Love American Style
Updated 2008-04-18 19:17:03
Previously: The Ice Truck left a bunch of detached body parts all around the Miami area, each with a photo that hinted at significant photo ops in Dex's past. Dexter, having analyzed each body part, found that Tucci, the ITK's victim, could still be alive. The ITK lured Dexter into a hospital from one of his family photos, where he discovered Tucci alive and no-so-well. Dexter took this as an invitation to kill Tucci, which he declined. Captain Astor praised Deb for following up Dex's anonymous tip (he couldn't call it in himself, obviously, because how would he explain what he was doing there?), and called her his "up-and-comer," making LaGuerta supremely jealous and irritated. Rita did a good (albeit, illegal) deed for her asshole neighbor's dog by kidnapping him and giving him to a caring family, and got so excited by her own act of assertiveness that she dressed up like Lara Croft and gave Dexter a blowy.
Again, with the pores, Showtime! Ultra-close up on Dexter's face, the camera is panning around him as he VOs: "I like to pretend I'm alone, completely alone. Maybe post-apocalypse or plague, whatever. No one left to act normal for. No need to hide who I really am. It would be...freeing." Now smiling, he's shaken out of his daydream by Doakes, of course, who's yelling, "Stop grinning like a psycho and get back to work!" Naturally, they're at a crime scene, and Dexter apologizes, saying that he wanted to wait for forensics to wrap up their work before he "tore the bed apart." Hmm, wonder what happened here?
It seems they're at the Angel of Mercy Hospital, where Tony Tucci was found, and once Dexter's in the corridor, he starts VOing again: "I'm not the only one who enjoys isolation. My shadow companion chose this place well." Looking over the filthy room where Tucci had his hand and leg chopped off, now well-lit and crawling with forensic investigators and cops, he continues, "This was his sanctuary, for a while, at least. All these people pawing over it, it seems...disrespectful. When he gets downstairs, he's accosted by LaGuerta. "Tell me the sick bastard bled on something, Dexter. He was here for days playing with sharp objects." Dexter tells her he'll do his best, but so far the place is "spotless, amazingly so." He asks her if Tucci's said anything yet, but LaGuerta tells him that he's still unconscious. She reiterates that there's "gotta be something here. This guy's not a ghost, Tucci's evidence of that." Fair enough.
When he gets over to the blood-stained cot where Tucci lay, Masuka asks him if he got all the photos he needs. "Like shooting a Jackson Pollack," Dexter says. Masuka bags the bedding, and they move the mattress, which is filthy and gross. We can hear some rats scuttling around, and Masuka is a little freaked out. "We're all going to get histoplasmosis from all the shit in the dust. We'll be coughin' up blood...skin lesions, mouth sores." Thanks for that adorable assessment, Masuka. Dexter shares my reaction: "Lovely." He then tells the crew to "hit the lights," and busts out the black light. Masuka keeps on about the rats, and Doakes tell him to shut up about them. As Dexter examines the scene, Deb shows up and is all, "You won't find anything. This is a bust, right?" "In so many words." "Which means I'm just jerkin' off 'til Tucci wakes up." Dexter tells her to take a break, and that she's been working too hard. "Or are you still avoiding a personal life?" "Fuck you!" she responds caustically. "And, yeah. I'm better off just focusing on the job." Dexter, after getting the lights turned back on, reminds her that her job and life don't have to be mutually exclusive. "If I found someone, so can you." "Yeah, the trouble is keeping them." Dex VOs, "Tell me about it," and if he's referring to Rita, then I don't get it. I thought they just "took things to the next level."
Speak of the Rita, and she appears! At the "Z" Hotel, where it seems she's taking a break. When she gets outside, she's immediately troubled at the sight of one of her cleaning ladies, who's folding towels and crying silently. Rita approaches her. "Yilena, are you okay?" "Sorry...I'm fine." "Ernesto hasn't arrived?" Apparently not. Hmm, I wonder what Ernesto resorted to in order to gain access to this fine yet tightly bordered country of ours. Rita takes Yelina aside, over to the water to talk some more. Yelina explains that someone monikered "The Coyote" wanted more money, but that she didn't have it. Rita expositions, "'The Coyote'? You mean, the man you paid to bring him here?" Yeline responds in the affirmative, continuing that this Coyote character threatened to send Ernest back to Cuba, but that was over a week ago and no one in his hometown has seen nor heard from him. Yikes, dude. That is severely uncool. So uncool that it's downright shitty. I wonder how often this type of thing actually happens, where opportunistic shit-bags take advantage of desperate illegals who just want to see their families. This shit makes me sad. Anyway, Rita asks Yelina how she contacted this guy, and she pulls out a piece of paper. "This used to be his number, but it doesn't work anymore. He told me to leave money in the park..." Rita tells her about how Dexter works for the police, but Yelina immediately protests, telling her that The Coyote said he'd hurt her family in Cuba. Rita comforts her, and says, "It's okay. Dexter will know what to do." I hope she means "find and kill The Coyote," because...yeah. This guy needs to go. Assuming he's actually killed someone, which he may not have.
