Tonight on TLC Major Crimes airs with their season 3 finale episode. On tonight’s episode called “Zoo Story”, young women begin to vanish from a popular nightclub, resulting in a territorial war between Major Crimes and the Special Operations Bureau. Meanwhile, Fritz Howard deals with poor health, and Rusty’s mother struggles with personal issues.
On the last episode the mysterious murder of a tech-entrepreneur with questionable morals and possible mob connections has the Major Crimes division working overtime. Meanwhile, Rusty struggled to feel accepted when Raydor’s son Ricky came home to visit and Fritz Howard prepared to assume command of the LAPD’s Special Operations Bureau. Adam Busch, Ryan Kennedy, Jon Tenney, Dylan Bruno and Noah Crawford guest star. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode the LAPD finds itself in a precarious situation during an investigation into the disappearances of a string of young girls from a popular nightclub, leading to a turf battle between The Major Crimes division and the Special Operations Bureau. Fritz Howard remains on the mend from poor health, while Rusty’s mom continues to struggle with the law and her sobriety. Jon Tenney, Laurie Holden, Colin Ferguson, Ellen Wroe, Brandon Barash and Ever Carradine guest star.
Tonight’s episode is going to be filled with action and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our live coverage of the show tonight at 9 PM EST! While you wait for our recap hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about the third season.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
Fritz is told by a doctor that he has a heart condition and that he has to think about retiring. He says he has a new job – a desk job that’s low stress. The doc asks what this is and he says Deputy Chief, Special Operations at LAPD. He says it’s just management but we see him thinking about all the hectic insanity the job entails. Fritz says he feels fine but the doc says he’s risking his life going back to the job in this condition.
He says it’s not a job, it’s a calling and he got a big raise and good health insurance. He has to wear an external pacemaker and the doc says they’ll try it but he has to wear it 24/7. The doc says it will keep him from dying with a little charge and says it will shock him. He signs the medical release conditional on him taking the medications including an aggressive blood thinner. He says if he gets shot, he’ll bleed out in a heartbeat.
At an adult club, Amy tells Sharon that Kate, an undercover cop, has disappeared. Andy tells Sharon there’s a turf battle brewing. Buzz tells Sharon he found hidden cameras in the ladies room in a bad place. They have the employees assembled and Julio tells her the staff is playing dumb but at least no one knows she was undercover.
Tao says he’s looking for prints and tells her McGinnis there. They think she may have been drugged and taken out. Provenzo brings McGinnis over who tells Sharon that Kate was on the gang intelligence unit. Oderno says he was looking for a lead on two missing persons. He says the two previous victims look alike so they borrowed Kate from SOB because she looks young. It’s a 21 to drink bar.
Oderno says he came with Kate and they split up. He says she was supposed to flirt, meet guys and then make contact every 10 minutes with eye contact. He says at 1 am he noticed she was gone. He went looking for her inside and out but didn’t see her anywhere. He says he checked every car and called for back up at 1:15. McGinnis says he used her for bait and lost her.
Julio says her cell phone was turned off at 1:11 am. Sharon tells them to send out parole officers looking for the phone. Tao says they need to test for more than the usual club drugs. The Zoo Zone is owned by absentee landlords from Maldova. Amy still can’t find the manager. Tao says Maldova is known for prostitution and other unsavory crimes.
Andy thinks the cameras is why the manager is making himself scarce. They ask about the other two girls. McGinnis is furious at the lack of back up. Oderno says Kate broke protocol and McGinnis snaps at him. The Chief calls Sharon, McGinnis and Provenza in. He tells McGinnis the case is theirs and Sharon says they don’t need to let anyone know they grabbed a cop because then they’ll kill her at once.
McGinnis isn’t happy but the Chief tells her to pull her people back, keep it quiet and stay out of the way. She fights back and he gets snippy and tells her to stand down. She stalks off. Sharon thanks the Chief and he tells her not to screw it up and to find Kate alive. He stomps out. Sharon asks Provenza if he thinks the kidnapper was a pro and they think he’s a repeat offender.
