Lem Can't Just "Throwaway" This Mistake (Episode 1.9)

It's only fitting that I'm recapping a Lem-centric episode this week, as Kenny Johnson is celebrating his 53rd birthday!

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This episode, our "previously on" announcer is Lem himself. Danni wanted Julien to put in a request for a new partner, as hers was denied. Dutch and Shane competed for the affections of a murder victim's widow; shockingly, Dutch won. Vic threatened to out Julien if Julien refused to drop his Internal Affairs complaint, so Julien told Edgar-veda he was mistaken.

Not sure if the music during the opening credits is rap or death metal in Spanish. A Latino man is beating a truck driver while his homeboys hijack the cargo: cigarettes. One of the gangbangers shoots out two tires before leaving the bloodied, battered trucker in the street. 

When the Strike Team arrives, the truck driver is sitting on the curb while paramedics try to clean up his face. Three men attacked him, but they were all wearing bandannas or masks. He knows they were Hispanic because they were speaking Spanish and had Spanish tattoos. He describes one tattoo as a winged serpent and another as just the letters "L.M." Ah, our old friends the Los Magnificos (Los Mags for short). 

At the Mackey house, Corrine shows Matt flashcards with drawings of kids on the front and an emotion on the back. Matt thinks the girl looks hungry. Corrine tries not to look disappointed; the back of the card says "happy." She suggests that Daddy help out. "Daddy's hungry too," says Vic, chomping on a banana. Corrine asks again and Matt gives the right answer.

On the next card, the girl is looking at the ground with giant tears rolling down her face. Matt says she looks happy. The phone rings. Corrine knows it's work by the caller ID and reminds her husband, "It's your day off." Vic answers anyway. Matt hugs his leg, awwww. Vic tells Corrine he's leaving.

Corrine isn't happy about this; she's sick and has barely slept all week. It's not fair that Shane got 3 uninterrupted days off to go to Las Vegas. "Shane's not in charge. I am," says Vic. The Mackeys are getting a new babysitter the next day and that should make things a lot easier for her. But as usual, Vic has no clue when he'll be home.

Vic's first stop is a tattoo parlor. From around a curtain, he sees a guy sitting on a tattoo stool with no pants on. A woman is holding the semi-naked guy's hand. "Cesar, tear yourself away," Vic orders. Cesar explains that the newlyweds are getting matching genital piercings. How romantic. Vic shows him the sketch of the serpent tattoo. It's not Cesar's work, but he'll make some calls.

By nightfall, their target has a name: Hector Estanza. The Strike Team stakes out his girlfriend's house. They get out and approach the house. They hear Hector's girlfriend yelling at him. The argument gets louder; the girlfriend wants him to leave, but Hector won't. Vic tells them to be ready. Hector is known for being violent.

They kick in the door. Hector heads for the back door with Vic on his heels and Lem close behind, ignoring their shouts of "Freeze!" Lem sees a gun and doesn't hesitate, firing several times. "Shit!" he cries when he walks closer. Hector didn't have a gun, just a carton of stolen cigarettes. They search him, but don't find any kind of weapon. Ronnie calls from the house, asking if they're all right. Vic yells back for him to stay with the girlfriend. He shakes his head: "Just when we got clear of everything."

"I shot an unarmed guy!" Lem's voice is almost a whimper. Vic is sure they can come up with a story, convince their bosses that Hector was the truck-jacker. "And he threatened us with a carton of cigarettes, so I shot him?" Lem is incredulous. Vic growls, "Hey! Let me think!" He goes back to the car, radios for backup and an ambulance, then gets a gun out of the trunk to plant on Hector. Lem protests. Vic lies, "I don't like it anymore than you do." The team can't afford trouble right now. Besides, Lem, you saw what Hector did to the truck driver's face.

Edgar-veda comes to the scene. Vic tells him the whole story, except in this version, Hector had a gun that Vic didn't notice. Lem did, thereby saving Vic's life. The woman on the porch is shouting, "Chako! What did you do?" Vic assures her that her boyfriend Hector will be fine. The woman drops a bombshell: "That's my brother, Chako." Edgar-veda rounds on Lem, "You shot the wrong guy?" Lem looks sick to his stomach.

