Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) waits for DB (Ted Danson) and Greg (Eric Szmanda) to arrive at a CS in the desert where he plays Chopsticks on the piano, he used to dabble when younger. The DB of a woman is bloodied and Greg recognizes her as Alison (Jessica Lee Keller). She helped him with his book a few years back and was a music journalist. DB is surprised about this, what that Greg can actually write, ha. About time his book was mentioned since it seemed to have been forgotten about over the seasons. Obviously there's more going on with Greg but he doesn't let on or else he'd be taken off the case.
The piano was being taken to LA for repairs and she was cut over 27 times with a box cutter (that's carpet knife to you and me). Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) sees Greg cleaning Alison's DB and has a few words with him. He admits Alison was more than just a friend and he they spent a week together, of fun. It was a fling and they didn't stay in touch but that's cos she probably didn't want to as he didn't hear back from her. Greg doesn't want DB to know the extent of his involvement with Alison. She also says she's not one to give relationship advice, so he abruptly tells her she's right. Which is true, I mean he was attracted to Morgan at the start but nothing came of it. SO she can't really hand him advice now, of course he was being harsh. Especially since he's upset.
Morgan begins to tell him about her own parents and their divorce when Greg has a brainwave. Her other piece of advice, don't go to autopsy. Anyway as said why was she handing gout advice anyway, Greg didn't need it or want it. This should have been left to someone he's known for longer, someone like Nick (George Eads) or especially Sara (Jorga Fox) as I liked that special bond the two of them shared in earlier eps. Morgan was more interested in Hodges (Wallace Langham) but that aside the producers/writers were trying to lull us into some false sense of security over Morgan actually having romantic feelings for Greg when she doesn't really.
No, DB attends autopsy himself and Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) mentions the stab wounds. They find the man transporting the piano was Lenny (Channon Roe) who has a criminal record, surprise, surprise. He goes by the name of 'Moondog' and asks about witness protection cos the piano was being transported for Tommy Grazzetti (Jay Acovone). Also asking Brass if he's interested in the guitar. Lenny discovered the DB in the piano and dumped it in the desert out of sheer panic and fear. Greg knows all about Grazetti's mob connections.
Morgan brings back reams of evidence from Alison's including Greg's book, so we get to see a hard copy of that at least! Which DB checks out and compliments Greg on a good photo on the back cover. Hey it looked like he was wearing the same clothes in the photo as he was now. Nick and Finn (Elisabeth Shue) blast the piano with luminol and find so much blood trace, as well as black fibres which Greg found on the piano. Hodges analyzes these and finds they're some sort of polyvinyl but doesn't know where they're from. He also analyzed the trace as glue from horse hide. One side of the trace has indents on it.
Greg and DB arrive at Grazetti's theatre and get a smidgen of a song from Frank Sinatra impersonator Jeff Lummet (Toby Huss). He didn't look or sound like Sinatra to me. Greg recalls the story of Ledo (Erhun Akpinar) a legendary piano player who was meant to have been shot by Grazetti, but no DB was found so no case could be made. They check out the room where the piano was stored after being told Grazetti is out of town. Think he should have stayed out. There's lots of cleaning up done there and the outline of the piano legs are left. As well as a spot of blood and Greg finds similar fibres. Grazetti turns up and Greg loses it accusing him of murdering Alison. DB takes him aside and wants him to run the case away from here. Greg reminds him how he acted when his granddaughter, Katy was missing with the rulebook going out the window and he agrees he didn't act in the best way. But he made progress when he took his heart out of it.
Sara processes the scene further and finds a cleaned up blood trail which leads to a room where music is being played. Here she finds Jeff with a glass balanced on his chest as he lies on the floor. She asks what he's doing at a CS. He claims he helped Alison when she was researching Sinatra but has an alibi. He was checking out tunes at a club using an App, Note Seek, which notes the few bars of music and then gives the title of the song. He gives them his history which appears to check out with Note Seek. He also blames himself for Alison's death since she found out things about Grazetti which may have led to her death. More like he was attempting to cover his tracks.
Finn asks DB how he's doing with Barbara who has returned home but sees Maya at weekends in Seattle.
DB listens to one of Barbara's Sinatra records and the record stops as there's a scratch on it. He takes his own box cutters and chips away at the scratch which leaves black shavings behind. The same trace found at the scene so they know what it is. Also he determines the glue trace has record grooves on it so they can find the song and find the killer. Sara pieces these together and finds four different pieces. DB uses his App to identify them and one is found to be a Sinatra recording of a live performance from the Sands. Sara also finds that the set of numbers they found from Alison's belongings was the serial number on this rare recording.
Leo says he sold the record to Jeff. Thus he killed Alison. He tells Nick he was interested in her but she asked him for that recording. She then told him it was for a friend, Greg and that's when he lost it and attacked her. Oh come on what a psycho, he really thought she'd be interested in him, as Nick tells him and so does Brass, he's an impersonator and not the real thing.
Greg also gets to solve the Grazetti mystery and finds a print from one of his photos matches to Ledo Wright and as they now have Grazetti's print, they find he's really Ledo. Well Grazetti gave himself away there when he said he was at the Sands casino with the Rat Pack, since a list shows Grazetti was banned from going there since he was counting cards. It started with Alison's GPS which led to 850 Timber Lane on the same days he was killed. Greg found the photo she had of Grazetti going to that same house in 1966. The photo was from a PI who worked from Sam Braun and he had Grazetti followed. The house belonged to Linda who was a radical and robbed the Rampart casino. Also Grazetti was wearing an Irish Claddagh ring but he was an Italian. Grazetti admits he's Ledo but they made up after they fight and Grazetti choked on a chicken bone. He was dodging the Draft so he and some men came up with the idea of his taking over Grazetti's identity.
A Greg centred ep which was good to see. Why was Greg allowed to wash her body anyway, usually it's David (David Berman) or Doc who does that. Didn't like Morgan interfering though and she does the same at the end. Looking like she and Greg could have real possibility of getting together. Oh forget it, it's too late for them and besides Greg deserves someone better not second best. Greg is shocked when he hears Alison was in Vegas cos of him and they had a possibility chance of making a go of it. That was the kicker really since Greg has never even successful with the ladies and to think that he had a chance here. Well it's sad but also cliched since anyone he likes either gets mixed up with murder or is murdered. See 11.12 A Kiss Before Frying for another great Greg ep. Morgan tells him she should apologize even though Greg makes the first move. He told her about their last night in New York and how he told her he'd meet her there, but wouldn't really. Morgan tells him not to hold on to the past but hands him a Sinatra record and quotes him, "The best is yet to come." But it won't be with Morgan, which is a relief! I like Morgan but she's not right for our Greggie!
Then there's Jeff who delusionally believes he is Sinatra and even better than the original. Er, he didn't even sound like him as I said. Liked Hodges's demo with the hide glue being spread over a record to clean it and then scraped off with a box cutter, giving the glue a negative copy of the record. Sara is a Radiohead listener whilst DB listens to The Grateful Dead.
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