PSYCH Recap: Cog Blocked

Gus’s day is off to a bad start. He has bird droppings on his suit, and his boss, Mr. Latrek, drops an unimaginable amount of work on him. To top things off, he and Shawn crash Lassiter’s crime scene which gives him a sense of deja vu…the victim is living the exact same life as Gus. They have the same furniture, same hobbies, similar job. They even have the same plans to attend a Renaissance festival the next weekend. Everyone thinks the guy committed suicide, but Gus is adamant that he didn’t. He knows he wouldn’t have killed himself, he’s living a good life and has a lot to live for no matter what anyone else thinks. He convinces Shawn they need to investigate. Shawn owes him. He’s not the only one who thinks so, Shawn just had a big lecture from Henry about being a mooch.

The dead man’s name is John Russell, but Gus imagines he would call him “Russ”. The fact that those around him are so unaffected by his loss is the final straw for Gus. He’s taking the death very personally, and he particularly has his eye on a guy named Quan who is eating Russ’s yogurt and laying claim to his laptop. After getting nowhere with Russ’s boss Mr. Grouse, Gus takes charge and steals a key card so that they can investigate Russ’s office after hours.

They find an email on Russ’s laptop, received soon after he died. The names used are character names from a movie Gus recognizes, and the message is requesting a meeting. They go to the rendezvous point, and Gus tries to take Russ’s place in the meeting with a blind woman named Em. She immediately knows he isn’t Russ and she makes a hasty retreat.

Next, the guys learn from Woody that Russ had a stamp on his arm from a club called Putin on the Ritz. It’s a Russian club with a shady clientele. Well, except for Woody, but he only goes there for the food. Shawn and Gus return to Russ’s apartment to search all the places Gus would have hidden clues, and find a death certificate for a guy named Pony Wayne White. There is also a handwritten note from someone named Em on it, and they go to check out the address given. They break in and find a wall full of photos of Russ, and one of Shawn and Gus too. Gus decides maybe it was suicide and they should stop looking, but before they can leave they find themselves facing down the barrels of a couple of guns held by the blind woman. She is the Em who wrote the not, and she’s not exactly blind she just has astigmatism. She is a private investigator Russ hired. Upset to learn Russ is dead, she joins the boys as they go to learn more about the death of Mr. White. Woody’s name is on the death certificate. He’s taken aback, because it was dated months ago and he just performed an autopsy on this guy weeks ago. There are two death certificates for Mr. White, the one in Russ’s possession says he died of a heart attack, and the more recent one says he was shot. Shawn compares the signatures and deduces that the earlier one was forged.

They visit White’s widow and learn that he had recently obtained a loan and started his own business. She has no idea where he got the money because with his record no bank would have given it to him. She also tells them that White had life insurance but when she tried to claim it she was told that he was already dead and the claim had been paid months before. John Russell was looking into the matter for her, but someone else had recently called and told her that he was handling the case now. Gus knows exactly who would have been jumping to take over Russ’s cases, and they go back to see Quan.

Gus goes in alone at first, ready to beat the information out of Quan if need be, but thankfully it doesn’t come to that. He learns that Quan actually is a good guy, Russ had told him he suspected something strange going on and that’s why he wanted the laptop. There were odd payouts on the books, something a “cog” like Russ would notice. Gus, Shawn, and Em head out to figure out their next step, but before they reach the blueberry a shot rings out. Shawn and Em take cover, Gus jumps in the blueberry to lead them away from his friends and then ditch the assassin. He succeeds in one, and fails at the latter. The blueberry dies a very ugly and violent death in the melee, and the gunman catches up to Gus. Thankfully, Lassiter intervenes before any harm can come to Gus. As the assailant is being arrested, Shawn spots a bracelet on his arm that matches one he had seen on Grouse’s desk earlier. They were working together.

Gus busts in on a memorial service for Russ and makes the announcement that Grouse is the killer. He spills the details of the scam Grouse had going involving faking death certificates and making insurance payouts for a cut of the action. While feeling empowered, it’s the perfect time for Gus to face off with his own boss. He marches into Latrek’s office, turns in his work items, and quits on the spot. Later he shares a drink with Em at Putin on the Ritz, where Shawn has a short stint as a bartender. Very short. Minutes, really. Gus has some savings, he will be okay for a few months. He has an obvious attraction to this new private investigator and it feels likely that we have not seen the last of her.

Psych airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.