Now having lunch with Dexter, Rita says how terrible she feels. "They were supposed to be married after he got here." Dexter suggests a guy who deals with immigration issues that he knows, and offers to talk to him. "That's really kind of you, Dex. I mean, can you imagine not knowing if your fiance is dead or alive?" "Ah, no," says Dexter earnestly. "Every night after work, Yilena goes across the street to the beach. I've seen her there, just staring out at the water, willing him to walk out of it." Dude, that is so ridiculously depressing. Of course, there's a shift in where this scene is headed when Rita continues, "Have you ever... longed for something like that?" He gives her the "Let-me-finish-chewing" finger, and VOs, "She wants something from me. Ever since the blowjob, she assumes we've taken it to the next level." Hee! You can tell by her face that that's true. "She doesn't know yet that I don't have a next level." He tells Rita that when he was a kid, he "would have killed" (probably) for an Atari. Rita's disappointment is palpable, which Dexter picks up on instantly: "It always comes to this once sex is introduced. Small talk no longer cuts it. Eventually, she'll call me a 'science project,' and slam the door in my face." I don't know, dude. That's really up to you, innit?
Deb is on the phone at the station, asking someone, presumably a doctor, when Tucci can be expected to regain consciousness. Having clearly received a shitty attitude on the other end of the line, she replies, "Yeah, I did call an hour ago, but there's a killer out there who's into whores and security guards, but I'll bet nurses are next." Hee! That totally reminded me of Jeanie Bueller when she's on the phone. " Dick. Head !" Anyway, speaking of whores, in walks one of Deb's old friends from her vice days (which were, what, like, a week ago?). "Check you out, all NYPD Blue ." "Shanda, what are you doing here? You have a lead on the Ice Truck Killer?" Shanda tells her that she has bigger fish to fry. "I'm not springing your pimp, if that's what you're after," says Deb. Shanda tells her it's not that either, but it's her landlord that's giving her worries. Deb doesn't really care, and Doakes comes in and calls her over. He holds up an evidence bag with a cigarette butt in it, and tells her Masuka was about to run it. Deb is psyched about the potential DNA and fingerprints, but Doakes crushes her excitement by telling her it's her own cigarette butt. "You were smoking at a crime scene," he reprimands. She tries to say she was far away, but Doakes doesn't give a shit. "The whole area is a crime scene. You should know that by now, even if you are from Vice." Naturally, Shanda feels the need to step in, saying, "Why don't you just calm the hell down, my brother?" Doakes is not in the mood for this, and asks who the fuck she is. Deb tells her to "give it a rest," and Shanda slinks away, slightly pissed. Doakes commands Deb to go sit with Tucci until he wakes up. "And don't talk to him without me."
Dexter's walking outside with his immigration guy, Officer Gerard, who's telling him, "Believe me, your maid is not the first one to get screwed." "No, she's a maid, she's not my maid. So, have you heard of any other Cuban immigrants disappearing?" "A few, poor bastards. Spend their life savings, get stuffed into a fish hole, puke the whole ninety miles to Miami. When they get here, they think, 'I'm an American! I'm free.' Except, the damn Coyote? He won't let 'em go 'til his family comes up with a surprise release fee. If they can't pay..." "They disappear." Man, that is so wrong. "Freedom's just another word for 'one more way to get fucked.'" "Sounds like someone's up to something very bad," Dex VOs, and now I'm psyched because he smells blood, and if this Coyote guy is really doing what I think he's doing, Dexter's brand of justice is the only kind I think fits for this lowlife. Oh, yeah. Killing's bad. Dexter asks the informative officer if there are any suspects, and he says there are four or five, but not enough evidence for a conviction or even a warrant. "If warrants were applied for, their names will be in the database," Dex VOs, and we all know what he's thinking. Gerard pats Dexter on the shoulder, and says, "Listen, buddy, I know you want to help out your maid, but there ain't a lot you can do." "You'd be surprised," Dexter thinks, and looks right at us. Goose-bumps, dude. Goose-bumps.
