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Description[]
When a homely 33-year-old woman was gunned down in an alley in 1989, her death was shrouded in mystery. With no suspect, no clues and no ideas, the police had to let the case go cold, leaving a violent killer walking the streets.
But now, almost 20 years later, the case is reopened when a tape of the victim, made for a dating service, is found after a man’s suicide. The man was watching the tape when he killed himself, but his involvement with the woman remains unclear. Could he be her killer?
Synopsis[]
January 5, 1989 Martha Puck is preparing her recording session for a dating service, Love Junction. She gives her about me/what I want details. She daydreams of love. After the session, a female staff member let her know that men go through every recording of promising women and if anyone shows interest, they will let her know. Forward to Martha's body, in the same coat she wore to the interview, face down on the pavement. The case remains unsolved for 18 years.
Present, Stillman, Valens and Rush are at Ramon Delgado's apartment where he is found dead in his couch revealing that he committed suicide. He is a known con artist. He died while watching Martha's recording video session about the dating services. The detectives investigate the connection between him and Martha at that time and what is the relationship between them. Jeffries, Miller and Rush discuss the case. Martha had been an orphan, making the case go cold fast. Valens and Vera discuss Vera's new apartment after his marriage split. They speak to Stephanie Levine, Martha's old roommate. They show a picture of Ramon. She recognizes him from the dating tapes. She says Martha was always reading romance novels.
Flashback Martha and Stephanie are checking the message feedback at the dating site. Martha's only message is from Ramon. He likes that Martha doesn't seem stuck up. He suggests meeting in person. Stephanie huffs and shows jealousy. Martha is enthused, then doubts herself some.
Present She was trying to protect Martha from scumbags. She never did see Ramon again. But she is still holding a box of Martha's things that she'd like to be rid of. She makes a snarky remark and they leave. Vera thinks Ramon was phony because of Martha's appearance. They find her diary amongst her personal items, along with a dried flower.
Flashback Martha waits for Ramon with the flower behind her ear. She looks to her right and sees him there. He sits down at her table. Martha can't stop smiling. He asks her about cheesesteak. She's not like the other girls, and that's what he likes about her. He opens up about his parent's deaths when he was 10. She relates about her mother's death. He reaches across the table, grabs the flower, and puts it behind his ear.
Present Vera is cold about the situation. Rush reveals they slept together, it was in her diary. She notices that there are entries missing from her diary. Stillman and Rush meet Jeffries at a storage unit. It's one Delgado had since 1980. There are numerous women's pictures on a collage wall. They find 19 video dating tapes. He was targeting the women. They find 5 of the women on the tapes are dead. He wasn't only a con-artist, but a serial killer as well.
Vera is awoken to someone playing basketball outside his new apartment. He goes out to speak to the kid, Andre. It's 6 am! The kid continues to play. Vera takes the ball and launches it. Ramon was a client at 5 different dating sites. They can only find one crack-head witness to the first woman's murder.
They track down Eugenia, one of the women on the dating tapes. Rush and Miller go to speak to her. They learn that she invested her savings with Ramon. She staked out his place after he ripped her off. She found that he was seeing someone else, Martha.
Flashback Eugenia finds her at the supermarket with Stephanie and warns her of what Ramon did. Martha refuses to hear the warnings. She walks away, but hears a familiar line Ramon used out of Eugenia's mouth. It gives her pause to listen. She rushes to head home.
Present They know Stephanie lied to them. Maybe she fell for him as well? Valens questions Stephanie. She only dates men with money. She can't let them know she roomed with a thief, and she means Martha.
Flashback They rush home from the supermarket to find Ramon stealing from their apartment. Martha dismisses Stephanie and calls out Ramon. Stephanie listens from another room. Ramon tells her there's no proof, so no use calling the cops. He goes to leave but Martha stops him. She can't get over him. He says he's gone, he's got what he needed. But Martha, desperate, says he can get more...from the girls. He stops to listen. Martha suggests marrying those girls. That's all they want...love. Desperate women have secret stashes. Martha suggests killing the women off so they can keep what they stole.
