Synopsis  

IA enters the fray. Internal Affairs has begun to look into the charges against David Hodges. Meanwhile, the lab must solve the case of a woman murdered at a gaming convention.

Review  

Internal Affairs wants to take the case against Hodges out of the lab in Vegas and over to Washoe County (7 hours away). Which frankly makes sense. The whole case is being fast tracked, with a date being set already, much to Grissom and Sara’s distress.

In the meantime, they work their case of animal abuse, investigating the death of Hodges’ neighbor’s dog, Brewski. The dog had bitten his killer which Sara hopes will lead them to the perp. Sadly there are only 2000 base pairs, which isn’t enough for CODIS, but it is enough for Max to run a phenotype and come up with a South American male, between 40 and 65 years old. No spring chicken.

Sara and Grissom return to the Hodges’ residence and fine what may be the murder weapon: a paving tile with blood on it. They also find that things have been stolen from Hodges, and have a working theory that a photo and frame were taken in order to lift prints and fake their use, like on the (presumably) staged scene in the storage unit. They also find some evidence in the form of makeup and since they already suspect that someone with access to the evidence storage was involved, need the logs for cross-reference. Of course, Max can’t give them access for their case, which is about animal cruelty, not evidence.

There’s also a bit more personal issue. The Ishmael (Grissom and Sara’s boat) is being evicted from the dock. Sara suspects it’s revenge as Grissom reported a termite issue on the dock, but either way Grissom will be spending his night trying to find a new dock in Peru.

Max goes to get the logs for the storage herself, since she wants to clear the lab, and Sara attempts to connect the phenotyping to the names, which is pretty much impossible. As she’s working, Grissom (who is indeed trying to find a new home for their boat) suffers a vertigo attack and covers it up. Their work is interrupted by the news, announcing a no-name Law Firm will be proceeding with the case against Hodges, rolling all the claims into one case.

With the names, and the phenotype, Sara is able to winnow down the suspects significantly. Before she can celebrate too much, Grissom admits that he’s having disorientation issues. It’s not his hearing, it’s land-sickness. And it may be permanent.

The episode ends with the Undersheriff telling Max that IA is taking the case to Washoe, and out of their hands.

Notes  

• Grissom is suffering from Mal de Debarquement (aka ’land sickness’).
• Sara is amused by the new CSIs being so similar to the ones of old.

Quotes  

Sara: Robert Gomez. Silver-fox. Nice complextion. I like him.
Grissom: What? As a suspect, I hope.
Sara: Very funny.

Sara: We’ll figure it out, okay? I’ll never go away. If you need to hold on to something, hold on to me.

Gallery  

Images ©CBS (2021) - CSI: Vegas from the episode 'Under the Skin'.