1.6: LOVE CONQUERS AL - Available!

[CC Fan]

Recap Provided By Cellogal

May 15, 1981

High school track meet. REO Speedwagon’s “Keep On Loving You” plays while a pretty brunette stretches on the grass. A guy behind the fence smokes a cigarette, and the camera focuses in on his gold necklace. Clearly, this is going to be important later. Elsewhere, a cheerleader bounces up to another runner and gives him a kiss, and a nerdy-looking guy in the stands watches all the commotion with a disdainful expression. Race time, and the brunette from earlier is running. Gold Chain Guy watches her, then leaves.

We immediately cut to a shot of the brunette running again, but this time, she’s in street clothes, bleeding from a head wound, and staggering through the woods. She falls on a wooden footbridge, pleads with an unknown someone for her life, and then we hear a gunshot.

From the writing on the wall, or in this case, the evidence box, we see that her case was marked “Closed” in 1983.

Squad room. Lilly walks in, and asks Jeffries if “he’s” here yet. Jeffries tells her “he’s” in Room A. She asks what he’s doing, and Jeffries just smiles and shrugs.

Observation room. Vera tells Lilly to meet her new partner, and we get our first glimpse of Scotty Valens. He’s perched on the table in the interview room talking to a trashy-looking blonde, but we can’t hear what they’re saying. Lilly comments about the amazing first impression he’s making, bringing his girlfriend to headquarters the first day, but Vera says Scotty claims she’s an informant. Stillman walks in, bearing news from Fugitives: they picked up someone in Virginia who wants to trade information on an old job. Lilly suggests writing it up and bringing in the new kid, then she flips the switch so we can hear their conversation. Scotty is seductively telling Skanky Blonde that if she gets him what he needs, he’ll get her that steak dinner. Skanky Blonde says she knows he will, and then Scotty tells her to get outta there, because he’s working. We see Lilly’s expression reflected in the glass, and she’s clearly thinking, “This guy is my new partner? You have GOT to be kidding me.”

Scotty comes out and introduces himself to Vera, who congratulates him, and the two banter about being in the big leagues. After a pause, Lilly tells Scotty the Hammond job was some good work, and he proudly tells her that it was a bag of bones, but he got an angle on it, and figured that’s what got him to Homicide. Stillman introduces Lilly to Scotty, telling him that her partner transferred out. They stare at each other uncomfortably for a moment as the other detectives leave, Vera wishing Scotty good luck on the way. With the first impression he just made, he’ll sure need it. Scotty shakes Lilly’s hand and tells her he pictured a guy. Smooth move, Valens. Lilly smiles and says he got the one girl in the joint, and he chuckles and shrugs. Lilly tells him they have an interview in Fugitives, and Scotty asks what their angle is. Lilly delivers one of the best lines in the history of the show: “Our angle is, I talk, you listen.” Heh. Scotty clearly has no clue what he’s getting himself into.

Fugitives. Gil Sherman is there with their fugitive, who tells Lilly he has information on a murder and asks her what that gets him. She coolly says it depends on what he did, and Sherman informs us that the fugitive, Ricky, was the driver in a recent drug shooting in Fishtown. Ricky protests that he was driving the guy to a conversation, and didn’t know he had a gun. Scotty tells him not to lie. Lilly glares at Scotty, then, after confirming that Kite approved making a deal, asks Ricky what he’s got. Ricky says he has information on Paige Pratt, who was murdered in 1981; he says he didn’t see the bullet leave the gun, but he has something good.

Auto repair shop. As Men At Work’s “Who Can It Be Now” plays, Ricky tells us he was planning to sneak into the shop, but the owner’s kid, Will, was already there. We then see Will cleaning something out of his car with a bucket of water, and his hands are stained with what looks like blood. He then pours the reddened water out of the bucket down the drain, and Ricky runs off.

Ricky informs the detectives that he put it all together, that Will killed Paige. Scotty asks incredulously if Ricky’s trying to get a deal off that. Ricky proclaims it good information, Scotty calls it crap. Lilly interrupts him sharply and reminds him of their angle. Hee. Scotty shuts up reluctantly and Lilly takes over, asking Ricky why he didn’t say anything back then, and Ricky tells her he was going to the shop to steal some stuff, and didn’t want that little tidbit to get out. Lilly says they’ll look into his story, and Ricky drops the bomb that someone else went down for the murder: a guy named Al Clarkson, who’s doing life. Could this, perhaps, be the Al that love conquers?

