- A horribly mutilated body of a professor is found lynched on a tree.
- Lieutenant Horatio Caine examines academically acclaimed Cultural Anthropology professor Adam Metzger whose corps is found wearing only shorts, hanged from a tree in KKK-lynching style with cult elements, such as a possible canine sacrifice. Wounds indicate some five hours of torture with thirteen different weapons. Weapons found in the professor's house were used to torture the dog to death. He was hated by parents and colleagues but loved by his thirteen students because of his controversial course on hatred, violence and pain, which included such guest speakers as a KKK leader and Columbian prison torturer Bardosa, whose machete-arm wound disabled him to commit a hanging. The blood found near the corps is Ned Sante's, a student who tells he was stripped by the other twelve as part of his involuntary mock lynching. Metzger also had an affair with student Ginny Taylor and left shredded notes. Meanwhile Eric Delko and Dr. Alexx Woods examine a decomposed corps in a car trunk fished from the water, perhaps a mob killing; he had a head wound but drowned. The car belonged to Reed Metal Works laborer Lorenzo 'Larry' Castanotto; the victim was his friend and colleague Doug...—KGF Vissers
- Detective Bernstein and Horatio initial look at the barely-clothed man hanging from a tree is a first for both of them; they have never seen anything like this. The intricate manner the ropes are tied suggests somebody put the victim up the tree; it was not suicide. Someone or a group performed these horrible attacks on the body of this man and hung him from the tree limb.
Processing begins with findings of a block and tackle system to lift the victim as Calleigh is taking her photos from a ladder leaning against the limb holding the body; Alexx is on the ground witnessing the wounds as is Speed. Detective Bernstein identifies the body belonging to a Professor Adam Metzger, Anthropology Department, at the university. Alexx says the victim had his eyes glued open causing retinal damage, there are puncture wounds to his torso from an ice pick with several more wounds over the body, yet he did not die of blood loss. The numerous wounds to the professor were not meant to kill him. Horatio finds the partially-buried corpse of a canine near the professor.
Detective Adell Sevilla watches a car winched by a tow, Delko shows up, meets Jerry, a police diver coming to shore, telling Eric the car had the windows open. Delko pops the trunk, finds a corpse that has been there for a few weeks, with bloating occurring having been in the trunk for a while. Detective Sevilla says it could be a mob-hit or drug-related.
Calleigh researching the hanging-rope-knots finds they are old-style military. Dean of Students walking Horatio and Det. Bernstein says the Professor was a odd-ball, his guests were controversial, his costumes the same; Horatio takes a DNA swab of each of his students.
Ned Sante is interrogated by Horatio, having his DNA appear on the professor's clothing. Ned was the product of the professor's mock lynching; Ned was humiliated, but did not kill anyone. Speed, Horatio enter the professor's house, encounter his students inside, one claiming he had an open door policy. They are looking and seeing unusual items relating to evil, i.e. a closet they open full of medieval torture items.
Alexx and Jade are imaging the corpse of the man pulled out of the submerged car-trunk, finding something struck his head. Delko inspects the car-interior finding adhesive tape usage on the dash, indicating the car was stripped of something. Megan pulls clothing from the trunk, personal items include a wad of paper, a car key, which works in the car; thinking someone drove him to the water. Delko inspects the vin number, both Megan, Delko saying something happen at the canal. Delko gets the autopsy report, the victim died from drowning.
Calleigh is processing the professor's wounds using the found medieval weapons, being she cannot identify the wounds from any conventional items. Horatio, Speed, Alexx know there were thirteen wounds from each old instrument. Calleigh's findings are none of the old-time weapons match the professor's wounds.
Det. Sevilla, Delko visit Larry Castanotto, car's owner, Larry claiming it was stolen and he got paid from the insurance company. Both police notice the dashboard bobble, adhesive missing, Larry refuses to surrender it. Det. Sevilla ponders, what kind of guy removes his bobble head from his car before dumping it into the canal? Delko quips, the same guy that puts someone in the trunk first.
The canine corpse pulled from the tree area is processed by Calleigh, Horatio finding the dog was tortured, wanting to find out who the dog belonged to when he pulls a microchip from the canine. The dog owner is student Ginny Taylor, the same person telling Horatio it was not his business what the students were doing when he and Speed entered the professor's house. Ginny is questioned in her home, she says the professor once asked for her to kiss his shoes; she says she did. She had no idea her dog was tortured, she had signs posted all over looking for the dog. She had no idea who killed the professor; she did not.
Det. Sevilla learns missing person report filed by girlfriend of deceased. Det. Sevilla, Delko discuss identifying the dead man, Doug Reed, whose girlfriend walks off the elevator as they speak. Girlfriend Caroline lived with Doug for three months, they were going to Aruba. Delko notices Doug wore ear plugs, he tells Jade Doug's work-shirt identifies his employer as Larry's, too. Delko locates box of extra ear plugs in Doug's locker, Doug's body has been cremated, per Alexx. Imaging the ear to the earplug, Delko has a positive match.
Calleigh informs Horatio the content of the rope was bamboo, native to Columbia, coinciding with the Columbian guest lecturer the professor had in his class. Horatio, Calleigh interrogate the Columbian, after which x-rays reveal the tendons in the man's hands have been severed; Calleigh says he could hardly pick up a pencil. Horatio concludes the Columbian is not our killer.
Det. Sevilla, Delko look over the paper Megan found in Doug's pocket, a travel brochure to Aruba, in the brochure they find writing, flipping the paper over is a deposit slip belonging to Larry's account. A stop at Larry's place has him confessing he and Doug defrauded the insurance company, but Larry says he did not kill Doug, when from another room appears Doug's girlfriend, Caroline. Larry claims he was at the dog track when Doug disappeared, a credit card transaction will prove his whereabouts.
Speed has assembled the shredded paper from the professor indicating his notes refer to an assistant who either typed the notes or shredded them. No prints on the professor's keyboard, Calleigh finds no prints on any other office supplies, when Horatio says the assistant was wiping down blood, not prints. Calleigh sprays the office accessories including a letter opener in dagger form, showing traces of blood evidence, image of the professor's face left on the copy machine's glass, eyes glued open from the super glue found and cotton sweater threads left on the copy machine. Horatio asks who wears cotton sweaters. A warrant search for Teresa's taser was given to Speed. The taser likely in use judging on the wounds found.
Accident re-creation software, Delko, Horatio find the software shows the car does not move on its own, it needed a push. An actual re-creation using the car with Megan noticing a trunk bolt Doug hit his head reaching for the music CD. Doug fell into the trunk by accident trying to grab the CD before pushing the car into the canal. Doug drowned in the trunk, having hit the loose bolt reaching.
Horatio interrogates Teresa revealing being tortured over the last year, concealing the scars with wearing cotton sweaters in the eighty-degree weather. Finally, she had enough abuse, tasering him, inflicting wounds with the office equipment accessories, later super-gluing his eyes open, placing his head on the open copy machine, setting it to one-hundred copies, blinding him. Horatio informs Teresa she had been an experiment of the professors all along, she finally realized it and coupled with the insulting things he said about her work, is what put her over the top to kill him, which she admitted.
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