Description[]
The arrest of a notorious drug dealer leads to the detectives reopening the murder of a woman who worked for him in 1998. Scotty was working undercover at the time, but never talked about it because he got too close to the victim.
Synopsis[]
Flashback A woman, Ana Castilla, is taking the escalator down in an airport. She meets with a man, a younger Scotty Valens, who kisses her on the lips. Forward to Ana's dead body lying in the street, gutted.
Stillman and Rush are walking to a crime scene. They meet with Valens, who informs them of a parallel with a job he was working undercover on years before. A dealer named Ramiro is being put in handcuffs when Scotty walks in. He introduces himself as Detective Valens. Ramiro is angered to learn he's a cop. Scotty asks what he did to Ana. Ramiro is then taken out of the house by the arresting officer, leaving Scotty with unanswered questions.
Jeffries talks to Valens about not mentioning his undercover job for Ramiro back then. Scotty has a hard time looking at Ana's picture, but downplays his relationship with her.
Flashback Ana is gushing over the flowers Scotty gave her... and the kiss they shared. Ana opens a picture. She wants to get a real office job one day. Ana folds the picture up and puts it away. But they both know Ramiro won't let her go.
Present Valens says he dropped Ana at the motel so the dealers could collect the goods from the mules. The next morning, she was found dead. But Valens couldn't look into it at the time since he was still undercover.
Valens and Rush question Ramiro. Ramiro reveals he knew that Scotty was crazy about Ana, he was very obvious. Valens slaps him. But why gut her like a fish? Ramiro denies it, insisting someone's making it look like it was him. He claims Ana lost her mind.
Flashback In the motel room, Ana is consoling a fellow mule, Delia, who is only doing this to help her son. Ana turns down Ramiro's request to make another run. But he wants her to stick around, she's good at bluffing. Ana protests that Ramiro can't keep her there, but he has her passport book.
Present Ramiro claims when he came back a few minutes later, Ana was gone. Frustrated, Valens leaves the room. Ramiro claims to Rush that Valens was all over Ana then. She leaves the room.
Vera questions Miller about the drug trafficking. He tells Stillman he thinks they have a lead, Father Peralta. He serves the church where Ana's body was found. Valens and Jeffries go to speak with him. Father Peralta thought Ana's body was a warning to him not to reach out to the girls. He didn't help the cops in '98 because most of his parishioners are illegals and involved in such activities. Father Peralta remembers a girl named Ceci who was with Ana.
Miller and Rush find Ceci, now a housekeeper. She shows them a scar she got when she tried to run. The only reason Ceci was able to get out was because her body couldn't handle the drug runs any longer, so she was useless to the ring. Ceci remembers Ana as a nice girl, working to help her sister.
Flashback Ana is talking to Ceci about her little sister and her dreams to become a secretary. Ceci talks about wanting to run away to Miami with her boyfriend. They daydream of what could be. Ana confides in Ceci that she ran and left a new lady, Delia, with Ramiro. Delia was sick. Then Ana admits she stole two cookies. She plans to use them to barter back her passport.
Present Ceci says Ana went back to the motel. It was the last time Ceci saw her.
Valens is back in with Ramiro. They know Ana came back that night. He continually tries to talk Valens down. Ramiro reveals, yes, Ana returned... but with no drugs.
Flashback Ramiro asks for the cookies. Ana tells him she does not have them, but wants her passport and $1000. A man, Hector, walks out covered in blood and announces he got the drugs. Behind him is a woman lying dead, cut up in the tub. It's Delia. Sometimes they die, casualty of the job. There is pounding at the door. Ramiro opens it to find Father Peralta on the other side. Ana runs to him and they leave together.
Present Ramiro claims the Father was there to take care of his newest girl; he was being unholy with the young women he was "helping".
Jeffries and Vera question Father Peralta. He says he was there to protect Ana. But they think he was looking for more. He sinned for the greater good. He took Ana from the hotel to safety, for the night.
Flashback Ana lights a candle at the church. She feels guilty over Delia. Father assures her she was giving Delia hope, not false promises. He warns Ana she must leave because Ramiro will be by in the morning looking for her. But Ramiro still has her passport, she can't go home. Then she'll find work, she'll sell the drugs she stole. But Father wants Ana to forget all that, find herself. He gives her a wad of cash he had hidden. Ana pulls out a folded piece of paper, she knows where she can stay.
