See Also: 'The Past, Present and Murder' Episode Guide

Craig T Nelson (Robert Dunbrook) returns to CSI: New York in "The Past, Present and Murder", and the team must determine if he is the victim or the suspect.

According to CSI Files sources, the CSIs are called to Dunbrook's office. He says a man broke in and attacked him, and he threw the man out the window in self-defense. The team discovers that they're going to have trouble proving his story because the victim's body is missing. Stella and Hawkes find evidence of blood and broken teeth on the sidewalk below the penthouse office, but someone must have moved the body.

In the office, Mac and Flack are having trouble getting answers from Dunbrook and his son, Connor. Connor is the head of security, but he refuses to hand over the names of people who had access to the office. Danny fingerprints the biometric lock and only finds Dunbrook's prints on it. Mac theorizes that Dunbrook let the victim in and killed him after an argument got physical. Dunbrook tells him that he has no proof to back those claims. With the victim missing, Mac can't prove Dunbrook's story--but he also can't prove him wrong.

Dunbrook isn't willing to give the CSIs any information to go on because he needs to protect his sources. The team is going to have to work with the evidence they find at the scene. Danny says the biometric lock smells like strawberries. He also finds something more concrete: a box cutter on the floor. Nearby, he finds a magazine with an E-Ink cover. The cover is partially sliced.

While the team tries to make sense of their case, Dunbrook arranges a press conference outside the NYPD to talk about the investigation. He reveals that he was attacked, and he tells reporters that the attacker had an accomplice that removed the body from the crime scene. A reporter asks if Dunbrook had anything to do with the body's disappearance, but the man denies any knowledge of what happened to his attacker. He says the NYPD has made the case a priority, and the reporter wonders if that has to do with his $20 million donation to the department (from "The Party's Over").

Dunbrook says the money was given to benefit the city and its residents, and he does not expect special treatment from the NYPD. Suddenly, a shot rings out. It hits a piece of camera equipment near Dunbrook, and Mac yells for everybody to get down. Dunbrook ducks behind the podium as police officers run out into the street. The gunman is nowhere to be seen. Mac rushes to see if Dunbrook is okay. He wasn't hit, and he seems unconcerned that the shooter might try again.

Meanwhile, the team is looking at their evidence, trying to unravel what happened. The DNA sample Stella and Hawkes collected from the sidewalk gets a match from an unexpected source: the FBI. It belongs to Agent Walsh, one of the men who questioned Mac about Ann Steele's flash drive (from "Sex, Lies and Silicone") in "The Triangle".

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"The Past, Present and Murder" is expected to air April 22 on CBS. (Edited April 10: "The Past, Present and Murder" may air on April 15. Please check your local listings to be sure of the date.)

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