Senator Donald Chapman meets for a late night rendezvous with his lover, Chloe Perkins. As he exits the hotel, street-smart paparazzo Owen DeMarco catches him off-guard, snapping his picture. DeMarco questions Chapman about his latest mistress and the senator runs back to the hotel, trying to prevent the paparazzo from getting to her. Anticipating his next move, DeMarco trails him to the hotel's back door and comes face to face with a dying Chloe Perkins, bleeding from a gash in her throat. Ever the trained paparazzo, DeMarco is horrified but continues to shoot.
As Jim Longworth and Carlos Sanchez arrive on scene, DeMarco, a media photographer for the Weekly Insider, snaps a photo of them. A police officer tells Longworth she doesn't know why the deceased, not an invited guest, came out of the hotel, but Longworth has a feeling he knows who does, waving to DeMarco.
Jim arrives at the scene.
Later, Callie calls Longworth on her way to pick her son up from school. She explains she's dropping Jeff off at his grandmother's tonight and then driving up to the prison to let Ray know she wants a divorce. Callie says she'll call Longworth as soon as she gets back and he tells her he'll be waiting. They both smile at this from their respective cars and Longworth tries to conceal his happiness from Sanchez.
Back at the school, which is now nearly deserted, Callie calls Jeff on his cell phone to find out where he is, but he doesn't pick up. Seconds later Callie's phone rings. It's the officer Hank Rabello from Raiford Correction Prison, informing Callie that Jeff is at the prison, having taken the bus there to visit his father.
Standing over the body of Chloe Perkins, Longworth rifles through her purse and discovers a business card that reads "Chloe Perkins Jewelry" and a pen marked with the words "Office of Senator Donald Chapman," but cannot locate any cell phone. He bends in closer to smell Chloe's breath, noting the almond smell, a sure sign of cyanide poisoning. DeMarco snaps a picture of Longworth as he examines her.
Longworth's cell phone rings. It's Daniel Green, letting him know a hunch he had was right: the Daily Insider already has pictures of the victim in the back of the hotel, as well as some other shots of Senator Donald Chapman exiting from the front of the hotel.
Longworth approaches DeMarco and chastises him for taking photos while Chloe was dying. DeMarco tells him he works for a tabloid and had never met Chloe Perkins, but suspected the senator was having an affair with her and was following him so he could catch him red-handed. Longworth asks about his source and DeMarco tells him even if he did have one, which he doesn't, the person would be protected by the shield law. Longworth takes DeMarco's camera, telling him that while sources may be protected, pictures are not.
At the hotel's front desk, the manager tells Longworth that neither the senator nor Chloe Perkins was registered at the hotel. Longworth points out that it would be a stupid idea for a senator and his mistress to register under their real names. Flipping the computer screen around, he tells the manager to take him to the room of a guest named "Earl Grey."
The bed in the hotel room is unmade and a tray with untouched truffles, half-finished Chardonnay and a plate of mostly eaten strawberries is close by. Longworth and Sanchez smell the champagne bottles for cyanide, but neither can tell if there are traces of it. Longworth notes that he did, however, smell it on the victim. The two bag and tag the evidence.
With the story of the Senator now spreading, reporters have flooded the crime scene. Manus pulls up in an unmarked FDLE sedan and Longworth tries to brace her for the media circus. Manus explains Chapman could be the next governor of Florida and his wife, Stephanie Chapman, is the niece of a senator and former granddaughter of a governor, practically Florida royalty with serious power and influence. She continues that the Senator's office has already contacted the State Attorney General, who personally contacted her, explaining that if they want to talk to Chapman, they have to do so through his lawyers. Manus asks Longworth if he's got that and he says he does, though Manus does not truly believe that he will heed her words.
Sure enough, Longworth and Sanchez arrive at the Chapman home where Sanchez insists Longworth not start annoying everyone and compromise both their jobs. Stephanie Chapman answers the door and demands to know why the men are here, being that strict orders not to approach them were communicated to their superior. Longworth tells Stephanie that if she believes in her husband's innocence, the best thing to do is let them in because the faster the case is solved, the faster it's out of the papers. Stephanie considers this and escorts them to the back patio where her husband, the Senator, sits, nervously sipping a stiff drink.
