Francesca Quinn, PI (2022) Movie Script
[Frankie] A murder
board, we call it.
Lots of pieces of evidence
that hopefully bring
you to a conclusion.
(camera clicks)
But let me back up.
So I said to Jim,
"Honey, I respect your job,
"you respect my job,
"but we have to keep
our date night sacred."
So do you know
what he had to say?
(Rebecca grunting)
- Rebecca!
Do you have a phone?
Call 911!
(camera clicks)
- [Frankie] A heart attack.
Not something you'd see
on a murder board, right?
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
Over the next four
years in St. Ben,
there were some seemingly
unrelated deaths.
A car accident, a
fall down the stairs.
Nothing that would've
seemed criminal.
(camera clicks)
(suspenseful music)
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
Then a man went missing,
and that brought us in.
(camera clicks)
Okay, we are gonna
find Chuck Westerly.
[Frankie] My pop, Jim Quinn,
St. Benedict Chief of Police.
State police are
lending us a diving team.
Bill, you're running
point on this one.
You bet, Jim.
[Frankie] Bill Duncan,
my pop's best friend.
And take Wyn with you.
[Frankie] Detective
Wynton Russo.
I've known him
since kindergarten.
Meanwhile, we need a full
forensics workup on his boat.
Frankie.
On it, Pop.
Yours truly, Francesca Quinn.
And I stayed on it, Wyn and me.
We connected all the
seemingly unrelated deaths
and came to a conclusion.
(Frankie sighs)
(sad music)
Hey.
(sad music)
Well, you're in early.
Made progress on the drowning?
This is bigger
than the drowning.
Megan Quinn,
my high school English
teacher who married my pop,
soon to be known as
the St. Ben killer.
So, are we
completely riveted-?
Megan.
- To what you're-?
You have the right
to remain silent.
Anything you say or do
can be used against
you in a court of law.
You have the right
to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one,
one will be provided for you.
Do you understand these rights
as I have said them to you.
[Frankie] But our conclusion
was just the beginning.
My wife has been arrested,
which is why I am resigning
from the police force
effective immediately.
(reporters clamoring)
Detective Russo will
answer any questions
regarding the case.
[Reporter] Who's next in line?
Megan Quinn is being
charged in six homicides
over the last four years.
That'll be all for today.
Thank you for coming.
(reporters clamoring)
You were great out there.
'Cause I knew
you were beside me.
[Carl] Hey, you two.
Carl?
(camera clicks)
Carl Wiseman, my high
school sweetheart.
Successful writer.
He'd come back to write
about Megan and the trial.
(camera clicks)
- Hey.
What are you doing in town?
Came back to cover
this whole thing.
It's good to see you, Frankie.
(camera clicks)
- And I compared
the water samples in
Mr. Dunbar's lungs
with the water
samples in the lake,
and when they didn't match,
I knew he'd been
drowned and moved.
We began to look
at suspicious deaths
in the community, and.
Started to see connections
around the school.
And it was around this time
we realized someone was
accessing our files.
And we discovered that to
be Detective Bill Duncan.
Detective Duncan's actions
led us to take a closer
look at Megan Quinn.
The people who
should be on trial here
are my stepdaughter, Frankie,
and her secret
boyfriend, Wynton Russo.
[Frankie] Megan was convicted,
but her life wasn't
the only thing
that got destroyed
out of all of that.
Wyn and I thought we'd be
happy with Megan locked up.
But a lot has changed
in the past year.
(sad music)
Hey.
Sorry.
Who you texting?
You, actually.
In the middle of my party.
So I read your novel.
So what'd you think?
You can't publish that.
What, you don't
buy the narrative?
It's not the narrative,
Carl, it's my life.
And yours.
And Wyn's?
Couldn't help but notice
the bracelet you're wearing.
Mo anam cara;
My soulmate.
Wyn gave that to you, right?
It's a good detail
for my next draft.
(sad music)
(door creaks)
(sad music)
(lights power down)
Hello?
(suspenseful music)
(blade rings)
(suspenseful music)
(light switch clicks)
Hello?
Carl?
(suspenseful music)
(Frankie screams)
Some night, huh?
Body in the club?
- Yep.
Someone cut the power,
but we just got it fixed.
Murder weapon's gone,
but coroner says it was
probably a hunting knife,
eight inches.
Hey Wyn, hold up.
