Righting Wrongs

Righting Wrongs
Season 4, Episode 18
Airdate	April 4, 2014
Director	Alex Zakrzewski
Writer(s)	Siobhan Byrne-O’Connor
Overall #	85
Chronology
Previous Episode	Knockout Game
Next Episode	Secret Arrangements

"Righting Wrongs" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of Blue Bloods.

Synopsis

Danny and Baez investigate the death of a woman whose body was dumped after she was killed by a lethal dose of lidocaine following secret plastic surgery. Meanwhile, Frank privately assigns Jamie a cold case and Erin tries out speed dating.

Recap

Detailed recap of the episode which contains MAJOR SPOILERS.

Erin and Linda are jogging near the Brooklyn Bridge, enjoying some “girl time” in which no sports are discussed. Linda suggests Erin to go speed-dating, who is unenthusiastic about it. Linda proposes a race to which, if Erin loses, she will go speed-dating. Erin agrees, but loses because Linda has a running start. Danny and Baez arrive at Newton Creek, where the body of an unidentified woman in her 40s is found. An officer gives Danny the only thing found on the deceased’s jacket: the business card of Dr. Alex Garland of St. Benjamin’s Medical Center. As they examine the crime scene, Baez is dumbfounded to see a woman wearing expensive Christian Louboutins shoes being around that neighborhood. At the 12th precinct, Jamie and Eddie bring in Dan Carlson, an arrest with stolen goods on him. Sergeant Martinez tells Eddie to start the paperwork, and orders Jamie to report to the Chief of Detectives’ Office forthwith. Erin goes to speed-dating, where the organizer tells everyone that each gong will begin a five-minute session with a candidate. After several unimpressive candidates, Erin tells a man (whose nametag says “Robert”) that this will be her first, and last, time at speed-dating. The conversation is interrupted when Erin takes two phone calls from work. Erin apologizes, but Robert believes if she is truly sorry, she “wouldn’t have taken calls from work that can wait”. He also states that he will not accept someone rude enough to take calls in the middle of a date. Erin counters, saying that he is not her date, and has problems with men unable to share attention. She then unhappily leaves, and Roberts crosses her off as a candidate. Danny and Baez speak to Dr. Garland at St. Benjamin's. They show him a picture of the deceased, and ask if he recognizes her. At shock, he confirms the deceased is his wife. Jamie arrives at the Chief Timothy Dunne’s office. The Chief makes a phone call and leaves the room. Still pondering what is going on, the Commissioner comes in. Frank assures Jamie he is not in trouble, and hands him a file of a ten-year old case (the homicide of Michelle Lowe), and orders him to discreetly investigate whether the NYPD arrested the wrong suspect (an accusation of Michelle Lowe’s mother). Frank also explains that Jamie is assigned due to the case’s delicate nature, he needs someone who is capable and trustworthy on it. When Erin arrives at work, her boss immediately assigns her a new case: People v. Serena Morales, in which the accused is charged with robbing a bodega at gunpoint with her boyfriend, Robert Sandoval. She also lets Erin know that the case’s defense attorney is waiting at her office. Much to Erin’s surprise, she discovers that the defense attorney is someone she met from speed-dating: Robert McCoy. He offers to summarize the case for Erin, but she declines, wanting to make her judgement instead. He then requests a bail reduction for his client, but is denied, citing eyewitness statement seeing Morales with the gun. As Frank and Garrett discuss the Commissioner’s speech to the United Nations, Baker informs her boss that Brooklyn DA James Campbell wants to see him. Frank requests Garrett to be in the meeting. DA Campbell asks whether Frank is reinvestigating the Michelle Lowe case (which he does not confirm or deny), and wants an explanation for the Commissioner’s requesting transcripts for the Michelle Lowe trial. The Commissioner counters that he does not need to provide reasons for the requests, nor the DA’s permission to reinvestigate any case.The DA warns that Frank’s reinvestigation may compromise the conviction of a serial killer, as Garrett politely shows him out the door. Danny and Baez further question Dr. Garland, and say that on the phone, his wife claimed to be in Aruba with her female friend, Emily Matthews. He does not understand why his wife would lie about going to Aruba, and ask for time to process. Back at the precinct, Baez reveals that credit card records show the deceased, Nicole Garland, never made any plans to Aruba, but Emily is (according to Mr. Matthews). Danny asks Baez to see if Nicole’s credit card and phone records suggest an extramarital affair, while he goes to see the ME. At the locker room, Eddie asks Jamie what happened at the Chief’s office, but Jamie cannot talk about it. When Eddie asks why Jamie cannot talk to his partner about it, Jamie explains that he was asked not to talk about it. She angrily leaves the locker room. At the ME’s office, the ME tells Danny that all contusions are caused by surgery (which are cosmetic) a