| “ | Go home. You're not criminals. Try to remember that. | ” |
— Linda to The Liars in Farewell, My Lovely
| ||
Linda Tanner is a character first introduced in Season 4. She is a lieutenant working with state investigator Gabriel Holbrook in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Tanner is assigned to Darren Wilden's murder case. She is portrayed by Roma Maffia.
Biography[]
Although little is known about her early life, it is revealed in "FrAmed" that she originates from a multi-cultural family and is able to understand both English and Spanish without difficulty. This is revealed after "A" sends her a message in Spanish, taunting and threatening her with the fact that "A" has in-depth knowledge of her personal life. She is often described as smart, witty and very good at being able to link things together. Initially, the girls saw her as some sort of a threat who was always trying to get the Liars into more trouble than they were already in. However, later on in the series, she is seen as much more helpful after the girls open up about "A". Tanner is known for her great taste in shoes, something Hanna Marin really appreciates.
After the time jump, she briefly tries to solve Charlotte's Murder, suspecting once again The Liars. In Season 7, Linda returns in "Choose or Lose", and takes over the case (after Detective Furey removes himself due to his personal confliction with Spencer Hastings) about Archer Dunhill's murder, once again, and correctly suspecting that the Liars had something to do with it. Suspecting The Liars in most of her investigations shows lack of trust.
Series[]
Linda Tanner and Detective Holbrook are seen watching The Liars outside of Rosewood High School, wondering what the connection could be between the girls and the recent deaths. She and Officer Holbrook are then seen at the bank with Ashley Marin to look at the contents in Wilden's safe deposit box as Hanna looks on. Hanna goes up to Lt.Tanner while she's sitting outside doing paperwork to talk to her about Wilden, but the conversation is interjected by Caleb. Later, the Lieutenant and Holbrook come to Hanna's house to question Ashley. Hanna and Caleb lie and say she isn't home, and they leave.
Lt. Tanner questions Hanna after she's arrested for possession of her dad's gun. Tanner is patient with her, but Hanna doesn't tell her anything. Suddenly, Ashley comes in to the room saying Hanna's bail had been paid. Emily decides to give the police the video of Shana and Jenna helping Wilden, and leaves a copy at the police station. Later at The Brew, Tanner comes in looking for Emily and shows her a video of someone in a red coat with a mask of Emily on while holding a 'guilty' sign. However, their session is interrupted when Tanner is called to arrest Ashley for the murder of Wilden. She tells Hanna and her dad that the gun was the one used to kill Wilden, and Ashley's fingerprints were found on the bullets.
She talks to the girls during their lunch break to let them know they found a piece of evidence that could lead to the identity of the person who crashed into Emily's House. They found a muddy shoe similar to one that belonged to Ashley Marin, which distresses Hanna. Linda is later seen taking notes when Travis goes to the police station after Hanna's urging, to explain that Ashley didn't murder Wilden. He said he heard a gunshot after Ashley left, and saw a girl run through the woods that night.
Knocking on Ezra's door, Tanner introduces herself when Ezra opens it, and wonders if she could ask him a few questions. Handing Ezra an envelope that was outside his door, Tanner wonders if she can come in, and a hesitant Ezra allows her to enter. Noticing the boxes, Tanner asks Ezra if he's moving out, but Ezra tells her he's just getting rid of some old school files. After Ezra asks what he can help Tanner with, she says she has some questions regarding Shana Fring. Confused, Ezra thought the New York detectives were handling that case, but Tanner tells him they are, "but Shana was a former resident of Rosewood, so we're just helping them gather further information".
She asks if Ezra knew Shana well, and Ezra tells her Shana was never one of his students, before Tanner asks him if he mentioned that his mother owned a Theater in New York, but Ezra tells her he never mentioned that to any of his students, "so it's just a coincidence that her body was found there". Rehashing details, Tanner mentions that Ezra was shot the night before Shana was killed, and that when they found Shana, she had some gun residue on her sweatshirt. After wondering what Tanner's question was, Tanner asks Ezra if he remembers anything about his mugger, but he tells her nothing he hasn't already said. Thanking Ezra for his time, Tanner stands to leave and turning, she notices a female jacket and handbag on Ezra's table.
