Tommy puzzles Jane by collecting empty bottles for petty cash, while waiting for his settlement from the parking garage collapse, as turns out both to pay their mother's tax debt, caused by heir father. Judge Kathleen Harper collapses and dies at her daughter Ashley's mock trial presentation, despite attorney Roger Thorson's attempt to revive her. Maura initially finds a paint smudge and scratch on Harper's hand and a needle puncture on her neck. Her purse and scattered contents are found in a nearby recently painted stairwell. Harper died from an overdose of Ritalin in her bloodstream, more than what she was secretly taking for narcolepsy. Harper was investigating first-time (teen) criminals' sentences being extended at Starbridge Prison, which houses more-hardened criminals, not what the government is led to believe, she sent candidates for rehabilitation trusting the recommendation of Thorson, who represents the prison. Meanwhile, unknown to Angela, her tax debt has been paid. Dustin Williams leaned heavily on Harper to reconsider his son's assignment to the prison, where he recently died from causes Maura finds faked.
—KGF Vissers