Post by TVFan on Jun 18, 2008 17:14:47 GMT -5
Recap Provided By Cellogal
December 14, 1968
Waiters hustle around a beautifully decorated ballroom as B. J. Thomas’s “Hooked on a Feeling” plays, and a group of teenage girls stand in a circle and sip champagne. A blonde gushes that her long white evening gloves make her feel like Princess Grace, and a brunette agrees, telling the blonde, Landon, that they’re lovely. Turning to leave, the brunette turns her ankle in the heels she’s wearing, apologizes, then heads to a nearby table, where she kicks off the shoes. An older woman in an evening gown, presumably her mother, tells the girl, Emma, to put her shoes back on. Emma complains that they hurt her feet, but her mother says a young lady must learn to walk gracefully in heels. Emma agrees, and her mother asks if she has her pocketbook and gloves. Emma says she’s not going to wear the gloves because she doesn’t want to cover up her mother’s ring. The camera zooms in to show a beautiful gold ring Emma’s wearing on the middle finger of her left hand. Her mother smiles and enthuses that this is exciting; Emma agrees, with considerably less enthusiasm. Her mother continues, saying that soon, Emma will walk through that arch, and everyone will clap when they announce her name. Emma protests that it’s not for doing anything, it’s just for being a girl wearing a dress. Emma’s mother reminds her that they’ve talked about this, and what being part of society will mean for her, and for her future. Then Mom plays her trump card, saying Emma may not appreciate it now, but she’s made her mother very proud. Emma says she wants to make her mother proud by doing things, and her mother says she will; Emma will do things her mother’s never dreamed of, and Emma says she’ll go to the moon. Her mother tells Emma she’s such a modern woman, and Emma thanks her. I would, too. That’s a great compliment, even though Mom didn’t seem to intend it as such. They walk away, and Mom wants to put just the teeniest bit of mascara on Emma’s eyelashes. Emma protests with an exasperated, “Mother,” as all teenage girls are wont to do from time to time.
Later, applause echoes throughout the ballroom as a girl is introduced, and then the announcer introduces Miss Emma Elizabeth Vine. The applause starts, but Emma doesn’t appear. A group of young men in tuxedos and the other girls being introduced look around curiously, as do Emma’s mother and the ladies at her table. The emcee repeats the announcement, but still no Emma, and her mother stands up, concern evident on her face.
We see Emma lying dead at the bottom of a staircase, wearing her evening gown, but missing her mother’s ring. At PPD, a detective places Emma’s information in a file, which he then puts in a drawer in file cabinet. He cuts through an office, where we see another detective watching Richard Nixon take the Oath of Office.
Present Day
Stillman has a rather elderly woman in his office as the detectives come into the squad room. Vera asks who’s coming to the Sixers game on Wednesday, and Lilly crinkles her nose and says she’s not into hockey. “It’s basketball,” Vera corrects, seemingly stunned that Lilly Rush wouldn’t know who the Sixers are, and she smiles and says, “No, thanks.” Turning to Miller, Vera asks what about her, saying they’re cheap seats, but it’s a good time. She thanks him, but says she’s got something Wednesday. “Like what?” Vera asks, and she gives him a withering look and tells him it’s personal.
Lilly heads into Stillman’s office, and he introduces her to Lillian Vine, the mother from earlier. Wow. Lilly and Lillian. This is going to be about as confusing as Scott and Scotty from a couple episodes ago. Yikes. Anyway, she greets Lilly warmly, and Stillman says Lillian is here about Travis Whitman, the art dealer. Lilly recalls that his wife died last month by falling down the stairs at their home. Stillman says that’s Travis’s story, but now he’s been charged with her murder, then hands her a newspaper clipping, saying Lillian thinks he could be responsible for another death. “Whose?” Lilly asks, and Lillian replies, “My daughter’s, in 1968.” She says Emma and Travis were both 18, and Lilly asks what happened. Lillian explains that Travis escorted Emma to her debutante ball, and she died that night, from a fall down the stairs. Lilly comments that that doesn’t happen twice in one lifetime, and Lillian says it’s the same death. Stillman explains that Emma’s case was put on the shelf pretty quickly after it came in. Lilly asks if it was ruled an accident, and Stillman says it was handled as an “S” job: suspicious death, which meant no one looked at it too closely in 1968. Lilly argues that it’s 2006 now, and they like to look.
Credits.
Squad room. Scotty comes in and asks Lilly what she’s got, thinking it’s a dead bride. “Debutante: Emma Elizabeth Vine,” Lilly corrects, handing him the scene photo. Miller fills him in: she was found dead the bottom of the stairs of the Edgecomb Hotel, December 1968. Scotty looks at the report, noticing the spinal fracture and cracked skull and proclaims it a bad fall. “Or a good shove,” Lilly points out. Miller continues, saying the cops couldn’t get traction on the case, since no one would talk. Scotty thinks it’s a white glove conspiracy, and Lilly says society people didn’t want a scandal on their hands and closed ranks. Scotty asks if they’ve got a suspect now, and sure enough, they do. Lilly says it’s Travis Whitman, Emma’s escort that night, who Kat points out wound up with another dead woman at the bottom of his stairs just last month: his wife. Scotty asks if he’s trying to sell that as a coincidence, and Lilly says there aren’t many takers; he’s out on bail at a cool million. Lilly says there’s one other thing: Lillian said Emma was wearing a ring that night; a gold swan with a diamond eye. She looks at a picture of Emma where the ring is clearly displayed, then shows it to Scotty, saying the ring was missing from the body. He says a lot of people could have taken it: hotel staff who found the body, paramedics…and Lilly says that they put out feelers at pawn shops at the time to see if someone tried to move it, but they came up empty. Miller suggests that they waited until the heat died down, then says she’ll check sale records. Scotty’s a bit perplexed by the fact that, at the time of the murder, Emma was living in Fishtown, which Lilly points out isn’t deb recruiting territory. Scotty suggests that maybe Emma was some kind of Philly Cinderella, and Lilly studies the photo for a moment.