Longworth senses the tension between the senator and his wife, as Chapman swears he never meant to hurt anyone. As Chapman struggles to catch his breath, he explains that he and Chloe met when he hired her to make a ring for his wife's birthday and he has been seeing her for about 3 months. Longworth accuses Chapman of poisoning Chloe with cyanide and notes that he was the last one seen with her. The Senator is now really struggling to breathe and asks to lie down. Sanchez realizes he's not kidding and asks if the Senator is experiencing rapid heart beat. Chapman says yes and that he's hot and having a hard time breathing. Longworth asks what's happening and Sanchez tells him the Senator has cyanide poisoning. Sanchez calls 911 while Longworth tries to calm the Senator down as he continues to convulse.
Jim and Carlos question the Senator.
As the paramedics cart the Senator away, Stephanie asks if he will be okay and wants to go in the ambulance with Sanchez. Sanchez tells her there's no room for her, but that he will monitor the Senator's vitals until they can get him to the hospital to counteract the poison. Longworth points out the news vans now gathering outside the house and tells Stephanie she should come with him.
The senator is rushed to the hospital.
During the ride to the hospital, Longworth asks Stephanie if she knew her husband was having an affair. Stephanie is appalled that the detective would interrogate her while her husband is being rushed to the hospital and says she learned about the affair that day on the internet, just like everyone else. Longworth asks where she was the previous night. Stephanie says she was home where she was alone for the night after letting her staff go. She asks Longworth if she's being considered a suspect and he tells her that in his experience, when a man and his mistress are poisoned, it's usually the wife who did it. Stephanie tells Longworth she has way too much to lose to kill her husband, but he counters maybe she had so much to lose that she didn't want Chloe Perkins to replace her. Stephanie argues that her family connections are the reason why her husband got the job in the first place and he's the one who's replaceable.
At the hospital, Sanchez tells the pair the doctors will need to do a blood test to confirm the cyanide poisoning, but that they caught it early and Senator's going to be okay. Stephanie tells Longworth to find out who did this to her husband and Longworth promises he will.
Meanwhile, Jeff and his father Ray Cargill sit in the visiting area of the Raiford Correctional facility. Ray tells Jeff he gave his mom a big scare running away and that he must follow the rules so he doesn't end up in jail like him. Jeff apologizes, telling his father he just really missed him because his mom never takes him to visit. Ray says that Callie is doing the best she can. Callie comes over and tells Jeff to give her and his dad a minute, watching as Jeff hugs his father fiercely through his tears. Callie tells Ray he doesn't have to stick up for her and that she hasn't exactly held up her end of the bargain. Ray says he understands and apologizes for landing himself in prison. Callie promises to bring Jeff more often and Ray confesses that she and Jeff are the only thing keeping him going, an admission that only further complicates Callie's already difficult situation.
Jeff tells his dad goodbye.
Ray and Jeff talk at the prison.
Later, at an everglades dock, Longworth peers into a shack belonging to Captain Bill Perkins, Chloe's father. The sign on the door reads "Captain Bill Perkins, Bait & Tackle Shop" and an old broken-down boat named Tarponer floats nearby. As he peeks through the windows, someone snaps a still photo of him. Longworth pulls out his cell and walks behind the shack, out of site, asking Daniel Green if Chloe's father was notified of her death. Green tells Longworth that he tried, but Bill Perkins has been out on a fishing trip. Green adds that he checked Chloe Perkin's financials and that she has no money in her bank account.
Longworth asks Green to run a background check on the Chapmans as well, but before Green can answer, Manus gets on the phone and asks Longworth what part of "go through the Chapmans' attorneys" does he not understand? Longworth protests that he was invited into the Chapman home and Manus demands that he stay in bounds or else.
Back at the dock, Longworth watches as Captain Perkins pulls up with two other fishermen. Owen DeMarco watches too, trying to catch Longworth in his telephoto lens to get a shot of him. Suddenly, Longworth is tapping on his window, having snuck up from behind. He puts DeMarco into the back of his police car as a sheriff's unit arrives, telling him he is a person of interest. Longworth also takes DeMarco's camera for evidence.
