Linda Hendrickson (Abby Brammell) is the main villainess from "Bassholes," the second episode of Rizzoli & Isles' sixth season (airdate June 23, 2015). She is the owner of Linda's Lures and an official in competitive bass fishing.
Linda was also the illicit lover of competitive bass fisherman Mark Harris, whose obsession with the sport led to a separation from his wife, Carla. Mark entered eight tournaments, faring poorly in his first two, but winning the next six, which Linda officiated. Unbeknownst to Mark, all of his victories came due to Linda cheating on his behalf, with her devious actions including changing the weights on Mark's tally sheet, salting the waters near Mark's fishing area, and sneaking in extra fish in his tank. Because of this, Mark was accused of cheating by his various rivals, who were also unaware that Linda was the true culprit.
Linda established herself as a heel in the sport due to her actions, and as a result of his winning streak, Mark received a huge endorsement deal from Big Rod's Sporting Goods, with Linda believing that Mark would share his fame and money with her. However, Mark had sent the $50,000 he received for his first payment to Carla, and Linda became enraged when Mark informed her that he was going back to Carla. Linda told Mark what she did for him, but that further convinced Mark to leave bass fishing altogether. Mark also planned to come clean about Linda's underhanded tactics, which prompted Linda to silence Mark, as she would lose everything.
While Mark was fishing in the episode's opening, the evil Linda shot and killed him with a crossbow, committing the murder while on the shore. Linda referred to Mark as a "poet" during her interview with Jane Rizzoli and Vince Korsak, while also hiding her heel persona by attempting to pin Mark's murder on his competitors, stating that they were jealous of Mark and accused him of cheating. After Maura Isles and Kent Drake deduced that the murder was committed on shore, Linda was brought in to BPD, where her role as a villainess was revealed. Linda confessed to killing Mark, stating that she did everything for him and voicing her anger over Mark's plans to leave her and go back to his wife. Following her confession, Linda was arrested (off-screen) for Mark's murder.
Trivia[]
- Abby Brammell also appeared as the villainous Debra on CSI.
Quotes[]
- "We could have been king and queen of the lakes, but that wasn't enough for him." (Linda referencing Mark's endorsement deal)
- "They were gonna put Mark on the cover of a sporting-goods catalogue so that other city guys would buy more fishing rods. But me, with all of my knowledge, I could never get that. I could never be the face of Big Rod's, but he could. And I did that for him. I gave that to him. And he was throwing it all away. He was going back to his wife. (Jane: "So you told him about the cheating?") Well, I thought if...if he knew, then he'd realize how much I loved him. But he said that he had to come clean. Confess. (Korsak: "Which would have exposed you.") I would have lost everything that I've built. He was so ungrateful. I mean, he had nothing to lose!" (Linda revealing her motive for killing Mark Harris)