Wed, Aug 27, 2014
The killer: undercover police officer Doug Slater. The victim: Samantha Turner, Sergeant Cross' current girlfriend and the prosecuting attorney in the upcoming League of Nations trial in which Mark is the star witness as the undercover cop who infiltrated the gang. Slater was also present at the scene ten years ago as a first responder in the Alfonso Dyer shooting, the truth of the shooting which has haunted Mark and Angie all these years. Samantha is found strangled to death in her apartment, with the signature League of Nations "burnt tongue" signature present. Because of Mark and Samantha's connection, Bloom immediately removes him from the case, despite he being passionate about being involved in finding who killed his girlfriend. However, Angie and Oscar cannot rule him out as a suspect, despite the League signature to the death. The detectives do question the key League of Nations players: incarcerated Virgil Maddox, the gang head who despite his incarceration would still be able to order a hit; and Grace Dinard, Maddox's girlfriend, who has come to visit him in prison every day leading up to Samantha's murder. Another theory they have is that the murder was a show of force by someone who plans to take over the League in Maddox's absence. But information from Virgil and Grace, the fact that Samantha's telephone has been hacked after her death, as well as another high profile murder lead to Mark as the murderer. However, Angie comes up with another plausible theory that the murders were committed by someone who had an inside track of certain other items associated with the League and the Dyer cases. Through it all, Angie and Mark contemplate coming clean about their ten year secret.
Wed, Aug 20, 2014
The victim: successful crime novelist Lori Oliver, who dies after collapsing while making a presentation at a writers' conference. The killer: Dustin Hess, a creative writing professor at Langara College, he who chides anyone who reads and likes Lori's books, people such as his student, Doug Butcher, one of Lori's many über-fans. Betty quickly assesses that Lori was poisoned, and after receiving the toxicology report learns that she was poisoned by a toxin that is not used for anything - and thus needs to be manufactured for this specific purpose - and that even the smallest dose is highly lethal. According to those around Lori - her husband Gary Oliver, her manager Craig Davis and her personal assistant Parker Wexler - Lori had many fans, but she also received many death threats, often mirroring the nature of her stories. Each of the three is a suspect, but Craig in particular, due to emerging circumstances, is particularly cooperative with Angie and Oscar. When they discover the probable delivery method of the poison, the detectives try to piece it together with Lori's recent hate mail. Meanwhile, Dustin, on any signs that the detectives are heading his way, tries to head them off in another direction. The detectives will have to look into Lori's past work to find that connection to Dustin and the motive. With the League of Nations case, the defense's subpoena list grows, which places Angie and Mark between a rock and a hard place. And without telling anyone of his personal situation, Brian receives some unsolicited advice from someone who's been there.
Sun, Jun 7, 2015
The victim: Maria Snow. The killer: Neville Montgomery. Two eyewitnesses saw Maria's body crashing atop a car parked on the street, she apparently falling from the seventh floor of the adjacent heritage building, recently purchased by Neville. Everything is consistent with the fall being the cause of death. The homicide detectives are certain that Neville is behind Maria's death, despite they working leads pursuing Robert as the murderer. They see it tied into Neville's harassment of Angie through his goon breaking into her home, and her beloved car being blown up in front of her eyes. That belief is only solidified by Deputy Chief Halford placing Mark in charge of the investigation. With Mark in charge, the question concerning him is if he will do anything to cross Halford, which in turn could jeopardize what looks to be his upward trajectory in the force. To tie the murder back to Neville, the detectives are going to have to find out exactly what Maria's game plan was, namely why she sold out Robert to accept the Vice-President job under Neville if she earlier wanted Angie to help her prove that Neville was involved in Derek Caster's murder. This case proves more difficult for Oscar, Angie, and Betty due to their thoughts being on Oscar's health and his imminent surgery, the prognosis from which is uncertain.