Vine home. Scotty looks at a photo of an astronaut, and Lillian comes up behind him. “Handsome, wasn’t he?” she comments, “Even in that marshmallow.” Hee. Scotty concludes that the astronaut was Lillian’s husband, and she says his name was Timothy, then shows him the album from Emma’s debutante season. Scotty asks if debuting was important to Emma, but Lillian confesses that she was the one who really wanted it. She grew up fascinated by debs, saying that they seemed so perfect, and the whole world was theirs. Scotty cites his sketchy understanding of this world, but recalls that it’s wealthy girls, and Lillian agrees, saying they’re from the main line: Chestnut Hill. Scotty points out that Lillian’s family is from Fishtown, and starts to ask how they go from there, to… “Having my own daughter debut?” Lillian finishes for him. “Yeah,” Scotty agrees slowly. Lillian tells him they had a different cache: Timothy. She tells Scotty that in 1968, astronauts were bigger than the Beatles, and her husband was on the list to go to the moon. All of a sudden, she says, they were society.
Country club. A couple of young men play tennis as a group of ladies sit around a table and gossip. A blonde woman asks Lillian if there’s a date for the landing, and she says there isn’t yet. The blonde is impressed that Lillian’s husband is going to walk on the moon. Emma says she thinks it’ll be next August, since they’re sticking by Kennedy’s timetable. The blonde woman comments that Emma is well-informed, and Lillian says Emma knows way more than she does, and loves flying. Landon tells Emma she could be a stewardess. “Or a pilot,” Emma adds. There’s an awkward moment, as Landon and her mother have clearly never encountered a girl with two brain cells to rub together before, and then Lillian tells Landon’s mother, Irene, that she must be so happy to have the club, to have a place where her children can go. Irene adds that it’s better to have them there than to have them running wild in the streets with hippies, and they laugh merrily. Irene tells Lillian there’s something she’s been meaning to ask her, then says that the debutante season starts soon, and asks her how she’d like Emma to make her debut. Lillian starts to protest, but Irene says they’re the wife and daughter of an astronaut, and says silkily that it would be an honor. Emma asks what she’d have to do, and Landon enthuses that she’d go to parties all season, and then bow to her father when she’s presented at the ball. Lillian says it’s very prestigious, and Landon agrees, saying she’ll meet everyone, and tells her she can take Travis as her escort. We follow her eyes to one of the tennis players. “Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Emma asks Landon. Landon says he is, but she has to take Chip, the other tennis player, the one with the cigarette in his mouth, because it’s some business thing with their dads. This way, she says, Travis can come, too. Emma considers Travis, then looks at Chip, who’s arguing with someone, punctuated by tossing his racket and storming off. Lillian says this is so lucky, and says she’d think the girls would all have been chosen by now, but Irene claims to have some pull in that area; after all, she is the Mistress of the Robes.
“Mistress of the what?” Scotty asks, which is exactly the question I had. Lillian explains that the titles are from centuries ago, and it meant Irene was in charge. Scotty says this ball doesn’t sound like Emma’s type of thing, and Lillian says Emma only agreed after she pointed out the various opportunities it could mean, and the people she’d meet. She says Emma wanted to go to college, and Scotty concludes that Lillian was glad when Emma said yes and took Travis as her escort. Lillian says it was the mistake of her life, and Scotty asks if Emma had trouble with Travis. “If she did,” Lillian says, “I was blind to it.” She explains that she thought those people could do no wrong. Lillian tells Scotty she wanted to help Emma, but instead, handed her over to a murderer.
Whitman Gallery, which has a sign out front announcing its closing. Lilly and Jeffries look at a couple of paintings, and Travis strolls up to Lilly and surmises that that particular painting is the one she likes. Travis explains that it’s his job, figuring out what people like; what they’re attracted to. He says he learns a lot in this room, and Jeffries comes up behind them, saying he hopes the same goes for them, and Lilly flashes her badge. Travis asks if this is about Sadie, saying he’s already got someone watching his every move, but Jeffries says this is about Emma Vine. Travis seems surprised to learn that Emma’s dead, and Lilly tells him it was 38 years ago, but it came up again, since she died exactly the way Travis’s wife did. Travis respectfully disagrees, and Lilly presses him, asking if she didn’t fall down a flight of stairs. Travis says that much is true, but it’s his belief that Sadie had a seizure and fell, since she was epileptic. Travis says that’s the only thing that makes any sense. Jeffries asks if Emma had a medical condition, too, but Travis says he hardly knew Emma; he escorted her to the ball as a favor to his girlfriend, and had no motive. “And no clue why she died?” Lilly asks. Travis explains that these girls took the debutante season very seriously, and there was a bit of talk about the fact that Emma got someone else’s spot. Lilly asks whose spot it was, and Travis answers that it was Sloane Kinney, a big boozer and all-around floozy. I’m wondering if someone on the writing staff knows an alcoholic named Sloane, because this is the second one we’ve seen in as many seasons. I can’t waste time pondering that, though, because Jeffries is asking Travis if Sloane had it out for Emma. “Like Emma had yanked the golden ticket right out of her hand,” Travis remarks.
