Okay.
Did you hear that?
It's nothing, baby.
It's just my phone.
What if it's a monster?
There's no such thing as monsters, sweetheart.
Is that for real?
Well, just in case,
I hear that monsters hate kisses.
So if I give you five kisses,
none of the monsters can get you.
That's science.
Good night, love bug.
Goodnight, mommy.
Mom?
Mommy?
Where are you?
Mommy?
Mommy!
Hi. I'm colter. Judith.
Thanks for coming so quickly.
Yeah.
Miles is upstairs watching TV.
He's pretty rattled by this.
Yeah, I can imagine.
How long has your daughter been missing?
Alice has been gone almost 12 hours now.
I know that doesn't feel like a long time,
but it's unlike her not to come home.
And to leave the door wide open.
The latch is finicky, but she knows that.
She do this often?
Leave? Leave her kid home?
I live in the guest house out back.
She knows I'm here, but she usually texts or calls
if she goes anywhere.
But now her phone's going straight to voicemail,
and her car's not here.
And you have no idea where she might have gone?
Alice and
miles's father separated six months ago.
And she just started dating again recently,
and I thought she just stepped out on a date with someone.
You know with who?
No. I try not to pry.
Now I wishi did.
Police?
I don't want to involve them if I don't have to.
Well, you're gonna have to tell me why.
Things have gotten
contentious between Alice and her ex
over miles's custody.
And he could use this against her.
Is there a possibility that the ex is involved?
I don't think so.
Greg is a good guy.
Alice is the one who wanted to separate.
Could be some residual anger.
It's possible.
Things were said that can't be unsaid, but
I thought that was behind them.
Does Alice smoke?
She used to.
You mind if I...?
No. Got ahead. Yeah?
Vicodin.
Prescribed to her by a doctor.
Why would she hide it?
In the past, Alice had some challenges.
Drug problem? Yeah.
But I thought she was clean.
Going on eight years now.
Three months ago, she had knee surgery.
They must've prescribed those for that.
Could've been drawn back into some bad habits.
You had no idea she was taking these?
No.
Maybe someone she was dating is a bad influence.
Look, I know, $10,000 isn't
a huge reward, but it's all I have.
I just want to find my daughter.
Hey.
You must be miles.
I think the monster took my mommy.
Did you see something?
No.
But something woke me up.
What woke you up?
I don't know.
But when I came downstairs, no one was there.
Just got a ping.
This is your daughter's phone's last location.
I'm gonna go check it out, okay?
All right, miles, listen.
I'm gonna do everything I can to find your mom,
bring her home, okay?
Okay.
So, I checked on Alice's ex-husband like you asked.
He was with his girlfriend last night.
They have surveillance of him
going into her building,
and he stayed till morning, so, whoever
Alice left to go see, it was not him.
Yeah. Her mother vouched
for him, too, but it's good to rule it out.
I'm on my way right now to where her phone last pinged.
Maybe she just
slipped and fell off the wagon and doesn't want her family
to see her like that.
I don't think that's what this is.
The pills were hidden, but they were only half gone
after the course of several months?
Colter, you never know what battles people are fighting.
Hey, colter, I hear you're in Ohio.
I'll be in Indianapolis for a deposition
in case, you know, you need boots on the ground.
Just saying. New client again?
Yes. He's being sued for the umpteenth time.
Certainly making me earn my retainer.
Who is this guy?
All I can say is that he leads a very complicated life.
You sound sort of like his fixer.
I prefer the term "counsel."
Okay.
I'm sure you can handle it.
Well, he's definitely not the type
to be handled, but I do like a challenge, so thank you.
And velma gave me the download
on your missing woman, so, keep me posted.
Yeah, will do.
Just her phone and her purse.
Sign of a struggle, there's blood on the ground,
car's still running.
She was lured out there in her own vehicle.
She tried to get away, and she was taken anyway.
Must have known whoever it was.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
Did you pull up her dating history?
Just one guy, but
I don't think she met the dude online.
There's a whole lot of texts and calls to him.
Sal markowitz. He has a psychiatry practice.
Okay. And they're dating?
Well, something was going on.
First off, the guy was married. Scandalous.
And, judging by these texts,
it looks like he was trying
to break it off with Alice.
Back-doored her phone from her synced laptop.
What'd he say?
"I'm sorry, Alice. I can't do it anymore.
It's too dangerous, and this won't end well."
Yeah. Just sounds like
the brother didn't want to give up half. Yeah.
Maybe he felt threatened,
was trying to prevent her from going to his wife,
things escalated.
