Two men are playing dominoes in the back of a mom-and-pop shop on Calle Ocho in Miami's Little Havana. One of the men, Ruiz, teases his opponent, Frega, in Spanish, telling him that the chicken in the cage behind the table could play faster. Frega glares at the cage and then opens it, releasing the chicken as it dashes for freedom. Amused patrons in the store start chasing the chicken outside of the door and around the back of the store.
Two men find a body.
The chicken stops in front of a dumpster and the laughter turns to shock as the group finds a woman lying dead next to the trash. A horrified Ruiz steps forward and tells the others to call Eduardo.
Meanwhile, Jim Longworth drives Callie back from a Home Depot trip that turned into a play date. Callie looks at a new kitchen faucet that's still in the box and asks Longworth if he actually knows how to change it. He smiles and tells her that the year before he entered the Academy he trained as a plumber's assistant. They flirt all the way to Callie's house, where, in the driveway, Longworth leans in for a kiss before he sees a woman in a shirt and slacks and a .38 holster on her hip. She's from the Department of Corrections (DOC). Callie quickly gets out of the car and approaches Sonja Stevens, her husband's parole officer, who is there to make sure the Callie's house is compliant for Ray's upcoming release. Sonja watches Longworth drive off and notices the FDLE on the side. Callie lies and tells her he's just a friend there to help with the plumbing. Sonja nods, in slight disbelief.
Longworth, Manus, and Carlos stand over the body of the young victim. Behind them, uniforms hold back a nervous neighborhood crowd. Carlos looks at Longworth, and Manus and tells them the victim was 25 and was shot twice in the back of the head. But the lack of presence of grey matter indicated that she was shot somewhere else and dumped there. Longworth throws a thumb back to the uneasy crowd and assumes that this was a hit, most likely related to the Cuban mob because nobody is brave enough to actually come forward with an ID. Just then, Rafael Dominguez steps forward. He tells the cops to cover her up and show some respect. Before Rafael can identify her, Eduardo Garcia steps forward, his eyes filled with pain, and tells them her name is Olivia and she was his niece.
Longworth sits with a grief-stricken Eduardo as Rafael and Ruiz watch, barely containing their anger. Eduardo tells Longworth that Olivia was his brother Miguel's only child. Her mother died of cancer when she was two and his brother has been missing for 10 years and presumed dead. Olivia was a Columbia Law graduate and was clerking for a judge in Manhattan. Eduardo tells Longworth that he last talked to Olivia on Friday, who told him that she was working (and obviously lied). Rafael interrupts them and says they already know who did this and they're wasting time. Longworth looks at Rafael and Eduardo and tells them that they would be really smart to let him handle the case instead of retaliating against who they think killed her.
Longworth stands with Manus and Carlos back at the alley where Olivia's body was found. Carlos quietly tells them that this was clearly family business and that Saldivar, Eduardo's rival boss, was probably involved.
Back at Longworth's office, Carlos walks Longworth through a large organizational chart of the Garcia and Saldivar families, complete with photos and rank. He points to Miguel Garcia, Eduardo's brother, on the chart and says there's a widely held theory that Saldivar killed Miguel on the way to a summit 10 years ago, but since Miguel's body was never found, Saldivar has never been prosecuted. Eduardo took over and started a war with the Saldivars to avenge his brother's death. Five years ago, they declared a truce, but despite the peace, there's still been bad blood between them ever since the Mariel boatlift in 1980.
Longworth and Manus walk down the hallway of an upscale hotel and spa as Longworth reads Olivia's credit card statements aloud. According to her past charges, Olivia went there one weekend a month for the last year. They find Olivia's room with the door slightly ajar. They pull their guns and enter the room, where they are surprised to find Tim Ballad, the ambitious head of FDLE's Organized Crime Unit. Ballard can't hide his contempt for Manus. The feeling's mutual. Manus asks what he's doing there and Ballard tells her that a mob daughter got whacked, so that makes it his crime scene. Longworth surveys the room and notices it isn't much of a crime scene. On the table sits what looks like the remains of a romantic dinner: two plates of food, untouched, an empty bottle of champagne, and only one dirty glass. Manus shows Ballard the door and tells him to send over any and all files he has on Olivia. Ballard reluctantly agrees and leaves.
