Cayce Robbins

**Cayce Robbins** (Vanessa Ray) is the hidden (redeemed) minor villainess of "Red Lacquer Nail Polish," episode 5.15 of *The Mentalist* (airdate March 3, 2013). A 28-year-old woman, her brief backstory revealed she was from New London, Connecticut—having failed to pay some parking tickets as well as "[working] on or around boats" at a Bodega Bay marina since she moved there six years ago. Cayce's introductory appearance came after Alex Wiley mentioned her as being the sailing companion of the late Elise Vogelson while she and her husband Curtis were being interviewed by Patrick Jane and CBI Agent Teresa Libson.

During her first conversation with Patrick and Teresa, which took place while she was aboard the *Songbird* (her sailboat), she brought up Elise's wish to have her ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean "out of sight of land." Unable to think of anyone would might have wanted to kill her, Cayce described Elise as "sharper than most people [her] age" before voicing her dislike of "all the pills she was taking" due to her belief "doctors prescribe too many [of them]." When asked further questions, she grabbed a bottle of said pills from the cabin of the *Songbird* and gave it to them. This led to the discovery that Elise's personal physician, Dr. Lance Reinhardt, was the prescriber.

The pair talked to Cayce again after Curtis vented about (among other things) his belief that she was among those who took advantage of how his aunt "[wasn't] in her right mind," referencing how Elise gave the *Songbird* to her. Her response was to disclose that Lance concluded Elise was *non compos mentis*, prompting her lawyers to call her about Elise's will being declared invalid. Cayce also said it meant Chaplin Johnny Griffin—who ran the Vogelson Soldiers' Home charity—couldn't replace Elise on the Vogelson Foundation's board. She even went as far as to blame Lance for Elise's declining mental state, after which she cited "there was more than just [the bottle she gave them earlier]."

Cayce's reveal as a villainess was initiated one night when Patrick seemingly offered to help her scatter Elise's ashes per her wish. Instead of doing that, however, he kept their conversation going until he grabbed a marine flare from the *Songbird*'s emergency kit and lit it up. A brief scuffle broke out, and while Patrick managed to throw the flare into the lower deck, he accidentally pushed Cayce overboard into Bodega Harbor as well.

After being rescued from the water, her reveal was cemented when Cayce tearfully explained to CBI Agent Kimball Cho that she had no idea Elise embezzled from the Vogelson Soldiers' Home and set Lissie Calhoun on fire while she was unconscious from barbiturate-laced scotch in order to fake her own murder—which she wanted to frame Alex's husband Curtis (Elise's nephew) for so he couldn't criticize her. She then stated Elise claimed her relatives were "trying to get [her] put away in a home," which pro mistakenly attempts to protect her. As Elise herself confessed to Teresa, Cayce (who she viewed as "naive and foolish") thought of her as the "mother she never had," which she used as part of her scheme. The greedy and murderous schemer manipulated her oblivious ally into hiding her aboard the *Songbird* before sending her to rent a room in Las Vegas using Lissie's credit card.

Kimball's reply was to divulge Cayce was an accessory to murder, much to her despondent disbelief and horror. He then also deduced Elise planned to murder her once they escaped, with Cayce calling herself "really stupid" before asking him what to do. Kimball said that in exchange for a fair deal, she had to testify against her former co-conspirator. The remorseful woman agreed and promised to be honest, marking her redemption. Additionally, it can be assumed she faced lessened charges offscreen.