CSI: CRIME scene investigation

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Inside the Box

Written by Carol Mendelsohn & Anthony E. Zuiker
Directed by Danny Cannon

When Detective Cyrus Lockwood (Jeffrey Sams) is gunned down in a bank robbery, protecting a woman and her child on line with him, the CSI team investigates, only to discover that murderous spree wasn’t motivated by money. The only thing missing in the heist is the contents of one safety deposit box, and the owner turns out to be Sam Braun (Scott Wilson), the casino mogul, and Catherine’s longtime mentor and father figure.

But what did the thieves want from Box 729? And why did they kill their own getaway driver, in a serious attempt to cover their tracks? The team uncovers a bullet, and a print, which leads them from the dead driver to his “day job” – working at the Rampart Casino, which Braun owns. Braun insists that his human resources department made a mistake in hiring a man with a record, but Catherine, who reminds him of some other ugly incidents connected to the casino, including the murder of a Rampart waitress the year before, thinks he knows more than he’s saying.

The CSIs trace the safety deposit box to the late Benny Murdoch – the former doorman at the Rampart, and Sam Braun’s close friend. Catherine asks about a reported falling out between Braun and Murdoch, which Braun insists was sorted out before he died

The team is soon able to connect the sharp shooter who took Lockwood and a police car out to the kind of skill that can only be learned in the military. The common denominator – the shooter, Rob Rubio, also worked at the Rampart. Grissom and Catherine search Rubio’s house, and find the safety deposit box, which tests positive for blood, and also contains silk multi-colored threads.

But then their search takes a shocking turn – the other remaining bank robbers are found dead in the desert, killed by someone they knew. A rainbow-colored scarf is left behind at the crime scene, which matches the thread evidence Catherine and Grissom found in Box 729. The owner of the scarf – the murdered waitress from the Rampart. All roads lead to the owner of the Rampart Casino, and even Catherine knows that if Rubio killed all of his partners, Sam Braun is the most likely suspect to have ordered the hit.

As much as it pains her, Catherine knows she can no longer accept Braun’s version of the truth. But when she takes it upon herself to dig a little deeper, she finds out and even more personal truth about the man she thought she knew.


Meanwhile, during the course of the murder investigation, Grissom is struggling with something almost as difficult as the death of a colleague. It has become increasingly clear that his hearing has deteriorated to the point that it is affecting his job, and it is something he can no longer hide. Catherine is on to him, so Grissom reluctantly seeks advice from Dr. Robbins, who suggests he schedules surgery to correct his genetic hearing loss as soon as possible.