Things Heat Up 'Right Next Door'

See Also: 'Right Next Door' Episode Guide

Home is not always a sanctuary.

According to CSI Files sources, "Right Next Door" finds Stella heading to her apartment after a long shift. As she walks down the hall, she hears a child crying from inside her neighbor's apartment and saying that she wants to go home. The child tries to open the door, but the chain at the top stops its progress.

Stella can see a bit of the inside of the apartment as her neighbor Bonnie kneels down. She is trying to soothe the little girl, suggesting that her son Jason has ice cream they can share. The girl is visibly upset and won't calm down. All Stella can see of her is her shoes, but she can see Bonnie's frazzled expression in the gap of the open door.

When the child moves farther into the apartment, Stella speaks up and says that Bonnie clearly has her hands full. Bonnie notices her and undoes the chain, opening the door to explain that she's got her niece for the night and that things aren't going as well as planned. She apologizes in case the crying child keeps Stella awake. Stella wishes her luck and walks to her own apartment next door, putting the key in the lock and heading inside.

Later, Stella wakes up in her bed, coughing. When she turns on the light, she sees the black smoke in the room and leaps to action. The building's fire alarm sounds, and people can be heard moving in the hallway. Stella runs out of the apartment and into the hallway, pounding on doors on the way to the stairwell, yelling that there's a fire and keeping track of the neighbors she sees. She glances at the sprinkler system in the ceiling and only sees a few drops of water falling--but she doesn't have time to worry about that. She doesn't see Bonnie and Jason.

Stella asks the people passing by if they've seen the woman or the little boy, but everybody shakes their head. Stella pounds on Bonnie's apartment door and, feeling that the surface isn't too hot, shoulders it open when she doesn't get a reply. The chain stops the door from opening completely, so Stella kicks it in, shouting for Bonnie in the smoky apartment. She hears coughing and follows the sound, finding Jason in the living room alone and disoriented. She asks him where his mother and cousin are, but he doesn't know. Stella grabs Jason's hand and tells him not to let go as they flee the burning apartment, flames crawling up the walls and across the ceiling.

Outside, firefighters are hard at work extinguishing the flames. Police officers and paramedics are scattered throughout the crowd, trying to help the people who escaped from the building. Stella searches for Bonnie, still clutching Jason's hand. Bonnie sees them and calls out, running up and hugging Jason. Stella wants to know why she would leave her son in the apartment, but Bonnie says she thought he was behind her and lost track of him on the fire escape. They wouldn't let her run back into the apartment after him. Her niece, she says, is with the paramedics.

Flack rushes to the scene to see if Stella is okay, and the CSIs get involved when a body in found in the building. The woman died before the fire, and her body is found in the home of a convicted arsonist. Flack brings the man into custody for questioning. Did he set the building on fire to cover up a murder?

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.

"Right Next Door" is expected to air April 9 on CBS.

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