Merch Owner

The unnamed Merch Owner is a secondary villainess from "I Kissed a Girl," episode 1.06 of Rizzoli & Isles.

She was played by Missi Pyle, who also played Vera Merchants in Home Alone 4.

She is the owner and bartender for Merch, a noted lesbian bar. As revealed later on, she was also the mistress of Mel-Gaynor Randle, who was married to Kelly Gaynor-Randle. The bartender colluded with Mel to kill Kelly, beginning with Mel poisoning Kelly's insulin pump. While Mel was performing her duties on her bowling team, her villainous lover committed the actual murder. She followed Kelly outside the bar while Kelly was feeling the effects of the poison, and she grabbed a 2x4 and bludgeoned Kelly to death. The villainess also penetrated Kelly with a sex toy to make it appear that the killer was male, and during her first encounter with Jane Rizzoli, she handed her a flyer from a homophobic hate group, making it appear that they were responsible.

In the episode's climax, Jane learned from Maura Isles' analysis that Mel was involved in her wife's murder, but she had an accomplice. Jane later returned to Merch and made a pass at the bartender, who kissed Jane's neck. However, it was a ploy to get her DNA, and after her DNA was found at the scene, Jane took her in and placed a wire on her in order to implicate Mel. The bartender met Mel at Merch as they were discussing their plans for the inheritance, with Mel also revealing her role in her wife's murder. Following this, Jane resurfaced with Detective Barry Frost, and the pair arrested the villainous couple for Kelly's murder.