Synopsis  

The miniature serial killer, Natalie Davis, kidnapped Sara and left her in the desert, trapped under a car. While the CSIs try to determine how Natalie kidnapped her and where Sara might be, three thunderstorms converge on the Las Vegas area, promising flash floods.

Through flashbacks, the story of Sara’s kidnapping and the perils she faced in the desert are told, intercut with her teammates hunt for her and with all the CSIs remembering past cases where they worked with Sara. The stories interweave until the car is found in the dry desert, the morning after Sara’s abduction, without Sara underneath.

Nick finds Sara’s CSI vest, proving she got out from under the car, and Grissom found Sara’s footprints, leading away from the car. Following Sara’s trail, they find a dead body in the desert, but it’s not Sara’s. Nick finds Sara, within sight of the road, unconscious. The EMTs arrive moments later, and while Sara appears to be alive, she has no radial pulse. Grissom rides with Sara to the ER in the helicopter.

Review  

Sara had gone to the mall to get food from a vegetarian restaurant, and was in the parking lot when Grissom called to tell her about Natalie Davis. As Sara was putting her things in the trunk, Natalie stepped out and stunned her with a Tazer, and locked Sara in the back of her own trunk. Sara woke up in the back of the car and removed the Tazer needle from her vest in order to cut the plastic restraints holding her hands.

Once free, Sara peeked out the back of the trunk before breaking out of the trunk and grabbing Natalie as she was driving the car. Sara’s actions caused Natalie to loose control of the car and, in the scuffle, Sara was tossed out of the car. Natalie retrieved Sara and tied her back up again in the back-seat, waking her up with some water. Sara talks to Natalie, trying to bond over their shared experiences in foster homes and lost fathers.

The water was drugged, however, and Sara passed out shortly after realizing that Natalie was doing this because of Grissom. When Sara woke up, she was in the desert and Natalie was lowering the upside-down red Mustang onto Sara. Natalie drove off, and as Sara lay trapped, coyotes approached. They did little more than sniff at her before the thunderstorms started and drove them off.

While trapped under the car, with the water rising, Sara struggled to get free. Her trapped arm prevented her from doing so, while also preventing her from keeping her head above water. In trying to escape, Sara broke the rear-view mirror of the car, using it as a lever to free her arm and then free herself from the car. Hiking in the desert, Sara used her shirt as a bandana and sling, and make her way to the safety of the rocks, where she was able to see how far from civilization she was.

Leaving little cairns along her way, Sara continued to hike in the 110 heat, keeping herself awake by doing multiplication in her head. The trials of the day prove to be too much, and Sara passes out, only fifty yards from the road. Nick spots the reflections from the mirror, and Sara is taken by helicopter to the ER.

Sara wakes up in the helicopter with Grissom smiling at her, and she returns the look.

Notes  

• Sara doesn’t like car trunks, because in her line of work, you only find corpses in them.
• Sara knew that Natalie was a cleaning person at the lab, and recognized her.
• Sara calls Grissom by his first name for the first time.
• Even bruised, battered and drugged, Sara kept her wits and was determined to leave evidence while Natalie kidnapped her.
• When cornered, Sara fights back.
• Sara eats at the veggie place in the mall 2 or 3 times a week.
• When Sara tells Natalie about her foster experience, she says that she was all alone – no mention of an older brother.
• Sara tries to walk out of the desert rather than wait for help – she prefers to do things herself rather than rely on anyone.

Quotes  

Sara: Hello, Gilbert.

Sara: I have a fear of trunks. In my line of work, you only find one thing in them.