Melt My Heart to Stone is the tenth episode of the third season, and the 35th episode overall, of the show, Rizzoli & Isles.
Plot[]
Jane and Maura investigate the death of a woman found inside a statue while welcoming a new detective into the squad. Dennis returns to woo Maura back, and Lydia goes into labor.
Recap[]
***This section contains SPOILERS. Read ahead at your own risk.*** Click here to skip to credits.
The episode begins with a pair of hands molding a statue. But moments later we see that those hands are actually molding a dead woman. Next, some children are on a field trip and one of the kids notices the statue is bleeding. At the office, the team is preparing to welcome Frankie to homicide. He hasn’t gotten the job yet, but there are trying to be optimistic. Cavanaugh arrives and introduces a new detective; Riley Cooper, Jane’s former drug dealer neighbor. Frank takes the news austerely. Riley apologizes to Jane that they had to meet under weird circumstances. She says that homicide has been a dream of hers for a long time. Frost wonders whether playing them both for fools has been her dream as well.
Jane reminds Frost that being undercover is not easy. Frankie thinks that using them both to get information and use it for getting promoted is not right. Jane feels that leading on both men wasn’t right either. But Riley says she likes both of them actually. At the scene, they see that the statue is in bronze; but when one of the workers drops the statue accidentally, they figure out that it is plaster. Maura finds that the body is very cold; like she has been frozen as she is exhibiting signs of delayed decomposition. In the café, Angela, Maura and Jane try to console Frankie. He feels that he will be taking 911 calls for the rest of his life. Maura sees Dennis Rockmond walking towards her; the guy she was dating and the one who never called again. He is carrying a copy of his bestseller.
He tells Maura he has been traveling and that he should have emailed. He invites her for his book signing but she declines. Maura is pissed that he disappeared for three months. The victim has a streak of white hair and track marks on her jugular vein. She was kept in the cold storage for around two to six months. She is in her fifties, no hands, so no fingerprints and no dental care. Frost arrives and educates Jane about four unsolved murders of prostitutes; all strangled. No refrigeration but all of them had no hands and all of them were cased in plaster. Jane infers that they are looking for a serial killer with a huge ego. All the locations were tracked by kids. Jane gives Cooper the victim's picture and asks her to show it around, she tells Frost and Frankie to go with her and get over their issues.
Cavanaugh asks Jane about Riley and Jane approves. He is impressed with her but he knows that he is never going to see another Jane Rizzoli. At Maura’s office, Jane is worried that Frankie won’t get his badge. Maura has found cigarette burns on the soles of their victim’s feet; this means that he tortured her while he was killing her. The victim has had a C section delivery and has had her tubes tied since last 30-40 years. Maura leaves for Dennis’ book signing. Frost, Frankie and Riley are out finding more info on the victim. The find an old hooker and she tells them that the victim was called Cruella and with some money she remembers seeing the victim three months ago. At the book signing, Jane finds things wrong with Dennis. Maura is totally smitten.
Jane gets a text about another victim. This Venus De Milo statue is on a moving carousel. Cavanaugh says that the media is going mad. Frost updates the team saying that the killer took out the cameras with a laser point. Jane is totally worried. In the morgue, Maura declare that their latest victim has been dead for the past 24 hours. She too has cigarette burns on her feet and Maura says that she just stopped lactating. Jane is shocked. The victim also had heroin in her blood. She too was a prostitute. Jane and Frank show their latest vic’s photo around. Jane sends a text to Rondo. He arrives and identifies the victim as Chrissie but she goes by “Rainbow”.
Frost runs a check and finds out that the vic is Christine Sullivan. Just then a transvestite asks them whether Chrissie was choked. Frost is surprised and the transvestite tells them that Bear must have done it. He pays extra if you let him choke you. Kitty says that he has a blue pickup truck with tools at the back; guess he works in construction and that is where the plaster comes from. At home, Angela is knitting for Lydia’s baby. Dennis arrives with orchids. He says that he loved her so much that he freaked out and bailed out on her. He wants a successful like his parents have. And he wants it with her. The next day, Jane gets a text saying that the cops have picked up Bear.