Deceased is Carl Wiseman.
Okay.
Frankie's in there.
She's the one that found him.
So I was wondering-
Wondering what, Beatrice?
Well, before I got
assigned to St. Ben,
I heard that you and Frankie-
Were together?
We were.
And like you said,
it was before you
were assigned here,
so that would classify
it as ancient history.
I'm sorry, I...
I had a weird night.
I was asleep when you called.
(stammers) Why don't you
take the lead with her, Bea?
I got you.
(tense music)
Hey Frankie.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Can you tell us what happened?
The power was out,
I figured the storm,
so I (stammers) went
to get my phone and.
I'm sorry.
- It's okay.
How'd you get in?
We both had keys.
We'd rented the restaurant
for a birthday party for Carl.
Party was tonight?
- Yeah.
How many people were here?
Around 50.
We'll need all those
names and numbers.
What time did you leave?
It was around 9:00.
And what time did it begin?
8:00.
Short party.
I'm not exactly
sure when it ended.
I left early.
We had to fight, me and Carl.
What about?
"Love, Comma, Murder."
His new manuscript;
That's the title.
Why were you
fighting about it?
It's autobiographical in ways
that made me uncomfortable.
Okay Frankie, I have to ask-
- Alibi?
I, I went driving.
I was alone;
No one to verify that.
Got home after 11:00,
decided to call Carl,
and realized I left
my phone at the party.
I thought you
stopped wearing that.
I did.
I started again.
I'm sorry, Allison.
Do you know who she is?
Josie Neusted, pharmaceutical
rep from the Twin Cities.
It's all in my report.
(sad music)
What am I supposed
to do, Frankie?
Well, if you wanna file
for divorce, you have cause.
We have two kids.
19 years, we've been married.
I, I just-
- Hoped you were wrong?
How could this have happened?
We all have secrets.
Things we hide.
Even from the people we trust.
And love.
So you think everyone
keeps secrets from
the people they love?
Don't you?
When I met your stepmother-
Ex-stepmother.
Megan.
On our first date,
she actually said,
"Secrets are how to keep
a relationship alive."
You never told me that.
Yeah (chuckle) well,
can you blame me?
I mean, she was laying it
out right from the start.
Of course, I thought
she was talking about
secret shopping trips
or, I don't know.
Anyway, what she said on that
first date came back to me
when you and Wyn
walked me through
the secret she'd been keeping.
Two years, two years.
Think I'd be able
to talk about it.
You are talking about it.
Still bothers me
that I never suspected.
I mean, what kind of cop?
The kinda cop who
trusted his wife.
Top you off, Jim?
Thanks, Sally.
Another Americano, Frankie?
Tempting, but I'm working
on knowing my limits.
(chuckle) Ah, that sounds
like great advice for all of us.
Speaking of secrets, did
you hear that Sally and-?
Wyn.
Yeah.
Who told you?
Sally.
I guess she didn't
know that Wyn and I.
For what it's worth, I don't
think it's goin' anywhere.
How you doing, honey?
Ah, you know, pretty terrible.
Sheryl Wiseman called.
She wants to meet
me at the office.
Carl's sister.
You think she-?
- Wants to hire me?
Yeah, I do.
You wanna know what
I think about that?
That I'm too close to
the case to investigate it.
And Wyn isn't?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I told him that
already, but he didn't listen.
And I guess you won't either.
(tense music)
(door opens)
(door slams)
Did I get the time wrong?
I'm early.
You look good, Frankie.
So do you, Sheryl.
I don't, but you're
sweet to say so.
Come on in.
Here, take a seat.
I know you think you
should stay out of it
because you and
Carl were engaged,
or because you and Wynton
used to be together.
But that's exactly why
you should be involved.
Because you're invested.
Or maybe you're not.
Carl said you probably weren't
gonna go through
with the marriage.
He did?
At his party.
He said you were really upset
about the new manuscript
and what it implied.
He was so in love
with you, Frankie.
I know.
Were you?
Gonna break things off with him?
Does it matter now?
I guess not.
But either way, can I hire you
to find out who killed him?
No.
I'll do it for free.
(sigh) Thank you, Frankie.
I'll be in touch, okay?
(tense music)
Yeah, I'd already been
working on Carl's murder.
But it helped to have a client,
along with three suspects.
Kara McRae, Carl's ex-wife.
