The Finder Episode 1.09 The Last Meal

As Joe and Annie Turnbull are about to celebrate their third anniversary in their usual manner - dining on ropa vieja prepared by chef Alejandro Lopez-Fernandez at La Bella Plata restaurant - a man announces that the place is closed and orders everyone out. When Joe follows the man into the kitchen, he's ejected at gunpoint. Then Joe and Annie hear gunshots inside, and they run.

Three years later, Willa is telling Walter and Leo that her probation officer, Cristina Farrel, says that a girl matching Willa's description has been rolling johns in Miami. Now Willa has to double her face-to-face meetings with Farrel. Then Joe enters Leo's bar.

Joe explains that he's a notary, and a law firm he worked at hired Walter once to find a missing prenup. Now he wants Walter to find a meal: The ropa vieja that he and Annie haven't tasted since La Bella Plata closed. Other versions aren't the same, and neither is their relationship. Their anniversary is four days away. Walter agrees to take the case.

Walter and Leo go to La Bella Plata. They note that it's still owned by the same company and the next-door barbershop is open at night. Walter breaks in, becomes distracted by reading a review on the wall by "Miss-Terious Palate," and gets arrested.

Isabel meets Walter in jail. Cuban Mafioso Frederico "Fico" Vasquez used the restaurant to launder drug money. The sous-chef was Isabel's informant, but he was murdered three years ago, so all the restaurant's employees are on a federal witness list. Isabel has been using the barber as her lookout.

Meanwhile, Willa finds her lookalike at a hotel bar and tells her to leave the county. This ignites a knockdown fight, and Willa is arrested. As Isabel gets Walter out of jail, he sees Willa being taken inside.

Walter prepares ropa vieja five different ways. He asks Joe to eat and rate them, so he can find the chef who made Joe's favorite. Joe says that they're all missing a certain smokiness. Meanwhile, Leo learns that Willa is being held as a flight risk, so he can't get her out.

Walter finds Miss-Terious Palate dining in a restaurant. She's a man. Walter found him because she/he always reviewed new restaurants so promptly. But he doesn't know chef Alejandro's whereabouts.

Walter tells Leo that an Internet foodie group follows chef Alejandro; they call him "the Smoke Monster" after his signature flavor. The foodies have noted that whenever he's working at a restaurant that becomes popular, he leaves. He's currently working on a food truck. Walter discovers that the 12 local trucks said to have smoky-flavored food never come within three miles of Fico's home.

Walter approaches a food truck, greets chef Alejandro by name, while Leo prevents Alejandro from leaving.

Back at Leo's bar, Alejandro tastes Walter's ropa vieja and notes that it's missing his trademark smokiness, which comes from rare embargoed Cuban peppers. Only one store in Miami sells them - and Alejandro is the only one who bought them - but it's owned by Fico's aunt Marina, and if anyone buys them, she tells Fico.

Walter goes to Farrel's office and mentions skipped parolee/murderer Donnie Peters, who's in Mississippi. Walter will have Isabel arrest and return Peters in exchange for Willa's release.

Walter and Willa enter Marina's store. She's blind, so Walter distracts Marina, and Willa steals the peppers. But Marina heard her do it and phones Fico.

As Walter hands Alejandro the peppers, a thug arrives and everyone scatters. Walter, Leo, and Willa run into a dead end. When the thug draws a gun, Alejandro stabs him to death from behind, saying, "This is for Marcos" (the dead sous-chef).

Instead of running away, Alejandro prepares ropa vieja at Leo's bar, explaining that "Food is not a meal without people." Meanwhile, Leo notes that the dead thug was Fico's cousin. Isabel arrives, unhappy to see her witness, Alejandro, has put himself in jeopardy.

When Joe and Annie arrive, Alejandro unveils his ropa vieja. Annie cries and runs outside. She tells Isabel that their marriage had gone sour, and while she lowered her expectations, Joe didn't. She's heartbroken.

Another thug orders Isabel and Annie into the bar, where Fico is ready to kill Alejandro, then everyone else. Walter asks for a last meal. Fico agrees. As they eat, Fico admits that his cousin killed the sous-chef, adding Isabel can't prove Fico was laundering money through the restaurant without a witness. Then Annie becomes hysterical. She says she's happy that Joe brought her to eat the meal she fell in love with him over, so would they all just shut up and allow her to enjoy it? They do.

As they finish, Leo points out that if Alejandro says he witnessed an argument between two now-dead men and refuses to testify against Fico, he'll be in the clear.

When Isabel threatens to subpoena everyone, Leo proposes to draw up a contact wherein Fico will sell 50 percent of La Bella Plata to Alejandro for $1, and if Fico's jailed, Alejandro gets the other 50 percent of the restaurant. So if Isabel makes Alejandro testify, his motives will be questioned during cross-examination and make his testimony useless. Alejandro and Fico shake hands and embrace. There are smiles of relief all around, as Joe notarizes the contract.

Isabel steps outside. Walter advises her to take a longer view and hands her an I.O.U. from Fico. Isabel and Walter kiss.