-twins are thought to be holding on to the vestiges of a twin that died early in gestation, and scientists have noted that as the incidence of multiple birth rises, so does the likelihood that fetuses died early on and were incorporated into the survivors as chimerae. True chimerae are those people who are the result of two embryos fusing right after fertilization.
Where this episode dropped the ball, in my opinion, is in not exploring whether or not there was the possibility of chimerism in the older set of twins, and introducing the concept that way; it would have been an easy way to raise the topic, and gone a long way toward resolving my confusion over whether Todd's affected by chimarism or mosaicism. But at least we had an interesting scientific development vis-à-vis the evidence.
And now comes the confession scene, but since I see no reason to validate the rapist/murderer's perspective by documenting the twisted reasoning he used for his crimes, I'm just going to leave you all with this question: will his wife Generica ever be at all mortified that she backed Todd and he turned out to be a rapist/murderer? Will she take out her suffering on the flowers?
As Todd's all, "Oh, by the way -- you thought there were two victims? Think again!" Gil breaks down the science for Catherine, complete with visual aids of fertilized eggs: "Sometimes two fraternal twins -- separate fertilized eggs -- develop into only one person. In effect, one twin dies in embryo, but its DNA survives in the other. That's why the DNA from his buccal swab matched his hair, but not his semen." So if Todd had ever fathered a child, his twin brother would have technically been the dad? That's a twist that'll make its way into a soap opera some time. Catherine is nowhere near as frivolous as I with the soap opera plotlines: she just makes sure she understands that Todd was walking around with two separate DNA strands.
Meanwhile, the Young Turks have escaped the Labitrail, presumably to wander up and down the streets of Vegas. Warrick's drained from work, and invites Sara and Nicky to get some dinner with him. Both wuss out, citing rest. Warrick gives Sara a pat on the back, and heads out. Sara then grabs Nick's arm and tells him, "Congratulations on your almost-promotion. Seriously. You deserve it." Nicky looks at her for a moment, debates whether to be touched or teasing, then opts for the latter. He chortles, "Wow. That's really hard for you, isn't it?" Sara gives him a slightly incredulous look, then smiles, "Yeah. Yeah, it is. Now if you excuse me, I have to go drink more so I can forget we had this conversation." Or something to that effect. She's looking much better in that scene -- long coat, skinny scarf, decent hair -- than she has all season.
Gil's back at the lab, wondering why it is he and Catherine never seem to meet the kids for pancakes anymore, when the phone rings. He listens to someone, then takes off his glasses so we know he's alarmed, before asking, "Is she all right?"
Define "all right." The she in question is Sara, and she was pulled over after weaving around on the road and blowing her breathalyzer. The uniform explains, "Technically, she's over, but they just lowered the limit, so we cut her a break and didn't book her. But we did have to call her supervisor." Oy. Booking Sara would have been kinder for her. Gil cordially dismisses the uniform, then wanders on over to where a pale, tense Sara is sitting. She continues staring straight ahead. Gil takes one of her hands and leans over to say, "I'll take you home." Sara drops her head in sheer mortification, and on that note, the episode ends.
And that's it for Season Four. As usual, those of you who read the recaps and take the time to comment, publicly and privately, have my sincerest gratitude. Those of you who could not care less about the recaps and only hang out on the forums aren't aware that I'm talking about you here, so really, I have nothing to say to you. And once again, give it up for Sars, whose knack for catching my worst mistakes is exceeded only by her gift at paring out superfluities in the recaps. ["The pleasure is all mine, of course." -- Sars] Have a good summer!