Post by TVFan on Nov 9, 2005 11:06:53 GMT -5
Recap Provided By Cellogal
December 6, 1998
A very colorful, whimsically decorated office. People zoom on scooters, accompanied by The New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” as a crowd counts backwards from ten. At first, I think this is a New Year’s party, but it’s early December, so that can’t be it. Sure enough, they’re watching the New York Stock Exchange. A blonde woman who looks a lot like one of my friends from high school stands up and announces that the final score for Lionstaff’s initial public offering was $11 a share, with the closing price being $31. (Don’t know what it means, I’m just writing it down). The crowd cheers, and a blonde guy announces that they’re all rich, so this is the last free pizza they’re getting on him. He and the woman walk away together, and she says that’s $15 million, and he says that’s for the company, and wants to know how much it means to him personally. “I don’t know, Midas,” she says. “Enough?”
They’re interrupted by a middle-aged guy calling to them exuberantly, saying they did it, and the guys at the club thought that tech stocks were over. The young guy, Scott, points out as he throws his arm around the girl, Amy, that youth is the future, and the guys at the club are old. Amy tells the middle-aged guy she’s glad that he’s pleased. He’s more than pleased, he says, he’s ready to party. A sour-faced older woman comes up to the guy, Mr. Coleman, and says the brokers want their picture taken with him. “Not with us?” Scott asks, and the sourpuss says, with a disdainful glance at their casual clothing, that she guesses they could, if they want their picture taken like that. Amy turns away and Scott follows her, telling her that Lionstaff will help her; it’s not just a trough of money. She thanks him, but says that’s not it. She says it’s all on paper, that it’s not real yet. Scott puts a hand on her shoulder and remarks that being worried at a time like this takes a special kind of person. Amy reassures him that she’s happy. Satisfied, he leaves, and she watches him walk away. We cut to a picture of a young blonde boy, and then a river, where we see Amy slumped over in her rowboat. After watching a report being typed up at Headquarters, a document is placed in a folder marked, “Lind, Amy. Sudden Death.”
Present day
Squad room. A woman rants to Scotty and Vera that she thinks finally the public schools are doing something right, and then this. Her son, a chipper kid of grade-school age, sits at a laptop computer and tells them to wait just a sec, that it’s loading. Scotty asks the mom what her boy found, and mom replies that she found death threats in a document on a computer donated to the school. The boy pipes up that he found it on the hard drive and was recovering it for extra credit. Scotty says it sounds like the boy’s good at this. The boy shrugs off the compliment, saying he just can’t do P. E. Heh. The computer beeps, and the document is up. Vera, noticing that the entries are dated, says it looks like a diary. Scotty guesses that it could be just a prank, and the boy says that’s what he thought, but then he looked up the name, and he hands Scotty a piece of paper, telling him that Amy Lind’s an actual person, who’s, “like, actually dead.” Scotty reads a line of the diary, which reads, “Poison shuts her eyes. Poison stops her tongue. Poison stops her ghasty heart.” He pauses at the word “ghasty,” and Vera surmises that the writer doesn’t want to break the flow to run spell check. Believe me, I know the feeling! Scotty continues reading the next entry, which says, “Goodbye to hell Amy Lind.” Vera points out that Amy died of a heart attack at the age of 24, and Scotty muses over the line about poison stopping her heart. The mom says the detectives can take it from there, and tells her son to come on, but the boy thinks the detectives might need him. Scotty tells him he’s done good work, and that if they have any questions, they’ll let him know. Awww. The boy is satisfied with this, takes his backpack, and follows his mom out. Scotty sits down at the computer, and Vera comments that 24 is pretty young to have a bad ticker. Scotty says it happens, but so does poison. Vera suggests they find the writer and find out why he hated Amy so much, and Scotty finishes the thought: “See if he went from diarist to doer.”
Credits.
