Bettor or Worse

Synopsis
The team investigates a jewelry store theft where the robbers kidnapped the owner's wife and daughter and compelled a third party to carry out the crime. The convolutions and layers prove resistant to Charile's linear approach.

Plot
A woman walks into a jewelry store and is approached by a member of the sales staff, but she wants to see the owner, Martin Rausch. She interrupts his sale. She hands him a note and threatens his wife and child. She passes him a photo of them tied up. He gives her some diamonds, it's not enough though and her gives her more. She makes sure to tell him no police or FBI should be called and that his family will be returned in 24 hours. The security guard tries to stop her. She goes to pull something out of her bag and he shoots her.

Don meets Colby at the scene and is brought up to speed. David is also there. She has no ID on her so they don't know who she is.

At the office, Don briefs the team. David is still trying to ID the robber. Charlie drops off data that Don asked for before the case hit. Charlie thinks Larry can help ID the woman through her car. David and Colby talk to Rausch about the daily family routine and any potential leads. He denies the help of police and FBI as the woman instructed.

Larry and Charlie discuss Charlie's relationship (or lack thereof) with Amita while they work. Don interrupts. Charlie explains that the algorithm that creates the code as it is a rolling code so it will take some time to figure it out. He likens it to a pitcher throwing a series of fast balls, just more complex. Megan and Colby look at the CCTV footage. Megan doesn't understand why she did what she did and doesn't think she's a pro based on her mannerisms and the expression of fear on her face.

Charlie continues to work on the algorithm as Amita enters his office. He's having trouble and she offers her help. She helps him and then Charlie asks her out on a date with the stipulation of no work talk. She accepts.

The robber has no dental records, the contacts she wore were generic, and she didn't have any plastic surgery that could be used to identify her, so they still have no idea who the Jane Doe is. David was able to narrow the time of when the Rausches were kidnapped. Don and Megan are surprised that Rausch wouldn't let them setup any form of a command centre in case the kidnapper called. Charlie was able to figure out the algorithm and sends it to Don. The car manufacturer can help them identify the car and the DMV can help them from there.

The team stakes out the home of the robber. They enter the home of Erica Logan, the owner of the car. She lives at home with her father, Steven who is home. He says she's not home at the moment, but at work - she's a kindergarten teacher. He doesn't want to believe that she's dead and doesn't understand how she did what she did. She didn't have much of a social life, but Steven thinks there has to be more to this than meets the eye. Don and Colby go to Mrs Rausch's car to take a look at it now that it has been found near the daughter's school and a freeway nearby. They were pros. Megan thinks that Erica is the key to finding out who kidnapped them. A trigger must have made her do this. They look into her younger brother to see if he could link anyone or anything to the kidnapping.

Amita and Charlie are on their date. Things are not going well because all they're talking about is work, the one thing they agreed they wouldn't do.

Colby finds Remy Logan, Erica's little brother. David and Colby go to pick him up. They see him leaving out the back of his apartment. They catch up to him and ask him questions to find where the Rauches are. It turns out he runs a bookie operation, but don't know who his bank is.

Alan and Charlie talk about the failed date at the dining room table. Don comes by - he's hit a wall. They're trying to find the backers, but can't sift through the information. Charlie knows a way he can help. They track down the bank account of the backers. With this they can find out who owns the account. David is looking at a list of Remy's clients. One of the names is Martin Rausch which has the team stunned and Don wondering why Rausch is caught in the middle of the whole kidnapping situation.

Rausch has lost his tail. David finds out who the kidnappers are: Two brothers by the name of Brian and Chris Reynolds. They have rap sheets a mile long including violent crime. Don and Megan pull Remy into interrogation to get intel on the Reynolds brothers. Remy got Erica to rob the store so that he wouldn't get hurt or killed by the Reynolds boys and that she saved his life.

Colby finds that there was a call from Rausch's wife's phone. Rausch went to his store and went to the back where the repairs are done. He took them all. They're not sure where he went for the drop-off though. Using a program created by CalSci grad students can help them track traffic and Rausch's vehicle. They find his car in a parking lot where Remy was supposed to make his drop. They didn't return his family when he gave them the stolen jewelry. He reveals that his family was only supposed to be taken and driven around for a couple of hours. He was behind the whole thing.

Don gets Charlie and Amita to help him find the Reynolds brothers through credit card transactions. They find them in San Pedro. The team goes in, takes down the brothers, and rescues Mrs Rausch and her daughter. Mrs Rausch finds out what her husband did. She is not happy with her husband and walks out.

Charlie is at his air hockey table in the garage. Larry joins him. They talk about the failed date. Larry makes him see that maybe talking about work, something both are passionate about, isn't a bad thing.

Main

 * Rob Morrow as Don Eppes
 * David Krumholtz as Charlie Eppes
 * Judd Hirsch as Alan Eppes
 * Alimi Ballard as David Sinclair
 * Navi Rawat as Amita Ramanujan
 * Diane Farr as Megan Reeves
 * Peter MacNicol as Larry Fleinhardt

Recurring

 * Dylan Bruno as Colby Granger

Guest

 * Jay Karnes as Martin Rausch
 * Mike Damus as RRemy Logan
 * George Coe as Steven Logan
 * Claire Lautier as Erica Logan
 * Paulette Ivory as Claudia
 * Jennifer Siebel Newsom as Diane Rausch (credited as Jennifer Siebel)
 * Madison Davenport as Julia Rausch

Trivia
Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) imitates a Jamaican delivery guy to gain access to a potential suspect's home. The actor previously starred in Dark Angel playing Herbal Thought, a Jamaican bike delivery guy.

Crazy Credits
[This appears on the beginning of the episode] 3.2 Million Gambling Addicts, 116 Jewel Heists, 53 K Average Gambling Debt, 1 Polaroid