As the two enter the bedroom, Manus tells Longworth how Ballard once worked for the bomb squad and got his partner blown up. Even so, he was made Chief of the Tallahassee Organized Crime Unit. Longworth then picks up a pink satin dress on the bed, surrounded by rose petals. He looks at Manus and says maybe Olivia's murder was not a mob-related crime after all.
Longworth walks towards Eduardo's house and is stopped by Ruiz, who pats him down at the front door. Rafael comes over and stands in front of Longworth, telling him that Eduardo isn't taking visitors. Longworth tells him that if he has to get a warrant, he's coming back with a dozen other officers. Rafael relents, steps aside and tells Longworth Eduardo is upstairs.
Jim and Eduardo Garcia.
Eduardo sits in a pink room, preserved like a museum of Olivia's childhood. Eduardo sits at a desk, looking at a sterling silver charm bracelet. Longworth notices a Certificate of Honor pinned to a bulletin board from Millhaven Academy in Connecticut, where Olivia went to boarding school starting at the age of 15. Eduardo, with pain in his eyes, says that Olivia was beautiful young woman with a bright future. He wanted to best for her. Longworth hands Eduardo the credit card statements and tells him that Olivia had been coming to Florida once a month for the past year in secrecy. Eduardo, shocked and in disbelief, denies it and tells Longworth that every time she came down, she stayed in her old room. Eduardo stares at the statements, jaw clinched, when suddenly there's shouting outside.
Garcia and Longworth rush out to find Garcia's soldiers beating up a Saldivar soldier, who had the misfortune to deliver a bouquet of flowers out of condolence for Olivia's death. Eduardo pulls his guys off Salvidar's man. Eduardo turns to Longworth and tells him that this isn't his business. Eduardo and Longworth hold each other's glance. Longworth isn't going away. Eduardo heads inside and tells Longworth that he has three days - until Olivia's funeral - to bring her justice. Longworth takes this as a harbinger of what may come.
At the lab, Carlos goes over the autopsy report as Longworth eats eggs out of a container. Carlos points out that Olivia had a blown pupil, which signals traumatic brain injury. Not only was she shot in the head, but also suffered a blow. Carlos suggests somebody may have smashed her skull and then popped her to make it look like a mob hit. Longworth counters that maybe somebody popped her and then smashed her skull to make it look like it wasn't a mob hit.
Daniel then hands Longworth a folder, telling him that according to Olivia's phone records, she called the same number nine times the night she died. The number linked to a pre-paid cell that was bought with a stolen credit card.
Longworth stands across from Jonathan Foster, a lawyer at the Calle Ocho Legal Clinic. Foster tells Longworth that Olivia did some pro bono work for him a few years ago. She was a passionate person and a good lawyer. He says that she was serious with a local guy, but she never told him who it was. Longworth looks down on Foster's desk and notices a pack of Saldivar matches. Foster continues and tells Longworth that Olivia was obsessed with finding the truth about her father's death and she got a new lead about it. That's why she was going to meet Saldivar.
Foster, late for court, says he has to leave and asks Longworth if he is going to arrest him. Longworth says no, but maybe later. Longworth leaves the room and meets up with Carlos and Daniel. Daniel hands Longworth Olivia's phone. The number she called often is listed as "Quero" which, Carlos assumes, is probably a nickname. Longworth asks Daniel to call Olivia's landlord and her local precinct in New York to find out if she ever reported a stalker.
Longworth and Carlos stand at a modest storefront off Calle Ocho with a sign - Miembros Solomente, or "Members Only." Longworth starts to heads in, but Carlos stops him, telling him that Saldivar means business. Longworth heads in while Carlos hangs back and looks around nervously.
