Barbara is pretending she's not here. Jack Gilmore (Craig Sheffer) introduces Sheriff Liston and she makes a speech about cleaning up Vegas the four years she's been in power. Jack used to run a sports book and is a hockey player. He's hoping to get city approval for a new arena. The Sheriff states how crime has fallen, as a hit takes place. Was it really 4 years since Warrick (Gary Dourdan) was killed off and here CSI revisits that whole ordeal again, especially with the older players involved, adding the new cast to the story.
Ecklie informs DB of a triple homicide and the CS is down the alley. Carlos Moreno (Enrique Murciano) is working undercover along with his partner, Crenshaw (Billy Magnussen). He looks dodgy and dirty. The target was Donny Price and another Vic was Veronica Gilmore, Jack's wife. DB adds, "so much for statistics." Nick (George Eads) comments on Morgan's nice dress as she changes into her overalls. Hey remember when hey had that CS and Grissom had to go there dressed in his suit and Sophia had to wear her dress. She didn't change her dress at once.
Price was beaten and knee capped. Nick shows Morgan there's no blood outside the room so the killer was wearing booties like them. Thus it was a premeditated hit. Nick adds the shooter didn't plan for the witness in the bathroom. David (David Berman) can't get a reading from the liver, infact he can't find Veronica's liver at all. Finn (Elisabeth Shue) thinks she should have just been shot like the others but hers was a more violent attack. Her final call was to Jack and it lasted 4 seconds. But anyone could have made that call.
Jack says Veronica saved him and now he was doing the same for her over the past year, but she left him for Price. He spoke to her a week ago. But Finn arrives with both barrels blazing saying he spoke to her tonight. The Sheriff tells her she's out of line, as does DB. They don't see Jack as a suspect. Finn adds "always the politician" to DB. Infact here we get a role reversal between Grissom and DB and Catherine and Finn. Catherine was always the political person and kept a check of the lab and Grissom advising he should be "more politic." That's one of Catherine's quotes I never forget. Grissom was a little like Finn, but not so gung ho in accusing people. Though he was more interesting in solving the crime, he never went in without evidence and until he had all the facts. DB tells her, "you never learn do you?"
Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) autopsies Veronica and finds trace of stippling at close range. Sara (Jorga Fox) notices the skull fracture and she was beaten with a blunt object. Doc can't find a liver temperature since her internal organ was macerated and Greg (Eric Szmanda) says it "looks like soup." Hodges thinks Olivia and Ecklie should go out on a date on their own. Morgan says they shouldn't have any dates. Maybe "they should start dating and throw a wrench in the works," but Hodges says he can't as he met someone in Italy. Why was Morgan so curious as to why they couldn't date each other, or was it cos she was just curious and it means nothing romantic between them at all. Hodges adds if their parents get married, they'd end up having some "bizarro Brady Bunch" family. Hodges examines the fleck Doc found inside Veronica, which was Kevlar from an aluminium bat.
Finn confronts DB about this case and not about their history. DB thinks Jack could have hired someone to kill Veronica. Finn tells him he only thinks he saw Jack at the reception. How can she know what DB saw, she wasn't there. Nick says the time of the call was 9.07 which was the time of the murder. She times the speech but DB insists he saw him at the reception. Nick and Finn reconstruct the timeline.
Finn wants them to put pressure on Jack and Nick asks what she meant by "don't repeat history." She was fired over a case where a woman worked for a powerful venture capitalist who went missing. She needed Cooley's DNA but she couldn't test it cos he had friends in high places. They then do a 'send up' of DB, with Finn saying, "it's not what you know, it's what you can prove." Well Nicky, Grissom said much the same thing to you too in the past.
Nick points out there was blood everywhere at the CS. They find the murder weapon in the dumpster as well as oversized warm ups with blood. Nick: "chivalry died five dumpsters ago." The weapon isn't a bat but a hockey stick. All of this reeked of a frame up and it was so obvious to everyone except the CSIs, ha.
Finn has a warrant she got from Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) but it's only to search the hockey arena. The Sheriff believes Jack is only a person of interest. She's also aware of Finn's 'stunt' in Seattle.
Nick and Greg find all the players have the same gear obviously and there's an extra blade in the locker. He explains to Greg that the sticks used these days are "not your Papa Olaf sticks", he had to get a mention! The blade is found in Peter's locker but he has an alibi. Brass questions Bruno (Mike Starr) who worked for Gedda. Brass tells him he's losing his touch pinning the murder on a washed up hockey player. Bruno recorded his conversation with Jack.
Finn takes Jack's DNA as he's bought in for questioning and watches him hold his cup with both hands. She brings him another cup. He was meeting Bobby Connor in the alley but he didn't show up. They usually met at a diner but he didn't show up. Brass finds he doesn't exist. Finn gets some liver from the butcher's shop and beats it until it reaches the correct macerated consistency. Hey the CSI:NY CSIs would have carried out that reconstruction immediately. She tells DB it took her 54 blows and all of her strength so Jack couldn't have killed her as he has ALS. Also the thread found wasn't from a tuxedo but was nylon and neoprene, like a wetsuit. Eeww DB touching the evidence and then using the same spoon to eat with.