Presumably later in the day, Dexter pulls up to what looks like a junkyard. "Jorge Castillo, number three on the department's list of suspects," he VOs. "...but the only one remotely close to the park where Yelina was supposed to drop the money." As he sneaks past the front gate, he continues, "They never got enough evidence for a search warrant." Good thing you have no use for them, right, buddy? "I don't need permission to keep an eye on this guy." Fuckin'-A right, you don't! He continues to examine the junkyard. "No neighbors. No foot traffic. It's promising. A good place for human trafficking." Then, after spotting a large shipping container, "Or worse." Dexter walks over to the container to check it out, when a man comes up behind him. "Excuse me. Private yard." Dexter adeptly covers: "I'm just praying you have a '69 Stingray headlight somewhere in here." After introducing himself as "Dave Cutler," the man introduces himself as Castillo. Keeping up the façade, Dexter tells him his "restoration is almost complete," but Castillo isn't biting. "I don't do individual sales, Mr. Cutler, but I can give you the number of a Corvette shop that I deal with." "I'll be happy to look around, myself," Dexter offers, but Castillo is guarded. "I can't take my phone orders if I'm watching over my merchandise." He's a pretty tough nut to crack, this one. Dexter continues to make innocent-seeming small talk, getting out that Castillo he runs the place alone, making it all the easier to slaughter innocent immigrants. As Castillo walks Dexter out, Dexter says, "Must be nice working for yourself. You can get out on the water whenever you want. I noticed the floater on your keychain. I've got a 32-foot Concept, what about you?" "I got a rowboat with a hole in it." Dexter laughs, trying to make the situation seem a little friendlier. "A lo mejor, los pescados te encuentran," Dexter says, and Babel Fish tells me that means, "Perhaps, the fish find you" in Spanish. Castillo says he doesn't speak Spanish, and Dexter replies that he thought he was Cuban. "American, pal, just like you," says Castillo as he shuts the big metal door in Dex's face.
Over at the hospital, Deb walks into Tucci's room, where he's still passed out. The nurse tells Deb with a heavy dose of attitude, "He's on heavy sedatives right now. I think he deserves them." "I'll wait," she replies quietly. After the nurse leaves, Deb slowly approaches the bedside and leans over the bed. "Hey," she half-whispers, and Tucci doesn't stir. "Mr. Tucci." Still nothing. "Tony." Nope. "I'm gonna find this cocksucker, I swear." Um, I think he's sleeping, Deb. She realizes this and leaves the room to sit out in the hall.
Poor, poor Yelina. She's sitting on the beach as Rita described earlier, and Rita's coming to join her, because she's a sweetheart and feels bad. They share a little moment where Rita shakes her head questioningly, and Yelina turns her face back to the ocean, which is answer enough. Rita sits on the sand a few feet from Yelina, and they sit in silence.
Now nighttime, Dexter's back in Castillo's junkyard, having jumped the fence. "I don't understand America's obsession with cars," he VOs. As he passes one of those old, rounded, tin-looking car trailers, he continues, "I can just imagine squeezing Rita and the kids into this thing. Hitting the open road: cramped quarters, public bathrooms, hours of nothing but conversation. Someone's American dream, my nightmare." The music in the score gets creepier and creepier as Dex works his way back to the shipping container he saw earlier, behind which is a large garage that he opens to explore. Inside is a troubling scene: filthy mattresses covered in sick and blood; buckets that have served as toilets; abandoned clothing, including a child's sneaker. "This must be where Castillo locks them up, but if he's killing them when they can't pay, he's not doing it here. So, where are they?" Good question. I have a feeling your investigative prowess will provide us with an answer in no time.
The next morning at the beach, a jogging couple come across a floating body on the shore. The girl screams a lot, and I probably would, too, because that thing looks foul, and nobody likes to think that they could one day look like that. Ugh.
Dexter, now in the lab, gets a call from Gerard, the immigration officer, who tells him about the floater, and that it "might be a match for your maid's fiance." "She's a maid, she's not my ..." he begins. "Is it alright if I bring her down?" "The sooner the better." They hang up, and Angel is there out of nowhere. "Tonight, at The Salsa Room. You gotta help me celebrate my pay grade bump." After an awkward secret handshake that Dexter doesn't know, he tells Angel, "Actually, I have a personal project I'm working on tonight." "No, dog, I'm buying." Before Dexter can respond, LaGuerta's got Angel's attention, hoping he has a list of prioritized witnesses. "I'm working on it." "Well, how about you stop talking and earn your bump?" After she leaves, Angel turns back to Dexter: "Don't leave me hanging tonight, bro." Dexter VOs, "I wonder what I did to make him think we're so close. I wonder if it'd work on Rita."
Speaking of Rita, Dexter's leading her and Yelina down the morgue's hallway to the checkin desk. "Hi, Dexter Morgan. I called earlier?" "Oh, right, the floater," says the attendant tactlessly. Dexter offers to lead Yelina into the morgue, but Rita declines. "She senses I'm not 'a shoulder.' Bad sign. She's catching on." As the attendant wonders aloud "what kind of idiot thinks an inner-tube is going to get him over ninety miles of open ocean," Dexter watches Yelina's horrified reaction through the morgue's glass door. "That must be what love looks like," he VOs. "The inability to feel has it's advantages," and as Rita gives him her best ice-grille, "...sometimes."
