Description[]
At crime scene technician Louie Amante's wedding, Jeffries impishly persuades the team to spend their time at the reception casually investigating whether the bride was responsible for killing her former fiancé, whom they learn died hours after canceling the nuptials in 2008.
Synopsis[]
In June 2008, a couple named Dan and Anna attend their wedding rehearsal dinner. Anna’s mother tells Dan that she has been guaranteed a story by her society. Dan tells Anna he can’t go through with the wedding. Later, Dan is found dead at the steps of the hotel, but his case is never solved.
During the present time, Jeffries and Valens meet in front of a church just before the wedding of their colleague, crime scene tech Louie Amante. They wonder how Stillman got out of attending. Valens tells Jeffries he learned at the bachelor party that the bride almost got married last year, but the groom called off the wedding and was tossed out of a hotel window later that night. Louie greets Valens and Jeffries, happy to see them. When Rush arrives, Valens suggests they investigate Dan’s death.
Rush discovers Dan was thrown out a hotel room window just after two key card entries were recorded for the room. She says the wedding rings were missing when Dan was found. Rush suspects Anna may be a 'black widow.' The team sees Anna's mother, Joan, being curt with the wedding planner and storming out of the church to have a cigarette. Valens follows her out to get more information. He tells her he is a friend of Louie's and she presumes he's something 'better' than a cop, like a banker. Valens doesn't correct her. Joan tells him she can’t believe Anna is going to marry a cop. She says she is upset that Dan is dead since he was perfect for her daughter. Joan remembers when Dan gave a toast during the wedding rehearsal dinner. Dan toasts Anna as the person who gave him direction and gives her a kiss. Joan remembers that her husband didn’t trust Dan. Valens asks if Dan had cold feet, but Joan figured that her ex-husband stopped the wedding.
In the church, Valens tells Jeffries that someone should track down Joan’s ex and Anna's father. Vera arrives and sits with the other detectives just before the bride walks down the aisle. Stillman meets with Joan’s ex-husband Ed drinking at a bar. He tells Stillman that Joan banned him from attending the wedding. He explains that Dan ran out on his daughter just before the wedding. Stillman says he would have hunted Dan down, but Ed he says he was relieved. He says his other daughter, Tenley, was a trouble maker. He remembers when he overheard her talk to Dan after the toast. She told him she didn’t think he was being honest during his speech. Tenley invited Dan to meet her in her room. Stillman tells Ed that the situation sounded like it ended badly.
At the reception, the team is cautious about continuing their investigation. Rush is introduced to Anna and Joan. Joan figures that Valens didn’t tell her he was a detective. Vera meets with Tenley at the buffet line and flirts. Tenley admits during Anna’s first wedding, she took Dan for a test drive. She remembers when she drank with Dan in his room the night before his wedding. She gave him a kiss and asked him to undress her, but his best man, Phil arrived after his train came in late. Phil told him to forget Baltimore and return to he dinner. Phil said Anna was not what he expected. Tenley tells Vera that Dan was looking to buy a gym.
Stillman informs Valens that Phil and Dan owned a failed Baltimore company. Phil arrives at the station. Stillman finds an invitation to the wedding buried in his inbox. Stillman tells Phil that there was suspicious transactions on his credit card. He asks him about his company that he started with Dan which makes Phil figure he is asking him about his death. Phil says he thought Anna straightened out Dan’s life. Curtis arrives at the reception and learns that Rush is looking into Dan’s death. She says she is suspicious that Anna killed her first fiancé. Curtis pretends he is drunk and spills wine on Anna’s dress. Rush brings her to the bathroom to clean her up. Anna says she wasted her time on Dan. She remembers when Louie brought her outside during the rehearsal dinner and suggested they get together. He asked her to marry him instead of Dan since he figured she got him. She told him to go home.
Rush tells the detectives about how Louie tried to steal Anna away. Louie sits down and is asked about how he really met Anna. Louie gets upset that they are investigating Dan’s death. Louie admits he met Dan at the steps of the hotel and told him he thinks Anna is special. Dan received a phone call from a friend who informed him that a woman named Melanie asked for him. Louie tells the detective an hour after the phone call, the wedding was called off. Louie angrily disinvites the team from the champagne brunch.
