A DB is found in the river and Jo (Sela Ward) believes the killing was about rage as she was beaten and shot in the heart, "an emotional statement." Hawkes (Hill Harper) finds no traces of peticule hemorrhaging and she was only in the water for a few hours. Chief Carver (John Larroquette) arrives on the scene stating he wasn't expecting this (a loaded comment.) Mac (Gary Sinise) says the killer left something behind, i.e. the bullet.
Sid (Robert Joy) retrieves the bullet from the DB and Lindsay (Anna Belknap) matches it to the Chief's gun. Lindsay over the past seasons is always the one who matches forensics or evidence to items belonging to, or concerning the CSI team, or Flack (Eddie Cahill.) It was Danny's discarded cigarette in season 2's Run Silent, Run Deep, Flack was the one who was responsible for the drug raid in season 3's Consequences episode, she's a bit of a 'snitch' for want of a better word. As she doesn't know how to deal with it but always goes running to Mac, aside from the episode where she actually told Danny about the cigarette matching his DNA, but that was only because she had feelings for him.
Mac thought the Chief would be smart enough not to use his own gun, which was registered to him, who subsequently tells Mac he lost the gun years ago but didn't report it. He shows Mac where Roni (Kimberley Murphy) used to live. For a cop he didn't do much to either help his sister out of that rut she was in, or to help her children, until it was too late. He believes she must have taken his gun, but by then he had the children and if he reported it, then someone would look for her.
Sid conducts the autopsy and finds white specks in the DB's ear, which Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) identifies as fluorescent paint. The DB was Marcella Gomez (Alex Madison) from Columbia and her future husband was Mitch Barrett (Mo Gallim). He would beat her up. Flack and Danny get themselves into a scrape, well an all-out brawl, when they go to question Mitch. He asks if they have a warrant to which Flack replies, "if we had a warrant, you would be face down on the ground." He spoke too soon, cos that's what happened to them. Should've known that shots would be fired through the door any minute, it was that obvious! Danny and Flack weren't really injured much for the beating they suffered!
Flack tells Mitch, during questioning, they were "a little iffy until you started shooting at us." When Mitch asks how they knew it was him. Danny enlightens him that he left behind reflective paint and he has a record for beating women. Mitch promised Marcella he'd kill her if he ever found her and that's what he did. So he admits to killing her now. Well that case was neatly tied up pretty quickly, seeing as how the remainder focused on the chief and Mac's never dwindling suspicions. Flack and Danny being taken down by the big, dumb guy and still persevering in their attempt to arrest him. After all that and Flack only suffered a black eye and Danny a few bruises, should've sent Lindsay! Ha, I don't condone violence, it's a joke. Notice Flack's obvious stuntman! Also Lindsay didn't have anything to say about Danny's injuries, not even a sarcastic remark.
Mac comments Marcella was searching for something in her bag. She had to know that Roni was dead so she could have used her identity so freely. Lindsay confirms Mitch's story about the gun, as his prints were found on top of Marcella's. Lindsay was wrong on both counts here when she concluded that Marcella did take her identity or killed Roni. She was assuming without evidence. Mac suspects the Chief of lying. Jo warns him of the serious consequences of "letting his emotions cloud his judgement." In his pursuit of the Chief without concrete evidence. Mac: "There's no way a cop loses his gun and doesn't report it." See Danny in the episode, All in the Family. Marcella was sure no detective would knock on her door and she wasn't at her apartment because the Chief tipped her off.
Jo goes over the evidence and Lindsay has to go first. Danny can't see a motive for the Chief killing her. Marcella lived in his precinct when she arrived in the US. Adam (AJ Buckley) didn't find any hits on CODIS from the casing. The jacket used to cover Roni belonged to a Richard Hudson (Robert Mammana). He denies knowing Roni 15 years ago and Hawkes asks him how much he used to pay for their dates. He used to see her and together went for a walk in the park, leaving her there to get his credit card. A cop spoke to her, but he wouldn't recognize him.
When Lindsay questioned him, again it was more 'macho posturing' on her part (I know I've used that phrase for her a-plenty, but it's so true.) Once more her lines seemed to have been written for someone else, like Danny and would've been delivered better by someone else. Why are the writers giving her so much screen time this season anyway. Plodding off smugly to give her findings to Mac from the print match on the gun. Other characters didn't have much to do this episode.
Danny says the knife used to kill her was consistent with the toolmarks on Roni's ribcage. Adam found a partial DNA profile on the knife belonging to Jimmy Valdez (Austin M Rodriguez). Jo concludes there was no connection between Roni and Marcella. Jimmy tells Flack that a cop took his knife from him and he might recognize him. Jo believes him. Mac brings up the topic of how every cop had a shoebox full of knives in his locker, back then, crime was rife. Jo asks if he did too, but he doesn't admit to it and cops weren't meant to leave their posts. As Danny adds, you'd be assigned to the middle of Brooklyn Bridge at midnight. Chambers and West subway station was only used by any cop going to court. Jimmy recognizes the Chief from an old photo.