Credits.

Evidence Warehouse. Lilly tells Scotty that this is where they keep the old jobs, and Scotty’s unsure about the whole “cold cases” thing. Lilly ignores him, saying that Paige died in a field near the Schuylkill River. Scotty’s still obsessing about the cold cases, asking if he gets to go on the line after he works a few of them. Lilly chides him for acting like it’s the B assignment. “Ain’t it?” Scotty replies. Lilly retorts that it isn’t to her, that she chose it, then goes back to the case, saying that the three blows to Paige’s head would have killed her even if she hadn’t been shot. Scotty deems it a passion crime, someone she knew. Lilly goes on to explain that Al Clarkson was Paige’s boyfriend: he had a temper, and his gold chain and tire tracks from his Nova were found at the scene. Scotty pounces on this, asking if they were Goodrich TA Radial or Uniroyal Tiger Paw (don’t know what it means, I’m just writin’ it down.). Lilly confirms they were Uniroyal, then asked Scotty how he knew that. He shrugs and says it was a popular tire upgrade on muscle cars. Lil asks if he knows a lot about cars, and he claims to know “everything.” She asks if Will’s car might have had the same tires on his Trans Am, and Scotty confirms it. Lilly theorizes that it was Will’s car at the scene, and it dawns on Scotty that maybe Ricky’s story isn’t crap after all. The scene photos don’t show much blood, and the detectives conclude that Paige did most of her bleeding somewhere else…like inside a car. There’s an awkward pause, and then Scotty asks Lilly why she likes old jobs; she doesn’t like the action? She replies that she doesn’t like bastards getting away with murder.

Auto shop. Lilly asks Will Harrell, the nerdy kid from earlier, if he remembers Ricky. Will says that’s a name he’d rather forget; during the time of his employment, Ricky stole tools and hocked them. Scotty says Ricky told them about seeing Will wash blood out of his Trans Am June 20, 1981. Will says this is pretty specific, and Lilly tells him it was the night Paige Pratt died. Will denies the whole thing. Scotty asks Will if he knew Paige, he denies that, too. Lilly points out that Will sold the car only six days after Paige’s death; Will says he wanted the new ZX. Scotty asks what kind of tires he had on the Trans Am, Will doesn’t remember. Scotty says this is what records are for, and asks Will if he minds if they sift through his paperwork. Will minds, and walks off.

Squad Room. Lilly and Scotty tell Stillman what they learned, but that they can’t connect Will to Paige, since they went to different high schools, and Paige’s parents have moved. Jeffries then introduces himself to Scotty and congratulates him. Stillman tells Scotty that Jeffries and Vera are a “matching set.” Okay, a matching set of what? Jeffries gives Scotty a phone message from someone named Roxie, who called twice and said she’d try again. Scotty says this is good, and explains that Roxie doesn’t have a phone. Lilly and Vera exchange an amused glance.

Lilly asks Jeffries and Vera if they have a job; Vera says they do, but it’s a “total duck”: confession at the scene. She asks if they’d mind tracking the old Trans Am, and Jeffries agrees. Stillman tells Lilly to go see Al Clarkson, and Scotty suggests to Vera and Jeffries that they find the second owner on the Trans Am. “Thanks,” Jeffries replies with a thumbs-up and a smile. “We’ll, uh…do that.” Stillman tells the squad they could really learn something from Scotty, and he proudly claps the boss on the back and heads out. The other detectives exchange amused glances; clearly, they’re as impressed with Scotty as Lil seems to be.

A bar. Vera and Jeffries have located the second owner of the Trans Am, who says she has a car habit: Mercedes taste on a Mazda salary, then goes on to say that the Trans Am was a steal; the kid didn’t know what it was worth, and she sold it for twice what she paid. Jeffries asks if she knew why he sold it for such a low price, and she says with a deal that good, you don’t ask questions. Vera asks if she remembers the kid she bought it from, and the only thing she remembers is that the car was well-kept; he seemed to love it, but was selling. She then says she’s getting the evil eye from her boss, but that Vera and Jeffries are welcome to stay and finish their coffee. Vera can’t believe a kid who worked in an auto body shop wouldn’t have heard of Blue Book value, and Jeffries concludes he must have been motivated.

