Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 3 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Say Hi To Duncan!
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 14 | Aired on 02.19.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.So it turns out that Josh is allergic to those peanut butter cookies Veronica made for him, so after he ate one, he had a reaction, and escaped on his way to the hospital. Veronica was not in on that plan, not that Lamb believes her. Newly non-emo Logan comes to see Veronica in jail, and it looks like détente has been achieved. He goes on an errand for Veronica, which leads to his going on another errand for Mac, Bronson, and Parker -- that being filling in as the fourth on their Valentine's Day scavenger hunt. Oh, the wacky hijinx. How they do ensue. They score third place, and win a Neptune Grand gift certificate. Also, Mac and Bronson score something that looks even a little better. (Yes, I'll wait while you EEEEE!) And, Veronica isn't too thrilled to see Logan and Parker all chatty. Mason doesn't show up for practice, and after Veronica gets out of jail, she discovers why: Josh has him bound and gagged in Mason's trunk. He also has Mason's gun, but Veronica points out that the gun isn't the same caliber of the bullets that killed his dad. Josh asks for Veronica's help in retrieving some coins that are in trust for him so that he can get out of the country. Veronica stalls him for a day, which at least is long enough to get Mason out of the trunk. Meanwhile, Keith goes to see Vinnie Vanlowe, and it turns out that Vinnie was hired by the Coach's wife to see if he was having an affair. He did in fact seem to be seeing someone, and the woman's husband was in the military. It turns out, though, that the woman is a neurologist, and that the coach was not only her patient, but was also terminal, and in her opinion, whoever killed him might have spared him a lot of pain. Keith also learns, however, that the coach's wife took out a big additional insurance policy right after she learned of his supposed affair. But when Josh retrieves the coins, he finds a CD from his dad. On it, he confesses to planning to have a friend kill him for the insurance and to avoid the debilitating illness. Veronica and Josh deduce that the friend is the assistant coach, but Josh flees the country to allow his dad's plan to go forward. In news of longer plots, Landry comes to Keith and tells him to stop investigating him; he found a bug in his phone. The Marses had nothing to do with that, though, which is an interesting point that's left unresolved, and could mean that Landry is being set up. Keith, in turn, goes to tell Lamb that the Dean, whose autopsy revealed Xanax in his blood, was actually out of the stuff on the day of the murder, and that his refill was picked up by his wife. Lamb actually listens to Keith, and has Mindy brought in for questioning. She claims to have taken a number of the pills herself. Later, Veronica discovers, due to the vagaries of local programming, that the witness to the shooting actually heard it an hour later than they originally thought, so Mindy's car was safely back in the Grand when her husband bought it. The Marses go to Lamb with that info, and while they're there, they learn that Richard Grieco's prints were on the Dean's keyboard. Lamb hauls Grieco in; he thinks Mindy set him up. Cliff gets assigned to his case, and stymies poor Lamb. There's a disturbance at the O'Dell house, and Lamb and Sacks go to check it out, thinking it's Grieco. And that is in fact the case, but Grieco gets the drop on Lamb, and beats him with a baseball bat before Sacks drops him. Weevil makes an interesting discovery of bloody clothes in a sewer, but that doesn't matter, because SHERIFF LAMB IS DEAD. And? Keith is the new sheriff, and he hauls Mindy back in and tells her that the clothes are Landry's, and either she's covering for him, or vice versa. Or neither, but that will have to wait until next week. IF THERE'S TIME AFTER LAMB'S FUNERAL. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Lamb is grilling Veronica in an interrogation room. Apparently, Josh went into anaphylactic shock or whatever after he ate the peanut butter cookie Veronica gave him. When the paramedic revived him with an epinephrine shot, Josh overpowered him and escaped the ambulance. One would guess that the EMT guy will be a little less liberal with the adrenaline in the future. Also, I thought it was standard practice for a deputy to ride in the ambulance when transporting an alleged criminal, but I'll admit that it's been some time since I've watched a procedural. Oh, whoops, I forgot that Veronica points that very thing out to Lamb, and Lamb sort of rolls his eyes in Sacks's direction and says that Sacks was riding up front. Geez, Sacks, you're almost out of time to make Lamb think you can do anything right. I hope you don't screw up his lunch order, especially if by completely random chance it turns out to be his last meal. Lamb tries to menace Veronica, but she just asks for her phone call.
We get a close-up of autistic Bobby playing the piano, and then a wider shot shows Keith and Mrs. Barry in the next room. She asks, "Please, Keith. Find my son." If I'm Keith, this is where I point into the next room and am all, "Cash or check?" But Keith tells her that Josh will contact her at some point, and that, when he does, Mrs. Barry has to convince him to turn himself in to Keith. The phone rings, and Bobby looks over. Keith then gets up to take the call, and a woman tells him to hold for Veronica. He looks confused, like, you'd think he'd be familiar enough with prisoners' phone-call protocol given that his daughter has been hauled in before. Also, HE USED TO BE THE SHERIFF. While he's on hold, he sees an envelope addressed to Mrs. Barry from Vinnie Vanlowe. As pointed out on the boards, it's pretty ridiculous to think that Vinnie would send a bill to Mrs. Barry's house where her husband might see it, or even that he wouldn't have required the money up front. Keith contemplates the envelope for a second, and then Veronica gets on the line, and Keith's all, "You're where?" See above, Keith.
Cut to Veronica doing push-ups in her cell. Heh. Keith arrives, and Veronica tells him that she didn't help Josh escape, at least not intentionally -- he took advantage of her kindness. Keith: "This has got to be the first time that's worked for anybody." Oh, come on, Keith. It works for Backup all the time. Cliff appears and tells them the good news is that Josh's cellmate "and key witness to the cookie incident" ate the evidence, and was also totally hammered when he was brought in, so there's no way Lamb can get a conviction. I'm just surprised anyone came to help Josh once he had his reaction. Because if I were a deputy in the other room, I'm not sure how seriously I would have taken the cries for help of Boozebag With A Mouth Full Of Peanut Butter Cookies, assuming there even were any. The bad news, anyway, is that Lamb is bent on holding Veronica in jail for the maximum allowable time. Veronica sighs that Josh is probably in Mexico. Keith asks if she thinks he did it, and Veronica says that if he didn't, he certainly panicked quickly. Keith agrees, but Cliff demurs. Cliff leaves, and Keith tells Veronica that he's got an appointment with Dean Ed's old assistant. He then looks at Veronica and shrugs: "I thought this sight would be more traumatic for me, but..." Hee. Veronica's expression is all, "Well, I never!" Don't worry, Veronica, you can put shoe polish in his Progaine once you get out.