The Closer

In the season premiere, when Brenda's squad investigates the quadruple murder of a family, she accidentally stumbles into the middle of an FBI investigation that may have been a factor in the homicide. Meanwhile, Provenza's mood suddenly turns sour. Guest star LEE TERGESEN ("Oz," "Wanted") appears as Nicholas Carey and recurring guest star STEPHEN MARTINES appears as Ricardo Ramos.

The apparent kidnapping of a rich financier under investigation for ripping off investors leads Brenda's squad to think he may have staged his own abduction. During the investigation, Gabriel tries to cover the forensic accounting duties, since Detective Daniels has been promoted to another division. Meanwhile, something strange has happened to Lieutenant Provenza. And Kitty, Brenda and Fritz's cat, is enduring serious medical issues.

Sergeant Gabriel shoots a murder suspect he is certain is armed and firing at him, but his account does not match up with the evidence. Captain Sharon Raydor (recurring guest star MARY McDONNELL - "Battlestar Galactica," "ER," "Independence Day," "Passion Fish"), the head of the Force Investigation Division, is responsible for investigating the shooting. However, Raydor's investigation is interfering with Brenda's investigation into the murder, which may have been ethnically motivated. Sergeant Gabriel shoots a murder suspect he is certain is armed and firing at him, but his account does not match up with the evidence. Captain Sharon Raydor (recurring guest star MARY McDONNELL - "Battlestar Galactica," "ER," "Independence Day," "Passion Fish"), the head of the Force Investigation Division, is responsible for investigating the shooting. However, Raydor's investigation is interfering with Brenda's investigation into the murder, which may have been ethnically motivated.

Brenda and her squad are temporarily deputized into the FBI when a missing persons case turns into a full-blown murder investigation involving drug trafficking at gay dance parties. The case gives Brenda and Fritz the chance to work together again, but Brenda's investigative tactics don't exactly fit FBI protocol.

Brenda's squad investigates the murder of a former gang banger, but evidence indicates the victim may not have been the target. The case leads Brenda on a return trip to the doorstep of Father Jack (guest star MARK ROLSTON - "Cold Case," "The Shield") and the Crenshaw Community Center, where an upset neighborhood is convinced the LAPD doesn't care about stifling crime in the area. It's up to Brenda to prove otherwise.

Brenda's team investigates the shooting death of a popular online "hook-up king" who was in the process of putting together a television pilot for a men's cable network. The case goes awry when a police impersonator enters the picture. Meanwhile, Pope does a rotation as a regular member of Brenda's squad to get a firsthand look at how the team works, but his experience isn't exactly what he expected it would be.

A major shootout leaves two patrol cops and an 18-year-old neo-Nazi dead, with lots of unanswered questions as to what happened and who else might have been involved. The investigation is made all the more difficult by the involvement of Captain Sharon Raydor (recurring guest star MARY McDONNELL) of Force Investigation Division, which is responsible for looking into shooting incidents involving officers.

The squad investigates the murder of a man who, 10 years ago, was the lead suspect in the murder of two girls. The state of the body indicates he was dragged behind a truck or SUV a full day before being shot twice in the head and dumped in Elysian Park. TOM SKERRITT ("Picket Fences," "Brothers and Sisters") guest stars as a detective who comes out of retirement to help with the investigation, but his obsession with closing this decade-old case threatens Brenda's own inquiry.

A confessed murderer, who was apprehended while Brenda was away on her honeymoon, gets details of the crime wrong during his allocution, causing Brenda to reopen the case. Brenda's investigation, however, is interrupted by a visit from her mother, Willie Ray (recurring guest star FRANCES STERNHAGEN), who hopes to pawn her troublesome niece, Charlie (recurring guest star SOSIE BACON - "Loverboy" and the real-life daughter of Kyra Sedgwick), off on Brenda and Fritz for the summer.

A large box with a body stuffed inside leads Brenda in search of suspects, and she winds up with several: a scripture-thumping stepfather, a disgruntled ex-girlfriend, a buddy who was constantly being hit up for money and a landlord who simply hated the victim's guts. Gabriel is studying for the detective exam, so Brenda uses the case as a teaching tool. Meanwhile, Brenda's niece, Charlie (recurring guest star SOSIE BACON), pulls a stunt so severe that Brenda and Fritz are ready to put her on a plane home immediately.

A shooting in a school parking lot leaves one person dead, another person critically wounded and a car loaded with marijuana. Brenda and Fritz, meanwhile, spar over how to handle Charlie (recurring guest star SOSIE BACON), especially after Brenda brings her niece into the middle of the case. Provenza, decides to make a big life change.

After the stabbing death of a woman who was apparently killed by someone wearing a Ninja outfit, Brenda and the squad soon realize they might have a bigger case on their hands than they thought. A detective from El Paso, Texas (guest star XANDER BERKELEY - "24"), where a similar crime occurred, comes to Los Angeles to help in the investigation, but his primary interest is in bringing the killer back to Texas to face the death penalty. Meanwhile, Brenda's father, Clay (recurring guest star BARRY CORBIN), arrives to take her niece, Charlie (recurring guest star SOSIE BACON), home to Atlanta. KEVIN BACON directs the episode.

The squad investigates the death of a 12-year-old boy whose father and brother are both gang members. The boy is found dead in a known gang party house, but soon the case includes two more bodies at a different house — but related to the same crime. Meanwhile, Fritz brings home a surprise for Brenda, and trouble is brewing in Provenza's romantic paradise.

A crime lab frequently used by the police is discredited, which brings several old cases up for review, including one Provenza closed seven years ago with his former partner, Detective Andrews (guest star BEAU BRIDGES - "Stargate SG-1," "My Name Is Earl," "We Were the Mulvaneys," "The Fabulous Baker Boys"). Andrews comes out of retirement to help with the case, but he isn't exactly prepared to testify in the new trial, throwing a wrench into a case that is already interrupting Brenda and Fritz's vacation plans.

Capt. Raydor (recurring guest star MARY McDONNELL) approaches Major Crimes about delicately looking into a possible case of spousal abuse involving one of her female officers. Meanwhile, Fritz becomes increasingly irritated at home and feels ignored by Brenda.