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Love for Sale
CSI; Crime Scene Invastigation - S14 E15 Love for Sale (1)
Season 14
Number 15
Writer Andrew Dettman
Director Frank Waldeck
Original Airdate February 19, 2014
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Next Episode: Killer Moves

Love for Sale is the fifteenth episode in Season Fourteen of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Synopsis[]

A 16-year-old girl is raped and killed, and the investigation leads CSI to a brothel and some disturbing family secrets.

Plot[]

Victim: Debbie Logan (deceased)

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

On a foggy night in the desert, an unseen person abandons their vehicle and jogs away. The following morning, Det. Kevin Crawford leads Nick to the body of 16-year-old Debbie Logan, whose body is in the front passenger's seat. The car is registered to Debbie's parents, and the absence of money and a cell phone leads Det. Crawford to think that this was a robbery gone awry. Nick observes the wound on Debbie's head; lack of blood in the car leads him to believe that she was killed somewhere else. Her clothes are dirty, and Nick finds a piece of blue tinsel in her hair. Evidence suggests that Debbie wasn't running away from home, so the question is how she ended up in the desert without her parents even knowing she left the house.

Skin is found under Debbie's fingernails, and a sexual assault kit reveals that she was raped. In autopsy, the cause of death is labeled as blunt force trauma to the head combined with brain injuries from the blow. The margins of the wound are irregular and jagged, leading Doc Robbins to believe that the weapon didn't have a blade or sharp edge. Finn turns the attention to a wound on Debbie's right knee. The presence of paper indicates that someone tried to stop the wound from bleeding, which means it happened perimortem. Doc Robbins also finds a piece of glass embedded under the skin.

Russell speaks with Jim and Carolyn Logan, who confirm that they didn't even know their daughter had left the house. Debbie didn't have a boyfriend, but her parents can't really say where her interests primarily lied. Her parents admit to taking her cell phone temporarily because her grades had recently slipped. Jim, a minister, adds that Debbie worked hard in school and helped around the church.

Greg and Morgan process the car, finding that whoever drove it last had to be about six feet tall, which is much taller than Debbie. Morgan finds a flyer from a diner underneath one of the windshield wipers; since it rained the day before and the flyer isn't weathered or faded, it had to have been placed on the car last night. Greg, meanwhile, tape lifts a fingerprint from the passenger's side door handle; it could belong to the killer.

Hodges tests the glass fragment pulled from Debbie's knee and tells Finn that it's over 100 years old. He explains that the fragment contains a significant amount of manganese, which was eliminated from the glass-making process before World War I. The glass fragment is also curved, and Hodges believes that it came from an antique apothecary bottle.

DNA from Debbie's sexual assault kit matches the DNA from the tissue found under her fingernails; she tried to fight off her attacker. Unfortunately, the DNA profile isn't in the system. Greg finds that the fingerprint from the car door handle matches fingerprints found on the flyer. The belief is that the killer may have tried to break into Debbie's car and got caught in the process.

Ernesto Sanza, an employee at the diner, is the one responsible for distributing the flyers. A search of his car reveals a collection of stolen items, including cell phones and jewelry. When accused of murder, Ernesto vehemently denies being involved, admitting to only scoping out some cars for more items to steal. With nothing of value to steal, he ditched the flyers and went home. He tells Greg and Det. Crawford that Debbie's car was at some building off of a highway, and that he passed by there on his way home from work.

Greg and Nick head to the building, which is unmarked and in the middle of nowhere. When Nick finds a diner flyer in the bushes out front, the CSIs confirm that Ernesto was telling the truth. They ring the doorbell and are let into the building under the impression that they're the "Harris brothers." As they're led to a back room, they pass through a doorway made of blue tinsel, the same material that was found in Debbie's hair. The CSIs are soon greeted by several scantily-clad girls, and they realize that they've entered a brothel.

After rebuffing the girls, Greg and Nick meet the owner and identify themselves as CSIs from Vegas. The owner, Madame Suzanne, tells them that she operates a legal, licensed brothel, adding that having a minor on the premises is against the law and would never be allowed by her. Due to the nature of the business, there are no security cameras present. Madame Suzanne doesn't recognize Debbie from the photo provided, but she allows the CSIs to look around.

The rooms in the brothel have specific themes. In the Western Room, Greg finds a table with antique apothecary bottles on it. There's a dust void on the table, so one of the bottles was recently removed. A piece of broken glass is found wedged in the floorboards, and Nick finds the presence of blood. As every employee and patron is taken away in handcuffs, Nick is confronted by Roger Ridley, who identifies himself as the Brine County Supervisor. He explains that the brothel is 100% above board and that he helped get the place licensed. Nick assures him that he's only there because a 16-year-old girl was murdered, much to Roger's surprise.

Finn goes through Debbie's computer and wonders how someone so wholesome could've met such a gruesome end. Per Russell's request, she then accompanies Det. Crawford into the interrogation room. There, Madame Suzanne reiterates that she runs a legal business and denies trafficking young girls. When pressed, she admits that her bartender, Rex, told her about finding Debbie's body outside in the parking lot; however, she claims that Debbie was never inside the brothel.

At the brothel, Rex shows Nick the spot where he found Debbie's body. When asked why he didn't call the police, Rex says that he told Madame Suzanne, assuming that she would do the honors. Instead, she told Rex to get rid of the body. He tells Nick that he got Debbie's purse, put it in the car with her body, then covered up the blood in the dirt by shoveling more dirt on top of it. After driving Debbie's car away from the brothel, he hitched a ride back. Rex adds that he left Debbie's body in a spot where he knew it would be found.