He identifies the victims as prostitutes and he is very angry. Maura doesn’t feel that he is a psychopath as he is too angry. He assaulted two officers who tried to arrest him and Jane says that he will be charged for assault. Next, Jane finds a letter on her desk. It is from the killer and it says: "Dear Boss, Do you like my work? Make sure you don't give the wrong sculptor credit. I'm about to sculpt my finest piece of work." Just then they receive a notification about their next victim; this time it is in the zoo. Frost gets a mail from another detective who is working on a similar case in some other city. He says that their suspect is Frederick Stone, who once shared a cell with Hoyt.
In the morgue, they learn that their third victim has high levels of cocaine in her body. But Jane finds this weird as the victim shows no signs of any fight and cocaine usually make one agitated. Maura wants to check if she was sedated. Next, Jane receives a text. She goes to the cafeteria and finds that Lydia is going into labor. She refuses to go to the hospital as she wants the baby to be born around family members. Tommy arrives and her contractions stop. Angela feels conflicted. Lydia says she wants to start afresh. Tommy is shocked to know that he “might” be the father of the child. In the morgue, Dennis walks in through the back door. He tells her that it is his birthday. He looks around and remembers this place that he was reeled in after being declared dead. He wants to celebrate his birthday with her.
She agrees for dinner. At the office, Frost tells Jane that their third victim is also a prostitute and her child had being takes away from her few days ago. They then figure out that all of their victims had children; including the four prostitutes the other detective had informed them about. They think the Venus represents a "crazy mixed up symbol of love and eroticism." Maura arrives at Dennis’ apartment. His private elevator is broken. It is his 36th birthday and he says that his mother called him and wished him the first in the morning. Vince tells Jane that Fredrick was arrested two days ago; so he is not their killer. Jane wants to know about Cruella’s kid as the rest had very young children. Rachael Dugan aka Cruella has a son named Mark Dugan is 36 now.
He was taken away from her after repeated abuse. She burnt him with cigarettes. Jane receives a text. Lydia is now in labor and Maura isn’t answering her phone. Frost updates Jane about Mark’s foster care history. He was with his mother for a short time in between where he was abused more and then he was taken away. Riley arrive with the tox results of their third vic. They found Enderol in the third vic’s system. She remembers that Dennis nearly died of an Enderol over dose. She then finds a bronze hand Dennis sculpted for Maura. She smashes it on the ground and finds a human hand inside. She calls for backup. At his apartment, Dennis pours more wine for Maura and is about to take her to show her his work. Just then Frost, Jane and the rest barge in.
Dennis holds a knife to Maura’s neck. He tells Maura that she was going to be his next creation. He babbles about how mothers should take care of their children. He is now with his back facing towards the empty elevator shaft. He wants to kill Maura because she brought him back to life. He then throws Maura forward and flings himself backwards. Jane grabs Maura. At home, Angela is knitting furiously. Maura hasn’t said a word for over an hour. Just then the door bell rings. Angela thinks it is her yarn as she ordered for it. But it is Lydia’s baby who she left at the door step. Jane is carrying the baby and she gets emotional.
Credits[]
Main Cast[]
- Angie Harmon as Detective Jane Rizzoli
- Sasha Alexander as Dr. Maura Isles
- Brian Goodman as Sean Cavanaugh
- Jordan Bridges as Officer Frankie Rizzoli, Jr.
- Lee Thompson Young as Detective Barry Frost
- Bruce McGill as Detective Vince Korsak
- Lorraine Bracco as Angela Rizzoli
Guest Cast[]
- Colin Egglesfield as Tommy Rizzoli
- Alexandra Holden as Lydia Sparks
- Daniella Alonso as Riley Cooper
- Tina Huang as Susie Chang
- Darryl Alan Reed as Rondo
- Scott Haven as Todd "Bear" Brown
- Eddie Cibrian as Dennis Rockmond
Co-Stars[]
- Kelly Mantle as Kitty
- Virginia Watson as Rose
- Elizabeth Anweis as Mrs. Johnson
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- The case appears to be inspired by multiple serial killer cases, specifically Jack Unterweger, Edmund Kemper, and Edward Edwards.
- After discovering the second victim, Jane considers the possibility that the killer is a new apprentice of her old nemesis Charles Hoyt given that both crimes shared a ritualistic similarity.
Promos[]