Finn and Carlos get a bit too friendly at work until DB and the Sheriff show up. He calls DB her 'boyfreind.' Crenshaw does a double take at Finn as he leaves. Funny DB didn't pay any attention to Finn and Carlos canoodling! Lt Kimball (Peter Onorati) is in charge of the Price undercover case and Veronica was his informant. The Sheriff should have been told about this cos she's his boss. Kimball says there's a leak in the department.
Greg finds the bullet matches IBIS and the gun belonged to Jeffrey McKeen (Connor O'Farrell). Former Undersheriff and Warrick's killer. Nick shows DB some photos and finds Bobby, who is really Kimball. Nick tells DB McKeen killed his good friend, Warrick and Sara adds he was all their friend. Nick can't believe McKeen is involved cos it's like he's been working from prison so really there was no point in putting him away.
McKeen took over Gedda's turf. Morgan finds Kimball was McKeen's first partner. DB doesn't want him brought in but to see who Kimball leads them to. There's an exchange between DB and McKeen so there's more going on here and will be. McKeen says Warrick didn't give him any other choice and Nick tells him the gun was traced back to him. McKeen posits putting a bullet in Warrick made him a hero in prison. Nick can't stand the stench and who can blame him, he leaves knocking over a chair in the process; as Greg and Sara watch from the other side.
DB threatens McKeen's family and how one phonecall will leave them homeless. He wants his family left out. But since there's so much talk of family, it's apparent this won't be the case for anyone. Sara: "everyone's got some weakness, especially when it comes to family." SO again knew where this was leading. Nick and Ecklie watch Winnock (Jeremy Glazer) pay off Kimball and Ecklie shoots Winnock. Moreno and Crenshaw find Kimball's abandoned car.
Greg tells DB that the autopsy on Winnock reveals him as being Mckean's son. Nick tells McKeen he knows how that feels now, it's karma. His son paid for McKeen's sins and he should blame himself. Nick states he should have killed McKeen when he had the chance, "I might just get that chance again." Ecklie doesn't know how deep this corruption goes. DB: "storm's coming, heads are gonna roll."
Greg thinks things have improved in 4 years and Nick thinks it's all just talk. DB didn't think Finn was wrong in Seattle and she has plans with Carlos. Olivia and Hodges leave in their car and Morgan and Ecklie decide to walk, cos we know what's round the corner. Olivia doesn't want Hodges to drive, wonder why? Well Jaclyn didn't have much to do this episode, a shame really.
Finn drinks and is happy to be on her own. Carlos thinks she's complicated, well that's one word she doesn't want to hear after telling DB not to use it. Finn:" you're so much hotter when you don't talk." Carlos leaves and Crenshaw, the dirty weasel makes his move and Finn's happy to go along with him. How shallow is that. Clearly when it comes to men, she wants her own way, no wonder she had failed marriages. Sorry as a CSI she's great but in that scene alone, she put me right off as liking her as a person.
Nick says it's all about the game in this town and Catherine was right about quitting. She told him, "if you can't handle this job, there's the door and you know what, I'm out." This comes as a shock to Greg and Sara. Of course he's not really leaving and will be back next season, which is just as well cos he's one of my fave characters, as you know.
Crenshaw gets a call. replying he has "eyes on the package." A car drives up and shoots and Ecklie takes the bullets to save Morgan. Sara calls DB about Ecklie and Barbara answers the call where a man tells her to go upstairs. Katie is missing and a note is left on her bed, "KARMA."
I can't believe the complacency here, especially with DB and his family and Ecklie. Clearly the shoots were meant to be for Morgan or so it seemed so Ecklie would suffer the same pain as McKeen for his son. Though don't believe McKeen can suffer any sort of pain. But with DB, there were so many hints that something would happen to his family too, but it just didn't click. With McKeen and corruption now being revealed as rife in LVPD, did they really think nothing would happen to them?
McKeen last appeared in the season 9 opener For Warrick and it was inevitable he would be making an appearance at some point. It was so good seeing Nick having a chance to vent and still not place a finger on McKeen, no matter how much he wanted to and how much he was hurting. Especially since Warrick's death and the pain he (and the others) suffer from is still there under the surface and is brought to the fore by this case. George gives a great performance as always, particularly when he must play emotion and to see it finally all get too much for him was gut wrenching. No matter what they do and how hard they work at 'cleaning' the city; they only ever appear to scratch the surface. His walking out comes as a shock to Sara and Greg, but clearly she doesn't want him gone. I also liked how Sara reminded them Warrick was a friend to them all.
Catherine's line Nick mentioned came from the season 12 opener, 73 Seconds. Also apparent was how much Nick has learned from Catherine whilst he's been a CSI and how the job should be done.
Ironically the triple murders occur when the Sheriff is giving her re-election speech about cleaning up Vegas in the 4 years she's been in power and Greg is in agreement with her.
Sara being the one to mention family, as family orientated episode this was. She and DB had a talk on family, kind of a talk in the last episode. Yet in these crucial minutes; it becomes apparent how much family is really worth and what family means. Also how much of a family the CSIs are to each other, especially as Nick leaves them, his family. The Vegas lot have had so many departures.
Ecklie being shot just as he and Morgan are about to make headway. The season 13 opener won't have Morgan walking away from his side, like she did in CSI Down, when he so much wanted her to turn to him for comfort.
Enrique will also be back as we know since his partner is so obviously crooked. Fans would just love to know how long he'll be around for, oh just make him a series regular and have done with it!
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