At the Barn the next morning, Vic tells Edgar-veda they thought Chako was Hector because of the gun and cigarettes. He adds that Chako is no angel; he's a Los Mag, probably the same crew as Hector. They don't think Hector's girlfriend was in on it. Lem will interview her at the hospital. Vic hopes she'll roll on Hector for beating her up. I wouldn't count on it.

The captain summons Julien upstairs for an ass-reaming about taking back his statement and that there's clearly been misconduct. Why shouldn't he turn Julien over to IAD for filing a false report?

Julien grew up in Farmington, dreaming of making a difference as a police officer. Edgar-veda says taking Vic off the streets would've made a big difference and he's concerned the two of them made a pact. Julien tells him no, which is sort of the truth. It was actually blackmail.

Julien wants the chance to prove he's a good cop. The captain puts Julien on probation for a month, docks a week's pay, and will write an official reprimand. Despite not really being in a position to make this demand, Julien says, "A new training officer might help me with that fresh start." Edgar-veda tells him that he doesn't get to choose his own partner and neither does Danny.

At the hospital, Lem joins Hector's sister Tigre in the waiting room. He tries to keep things light and friendly by introducing himself by his first name: Curtis. I can't help but think of the last Tig that Kenny Johnson shared the screen with.

Yeah, that didn't work out so well.
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Lem asks about Chako and the Los Mags. Chako joined the gang 3 years ago, but he's no longer part of it. Chako just came over to protect her from Hector, who isn't happy that Tigre broke up with him. Lem wants to know if she's ever considered pressing charges on Hector. Tigre doesn't think the police can protect her: "Chako was taking care of me until your guy shot him." Oh, if only she knew. Lem can ask anyone in the neighborhood and they'll say Hector was out of the life.

Claudette and Dutch make their way into a backyard. Julien leads the way, saying he's sure the victim was bitten by coyotes. The rabbits and groundhogs are all hibernating. And how does a city boy know this? He spent time hanging out at his grandpa's farm. The victim, an elderly man named Maynard Hawkins, is still alive, to a post in the ground. He sits dazedly in a lawn chair. His clothes are ripped and filthy. His face is also dirty and might have a bruise or two. 

Claudette asks the man if he's been outside all night. Maynard doesn't want to be any trouble. Dutch assures him that he's far from being the one who's in trouble. "He's got some pretty serious bites. Where are the damn paramedics?" Claudette grouses. Danni calls them again while Julien frees Maynard with bolt cutters. The elderly man insists that he's okay. Claudette notices he's blind.

A guy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth calls down from the balcony, asking what's going on. It turns out he's the victim's son Lloyd. Claudette informs him that his dad's been attacked by coyotes. Lloyd looks chastened; he's sorry and can explain everything. "Save it for the station," advises Claudette.

When Claudette gets to the Barn, her own father is waiting for her. Claudette immediately thinks something is wrong. Professor Bryce Wyms shrugs that he just needed a quiet place to read. Claudette can't talk right now, but he doesn't mind waiting. "It could be hours," Claudette warns. That's okay; Bryce is only on page 23 of his book. He sounds like me. Bryce is also sure the station is fascinating.

"It is," Dutch says brightly. Claudette counters, "It's not." Dutch thinks they should let Bryce judge for himself. He takes Bryce to watch Claudette interrogate Lloyd via closed-circuit TV. Lloyd doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. Claudette tells Lloyd he's being charged with elder abuse, a felony. Dutch tells Bryce they know he's guilty, but it's a matter of degrees. "So it's the subtle fractions of culpability that conspire to determine that man's fate?" Bryce muses. Must be a law professor. Dutch grins.

Claudette goes on that Maynard was tied up "like an animal" with no shelter. Lloyd tries to explain that with a pity party: he's divorced and got behind on alimony and child support to the point that the state of California garnishes his wages. He missed payments to the nursing home, resulting in his dad's eviction. 

Lloyd couldn't put him in another nursing home because they're all too expensive. Maynard's Social Security benefits barely cover the cost of food and adult diapers. Lloyd chains his blind father outside because he wanders. His mother isn't around. "It is the system that screwed him over, not me," Lloyd concludes. Claudette handcuffs Lloyd to the table: "That's to make sure you don't wander."

