- Mary's witness, Dennis Stewart, testified against another convict in a prison stabbing case. Mary gets Dennis a job in a flower shop owned by her friend Colin, an ex-biker. When Colin gets violently stabbed at work one day, however, Mary and Det. Dershowitz reluctantly begin to wonder if Dennis, despite his mild persona, might have been capable of this crime - particularly when some unexplained stabbings show up in his past. While this is going on, Jinx and Brandi receive a visitor who brings them startling news about Jinx' estranged husband.—aldanoli
- State Correctional Institution, Stroudsberg, PA. Three months ago. Here convict enters the warden's office which has the U. S. flag and the California state flag flanking his desk. (Production goof here!)
A nebbish-looking inmate is brought in to see the warden, who asks him who killed another inmate. He stammers, saying they'll kill him. The warden isn't too upset the victim is dead, and the government is going to be grateful to whomever might help put the needle in the killer's arm. The nerd sees his chance.
Dennis Sampson enters the program as Dennis Stewart, feelin' mighty pleased with himself.
Mary and Marshall read him the rules and he grins ear to ear.
Mary takes Dennis to him to a flower shop, where a big burly biker-looking dude glowers his way out to greet Mary. But it's all an act, he's a softie and an old pal of Mary's. He reasserts his three-way-with-is-wife-for-his-40th-birthday offer, apparently a long-running proposition. She passes. In between yelling at another old biker dude, Nathan, who's fighting a losing battle with fertilizer in the back, Colin offers Dennis a job. Present Day Jinx comes back from rehab (again). Mary tells her mom she's proud of her. Brandi made cookies. They spell out "No booz 4 yooz."
At the office, Stan says hi to Eleanor and offers to pour her some coffee, a cup fraught with subtext. Marshall uses his best spy skills to peer at them from behind a file as they try -- and fail -- to have a private personal conversation. He calls Mary for back-up.
Mary drives by the flower shop and sees a bunch of cop cars out front. She pulls over. Bobby the cop is there. Her pal Colin is being wheeled to an ambulance with a stab wound. Mary tips him to Nathan but leaves out Dennis. She calls Marshall and tells him the sitch.
Mary brings Dennis in to talk to Bobby, who mentions he can't find Nathan. Mary sits in on their chat. Dennis says Colin liked Nathan and that Nathan wouldn't hurt him.
Mary checks on Colin at the hospital. She says hi to his wife Ingrid in the waiting room. She knows Mary as Mary "40th birthday Mary." She didn't find the three-way offer as funny as Mary did.
Bobby calls Mary and tells her they just picked up Nathan sloppy drunk at a casino.
At the office, Stan attempts to talk to Eleanor. He mentions their "relationship" and she calls it "a night together." Ouch. She says she can't do a relationship right now.
Jinx answers the knock at Mary's door. It's a young woman (Laura Prepon) with a letter for her. It's addressed to "Ginger" and from James. He was in an accident and she found it on him, her dad. At the mention of her long-lost husband's name, Jinx passes out.
Mary comes for Dennis at the police station. He's distraught they think Nathan stabbed Colin. He's refusing to leave the station and wants to stay to protect Nathan's rights. Mary offers to stay for him.
Back at the house, Jinx reads the letter from James to Brandi as her brand-new half-sister Lauren listens. He says he's OK and thinks of her often. Jinx uses every word for bastard child she can think of to address his daughter Lauren. She clarifies that her parents were married when she was born in 1983 -- when he was still married to Jinx. Brandi makes her mom apologize. But Lauren isn't surprised. She found it a year ago and when she finally mentioned to him that she had it, things got weird. He recovered from the accident. And then he disappeared.
Bobby interrogates Nathan as Mary watches. They found cash in his van. He says Colin gave it to him to deposit, but instead he got drunk and blew the money on video poker. He had a delivery by the casino.
