Episode 405: Dirty Harry

Dirty Harry is the fifth of twelve episodes in Season Four of the Showtime series DEXTER, and the forty-first overall episode of the series. It first aired 25 October 2009.

Dexter is inspired to investigate the Trinity Killer on his own, while Debra blames herself for an event that was out of her control, and Rita realizes how little she knows her husband after discovering one of his secrets.

Summary
Dexter arrives at the parking lot of Frank Lundy’s hotel which is now a crime scene. He sees a body on the pavement, covered by a yellow blanket, which may be Debra. He crosses the tape, but Dexter is stopped by a police officer. Having forgotten his ID, he isn’t allowed to proceed. In growing frustration, Dexter tries to force his way past the officer. Angel Batista notices the interaction and tells the cop he’s “one of us.” Angel assures Dexter that Deb is alive, but has lost a lot of blood. As she’s loaded into an ambulance, Dexter thinks, “If Deb dies, I’ll be… lost.”

The paramedics said Deb isn’t seriously injured and Dexter is visibly relieved. Joey Quinn was first on scene and suspects the Vacation Murderer. He tells Dexter that it’s Lundy’s body on the pavement, and Dexter asks why he was with Deb at five in the morning. The awkward silence of the others answers the question. Angel orders Dexter off the case, and tells him to go see his sister. However, Dexter wants to investigate first. He reflects on Lundy as a “worthy adversary” who deserved a more dignified death.

Deb didn’t see her assailant, and her cash and credit cards are gone, as are Lundy’s watch and wallet. Dexter skirts a puddle of blood to talk to Vince Masuka. According to him, Lundy was shot twice. Dexter wonders why the killer made sure Lundy was dead, but left Deb alive, a potential witness. Everyone pledges to “get this guy,” meaning Johnny Rose, but Dexter thinks they’re looking in the wrong direction, though he doesn’t say so.

Christine Hill is at the scene and checks with Quinn, after which she asks Angel for a statement. He’s about to brush her off when he has an idea. Angel tells her that Johnny Rose has syphilis, and to publish that story, with pictures.

Dexter breaks into Lundy’s hotel room, looking for details of the “interesting encounter” Lundy mentioned the other day. Dexter doesn’t believe that Johnny Rose shot Lundy and Deb because he’d have finished them both off; instead, he believes it was Trinity. Dexter steals most of Lundy’s research, and takes a picture of the map on the wall.

As Trinity is sitting at a diner, he watches news of Lundy’s death. The waitress delivers his Denver omelet, but it doesn’t contain diced tomatoes, as he requested. She offers a side of tomatoes, but he firmly insists that she start over. When she says (with a forced smile) that it’s coming, he tells her that she’s a dear.

Rita is hurrying the kids out the door on her way to the hospital when Dexter’s phone starts ringing. Astor answers it, and tells her mother it’s Dexter’s landlord, calling to report a problem in Dexter’s apartment.

At the hospital, Deb wakes up, and Dexter waves from the bedside chair. She tells him she’s fine and didn’t need surgery, just stitches. She’s on strong painkillers and feels tired. Dexter starts asking her what she remembers, but she takes offense to his questioning. She expects that from Angel or Quinn, but not her brother. When Dexter asks what he can do for her, she states there’s nothing anyone can do. She says that Lundy had a look in his eyes “like he was apologizing.” She felt helpless at the time, still does, and can’t even walk to the bathroom. Dexter offers to help and leads her across the room.

As he waits, he thinks that even though Deb’s life was spared, he won’t be returning the favor. Just then Anton Briggs walks into the room and panics when he sees an empty bed. Anton asks, “Oh, God, Deb, is she…?” Dexter says she’s “peeing.” Anton sighs with relief and enters the bathroom.

As Dexter exits Deb’s hospital room, Rita arrives with baby Harrison. She’s relieved to hear that Deb is okay, and says she would’ve been there sooner if she hadn’t been so busy talking to Dexter’s landlord. Dexter is blindsided by her catching him in a lie. He claims that he held onto his apartment for the security deposit, but that doesn’t explain why he said he’d gotten rid of it. Rita suggests they discuss the topic at a better time, saying, “Family comes first.”

