Episode Report Card Demian: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Death Takes A Tango Lesson
By Demian | Season 3 | Episode 16 | Aired on 03.14.2001
Phoebe opens the door to find Inspector Reese Davidson on the manor porch. Phoebe asks, "How can I help you?" He tells her she can start by telling him where Cole's been hanging out. Phoebe folds her arms beneath her ample bosom and plays dumb while Prue puts on her best poker face to look on from the hall. Reese fills Phoebe in on Alice's recent grisly demise. Despite Phoebe's protests to the contrary, Reese is convinced Cole is the killer. He lays it on thick, his attitude betraying an unhealthy obsession with Cole. Yes, I realize accusing someone of having an unhealthy obsession with Cole sounds silly coming from me, but deal with it. Alice's "eyes were frozen open in terror," he tells Phoebe as Prue, in an approximation of the stage direction "gazes down at the floor in dismay," gazes down at the floor in, um, dismay. Alice's "skull was punctured in two places," Reese continues, "and by the time the police got there, most of her brains had spilled out onto the floor." Not buying it. Moe and FetusHead left the corpse lying face down. Maybe Reese is embellishing a bit for effect, but whatever. Reese barrels on, practically accusing Phoebe of abetting the murder. Prue picks up on this and orders Reese to reel it in a bit, as Phoebe had nothing to do with the crime. Reese counters that if Phoebe is lying about Cole's whereabouts, she might as well have been present at the scene. Phoebe remains silent, but the Cole Guilt Goggle creeps across her face. Reese, getting all up in said face, insists, "I'm gonna find him, Miss Halliwell, and then I'm gonna bust his ass. Then, I'm gonna bust yours."
Reese turns to head down the front steps to the street as Prue sidles over to Phoebe's side. Phoebe again protests Cole's innocence. Prue tells Phoebe she needs to convince the police of that fact, not Prue. As Prue and Phoebe watch Reese approach his car, Prue is shocked to see Ruth step out to confer with him. She tells Phoebe that Ruth is the woman from the beach as the smear appears at Ruth's side. Phoebe cannot, of course, see the smear. As Ruth and Reese get back into the car, Phoebe wonders if Ruth's under orders to trail the sisters. Prue's more worried about the smear, and guesses the smear is somehow related to Alice's murder. She supposes further that, as she alone can see the smear, she alone is meant "to fight it." She announces she will follow Ruth to protect her, and orders Phoebe to find Cole, as he might have further information. Prue trundles out of the manor as Phoebe grabs her forehead, clutches her non-existent pearls, and shuts the door.