Horatio (David Caruso) and Calleigh (Emily Procter) search for Delko (Adam Rodriguez) . Horatio tells her they'll find him if he's out there and true enough it's he who chances upon him first. Delko stumbling through the Everglades has flashbacks to Calleigh firing at him in the car from last season. Delko suffers from massive blood loss and flashes back to 1997 again, whilst he's unconscious.
Delko being a salvage truck driver discovers a car in the water. Cue Horatio in his grey suit, which he no longer wears. He used to wear a lot of grey in the early seasons of CSI:Miami but wears mostly black now. Horatio's partner, Sully (Brad Leland) is shown as he's going to be featured a lot in the remaining episodes this season. The Vic's been shot, the car is the secondary CS (Crime Scene). This was a body dump and the Vic was shot elsewhere. Alexx (Khandi Alexander) works on Delko in the present.
Horatio explains there's bruising on the DB (Dead Body) when gravity pulls the blood down and the other bruising is lividity. Horatio: "Watch and learn." Kind of almost telling the same thing to us the viewers too, since it's 1997 and forensics wasn't quite up to the point it is now. So for us, such things would be new too. (Also good for new viewers who have chanced upon the show, as it explains some of the basic forensic terminology.)
The husband, Bowers (Jason George)) was away on business, so he came home when he tried to call his wife, who is the DB. He pawned the gun, but kept the bullets. Horatio smells bleach in the house. he's not ready to accuse him of murder straight off, preferring instead to "let's see how the evidence lines up." He also spots the presence of mud being dragged across the floor and bleach has been used on walls; pondering Bowers motive for killing his wife.
Back to 6 September 1997, Alex conducts the autopsy and removes a bullet from the back of the wife's head, a 9mm. Same gun as Bowers owned. The gunshot wound was the COD (Cause of Death) and the TOD (Time of Death) was between 5-8am. She knew her killer and was taken by surprise. He attempted to subdue her. In another of our favourite quotes from Horatio: "I'm just following the evidence." Which is what the show is all about, summing it up nicely.
It's Calleigh's first day, she used to work in Jacksonville. Really Calleigh, who turns up to work in a white T-shirt on their first day, cop or no cop. In contrast it's Det. Jesse Cardoza's (Eddie Cibrian) last day. She's late for work and she's so naive, answering Lt Dorsey (Harold Sylvester) so positively when he asks her how she slept.
Horatio sends Jesse to investigate since Megan's (Kim Delaney) out in the field. Naturally Megan had to have a mention as we'd wonder where she is, as she wasn't around very long in season 1. The primary CS is their home and Jesse asks Horatio for a pump spray. Boy things must have been really tough and tight if Jesse had to ask for that from Horatio. Okay he's leaving so wouldn't have one handy, but... He reconstructs the findings at the CS and records them, verbally. Bleach residue on the wall, what Horatio found. Blood behind the baseboard (that's skirting board to us Brits!) And then uses luminol.
Calleigh's an expert in tool marks and firearms. Calleigh questions the interpretation of Dorsey's science, not the science itself, when she tells him and Horatio about the DOJ (Department of Justice) findings that bullets in packages can have the same lead composition. Horatio is immediately struck by her enthusiasm and knowledge. He says they need to change with things and need to look for more evidence. She's asking the right questions and she should call him Horatio... my gripe, how did Delko have flashbacks to all these scenes, when he wasn't even around then and was just a lowly salvage truck driver, without any aspirations of being a detective or a CSI, until Horatio gives him the idea and encouragement at the end of the episode. It's not like anyone would've told him all this. Logically he can only flash to the parts which involve him!
Tripp (Rex Linn) is just an officer in uniform here and tells of a peeping Tom report filed for an Arnold Hollings (Brad Henke). Horatio promises him a new computer if he sees one-on the list. Horatio notices the mud on Holling's shoes but he claims he never entered the house. He picked up his pay at 6.. She was in the shower as he heard the water. If he never entered the house, how did he collect his pay?
Sully provides Horatio with motive for Bowers killing his wife: an affair with a waitress and he couldn't afford a divorce. Horatio is convinced that "science works." [Sam (Jared Padelacki) really looked like Horatio here in the season 5 episode Changing Channels of Supernatural which had Sam and Dean (Jensen Ackles) impersonate Horatio.]
Calleigh introduces herself to Delko and he asks for her number. She making it a point to clarify she doesn't "socialize with anyone related to my job." Well, let's put that into context: there was Det John Hagen (Holt McCallany) in season 1 and then Johhny Whitworth (Jake Berkley) in later episodes, before Delko. So much for keeping work and personal life separate. Calleigh has a penchant for cops. At least Jesse had the presence of mind not to hit on her!
