Life: What They Saw (Episode 104)

Charlie is fast sleep on the floor of his still-unfurnished house when two giggling girls, the same two bimbos Charlie picked up on the bus in episode 102, creep around him, collecting their clothes and other belongings. One is trying to pry a shoe out of Charlie's hand when Constance walks in. Charlie wakes up and blearily looks up at Constance, who explains with an exasperated laugh that the door was unlocked. Later, after the girls are gone, Constance gives Charlie grief about leaving his door unlocked, then said she did as he asked and got Rachel Seybolt's file unlocked. However, the file was empty and she insists it's probably just a screw up by Family Services, not a conspiracy, and wants to know why Charlie is interested. He thinks he can help Rachel, considering they were both victims of what happened to her family. Upstairs, the girls giggle and Constance thinks Charlie shouldn't be living on "cupcakes." Charlie replies that he didn't think he'd be living at all.

The next scene opens with a gorgeous shot of Charlie standing on the edge of a cliff, the lights of LA twinkling below him, then the camera pans around to show that he's standing in front of a large house that's crawling with cops. He looks back at the house, where the floor to ceiling windows are covered in a liberal and unappetizing spray of blood, then turns back around and peers down the cliffside. Dani arrives and she's given the details of the case: the victim is a male, dead from a bullet to the chest. The gun is missing and there are signs of forced entry. Nearby, the defensive security guard, handing over his gun to a cop, explains he didn't respond to the alarm going off because he gets a lot of false alarms. Dani loudly asks if anyone has seen Charlie.

Charlie is galumphing down the cliffside, actually acting like a cop for once with his flashlight and gun drawn. He walks through a vagrant's campsite and continues on through the woods, until he hears a noise from above. He looks up and there's a scruffy-looking dude, played by William Sanderson, aka Larry from Newhart ("Hi, my name is Larry, this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl.") hiding in a tree. Charlie orders him to show his hands and Larry chucks a toaster at Charlie's head, followed by a plastic bottle. Annoyed, Charlie tells Larry to come down but Larry just crawls up to a higher branch, so Charlie holsters his gun and leaps at the tree like he's a flying squirrel. He grabs Larry and they tumble to the ground.

Inside the house, Dani has learned that the victim, Len Sands, was married to his partner, James, but his wedding ring is missing. After smacking down a homophobic cop, Dani talks to a sobbing James but he's too incoherent to give her any useful information. She gets word of where Charlie is and heads into the woods, where Charlie cuffing Larry. When hearing that Larry threw stuff at Charlie, Dani throws Larry against a tree and searches him roughly, saying she's not as enlightened as her partner. She finds Len's wedding ring and arrests Larry for murder. As Larry is being led away, Charlie is delighted that Dani called him her partner, although she tries to deny it. Hee.

Interrogation. Dani suggests that Larry got drunk and just intended to rob Len, but something went wrong. Larry just stares at her and she says she's trying to help him, because if he goes down for murder with intent he'll get the death penalty. "Baking powder!" Larry yells. Dani and Charlie are both, "Bzuh?" and Larry explains, still loudly, that he noticed Charlie scratching and that baking powder will ease the itching from the poison ivy he ran through in the woods. He says he wants to get out of there because he doesn't like being inside. Charlie understands, asking Larry if he feels like he can't breathe inside. Dani asks him why he's shouting and Larry admits he doesn't talk to many people so his voice sounds weird to him. Charlie also understands this and asks Larry for his name. Sadly, it's not Larry. He introduces himself as "Holt Easley, and I'm 61 years old." Dani asks if he's been arrested before and he says he has, but not for murder. Easley says he lives in the woods but he's never been in Len' house and he found the ring. Charlie wants to know what Easley was running from and Easley asks if he can go or get a drink if he says. Dani says no to both, and tells him that if he confesses he won't get charged with murder one or assaulting Charlie. "Or stealing Officer Reese's pen," Charlie adds. Dani looks shocked and Easley looks chagrined, then he pulls a pen out of pants and pushes it across the table to Dani, who looks revolted. Hee. Easley admits he saw James, Len's partner, shoot Len and throw the ring in the woods.

