Desperate Housewives Episode 1.05 Come in, Stranger

Susan catsits for a neighbor when she realizes someone has broken in. At a neighborhood watch meeting, Susan gives a screwdriver she found at the scene of the crime to a handsome cop. He asks her out and at first she says she's not available. But then he charms her into agreeing. She decides to ask Mike's permission and he tells her he doesn't have an opinion. Frustrated, she worries that Mike is a "Karl" in disguise, another jerk like her ex-husband.

Unbeknownst to Susan, Mike is the man responsible for the break-in. He meets an older man in a park and they discuss his progress investigating the residents of Wisteria Lane. While out on a date with the cop, Susan sees the screwdriver he supposedly submitted as evidence. Susan realizes he's the "Karl," and walks away from him, in the middle of a crime-ridden neighborhood. She has to borrow a prostitute's cell phone to call Julie and ask her to get someone to pick her up. It's Mike who shows up to her rescue, and he's secretly relieved to find out that that screwdriver never went to the lab. When he drops her off, she says she's frustrated she doesn't know him better. His answer: he leans in a for a kiss.

Lynette settles on a private school that would be perfect for her troublesome boys, as long as she can get a reluctant Bree to give her a recommendation. To make sure they're well-behaved at their interview, Lynette has them dig holes in the yard to tire them out, and the school is fooled into thinking they're "docile." But there's another family in contention for the open spot, which only a $15,000 donation will fix. Refusing to take Tom's suggestion of home schooling seriously, Lynette instead convinces him to sell his beloved sailboat.

Gabrielle is alarmed when her mother-in-law, Juanita, shows up unexpectedly for an extended visit. Turns out Carlos called her because he suspects Gabrielle of having an affair. Gabrielle tries to sneak out to meet John, but Mama Solis insists on tagging along so they go lingerie shopping instead. While Juanita is watching her soaps, Gabrielle meets John in the garage and makes a plan for another date. To get Juanita off her back during another shopping trip, Gabrielle plants an unpaid-for shirt in her bags and gets her arrested for shoplifting. Later, Juanita tells Gabrielle of her abusive ex-husband, and implies that she killed him to protect Carlos. The veiled threat to Gabrielle is clear.

Bree stops by the Youngs' house and finds Zach cleaning the floor that was stained by his mother's blood. Feeling sorry for him, she invites him to sample some Christmas recipes she's trying out. They exchange dark secrets: her mother was run over by a car one Christmas and young Bree cleaned her blood off the street; Zach says he knows why his mother killed herself, because of something bad he did when he was little. Before he can tell her what it was, he becomes terribly upset and leaves. Determined to find out more, Bree invites him to a holiday-themed dinner. When Rex calls suddenly and asks Bree out to eat with him, she cancels on Zach.

She returns home to find that someone has broken in -- and decorated the house for Christmas! The stockings on the fireplace read, "Paul, Mary Alice, and Zach." When a furious Paul shows up to claim Zach, the teenager reaches out to hold Bree's hand for support. Bree stops by the Youngs' later to make sure everything's OK. She hears loud arguing and Zach tells her everything's fine. But then the camera pulls back to reveal Paul, sprawled on the ground with a bloody lip. The next day, Paul and Zach drive off, giving what seems to be a last look at the neighborhood.