Pulling up out the front of the DiLaurentis house, Tanner asks Alison if her dad is home, and Alison tells her she's just missed him, and wonders if there is anything she can help Tanner with. Tanner tells her there is, "I'd like it if you'd come down to the station later with your dad and answer some questions". When Alison asks what the questions would be about, Tanner tells her they'd be about her childhood friend, Shana Fring. Tanner also mentions that they'd like it if Alison could tell them where she was the night Shana died, and when Alison tells her she was in Philly with the other girls, Tanner asks her specifically where, "you know, that sort of thing".
After there is a break in at the Marin household, Tanner asks Ashley if there was anything distinctive about the shadow, and after Ashley says that it was a man’s shadow, Tanner asks Alison if she’s certain that’s what it was. When Alison says that she is certain, Tanner asks Alison why she was certain it was a man’s shadow, and after Alison says that it was big, loud, and that she heard the floorboards creak, Tanner questions, “I thought you weren’t aware of the intruder until you came downstairs”, and by that time he would have been in the kitchen. As Tanner questions if there are floorboards or tiles in the kitchen, Ashley cuts in and tells her they are floorboards, before asking why she is questioning Alison like she is. Tanner tells Ashley that is standard police procedure, and Ashley wonders if that’s so because she is treating Alison like a criminal. Tanner goes on to explain that she is just gathering as much detailed information as she can, but Ashley questions Tanner by saying that Alison has been through enough and that there is a predator out there and the police have done nothing to make anyone feel any safer. As Tanner begins to speak, Ashley says she’s not speaking to her as a concerned citizen, she’s a mother whose daughter is also affected by this situation.
Sitting down at an interrogation table, Tanner asks Cyrus if this was his first attempt at trying to see Alison after she ran away from him. Cyrus says that she didn’t run away, she jumped out of his car, and when Tanner asks that he had Alison blindfolded, Cyrus tells her that he did, or at least when he was around her. Tanner questions whether Cyrus is referring to the car ride, and Cyrus tells her no, he’s referring to since the day she came away with him, after he hit her. Tanner asks where he hit Alison, and Cyrus tells her on the back of the head. Going on, Cyrus explains that he followed Alison into the yard and finding a rock, he hit her, and then he carried her to his car. Tanner asks Cyrus where he took Alison, and Cyrus tells her Philly, and that the place he was staying was off-street. Tanner questions whether the place was his home, and Cyrus says that he was crashing there and that there was a basement, before Tanner questions, “you kept her locked up in the basement, all that time?”
Walking out the front of the Rosewood Police Department, Tanner meets up with Kenneth and Alison. As they get into Tanner’s car, Tanner radios control and tells them that she’s transporting witness to 5th street house for possible identification.
Walking down into a basement, Tanner explains to Kenneth and Alison that this is the place where Cyrus said he kept her and that the property has been abandoned for years, “not a lot of neighbours around either”. As Alison hesitates halfway down the stairs, Tanner mentions that Cyrus Petrillo may have confessed, but they don’t have the physical evidence they need to charge him, “and our 48 hour hold is running out”. Saying that she knows this is difficult, Tanner tells Alison that since she can’t identify her abductor, she needs her to try and remember this space. Noticing Alison focusing on something in the basement, Tanner asks if she remembers the place, and Alison tells her that she could never forget it. Reaching for her phone, Tanner dials a number.
Over the radio, Tanner tells control that the witness has identified, and ETA to the courthouse is eight minutes, “do not release suspect in holding. I repeat, do not release Cyrus Petrillo”.
No One Here Can Love or Understand Me
Sitting down at an outdoor table with coffees, Tanner tells the girls that they’re concerned about the suspect who was released prematurely and she wants to assure them that they will catch him. As Emily says that it’s good to know, Tanner tells them to take reasonable precautions and report anything out of the ordinary, “anything”, and let them decide what’s relevant. Standing up, Tanner starts to leave before she turns back, “oh. I have been meaning to ask you all something”, and sitting back down, Tanner questions who the girls think killed Bethany Young. When Hanna questions who they think killed her, Tanner says that they must have thought about it, “how she was killed on the same night Alison was kidnapped”. Aria mentions that she hasn’t given it much thought, and Tanners is surprised, “really?” Emily says that none of them knew Bethany Young and Tanner tells her that she knows that, “we haven’t been able to find a single connection between you and the dead girl. Except that she was killed 30 yards away from where you all were sleeping”. Tanner says that she just thought they may have talked about it, “I guess girls are different from when I was your age”.
