Grissom and Sara close in on who framed Hodges; a cargo plane lands autonomously at McCarran Airport with everyone on board dead.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Laura Kennerly, the seemingly kindhearted babysitter of Ellis Truette's son Cole. She infiltrates the family to use Ellis's job as a pilot to pull off a heist of $2 million in untraceable casino chips from a cargo plane, roping him into being her accomplice on the grounds he'd be setting Cole up financially after his imminent death from lung cancer. Naturally, she greedily wants to keep all the money for herself and kills the pilots and Ellis before parachuting out, risking a plane crash that could have killed dozens or hundreds if not for Ellis surviving just long enough to turn on the auto pilot. She continues to play the part of a caring babysitter for the boy she just orphaned by comforting him over his dad's death and taking him out for ice cream to cheer him up. When the investigation leads to the Truette house, she deflects suspicion onto Ellis's ex-con cousin Gary, hypocritically saying he's not the best influence on Cole and feigning concern about Cole having to go into foster care.
- Chekhov's Gun: The snow globe Gary bought for Cole ends up helping Folsom to figure out how to nail Laura for the murders.
- Cool Uncle: Gary is this to Cole. Though technically they're second cousins as Gary is Ellis's first cousin, not his brother.
- Death by Childbirth: Ellis's wife is mentioned by Hugo as having died giving birth to Cole.
- Death Glare: Laura delivers one to Folsom, Max, and Agent Barron when the latter places handcuffs on the interrogation table for her to put on.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Folsom turning Cole's snow globe upside down leads him to determine that evidence Laura was on the plane ended up on the ceiling from the plane turning upside down in the air before landing.
- Friend to All Children: Folsom forms a bond with the orphaned Cole Truette, having spent time in foster care as a kid himself.
- Greed: Laura could have easily stolen the chips without any bloodshed and split the $2 million with Ellis evenly, but instead killed her partner and the pilots so she could have the entire payday to herself.
- Happily Adopted: Cole is taken in by Gary.
- Heartbreak and Ice Cream: Before the CSI team arrived at the Truette residence, Laura took Cole out for ice cream to cheer him up following his father's murder.
- Hypocrite: When Laura is questioned about Gary, she remarks that she never considered him the best influence on Cole, but is later revealed herself to be a greedy murderess who killed the boy's father.
- The Unreveal: We never learn why Laura tried to kill her superior officer when she was in the Air Force, which got her locked up in military prison for 6 years.