Jail. Scotty is still complaining about his new assignment, reminiscing about the good old days at West, where it was always hopping, and you’re out there running the whole shift, and he concludes that he doesn’t know if cold cases are going to be his thing. Lilly sweetly tells him that she doesn’t know if he has a choice. They’re getting along swimmingly, aren’t they?

Al sits at the table in the interview room, looking about as dejected as you’d expect a person serving a life sentence for a crime he may not have committed to look. Al asks what they want; Lilly and Scotty tell him they’re looking at his case again. Al says he didn’t kill Paige, but got railroaded because he was 21 and dating a high school girl. Scotty says this is a little creepy, and Al protests that he was a late bloomer. Lilly reminds Al that Roy Tanner was his lawyer; Al proclaims him a strip-mall hack. Scotty asks Lilly if Tanner is one of those guys in bad clothes, dropping his folders all over the place, and Lilly confirms it. Al protests that he didn’t know how to find someone good.

Lilly asks Al about his gold chain being found at the crime scene; he says Paige was wearing it, and that she wore it a lot when they were getting along. Lilly asks about Al’s temper; Al says Paige ran wild on him, and he loved her, so it hurt, but jealousy isn’t illegal. Scotty asks why he wasn’t with Paige that night; Al says Paige was supposed to be grounded, but must have snuck out, guessing she’d met some guy.

Track meet, accompanied by “Urgent” by Foreigner. Al asks why Paige is wearing purple eyeshadow to a track meet; Paige responds that she can race and look good. Al demands to know which guy she likes. Paige says she’s tired of the third degree, he says he’s tired of being her fool, then grabs her arm. Paige tells him to leave, and that she’ll get her own ride home.

Scotty asks which guy it was, and Al says he never found out. Lilly asks if it was Will, and shows Al a picture; Al says he never saw Will. They thank him for his time, and he tells them to go pound sand.

Street. The famous Trans Am has been located and is being towed. The teenaged owner is incredulous that the police can just take his car; Vera tells him not to worry, he’ll get it back when they’re done. Heh. The kid asks if he’ll have his car back by the dance on Friday; Jeffries replies that they’ll try their best. The kid protests that he just bought the car two weeks ago. “First car, huh?” Vera concludes. The kid asks again about Friday, and the detectives don’t answer. Jeffries hopes the kid has insurance. “Oh, he don’t,” Vera replies.

PPD garage. Vera explains the wonder of Luminol, that even if the carpet’s been shampooed fifty times, they’ll still be able to find bloodstains. The detectives theorize that maybe Will was hanging around the track meet when Paige needed a ride home, made a play for her, got brushed off, and cracked her head open. Jeffries orders them to hit the lights, and Vera sprays Luminol to reveal many, many old bloodstains. Lilly concludes that Will knew Paige somehow.

Auto shop. Lilly and Scotty have returned, and confront Will with evidence and pictures of “blood, blood, and more blood.” Will claims he hit a dog on the turnpike, put it in his trunk, and had to clean the blood out afterward. Scotty is incredulous, and asks Will if he’s a special kind of stupid. Heh. Will insists that he’s not making it up, and also adds that the night in question, he was at Raiders of the Lost Ark; that the detectives coming around made him think of it. They all stare at each other for a minute, and then Lilly asks who he saw the movie with. Will answers proudly that he saw it with his best friend, Bennett Cahill, and Bennett’s girlfriend, Jane.

High school hallway, where we here “The Best Of Times” by Styx. Bennett and Jane, the kissy couple from earlier, walk down the hall and make plans for a phone date. Will comes up and joins them, offering to get three tickets for Raiders of the Lost Ark the next day. Bennett and Jane reluctantly agree.

Will proudly says he still has the ticket stub. Lilly doesn’t believe him, and Scotty says this is some good luck. Will says he remembers because Raiders is his favorite movie. Lilly reminds Will that they do have the technology to tell the difference between dog and human blood, but Will’s not worried. He has the ticket stub! They ask him about Bennett, and Will answers that Bennett was always successful; class president, went to Princeton, and is a surgeon now. Scotty can’t believe Will is friends with a surgeon. “Old friends,” Will concedes. They leave, Will calling after them that he has the stub. Yeah, buddy, that ticket stub’s sure gonna solve all your problems.

