Body Language is the fifteenth episode of Due South's second season.
Storyline: Constable Fraser and Detective Vecchio encounter an exotic dancer who is troubled by her strained relationship with a former boxer, who talks in his sleep about criminal activity.
Original Air Date: April 26, 1996
Written by James Kramer
Directed by Jon Cassar
Synopsis[]
While Ray Vecchio is lamenting a run of bad luck, he and Benton Fraser run across a distressed young woman named Ida Banks, who recognises Fraser as a police officer. She gives him a mysterious tip to an address where an alleged crime will be taking place that evening. The stakeout enables Ray to catch a shady character planting a bomb underneath a liquour truck. Determined to get more information from Ida, he and Fraser track her down to a strip club called Mount Olympus, where she is in the middle of a dance when her fellow dancers run screaming from the dressing room ahead of a swarm of rats. Fraser catches one of the rats and (much to Ray's disgust) smells its breath, catching a whiff of a special barbecue recipe.
Ida asks Fraser to her apartment, but when Ray presses her for information, she is less than forthcoming - until her boyfriend, Barry Pappas (earlier introduced at the Mount Olympus front window), arrives home in a drunken stupour. Fraser and Ray hide in Ida's closet until Barry passes out, whereupon he starts mumbling in his sleep about starting a warehouse fire. Fraser realises that this is how Ida knew about the bombing, and Ray demands Barry's identity and remembers him as a former professional boxer (upon whom he once lost a bet). He also identifies the owner of Mount Olympus as Mark Ordover, and learns from Elaine that Mount Olympus has had numerous problems with its utilities recently. When he informs Lieutenant Welsh of the impending fire, he is granted another stakeout, catching two more of Ordover's men about to set the warehouse ablaze. Ordover is livid, but gives Barry - who is much too eager to please him - something to do.
At a suggestion from Ray, Fraser has an epiphany on the rat's breath, but is in the middle of explaining it when Ida calls Ray to tell him that Barry has talked in his sleep about committing a murder. To trace the rat's origins, Fraser tastes samples of several barbecue recipes and concludes that the rat was last fed at the Kit Kat Corral, a western-themed barbecue house and strip club owned by one Shelley Litvak. Ray insinuates that the competition between Litvak and Ordover has grown violent, but he and Fraser are surprised to find that Ida - tired of Barry's secretive attitude - has quit her job at Mount Olympus and signed on with the Kit Kat Corral. Ray plays one of Fraser's hunches and finds that Litvak has financial ties to both the warehouse and the liquour truck. Suspecting that Litvak is Barry's would-be victim, Fraser invites Ida and Barry to a reconciliation dinner, but before she can show up, Ida is taken hostage by two of Ordover's thugs.
Holding Ida at gunpoint, the goons force her to dump Barry and next take Fraser and Ray hostage when they come looking for her. As Fraser works to free himself, Ordover incites Barry to kill Litvak by convincing Barry that Litvak has stolen Ida from him. Fraser is able to free himself, Ray, and Ida, after which they rush to Litvak's birthday party to head Barry off. Fraser narrowly prevents Barry from doing the deed, explaining Ordover's duplicity to him; Ida then jumps out of Litvak's birthday cake to tell Barry that she was coerced into breaking up with him. As they reunite, Ordover is arrested, and Fraser is trapped in an awkward moment on stage with three strippers dressed in faux Mountie costumes.
Gallery[]
Cast[]
- Lisa Engelman as Ida Banks
- Nick Sandow as Barry Pappas
- Milton Berle as Shelley Litvak
- James Gallanders as Mark Ordover
- Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Waitress
Soundtrack[]
- "New World Comin'" [written by Jack Lenz, performed by Dawn Aitken] (diner scene)
Strip Club Songs:
- "Somebody's Been Lying To Me" and "I'd Rather Be Your Lover" by Black Market
- "Shut Up" by National Velvet
- "Bonanza", "It's Greek to Me", and "I Need New Tires" by Jio Midi Orchestra
Memorable Quotes[]
Ray Vecchio: (scowling at his "lucky" sunglasses) These things are useless. Benny...you're holding a rat!
Benton Fraser: Yes, I'm aware of that, Ray. (nuzzles the rat)
Ray Vecchio: Ugh, now you're kissing it?
Benton Fraser: No, I'm smelling her breath, actually. (puts the rat down) There you go. All right, off you go. You have nothing to be afraid of. Well, that may not be true in the larger scheme of things, but at least this ordeal is over. So, off you go. Toodle-loo.
Benton Fraser: (on the phone to the consulate) Constable Turnbull? Yes, it's Constable Fraser. Listen, I wonder if you'd be so kind as to stay on duty for an extra twenty minutes until my arrival. No, you won't get into troub - ...no, I'm sure the Insp - ...Turnbull!...Turnbull, calm down! Now, you are just the messenger. She will not shoot you. Well, if she does, I'll admit that I was wrong. All right, thank you kindly.
Ray Vecchio: I am not getting in the closet! I'm going to stand right here till he comes upstairs, and we're gonna have a little chat!
Benton Fraser: Ray, please get in the closet.
Ray Vecchio: Benny, get out of the closet!
Benton Fraser: Ray, please get in the closet.
Ray Vecchio: I am not getting in the closet!
Benton Fraser: Ray, if you don't get in the closet, you'll lose your source.
(cut to Ray looking out of the closet through the slats)
Elaine Besbriss: Little Tony's, The Rib Pit, the Rib Shack, Ribs-O-Rama, and Tickle My Ribs. I think you have all the ribs on the south side. You mind if I ask what's going on?
Ray Vecchio: We're tasting them.
Elaine Besbriss: I can see that. I meant why.
Ray Vecchio: You don't wanna know.
Elaine Besbriss: Try me.
Ray Vecchio: (smirking) All right. Rat breath.
Elaine Besbriss: Ah.
Ray Vecchio: I told you you didn't wanna know.