Person of Interest 3.04: "Reasonable Doubt"

“I’m in the business of stopping bad things from happening. I’m not so sure what’s about to happen is a bad thing.”
- Reese

This week starts with our boys finishing up the tail end of a number. They’ve taken Bear to the vet claiming he’s been sleeping all the time, vomiting and just generally a sad puppy. It turns out this woman is their latest number and Reese (with an assist from Bear) stops some kids from stealing drugs. No sooner do they wrangle an expensive chew toy for Bear out of the vet but they get a new number. A prosecutor’s number has popped and she’s married to a somewhat powerful defense attorney. The POI, Ms. Vanessa Watkins, has lost her husband. He’s gone missing and she gets arrested for his murder by a Detective Cameron (aka Stan from In Plain Sight). Fusco gets to be our ears on the interrogation as Cameron lays everything out for what he’s got against Vanessa. Only after he finishes laying out his case does she speak with her attorney. Unfortunately she’s pulled a fast one on the NYPD because she’s knocked out her attorney, stolen her clothes and made off like she’s guilty.

Detective Cameron has a bug up his ass to get Vanessa. They caught video of her buying a bus ticket. Shaw retraces her steps when Reese realizes that Vanessa looked right at the camera at the bus station. She’s letting herself get seen so she can make a detour elsewhere. Reese and Shaw track Vanessa to see a former drug dealer that Vanessa put away. Apparently (given the hug they exchange) she talked to a judge and got him released early. He then hands over a kilo of cocaine as the cops pull up. She makes a run for it and Finch lets Carter know she’s up on the roof. Carter gets up there but Vanessa is a little crazy. She proclaims that she didn’t kill her husband but that no one can help her. She jumps off the roof and lands in the back of a garbage truck. I don’t think Carter saw that one coming.

Reese is on the scene and Carter says she’s learned that Detective Cameron has a personal vendetta against Vanessa because she discredited him on the stand during a case where an alleged murderer walked. So now we know why he’s so hot and heavy for her. Unfortunately, Carter’s newbie partner sees her talking to Reese. He asks about Reese a little later but plays it off as he’s happy she’s moving on. I still don’t trust this kid to be honest. I feel like he’s got to be an HR plant. Things are also getting a little dicey in trying to locate Vanessa. Finch finds that her friend is having a book club and Shaw volunteers to infiltrate to see if Vanessa’s made contact or asked for money. Because it’s Shaw and she’s nuts, she finds that Vanessa’s friend was sleeping with Vanessa’s MIA husband. Oops. Shaw’s response is “I’d rather shoot you but now I have to protect you in case your friend comes to kill you”. Oh, Shaw. Fusco has also done some digging of his own. Vanessa’s hubby was woefully in debt to the mob and it’s possible they offed him to send a message.

Reese is also trying to track down a witness who supposedly saw Vanessa toss the murder weapon in the river. But he’s just been busted by the cops for possession of a kilo of cocaine with intent to sell. Yep, she set him up. Reese kind of admires her spy craft though I doubt he would have stuck around to admire his handy work. It’s what allows him to catch Vanessa for a much-needed chat.

Their chat turns into a mini trial where Vanessa has to disprove the evidence against her. She recounts when she first met her husband and that he was nice to her, even though he completely crushed her in court. They fell in love. She knew about his debt but they had a living trust which said she wouldn’t get a dime of any life insurance if he died suspiciously. Fusco and Shaw are working on digging up what they can on the Watkins’ charity. Fusco has to stop Shaw from stabbing the poor old man trying to get the information (he was kind of a caricature of the older generation’s ineptitude with computers). Vanessa also dispels the idea that she killed hubby due to his affair. She admits she had one, too but she didn’t realize he was sleeping with her bestie. Carter, Reese and Finch are about to take a final vote on whether they think she’s innocent when our dynamic duo at the charity office call with news. Oh and the NYPD is closing in, too. The entire account was transferred by a co-signer that morning (aka 20 million went bye-bye). That co-signer is none other than Vanessa’s husband using an alias. Hmm. The plot thickens!

Vanessa can’t believe her husband set her up for murder. And the cops seem to be closing in. So Reese takes her to the train station to catch a bus with a new identity. And the cops ended up busting up an illegal gambling ring thanks to Finch sending in a tip from Zoe. But things go sideways when Carter and Finch realize that Vanessa was in on the plot to take the money and disappear with her husband until he double crossed her. Now she’s after him. Oh and I was right about Carter’s new partner. He’s totally HR (he ends up reporting to one of the dirty cops). Anyway, Reese shows up at the yacht where Vanessa is waiting for her husband. He’s rather pissed that she lied to him and that her husband framed her for murder. He leaves a gun and walks away, letting them kill each other. In the history of the show (yes I know it’s only in season 3) they’ve never had Reese fail to avert whatever the Machine is trying to warn them about. It was definitely a very Reese move. Neither party really deserved to be saved so he cut his losses. I hope they take these kinds of creative risks a little more often going forward. It really gives the characters some depth.