Mabel and Charles were once again back in action, and in Only Murders in the Building Episode 3, we see them investigating the mysterious death of Ben Glenroy. Mabel had been going through an existential crisis, and investigating Ben’s case made her feel that she had some purpose in her life. Mabel was taking the investigation very seriously, and she wanted to uncover the truth before the law enforcement authorities did. So, let’s find out what happened in episode 3 and if Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are able to make any more discoveries that lead them to the killer.
Spoiler Alert
Cliff Takes A Stand For Oliver
Charles and Mabel had come to the conclusion that the killer was somebody from the cast and crew of Death Rattle, and they told the same to Oliver, who at that time, was least interested in solving the mystery. Oliver just told Mabel that she should not target her lead actors and choose someone else as the prime suspect who didn’t have a lot to do in the play. Mabel told Oliver that she was not choosing suspects according to her whims and fancies, and if she found any evidence against anyone, she would be compelled to take action against them.
Meanwhile, Oliver still had to convince Donna and Cliff to let him go ahead with the musical, and he knew that it was going to be a mammoth task as Donna wouldn’t be convinced unless and until he proved to her that the show would be a commercial success. Donna did understand the intricacies of art, but still, as somebody who had been producing plays, she had to look out for it from a financial angle too. She came to the rehearsal, and she told Oliver that the only way his musical could be a hit was if he made people hooked to his songs. She wanted him to create one showstopper song that acted as the centerpiece of his entire play.
Donna was speaking from experience, but the problem was that Oliver was still miles away from creating that masterpiece. There was a lullaby that had to be sung by the character of the nanny, who in the play was played by Loretta. When Loretta performed it in front of Oliver, he knew that he had found the one song that would become the highlight of his play. Donna and Cliff came to hear the song, and Oliver just stood there nervously, hoping that they liked it. In the end, Donna told Oliver that the play was just not working and that he would have to shut it down, but just then, something surprising happened. Cliff, who always did whatever his mother told him, took a stand for Oliver. He told Donna that he had this gut feeling that the play would work and that he wanted to give it the green light. Cliff told his mother that he knew that it was a risky proposition and might not end up working, but he still wanted to go ahead with it because the song had struck a chord with him. Oliver was elated, and he enthusiastically started working on it so that he does not waste this opportunity.
Did Loretta leave the show?
Loretta came for the practice, and she was the only person who encouraged Oliver to find his voice and go ahead with the musical if he thought that it was what he wanted to do. She told him that his vulnerabilities made him unique; his flaws made him authentic, and so he should own up to them and not try to hide them. She said that the strength of his songs was that they were all simple yet impactful pieces that stayed with the listener long after they had heard them. The way Loretta sang the lullaby, even Oliver’s doubts got erased, and he became more sure about the direction he wanted to take. Loretta, in Only Murders in the Building Episode 3, informed Oliver that Dickie, Ben’s brother, was working with her as her manager, and she seemed to have struck a chord with him.
Dickie informed her that she had gotten a call back from the casting team of a renowned TV show, and Loretta was thrilled to hear that as she had become so used to getting rejected that she didn’t see it coming. She hadn’t expected to get a call back from them, and it was a big deal for her. But taking the role meant that she would have to leave the play, and Oliver was not ready to let her go. Oliver and Loretta had an argument of sorts, and the former ended up telling her that she was bound by a contract. Loretta felt a bit hurt seeing Oliver react in such a selfish manner, and she left the scene feeling disappointed in him.
After Oliver’s anger calmed down, he also realized that he had acted very selfishly and that he needed to let Loretta go if that was what she wanted. Oliver knew that doing a show would boost her career and give her the fame that Death Rattle could never give her. But Loretta had a change of heart, and she came and told Oliver that she had decided to stay back. We don’t know why Loretta made that decision, and her intentions did seem a little suspicious. In the upcoming episodes of Only Murders in the Building, we will probably come to know the real reason behind her staying back and if there is something that she is hiding from others.
Why did Charles have suspicions about Kimber?
Mabel met Tobert, the guy who was filming a documentary on Ben, and she got to know some interesting details about that day Ben was killed. Tobert was clearly interested in Mabel, and he was trying, in his own subtle ways, to impress her. Tobert told Mabel that he had footage from the day Ben was killed because, coincidentally, he had left his camera in his changing room. Mabel realized that it was a big breakthrough and that they might come to know who the killer was. Though the face of the killer couldn’t be captured, one thing that Mabel noticed was that Ben, just before falling, had held onto the handkerchief of the person who had pushed him.
Now Ben had given a similar handkerchief to each and every member of the cast, and Mabel knew that the person who no longer had the handkerchief would be the killer. Mabel gave this task to Charles and asked him to find out during his rehearsals who among all the actors didn’t have the handkerchief. Charles was a bad investigator, and he made it very obvious that he wanted to know who didn’t have that handkerchief.
At the end of Only Murders in the Building Episode 3, we come to know that Kimber no longer has the handkerchief, and she made some lame excuse in front of Charles, which makes him very suspicious about her motives. Kimber hid the fact that she didn’t have the handkerchief with her till yeh very end and the way she was behaving made Charles unsure about her motives. In the upcoming episodes, we will find out if the rumors about Kimber having a secret affair with Ben are true and if she is behind the murder or not.
