A ‘New York’ Criminal Winds Up Dead In ‘Cavallino Rampante’

The third episode of CSI: New York’s eighth season finds the team searching for the person who killed an elusive car thief. (Major spoilers after the jump!)

According to CSI Files sources, “Cavallino Rampante” begins as Sergeant Danny Messer addresses the uniformed patrol officers under his command. They’re looking for a pair of car thieves who specialize in high-end vehicles. Over the past few months, these two have stolen 16 Ferraris, each worth $250,000. The NYPD doesn’t know much about the thieves. They only know that they are looking for two women, one blonde and one brunette. These women avoid surveillance cameras and eyewitnesses, and they can get past even the most advanced security systems. Danny tells his officers that these women are good, but they’ve also been lucky. Eventually, their luck has to change, and the NYPD will be there to take them down.

Meanwhile, the car thieves are going after another Ferrari. Nicole and Michelle are two gorgeous young women who blend in with the clubbers on the street as they walk down the sidewalk toward their latest mark. Nicole keeps an eye out as Michelle uses a special cloning device to break into the car and start it up. Nicole hops in, and they squeal away from the curb and down the street.

After Danny dismisses his officers, he and one of his rookies, Officer Lauren Cooper, get into a patrol car and head out to do their job and protect the city. Lauren drives, and the car remains silent for a while. Lauren asks about the Crime Lab, wondering if Danny’s former job as a scientist was boring compared to life as a beat cop. Danny doesn’t offer up much information, telling Lauren to head into a parking garage so they can take a look around. Car thieves like to park their recently-acquired vehicles in a public parking garage for a few days to make sure a tracking device won’t mess up their plans—once they’ve reassured themselves that the cops won’t be able to track the car, they return to pick it up. Danny’s hoping their thieves have done something similar, and he’s rewarded when they spot a red Ferrari parked in one of the spots.

Danny and Lauren get out of the patrol car, approaching the Ferrari cautiously. The engine is running, and they can hear music from inside. The cabin of the car is empty, but Danny opens the trunk to find Michelle’s body. There isn’t any blood, but she’s obviously dead. The cloning device she and Nicole used to break into cars is crushed on the ground next to the car, and Adam re-assembles it to figure out its purpose. A fingerprint on one of the internal components leads them to Arthur, an ex-convict with priors for Grand Larceny. If he made the device for the girls, he might have been working with them—and he might be the killer.

Mac and Flack head to Arthur’s address, and his daughter Amy answers the door. She’s surprised to see the police there, but they rush past her with their guns drawn. However, they discover that Arthur is in a wheelchair and hooked up to an oxygen tank. He’s riddled with cancer, and there’s no way he’s their killer. He looks up at the officers and asks if this is about his daughters. Mac looks to the side and sees a family photo from happier times. Arthur stands beside Amy and two other girls: Michelle and Nicole. Stealing cars is the family business

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.

“Cavallino Rampante” is expected to air October 7 on CBS.