Sidewalk outside West. Scotty crosses the street and walks up to Anna Mayes, greeting her with a handshake. He tells her Manny Fernandez called him, and Anna knows; she says she asked him if she could catch Scotty out there. She babbles about them wanting to give it some thought before reaching out to him, not wanting to stir things up, and Scotty, growing a bit impatient, asks Anna what happened. She pauses, then tells him that they had an incident on the bridge this morning, that a guy threw a girl into the Schuylkill. Scotty pauses for a minute to absorb the information, then asks if the girl died. Anna says she did, in ICU; she says the girl was busted up pretty bad and washed up near the same spot as Elisa. Scotty asks if they’re thinking this is a serial thing with this guy, and Anna doesn’t know. “But it’s the same spot as her,” Scotty presses, and Anna nods, then says she figured Scotty would want his shot at this guy when he came in. Well, that’s the understatement of the century. Scotty agrees, and Anna says it’ll probably be tomorrow sometime. Scotty asks the guy’s name so he can read up. “Dante Sanchez,” Anna tells him. Scotty starts to leave, then turns back and says, almost dazedly, that he figured this would be the way: sit tight, and something about Elisa would come out. Anna agrees, and he stands there for a minute, clearly overwhelmed by what he’s about to undertake, then thanks her a bit distractedly and walks off.
Stillman’s office. Vera tells Stillman that Amy Lind died two days after the last diary entry, and Stillman asks if the computer unit had any luck with it. Vera says they can’t identify the writer, but the computer came from an internet company called Lionstaff. Lilly asks if that’s the start-up where Amy worked, and Stillman says she wasn’t just an employee, she created it; she and fellow Wharton grad Scott Sawyer were co-CEOs. Lilly points out their great timing; they got their MBAs in 1997 and started the company in 1998. Vera says their IPO, whatever that is, was in December 1998, at the peak of the dot-com boom. “Try bubble, Nick,” Stillman corrects, and Lilly says they were on top of the world for two months, then a quick slide into nothing. Stillman says Amy died in May, just before they closed the doors. Lilly asks how the coroner explained heart failure at age 24, and Stillman says it was stress-induced, that their company was losing $200,000 a day. Lilly asks if there were any drugs in Amy’s system, and Vera says there weren’t, but points out that a standard autopsy doesn’t test for poison. “Our diarist’s method of choice,” Lilly comments. Stillman tells them to start with Scott, that he can tell them who was on those computers. Lilly points to poison as the other angle, and Vera suggests exhuming the body to test for poison. Stillman says they’ll need the family’s permission for that, and Vera says there’s a sister, Alora, who’s local.
Lind home. Alora gives Vera and Jeffries permission to exhume, telling them to do whatever they need to do. Jeffries says it’s likely that new information will result, and Alora is shocked that they think someone poisoned Amy. Vera says that someone sure wrote about it. Jeffries asks if there was anyone at work that Amy had a problem with, and Alora says she wouldn’t know; Amy was living at home, but after she and Scott got the venture capital money, she almost never saw her sister. Alora says Amy worked late at night, went rowing every morning, and the only time Alora saw her was when she was asleep, and indicates the couch Vera’s sitting on it. “Couch-surfing, she called it,” Alora says. Vera asks about Scott, if he and Amy were involved at all. Alora says she doesn’t think Amy would have said no, but Scott liked them busty and adoring, and that wasn’t Amy. “So, strictly business,” Jeffries concludes, and Alora says Amy told her she and Scott made the perfect team: he had the flash and got the attention, and she knew how to close a deal. Vera asks if she ever saw the two of them in action, and Alora says she was there when they first got funded, and their whole world changed in a day.
Lind home, garage, where we hear “Take A Picture” by Filter. Alora walks through with a basket of laundry as Mr. Coleman tells Amy and Scott that he likes their idea, but wants to know how they’re going to make it work. Scott points out that they’re summa cum laude Wharton graduates, and they’ll find a way. Coleman says that’s good packaging, but it’s not really an answer. Amy says it’s 3 AM, your child’s having a seizure and speaking gibberish, and you need help. Coleman’s intrigued. Amy says you go online to ask what’s happening to this boy, and there they are. “Lionstaff,” Coleman concludes. Amy says you type in the symptoms and get answers in a matter of seconds, and instructions on how to help him. Coleman points out that helping people is a lofty goal, and Amy adds that it’s a sound business idea. Coleman chuckles, and says when he was their age, the only thing he had going on in his garage was a band. Amy asks what he thinks, and Coleman says he’s in. Scott asks how much, and Coleman asks how a million sounds. Apparently it sounds good, because Scott and Amy smile and hug.
