Venture 'Down The Rabbit Hole' In NYC

See Also: 'Time's Up' Episode Guide

The crew of CSI: New York looks into the death of a woman who was leading a double life online.

According to CSI Files sources, "Down the Rabbit Hole" finds the New York CSIs investigating the murder of a woman named Cheryl. She has been shot to death and is found with a tick on her body and an action figure nearby. When they look into Cheryl's life in the hopes of finding clues about her death, the team discovers that she had been participating in Second Life as her online alter ego, Venus.

Second Life is an internet phenomenon that allows users to build a new identity for themselves. Represented by three-dimensional avatars, the users are then able to interact with one another, buy virtual land and create businesses. Second Life has its own economy which can be translated into real world profits for members. Business in Second Life may be lucrative for some users, but others use the service to develop deep personal relationships. In "Down the Rabbit Hole", this is the case for Cheryl and another member, Ricky O'dell.

The action figure that is found with Cheryl's body leads them to Ricky. When he first sees detectives at his office, Ricky runs. Once he is caught and brought in for questioning, Stella and Danny ask him about Cheryl. Ricky claims that he has never met her, but he has no trouble identifying a picture of Cheryl's Second Life avatar, Venus. He also identifies the action figure as one that he made so that Venus would recognize him. The pair had been planning to get married in Second Life and were going to meet in the real world, but Ricky chickened out at the last minute.

Stella and Danny aren't convinced. He was planning to meet a woman who ended up dead, he owns a gun and he ran from police when they tried to question him. It all seems very suspicious. Ricky finally admits that he decided not to meet Cheryl in real life because he has multiple sclerosis. In Second Life, he could live a full life and fall in love, but in the real world, he is dying and didn't want to start a relationship knowing how it would end. They ask him about the gun he bought, and he points out that he is young and has a bleak future. He bought the gun for himself, not to hurt anyone else.

Mac and Flack watch the interrogation from the other side of the glass, and Flack notices that Mac seems exhausted. When he asks about the last time Mac slept, the other man claims that he is fine. After a moment, he shares something with Flack: Peyton has decided to stay in London. Back in the interrogation room, Ricky begins to ask his own questions. He wants to know if Venus is in trouble for something. Stella has to tell him that the woman he loves has been murdered, but Ricky doesn't believe her. She can't be dead, he says, because he had been talking to her in Second Life when the detectives first arrived to question him. If he is telling the truth, Mac wants to know why someone is using the avatar of a dead woman.

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.

"Down the Rabbit Hole" is expected to air October 24, 2007.

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