You are going feel this episode is out of sync with the ones we've seen so far. That's because it was aired out of order. It explained to me why Lacey suddenly thought her mom's job was more interesting than her dad's in "Talking Heads", after telling Megan she was pushing too hard in "Letting Go".
Despite that it was a great one for all the characters.
This episode started off with the murder in progress. Ed Russell was killed with his baby girl lying just a few feet away in a playpen. It happened in a nice neighbourhood not far from where Peter Dunlop grew up.
It's a mystery to the investigation who killed Ed. Who would want to kill a stay-at-home dad, father of two? Was it the wife? Or the angry teenage son?
It had to be a painful reminder for Dr. Megan Hunt, as we can see in flashback her own father was found dead, when she was a little girl. We don't know how it happened, but Megan took it personal enough to warn Bud not to tell the son when he brings the boy in. His father is dead. He shouldn't have to hear it from a cop.
Meanwhile, Megan's ex-husband Todd (Jeffrey Nordling) had gone to the Medical Examiner Office to seek Dr. Kate Murphy's help on a case. He also asked if Megan would like to take Lacey for the day. Megan jumped at the chance to be mom, even before she knew she would be carpooling Lacey's friends as well.
We got more than a few delightfully light moments.
One of them being an encounter between Todd and Curtis.
"Are you her secretary?"
"No. I'm her boss."
"No one is Megan's boss." So Todd still holds Megan in high regard.
Having survived growing up with three sisters, Peter offers his insights on adolescent girls.
"My mom told me the key to carpool is snacks." He had just plopped down a big bag of it on Megan's desk. (He listens to his mom. Hmm. Makes me wonder if Peter's sisters were older or younger than him.)
"I want Lacey to like me, not have her teeth fall out."
"You'll thank me for it later."
Lacey wasn't happy when Megan shows up with "work". Remember Peter has been helping Megan become a better parent. You have to love that he sticks up for her. "Give your mom a break." Tasty Kakes anyone? He knows what girls like.
It was good to see how Bud and Sam bounced ideas off of each other at the crime scene. It only goes to show that they have a good partnership. I found it amusing how they went to arrest their handyman suspect. "I hate my kitchen. Do you hate your kitchen?" Bud says, suggesting Sam be a sexy distraction, even if she still looked too much like a cop.
Back to Curtis. He had been roped in to help Dr. Murphy, on the same case. "This goes way beyond his job description." Watch what happens when he tells the young man he has to examine his you know what, in Spanish. Kate was even surprised that Megan was rubbing off on Curtis. He went out of his way to help an abused minor.
It was tense when Megan went to see the wife on her own. Don't go into the house.
In the end, Megan and Lacey naturally became closer.
