During this installment of Damages, Ellen sneaks a water sample of out West Virginia, while Daniel pulls one over on Patty. Here's a detailed recap:

IN WEST VIRGINIA:

Ellen and Tom are sent to West Virginia in order to locate reporter Josh Reston. This is not an easy task, as his newspaper editor won't be of any assistance and the local bartender tells a UNR associate about Ellen and Tom's presence in the small town.

Later, after the legal duo finds Josh's home ransacked, the reporter tracks them down at their hotel and tells them about the water sample he swiped from the local coal plant. Ellen smuggles it back to New York, where Patty is excited to have evidence that Purcell can help her use to bring down UNR. Or so she thought.

(We also get a quick flash forward five months, where we see a tad more of Ellen's conversation with the person she shoots. She asks if he/she has the money and then walks out of the apartment with a briefcase after firing twice at this individual.)

IN NEW YORK:

Patty frees Purcell from jail. A guy named Kevin Walker is discovered on the security camera of a local pawn shop, selling the ruby ring that Daniel swore was on his wife's finger the night she was killed. Kevin them commits another crime - dude is a drug addict with a girlfriend and son - and is apprehended with the pawn shop ticket in his pocket. Purcell picks him out of a police lineup and is no longer a murder suspect. (Walker is then killed in prison by an inmate that was bribed by UNR.)

Feeling sentimental (or for some other reason, such as manipulation of Daniel, you never know with this woman), Patty tells her son that Purcell is his father. These two then spend time getting to know each other. As they do, Patty is plotting: with Purcell on her side, along with the aforementioned tainted water sample that he has agreed to test, she can file a class action lawsuit against UNR.

However - and this is a huge HOWEVER - Purcell turns on Hewes. During a court hearing to uncover the documents Daniel had initially sent Patty (and which were then taken back by UNR's crafty lawyer), Purcell testifies that UNR did not doctor any test results. The company's water is clean, the documents in question are irrelevant and there's no case here. As a result, the hearing is dismissed... and Patty is peeved!

What just happened? Viewers get an idea at the end of the episode: We see Purcell pouring out the water sample at his home, where he's approached by the shady UNR dude Wayne Suttry. He says the first wire transfer has been complete, as Purcell looks on stoically and tells him to get off his property.

We're then taken back three weeks, to the night Purcell's wife was killed. Daniel is in a car. He's joined there by a UNR associated referred to in credits as "The Deacon" (and actually played by SNL's Darrell Hammond!) and Kevin Walker. The Deacon gives Walker the ruby ring, tells him to pawn it and keep the receipt. He then says to Purcell:

"All you have to do is take a good look at him. Everything's gonna be OK. Just go inside and dial 911."

WOW! So Purcell was complicit in his wife's murder. For what possible reason?!?