Thought the same thing.
And... Police were called to sal's house twice
for... get this... domestic disputes.
I'm gonna need that address.
Got to ask, mister...? Colter Shaw.
What exactly were you doing here when you broke in?
Looking for a missing woman.
Alice baer.
Phone records indicate that she was in contact
with sal before the disappearance.
That's why I'm here. P.I.?
No. I find missing people. Her mother hired me.
Listen, any... Any word from sal's wife?
Well, she's at a trade show in Detroit.
She's flying back now.
Your missing woman... could she have done this?
I don't think so. Come here and look at this.
These notes here. See these?
These are all about the same patient.
Someone sal refers to as "pj."
Wait. You think the killer sat down to read notes?
I think the patient might be the killer.
And he came here to see what sal wrote about him.
Look at this.
Not a glowing review.
Got sadistic urges, violent fantasies,
cognitive distortions. That's no good.
Well, I'm no profiler, but I'd say
this fits the bill of our suspect.
Well, there's more.
This patient, pj, was referred to sal...
By Alice baer.
Man, that's got to have something to do
with her disappearance, right?
Perhaps sal was helping the guy,
then something went really wrong.
Sal had been texting Alice about ending things.
Right? And I'm guessing he was talking about the treatment.
Said that, things became dangerous.
Maybe pj found out, and he snapped.
We need to find the identity of this patient here.
Could have Alice.
Look, I appreciate your help, Mr. Shaw,
but this is a murder investigation.
We'll take it from here.
There's a woman in danger out there.
It's a police matter now.
Gonna need you to step away and let us handle this.
Yeah. I hope you find what you're looking for.
Thank you.
Hey, reenie, you get those photos?
Yeah, I'm looking for a patient
with the initials "pj"?
Yeah. Yeah.
Patient was referred to sal by Alice.
The question is, what's the connection?
And why would pj go to Alice for a referral?
Well, get this. So, before she became a caterer
and got married, Alice studied to be a therapist.
Looks like she never got her license,
but she did go through practicum
treating troubled patients... drugs, violence, trauma.
A lot them mandated by the court.
Her mother never mentioned that.
Well, it was over ten years ago, in grad school.
Can't imagine she thought it was relevant.
So, what's the connect to sal?
He was her supervisor during her training.
All right, so,
maybe they shared this patient, this-this pj?
Doubtful. She wouldn't have had
to refer him if that was the case.
Okay, so, then pj goes to Alice for help.
Except Alice isn't a licensed therapist,
so, she sends pj to sal 'cause she trusts him.
Yeah.
Were you able to access Alice's patient files?
Maybe that's how we ID this pj guy.
Yeah. Files are sealed because the patients were minors,
but I'll get into it with my contact at the juvenile court.
So I was looking at sal's notes,
saying that, pj has these, recurring fantasies
about this clerk at a convenience store. What?
Spies on her, watches her, follows her home a couple times.
Never had the courage to talk to her.
Gross.
Well, there must be 100 convenience stores in that area.
It's like a needle in a haystack.
Well, maybe not. Said he was watching her
from this place called "Crockett park."
Creepy.
Yeah. And I'm gonna head there right now.
Let you know what I find.
Copy.
Hi. Beth, right?
Hi. Listen, I got a question for you.
If I could take a look at your security footage
from the past few days?
There's a-a woman that's gone missing.
Not a chance.
Unless you're a cop, I'm not trying to get fired.
Understood. No, I am not a cop.
Let me just...
If you can indulge me for one second?
Just want to show you.
That's the woman that's gone missing.
She's a mom. She's got a son.
The guy that took her is pretty dangerous.
That footage could probably save her life.
The guy who took her... the dangerous guy
he's been here.
He was stalking an employee who works here.
He came here?
He did.
What do you think? Can you help me out a little bit?
Show me that footage?
Slow it down for me, will you?
Great.
Man, look at that right there.
Looks like he's circling around, doesn't it?
He's trying to find the courage to come in, right?
There's no clear view of his plates.
They're muddied up.
That's weird.
It is weird, isn't it?
Well, that's our guy.
Was he about to do what I think he was?
I think whatever he was gonna do, the cops scared him off.
Go back one more time for me,
see if I can get a better look at his face.
Right there, right there.
Yeah. Yeah, it's a tattoo on his neck, looks like a fly.
Is that enough to find him?
It might be.
We got a match.
Paul James Hamilton. Okay.
Recently released from prison, about six months ago.
In and out of juvie. Eventually did a ten-year stint
in prison for killing his step daddy.
Damn.