Anton helps Deb back in bed and hovers over her, concerned. Deb, in emotional turmoil, confesses that she slept with Lundy, and wants to break up with him, Anton is deeply hurt and storms out of the hospital, ignoring Rita and Dexter.

At the station, Angel brings a cup of coffee to Maria LaGuerta, who just got off the phone with Lundy’s daughter. Deputy Chief Thomas Matthews is outside LaGuerta’s office, talking on his cell phone. LaGuerta tells Angel that she made official disclosure about their relationship, and he becomes angry. LaGuerta states it was a judgment call, and Angel retorts, “The problem, Maria, is that you made it for the both of us.” He leaves, as Matthews walks in.

The homicide team discusses the case. Masuka says he’s waiting on lab results, while Quinn says APBs are out on Rose and Nikki Wald, and security has been heightened at airports and high-profile hotels. Angel reveals he’s the source of the Johnny Rose syphilis story.

The floor in Dexter’s apartment is covered with towels, mops, and rubber gloves, desecrating his sanctuary. He thinks about how the apartment has enabled him to lead a a secret life but now he has to give it up. Deb calls to say she’ll be out of the hospital the next day, and needs a ride and a place to stay. Dexter says it’s not a problem and he’ll take care of everything. He starts listening to Lundy’s tapes, hoping to find a clue to Trinity’s identity.

Trinity is picking out a hammer at a hardware store. He tells the salesman it’s for a project that might be more than he can handle, but he needs to finish what he started, alone. The salesman recommends the framing hammer, and Arthur thanks him for his help.

As Nikki Wald is walking down the street, she catches sight of herself on the cover of the Miami Tribune, under the headline, “VACATION MURDERER LISTED IN STD DATABASE: Police add Nikki Wald and Johnny Rose to list of prime suspects.” Horrified, she covers her face and runs down the street.

Dexter sits in his car outside Trinity’s next kill site listening to one of Lundy’s tapes as he describes the building, and Trinity as “the perfect predator.” Trinity’s victim of thirty years ago, a bartender and father of two, was found bludgeoned in a tavern that used to be on this site. So, if Trinity remains true to his ritual, this is where he will strike again. With no physical description, though, Dexter doesn’t know who he’s looking. He realizes there still might be another tape on Lundy’s tape recorder. Since it wasn’t in his hotel, it must be in evidence. He has until tomorrow to find it.

Quinn thanks Christine with a sexual act for her article about Johnny Rose and his STD.

The next morning, Deb moves into Astor’s room, and Astor moves into Cody’s room. Deb apologizes to them both, and notes the stiffness with which Rita accepts a goodbye kiss from Dexter. She wastes no time in asking if everything’s okay. Rita says they just need to have a talk and assures Deb it isn’t about her. As soon as Rita is out of the room, Deb, moving with difficulty, grabs her pain pills and throws them in the trash.

As the kids file out the door, Dexter thanks Rita for letting Deb stay with them. Rita replies, “Well, it was either here, or at your apartment.” Rita asks when it will be a good time to discuss his apartment. Dex lays a guilt trip on her, saying that right now he needs to focus on finding who shot Deb.

At the station, LaGuerta remarks to Angel that he didn’t sleep at her place last night. He calmly tells her he thought he’d get more rest in his own bed. She apologizes awkwardly, explaining that she’s a bit of a control freak. She says she told the boss about them because she wanted to get rid of at least one threat to their relationship. Angel replies, “The only thing that could ruin what we have is that we’re not honest with each other.” They promise not to have any more secrets.