Shutting the car door on DeMarco, Longworth approaches Bill Perkins who is shocked and trying to process the news of his daughter's death. Longworth asks Perkins if he knew his daughter was having an affair with the Senator. Perkins says he knew his daughter was seeing someone and that she was in love, but she couldn't tell him with whom just yet. Coming apart at the seams, Perkins tells Longworth he was told he would have to ID the body and is led off by two officers. As they walk Perkins away, Longworth notices a new-looking boat named Tarponer II bobbing up and down by the dock. Longworth calls to Perkins, asking him how long he has had the boat. Perkins tells him about two weeks, but something about the way he says it makes Longworth think.
Sanchez reviews a credit card report at the station, noting that Stephanie Chapman likes to eat out a lot, often at some of the best restaurants. Longworth enters the office with Owen DeMarco and sits him in a chair next to Green, giving Green strict instructions to watch him while he speaks to Sanchez in his office.
In Longworth's office, Longworth asks where they are on the lab results. Sanchez explains they have determined cyanide was the poison used in the murder, traces of which were found on the wine bottle in the hotel, and that hotel records show the wine was left outside the room by room service because of a "Do Not Disturb" sign left on the door. Longworth postulates that maybe someone injected cyanide with a needle through the cork. Sanchez adds that the corkscrew used to open the bottle would have destroyed any evidence of a needle mark.
Manus approaches DeMarco and Green asking for Longworth so she can give him the information from the publisher of the Weekly Insider. As she heads to Longworth's office, DeMarco looks over Green's shoulder at his laptop. Green picks up on what he's doing and blocks his view. Shrugging it off, DeMarco asks to use the men's room. Green insists on following him there and waiting for him outside.
Back in Longworth's office, Manus says that Longworth was right to be suspicious of Captain Perkins' new boat, explaining that a couple weeks ago, twenty-five thousand dollars was deposited into Perkins' account from the Weekly Insider after a brief layover in Chloe's account. The tabloid's publisher told her that Chloe Perkins came to him and said she would sell her story for twenty-five thousand dollars and there are no other transactions for that amount in her account. Longworth wants to know what was in the deal for Owen DeMarco and Manus says it would be good money if he got a shot of the Senator and Chloe together. Longworth thinks about this and asks how much a picture of the Senator's dead mistress would've been worth. Manus tells him a whole lot more.
Longworth walks over to Green's work station to find both he and DeMarco gone. Just then, he spots Green by the men's room and asks about DeMarco. Green tells him DeMarco is in the men's room, but when he opens the door, DeMarco is gone, having jumped out the window.
Later that night, Longworth searches for DeMarco outside the station. Manus and Green come to join him. Longworth tells them DeMarco is definitely gone. Green apologizes for screwing up and Manus tells him to stop apologizing and get out there and find DeMarco. She tells Longworth she will call DeMarco's publisher and asks him to send a unit to DeMarco's apartment. As they exit to take care of their responsibilities, Longworth spots Bill Perkins signing some forms at the front desk, but before he can move, his cell phone rings. It's Callie.
Callie tells Longworth her meeting with Ray definitely did not go according to plan and relays the story of Jeff's trip to the prison. She adds that because she and Jeff saw Ray together, she didn't have a chance to have "that talk" with him. Longworth says he's disappointed, they both are in fact, and that he has to go because the victim's father is waiting. Callie gets it and tells him they'll talk later. They hang up, neither feeling very good about the call.
Longworth joins Perkins and tells him they found out about the twenty-five grand in his account from the Weekly Insider. Perkins is genuinely surprised, telling Longworth Chloe told him she'd had a good year with the jewelry business when she gave it to him. Longworth reveals that Chloe sold the story of her affair with the Senator to the tabloids for money, but Perkins doesn't believe it, assuring Longworth that Chloe was in love and would never lie to him. He explains that Chloe lost her mother when she was young and that Chloe had her mother's same trusting nature. Longworth explains that Chloe's good nature may have made her vulnerable to someone like Senator Chapman. Perkins argues helplessly that his daughter must have had some reason to fall in love with this man and that Chapman was lucky to have her in his life. Longworth agrees, telling Perkins Chloe deserved better than Chapman. Perkins agrees.
