Take Two – It Takes a Thief

By: Gladys Luna

We open with the robbery of an expensive painting from an auction house. In the meantime, at the office Eddie (Eddie Cibrian) is surprised to find that Sam’s (Rachel Bilson) date has sent her a bouquet of flowers. He doesn’t even try to hide his curiosity when he starts to question her about the guy. As he couldn’t collect much information about him, he asks Berto (Xavier de Guzman) to investigate the guy and let him know as much as he can. Unfortunately for the PI, Berto comes up empty.

A few moments later, a man named Paul Dorsey (Adam Greydon Reid) enters the place and Sam greets him happily, introducing him as the person that used to help her to buy art back in the day. Paul informs them that one of the museum’s paintings was stolen and it was supposed to be auctioned off in three days. The duo is taken to the auction house to investigate and they find that the painting was replaced with a projection coming out of one of the security cameras. The thief seemed to hack their systems as well as used a very specific way to enter the place. Eddie decides to call his friend Zeus (Lamont Thompson) to help him to get some information about the thief by using his high-tech gadgets. Fortunately, with the help of some information he manages to gather out of the place, he leads Eddie through the streets where the painting might have been carried out. And that is how they find themselves standing on a sidewalk where the only camera that may help them is the one that belongs to the ATM across the street.

On the other hand, Sam decides to ask her friend Mark Carrillo (David Stuart), who used to work as an FBI consultant for her show, to provide her some information about similar cases he had worked on and see if they can find something that would lead them to the thief. When she comes back to the office the team is analyzing the footage of the ATM. They manage to see a woman all dressed in black nearby in a black Civic. Sam goes through the files that Mark shared with her and finds that there was a man who used the same MO to steal art but he is dead now. However, they realize that back in the day his daughter Melissa Larson (Sara Canning) was a “person of interest” on his case, so they run a quick investigation on her and find that she might be the person they are looking for.

Eddie and Sam pay her a visit, but the exchange between the three of them turns very awkward when the woman starts to flirt with both of them. Eddie confirms that he knows that she stole the painting and she will be seeing them again. When they leave the woman’s apartment they meet with Zeus who has intercepted the woman’s phone calls. Right that moment Melissa makes a phone call and agrees to meet with somebody at a specific address to make an “exchange.” The duo goes back to the office and gets ready for their next move. While Eddie busies himself with a phone call, Sam sees the file with the investigation details that Berto had run on the guy she has been dating.

They finally arrive at the place where the exchange is to take place and see Melissa putting a tube inside a car and getting a bag out of it. Eddie rushes up and blocks the way of the “mystery buyer” where they are met with a man named Marcus Cutler (Nicholas Lea), a wealthy real estate magnate that is very well known for playing dirty. They ask him to give them the tube, but the man seems to have gone a step ahead by calling the cops. They arrive immediately, and he accuses them of harassment. Sam explains the reason why they blocked his car and asks him to give them the painting. Marcus does as requested, and they find some blueprint of a building instead.

Eddie and Sam inform Paul about the situation and he seems to be disappointed at the new information. He confirms that Marcus has been trying to buy his auction house and knows very well that without the painting he might not be able to keep up with the house.

Eddie comes up with the plan to visit Melissa and hire her to steal the painting from Marcus. Sam doesn’t agree since she knows the woman’s intentions towards hi. She does decide to wire Eddie and stay in the van with Zeus to listen how the negotiation between the two unfolds. Sam feels uncomfortable as the chatting grows heated between Eddie and Melissa. They are surprised when the woman declines to steal the painting, leaving the duo with nothing.

Since there are no other resources at hand, Sam suggests stealing the painting themselves, but Eddie is not so convinced by the idea. After a while, he finally agrees to the plan and Zeus lets them know that in order to enter to Marcus’ buildings and try to find the painting they have to steal the cards from either him, his security chief Michael Gould (Ian Butcher) or Nick Brennan (Ryan Hesp) who works as the facilities manager. They run a quick investigation on the last one and find that he is affiliated to a website called Matchstrike.com. so, Sam creates a fake profile and sets him up on a date. The plan is to steal his security card and clone it before he even notices it. Once Nick arrives at the bar where Sam is already waiting for him, the whole plan kicks in. Eddie is surprised at the speech that Sam delivers to Nick when he asks her about who she is (referring to her fake identity and as a way to know her better). A few moments into the conversation, Nick’s phone rings and he takes a call from his boss who asks him to go back to the office immediately, giving the chance for Sam to steal his card and clone it.

Sam and Eddie go back to the office and meet up with Berto and Monica (Alice Lee) who explain to them about the mansion and the warehouse that also happen to be Marcus’ properties where they believe the painting may be hidden. In fact, an auction will be taking place later that day at the mansion, so they think is the best opportunity they have to break in and find out if the painting is actually there. When they are planning what to do, Melissa enters the office and offers to help them. She is mad at Marcus since the man paid her with counterfeit bills. She lets them know where the vault is located at and they embark on a new adventure. Eddie and Sam arrive at the place and see that there is a stairway, but it is protected by a guard (Jeremiah Oh). Sam manages to distract him so that Eddie can go to the vault. Their plan seems to be working wonderfully until the security chief shows up and recognizes Sam. He immediately realizes the reason she is there and runs to the vault along with other two guys that manage to catch Eddie. Both of them get handcuffed and are sent to jail, but before Marcus makes sure to give them a message about how they cannot beat him.

The next day, Paul’s auction begins, and as expected Marcus is there. He stands up and dares Paul to show them the Kaminsky painting since he is sure he has it in his possession. He says that there are rumors that the painting has been stolen and tries to embarrass Paul, but he is the one who makes a fool out of himself when he sees the painting in full display there at the auction. By the time he realizes it, Eddie and Sam are sitting on each side of him and let him know how is that they managed to find the painting with Melissa’s help and they explain how the FBI and LAPD got truly interested on their case and decided to get involved.

Once the whole show has ended, Paul thanks Eddie and Sam for their help. He promises to send a gift to the woman and then walks away to attend some clients, leaving the two P.I.’s alone. They ask each other what to do next and then Melissa shows up as well as Sam´s date so they say their goodbyes to each other. They start to walk in opposite directions and then both come to a full stop, turn around and redirect their step towards each other – meeting in the middle of the street. They stand there, looking into each other’s eyes until their lips finally meet in a so much wanted kiss. Then, they split apart and keep staring at each other until the screen goes black.

Well, it seems like there will be a lot more to figure out on the next episode so make sure to come back and watch what the future holds for Eddie and Sam next Thursday at 10/9c on ABC. ¡Hasta la próxima!