1x03 Crate & Burial

Case File:
1x03 Crate & Burial

Gathering evidence:

Out in the middle of the desert, a man has just finished filling up a hole and is walking away. A woman trapped in a small, dark space flicks on a lighter. She starts screaming. We hear a distorted voice making a ransom demand for $2 million within three hours or the wife dies. Grissom & Nick are listening back to parts of the tape repeatedly on the husband’s answering machine. His name is Jack Garris. He’s agitated and complaining that they’re wasting time listening to that recording over & over and not looking for his wife. Grissom explains that he’s listening closely to certain things on the tape, including hearing nothing – which, in the Las Vegas area would mean somewhere in the desert. There’s also a low frequency background buzz which might indicate there are power lines nearby.

Brass just got off the phone. He says the FBI will back them up if needed, but LVPD is in charge of things. Jack Garris is concerned about the chances of getting his wife, Laura, back safely. Brass says that since the kidnapper has given a short (3 hour) window for the ransom, it’s likely that the wife is in a situation where she would likely be dead around that time. Mr Garris encourages them to move quickly. Grissom says that in these situations, it’s better to go slow, so they don’t miss anything important.

Sara comes to the Garris house to process evidence. She gives instructions to others on what to take pictures of or dust for prints. Nick comes in to let her know that he’s going to be working on the ransom audio tape. Sara notices some scratches on a doorframe.

Brass is interviewing Jack Garris, asking if there was anyone who would want to hurt her. Jack says that she’s a health nut and surrounds herself with good people. Jack wants to pay the ransom. Brass still wants to hold off on that for a bit.

As Nick is leaving in his vehicle, Grissom gives Nick instructions on what to tell the audio guy at the lab. Nick gripes that he already knows what to tell the audio guy. Grissom goes into the house where Sara is still processing. She starts running through her initial theory (a professional job), but Grissom isn’t really paying attention to her. He’s doing an initial survey of the house. He notices some dirt on the floor. He walks out the door and notices a rag with a bad odor. He thinks possibly halothane.

At a street intersection, Catherine & Warrick are doing their initial sweep of a hit & run with a young girl killed while riding her scooter. Catherine says that her daughter wants a scooter. Warrick tells her that he can do this case alone if she’s bothered by it. He says Holly Gribbs’ death got him thinking about working with his partners. He does his initial theory of the case where a car is cruising down the street, hit the girl on the scooter. She was thrown a fair distance, then the car turns & speeds away. Catherine thinks the car will be hard to track down because all they have for evidence is paint from the car, which won’t really narrow things down.

Back at the Garris house, Jack Garris is ready to drop off the ransom money, but Brass is still encouraging him not to. Jack won’t give in. He leaves to make the drop. Brass tells Grissom that he’ll “stay close to the money”. In the lab, Grissom & Sara are analyzing the dirt found in the house. Grissom announces that the gold flecks found in it are actually gold. The “little gray squiggles” are cyanide. He says that miners drop cyanide powder into the dirt and it brings the gold to the surface. So Grissom surmises that the place their looking for has to be one of three mines that are near power lines and within range of the money drop zone.

In the morgue, Dr Jenna is showing Warrick & Cath evidence from the crash on the young girl’s body. There’s a bruised indentation of a license plate on the girl’s body. They can make out a “4” and a “J”. Warrick is going to check with DMV on plates registered in the area.

Grissom & Sara are in a helicopter, flying over the three possible locations. They’re using a thermal scanner to try to locate Laura. They initially find a running pack of coyotes. Now, we’re with Brass as he’s scoping out the money drop site – which is at a golf course. He watches Jack make the drop in a garbage container. Nick enters Brass’ car to be there if/when the kidnapper picks up the money. Back in the ‘copter with Grissom & Sara. They’re finding nothing yet, so will circle the mine again. At the money drop, a guy with a dog comes up towards the garbage container. Nick wants to move in on them, but Brass says no. Then a guy with a golf bag walks up, trying to not look suspicious, but not succeeding. We’re back in the helicopter where they’ve come up with another “hot spot” on the scanner. They land and hear her screaming, so they start digging. They uncover Laura. Her hands are bound, but she’s alive and doing fairly well. Grissom radios to Brass that they’ve “got the package, and she’s still alive”. Brass acknowledges the information. Their “major player” is just making his move. He grabs the bag from the garbage container, is quickly surrounded by police and apprehended.