Ooh, flashback time! Teen Dex is mowing the lawn, and some girl comes up and says, "Hi, Dexter!" "Hi, Mindy," he replies cheerily. She wants to know if he's going to go to the Spring Formal, and, being Dexter, he responds, "Why would I wanna do that?" Nice one, idiot. She walks away, nonplussed, and he continues mowing. Harry, who is working on the car, comes out from under the hood, and I wonder what he's going to say. Something about fitting in, perhaps? Let's see: "She wanted you to ask her to the dance, Dexter." "That's not what she said ." "Well, you have to learn their signals." Dexter says he doesn't really care about girls, and he'd rather be alone. "Most normal people don't, and it's important that you seem normal." "...Even though I'm not." " Because you're not," Harry says and pats Dexter on the shoulder.
Tucci's up! He's also being fit for a prosthetic limb. His doctor says, "We'll start you out with a pre-fab, and make adjustments as we go." "Rudy here's gonna put me back together again," Tucci tells Deb amiably. He seems in pretty high spirits for someone who's been through what he has. "Good as new." "Half the battle is attitude," says Rudy, the doctor. "And you have a great one." Tony says he's just happy to be alive. Rudy and Deb share a little flirtatious glance, which Tony totally calls them out on. "Yo, pretty boy! You're stealin' my thunder! I've got a hottie waitin' on me, so..." "I don't know," Rudy protests. "I might just have to fight you for this one." Doakes, who hasn't made a peep, looks unamused at this banter. His work done, the doctor takes off, leaving Tony with Deb 'n' Doakes. "I know what you need, guys, but I didn't see much." Doakes tells him anything he can offer would be a great help. "Well, he came up from behind and he wore a mask when he made me put the...the..." he trails off, half from having to think about what he had been forced to do, half because he's distracted by the milk carton he can't open because he's missing a hand. Deb helps him, and he continues, " things on the ice." After flirting with Deb overtly for a second ("Angel of Mercy? How merciful are you?"), Doakes is back to business: "Can you tell us how tall he was, or if he was black, white, Latino?" "White, I think. Average height. Not fat, not thin, just...average." Deb asks if he heard anything significant, since he was blindfolded. "He didn't talk much. Or, he'd whisper." "That's all you heard?" asks Deb. "Except the rats," he replies. "Every once in a while they'd get up on the bed and I'd have to shake them off." Now, he's in a thousand yard stare, traumatized. "Some crap-ass witness I am, huh?" Doakes says he's doing great. Deb offers, "You know, sometimes when I'm trying to remember something, I close my eyes." She then suggests that maybe they could try blindfolding him, but Tucci's not all that cool with it, and says he's tired. "That's okay," says Doakes. "Officer Morgan and I were just leaving." And, so they do.
Dexter's on his boat, and is in the mood for voice-overing. "Alone. No pretending, no hiding. No time to relax. I'm too close. Jorge Castillo is bad, that I know. But bad enough to kill Yelina's fiance... that I have to prove." Dex busts out his Nikon with its gigantic lens, and points it at "Jorge's not-so-humble abode," where a new Mercedes is pulling into the driveway. "Yeesh -- new money." As he snaps shots, he continues, "Normal people dream of this: a new car, a big home, a boat at the Reefshore Marina...and a beautiful wife." Castillo's now embracing his wife, a thin, blonde thing wearing a lovely sun dress. "Too bad I never enjoy making someone a widow. They're so happy. She has no clue who she's with. Maybe that's the key to a successful relationship." He takes a swig of his beer, and we're off to the next scene.
"Mr. Perry, you were on the grounds of the same hospital where we found Mr. Tucci," Doakes interrogates. Mr. Perry is a nerdy-looking dude with glasses and a slightly grown-out buzz-cut, and he's flipping through some kind of book. "And you were alone that night?" "It was just me and Caesar, my dog," Perry says. He doesn't seem quite right, this guy, but I don't know if he's a suspect or just a witness. "He likes abandoned buildings. Caesar's a ratter." Then, pointing at a picture in the book, he asks, "What'd this guy do?" "Why, does he look familiar?" asks Deb. Perry says he looks like a guy "from that John Singleton movie." Doakes, his patience wearing thin, tells him to focus on the person he saw at Angel of Mercy. "It's difficult to tell, it was dark. He had a cap." Then, Perry starts geeking out about the type of camera they have trained on him, and Doakes, fed up, puts an end to this bullshit interrogation by storming out. Deb tells Mr. Perry, "Gimme a minute."
