8.3 2203

The next number the machine dispenses is for Vanessa Watkins, a hard-nosed prosecuting attorney who, when Finch and Reese first meet her, has just reported her husband, Jeremy Watkins, missing from their yacht. While Vanessa has put away many a criminal over her storied career, Jeremy has let many go as a flashy and high-priced defense attorney. As her number came in after the report of him missing, they know Jeremy's presumed death is not the reason for the number, yet they don't know if Vanessa is the target or the perpetrator. They learn that the lead investigator on the case of Jeremy's death, Detective Cameron, is looking at her for her husband's murder as all evidence found thus far implicates her. Cameron's main problem?: he doesn't have a body, and thus needs Vanessa to confess to make a conviction stick, which she may or may not know. They will also learn that Cameron has a personal vendetta against her, which places a major obstacle in tracking her as she tries to elude Cameron. As Finch and the team wade through the story of the complicated lives of Jeremy and Vanessa - including their unlikely personal coupling - they find that Vanessa knows her law and is resourceful and strategic in her every surprising move. They may not learn if she is the target or the perpetrator without getting the story directly from her. Even then, as she is a lawyer who knows how to spin, they have to act the judge and jury in their own court of opinion in evaluating her story. Meanwhile, as Carter assists them on this case, she finds that she has to be careful around her new rookie partner, Laskey. She doesn't yet know how careful she truly has to be.