Alora takes Vera and Jeffries out to the garage, and says once Amy and Scott rented the office, Amy was pretty much gone, but she kept living there, eating Ramen. Alora says she told Amy that she was a millionaire, and if she were Amy, she’d be setting up house on the mainline. Vera comments that Amy sounds like a tough lady, “desperate people and all,” and Alora explains that the reason Amy wanted this company was their brother, Gage, who died at age nine. Alora says when Amy talked about being online at three in the morning, she was talking about herself.
Scott’s apartment. Lilly and Scotty are chatting with Scott. Scott is incredulous that Amy didn’t die of a heart attack, and I’m incredulous at how hard it is to type “Scott” when you’re so used to typing “Scotty,” particularly when the two are in the same scene. Sheesh. Scotty says she did, but someone might have helped her along. Scott guesses anything’s possible, that those days were crazy: they were 24, too young to rent a car, can’t imagine being a multimillionaire, can’t imagine your friends will die. “But then you are, and they do,” Scotty points out drily, and Lilly continues, saying, “and then you lose it all.” Scott says it was a wild ride, and he was lucky, that he couldn’t have taken it without Amy. He says Amy had the ideas and did the head work; he did the dog and pony show. Scotty asks if there was anyone around who felt different, and Scott asks if he means did she have enemies, saying she did. “We called them employees.”
Lionstaff office, where we’re serenaded by “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind. The employees are unpacking boxes and generally moving in, and Scott brings an Indian guy to Amy, telling her that Malvinder has something he’d like to discuss. Malvinder came to Scott first, but Scott told him he had to talk to both of them. Malvinder tells Amy he’d like to be made partner. Amy’s taken aback, and Malvinder points out that he’s building their system, and without him, they have no business. Amy tells him his work has been really creative, but she and Scott started the business, and it’s theirs. “So I don’t matter?” Malvinder asks. Amy tells him that he does, and that’s why he pulls a big salary. Scott shrugs and says sorry, but no can do. Malvinder asks if they can revisit this later, and Amy tells him that there are only two partners of Lionstaff: she and Scott. Malvinder gets the picture and walks away, calling Amy a “ghasty idiot woman.”
Scott admits that he leaned on Amy for the bad cop stuff, that he doesn’t enjoy saying no. Lilly asks about the word “ghasty,” and Scott tells her it’s Hindi, for “lovely woman,” and they learned a few variations. Scotty says Malvinder sounds like an angry guy, and Lilly says he sounds like their diarist.
Malvinder’s office. Lilly reads a line from the diary, and Scotty points out the key word: “ghasty.” Malvinder asks what it is, and Lilly says it came off a computer from Lionstaff, written in 1999. “So because there’s a Hindi word, I must have written it?” Malvinder asks sarcastically. “Did you?” Scotty retorts. Malvinder denies it, and Lilly asks how come it sounds like him. Malvinder says everyone in the office picked up his swearwords. Scotty reminds Malvinder of his beef with Amy, how he wanted to be made partner and she said no. Lilly asks if it was hard having a woman turn him down, and Malvinder says that whole time was hard for him: new country, no friends, trying to send money home, and his behavior wasn’t too graceful, but not this. Scotty asks Malvinder if he carried a grudge against Amy, and Malvinder says he was grateful; that he was lucky not to get caught between her and Scott. Lilly says she thought they were friends, and Malvinder says it started that way, but when the big money came, war.
Lionstaff office, where we hear Stick’s “Runaway Cab.” Scott walks in with takeout bags, and Amy asks him if it’s true that he bought a Ferrari. “Why not?” Scott asks. Amy tells him that the way he’s spending, they can’t afford any setbacks; Scott doesn’t plan on any, and he has a great new idea: a Super Bowl ad. $1.5 million for 30 seconds. Amy says that’s more than they started with, and Scott says they’ve grown, and he has a good feeling about this. Amy says they’re not doing it, and Scott says it’s too late, that it’s already done. Amy and Malvinder stare at him in disbelief.