Deb approaches Doakes, who's going over paperwork with LaGuerta now, but before she can get a work out, LaGuerta says, "Morgan, thank Mr. Perry for his horse shit and send him home." Deb asserts that she's sure he knows something, but LaGuerta's not having it and walks away. Deb's pissed at Doakes. "You could try being a little optimistic. How do you know Perry doesn't know anything?" Doakes: "Because I've been doing this a lot longer than you!" She looks kind of crushed, and she should really learn to get over having her feelings hurt if she's going to continue in this line of work. "This case gets colder every minute you waste on bullshit like Perry. And wanting to blindfold a trauma victim? What the fuck were you thinkin'?" Okay, that's a bit harsh, Doakes. It was just an idea. Deb defends herself by saying that she was trying a "new approach." Doakes suggests that she focus on the basics, and leaves. Wow, he's a prick.
At what I can only assume is The Salsa Room, just judging from the salsa music being played, Angel's dancing, and Dexter looks pretty bored. Angel insists on more Patrón, but Dex demurs, reminding Angel that he has to get up early in the morning. "Killers to catch!" Angel tells him drunkenly to forget all that, and Dexter has to pry him away from the ladies just to talk to him. "Your wife? She's probably worrying. I don't know what she'd think of your new friend." Angel fronts, saying that his wife doesn't care who he flirts with, as long as he brings home "la pasión." "La pasión?" repeats Dexter. "Yeah, it keeps the relationship alive." "What about communication? Trust?" "La pasión!" repeats Angel. Uh huh. "What if she wants something more...emotionally?" "Don't go down that emotional road, just go down on her. It's easier, and she'll be distracted." Heh. Maybe that's why Angel's wife wants nothing to do with him; maybe he gives lousy head. Dexter, looking enlightened, sits there with a dumb look on his face as Angel hits the dance-floor again. Some rando girl comes up, and asks Dex, "So, what do you want to do now?" Suddenly we hear Harry's voice saying, "Dance with her, Dexter. Be polite..."
Now Harry is helping Teen Dex get ready for the dance. He continues, "Get her punch. Get the door for her. And if you find yourself alone with her, and things get romantic..." "Dad, I've kissed a girl before." Harry's shocked to hear this, and wants details. "It was okay," is all Dex is willing to offer. Harry tells him about how different women are, and how women experience intimacy differently than men. "When they're with someone physically, they feel connected, and they know when you're not, they can sense it because you're very exposed...emotionally. Son, this is going to be very dangerous for you." Dexter thinks he can fake it. "Buddy," says Harry, "You can learn to fake a lot of things. But this is a tough one." Dexter heads out to the dance.
Dexter's with Angel in his car, driving him home. Angel is passed out in the passenger seat. "Is this it?" Dex asks. Only snoring. "Angel, I've only been here one time, I don't remember." He shoves him to wake him up, and says, "Your wife's gonna love me." Inside, Dexter carries Angel's drunk ass over to the couch, VOing, "The problem with being normal is that normal people get into stupid situations like this." As Angel collapses on the couch, his wife, Nina, comes out. "You scared the hell out of me!" "Sorry, Nina," apologizes Dexter. He reintroduces himself, and she wants to know what they're doing there. Dexter explains, not knowing about the situation between Nina and Angel, that they were out celebrating his pay bump. Nina's surprised to hear that he got a raise, and Dexter's surprised that she doesn't know. Finally, after a lot of awkwardness, she comes out with it: "He doesn't live here anymore." "Oh." "We're separated." "Oh." "So...goodnight." Right, gotcha. Dexter punches the sleeping Angel right in the medial portion of his thigh, no doubt triggering a cremasteric reflex , and pulls him up. On their way out, Dexter sarcastically says, "La pasión." Heh.
Next morning, Dexter's hovering over Angel's hungover carcass, trying to motivate him out of bed. "Angel, we're really late for work, amigo." Groaning, Angel sits up a bit. "I guess I had one to many, huh?" "Yeah, then about ten more." Angel gets up, commenting on how neat Dexter's place is, and then heads over to the air conditioner for some cool sweetness. He starts fiddling with the vents and looking inside, but before he can see Dexter's Little Box O' Conquests, Dexter distracts him with some coffee, reminding him "the pressure's on with this Ice Truck Killer situation," and his voice sounds the same way it did when he played the stoner version of David Fischer when Nate narmed on Six Feet Under . Angel says that he'll lock up, and that he needs to go home because his wife will be worried, which...poor guy. Dex says he'll just wait and drop him off at his car. Angel goes to the WC, probably to barf, as Dexter VOs, "Somehow it's reassuring not to be the only one pretending to be normal."
