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In somewhat typical fashion, this episode starts off with a rather brutal murder. What is less than typical is that it is of a husband and wife, sleeping soundly in their bed, and the wife unexpectedly survives, to identify her assailant to the paramedics. The other surprise is that she points to a picture on her dresser. The picture she points out is that of her son.

Shortly thereafter, she is shipped off to surgery, and the hunt is on for the killer. You'd think that with an eyewitness account - especially from the victim - that it would be an open and shut case. But if it were, then we would be in for a very short episode, and naturally that just isn't going to happen here, for when the mother comes to, she insists that her son could not have done this to her. It looks like we're in for a whopper.

It only gets more interesting as Detective Ray learns from the coach that the son was in danger of losing his scholarship - until his mom stepped in to produce a medical excuse, at which point his scholarship was restored. And then he finds out that a potential arrest for burglary (of his own home, no less) was similarly handled by his mom. The kid actually staged a break-in, stole a laptop, and tried to sell it. But his mom protected him. You have to wonder what's happening here (no overt sign of incest, but it wouldn't have surprised me).

Then the mom makes a huge leap of progress and holds a press conference, where she announces that her son did not do this horrible thing, and what's more, she implicates Phil Deshayes (played impeccably by Yorgo Constantine), Indianapolis crime boss and brother in-law, as a possible suspect. This throws a whole new wrench into things, and when the mother produces a note, scribbled on a family picture with an intimidating line drawn across everyone's throats, it seems like perhaps there is something to it.

But when Deshayes comes in to see Annabeth, and everything still points to the kid, it's off to trial we go, and that's when Annabeth has a revelation. The alleged note doesn't seem to be faked, but somehow it was left on the car and there is no sign that it was ever outside. Remarkable, since there was quite a downpour that night. The mother tries to retreat into a defense of being "confused" since the accident, but her precious son gets a guilty verdict, and her other son leaves her for failing to see reality. Nice ending.