Longworth enters the smoke filled club, filled with Saldivar's men, smoking Cohibas. Saldivar sits at a private table, reading the paper, behind him a shrine of Little League baseball trophies. Longworth pulls up a chair and starts talking to Saldivar, who remains silent. Saldivar takes an unlit, half-smoked cigar from its perch, strikes a wooden match, his silence communicating volumes. His soldiers surround Longworth, while another pulls the drapes closed, preventing Carlos from seeing what's going on inside. Longworth continues questioning a silent Saldivar. Carlos finally enters and, in Spanish, apologizes on behalf of Longworth. The door opens and Carlos and Longworth quickly head outside.
Jeff comes home from school and drops his backpack on the kitchen floor. He opens the fridge to grab a drink and turns around to find his dad, Ray, sitting at the dining room table. Surprised, Jeff races towards his father and they embrace as Callie enters. She smiles and trades a bittersweet look with Ray. Ray tells Jeff that he has to spend three months in a halfway house, but he's home for good and they can spend as much time together as they want. He tells him to change out of his school clothes because he's bringing him to the batting cages. An excited Jeff runs upstairs and Callie and Ray trade a slightly somber look. Ray tells Callie he isn't happy about the situation - she's already told him she wants a divorce. Ray asks for three months to get a job and prove himself, but Callie tells him that she doesn't want to give him any false hope.
Longworth walks into his empty house, a familiar routine. He plays his answering machine and heads off to the bedroom, revealing through the window behind him that an uninvited guest is smoking a cigar on the deck, watching him. The shower turns on and suddenly a gun appears at the smoker's head. Longworth stands behind Saldivar, who tells him that he's alone and unarmed. Saldivar said he couldn't talk in front of his men. He continues and says he doesn't want war and that he didn't kill Olivia Garcia or her father, Miguel. Longworth lowers his gun and Saldivar tells him that Olivia came to him the night she died, drunk and begging him to tell her where her father was buried. He told her that he met Miguel in Ybor City the night he disappeared. Miguel left early to buy Olivia a charm for her bracelet. Saldivar looks at Longworth and tells him that if he wants to find out what happened to Miguel, he should talk to Eduardo. He also says that if a drop of his family's blood is spilled, he will atone for it.
At the office, Longworth takes his gun of his desk drawer and puts it on as Callie enters, dressed for work. Callie seems concerned that he's packing at work. Longworth says he's in the middle of a turf war and motions towards the Conference Room, where Ballard and Manus are going at it. Callie tells Longworth that she asked Ray to transition to a halfway house and she's giving him three months before she files for divorce. Longworth, shocked and upset, doesn't take kindly to Callie's news. Before he can explain his reaction, Ballard appears at his door and Callie leaves, agitated. Ballard walks in, wanting answers from Longworth's chat with Saldivar. Longworth tells him that Olivia went to Saldivar the night she was killed to ask about her father's death. Ballard chuckles and tells Longworth that Saldivar is sending him down a rabbit hole on Miguel's murder so he doesn't solve Olivia's.
"Saldivar doesn't want a war. Bad for business." Longworth says. "Unless your business is a failed effort to solve a ten year old murder by taking down the Cuban mob. There's a reason to want to start a war."
Longworth walks out, leaving Ballard burned.
Eduardo works a heavy bag, fatigue from his loss dripping from his body. A wall-mounted flat screen TV plays in the background. Longworth enters, telling Eduardo that they found his niece's cell phone. Rafael sizes up Longworth and approaches him, but Eduardo tells him that he will handle it. Longworth tells Eduardo that she called somebody named Quero the night of the murder and that her old boss said she was romantically involved with somebody local. Longworth begins to circle around Eduardo, asking him questions, but Eduardo continues to work his anger out on the bag. Longworth tells Eduardo that the night of Olivia's murder she spoke to Saldivar about her father's murder and that he told her to talk to Eduardo about the death, implying that he had something to do with it.
While Longworth passes the TV, he notices the picture gets fuzzy as he moves. He tests it and moves away, leans in, all while still interrogating Eduardo. Eduardo, finally giving up, approaches Longworth, who holds up a hand in silence. He takes the badge off his belt, waving it at the screen, discovering it's the source of the waves. He investigates his badge further and finds a small chip imbedded in the shield. He drops it in the water pitcher and turns to see Eduardo, livid, thinking Longworth brought the bug into his house. Longworth tells Eduardo that the bug isn't his. Then his phone rings. On the other line is Daniel, who tells Longworth that he's watching surveillance tape from Olivia's co-op in New York.