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Out by the cage, Lem meets with a parole officer named Travis. He asks about his client Chako Orozco. Kind of sounds like a rap name. Travis knows his good ex-cons by name and says, "He's not in any kind of trouble, is he?" Lem chews hard on his gum, thinking 'No, but I am.' 

In the clubhouse, Lem tells the rest of the Strike Team they made a mistake. Chako's P.O. says he's clean. Chako is also part of Clean Slate, a local program for gang members who want out. Chako's never missed a counseling session and mentors young bangers reconsidering their life choices. Vic says that doesn't mean Chako didn't get back into "the life." Chako also ran from them.

According to Tigre, Chako was scared about getting caught with the stolen cigarettes. Vic asks about the tattoos. Tigre told Lem that Chako was saving to get them lasered off. "His sister has a name now?" says Vic. Lem wants to get Chako's side of the story. He doesn't care that the truth could get him suspended from the department or worse. Here we establish Lem as the only guy on the Strike Team with a conscience.

Claudette plans to go back to the hospital to talk to Maynard. "Rebecca wants you to meet Warner," Bryce says. I assume Rebecca is one of her daughters. Warner is her new fiance. Claudette doesn't want to meet the guy. It seems Rebecca is already married. Bryce wishes Claudette would see her; after all, Rebecca just flew 3,000 miles from Boston. 

Claudette doesn't mind visiting her daughter. It's the boyfriend she objects to. Rebecca and her husband Gordon have only been married for 11 months. It's too soon for her to give up. "She's a big girl now," says Bryce. Claudette offers to take him to his car, but Rebecca and Warren dropped him off. Bryce wants to stay and let Dutch finish showing him around.

Vic goes to the hospital to see Chako, who repeats that he was just protecting his sister. He ran because having stolen cigarettes on him would violate his parole. Furthermore, Chako knows a gun was planted on him and that'll be his third strike. "They planted the gun on you?" Tigre says angrily. Vic says that never happened. Chako wants to get to what really matters to him: keeping Tigre safe. Hector will think Tigre tipped the police off about the cigarettes. 

Vic asks where Hector keeps stolen goods and who else is in the crew. Chako insists he's not a Los Mag anymore. Lem promises that they'll protect Tigre. Vic notices the blurry L.M. on Chako's chest and remarks, "Must've hurt like a mother getting that thing lasered off." "Worse than getting shot," Chako says pointedly.

Outside, Vic says, "This is not good. I believe him." So does Ronnie. Hector's pretty noble for thinking more about his sister's safety than he does about getting sent back to prison on his third strike. Ronnie agrees that they set up the wrong person. "What if I killed him?" Lem asks shakily. "You didn't," Vic shrugs. He doesn't know what the next move should be.

Lem paces the clubhouse, waving a basketball. Wonder if it was signed by Derrick Tripp? They just have to clear Chako's name. There must be a way to get the gun charge dropped without admitting it was a plant. Ronnie has an idea: sneak the gun into the evidence room. Lem thinks it'll never work; too many people go in and out. Vic knows it's a lot quieter at night. In the meantime, they'll find Hector. Lem will guard Tigre while Vic and Ronnie comb the streets.

Vic's phone rings. When he picks up, he can hear Matt in the background saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" Corrine asks why Vic's been gone since yesterday. Besides, she thought he'd made an arrest. She needs to go out and pick up her prescription from Rite Aid. Vic wants to know if the babysitter is there. Corrine whispers, "Well, I'd have to leave her with the kids." "We hired a babysitter you don't trust with the kids?!" Vic can't believe it and neither can I. Corrine dodges that by asking when he's coming home.

In the breakroom, Ronnie asks Julien what kind of season he thinks the Dodgers will have. Julien doesn't watch baseball. "Would it be profiling if I said, 'I bet you follow basketball'?" asks Vic. Uh, yeah, pretty much. He actually did hear that Julien is a Clippers fan. It just so happens Vic has two tickets to a Clippers game he can't use, floor seats, no less. Vic is also putting together a precinct softball team to play "those beach cops over in Venice" and wants Julien to play center field.