Out in the bullpen, Dani gives Charlie her pen and says that anything that goes down Easley's pants, Charlie can keep. And then she sniffs her fingers. Hee! Charlie asks what she thinks and Dani is convinced Easley is lying and probably guilty. Charlie doesn't dispute that Easley is hiding something but thinks a little respect will get him to open up. Dani smirks and says Charlie is being played, revealing probably more than she intends when she says a drunk will tell anyone what they want to hear.

Documentary: Constance tells the interviewer that she worked on Charlie's case for four years and it was a worthwhile commitment. She's asked if she needs someone else to save now that Charlie is free and, looking uncomfortable, she says it's not about what she needs.

Charlie visits Constance's office and is surprised to see someone else waiting to see her. The guy recognizes Charlie and introduces himself as Neil Cudahy, saying Constance is representing him pro bono. Charlie is clearly displeased but before Charlie can say or do anything, Constance walks in and asks Charlie why he's there. He says they have an appointment but she reminds him that it's later in the day. He pulls out his Blackberry and throws it in the trash, saying he can't figure it out. Heh. He walks out into the hall and Constance follows, and he says he wants to talk to her about Cudahy but she says she can't talk about a client with him. She tells him to come back for his appointment and he leaves, albeit unhappily.

All of Easley's belongings have been brought into the station. He complains and Dani says he stole it all, but he retorts that he found everything, including her pen. He says rich people will throw out anything, except booze, and they will also hide a lot behind a happy facade. Dani asks if anyone can verify that he might have seen James kill Len and he says the security guard ran him off the property a few times. Unfortunately, the guard denies ever seeing a homeless man in the neighborhood. Charlie asks why he didn't respond to the house after the alarm went off and a neighbor heard screams, and the guard says it made him "kinda sick" to go near the house. You know, where a couple of them homosexuals lived. Dani glares at him like she wants to kick him in the crotch. Charlie and Dani walk away and Charlie thinks the guard is lying about seeing Easley. Since Easley said he saw James, they decide to go ask James if he ever saw Easley. They go back to Len's house and James identifies a lot of Easley's belongings as stuff he and Len threw out, but doesn't admit to having seen Easley. Charlie shows him the recovered wedding ring and James asks where the rest of the stolen stuff is. He explains that they were all items of sentimental value to Len, so whoever killed him must have known him very well. Next on Charlie and Dani's journey around the neighborhood is to talk to the neighbors who heard screams. Drew and Stephanie Borns say James and Len were a loving couple who never fought, and Stephanie nudges her husband to tell them his theory. Drew, who is played by John Livingston, brother to Ron, who co-starred with Damian Lewis in Band Of Brothers, says with a bit of embarrassment that the security guard was a known homophobe who said terrible things to and about Len and James. Stephanie pipes up that Drew thinks the guard killed Len and Drew heatedly responds that he didn't say that, and they start arguing. Charlie gives them his card and he and Dani hastily make their retreat.

In the car, Charlie and Dani are frustrated by the crazy rich people. Charlie's phone rings and it's Stephanie, who says she couldn't talk openly with her husband there. She says Drew killed Len and, later in a meeting, she says her husband is gay and was having an affair with Len. She thinks Len tried to break it off but Drew killed him, and she saw Drew leaving Len's house the night he died. She doesn't have any proof and admits she wouldn't testify against Drew because she still loves him, but she couldn't live with the secret anymore. Charlie is hoping they can solve this case quickly so Easley won't be booked and Dani asks why he cares. He says he likes Easley and that if he was a cowboy, Easley would be his goofy sidekick. "Kinda like how you're mine," Dani snarks. HEE.

They go back to talk to James, who doesn't want to believe that his partner and Drew were having an affair. But then he says Len and Drew were good friends and he always thought Drew was closeted, then admits an affair could've been possible. Outside, Dani tells Charlie they don't have enough evidence to charge either James or Drew. Charlie says they have Easley as a witness but Dani points out that a homeless alcoholic is not the best witness for a grand jury. Charlie thinks Easley won't last in jail but Dani says they have to book him or they have to let him go and risk him disappearing.

