This week we had another atypical case for the Major Crimes unit. The FBI has asked Fritz to get Major Crimes to look into the kidnapping of Kevin Clark two years ago. The public thinks it’s because a man who looks like the victim appeared in Brazil, but the real reason is that the cash paid in ransom popped up in circulation.
This was one my favorite character introductions. For this season, I’ll put Agent Shea on my list of favorite quirky characters. (The wedding party from the episode featuring Buzz’ first murder would be number one on that list.) Agent Shea manages to insult Buzz, the LAPD, Provenza and Buzz in less than 2 minutes. (Should I be ashamed of myself for never thinking of that moon landing joke? Or can I consider it a point of pride?) The first time I watched the episode, I missed Rusty telling everyone that Shea repeatedly got off on the wrong floor. Ha! Agent Shea was even charmed to find his photo on the board as a suspect.
Shea is convinced he knows who the kidnappers are. Usually, I’d jump straight to accusing the kidnapping victim, but Shea doesn’t. He thinks it was the parents and that their goal was to steal FBI money. (This little tidbit surprised me. I didn’t think the FBI would pay a ransom out of their own pocket.) He believes this because the mother didn’t follow his instructions with regard to delivering the money. That’s his entire case. I was expecting him to say that they had kidnap insurance, at least. But nope, their major sin was not following his instructions.
The first thing we see when we get to the studio is a young lady jogging over to ask Tao a vital question. One of the actors desperately needs to know if it’s “drop your gun and grab the concrete, or grab some concrete and drop the gun.” It’s “drop your gun then grab the concrete…for those who were wondering.
Agent Shea gleefully narrates the crime, using the video. Raydor replays the video and spots a major lead that Shea missed when the kidnapping initially happened 2 years ago. Raydor brings in Kevin Clark’s friends. She spotted the fact that they were so intent on not seeing the driver of the car Kevin got into the last time he was seen. They didn’t even react to a fire truck speeding past just before Kevin climbed into the kidnapper’s car. That’s what Raydor and the Major Crimes unit calls ‘suspicious behavior’.
As Raydor gets them into the interrogation room Shea takes credit for the new lead by declaring his cyclorama idea an act of genius. The expressions on Buzz, Tao and Sanchez’ faces was priceless. One of his friends is in law school. He storms out. But the other, who works as a gopher for a DJ, admits that they were setting up a drug deal. Shea attacks the man because they did not tell him about the drug deal 2 years ago.
Agent Shea is annoyed that Raydor is bringing in Kevin’s parents. He tries to bully her into doing things his way. I loved this moment. Agent Shea gets in Raydor’s face. It should be noted that Raydor was not for a second intimidate. However, her backup was right there. Provenza and Tao both close in on Shea. He calms down.
They find that $10,000 of the ransom money was spent at a strip club. Sanchez and Sykes go to the strip club to see if anyone remembers the person that spent that much money two years ago. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to go with. But they hit pay dirt. Whatever the strippers did (sounds like a private party), they did at a private residence. So, the unit is off. And they find Kevin Clark’s decomposed body, but no drug dealer.
The Medical Examiner confirms that Kevin’s been dead for about 2 years. Agent Shea, who has been taking credit for Major Crime’s work at every opportunity, steals the bullet pulled out of Kevin Shea’s skull. Tao is let down and Raydor riled up. No way that is going to be good for Shea.
After looking at Shea’s financials, they bring him in. He confesses that he wrote a novel based on the kidnapping case (an FBI no-no.) When the detectives reveal that they have identified the bullet, he reveals that he knows what type of gun was used and that Kevin’s father has a gun like that. That’s the evidence Shea needs to arrest Kevin’s parents.
Of course Major Crimes gets to the parents first. Raydor hears the piece of information she needs to figure which of her suspects is the killer, so when Shea arrives with his warrant and some FBI backup, Raydor puts on a show of asking Shea to play fair; be nice; let them finish talking to the parents. He wants none of that. He wants his arrest, because it’ll be a great ending for his novel.
Shea holds a press conference. I thought they were going to reveal the killers and confessions to Shea’s bosses before the media was alerted, but nope…they let out as much rope as possible. Taylor joins them as they watch the press conference in which Shea takes full credit for the arrest in the midst of overwhelming evidence. They wait long enough for the reveal of the actual killers to be the most embarrassing event possible. I loved it.
Rusty meets with Alice’s brother, Gustavo Wallace. Alice’s real name is Mariana Wallace. He confesses that the problem in their relationship was the fact that he joined the army as soon as he was old enough to escape their mother’s brutal boyfriend. Mariana had begged him not to leave and that was the source of the strain in their relationship. He begs to see his sisters. He doesn’t know that she’s dead, or that no one knows anything about the fate of his youngest sister Paloma.
Rusty wisely leaves it to the police to make the notification of his sister’s death. I really felt for Gustavo. Rusty receives pats on the back for finding him. It was indeed a hell of a job. Alice has a real name, and people who care about her can mourn her.
I thought this was another great episode. I like the fact that they’re playing with tone this season. Have you guys been enjoying the season as much as I have?
