Jessica attends the funeral of Henry Vernon, one of the town's financial advisors, but strange circumstances keep the dead from resting in peace. When Vernon's casket falls open, it turns out the body is not that of the dead man. Sheriff Tupper tries to solve the problem on his own, and Jessica tries to focus on her new book. However, the knotty problem weaves through baffling twists and turns, and it will not allow the law to rest until the truth comes to light.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun: The stains on Henry's trousers initially puzzle Jessica, but make sense when law enforcement finds Stew Bennett's truck burned to a husk in the woods. Stew grew blueberries, and the juice had stained Henry's trouser legs when his wife used the truck to haul his body to Phyllis' house.
- Faking the Dead: Henry and his wife conspire to fake his death. The "body" was to have a closed casket service and then be cremated. Then she was supposed to collect the life insurance policy and meet up with him in San Francisco with no one the wiser. The plan becomes untenable when the casket falls open at the funeral.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: When Mrs. Vernon dares her to prove her accusation, Jessica reminds her that she mentioned Phyllis hitting Henry with a fireplace poker to her and Sheriff Tupper. However, Sheriff Tupper had never mentioned how Henry died, or what might the murder weapon might have been.
- Inheritance Murder: Phyllis accuses Mrs. Vernon of killing Henry for the $200,000 insurance policy on him.
- Running Gag: Jessica keeps getting interrupted while trying to finish her latest book.
- Spanner in the Works: Henry and his wife's insurance fraud would have gone off without a hitch had Phyllis not stormed into the church and knocked over the casket while struggling with Amos.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: The dead man's mistress, Phyllis Walters, accuses his widow of killing him, and her accusation is correct, but it didn't happen the way she thought. She didn't kill him for the insurance; rather, she helped him commit insurance fraud and killed him only once he tried to run away with the hospital funds.
- Titled After the Song: The title refers to the song "Comin' Through the Rye."