His lawyer pleaded down his sentence
due to abuse and the fact that the boy was a minor.
Gonna need that last known address.
Yeah. Looks like he's staying with his mama.
Sending it now.
When a child is given the promise
of love, they grow up under the presumption
that they are owed it, and
little things that show love,
like veggie plates and trimmed fingernails,
special baths and birthday presents, like
a n-normal child should have.
See, that's something... You told me.
Do you remember?
I am so sorry for what happened to you, Paul.
I really am.
Don't! Don't... say... sorry.
Just don't.
I tried... to help you.
Remember?
Yes.
But-but you left me.
No. That wasn't my fault.
It was the court's choice to move you.
And look what happened to me.
Paul, you need to stop this right now!
I just want you to finish what you started.
I was just in training when we worked together.
I... I never even got my license.
You-you were the only one who understood me.
I have a new life now.
A son.
Miles.
I need to get back to him.
He's got to be worried sick.
I don't want to hurt you.
You didn't want to hurt sal, either, Paul.
But you did.
Because he left me no choice.
He was gonna turn me in after I opened up to him about my...
Urges.
And all I got was judgment
from this man who barely knew me.
But you? You... You were different.
You saw me, you believed that I could change.
Let me go, and I promise... We'll get you help.
Somebody better than sal.
No. I'm sorry. It has to be you.
And this... Has to work.
Reenie, find out anything useful
about Paul from your juvie contact?
Well, it turns out,
when Paul was released six months ago,
he took his personals with him, so, I did some digging
and found out he has a storage unit.
I'm here now.
Okay. According to Randy,
Paul was living with his mother.
Could be hiding Alice there, so,
I'm on my way there now.
Okay. Good luck. Keep me posted.
Hi, there. I was hoping
you could help give me access to storage unit f8.
Driver's license, some form of ID.
See, that is the thing.
I-I'm not in your records, but I am a lawyer,
and there may be some evidence in that unit
that is connected to an active criminal investigation.
So, I really need to get in there.
Well, where's the cops?
I am operating on my own today.
Yup.
So, is there, anything we can do?
Well, I'd be, breaking the rules, then, wouldn't I?
Well, I'd like
to think of it more as, bending them
for a really good cause.
And what's in it for me?
Avoiding criminal obstruction, for starters.
'Cause, see, if there is something
in that unit that could help my case,
and you stand in the way, that's a crime.
And if that charge were to stack on top of any other priors
that you may have... which I'm not assuming
that you do... you may find yourself
in a heap of trouble... Ron.
Right this way.
So you said, f8, right?
That's right.
Here we are.
Thank you.
I need to get a raise after this.
Bingo.
Okay.
What the hell?
No way.
Ron? Hey, it's locked!
Let me out!
Ron?!
Okay.
It's okay. You got this. You can handle this.
There's got to be something in here.
Okay. Come on.
Come on.
Okay. Okay.
Everything okay, hon?
You son of a bitch.
You locked me in there?
Why would I do that?
You know, my question exactly.
You got to be careful who you threaten.
You might, run into someone that's dangerous.
Dangerous doesn't scare me.
You better hope you don't have
any outstanding warrants.
Thank you.
Come sit down, my dear. We're having a jolly time.
Lady beekman, it's the most beautiful jewelry
I've ever seen in my whole life.
I am quite proud of the earrings.
Heirlooms, you know, been in the family for ages.
You'd never know it. They look just like new.
You might be interested in my tiara.
I always carry it with me.
Afraid to leave it in the state room.
And you're not afraid to show it to Lorelei?
Stop. Lady beekman won't know you're teasing.
Look. Did you ever, anywhere, anything like it?
All blue stones.
Cozy little job, what?
Paul's mom was murdered, and sal's here.
Well, sal's head is here, anyway.
My god.
No sign of Alice or Paul.
Police are on their way.
Well, I just had my own run-in with a psychopath.
But don't worry. I got Paul's things.
You okay?
Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just get these creeps off the street.
Yeah. What'd you find at Paul's storage?
A lot of weird drawings.
I'm not really sure what to make of them, but...
You know, a lot of these women kind of look like Alice.
Anything that might lead us to where he might have taken her?
Well, they're oddly domestic,
like he was idealizing her
as some sort of maternal figure.
Probably some emotional transference going on.
But you know,
a lot of these are set at carnivals.
Interesting.
There's a bowl of coins here.
Some tokens.
They might have come from the carnival in those drawings.
There's got to be something to that.
Let me see.
Okay. Hold on. Here we go.
I've got an employee badge from happy hollow amusement park.
