- Major Crimes runs into a problem when it is forced to reopen an old murder case and discovers that the detective who closed it (Provenza's ex-partner) had a sex change and is now a woman.
- Just as Brenda and Fritz are about to go off on a long anticipated weekend holiday, Brenda learns for the first time that Major Crimes has been looking into a seven-year-old murder that was re-opened after the forensic lab that processed the crime scene evidence was discredited. Lt. Provenza, one of the original investigators on the case, assures Brenda that everything is in order. He's particularly pleased that his old partner, now retired Detective George Andrews, is returning to Los Angeles to help, but he isn't quite prepared for what he sees when George returns as Georgette after sex re-assignment surgery. The DA is prepared to drop the case against Doris Osgood, a home care worker who killed one of her elderly charges, but Brenda decides to stay in L.A. and make sure they get the evidence they need to make the previous conviction stick.—garykmcd
- The discrediting of a crime lab frequently used by the LAPD brings several old cases up for review, including one Provenza closed seven years ago with his former partner, Det. Andrews. Andrews comes out of retirement to help with the case, but he isn't exactly prepared to testify in the new trial, throwing a wrench into a case that is already interrupting Brenda and Fritz's vacation plans.—TNT Publicity
- Brenda, looking ridiculous in a poofy pink, faux fur-lined ski jacket, asks Fritz if she looks ridiculous. They're at the office, but about to leave for a weekend of learning to ski at Big Bear.
An ADA comes in, asking Brenda if she's all ready for court Monday morning. Brenda says she is and after the woman leaves Pope guesses she was faking. Oxylabs was one of the city's lab but was discredited nine months ago, 42 cases were thrown out, including a murder. It's a major crime and news to Brenda. Fritz knows he's not going skiing.
Commander Taylor catches her up to speed. Seven years ago a woman named Doris Osgood impersonated a nurse for a rich old guy and robbed him blind. She killed him with an OD of morphine. The tox results were thrown out when Oxy lab was discredited. He says he gave Major Crimes the case a month ago.
Oh, Provenza. He says it's an old case he handled with his former partner George Andrews, who got Doris to give a spontaneous confession. He says Andrews just has to testify and they'll be fine.
At the train station waiting for Andrews, Provenza reminisces with Flynn about the case, saying George Andrews was the best partner a cop could ask for. He invites Flynn out that night for some skirt chasing. "There's no shortage of women when George Andrews is around," Provenza says.
Then we meet George Andrews, now Georgette (Beau Bridges in a dress). Provenza gets up and leaves.
Back at the station, Provenza explains that George isn't exactly available. The ADA says they can't use Andrews' testimony; all the defense has to do is imply that if George was confused about his gender, he could have been confused about other things. They want Brenda and Provenza to talk Andrews into testifying as a man.
Brenda starts with the soft sell but Provenza interrupts: "Strap 'em down, lose the dress, cut the hair and man up."
Georgette declines. Then Provenza makes her cry.
So now they have no case. And, Fritz notes, no travel insurance.
No biggie, he decides. It's prepaid, he'll go alone.
Andrews briefs the team on the case. Doris Osgood forged tons of checks but none of the old man's five kids noticed because they were ripping him off, too. She got caught when she tried to sell his Chagall painting.
Sanchez's only question is what happened to Andrews' penis. Andrews explains it's mostly been inverted. And he still likes women. This is too much for Provenza.
Brenda refocuses. Doris stole an RN's identity. She volunteered when Charles Billings needed home care. Andrews thought Osgood might have tried it before, but they never checked after her confession.
Brenda wants to use the paper to see if Doris had other victims.
And Brenda wants to talk to Doris' son, Sam.
She tells him they think other mistakes were made in the case. He thinks his mom did nothing wrong and she didn't confess. He says Andrews propositioned her mom and when she turned him down he made up the confession.
They tell him if they talk to her past employers and find no wrong doing they might be able to convince the DA she did nothing wrong. He gives them her whole resume, from banks to law offices to used car dealers.
They talk to Ricardo Ramos at the paper who says they can't run Doris' photos because it might be libel. So Brenda just casually mentions to Pope that they could just let Andrews testify as a woman and Ramos is intrigued.
At the Provenza ranch, he picks up Andrews' lady clothes with distaste. She comes out of the shower and says "Good morning, Louis," to Provenza, whose first name is apparently Louis.
