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Check In and Check Out
Nick Stokes & Jim Brass - S14 E9 Check In And Check Out (1)
Season 14
Number 9
Writer Andrew Dettman
Director Louis Milito
Original Airdate November 20, 2013
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Previous Episode: Helpless
Next Episode: Girls Gone Wild

Check In and Check Out is the ninth episode in Season Fourteen of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Synopsis[]

The CSI team is called in to investigate the stabbing of a couple found at a local motel that is reminiscent of two incidents that occurred in the same room.

Plot[]

Victims: Richard Smith and Anne Smith (both deceased)

On the case: D.B. Russell, Greg Sanders, Julie Finlay, Morgan Brody, Nick Stokes, Jim Brass

An overhead shot of the Sky View Motel shows someone running away from one of the rooms. Soon thereafter, a pizza delivery person finds two dead bodies and calls 911.

Richard and Anne Smith are found brutally murdered in room 114; blood spatter is all over the walls and the ceiling. Each victim has been stabbed so many times, David Phillips loses count. Finn notes the creepiness of the room, observing the many porcelain dolls that also have blood all over them. Nick realizes that he's been in this particular room before, and David remembers two previous cases that took place there: a dismemberment and a woman who was bludgeoned in her sleep. They're standing in the world's unluckiest motel room.

While Nick lifts a bloody footprint just outside the room, Finn observes the blood spatter inside and recreates what she believes to be the killer's actions. Outside, Brass speaks to Trent Reager, the motel manager. Trent is unable to provide a list of the motel's guests, as just about all of them paid cash. He believes that none of his guests are interesting enough to be killers.

Nick processes Room 114's bathroom, finding evidence that the Smiths had a guest. A third toothbrush and an empty bottle of shampoo are found in the garbage, along with a receipt from the nearby drug store that contains the toothbrush, the shampoo, and a pair of scissors. Nick sees that the towels are damp, indicating that someone else took a shower the night before. Finally, he finds a red hair in the drain and notes that neither Richard nor Anne are redheads. Finn notes that since the scissors are missing, they might be the murder weapon.

In autopsy, Doc Robbins tells Russell that both victims were stabbed over 100 times each. According to family, the couple was visiting from Arizona to attend an antique toy and collectibles convention; this would explain the large number of porcelain dolls. Both Richard and Anne have squeaky clean backgrounds, and Russell wonders if they invited a third person to their room to spice up their lives a bit.

Morgan pulls the case files from the previous two murders in the room. Eleven weeks ago, Mark Bell was killed in the bed, his legs nearly severed from his body. A bloody knife was found on the floor, but the blood was too smeared to reveal any viable prints. At the time, the police assumed the incident was drug-related. Then, seven weeks later, Alex Garnez was attacked while sneaking a cigarette in the bathroom; he survived, but his wife was violently bludgeoned to death in her sleep.

As he puts his gear back into his SUV, Nick catches someone watching him; the man is staying next door in room 115. When questioned, the man, Oscar, claims that he didn't see anything suspicious and says that none of the victims are "innocent" in the eyes of God. He shuts the door on Nick before the CSI can get any more questions in.

Henry analyzes the bedspreads from all three crime scenes and finds that one person left behind DNA contributions on all three. When run through CODIS, the suspect comes back as 22-year-old Randall Wicks, who was arrested for sexual battery two weeks ago. As it turns out, he was arrested at the Sky View Motel in room 114.

In interrogation, Randall is disgusted when shown the pictures of the dead and dismembered bodies. When told about his DNA being found on three different bedspreads, Randall explains that he frequently uses the room for "business." He tells Greg and Brass that he "entertains" frustrated housewives, adding that the sexual battery charge against him was self-defense. Randall explains that he met a completely normal woman in the room; however, after a while, she started hallucinating and screaming at the walls. Outside, Greg tells Brass that there's one person who might be able to identify Randall—Alex Garnez, who survived the earlier attack, is still in the hospital.

Greg and Morgan visit the hospital and speak with Alex. He can recall several things about the attacks on him and his wife, including the fact that he was powerless to stop them. Morgan shows him a photo of six suspects, one of which is Randall; however, Alex says that none of them are the man who killed his wife.

Hodges analyzes the bottle of shampoo from the motel room and finds that it contains permethrin, formulated to combat head lice; however, neither of the Smiths were head lice sufferers. Residue from the shower wall contains 5% permethrin, which is present in a body cream used to treat scabies. When combined with the fact that the suspect left the hotel room barefoot, Hodges tells Finn that all signs point to their suspect being homeless. Finn remembers that Richard Smith used to work with the homeless back in Arizona. As it turns out, a local shelter had a scabies outbreak a week ago, and a homeless man named Rudy is soon found—with bloody feet and a pair of bloody scissors next to him.

Rudy has spent some time in the state hospital with a variety of mental disorders. When shown pictures of Richard and Anne, he calls them "angels," telling Finn and Brass that the couple saved him from some hoodlums. He says that he was invited to stay in the motel room and was provided with a toothbrush and some shampoo. However, he has a seemingly hard time remembering what happened next. He recalls that the porcelain dolls in the room were talking to him, which led to a psychotic break. When shown photos of the dead bodies, Rudy suddenly fears that he hurt the Smiths with the pair of scissors, and he starts to freak out when shown the photos of the other crime scenes. He has no idea whether he's responsible for the other murders.