In Sanchez's office, Manus tells Longworth they've had no luck finding DeMarco just yet. Sanchez adds that Chloe and the Senator's tox screens came back and both were found with cyanide in their systems, but that his reaction time was longer based on his weight and the amount he ingested. Chapman only had a sip of the tainted wine. Longworth asks whether the Senator is a big drinker. Manus says yes, noting that the Senator has had two DUIs, both swept under the rug. Longworth considers this, realizing that the one time the Senator didn't drink was when his glass was laced with cyanide.
Longworth goes to see Senator Chapman in the hospital and asks him candidly if he ever loved Chloe Perkins. The Senator says he did and Longworth asks him if he knew his lover was selling their story to the tabloids. The Senator tells Longworth Chloe would never do something like that and Longworth accuses him of poisoning himself in order to murder Chloe and appear innocent. He tells the Senator he knows about his drinking problem and it's suspicious that the one night he didn't drink a lot was the night he and Chloe were poisoned. Chapman tells Longworth that alcohol inhibits his sexual performance and he just got it to set the mood. Longworth asks if Chapman's wife knew about this problem and Chapman says that he hasn't had sex with his wife in a year. Longworth questions why the Senator didn't leave Stephanie Rutledge if he wasn't happy and Chapman tells him anyone who wants to have a political career or a life never leaves a Rutledge.
At the hospital, Longworth runs into medical salesperson Heather Thompson, who flirts with him heavily, telling him she still owes him a ride on her father's boat. When Longworth balks at all her advances, she finally comes out and asks whether he's into Callie. Longworth tells Heather it's complicated, that Callie is a married woman and he has no intention of breaking up a family. Heather takes this in for a moment, telling Longworth that maybe it's time to un-complicate his life with a little fun on the boat. Longworth considers the offer and the beautiful woman offering and tells Heather he's going to think about it. As Heather gives Longworth a big inviting smile and heads for the elevators, Longworth's cell phone rings. It's Daniel, telling Longworth he has got a lead on DeMarco.
In the hospital parking lot, paparazzi, Owen DeMarco among them, shoot a black SUV believed to be Senator Chapman's. However, when the window rolls down, it's not Chapman in the back seat but Jim Longworth. Owen is not surprised to see Longworth and places his camera, more evidence, in Longworth's open hand.
Longworth accompanies Owen DeMarco to his apartment. DeMarco explains that Chloe was his source for the article but he was not obligated to tell Longworth anything about his deal with her. Longworth counters that the money at stake for her pictures makes DeMarco a suspect in the case and adds that DeMarco lied when he said he didn't know Chloe, a felony that could cost him 5 years in jail. Longworth threatens to pursue the felony conviction if DeMarco doesn't hand over all the photos of Chloe and the Senator together. After some hesitation, DeMarco gives Longworth a large stack of date and time-stamped photos.
Longworth browses through the photos, asking DeMarco when Chloe came to him about selling the story. DeMarco tells Longworth he was onto the Senator and Chloe three months before Chloe approached him after seeing the two exiting a bar together. Longworth looks at a photo of the Senator exiting his house stamped August 7th at 9:12 a.m. as DeMarco continues to dish about the Senator. DeMarco explains that Chapman was onto him from when he'd photographed him in the past, so he was careful to avoid being seen out with Chloe. He adds that Chloe had approached him later on about selling her story. Longworth asks if Chloe explained why she wanted to give Chapman up. DeMarco replies that Chloe was just tired of Chapman's lies.
Something in one of the photos catches Longworth's attention. He pulls out his cell phone and calls Daniel Green, telling him to pull Stephanie Chapman's credit card purchases. Green pulls up the data on the computer. Longworth tells him to search August 25th and find out if Stephanie had lunch at Allegra's Restaurant. Green tells Longworth that Stephanie was in fact there at 1:25 and asked what that means. Longworth says it means Stephanie lied to him and that she knew Chloe and arranged lunch with her a few days before the girl was killed.
Longworth calls Callie at home and Jeff picks up. Jeff tells Longworth he's grounded for going to the jail to see his father, but that some good came out of it because his mom has promised to take him to visit more often. Longworth notes how happy Jeff sounds when he mentioned his father. He asks for Callie and Jeff tells him she's in the shower. Longworth says he'll catch up with her later and sits for a minute after the call, processing it.