Doris Osgood's face is all over the day's paper.
Provenza implies that maybe because Andrews' hid the woman thing from him, maybe the confession was made up, too.
Provenza interrupts Andrews' defense by suggesting that maybe Osgood got caught because she changed her MO.
At the office, they've gotten four calls about the ad from people saying Osgood worked as a nurse for people who died of natural causes under different nurse's names. She was referred to them by an agency that no longer exists.
Brenda deletes a picture of Fritz on a mountaintop and gets news that a woman thinks Doris Osgood killed her father in 2001.
Brenda talks to an elderly woman who calls Doris a "menace." A Monet disappeared from her dad's art collection the day after he fell down the stairs and died. One of the insurance company's people blamed their gardener and it was recovered. There was no investigation into his death, even though he was in a wheelchair.
Brenda wants exhumation orders on all the patients they can trace back to Osgood.
The corner reviews the bodies but doesn't have much until patient four, whose neck is broken, despite the fact the certificate said natural causes. The fifth patient was in a coma for two weeks before her death. He pulls the cap from a nasal spray bottle out of her throat. He thinks someone shoved it down her throat and she choked to death.
Later, they have to justify the exhumations to Pope. All the supposed victims had different insurance companies, but they used the same company to do background checks on the deceased's employees. The person who did the checks was Sam Osgood, Doris' son.
They think he covered up the thefts, until the last, which Doris must have done on her own. That was the change in her MO.
They have Doris Osgood in an interview room. They're hoping she'll confess again and they have a secret weapon: Georgette Andrews dressed as a man with short hair and a suit and tie. Different from testifying as one, she explains, because she won't be perjuring herself. Just a bit of undercover work.
Doris isn't exactly happy to see Provenza and Andrews. They bring her son in observation to watch the interview. Provenza comes on strong, accusing her of everything, and Andrews suggests he give them a minute. He plays good cop. He tells her the other five thefts are good news for her. He tells her he thinks she was trying to protect her son, but he turned on her, giving the police info about the other five.
Andrews lays out how they must have done it, Sam choosing the art and fencing it. She doesn't believe it, but Andrews asks how (s)he'd know if Sam hadn't told her.
Andrews says (s)he's sorry (s)he put her in prison and asks for Osgood's help setting her free. Osgood starts crying as she says Sam looked for rich clients who had home care. He'd pretend someone on the staff was a risk and get them fired then refer them to the fake referral agency he set up and get his mom in. As a security analyst he had no problem getting her stolen identities.
She takes Andrews hands and cries, saying she only did it because she wanted to be a nurse.
Watching, Sam says they have nothing to hold him on. Brenda lays the guilt back on Doris, suggesting to Sam that he just went along with his mom. Then Andrews walks in the observation room and Sam jumps up socks him. Gabriel's about to spring to Andrews' defense but Provenza holds him back and Andrews settles Sam on his own as a proud Louis Provenza looks on.
Sam gets snitty, telling them it doesn't matter anyway, the statute of limitations has run out on the thefts. That may be true, Brenda says, but it hasn't on the murders. They tell Sam a jury won't have problem believing he was involved, unless he gives them his mom. He flips.
He says she killed the ones who got suspicious. He recites the various ways she did it, including pushing Casey down the stairs. He told her to stop after he had to get the Monet back from his fence. But she went on without him.
And that's when Sam Osgood learns about felony murder and that as her accomplice, he's on the hook for murder, too.
Brenda comes home in her parka, leaving Fritz a message that she's on her way to the mountain. She sees the candles. Fritz is waiting in the bath tub. He says some lovely things about missing his wife and not wanting to travel without her. And also some 12 year old cut him off on the bunny slope and he hurt his knee.
Provenza, Flynn and Andrews raise a glass. Georgette is back as Georgette, but doing shots with the boys. Provenza apologizes for "being unable to completely come to grips with this thing." They hug it out and Provenza appreciates Georgette's new assets. He calls her Georgette and says it was a brave thing she did coming back. She plants one on his cheek. Georgette sashays away in some new heels, just like Brenda's.
"So, you ready to go, Louis?" Flynn asks. "Call me that once more and Georgette won't be my only ex-partner without a penis," Provenza says.
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