It's from a while ago.
Happy hollow.
It says here it's a seasonal park.
Well, they wouldn't be open right now.
If Paul worked there, he'd know it well, wouldn't he?
Be a great place to hide someone.
Okay.
You used to talk a lot about your mother.
You felt she didn't protect you from your stepfather.
You said you killed him
because you had no other choice.
You were defending yourself.
Because my mother wouldn't.
And the only thing she ever cared about was pleasing men.
Her boyfriends?
Okay, she had needs. Wicked needs.
You know, sometimes I'd sneak in,
and I'd catch her with the men.
And then she started bringing me here.
To get me out of the way.
So this place... Means something to you.
Yeah, I felt more comfortable here than anyplace else.
But my mother spoiled it for me.
How?
She caught me studying things.
Tell me about that.
Blowflies.
They were living on a dead rat I found near the dumpsters.
Living's the wrong word.
Being... born from it.
Wriggling into the holes.
They're incredible creatures.
Their wings have this metallic coloring,
an iridescence that you can only see if you care enough to look.
Everyone thinks they're disgusting.
But really, they're-they're beautiful.
Is that why you got your tattoo?
Yeah.
To remind myself I'm also beautiful.
My mother who was the ugly one.
What happened when your mom saw you with the flies?
Well, her date pointed at me and laughed
and called me a freak.
And then she laughed along with him.
She pretended not to know who I was.
My own mother.
She... Deserved what I did to her.
What did you do, Paul?
I just gave her what she always wanted.
A man who would never leave her.
I don't think that's very funny, Paul.
In fact, I don't think any of this is funny.
Kidnapping me, tying me up.
You say you want me to help you,
but you're treating me
exactly how she treated you.
Like I don't matter.
If you truly want to change,
if you want me to do my job,
you need to treat me with respect.
Of-of course.
I respect you.
Then release me from these restraints.
Would you like to know why I chose
not to become a therapist, Paul?
Because I internalized everything I heard.
The damage people did to one another.
I had to numb myself just to could keep going.
Drink, at first.
And then pills.
And you know what? It worked.
At least for a while.
But then it came back.
The blackness,
the feeling that the world was overcome with it.
So I chose to get help, to change.
Just like you.
And how did that work out?
Every morning I wake up and it's there,
that little voice.
But I choose not to listen.
And you can make that choice, too.
Right here, right now.
What was that?
- You all right? - Yeah.
Where'd he go? I don't know, but he's got a gun.
You okay? Look at me? Yeah.
I'll get you untied.
Thank you. Yeah.
Get behind me.
You hit? You okay? I'm okay.
Yeah?
Call the police. Stay low.Okay.
You shouldn't have come here.
Paul? I'm gonna find you.
This can all end right now.
No one has to get hurt.
I saw what you did to your mother.
It was justice.
You don't know what I've been through.
You don't know anything!
But I do.
Show me you meant what you said, Paul.
That you want to be different.
It's too late for that.
I could've run, but I didn't.
I came to stop you
from doing something you can't take back.
Wh... why do you have my knife?
Why do you have my knife?
I thought you were different.
But you're just like everyone else.
No, please.
Paul, no. No. Paul...
Come here. Come here.
You okay?
Thank you.
It's over.
Mommy?
Hi, baby.
Now you'll be protected from the monsters, too.
Remember? That's science.
The monster's gone, sweetie.
I'm okay.
Everything's gonna be okay now.
I can't thank you enough.
Well, I got a pretty good assist from your daughter.
Just glad she's home.
Safe. Me, too.
Thank you. Enjoy your family.
Mom.
What? How are those pancakes?
Fantastic. I love pancakes.
You don't like pancakes?
No, I just didn't take you for
a breakfast-for-dinner kind of guy.
Breakfast's the best meal of the day.
You can have breakfast in the morning
and breakfast at night.
It doesn't matter what time it is. Best meal.
Goes with everything.
My mother used to say that, actually.
That is surprisingly normal of you.
Thank you.
No, she...
My mother,
whenever my dad would have one of his, episodes
she would make us all breakfast and she would say
it was like starting the day over.
So...
Pancakes sort of, I don't know, they remind me of her.
You know, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to...
Talk to somebody.
Talking to you.
I don't mean me.
I mean like a therapist.
Here we go. Come on.
If it wasn't for my therapist,
I wouldn't have figured out what I really wanted to do.
What's that?
Sit here at a diner in Ohio with me?
Talking pancakes?
No, I mean... Quit my job, start my own practice.
It helps.
Got it.
What?
I like that you talk to me.
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