Bennett’s office. Scotty asks Lilly what happened to her old partner, Lil explains that he transferred out. Scotty makes a comment about weeding out the weak ones, and Lilly protests that Lassing wasn’t weak; he was diabetic and needed day work. Bennett comes in then, and they ask him about Will; Bennett says he could probably place him. They show him a yearbook photo, and Bennett recognizes him, then asks what he did. Lilly says they don’t know yet, and Scotty asks Bennett about Will’s claim that the two were best friends. Bennett says they were more like acquaintances. Lilly asks about going to see Raiders with Will; Bennett says he probably was with Jane, but they didn’t go to the movie with Will. Scotty asks if Will was kind of an outcast type, and Bennett concurs. He says Will had a “no-parent zone” at his dad’s shop, and they’d all hang out there to drink sometimes. Scotty asks how Will did with the ladies, Bennett doesn’t recall any big scores. Ah, but Will doesn’t need any big scores. He has the ticket stub!

Lilly asks if Will mentioned Paige; Bennett says they didn’t talk a lot after Will freaked him out one night by showing him a gun, which he called a “b*tch-killer.” The detectives exchange a Significant Look, and Bennett says that’s why he stopped going over there. Scotty asks if Will’s frustration reached the point where he could hurt a girl, and Bennett says he hopes not.

Squad room. The detectives, over lunch, tell Stillman what they learned in their interview, and Scotty theorizes that Will had a thing for Paige, she blows him off, and he “pulls out his ‘b*tch-killer.’” Stillman can’t believe Scotty just said that, Scotty says it’s nothing. Lilly says Paige’s parents moved to Atlanta in 1984 and aren’t returning phone calls; Scotty theorizes that they’ve already got someone locked up, and don’t want to relive the nightmare. Stillman says the DA’s office is really going to love this, and Lilly adds that Kite’s already called a hundred times. Scotty asks who Kite is. “Assistant DA. Ivy league jerk,” is Lilly’s reply. Heh. Vera comes in then, saying the lab confirmed that the blood in the Trans Am belonged to Paige.

Will’s shop. The detectives are executing a search warrant. Will protests that they can’t do this, they beg to differ. Will’s sticking to his dog story, Lilly informs him that the dog had Paige Pratt’s DNA. Will shows Lilly the famous ticket stub and implores her to look at the date, but before she can respond, Scotty, from high up in a corner where he’s been searching the shelves, announces that he found the “b*tch-killer.” Will says he’s never seen that before in his life. Scotty’s willing to bet this gun is the murder weapon, and I sure won’t bet against him. Lil announces that the party’s over, but Will is still protesting that he was at the movies with Bennett and Jane. Lilly informs him that they talked to Bennett, and that he doesn’t back the story. Scotty says Bennett barely remembers Will, and together, they blow holes in Will’s “we were BFFs” story. Will walks off, shaking his head, and then finally decides to tell them the truth: they were supposed to go to the movies, but Bennett asked to borrow Will’s car first.

We hear Styx’s “The Best Of Times” again at Will’s place. Bennett comes in covered in blood and says there was a problem. Yeah, that’s a bit of an understatement. Bennett claims to have hit a dog, then says he took the dog to the vet, and it bled all over the seats. Will says he should have called, but Bennett just says the upholstery needs to be cleaned. Will’s on it. Bennett implores Will to say they went to Raiders, because he doesn’t want his mom to know about the dog. Will agrees.

Scotty calls this a dumbass story, but Lilly’s expression indicates she’s not as sure. Will protests that Bennett must have killed Paige and then put the gun in the ceiling. Scotty asks why Will covered for him, and he says he and Bennett had a deal, that they agreed not to talk about it, that he thought they were friends. Thought wrong, Willie.