Small room at the country club. “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees plays. Travis looks on as Landon hands Emma and another girl a glass of punch, saying she hopes they like it. “It’s Tricia Nixon’s recipe,” she beams, then tells the other girl, Sloane, that Emma’s dad is an astronaut. “That’s the mostest,” Sloane comments. Travis agrees that this is pretty neat, and Emma thanks him. Landon tells him that Emma’s dad is going to be the first man on the moon, and Emma wants to be the first girl to go to Harvard. Travis points out that they don’t let girls into Harvard, and Chip says sure they do, right after they get off the bus from Wellesley. Landon and Sloane giggle, but Emma tells Travis that it’s just that Harvard has the best physics program. Travis is clearly intrigued and comes closer to her. “You mean like P. E.?” Chip asks, as he spikes Sloane’s punch from a flask he’s carrying. Emma sighs, but Travis comes to the rescue, telling her that if she’s interested, there’s an echo thing in the ballroom. She’s interested, and he offers to show her when they’re there. “You’re going to the ball?” Sloane asks with disdain, and Emma says she is. Sloane then notices the large bouquet of roses sitting on a table, and asks if the roses came. Landon says they came this morning, and Sloane gripes that she didn’t get hers. Landon doesn’t say anything, and Sloane realizes she’s not debuting. Landon shrugs and apologizes, and Sloane demands to know if she got bumped for Emma. She protests loudly that they don’t even know Emma.
Travis explains that Sloane was “new money.” “Which made her a bad person?” Jeffries asks. Travis says it made her expendable, so Irene cut her out. “For Emma,” Lilly concludes. Jeffries says Sloane may have had an axe to grind with Emma, but Emma died at the ball. Travis says Sloane was there, and she was angry. Lilly asks why she’d be there since she wasn’t a debutante. Travis admits this is true, but he knows he saw her. Jeffries asks if he has proof, and Travis tells them to ask Chip, if they can find him. Lilly points out that Chip was Travis’s best friend, and asks why they should believe him. Travis says Lilly probably wouldn’t, just like they don’t believe him. Lilly tells Travis he’s right; she doesn’t, and Travis tells her to join the club; it’s why he has to hire all these fancy lawyers. “Help the guy that nobody believes.”
Squad room. Lilly tells Stillman that Travis points to Sloane, a girl who got knocked out of being a deb when Emma took her place. Scotty explains that the photo Stillman has is a mug shot from a DUI Sloane got in 1969, and they’re comparing it to photos from the ball. Stillman concludes that Travis talks a good game, and Lilly agrees, but she still says lightning doesn’t strike twice. Stillman asks if Miller had any luck finding the ring, and Lilly says she put the word out to every pawn shop and auction house in Philly, but no luck. Stillman surmises that remembering a sale from 38 years ago is a long shot. Scotty then shows Lilly a photo from the ball of a girl glowering in the background, and is pretty sure that’s Sloane. “Staring daggers at Emma,” Stillman observes.
Chestnut Hill. Vera and Scotty pull up to the curb and get out of the car, Vera saying he should have polished his shoes for this neighborhood. Scotty agrees, commenting about the nice cribs. Vera asks Scotty if he’s coming to the Sixers game, since Jeffries got tickets, and Scotty asks if it’s just the three of them who are going. Vera says he invited Miller, but she’s got her other thing. “Something to do with Veronica?” Scotty asks, and Vera says that this morning, he heard Miller ordering flowers for Wednesday night. Scotty comments that this sounds special, and Vera wonders aloud why she doesn’t just tell them. “’Cause it’s none of our business,” Scotty answers. Vera argues that they’re co-workers, and should share their lives with each other. Scotty laughs and wishes him luck with that, then points to one particularly nice crib and says this is it.
Sloane’s Nice Crib. Sloane, who seems to have cleaned up her act, tells them that she wanted to be a debutante more than anything in the world, and Vera concludes that it must have hurt something awful when Emma took her place. Sloane says it did, that she thought she would actually die and could hardly get out of bed. Wow, melodramatic much? Scotty points out that she got up to go to that ball; she agrees, and Vera asks why. As she sits down on the sofa and starts cradling her poodle in her lap, Sloane says she went for Chip. Scotty says Chip was Landon’s escort, and Sloane says they were just friends. Chip wanted her around for after, she says, “if you…get my drift.” “I get it,” Vera says. Hee. Sloane says that she was always good for that. Scotty concludes that she hung around the ball until Chip finished his escort duties, and Sloane says she watched a little, but she was mostly upstairs in their hotel room. Scotty’s a little skeptical that Emma got a free pass, pointing out that she was in the big white dress and Sloane wasn’t. Sloane says she’d lost by that point; she’d already done the worst she could. Vera asks what that was, and she says she found something out and ran with it.