At BloodLab 2021, Masuka is noting that he found a hair on the bedding that's not Tucci's. Of course, it's rat hair that's referring to. Doakes almost flips his lid at the mention of the rats, but it's relevant because the rats chewed up and made off with fabric from the crime scene, as well as who knows what else. Doakes says, "So we go looking for the nests," but Masuka reminds him it's a "wild goose chase," not knowing what they're looking for . Deb suggests going to talk to Tucci again. "He knows more than he thinks, and my gut tells me he can take it." Doakes completely dismisses her, and tells Masuka to run the sheet. Deb steps up: "Alright, I get it. I'm a newbie. But you're old and tired and you need new eyes on this, so when you're ready to let me do my job, you let me know. And, don't you say a fucking word, Masuka!" Nice, Deb! But, what are you picking on Masuka for?
Dexter's doing some more research on Castillo, while VOing, "How do you get rid of the ones that don't pay out? You drop them in the middle of the ocean, tell them to swim for shore. You can't hide for long, Jorge." Oh, yes, dude. I'm getting that awesome feeling! That feeling that tells me Dex is about to pounce on this bastard! Dexter's got a call on his cell, and it's Rita. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk to you since that...place," she says, referring to the morgue. She wonders aloud if they'll be able to catch whoever did this. After a sigh, Dex says, "I'm sure he'll get what he deserves." Yes! Rita says she's still a little shaky, and Dexter offers to come over with a DVD, "something light," before he has to work.
Naturally, he brings over Terms of Endearment , certainly not light fare, and Rita's having a big sob-fest. She looks over at him, hoping to see some emotion on his face, and he just stares back with his eyes widened. "Maybe if I don't blink, my eyes will tear up," he VOs, and it's actually pretty hysterical. Rita continues to look probingly at him, and finally turns back to the TV. "I hate this," Dexter proceeds. "I'm questioning every move; it's exhausting. I should just break it off, already. Unless I can pacify her. Give her something. Reciprocate." Uh oh. He starts kissing her neck and moves quickly down to her cha-cha region. There's no way this is going to go well. "La pasión," he VOs on his way under her skirt, and I'm completely cringing with embarrassment. Rita instantly stops him: "Dexter? I'm sorry, I...I, uh...?" "It's just, you were so generous with me, and I was gonna...return the favor." Rita tells him that's very sweet, but she's not really in the mood for that . Well, duh. Two hours and change of Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine, who would be? Dexter turns around to face the TV again, looking quite dispirited, and it's flashback time again.
Dexter's just now coming home from the dance, and he's woken up Harry. "Sorry I'm late," says Dex. "Did you have fun?" "I pretended to." Harry's happy to hear it. "Dad? Do you think one day I'll feel it, for real?" "I hope so, son. I really do," says Harry, and turns out the light. I don't know, man. If he hasn't felt it yet...
Now at the marina, Dex's mind is still feelin' talkative: "Alone. I'd be better off. Relationships are too confusing." As he approaches a boat that's not his, he finishes, "But this I can figure out. This I do well. Jorge Castillo's boat. If he's a killer, there'll be proof. There's always proof, and I can find it." Find it, dude ! Find the proof. Do it! He explores the boat, searching every inch for a clue to what really happens to these hapless immigrants. He comes across a photo of Castillo and his wife, Valerie, holding up a large grouper. "Happy and in love, the perfect couple. I wonder if Rita and the kids would like fishing." Realizing his mind is wandering, he tells himself, "Focus." Under the steering column, he finds a box of cellphones, and notes that if one of them matches Ernesto's contact number for the Coyote, then Castillo is his man. After standing back up and turning around, he notices a box with a trap door on a lower level of the boat. He goes over to it, and jimmies it open. At first, all we can see is water, until a body floats up to the surface. Jorge Castillo, this is your life, and methinks you've overstayed your welcome on this mortal coil. "He drowns them here, then dumps them out there," Dexter VOs. He takes pictures of the bodies that keep surfacing, but suddenly a van appears, its headlights briefly gracing Dex's face. Someone gets out, and Dexter hides. It's Castillo, who's taking the boat out for a little midnight joyride. I imagine he'll be dumping some bodies as well, the prick. Luckily, Dexter's gotten off the boat in time. "Yup," he thinks. " This I do well."
Back with Tucci, Doakes has respected Deb's wish to sit with him again. Deb is imploring Tony to remember any detail he can. "For me?" "I would if I could, hon. You're a sweet lady. And smart, using your charms on me." Deb looks confused, and kind of hurt. Tony sees this, and goes on: "Oh, no, I don't mind. It's probably the last time a woman will flirt with me, looking like this." Oh, man, what a poor guy! Deb tells him it's okay, and Doakes immediately jumps in and says he thinks they should try the blindfold. They're both pretty dumbfounded at this, and Tucci protests, but Doakes, after apologizing, reminds him that there's still a killer on the loose, and that they need to prevent others from suffering a similar fate. Quietly, Deb stands up, and Doakes gives her his tie. They get started.
