Description[]
The discovery of a prosthetic arm in the river leads the detectives to look into the case of a woman in the National Guard who went missing shortly after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, where she lost an arm. Detectives learn she had trouble fitting back into civilian life and was haunted by memories of her time "over there." Meanwhile, Scotty lets his brother Mike know the man who was Mike's boxing coach as a boy was being charged with molesting a boy.
Synopsis[]
February 21, 2004 A group of women are at a baby shower. A man walks in, holding a deployment letter in his hand. Dana's set to go in three weeks. She asks who will take care of Lindsay, her daughter. Her husband, Geoff, says he will. Flashforward to Dana's body sitting at the bottom of a river. A missing poster with her face is put into a box.
Present Rush and Miller are at the scene. Miller's daughter Veronica is in the car. Stillman tells them they found Dana's prosthetic arm on a troll of the river. Divers haven't found the rest of her body.
Vera and Rush are discussing the case. They meet up with Jeffries. They learn Dana had joined the Guard to pay for cooking school. Valens goes to his brother's house. He's greeted by his nephew. Valens asks his brother Mike if they could take a walk, to discuss the Coach Fitzpatrick case. He lets Mike know he's on the witness list. Mike denies knowing anything.
Miller and Jeffries talk to Geoff. He says his wife never took off her prosthetic arm. But she was different when she returned. He admits he became a widower the night she walked out that door. Geoff says Dana used to go on long walks alone. Jeffries asked if she ever showed signs of being suicidal.
Flashback Geoff and Lindsay visit Dana at the hospital. She is talking to a fellow soldier, Tommy, who lost his leg. Lindsay notices her mother's arm. Dana reassures her it's okay. Geoff looks uncomfortable around the injured soldiers.
Present He admits he has trouble seeing his wife like that. Geoff says Tommy became Dana's new best friend, he was the soldier she had saved. Miller and Rush speak to Tommy. He says he and Dana talked about the war, rehab, Frank; a friend of theirs who had died in the attack. Tommy says they both related to being looked at as a freak.
Flashback Dana is haunted by her past. She's holding a tray of cupcakes at a holiday party. Frank's widow Brenda is upset at Dana for not attending his memorial. She's angry with Dana and Tommy being alive while her child is fatherless.
Present Valens asks why Brenda's anger was directed at Dana? Tommy reveals Dana was the driver of the vehicle when Frank died.
Rush and Joseph are arguing. Rush tells him about her father abandoning them when she was six. Joseph assures her that he has no plans on leaving. Brenda shows up at the station. They inform her they found Dana's arm. Brenda admits to grieving hard, but not wanting to kill anyone. She apologized to Dana.
Flashback Dana is driving Lindsay to gymnastics. Brenda is in the passenger seat. She says she quit drinking and is in grief counseling now. She asks if Dana has considered it. Brenda wants more details on the attack. Dana tells her that Frank was the lookout. Just then, a man walks in the road. Dana lays on the horn and jumps out of the vehicle to accost him. She forgets that's not appropriate action for home.
Present Stillman notes it's classic PTSD. Rush and Jeffries go to speak to Lindsay. They know sometimes her mom would get mad.
Flashback Dana and Tommy are at an event for war heroes at Lindsay's school. Dana hands Tommy a medal from her uniform. She is called up to speak. Dana talks about her injury and her confused feelings on the war. A boy stands up and asks if she wasted anyone. Dana says no, but brings up Frank's death. She gets upset and walks off the stage. A man behind her, in uniform, berates her. He's going back for his second tour in a week and feels her words will scare his kid. He demeans Dana for being a woman in the services. He whispers to her that someone should teach her a lesson and leaves with his daughter.
Present Lindsay says the man was Penny Kozlowski's father, Charles. She feels that her mom may have left because of her, because she thought Dana's prosthetic arm was scary. Vera and Miller go to speak to Charles. He continues to rant about Dana. Miller gives his wife, Tara, gardening tips, then asks if she has any tips for her. Tara admits to knowing of Dana, mainly because of Geoff.
Flashback Geoff and Tara are at a counseling session for military spouses. She sees Paula take Geoff's hand, in a flirty way.