Sun, May 31, 2015
The victim: Rick Wyatt, an insurance adjuster. The killer: Lawrence Frampton, a collections agent who is mourning the recent death of his wife, Helen Frampton, from complications from COPD. Rick's dead body is found behind the wheel of his car in the parking lot at his workplace, his hands handcuffed together around the steering wheel and a duct tape fastened plastic bag over his head, asphyxiation the cause of death. The detectives initially find that Rick is generally well liked by his colleagues, but that the more they delve into his life that he was involved in some subversive behavior, one issue dealing with jealousy against anyone who paid attention to his wife, Lisa Wyatt, who the detectives cannot seem to locate. Evidence seems to indicate that she has recently left him, placing her on the suspect list. Although Angie is eventually able to tie evidence at the crime scene to Lawrence as well as other issues between the Wyatts and Framptons, the case becomes just as much about the missing Lisa. With the Neville Montgomery issue, Angie believes based on recent goings-on and what she is able to find from Maria's past that Maria is not as innocent as she first appeared. Mark has a lunch meeting with Deputy Chief Halford, which, although not directly discussed, seems to be all about Angie's "harassment" of Neville. And Oscar makes some further decisions about his life based on updated news regarding his illness.
Sun, Mar 29, 2015
The victim: Peter Glass, an employee for Fibersec, a digital security consulting firm. He is survived by a wife, full-time homemaker Olivia Glass, and a sixteen year old daughter, Sophie Glass. The killer: Wayne Hobbs, a general contractor, one of whose latest jobs was to build a backyard deck for the Glasses. Peter is eventually identified as the murder victim through DNA of his dismembered body parts strewn throughout various locations in the city. In interviewing those that knew Peter, the Homicide detectives find that he was considered an anti-social man, who seemed to control every aspect of Olivia and Sophie's lives. Regardless, Olivia and Sophie still seemed to love him yet be somewhat scared of him at the same time. They also find that Peter had a relatively small digital footprint himself. The murder investigation turns into a concurrent kidnapping investigation when they find that Wayne has abducted Sophie. In searching through Wayne's belongings, the Homicide detectives find that Wayne has a penchant for girls exactly Sophie's type. In wading through the evidence, Angie knows that Wayne's penchant is a bit narrower than just Sophie's "type", the reason why Wayne killed Peter. Meanwhile, Angie continues on her solo crusade in the Derek Caster murder and finding the connection to Neville Montgomery. And Mark is itching to get out from behind his desk more often, which if it is to happen would require some negotiation with Boyd.
Sun, Apr 26, 2015
The killer: brew-master Joe Hillis, who is just about to open a craft brewery. The victim: tarot card reader Ginelle Mercier. Her mummified body is found in the wall of a for sale warehouse, which was being renovated for suspected asbestos. Because of the environment of the warehouse, Ginelle, who was placed there postmortem, could have been killed as recently as ten weeks ago. The detectives have to find who would have last had contact with her, including among her colleagues, friends and clients, the latter from who they learn that she was considered the best in the business. They learn from others who viewed her from an outsider's perspective that she was considered "flaky". The detectives' search for electronic information is difficult as they also learn she felt many forms of electronics interfered with psychic energy. Stumbling on her hard copy contact list, the detectives find that a common name between her friends, clients and those that had access to the warehouse is Hillis, Elizabeth Hillis who considered herself a client and close friend, and Joe Hillis who viewed the warehouse as a possible location for his new business. But the detectives' initial assessment of the situation is not quite reality. Meanwhile, Oscar makes some further professional and personal decisions based on his disease and what he learns may be a misdiagnosis. And Angie and Maria face some tough questions about Janet Wong's arrest and how well Maria's association to Angie respectively.