Standing in the Montgomery living room, Byron asks Lieutenant Tanner what she wanted to ask him, and Tanner mentions, “not so much ask. Just talk”. Tanner explains that she’s been talking with all the parents of Alison’s friends, and Byron comments that she’s also been talking to her friends, sometimes without any adults around. Tanner says that she knows the rules and that no one is trying to trick the girls, but they just need to know how serious this is. Byron mentions that it seems to him that she should be putting her energy in finding the kidnapper that they released, to which Tanner says that “a man confesses to a crime. Then disappears the moment he is released”, before asking Byron what he thinks changed the kidnappers mind. Byron tells her that he has no idea, and when Tanner says that “this town ranks surprisingly low on curiosity”, Byron tells her that they may not have a lot of imagination but they expect the police to do their job. Tanner tells Byron that she’ll tell him something about homicide investigations, “they tend to get less complicated as you work them, not more. If they start getting more complicated you can be sure that someone is doing that on purpose. Someone smart. And there are so many smart people involved in this case, it makes my job very interesting”.
Byron mentions that he’s only interested in where her job affects his daughter and Tanner questions if Byron wants to know if the police are interesting in Aria. Tanner says that they are, “she may or may not be involved in a homicide, but I am certain she is part of the complications”. Byron questions if Tanner is so sure, why hasn’t she done something about it, instead of harassing these girls. Tanner says that she wouldn’t call it harassing, she’s just been waiting for one of them to step up and say that they’re willing to tell her the truth, and now one of them has. Tanner goes on to say that she expects to have a very enlightening conversation with her tomorrow, and that she just thought Byron would want to know. When Byron wonders which one wants to talk with her, Tanner, instead of answering, tells him goodnight and walks out.
In the Rosewood Police Department, Tanner walks up to Toby, who is reading Spencer’s police file. Feeling caught, Toby quickly explains that it’s an open file, and he didn’t break any rules looking at it. Tanner tells him that what he’s looking for isn’t in that particular file, and passes him another. Tanner says that it contains the ground for Spencer Hastings arrest warrant, “that was unsealed today”. Tanner explains that what convinced the judge was a statement from a witness, “someone who saw Spencer Hastings in the DiLaurentis backyard, with a girl. A blonde. Dressed in Alison’s clothes the night Bethany was buried in that yard”. Toby questions who the witness was, and Tanner says that it was Jessica DiLaurentis. Toby questions that Mrs DiLaurentis saw Spencer in the backyard, and told the police, and Tanner nods in confirmation. Toby then asks where this statement has been for two years, and Tanner tells, “where it’s been, is deliberately hidden in the files of the officer who took the statement. Darren Wilden”.
Tanner explains that they found the statement just before Thanksgiving, “Wilden had suppressed it”. Toby says that Wilden may have buried it when Mrs D was still alive, before questioning what stopped her from telling someone else. Tanner asks Toby why he thinks she did it, and Toby says that Wilden was crooked, and that he told somebody about the statement, someone who wanted it to go away, and they paid him to keep Mrs DiLaurentis quiet. Tanner questions how Toby thinks Wilden could do that, to which Toby says that Bethany was a patient at Radley, and Mrs DiLaurentis was on the board, and she had an affair with Bethany’s father. When Toby says that is where they probably met, Tanner comments that it “always seems to lead back to Radley, doesn’t it?” As Tanner is walking away, Toby asks Tanner where her partner is, and turning back, Tanner questions if he’s talking about Detective Holbrook, before saying that he’s out on temporary assignment.