At the station, Longworth and Manus study a photo of Chloe entering Allegra's Restaurant on August 25th at 12:42 p.m. Manus tells Longworth that they need more on Stephanie than the fact that she and Chloe were at the same restaurant at the same time in order to bring her in for questioning, as their tactics are already bordering on harassment. Longworth asks if there is anything from Chloe's apartment tying her to the Chapmans and Longworth tells her there isn't. Manus speculates that maybe there is more information on Chloe's cell phone calendar, but Longworth tells her they still haven't been able to locate Chloe's cell phone.
Longworth asks Green what kind of cell phone Chloe had. Green tells him it's an Android smartphone. Longworth wonders if the phone would have to be on in order to triangulate its location. Green says they can do it and gets on the phone in order to make it happen. Just then, Sanchez walks up with a copy of the Weekly Insider with a five-year-old photo of himself entering the station. He reads aloud from the article whose headline is "Scandalous History of Medical Examiner in the Chloe Perkins Investigation," telling Longworth that the detective's rooting around in Owen DeMarco's business is the reason his own past is being drudged up. Longworth says he's the one who should be mad, because he wasn't told Sanchez had a scandalous history. Manus comes up and quickly dismisses the article, noting that it was actually the old medical examiner that screwed up evidence and compromised cases, not Sanchez. Green interrupts to tell Longworth that he has located Chloe's phone and it's actually on the move.
Police surround a mail truck and Longworth gets out to talk to the carrier. He rummages through the packages until he finds an envelope addressed to Owen DeMarco. Longworth opens the envelope and finds the phone along with a note which reads: "Stephanie Chapman conversation."
At the station, Manus asks Longworth if he has found an appointment calendar on Chloe's phone and Longworth tells her he found something better, a recording of Chloe's meeting with Stephanie Chapman, adding that Stephanie is a powerful woman and Chloe must have felt she needed proof of their conversation because her life was in danger. He turns on the recording on in which Stephanie tells Chloe she is not Chapman's first indiscretion. Chloe protests that Chapman loves her, but Stephanie tells her she only knows what Chapman wants her to know. She continues that she has heard Chloe's family is having money troubles and that her father's business is in trouble and that maybe they could do something to help her out, like twenty thousand dollars. The recording ends with Chloe yelling that Stephanie is lying. Manus tells Longworth to bring Stephanie Chapman in.
At the station, a hoard of reporters and paparazzi snap photos of Stephanie and her lawyers as they arrive. Inside, Longworth plays Stephanie the recording and tells her it sounds like she was trying to bribe Chloe and speculates that when Chloe wouldn't take the bribe Stephanie had to make her disappear. Stephanie's lawyers tell her not to answer and Manus gives Longworth a look to take it easy. Longworth continues that Stephanie lied when she said she didn't know about her husband's affair and the Senator lied about this being his first and only indiscretion.
As her lawyer tries to quiet her, Stephanie tells Longworth that while she did lie, it sounds like he has no evidence to convict her of anything except trying to convince Chloe to stay away from her husband. Longworth counters that maybe the Senator was leaving Stephanie for another woman and she was hurt and betrayed so she poisoned them both. Stephanie argues that that isn't true, but Longworth tells her that despite her best efforts to put up a cold, political façade, she is still just a woman being hurt by the man she loves. Longworth studies Stephanie and reconsiders that maybe she didn't actually love her husband. Stephanie says of course she loved him. Longworth argues that maybe she just didn't love him enough to kill him, or maybe not enough to care about his affairs. Stephanie's lawyer tells Longworth he's out of line and as they get up to leave Stephanie tells the detective that if he still has his badge in an hour it's just because she hasn't found the right person to fire, and she's serious. As she and her lawyers walk out, Manus looks at Longworth angrily, knowing the full sphere of Stephanie's influence and fearing the worst.
