In the previous episode of The Rainmaker, after Jocelyn told Leo that she and her team had already figured out that Melvin Pritcher had killed Donny Ray, Leo knew that they were in trouble. In episode 4, Leo tried to convince Wilford Keely to pay 80 million dollars and just settle the case. But he refused to do so. He didn’t trust Jocelyn, and he wasn’t convinced that the transaction would be a one-time thing. After all, Rudy, as well as the plaintiff, Mrs. Black, wasn’t after the money; they wanted justice, and he didn’t think they would back off so easily. Keely reminded Leo that he was in this pickle too, and he’d better find a way to sort out the situation they were in. Things don’t look good for Leo; Jocelyn and her team were making rapid progress, and unless he pulled something unexpected, Rudy might end up winning his first court case as a lawyer.
Spoiler Alert
What was the Tissue Committee?
When Sarah stopped by the bar Rudy worked at, Rudy repeatedly tried to find out where Jackie was. He had a feeling that Tinley Britt knew where she was, and they were hiding her because she was crucial to the case. Sarah established that she wouldn’t discuss the case, but Rudy didn’t give up. He refused to believe that she simply left to never be found unless she was the one who’d killed Donny Ray. Sarah started to defend Jackie, and while doing so, she mentioned that Jackie was on the Tissue Committee. Now, this was new information for Rudy, but Sarah refused to say another word. She begged Rudy to promise her that he would not bring up the Tissue Committee, but he hesitated. She wanted him to be her boyfriend for once, but Rudy felt it was unfair to keep such crucial information hidden from the plaintiff. Rudy later learned that the Tissue Committee looked into deaths and complications at the hospital. Jackie had reported her suspicion about Donny Ray’s death to the committee, and she’d even mentioned Melvin Pritcher had injected something into Ray’s IV bag. But the committee didn’t agree with her notion, so the hospital fired her after she raised the alert. The fact that the hospital knew that Donny Ray was possibly murdered but they didn’t do anything with the information would land them in serious trouble. Eleven members from the Tissue Committee were told that Melvin Pritcher was a murderer, yet they didn’t report him to the cops, possibly fearing repercussions. The committee records will be crucial to the case, and Leo and his team will do their best to ensure that Jocelyn and her team never get their hands on them.
Why was Rudy’s conversation with Melvin significant?
Jocelyn had asked Rudy to attend Melvin’s preliminary hearing and have a word with their suspect. On the day of the hearing, when Rudy was in the elevator with Melvin, he received Deck’s call confirming that Melvin was the murderer. He’d received the autopsy report of Jackie’s neighbor, who’d died under mysterious circumstances, and discovered that her death was caused by an overdose of morphine. Rudy and Melvin were alone in the elevator for a couple of minutes, and there was something about Melvin that immediately made him feel ill at ease. Melvin asked Rudy if he’d killed his mother; apparently someone had told him that he was involved. It was likely Jackie; maybe she didn’t specify the law firm, and he’d assumed that it must have been the men he’d seen tailing him for a while. Rudy explained that his client had sued the hospital, and the only reason why he was interested in Melvin was because he used to work there, and he thought he might know something about the case. Melvin believed Rudy, and when the elevator door opened, Rudy breathed a sigh of relief. The conversation confirmed that Melvin didn’t kill his mother, though there was no doubt that he’d murdered several others. So, clearly someone else had killed Melvin’s mother, and they didn’t have the answer yet. The hospital obviously wanted Melvin gone, and the fire that should have killed him ended up getting his mother instead, and that turned Melvin all the more vicious. While Jocelyn and her team didn’t have enough evidence to report Melvin to the cops, they believed that if Melvin’s name popped up in the Tissue Committee files, they would at least have something to work with.
Will Melvin kill Jackie?
Melvin had drugged Jackie, but he didn’t want to kill her yet, because he planned on gathering information from her. Jackie begged Melvin to let go of her, but he had every reason to believe that she was the reason behind his downfall. He remembered Jackie asking him too many questions the night Donny Ray died, and he was convinced that she’d told others about her suspicion. Jackie admitted that she’d told the Tissue Committee about it, but they didn’t believe her, and that was why she lost her job. Melvin too was fired after Jackie had raised the issue, but they didn’t take any real steps against him. Jackie confessed that she tried to disappear because she was afraid that Melvin would think that she was responsible for setting fire to his house. Since Melvin had all the information he needed from Jackie, he considered getting rid of her. But his plan was interrupted when Jane Allen, the lead investigator at the Tinley Britt firm, showed up at his doorstep. She was keeping an eye on him, but a slight noise caught Melvin’s attention, and he immediately opened the door and stabbed Jane with a sharp object. Amidst the chaos, Jackie attempted to flee. But Melvin eventually caught up with her. While Melvin initially planned on killing Jackie, she later told him that she had ‘the file,’ possibly the Tissue Committee file that stated that she’d informed the hospital about his involvement. He would obviously want to destroy it, and for that he needed Jackie’s help. So, at least for the time being, he’ll not kill her. Meanwhile, Jane managed to escape even though she was badly injured. She drove up to a hospital and collapsed at the entrance. Melvin is a loose cannon, and at this point he’ll kill anyone who would try to stop him. The Tinley Britt firm can neither get rid of him nor deal with him; they’re in a strange position, and it’ll be interesting to see how Leo deals with the recent development.
Is Kelly in trouble?
Rudy’s neighbor, Kelly, was trapped in an abusive marriage. Even though she and Rudy barely spoke, her husband, Cliff, a police officer, was suspicious of Rudy. Rudy’s living room window had a clear view of Kelly and Cliff’s apartment. He glanced at their apartment a few times even though he didn’t intend to, just because the apartments were so close to each other. Rudy had noticed Kelly inspect the wounds on her ribs. Rudy noticed the fear in Kelly’s eyes when he’d offered her a lift when he saw her waiting at the bus stand. She tried to maintain a distance from Rudy in the hopes that Cliff would not make any baseless assumption. Rudy tried to discuss her relationship with Cliff, but she chose not to disclose any details. She asked him to drop her a few blocks away from her apartment. When Rudy returned home, he realized that someone had broken into his apartment, and it turned out to be Cliff. He accused Rudy of watching Kelly and warned him.
In The Rainmaker episode 4, when Rudy checked on Kelly once again, she chose to keep their conversation to a minimum, though after closing the door, she thanked Rudy for his concern. Rudy assured her that he was there to help if she ever needed it. Every day after returning home, Kelly kept a portion of her income in a secret spot in the washroom. It was obvious that she intended on running away some day, and she was setting money aside for it. Kelly didn’t dare to walk to the police station, because she knew that even if she complained about her husband, an officer, he would find a way to get back at her. She’d figured that running away was the only option she had, but her world came crashing down when she discovered that the money she’d been saving was gone. She panicked, and at the end of episode 4, when she opened the door of the washroom, she found Cliff standing by. Cliff had found the stash of money, and he likely figured out what Kelly had in mind. The abuse is going to get worse now, but hopefully Rudy will intervene this time. Perhaps with Rudy’s help, Kelly will register a complaint as well as file for divorce. It’s going to be messy considering the kind of maniac that Cliff is, but silently enduring the torture is not really an option.