Ballroom, where Sloane glowers as couples practice their dancing, to The Rascals’ “It’s a Beautiful Morning.” Irene chirps to the girls that it may be their night, but they should try to let the boys lead. Emma giggles and tells Travis she stepped on him again; Travis, ever the gentleman, claims to not have noticed, then tells Emma that for her, it’s back on one. She nods and tries again, and it seems to go better this time. Travis gazes at her intently, then asks if he can ask her something. “Sure,” she agrees, and he asks her why she’s debuting. Emma says it’s because her mother claims it’s an opportunity; Travis asks Emma what she says. She tells him it’s been all right, then admits that today’s been pretty fun. Travis says he’s been watching her at all the parties, and she doesn’t seem as excited as all the other girls. Emma says it’s not really her thing. “Like physics,” Travis concludes, and Emma says this is physics; everything is physics. She grabs him again and starts dancing, explaining that her foot describes a vector, with force going in a direction… “tracing a closed system,” Travis finishes, and she beams, saying she hadn’t really thought of it that way. These two are having way more fun with physics than I ever did, I’ll tell you that right now, and I had a professor who used to lie down on a bed of nails to make a point. Suddenly, Travis and Emma bump into Chip and Landon. Landon b*tchily suggests that maybe they should find some more space, and Chip suggests another building. Landon blows Travis a kiss, then goes back to dancing with Chip. Emma apologizes, saying she’s hopeless, but Travis instructs her not to look at them, but to dance with him. She starts to protest, but he kindly insists. She does, and they gaze happily at each other while they dance and Sloane looks on with a slightly evil smile.
Scotty surmises that Sloane thought Travis was falling for Emma. “And vice-versa,” she says. Vera guesses Landon wouldn’t like that, and Sloane says that when she broke the news, Landon was extremely upset. She says she thought she could get her place back, but it didn’t work. Scotty asks how ticked off Landon got, and Sloane asks him if he’s ever seen a child throw a tantrum; take something that’s theirs when they’re not used to hearing no. He says he has. Sloane says that Travis was Landon’s until Emma showed up, and Landon had gone eighteen years without ever hearing no.
Ballroom. Lilly and Miller walk up to Landon, who’s instructing another deb in the art of dancing, and Lilly flashes her badge and asks Landon what they call her: a coach? Landon says her formal title is Mistress of the Robes, but points to a blonde at the end and says that one calls her Mom. Miller observes that the girl looks like Landon, and Lilly expresses hope that no one steals her boyfriend, like Emma stole hers. Hee. Landon looks at her blankly, and Miller reminds her of Emma Vine and Travis Whitman in 1968. Lilly tells Landon that Sloane says Emma and Travis were getting close, and that Landon didn’t like it. Landon says that was a long time ago. “So was the murder we’re workin’,” Kat retorts. Have I mentioned I like her? Landon says that Sloane told her what she saw at dance practice. Lilly surmises that Landon got angry, but Landon says a lady doesn’t get angry, although sometimes what she does instead is worse.
Ballroom. The debs are practicing dancing to Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty.” They finish, and Irene chirps that she’ll see them all tomorrow night at the hotel, no later than 6:00. They disperse, and Irene asks Emma if her father couldn’t make it, saying this is the last rehearsal. Emma says he had to fly down to Cape Canaveral, but he’s coming back tonight. Irene reminds Emma of how much they’re all looking forward to seeing her bow to him, then departs. I’m trying hard to imagine a scenario in which any woman I know would actually bow to her father and am coming up empty. Anyway, Landon’s dad asks Emma if she needs a ride, and Emma says she’s going to take the bus. “In that?” Landon asks, indicating Emma’s white ballgown, and Emma says she has street clothes and a book. Landon’s dad asks her what she’s reading, and Emma says she’s reading Feynman’s Lectures. Landon’s dad is impressed. He says he’ll get the car and meet the girls out front. Landon points out to Emma that Travis has that book, and asks if it’s his. Emma says they were talking about it, then changes the subject and compliments Landon on her graceful bow. Landon says she’s been practicing it her whole life, then asks Emma if she’s nervous about tomorrow. Emma says she is a little, but then says she heard about this acoustic anomaly in the ballroom, and Landon interrupts, remembering that Travis said he was going to show it to her. There’s an awkward pause, and then Landon tells Emma there’s something about Travis she doesn’t know: he’s Jewish. Oooh, call in the reinforcements! Sorry. Racist snobs make me very sarcastic. Landon continues, saying Travis and his whole family hide it well, but that’s the dirty little Whitman secret. As they walk off together, Emma says she thought Jews weren’t allowed, and Landon merely shrugs.
Landon says it was like spitting on your food before someone else could take it. Well, now, that’s not very ladylike, is it? Kat asks Landon if this was her way of trying to keep Travis, and Landon says she loved him, even though she could see that he liked Emma. Lilly asks Landon what would have happened if Travis’s secret got around, and Landon says it would have been the end of the Whitmans at the club. Lilly thinks she’s just talking about the social aspects, but Landon says they had a lot of business connections there, too. Miller’s incredulous that they would have lost all that because they were Jewish, and Landon says she’s telling them how it was, not how she thought it should be. Well, that’s very big of her. She then quietly excuses herself and walks off. Miller concludes that Travis had a secret which Emma knew, and Lilly says it sounds like the escort had motive after all.