Hallway, PPD. Lilly hurries down the hall. Scotty’s ready to get going on the interview, but Lilly needs a second: she has to deal with a certain Ivy League Jerk, who greets her by saying she owes him a call. She protests that she was getting to that today. Kite informs her that there’s a difference between cold cases and closed ones, and Lilly argues that he agreed to the deal with Ricky. Kite protests that nobody told him that the deal was on a case they already won, and Lilly sarcastically suggests that they ignore the DNA and ballistics. Kite asks if he’s just supposed to go tell his boss how he screwed the pooch on this one, and Lilly retorts that an innocent man has been sitting in jail for 22 years because of Kite’s boss, and perhaps Kite should mention that. I love feisty Lil! Kite says he’s not talking to his boss until Will Harrell is arrested; Lilly says she’s holding him. Kite insists that Will be arrested, Lilly wants to give it a day. “No,” Kite says sternly, and they glare at each other for a bit, then Lilly agrees, and tells him Will’s locked up. She heads for the interview room, and Scotty, grinning in amusement, asks who the charmer is. Lilly answers that it’s ADA Kite, and he’s above cops. “Ain’t above checkin’ you out,” Scotty observes. Heh.

Squad room. Lilly leaves the interview room, looking pensive, and Jeffries tells her he thought she had the guy. Lilly says that she wants to check out Will’s story, go through it all again, with Bennett in mind. Scotty reminds her that all the evidence points to Will, but Lilly argues that Al Clarkson got screwed because the prosecution didn’t look at all the angles, and she doesn’t want that to happen to Will. Vera asks if she’s looking for a Bennett-Paige connect, and then shows her the yearbook, where we see that Bennett was captain of the track team. The detectives theorize that since Paige ran track for her school, they could have met that way, and Lilly remembers Al thinking Paige was flirting with someone a month before. “Now somethin’s cookin’,” Scotty says with satisfaction. Hey, Valens, maybe these cold jobs aren’t as boring as you think, hmmm? Lilly says they should go talk to the girlfriend Bennett claimed to be with that night, then tells Vera and Jeffries to keep reading. “Sure,” Vera agrees sarcastically. “Then we’ll wash your car.” Hee. I love Vera.

[TVFan]

Jane’s house. Lilly informs Jane that they have some questions about Bennett Cahill, and Jane asks if he’s all right. Scotty reassures her that he’s alive and kicking. Jane confirms that Bennett was her boyfriend throughout high school, and that they were serious, but then went to different colleges and lost touch after that. Lilly asks if either one of them ever dated anyone else, she says no. Scotty shows her a picture of Paige Pratt; Jane says she knows who Paige was only because of what happened to her. Scotty doesn’t quite believe her story, and asks if she and Bennett knew all the same people. Jane asks why they’re bringing this up again, as someone’s already been convicted. Lilly says Al’s been un-convicted, and Jane gets her best former-cheerleader pouty face on and asks what they want from her. Lilly asks what she was doing June 20, 1981, and Scotty scoffs that she won’t remember, but Jane says she does, and for good reason.

Air Supply’s “Every Woman In The World” plays as Bennett asks Jane if she’s ready for this. Jane says she is. Bennett protests that they don’t have to, Jane says she wants to; that they love each other, and they’re going to take it to the next level.

Lilly surmises that it was their first time, and smilingly says it’s sweet. Jane looks less enthused, and Lilly asks if it was Bennett’s first time, too. Jane says they were devoted to each other; Scotty interprets this as a “yes,” and Jane icily confirms it. Scotty asks Jane if she’s been covering for Bennett all this time, and she protests that Bennett was an angel.

Squad room. Scotty scoffs at Jane’s “angel” theory as he puts his gun in his locker. Lilly asks if he wants to write up her interview; he agrees. Lilly tells him while he’s at it, he also has to redo Clarkson’s, because he wrote it in third person, and it has to be in their words. Scotty looks less than thrilled at this.

Vera announces that they’ve got goods, and shows them Paige’s yearbook. He points out what a girl named Heidi says to Paige at the end: “Forget the A, go for the B.” They theorize that this could mean Al and Bennett. “Not bad,” Scotty congratulates them, and Jeffries glares at him. The new guy sure is making a splash! Lilly asks who Heidi is; Vera says they’re tracking her down. Jeffries does them one better and shows the pictures of Al Clarkson at Paige’s memorial service, and in the background, who do we see but Bennett Cahill?

Hospital. Bennett protests that he has surgery in ten minutes, and they need to make it brief. Lilly cuts to the chase and asks if he was doing Paige Pratt. He denies it, and Scotty asks him if he just likes memorial services, and shows him the pictures. He says he feels eighteen again, and guesses there’s no reason to lie anymore: he did know Paige, for about an hour.