Pam Gelbaum, Carl's
agent that he'd fired
right before he was murdered.
Christopher Bell,
Carl's former protege
who showed up uninvited
to Carl's party.
(knocking)
It's open.
Guess my pop called you.
Sheryl hired me.
I'll be heading
to the Twin Cities
to interview Pam Gelbaum
and Christopher Bell.
Both had motives.
Both were cleared by hotel
security camera footage.
They were in their rooms
at the time of the murder.
Did you get an
alibi for Carl's ex?
Kara McRae was
hosting a fundraiser
for KM Foundation
in Minneapolis.
Multiple eyewitnesses.
Yeah, she's rich, she
could have hired a hitman.
Carl was home by 10:25.
Neighbor walking his
dog verified this.
Someone lured him back to the
restaurant half an hour later.
Kinda thing a hitman would do.
D'you ever find Carl's phone?
[Beatrice] No, but we know
that he was texting a burner
with an unlisted number.
You subpoenaed the
contents of the text?
We only got Carl's part.
The burner was encrypted.
Oh, you mean the kind of thing
that a professional
killer could pull off,
as well as cutting off
power to the restaurant
so that no security cameras
would capture the murder?
But what would
be Kara's motive?
Wyn knows the answer to that.
Jealousy.
Carl had divorced her.
And was engaged to his
high school sweetheart.
Yep.
Kara said she
never heard of you.
She didn't even know
Carl was engaged.
She look like she
was telling the truth?
I spoke with her on the phone.
She flew to Europe the
day after the murders.
And that wasn't suspicious.
What do you want, Frankie?
You wanna join forces?
He tell you about the last
case we worked together?
Of course, the St. Ben killer.
But Frankie, you're a
material player in this.
I was a material
player in that.
So was Wyn, who's also a
material player in this!
Frankie, we're doing
all we can to solve it.
You just have to trust me.
I just have to trust you.
You're throwing
that back at me now.
Come on, Frankie, I didn't-
- You should go.
Wyn.
You wanna tell me
what that was about?
During Megan's trial,
she tried to cast
doubt on me and Frankie
by outing our relationship.
Lovely.
We're lucky it
didn't hurt the case.
We shouldn't have
kept it a secret.
Anyway, after
Megan's conviction,
Frankie thought it would be
best if she left the department.
I couldn't help but notice
it was the same time Carl
moved back into town.
I had reason to believe
it wasn't just
platonic between them,
so I confronted
her, she denied it,
and she said, "You
have to trust me."
So when you said
that back there-
Thought I was mocking
her, yeah, but I wasn't.
You didn't trust her.
So Frankie's not wrong
about you being connected.
You know I knew Carl,
I already told you that,
but I haven't had anything to
do with him in a long time.
And we are going to
catch his killer.
Francesca.
- Hey Pop,
I'm working this divorce case
and I need someone to
handle surveillance.
You free for a few days?
[Jim] So Sheryl hired you.
She did.
I'm on my way to
the Twin Cities.
What do you say?
Whatever you need, honey.
Thanks, Pop.
Morning.
Hey.
You wanna have
Sally's for coffee?
We've got a new 1082.
Sandman?
- Yep.
All right.
And you heard
nothing, Mr. O'Connor?
Well, like I
told the officers,
I'm usually a light sleeper,
but with Paula
and the kids away,
I guess I musta
crashed really hard.
I notice you have
an alarm system.
Right.
I usually put it on
before I go to bed.
Guess I forgot.
Do you remember what
time you fell asleep?
Around 10:00, maybe?
I was watching a movie
and then I fell
asleep in my recliner.
Listen, I've been reading the
paper about this Sandman guy
who robs people while
they're at home sleeping.
You think this is him?
Could be.
You know one weird thing?
Whoever it was stole
some of my family photos.
(tense music)
Hi, Kara in?
Yes, do you have an?
Wait, you can't do that!
How's it going, Kara?
I'm Frankie Quinn.
Miss McRae, I am so sorry.
It's cool, Janine.
I'll call Bill.
- Thanks.
So do you know who I am?
Sure.
Then why'd you tell police
you'd never heard of me.
Because I hadn't.
Obviously I know who
the St Ben killer is
and Carl's connection to her,
but Carl never mentioned
that Megan Quinn
had a stepdaughter
who'd been his high
school sweetheart.
