- The CSIs dig to find the truth about how a recent shootout at a gun store might connect to a young woman who may have committed suicide.
- Brass, Nick, Greg and Langston investigate a shootout at a gun store, where the owner Dolores Rinaldi and the client Edward Smith died and the son of Dolores, Hank, has survived. He explains that they were trying to shoot a stranger with red shirt and the team concludes that they ended shooting each other. Meanwhile, Louis Vartann, Catherine and Sara investigate a dead body of a woman found wrapped in a blanket in the woods. Apparently, she was thrown off a car in a curve. Soon their investigation shows that both cases are related.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- "CSI" - "Better off Dead" - Dec. 17, 2009
There is a shootout at a gun store. One person, a man in a red shirt, walks out. Two others, an older woman and younger man are dead, and a fourth rolls out on a gurney.
Nick, Greg and Brass come to investigate. We learn the injured man is Hank Grinaldi. The woman was his mom Dolores and they own the store. The dead man is one Ed Smith. The red shirt is a mystery.
They appraise the scene and since the dead man has a wallet full of cash, the drawer is full, and valuable antique guns on the ground they figure it wasn't a robbery.
At another scene Sara and Katherine examine a young woman wrapped in a quilt in a ditch. (They rappel down the side and Vartan gives Katherine a gallant hand for help, which Sara notices.) They determine she was dumped and hit her head on the rock, which is what killed here. They wonder why the killer came back and wrapped her in a quilt.
Brass interviews Hank the injured gunshop guy at the hospital. He claims he heard his mom arguing with the red shirt and that he and Ed, just some random customer, tried to defend her and doesn't know who hit who.
Greg and Nick go over scene and try to figure it out, marking where all the bullets hit on the walls. Ray sends a text informing them that Ed hit Dolores, Ed hit Hank, and Dolores and Hank killed Ed. It seems that the red shirt didn't shoot at all. They find one bullet pierced the wall and hit a gun oil can in the store room. But it's not gun oil at all, inside is a ton of cash and a set of clips that turn semi-automatics into full-blown machine guns, which are illegal.
At the ditch girl's autopsy, Robbins tells Katherine that there no hits on the prints, hitting the rock killed her, but she had been previously shot in the head but it only grazed her, didn't kill her. Katherine wonders why the guy dumped her, why not just shoot her again to put her out of her misery?
NIck and Greg show Langston bad footage from gun shop security camera. Two frames make it clear that Hank lied because the red shirt isn't in line of fire but Ed is. They find out that.Ed's prints are on the money in the gun oil can and Hank's prints are on the money and clips. So they wonder why Hank shot someone who was obviously a good customer.
Nick confronts Hank at the hospital. He says Ed was robbing them and that red shirt was his accomplice. Nick's confused that Hank was willing to make Ed look like a hero even though he killed his mom. Hank says he did that in order to avoid them finding out about the clips, which are a federal offense. He says red shirt was unbelievable, like a Terminator standing like a robot as the bullets flew. He figures they caught him and that's how they know. Nick says not yet. Hank says as long as red shirt is out there he's staying at hospital.
Sara looks over a VW Bug ticketed near the Jane Doe scene. The ticketing officer saw blood inside and brought it in. Inside she and Katherine find an ID badge and it's their girl. Her name was Carrie Warren and they realize she was dumped from her own car. (There's a patch of the quilt stuck in the door.) The car ran out of gas which is why it was left. The keys in ignition include house keys so they go investigate. (Sara asks Katherine about Vartan, and she just smiles and gives a no comment).
At Carrie's house there is no sign of forced entry but there is blood trail. There is also blood spatter in the bedroom where she was clearly shot. The quilt is gone from the bed. Her is dead beside bed, also shot. There is an empty milk container and vomit on the bedspread so Sara takes samples. They find a drawer full of stuffed animals, tokens she didn't want to look at but couldn't part with.
David autopsies the dog and discover gun shot was post mortem - a ricochet- and doesn't know cause of death yet.
Greg and Bobby Ballistics are going over the guns from the store. Sara brings her dog bullet in. It's a specialty type that matches a gun from store shootout. Greg theorizes if Carrie was shot by gun earlier today and it wasn't for sale at shop then the killer brought it there. Bobby Ballistics runs the serial number and discovers it belongs to John Rakow who lives behind Carrie.