Dexter is in the evidence room on the pretense that Deb has lost a ring, a family heirloom. It hasn’t been logged in the inventory, but Dex plays it like he’s being an indulgent brother. He then purposely breaks the glove he’s putting on, and asks the officer for another pair, effectively getting him out of the room. He quickly locates Lundy’s tape recorder, takes the tape that’s in it, and replaces it with another. The officer comes back with a pair of gloves and Dexter pretends he’s just received a text from Deb saying she’s found the ring.

At the office building where Trinity plans to commit a bludgeoning, the security guard is giving him a tour. Trinity is posing as a recently laid-off man going into business for himself. They turn a corner and come across a little café. The friendly man at the counter pours the guard some coffee and offers Trinity a cup, but he refuses, saying, “Caffeine makes me a different person.”

Continuing down the hall, Trinity learns that the guard makes his rounds every two hours, and that each round takes about forty-five minutes, “give or take a smoke break.” Trinity remarks that “we all have our vices.” On his way out, he enters an elevator and as soon as the doors close, his jovial expression turns empty and blank.

Deb is sitting on the couch staring down at a crying Harrison. She calls for Rita, who runs over, cooing, “Someone’s wet!” Deb says, “Good. I thought it was me.” As Rita changes his diaper, she asks Deb if she knew that Dexter had kept his apartment. It’s news to Deb, and she tells Rita it must be a Morgan family curse to make the worst choice possible, but at least Dexter doesn’t get folks killed. Having noticed Deb’s pain pills in the trash, Rita guesses that Deb is punishing herself. She tells Deb it’s not her fault and says, “Sometimes bad things just happen.” Deb doesn’t accept that explanation.

Dexter is in the lab listening to Lundy’s last tape and notes that Lundy never found Trinity’s signature -- cremation ashes -- at any of the kill sites. Finally, Dexter comes to the part of the tape when a man bumps into Lundy, and Lundy records what he’s seen. Just then Dexter’s distracted by a commotion outside his office. There’s been a shooting at the Colony Hotel, and the body’s a match for Johnny Rose. However, Dexter can’t go because he’s Deb’s next of kin and it’s a conflict of interest.

Johnny Rose is found lying dead in a pool of his own blood, having been shot three times. News comes over Angel’s radio that Nikki Wald has been cornered in an alleyway by the liquor store. The cops file out, leaving Masuka with the corpse. Wald is pacing, mumbling, yelling, and gesturing at the ground with her gun as though talking to Johnny. LaGuerta states that she’s wasted. As Wald is screaming about a boat and Bermuda and how Johnny ruined it all, Quinn sneaks up behind her and tasers her. He then notifies Deb of Wald’s arrest.

Deputy Chief Matthews meets with LaGuerta in her office. He starts by congratulating her for Wald’s arrest, but she gives Angel the credit. Matthews then tells her he can’t risk LaGuerta and Angel’s relationship becoming a “courtroom sideshow” every time they work a case together. He says although he is giving Angel a promotion, he is transferring Angel out of Homicide. LaGuerta strongly protests, but to no avail.

Dexter plans to have Trinity on his table in a few hours. As he’s driving, Deb calls and insists on seeing him. He makes excuses, until he hears she’s standing where Lundy was shot. He finds Deb standing in the hotel’s parking lot. There’s no blood left and Deb says, “It’s like it never happened.” She tells Dexter that he has it all, but he’s ruining it. Deb says she’s the fuck-up, not him, and that he has the choice to be a good husband and father, and shouldn’t feel trapped. Yesterday she had it all, and now she has nothing, and it’s her own fault.

"Debra: “It doesn’t matter what I do or what I choose, I’m what’s wrong. There’s nothing I can do about it. If I’m not hurting myself, I’m hurting everyone around me and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m broken. I…” Dexter: “No you’re not, I am.”"

He walks toward her, but she won’t let him near her. She continues to sob but finally lets him hold her.