few hours before her death. Most importantly, the painkiller in the deceased’s system, fentanyl, caused an anaphylactic shock, which killed her. At the Reagans residence, Jamie asks Frank about his first homicide arrest, as well as the reason he was assigned to the Michelle Lowe murder case. They discuss where to start the case, and Jamie wants to talk to the witness who recanted. But Frank says he will not be able to, because this witness died two weeks ago, and there is currently no evidence which suggests that the wrong killer has been convicted. Jamie asks again why he was assigned to this case. Frank finally comes clean, somberly explaining that the witness’s death reminded him of a forgotten promise made to Michelle’s mother. Emily Matthews goes to the 54th precinct for questioning. She says her friend, Nicole, was actually getting “a Mommy makeover”, and lied to her husband about going to Aruba, so that she can surprise him (and make her more attractive to him). Emily also provides the name of the hotel where Nicole was recuperating (the Park Hotel), and the relative location where the surgery is done (walking distance from the hotel). Jamie goes to the apartment where Michelle died. The building manager still remembers the incident from 10 years ago, because he is emotionally affected by it. He tells Jamie the Chaltons are the only people left from what happened that night. Danny and Baez go to the location where Nicole last called: Dr. Levine’s clinic. The nurse who receives them is distrubed upon knowing Nicole’s death. Dr Levine says Mrs Garland was very particular about the procedure, and paid cash in order to keep it a secret. He also says that the surgery Mrs. Garland requested is routine, and he is not responsible for what happens after she leaves the clinic. At that point, he refuses to talk anymore without a lawyer. Jamie questions the Charltons at their apartment. Mrs. Charlton claims she was out with friends for drinks, and did not return home until late. Mr. Charlton recalled the night Michelle was murder was quiet “nothing out of the ordinary”. He says he was asleep by 10:00, and did not know about Michelle’s death until the following day. Jamie asks more questions about Michelle, and Mrs. Charlton does most of the talking when answering them. On the phone, Frank and Erin talk about the unofficial reinvestigation of the Michelle Lowe case, but Frank will not discuss who is assigned to the case. The call is interrupted by Robert McCoy, who brings a coffee and “a peace offering”. Erin gives him five minutes to present his case (which Robert only wants them “uninterrupted”). He believes that his client is being set up by her boyfriend, who bribes the witness in exchange for giving a false statement. But Erin does not buy it, because of his client’s checkered past, and refuses to negotiate a plea deal. Before Robert leaves, he asks Erin to check on Serena’s last felony (assault, in 2008), especially the prosecutor of that case. Jamie goes to the bar to find Eddie at the bar, in an effort to mend fences with her. Eddie is still offended by how Jamie trusts her with his life, but not a secret. But Jamie wishes Eddie does not take it personally, as he is under orders not to discuss it. Also there are serious consequences if this case leaks. Eddie understands, but wants him to sympathize that she has been assigned to write parking tickets for the past two days. Eddie is “squared” with Jamie after agreeing to buy her a drink. At the PC’s office, Frank and Garrett discuss how long Jamie has been a cop. Frank blames himself for the reason why Jamie has not been promoted, despite being with the force for four years already, and is “a gifted cop”. Garrett counters that this is the unintended consequence for being “the most ethic PC in history”. Frank confesses that, the reason why Jamie is assigned to reinvestigate the Michelle Lowe case is because he does not want to be in Jamie’s way for a promotion. Danny and Baez are near the Garlands’ service apartment. As they walk towards it, they discuss the merits of having plastic surgery. Baez also confirms that the medical board has Dr. Levine under review for malpractice. They talk to the concierge after entering the apartment, and he remembers Mrs. Garland because she was the only resident to know his name. He recalls last seeing Mrs. Garland on Wednesday morning, and an unidentified, attractive blonde woman in her 20s (who he has seen before) stayed with Mr. Garland until the next day. Based on what he has seen in the elevator, he alleges that Mr. Garland is having an affair with his unidentified woman. He shows surveillance video of it. Mr. Garland is then brought in for questioning at the precinct. Danny and Baez ask him about the woman shown in the surveillance video (one he stayed with for the night). Mr. Garland maintains that she is “a friend”. Danny accuses Mr. Garland for lying, because it disproves his earlier statement (he claims to be home alone the night his wife died). Mr. Garland refuses to speak anymore without a lawyer. At Sunday dinner, Jamie asks Danny about his open cases, which catches Erin’s attention. Linda expresses her feelings