Mary does the delivery math and realizes they'd be lucky to make any money on the deal. She calls the recipient, who knows nothing about any delivery. She thinks it was a bogus call, which would mean Nathan's innocent.
Out to dinner, Jinx peppers Lauren with questions. She has a brother and a sister, who don't know anything about them. She hopes they understand if she limits what she says out of respect for them. The idea that he walked out on them doesn't mesh with the dad she knows. Brandi says it's not like he had any choice, but Jinx stops her from going further, saying she hopes Lauren understands if they limit when they say. Except the way she says it sounds more like "I hate you, you bastard child of the man who walked out on me 20 years ago."
Jinx pulls Brandi aside, pointing out that Lauren probably doesn't know her dad is a fugitive bank robber. She wants to keep it from Mary since she'd be obligated to tell the FBI. She says the won't tell because it's a "gray area."
Mary returns to the office, where Stan and Eleanor are actively ignoring each other. She asks Marshall if she can imagine Dennis stabbing Colin. She asks Eleanor to see if he was in any proximity to unsolved crimes throughout his life.
Mary goes home to change her clothes. She's got some blood on her sweater. At her house, Raph knocks on the door with some of her laundry. She comes in right behind him. Jinx introduces Lauren as a distant relative and they share a moment post-handshake where they realize they have the same big hands.
Mary arrives at the hospital and is surprised to find Dennis sitting with Ingrid. He excuses himself and Mary tries to figure out what his deal is.
Eleanor gives Mary her research on Dennis, saying he's the dullest of the dull. Someone in his high school was knifed, though, someone he fought with a girl over. Kinda like how in prison someone he had no beef with was stabbed and someone he knew was blamed for it.
M & M go talk to Nathan. He says he was friendly with Dennis at first, but then it was too much. He told Dennis so, who told him he was "too stupid" to appreciate the value of true friendship. Mary's Spidey Sense tingles.
M & M go to the hospital. Mary finds Ingrid in the cafeteria. She told Dennis she needed to be alone, and he told her she didn't appreciate him, etc.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Dennis creeps into Colin's room.
Downstairs, Ingrid says Dennis didn't do it, Colin was the only one who could stand him.
Upstairs, Dennis tells an unconscious Colin that he's sorry he screwed up again.
Bobby calls Mary, telling her it turns out the flower order was real. The order was from Colin for the woman's sick mom.
Dennis tells Colin he gets so angry when people tell him to back off.
Mary asks Ingrid if she pays the bills at home, and also at the store. She was at the store yesterday for payday.
In Colin's room, Dennis asks Colin's forgiveness and Marshall hops out of the shadows and draws on Dennis.
He asks why Dennis would need Colin's forgiveness and poor sad sack Dennis basically says he needs it for being his same irritating self.
Ingrid tells Mary about finding the delivery receipt for the distant delivery. She thought it was for another woman. Mary tells her they really were for a sick old lady. She told him if she ever caught him cheating she'd cut his balls off, so confrontational Colin handed her a knife and dared her too. So she stabbed him. She didn't think she hurt him that bad; he was still yelling at her when she left.
Dennis pours out his irritating-man problems to Marshall, talking about driving people away. Marshall says pointedly that he learned how hard it is not to chase after the things you want the most.
Mary lets a handcuffed Ingrid say good-bye to Colin, who's still out cold.
At the office, Stan looks at Eleanor's photo of her with her late husband and goes to talk to her. He tells her, gently, that he'll be whatever she needs him to be. Eleanor starts crying, saying she starts each day with the pain of missing her husband and this morning she forgot to miss him for a moment. She's not ready to give that up, but Stan's such a sweet man. She takes his hand.
Mary comes home to find family photos spread out in the kitchen, including one of her as a girl with her dad. Lauren's still there, hanging out on the couch, writing. She packs up. Mary asks if they've met before or if she's in some kind of trouble. No on both counts. Mary offers her hand to say good-bye, but Lauren hugs her and leaves. Mary tries to make sense of it.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content