Present Stephanie doesn't believe Martha was serious. They realize Martha wasn't a victim, she was an accomplice. Miller states they are solving a murderer's murder. They find they all spent primping money the day they died. Vera and Valens go to the quickie chapel. The man there, at first, mistakes them for a couple looking to get married. They show Ramon's picture. He remembers him and two of the women, Bula and Serena. Serena (Martha) passed herself off as Ramon's sister.
Flashback They are waiting for Bula. It's been 40 minutes. Martha tells the tale she used to lure Bula to marriage. Bula finally arrives. Valens grabs bubbles from a fish bowl at the chapel. He remembers the crack-head witness remembered bells and bubbles. Jeffries and Rush look for Terry, the witness. They question her about the hit-and-run she witnessed.
Flashback Ramon leads Bula out of the van. Martha is along with them. They lead her to a garage that they put their down payment on. Ramon tells Bula to close her eyes and envision the home this garage could be. Martha sneaks back to the van and runs Bula down. Terry witnesses the whole thing from a car. Ramon tells Martha how wonderfully she did.
Present Terry says Martha was shaking, but took Bula out. She's sure it was not a drug-induced vision. Vera finds out Serena had taken out a life insurance policy on one Ramon Delgado. She was trying to scam the scammer. They find she used her alias for credit cards and a safe deposit box.
Flashback Martha reads an inscription on a pocket watch they stole. She doesn't think this life is for her anymore. Ramon reassures her, they're Bonnie and Clyde. She says she no longer likes herself. Ramon suggests they get married. He wants Martha. He proposes.
Present In her writings, Martha wrote that Ramon only wanted to marry a woman when he wanted to rid of a woman. They find the credit card of one of the women was used a week after her death. One of the charges was a soccer camp. Stillman remembers Eugenia had wanted to send her son to soccer camp before Ramon cleaned her out.
Valens and Rush speak to Eugenia. She admits to being disappointed in Martha. She denies being a killer. Rush feels she still loves Ramon. They don't understand the hurt she feels. Valens tells Eugenia that Martha was planning to kill Ramon. And Eugenia found out. Eugenia said she'd be his new Bonnie. Valens tells her that Ramon was watching Martha's tape when he ended his life. Martha had called Eugenia and laid out her plan.
Flashback They meet up in an alley. Martha admits that she and Ramon have done terrible things. She tells Eugenia she plans to kill him. She shows a gun. Eugenia asks to touch the gun. Martha tells her she took out life insurance on Ramon, and left money to Eugenia and her son. She asks if Ramon ever told Martha she had beautiful hair? He told her that. She continues holding the gun and gets increasingly mad, ranting about love. Martha tells her not to give up on love. But she aims the gun at Martha. Martha runs, Eugenia shoots her in the back.
Present Valens arrests Eugenia. Jeffries files away closed boxes of the other victims. Vera carries Bula's closed box, reading one of the romance novels. He sees Bula in her wedding dress. Stillman sees Ramon's ghost in the storage unit. Stephanie admires herself in the mirror, seeing the ghost of a younger her. Terry gets married in the chapel. Nick doesn't bitch about Andre playing basketball. Lilly sees Martha's ghost reading a romance novel on a bench.
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[]
- Emily Nelson as Martha Puck
- Bruno Campos as Ramon Delgado
- Cindy Ambuehl as Stephanie Levine (2006)
- Mary-Pat Green as Eugenia Karpathian
- Oren Williams as Andre Halstead
Co-Starring[]
- Mark Beltzman as Reverend Love (2006)
- Ralph Cole Jr. as Cherry LeSure (2006)
- Jennifer Manley as Buella Stiffler (1989)
- Jermaine Cheeseborough as Cherry LeSure (1989)
- Richard Harter as Reverend Love (1989)
- Cristina Wichtrich as Stephanie Levine (1989)
- Sarah Christine Smith as Camera Girl (1989)
- unknown actress as Anastasia Feralli
- unknown actress as Petunia Marshall
- unknown actress as Doris Duncan
- unknown actress as Lorraine Johnson
Notes[]
- This episode is based on the "Lonely Hearts Killers" Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck.
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 |
