JESSE STONE: DEATH IN PARADISE (TV)

Summary

One in a series of made-for-television drama films, based on the novels of Robert B. Parker and concerning an emotionally troubled police chief who deals with murder and corruption in a small Massachusetts town. This installment is based on the third Parker novel of the same name. Stone and Officer "Suitcase" Simpson find the badly decomposed body of a young woman by a river, discovering that she was tied to cinder blocks with cheap twine. Back at the station house, Stone detains a drunken Jerry Snyder for beating up his wife Vivian yet again, and at the grocery store, he talks with Carole Genest, widow of the villainous Joe Genest, who explains that she has gone back to school. Stone eventually releases Jerry, who is annoyed to have been locked up next door to an errant canine, and Suitcase finds a class ring engraved with an "HR" at the crime scene. Stone, suspecting murder, tries to trace the killer's steps, finding the victim's broken necklace chain in a nearby tree. Back at home, Stone talks to Jenn, who advises him to seek therapy for his mounting alcoholism. Captain Healy stops by and confirms that the victim drowned after imbibing alcohol and muscle relaxants, adding that she was around fourteen years old and pregnant at the time of her death.

Stone visits the local school and talks to headmistress Lilly Summers, who confirms that the ring belongs to "Hooker" Royce, an "all-American" popular jock. Mrs. Snyder soon visits the station house again and admits that she longs to leave her abusive husband, but feels trapped by her religious tenets against divorce and by her own lack of education and money. At Jenn's suggestion, Stone meets with a Dr. Dix, a recovering alcoholic ex-cop-turned-shrink who observes that Stone unfairly blames himself for his divorce as well as Abby's murder, among other things, and offers him some matter-of-fact advice about sobering up. Royce confirms that he gave his ring to one Billie Bishop, a fellow student infamous for her promiscuity, and did not bother to reclaim it when he reunited with his "real" girlfriend. Summers confirms that Billie, formerly an excellent student, received poor grades due to her "passivity" in class. Suitcase speculates that Royce is the culprit, though Stone expresses his doubts, and Billie's "status-conscious" father admits that he ousted her from the home for not meeting his "high standards," though Mrs. Bishop admits that she spoke to her daughter, who assured her that she was safe, several weeks earlier. Stone, now all the more sure that she is the girl in the river, finds a book by one Norman Shaw in Billie's room

Crane happily notes that Vivian has decided to divorce Jerry after all, and Stone flatly informs Jerry that he will kill him if he harms his soon-to-be ex again. Stone accepts Summers' dinner invitation and things quickly turn romantic, though Stone later tells Dix that he did not drink while with her, feeling that he is not hopelessly addicted just yet. Dix advises him to view his personal issues "like a case," and when Stone asks why a teenage girl's personality might change significantly, Dix suggests a trauma, such as molestation. Stone and Suitcase talk to Billie's older sister Emily, who seems unsurprised by her sister's grim fate and strongly implies that their parents were abusive to both of them. She leads them to a Catholic shelter, where Sister Mary John confirms that Billie spent time there and left behind a phone number. Stone experiences disturbing "visions" of Billie as Crane reveals that the phone number connects to Shaw's publishing house, and though Suitcase still suspects Mr. Bishop, Stone remains unsure. He later crashes an upscale charity event at which both Summers and Shaw are in attendance, telling Shaw that he is violating various minor laws of the town, and he finds that the Bishops, previously regular attendees at the annual event, have been removed from the guest list. Stone tells Summers that he cannot risk his "last chance" at redemption by behaving recklessly with her, and Healy, confirming that the DNA is a match, suggests that "stone-cold killer" mobster Leo Finn, about whom Shaw is currently writing a book, may be relevant to the case.

Stone travels to Boston to meet Finn and his bodyguard "Lovey" Norris, but Finn refuses to divulge any pertinent information. Stone's re-interview with the Bishops is interrupted when he learns that an enraged Jerry has taken Vivian hostage at the grocery store, and when Stone and Suitcase confront him, both Jerry and Mr. Kim are killed and Suitcase is gravely wounded in the ensuing shootout. Stone, rattled by his partner's injury, visits Shaw and "apologizes" for crashing the party, praising him for his charitable interest in "our youngsters," and though Shaw names Finn as his alibi for the time of Billie's death, Finn confirms that Shaw is a "scumbag" child molester, though refuses to testify to any solid evidence. Crane stays by a comatose Suitcase's bedside, and when Stone finds the telltale rope at Shaw's home, he procures his DNA from a dropped cigar and places him under arrest. Stone tells Summers that the "easy" case is now closed, but the D.A. tells him that while Shaw has admitted to "falling in love" with Billie and fathering her child, they cannot make a strong case for his having killed her. Stone updates a still-unconscious Suitcase, wondering why "avid yachtsman" Shaw would have tied such an ineffective knot in the rope, but he then comes to a realization. He meets with Finn and Norris again and declares that they, much more expert killers than Shaw is, are in fact behind Billie's death, having decide to frame Shaw for her murder in order to prevent the publication of his "exposé" on Finn's criminal dealings. Norris ends up shooting Finn as he attempts to kill Stone, and Stone shoots Norris dead. He later visits Billie's grave, assuring her that he "got them," and then returns to the hospital, where he reads to Suitcase about the life of Harry "Suitcase" Simpson. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:27:31
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 120454
• GENRE: Drama, police/detective
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; Drama, mystery/suspense; Massachusetts; Murder
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 2006
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Tom Selleck … Executive Producer, Writer
• Michael Brandman … Executive Producer, Writer
• Steven Brandman … Producer
• Robert Harmon … Co-Producer, Director
• Tim Christenson … Associate Producer
• Drew Matich … Associate Producer
• J.T. Allen … Writer
• Robert B. Parker … Based upon the novel by
• Jeff Beal … Music by
• Tom Selleck … Cast, Jesse Stone
• Viola Davis … Cast, Molly Crane
• Kohl Sudduth … Cast, Luther 'Suitcase' Simpson
• Orla Brady … Cast, Lilly Summers
• Gary Basaraba … Cast, Norman Shaw
• John Diehl … Cast, Jerry Snyder
• Debra Christofferson … Cast, Mrs. Snyder
• Mae Whitman … Cast, Emily Bishop
• Matt Barr … Cast, Hooker Royce
• Edward Edwards … Cast, Hank Bishop
• Brendan Kelly … Cast, Lovey Norris
• Liisa Repo-Martell … Cast, Carole Genest
• Kerri Smith … Cast, Sister Mary John
• Stephen McHattie … Cast, Captain Healy
• Maria Ricossa … Cast, Sandy Bishop
• Vito Rezza … Cast, Anthony D'Angelo
• David Christoffel … Cast, Prosecutor
• John Beale … Cast, Dr. Peter Perkins
• Steven Flynn … Cast, Leo Finn
• William Devane … Cast, Dr. Dix
• Carolyn Fitzgibbons … Cast, Billie Bishop
• Rhonda McLean … Cast, Miriam Lowell
• Michael Ha … Cast, Mr. Kim
• Murlane Carew … Cast, Valerie Morton
• Glenn Lefchak … Cast, Ambulance Attendant
• John MacLaren … Cast, ER Surgeon
• Gil Anderson … Cast, Jenn (V.O.)