At the jail, Easley is being booked for transfer and he nervously tells Charlie that he's not going to last long. Charlie advises him to tell the guards he has Hepatitis C; that'll buy him some time in the medical unit while tests are run. Charlie begs Easley to tell him anything else he knows about the murder and Easley pitifully says he's told everything he knows, but when Charlie has him walk through the details he says James wore gloves, a detail about the case that Dani and Charlie hadn't revealed. A guard starts to lead Easley away and Charlie tells Dani that Easley's story matches with the coroner's report and she points out that could also be true if Easley is the killer. As Easley struggles with the guards and begs Charlie to help him, Charlie asks Dani if she really believes Easley shot Len. He marches over and tells the guards to let Easley go but they don't until Dani backs him up. Charlie leads a relieved Easley away as Dani lies to the confused guards that it was all a bluff to see if Easley stuck to his story.

In the car driving away from the jail, Easley pipes up from the backseat that he's hungry. Charlie agrees and he and Easley discuss whether they want burgers or tacos. Dani slams on the brakes and, going all frustrated soccer mom, tells Charlie and Easley that if they don't shut up, she's going to turn the car right around and take Easley back to jail. Hee! Dani sniffs and asks what smells. Easley, buckling his seatbelt, replies, "That's humanity, baby." Dani just sighs wearily and rolls down the window. Heh.

Charlie decides to bring Easley along with him to his appointment with Constance. He tells her that Easley is a much better choice of client, guilty or innocent, than Neil Cudahy. Charlie says he went through Cudahy's record and tells Constance he's not a good guy, but Constance insists on representing Cudahy. Easley uses the bathroom in Constance's office, making a huge racket, while Constance gives Charlie his bills and says she wishes he'd handle them instead of giving them to Ted. Charlie says Ted is good with money but Constance points out that Ted is good at stealing money. She hands over another envelope and says it's the liquor license from the bar he and Seybolt owned. Since he was acquited, he's entitled to have it back.

Meanwhile, Dani talks again to the security guard, who tells her he was fired because he didn't respond to the alarm. She asks him about Len's stolen items and he insists he never saw them, that he didn't like to go near "the gays" because he was worried about catching the gayitis. I would really like to wonder if people like this idiot exist in real life but, unfortunately, I know they do. Dani asks why he lied about knowing Easley was living in the woods and he said he kept it quiet because it looked bad to have a vagrant in such a wealthy neighborhood, but he doesn't care about anyone knowing now that he's fired.

At a taco stand, Ted advises Charlie that the liquor license is valuable and he should hold onto it. He barks at Easley, who's swiped Ted's taco while Ted was talking, then turns back to Charlie and says he would love to run a bar. Charlie points out that his last partner in a bar ended up dead and Ted asks what the odds of that happening twice are. Man's got a point, Charlie. Easley jumps in the conversation and says he heard Constance tell Charlie that Ted steals. Ted glares at Easley and stomps off.

Dani and Charlie have set Easley up in a motel and Dani is trying to get Easley to go through his story again, but he wants a drink and Charlie thinks they should let him sleep. Dani points out that the grand jury needs to believe Easley and she heads out to get him a drink, but Charlie is worried about a hangover. Dani asks Easley when his last hangover was and he responds, "1974." Heh. Dani tells Charlie that Easley's a functioning alcoholic and will do better with a bit of booze in his system. I know I always do! I mean, you know, theoretically. Dani gets a text message and tells Charlie that Drew Borns has come to the station without a lawyer. They take off, but not before handcuffing Easley to the bed.

