Red Sauce - Spices and Lies
Season 1 episode 20: When a witness protection client is found murdered it’s time to get some help from the mob.
It’s Lisbon’s birthday and the team has a small party in progress as the episode opens. After Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt finish singing the birthday song the team get ready for the present opening slash stump-the-mentalist game. After Jane guesses the other team member’s presents, he calls for cake while Van Pelt asks where is his gift for Lisbon. Jane says the present is on its way as Lisbon shakes her head in disbelief with a little disappointment mixed in.
Just then Van Pelt takes a call that says there’s a new case and it’s time to go.
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.
Context
A dead man has been found in a pile of sticks and branches after a recent flood and he has a single bullet wound to the head. He seemingly has no ID but after searching his pockets they find a token and a cheap prize that seem to point to him being or working in an arcade. When Jane shares his thoughts Lisbon seems unusually grumpy although she swears it’s not because Jane didn’t get her a gift. The team heads out to an arcade located up river from where the victim was found.
The arcade manager identified the victim as employee Ed Diedrickson (played by Tony Lazzara) and he’s been always for a couple of days on a family emergency. Jane and Rigsby move out into the arcade to talk to people - mainly teenagers, who Rigsby is less than thrilled about interviewing. He stands aside as Jane gains the teenager’s confidence by playing a wicked game of pinball. The kids watch in awe as Rigsby realizes Jane has hypnotized one of the gangly teens in order to learn more about Ed’s interactions with arcade customers. He learns more than a few interesting facts.
In the meantime, Cho, Van Pelt and Lisbon leave to visit Ed’s wife Jenny (played by Frankie Ingrassia). Van Pelt shares some information she’s found noting that the large family home was bought for cash - no mortgage. When Lisbon rings the doorbell Van Pelt sees Jenny watching them from behind the curtain but makes no move to let them in. As they break down the door they are greeted by Jenny pointing a shot gun at them, saying she has people coming.
At that moment Jane calls Lisbon to tell her he believes the Diedrickson’s were in a Witness Protection program. Their call is interrupted when more armed men confront Lisbon and her team. After identifying themselves to what is now clearly a U.S. marshal’s team, they review their identification as Jenny relaxes and lowers the shotgun.
Recap
Lisbon breaks the new about Ed to Jenny and the marshals who admitted they knew Diedrickson was missing but nothing more. The marshals share that Ed used to be in the mob as Eddie Russo. They surmised that Ed was probably in touch with someone from his old life but were shocked when Jane tells them Ed was selling drugs as a front for a biker named Tiny.
Jenny is clearly unhappy in her new, clandestine world and says she didn’t talk to anyone about her life - that she didn’t have anyone to talk to. In her distress she thinks somebody paid a marshal to snitch on them. Jane promises to catch the murderer. Back at headquarters Lisbon assigns Van Pelt and Rigsby to a biker garage known as a place where Tiny regularly hangs out. Once they wrestle him into submission, he tells them both he and Ed were arrested on drug charges, but when it came to arraignment Ed was nowhere to be found. He called Ed a rat who must have snitched but he didn’t kill him. It turned out the arrest report showed no sign of Ed.
Van Pelt found that Ed’s old mob boss is Sonny Bataglia (Dan Laurie), now retired to an exclusive golf course nearby. Jane decides to pay Sonny an authorized visit to figure out if Bataglia had Ed killed. Jane is a little intimidated by Bataglia’s bearing and entourage and searches for something to take the pressure off after all, he has no backup. He can, however, help Bataglia with his golf game.
Back at the CBI Lisbon welcomes two US marshals Exley and Knox (Fredric Lehne and Tembi Locke) to her office to ask them if the got Ed off the hook for the drug bust, something they both deny. Marshal Exley is more than a little offended by Lisbon’s question and storms out. At the same time on the golf course Jane has made a new friend in Bataglia, walking away with his private cellphone number.
Jane gets back to CBI assured that the former mob boss isn’t involved in Ed’s death.
This episode has a number of moving parts. There’s a lot of lightness involved and more than a few scenes that make you chuckle. There are, however some really dark moments that give you pause and can perhaps make you wonder about what people are capable of doing or can justify to get the job done. It’s good to have this darker undertone displayed to what otherwise might be considered a fluffy episode, and it does get back to interesting and important human frailties and actions and manages them in easy to identify activities.
At the end of the day we see the team come back together with Jane somewhat redeeming himself.
They Said
In this episode there were these choice words:
Jane: “You really think I would forget your birthday present?” [Lisbon nods]
Jane: “It's on its way!” Lisbon: “Yeah, right.”
Jane: “Little grumpy 'cause I didn't buy you a pony?”
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