Lem parks his low-rider motorcycle, which looks a lot like this one, outside Tigre's house.

Nope, THAT doesn't stick out at all.
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Lem cheerfully bangs on the door. "You're here," Tigre says unenthusiastically. Lem smiles, "As promised." "Nice bike. Hope you chained it," she says, letting him in. Lem wants to know if she rides. Tigre is sure he's only asking because she's got gang ties. She asks what's going on. Lem explains he's staying with her until they arrest Hector.

Lem takes a quick look around the apartment. The first open door is Tigre's room. She has a cute pastel bedspread and even a few stuffed animals. Lem sticks his head in the bathroom and walks back past her bed. "What do you think you're doing?" Tigre demands. Lem notices her lingerie hanging on a clothesline outside the kitchen window. He at least has the sense to look embarrassed.

Lem thinks he has the place covered. He goes to the living room and sits down in a chair next to the window. "Ain't nobody getting past me," he assures her. Tigre shakes her head. I think the fact he didn't raid the kitchen while he was in there shows remarkable restraint. Also, how can she resist this face?

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"Social Services already told me they're taking me away," Maynard tells Claudette. He's in a hospital room with the top of his head and the bites on his arms bandaged. Claudette asks what happened to his wife. Maynard says Mona ran away 5-6 years back; Lloyd told him so.

Lem, still trying to make conversation, asks what Tigre does for a living. She's a stylist. Lem asks, "So you could do my hair?" Oh, honey, don't mess with perfection. Tigre suggests he cut it all off and start over. Bite your tongue, woman.

Tigre could help them out a lot if she tells them where Hector's next heist will be. She claims she doesn't know. Lem doesn't quite believe her. Chako's not afraid of Hector like she is. Tigre says she has reason to be. Guys like Hector don't scare Lem; he deals with them every day. There's a big difference between arresting a guy like Hector and living with one.

To prove her point, Tigre lifts up her shirt, revealing a large "H" cut into her stomach. Lem's face is equal parts sad and "oh, hell no". He thinks it looks fresh. It is; Tigre says Hector cut her last night when she refused to let him and the stolen cigarettes in. 

Ronnie and Vic sit in a car near Hector's house. The gang members seem to be planning their next job. Ronnie states the obvious: Lem's been down in the dumps since this whole thing started. Vic says it's better than the possibility of him getting shot. A motorcycle roars down the street, a bike they're both familiar with.

Lem is unperturbed by the chained, barking pitbull near the house. He gives the metal security door a good kick. Vic and Ronnie jump out of the car. When Hector answers the door, Lem grabs him and tosses him to the pavement. Lem hits Hector in the face a few times, then burns him with his own cigarette. "You like that?" he shouts.

Hector's homeboys rush out to see what's happening. Guns drawn, Vic and Ronnie announce that they're the police. Lem stands up and shouts, "That's for Tigre, asshole! Now you stay away from her!" He gives Hector a kick for good measure. Vic tries to talk him down. "He branded her!" Lem says.

Hector warns that Lem is dead if he comes between him and Tigre. Lem lets the gangbanger know he's not scared of him, punctuating it by jumping on top of him again. Vic manages to get Lem away from Hector and keeps his gun pointed at the gangbanger. "That's right, bitch-ass!" Lem says. The pitbull is still barking and looks ready to snap its chain any second. In the immortal words of Disney's Megara, "Get out of there, you big lug, while you still can."

Back at the clubhouse, Lem angrily hurls darts at the board. Hector needed a lesson. Vic says Hector was about to knock over another truck and "15-to-20 woulda been a great lesson." Ronnie compliments Lem on his ass-kicking skills. Vic argues that's not the point; catching Hector in the act and locking him up was their mission. "What about getting Chako off?" Lem inquires.

Vic grabs his arm, not a good idea while Lem is still holding a pointy object in his hand: "I said tonight. Now are you protecting the sister or just getting in my way?" Lem can take a hint. He flips the remaining dart at the board with his back turned, a pretty neat trick. He could probably win Tigre a stuffed animal at the pier that way.

