Jon Sheasby
New Evidence:
Linden arrives at the station while scolding Jack’s father over the phone, and Holder greets her with a screenshot of Rosie at the Wapi Eagle Casino. Holder says Rosie had been making cash deposits every few weeks at the casino, amounting in total to almost $7,000. We find out that the account is in Terry’s name. Terry disputes the information given by Linden and Holder but later admits to lending Rosie her I.D. to get into clubs and such. Terry claims she doesn’t know what Rosie was doing at the Wapi Eagle and doesn’t know why she was depositing so much money. Linden and Holder meet with his former undercover partner, and she tells them that while she never saw Rosie at the Wapi Eagle, she looks like a “Beau Soleil” girl. Beau Soleil is an online organisation that provides a social introduction service, featuring high-end escorts for the wealthy. Holder’s former partner says they often operate at the Wapi Eagle, and there was an incident of abuse last summer.
Initially, Linden and Holder believe Tom Drexler to be involved in the case because a previously reported description matches his appearance and he has two priors for solicitation. Also, we see Jamie visit Drexler at his home, which is occupied by bikini-clad Beau Soleil girls. Jamie, however, is unimpressed as he believes them to be underage. Linden and Holder learn that Rosie often visited the Beau Soleil website—the last time being the Wednesday before her death. Whilst looking through the website, Linden and Holder spot Rosie’s shoes. Though, they also see something else familiar—Terry’s jacket. Terry claims she worked for Beau Soleil because it was a way to meet men, get taken to nice restaurants and get gifted expensive presents. Terry says it wasn’t her who visited the website on Wednesday, as she was working her bartending job that night. She then tells Linden and Holder about a guy, “Orpheus,” who recently drove a co-worker down by the waterfront and fantasised about drowning.
Linden and Holder go to the address where the Beau Soleil website servers are operated. The store is a front for Beau Soleil, which sells fake shoes online as a cover. The webmaster supplies Linden and Holder with the information of the girl from Terry’s story, Aleena Drizocki. Unfortunately, Orpheus’ account was closed on the night Rosie was killed, but luckily his email address is still active. Back at the station, Linden sends Orpheus an email with the message, “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.” While posing undercover, Holder waits for Aleena at a hotel, and over the phone, Linden tells Holder that Drexler is one of Richmond’s top donors. Aleena arrives at Holder’s room, and he begins to question her about Beau Soleil, Orpheus and Rosie Larsen. She retells Holder the story initially told by Terry and claims not to know the real identity of Orpheus. Holder asks her if it’s Drexler, though she leaves before answering because she’s scared.
Linden asks a fellow cop, Ray, to wait by her computer, just in case she receives a reply from Orpheus. While still at the hotel, Holder receives a call from Aleena, who says the truth about Orpheus can be found on the corner of Fifth and Jackson. Linden goes to Richmond’s home to warn him about Drexler. Ray calls to tell Linden that Orpheus has read the email, so she asks him to send it again. After Ray resends the email, Linden hears the notification arrive on Richmond’s computer and she discovers that it is he who is Orpheus. Outside at Fifth and Jackson, Holder finds the clue left by Aleena: posters of Councilman Richmond. The episode ends with Richmond finding Linden in his office, as Gwen looks at photos of Richmond and several Beau Soleil girls, which were given to her by Mayor Adams earlier in the episode.
The Suspects:
After the standalone entry that was Episode 11, the murder investigation is back on track during Episode 12. Not only do we learn more about Rosie Larsen’s secret life, but her connection to several characters deepens within this piece of the jigsaw. Richmond’s public persona continues to be looked upon favourably after a human skull has been dug up by construction workers at Mayor Adams’ waterfront development. As the development may be on Indian land, Nicole Jackson suggests the construction should be halted until further notice. Obviously, the Richmond camp see this as a huge victory for his campaign, but as we now know, Richmond can’t stay away from the investigation, can he? We discover that Richmond is Orpheus, an alias for when he uses the services provided by Beau Soleil. Earlier in the episode, Mayor Adams gives Gwen some documents, which we later find out are photos of Richmond and several Beau Soleil girls taken over a period of time.
Then later, Linden learns his secret when she discovers the email address for Orpheus is operated by Richmond. Before we find out Richmond is Orpheus, Aleena (one of the Beau Soleil girls) tells Holder, “He didn’t seem like a killer. He seemed really sweet. Kind of sad. Till he took me down by the waterfront. Started to talk about what it would feel like to drown.” Clearly, Councilman Richmond isn’t the great guy he wants the public to vote for as the new Mayor. Besides them being relatives, Terry’s connection to Rosie is further developed during this episode. After Holder discovers Rosie’s bank account (which was opened using Terry’s I.D.), our two detectives question Terry about the substantial amount of money and her knowledge of Rosie’s secret life. At the beginning of the episode, Terry doesn’t seem too concerned about Rosie wanting to experiment despite her age, but Linden and Holder see the bigger picture. “Seems like there were a lot of secrets Rosie was keeping from her mother,” Linden tells Terry.
Later, after Terry is revealed to be a Beau Soleil girl herself, she expresses concern about Orpheus, the man we now know to be Councilman Richmond. “He drove her [Aleena] down to the water…and asked her if she ever wondered what it was like to drown,” Terry says, retelling the story of Aleena’s encounter with Orpheus/Richmond. During this episode, we also see Terry argue with Mitch after she questions her sister’s relationship with Rosie. When talking about Rosie’s life, Terry says, “Maybe…she just wanted other things…Maybe none of us knew her.” Is Terry feeling guilty about something? Suddenly, her connection to Rosie and Beau Soleil has been brought to light, but does she know more than she’s letting on? We know Rosie was keeping secrets, many of them, and it seems like her aunt was the one she confided in the most. Are we to learn Richmond was one of Terry’s clients, and she’s protecting him despite the death of her niece? Things are really ramping up ahead of the Season 1 finale of The Killing.
What Year Is This?
Aha! While we don’t have concrete evidence of Rosie’s connection to Beau Soleil, at least we find out about Terry and the escort service, which at least gives some credence to my Rosie Larsen/Laura Palmer/Wapi Eagle Casino/One Eyed Jacks theory. Also, we learn more about Rosie’s underage clubbing escapades and her near $7,000 bank account, which further enhances the parallels between her and Laura. Furthermore, it reminds me of the Twin Peaks episode in which Agent Cooper finds the safe deposit box owned by Laura that contains thousands of dollars. We may be on Episode 12, but Twin Peaks is still influencing The Killing’s character development and overall narrative.
All good things must come to an end, folks! The next article in “The Autopsy of The Killing” will be the final instalment in the series. It will focus on the 13th episode of The Killing, written by Veena Sud & Nic Pizzolatto, and directed by Brad Anderson, respectively. It will also cover Season 2, the reveal of Rosie Larsen’s killer, and my thoughts on Seasons 3 and 4. If you have enjoyed this series, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below, and/or give me a follow on Twitter (@JonSheasby), and we’ll continue the conversation over there.
