See Also: 'Still Life' Episode Guide

In the 10th episode of CSI, entitled "Still Life," the team will have to rely on science to figure out who's the real mother of a 6-year-old boy.

Karen Matthews is a single mother and a widow. Her little boy, Jesse, is all she has left, but soon she may be left with nothing at all. The episode takes us to Sunset Park, where Jesse has just disappeared off Karen's sight. Frantically, she calls the authorities, claiming a man in a blue cap kidnapped Jesse. As an Amber Alert goes into effect, Catherine talks to a distraught Karen in the woman's home, and notices the many unopened presents in Karen's garage. They are presents from Jesse's grandparents, she explains, her in-laws. Catherine wonders why the presents are unopened, and Karen explains the presents are bribes – her in-laws have always wanted to take Jesse away from her. Could Jesse's grandparents be the kidnappers? This is their only lead.

But this time the team won't have to chase after the evidence: the evidence comes to them. Karen's in-laws visit the precinct when they recognize Jesse's photo in a news broadcast. A retired Air Force Colonel, Warren Matthews tells Brass they haven't seen Jesse since their son died. Karen, he explains, became so paranoid after her husband's death she lived with the fear that Jesse's grandparents would take him away from her. Brass can hardly blame Karen, but the Matthews explain they never wanted to take Jesse away from his mother - they just wanted to be a part of his life. Brass realizes the Matthews's will to see their grandson again may have been strong, but it's clear they had nothing to do with Jesse's disappearance.

They let the Matthews go, but a new lead quickly comes in. A store clerk calls 911, claiming Jesse is there with a woman and a man. Could this be the man in the blue cap? The LVPD quickly arrests Tony and Valerie Esposito, and their raging confusion does not faze Brass – every criminal denies being guilty. Catherine and Warrick are happy to reunite Karen and her son, but as Karen showers Jesse with hugs and kisses the little boy struggles to extricate himself from her arms and reaches out to Valerie. Catherine and Warrick don't know what to make of Jesse's behavior.

Brass interrogates Tony and Valerie, who are outraged by the implication that they are kidnappers. Valerie tells the detective the 6-year-old boy they were found with is their son, Adam. Brass asks for proof and Valerie produces a few family photos: there's no doubt Adam and Jesse are the same little boy, as these photos are nearly identical to the ones Karen possesses. It's clear that one of the women is lying, but which one? In this age of technology there's only one thing to do, perform a DNA test to determine who is Jesse's, or Adam's, real mother. It shouldn't take long to answer that question, but whatever the results one thing's certain – there's still a 6-year-old boy missing.

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 and the airing order of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Still Life" will likely air during December of 2005.

Discuss this news item at Talk CSI!
 Add CSI Files RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a Desperate Housewives fan? Then visit GetDesperate.com!