In an interrogation room, Tanner, along with Toby, show Jason a video that was recorded of Mona being attacked in her own home in the lead up to her death. Tanner explains that Mrs Vanderwaal asked them to search the house again, and the police found the video, “there were three cameras. This is the only relevant one. Mona put them in herself. The batteries ran down months ago, but they were working on Thanksgiving”. Muting the television, Tanner asks Jason if there’s anything about the attacker that in any way is familiar to him, “do you recognise anything about that person?”, and after watching the video some more, Jason says that it could be his sister, it could be Alison. Tanner questions how it could be his sister if Alison was with him and his father when the incident occurred, to which Jason says that it’s because Alison wasn’t with them, it was a lie. Tanner asks if Jason is saying that Alison wasn’t with him when Mona Vanderwaal was killed, and when Jason confirms that that’s right, Tanner thanks him.
As Alison tries to run from the police, she is stopped by the four Liars, giving Tanner and other police officers time to catch up, “hands above your head”. Tanner tells Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna to move, before walking in closer to Alison and telling her to turn around, “slowly”. As Alison turns around, Tanner lowers her flashlight, “Alison DiLaurentis, you are under arrest for the murder of Mona Vanderwaal”. Grabbing Alison’s wrist, Tanner tells Alison to turn back around, before placing her in handcuffs.
Tanner is standing in with Peter Hastings and Toby in the Hastings’ great room. After Spencer walks in, Tanner steps towards her and says that she wanted to tell Spencer this in person. Tanner goes on to say that the police having been reviewing all the evidence and they now believe Mona Vanderwaal was not Alison’s first victim. When Spencer questions Bethany Young’s name, Tanner nods, and Peter explains to Spencer that the DA is dropping the charges against her, and that the police believe Alison set her up.
While not in this episode, Toby mentions and takes part in a search that Tanner issued for the back of Mona's house.
Tanner tells Toby to be careful and to not make accusations he can’t back out of, and when Toby says that he’s not making accusations, he’s just saying it’s a possibility, Tanner questions why Holbrook help Alison. Toby mentions that people saw Holbrook and Alison kissing at the Ice Ball dance, to which Tanner questions Toby use of the word “people”, before asking if Toby means his high school girlfriend. Tanner listens as Toby tells her that he looked into Holbrook, and he’s not taking care of his sick father, in fact, his father isn’t even sick. Tanner reminds Toby that he’s been a cop “all of six minutes”, before questioning that he has the nerve to investigate his superior, “if you want to keep your job, you’re little research project ends here”. Taking Alison’s file, Tanner walks off.
At the storage unit facilities, Tanner and Toby walk around a corner and come face-to-face with Hanna and Caleb.
Tanner questions that Caleb and Hanna are here to rent a storage unit, to which Caleb tells her that he just wanted to see what sizes are available. When Tanner comments that Caleb is a little young to have accumulated so much stuff, Caleb tells her that he’s just moved back to town and the place he’s staying at doesn’t really have enough room for all his things. Turning to Toby, Tanner asks whether he knew his friend was looking to rent a unit here, and Toby tells her no, he didn’t. Noticing Hanna anxiously move the bag that’s on her shoulder, Tanner questions if she’s nervous about something. Hanna says that she’s hoping she can make it to the bathroom in time as she really needs to pee, and after telling Hanna that she “better get going”, Tanner shares a look with Toby before she moves down the corridor. Toby asks if they need to wait for the manager to show him the search warrant, only for Tanner to explain that the manager is on his way over now. Reaching a security surveillance box, Tanner notices some of the cords are cut, before looking up to the security camera, “looks like someone’s camera shy”.
Approaching unit 1017, Tanner comments to Toby that they’re not going to be needing the bolt cutters Toby is carrying. Putting on gloves, Tanner unlocks and opens the storage unit door, where she and Toby find a lone barrel sitting in the middle of the room.
At the barrel, Tanner watches as Toby cuts the lock that to holding the lid in place. As Tanner goes to lift the lid, they’re overcome with a smell. Toby questions what the smell is, and saying that she’s not sure, Tanner tells Toby to go call the station and inform them that they need a hazmat team. As Toby leaves to radio the station, Tanner takes another peek inside the barrel. After slamming the lid back on, Tanner goes to pick up the lock that holds the lid in place, and as she’s squatting down, she notices some drops of blood.