Later, Longworth goes to see Callie at the hospital. Callie says that Jeff told her Longworth had called and she was expecting him to try her again. Longworth tells Callie that he has been a little busy with the Chapmans trying to take his badge. Callie makes a joke and when Longworth doesn't smile back, she asks if something is weird between them now because she hesitated to tell Ray about their relationship. Longworth tells her he doesn't want to pressure her to do something she doesn't want to do. Callie counters that telling Ray was her idea and this time just wasn't the right time. Longworth reminds her that when they first met, she told him she didn't want to be the woman who divorced her husband in prison. Callie admits she did say that but things have changed, she has met him and realized she can have feelings about someone else and besides, she has no business being married anyway. Longworth says he doesn't want to be the man who breaks up another man's family and that if Ray wasn't in prison they wouldn't even be having this conversation. Callie admits that it's true that it's hard to see Ray in jail especially since he's the father of her son, but she's not confused about the two of them and she just needs to move on. She adds that she can't promise him when she'll be able to get down to see Ray again to tell him about the divorce, but that she knows if she doesn't do it, she'll regret it for the rest of his life. They both take a minute to think about this and Longworth walks away, not really happy but not knowing what else to say.
Back at the station, Green tells Manus the Commissioner's on the line for her. Manus gives Longworth an angry look and shuts the door behind her. Longworth tries to focus on the file he's reading but he can't think about anything but his conversation with Callie. He picks up Heather Thompson's business card and stares at it.
Manus comes by and tells Longworth she played the recording that Chloe made of Stephanie for the Commissioner and it was enough to shut Stephanie's threats down for now. She adds that the Chapmans will be making a public statement and have agreed to cooperate fully in the investigation. Longworth tells her that won't be necessary. Manus angrily reminds him she just used every political chip she has with the Commissioner. Longworth says he's disappointed too, but he's realized that neither the Senator nor Stephanie Chapman killed Chloe Perkins, but that Chloe killed herself.
Sanchez approaches with a file as Manus questions whether Longworth can prove this. Longworth says that it's obvious -- Chloe bought her father a new boat, cleaned out her bank account and was tidying up her affairs. Sanchez adds that Longworth's hunch was right, Chloe's purse contained traces of cyanide, meaning she was the one who brought it to the hotel. Longworth explains that Chloe was a jewelry maker and she used cyanide to strip and clean metals so she had access to it. He continues that Senator Chapman led Chloe to believe he would leave his wife for her when he really had no intention of doing so, so she spiked the wine glasses for a murder/suicide, only Chapman was more interested in sex than drinking so he didn't die. Longworth comments that he knew the case was about a woman scorned, but he just had the woman flipped. Manus laments that the Chapmans will once again land on their feet with this case, but Longworth isn't so sure.
At the Chapman home in front of a crowd of reporters, the Senator publicly apologizes for his indiscretions, promising that he and his wife will come out even stronger from this firestorm. He adds that Chloe's death has been ruled a suicide and thanks the FDLE for their help before passing to Longworth who promptly arrests both the Senator and Stephanie for official misconduct and obstruction. As the media murmurs, Longworth tells the Chapmans they are being charged with suspicion of misuse of public funds in the bribes of Chloe and other mistresses.
The officer's lead the two away, watched by the quiet, thoughtful eyes of Bill Perkins, Chloe's dad. Just as they do, Owen DeMarco goes to shoot a picture of the scene but is blocked by Sanchez, missing the shot -- payback for the grief Sanchez has suffered from DeMarco putting his picture in the paper.
Later, on an enormous yacht, Longworth and Heather Thompson toast to a closed case and look out at the romantic twinkling lights on the harbor. Heather tells Longworth she's glad he called and he tells her that he needed some uncomplicated fun. They talk over what they should do next and decide to go sit in the yacht's hot tub.
Meanwhile, Callie cleans the kitchen after dinner and looks at the phone, deciding if she should make a call when it begins to ring. Unfortunately, it's Jeff's friend, not who she expected. Callie reminds Jeff that he's grounded as he goes to take the call, leaving her alone. Callie watches him go and then goes to get some iced tea, stopping to look at an old photo of her, Jeff and Ray on the refrigerator.
Longworth glances at his phone while he and Heather laugh and relax in the yacht. There are no new calls.
At Callie's again, she kisses Jeff in bed and shuts off the light.
Back on the yacht, Longworth and Heather aren't laughing as much now. Looking at him, Heather can tell Longworth needs to take things slow. As she moves to fill his empty glass, he steals a look at his cell phone, where once again, no one has called.