Down at the station, Drew insists he didn't murder Len and can't believe his wife accused him of the crime. However, he can believe she thinks he's gay. He says Stephanie is sexually aggressive but he works a lot, so whenever he's tired and doesn't want to have sex, she accuses him of being gay. He tells Dani and Charlie that he's got nothing to hide and they can ask him anything, but repeats that he didn't kill Len. Dani and Charlie head back to the motel but the parking lot is swarming with firefighters. Dani is horrified that she left Easley cuffed to the bed but when they race across the lot, they find Easley sucking down some oxygen in an ambulance and he tells them he fell asleep smoking. He's also sucking down some booze and he confesses that while the firefighters were putting out the blaze and everyone was outside gawking, he walked over to the nearby liquor store and "found" a few bottles. Dani, irritated now that she sees Easley is fine, tells Charlie that Easley is now his responsibility.

The next day at the taco stand, Dani tells Charlie that James stands to inherit all of Len's wealth, giving him motive to commit murder. Drew is already wealthy, so there's no motive. Ted and Easley join them and, after a brief introduction between Dani and Ted, Ted starts to complain to Charlie that Easley keeps touching his stuff. Dani can't believe Charlie is letting Easley live in his house. She tells Charlie to take Easley home and get him cleaned up for the grand jury.

At Charlie's house, Ted delivers a hilariously inept powerpoint presentation on his ideas for Charlie's new bar. While Easley heckles him at every turn, what Ted presents sounds a lot like a trendier, more upscale version of Hooters. He suggests the names "Stir" (interestingly, a euphemism for prison, and Charlie raises his eyebrows at this) or "Shaken" but I think he should go with something like "Knockers." Later, Easley is looking out the window when Charlie joins him, and he tells Charlie that he should grow more trees. "Give you privacy. Nobody'll see you when you kill Ted." Hee.

The next morning, Easley's sporting one of Ted's suits when Charlie leads him into the courthouse, but he's nervous and fidgety and gets moreso when Charlie explains that he and Dani can't go into the courtroom with him. She grabs Easley's coffee and dumps it out, then refills it with booze from a flask. Easley takes a long drink and tells Charlie he's feeling better. Dani's phone rings and she listens briefly, then hangs up. She gives Easley a stony look and he and Charlie are baffled, until Dani says Easley's DNA was found all over Len's house. She tells Easley that he will be going to jail instead of testifying.

Charlie still believes Easley is innocent despite the DNA evidence. He and Dani go to talk to Easley in jail and Charlie gets him to admit that he broke into Len's house sometimes to get cleaned up in his bathroom. He says he could tell when nobody was home because the house had so many windows, but Charlie thinks Easley is still lying about something. He gets up to leave and Easley begs him not to, but Charlie tells him that he's not his friend and Easley is out of chances. Easley takes a deep breath and says he can prove James murdered Len, but they're going to need a shovel.

Later, Dani digs a hole in the woods behind Len's house while Charlie obnoxiously stands nearby watching. Hee. She's about to give up when the shovel hits something and she digs up a clay pig and underneath it, a pillow case filled with stuff. They empty it out and find all of the items James said were stolen, along with love letters from Drew Borns, and a gun. Later, Drew is in custody and he admits the letters were written by him but they were to his wife, although he can't prove that since he didn't address them. He also says his prints would be on Len's belongings because Len would show them off whenever Drew and Stephanie visited.

Dani and Charlie go out into the hallway and Charlie theorizes that James and Stephanie are setting Drew up for Len's murder. What they didn't count on was Easley finding the pillow case full of all of the damning evidence and burying it. Dani buys it but says they have no way to prove it since all of the evidence points to Drew. Charlie says they know that, but James and Stephanie don't know that. Dani doesn't follow him and asks if he has a plan, and Charlie says they should talk to James and Stephanie and "see if they embrace not knowing what they don't know." He walks off and Dani stares after him, completely confused.