Dexter enters his apartment to prepare for hunting Trinity, but is surprised to find Rita there with the baby. The manager had let her in after he learned they were married. Rita had searched his apartment, looking for something that would justify his secret, but found nothing. However, she couldn’t open the trunk in his bedroom. “Do you really want to know what’s inside?” Dexter asks, and she does. He sighs, bends, and opens the trunk, revealing an old rifle that belonged to Harry. (All of his other stuff is in a secret compartment below.) Dexter says he didn’t feel comfortable having the gun in the house with the kids. Rita, though, is not appeased. “The most disturbing thing about your lying,” she says, “is that I’m beginning to see how good you really are at it.” She suggests he sleep in the apartment that night, which works to Dexter’s advantage.

It’s after dark and Trinity is moving about inside the office building, carrying a black duffel bag. As Dexter pulls up to the building, he sees that the security guard isn’t at his desk. Dexter rushes into the building and notices a picture of the guard with his two kids. The elevator pings, and he quickly hides. The guard walks out and it’s obvious he’s not the victim. To distract the guard, Dexter hits an elevator button and sends it toward the twelfth floor.

Trinity lowers a visor over his face as his victim pleads with him, “I’m a father.” Trinity leans in and says, “You were no father,” and then lifts him to his feet and bludgeons him repeatedly in the head. Meanwhile, Dexter breaks into the surveillance room and discovers that the recording disk is gone. Dexter frantically scrolls through the screens until he sees Trinity beating the man to death. Trinity takes off his blood-spattered visor and Dexter gets a clear view of his face. He watches Trinity move the victim’s arms so they’re spread out at his sides.

Dexter pushes buttons until he locates Trinity on the fourth floor. He races up the stairs, but the fourth floor door is locked. Back in the lobby, he notices that the elevators aren’t moving, so Trinity must be using the stairs. He runs outside, wondering which exit Trinity will take. Just then, a garage door opens and Trinity pulls out in a gray van. Dexter quickly gets into a car and follows him, likening Trinity to a rat scurrying back to his hole. But Trinity isn’t going in the direction Dexter expected; he’s heading out to the suburbs.

On a residential street, Trinity pulls into the driveway of a brightly lit, welcoming house. Dexter is confused, “He doesn’t belong here. It doesn’t make sense.” Trinity gets out of his car and Dexter gets out of his. Dexter approaches Trinity with a syringe of M99 when Trinity’s wife greets him at the door, saying she’s missed him. Trinity walks into the house and greets his kids — one girl, one boy. Lundy was wrong. The monster is a husband and father, just like him.

Quotes

 * "Trinity’s a monster. If he’s the one who hurt your sister, you need to kill him. That was my blood down there too.” - "Harry" to Dexter
 * Is this a new page of the Code? Revenge? - Dexter, to himself
 * “The most disturbing thing about your lying is that I’m beginning to see how good you really are at it.” - Rita to Dexter
 * This apartment is the only place that’s helped me keep the mask in place, and without it...I’ll burst. - Dexter, to himself
 * “Hell hath no fury like a meth addict scorned.” Angel to Maria, about Nikki Wald.
 * Lundy was wrong, I was wrong. Neither of us knew there were pieces of the puzzle missing. Trinity is a husband, a father. He’s… like me. - Dexter, to himself

Trivia

 * "Dirty Harry" refers to a 1971 film of the same name. The protagonist "Harry Callahan" is out to catch a serial killer by himself.
 * A Twilight poster can be seen in Astor's bedroom when Debra is settled there. Executive producer and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg is also the screenwriter of the Twilight films.

Goofs

 * When Dexter listens back to Lundy's last tape, Lundy describes Trinity as "Male. Maybe 6’4”. 190 to 200 pounds. Age around 60. Hair gray, eyes blue.... something in them." However, in the previous episode, while Lundy was recording the tape, he actually said Trinity's weight was “200, 220 pounds.”

Related Pages

 * 100 Oceangate
 * Arthur Mitchell's House
 * Colony Hotel
 * The Bluewater Hotel
 * Christine Hill's Apartment
 * Frank Lundy Murder Case
 * M99
 * Rita and Dexter's House
 * Trinity Case
 * Vacation Murders Case

Gallery
Dirty Harry