K-Ville: Melissa (Episode 7)

Cobb and Boulet break the bad news to Mrs. Schmidt.Boulet and Cobb have found the body of Dr. Steven Schmidt, but not the briefcase he was seen carrying when he left his office. It's not a simple robbery, though, as the victim's car is still parked nearby, and his wallet is still on him. When a lens from a pair of glasses not belonging to the body appear, and possibly belonging to the killer, Cobb insists Boulet stick around to investigate further. Though Boulet has to get Tawni from school, he and Cobb drive around, finding the briefcase in the possession of some boys. They confirm that they found it near Schmidt's body, though insist the "guy was like that when they found him". And it gets better: the briefcase is full of cash.

Boulet makes a quick trip to get Tawni from school -- for her trouble, Tawni gets a stuffed dog Boulet got from one of rhe boys (it was most likely shop-lifted) before heading back to HQ to compare notes with Embry and the rest of the unit. They manage to keep the homicide talk PG for Tawni's sake, but she's still coloring in a target. They have a few guesses as to what the money was for, but still no clue as to who their killer is. Boulet volunteers to give Mrs. Schmidt the bad news, which is just as well -- it's her daughter Claire's 3rd birthday. While Tawni joins in the fun, Cobb and Boulet promise Mrs. Schmidt they'll catch the killer, but they will need her help. She has no idea what the money could have been for, but does recall that he's been locked up in his office, working on something secret. Boulet and Cobb ask for phone records, but Mrs. Schmidt's got the harder job -- how will she tell her daughter that her daddy's gone?

Meanwhile, Love Tap and Glue Boy hit Dr. Schmidt's office, where they find his distraught secretary and a waiting room full of patients. After the storm, Schmidt took a lot of "FEMA-plasty" patents -- folks with government aid who spent their money on any procedure they could want. The secretary affirms that while his patients loved him, there were a few complaints. One such complainer, Sharon Krevall, was suing for $500,000. Could she be the killer? If so, Glue Boy wonders, why would she be asking for $50k? Also, the secretary mentions that Dr. Schmidt never took his briefcase to lunch. The lovely Miss Krevall has an alibi, and apparently new tits -- her malpractice suit, she reasons, doesn't make her a suspect though Glue Boy isn't so sure. Of coure, he has just suffered a massive head wound -- why else would he not notice her rack and think it was a rhinoplasty that got botched?

Boulet has Cobb over for dinner to discuss the case. While Tawni busies herself painting, Cobb notices five calls to the same Dallas number. The number rings through to the apartment of Grayson Mitchell, roommate of Luke Herman. Luke had left for NO two days ago, but hadn't rung in. Grayson was confused -- Luke had sworn he'd never go back after losing his wife and child -- but was sure that Luke is staying with his grandmother, Harriet. Latonya watches Tawni while Cobb and Boulet pay a visit to Harriet, who says that Luke is in town to get "his angel" -- his daughter Melissa. His wife Karen had died, but Melissa was still alive. Harriet had posted a picture of her on a missing children web site, and it came up with a hit. Harriet produces a printout, and it's Claire Schmidt.

Mrs. Schmidt insists that Claire is her daughter -- adopted, yes, but she and Steve had been told that the biological parents died in the storm. Mrs. Schmidt insists her husband could not have known, but why else would he have been carrying $50,000 to his death? Cobb and Boulet's theory is that Dr. Schmidt was attempting to pay off Luke Herman, Claire's father, and that Luke is still out there looking for his daughter. Mrs. Schmidt directs them to adoption agency, and the social worker who handled Claire's adoption. Claire had no records with her, and was adopted by the Schmidts. Having known Mrs. Schmidt since high school, he knew Claire would be well taken care of. He met Luke when he came in for a paternity test, and described Luke as a crazy person. Steve and Luke had crossed paths at the agency, so it makes the payoff scendario even more plausible.

At the Schmidts', the unit is waiting for Luke to appear. Mrs. Schmidt takes Claire upstairs, but when Luke (it's Roy from "The Office"!) appears yelling "Melissa!", Claire makes her way to the front door, when she sees NOPD's finest take him down on the lawn.

