Synopsis  

Two female bodies, buried together and covered in tar, are discovered by construction workers out in the desert. The investigation reveals that both victims’ fingertips have been cut off and that they were apparently buried years apart. Later, Sara treats one suspect with such distain that it jeopardizes her job and she reveals to Grissom a dark family secret that is at the root of her recurring personal problems.

Review  

This is very powerful Sara episode, one which gives us a bit of insight into her character. Sara comes from an abusive family, and that her mother, Laura Sidle, killed Sara’s father; this dumped Sara into the foster care system.

Questioning the main suspect, Sara loses her temper and accuses him of killing his first wife and abusing his second wife (later she was proved correct, though no one acknowledged that), which led her to get into an argument with Catherine. Ecklie witnessed that argument and chewed Sara out; she yelled at him as well, getting herself suspended. Later when Grissom goes to her apartment to find out ‘why she gets so angry’, she tearfully tells him about her family.

Notes  

• Sara compliments Greg on how he’s dressed, and gives him advice on appearing in court.
• Sara defends Grissom to Ecklie.
• Sara accuses Catherine of using her sexuality to get the job done.
• Sara comes from a possibly abusive household.
• Sara’s mother killed her father.
• Sara was in foster care (first mentioned in “No Humans Involved”).

Quotes  

Sara: So what happened, the Russian agency denied your application for another wife, or, uh, you lost your taste for white meat? Too tough?

Sara: Look, all I am asking is to have a black-and-white do regular welfare checks.
Catherine: Did the wife ask for help?
Sara: Well, that’s kind of hard to do when you don’t speak English and you’re a sex slave. I’m sure she doesn’t know her rights.
Catherine: sighs You can’t arrest someone for marrying the wrong person.
Sara: You would know.
Catherine: If the guy’s an abuser, if he killed his first wife, we will build a case and we will nail him.
Sara: And in the meantime, he can just keep using her as a punching bag.
Catherine: Sara, I was there – there wasn’t a mark on her.
Sara: Not that we could see, Catherine.
Catherine: You know … every time we get a case with a hint of domestic violence or abuse, you go off the deep end. What is your problem?
Sara: Yeah, I probably do, and you let your sexuality cloud your judgment about men, and I’m gonna go over your head.

Sara: The only reason this is your lab is because Grissom doesn’t kiss ass. You couldn’t hack it in the field, so you fail your way up, you break up our team, and now you just hang out in the hallways waiting for one of us to screw up.
Ecklie: Sidle, you’re on one-week suspension without pay, …
Sara: mutters Great.
Ecklie: … and when you get back, you’re apologizing to Catherine.
Sara: shakes her head No, I’m not.

Sara: I have a problem with authority, I choose men who are emotionally unavailable, I’m self-destructive, all of the above.

Sara: It’s funny … the things that you remember and the things that you don’t, you know. There was a smell of iron in the air. Cast-off on the bedroom wall. There was this young cop puking his guts. I remember the woman who took me to foster care. I can’t remember her name. Which is strange, you know, ‘cause I couldn’t let go of her hand.
Grissom: Well … the mind has its filters.
Sara: I do remember the looks. I became the girl whose father was stabbed to death. Do you think there’s a murder gene?
Grissom: I don’t believe that genes are a predictor of violent behavior.
Sara: You wouldn’t know that in my house. The fights, the yelling, the trips to the hospital. I thought it was the way that everybody lived. When my mother killed my father, I found out that it wasn’t.