CSI: Miami

On death row, a reheasal for an upcoming death sentence is held.

But just an hour before the execution, Ken Kramer, the "axe-man", has a stay of execution. Word is out that Valera's work with DNAs is under review, and although he was convicted five years ago, since Valera had handled the DNAs, the court does not want to take a chance in making mistakes.

Miranda Lewis is in to see Horatio. She is the mother of one of the victims of the axe-man. She is upset about the stay. Horatio tries to comfort her that the stay is only technical.

Since the defense will have its own DNA anaysis, CSI will be working on all evidence that is not DNA. Ryan asks who had worked on this case, and Eric tells Ryan that Speedle was the main working on this case. Eric sounds frustrated that Speedle's case is being reopened.

Kramer attacked an innocent couple at a beach house five years ago. Kramer duct-taped both, raped the girl, and killed both. The girl, Sheri Vanover, was axed seventeen times. Mike Lewis, the boy, was found in the hallway, strangled.

Ryan and Horatio are looking over the photos of the crime scene. The blood pool that Sheri had made is smeared. Mike was alive and struggling when he was dragged through the blood. But why not kill the more potentially dangerous man first?

Eric is looking over the axe. Calleigh comes in to look at Mike's clothes. Eric says that Speedle already went through them. Calleigh tells Eric that he needs to get past it and also that he was a little hard on Ryan, that Eric can't take his frustrations out on other people. Calleigh asks Eric how things are going with his shrink. Eric doesn't want to say much. Calleigh wants Eric to concentrate so he doesn't make mistakes, and assures Eric that she does trust him. Five years ago, there wasn't EDAX, x-ray vision. They find cobalt on the shoulders of the clothes of Mike Lewis. Alexx and Horatio confirm that Mike Lewis had two shallow lacerations on the chest, and rope marks on his neck. Eric and Calleigh find cobalt on Sheri's shoulders too. Someone was holding her down. No cobalt on Ken Kramer. Horatio thinks there was a partner, who may not be done yet.

Horatio goes to speak with Ken Kramer. Horatio asks who the partner is, and Ken's attorney urges to speak if it is true, but Ken is adamant that he did the killing and that he is the one that is getting the needle.

Ryan and Horatio are looking over Ken Kramer's cell for correspondence from someone outside. Horatio gets a call from Ray Jr. and hurries to the house. Rick Stetler, with a black eye, is just leaving the house. Horatio tells him to walk and never come back. Yelina is fine now that Rick is leaving. Ray Jr. talks to Horatio that he never liked Rick. He had thought that his mom seeing Rick will make him forget his father, but he misses his father more.

Ryan is going over the newspaper clippings which Ken received, with no fingerprints, all gossip, no connection seen. The edges of the clippings may be a signal. As he and Calleigh take photos, they notice that the other side, not the underlined gossip, are news clippings of crimes of violence. They go for the case files. First is a hit-and-run in Tallahassee. The victim is paralyzed for life. Second is an assault with a baseball bat in Orlando. The victim is still in a coma. Most recent is murder, stabbing. They are escalating.

Horatio talks to Ken on death row, that his partner is trying to impress Ken with his crimes. Ken shrugs it off that it must be a fan of his. Ken says that killing takes the weight off of him, like taking off a heavy coat. As Horatio leaves, Ken asks him if Horatio isn't going to ask what the partner will do next. Horatio responds, he just got the answer.

Horatio arrives at the beach house. There is a police car out front. The officer tells Horatio that husband and wife are dead, duct-taped and with an axe lying nearby. Horatio finds that the woman is not dead but alive.

Horatio asks the woman survivor, Beth Grand, what happened. A guy lost his cell on the beach and asked to use the phone. He had tape on her husband and began axing him. He had tried to strangle her, not with rope but with his hands. Horatio asks if evidence can be taken from her neck.

Horatio reviews the photos of Mike Lewis with Alexx again. The bruising around the ligatures are wider. It may be that the rope slipped. But it didn't slip; no abraided tissue. Horatio thinks it may be the work of the partner. The ends of the rope had Ken Kramer's DNS, but Horatio is not concerned about the ends.

Horatio asks Dr. Talcott to swab the middle of the rope for DNA. Horatio thinks that someone manually strangled Mike Lewis before the rope was used. They are looking for epithelials on the rope. The DNA result showed it was not Ken Kramer but someone related to him.

Frank and Eric are at a Raffles table. Jesse Kramer, Ken's brother, comes in, saying he got a call. Frank arrests Jesse and Eric takes a look in his truck. He finds duct tape. The tape end is a match to the murder five years ago. Jesse had beaten the cops to the murder scene and swiped the tape, not to hide the evidence, but to get a few bucks from eBay. He isn't lying; his DNA doesn't match the epithelials on the rope. Jesse says there is no more male relative, except for a long-lost cousin, Larry Hargrove.

Larry seems to have disappeared, as there is nothing but outdated information in the system. Ryan has processed the new axe. There is cobalt. Eric reminds Ryan that they didn't have EDAX back then so Speedle didn't have that information. Ryan has had enough; he doesn't want to compete with a dead man. Ryan found that cobalt is used in staining wood. Ryan also found something else - slate. Eric leaves without any word.

Eric goes through the photos of the old scene, and finds a pool table, which has stained wood and slate. The stabbed man photo also shows a pool table. Larry must either make pool tables or install them. Frank confirms that the victims of the other two crimes also had pool tables.

Frank and Horatio jump into the manufacturer, Brando's Billiards. They find Larry and arrest him. Larry was at the beach house with Ken five years ago. He was told to take out the man with the axe, but couldn't, because he didn't have the stomach. Larry couldn't even strangle the man because he was weak. So he was determined to show Ken that he was getting tougher. Ken had told Larry that it would get easier. It did. Larry wanted to be tough, like Ken. Frank reads to Larry his rights.

Horatio visits Ken to report about Larry. Ken didn't give Larry up because Larry was not up to Ken's standards. Ken's execution has been scheduled for tomorrow midnight. Ken says he still has a surprise.

Miranda Lewis shows Horatio a photo of her son Mike.

Ken Kramer gets his last meal, PBJ. He eats it voraciously, lies down, then suddenly goes into convulsions. He is dead. He was allergic to peanut butter. Horatio sees him in his coffin.

All during this episode, there are shots of a man with an axe walking in the woods, sharpening the axe, sawing wood, shaving, making carvings, varnishing and polishing. It is the coffin-maker.