9. Father Knows Best

Complete story — includes the ending

Dexter learns that his biological father, Joe Driscoll, who he thought had been long dead, has only recently died and has left all of his belongings to Dexter, including his house. Dexter travels to the house with Rita. Debra and Rudy arrive there later (following Rudy's advice) to assist him in cleaning out the house. Dexter suspects Joe Driscoll's death to be murder. Flashbacks to Dexter's childhood show him questioning his foster father Harry ( James Remar ) about his real parents, and Dexter finds that Mr. Driscoll donated some of his blood to the young Dexter for surgery. In the last scene, one of Joe's neighbors, an elderly woman, recognizes Rudy as a cable repairman, who happened to be Joe's last visitor before his death; after Dexter, Rita, Debra and Rudy had left the premises, Rudy is shown returning to the elderly woman's house dressed as the cable repairman again. Meanwhile, Paul begins to slide back into his old abusive habits when Rita attempts to prevent him from seeing their children. Doakes is under investigation after shooting a fleeing suspect, and Batista wrestles with his conscience as he realises that the evidence doesn't fit Doakes's version of events.