December 14, 1968
Waiters hustle around a beautifully decorated ballroom as B. J. Thomas’s “Hooked on a Feeling” plays, and a group of teenage girls stand in a circle and sip champagne. A blonde gushes that her long white evening gloves make her feel like Princess Grace, and a brunette agrees, telling the blonde, Landon, that they’re lovely. Turning to leave, the brunette turns her ankle in the heels she’s wearing, apologizes, then heads to a nearby table, where she kicks off the shoes. An older woman in an evening gown, presumably her mother, tells the girl, Emma, to put her shoes back on. Emma complains that they hurt her feet, but her mother says a young lady must learn to walk gracefully in heels. Emma agrees, and her mother asks if she has her pocketbook and gloves. Emma says she’s not going to wear the gloves because she doesn’t want to cover up her mother’s ring. The camera zooms in to show a beautiful gold ring Emma’s wearing on the middle finger of her left hand. Her mother smiles and enthuses that this is exciting; Emma agrees, with considerably less enthusiasm. Her mother continues, saying that soon, Emma will walk through that arch, and everyone will clap when they announce her name. Emma protests that it’s not for doing anything, it’s just for being a girl wearing a dress. Emma’s mother reminds her that they’ve talked about this, and what being part of society will mean for her, and for her future. Then Mom plays her trump card, saying Emma may not appreciate it now, but she’s made her mother very proud. Emma says she wants to make her mother proud by doing things, and her mother says she will; Emma will do things her mother’s never dreamed of, and Emma says she’ll go to the moon. Her mother tells Emma she’s such a modern woman, and Emma thanks her. I would, too. That’s a great compliment, even though Mom didn’t seem to intend it as such. They walk away, and Mom wants to put just the teeniest bit of mascara on Emma’s eyelashes. Emma protests with an exasperated, “Mother,” as all teenage girls are wont to do from time to time.
Later, applause echoes throughout the ballroom as a girl is introduced, and then the announcer introduces Miss Emma Elizabeth Vine. The applause starts, but Emma doesn’t appear. A group of young men in tuxedos and the other girls being introduced look around curiously, as do Emma’s mother and the ladies at her table. The emcee repeats the announcement, but still no Emma, and her mother stands up, concern evident on her face.
We see Emma lying dead at the bottom of a staircase, wearing her evening gown, but missing her mother’s ring. At PPD, a detective places Emma’s information in a file, which he then puts in a drawer in file cabinet. He cuts through an office, where we see another detective watching Richard Nixon take the Oath of Office.
Present Day
Stillman has a rather elderly woman in his office as the detectives come into the squad room. Vera asks who’s coming to the Sixers game on Wednesday, and Lilly crinkles her nose and says she’s not into hockey. “It’s basketball,” Vera corrects, seemingly stunned that Lilly Rush wouldn’t know who the Sixers are, and she smiles and says, “No, thanks.” Turning to Miller, Vera asks what about her, saying they’re cheap seats, but it’s a good time. She thanks him, but says she’s got something Wednesday. “Like what?” Vera asks, and she gives him a withering look and tells him it’s personal.
Lilly heads into Stillman’s office, and he introduces her to Lillian Vine, the mother from earlier. Wow. Lilly and Lillian. This is going to be about as confusing as Scott and Scotty from a couple episodes ago. Yikes. Anyway, she greets Lilly warmly, and Stillman says Lillian is here about Travis Whitman, the art dealer. Lilly recalls that his wife died last month by falling down the stairs at their home. Stillman says that’s Travis’s story, but now he’s been charged with her murder, then hands her a newspaper clipping, saying Lillian thinks he could be responsible for another death. “Whose?” Lilly asks, and Lillian replies, “My daughter’s, in 1968.” She says Emma and Travis were both 18, and Lilly asks what happened. Lillian explains that Travis escorted Emma to her debutante ball, and she died that night, from a fall down the stairs. Lilly comments that that doesn’t happen twice in one lifetime, and Lillian says it’s the same death. Stillman explains that Emma’s case was put on the shelf pretty quickly after it came in. Lilly asks if it was ruled an accident, and Stillman says it was handled as an “S” job: suspicious death, which meant no one looked at it too closely in 1968. Lilly argues that it’s 2006 now, and they like to look.
Credits.
Squad room. Scotty comes in and asks Lilly what she’s got, thinking it’s a dead bride. “Debutante: Emma Elizabeth Vine,” Lilly corrects, handing him the scene photo. Miller fills him in: she was found dead the bottom of the stairs of the Edgecomb Hotel, December 1968. Scotty looks at the report, noticing the spinal fracture and cracked skull and proclaims it a bad fall. “Or a good shove,” Lilly points out. Miller continues, saying the cops couldn’t get traction on the case, since no one would talk. Scotty thinks it’s a white glove conspiracy, and Lilly says society people didn’t want a scandal on their hands and closed ranks. Scotty asks if they’ve got a suspect now, and sure enough, they do. Lilly says it’s Travis Whitman, Emma’s escort that night, who Kat points out wound up with another dead woman at the bottom of his stairs just last month: his wife. Scotty asks if he’s trying to sell that as a coincidence, and Lilly says there aren’t many takers; he’s out on bail at a cool million. Lilly says there’s one other thing: Lillian said Emma was wearing a ring that night; a gold swan with a diamond eye. She looks at a picture of Emma where the ring is clearly displayed, then shows it to Scotty, saying the ring was missing from the body. He says a lot of people could have taken it: hotel staff who found the body, paramedics…and Lilly says that they put out feelers at pawn shops at the time to see if someone tried to move it, but they came up empty. Miller suggests that they waited until the heat died down, then says she’ll check sale records. Scotty’s a bit perplexed by the fact that, at the time of the murder, Emma was living in Fishtown, which Lilly points out isn’t deb recruiting territory. Scotty suggests that maybe Emma was some kind of Philly Cinderella, and Lilly studies the photo for a moment.
