Guns and Roses (Numbers)

Assistant US Attorney Robin Brooks (Michelle Nolden) approaches FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) at a gun range and thanks him for his help during a previous case.[1] Don receives a phone call to a crime scene while on a date with Robin. When he arrives, he learns that his former girlfriend from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Agent Nikki Davis (Sandra Lindquist), was found dead, supposedly from a suicide. Don, not believing the preliminary findings, asks Dr. Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), his brother and an FBI math consultant, to mathematically determine whether she was inclined to suicide. Early evidence reveals that she was to retire soon and that the last person she called was Don. The team learns that her husband ATF Agent Richard Davis (Matthew John Armstrong) was supposed to be in Texas but was instead in Mexico. Don goes back to Nikki Davis's house, where Richard Davis, who had just returned from Mexico, walks in on Don. Richard Davis tells Don that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was treating it with expensive experimental drugs from Mexico, hence Richard Davis' visits there.

Charlie's use of a modified version of the Holmes-Rahe stress scale indicates that, due to her involvement in community activities and her excellent record with the ATF, Nikki Davis probably did not die by suicide. At the Davises' house, Charlie, his friend and colleague Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol), and FBI Special Agent David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) then attempt to match the pattern caught by microphones found around the neighborhood with the sound from Nikki Davis' service revolver. Charlie, Larry, and David's test reveals that a second person was in the room the night she died. Coupled with evidence that Richard Davis was involved in weapons smuggling, Charlie's evidence confirms Don's suspicion that she was murdered.

Meanwhile, the FBI team learns that someone tipped off the biker gang under ATF investigation for a series of bank robberies involving high-powered guns. Don goes to Robin to ask her for the ATF's file, but she is upset with him for leaving their date. Once Don tells her the truth about his phone call, she agrees to help him. Don, David, and FBI Special Agent Megan Reeves (Diane Farr) go to the informant's house and find both the informant and Richard Davis dead. They conclude that Richard Davis was at the house to find his wife's killer and that Nikki Davis's killer is eliminating witnesses and investigators. Upon a tip from the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI team arrests the ringleader of the gang. Don considers holding him without evidence, but Robin tells him not to compromise the investigation. With Charlie's analysis of the DNA found in the Davises' bedroom, the team learns that one of her own teammates, ATF Agent Rho (Eric Steinberg), was behind Nikki Davis' death. While Agent Rho and the biker gang commit another heist, Don and his team arrive on the scene and after a tense gunfight, the biker gang along with Agent Rho are finally arrested.

Afterward, Charlie expresses his concerns about Don's ability to handle the stresses of FBI work to their father, Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch), and they conclude that Don should be able to handle the stresses of his work because of his family ties. Don, taking into consideration Alan's earlier suggestion about dating again, goes to Robin's house to see her.

Over 12.09 million people in the United States watched "Guns and Roses".[5] The episode received a mixed reception from critics. Cynthia Boris of DVD Verdict called the episode a "dark story".[6] David Hochman of TVGuide.com stated that the romantic aspect of the episode was "promising" and that it was Don's "biggest personal story line yet".[3]

• "Guns and Roses" (Numb3rs) at Internet Movie Database