If It Bleeds, It Leads is the seventh episode of fifth season of The Mentalist. A
Summary
The team investigates the murder of a reporter who may have become too close to her story, while Jane insists on pursuing his own leads to find Lorelei.
Recap
The episode begins at Loma Vista Point. Five cyclists rest there and enjoy the view. They are about to take a picture when a car, a black sedan, speeds in their direction. It falls off the cliff. Just by then, a red car arrives and the driver gets out, running to the edge to look for the black sedan. He asks the cyclists to call 911, and he rushes downhill to check on the driver. A woman is stuck in the black sedan. She asks the man for help who promises her to stay with her. Seeing that none of the cyclists are around, he suffocates her by pressing one hand on her mouth. She is dead.
The CBI team arrives at the crime scene. Lisbon calls Jane to get him there but he doesn't want to since he is busy working on Lorelei's case. But he changes his mind on her demand and comes. They go examining the body. Jane states that she was murdered while the police officers think that it was suicide. He says that there are no skid marks on the road, so her brakes must have been manipulated. Her bag, that we saw before, is also missing. He believes that women dressed like her must have had a bag. She was also halfway through eating a cheeseburger. Afterwards, Jane leaves.
At the headquarters, it is confirmed that the woman called Cassandra Floods was murdered. She worked on human interest stories, and the last one involved Tommy Volker from First Flight, who offered a ticket, costing a quarter million dollars, for a space travel for rich people. Rigsby tells the team about a case couple months ago, when Cassie exposed a huge black market in auto parts and Dickie Yuntz was indicted. Lisbon arrives at Jane's chamber and asks him to go with her to the news station where Cassie worked.
At Nightly News 7, Lisbon and Jane talk to Ryan Kasmir. Ryan tells them about the threatening notes for Cassie which weren't reported to the police. Kasmir suggests them to go on air since they are both good looking and that it will surely help them in solving the case. Lisbon declines and Jane asks him to sum up Cassie in just one word. Kasmir says "promise" since she always showed great promise.
Rigsby and Cho arrive at Belles Glen speedway to look for Richard Yuntz. But when he sees them, he runs away. They keep up with him and Cho arrest Richard.
At the news station, news speaker Ed Hunt asks Tara Skye, the weather forecaster, for his glasses. She claims not to have moved them and leaves. Jane talks to Tara and asks her about Cassie. He wants her to sum up Cassie in one word like Kasmir. She says that Cassie slept her way to the top. She first slept with Ed Hunt and then with Kasmir. She also claims to have heard Cassie making plans about a secret meeting. Jane suggests that Tara hated Cassie because Tara tried herself throwing on Ed and Kasmir but they didn't pay heed for her, but instantly liking Cassie. Tara slaps Jane and leaves.
Van Pelt tells Lisbon that Kasmir denies any romantic involvement with Cassie and calls Tara a back stabbing bitch. She also tells her that she wasn't able to find that guy who rushed to Cassie's help. The witnesses described him but he seems untraceable. Lisbon leaves to talk to Ed Hunt.
Meanwhile, Jane tries to get into the federal prison where Lorelei is held but he fails.
Lisbon meets Ed at a charity event where the tickets for Volker's planes are being auctioned. Lisbon asks him about his romantic involvement with Cassie and he realized that Tara has been filling their ears. He claims that Cassie and he were best friends but nothing exclusive. He says that they had a moment but both moved on. Ed shows Lisbon a picture with him, Cassie and Volker. She wants Ed to introduce her to Volker. She asks Volker about Cassie but she cannot learn much because his secretary interrupts them to take him away for a meeting. Volker asks his secretary Amanda to give her his personal card so that she can call him anytime.
At the office, Richard Yuntz doesn't bring in any results as he lawyers up. Grace tells Rigsby that the front desk of the Tides Edge Hotel told her that Mr. Floods is still there in a room. But Cassie was not married.
They bring in a guy called Steve Berman alias Mr. Floods.
Lisbon calls Jane who is examining the perimeter of the federal prison. She tells him that there is someone claiming that Volker murdered Cassie. Jane tells her to show the picture of the man to Volker and to await his reaction.