Cath & Warrick walk up to a house. Charles Moore answers the door. They want to ask him about his car. Mr Moore claims that his car was stolen. Cath hands him a search warrant and asks to look in his garage. They open the garage to find the car, with lots of damage to the front. Catherine turns to Mr Moore. She doesn’t say a word, but Mr Moore starts explaining that he hit the girl because he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. He says he gets confused. He acknowledges wrong doing for leaving the scene. He’s dismayed when Catherine tells him that the little girl died at the scene.

In the break room, Catherine is taking Lindsey’s birthday cake out of the fridge (she’ll be 6). Cath expresses her concern to Warrick that Mr Moore gave up too easily. Warrick says he was just scared. Grissom comes in acting giddy. He shows Cath a chemistry set that he got for Lindsey. Sara wonders how long before she has to kick in for gifts. Cath says “when the spirit moves you.” Nick comes in to the break room and inquires as to when Lindsey’s coming. Cath says she isn’t. Nick says he got her a present – which is the same chemistry set that Grissom bought her. Cath says Lindsey doesn’t want a party, and makes it clear that there IS no party. At that point, everyone’s beepers go off. The Moore car is in the garage & ready for Warrick & Cath to process; The “burial box” is ready for processing, and the victim (Laura) is ready to be interviewed at the hospital.

Grissom is talking with Laura. She claims the guy grabbed her from behind & put something over her mouth. She doesn’t remember getting the black eye. She does submit to having blood drawn for analysis. Sara is processing evidence from the box. She lifts a print, and gives a little smirk. Brass is talking to Chip. He’s still claiming he didn’t know there was money in the bag. Apparently, Chip is Jack’s trainer. He knows both Jack & Laura, and he goes to their house. Brass asks about the fingerprints on the burial box. Chip said if the crates are from Jack’s Vineyard, then he moved some crates for him a couple weeks ago.

Cath & Warrick are checking out the Moore car. Warrick sits in the driver’s seat and he’s a bit cramped. He surmises that Mr Moore is about the same height that he is, and he’d probably have the seat pushed back farther, and the mirrors aren’t right for his height. Cath tells Warrick to start up the car. He does, and they’re immediately flooded with loud rap music. They decide that Mr Moore wasn’t the last to drive the car.

Grissom arrives in the audio lab where Nick & the audio tech are going over the tapes. They compare the distorted voice on the ransom tape to the one that Brass recorded in the interview with Chip. Grissom asks Nick what to do next. Nick says to call Brass & pick the guy up. Grissom says to wait for a bit because Nick has more to do with the tape. Sara comes to ask Grissom to help her with something, so he leaves. Nick is confused and wonders what he did wrong. The audio tech says that he’s not saying anything because he knows Grissom is trying to teach Nick.

Cath & Warrick are talking with Mr Moore about who was driving the car. Mr Moore’s grandson, James, comes into the interrogation room. Cath & Warrick note that James is an approved driver on the car’s insurance. They ask James if he was the one driving. James wants to explain, but Mr Moore won’t let him. Mr Moore says that he was driving with James, hit the girl, got woozy & asked James to drive him home. He says if he got one more moving violation that they would take away the keys to his car. James confirms the story. Mr Moore is brought back to his cell. James goes home. Catherine & Warrick meet James in the hallway & ask him if he needs a ride home. He declines and leaves. Cath is conflicted. She has thoughts of letting Mr Moore take the wrap. Warrick talks a bit of sense back into her.

While walking through the halls of the lab, Grissom is telling Nick that he wants to find something new on the audio tape. Nick still doesn't understand what more there is to look for and he gets upset with Grissom, thinking that Grissom is always second-guessing him. Nick continues on through the lab while Grissom stops at the breakroom where Catherine is getting some coffee. He asks if she’s okay following her “major/minor blowup about Lindsey not wanting a party”. She tells him that she thinks she’s making Lindsey weird; that she works all the time and has no time for her friends. She thinks Lindsey is trying to copy her mom. Grissom tells her “then she’ll be fine”. Sara interrupts and asks for Grissom’s help to come “tape her up”.

In the garage, Grissom is taping Sara’s hands together as she’s sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. She had told him that she found Laura’s hairs on the front seat of the passenger side. So, she asks why a kidnapper would put a bound & unconscious person in the front seat of a pickup truck. They wouldn’t. There was also sheepskin fiber on the back of Laura’s sleep, indicating that she would have had her hands & arms free to sit normally in the seat, as she shows him after he cuts the duct tape from her wrists. Now they don’t even think she was unconscious. They found the halothane rag on the patio, but it was likely just to throw them off the right evidence trail. Grissom says it’s a good thing that he got a blood sample from Laura. Sara is amused & slightly annoyed that Grissom never told her that – and that he was also ahead of her in the evidence gathering. Brass comes in & tells Grissom that Chip is ready to make a deal. Grissom says “no deals”, as they know what Chip has to offer – Laura, the accomplice.

