Episode 309: About Last Night

About Last Night is the ninth of twelve episodes in Season Three of the Showtime series DEXTER, and the thirty-third overall episode of the series. It first aired 23 November 2008.

Dexter is happy to have someone to help him with his killings, but can his new accomplice really keep to the Code of Harry or will he become the very thing Dexter seeks to destroy?; Rita revolves to confront Miguel about his suspected infidelity; Debra searches furiously for Anton when it's revealed that he was abducted by the Skinner.

Summary
It’s the morning after Dexter and Miguel together take Billy Fleeter’s life, and Dexter feels no longer alone, He answers the door when Sylvia shows up at Rita’s house. Miguel was out at all hours and she thinks he’s having an affair. When Dexter assures Sylvia that Miguel was with him until midnight, she says he came home an hour ago. This is a surprise to Dexter.

On his way to work, he stops at Miguel’s house. A cheerful Miguel is about to leave for the courthouse. Dexter tells Miguel that he tried to cover for him with Sylvia but thought he went home. Miguel says that he was wired after the kill and went to Jack’s Hideaway to unwind. However, Dexter once grabbed a wife killer there at the 2:00 a.m. closing time, which means Miguel couldn’t have been at the bar all night.

Anton is still missing and the police are searching his apartment and canvassing the area. There are no signs of a struggle and no blood is found anywhere. Angel asks why Anton was back in town and Debra says that he never left. A clue is found when Dexter holds up the kitchen’s empty trash can with no liner. Outside, near the building’s dumpster, they find Anton’s bag of garbage spilled on the ground. Also, Dexter notices a smear of blood and hair on the wall from Anton hitting his head, and Quinn points out tire marks. Anton was seemingly nabbed by The Skinner and Angel puts in a call to alert the media and have off-duty officers man a tip line.

Debra insists on picking up George King. Angel says he’ll get a search warrant but they won’t be able to hold him if it doesn’t turn up anything.

In a secret spot, King is wielding a machete over Anton, now missing a strip of skin from his back. Terrified, Anton offers to give King money but King refuses, saying it’s about respect. King threatens to remove more skin unless Anton reveals Freebo’s location when he returns in an hour.

Dexter overhears Maria leaving a message for Ellen Wolf asking if she’s sick because she missed the Chicky Hines motion hearing that morning.

Quinn and Debra are at King’s house waiting on the warrant. Debra grows impatient and busts open a storage shed but it’s empty. Her behavior annoys Quinn and he reminds her that they’re partners.

Suspicious about Miguel's nighttime disappearance, Dexter calls him to “check in.” Miguel is in an upbeat mood and says the Chicky Hines motion was continued. He invites Dexter to lunch, saying that he has ideas for more "projects." Dexter declines to meet, claiming to be busy at work.

Maria, tired of sitting behind a glass wall, questions Mario Astorga from King's crew.

Angel overhears Masuka and Barbara discussing deviant sex acts. He pulls Masuka aside and orders him to lay off the dirty talk, but Masuka says that Barbara brought it up and calls her the "Wikipedia of Perv."

When King arrives home for breakfast, he’s shown the search warrant by Quinn and Debra. They tell King they're bringing him to the station and he politely states that he can only be held for 24 hours -- and knows his rights. Under questioning, King is totally cool and admits to nothing.

Meanwhile, Mario Astorga is still in custody, quaking in fear over his boss. Dexter watches Mario’s behavior on camera and recognizes it as real, deep fear. He wonders what King did to provoke it.

Debra loses her temper while she’s questioning King and Quinn orders her out of the room to get coffee. Dexter tells Debra to trust her instincts, adding that King has held life and death in his hands and he likes it. He advises her to approach King with deference, since disrespect appears to be high on his list of violations.

Dexter asks Maria if she’s heard from Ellen but she hasn't returned three messages. She hopes Ellen hasn’t had an accident or something. Dexter leaves work and goes to Ellen's home office. She’s not home but her car is in the driveway. He breaks in and discovers blood on the floor, evidence that Miguel killed her.

Miguel shows up at an open house with flowers for Sylvia. Instead, he finds Rita working there alone. She tells Miguel that Syl isn’t feeling well and confronts him about his recent behavior. He lets Rita counsel him on how to mend his marriage. Miguel tells Rita that she’s a wise person who has deep insights, and he’ll follow her lead.

Debra interrogates King again. She initially shows deference, but ends up pinning him to the floor and screaming at him. Quinn rushes in and pushes her from the room while King smirks. Quinn and Deb loudly blame each other for Anton being nabbed. After they vent, they agree that they need to break King during the next few hours.