Herman is clearly upset, but holds up well during interrogation. Too bad his story doesn't do it for the cops. He had been out of town when Katrina hit, and came home after the storm to find the body of his wife trapped underneath his refrigerator. It only occurred to him the previous week that his wife could have saved their daughter by putting her in the tub in which she was found, floating away from home. When he came back to NO, he never met Schmidt. He was kidnapped by a thin, Black man, thrown in a mesh cage and kept in a van overnight before he was dumped in a swamp outside of town. He couldn't read the paper Cobb held up at a distance, as he was without his glasses. He is amazed that the detectives have his lens. He had to walk back, making it to the Schmidts' where the police caught him.

Boulet can't let the story go, a sudden realization making him take Cobb to NO Animal Control. Boulet had a pit bull, and remembered that garlic was a cheap and effective method of pest control. They find a man meeting Luke's description, and it's not long before he's setting a German Shepherd on them and running off. They chase him into the road -- he can only yell "I did it for her!" before he is run over by a car.

Boulet and Cobb try to convince D.A. Swann not to bring charges against Herman, but there is too much evidence against him, and not against Carl from animal control. If the blood test shows it was his at the crime scene, she'll have no choice. The best she can do is offer a plea to Luke, and she's a lot nicer to Luke in person when she makes the offer: voluntary manslaughter, six years in prison, and no chance he'll ever get custody of Claire/Melissa. When faced with that option, he agrees to the plea, and Swann says she'll have the paperwork. Watching, Boulet and Cobb decide to take the hours for the paperwork to work on Luke's behalf.

Back at the Schmidt's, Mrs. Schmidt is no less thrilled to see them. Why do they keep asking about pets and Carl? She's furious when they posit that she and her husband had Luke framed. Cobb mentions Carl's "I did it for her", to which Mrs. Schmidt has no answer. She doesn't know Carl, and doesn't want anything more to do with them. At HQ, they find a break: Carl had been in a long custody battle with his own ex over his daughter. His social worker? Mrs. Schmidt's friend Pete. Of course, Pete doesn't remember Carl, or the theory that Luke was kidnapped before the murder. Did Pete put Carl up to it? What's his motive? Boulet thinks he wanted to play God, but they still don't get the motive for the murder. They can't arrest him yet. Back at HQ, Swann and Embry has bad news -- it was his blood at the scene. Boulet talks to Luke one more time, and Luke is still insisting he wasn't there. Boulet believes Sherman, now, and advises him not to take the deal. When Luke hesitates, Boulet reminds him that if there was even a chance in a million, that he would do what he could to keep his daughter with him. He swears to get Melissa back, and if he doesn't, Luke is free to hate him forever.

At the lake, Cobb and Boulet consider the case. What's the motive? Why is Pete involved? Cobb proposes a connection between Pete and Mrs. Schmidt -- an affair? So they both have theories -- where is the proof? Returning to Mrs. Schmidt, they offer an apology and a lie, that Luke signed a confession to the murder. They ask for a statement, and Mrs. Schmidt agrees to give it. She confirms Claire's adoption through Pete, whom she had first met in high school. She is taken aback when Cobb proposes they were sleeping together, and of course Cobb moves in and starts up with the accusations. She throws them out, and Boulet tells her to lawyer up. Boulet swears he will tell Claire the whole story when she is old enough, poisoning her relationship with her mother and drawing her back to Luke, and possibly making her hate her forever. Even more importantly, what does it mean to Mrs. Schmidt to be parent? Can she make the sacrifice for her daughter? It's up to her to clear things up. Mrs. Schmidt cracks, saying that Steve found the picture, and had wanted to do the right thing. She had mentioned it to Pete, who proposed the $50,000 bribe. She figured that anybody who would take the money wasn't fit to be a father.

When they confront Pete at the agency, he doesn't deny the charges -- hiring Carl to mug Steve and kidnap Luke, planting the money and the lens, and stealing Luke's blood sample to sprinkle at the scene. And what for? He'd been obsessed with Kathy since high school, so naturally he did it all so he could be with Kathy. Ew. He's arrested, and Claire/Melissa finally gets to meet Luke. She asks why isn't he up in heaven, and Luke tearfully responds that God maybe sent him back. As Kathy turns to go, Claire/Melissa asks where she is going. Luke tells her not to worry, that they'll see her soon.

Back at home, Boulet finds Latonya passed out on the couch, and Tawni wide awake. While she tells him about everything she's painted that day, he just picks her up in his arms and hugs her tight.