Overall it was a decent episode. Entertaining storyline that moved at a good pace. None of the dragging I have felt in a few of the last ones. Still, there hasn’t been an episode that has topped the pilot for me.
Neal and Mozie are lead to Grand Central Station by Kate’s map. Neal finds a letter left by her there but the letter says goodbye. Of course Neal will not accept a goodbye from her so he sees it as another clue.
Peter stops by with a new case, a stolen portrait called Young Girl with Locket. Neal asks if he has a photograph of it. Peter doesn’t and says “I bet it’s of a young girl wearing a locket”. Seeing paintings myself most of their titles don’t get more creative than that so it’s no surprise when Peter is right. Peter is worried that Neal will try to steal the painting because it is so valuable.
The home owner shows them where the painting was stolen from. She says that her class was let out early and she arrived while the man was stealing it. She got a few hits in but he got away with it. Peter asks to see a picture of the painting. While she goes to get it her uncle Gary comes downstairs. He quickly says he was at work at the time and leaves. Peter and Neal think that it was an inside job.
With Gary having a lawyer Neal goes to talk to him. Neal gets him to think that he works for the man he paid off with the painting. When he tells him that his niece Julianna might be a problem that they will have to deal with, Gary quickly writes a ten thousand dollar check to pay for her safety.
Neal gives Peter the check which was written to a Gerard Dorsett. Peter has heard of him and thinks i would be best to get to him before he finds out that Julianna is talking to the FBI.
The FBI has Gerard on tape going around town and trying to sell the portrait. Taryn Vandersant, a women who works at one of the galleries Gerary, has visited has set up a meeting with Gerard to have Neal act like a high spender interested in buying the painting. Sounds too much like the set up from last week’s episode to me.
Since the meeting is for the next day, Neal returns home to work on Kate’s latest message. He folds the paper all sorts of ways looking for a secret message for him in her writing. He finally finds it, meet her at that spot on Friday.
Neal gets wired up before Gerard arrives. They show Gerard the money and he lets Taryn authenticate the painting. While Taryn works, Neal and Gerard talk about relationships. Gerard has a girlfriend named Brigette who is what he calls a butterfly, someone who flies from relationship to relationship. I can think of a few other labels for people like that. Gerard spots a undercover agent signaling outside and pulls out his gun. He takes the money and the painting and runs. By the time the FBI gets in there he is gone but they have to arrest Neal and Taryn to save their cover.
A curator from the Channing museum is in the FBI office claiming that the painting belongs to them. He says that it was stolen from their museum in 1969 and they want it back. Burke asks Julianna about how her family got the painting. She says her grandmother brought it over from Hungary after the war. Neal tells her that she is not a good liar and knows her grandma stole it. He says that the painting will go back to the Channing when they find it unless she could give him a good reason. She shows him her locket, the same one from the painting. Her grandmother was the young girl in the portrait. Burke’s next lead in finding the painting is Dorsett’s girlfriend Brigette.
Neal gets tired sitting in the car staking out the Brigette they picked. Burke lets him go into the restaurant for a better view. He goes over to Brigette and her friend and buys them a drink. A short time later they have invited Neal and Peter to their hotel room.
Peter and Neal notice that the girls do not want them in the master bedroom for some reason. Neal decides to investigate and excuses himself and enters it leaving Peter alone with the giggly frenchies. While the girls are all over him Elizabeth calls. Peter answers and tells her that he is in a nightclub. Neal finds the painting behind the bathroom mirror. He takes it out and sees written on the back a note to Julianna. He pockets the painting and leaves.
Dorsett returns to the hotel and finds the painting gone.
Neal walks home with Peter and asks him if he would like him to lie to Elizabeth for him. Peter says that he is just going to tell her the truth. Peter’s cell rings and he learns that they lost Dorsett along with the painting and money.
Peter tells Elizabeth that he thinks that Neal stole the painting. He also confesses that he was not at a nightclub. She says that she knew he was lying but doesn’t care because he’s a good man.
Neal is preparing to give the painting back to Julianna. Dorsett calls him and says that if he does not return it in two days he will have a visit paid to Taryn. Neal decides it’s time to get some help from Mozzie. Mozzie yells at Neal for stealing the painting but asks what his plan is.
Neal goes to Peter and confesses stealing the painting. He doesn’t give Neal a chance to explain. Neal says that they threatened Taryn if they do not get the painting back. Peter says that they will take care of it tomorrow and kicks him out of his house.
With Mozzie’s help, Neal is making a replica of the painting to give to the man from the Channing. Mozzie doesn’t think his will trick the guy because he is an expert, but Neal has no intention of tricking him. When his is dry, he turns it over and adds his own message on the back.
Neal meets Dorsett again and gives him back the painting. The FBI quickly storms and arrests Dorsett.
The man from the Channing observes the copy. While this is going on, Neal has returned the real painting to Julianna whom he learns is the illegitimate daughter of Haustenberg and that he willed her the painting when he died. Neal tells her that the Channing will leave her alone because if they come after the painting the curator will have to explain why he ignored the will. Sure enough, the curator reads Neal’s message on the back of the copy and then pronounces it as real.
Neal goes back to Grand Central to meet Kate. She talks to him over a nearby phone but is in Neal’s sight. She tells him that the man will let her come back to him if he tells her where he hid his stash. He refuses and runs up to get her. She tells Mozzie to tell Neal that she loves him, then disappears. Neal says that he loves her but won’t give up his stash to get her back. Make up your mind buddy, what’s more important to you?