Ed shows up and threatens Joan to show Anna where he found the wedding rings. Stillman talks to Ed out in the hallway where he learns that the rings were in Joan’s jewelry box. Ed tells Stillman that Joan convinced Anna that he was responsible for Dan walking out on her.
While Jeffries dances with Joan, she says she is not proud of what she did during the rehearsal dinner. She says Dan fooled her. She remembers when Dan packed up and told Joan he had to leave. Joan suggested she pay him to stay, but he refused, gave her the rings and admitted he was already married. Joan tells Jeffries that Anna knew that Dan was married and invites Vera up to her room.
At the station, Valens and Rush research Dan’s marriage, but can’t find anything. On Dan’s myspace page, Rush finds a photo of Melanie who looks exactly like Anna, with Dan and Phil.
At the station, Valens asks Phil who Melanie is. He says she is an old friend. At the wedding, Rush toasts Anna and mentions Dan. She tells her that she knows that Dan was already married. Anna says Dan eloped with Melanie when he was younger. She remembers when Dan told her the truth. Anna asked him why he didn’t get a divorce. Dan told her that Melanie has been in a hospital after she had an accident while drinking on a boat off the shores of Mexico. He explained Melanie was in a coma for the last few years, woke up that night and asked to see him. Dan apologized for having to leave. Anna tells Rush she understood that Dan loved Melanie. Anna says Dan was supposed to leave with Phil.
Stillman tells Phil that they know he was supposed to leave with Dan the night he died. They tell him they also know he drove the boat when Melanie was hurt. Phil says he doesn’t want to relive the experience. Stillman tells Phil they discovered that he called Melanie the night Dan died.
Phil remembers when he tried to convince Dan to stay with Anna, but he wanted to be with Melanie. Phil dialed the hospital on the phone and gave it to Dan. Dan spoke to the nurse and learned that Melanie died. Phil discovered Dan on the ledge just before he jumped.
Phil writes out his statement. Back at the reception, Louie and Anna dance the night away together. Jeffries dances the conga line with Joan. Rush and Curtis spin around on the dance floor. Tenley invites Vera up to her room. Ed congratulates Louie and cuts in to dance with his daughter. Anna sees a vision of Dan before she tosses the bouquet, which lands at Rush’s feet.
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[]
- Rachel Miner as Anna Coulson
- Noah Bean as Dan Palmer
- Sara Botsford as Joan Coulson
- Brian Hamill as Ed Coulson
- Jonathan LaPaglia as ADA Curtis Bell
- Sean Maguire as Phil
- Doug Spinuzza as Louie Amante
- Lorena Segura York as Tenley Coulson
- Unknown actress as Melanie
Notes[]
- The episode is heavily inspired by the film noir The Locket. A woman engaged to be married a second time is revealed to be a thief, liar, and murderer, which drove her first fiancé to jump to his death.
- This marks the last episode written by Meredith Stiehm, the creator of the series.
- Doug Spinuzza's final appearance as Louie Amante.
- Tracie Thoms does not appear in this episode.
- Third case that ends with a suicide (after "Daniela" and "Best Friends").
- The church exterior in this episode was also used as Father Peralta's church in "Sanctuary". Given that Father Peralta described his church as being "in the middle of a warzone" and the Coulson family's wealth, it is most likely not meant to be the same church.
- A close inspection of the supposed shot of Phil's Myspace page shows the the address bar does not contain an internet URL, but a folder on a hard drive.
Gallery[]
Episode Scenes[]
Behind The Scenes[]
Music[]
- Keith Urban "Sweet Thing"
- Keith Urban "Kiss a Girl"
- Kelly Pardekooper "Crazy Girl"
- Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats"
- Keith Urban "You'll Think of Me"
- Kenny Chesney "Demons"
- Kenny Chesney "Out Last Night"