Carl liked to keep secrets.
I'm sure you know that.
So you're claiming
you had no idea Carl
and I were engaged.
No idea.
And you were at a fundraiser
the night that he was killed.
I was.
- What time did it end?
Around 9:00?
You still coulda got to
the restaurant by 11:20.
Yeah, except I
went straight home.
Can anyone vouch for that?
My head of security.
Here he is.
Uncle Bill?
Frankie's dad
and I were close.
Until we weren't.
You happy someone
here knows you?
Bill.
Let's go, Frankie.
You're throwing me out?
Bill asked nicely.
But if you'd like to be thrown.
Don't you care
about who killed Carl?
That's what the
police are for.
Should I call them and tell
them that you're trespassing?
Frankie.
My dad know you're working
as a bouncer to an heiress,
Uncle Bill?
Give me some credit, Frankie.
I'm a little more than that.
And you know your old
man hasn't talked to me
since what happened.
But I don't blame him.
Or you, for that matter.
But it is good to see you.
While you're throwing me out.
Doing my job, same as you.
You do realize that your
boss has something to hide.
Who doesn't?
But I didn't kill your fiance.
And I'm sorry that
he was taken from-
Save it.
I'll see you.
(tense music)
(phone rings)
This is Pam Gelbaum.
Hi Pam, this is Frankie
Quinn, Carl Wiseman's-
Frankie, of course.
How are you?
Hangin' in there, thanks.
Listen, I'm in the Twin
Cities on some business,
and I know this is last minute,
but would you be free to talk?
[Pam] I'm booked 'til 6:00,
but do you wanna do dinner?
Good for me.
[Pam] I'll text
you the address.
See you tonight.
(engine starts)
(tense music)
Every house he's hit, the
Sandman's stolen family photos.
In addition to
thousands of dollars
in jewelry, cash, and goods.
I know, but why
bother with the photos?
Usuals.
Wyn.
Wyn, you paying?
Sorry.
You okay?
Yeah, fine.
Just a lot on my mind.
Right.
Well hey, if you, um,
if you ever wanna talk.
Got your number.
My professional opinion?
She'd like you to
ask her out again.
(Wyn scoffs)
Listen, while we're
waiting on forensics
for the probable
Sandman burglary,
what do ya say we go meet
with Kara McRae in person?
You know, I have a
contact in Minneapolis.
(phone rings)
[Christopher] Hi,
Christopher Bell.
You know what to do.
(beep)
Hi Christopher,
this is Frankie Quinn.
We met at Carl Wiseman's party.
If you can give me a call, my
number is 3-1-05-5-50-1-9-1.
Thank you.
(phone clanks)
(knocking)
Sorry, didn't
mean to startle you.
Beatrice Knutsen.
- Ella Huntsman.
This guy, I know.
Good to see ya, buddy.
You as well.
Thank you for welcoming
us to your jurisdiction.
Yeah, it's the least I can do.
He tell you he got me special
commendation once upon a time?
Yeah, well he did,
with the help of a
forensics investigator.
How is Frankie, by the way?
You two ever figure out you
were made for each other?
Yeah, it's late.
We, we should get goin', huh?
Okay.
Follow me.
(car starts)
(tense music)
Can I help you?
Detective Huntsman,
Minneapolis PD.
We need to speak with Ms. McRae.
Lemme see if she's available.
That wasn't a request.
Is she back this way?
Bill?
Well, deja vu all over again.
Your better half was
here a couple hours ago.
My-?
- Frankie.
She had the same look on
her face when she saw me.
Detective Huntsman,
Knutsen, Bill Duncan.
He used to be on the job.
We need to talk to your
boss about Carl Wiseman.
You're a little outside
your jurisdiction.
That's what I'm here for.
Minneapolis PD.
Fine.
But she'll tell you the
same thing she told Frankie.
She has an alibi.
And you're looking at him.
Then I guess we'll
be talking to you both.
(tense music)
Frankie.
I wasn't sure you'd
wanna meet with me.
Because Carl fired me?
I was at his birthday
party, wasn't I?
Besides, he never
put it in writing,
so contractually, I'm still
the agent for all his work,
including his soon-to-be
published final novel.
What novel?
"Love, Comma, Murder."
It's about a woman
in love with two men-
Yeah, I know what it's about.
That's a first draft.
