Horatio (David Caruso), Ryan (Jonathan Togo) and Walter (Omar Miller) rush to a call out at a CS where two people have been shot. The car of one of the Vic's crashes into a fire hydrant, so they must race against time to preserve whatever evidence they can, before it's washed away and destroyed. Horatio tries to stop the hydrant gushing out water and Ryan attends to the male Vic, as Walter covers the car, in desperation. Ryan notices the gun on the ground and shouts to Walter, who can't hear him. Why didn't Ryan just go for the gun when he saw it. As he makes a dash for the gun, it's swept into the storm drain. Ryan is angry he lost the gun. It went down the drain. Horatio: "It went down the drain." Not a very catchy or witty one liner from him. Come on writers you need to do better.
Where were Natalia (Eva La Rue) and Delko (Adam Rodriguez) before, well they didn't want to get wet. Natalia finds a bullet in the grass and the gun is retrieved when the storm drain is opened, processed by Calleigh (Emily Procter). She suggests Ryan should shower as they all got wet by a purple hydrant, one carrying non-potable water. The vic, Marvin Hill (Richmond Arquette) is thought to have shot Rebecca in the car and then killed himself in a possible murder/suicide pact.
ME Tom (Christian Clemenson) can't find the exit wound for the bullet from Marvin's head and Natalia processes the clothes. Calleigh finds the bullet matches the gun. ME Tom boils Marvin's skull to reveal tiny fragments on his skull. Walter is shocked at the site of the skull and asks for a bit of a warning next time. This is intriguing to ME Tom who is in his element: "It's way too exciting for etiquette Walter." There was only one entrance and exit wound. The bullet ricocheted inside Marvin's head, came out the same way and hit Rebecca in the car. Leading Walter to test this theory using laser stringing. This reveals neither one fired the gun and so there was a third party present.
Delko helps Natalia process the clothes and she finds a black thong in Marvin's pocket. He then questions his wife, Linda (Darby Stanchfield) [hey it's Castle's (Nathan Fillion) ex.] Who tells them Marvin would spend hours in front of the computer. Tripp (Rex Linn) asks her about the "unmentionables" Marvin had. It's not hers. Marvin's computer is analyzed by Walter, revealing he was passing himself off as a 19 year old soldier, Sean, home from Afghanistan and was socializing with Ashley (Skylar Day). Other photos of her reveal a cheerleading outfit, which Delko recognizes as being from Bayfront High School.
Horatio and Delko question Ashley and her parents, Larry (Michael McGrady) and Diane (Karen Young) where they are met with hostility from Ashley's father. She claims not to have known Sean and her father refuses consent to collect a DNA sample from her. Delko checks his hands for GSR. Diane was strangely silent about the entire thing and didn't make any objections about it, coming over as being very suspicious. He finds his .25 gun missing, the same one used to shoot Marvin. Walter and Natalia check out the family computer and find e-mails from Ashley to Sean/Marvin. Walter has to decipher the code for Natalia, he's got nephews. FTF = face to face and she used others like SYS = see you soon. IBW = I'll be waiting. A third player was involved in the chat, called Justin (Corey Eid). Walter arranges a meeting with him at a garage.
Delko and Horatio wait for him, why them two. This double act is getting tiresome. Especially since you know what's coming next, another chase (groan.) Horatio calling Delko "brother" and using "All quiet on the western front." Since when did Horatio talk like that. Justin doesn't show up but sends someone else in his place. Cue Delko chasing him and his running in the direction of Horatio's car, where he opens the door on him, saying he was just getting out of his car. They then proceed to force info from him (unnecessary again). He describes a white car with New Mexico plates.
The best scene of the episode was Tripp trawling through directories looking for the car at rental places. Where he has to tell one operator, New Mexico isn't a foreign country. It's a scene Flack (Eddie Cahill) from CSI:NY would grapple with. Luckily for Tripp, the real Justin turns up to return the car whilst Tripp is still on the phone and lucky also the man at reception had the foresight to tell Tripp he's there. Ryan and Natalia turn up to arrest him this time and not Horatio and Delko, cos there wasn't a chase. Natalia recalls Justin smells, like Ryan did; causing her to examine his clothes and Marvin's clothes for the presence of diatoms. She meets new lab rat, Rachel (Natalie Knepp) who comments Travers is out with a girlfriend and he's not mutually exclusive. Natalia finds two similar diatoms found in the water in both samples from their clothes, concluding Justin was the third party.
Horatio and Delko lead Justin to confess to Marvin's murder with their line of questioning, since Marvin wouldn't leave Ashley alone, so he took care of him for her. Even though he hasn't even met her yet. He asks if he can meet her FTF now. Again Justin didn't have a lawyer present when he was questioned, which makes you wonder if he was even read his rights. Justin can't believe he actually confessed.
Horatio gets Walter to check video footage from Justin's hotel, which shows a woman leaving and entering his room. It's Diane leaving the gun for him. Horatio doesn't recognize her immediately. She was enamored with Sean and was doing the same thing as Marvin, pretending to be Ashley, someone much younger. They were both lying. They met and she called the whole thing off but Marvin got angry and they accused each other of lying but Marvin wouldn't leave her alone. So she got Justin involved. Natalia can't believe she let an 18 year old kill for her.
Though I have to admit I did like the scene at the end where Horatio put her and Justin together in the cell: FTF - SYS - IBW, ha. A bit cruel of him but really Justin not being able to reconcile the fact he killed someone for a complete stranger. Still wanting to meet her now. He can't see what he did was wrong. Both their motives were stupefying. Diane cos she didn't want her family to know what she'd done if she went to the police and Justin killed for the love of a stranger. They accuse each other of lying too and he calls her sick, well if the shoe fits, he was just as bad. But the real worry was that Diane as a mother, didn't realize how much danger she was putting her daughter in, she was meant to protect her, as Ashley says at the end, but in actual fact by the fantasies she dreamed up and carried out, she made her vulnerable to predators and perverts. If she desperately wanted to go down that route why didn't she just fake an ID.
CSI: Miami episode To Kill A Predator was also the focus of teen girls being targeted by male predators on the Internet. Non-potable water in the hydrant was not fit for human consumption. thus the diatoms and the smell. Rachel the new lab tech only features in this episode which was a bit pointless to introduce her, but probably they wanted to get in the bit about studying Natalia at the academy.
I still can't get over how they were going to cancel CSI:NY and let CSI:Miami carry on after this awful season 9. The show has just become a shadow, or should that be parody of its former self. After the exceptional season 8. There was no justification for the show to be renewed, and yes it has its fans, but if there was any cancelling to be done it should definitely have been this one. CSI:NY injected fresh life into the show with the addition of Jo (Sela Ward) and most of the season 7 storylines were far more interesting than anything CSI:Miami could muster.
This episode was a warning against all the predators, perverts and weirdos who use the Internet and the dangers of striking up online friendship's.
Evidence preservation against water and the rain seen in CSI:NY season 1 episode Rain and CSI episode $35K O.B.O. where the CS had to be processed and it began to rain.
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