Horatio asks Delko if he's found any sunglasses for him yet, but he hasn't . Calleigh explains that as the car was underwater, there were no prints, fibres or hairs found. The front end of the car is damaged so the airbag was not deployed when the car went into the water, but beforehand. The propellant in the airbag would have been ignited with the gas filling it up, inflating the airbag, just like the primer of a gun, so there would be explosive material and the suspect would have residue on him. Horatio wants to carry out the Grise test for nitrates, which is what they used when he was with the bomb squad. Again another mention of this just incase you'd forgotten.
There's evidence of medium velocity spatter and blunt force trauma. The Vic was hit over the head when standing and fell to her knees, she bled out and it had to be cleared up. Alexx finds her corpse was desecrated.
Calleigh examines Holling's shirt, under Locard's Exchange Principle: there's trace on his shirt. More mentions of actual names of procedures used in forensics, that weren't mentioned too often in the show, proper, itself.
Then there's some exposition from Horatio about how "guns make the news and science doesn't." This was forensics in its earliest stages, experimental even, before the advanced methods and techniques of today and this episode reflects this. Calleigh checks for nitrites Bowers proves negative, but Hollings is positive, which places him in the car. Horatio asks the ASA for a warrant to conduct the Grise test but he agrees with Sully, Bowers did it.
Calleigh was so chipper in this episode and loud too which was irritating to watch! Delko had the host for her as soon as she arrived, but from the early seasons you'd never have guessed it, I didn't. Clearly that aspect was an after thought of the writers/producers.
Horatio comforts Delko in his hospital bed. He knows the fight he's putting up and it would be easy for Delko to slip away to be with Marisol. (Alana de la Garza). He also thinks about her too. But Horatio isn't ready to lose Delko. Horatio is sorry, he lost her, Ray and Speed (Rory Cochrane) and Delko's all he has left. So Speed is not a dirty name here and they actually say his name not once, but twice. Thought they wouldn't bother name dropping him. Horatio wants Delko to fight., "that's what I need you to do." Delko flashes to Marisol, thus as soon as Horatio mentions her name, Delko thinks of her, so he could hear Horatio after all. Fans would have been happy with this line, that he wasn't ready to lose Delko yet, because they weren't either. So much for Adam leaving, he didn't disappear for long. Which was a pity as it was like the producers didn't want him gone and they haven't done that with any of the other actors in CSI:Miami. Also it was a shame since Eddie didn't get much of a look in nor time to have his character developed fully, if at all. That was one of my peeves. Why bother bringing Eddie in if they were never going to completely write out Delko from the show! Why bother announcing you're leaving, if you're not really leaving!
Delko provides Horatio with a clue that Hollings dumped something in the water as he put his weight on one foot. He finds the gun in the water pipe, where water collects after a storm. Horatio calls that good police work and Delko replies, "it pays to know your environment."
Meanwhile, Jesse is still at the house working out how 3 droplets of blood were on the window and there's nothing on the ceiling. Horatio comments the blood drops are out of context (another oft used phrase on the shows.) Then using Delko's environment quote and conducts an experiment with the AC on in the house. When Jesse shoots droplets hit the window, but also some spatter is caught on his face. Hence the killer had to have been spattered too. Horatio sees something in Holling's nose. A tiny drop of blood. A DNA test would be difficult as the defence has a right to examine the DNA also and there is not enough from one droplet. Horatio contacts a friend at the FBI. A chance for us to see Natalie Boa Vista (Eva La Rue) working for the FBI. No two people have the same DNA profile and the blood matches Hollings.
Jesse leaves, only to return, even for a short while, ha. Horatio is heading up a special investigations team, going to call it CSI. Jesse knew Speedle and recommends him to Horatio.
Horatio loses his tie and gets his customary shades from Delko. Take it Delko was always Horatio's favourite from the outset then, as he also encourages him to go to the academy. When he gets back, he should come and find Horatio, he'll be here. No, he'll be at the new building! Delko: "those are you." It was good to see Horatio as he was back then, his character hasn't changed much, but he's grown weary as he's been on the job for so long. The scene where he wills Delko to fight and come back shows just how much he's been through, not only in his line of work, but also the personal sacrifices he's had to endure. Though parts of this episode were amusing, others weren't, his pain was apparent. But also through the years he has always maintained his composure and his personal creed, or mantra of helping victims and solving the crime, no matter what.
Also liked the way in which Jesse found the evidence, the blood drops on the window, which actually helped Horatio and Jesse figure out who actually was the killer. A nice parting gift, you could say, on his last day there.
No comments:
Post a Comment