Brass and Sara interrogate Rakow. He's a cowboy who was in military who had the specialty gun in 'Nam. Sara thanks him for service and then asks about the gun, which he says he gave to a friend: Carrie. He infers he had a daughter about her age who was killed in New York and wanted to protect Carrie. He casts aspersions on her on-off boyfriend who has "screws loose." He chased him off and gave her the gun and taught her how to use it. He says he can't remember the BF's name. Sara goes to talk to Ray, they both know with his big feet he's not their size 9 red shirt man.
Mike, from the BBQ restaurant episode a few weeks back, says the dog was poisoned. Since there were no drugs in the house Nick, Greg, Katherine, and Mike theorize red shirt brought them to shut the dog up and then waited for Carrie with her gun. They're thinking it's the boyfriend
Katherine and Greg go over Carrie's stuffed animals and banter about what women want. Katherine says she just wants a man she can count on. They find a note from a Sam etched into a book jacket pledging eternal love to Carrie. It's from a public library, so they go to see who "gift lifted it.
We see red shirt observing a bald man taking the trash out of a house and then walking out of that house, which is not trashed and getting into car. A truck pulls up with Rakow in it just as he drives away. Brass pulls up with Ray close behind just as Rakow drives off. Brass and Ray enter the house and encounter the bald man who is Sam's dad who goes with Brass as Ray and Sara investigate the trashed house.
In Sam's room they find poetry books and romantic comedy DVDs, a photo of Sam and Carrie on the Ivory Tower skydeck. They also find letters from Carrie that start sweet but then quickly waffle back and forth, what Ray calls a "light switch romance." They end with her telling Sam to leave her alone or her neighbor (Rakow) will kick his ass. They find drug bottles in the trash can and it's the stuff that killed Carrie's dog. There's also a crumpled letter, a draft of an invitation to a suicide pact that Sam sent to Carrie.
Mandy gives Katherine the results: Sam drank the poison milk, the vomit was his, he tried to kil himself in Carrie's room and failed. The tissue from the gun was Carrie's. She shot herself? We see a scenario play out where Sam drinks, they both feed the dog and she shoots herself. Katherine theorizes when both efforts failed he went to the gun shop to to get more bullets to finish themselves off. The accidental blow to the head would explain why he wrapped her in the quilt and when the car ran out of gas near the gun store he walked the rest of hte way and triggered the gun fight and, ironically, walked out the only one unscathed
At Carrie's Ray finds the closet door has been kicked in, by a cowboy boot.
Brass interviews Sam's dad. He explains it was Rakow who busted in and trashed the house looking for Sam thinking he had killed Carrie. Sam entered and his dad told him to take his car and run from the man with gun. Sam took 8 bucks from his dad's wallet, the price of an Ivory Tower skydeck ticket. We see him drive there.
Katherine tells Nick that they discovered Carrie was bipolar, the gun shop was between her house and the hospital where she was normally treated. Sam was actually trying to save her life when the car ran out of gas.
Sam goes up in the tower and walks out to the deck and prepares to jump. The cops arrive to keep him from jumping but Rakow arrives first and pulls Sam down and points a gun in his face. Ray and Sara show up and talk him down explaining Sam was trying to save Carrie's life. Rakow doesn't believe it. Sam tries to goad him into killing him by saying he did do it. Rakow backs down and the cops grab him. Sam goes to jump again and Ray says he doesn't have to die today. Sam explains partially what happened, that he just wanted one bullet at the gun shop, to do himself in after Carrie jumped and fell, and that's how gunfight started.
Sara and Ray talk him down. He wonders if it was him or the dog that caused her to shoot herself. He explains he drank the milk and then the dog licked his face. He passed out, the dog died. When Carrie entered they probably both looked dead to him and then she shot herself. The noise woke him from his stupor. So he wonders if it was the sight of him or her beloved dog that made her pull the trigger. Sara says it was him. Sam says that's nice and jumps. Brass watches him fall... into the hastily blown up landing pad.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content