Well I know, but since
what happened to him,
there's a huge
demand for his work.
WeHo Press are re-releasing
all of his titles in hard cover
for the first time since
the original printing.
But they don't have the rights
to "Love, Comma, Murder,"
so I'm gonna stage a
bidding war for them.
Thank you.
Everything here is great.
And this is on me.
(tense music)
And as I told you
when you called,
I went straight home from
the benefit around 9:00.
And you were with
her for how long?
All night.
Bill lives at my place.
For my security?
And you also have
security cameras there?
Sure.
But the drive gets
written over every week.
Guess you'll just
have to trust me.
(Wyn scoffs)
Is Duncan a dirty cop?
Not so much dirty as weak
and easily manipulated
by a very bad woman.
I knew I knew his name.
He's the cop who was spying
on your investigation,
feeding intel of
the St. Ben killer.
Copped a plea to
get outta jail time.
That's him.
The irony is that was
her biggest mistake.
Once we figured out
what Bill was doing
and who he was doing it for,
we started looking
at her as a suspect.
Wasn't easy for Frankie.
You know, she grew up with him,
called him Uncle
Bill and everything.
So is this just a coincidence
that Frankie's working
the Wiseman homicide?
Carl Wiseman was
Frankie's fiance,
and his sister just hired her.
So I guess that answers
my earlier question
about the two of you.
Although it does
raise the question,
are you the guy to be
finding Wiseman's killer?
Was hoping we could
all do that together.
You mind if I stay
another night?
I got a sofa with
your name on it.
Thanks Ell, but that works.
I'll call you in the morning?
Yeah, talk then.
Beatrice, pleasure.
All mine.
We could get you a rental.
I can stay, Wyn.
The Sandman is obviously
still active, so, you know,
we shouldn't both be
away from St. Ben.
(gentle music)
So why did Carl fire you?
He didn't tell you?
He thought I passed
up an opportunity
for him to be published
by Rooney & Austin.
It wasn't true, of course.
Where'd he get that idea?
He seemed to develop
some trust issues.
You know anything about that?
Frankie, I know you read
"Love, Comma, Murder."
I'm assuming you were or still
are in love with another man.
How was yours?
Mine was delicious.
Oh, you're the second person
to check in today from St. Ben.
Frankie Quinn?
She's a colleague.
Oh, nice.
Well, the room next
to her is available.
Would that work for you?
Sure.
All right, and there you are.
Thank you.
[Frankie] Hi again.
I counted;
This is the 19th voicemail
I've left since, you know.
Anyway, I'll give you
what you seem to want.
This'll be my last message.
I, I do love you.
But if you don't trust
me, well, anyway.
I, I hope that whatever
you're doing, you're happy.
(door squeaks)
(creak)
Hello?
Hey!
(crash)
(intense music)
Wyn?
Someone broke into my room!
I got him.
- I'll cut him off.
(intense music)
Stop, police!
(Wyn grunting)
Freeze!
Christopher Bell?
How'd you get
in Frankie's room.
I have my ways.
What were you doin' in there?
She called me;
She wanted to talk.
I told you to
call me on my cell,
not break into my hotel room.
I saw from the caller ID
that she was staying here.
I didn't trust her.
- Why?
Carl was committed to
blurbing my first novel.
His endorsement was
critical to my deal.
And when he pulled it,
my publishers became far
less committed to my work.
What, and you think I told
Carl to stop supporting you?
Yeah, I do.
I was looking for the
blurb on your computer.
He never sent.
My computer's
password protected.
Yeah, is it, though?
I never saw Carl's blurb,
and I certainly didn't
tell him to pull it.
Yeah, right.
Why not just confront Frankie
of your suspicions of her
at the birthday party?
Well I didn't
suspect her then.
When did that start?
Like I said, when
I got your message
and I saw from the caller
ID that you were in town,
I realized it must be
because you found out
that my book was
coming out after all.
I didn't know that.
Now, maybe you think it's
immoral, or motive for murder,
but I have an alibi.
The security
cameras in my hotel.
(chuckle) You know,
Detective, it dawns on me
that it would make for a great
publicity angle for my book
if you were to have the
Minneapolis PD arrest me.
Oh, you're under arrest.
(Christopher chuckles)
Come on.
[Frankie] Not gonna lie,
it felt good to be
working alongside Wyn.
Good that we had each other's
backs, at least for a minute.