Nick runs up to Grissom & says he has the “enhanced” version of the ransom tape. Nick apologizes to Grissom for being snippy.

Catherine & Warrick are searching the Moore car for more evidence. Catherine finds part of a chipped tooth in the steering wheel cover. Back at PD, they’re now asking to look at Mr Moore’s teeth. He takes his dentures out & puts them on the table. Cath & Warrick then look to James. Mr Moore says that James is a good kid, he always calls to say where he is. It seems that after James hung up after a call to his grandfather, he dropped his phone in the car, reached down to get it, and looked back up in time to see the little girl on her scooter. He couldn’t stop quickly enough & slammed into her. He freaked out & drove quickly home, wanting his grandfather to go to the police station with him. Mr Moore said he wouldn’t let him. Mr Moore begs them to let him serve the time for James. They said they can’t allow that. They told Mr Moore that he can explain all of that in court. Cath says that both she & Warrick will be witnesses for him.

As the cops lead James & Mr Moore through the hallway, Warrick tells Cath that she should go on home for the day, that Lindsey is out of school soon – and it’s her birthday. Cath says she owes him one.

Sara comes into Grissom’s office. He’s got headphones on and listening to something. She tells him that there was no halothane in Laura Garris’ blood. They surmise that her kidnapping was fake, but how did she end up buried in a box with a black eye? Grissom’s theory – greed.

Back at the Garris house, they’re explaining that theory to Jack & Laura. Sara surmises that they faked the kidnapping, drove out of town, stopped at a roadside phone so Chip could call in the ransom message. Grissom picks up the story, saying they drove East towards Sandfill mine, saying they needed to wait around for the ransom money. Chip would tell her they needed to change vehicles, and that there was one just ahead. When they get there, she sees an open, empty box. Chip hits her, pushes her in the box, duct taped her hands & buried her. Nick comes in with the audio recordings. First they play Chip’s ransom message with his voice unaltered. Nick puts in a second tape. The first sound is of a car driving by. The second sound has the car noise taken away, and hearing Laura say “chip, hurry up.”. Jack is stunned. Laura tells Jack that he was only interested in his work. She started sleeping with Chip because Jack was too busy with his work. Laura says that she can give them Chip on other things too. Grissom tells her that they already have both her & Chip for about 25 years. The officers take Laura away.

Catherine & Lindsey are at a park sitting on a bench eating popsicles. Lindsey says the reason she didn’t want a party with her friends is that she sees them all the time at school, but never gets to spend time alone with her mom. Cath is stunned. Lindsey sees a kid nearby riding a scooter & asks her mom if she can get one for her birthday. Cath says maybe when she’s 40. Lindsey laughs & says “it’s not fair.”

James Moore is being brought to the jail. He says his goodbyes to his grandfather. Warrick writes down his own cell number on James’ hand and tells him to call if needed. As they leave, Mr Moore tells Warrick that he didn’t have to do that. Warrick mentioned that he gave his grandmother a lot of rough nights while growing up. Mr Moore says that Warrick’s grandmother “did something right”.


The Geek Squad:
Grissom: Grissom is in “teacher” mode in this episode – teaching both Nick & Sara. With Nick, it’s giving him hints that there’s more to look for in the audio tapes, but he doesn’t tell Nick what exactly to do or to look for. With Sara, he’s more or less letting her do things, but also doing his own investigating of the evidence, and waiting for Sara to catch up – such as the situation with Laura’s blood sample. He also, through time, gets Jack to trust him and the evidence to see the truth.

Catherine: this case becomes quite personal for Cath, considering it’s a young girl who was killed. Add the fact that it’s Lindsey’s birthday and she wants one of those scooters too. Cath’s initial disgust for the “bastard” who hit the girl & left seems to change immediately when she realizes the situation with Mr Moore and his grandson. It even brings her to some thoughts of not following protocol. The underlying emotions for Cath in this one is why Lindsey is insistent on not having a party with her friends – a question that’s resolved with the best reason possible – Lindsey wants to spend some “alone” time with her mom.