Charlie is snacking on some grapes at his desk while James sits next to him, impatiently waiting for Charlie to get to why he called him down. Just then, Dani walks in with Stephanie and shows her to an interview room. Before she closes the door, and she Charlie covertly observe James and Stephanie eyeball each other. In the room, Dani tells Stephanie that James found the pillow case and is giving his statement to Charlie. Out at Charlie's desk, Charlie is telling the same thing about Stephanie to James. Dani tells Stephanie that James said she knows exactly what's in the bag and Stephanie starts to look squirrely. She gets even more nervous when Dani says that James accused her of shooting Len. Charlie is playing Dumb Cop and laboriously starts going through an inventory of the bag with James. He pronounces Lalique as "Lallykay" and snickers about a "first edition book on bondage" and James sneerily says it's a copy of Of Human Bondage. Dani explains to Stephanie the plan to frame Drew, and Stephanie asks why she would have motive to shoot Len, so Dani points out that she has motive to set up Drew, since she stands to get all of his money if she has grounds for a divorce and going to prison for murder is definitely a good reason. Dani adds that Stephanie had access to Drew's gun, so it makes sense that she killed Len. As James grows increasingly anxious, Charlie gets to the final item in the inventory, an automatic .40 caliber. "That a gun, James!" Charlie says cheerfully. Hee. In the interview room, Dani tells Stephanie that time is running out for her to talk and Stephanie finally admits that she took the gun and gave it to James, but she didn't kill Len. At his desk, Charlie notes that Dani's been talking to Stephanie a long time and asks James if he's noticed how high strung Stephanie is. On cue, Dani walks out with a cuffed Stephanie and James, seeing that everything is over, leaps up and yells at Stephanie for talking. Charlie quietly tells him that it was actually Easley burying the bag that ruined the plot.

Charlie and Dani walk a happy Easley out of jail. Charlie invites him to stay at his house and Easley says he might take him up on the offer. Dani adds that if he does, he'll be able to use the bathroom without committing a crime. Charlie puts his arm around Easley as they walk out the gates. Awwwww. I hope we see Easley again. I love that Charlie seems to collect misfits - Ted, Easley, even Dani.

Documentary: We see a repeat of the part where Ames insists Rachel Seybolt was not in the house the night her family was killed.

Ames' house. Charlie is relaxing in his chair when Ames lets himself in. He takes on look at Charlie and heads to the liquor cabinet. Charlie again confronts him about Rachel being in the house but Ames just takes a drink and says nothing. Charlie leaves and, sitting outside in his car, and he opens a folder. It's the file on Rachel Seybolt, lost from Family Services and "found" in Ames' house. But he's still hit a dead end; her current name and address are listed as unknown.

Constance is working in her office late at night when she hears a noise. She goes to investigate and is startled to see Charlie in the hallway. She asks why he's there and he says he needs to ask her to do something and she needs to just do it, no questions asked. She again asks him what he's doing there and he tells her that he needs her to drop Cudahy as a client. Frustrated, she asks what he means by him needing her to drop Cudahy. He turns it around and asks if she's trying to save Cudahy like she saved him. "'Cause he's not me, Connie." She knows he's asking more than for her to drop Cudahy and he tries to deflect, but she tells him not to back away when he started it. He repeats that he wants her to drop Cudahy and she says he doesn't have that right, unless he wants that right. She moves close to him and says she didn't even know she was looking for him, but now that she's found him she can't have him. "You're married," he says. She tells him that she thinks about him when she's with her husband. "I need you to be all the way in," she tells him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And if you can't be all the way in, I need you all the way out." With a great deal of longing and regret, Charlie tells her that he can't do this and she smiles gently, because she knew that's what he would say. She walks away and tells him, not unkindly, that he's still in prison and he needs to find another lawyer to get him out.

Charlie is sitting on a lawn chair in the middle of his dirty but empty house when Ted walks in and says Easley was by earlier, but took off already. Charlie, with some surprise, says he thought figuring out the truth would set Easley free. "When has that ever worked?" Ted responds with more wisdom than he usually displays. Up in his crime scene room, Charlie goes through Rachel Seybolt's file. He sees on her psychiatric evaluations that each time she's refused to speak. He goes through her art therapy drawings, where she's drawn the murders of her family, and in several there is a menacing man with dark, heavy eyebrows and a goatee holding a bloody knife. Charlie realizes that Rachel wasn't just there, she also saw the murderer.