Present Tara says lots of military spouses had Jodis, someone to keep you company while the spouse is away. Rush and Valens speak to Paula. She admits Jeff and her had a thing. And that Geoff and Dana were not having relations, so the affair continued.
Flashback Dana walks in to find Paula and Geoff in bed together. She threatens to take Lindsay and leave.
Present Paula says once Dana found out, they were over. They dismiss Paula after she admits to having a new Jodi. Vera and Valens question Geoff. He forgot to mention his affair. Geoff explains once Dana found out, she actually opened up about her experience.
Flashback Geoff is packed up to leave. He and Dana try to figure out what went wrong. Geoff asks for the details. Dana believes she doesn't deserve the ribbon of valor she has. Frank's death was her fault. There was a child in the road on their way back. She knew you were supposed to keep driving even if it meant running over an Iraqi, but Dana saw her daughter in the girl. That's why she stopped, that's why Frank died. The ribbon is keeping her prisoner to her past. They embrace and Dana leaves to say goodbye to Frank.
Present Geoff waited for her to return for a fresh start, but she never came.
Rush and Jeffries speak to Tommy. They knew Dana was going to say goodbye to Frank, and she had to do that with the ribbon she had given Tommy to hold. Tommy laments that they understood each other.
Flashback Tommy meets Dana at the river. She asks for the ribbon and says they're going to move on from here. Dana throws the ribbon into the river and grabs Tommy's hand. He mistakes this for her wanting to move on with him. Dana denies him and tells him she wants to work on her marriage. Tommy reminds her that Geoff cheated on her. She knows, but wants to go forward with him. In anger, Tommy pushes Dana over the bridge, causing her to fall to her death.
Present Jeffries walks Tommy out in handcuffs. Divers find Dana's body and the pin. Vera puts her closed case box away. Paula watches war coverage on the TV. Little kids pretend to box while Valens looks on. Dana is laid to rest. During the procession, Geoff is given the American flag and Lindsay is given Dana's ribbon of valor. She salutes her mother's casket. Rush and Stillman "see" Dana salute back.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Nestor Carbonell as Mike Valens
- Lesley Fera as Dana Taylor
- Tim DeKay as Geoff Taylor
- Kristin Bauer as Paula
- Brian Gross as Tommy Kelly
- Katherine Narducci as Brenda
- Camillia Sanes as Alegria Valens
- Michael Wiseman as Charles Kozlowski
And[]
Co-Starring[]
- Gigi Goff as Lindsey Taylor (2004)
- Lily Goff as Lindsey Taylor (2006)
- Malik Kirkwood as Boy
- Aramis Knight as Emilio Valens
- Saundra McClain as Female Principal
- Bitsie Tulloch as Tara Kozlowski
- Unknown child actress as Penny Kozlowski
Notes[]
- This episode has some similarities with the third season episode "Honor".
- The victims are war veterans who suffer from a disability in their arms and want to forget their past.
- Both victims had a close friend killed in war and feel responsible for it.
- At the end, the victims appear in their uniforms and are saluted.
- Vera mentions "that girl in Iraq, had that guy on a leash", referring to Lynndie England, the female army reservist made infamous by the image of her holding a prisoner by a leash around his neck during the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004.
- Jeffries, considering the possibility that Dana was killed by her husband, suggests Geoff might have "pulled a Scott Peterson", in reference to Scott Peterson, who was convicted in 2004 for the 2002 murder of his pregnant wife Laci. A TV movie shot and released while the case played out featured Cold Case actors Sarah Brown and Tracy Middendorf.
Music[]
Opening Song[]
Alongside Songs[]
Closing Song[]
| Season 4 Episodes |
| Rampage | The War at Home | Sandhogs | Baby Blues | Saving Sammy | Static | The Key | Fireflies | Lonely Hearts | Forever Blue | The Red and the Blue | Knuckle Up | Blackout | 8:03 AM | Blood on the Tracks | The Good-Bye Room | Shuffle, Ball Change | A Dollar, A Dream | Offender | Stand Up and Holler | Torn | Cargo | The Good Death | Stalker |
