Season 2, Episode 05:
Out on Bail
In an inner-city police precinct, Peter is being questioned by two detectives over his whereabouts on the night of Alex's murder. Despite his attempts to defend himself, the detectives reveal that they already have a sworn statement from the obstetrician and believe Peter killed Alex and tried to hide the body. Peter tells them that he wants a lawyer.
Carrie and Linda meet Peter at the precinct the next day, and he tells them that the District Attorney has publicly disavowed him on television and is looking forward to taking up the case. They promise they'll do everything they can to help him go free before his visitation ends. As the pair leave the courthouse, they're swarmed by media outlets just before Adam arrives and ushers them to the safety of his limousine. They thank him for his help and he promises to do whatever he can to assist Peter.
Dianna and Rachel are discussing whether Peter is innocent or not when Adam arrives at work. Dianna calls him out for getting involved with the case, but Adam tells her he believes Peter is innocent. When she tries to insinuate that he's letting emotion get the best of him and the Fairchilds are a Big, Screwed-Up Family, he throws the accusation right back at her and tells her not to get to comfortable in her new surroundings before she leaves.
Later, Linda and Carrie go to their lawyers and attempt to get the money to bail Peter out, but they reveal that all of Linda's assets are frozen because of a court order from Allan. Despite their confusion at Linda trying to bail out someone accused of a capital crime, Linda pledges to visit Allan herself and clear up the situation.
Mark meets with Jordan to finalize the deal for the writing of his new novel, and she says the publisher has agreed to give him a $5,000 advance. When she inquires as to whether his novel was inspired by actual events (bringing up Carrie's previous remarks to her), he summarizes his relationship with Carrie and says that it won't affect his professional relationship with Jordan. Later that night, he accosts Carrie outside her apartment and threatens that his escapades are only the beginning of a long harrassment campaign against her before storming off.
That night, Linda meets with Allan to secure funds for Peter's bail. When he tries to force her into a tough choice (getting the money in exchange for getting back together with him), she refuses to violate her morals and storms out of the restaurant in response.
However, after seeing the disheveled Peter yell at her to help him the next day at the courthouse, she reluctantly changes her mind and agrees to meet Allan at his townhouse that night. Despite Carrie's attempt to talk her out of it, she tells her that it's the only way to help Peter. Carrie goes to the office later that evening and tells Adam about Allan's deal in exchange for the bail money and he agrees to look into the matter.
At Allan's apartment, he attempts to pressure her into sex by forcing her to wear red lingerie and kiss him. When he hears a knock at the door and thinks it's the champagne being delivered, he opens it... only to get punched in the face by Adam, who storms in and tells her that he'll front the bail money himself. Allan looks on in shock as they both walk out.
Adam calls out Linda for not speaking to him first, but she tells him she didn't know if he would agree to it. She asks to spend the night with him and they leave together.
Jordan is having drinks with Mark that night at the Zinc Bar, and he gives her the newest chapter of his novel. As he explains it to Jordan, Carrie is getting ready to go to bed and pulls back her bedsheet, only to discover a pile of cockroaches. She jumps back and screams in response. When she finds Mark and confronts him with his actions the next day, he laughs at her fear and tells her that her reactions are generating great ideas for his book. She storms out as he smiles...
Adam consummates his relationship with Linda and promises her that he'll get the money to bail Peter out by noon. When he goes into work, he goes to sign off a cheque to clear the funds during a board meeting, but Dianna catches wind of what he and Gil are doing and calls him out on it. Adam defends his actions and reassures her that it's not being diverted from company funds. She reluctantly gives a second signature for the cheque, but promises that she won't let the matter go before leaving.
Dianna goes to Allan that night and suggests a Hostile Takeover, using Adam's son Tyler as leverage. He agrees to give the matter some thought before she leaves.
After Linda successfully bails Peter out, they go back to his apartment and he breaks down upon thinking about what happened just a couple nights earlier. He admits Alex's duplicity and the true nature of her death to Linda, who reels in shock. After a moment, she collects herself and says they'll work through it.
The next morning, Allan pays Peter a visit and tells him that he's paid for a car and private jet to take him to a South American resort. When Peter counters that he can't jump bail, Allan reasons that Peter's reputation and career is already over, and that he can at least make a fresh start with the funds and associates the former can provide. Peter then asks if he can see his mother, and Allan warns him not to risk it because it would make her an accessory to a crime. Allan tells him that he's doing his act because he still loves Linda and doesn't want to see her get broken because of a guilty verdict. Peter agrees to leave and gets in the private car when Allan heads out.
When Linda arrives at the apartment, Allan tells her what happened and laughs when he realizes that Adam spent two million dollars on a bail-jumper. She goes into the office and reveals what Allan and Peter did to him, but he tells her that they'll work through it together.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Allan laughs after Linda agrees to his request for a romantic night at his townhouse in exchange for giving her the money to bail Peter out.
- The Cavalry: Adam shows up to rescue Linda and Carrie from the horde of media outlets that ambush them outside the police precinct. Later on, he rescues Linda from Allan's apartment before the latter can take advantage of her.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The obstetrician who revealed Alex's Evil Plan to Peter in the previous episode is the first to speak out against him when the detectives question Peter at the beginning of the episode.
- Crazy-Prepared: Allan reveals that he's set Peter up with a private car, private jet to Chile, half a million dollars in spending money and a new identity in order to jump bail. Peter is appropriately shocked at the complexity of the plan, but agrees to go along with it in order to not get sentenced for murder.
- Fate Worse than Death: Said verbatim by Adam when he learns that Dianna bought an apartment on the floor right below his.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Discussed. After they consummate their relationship, Linda tells Adam that he doesn't want her to think she sleeps around. He replies that he doesn't do that either, and they both affirm their love for each other.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Allan immediately downs a glass of scotch after Linda rejects his overtures at the restaurant.
- I Was Quite the Looker: Subverted. Despite Linda's attempts to state otherwise, Allan points out that she'd make every head in the room turn when she walked into a restaurant.
- Oh, Crap!: Carrie realizes that Mark's novel is leading towards the inevitable death of the lead female character - and the killer's acts in the book echo what he's doing to her in real life.
- Pet the Dog: Despite Allan's previous demeanor towards Peter, he's still the first to bail Peter out of his predicament by revealing that he has an escape plan for the latter all set up and ready to go.
- Put on a Bus: Peter is forced to flee the country after getting out on bail, and isn't seen again in the series.
- Questionable Consent: It's clear that Linda really doesn't want to compromise herself by having sex with Allan in exchange for the bail money, and she screams when he grabs her in the townhouse. Luckily, Adam shows up to rescue her before anything else happens.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Peter initially intends to stay and fight the charges after being bailed out, but once he realizes his career and reputation are toast, he takes Allan's advice and gets on the private plane bound for South America.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Nikki shows up to hang out with Carrie and discuss the situation with Mark, she disappears for the remainder of the series (despite still being billed in the credits).
- What the Hell, Hero?: Happens multiple times throughout the episode, although the most notable instance is when Peter reveals the true circumstances of Alex's death to Linda.Peter: I pushed her out of the way and she fell on the knife!
Linda: So you dumped her body in the river?!?'