Manus, Daniel, Longworth and Carlos gather around to watch the surveillance footage. They see Olivia, dressed for work, and Ballard. She pulls away from him and struggles out of frame. Daniel tells the team that the footage was taken two weeks ago. Carlos points out that Ballard is far from a Latin lover, and might not be Quero, but after Longworth points out that he had worked undercover in Mexico and was a real cowboy, Carlos says that Quero would be short for vaquero, which means cowboy.
Callie comes home, surprised to see Jeff doing his homework at the living room table. Jeff says that if he got his homework done early that Ray would take the bus over so that they could play a video game. Callie's phone rings and Longworth, on the other line, apologizes for his overreaction from earlier. He tries to open his car door, surprised to find it locked; he never locks it at work. Following his hunch, he backs up and points his car alarm at the car as it explodes.
Jim's car explodes.
An angry Manus literally drags Ballard into the Conference Room.
"A bomb shreds my lead detective's car, the same guy you bugged, while he's investigating the murder of a woman you were stalking, and I'm not supposed to think you know anything about it?" She frantically asks.
Ballard tells Manus that he got word that Olivia was in danger and that's why he went to see her in New York. Longworth walks in, bandaged from the explosion and slams a handheld receiver he got from Ballard's car on the table, placing the bug he got off his badge next to it. Ballard says Salvidar is who they should be looking at for the car bombing. Longworth grabs Ballard and slams him into a wall, getting right in his face. He tells him to hand over all of the information he has on both families or the next call they make will be to Internal Affairs.
Ballard takes out his keys and hands over a flash drive to Longworth, who snatches it and heads out.
Callie drives up next to Longworth's bombed-out car panicked. She sees Daniel and asks if everything's alright, but before he can answer, Longworth walks up, apologizing for not calling her back. He hands Daniel the drive and tells him to pull up whatever's on there and then takes Callie aside, reassuring her that he knows that Jeff needs his dad and Ray needs a new start. He tells her that she should do whatever she needs to do to make it work. She smiles, relived and finally glad to be heard.
Jim and Callie discuss their only family matters.
Back in the office, Daniel and Longworth stare at the computer monitor, revealing information from the drive: a wire transfer for $400,000 to Jonathan Foster.
Saldivar and Longworth, still in bandages, meet up in front of a store. They walk over to a bench and sit down. Longworth questions Saldivar about the money transfer. Saldivar tells him that it was for charity, a way to give back to the Cuban community. He continues and says that Olivia wasn't looking for love. She was looking for closure. Saldivar hands Longworth a Cuban cigar called Romeo y Julieta, Spanish for "The Young Lovers," a hint that perhaps Olivia was romantically involved with someone closer to her own age.
At Eduardo's mansion, Longworth and Carlos search through Olivia's room, looking for any clues or signs of a boyfriend. Longworth tells Carlos that if Eduardo or Saldivar didn't kill Miguel, then that leaves one person: Olivia's star-crossed lover that her family didn't approve of: Quero. Longworth pulls a ratty baseball cap off the bulletin board. He pulls it down, flips it over and on the sweatband, in faded black ink sees the name Quero.
Carlos, at Olivia's desk holds up a bunch of paper with series of equations written all over them. All of them include "OLIVIA" and end with "43555." Carlos, who has seen this kind of "girl numerology" with his daughters, explains:
"You assign each vowel a value - one for "A"; two for "E"; three for "I" and so on. Then you count the vowels in both names and add them in each vowel's column. If the total has three matching numbers like 43555, it's a good match."
Longworth stands there, slightly confused. Carlos continues and tells Longworth that according to this "equation" the boy's name has three vowels in it. Longworth looks at Carlos, concerned with the fact that Eduardo is letting two cops search his house with out him being home.