School parking lot, where we hear Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” Bennett and Jane share one of those nauseatingly involved kisses between high-school sweethearts who are about to experience the agony of being apart for more than twenty minutes. They arrange another phone date, then kiss again (parting is such sweet sorrow) before she gets on the bus and leaves. Bennett trudges away to see Paige sitting on a bench. She greets him, and he asks her if she missed her ride. She says she did, and he asks her how far she lives. She doesn’t live that far, only six miles, and offers to pay him for gas. He nods, and then we see them getting hot and heavy in Bennett’s car. See, naïve person that I am, I sorta thought she meant paying cash for the gas. Shows you how much I know. Anyway, between kisses, they make small talk about how they’ve noticed each other at track meets. Paige asks Bennett what he thought of her, and Bennett replies that he thought he had to meet her.

Bennett says this was a stupid thing to do, that he had a girlfriend, and Jane was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Scotty points out that Jane wasn’t providing, and Bennett goes on to say that he dropped Paige off at her house and never saw her again, that the only one who existed to him was Jane. Scotty correctly guesses that Bennett felt guilty after Paige died, and Bennett says this is why he went to her memorial service. Lilly asks if Jane knew about Paige, and Bennett replies that, due to the nature of their “epic love,” finding out would have killed her. Scotty asks if Bennett and Jane have talked lately, and Bennett says that breaking up was so awful, they knew they could never speak again.

Squad room. Jeffries has found Heidi, who says that Paige had a huge crush on Bennett, but he was older and “very taken,” by Jane, whom she calls a b*tch. Vera’s ears perk up at this, and Heidi goes on to say that when Jane found out about Paige and Bennett’s one-day stand in the car, she kept calling Paige and insulting her over the phone. Jeffries asks how she knew it was Jane, and Heidi says that she knew Jane’s squeaky little voice. She says she never told the cops about this because they all suspected Al. Heidi says Paige and Bennett never saw each other again, since track season was over, but she was still hung up on him and wrote Heidi a bunch of notes about it. Jeffries asks if Heidi still has any of them, and she says she doesn’t, but that she wishes she did. Heidi asks if it’s true that Al didn’t kill Paige, and when Vera tells her it looks that way, she laments his wasted life.

A while later, we see Jeffries writing something, while Lilly has one of those origami fortune-teller things that we all had back in the 80s. She’s playfully recapping the case for Stillman, and I know right now that I simply cannot do this scene justice, but I will try. Lilly says that Bennett and Jane had this epic love, until Bennett cheated. Scotty says Jane claimed not to know about this, but she knew enough to call Paige and tell her off. Stillman says either one of them could have done it; Bennett to shut Paige up, or Jane could have done it out of revenge. Scotty’s cell phone rings as Lilly draws on her origami fortune-teller with a pink marker and laments the fact that Will’s in lockup. Scotty answers his phone with, “Not a good time,” and leaves to take the call. “Complicated social life,” Lilly observes. Oh, Lil, you have no idea. Stillman asks what I was just about to; what’s with all the origami? Lilly explains that they’re recreating Paige’s notes to Heidi, full of all the dirty details about Bennett. Jeffries hands her his project, another note, and Lilly chides him that he needs to be a little more loopy with the letters. He grouchily asks how he got stuck doing this, and Lilly protests that she’s the one doing the fancy folding. This is one of the funniest scenes in the entire history of the show, in my humble opinion.

Jane’s house. She answers the door and protests that they’re in the middle of dinner. Lilly says they have to talk about Bennett and Paige, and Jane reluctantly steps outside and says that it was a one-time thing, that Bennett begged her forgiveness, and they moved past it. Lilly points out that Bennett wasn’t a virgin anymore, and Jane reiterates that it was a one-time thing. “Not according to these,” Lilly argues, as she shows Jane the manufactured notes that spill all the details about the nine times Paige and Bennett were together. Lil says she highlighted the good parts. Hee. Jane takes the notes and sits down, looking stricken. She then proclaims Paige a liar, and Lilly reminds her of the other things she called Paige on the phone. Jane says Lilly should go and hands her the notes, but Lil says she should keep them, then asks if Jane is sticking with her story of June 20, 1981 being their first time, or if something else went on that night. Jane replies that she told Lilly what happened, and Lil says she’ll be meeting with Bennett first thing in the morning, and expresses hope that their stories will match, then leaves and gets into the car, where Scotty’s waiting for her.

