Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 2 gave us the background we needed to understand how Lester, the doorman and first victim of this season, got in kahoots with mobster Nicky Caccimelio, and even more interestingly, how he could have had motive to kill Nicky! The story could go in any direction, because Lester could have also been a target for Nicky if he was planning on retiring from the job for good.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for the Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 3.
Now that we know more about Lester, the mood is definitely more somber. We see how he impacted people at the Arconia in positive ways. If this show wasn’t also a comedy, I’d probably need a break from the storyline. However, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver always know how to make light of heavy situations, so let’s see how they turn the investigation topsy turvy in Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 3.
The trio gets down and dirty with Nicky's corpse in Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 3
In Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 2, Nicky Caccimelio's dead body fell right on top of Oliver. In episode 3, for some strange reason (because he’s Oliver), he thought it would be a good idea to move Nicky’s corpse from the cleaner’s back to the Arconia—to Charles’s apartment, specifically. What was he thinking?!
Once again, the trio finds themselves in an impossible situation. Their solution? Hide the body until they can uncover more clues—or perform their own autopsy (same thing, right?). After performing an autopsy, they go on a mission to return the body to the scene of the crime, back at Nicky's cleaner's.
Upon inspecting the body and attempting to wipe DNA, Mabel points out that Nicky has all of his fingers, so we know the severed finger from Only Murders in the Building season 5, episodes 1 and 2 don’t belong to him. Moving a decomposing body across the building and down the street is a feat of its own, and Charles takes on the challenge, using a laundry bin.
Charles has another bout of hearing from the dead and reveals a new conspiracy in Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 3
In past seasons of Only Murders in the Building, the trauma of almost dying 'gifted' Charles with panic attacks and the ability to hear from deceased victims. They tend to mock and pester him as he gets further into his investigations. Just when Charles arrives at the cleaner's with Nicky's body, he hears Nicky reciting what sounds like an eery poem about death. Nicky mentions a missing finger in this poetic monologue.
Then, two cops walk in discussing how they plan to document the murder and time of death. It appears that they are under the instruction of someone else to record a place and time of death that doesn't quite match the truth. The cops comply with their orders, and Charles manages to slip away, unseen, in the nick of time—thank goodness Nicky’s cleaner’s stayed so full!
Lester’s ledger becomes a key piece of evidence
We first see Lester's special ledger in Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 2, which he receives as a gift at Christmas time. He uses this record book for a number of things, but viewers aren't quite sure what it entails. Curiosity doesn't stop Oliver—he steals it right out of the new doorman's hands. Oliver hopes to find a match for a paper that the trio found in Nicky's mouth during their amateur autopsy.
As for what mysteries are in the ledger, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver are able to uncover a list of bird names (I knew birdwatching would come up again in the series!). It turns out that Lester was using bird names as code names for various poker players in the Velvet Room, which was the most popular section of the underground casino discovered in Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 1. The question now is, why was Lester keeping score when his job was to overlook the illegal activities?
The mystery of the severed finger is revealed in Only Murders in the Building
Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 3 ends with the trio back in the Velvet Room, just as three powerful CEOs enter. The trio hide behind the bar, while Mabel does a quick internet search on the CEO identities. She discovers that their names are Camila White, Sebastian “Bash” Steed, and Jay Pflug. The CEOs make addictive pharmaceuticals, earning billions by doing so.
Hence, a new conspiracy evolves: Oliver coins the billionaires the “new mob of New York”. What does this mean for the underground casino activities? Oh, and the plot takes another twist—Jay Pflug is missing a finger! As one mystery is uncovered, an entirely new theory takes place. What did Lester know, and why was he killed? Was Nicky collateral damage? Or vice versa? Find out next week!
Only Murders in the Building airs on Tuesdays on Hulu.
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