Dexter walks through West-Gate Cemetery, looking for open graves where Miguel might have stashed Ellen’s body. It’s not long before he finds her, hidden under dirt. Alarmed that he created a monster, he apologizes to Ellen’s corpse. Dexter doesn’t feel that Ellen deserved to die and decides to not let it happen again. He calls Miguel, now wanting to meet him for lunch.

While at Cojimar Cafe, Miguel says that he could let George King walk free so they can take care of him. Dexter asks, "You need some help on this or is it another solo project?" Miguel doesn’t deny killing Ellen and says they have different ideas of justice. He reminds Dexter of the blood-stained shirt he gave him as a token of his trust. Miguel tells Dexter that real friendships include disagreements and he knows what he’s doing.

Since Miguel thinks he's untouchable, Dexter returns to the cemetery to set up a wake-up call.

Maria confides in Debra about how she built a huge wall around herself because she thought it made her a better cop, but it didn't.

Maria asks Miguel to buy time before King is released so they can find Anton.

Two boys playing at the cemetery discover Ellen's body. Angel sends everyone who isn’t working on the Skinner Case to the scene. Maria is distraught when it’s confirmed that Ellen was beaten, strangled, and stabbed three times. Dexter muses that too many people are affected when the innocent die. Masuka says he thinks the killer was a pro, since the body dump is so clean.

Miguel arrives at the cemetery and acts appalled. He walks over to Dexter, whom he realizes is behind the discovery. Miguel asks if he’s just making the point that they follow the Code...or else. Miguel throws up his hands, and says, "You're a wise person, aren’t you?... You have insight. I’d be a fool not to follow your lead. I think you’re gonna to save my life." Dexter thinks Miguel is being facetious but hopes he has learned his lesson.

Rita feeds samples of wedding cakes to Dexter and asks which one he prefers. (He chooses hazelnut.) She proudly tells Dexter that Miguel thinks she’s a wise person, has insight, and could save his life, Dexter recognizes the words and realizes that Miguel's speech to him was bullshit. He wonders how long Miguel has been lying to him... and thinks of the stained shirt. He retrieves it from his apartment and heads to the station to analyze the blood.

Maria is grieving for Ellen at the station and Angel suggests that she go home, but she wants to stay. Angel warns Debra and Quinn that if they don’t close the King case soon, Ellen’s case will take over.

Miguel agrees to offer a deal to King if it isn't recorded, so Angel allows him to turn off the camera. After Miguel meets with King, he claims that he couldn’t make a deal. To the dismay of the team, they are forced to release King. On his way out, King crosses paths with Dexter who hopes to get to know him better.

Dexter runs tests on the blood-stained shirt.

Debra thinks of a way to get Mario Astorga to talk. When she drops him at home, Mario notices the recently trimmed trees. He freaks out, worried that King has been there. Debra promises to send protection, but they need to know where King is. Mario finally agrees to help and reveals that King has a building that he rents with cash on 164th street under the highway. The ruse having worked, Debra and Quinn pay off tree trimmers and head to the building.

King sees them coming and runs. Quinn is unable to jimmy the door so he rams it with his car. Inside, they find Anton nearly unconscious and with a large wound on his back. They call an ambulance and issue an APB on King.

Dexter is waiting in his office for the results of the blood test. Through his window, he watches Miguel enter Maria's office, where she's crying alone in the dark. He tries to comfort her and offers to take her home. Miguel assures Maria that she has him to lean on.

The blood test results in a match and Dexter stares at his screen. ''It's not Freebo's blood. It’s not even human. It’s bovine. Cow's blood. He’s been using me the whole time. I didn't create a monster; I was used by one. He used me.'' Dexter is furious. He feels like smashing up his office and screaming Miguel’s name. However, he remains calm when Miguel pops in to ask him to play golf the next day."Today I keep up the pretense. But soon, maybe tomorrow, Miguel will know exactly how I feel. Because finally there's an emotion I don't have to fake. Today, I feel something real. - Dexter [voiceover]"

Quotes

 * Today I wake up, kiss the wife-to-be… feed the step-kids-to-be, dress myself in the usual pants, shirt...and pretense. - Dexter [voice-over]
 * “From what I've read about these sick fucks, they usually have some sort of... code.” - Dexter to Debra, regarding George King
 * “When you've been married as long as we have, you know when your husband's lying.” - Sylvia to Dexter and Rita

Related Pages

 * Anton Briggs' Apartment
 * Chicky Hines
 * Code of Harry
 * Cojimar Cafe
 * Dexter's Apartment
 * Ellen Wolf's House
 * Ellen Wolf Murder Case
 * Miguel Prado's House
 * Rita Bennett's House
 * West-Gate Cemetery
 * Secret Skinning Spot
 * Skinner Case