And then the clerk saw my ID,
and they saw that
I was from St. Ben,
and they mentioned that
someone else from St. Ben
had just checked in.
And then you asked
to be put next to me.
Maybe it was the
only room available.
And I'm supposed
to believe that?
Not really.
Would you believe that it was
the clerk's suggestion?
- No.
(chuckle) It, it was.
(laugh) It was.
We can go confirm
that right now.
Yeah, yeah?
- Okay.
All right, (laugh) all
right, I believe you.
You know, I'm glad
you're next door,
because when someone
breaks into your room,
I'm there to rescue you.
Sounds like a plan.
Hey listen.
Thanks for hearing
me out this morning.
And I appreciate
you pushing me.
But you know what
I'm gonna say now.
That I should go back
to St. Ben tomorrow.
And you know what
I'm gonna say now.
That if you
didn't get involved,
I'd still be in St. Ben.
And it is impossible for
you to deny the truth of this.
So you'll say nothing,
and just stare deeply
into your wine glass.
(both laugh)
Tomorrow comes early.
That it does.
Night, Wyn.
(bluesy music)
I'm the biggest pretender
You should go
You should go
Okay, thanks.
I'll see ya in a few.
Morning.
Hey.
I'm meeting Ella in a half hour.
Uh, you mean
we're meeting Ella.
So, I did a public
records deed search
to find out where
Kara McRae lives.
Ella can pull her
driver's license.
Well sure, but
I'm glad I did this,
because guess what.
Do I have to?
No, I'll just tell you.
Kara McRae doesn't own
property in Minneapolis.
So she's in the suburbs.
Well that was
my first thought,
but then I checked to see
who owned the foundation
building across the street.
And?
Owner is Lucian McRae,
her billionaire daddy,
who also owns the McMansion
at 212 Crestview Drive.
Wanna guess who lives there?
Kara McRae.
Found some old society page
photos of her out the front,
but also this.
Father's selling her house.
And he's selling the
foundation building.
Looks like all is not
well in McRae land.
Maybe, but I'm not sure
how all this is
connected to a homicide.
Me neither.
But like they say in
my favorite movie.
Follow the money.
(mellow music)
Morning, Beatrice.
Hey Jim.
Been a minute. (chuckle)
I was just across the
street at the post office.
I saw you coming in, thought
I'd pop over and say hi.
Mornin' folks.
Sorry, it's been busy.
What can I get ya?
Usual, Sally.
- Wyn too?
No need, thanks.
- Jim?
I'm already
sufficiently caffeinated,
but I will take
one of your scones.
Coming up.
Wyn okay?
Ah yeah, he's just outta town.
Aren't you working two cases?
Yeah, he's on one of
them in Minneapolis.
Frankie's in Minneapolis.
I'm aware.
I got your coffee.
Thanks, Jim.
Take care, Sally.
- See ya.
Did I hear that Wyn and Frankie
are in Minneapolis together?
Uh yeah, yeah,
it's just, it's
just a work thing.
I know you and Wyn-
- It's fine.
(machine beeps)
Enjoy your scone.
Hi.
- Hello.
Nice to get the
band back together.
So your intruder, Mr. Bell,
made bail this morning.
He turn it into
a publicity stunt?
Oh, guy's piece of work.
And I've got history with him.
Five, six years ago,
he worked for my cousin Chet
who wanted me to arrest him
for attempted extortion.
Christopher Bell
was the computer guy
at Chet's security company.
Yeah, he hacked my
key card and laptop.
Yeah, he's good.
Anyway, he claimed
he found a way
to hack the feed from security
cameras to the hard drive
and alter security footage.
He told Chet to pay up or
he'd start telling customers.
Bell had no record.
That's because they
didn't arrest him.
There was no evidence.
It was just his
word against Chet's.
But I made it clear
there'd be no extortion.
Bell's alibi for the
night of the murder
was the hotel security camera.
(phone buzzes)
Uh, excuse me.
[Beatrice] So are
you going after Bell?
Lucian McRae first.
Hey, do me a favor.
Upload the hotel camera footage
to the Minneapolis PD server.
Ella's got an IT whiz here
who can see if it was
tampered with or not.
On it.
So, can we talk
about the Sandman?
Yeah, what's up?
I was reading back
over the statements
in the Sandman burglaries
from last year,
and four outta the five victims
reported they fell asleep early.
