Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement

[indistinct conversation continues]

Yeah. Take care, guys.

There you are. I got ya.

Hello?

Who's there?

You!

Almost scared me to death.

Good morning!

Nelly!

Helen! This place looks amazing!

- Congratulations. - Thank you!

You want a coffee? On the house.

Yes, please. Uh, to go.

To go! You got it...

to go.

Helen?

Is that Peter? I can't look.

Affirmative.

Peter Henderson-Huang... incoming.

Okay, uh... ...bye, Helen!

Okay. We're open daily! Eight to eight!

Yeah!

- Hi! - Hi.

Morning, Nelly.

Ooh! Sunflower test!

Who's winning?

Well, Sunny Delight is tallest,

but Suntastic has better seeds.

Ooh...

Looks like this foliage spray really does the job.

I'll have 1,500 words by end of day, no problem.

I heard Helen opened the diner?

- Mm! - Yes!

What you cooking?

Soufflés.

Three-part series... "France at Home."

Hmm. Better get crackin'!

Help yourself

- to middling profiteroles... - Oh!

...Tastes like mediocrity.

Never stopped me.

Mm. Yum!

Oh, uh, Marty brought the mail?

He sure did.

Oh.

Mm... This is for you.

Ooh. Thank you.

So... I saw what you wrote in your column to Grace,

you know...

"Kitten-Less and Longing in Babbleton," Fiona.

Right.

You told Grace to, "Be patient. Good things will come."

- I said that? - So, yesterday,

I see Peter at the park, and he tells me

Grace "found" a kitten right after you wrote that.

Under the shrubbery, in their own garden.

Amazing!

I really hope he let her keep it.

How could he not? Does he have a choice?

The whole town was rooting for Grace!

"Kitten-Less and Longing in Babbleton,"

Fiona.

So, funny thing...

that kitten looks an awful lot like those tabbies

up for adoption near your place.

Ee...

You said one would be perfect for Grace.

Ah! Poor Peter.

I've rather been avoiding him!

So long as everyone ends up happy, right?

Well... almost everyone.

Huh.

I just got a handwritten letter. No return address.

Snail-mail advice?

Don't they use the anonymous web form?

Yeah, they do.

This woman is worried

that her boyfriend might be cheating on her.

Oh...

He was the bee's knees, now secretive.

She suspects

canoodling in the shadows with another woman!

How awful.

And mysterious!

Who's it from?

It's signed "Worried in Babbleton."

I wonder why it's handwritten?

Maybe an off-grid?

No Internet?

Hmm.

I think I know this handwriting.

Oh!

Yes, yes, yes.

She has been dotting her "I" s with hearts

ever since elementary school.

Dahlia Chatters!

- Which means... -

...Blake Jarvis!

No! Blake?

What are you thinking... worrying our poor Dahlia?

Tch-tch-tch!

Nelly... where're you going?

You know, advice for an advice column

usually happens at a desk!

Type-type, type-type?

Blake?

I need to talk to you.

Blake?

Oh, no!

Blake?

No.

No, no, no!

No!

Is anybody there?

Uh, police, please?

Yes, I need some help.

Blake Jarvis's house.

Uh, yes! Yes, I'm here.

Yeah, please send someone.

There's been a murder.

[police radios crackling indistinctly]

It wasn't a robbery.

Nothing seems stolen.

He still had his phone and his watch.

Bless his soul. He took a terrible tumble.

Burgi! This wasn't an accident.

He was clearly pushed.

Oh! Detective Mickey.

Hey.

You met Nelly Parker? Nelly's got a knack for advice.

She's the one who found Blake.

If I could just get a...

You're not much of anyone in Babbleton

until you know Nelly, Mick.

He's so new here.

Nice to meet you, Ms. Parker.

Detective Michael Hogan.

Oh, uh, Nelly.

I've just been reassuring our Nelly here

that the medical reports will come back

and tell us poor Blake took a header.

Did Doc Balliol examine the body yet?

Oh, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that.

- Oh? - Nelly.

Mickey's gonna tell us what we need to know

to put your mind at ease, okay?

- Let's hear it, Mick. - Thank you.

With all due respect, Sheriff,

uh, we should probably discuss this in private,

- don't you think? - Oh.

Um, o... kay then.

Well, uh, Dr. Balliol still

needs to conduct a full autopsy and run the tox screens,

but the preliminary comments

put the time of death somewhere between

10 p.m. and midnight last night.

And there is an indication

that the victim was pushed from the top of the stairs

- with significant force. - Oh, my.

I knew it!

Did you notice the sawdust? It had been swept away.

As though someone were trying to erase a trail of footprints?

Yeah. Yeah, we caught that.

And the light was off!

I don't imagine Blake went upstairs in the dark.

Certainly couldn't have flipped the switch

after he died... obviously.

Obviously. Yeah.

Well, we're gonna dust everything for prints.

- Good! - Good.

Okay. Uh, Sheriff,

how do you see this investigation proceeding?

Oh. You got a handle on it, Mick.

Why not make it a trial run?

Yeah?

Congratulations!

Thanks. Um, okay, I guess what I'll do then is...

Oh! Uh, wait.

I did... find this.

- Oh, my. - Whoa. Where did you find that?

$20,000!

It was in Blake's right-breast pocket.

Uh...

Oh, yeah. I... I don't...

Oh, man.

Huh.

So...

you were friends with Blake Jarvis?

Oh, I knew Blake for forever, but, uh, we weren't close.

What would you call "close"?