Malvinder says this was the beginning of the fireworks. Lilly sums up that Scott made a million-dollar decision without Amy, and Malvinder says it was a flop. “No takers from the ad?” Scotty asks. Malvinder says they got lots of hits, but zero business, and suddenly they were $3 million in the hole. “No wonder she was miffed,” Lilly concludes, and Malvinder says that’s when the business started to slide. Scotty asks if the throwdowns between Scott and Amy escalated, and Malvinder says eloquently that they escalated “into silence…like a shout.” Not that our two detectives would know anything about that…
Balcony, PPD. Over lunch, Scotty says Scott and Amy were friends, but the opposite was true, “according to this Malvinder dude.” Vera interrupts with a guess that they fell out over money. “Not that Scott told us that,” Scotty points out. Stillman says this sounds like a re-interview, and Jeffries comes up with news from the ME: Amy’s body had eight times the normal level of potassium chloride. Scotty asks if that’s a poison, and Jeffries says it isn’t normally, but a high enough level can induce heart attack. Stillman asks how it’s ingested, and Jeffries says it dissolves in water and kicks in within half an hour. Vera surmises that Amy must have ingested it that morning, and Scotty says it points to someone close. Stillman concludes that they have new questions for the sister.
Interview room. Lilly and Jeffries inform Alora of the autopsy results, and Lilly theorizes that Alora knows what potassium chloride is, since she’s a chemistry teacher. Alora knows, but she has no idea who could have been with Amy at 6:30 that morning. “How about you?” Lilly asks.
Another interview room. “So we disagreed on money,” Scott tells Vera, and Vera tells him that he says that like it’s no big deal, but he says that in his line of work, when people fight about money, it usually doesn’t end too well. Scott protests that he’s not some street-corner thug. Vera asks sarcastically if Scott’s got some more refined way of getting what he wants, hands-off, like poison, maybe?
First interview room. Alora asks why she’d want Amy dead, and Jeffries theorizes that it must have been hard, living next to all that success. Alora says she was proud of Amy, but Lilly reminds her that pride can turn to envy on a dime. Alora tearfully protests that after Gage died, Amy was all she had, and that sisters have to stick together. Jeffries asks Alora if not her, then who at 6:30 AM, and she doesn’t know. Lilly asks if Amy rowed with anyone, and Alora says no, that the river was Amy’s place, and she went there alone. Lilly asks if Amy had a boyfriend or anyone who stayed over, and Alora says Amy was driven, focused, and wasn’t attractive to a lot of guys. Lilly’s expression indicates this might be hitting a little close to home, and it’s about to hit closer. Alora says Amy got a kitten when she moved in, and Alora says she always joked it was going to be Amy, her career, and her beloved cats. No, that doesn’t sound like anyone we know. Lilly looks a bit unnerved.
Second interview room. Scott says his true feeling is that Amy died of a broken heart; that she never got over Gage. Vera points out how convenient this theory is for Scott. Scott says he and Amy were partners, and he wouldn’t profit from hurting her. Ultimately, he tells Vera, they had the same wolf at their door: Coleman. Scott says that after the Super Bowl fiasco, he rained fire on both their heads.
Lionstaff parking lot. Scott pulls up in his Ferrari to Amy’s glare and “It’s No Good” by Depeche Mode. She remarks that she thought he was going to sell the Ferrari, and he says he’s not giving up the car, that it makes an impression. Amy asks how he’s keeping up with payments, and he says his mom is helping him, and tells Amy to lay off. Coleman pulls up and greets them with sarcastic enthusiasm, then indicates Scott’s Ferrari and asks if he bought that, accusing Scott of just throwing his money around like confetti. Amy asks Coleman if this is about the ad, and Coleman demands to know if they think this is a game like Monopoly. Scott says of course it isn’t, but Coleman continues to rant, incredulous that he gave them a million dollars that he earned, sweating and bleeding, and they spend it on cars, watches, and sushi. Scott protests that appearances matter, but Coleman goes on as he retrieves a golf club from the trunk of his car, saying that when it comes to an actual business decision, they blow their wad on one ad. Amy says they thought the exposure was worth a gamble. Coleman takes the golf club and shatters the window of Scott’s Ferrari, then demands to know whose stupid idea the ad was. Amy says it was a joint decision, Coleman calls it a fiasco. Amy apologizes, but Coleman says if they let another one get by them, he’ll do worse than this. He then gets in his car and drives away.
Scott says Coleman had a right to be mad, but he was “psycho mad.” Vera thinks it sounds like Scott ducked for cover and let Coleman blame Amy. Scott says it wasn’t exactly him at his best. Stillman knocks on the door then and says he has news.
Squad room. Stillman says he got some background info on Coleman, and Vera says he did, too: he has a rage problem. Lilly says Coleman had a rich wife, who died in 1994 of a heart attack. The similarities are not lost on Vera, and Stillman adds that Coleman has a kidney problem, Lilly finishing that it’s managed by potassium chloride in a steady daily dose.
