About Face - Recap

Brenda's not having a very good day. In fact, she's lost in the Hills trying to find the latest crime scene: the home of a model somewhere off Mullholland Drive.

Once she arrives, she immediately begins looking over the scene--the victim found dead in the shower, her hair having been very recently done and in the process of shaving her legs. The absence of the victim's razor seems to intrigue Brenda, though no one else picks up on it's impact (that it's missing means someone else threw it away, not the victim herself).

At the Parker Center, Brenda has another meeting with Pope and Capt. Taylor, complaining about the teams' lack of knowledge on crime scene work and wondering why she has a team containing "half of the junior varsity...and Provenza." Capt. Taylor disagrees, noting that all of the team members have loads of experience and that one of them, Sgt. Gabriel, has a master's degree on the subject of law enforcement. After Capt. Taylor leaves promising to send "help", Brenda has a few final words for Pope. She's gotten the new stationary for the Priority Murder Squad...with the letters P.M.S in bold letters. Brenda's not amused.

Later, as the team starts going over evidence and leads from the crime scene, Lt. Flynn stops by. Brenda's wondering aloud why he would show up, and she's told that he's the "help" that Capt. Taylor sent over. Oh joy. Brenda decides to keep him busy (and out of her hair) by sending him to find out what sort of toxin could be absorbed through the scalp, and the victim was poisoned in such a manner. Flynn balks, but Brenda's too busy going over the victim's schedule with Lindsay, the victim's personal assistant.

Through Lindsay, Brenda begins to notice a pattern, one that becomes more concrete as she goes on a little "makeover" shopping spree (much like one the victim herself went on the day before) Each person the victim visited, from Lindsay to her hairdresser to her makeup artist to her clothier all got their jobs withthe victim in the same way...they all had affairs with her husband, an actor, and in the process had their own professional reputations tarnished. Each woman was "recommended" to the victim by her husband under platonic pretenses.

Brenda then goes to the vicitim's planned final stop...and gets a real surprise. The hostess at the restaraunt the victim was planning to dine at that evening looks very much like the victim herself after her little makeover. It seems the husband had a new interest...

Brenda manages to use the victim's reservation for herself, and Fritz joins her for dinner. When she talks work and mentions the strange parallel between the victim's husband and her makeover staff, Fritz reminds her that she too did much the same thing when she took her job at the Parker Center, working under her former lover, Pope. Brenda orders "a huge glass of merlot" to mull this over with.

The next day, all of Flynn's long, long hours have paid off--it seems the toxin of choice was nicotene, the kind used in gardening. Everyone wonders how it got there.

Brenda decides it's time to have the husband in for a chat. When no one will go to arrest him, Brenda decides to simply go and do it herself. Sgt. Gabriel reminds her that if she couldn't find her way to the crime scene, she'll certainly get lost bringing the husband inunder the lights and glare of cameras, reporters, and helicopters following her back to the Parker Center. With that, Brenda gives Sgt. Gabriel her car keys and he takes the wheel.

Once they're all in interrogation, Brenda tells the husband that he is responsible for his wife's death---but not in the way he thought. No, Brenda points out that one of his many lovers believed his lies about leaving his wife for them and decided to make the split quick and permanent. Leaving the husband to think about this, she announces she knows who killed the victim. Even Sgt. Gabriel is scratching his head when they arrive...

...at the hairdresser's, who is responsible for the woman's death. It seems that not only did the husband lie to her about leaving the victim for her, he also knocked her up. Brenda hands her a form stating that both she and the victim's husband relinquish parental rights of the child, allowing her to name a guardian, or she can do this the hard way and the child's father get to raise the baby...he and his new girlfriend, whomever that may be at the moment.

The hairresser gives in, and tells them that she did indeed put the nicotene in the victim's shampoo, using gloves to wahs her hair so as to avoid poisoning herself in the process. When asked where the evidence went, she replies that she put it all in a trash bag and tossed it out her car window...somewhere over off Mullholland Drive. Brenda groans and says "Could you be a little more specific?"

Share this article with your friends