Vine home. Scotty looks at a photo of an astronaut, and Lillian comes up behind him. “Handsome, wasn’t he?” she comments, “Even in that marshmallow.” Hee. Scotty concludes that the astronaut was Lillian’s husband, and she says his name was Timothy, then shows him the album from Emma’s debutante season. Scotty asks if debuting was important to Emma, but Lillian confesses that she was the one who really wanted it. She grew up fascinated by debs, saying that they seemed so perfect, and the whole world was theirs. Scotty cites his sketchy understanding of this world, but recalls that it’s wealthy girls, and Lillian agrees, saying they’re from the main line: Chestnut Hill. Scotty points out that Lillian’s family is from Fishtown, and starts to ask how they go from there, to… “Having my own daughter debut?” Lillian finishes for him. “Yeah,” Scotty agrees slowly. Lillian tells him they had a different cache: Timothy. She tells Scotty that in 1968, astronauts were bigger than the Beatles, and her husband was on the list to go to the moon. All of a sudden, she says, they were society.
Country club. A couple of young men play tennis as a group of ladies sit around a table and gossip. A blonde woman asks Lillian if there’s a date for the landing, and she says there isn’t yet. The blonde is impressed that Lillian’s husband is going to walk on the moon. Emma says she thinks it’ll be next August, since they’re sticking by Kennedy’s timetable. The blonde woman comments that Emma is well-informed, and Lillian says Emma knows way more than she does, and loves flying. Landon tells Emma she could be a stewardess. “Or a pilot,” Emma adds. There’s an awkward moment, as Landon and her mother have clearly never encountered a girl with two brain cells to rub together before, and then Lillian tells Landon’s mother, Irene, that she must be so happy to have the club, to have a place where her children can go. Irene adds that it’s better to have them there than to have them running wild in the streets with hippies, and they laugh merrily. Irene tells Lillian there’s something she’s been meaning to ask her, then says that the debutante season starts soon, and asks her how she’d like Emma to make her debut. Lillian starts to protest, but Irene says they’re the wife and daughter of an astronaut, and says silkily that it would be an honor. Emma asks what she’d have to do, and Landon enthuses that she’d go to parties all season, and then bow to her father when she’s presented at the ball. Lillian says it’s very prestigious, and Landon agrees, saying she’ll meet everyone, and tells her she can take Travis as her escort. We follow her eyes to one of the tennis players. “Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Emma asks Landon. Landon says he is, but she has to take Chip, the other tennis player, the one with the cigarette in his mouth, because it’s some business thing with their dads. This way, she says, Travis can come, too. Emma considers Travis, then looks at Chip, who’s arguing with someone, punctuated by tossing his racket and storming off. Lillian says this is so lucky, and says she’d think the girls would all have been chosen by now, but Irene claims to have some pull in that area; after all, she is the Mistress of the Robes.
“Mistress of the what?” Scotty asks, which is exactly the question I had. Lillian explains that the titles are from centuries ago, and it meant Irene was in charge. Scotty says this ball doesn’t sound like Emma’s type of thing, and Lillian says Emma only agreed after she pointed out the various opportunities it could mean, and the people she’d meet. She says Emma wanted to go to college, and Scotty concludes that Lillian was glad when Emma said yes and took Travis as her escort. Lillian says it was the mistake of her life, and Scotty asks if Emma had trouble with Travis. “If she did,” Lillian says, “I was blind to it.” She explains that she thought those people could do no wrong. Lillian tells Scotty she wanted to help Emma, but instead, handed her over to a murderer.
Whitman Gallery, which has a sign out front announcing its closing. Lilly and Jeffries look at a couple of paintings, and Travis strolls up to Lilly and surmises that that particular painting is the one she likes. Travis explains that it’s his job, figuring out what people like; what they’re attracted to. He says he learns a lot in this room, and Jeffries comes up behind them, saying he hopes the same goes for them, and Lilly flashes her badge. Travis asks if this is about Sadie, saying he’s already got someone watching his every move, but Jeffries says this is about Emma Vine. Travis seems surprised to learn that Emma’s dead, and Lilly tells him it was 38 years ago, but it came up again, since she died exactly the way Travis’s wife did. Travis respectfully disagrees, and Lilly presses him, asking if she didn’t fall down a flight of stairs. Travis says that much is true, but it’s his belief that Sadie had a seizure and fell, since she was epileptic. Travis says that’s the only thing that makes any sense. Jeffries asks if Emma had a medical condition, too, but Travis says he hardly knew Emma; he escorted her to the ball as a favor to his girlfriend, and had no motive. “And no clue why she died?” Lilly asks. Travis explains that these girls took the debutante season very seriously, and there was a bit of talk about the fact that Emma got someone else’s spot. Lilly asks whose spot it was, and Travis answers that it was Sloane Kinney, a big boozer and all-around floozy. I’m wondering if someone on the writing staff knows an alcoholic named Sloane, because this is the second one we’ve seen in as many seasons. I can’t waste time pondering that, though, because Jeffries is asking Travis if Sloane had it out for Emma. “Like Emma had yanked the golden ticket right out of her hand,” Travis remarks.