Dutch has learned new things about his partner from Bryce, namely that Claudette was a classical dancer as a teen. Claudette shrugs that she only studied for 9 months. "In Paris," Dutch reminds her. Claudette tells them they have a new angle on their investigation into Maynard's abuse. Lloyd has been cashing his mom's Social Security checks for quite some time, but she's nowhere to be found. Maynard and Mona have 5 other kids that Claudette plans to call. Dutch will do some digging on the computer. "Oh, and your daughter and her fiance will be here in half an hour," he adds.

Edgar-veda wants to talk to Danny. Surprisingly, not about Julien. He has a friend who let him peek at the sergeant's exam scores. Danny failed by 3 points. She's, understandably, angry and frustrated with herself. I can relate; I missed a computerized exam by that margin and have to take a mandatory study skills class next semester. Never mind that I got a B in the class overall. Anyway, Edgar-veda is sure she'll pass next time.

Vic goes into the evidence room, but can't find the plant gun.

Tigre gently cleans Lem's knuckles with peroxide, just like she used to do in her brother's bad old days. "It feels good," Lem says. No, that stuff stings like a bitch. Tigre wishes she'd seen it. Lem is sorry he couldn't do more. I think he probably would have if Vic hadn't shown up. Chako doesn't deserve to be in prison, but Hector does. Tigre wants to know what he plans to do about it. Lem tells him to have faith in her, then says there's something he has to tell her. Oh dear.

Lem doesn't ease into, just blurts out, "I shot your brother. I thought he was gonna kill my boss." Tigre asks, "Are you the asshole who planted the gun on him?" Of course, Lem doesn't save his own neck and tell her, "No, it was my asshole boss." Tigre loses interest in the details. She wants Lem out of her house. Lem points out that Hector will probably kill her. Tigre pulls a gun. Pretty sure she can take care of herself.

"You shoot my brother, then you try to get in my pants for laughs?" she says shrilly. Lem tells her it's not like that, although he does seem very interested in her pants. Stop lying, dude, you're no good at it. Lem says he just made a really horrible mistake. The argument is halted by the sound of glass breaking. When Lem opens the door, a car full of gangbangers rolls past. He shoots at the car but misses. "Punk-ass!" Seriously, quit taunting the gangbangers.

While Lem looks through the evidence room, Ronnie flirts with Kakuza, the female cop who normally works in there, to distract her. He's thinking of moving out the Valley. Kakuza lives in West Hills and says it's nice. Ronnie thinks he saw a West Hills for rent ad on the bulletin board. Could she go check? Kakuza says sure, but she has to lock up first.

Vic comes out and jokes, "Sleeping on the job again?" Kakuza is suspicious that Vic and Ronnie are trying to pull some kind of prank on her. Oh, not at all, just some minor evidence theft. She goes into the evidence room and warns that she's watching them. Vic and Ronnie walk away, exchanging "aw, fuck" looks.

Claudette is getting nowhere: "Every one of Maynard's kids hopes he rots in hell, have no clue where the mother is." Dutch got hits on Mona's maiden name in Virginia, but he can't call tonight due to the time zone difference. Rebecca comes in and introduces Claudette to Warner. Bryce is with them and ready to go out to eat. Dutch tells him there's a diner in the neighborhood that Claudette likes.

As they walk, Claudette asks how the lovebirds met. "Parent-teacher conference," Warren replies, "She taught my 9-year-old." Actually, both of his boys have been in Rebecca's class and they loved her. "I see," Claudette says icily. Bryce starts, "Peaches--" Claudette snaps at him not to call her that. She just wants to know if Warner "wants a wife or a babysitter." Warner is uncomfortable and thinks he should go back to the hotel.

"How can you say that?" Rebecca demands of her mother. Claudette doesn't want Rebecca to throw away her marriage. Rebecca argues that she's having problems with Gordon and Mom is, like, being so unfair to Warren. Claudette wants to know how this forced meeting was supposed to change her mind. "Well, at least everyone is finally talking," Bryce deadpans.

Vic is still hovering around the squadroom. Lem asks if they got the gun. The answer is nope. Tigre should be safe for tonight; Lem is putting her up in a hotel. Ronnie knows Kakuza won't let them near the evidence room again. If the gun ends up at the city's main evidence locker, they'll never get it back. "How bad do you wanna make this right?" Vic asks Lem, "You ever wonder how evidence gets from here to Central Storage?"

