Synopsis  

The investigators work a trio of diverse cases that involve a murder, a theft and a disappearance in this intriguing episode. Grissom investigates the shooting death of a young woman when her bloodied and bug-infested body is found on a nearby mountain. Most of the circumstantial evidence points to the woman’s abusive husband as the likely killer. But Grissom’s not so sure, since his analysis of the bugs indicates that the victim was killed three days prior–when the hubby was out of town. Elsewhere, a man claims that a thief stole a valuable painting from his house, and a missing woman is feared dead when blood is found in her abandoned car.

Review  

A woman’s body is found dumped on a hillside, swarming with bugs. ‘I hate bees’ is Sara’s reaction, then shows herself to be a little squeamish when dealing with a bug-infested corpse. Sara carries beef jerky, which Grissom ‘borrows’ to feed the beetles he recovers from the corpse. In the break room, Sara is joking around with Nick.

Sara and Grissom examine the corpse in the morgue, and realize that she’s a battered wife with multiple old injuries. Grissom teaches Sara about insect chronology. Sara, Grissom and Brass interview the husband – Sara is a little antagonistic. At the suspect’s house, Sara comments on the lack of photos of the wife. She discovers bleach and blood in the back hall, and when she confronts the husband she goes just a bit too far, yelling at him and shoving him until he becomes aggressive towards her. As Grissom pulls her away, Sara points out how the husband treaded her (Sara), given that she has a gun.

Sara matches fibers found in the hall to the blanket the victim was wrapped in, which also matches fibers Grissom found on the couch in the victim’s residence. Sara tells Grissom she sent the bullet (the husband owns a gun) to Trace, and he informs her that the bugs tell him the victim was only dead for 3 days, not 5 – so the husband couldn’t have killed his wife, which doesn’t please Sara at all.

Later on, Sara is asleep in the break room – Grissom asks her to investigate Warrick. Sara talks to Grissom about hearing the victim’s screams in her head all the time. When Grissom says she has empathy, that’s all, she asks him if he wants to sleep with her so he can see her wake up in a cold sweat, hearing the victim’s screams, and say it’s just empathy.

This prompts Grissom to re-investigate the bugs, and Sara keeps Grissom company while he checks the decomposition rate (and bug arrival rate) with a dead pig, bringing him coffee and a blanket, which she wraps around his shoulders. Sara confronts Grissom about moving on from the case – then discovers that he’s called for a second autopsy of Kaye Shelton. Blue powder around the gunshot wound, which Sara matches with the husband’s ammo. Sara says goodbye to the victim in the morgue, then tells Grissom she tracked Warrick to a casino.

Notes  

• Sara is a little squeamish around decomposing bodies, or possibly just insect-infested bodies.
• Sara carries around beef jerky to snack on.
• Sara doesn’t like husbands who abuse their wives.
• Sara feels empathy for victims, especially battered wives.
• Sara pays close attention to Grissom, remembering almost everything he’s said; she also feels companionable towards him.
• Sara is unafraid to confront a supervisor when she thinks he’s wrong, but she’s not much on apologies.
• This is the case that turns Sara vegetarian.

Quotes  

Sara: I hate bees.
Grissom: Just paper wasps. They’re having too much fun to worry about us.

Sara: I got news for you, Scott. Bleach doesn’t make blood go away. You just can’t see it with the naked eye.

Sara: (pissed off) I’m a woman, and I have a gun, and look how he treated me! I can only imagine how he treated his wife!

Sara: You know how you say we’re the victim’s last voice? I thought it was our job to speak for Kaye Shelton.
Grissom: You don’t crunch evidence to fit a theory.
Sara: What if you hear the victim’s screams? In the car, at the store.
Grissom: You have empathy for her Sara. You want someone to pay for what was done to her, that’s normal.
Sara: (nods long pause) You wanna sleep with me?
Grissom: (confused pause, removes glasses) Did you just say what I think you said?
Sara: That way, when I wake up in a cold sweat under the blanket, hearing Kaye’s screams, you can tell me it’s nothing. It’s just empathy.

Sara: I checked out Warrick. His story about missing court was, uh … lame. I got this surveillance tape from the Monaco. He was in the casino. ‘(hands the tape to Grissom)’ I’m sorry.