December 6, 1998
A very colorful, whimsically decorated office. People zoom on scooters, accompanied by The New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” as a crowd counts backwards from ten. At first, I think this is a New Year’s party, but it’s early December, so that can’t be it. Sure enough, they’re watching the New York Stock Exchange. A blonde woman who looks a lot like one of my friends from high school stands up and announces that the final score for Lionstaff’s initial public offering was $11 a share, with the closing price being $31. (Don’t know what it means, I’m just writing it down). The crowd cheers, and a blonde guy announces that they’re all rich, so this is the last free pizza they’re getting on him. He and the woman walk away together, and she says that’s $15 million, and he says that’s for the company, and wants to know how much it means to him personally. “I don’t know, Midas,” she says. “Enough?”
They’re interrupted by a middle-aged guy calling to them exuberantly, saying they did it, and the guys at the club thought that tech stocks were over. The young guy, Scott, points out as he throws his arm around the girl, Amy, that youth is the future, and the guys at the club are old. Amy tells the middle-aged guy she’s glad that he’s pleased. He’s more than pleased, he says, he’s ready to party. A sour-faced older woman comes up to the guy, Mr. Coleman, and says the brokers want their picture taken with him. “Not with us?” Scott asks, and the sourpuss says, with a disdainful glance at their casual clothing, that she guesses they could, if they want their picture taken like that. Amy turns away and Scott follows her, telling her that Lionstaff will help her; it’s not just a trough of money. She thanks him, but says that’s not it. She says it’s all on paper, that it’s not real yet. Scott puts a hand on her shoulder and remarks that being worried at a time like this takes a special kind of person. Amy reassures him that she’s happy. Satisfied, he leaves, and she watches him walk away. We cut to a picture of a young blonde boy, and then a river, where we see Amy slumped over in her rowboat. After watching a report being typed up at Headquarters, a document is placed in a folder marked, “Lind, Amy. Sudden Death.”
Present day
Squad room. A woman rants to Scotty and Vera that she thinks finally the public schools are doing something right, and then this. Her son, a chipper kid of grade-school age, sits at a laptop computer and tells them to wait just a sec, that it’s loading. Scotty asks the mom what her boy found, and mom replies that she found death threats in a document on a computer donated to the school. The boy pipes up that he found it on the hard drive and was recovering it for extra credit. Scotty says it sounds like the boy’s good at this. The boy shrugs off the compliment, saying he just can’t do P. E. Heh. The computer beeps, and the document is up. Vera, noticing that the entries are dated, says it looks like a diary. Scotty guesses that it could be just a prank, and the boy says that’s what he thought, but then he looked up the name, and he hands Scotty a piece of paper, telling him that Amy Lind’s an actual person, who’s, “like, actually dead.” Scotty reads a line of the diary, which reads, “Poison shuts her eyes. Poison stops her tongue. Poison stops her ghasty heart.” He pauses at the word “ghasty,” and Vera surmises that the writer doesn’t want to break the flow to run spell check. Believe me, I know the feeling! Scotty continues reading the next entry, which says, “Goodbye to hell Amy Lind.” Vera points out that Amy died of a heart attack at the age of 24, and Scotty muses over the line about poison stopping her heart. The mom says the detectives can take it from there, and tells her son to come on, but the boy thinks the detectives might need him. Scotty tells him he’s done good work, and that if they have any questions, they’ll let him know. Awww. The boy is satisfied with this, takes his backpack, and follows his mom out. Scotty sits down at the computer, and Vera comments that 24 is pretty young to have a bad ticker. Scotty says it happens, but so does poison. Vera suggests they find the writer and find out why he hated Amy so much, and Scotty finishes the thought: “See if he went from diarist to doer.”
Credits.