about Mrs. Garland’s death from elective surgery, and others at the table discuss the merits of it. Then Linda pivots to Erin, advising her to stay open to dating. Jamie grimly goes back to Danny about his open cases, and Erin makes an indirect statement to Frank on the Michelle Lowe case. At the correctional center, Jamie interviews Miles Tarshis (who only confessed to robberies next to Michelle’s building) regarding the Michelle Lowe murder case. Jamie shows Miles photos of the deceased and the murder weapon, and concludes that based on Mile’s MO, he is a burglarer, but not a murderer. He believes Miles was in Michelle’s apartment when she died, but denied being there. Initially, Mile is uninterested in assisting Jamie, because he only has 64 days left in his sentence. but only does so after threatening to investigate him for the murder. He admits seeing Michelle lying on the floor after committing burglary in her apartment. He also recalls the two apartments next to Michelle’s being quiet, but the one across was playing “Hey Ya” by Outkast loudly around midnight. Erin goes to Robert McCoy’s office, which is untidy, because he has only opened it six months ago. While Erin compliments Robert’s success as a lawyer, he cites this as the reason why he is still single, and needs to go speed-dating. Erin then says, after checking, she discovers that Robert was the prosecutor for Morales’ last conviction. He says that the case is the reason why he quitted as the Brooklyn ADA. During that case, Robert went for the highest charge and refused to negotiate with the defense. The conviction stayed even though the witness (Morales’ then-boyfriend) recanted. He also says that his client has stayed clean ever since…until meeting her current boyfriend, Sandoval. Erin replies that upon unsealing Sandoval’s record, it reveals that he blamed his then-girlfriend during his last gun possession charge. Erin then proposes a plea agreement, in which Morales agrees to drug treatment and community services, in exchange for reducing the charge to criminal possession. Robert thankfully agrees, pointing out that this job is pro bono. Danny and Baez continue their investigation at the Park Hotel. After checking the records, the host confirms that Mrs. Garlands checked in on Wednesday, and checked out the following day (even though she booked for a week). The detectives then ask for the video footage for Mrs. Garland’s check in and out. Upon closer examination of the footage, Danny recognizes the manicure of the person in the video is the same as that of the nurse at Dr. Levine’s clinic. They then bring Dr. Levine’s nurse for questioning. While she wants to call Dr. Levine, the detectives inform her that he is unable to help with the charges against her, including manslaughter. Baez asks why she checked out of the Park Hotel under Mrs. Garland’s name, while Danny advises her to cooperate. She recalls that Mr. Garland’s surgery went well, until she complained of pain during recovery. Without an anesthesiologist, Dr. Levine gave her fentanyl, which triggered a reaction that made her stop breathing. Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful. Dr. Levine then begged her not to call 911, because he was concerned about losing this license, being already under review with another patient. Jamie goes to interview Mr. Charlton again at his home, claiming that the investigation is raising more questions. Jamie reviews the details provided by Mr. Charlton. As they talk, Jamie’s phone intermittently plays “Hey Ya” by Outkast. This unsettles Mr. Charlton, and eventually confesses to accidentally killing Michelle Lowe, because she threatened to tell Mrs. Charlton that he tried kissing her after they had a few glasses of wine in her apartment. Danny and Baez go to Dr. Levine’s office (who is seeing another patient), and arrests him for the death of Nicole Garland. As Danny leaves, he tells the patients waiting at the reception area to go home, as Dr. Levine will be unable to see them. Furthermore, he compliments all of them for looking good the way they are. Robert visits Erin’s office again, after dropping off his client to drug rehab. Both lament that rehab programs do not exist for “loser boyfriends”. He offers to buy Erin dinner. Erin initially declines, stating he does not need to thank her. But Robert says the offer is made because he likes her, and asks again. Erin accepts the offer as they leave. Jamie and Frank walk towards the home of Michelle’s mother. Jamie explains his intuition led his investigation to the imprisoned burglar, a move beyond Frank’s expectation. Frank compliments his son’s detective work, and says if he has decided on his next career move, “he knows the PC”. As they arrive, Frank advises Jamie to simply tell the truth, as Michelle’s mother has been waiting for 10 years, and he does not know what to expect when she finds out. Frank tells Jamie that he will not go with him, as it is his case. As Jamie enters the building, Frank goes to his motorcade, holding back his emotions.

Gallery

Photos

To edit this gallery, go to Righting Wrongs/Gallery. To review image policies, go to Media Guidelines.

Season 4 Galleries