Present Father heard Ana use the name "Alvero" when she called from the rectory phone. Miller and Lilly realize Alvero was Valens' undercover name.
Stillman and Rush confront Valens. They know he talked to Ana that night. He denies it. But why would she have your number? Valens admits he screwed up; Ana got into his head. He never told her that he was a cop, but Ana figured it out.
Flashback Scotty and Ana are driving and talking. He told her he had a girlfriend (Elisa) who wanted marry him but he didn't. It's evident that Scotty is weary of his relationship with Elisa but Ana advises that he not give up salvaging it. Ana admits she took his phone and knows who he really is. He shuts her up fast. They pull into a motel. She asks for Scotty's number. He tells her he can't, so this is goodbye. As Ana goes to get out of the car, Scotty changes his mind and writes down his number, but only if she's in trouble, putting the operation at risk. It's obvious that he feels something special for Ana.
Present Valens wasn't disciplined, that's why he doesn't mention this part of his past. He gave Ana his undercover line at the station. Only his boss could have answered it.
Stillman and Valens confront his old boss, Manny Fernandez. He admits Ana called that night. Fernandez didn't tell Valens because he was trying to protect the bust. Scotty screwed up. Ana threatened to meet up with his boss at the station, and Fernandez couldn't let Cortez find her there. He met up with her.
Flashback Ana is surprised to find someone other than Alvero meet up with her. She knows she's in trouble, Ramiro is after her. But someone comes in a car to pick her up.
Present Fernandez says the girl in the passenger seat of the car had long dark hair with blonde streaks. All hopped up.
Vera talks with Valens on the balcony. Valens is blaming himself for the way everything went down. Vera assures him he has heart, which is not a bad thing to have.
Miller and Rush question Ceci. She denies being the one in the car. They point out Ceci knew Ana stole those two cookies. They want to know who the driver was. She finally confesses it was her boyfriend Hector driving. Ceci had told him about the cookies Ana had. They went to find her. Ceci just wanted to get to Miami.
Flashback Ana believes Ceci is there to help her. Ceci claims her boyfriend will drive them all to Miami. But she keeps questioning Ana about the cookies. Ana realizes they are only there for the cookies, not to help her. She recognizes Hector as the man who killed Delia and tries to escape, but they lock the doors. Ana denies swallowing the cookies, but they refuse to believe her. Hector pulls a knife and they drive away. Ana looks up at the window of a nearby building, imagining herself working at the desk. She looks down at the secretary picture she carries and clutches it. The car stops and Ana's gutted, lifeless body is pushed out of the back seat. The picture she was holding flies off.
Present Lilly handcuffs Ceci. Stillman shakes Fernandez's hand before he leaves. Hector is arrested in a room of female runners. Ramiro is behind bars. Miller marks Ana's box closed. Father Peralta is at the church, officiating a baptism. Scotty lights a candle in the church for Ana. The cookies she stole are revealed to be taped to the statue of the Virgin Mary. Scotty "sees" Ana nod at the statue, then fade away.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Benjamín Benítez as Hector
- Alex Fernandez as Father Peralta
- Lela Loren as Ana Castilla
- Gonzalo Menendez as Ramiro
- Marisol Ramirez as Ceci
- Marco Rodriguez as Manny Fernandez
Co-Starring[]
- Ana Mercedes as Delia
- Michael J. Walker as Customs Official
Notes[]
- The exterior of the church of Father Peralta is also seen in the Season 7 episode "Two Weddings", but with different interiors.
- Ceci is the one of the only two female killers in Season 3, the other being Deidre Miller.
Errors[]
- The Hooverphonic song "Mad About You" plays in the flashback where Scotty is driving with the victim. However, the song wasn't released until 2000 and the flashback took place in 1998.
Music[]
- Massive Attack "Teardrop"
- Hooverphonic "Mad About You"
- Control Machete "Grin-Gosano"
- Mono "Life in Mono"
- Morcheeba "Let Me See"
- Control Machete "¿Comprendes Mendes?"
- Closing Song: Enigma "Return to Innocence"