Sidewalk outside West. Scotty crosses the street and walks up to Anna Mayes, greeting her with a handshake. He tells her Manny Fernandez called him, and Anna knows; she says she asked him if she could catch Scotty out there. She babbles about them wanting to give it some thought before reaching out to him, not wanting to stir things up, and Scotty, growing a bit impatient, asks Anna what happened. She pauses, then tells him that they had an incident on the bridge this morning, that a guy threw a girl into the Schuylkill. Scotty pauses for a minute to absorb the information, then asks if the girl died. Anna says she did, in ICU; she says the girl was busted up pretty bad and washed up near the same spot as Elisa. Scotty asks if they’re thinking this is a serial thing with this guy, and Anna doesn’t know. “But it’s the same spot as her,” Scotty presses, and Anna nods, then says she figured Scotty would want his shot at this guy when he came in. Well, that’s the understatement of the century. Scotty agrees, and Anna says it’ll probably be tomorrow sometime. Scotty asks the guy’s name so he can read up. “Dante Sanchez,” Anna tells him. Scotty starts to leave, then turns back and says, almost dazedly, that he figured this would be the way: sit tight, and something about Elisa would come out. Anna agrees, and he stands there for a minute, clearly overwhelmed by what he’s about to undertake, then thanks her a bit distractedly and walks off.
Stillman’s office. Vera tells Stillman that Amy Lind died two days after the last diary entry, and Stillman asks if the computer unit had any luck with it. Vera says they can’t identify the writer, but the computer came from an internet company called Lionstaff. Lilly asks if that’s the start-up where Amy worked, and Stillman says she wasn’t just an employee, she created it; she and fellow Wharton grad Scott Sawyer were co-CEOs. Lilly points out their great timing; they got their MBAs in 1997 and started the company in 1998. Vera says their IPO, whatever that is, was in December 1998, at the peak of the dot-com boom. “Try bubble, Nick,” Stillman corrects, and Lilly says they were on top of the world for two months, then a quick slide into nothing. Stillman says Amy died in May, just before they closed the doors. Lilly asks how the coroner explained heart failure at age 24, and Stillman says it was stress-induced, that their company was losing $200,000 a day. Lilly asks if there were any drugs in Amy’s system, and Vera says there weren’t, but points out that a standard autopsy doesn’t test for poison. “Our diarist’s method of choice,” Lilly comments. Stillman tells them to start with Scott, that he can tell them who was on those computers. Lilly points to poison as the other angle, and Vera suggests exhuming the body to test for poison. Stillman says they’ll need the family’s permission for that, and Vera says there’s a sister, Alora, who’s local.
Lind home. Alora gives Vera and Jeffries permission to exhume, telling them to do whatever they need to do. Jeffries says it’s likely that new information will result, and Alora is shocked that they think someone poisoned Amy. Vera says that someone sure wrote about it. Jeffries asks if there was anyone at work that Amy had a problem with, and Alora says she wouldn’t know; Amy was living at home, but after she and Scott got the venture capital money, she almost never saw her sister. Alora says Amy worked late at night, went rowing every morning, and the only time Alora saw her was when she was asleep, and indicates the couch Vera’s sitting on it. “Couch-surfing, she called it,” Alora says. Vera asks about Scott, if he and Amy were involved at all. Alora says she doesn’t think Amy would have said no, but Scott liked them busty and adoring, and that wasn’t Amy. “So, strictly business,” Jeffries concludes, and Alora says Amy told her she and Scott made the perfect team: he had the flash and got the attention, and she knew how to close a deal. Vera asks if she ever saw the two of them in action, and Alora says she was there when they first got funded, and their whole world changed in a day.
Lind home, garage, where we hear “Take A Picture” by Filter. Alora walks through with a basket of laundry as Mr. Coleman tells Amy and Scott that he likes their idea, but wants to know how they’re going to make it work. Scott points out that they’re summa cum laude Wharton graduates, and they’ll find a way. Coleman says that’s good packaging, but it’s not really an answer. Amy says it’s 3 AM, your child’s having a seizure and speaking gibberish, and you need help. Coleman’s intrigued. Amy says you go online to ask what’s happening to this boy, and there they are. “Lionstaff,” Coleman concludes. Amy says you type in the symptoms and get answers in a matter of seconds, and instructions on how to help him. Coleman points out that helping people is a lofty goal, and Amy adds that it’s a sound business idea. Coleman chuckles, and says when he was their age, the only thing he had going on in his garage was a band. Amy asks what he thinks, and Coleman says he’s in. Scott asks how much, and Coleman asks how a million sounds. Apparently it sounds good, because Scott and Amy smile and hug.
Alora takes Vera and Jeffries out to the garage, and says once Amy and Scott rented the office, Amy was pretty much gone, but she kept living there, eating Ramen. Alora says she told Amy that she was a millionaire, and if she were Amy, she’d be setting up house on the mainline. Vera comments that Amy sounds like a tough lady, “desperate people and all,” and Alora explains that the reason Amy wanted this company was their brother, Gage, who died at age nine. Alora says when Amy talked about being online at three in the morning, she was talking about herself.