Rusty is at the jail to visit his mom. She’s excited and thanks him for coming. Mrs Beck tells him she hates him to see her like this but says she had no one else to call. She tells him she was picked up for shoplifting but says it’s a lie. She tells him a story about how she saw a friend from high school and then walked out to say high.
She says the bail is five grand. She says he only has to pay ten percent so it’s just $500. She asks if he can come with it and she asks if he still does the work he used to do on the side. She says she wouldn’t judge him and he tells her to never talk about that again. OMG! She wants her son to whore himself out to pay her bill! Then she asks him to ask Captain Raydor for the money to to cut her a deal.
She gets snippy with him and tells him he has n oidea what it’s like in there. She says it’s terrifying and says the cells are small and the people are scary. We see Kate the cop locked up in a metal cage with some other women.
They show Tariiji, the manager, footage of cameras in the bathroom and his lawyer says he didn’t know they were there but they synced to a camera in his office. They tell him each camera is a separate felony – a sex crime. Fritz shows up and Tao asks why the hell he’s there. He asks if he’s told Brenda and he says no. He tells him he has a pacemaker and McGinnis to deal with – he asks for a briefing.
Tao says there is a pattern pf missing girls from 18 and up clubs all along the area. No bodies have been found. Fritz thanks him and then tells him he owes him. Amy works on Tariiji when Fritz comes in and offers to make himself useful. Provenza asks how he knows and he says McGInnis was told not to tell her staff, but he’s her boss.
Andy shows Tariiji photos of girls and his lawyer wants to know why they ask. Tariiji says he would never help steal girls and they ask him why they think the girls were stolen. The lawyer tries to cover that up. Sharon comes in and says they are there to talk about his Visa issues because he’ll be held for sex crimes and held without a Visa. Tariiji freaks and says his bosses will kill him.
He says he wasn’t at the club last night but then points out one of the other girls and says he can be a witness. He says she was drunk and couldn’t stand and says a guy grabbed her and says he was her brother. He says he wouldn’t let her leave like that and didn’t believe him. He says he thinks the guy drugged her. He says he walked out to the car but then let him take the girl because his wife was with her.
He says it was an SUV and it was green and older. The lawyer asks for a guarantee of his safety. He says he saw small crates for pets and grocery bags. Julio found Kate’s phone and Sharon leaves while Amy stays with Tariiji to talk more. Kate is trying to get out of her cell and there’s another girl there who wonders if they shouldn’t wait for the cops but Kate tells her it’s too dangerous.
She says she has to go through her cell and tells Ginny to calm down. She says they have to get out. Ginny told her she only saw two people – a man and a woman. She tells Ginny when she lets her out, she needs to stay off the main road until she gets to a home or a town. Ginny asks if Kate will be okay and she tells her just to worry about getting herself out.
Kate pops the lock on the girl’s cell but the young girl freaks out and is too scared to go. Kate tells her she has to get safe and send help back for her. She pleads with the girl who finally walks to the ladder to climb up. She opens the door and then closes it back behind her. Kate hids the tool she used to pick the lock.
They pull the photos off Kate’s phone. Tao and Buzz try to compare the photos to social media. Rusty comes in. Sharon wonders if the woman could have been drugging the girls. Sharon says to enlarge and print all the photos. Rusty tells Provenza about his mom’s arrest. Provenza says no one would give her $500 on bond because you need an asset. Rusty says it’s a relief because while she’s in jail he knows where she is and can’t be doing drugs. He asks why she has to do time.
Provenza tells him that theft violated her probation and adds six years on to her sentence. He says Sharon may be able to help his mom and he says he won’t ask her – he says he doesn’t want to hand off his problems to other people like his mom does to him. He tells Provenza he just wants the facts on her arrest and he agrees to get it for Rusty. He asks what time he saw her and he says 11.
[9:39:49 PM] Rachel Rowan: Julio goes to the morgue with Sharon. Ginny is dead and they found handcuffs on her. She had broken bones and bruises. A car ran her down – a green car. Provenza says the paint may take them to the SUV. McGinnis is there but they reassure her it’s not Kate. They tell Sharon they think she escaped and McGinnis says Kate helped her. The coroner says the evidence shows she was running for her life.