Henry and Hodges are tasked with sifting through the dirt at the scene; they uncover a piece of turquoise amongst blood and other items. Elsewhere, Greg and Nick walk the premises looking for evidence. Testimonies from the girls inside say that Rex was only outside for a minute before he came in and informed Madame Suzanne about the body. This would seem to indicate that he's not the killer. As they search, the CSIs find a fresh shoe impression that resembles the toe of a boot or a high-heeled shoe. Nearby, Nick finds a rock with a significant amount of blood on it; it's consistent with Debbie's head wound.

Back at the lab, Russell has trouble getting fingerprints from the porous rock. Morgan, meanwhile, runs the hundreds of prints recovered from the brothel. She finds that one of the prints recovered from the Western Room is a match to one of the exemplar prints collected before processing Debbie's car. The print matches Jim Logan, and his prints are all over the brothel where his daughter was found dead.

It's discovered that Jim clears his schedule for "personal reasons" every Tuesday night and withdraws $500 from his bank account on a weekly basis. He's surprised when told that Debbie died at the very same brothel he frequents, but Det. Crawford theorizes that she found out what her father was doing every Tuesday night. This led to an altercation that started in the Western Room and eventually made its way outside. There, when Debbie threatened to let his secret slip, he silenced her by hitting her with the rock. Jim denies every word of these accusations and reveals that he was tending to a parishioner on the night of his daughter's death.

While testing shoes that potentially match the shoeprint made outside, Greg comes across a flip flop with broken glass embedded in its sole. The girl, Kirsten, had said earlier that she had never been in the Western Room, something that was obviously a lie. When Finn threatens to have her prostitution license revoked, Kirsten admits to letting Debbie in the back door that night and sneaking her into the room. She adds that the two of them talked before Kirsten ushered her out, but her conversation with Finn is cut short when Jim enters. He advises Kirsten to stop talking and offers to get her an attorney, an act that she basically ignores without even showing her gratitude. When pressed about his relationship with Kirsten, Jim admits that she's his other daughter who ran away when she was 17 years old; Tuesdays are the only times he can spend time with her. The CSIs tell him that Kirsten is a suspect in Debbie's death, but Tim tells them to get the evidence to prove it.

Back at the lab, Finn and Russell wonder if Kirsten killed her little sister out of jealousy. After all, Kirsten made a living as a prostitute, while Debbie was treated like a princess at home. Henry processes DNA samples from the brothel and finds a match to the person who raped Debbie. The sample came from bedsheets in the Asian Room, so the room's last male occupant is also guilty of the rape.

That person turns out to be Roger Ridley, and when Nick and Det. Crawford go to his place of work, they find Jim holding him at gunpoint, distraught over the rape and death of his daughter. Scratch marks on Roger's neck prove what he did, and Jim threatens to avenge Debbie's death. Nick is able to talk Jim out of pulling the trigger and ushers him out of the room. In the hallway, Jim says that Debbie had confided in Kirsten, telling her about the rape. She went to the brothel in the hope that her father would be there and she could tell him what happened.

Back in the office, Roger tries to explain that the scratches on his neck came from another girl at the brothel. He admits to having consensual sex with Debbie and claims that he thought she was of legal age. Finding out the truth may have led to her murder as a way to keep her quiet. However, Roger says that Debbie was paid for what she did and that someone pimped her out.

At the station, an agitated Carolyn Logan sits in the interrogation room. When told about the sworn statement Roger made, she denies her involvement and questions his character. However, Finn and Russell reveal that Carolyn herself used to be a prostitute, having been arrested three times in the past for solicitation. She scoffs at the idea that Jim "rescued" her, replying that she was happy in her past life and that Jim's charity work is all for show. It's revealed that Kirsten was 15 when she started getting pimped out and was likely too scared to go to her father for help. However, when it was Debbie's turn, she didn't hesitate to seek out help. When she went to the brothel to find her father, she ran into her mother instead. Carolyn berated her daughter, then cracked her over the head with a rock to silence her.

Carolyn believes there's no evidence against her, but Finn tells her that a bloody pair of shoes were found in the trash outside her house. Russell adds the turquoise stone found in the gravel outside the brothel came from a bracelet found in her dresser drawer. Defeated, Carolyn says that both girls were adopted and that she never wanted them.

As Jim collects his personal belongings, Russell tells him that his wife has been arrested for murder and is also guilty of pimping out the girls. Jim regrets spending more time focusing on his parishioners than his own daughters, but there's still one person he can save. Kirsten arrives at the station, and the two of them leave in an embrace.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

  • Jack Coleman as Jim Logan
  • Alimi Ballard as Detective Kevin Crawford
  • John Heard as Roger Ridley
  • Rya Kihlstedt as Carolyn Logan
  • Hannah Kasulka as Debbie Logan
  • Emiliano Torres as Ernesto Sanza
  • Sherilyn Fenn as Madame Suzanne
  • Rosemary Dominguez as Ridley's Assistant
  • Tina Ivlev as Kirsten
  • Mindy Robinson as Dahlia
  • Paul Telfer as Rex

Music[]

  • Baby I'm Broken by The Record Company

Notes[]

  • Jorja Fox (Sara) and Paul Guilfoyle (Brass) are credited but do not appear in the episode.

Trivia[]

  • John Heard played Roger Ridley in the episode. Aside from his recognizable role as Peter McCallister in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2, he also played Calleigh Duquesne's father, Kenwall, in four episodes of CSI Miami.
  • Sherilynn Fenn, who played Madame Suzanne, is most known for playing Audrey Horne in the television series Twin Peaks.

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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