It's The End Of A Champion In 'Bull'

See Also: 'Lying Down with Dogs' Episode Guide

Life can change in eight seconds flat.

According to CSI Files sources, "Bull" opens at the World Finals of Professional Bull Riders. The arena is filled to capacity for the opening ceremonies. The crowd cheers, young and old alike, as the lights go down and the pyrotechnics come alive. The most enthusiastic members of the audience are the Buckle Bunnies, groupies with their eyes on the cowboys.

Behind the scenes, flank men get the bulls ready. They herd the bulls from their pens into the chutes. Khartoum is the legend around here. Matt Dooley, a former rider in his forties, is in charge of the massive beast, guiding him into the chute. Khartoum's owner, Nancy Twicker, walks up and admires the bull. He's ready to buck tonight, she can see it in his eyes.

The cowboys take their turns and go for a ride, trying to stay on top of the bulls as they do their damndest to buck the men off. Some of the riders get thrown, but others manage to hold on. The crowd goes wild when they make it. The bullfighters, more commonly called "rodeo clowns", take charge of the bulls and lead them out of the ring, making way for the next rider to try his luck.

In the locker room, cowboys are coming and going. Some are getting ready for their rides while others are getting injuries looked at after their rides are over. Most of these men are in their twenties, early-thirties tops. Cody Prescott is in his late thirties and tries to hide a limp and chronic pain from years of being thrown. He heads out to the arena as Matt Dooley gets Khartoum ready for the ride. The announcer tells the crowd that Cody has to last the full eight seconds or he won't be in the finals. And if he doesn't make it tonight, it could be the last ride for the crowd favorite, the hero that stayed in the sport longer than most.

Cody is ready, and he gives the signal. Khartoum is out of the chute, bucking and trying to throw Cody off. The bull is successful within seconds, and Cody is on his back in the dirt. The bull twists around, still bucking, and slams one hoof down on Cody's neck. The crowd is horrified as the bullfighters get Khartoum out of the way and the medics rush in to help the fallen rider. Cody comes to and tries to get up against the medics' wishes. They try to stop him, but he's not having any of it, so they help him to his feet. The crowd cheers as he waves his hat in the air, being led out of the arena as the judges signal that there will be no re-ride. Cody is done for the night.

Grissom, Brass and Catherine come to the arena, but they aren't there to watch the bull riding. Cody Prescott's lifeless body is in the middle of the ring, a bottle of tequila nearby. It appears that Cody came back for one last ride, and Khartoum was too wild for him to handle. Doc Robbins looks at Cody's body in the morgue. An x-ray of Cody's neck from earlier shows that the first stomping from the bull caused a hairline fracture in one of his vertebra, right on the brain stem. He was a disaster waiting to happen. Now, in the morgue, David Phillips has taken a second x-ray, which reveals that the second stomping fractured the vertebrae completely. They have the cause of death, but is the manner of death as obvious as it seems?

Meanwhile, Nick and Greg investigate the death of Tiffany Garner. The woman was the victim of a hit and run, and the CSIs suspect that she might have been Cody Prescott's girlfriend. When they find Cody's truck, they confirm that it was the one that killed Tiffany. Did Cody kill her because she wanted to leave him? When a third dead body shows up, the team must figure out if the victim was connected to Cody and Tiffany. In the meantime, Warrick has been out of work for two weeks and joins the Cody Prescott case on his first shift back.

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.

"Bull" is expected to air in early 2008.

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!