Sun, Jul 3, 2016
The victim: Police Constable Greg Schultz. The killer: stand-up comic and Greg's older brother Murray Schultz. Greg's death is the first case for Oscar following his recovery and promotion to staff sergeant, Brian in his new position as Angie's partner, and the new homicide detective Mitch Kennecki, an overly cocky know-it-all because he is a legacy. Greg's death is initially deemed a suicide based on eyewitness statements, which include a selfie video with Greg in complete uniform in the background just before he stepped by the water and shot himself in the head. However, no one is able to identify Greg conclusively as the officer in question. Also despite the eyewitnesses, Greg's body and firearm, which was originally his father's, are not recovered from the water for several hours. But Oscar wants to be overly cautious before officially announcing that it is a suicide, and despite the pressure placed on him by new Police Chief Wells. Oscar has good reason to be cautious as Angie believes the person in the selfie video is indeed not Greg, but someone dressed to look like Greg, with his body dumped in the water probably several hours earlier. The case may be hindered by Mitch wanting to make a good impression on the Police Chief, he implicating Lori Schultz, Greg's widow, as the murderer. But the other homicide detectives begin to focus on Greg's estranged brother Murray, the motive for the murder much more complex than the reason for their estrangement.
2015
The victim: pastry chef Chelsea Richmond. The killer: pilot Brad Calgrove, a first officer for his airline. He is engaged to wealthy art gallery owner Nicole Gaynor who was recently mugged. Chelsea had recently moved from Florida to Vancouver, her cocktail dress clad dead body found frozen in the freezer in her rented house. She was knocked unconscious before being frozen. Her body is found by her absentee landlady, as Chelsea was supposed to be out of the house two weeks ago. Because of the freezing, Betty cannot pinpoint how long she has been dead, it being anywhere from forty-eight hours to six months. As such, the detectives have to work backwards to determine when she died. They will learn that Chelsea was let go two months ago from from her latest job at a casual chain restaurant, where her perfection did not mesh with the style of the restaurant itself. Her move to this job was surprising as she came from a more lucrative high end restaurant job in Florida, and had a similar lucrative high end restaurant job offer in New York, but decided on the Vancouver job. The detectives will have to discover the reason for Chelsea's move to discover the motive and Brad as the killer. Meanwhile, Angie hitting what she sees as a dead end in tying Neville Montgomery to Derek Caster's murder places her at loggerheads with Maria. And Oscar makes some professional and personal decisions based partly on his medical diagnosis. Angie can see that something is happening in Oscar's life, but doesn't know what.
Tue, Apr 19, 2016
The victim: Dawn Richards, a member of the Frenemies in the women's professional roller derby league. The killer: psychiatrist Dr. Henry Price. This case starts off unusually when Dr. Price comes into the police station to report to Oscar that he believes one of his patients, Peter Carver, is displaying homicidal tendencies, the description provided by Price about what Carver would do matching Dawn's case. A connection is made between Carver and Dawn, he who was one of her biggest fans. Dawn is found dead by her roommate and teammate Stacey Edmonds in her bedroom one morning with Dawn having multiple stab wounds by scissors to the neck. After she and Angie interview Stacey, Paula, without disclosing the full reason, has reason to believe Stacey is the murderer. When Oscar points the detectives in Carver's direction, Betty discovers a string of pearls in Dawn's throat. It is then that Paula provides full disclosure of why she had believed Stacey to be the killer: the murder mimics down to the string of pearls a case on which she worked three years ago of murdered Brita Morris, where her testimony put away Brita's roommate, Miranda Hurst, whose story is that she was forced to watch the real unknown male murderer kill Brita. Miranda, who to this day professes her innocence, is still in prison for Brita's murder. When all evidence points to Carver being Dawn's murderer, Paula does whatever she can to tie Carver to Miranda as she was and is certain that Miranda still did kill Brita, with Carver now looking in her mind to be an accomplice. When questioned, Carver obviously does display issues of mental disturbance of the nature described by Dr. Price. But when Brian discovers some evidence that points away from Carver, the detectives look to Dr. Price, the person who first pointed them in Carver's direction. They have to find out how Price would have known about the nature of Brita's death to tie him to Dawn's murder, with an outstanding question being of who really did kill Brita, the answer to which could affect Paula's standing in her job.