Warrick: We see from the beginning what impact the situation surrounding Holly’s death has had on Warrick – starting from his offer to Cath to work the case by himself if she can’t handle it. Even though he’s feeling the same sense of sympathy for the Moores as Catherine is, he’s the one to keep her on the path of professionalism in their job. He acknowledged her sympathy for the case by telling her to go home & be with Lindsey on her birthday while he finishes up things on the case. His decision to give James his cell number is also summed up in his conversation with Mr Moore at the end – James reminds Warrick of himself when he was younger.

Sara: We see a bit of Sara’s territorial side come out at the beginning of this episode. When she arrives at the crime scene, she gives out instructions to others on what to do. She tells Nick that he’s in “her” crime scene. Then she points out to Nick that Grissom hand picked her to work here. When Grissom arrives later, and he basically ignores her initial summary of the case, she exclaims, “glad I have a healthy ego.” She may have a healthy ego, but it’s clear throughout this episode that she’s still got more learning to do.

Nick: The writers are finally giving Nick a bit of personality in this, the third episode in the series. Nick’s promotion to a CSI level 3 seems to have given him a “healthy ego” like Sara’s. He gets pissy and upset that Grissom is always second guessing him. And Grissom is correct in doing so – which Nick learned after finishing his final analysis of the audio tape.


My Girls:
Sara: what’s the rule… how long do I have to be here before I start kicking in for gifts?
Cath: When the spirit moves you, Sara, so in your case, I guess …never?
Just the short interaction with the two ladies this time, but considering what we know so far from the two, it’s not a surprise that they’re still a bit short with each other. They both like to be in charge, and you know Catherine isn’t going to let the “newbie” take over her territory.

The Boys’ Club:
Grissom & Nick are in the “boys club” again this time. Here Nick seems to be the little brother who just got a bicycle for the first time, but can’t ride quite as fast as big brother, Grissom – even though he thinks he should be able to. In the end, Nick realizes that even though he got the promotion to level 3, he still needs to keep learning things about the job, and that sometimes Grissom actually knows what he’s talking about.

Oh ‘Rats’!
We’re introduced to a new ‘rat’ this time – the audio tech, known as TDH. He helps match the voices from the ransom message to the interview with Chip.

You’re mine tonight:
- Grissom, Sara & Nick are teamed up on the ransom/kidnapping case of Laura Garris, but their mainly paired into duos: Grissom & Sara working the house, rescue and burial box angles. While Nick is working on the audio aspect of the ransom message with Grissom overseeing his work.
- Catherine & Warrick pair up to find out who hit Renda Harris on her scooter, then drove away. It’s not as clear as just finding the “bastard”, because said “bastard” is actually a scared teenager who made a bad choice and didn’t get the proper guidance from his grandfather to go to the police.

My crime scene is where?
Catherine & Warrick’s initial scene is a street intersection where Renda Harris was killed on her scooter. They eventually go to Charles Moore’s house and look in his garage. The rest of the evidence gathering and interrogation is done at the lab & PD.
The Garris kidnapping/extortion case has a few different scenes. The main one is the Garris house, where the kidnapping occurred and the ransom message was delivered. Brass staked out the golf club where the money drop was made. Grissom & Sara went to the desert to locate Laura Garris.

You’re under arrest:
Brass is on the beat again. This time, his main agenda was to “follow the money”, at the ransom drop site. He also did Chip’s interrogation. There was no useful information gathered from the talk, but the main objective was to record Chip’s voice for comparison. He accomplished that easily. We also see some officers & rescue personnel in the race to locate Laura Garris, and there were a handful of officers at the Garris house as well. Also some officers helping Cath & Warrick in moving Mr Moore & James through PD.

I know how to hide the body!
The main annoying person in this episode was at the beginning with Jack Garris insisting that he make the money drop, even with Grissom & Brass encouraging him not to. It’s understandable that he was worried about his wife and it seemed that no one was doing anything, but usually in those matters, you think it’d be wise to listen to those who have been around those types of situations more.

What’s up, Doc?
A brief appearance by Dr Jenna Williams in this episode. As with the last episode, she gives some crucial information that basically breaks the case – pointing out to Cath & Warrick the license plate bruises on Renda Harris’ body.

