Directed by Rob Bailey
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & John Dove
"The Cost of Living" is the 5th episode of Season 5 and the 97th overall. It originally aired October 29, 2008.
A young archaeologist is found dead in an alley. Later, a homeless man is found dead as well. Stella is drawn into a mystery involving Greek coins and her life is threatened.
Tropes for the episode:
- Abandoned Area: The archaeologist's current work site is a long-unused section of the NYC subway beneath the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
- Adventure Archaeologist: The first victim makes his living hunting artifacts around the world.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Stella tells Mac that the man who attacked her in the subway cursed at her in Greek.
- Foreign-Language Tirade: When Stella is threatened, she startles the man and he angrily lapses from English into Greek.
- Map All Along: A creased piece of paper with lots of lines on it is found in the archaeologist's pocket. When Adam figures out that folding it along the creases in a certain order creates a paper airplane, a map of a section of the NYC subway system appears on its wings. This leads the team to an abandoned area the victim had been exploring for artifacts going back to FDR's administration.
- Neck Snap: The second victim is killed by someone breaking his neck.
- Personalized Pledge: Stella doesn't believe a suspect who insists he had nothing to do with the first victim's murder.Wolford Bessie: I swear on my sister's eyes!
Stella: Your sister's blind, Wolford.
Wolford Bessie: My other sister. Chantell. - Reduced to Ratburgers: Stella and Danny question a homeless man known as the "Rat Fisherman." He's a catch-and-release type of guy, but tells them he might be tempted to eat them if he were hungry enough.
- Scaramanga Special: The first victim is killed with a gun made from various "common household items", including the barrel and spring from an ink pen, and a small metal tube from a hardware store.
- Sinister Subway: Stella is attacked and pushed down the stairs in a subway entrance.
- Useless Spleen: Zig-zagged. While a deceased victim's medical records show that his spleen had been removed, Sid finds a perfectly healthy one in his body. The discovery of the organ leads the team to the man's true identity... and eventually to his killer.