CSI: Young Man With A Horn (Episode 908)

...And introducing Catherine's backup singers, the Willowettes!

This episode has everything I love about a CSI episode: hilarious meta commentary (in this case the subject is American Idol, terrific character moments, legendary guest stars, a nice balance between pathos and humor, and cases that bring old Vegas and new Vegas together. It doesn't surpass one of my all-time favorite episodes, "Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye," but it's my favorite episode of the season so far.

Two fresh-faced youth, still eager and naive enough to believe the music industry isn't going to chew them up and spit them out, sing "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in a mostly empty theatre. They're rehearsing for the finale of "Overnight Sensation" because CBS doesn't want FOX to sue them if they call it "Shmamerican Shmidol." After the boy sings his part, the girl gets out one line before the producer goes all Shmimon Shmowell on them and says they're barely good enough for second place at some podunk small town talent show. The boy's overbearing stage father (let's just call him Shmeff Shmarchuleta) comes out to defend his kid but Shmavid Shmarchuleta can hold his own, telling Shmimon that he has no right calling him lazy. Shmimon says that's the passion he's been looking for (in the real American Idol fandom this would cause fans to start writing Simon/David Archuleta fanfic) and tells the kids to start from the top, warning the girl about her pitch. She denies that she's off-pitch and when Shmimon keeps berating her, she finally has enough and storms off stage.

Just before sunrise, the body of the girl, wrapped in a heavy cloth, is found under a highway overpass. She's taken back to the lab and Catherine immediately recognizes her as Layla, Lindsay's favorite contestant on "Overnight Sensation." Layla's got a shitload of makeup spackled on and she's only wearing fancy underwear, prompting Grissom to wonder if it's sex fetish that went too far. "Perverted idol worship?" Hey, my thing for David Cook is completely pure and chaste! I respect his talent, that's all. Really. I swear.

Back at the theatre, Shmimon, whose real name is Drew Rich, is giving a "the show must go on" speech to the crew and not-deceased contestants. Brass asks Drew about Layla's whereabouts after she stormed out. Drew says she presumably went to her room and Layla's chaperone reported that Layla called in at midnight to say she was going to bed. Shmeff Shmarchuleta tells his kid, whose real name is Kip, that Layla's death means he won. Classy! Drew smacks that idea down quickly and tells the most recently booted contestant, a kid who's obviously supposed to be the Sanjaya in this plot except this kid's hair is only a little bit overspiked, that he's back in the game.

Catherine and Nicky are processing the tablecloth and Nicky observes that the intricate knots suggest someone with sailing experience tied them. they find the name of the linen service on the cloth and Catherine says they've been around a very long time, as has the tablecloth, which has discolored areas suggesting it hasn't been washed in a long time. Over at the crime scene, Riley is asking Greg why Layla, who was being pampered over at the Palmermo, was down at the underpass. She curls her lip at a homeless person and snots that she would never leave the Palermo for "whatever this is." Oh, shut the fuck up, you spoiled, privileged asshole. Greg finds tracks indicating Layla's body was pushed in a cart, but the marks are too even to be a grocery cart.

Morgue. Doc Robbins tells Catherine that Layla died from blunt force trauma that lacerated her liver and she would've died quickly. He also says he found no evidence of rape but he did discover that Layla was pregnant. Catherine thinks that's a potential motive.

Brass and Nicky investigate Layla's hotel room. Brass says hotel security told him that Layla last used her keycard shortly after leaving the theatre. She also made two calls, one to Drew, which Nicky thinks was an apology for walking out on rehearsal, and one to her chaperone, who spent the evening gambling in the casino. Nicky bags a tube of lipstick that looks similar to what Layla was wearing when her body was found. He also goes through her laptop's internet history, where she was at first researching abortion clinics and then later looked at adoption websites.