Berman is interrogated. He tells the agents that he and Cassie went to journalism school together and he is known for publishing the truth in his magazine. He says that Cassie came to him with news on Volker. Volker had a geothermal project going on in the Amazon rainforest and that he was responsible for wiping away an entire tribe that inhabited the land and blamed it on the drug cartel and rebels. Berman agreed to publish the story in his magazine when no one dared because all of his oppositions just disappeared and came back dead, making Volker the murderer. He says that there was an inside informant in Volker's company who helped Cassie with the audit trials and they don't lie.
Lisbon confronts Volker about the rainforest project when he is about to leave on one of his planes but he claims not to have talked with Cassie about it. She shows him a picture of the guy who was the one rushing to Cassie but he says that he does not know this man. On the other hand, Amanda seems a littlle on the edge.
Later, Lisbon goes to Amanda's apartment to talk to her. At first she doesn't want to open the door but she lets her in. Amanda tells her that Volker was at a charity event in San Francisco when Cassie was murdered and there are hundred of witnesses who can confirm that. Then she says that Cassie did return to asks some questions about the Amazon village and the massacre. She could clearly see that Volker was not telling the truth and that he was really angry. She warns Lisbon that he is capable of doing lots of things. Lisbon shows her the picture again but she does not recognize the man. She tells Amanda to stay calm. She promises to protect her when the time comes to talk.
Afterwards, Lisbon calls Jane. He tells her to come to the news station together with Cho. The next day, Jane reveals to Lisbon that he is going on air because he found the murderer. But before, Jane went to an optician to get some glasses. And once again, Ed Hunt cannot find his glasses. Jane tells Ed that they caught the killer, and he is eager to know who it was.
The show begins as usual but Jane goes off script. He mentions that Cassie's car was tampered with. He points out that Volker and Ed know a lot about cars. Ed becomes nervous. Jane says that Ed was the one who tampered with the car. They supposedly found Ed's glasses in the wreckage and he presents them. Ed says that it is impossible because he didn't wear them. He is strung-out and tries to defend himself but then he gets up and runs away. Cho gets him.
In the interrogation room, Ed Hunt tells Cho that he only wanted to scare her and that he was the one sending the notes, pretending that they were from Richard Yuntz so that she leaves town. But it wasn't his idea. It was Volker who put him up to it. He says that Volker made it look like more of a dare to tamper the car and he could not back down. He says that killing Cassie was never his intention. And there is no proof that Volker is involved.
Jane tells Lisbon that Ed Hunt is a fool but Volker formidable. Lisbon can't make sense out of it. She feels that Volker just got lucky as the accident killed Cassie. But Jane points out that the guy they didn't find yet came there to kill and not to help. Lisbon is angry and is ready to go to Amanda so they can bring Volker down. She calls Amanda and we switch to her apartment where she is being strangled by the guy from the sketch. Volker is sitting beside and watching.
The team arrives at Amanda's apartment, having waited for the warrant to enter her apartment. They find Amanda hanging from the ceiling. Lisbon sits down on the stairs and Volker joins her. He says that Amanda left a suicide note via e-mail. She tells him that he won't get away with this.
Back at the office, Robert Kirkland pays her a visit introducing himself as being Homeland Security. He tells her to stop worrying about Volker as he has been taken care of. He says that Volker is a very powerful man and that she needs to step down. Kirkland leaves and runs into Jane. Jane doesn't know him but he tells Jane that he knows him.
Cast
Main Cast
- Simon Baker as Patrick Jane
- Robin Tunney as Teresa Lisbon
- Tim Kang as Kimball Cho
- Owain Yeoman as Wayne Rigsby
- Amanda Righetti as Grace Van Pelt
Recurring Cast
- Henry Ian Cusick as Tommy Volker
- Kevin Corrigan as Robert Kirkland
- Paul Willson as Paul Jenkins
- Matt Baker as Charles Milk
Guest Cast
- Mircea Monroe as Tara Skye
- Ted McGinley as Ed Hunt
- Amir Arison as Ryan Kasmir
- Jeremy Glazer as Steve Berman
- Rhea Bailey as Amanda Shaw
- VJ Foster as Dickie Yuntz
- Jennifer Peo as Cassandra Flood
- Nadege August as Female Cyclist
- Stephen Eshenbaugh as Prison Guard
- Gerald Downey as Forest Ranger
- Billy Choi as Volker group associate
- Hudson Phillips as Volker Group Man
- Tora Kim as Television Station Employee
- Devin Hennessy as News Director