Tempers flare in the otherwise peaceful community of Cabot Cove over the planned construction of a hotel, but a strange skeleton has been discovered at the build site. Could it be the remains of a Cabot Cove Revolutionary War hero?
Tropes:
- Community-Threatening Construction: Harry Pierce and some big city fella by the name of Wheatley want a skyscraper hotel built and David Marsh the antique shop owner is leading a protest against it.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Henderson Wheatley. Works in construction but uses shoddy materials and techniques, equipment past its prime, etc. You know, pretty standard issue. He even has a standard-issue bleeding-heart arch-nemesis Intrepid Reporter causing trouble for him.
- *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Jessica's back troubles her for most of the episode—Seth implies that it's because she put her storm windows up herself instead of calling someone, which may be the case.
- Everyone Has Standards: Harry's a greedy guy, but he still tries to break up a fight between two kids.
- Intrepid Reporter: Del Scott, who's been wanting to stick it to Wheatley for years, seeks to interview David Marsh and/or Cabot Cove's most famous citizen about how they feel about Wheatley's hotel. She does get to interview Amos, after she's killed Wheatley, and also Jessica, but that's a trap Jessica set for her.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Amos's arrest of David Marsh for murder temporarily supersedes Federal Agent Keller's arrest for charges incurred while David was a Vietnam protestor under a different name.
- Let Off by the Detective: Jessica and Seth manage to convince Agent Keller that David is better off as a citizen of Cabot Cove.
- The Most Wanted: David Marsh, formerly Daniel Martin, is a former Vietnam protestor who has been wanted by the FBI for almost two decades on charges of conspiracy, sedition, interstate flight to avoid prosecution, endangering lives and bombing a federal courthouse in Philadelphia.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Seth makes Jessica promise never to tell anyone when he does a quick chiropractic pull to get her back feeling better. Doctors tend to frown on chiropractic medicine.
- Remember the New Guy?: Dr. Seth Hazlitt debuts in this episode, though of course he's been an old friend of Jessica for years. The real twist of the episode is that he bumped off Ethan Cragg and made everyone think he'd always been there using brain parasites.note
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: A lot of people have died to Wheatley's lack of safety standards, but his connections kept him above water, 'til Del put a hole in him.
- Shady Real Estate Agent: Harry Pierce, introduced in this episode, only got the hotel approved because he waited until half the town council members were out of town to put the vote forward.
- Shrouded in Myth: It's uncertain whether or not Joshua Peabody existed, or if he's just a local legend. Jessica and Amos are believers, Seth isn't. Although the bones are of a later vintage than Peabody's, the debate continues.
- You Killed My Father: Del Scott's brother used to work for Wheatley, and died to the executive's negligence for the safety of his workers.
