I just tested and this worked. I would setup a UDF in the work file instead of linking CI_Item but... it worked. The only issue I have not solved is if an image file name is not in CI_Item the default item appears. Not sure how I would fix this (probably put a ""clear"" image as the placeholder described in this article.
http://www.cogniza.com/wordpress/2010/03/15/crystal-reports-dynamic-images/