Tony mentions that the guy was hard to hear moving around, which Deb interprets as the ITK being agile. He goes on about the rats again, and Deb insists, "Try to focus on him , Tony. What did you hear, what did you smell?" "Menthol," he says. "Like cough drops. He cleared his throat a lot." He goes on to talk about the wrappers, "that crinkly sound," and how he could hear the drops clicking against the ITK's teeth when he was doing his "surgery." "Son of a bitch loved those lozenges," he says, fighting back tears. Deb reaches out and holds his hand, because she's not just a good cop with good instincts, but she's a good person, too. Way to go, Deb.
Now, Deb and Doakes are back at Angel of Mercy, looking for lozenge wrappers, I presume. They find a rat's nest and call Masuka over. As he looks it over, he notices large amounts of the bed sheet make up the nest, and Doakes and Deb are hovering right over him. "Who had garlic for lunch?" he quips, and Deb retorts, "I'm gonna punch you in the neck!" which is one of my favorite sayings. Lo and behold, Masuka pulls a lozenge wrapper out with his tongs, saying, "Actually, I think you're gonna french me." And that? Was awesome. I hope they can get some prints off of that damn wrapper...
Meanwhile, Dexter is back at the lab, checking on the phone number for the cell he took from Castillo's boat. "I like being right," he VOs, clearly satisfied that he's got his man. "I usually am about these things." He begins packing his eyedroppers, and other supplies for the fun that's ahead. "Be prepared. That's my motto. The Boy Scouts and I have that in common. Of course, there's no merit badge for tonight's outing." That's probably true. He hears a noise from the next room, and heads over to see what's what.
A bunch of cops are standing around Masuka as he processes the wrapper. Angel fills him in on what's happening. "A lozenge wrapper?" asks Dex. Angel says, "Hey, after two months of finding fuck all on this case, a lozenge wrapper is the damn Holy Grail." Hey, can everyone just chime in and say the word "lozenge" one more time? It's definitely one of those words that takes on a life of it's own when you hear it so many times in a row. "My favorite serial killer is a lozenge-eater," remarks Dex's brain. "How human of him." Masuka says he's got a partial print, and Deb rejoices. "Proud of you, sis," Dexter projects across the room, and turns to leave. "It's a celebration, here, where are you going?" Deb asks. Dexter: "Crime scene." As he leaves, LaGuerta comes over and wonders what the hubbub is all about. When Deb explains it to her, even LaGuerta can't find anything bitchy to say, because the excitement is thick in the air. After going over a couple procedural details, she goes back to her office, and Doakes compliments Deb on her police work. Deb beams.
Castillo's got a pistol, and as he opens the back of the big white van he keeps it raised to frighten the already panicked immigrants who are now slowly exiting. He barks at them as he ushers them into his garage-cum-holding-bay. Once they're all in, he locks the gigantic door behind them. What a pig. As soon as the door lever clicks home, he turns around and finds a lit candle sitting about 5 yards away. When he gets to it, he realizes there is a whole path of candles, leading him into the dark, which, never having seen a horror movie, he follows like the jackass that he his. Eventually, the path leads to the same trailer I mentioned previously, and Castillo opens the door. The pictures of his victims that Dex took are taped to the walls, lit by even more candles. Castillo, not noticing the plastic wrap surrounding him, reels from the pictures and what they mean. Slowly, quietly, Dexter creeps up and shoves some paralytic into his veins, whispering, "God bless America." As soon as Castillo's down and out, however, a car pulls into the junkyard, and Dexter ducks.
Well, look-y what we have here! It's Señora Castillo! What's she doing here? She calls out for Jorge a couple of times, but as he's indisposed, he doesn't respond. She goes over to the holding bay door, and pulls out a six-shooter, and everything becomes a big more clear. She's totally in on these shenanigans. As Dexter looks on from afar, Valerie Castillo opens the door a crack and a woman instantly tries to escape. Valerie overpowers her and shoves her back in, calling her a "Cuban piece of shit." Um, yeah. This lady needs to go! Once she has the door locked again, she mutters, "Fucking animals." Dexter, come on. I know you weren't prepared for two, but them's the breaks buddy. They're both equally bad, they both have to go! "Incredible," Dex chimes in on the soundtrack. "They're an even better match than I thought. A true partnership."