It’s personal:
This episode gets personal for Catherine, as she’s on the case where a young girl was killed while on her scooter. Lindsey’s been asking her mom for a scooter, but this case gives Cath a good reason to say no. What’s bugging her the most is that Lindsey doesn’t want a birthday party this year and Cath thinks that Lindsey’s trying to mimic her mom by not having fun. Her “major/minor blowup” indicates her frustration: “What do I have to do -- put it on the bulletin board? There is no party. My daughter doesn't want a party. Is everybody clear on that?” The cutest personal moment comes at the end where Cath & Lindsey are at the park and Lindsey says she just wants to spend time with her mom. She also brings things to a personal level when her compassion for the Moores causes her to help them instead of doing things the right way.

There’s also a fun, personal moment for the entire team in the break room, as they all (except for Sara, who is new) have presents for Lindsey’s birthday. This shows a great team moment because it’s rare that a person’s co-workers take part in their child’s celebrations or activities – and even giving her presents.

Who are you? Who? Who?
John Beasley as Charles Moore is gentle & stoic in his role as the grandfather .
It’s interesting that I still don’t notice Jolene Blalock as Laura Garris, even though I’ve seen her a few times on Stargate as Ishta. Must be the hair. She does a great job here as acting the victim, even though she turns out to be an accomplice.
Samuel L Jones III as James Moore is great as the good grandson who made a bad mistake that will change the rest of his life.

Hey, I know you!
Dr Jenna Williams is a returning character in this episode. It’s just a small part, but she comes up with a crucial piece of evidence to Cath & Warrick’s case.

Person of interest:
Charles Moore (John Beasley) is my main person of interest in this episode. He comes across as this quiet, stoic teddy bear. However good his intentions were, he made things worse by not letting his grandson, James, call the police after he got home like he wanted to do. He seemed to compound one lie with another – first telling Cath & Warrick that he reported his car stolen, then they see it in the garage, and he confesses immediately. When they bring James in during his questioning, he tells another story and James goes along with it. When the real story comes out, he still argues to let him take the punishment.

Micro/mini/gadget:
Grissom & Sara are using the microscope to examine the samples of the dirt found in the house. They also use a thermal scanner to look for Laura in the desert. The main technology used here is the audio software to hear certain hidden things on the ransom tape.

I don’t get it:
How were Sara & Grissom supposed to hear Laura Garris screaming in the box underground after they got out of the helicopter. It was still hovering over them with the line shining. Why wouldn’t they have still used the thermal imaging machine to pinpoint her location once they got off the helicopter?

What did you say?
- Jack Garris: how did you hear all that?
Grissom: I listen.

- Sara (to Nick): you’re standing in my crime scene
Nick: no, you’re in mine (holds up a disc)
Sara: You’re doing audio? I wanted that!
Nick: I outrank you.
Sara: technicality. Who did Grissom hand pick to work here?
Nick: Ha. Keep telling yourself that.

- Warrick (to Cath): you want me to take this case alone?
Cath: you feeling alright, Warrick?
Warrick: I’m fine. I’m…I’m looking after you. … It’s that thing with Holly Gribbs, it’s made me think who I am to my partners, you know.
Cath: so this is what, your new leaf?
Warrick: you keep on busting on me, you won’t see any kind of leaf
Cath: Hey, relax. I’ll play nice. Thank you for the offer. I’m okay. I can handle this one.

- Grissom: it’s funny, but every case teaches me something about the next.

- Dr Jenna: the bad thing about this job is that you stop asking yourself why.

- Sara: it never ceases to amaze me what people do to each other.

- Nick: now what’d I do wrong?
Audio tech: I’m not going to spoil Grissom’s fun. This is how he teaches you guys.

- Cath: You know that James was riding solo that night.
Warrick: Like I know my middle name. Well, let's go back to the car and find the proof. (Cath doesn’t move) … What?
Cath: It's just that we've got so much power in this job which we use to get the bad guys. Once in a while, I'd like to use it to help the good guys like Mr. Moore and his grandson.
Warrick: And what-- forget about little Renda Harris?
Cath: No ... what I'm saying is that ... putting James away isn't going to bring her back. Mr. Moore is willing to do the time and the victim's family gets closure.
Warrick: Hey, you don't think I'm feeling this? But we got to follow the evidence even if we don't like where it takes us. (beat) It's the job.
Cath: Yeah. I know it.
Warrick: Hey, we start making deals with the devil and you don't get to walk away. You understand what I'm saying?
Cath: Yeah. Momentary lapse

- Grissom: You any better?
Cath: What are you talking about?
Grissom: Your little major-minor blowup about Lindsey not wanting a party.
Cath: Oh, that. Yeah. (sighs) I'm just afraid that I'm making her weird, you know?
Grissom: No.
Cath: I work 24/7. I have no time for my friends. My daughter rarely sees me having any fun. And, all of a sudden, she doesn't want a party.
Grissom: And that's because of you?
Cath: Yes. I'm her mother. She mimics me.
Grissom: Well, then she'll be fine. I mean, look at you.
Cath: You're just saying that to make me feel better.
Grissom: Yeah.

