The Long End

Late at night, Jason Whittaker helps his nephew Monty, now a government agent, search an old hope chest that once belonged to the recently deceased con artist Felicia Larson. They find nothing valuable inside except a hand-knitted baby blanket with the initials "B.B." Monty explains that he has been chasing the master con man Jebidiah Skint ever since the Green Ring case, and that Felicia, known in criminal circles as "Mama," mentored a whole circle of con artists, including Buck Oliver's parents. Skint is after some kind of papers, and Monty is convinced that whatever he wants is right there in Odyssey. Expecting Skint's young partner, Two-Bits, to break into the antique shop that night, Monty plants a tracking device in the hope chest and posts agents around town.

Meanwhile, at the Meltsners' house, Buck excitedly shows Jules the birth certificate that was hidden in the back of the mirror Felicia sent him. It names him Buck Jebidiah Oliver, sharing a middle name with Mr. Skint, born to Dolly Tender Oliver and Novus Ordo Oliver. Eugene notes that "Novus Ordo" comes from the Latin motto on the back of a dollar bill, which may explain the name Buck. While Eugene investigates the names and Katrina repairs the mirror, Buck and Jules go out to celebrate. On their walk home, though, Buck admits the discovery raises painful questions. Felicia gave him a different name for his mother, which means his parents used aliases, and he can no longer avoid the conclusion that they were con artists too. He wonders aloud whether people can truly change, not just on the outside but deep inside. Jules reminds him that his old life is who he was, not who he is now. They bump into Jason, who acts strangely flustered when he hears about the mirror and the painting Buck inherited, then hurries off to warn Monty that Felicia smuggled the items to Buck right under their noses.

Eugene, meanwhile, meets Detective Polehaus at the police station. Police records show that Novus Oliver went by the alias Cash Oliver, was a small-time scam artist with a dozen false names, and died in a car accident about fifteen years ago; there is nothing at all on Dolly, and the hospital where Buck was born burned down years ago along with its records. Polehaus connects the day's strange events, including a bat-wielding stranger who smashed up a local shop, to Buck, and warns Eugene that in his heart Buck will always go back to what he knows best. Buck walks in just in time to hear it. "That's what I really think," the detective tells him. "Prove me wrong." Afterward Eugene assures Buck that he and Katrina will stand by him no matter what, but Buck quietly answers that he doesn't know if he's prepared to let them.

Across the street from the antique shop, Skint and Two-Bits watch Jason lock up. Skint recognizes Jason as an undercover cop from his last job in Odyssey, spots the surveillance van in the parking lot, and calls off the burglary, boasting that the police have never invented a scam that could catch him. "Contingencies, Two-Bits. Always have contingencies," he says, then slips away alone. After Buck says goodnight to Jules, Skint pulls up in a car and offers him a ride, and a deal: help him with one final con, "the long end," a score a hundred times bigger than anything they ever pulled, and Skint will answer every question about Buck's past and then quit the criminal life for good. When Buck hesitates, Skint's charm turns to menace, hinting that the violent Two-Bits might hurt the Meltsners or Jules if Buck refuses. Pressed for the truth, Skint admits he once loved Dolly Tender, but she loved another man, and it was she who gave Buck his middle name. Buck reveals that his birth certificate was hidden in the mirror, which amazes Skint, who saw it a hundred times and never thought to check. Buck agrees to meet him the next night at the edge of McAlister Park to give his answer, and Skint warns him to tell no one and bring no police.

When Buck gets home, Penny Bassett calls from the art gallery. The painting from Dolly isn't on ordinary canvas but on laminated plastic, the kind of material that protects something important, and the only way to find out what lies beneath is to strip the paint and destroy the artwork. Though it may be the only thing of his mother's he will ever own, Buck tells her to use the paint remover. At midnight the Meltsners gather at the gallery, where Penny has wiped the picture away to reveal row after row of legal pages hidden underneath: the last will and testament of Dolly Tender Oliver. As Penny announces, "she's left you all kinds of stuff, Buck," leaving everyone to wonder what the inheritance is, and what Mr. Skint will do to get it.