Thus giving Mac another chance to accuse him of murder as he was identified in a photo array. Mac vows to continue until he has enough evidence against him. Obviously it was Jay as they showed him again.
Adam was ignored by Mac again when he asks him if he's OK, too caught up in gunning for the Chief. He tells Adam to compare the DNA profile found on the gum to Roni's DNA. The DNA was from a male donor. Oh and another thing as Columbo would say, would the Chief really be so stupid as to leave behind all that evidence when he buried his sister, if he had killed her.
Jo questions Sid on whether the Chief's physical stature and strength would be enough for him to have killed her. Sid recalls him and that they used to joke he should have been an ME with the name, 'Carver'. But the stab wounds are on the lower part of her body. The blunt force injury to Roni's head was lower - a large stone was used at an upward angle causing a hairline fracture. The Chief would've "caved in her skull."
Adam gets a hit on the DNA profile, we knew it matched Jay, but they kind of dragged it out. It's good when they show the team as having already analyzed the evidence, instead of actually doing it then because sometimes there's no need to see that and there was so much of it in this episode, it would've taken too long.
Jay confesses, he was in the park and stabbed her out of rage. He buried her himself (and threw his gum in for good measure.) Jo asks just what I was thinking at the same time, why he dug her up? There may have been an intended bike path in the park so he thought it would be found. Well it was now. He thought about killing her for a long time and planned it. Mac thought the DNA would match the Chief, in his narrow minded pursuit of justice.
The Chief explains Jay wanted to turn himself in to him. Jay reveals his scars from the beatings and then she started on the other children. Mac says the Chief can't changed what happened. He found Marcella in the rain, talking of killing herself so he gave her the gun for protection. Jay doesn't feel guilty for killing his mother. Mac tells Jo the Chief was fired and stripped of his pension. Jay won't be serving any jail time. Mac doesn't tell her what he thinks about Jay being released as he's not sure how to justify premeditated murder, but it's not important what he thinks. Oh so it was important he thought the Chief was a killer but now it doesn't matter, when all the evidence is in.
Don't you hate it when you're right, but what can you do; as I said in my review of last week's episode, it was Jay who killed his mother and the Chief was covering for him. So Mac had to be wrong, whilst remaining true to his convictions, he was wrong about one Chief but he hasn't been in the past when dealing with other bureaucratic chiefs. It's not often he doesn't get his suspect or is mistaken, which shows he's human after all. Jo telling him to be careful as he's gunning for the Chief and so that extra piece of evidence would be needed. At least he listened to her, showing how much he respects her.
Obviously the DA wouldn't bring charges against Jay, it'd be in no one's interest. As I also said, the Chief warned Marcella and she ran from her apartment, why'd he let her leave her bag behind, she should've known to have taken it with her, also Mitch tracked her down easily.
Mac seems to be in a world of his own at times, ignoring Adam again; putting chiefs out to pasture is more the norm for NYPD, rather than face adverse publicity and cries of "police cover-up." Jo was so sympathetic in her questioning of Jay. She's the shining beacon who clearly knows how to handle each suspect or Vic she comes across, showing not only her professionalism but her humanity. She understood why Jay killed his mother, she's a mother with children of her own and was probably instrumental in getting the DA to reduce the charges to manslaughter without jail time. We've taken a shine to her. A great asset to the show!
Jo commenting on Mac's poker face, Flack mentioned that in the season 2 poker episode, Bad Beat, "Now Mac, there's a man with a poker face. Who knows what he's thinking." Which is repeated here by Jo, great continuity from long ago, mind you, it could just have a passing comment from the writer. Mac apparently did argue that the Chief not be subject to any charges or disciplinary action but he doesn't come right out and say it, as he normally would have if it concerned anyone else.
Also the missing gun not being reported was reminiscent of Danny having his gun taken (he had his badge stolen last season) and not reporting it either in season 4's All In the Family. Flack covered for him as much as he could when it turned out to have been taken by Rikki (Jacqueline Pinol) to use in a revenge attack against her son's killer. Though it was understandable because of this. Flack showing his staunch loyalty for Danny. On a similar note, Mac does stick his neck out in protecting those he thinks deserve his loyalty; such as Flack in season 6 after he shot and killed Angell's (Emmanuelle Vaugier) killer, Mac knew.
Jo insisting there are consequences if he takes on the Chief and he turns out to be wrong. Well Mac doesn't think about the consequences, only in getting the job done; as was adequately demonstrated in season 3's Consequences episode when he was at odds with Flack, but went ahead and did what he wanted to anyway. Here he actually listened to Jo's plea to find more evidence.
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