Small room at the country club. “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees plays. Travis looks on as Landon hands Emma and another girl a glass of punch, saying she hopes they like it. “It’s Tricia Nixon’s recipe,” she beams, then tells the other girl, Sloane, that Emma’s dad is an astronaut. “That’s the mostest,” Sloane comments. Travis agrees that this is pretty neat, and Emma thanks him. Landon tells him that Emma’s dad is going to be the first man on the moon, and Emma wants to be the first girl to go to Harvard. Travis points out that they don’t let girls into Harvard, and Chip says sure they do, right after they get off the bus from Wellesley. Landon and Sloane giggle, but Emma tells Travis that it’s just that Harvard has the best physics program. Travis is clearly intrigued and comes closer to her. “You mean like P. E.?” Chip asks, as he spikes Sloane’s punch from a flask he’s carrying. Emma sighs, but Travis comes to the rescue, telling her that if she’s interested, there’s an echo thing in the ballroom. She’s interested, and he offers to show her when they’re there. “You’re going to the ball?” Sloane asks with disdain, and Emma says she is. Sloane then notices the large bouquet of roses sitting on a table, and asks if the roses came. Landon says they came this morning, and Sloane gripes that she didn’t get hers. Landon doesn’t say anything, and Sloane realizes she’s not debuting. Landon shrugs and apologizes, and Sloane demands to know if she got bumped for Emma. She protests loudly that they don’t even know Emma.
Travis explains that Sloane was “new money.” “Which made her a bad person?” Jeffries asks. Travis says it made her expendable, so Irene cut her out. “For Emma,” Lilly concludes. Jeffries says Sloane may have had an axe to grind with Emma, but Emma died at the ball. Travis says Sloane was there, and she was angry. Lilly asks why she’d be there since she wasn’t a debutante. Travis admits this is true, but he knows he saw her. Jeffries asks if he has proof, and Travis tells them to ask Chip, if they can find him. Lilly points out that Chip was Travis’s best friend, and asks why they should believe him. Travis says Lilly probably wouldn’t, just like they don’t believe him. Lilly tells Travis he’s right; she doesn’t, and Travis tells her to join the club; it’s why he has to hire all these fancy lawyers. “Help the guy that nobody believes.”
Squad room. Lilly tells Stillman that Travis points to Sloane, a girl who got knocked out of being a deb when Emma took her place. Scotty explains that the photo Stillman has is a mug shot from a DUI Sloane got in 1969, and they’re comparing it to photos from the ball. Stillman concludes that Travis talks a good game, and Lilly agrees, but she still says lightning doesn’t strike twice. Stillman asks if Miller had any luck finding the ring, and Lilly says she put the word out to every pawn shop and auction house in Philly, but no luck. Stillman surmises that remembering a sale from 38 years ago is a long shot. Scotty then shows Lilly a photo from the ball of a girl glowering in the background, and is pretty sure that’s Sloane. “Staring daggers at Emma,” Stillman observes.
Chestnut Hill. Vera and Scotty pull up to the curb and get out of the car, Vera saying he should have polished his shoes for this neighborhood. Scotty agrees, commenting about the nice cribs. Vera asks Scotty if he’s coming to the Sixers game, since Jeffries got tickets, and Scotty asks if it’s just the three of them who are going. Vera says he invited Miller, but she’s got her other thing. “Something to do with Veronica?” Scotty asks, and Vera says that this morning, he heard Miller ordering flowers for Wednesday night. Scotty comments that this sounds special, and Vera wonders aloud why she doesn’t just tell them. “’Cause it’s none of our business,” Scotty answers. Vera argues that they’re co-workers, and should share their lives with each other. Scotty laughs and wishes him luck with that, then points to one particularly nice crib and says this is it.
Sloane’s Nice Crib. Sloane, who seems to have cleaned up her act, tells them that she wanted to be a debutante more than anything in the world, and Vera concludes that it must have hurt something awful when Emma took her place. Sloane says it did, that she thought she would actually die and could hardly get out of bed. Wow, melodramatic much? Scotty points out that she got up to go to that ball; she agrees, and Vera asks why. As she sits down on the sofa and starts cradling her poodle in her lap, Sloane says she went for Chip. Scotty says Chip was Landon’s escort, and Sloane says they were just friends. Chip wanted her around for after, she says, “if you…get my drift.” “I get it,” Vera says. Hee. Sloane says that she was always good for that. Scotty concludes that she hung around the ball until Chip finished his escort duties, and Sloane says she watched a little, but she was mostly upstairs in their hotel room. Scotty’s a little skeptical that Emma got a free pass, pointing out that she was in the big white dress and Sloane wasn’t. Sloane says she’d lost by that point; she’d already done the worst she could. Vera asks what that was, and she says she found something out and ran with it.
