'Briarpatch' Episode 3 sees Allegra track down Felicity's phone before Brattle warns her about trusting Spivey
The colorful cast of characters on 'Briarpatch' keeps multiplying to the point where it is easy to lose track of the central mystery -- who killed Felicity Dill (Michele Weaver), Allegra's sister? The first new character to pop up is Mayor Antonio Salazar (Mel Rodriguez), a boozy loud-mouthed man, who makes it a point to tell police chief Eve Raytek (Kim Dickens) to go make some noise over the Floyd Ferness (Jon Beavers) manhunt. So when Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson) and A. D. Singe (Edi Gathegi) regroup over breakfast at the local diner, they see Raytek on TV holding a press conference about it. The breakfast meet also opens up a new line of investigation thanks to the records Singe digs up on Felicity as her lawyer. Allegra sees that her sister spent money on a burner phone that could have clues in what she was involved in that could lead to her being murdered.
But to track the phone, they need help from a local fat cat who they are most likely to find in the gaudy Hawaiian luau thrown by Jake Spivey (Jay R. Ferguson) to show support to the Mayor for the upcoming election. The gaudy party, with grass-skirted girls, pigs on the spit, the county's youngest Elvis impersonator, animal sculptures and actual giraffes wandering the lawns, looks like the last place Allegra would want to be.
But she is pissed at Jake for a variety of reasons and hauls him off for a private tête-à-tête. Alone, she rages on how he gave his deposition papers to her in a public place making sure that Brattle knew he was cooperating.
She asks him why he would want Clyde Brattle (Alan Cumming) on his tail looking to finish him off for good. Spivey says it's because he was sure that the FBI couldn't get him and he was right, implying that he is the one who will take care of Brattle.
But he professes his innocence when it comes to who attacked Allegra in her room and the car bombs -- even if he is an illegal weapons dealer who got rich with Brattle by stealing millions worth of American military-grade weapons in Syria and selling it off.
He looks hurt like a little schoolboy, telling Allegra "we're like family," referring to their high school romance. However, he does suggest that the man who choked her and stole the deposition was probably Brattle’s henchman.
Meanwhile, Singe flirts with a woman called Lucretia (Christine Woods) who helps by conning the rich fat cat into tracking Felicity's burner phone by saying it's her "missing daughter's phone".
Only when Singe and Allegra meet Lucretia outside the party and names are exchanged that they realize that Felicity was Lucretia's soon-to-be ex-husband Colder's fiance. She nods coldly at Allegra and walks away, much to Singe's dismay who was hoping to score a date.
The location of the phone turns out to be a "Luce Cafe" that sells tamales. When the lost and found box at the restaurant doesn't yield any results, Allegra storms through the establishment, frustrated. It's only then that she realizes that there is a small apartment above the restaurant.
In a sequence similar to how she secured the key to her own room behind a power socket, Allegra finds Felicity's apartment key stashed in the same way. Once inside, Allegra knows they are finally in her sister's home as she takes in the tarragon spice in the kitchen and other small reminders that her sister lived there. It is also the first time that Allegra shows any emotion about her sister's death as she murmurs about how she should have been there to take care of her.
Singe finds the burner phone and realizes it has been wiped, showing that Felicity was on alert and wanted to leave no clues for her enemies. This is when Allegra finds Felicity's tenant, the sketchy Harold Snow (Timm Sharp), hiding in the closet. She drags him out holding a box that contains a loaded gun. In a series of escalating intimidatory tactics, starting with a punch (that scares poor Singe as well), Allegra gets Snow talking.
He confesses that he was bugging Felicity for Floyd Ferness and he was in the house only to get his surveillance equipment back but it had already been stolen by Floyd. (We later see Floyd trying to access the surveillance footage but it is encrypted).
Edgy about cars, Allegra decides to walk home. On the way, a Winnebago pulls up next to her and out steps Clyde Brattle. Once she enters the vehicle, she sees his three henchmen, one of whom is the one who stole the deposition, who drawls at her, "you came back at the wrong time.”
Brattle tries to bargain with Allegra telling her he is willing to take "his medicine" for "reclaiming" and "selling" American weapons from Syria. "How much medicine?" asks Allegra, her face twisted in a scowl. Clyde suggests a couple of years in a minimum-security prison and a reasonable fine of 2 to 3 million dollars. But Allegra tells him the Senator wants more -- like life imprisonment -- since the Senator has "White House" ambitions.
Brattle tut-tuts the life imprisonment threat and instead gives Allegra a flashlight and says she needs to see something, dropping her off in front of an abandoned slaughterhouse. He parts ways with one ominous message for her: “Do not believe a word Jake Spivey says,” something he learned by bitter experience.
Allegra then heads into the abandoned building. It is a creepy, creepy place, meat hooks still swinging in the breeze. She sees a dark figure run into the gloom and escape before a whole fleet of drones rises from the ground in front of her, all of them getting simultaneously activated. After hovering around her for a while, they fly out of the slaughterhouse and into the night sky, leaving behind a very puzzled Allegra.
Since Brattle showed her the place, the drones likely belong to Spivey and Allegra might not be as patient with him the next time their paths cross.
'Briarpatch' Episode 3 airs February 20 at 10 pm ET on the USA Network.