Castillo's in plastic wrap, just now waking up to see his wife in the same predicament across from him. Ooh, boy, I live for these scenes. "I very rarely deviate from a plan," Dexter tells the pair as he begins cutting their faces. "I just didn't have the heart to split up such a perfect couple. You two have quite a lucrative operation going. You're a really good team ." Dex takes their blood samples. "It's clever, too: no one questions another drowned Cuban man. Or woman. Or child . So which one of you thought this up?" He takes out Valerie's gag, and she instantly starts spouting justifications: "They get freedom! We free them! They thank us, for God's sake!" Dexter: "For drowning them and dumping their bodies in the ocean? Please." She offers to pay him, and as he grabs his power saw, he replies, "Money? That's what it's all about, right?" Once they see the saw, Jorge and Valerie begin trading desperate "I love you"s and "I love you so much"es, and Dexter is rapt with curiosity. Instead of getting to work, he sits down between them again. "I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me honestly. No more bullshit, do you understand?" They both silently agree. "How long have you been married?" "Twelve years," Valerie blurts out. "How do you love each other? You're like me, but you make it work. How?" Their responses are instantaneous and identical, as if their lives depend on them (and at this point, they may actually think they do): "We want the same things." "The same life." Calmly, Dexter says, "You share the same dreams." "Yes!" "Yes, that's it!" They're both almost smiling, as though they've made a connection with Dexter and may get off scot-free. "That's, uh...helpful. Thank you," says Dex, and stuffs their gags back into their mouths, ready to get back to work. That was a pretty incredible scene, perhaps my favorite in the whole series so far, to be honest. I love how Dexter earnestly seeks the advice of "people like him," especially at a time he knows they won't feed him a line of bullshit. Plus, it was a very funny scene, despite (or perhaps because of) how heavy it was at the same time. Great acting by all involved.
Back at The Salsa Room (I can't believe they couldn't think of a better name), the trumpets are blaring, but Angel is quiet as he sips his rum and Coke. The music plays on as we visit Tucci at the hospital, where Deb is ushering in Shanda, her "street friend." Once inside, Shanda gives Tucci a once-over, and turns back to Deb, giving her a nod that tells her it's cool to shut the door, which she does. Shanda crawls gingerly on top of Tucci, and proceeds to give him the kind of loving he earlier figured he was no longer eligible for. As she guides his hand up to cup her breast, the look of mixed relief and silent appreciation on his face is enough to give this calloused recapper a misty eye. Deb, out in the hall, looks happy with herself (as well she should, in my opinion), and across the hall she catches the eye of Rudy, the doctor from before. He gives her a knowing smile, and walks on. Deb, clearly attracted to this guy, smiles to herself even after he's gone. I think there's something goin' on there, you guys! Eh? Eh ? Good for Deb. She needs a good man, and he seems like one. He is a doctor, after all.
At the junkyard, Dex is filling his trunk with the remains of his evening's work, VOing, "I like doing things properly, but I'm out of time, and I still need to dispose of them." He brings out Valerie's body, still very much intact, in a garbage bag. "Valerie got short shrift, but all in all it was a very good night." He slams the trunk, gets into the car, and starts her up. As he passes the body of an '83 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel, the camera zooms in on the hole where the trunk lock should be, and we see an eye peering out. Now, that can't be good!
No matter. Dexter's now at the holding bay, unlocking the doors. He scrams before any of the Cubans who emerge can see his face, but he's done the right thing, that much is certain.
Out on the Slice of Life, Dexter's returned to his favorite spot on the ocean. "I like this place." Then, looking at the tracking device on his dash: "A lot of memories are buried down there." He begins dumping last night's kill overboard. "Deviating from the plan may have been ill-advised, but sometimes you just have to take a risk." Back at his apartment, putting his two new slides in their new homes: "After all, isn't that what relationships are all about?"
Dexter and Rita eat dinner silently in candlelight. It seems like they've been silent for the majority of their evening. "Do you have a dream?" asks Dexter. "For your life? Your...future, I guess?" "Of course," she responds. "Do you?" "Might sound weird. I just want to kill people, is that so wrong ?" Okay, he doesn't say that, duh. "I want to someday be content. Just feel...comfortable, like everyone else. I want..." "...a normal life," Rita finishes for him, and smiles. The music in the score tells me she got it right, as does the smirk slowly crawling up Dex's lips. "Yeah, a normal life." "That's all I want. Just that," Rita says. "No fame? No fortune? Excitement at every turn?" Dexter continues. Rita's had enough excitement. "I'll take boring." "Average." "Ordinary." They both seem happy to be on the same page, and I'm happy for them.
Great episode this week! I'm definitely feeling good about who ended up on the other side of Dexter's scalpel. I might even go so far as to say that these two were the most deserving we've seen so far. "Might," I said. Don't send me any emails. Also, good on Deb for her Ice Truck Killer progress, as well as for being sympathetic to Tucci and helping to get his confidence back up.