Three black SUVs pull up in front of Saldivar's club. The doors open, a small army of Garcia's soldiers, including Ruiz and Rafael, step out, weapons hidden as they move on towards Saldivar's club. They're seconds away from starting a hail of gunfire when FDLE cars suddenly converge, skidding at an angle to cut off their path. Manus and Longworth jump out in bulletproof vests, guns drawn. The soldiers follow orders to get down. Longworth and Manus frisk them, tossing their guns onto the pavement. Longworth sees another SUV parked across the street. He snatches the door open to reveal Eduardo inside. Longworth cuffs Eduardo as Saldivar, standing in the doorway of his club, watches.
At the police station, an emotional Eduardo stares at his brother's picture among the mob organizational chart as Longworth enters. Eduardo tells Longworth that he was supposed to go to the meeting in Ybor City instead of his brother. Longworth tells him that if it's any consolation, Saldivar didn't kill his brother. He tosses him the ratty baseball cap, which Eduardo recognizes from the Little League team Miguel used to coach. He turns it over to find Quero on the inside. Longworth tells Eduardo that Olivia's boss at the legal clinic said she spent hours every day talking on the phone to a boyfriend. Someone she had known for a long time.
Eduardo just sits there, in complete disbelief. Longworth hands Eduardo the numerology papers Carlos found on her desk and explains to him that the name that fits that equation, is the man who was in love with Olivia - a tragic, ill-fated love that ended the life of both her and Miguel. It was "family." Someone who played for Miguel's junior league team and that has loved Olivia for over a decade. Eduardo, still shocked, looks at his brother and niece's photos on the bulletin board. He writes down the name, anger rising as it fits Olivia's equation. Longworth reads the name and nods.
In the conference room, Longworth joins an indignant Rafael. Longworth slides the equation across the table to Rafael and tells him that he knows that he was the person who killed Miguel because he forbade Rafael from being with Olivia.
Rafael says Longworth can't prove anything, but Longworth counters: "If we test the DNA from the sweat stains in this cap, which has been in Olivia's room for the past decade, it will prove that this cap's yours. Prove that you were the Quero that Olivia called nine times the night she was killed. The same Quero she'd been having an affair with for the past decade but who stood her up at the The Moreno Friday night."
Longworth then points outside the room to a fuming Eduardo, who's staring at them through the glass. Rafael begins to crack and tells Longworth that Olivia was his dream from the moment he saw her. But Miguel didn't think he was good enough for his daughter. That's why he killed Miguel, and then Olivia started putting the pieces together when Rafael didn't ask Eduardo for her hand in marriage. Once she figured it out and refused to marry him, he killed her out of blind rage after she told him she didn't love him anymore and wanted to break up. He also explains how he got his pet name, Quero. He hadn't had much schooling and when he first wrote Olivia a note he misspelled te quiero, Spanish for "I love you."
Rafael tells Longworth that he wants to make a deal, but Longworth has already made one for him. Rafael looks blankly at Eduardo and back at Longworth and nods.
Jim and Eduardo Garcia stand over Garcia's brother's grave.
Eduardo and Longworth stand at a limestone quarry on the edge of the Everglades, the perfect place to hide a body. They watch Carlos and CSI techs process a shallow grave. Carlos gently dusts away a femur in the hardened soil and sees something sparkly with it: a silver teddy bear charm for Olivia's bracelet. He hands it to Eduardo who looks at the tiny charm and nods conformation. Eduardo stares at the shallow grave, and tells Longworth how he never wanted to be boss, but it's not that easy to walk away from the mob life. Eduardo leaves as Manus approaches Longworth, congratulating him, but also warning him that she got a call from the Office of Professional Responsibility. The Palm County DA was notified of Longworth and Callie's relationship. She's the wife of one of their cooperation witnesses (Ray) so they see it as a conflict. Colleen tells Longworth that he needs to let Callie's family figure things out.
Manus walks off and Longworth looks at Miguel's bones, realizing the damage secrets can do.
Longworth sits at his table, drinking a beer when Callie calls. He looks at the caller ID, wanting to pick up, but knowing he can't. Longworth doodles on the back of an envelope the equation: CALLIE + JAMES = 34445.
He and Callie add up. The phone stops ringing. Longworth crumples up the envelope, and throws it into the trashcan.
References[]
http://www.aetv.com/the-glades/episode-breakdowns/family-matters/