He asks how it went, and Lilly says they’ll see. Scotty’s phone rings again, and he doesn’t answer, saying it’s just Roxie. Lilly asks if that’s the one from the other morning, and Scotty says that was Blair. Lilly asks which one is Scotty’s girl, he tells her he doesn’t have a girl, that Roxie and Blair are contacts on the Hammond case, where he’s still looking for a guy. Scotty then argues that at West, they didn’t write their interviews in first-person, and Lilly answers smoothly that they do in Homicide. He pouts, and Lilly gently informs him that Homicide has the best guys, and he’s not going to be the superstar his first week. Scotty then notices Jane leaving, and they follow her.

They all wind up at a diner, where Jane sits at a table and waits. Scotty theorizes from the car, where they’re waiting, that Bennett blew her off, but Lilly insists that he’ll show up. Just then, Bennett pulls up in what Lilly proclaims a nice ride. Scotty says that Bennett wants to show the old girlfriend how well he did in life. Bennett heads in, and nostalgically sappy music plays as the old sweethearts are reunited. The music then turns slightly creepy as they continue talking. Jane whips out the notes from Heidi and shows them to Bennett, then gets up and walks out. Lilly says this would be a good time to bring Bennett in, and they get out of the car.

Interview room. Lilly tells Bennett that Will Harrell is sitting in jail right now, and Bennett says he feels bad about it, but that Lilly should really be talking to Jane. Lilly points out that Jane didn’t borrow the car that night, where Paige’s blood ended up. Bennett says he borrowed the car, but let Jane take it out with her cheerleader friends. Lilly is amazed that the stories just keep coming. Bennett says Jane came and told him what she did, and he loved her, so he helped clean up. Bennett says that when Jane found out about Paige, she wanted one thing: to see Paige dead.

Bleachers at the high school. Jane tells Bennett to get away, then asks him how he could cheat. Bennett tells her it was meaningless and stupid, and that he’s sorry. Jane tearfully says she was going to give herself to Bennett, and he threw it away on a nobody. Bennett says he doesn’t want this to ruin what they have, Jane says that what they had is gone, and that she can’t be with him. Bennett stops her, and Jane asks who he slept with.

Bennett says Jane hung out at Will’s a lot, too, and must have hidden the gun there. He says it must be hard for Lilly to understand, that he and Jane had something most people don’t, and that in their situation, it didn’t seem wrong. Lilly asks him what that situation was, and Bennett says it was love, that it was different than other people’s. Um, yeah. Must be.

Another interview room. Scotty tells Jane that she said at first that Bennett was an angel, but now he’s a killer. Jane insists it was Bennett’s doing, and Scotty tells her that isn’t what Bennett says, that Bennett claims she was so jealous of Paige that she went out and shot Paige dead. Jane is incredulous, and says that Bennett came crawling to her, saying he’d do anything to be together again. “Guess what that anything was?” Jane says.

Jane is walking away, and Bennett begs her to talk to him. She refuses, saying they’re through, and Bennett insists that he has to have her back, and says he’ll do anything. Jane says there’s nothing to do, Bennett disagrees, and says there is something, and he’ll do it.

Jane says Bennett got a gun, took Paige out to a field, and got her out of their lives. What a charming couple. She says Bennett told her about it, and that she kept the secret, asking Scotty what else she could have done. Scotty points out that she could have headed for the hills and called the cops, but Jane protests that Bennett loved her so much, he did murder for her. Gee, and all I get from my husband is flowers and home-cooked meals. I sure am getting the short end of the stick. [/sarcasm]

Interview room, where Scotty has joined Lilly and Bennett. Scotty shows Bennett the yearbook and says he and Jane are all over it in several nauseating high-school coupley ways: Best Couple, Prom King and Queen (both years, Bennett proudly points out). Scotty seems impressed, and says he can’t keep a girl’s attention for longer than three months (which we, of course, find out later couldn’t be further from the truth), and Lilly says she’s never been lucky in love, either. Well, we do know that’s true. Bennett says it wasn’t luck or fate, that he and Jane used to say they were as rare as Halley’s Comet. Scotty laments that Bennett’s fling with Paige ruined it, and Bennett protests that it wasn’t ruined. Scotty asks how you make up for something like that, and Bennett says they figured out a way. Lilly asks how, clearly intrigued, and then adds that she and Scotty neither one have a chance at Halley’s Comet, and they need him to help them understand. Bennett says they made a plan.

