Synopsis  

Grissom, Warrick and Nick investigate the brutal death of a jogger who was apparently killed by a mountain lion or a large dog and then had his organs removed with a scalpel, with a striking number of grisly, yet entirely possible conclusions, including evidence of cannibalism and organ harvesting, and their efforts to find out what caused the person’s demise leads them to a startling discovery. Catherine becomes convinced that a 6-year-old girl’s death was no accident when she and Sara examine a crime scene inside the Tunnel of Love ride at an amusement park.

Review  

Sara and Catherine work the case of a kid found dead in the Tunnel of Love at a traveling carnival. The victim is a six year old girl, and Sara shows concern for Catherine, asking her if she’s okay with it; Catherine replies by asking Sara to interview the mother. In checking the background of the carnival, Sara discovers that it has numerous safety violations, more than half of its employees have criminal records and the ride operator is a convicted sex offender out on parole.

Sara takes Catherine to task for being aggressive in questioning the suspect, something that Catherine has done (and will do with her). When Catherine gets aggressive, no one questions it, but when Sara gets aggressive, they yell at her. After discovering that the little girl has a broken arm from being yanked out of the ride, Catherine gets in the ride operator’s face, which Sara seems to enjoy (as opposed to ‘a more scientific approach’).

Sara and Catherine experiment with the ride and a dummy, and realize that only the mother could have gotten the girl out of the car and into the water.

Notes  

• Sara isn’t afraid to question her colleague’s balance when they seem to get over-involved in a case.
• Sara realizes that the case is affecting Catherine, and shows her concern.
• Sara seems to like the rough approach that Catherine takes with the ride operator.

Quotes  

Sara: Hey! (Catherine runs off) We aren’t going to lunch, are we?

Sara: (grinning)
Catherine: What?
Sara: This is fun.
Catherine: As opposed to what?
Sara: A more scientific approach.