CSI: NY

(indistinct radio transmissions continue)

? ?

Hey.

It's okay.

I'm not gonna hurt you.

Are you all right?

Hungry, I bet, huh?

Freeze!

NYPD!

This is Detective Bonasera. I need backup.

In pursuit of a subject vehicle.

Suspect is headed north on Amsterdam Avenue at 97th.

It's a small pickup truck, silver in color,

tailgate missing, right rear light is broken.

New York license plate AQT543.

Give me your hand.

Come on, damn it!

We have to do this together.

? Out here in the fields ?

? I fight for my meals ?

? I get my back into my living ?

? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. ?

Whatever it is, it looks serious.

Waiting for the results of an autopsy.

Been hovering outside of Sid's office

until he finally banished me.

We pick up a case I don't know about?

Marina Garito.

How many business cards do you hand out a week

to friends and family of victims and say,

"If you need anything, give me a call?"

Countless.

Marina Garito called me every Monday at 8:00 sharp,

without fail, for three years.

Always asking the same question.

Wanting to know if there were any new leads

in her brother's case.

Her brother was murdered?

Luke Garito was eight years old when he went missing

15 years ago.

He was presumed dead.

Marina was relentless in her search for answers.

Calling with potential leads,

names of possible suspects.

Last Monday, she left me a message.

Said she was close

to the biggest break in the case yet.

I have no idea what she meant,

'cause I was, uh...

I was too busy to get back to her.

Last night, she was rushed to Trinity General Hospital.

Gunshot wound, dead on arrival.

I completed my autopsy of Marina Garito.

She committed suicide.

What?

Sid, that's just not possible.

Self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Was there any bruising,

or defensive injuries suggesting a struggle?

No.

What about gunshot residue?

SEM picked up trace amounts of GSR

on our victim's right hand.

It's consistent with her handedness

and the location of the wound on the body.

There's got to be another explanation for this.

I'm sorry, Stella,

but there's nothing here that hints at foul play.

Was suicide

the preliminary determination of the officers at the scene?

Yes. And my postmortem

examination of the victim confirms it.

I believe the crime report mentions that they found a note.

So, that's it? Case closed?

It's not my call.

Oh, come on, Sid. You and I

both know that once suicide is suggested,

proper protocol of a homicide investigation,

both at the scene and with the body, is dismissed.

Things get overlooked.

Well, that may be the case in the field,

but certainly not here

in the medical examiner's office.

This young woman had reason to live.

She would not have done this.

I've seen hundreds of cases

with the very same set of circumstances,

and I've arrived at the exact same result.

Maybe this time you're wrong.

All right... No, I'm sorry.

If there is one thing I am sure of,

it's that Marina Garito did not kill herself.

This was murder.

Don't take it personally, Sid.

Stella worked through the night.

She's tired.

We're both disappointed, I suppose.

Disappointed?

That we didn't get any answers for Marina about her brother.

It's been three years

since Stella entered Luke Garito's DNA sample

into the Missing Persons database.

Our hope was that it would match a John Doe

that came in somewhere,

but time after time,

nothing, we never got a hit.

Then last night, Marina's body was brought in.

So I called Stella.

And her suicide made you think

she gave up?

On us, yeah.

This all feels more tragic

because Luke and Marina were twins.

You know, and they say there's a bond.

I wish there was something more

I could have done for her, for them.

It's been almost 15 years

since Luke disappeared.

But each morning I wake up,

I don't think about it being another day that

I haven't seen my brother.

For me, it's another day closer to him coming home.

Of course sometimes, it's hard to remain optimistic.

Reality sets in,

and I could see the possibility that he's actually dead.

It makes it easier,

because it helps me erase the image

that Luke is...

sitting somewhere,

alone,

waiting, wondering,

"Where haven't they come to get me?

Where are they?"

It's strange.

When I do let myself imagine that we find him,

I have my arms around him, but, uh,

he's still an eight-year-old boy.

I hope he's okay.

We've got to find something that at least shows motive.

Right, and we can't do that

without access to Marina's apartment.

And Mac needs cause

to secure it as a crime scene.

Yeah. We need evidence to get the evidence.

Well, what about the fact

that women rarely commit suicide with guns?

Their method is usually overdose or poison.

You want to guess what the DA's going to say to that?

You know, the odds are definitely stacked against us, Stell.

I've read the police report.

There was as suicide letter

sent to her family and friends.

"It's time I end it all. Free myself.

"This is the only way I know how.

Leaving here is my only option."

This is all typed on a computer, Hawkes.

Anybody could have written it.

Marina closed bank accounts, paid her bills.

She made a large cash contribution to charity.

All signs of a plan to attempt suicide.

I mean, not to mention, her prints were

on the gun we recovered from the scene.

Well, the killer could have put the gun in her hands.

Stella, I'm all for women's intuition and gut instinct,

but what is it, exactly, that makes you think

Marina Garito didn't take her own life?

She wasn't finished, Lindsay.

She hadn't found her brother yet.

They were eight years old when he went missing.

When I met her, she was 21.

She was dedicated to finding him.

She had notebooks with names, places, questions,

possible witnesses.

I remember her face, the look in her eyes

when she first came to me for help.

Excuse me.

Hi. I don't exactly know how to do this,

but my brother is missing,

and, uh, I have his hat.

And I've been told that it might help.

You're going to have to file a missing persons report.

Uh, this might take a while.

So, I'm sorry, but if you just have a seat...

How long has your brother been missing?

12 years.

What's your name?