At the lab, Hodges is annoying Archie in the AV lab, where Archie has found evidence on a gossip site that Layla and Kip were dating. Hodges wonders why anyone would want to watch "Overnight Sensation," then admits that he voted a bunch of times for Shmanjaya all Vote For The Worst-style. Archie scoffs at Hodges' protestations that he doesn't watch because, seriously, Hodges is exactly the type who would never miss an episode. Archie goes through the hotel's surveillance footage and spots that Layla left the hotel shortly after midnight, followed by Kip two minutes later.

Interrogation. Brass questions Kip, who is of course accompanied by his dad. Kip is shocked to hear that Layla was pregnant and even though Shmeff Shmarchuleta denies Kip is the father, Kip's expression says he knows it's true. Brass is tired of Shmeff never letting his kid talk so he separates them, telling an officer to get a DNA sample from Kip. As for Shmeff, Brass shows him a surveillance picture of him with Kip in the elevator right after the time of Layla's murder. He thinks they're covering for each other and killing Layla was all about the money. In response, Shmeff offers up this metatlicious burn: "Thirty million people tune in to see my kid sing every week. How many people wanna watch you?" Brass doesn't care; he notes the US Navy tattoo on Shmeff's arm and says he knows Shmeff is in a huge financial bind if Kip doesn't win. Brass is sure Shmeff is covering for Kip or he killed Layla himself.

Wendy and Catherine walk down the hall while Wendy says that Kip was not the father of Layla's baby. However, when she ran the fetus's DNA she got a hit on an old sexual assault charge in North Carolina. The suspect? Drew Rich, who has changed his name since he was arrested. Wendy adds that the charges were dropped when the victim, a 15 year old girl, changed her story. Brass is beyond delighted that he gets to bust Drew on his sordid past right in front of his OS crew. Drew tries the whole "these showbiz kids are older than their years" and says Layla agreed to have an abortion as long as she won the show. He doesn't like being blackmailed and Brass thinks that sounds like motive, but Drew insists he didn't kill her. Brass says he left the Palermo around midnight and checked into a motel near where Layla's body was found. Drew admits he was with a hooker and thinks he's home free, but Brass has an officer arrest him for statutory rape.

Hodges has found something interesting that he wants to share with Grissom. No, this isn't another awkward come-on, sadly. He tells Grissom that he tested the lipstick Layla was wearing and it contained sperm whale oil. Since that ingredient has been banned in cosmetics for a long time, the lipstick must be very old. Hodges also tells Grissom that he found traces of asbestos on the tablecloth. Hodges thinks Layla found a hole in the time-space continuum and was murdered decades ago. "Brilliant theory," Grissom snarks.

Based on the linen service and the asbestos, Catherine and Nicky examine a map of Las Vegas casinos from fifty years ago. All but one have been torn down and the abandoned Le Chateau Rouge is near where Layla was found. Nicky and Greg head out to the old casino and Nicky muses that the last time he was in the area was on a case with Warrick. He and Greg shoot each other commiserating glances before getting to work. They find evidence that Layla forced her way through the security fence and into the abandoned casino, which looks exactly as it did when it closed abruptly 50 years ago, aside from the thick layer of dust and general decay. As they walk around Greg, always eager to share his knowledge of Vegas lore, gives Nicky a history of the place. It was the first of its kind, an integrated casino in segregated Las Vegas. Everyone wanted to perform there, including the white stars of the era, and the place became so popular that it was hurting the other casinos' business. Greg says the rumors were that the white-owned casinos teamed up to shut Le Chateau Rouge down and one night it just closed its doors and never re-opened. They find a linen cart that could be what was used to move Layla's body and Nicky notes that one of the tables is missing its cloth. He also finds traces of blood and says it's time to re-open Le Chateau Rouge.

