Dirty Dexy Money

Dex's client sets her up with an employee

**Dirty Dexy Money** is the twelfth episode of the first season and the 12th overall episode of **Stumptown**.

## Short Summary

Dex becomes fast friends with a new client, the owner of a male strip club who has been mysteriously losing money, but Dex soon learns not everything is as it seems. Elsewhere, Grey continues to help Hoffman and his new partner on the car-jacking case while going deeper undercover.

## Full Summary

Dex watches Grey attempt to sneak out of the bar with something under his jacket. She calls him out on it and he says it's a present for Ansel, so he asks her to zip it. She wants to know what it is because she loves surprises, so he jokingly says it's a kilo of heroin and he leaves in a hurry, despite her asking him to hang out for a bit. After he's gone, Ansel comes through with a a mixer and says it's for a surprise. Dex offers her help, but Tookie already said he would help. He and Tookie are tight now.

Ginger Lloyd sits down next to Dex and orders a drink. Dex soon realizes she's her client. Ginger says she runs her own business and she thinks an employee is ripping her off. Before she'll talk about it more, she compliments Dex's shirt. Then she explains she owns Hold the Meat, a vegan club.

At Hold the Meet, Dex watches the male dancers.

Grey puts the heroin in front of Miles and Cosgrove. They want to know how much heroin the team is trying to move. He doesn't know, but Miles says coming back with the cash for that amount would get their attention. Jimmy Arrieta, from drugs and vice, then comes in. Cosgrove invited him and makes introductions. Jimmy and Grey then discuss out the carjackers ended up with the heroin. He's seen it before. He wants to take the case, but Miles says it's his. Jimmy agrees to ride shotgun. Miles tells Grey to convince them he has a buyer for the heroin.

Dex and Ginger talk about how she ended up owning Hold the Meat. Her husband ran away with her best friend. She spiraled for a few years. Then she came to the club with a friend and loved it. She became friends with the owners, an older couple looking to phase out, so they made a handshake deal and she started making payments. She's finally found something that's hers and she's good at it. Dex understands. The dancer on stage starts to come toward Dex, so Ginger hands her a dollar to put in his underwear. Ginger says all the dancers pay a $100/night stage fee and also give her 30% of the tips they bring in. She has no idea who is skimming cash.

Tookie answers the door and finds Ansel. Ansel says they need the mixer, which Tookie doesn't want in his truck. Ansel wants to make baked Alaska and Tookie agrees to help.

Dex starts talking to one of the dancers. He wants to dance for her, but she just wants to ask him questions. She asks him income questions and is surprised at how much his girlfriend, Kendra, makes. He dances because he likes it. She then says she's done and leaves.

Dex asks the DJ if she's seen anything. She says most nights, she's baked.

Dex talks to a waitress. She has some complaints about the job, but likes the perks.

Dex asks the bouncer questions, but he refuses to speak at all.

Grey brings the money in for the kilo. They're impressed he moved it so quickly, except Scuzzy, who is suspicious. He says he has a buyer for the rest. They argue over whether or not to sell to his guy. After they disperse, Scuzzy shows Grey his gun and tries to warn him off bringing in his own buyer, because Scuzzy wants them to sell to his buyer.

Dex asks Ginger for access to security footage. Ginger is upset because her squad flaked again. She wants to take Dex out instead. Dex says she has to work, but Ginger offers her the night off. Dex negotiates to do it tomorrow night instead.

Dex rings the bell and Franny Lewis of the Office of Sexually Oriented Business comes to the desk. Dex tries to joke, but Franny doesn't laugh. Dex explains why she's there. Dex wants some records on the employees. Franny suggests that Dex is Ginger's new best friend. She then tells Dex about Enrique Bedoya, who made some threats.

Dex talks to Enrique, who says he worked at Hold the Meat for five years and left after falling off the stage and tearing his ACL. Ginger was like a mother to him. He threatened her, but says it was because he'd gone to her with the estimates for his knee surgery and she told him he was on his own. Dex tells him about the theft and he says it wasn't him.

Jimmy gives Cosgrove a bottle of tequila for her husband and they talk for a moment before she interrupts because she knows he had a reason for coming to her. He's concerned about Miles's case. Cosgrove tells Jimmy to give Miles a chance. He says he has, but Miles isn't listening.

Grey and Max talk about cars. She got into cars because of her father. But not at first. First, he taught her how to run smaller cons. Then she learned to pick pockets. Then three card monte. The finally, cars. It was love at first sight. Now her dad's in Leavenworth. She did everything she could not to end up like him, but here she is. Grey understands. Max says she's not a drug dealer. She never was. That stuff just dropped in their lap. She can't believe they're about to dump 20 kilos onto the street. Grey asks why she doesn't just flush it. She says it's not her call and they see Leo at a distance.

Ansel and Tookie are covered in flour and still trying to make a baked Alaska. Tookie tries to convince Ansel to pick an easier dessert, but Ansel insists. They start to try again. Ansel asks about when Tookie met Dex. Tookie says she was about 15. He was working at a bookstore on Burnside and someone kept putting the Bibles in the fiction section. He caught Dex red-handed and tackled her in the parking lot. He got fired. Ansel asks if Tookie knew his and Dex's parents. Tookie says he did and they're nice people.