Hallway. Jane tells Bennett that she made a plan for them to be together: that if they kill Paige, they can erase her, and Bennett will be a virgin again. Bennett looks slightly alarmed, but instead of running for the hills like any normal boy whose girlfriend is clearly a sociopath, he tells her she’s right. Bennett tells the detectives they’ll have to take his word for it, that it made sense. Well, I’m glad it makes sense to them, because it sure as heck doesn’t make any sense to me, although there is some very cool camera work in this scene. We’re looking at Bennett through the lens of the camera in the interview room, and through the lens, we see him at eighteen, but in the background, we see him as he appears now. It’s really very clever.

The other interview room, with Jane. Scotty and Lilly tell Jane they know all about the murder, about the gun and the barbells, and how they were going to sink Paige’s body in the river. Jane claims to not know what they’re talking about, then says she doesn’t believe them. Lilly says Bennett told them about Halley’s Comet, and Jane looks like she’s near tears. Lilly says Bennett wants to know if they want to confess together.

Interview room, where the lovers have reunited. Bennett says that what they intended to save them, actually ruined them. No, really? Premeditated murder didn’t save your epic love? Well, color me shocked. Lilly and Scotty look just as surprised as I am. They say that the purity never returned, so they separated, and never talked again, but the worst thing was that they never loved anyone else the way they loved each other. Lilly is as appalled by this as I am, and sarcastically asks them if that was the worst thing. We see the couple at eighteen, and Bennett says they belong together, and Jane finishes that they’ll go down together. Aww, they’re still finishing each other’s sentences! It really must be an epic love! (Sorry; cases like this tend to make me extremely sarcastic).

The lens of the camera takes us to Paige’s bedroom, where she’s on the phone with Bennett, clearly surprised to hear from him. Bennett says he and Jane broke up, and Paige says she’s sorry. She so isn’t. Bennett asks if she wants to get together tonight, and she agrees to sneak out. Bennett says he’ll pick her up in ten minutes, then hangs up and approaches Jane, and we see the same conversation they had earlier. Bennett asks her if she’s sure she’s ready for this. She’s sure. He says she doesn’t have to do this, and she says she wants to; they love each other, and if they’re going to take it to the next level…then…she trails off, and they kiss.

Paige jogs up to Bennett’s car and greets him, asking him where they’re going. “A nice quiet place,” he replies, then drives to the park. They look at each other, and Bennett says it’s time. Jane leaps up from the backseat. There’s a scuffle, and Jane hits Paige in the head with one of the barbells. Paige tumbles out of the car and starts running, Jane insists that Bennett has to do it. He takes off running after her, she falls on the bridge and begs for her life, but he shoots her anyway. Charming. Jane runs up to him, sees Paige’s body, and says she can’t believe it. Neither can I. But, oh, wait, hers is a happy “I can’t believe it,” and they smile sickeningly at each other as they start making out right there on the bridge.

Interview room. Scotty looks like he’s about to hurl as we watch the lovers embrace one last time. I feel pretty much the same way.

Scotty and Lilly take Paige’s box back to the warehouse.

Bennett gets his mug shot taken, cleverly interspersed with shots of him at eighteen.

Will’s back at his garage, working on a car.

Scotty and Lil continue down the row with Paige’s box as Jane is led away by the uniformed officers.

Al Clarkson hits the open road in a convertible.

Jane gets fingerprinted, looking mournful, no doubt at the fact that the purity of her fingers has been sullied by the ink.

More Bennett mug shots.

Scotty puts Paige’s box back on the shelf.

Lilly goes back to the high school, and sees Paige running on the track. She sits in the bleachers and watches Paige run by. Paige glances at Lilly and smiles at her. We end with a shot of Paige’s evidence box, where we can see that “Closed ‘83’” has been replaced with “’03.”