- Warrick: Hey... why don't you run on home? I'll handle this.
Cath: Is this more of your new leaf?
Warrick: Your daughter gets out of school in a half hour, right? On her birthday. Why do you want to pick a fight with me now?
Cath: I owe you.
Warrick: Don't think I won't collect.

- Cath: So, did you have a good day at school?
Lindsey: Yeah. Three friends made be birthday cards.
Cath: They did?! Well, you have got some great friends. So, Lindsey ... how come you didn't want to have a party with them?
Lindsey: I see my friends every day at school. I never get to be alone with you.
Cath: Oh ... wow ... well, I'm really glad to be alone with you, too. I like this more than you will ever know.


The joke’s on you:
- Sara: get a picture of the security pad. If someone touches it before it’s dusted, I break their fingers. (meow! LOL)

- Sara: excuse me, is my evaluation interrupting you?
Grissom: huh? No, no, no. I barely heard you.
Sara: glad I have a healthy ego. You find something interesting there?
Grissom: dirt
Sara: you’re… so … technical, I can hardly keep up
Grissom: sorry, but uh… out of context, it’s just…dirt.

- Nick: why don’t they move in on the guy?
Brass: Why? Because he’s probably just walking his dog.
Nick: Well, he’s been there five minutes.
Brass: Dogs take their time. What, do YOU want to be rushed?
(a man with a golf bag on his shoulder walks up slowly.)
Nick: Here kitty, kitty.

- Chip: look at the bag. It’s not even leather, why would I want it?
Brass: I can think of about 2 million reasons, Tiger.

- Chip: Going once, going twice, sold. Walking out the front door.
Brass: don’t go too far, pal. (chad leaves)
Grissom (to Brass): So?
Brass: ah, kid didn’t give up a thing... except the tape that’ll break the case open.
Grissom: did you let him you that you were recording him?
Brass: yeah, the guy has no idea what you science types can do with a little audio tape.

From this moment:
Brass & Grissom are trying to explain to Jack Garris that they don’t want to rush things and hurt the chances of getting Laura back.
- Grissom: Mr Garris, it’s my experience that in situations like this, if you want to go fast, go slow.
It’s another poignant statement about the world of forensic science – which is really about being slow & methodical, as well as looking for small and smaller clues.

Meow!
Catherine’s case with the young girl hit by the car while on her scooter brings her thoughts of Lindsey. It’s interesting to see her change from the beginning where she calls the unknown hit & run driver a “bastard”, to the end where she feels compassion for Mr Moore & James, whom she sees as ‘good people in a bad situation’, and has thoughts of allowing Mr Moore to do the jail time. We also see how she views her life through the eyes of Lindsey – as a person who works all the time, no time for friends or fun.

Quick on the draw!
The only guns drawn in this episode are when the police surrounded Chip when he picked up the ransom money at the golf course.

Case solved/unsolved/pending:
S1: The kidnapping of Laura Garris & extortion plot by both Laura & Chip is solved when the audio tape proves that Laura was with Chip when he made the ransom call.
S2: The hit & run death of Renda Harris is solved when James Moore is arrested for the crime, even though his grandfather was willing to take the punishment in his place.
S3: a third case is solved at the end as well – Catherine’s question of why Lindsey doesn’t want a birthday party with her friends is answered when Lindsey says she just wants to spend time with her mom. Awwwww!

Add this to the case file:
- An interesting thing to note here is that when Sara initially arrives at the Garris house, she’s got other people with her and is giving them instructions on what to take photos of and what to dust for prints. This is about the only time in the series that the writers do things this way. After this, we’ll see the CSIs doing all of those tasks themselves. I’m wondering if the writers just wanted to make Sara sound like she was “in charge” here and got negative feedback for it.

- there’s a great undercurrent in the storyline with Catherine worried about Lindsey not wanting a party, and wanting a scooter. This ties in well (or too easily?) with the case of a young girl hit by a car while riding her scooter. The case even brings more depth to it by having Warrick working with Cath on the case. They’re just coming off the sorrow of losing a team member, and it’s changed Warrick’s thinking that his co-workers are part of his family as well.