Dexter (episode)
Dexter is contacted by his foster sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a vice officer in the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter, a blood spatter analyst for the department, assists Debra in investigating an apparent serial killer targeting prostitutes. Dexter examines the latest victim and is shocked to find no trace of blood on the dismembered corpse. At the police station, Dexter discusses another murder case being handled by James Doakes (Erik King), a detective who dislikes him. Later, Dexter watches Jamie Jaworski, a murderer who escaped justice due to a faulty warrant, and breaks into his home to find evidence. Once he confirms that Jaworski is guilty, Dexter meets with his girlfriend Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), a former victim of domestic abuse victim; Rita has two young children, Astor and Cody. While on a date with Rita, Dexter finds another murder scene with no traces of blood, this time with the victim's head missing. Dexter theorizes that the killer murders his victims in extreme cold, explaining the absence of blood, and might be using a stolen refrigerated truck. Dexter allows Debra to pitch the theory, but their superior officer, Lt. María LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez), dismisses it.
Arthur Mitchell (Dexter)
As Mitchell plans a trip to Tampa to build a house, Dexter concocts a plan to go to a meteorological convention to establish an alibi so he has a reason to be in Tampa as well. Mitchell reluctantly allows Dexter to tag along when Dexter claims he's done something terrible that only Mitchell can help him recover from. Dexter, hoping to redeem his murder of an innocent man, plans to murder the decidedly guilty Mitchell along the way. During their road trip, however, Mitchell pushes Dexter to admit his terrible deed, and Dexter claims to have killed someone in a hunting accident. This admission greatly affects Mitchell, who sees it as a sign of kinship. He takes Dexter to his old home and tells him that when he was 10, he startled his sister while spying on her in the shower; she fell and broke the glass door, slicing her femoral artery and bleeding to death. His mother later committed suicide by leaping off a building, leaving him in the care of his abusive father; Dexter conjectures that Mitchell bludgeoned his father to death, accounting for the third victim.