McGInnis wants to throw up a perimeter around the area. Sharon says they don’t know enough. The coroner says there is dog hair on her clothes from several breeds, she was on an odd liquid diet and hadn’t been sexually abused. The recipe for her stomach contents was for milkshaking horses. They realize the girls were drugged with an animal tranquilizer.
Kate hears her kidnappers talking and the woman is yelling at her husband for running the girl down. Kate asks where she went and plays dumb. The wife says the girl has to go and Frank (the hubby) says she’s five pounds top heavy. They talk about her being shipped to a game preserve in Mexico and the wife says she doesn’t want her killed her.
Frank comes to drug Kate and she fights back and then attacks the wife too. They snag her just before she gets to the top of the ladder and drug her. Frank’s wife tells him to hurry up and get her crated. Provenza finds Rusty and asks if he’s sure he wants to see it. He tells the boy his mom had stolen two dresses, shoes, vitamins and also had some meth. Rusty asks him why she keeps using and Provenza says her problems have nothing to do with him.
Tao tells them the lab found a drug called ACE or ACP that’s used to sedate horses for surgery. Sharon says they need to search vet clinics and are looking for a Chevy Tahoe with a busted headlight. Julio starts a search for the owner of the vehicle. Buzz finds three vet clinics but only one that does large animal surgery. His name is Frank – a vet – and he has a Chevy Tahoe.
Fritz asks if SOB can help and the Chief says they can provide backup. Sharon shows McGinnis where they need to be and they coordinate then head out. A lone car comes to the clinic – it’s Andy and Amy. They call out and then Frank comes out. He says he has a cat prepped for surgery. He tells them all his ACE is accounted for. Andy pulls out a form and says he wants to look in their garage.
His wife sees and goes out running. The cops don’t see her. Frank asks what they’re searching for and they tell him a green Tahoe. He says he’ll go get the garage door opener and goes to the back. Then he grabs a gun and heads into the back and then out the exit. The cops have them surrounded so he runs back in. He pulls up the gun and Amy puts a couple in him.
They don’t see the wife and Frank looks to be dying. Andy stares her down but Julio gives her a shoulder bump. The cops spread out to search the place. They are in the area of the stables and McGinnis spots a hatch and they hear a woman crying for help. Kate isn’t there and the girl is crying and says she was beaten and starved. They ask where the other girl was taken.
Tao stops them and tells them that the girl on the gurney was at the club. McGinnis grabs the woman and demands she tells her where the girl is. They ask her where the cop is that she kidnapped. Turns out it’s not Frank’s wife, but his sister and she screams at them for shooting them. Then she says she wants a laywer but Sharon advises her to hold off on that and help them out.
Kate is in a cargo truck but frees herself from her container just as the truck stops. She hides but then hears McGinnis and is relieved. She calls out to them and McGinnis helps her down and checks on her. She steps out in to the daylight and Tao helps her step down. The cops then search the other containers looking for other girls.
Provenza says the Fed took over the human trafficking part of the case. The gang sits down and Buzz plays them surveillance of the video. He shows them the part where she asks him to hustle to pay her bail. Sharon is horrified. Mrs Beck is called to see a visitor and it’s Sharon, not Rusty there to see her. She does not look pleased to see Rusty’s junkie mom.
Mrs Beck looks pleased to see her and asks about Rusty. Sharon says she’s there to talk plea agreement. She asks if she’s going back to rehab. Sharon tells her that she’ll serve out her one year there at county but she’ll have to be sober. Sharon tells her if she doesn’t stay sober or steps out of line, she’ll send her to an upstate prison.
Sharon tells her she will make sure she’s drug tested regularly and have CIs report on her behavior. She says any step outside the line and she’ll serve the six she owes plus six more. She asks why Sharon is made at her and Sharon is disgusted that she doesn’t know why she’s mad. Mrs Beck asks what about Rusty’s sake and Sharon says this is for Rusty’s sake. Mrs Beck says she’s just made a big mistake but Sharon reminds her she’s the one in the blue jumpsuit and that she’s the one headed home.
THE END!