Ginger pours a couple of drink and she and Dex talk about Enrique. Ginger has a present for Dex, a diamond necklace. She says every girl should have a diamond around her neck. Dex says she can't accept it, but Ginger insists. There's a knock at the door and Ford and Johnson walk in. They recognize her as having pretended to be from the census bureau, but Ginger hand waves it. Ginger takes Johnson and leaves Ford with Dex, telling her to make memories not babies. Ford takes off his shirt and rubs Dex's hand on his chest.

Dex apologizes to Ford, saying she can't do it when it's arranged. He says it's his first time being turned down. They can hear Ginger and Johnson having sex and make awkward small talk about Ginger. Dex asks if there's anyone from work who doesn't love Ginger. Ford says no and he doesn't know of anyone who might want to steal from her. Ford says he doesn't. Ginger comes in and is surprised Ford and Dex didn't do anything. Ginger then invited Ford to come in with her. Dex gets up and leaves.

Jimmy's looking at Miles's case files. He wants the file on Grey, but Miles says he doesn't share files on his CIs. Jimmy says he should be up to speed, but Miles says he'll call Jimmy when he needs him and keep him up to speed as necessary. As he leaves, Jimmy asks if he's related to Lionel Hoffman, defense attorney. It's Miles's father. Jimmy says it all makes sense, but won't elaborate on what he means by that.

Dex waits outside Enrique's house. She starts her car to leave and starts to enjoy the song that comes on. Then she sees a car pull up and four dancers from the club get out and go to the door.

Dex knocks on the door and a shocked Enrique answers. Dex admits to being a private investigator and she says that each of them is bulgier when they leave when they come in. She knows they're all stealing a little. Ford says they'll stand together, but Johnson comes back into the room and dumps the cash out on the table. He doesn't want to go to jail over it. They then admit that Ginger pushed Enrique off the stage that night, right after he told her she needed help. Her drinking was out of control. It's the only male revue in town, so if you rocked the boat with her, you were out. He's a single father. They were all skimming a little for Enrique to keep him afloat. They ask Dex to talk to Ginger.

Ansel and Tookie wait for the Baked Alaska to finish. Ansel asks Tookie why his parents left. Tookie tells him to talk to Dex, but he says Dex won't talk about it. Tookie says maybe she will someday.

Ginger pours herself a large drink. Dex says she figured it out and tells Ginger a few unnamed strippers were taking a little off the top to help Enrique. She knows who they are, but she may have a solution where they don't have to drop a bomb on anyone's head. Ginger has a morale problem. She knows morale. She suggests bringing Enrique back, keeping him behind the bar until he heals up, and apologizing to him. Dex suggests holding a big meeting with everyone and telling them she values and appreciates them. It'll pay off because they're good guys who care about her. They're concerned about her. Ginger says she's sad because she thought Dex was different, but she's just like all the other haters. Dex says that's not true, but Ginger fires her and says they're no longer friends. Dex tries again to address her issues, but Ginger tells her to look in the mirror. She tells Dex to get out and pulls the diamond necklace off her neck.

Dex sits down and asks the bartender where Grey is. Alex hasn't seen him and asks Dex what she's drinking. Dex wonders if he's aware of the deal where she drinks for free and he isn't. She orders a drink and then gets approached by Harriet Straw from the DPSST. She finds out that Ginger filed a complaint against her and they've opened a formal investigation. Ginger says she tried to sleep with one of her employees, was incompetent, accepted a gift from her, and was drinking on the job. Dex tries to defend herself. Harriet warns Dex that her license could be permanently revoked.

Grey tells Miles that the crew has 20 kilos of heroin. They wonder who in Portland is trying to move that much dope. Miles tells him to convince them to take his buyer. If they don't, he'll move in now, lock them all up, and start flipping people. Grey asks what if he gets Max to cooperate. Miles asks if she's wobbling or if she's just putting on an act so they can out him as a rat and he'll end up with the bullet in the back of his head. He tells Grey not to overthink it.

Jimmy asks what his CI had to say, but he says he'll type it up and CC Jimmy. Jimmy's upset because Miles won't include him. Cosgrove asks why he isn't sharing information. Miles says he doesn't trust Jimmy. He tried to bulldoze in and he can't have that with his CI inside. Jimmy says he's just trying to make up for getting his last CI killed. Cosgrove tells him he has to share information or he'll lose the case. Miles says the crew is trying to move 20 kilos. Jimmy demands to know the location of the crew immediately. Cosgrove says now Jimmy is pissing him off, so he leaves and says to keep him in the loop.

Dex enters a bar and stands there for a few moments before turning around to leave. As she leaves, Poppy Matthews calls out her name. Dex tries to make an excuse to leave, but Poppy says it took her three tries to come herself, so she's saving Dex a few trips and says to get in there.