Rudy seems to be guilty of killing the Smiths, and he's the prime suspect for the other two murders and the attack on Alex Garnez. However, one week later, Officer Akers responds to a call from the motel and finds a young woman covered in blood and brandishing a broken bottle. As a crowd of onlookers gathers and the police arrive, she continues rant incoherently. Just before she tries to attack Officer Akers with the bottle, she gets tasered by another officer. The motel manager tells Officer Akers that the woman was staying in room 114, where another dead body is found on the bed.

While Finn photographs the lingerie on the bed and the liquor bottles on the nightstand, Russell questions whether they arrested the wrong guy. Finn is steadfast in her belief that Rudy killed the Smiths, but is under the impression that every other incident is unrelated. The female suspect is identified as 28-year-old math teacher Alison Stone, while the victim is Matthew, one of her students. Greg enters and plays a recording of Alison's voice mail; in it, Matthew told her he was staying at a motel after his parents got into a fight. He asked for her help, as he felt he had nowhere else to turn.

Under interrogation, Alison says that despite the liquor bottles in the room, nothing went on between the teacher and her student. In fact, she dumped the bottles down the drain to prevent anything from happening. She tells Nick and Brass that Matthew had a harmless crush on her and that nothing happened after she rebuffed him. However, she certainly appears to have killed him. When shown the police video of herself brandishing the broken bottle, Alison claims that the person in the video isn't her and that she was "possessed."

Nick believes that Alison is telling the truth, as the woman he questioned is nothing like the woman in the video. Alison's tox screen also came back negative. This leads Morgan to conclude that the room is responsible; it's the common denominator in all four cases. Henry and Hodges are sent to check out the room, which contains some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air conditioning vent and mold behind the walls. Hodges processes the bathroom and is sprayed with an air freshener in the process. Soon, he's found inexplicably staring at his reflection at the mirror. He then attacks Henry, who is able to lock his fellow lab tech in the bathroom and call for backup.

When Nick arrives, Henry tells him that the person who attacked him "wasn't Hodges." He believes something in the motel room triggered the outburst. Hodges is sedated and taken away by the paramedics. Before this can happen, Henry swabs Hodges' cheek for any evidence. He later finds that Hodges was drugged with LSD and explains to Finn and Russell that the hospital never tested for the drug, as it's not on the standard tox panel. The LSD molecules were adulterated and cut with a cyclidine similar to PCP, which would explain all the violence.

Greg and Nick process room 114's bathroom, eventually finding that the air freshener is the culprit. There's a hose coming from the cartridge, and the CSIs see that it's coming through the wall from the neighboring room. They bust into Oscar's room and find the bag of LSD hidden in the bathroom wall behind a painting. There's also a small television in the closet that's displaying a live feed of room 114. Though there's no recording device, there's a transmitter set up to send the signal someplace else. Oscar denies killing anyone and says that the manager, Trent Reager, told him not to touch any of the devices and threatened eviction if he did.

Nick and Brass see that Trent's room at the motel contains video feeds of every room, as well as souvenirs taken from his guests. Under interrogation, Trent tells Brass that he's been watching the motel's guests ever since he was little and his parents owned the place. When the motel went downhill, it brought in a lower class of guests, which provided Trent with more interesting entertainment. After seeing someone tripping on acid on the street, he decided to rig the bathroom with LSD to see the effect it would have on the unsuspecting guests. The results? Mark Bell killed himself by nearly hacking his legs off, Randall Wicks was charged for sexual battery, Alex Garnez attacked himself and killed his wife, Rudy was pushed over the edge until he killed the Smiths, Alison Stone killed her student, and Hodges unfortunately attacked Henry.

Brass tells Trent that he had five people killed and had another one put in the hospital. The motel manager/voyeur replies that he didn't make these people commit murder; they did it themselves. To Brass' disgust, he calls the murders "awesome" and says it's no different than what people see online every day. Brass tell him that he'll now be spending his time behind bars—with people watching him 24/7.

Morgan visits Alex Garnez in the hospital and tells him that they arrested the man responsible for what happened. She informs him about the drugging and says that the man he saw hitting his wife was himself. Before he can be discharged from the hospital, the police will be taking him away, something Morgan is apologetic for. Meanwhile, in the station break room, Hodges apologizes to Henry for trying to kill him earlier, and Henry forgives him.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

  • Jordin Sparks as Alison Stone
  • Chad Todhunter as Trent Reager
  • Brad Carter as Rudy
  • Armin Shimerman as Oscar
  • Arturo Del Puerto as Alex Garnez
  • Lea Coco as Randall Wicks
  • Larry Sullivan as Officer Akers
  • Jeremy Craven as Mark Bell
  • Joshua Marble as Matthew (uncredited)
  • Michelle Alvarado Martins as Tina Garnez (uncredited)

Notes[]

  • George Eads (Nick) returns after a five episode absence.
  • Jorja Fox (Sara) is credited but does not appear in the episode.

Trivia[]

  • Actress/singer/songwriter Jordin Sparks made a special guest appearance as Alison Stone in the episode.

See Also[]

CSI:Las Vegas Season 14
The Devil and D.B. RussellTake the Money and RunTorch SongLast SupperFrame by FramePassed PawnsUnder a CloudHelplessCheck In and Check OutGirls Gone WildLost ReindeerKeep Calm and Carry OnBoston BrakesDe Los MuertosLove for SaleKiller MovesLong Road HomeUninvitedThe FallenConsumedKittyDead In His Tracks
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