Scott’s apartment. Lilly and Scotty are chatting with Scott. Scott is incredulous that Amy didn’t die of a heart attack, and I’m incredulous at how hard it is to type “Scott” when you’re so used to typing “Scotty,” particularly when the two are in the same scene. Sheesh. Scotty says she did, but someone might have helped her along. Scott guesses anything’s possible, that those days were crazy: they were 24, too young to rent a car, can’t imagine being a multimillionaire, can’t imagine your friends will die. “But then you are, and they do,” Scotty points out drily, and Lilly continues, saying, “and then you lose it all.” Scott says it was a wild ride, and he was lucky, that he couldn’t have taken it without Amy. He says Amy had the ideas and did the head work; he did the dog and pony show. Scotty asks if there was anyone around who felt different, and Scott asks if he means did she have enemies, saying she did. “We called them employees.”
Lionstaff office, where we’re serenaded by “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind. The employees are unpacking boxes and generally moving in, and Scott brings an Indian guy to Amy, telling her that Malvinder has something he’d like to discuss. Malvinder came to Scott first, but Scott told him he had to talk to both of them. Malvinder tells Amy he’d like to be made partner. Amy’s taken aback, and Malvinder points out that he’s building their system, and without him, they have no business. Amy tells him his work has been really creative, but she and Scott started the business, and it’s theirs. “So I don’t matter?” Malvinder asks. Amy tells him that he does, and that’s why he pulls a big salary. Scott shrugs and says sorry, but no can do. Malvinder asks if they can revisit this later, and Amy tells him that there are only two partners of Lionstaff: she and Scott. Malvinder gets the picture and walks away, calling Amy a “ghasty idiot woman.”
Scott admits that he leaned on Amy for the bad cop stuff, that he doesn’t enjoy saying no. Lilly asks about the word “ghasty,” and Scott tells her it’s Hindi, for “lovely woman,” and they learned a few variations. Scotty says Malvinder sounds like an angry guy, and Lilly says he sounds like their diarist.
Malvinder’s office. Lilly reads a line from the diary, and Scotty points out the key word: “ghasty.” Malvinder asks what it is, and Lilly says it came off a computer from Lionstaff, written in 1999. “So because there’s a Hindi word, I must have written it?” Malvinder asks sarcastically. “Did you?” Scotty retorts. Malvinder denies it, and Lilly asks how come it sounds like him. Malvinder says everyone in the office picked up his swearwords. Scotty reminds Malvinder of his beef with Amy, how he wanted to be made partner and she said no. Lilly asks if it was hard having a woman turn him down, and Malvinder says that whole time was hard for him: new country, no friends, trying to send money home, and his behavior wasn’t too graceful, but not this. Scotty asks Malvinder if he carried a grudge against Amy, and Malvinder says he was grateful; that he was lucky not to get caught between her and Scott. Lilly says she thought they were friends, and Malvinder says it started that way, but when the big money came, war.
Lionstaff office, where we hear Stick’s “Runaway Cab.” Scott walks in with takeout bags, and Amy asks him if it’s true that he bought a Ferrari. “Why not?” Scott asks. Amy tells him that the way he’s spending, they can’t afford any setbacks; Scott doesn’t plan on any, and he has a great new idea: a Super Bowl ad. $1.5 million for 30 seconds. Amy says that’s more than they started with, and Scott says they’ve grown, and he has a good feeling about this. Amy says they’re not doing it, and Scott says it’s too late, that it’s already done. Amy and Malvinder stare at him in disbelief.
Malvinder says this was the beginning of the fireworks. Lilly sums up that Scott made a million-dollar decision without Amy, and Malvinder says it was a flop. “No takers from the ad?” Scotty asks. Malvinder says they got lots of hits, but zero business, and suddenly they were $3 million in the hole. “No wonder she was miffed,” Lilly concludes, and Malvinder says that’s when the business started to slide. Scotty asks if the throwdowns between Scott and Amy escalated, and Malvinder says eloquently that they escalated “into silence…like a shout.” Not that our two detectives would know anything about that…
Balcony, PPD. Over lunch, Scotty says Scott and Amy were friends, but the opposite was true, “according to this Malvinder dude.” Vera interrupts with a guess that they fell out over money. “Not that Scott told us that,” Scotty points out. Stillman says this sounds like a re-interview, and Jeffries comes up with news from the ME: Amy’s body had eight times the normal level of potassium chloride. Scotty asks if that’s a poison, and Jeffries says it isn’t normally, but a high enough level can induce heart attack. Stillman asks how it’s ingested, and Jeffries says it dissolves in water and kicks in within half an hour. Vera surmises that Amy must have ingested it that morning, and Scotty says it points to someone close. Stillman concludes that they have new questions for the sister.
