Red Handed - High Rollers, High Stakes
Season 1 episode 6: A severed hand is discovered at the state line between California and Nevada. Is it ours, or someone else’s?
The team is called to a hot and dusty section of road in the desert, coincidentally at the state line separating California from Nevada. Since this particular crime scene consists of a severed hand with no other body parts visible, the first determination needs to be just who has jurisdiction over the pending investigation.
As usual, there will be no spoilers shared in this post so it can enjoyed by fans and new viewers alike. This is on purpose so I hope you approve. At the least it’s hoped to act as a reminder to rewatch the show, or to encourage others to check it out for the first time.
As they wait for a decision, the team reviews and argues over the merits of having to investigate dismembered body parts, with Rigsby in particular not thrilled about this type of investigation.
…and Lisbon comes back to the team to announce that the case is theirs. The prints have come back identifying the victim as James Quincy Meier. He runs the Calida Resort and Casino.
I have to say this one of my favourite episodes of the first season, which isn’t saying much because I really enjoyed almost every episode anyway. This one though shows us more of the team dynamic.
Context
Lisbon and Van Pelt visit the Meier home to inform the next of kin, Mrs Ann Meier, played by guest star Andrea Parker, daughter Jessica (Maite Schultz) and son-in-law Daniel (Lance Barber) of the grisly discovery. As they question the family, Jane wanders around gathering insight and observing information arhat will help him piece together a profile of the victim and the family members. When he briefly talks to daughter Jessica, he discovers that her father wasn’t around much when she was growing up.
Jessica returns to the group as Lisbon continues her questioning; the CBI team members notice the son-in-law's out of place response to a football game during this extremely sensitive discussion. The team tries to determine if robbery was a motive for the murder and finds out that Jim Meier regularly wore a gold casino chip valued at $100,000 on a chain around his neck.
As the team wonder if there may be a connection to organized crime, Lisbon, Van Pelt and Jane go to the Calida casino to speak to Matt Etienne, played by Willam Allen Young, the head of security. Lisbon and Van Pelt review some investigative material and speak to Matt regarding the case as Jane moves through the casino gambling and observing. He loves the casino atmosphere and enjoys spending time here. He also learns some valuable information - one of the dealers is cheating.
Recap
Having identified the cheating dealer as Alexandra Yee (played by Gwendoline Yeo) the team returns to CBI headquarters to interrogate her as a person of interest. Jane and Lisbon watch with interest as Cho draws a picture of her motive for killing Meier. When it becomes known she has been stealing to pay medical bills there are more questions raised for Jane and the team to ponder. While Cho wraps the Yee interrogation, Jane returns to the bullpen in a good mood after having made quite the sum at the casino. He shares some of his winnings as extravagant jewelry gifts for the whole team.
The group head out for a relaxing dinner to celebrate; but, after their dinner, Lisbon and Van Pelt return the diamond jewelry but Cho and Rigsby decide to keep their gifts. Later we see Jane put the jewelry and most of his winnings in a charity bin. He keeps a small stake for his next trip to the casino.
The next day Jane, Lisbon and Van Pelt revisit the Meier home where Jane observes a strain in the relationship between Jessica and Daniel. He quietly approaches Daniel and asks him to set him up with in a high stakes poker game. And then the fun starts.
When Lisbon and Jane arrive at Etienne’s home to execute a search warrant they find Meier's body stuffed in a freezer in the garage. The autopsy shows the Meier died of blunt force trauma to the head and showed abrasions around his neck where they speculate that his lucky chip was ripped off his neck. However, Etienne’s interrogation yields little.
Jane enters the high stakes poker game Daniel has arranged with the high rollers at the casino, including the free spending Cal Trask. Meanwhile, Cho and Rigsby review potential evidence in the Meier home office, pointing to a motive and a suspect. Jane uses his high flying poker skills to flesh out the killer.
There are a number of things going on in this episode. At the beginning, we get another look at Van Pelt’s naïveté when she chastises her team members over their willingness to place a bet on the owner of the severed hand. Jane takes pleasure in teasing Cho about his barely there bet on the profile of the victim (it doesn’t stop him from collecting on the bet though - a bet is still a bet after all). There is a warmth to the teasing and approach used to the conversations amongst the team. During this episode we see Jane gravitate to two people clearly in pain about the chips life has handed them, starting with Jessica’s relationship with both her husband and father, and with Alexandra Yee’s (the card dealer) struggle with trying to pay medical bills that would mean a life or death situation for her family. After Jane’s substantial win at the casino, he spends time choosing expensive gifts for his team mates, allowing him to make a grand gesture hidden amongst the gifts - his motive remains hidden. After a typical night of insomnia, he bundles up the jewelry and most of the cash he won, keeping a small amount for himself and drops it in a charity box. He doesn’t need the money, it really has little meaning for him. After all no amount of money can bring his family back. He smiles as he quietly leaves his anonymous gift for others who do need it. If you pay attention we see the play out throughout the show.
Ultimately, Jane returns Meier's lucky chip to the family and tells Jessica that her father died protecting her.
We also discover what Jane did with his hefty winnings from the poker game. Jane? He returns to his couch to take a nap. It’s been a busy night.
They Said
In this episode there were these choice words:
“We’re going to be talking to the hand for a long while .” - Wayne Rigsby
“I had a strong hunch. I can’t be telling you every hunch. You’d get really irritated .” - Patrick Jane to Teresa Lisbon
“I don’t care what he says, that man is psychic.” - Wayne Rigsby
"Your father died protecting you. In the end, he was there for you." - Patrick Jane to Jessica Meier
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