Lance Tolkin is a gigolo who is found dead at a party. He was not very experienced in the high life yet, expressing doubts to fellow gigolo Gabe McKinley about his choice of pocket square and being unsure whether their drinks had been served in the correct glasses. As he and Gabe rejoined their respective dates Gillian and Eugenia, Lance suddenly started coughing violently. At first his companions thought he was mocking a coughing woman behind them, but soon Lance dropped his drink and fell backwards over a balustrade.
Shawn concludes from the lack of wrist/ankle fractures that Lance was already dead before he hit the floor, as anyone still alive would have reflexively tried to break the fall. He therefore suspects Lance was poisoned, which Karen later confirms. When the gang go over to Lance's fancy bachelor pad to investigate, Shawn has already figured out that Lance was a gigolo because he didn't have a job and was dating a woman twice his age. He also finds a book called Killing with Class: The Art of Seduction Through Charm and Sophistication, which leads Shawn and Gus to view author Clive Prescott as a suspect.
However, Lassiter and Juliet consider Gillian the prime suspect, because they believe she'd already killed her own husband only five months ago. The party's bartender gives both duos reason to believe that their theory is correct: given that Prescott knew that Lance would order the Gabardine Hightail cocktail he had invented he could've easily spiked it, but Gillian could've done so as well since she always had a bottle of Brora Scotch set aside behind the bar especially for Lance.
When both of these theories come to nothing, they briefly entertain the theory that Gabe was jealous of Lance for landing the rich Gillian whereas he had to make do with the poor Eugenia. However, they only hit on the right theory once they also find Gabe dead. The cufflinks in his pocket reveal that he had also started dating Gillian, which fits with the pattern of poisonings, and the real break in the case comes when the toxicology lab calls Juliet to tell her that naphthalene is the principal toxin found inside of Lance. Gus knows that naphthalene is the main ingredient of mothballs, which is what Eugenia always smells like. Upon her arrest, Eugenia explains that she poisoned Lance, Shawn and Gabe because she was in love with Gillian and wanted to spend her golden years with her.
Trivia[]
- Besides a host of business books and some work-out equipment, Lance also owned a Super Troopers pinball machine. That film was cowritten by, directed by and starred Jay Chandrasekhar, director of four Psych episodes including Lance's.
- The compliment Prescott wrote in Lance's copy of his book states that Lance was one of his "most artful and gentlemanly students". However, Clive later explains that although Lance had potential, he was not as good as he thought and hadn't mastered the art of manners yet.
- It's unknown whether he's related to Howie Tolkin of S3E2 "Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?".