Approaching Toby at his desk, Tanner comments that they need to talk about what happened tonight. After Toby says okay, Tanner takes a seat and mentions that they know that one or more people helped Alison kill Mona, “and move her body”. Going on, Tanner says she doesn’t know if what they found were Mona’s remains, “but I do know if those drops of blood match her DNA, your friends will be the first people I bring in for questioning”. Tanner reminds Toby that he took an oath when he became a police officer, and withholding information is not an option, “so if there is anything that I should know, now is the time to tell me”.
At Rosewood Police Department, Tanner takes notes while questioning that Ezra and Caleb can’t give her an exact time that Mike was attacked occurred, but they believe it happened between 10pm and midnight. Asking how tall the individual who attacked Mike was, “approximately”, Tanner listens as Ezra says that he already told her that Mike’s vision was impaired and he and Caleb couldn’t see anybody. When Caleb steps in saying that it was dark, Tanner surmises that neither of them can tell her the sex, the height or the hair colour of this individual, and when Ezra tells her no, Tanner states, “in fact, you can’t even be sure whether it was more than one individual”. Tanner then wonders if this is the same information Ezra and Caleb gave the Sherriff in Allegany County, and when Ezra says no, they came straight here because they figured it was connected, Tanner tells them that they have to file it in the County the incident occurred. Tanner then listens as Caleb rages that Rosewood is so ass-backwards he cannot…, after Caleb trails off, he composes himself and questions if Tanner gets that there is someone after them, and it’s the same person that went after Hanna Marin and her friends. Taking his phone, Caleb shows a photo of Mike having been attacked to Tanner, who says that just to be clear instead of helping untie Mike, Caleb stopped to take a photo, “it’s kind of an odd reaction. Don’t you think?”
Standing at her desk, Tanner is approached by a casual clothed Toby who says that he needs to speak with her. As Tanner tells Toby that he shouldn’t have come in her today, Toby says that he wants to talk with her about Spencer. Saying that there is nothing he can do, “it is too late”, Tanner listens as Toby questions what it’s too late for. Tanner explains that it’s too late to help Spencer, or her friends, “they chose to help the wrong person”. Telling an officer behind Toby to make sure the conference room is closed and locked when she’s gone, Tanner takes a file and walks away.
In the courtroom, Tanner sits in the gallery as Alison is found guilty of murder in the first degree. As the gavel is hit and the Judge calls for order, Tanner stands and directs two officers to arrest Aria, Spencer and Emily.
At the Rosewood Police Department, Tanner reads through a file as Toby explains that in the file she’s reading is black and white evidence of someone cyber jacking the van and kidnapping the Liars. Tanner notes that Toby put a lot of work into the theory he’s presenting, to which Toby tells her it’s not a theory, it’s the facts. Tanner tells him that she knows, “our analysts gave me a very similar report this morning”, before she passes said file to Toby, “take a look”. As Toby takes the file and starts to look through it, Tanner picks up the telephone and asks dispatch to put out an APB for Caleb Rivers. When Tanner ends the call, Toby questions her, before Tanner wonders if Toby himself doesn’t happen to know where Caleb is. Shaking his head, Toby tells Tanner no, he hasn’t seen Caleb in days, before wondering what Caleb has to do with all this. Tanner tells Toby that the analyst’s report does prove that someone cyber jacked the van, “and I’m betting that it is Caleb Rivers”, and she also thinks that Caleb knows where his girlfriend is.
Tanner sits across from Caleb and Veronica and Peter Hastings, and listens as Caleb tells her that if he knew where the girls were, he wouldn’t be here right now, he would be with Hanna. As Tanner says she would like to believe him, Peter cuts in, commenting that Tanner doesn’t, and she won’t, so they should quit wasting time. Veronica tells Tanner that she needs to either charge their client or release him, to which Tanner tells Caleb that he might not know exactly where the girls are, but he knows more than what he’s saying. Caleb tells Tanner that she’s right, he knows a lot more than she does, and placing a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, Peter tells him that he thinks it’s time they go, but Caleb doesn’t listen, instead telling Tanner that he hacked into the police’s computer system and he found the location of where they lost the van. Saying that Caleb just admitted to a federal offence, Tanner listens as Veronica says she thinks what Caleb meant to say was that if he hacked into their system he could find the van. Peter then adds that if Caleb had further access to that system he may be able too.., and cutting in, Caleb tells Tanner that he would be able to override the hackers jamming signal and locate the van. Tanner comments that those are some “big ifs”, but Veronica says that she thinks the bigger ifs are what if Tanner is wrong and what if someone did take the girls. Peter mentions that because Tanner hasn’t considered it, she and her analysts are looking in all the wrong places, before Veronica questions if Tanner has asked herself how four teenagers could be this good at evading the police. Peter then notes that Tanner isn’t going to find the answer investigating the girls because they’re not running from her, and Caleb adds that there’s no way Hanna wouldn’t call him if she could.