Ballroom, where Sloane glowers as couples practice their dancing, to The Rascals’ “It’s a Beautiful Morning.” Irene chirps to the girls that it may be their night, but they should try to let the boys lead. Emma giggles and tells Travis she stepped on him again; Travis, ever the gentleman, claims to not have noticed, then tells Emma that for her, it’s back on one. She nods and tries again, and it seems to go better this time. Travis gazes at her intently, then asks if he can ask her something. “Sure,” she agrees, and he asks her why she’s debuting. Emma says it’s because her mother claims it’s an opportunity; Travis asks Emma what she says. She tells him it’s been all right, then admits that today’s been pretty fun. Travis says he’s been watching her at all the parties, and she doesn’t seem as excited as all the other girls. Emma says it’s not really her thing. “Like physics,” Travis concludes, and Emma says this is physics; everything is physics. She grabs him again and starts dancing, explaining that her foot describes a vector, with force going in a direction… “tracing a closed system,” Travis finishes, and she beams, saying she hadn’t really thought of it that way. These two are having way more fun with physics than I ever did, I’ll tell you that right now, and I had a professor who used to lie down on a bed of nails to make a point. Suddenly, Travis and Emma bump into Chip and Landon. Landon b*tchily suggests that maybe they should find some more space, and Chip suggests another building. Landon blows Travis a kiss, then goes back to dancing with Chip. Emma apologizes, saying she’s hopeless, but Travis instructs her not to look at them, but to dance with him. She starts to protest, but he kindly insists. She does, and they gaze happily at each other while they dance and Sloane looks on with a slightly evil smile.
Scotty surmises that Sloane thought Travis was falling for Emma. “And vice-versa,” she says. Vera guesses Landon wouldn’t like that, and Sloane says that when she broke the news, Landon was extremely upset. She says she thought she could get her place back, but it didn’t work. Scotty asks how ticked off Landon got, and Sloane asks him if he’s ever seen a child throw a tantrum; take something that’s theirs when they’re not used to hearing no. He says he has. Sloane says that Travis was Landon’s until Emma showed up, and Landon had gone eighteen years without ever hearing no.
Ballroom. Lilly and Miller walk up to Landon, who’s instructing another deb in the art of dancing, and Lilly flashes her badge and asks Landon what they call her: a coach? Landon says her formal title is Mistress of the Robes, but points to a blonde at the end and says that one calls her Mom. Miller observes that the girl looks like Landon, and Lilly expresses hope that no one steals her boyfriend, like Emma stole hers. Hee. Landon looks at her blankly, and Miller reminds her of Emma Vine and Travis Whitman in 1968. Lilly tells Landon that Sloane says Emma and Travis were getting close, and that Landon didn’t like it. Landon says that was a long time ago. “So was the murder we’re workin’,” Kat retorts. Have I mentioned I like her? Landon says that Sloane told her what she saw at dance practice. Lilly surmises that Landon got angry, but Landon says a lady doesn’t get angry, although sometimes what she does instead is worse.
Ballroom. The debs are practicing dancing to Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty.” They finish, and Irene chirps that she’ll see them all tomorrow night at the hotel, no later than 6:00. They disperse, and Irene asks Emma if her father couldn’t make it, saying this is the last rehearsal. Emma says he had to fly down to Cape Canaveral, but he’s coming back tonight. Irene reminds Emma of how much they’re all looking forward to seeing her bow to him, then departs. I’m trying hard to imagine a scenario in which any woman I know would actually bow to her father and am coming up empty. Anyway, Landon’s dad asks Emma if she needs a ride, and Emma says she’s going to take the bus. “In that?” Landon asks, indicating Emma’s white ballgown, and Emma says she has street clothes and a book. Landon’s dad asks her what she’s reading, and Emma says she’s reading Feynman’s Lectures. Landon’s dad is impressed. He says he’ll get the car and meet the girls out front. Landon points out to Emma that Travis has that book, and asks if it’s his. Emma says they were talking about it, then changes the subject and compliments Landon on her graceful bow. Landon says she’s been practicing it her whole life, then asks Emma if she’s nervous about tomorrow. Emma says she is a little, but then says she heard about this acoustic anomaly in the ballroom, and Landon interrupts, remembering that Travis said he was going to show it to her. There’s an awkward pause, and then Landon tells Emma there’s something about Travis she doesn’t know: he’s Jewish. Oooh, call in the reinforcements! Sorry. Racist snobs make me very sarcastic. Landon continues, saying Travis and his whole family hide it well, but that’s the dirty little Whitman secret. As they walk off together, Emma says she thought Jews weren’t allowed, and Landon merely shrugs.
Landon says it was like spitting on your food before someone else could take it. Well, now, that’s not very ladylike, is it? Kat asks Landon if this was her way of trying to keep Travis, and Landon says she loved him, even though she could see that he liked Emma. Lilly asks Landon what would have happened if Travis’s secret got around, and Landon says it would have been the end of the Whitmans at the club. Lilly thinks she’s just talking about the social aspects, but Landon says they had a lot of business connections there, too. Miller’s incredulous that they would have lost all that because they were Jewish, and Landon says she’s telling them how it was, not how she thought it should be. Well, that’s very big of her. She then quietly excuses herself and walks off. Miller concludes that Travis had a secret which Emma knew, and Lilly says it sounds like the escort had motive after all.