Cops swarm all over Le Chateau Rouge, whose lights have held up pretty well considering they've been dark for 50 years. Grissom starts to head inside but his attention is diverted by a woman sipping champagne in the back of a classic car. He walks over and introduces himself to Le Chateau Rouge's owner, Karen Rosenthal, who is played by Tippi Hedren from The Birds, among other things. She looks amazing and could really give some pointers in aging gracefully to her daughter, Melanie Griffith. Karen invites Grissom inside the car for a drink and he says he's working so she says he can watch her drink. He shrugs and climbs in beside her. She reminisces about the heyday of the casino, then says it died when her husband did and she hasn't been inside since he was murdered there. Grissom is intrigued and asks why she never sold it. Karen says it would've been torn down because sentiment doesn't exist in Las Vegas, and she couldn't take that. He offers to let her come inside but she declines.

Catherine and Greg examine the showgirls' dressing room and Greg looks at all the costumes then shares he went through a glitter phase. Catherine smiles at him indulgently because it's obvious she thinks his so-called edginess is adorably vanilla. They find footprints in the dust and Catherine spots an open lipstick tube on the dressing table of a dancer named Jasmine. She recalls that Layla's grandmother, who was a showgirl back in the day, was also named Jasmine. Catherine thinks Layla was trying to connect with her roots.

Out in the casino, Grissom finds a recently-fired bullet embedded in the floor. Nicky also finds a cellphone under an overturned chair. It's Layla's and it's got a video on it, recorded by Kip, of Layla dressed up in one of the showgirl outfits and singing on the stage. The kids are startled when an elderly black man comes out on stage playing a saxophone. They both go running and Kip drops the cellphone. Greg speculates that the sax player killed Layla, dumped her body, then put the cart and costume back where they were 50 years ago. Grissom peers around and, getting an idea, pulls back one of the drapes on the stage. The sax player is standing behind it, a gun in his hand. They stare in alarm at each other for a few seconds until the sax player collapses to the floor.

Hospital. The sax man wakes up while Greg is taking an impression of his fist to see if it matches the bruise pattern on Layla's abdomen. He gives Grissom a fake name and doesn't respond when Grissom asks how long he's lived at the casino. He talks about Layla singing on the stage and says they were making sweet music together until Kip got jealous and came at him. He fired his gun, the impact hitting the floor, and Kip ran. Grissom tells the sax man that Layla is dead and the man replies, "I did it. You got me." Grissom and Greg exchange uneasy glances.

Interrogation. Kip tells Brass that he loved Layla and they were just trying to find some normalcy and someone they could trust amidst all the OS madness. He did some research and found out where Layla's grandmother used to dance, thinking he'd just take her out there so they could look at the casino. It was Layla who insisted on going inside, putting on the costume and makeup, and singing on stage. The sax man came out and Kip tried to protect Layla, but the man shot at him and he ran without even checking to see if Layla was. Kip insists he walked around for hours looking for her, not realizing she was still inside.

Nicky tests the gun and discovers that the bullet matches the one that killed Jules Rosenthal back in 1958. Grissom watches archive news footage of the shooting and the sheriff at the time, Sheriff Montgomery, disputes that it was a mob hit as rumored at the time. The motive was robbery and the suspect, a musician who worked at Le Chateau Rouge named Melchior Wilson, was tried and convicted after his prints were found on the wallet and he confessed. Wilson later died in prison. Catherine comes in and Grissom tells her what he's learned. She thinks Wilson dropped the gun and the sax man found it sometime later. Grissom seems troubled by something and has Hodges bring in a variety of reptile skin wallets. He selects a snakeskin wallet, matching it to the kind where Wilson's print was found. The print that busted Wilson in 1958 is perfectly clear, but when Grissom tries to lift his own print from the sample wallet, the ridges on the snakeskin creates voids. Grissom declares that Melchior Wilson's print was never on the wallet and he was framed for Jules Rosenthal's murder.