Poppy says it's not a big deal. They meet once a week and there's a Facebook group so they get active military and vets from all over the country dropping in when they're in town. It's informal, no pressure, and she'll be surprised how great it feels to be around other veterans. She asks if there's something in particular that brought Dex in and Dex says she's finally found something she was good at and someone decided to try to take it away from her. Poppy asks if she's trying to take it back and is surprised that Dex is just going to wait and see. Poppy tells her to fight back, take the fight to her enemy.

Dex goes back into the Multnomah County Department of Sexually Oriented Business. She tells Franny she needs to lodge some complaints against Ginger Lloyd and details which complaints.

Jimmy snags a file of Miles's desk and walks away.

Grey hears Max and Leo fight and watches Max leave in anger. Grey asks her if she's okay and she says she needs to get the hell out of there. Just out. Grey offers his help. Scuzzy then calls for Grey to come with him.

Jimmy opens the file and pulls a gun out of his glove box before leaving his car. He enters the building alone and makes his way through.

Scuzzy takes Grey to see Leo, who asks him about his time in prison. Specially, a guy named Billy Galvin. Grey hasn't thought about him in years. Leo says Billy told him to be careful. Grey says Billy's a snitch, but Leo's not sure.

Jimmy continues to make his way through the building.

Grey asks what his problem is. Grey tells Leo to find him when he's ready to move his weight and until then, find somebody else to play tough guy with. As Grey goes to leave, Leo agrees to meet Grey's buyer. No guarantees, but they'll do a sit down. Grey says his buyer's in Los Angeles and agrees to have them there by tomorrow afternoon.

Jimmy is still moving through the building when Miles confronts him with a gun, saying he's in the wrong warehouse if he's looking for 20 kilos.

Miles says Jimmy's a jackass and he's dirty. Jimmy claims he got a call for backup at this location. Miles says he stole a dummy file. He's on the take with whoever got their heroin stolen. Jimmy says he's not telling Miles anyway. Cosgrove appears behind Jimmy and says maybe he'll tell her instead. Jimmy tries to defend himself, but she has him arrested. As he's taken away, Miles gets a call from Grey about needing a buyer tomorrow.

Ginger approaches Dex and the bar and offers to buy her a drink. Ginger has decided to give Enrique a job until his leg heals. The club means everything to her and she'd be a mess without it. She has to protect herself and may have overreacted. Ginger asks if she wants her necklace back and Dex says she wants Ginger to drop the complaints against her. Being a PI is all she has. They agree to drop the claims against each other. Ginger says no one's ever gone toe-to-toe with her and won. She knew she liked Dex.

Cosgrove offers to let Miles gloat. He says he would if it would make him feel any better, but it won't. Now they move forward. They need someone to front as the buyer. He doesn't trust anyone from narcotics. He'll get his own informant. She asks who, but he won't say.

Grey's not convinced Miles's idea is good. Miles says he needs someone he knows he can trust.

Dex is sitting at the bar when Tookie and Ansel bring in the Baked Alaska. Tookie lights in on fire. Dex is confused and Ansel reminds her that it's the anniversary of when she came to get him 12 years ago. They went to Romy's Diner and she got him Baked Alaska and said everything would be okay. Just then, Miles and Grey come in and tell Dex they need her help, right away.

## Cast

* Dex Parios
* Grey McConnell
* Ansel Parios
* Tookie Alvarez
* Bobby Cosgrove
* Miles Hoffman
* Maxine Beck
* Leo
* Ginger Lloyd
* Jimmy Arrieta
* Franny Lewis
* Scuzzy
* Poppy Matthews
* Harriet Straw
* Charles "Chaz" Wyatt
* Rico
* Assistant Chef Victor
* Ford
* Enrique Bedoya
* Bryce
* Johnson
* Alex
* Waitress
* DJ
* Dancer
1/25
### Main Cast

* Cobie Smulders as Dex Parios
* Jake Johnson as Grey McConnell
* Tantoo Cardinal as Sue Lynn Blackbird (credit only)
* Cole Sibus as Ansel Parios
* Adrian Martinez as Tookie Alvarez
* Camryn Manheim as Lieutenant Bobby Cosgrove
* Michael Ealy as Detective Miles Hoffman

### Guest Stars

* Inbar Lavi as Maxine Beck
* Ryan Dorsey as Leo
* Cheryl Hines as Ginger Lloyd
* David Warshofsky as Jimmy Arrieta
* Kathy Kinney as Franny Lewis
* Chuck Filipov as Scuzzy
* Julie Goldman as Poppy Matthews
* Eileen Galindo as Harriet Straw

### Co-Starring

* Tommy O'Brien as Chaz
* Michael Hudson as Rico
* Selwyn Huqueriza as Assistant Chef
* Anton Narinskiy as Ford
* Marlon Aquino as Enrique Bedoya
* T.J. Hoban as Bryce
* Brandon Claybon as Johnson
* Isiah Adams as Alex
* Liza Dean as Waitress
* Cassandra Blair as DJ
* Michael Peele as Dancer

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode scored 2.36 million viewers.
* Although she appears in a promotional image, Tantoo Cardinal does not appear in the final cut of the episode.