Tanner watches and listens as Caleb, having gained full access to the PD’s computer system, mentions that sometimes a hacker leaves a trail intentionally encoded to cover their tracks. Caleb goes on to say that it’s a smoke and mirrors effect that are put there to distract you while they’re actually…, but he pauses, and on saying wow, Toby asks if Caleb found something. Tanner urges Caleb to explain, “Rivers”, and when he doesn’t answer, Toby prods him by saying his name. Caleb then tells Tanner and Toby that the thing about coming in the backdoor is that the view is entirely different, before he reads out a set of numbers. Tanner says that they’re coordinates, and when Caleb tells her that that’s where the van is, Tanner asks if Caleb is sure, to which Caleb takes the hand Tanner has placed on his shoulder off, and reiterates that that’s where the van is. Tanner then tells Toby to call it in, “hold the sirens, but have aerial assistance standing by”.
At the scene of the coordinates Caleb uncovered, Tanner looks through the abandoned van, before telling all the detectives on scene to fan out, search the perimeter, and to remember that this could be a hostage situation so advise protocol.
Tanner is speaking with one of the detectives when Toby calls out to her. As Tanner walks over, she questions what Toby found, and on joining Toby at the entrance to an underground area, she follows him down the stairs. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Tanner and Toby look around the room, and when Tanner wonders what this place is, Toby mentions that it’s A’s lair.
Officer Tanner is first seen in this episode when Alison returns to her house after her press conference. The police have set up their base operations in Alison' house,despite her telling the press she wants to be left alone without the presence of the authorities. It is then revealed that Alison's press conference was a ruse to trap Andrew, who they think is ‘A’. The police are convinced that Andrew is obsessed with the liars. They suspect that if Andrew thinks that Alison is all alone in her house with no police protection, he won't be able to resist the opportunity to kidnap her too and they will be able to catch him finally.
The police sit in the DiLaurentis house for hours, but to no avail. Alison sees a shadow move in the hallway and is startled, but it's just Jason returning home. Alison then receives a phone call from a restricted number. There is no one on the other line, only a song plays. Tanner gestures to Alison to keep talking to buy time so that the officers have a better chance of tracing the call. The police trace the call and are shocked to find that the caller is inside the house. Tanner locks Alison in a closet to keep her safe and the cops spread out to search the house. All they find is a dummy sitting in a rocking chair with a pig mask on. Tanner answers the ringing phone in the dummy's pocket, only to hear a squealing pig. When the police go back to check on Alison, they discover that the closet is empty. Tanner puts out an APB out for Alison and Andrew.
Toby shares his discovery with Tanner: the song playing when Alison received the call from the restricted number was "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree." Tanner theorizes that the call was a message from 'A' telling Alison to meet at the Campbell Apple Farm and Alison ran off to meet him alone.
At the police station, Tanner is furious since they didn't find anyone at the apple farm. She asks Toby if he has any idea where Alison went, but he lies and says that he doesn't. The police however, manage to get a partial snapshot of the license plate of the car Andrew was seemingly driving at Alison's press conference from a video of a news report outside of Alison's house.
Tanner is tasked with protecting Aria during her showcase, but fails. When she investigates what happened, she gets a cryptic message from "A", after Aria's art is shown.
She is mentioned to be taking statements from everyone, after Alison is kidnapped by Charles.
Where Somebody Waits For Me
TBA
She is brought into Dunhill's case and searches each of the Liar's houses for something to incriminate them. Later, she has them all come to the station where she gives them the opportunity to give her their side of the story before it's too late. They don't tell her anything.
Appearances (19/160)[]
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Season 4 (4/24) |
Season 5 (9/25) |
Season 6 (4/20) |
Season 7 (2/20) |