When Grissom's not solving crimes or moping about Sara, he apparently plays poker with some of the old Vegas bigwigs at a private club tucked away down a dark alley. The bouncer lets him in right away, a cocktail waitress flirts "where have you been, stranger?" and the gaggle of geezers at the poker table give him a warm welcome. One of them, former Sheriff Montgomery, is the man Grissom came to see. They invite him to play and he demurs since he's on the job, but Montgomery says he'll only talk if Grissom wins a hand. Grissom shrugs and sits down to play a game, listening intently as the geezers talk about the Le Chateau Rouge case and wax rhapsodic about how the Rosenthals changed the future of Las Vegas with their integrated casino. Grissom wins the hand easily and gets his talk with Montgomery, but it's useless. Montgomery refuses to admit there was any framejob and doesn't admit to recognizing a photo of the sax man, whose prints Grissom says are all over the casino. Montgomery suggests there's way too much current crime going on for Grissom to be wasting his time on one of his old cases.

Catherine has learned that the sax man didn't kill Layla since his knuckles don't match the bruises on her skin. She and Nicky head back to the casino to see what they can find and while pacing on the stage, Catherine spots a heavy chair with arms that end in the same pattern as the bruises. She speculates that when Layla got spooked and jumped off the stage, she ran into the chair. Her death was an accident, not a murder. Catherine wonders why the sax man confessed and Nicky shoots back, "Why won't he tell us who he is?"

At the lab, Greg finds Riley looking at the program Greg collected from Le Chateau Rouge and points out that there were three saxophonists in the band, Melchior Wilson and two others. She has a hunch that the sax man is one of the others and the facial recognition software backs her up, proving that the sax man is Harry Bastille.

Hospital. Grissom tells Harry that his identity has been uncovered and asked why Harry moved Layla's body when he didn't kill her. Harry says he didn't want anyone coming into the casino because he wanted to live out his life quietly in the last place he was happy. Karen Rosenthal approaches, curious as to why she's been called there, and Grissom asks her to confirm Harry's identity. She nervously steps into the room and she and Harry gaze at each other for a subtext-laden moment until she tells Grissom that it's not Harry. Gently, Grissom says they already know it's Harry and reveals that something in the crime scene photos of her husband's murder got him thinking. There was a bottle of pink champagne in the photo, the same kind she was drinking in the car the other night. Karen confesses that she and Harry were lovers and had a tryst in Jules' office when she thought he was away, but Jules interrupted them. He pulled out a gun and tried to shoot Harry but Karen wrestled it away and fired, killing her husband.

Karen says Harry wanted to turn himself in but she couldn't let him confess to a crime he didn't commit. She gave him some money and told him to run as far as he could and never come back. Grissom thinks she and Montgomery teamed up to frame Wilson but Karen denies this, saying she confessed. However, the men who ran Las Vegas in 1958 forced Montgomery into pinning the crime on Melchior Wilson, an easy scapegoat. With regret and shame, she says a white woman back then could get away with murder.

On the finale of "Overnight Sensation" Kip is declared the winner and he sings "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," solo this time. Catherine and Grissom take a walk through the Strip and she muses about why people come to visit. Grissom confesses that he came to gamble, needing money after spending it all on cadavers and fetal pigs instead of on his college girlfriend. "Maybe it just wasn't the right girl," Catherine laughs, because she knows like the rest of us that Sara would have no problems with Grissom buying all the cadavers and fetal pigs he wants. He picked poker because it allowed him to be a loner, but lies through his teeth when Catherine asks if he still plays. She thinks him taking a risk on Vegas was a good thing ultimately since he's got roots, a job and his work family. He considers this and doesn't disagree but he replies, more to himself than to Catherine, "maybe it's time to up the ante."

Next week: Laurence Fishburne makes his first appearance and Grissom confesses what we knew was coming...he likes to wear hot pink lace panties under his CSI coveralls.

Are you interested in reading my older CSI and other show recaps from before I started working at Recapist? I am slowly getting them archived here. Not all of them are up yet but they will be before too long.