Dutch's new girlfriend Widow Kelner drops by. She was trying to make him a special dinner and had the microwave, blender, and TV on at the same time. The lights went out and she doesn't know why. Dutch says she overloaded the circuit; all she has to do is find the circuit in the breaker box. "Maybe you trip my switch," she jokes lamely.

Claudette, back from her fun-filled family dinner, sees them kissing. Danny sees it too and thinks it's nice that he's dating someone. Dutch just met Kim, but things seem to be going well. I'd say more than well given they had sex in her kitchen. Claudette calls Dutch over and triumphantly hands him a file. She's glad he has a girlfriend who doesn't happen to be their coworker.

Bryce is here again. Dutch had planned to show him their fingerprint system. She shoos him away to check on the Virginia Beach leads. Bryce tells Claudette that Rebecca is shipping up to Boston in the morning and they should have dinner as a family. Claudette doesn't think that's a good idea. Bryce says he'll do a better job refereeing. Claudette says there's nothing to referee if she doesn't show up. Bryce says, "I remember a brilliant scholar who chose to go into police work against my advice. I was mortified." Claudette is sure he still is. Bryce says no, he understands now.

Vic invites Julien to a fellow cop's retirement party. Julien wants to know why Vic is being so nice all of a sudden. "You looked out for me. I'm just trying to look out for you," Vic says easily. Julien knows Vic isn't his friend, so he can quit pretending.

Claudette calls Mona Gaines of Virginia Beach, introducing herself as a detective from Los Angeles. She asks if the woman was once Mona Hawkins. "What do you want?" the old lady says nastily. Claudette asks if she's aware that her son Lloyd has been cashing her Social Security checks. Mona doesn't care about that as long as she doesn't get hassled.

Claudette tells her about Lloyd abusing Maynard. Mona says, "That's not my problem. Don't call me back." Dutch tries to be positive; at least Mona isn't dead. "One hell of a family," Claudette comments. Yeah, get these people a seat on Dr. Phil.

Lem, playing with fire, rides back to Hector's. This agitates the guard dog. Hector's not there, so he gives a message to the homie: Tigre is Lem's girl now. If Hector doesn't like it, he can meet Lem at the river at 11:00 this morning. "I'll kick all three of your asses at the same time," says Lem.

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It'll be just four guys settling their differences. No cops, Lem himself notwithstanding. Hector's friend says they're on. Before roaring off on his bike, Lem throws out his favorite word of the episode "bitch."

Vic goes to Cesar's tattoo parlor and asks for some temporary ink, accidentally walking in on another dude getting his junk pierced. At the Barn, Kakuza loads a cart with evidence bags, wheels it to the parking lot, and loads it into a van. There's a rap song playing in the background that name drops a '63 Chevy. Given Kenny Johnson's birthdate, I'm not sure it's a coincidence.

Vic covers his face with a bandanna. Lem does too, his trademark blond spikes stuffed under a hat. Smart thinking, anybody could ID that hair. Lem swerves in front of the evidence van and parks. Vic gets out, holding his gun sideways like a real gangsta. "Please don't hurt me!" pleads the uniform who's yanked out of the driver's seat. Vic holds him down, a large "L.M." on his forearm.

Somebody, I'm guessing Lem, wraps their hand in a cloth to open the back door and paw through the evidence bags. Another good idea since all their fingerprints are on file. However, gloves might have been easier. Somebody else spray-paints "L.M." on the side of the van. Vic shoots out a tire.

Later, the Strike Team comes up to a crime scene. "A police evidence van was robbed," Edgar-veda says. Oh, that's news to them. The uniform driving says the only thing stolen was a gun. Vic surmises from the tag which gang is behind it. Lem checks the evidence log and gee whiz, it was Chako's gun. "If we don't get that back, Chako's gonna walk," says Vic. Edgar-veda wants a description of the gangbangers. Officer Johnson just remembers a winged snake tattooed on the leader. Vic says it must be Hector.