Interview room. Lilly and Jeffries inform Alora of the autopsy results, and Lilly theorizes that Alora knows what potassium chloride is, since she’s a chemistry teacher. Alora knows, but she has no idea who could have been with Amy at 6:30 that morning. “How about you?” Lilly asks.
Another interview room. “So we disagreed on money,” Scott tells Vera, and Vera tells him that he says that like it’s no big deal, but he says that in his line of work, when people fight about money, it usually doesn’t end too well. Scott protests that he’s not some street-corner thug. Vera asks sarcastically if Scott’s got some more refined way of getting what he wants, hands-off, like poison, maybe?
First interview room. Alora asks why she’d want Amy dead, and Jeffries theorizes that it must have been hard, living next to all that success. Alora says she was proud of Amy, but Lilly reminds her that pride can turn to envy on a dime. Alora tearfully protests that after Gage died, Amy was all she had, and that sisters have to stick together. Jeffries asks Alora if not her, then who at 6:30 AM, and she doesn’t know. Lilly asks if Amy rowed with anyone, and Alora says no, that the river was Amy’s place, and she went there alone. Lilly asks if Amy had a boyfriend or anyone who stayed over, and Alora says Amy was driven, focused, and wasn’t attractive to a lot of guys. Lilly’s expression indicates this might be hitting a little close to home, and it’s about to hit closer. Alora says Amy got a kitten when she moved in, and Alora says she always joked it was going to be Amy, her career, and her beloved cats. No, that doesn’t sound like anyone we know. Lilly looks a bit unnerved.
Second interview room. Scott says his true feeling is that Amy died of a broken heart; that she never got over Gage. Vera points out how convenient this theory is for Scott. Scott says he and Amy were partners, and he wouldn’t profit from hurting her. Ultimately, he tells Vera, they had the same wolf at their door: Coleman. Scott says that after the Super Bowl fiasco, he rained fire on both their heads.
Lionstaff parking lot. Scott pulls up in his Ferrari to Amy’s glare and “It’s No Good” by Depeche Mode. She remarks that she thought he was going to sell the Ferrari, and he says he’s not giving up the car, that it makes an impression. Amy asks how he’s keeping up with payments, and he says his mom is helping him, and tells Amy to lay off. Coleman pulls up and greets them with sarcastic enthusiasm, then indicates Scott’s Ferrari and asks if he bought that, accusing Scott of just throwing his money around like confetti. Amy asks Coleman if this is about the ad, and Coleman demands to know if they think this is a game like Monopoly. Scott says of course it isn’t, but Coleman continues to rant, incredulous that he gave them a million dollars that he earned, sweating and bleeding, and they spend it on cars, watches, and sushi. Scott protests that appearances matter, but Coleman goes on as he retrieves a golf club from the trunk of his car, saying that when it comes to an actual business decision, they blow their wad on one ad. Amy says they thought the exposure was worth a gamble. Coleman takes the golf club and shatters the window of Scott’s Ferrari, then demands to know whose stupid idea the ad was. Amy says it was a joint decision, Coleman calls it a fiasco. Amy apologizes, but Coleman says if they let another one get by them, he’ll do worse than this. He then gets in his car and drives away.
Scott says Coleman had a right to be mad, but he was “psycho mad.” Vera thinks it sounds like Scott ducked for cover and let Coleman blame Amy. Scott says it wasn’t exactly him at his best. Stillman knocks on the door then and says he has news.
Squad room. Stillman says he got some background info on Coleman, and Vera says he did, too: he has a rage problem. Lilly says Coleman had a rich wife, who died in 1994 of a heart attack. The similarities are not lost on Vera, and Stillman adds that Coleman has a kidney problem, Lilly finishing that it’s managed by potassium chloride in a steady daily dose.