Rebecca goes to the Barn to say goodbye since Claudette wouldn't join them for dinner again. Claudette hugs her and says they need to agree to disagree about Warner. Not like he's standing right there or anything. Claudette gives him a tour, starting with an interrogation room. She closes the door behind them. "So this is where you break 'em," Warren says nervously. Downstairs, Rebecca exits the ladies' room and asks, "Where's Mom and Warner?"

Upstairs, Claudette wants to know if Warner is aware how smart Rebecca is. "I do love her," Warner says. If his kids didn't like Rebecca, he'd have a hard time choosing sides. "Don't make jokes about giving up your kids," Claudette's using her stern mama tone. Her daughter dreams of getting a doctorate and writing a book. Warner will support Rebecca's goals. Claudette knows Warner has all the right answers today, but marriage is about having the right answers every day, not just when it's convenient. 

Hector's pitbull wags its tail in anticipation, snarling viciously at the police cars parking in the driveway. The cops swoop in and corner Hector and friends. Hector is still sporting that cigarette burn. Vic is surprised at how easily he gives up. "He doesn't put up much of a fight 'less you wear a dress," Lem snarks. Hector isn't worried; they'll have to let him go for lack of evidence. I wouldn't be so sure.

Vic informs Hector that he robbed a police vehicle. Hector says he was at the river waiting for Lem. Unnoticed, Lem slips a gun out of his back pocket and onto Hector's windowsill. Oh, and looky what we have here! Lem sniffs the barrel and says it's been fired recently. Hector better hope it doesn't match the bullets from the van. "You set me up!" handcuffed Hector cries as they walk him out the front door. Vic says, "Like a jury's never heard that one before."

Edgar-veda sits Julien and Danny in his office. He saw them bickering about taping the perimeter at the van robbery scene: "If I separate you two, you'll just carry your baggage somewhere else." He believes in solving problems, not moving them around. He asks them to name their primary issue. "Communication" is Julien's answer and "trust" is Danny's. "Trust comes from communication," says the captain. What seminar did he get that from? 

Edgar-veda could send them both to a team-building workshop or the department shrink. Do either of those sound fun? Danny and Julien say no. When they trust each other, Edgar-veda will feel more comfortable pairing them with different people.

Bryce invites Dutch to have dinner with the Wyms family. He can't because he has a date with Kim. Bryce thanks Dutch for showing him around. 

When Vic gets home, Corrine is packing lunches for their two older kids to take to school. Matt kept asking about Vic and she didn't know what to tell him. Oh, and by the way, Corrine fired the babysitter. Why? "She just created more work. I had to explain everything to her and she didn't know how to handle Matthew." What did Corrine expect the first day on the job? Makes me wonder how she treated the less experienced nurses at work. The kids need Vic. He reminds her that he can't quit his job.

"Wanting us to be a family doesn't make me a shrew," says Corrine. I can see both sides of the argument. "This is working," she says, "Something has to change." It's not like she even gave the sitter a chance.

A nurse wheels Maynard out of the hospital. A van is waiting to take him to a nursing home. "Where's Lloyd?" he rasps. Claudette tells Maynard, "He's with us. He'll be better off." She asks why all 6 of kids hate him, not even mentioning Mona. Maynard's answer is simple: "I was a bastard." Claudette gets back in her car and asks her dad if she can change her mind about dinner. Bryce smiles; he made a reservation for 4.

Lem, sitting on Tigre's couch, has just told her the good news. "You expect me to believe that Hector just made that gun disappear?" she asks, "Chako goes free?" She sits down next to him, wearing an almost see-through top. "I have you to thank for that, don't I?" She gently tugs one of his beltloops. Lem is all aw-shucks: "I'm the one who shot your brother." Tigre runs her hands through his hair and teases that she could do something with it.

Tigre starts to kiss him. Lem enjoys that for all of 10 seconds before jumping to his feet. He confesses that they did plant the gun on Chako because they mistook him for Hector. Tigre stands up too, pressing a finger over his lips. She knows, but Lem making it right is all that matters.

They start kissing again. Lem picks up her up, carries her to the kitchen table, and lays her on top of it. Then he climbs on top of her. One of them knocks over a little knick-knack and a lamp. Who has a lamp on their kitchen table? Neither of them are heavy, but it'll be a miracle if the table survives this. However, I'm sure Lem would be a gentleman and replace it. End of episode.