Like with Mr.
O'Connor yesterday.
I know it's not much,
but I thought I'd see
if the same was true for the
first victim, Rhonda Harper.
That's a good plan.
'Kay, I gotta jump.
I'll call you later.
Hey, Beatrice is
uploading the footage.
Good.
Onto Lucian.
Is it cool if I
leave my truck here
while I ride with you guys?
Frankie, you're gonna
have to sit this one out.
Oh come on,
I'm the one who brought you
this Lucian information.
You did, but Wyn's right.
When we find out who killed
Carl and bring it to trial,
you'll be glad you
didn't hand the defense
the angle of the fiance
who was inappropriately
influencing the case.
Thanks for making
time for us, Mr. McRae.
You're the police,
what else would I do?
Fair enough, sir.
Detective Russo and
I are looking into
the murder of Carl Wiseman.
Horrible business.
I adored Carl, but I'm
not sure how I can help.
Well this may sound odd,
but can you tell us why you're
selling your daughter's house
and her foundation property?
The foundation my daughter
founded is floundering.
As is my daughter.
I've grown tired of the
aimless extravagance.
Three months ago, I
cut off her allowance
in an effort to force her to
make something of herself.
But as fate would have it,
she now has a fallback.
Sorry to bother
you, Ms. McRae.
Yeah, we hate to interrupt
your absorption of sunlight.
You bring your
trunks, detective?
(phone dings)
Excuse me.
Actually, Bill, we
need to talk to you too.
And I need to deal
with an intruder.
Look familiar?
I'll be right back.
Don't worry.
Won't jump in without you.
Frankie.
Are you attempting to get
arrested for trespassing?
I think the doorbell's broken.
Ella told you to
sit this one out.
Well technically she told me
to sit out the Lucian interview.
How'd that go?
Frankie.
Wyn, I'm a
licensed investigator
with a client who hired me
to find out who
killed her brother.
I'm not going anywhere.
And if that means you
have to arrest me,
then go-
- Stop.
Come on.
Okay, why don't we
drop the introductions
and any further pretense.
Ms. McRae, Detective
Huntsman and I,
we met with your father
about an hour ago.
He said he cut you
off financially,
but you're not sweating it,
'cause you have a fallback
plan as Carl's next of kin.
No, she wouldn't be his
next of kin, they're divorced.
Well, that's what he
told you and everyone else,
but she never signed
the paperwork,
which certainly
gives you motive.
I just never got around to it.
You didn't know
that she'd been kicked
off the gravy train?
Did you know that daddy
won't be giving her
a cent from the
sale of this house?
That looks like a no.
You might wanna update
your resume, Uncle Bill,
and start looking for
a new place to live.
Carl was successful, but
he wasn't a billionaire,
and I suspect she'll burn
through his estate fast.
Am I under arrest?
Right.
Thought so.
Bill?
Frankie's right, Bill.
That woman will drop you
without a second thought,
so why lie to protect her?
I wasn't lying about
the security tapes.
They're wiped.
You've got more
to say, don't you?
Come clean, and we'll try to
keep your name outta things
until you've found a new gig.
She asked me to stay at a
hotel that night at the benefit.
I thought maybe she
wanted some privacy.
Wouldn't be the first time.
But before going to bed, I
realized I forgot my insulin.
So I came back.
I got my own
entrance over there,
so I figured shouldn't
be a big deal.
But I get here, and
the house is dark.
Check the garage,
her car was gone.
What time was that?
Midnight.
I go back to the hotel.
When I show up for
work the next morning,
she tells me to wipe
the security tapes
and not to look at them.
But you did look
at them, didn't you?
She got in after 2:00 am.
That's enough time to
get to St. Ben and back.
Yes it is.
Thanks, Bill.
I should have said
something yesterday.
And listen, Frankie.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I didn't know Carl very well,
but he recommended
me for this job.
Whoa, how did that happen?
You don't know?
Your stepmother introduced us.
Megan?
When?
After her conviction.
You visited Megan in prison.
Bill, when was the last time
you made contact with her?
That visit.
You can check the prison
log if you don't believe me.
Why did you go see her?
She asked.
And I saw no harm.
She's a psychopath
who murdered six people.
None of them were innocent.
That's up for
the law to decide.
What did Megan want?
You really don't know?
Know what?
She wanted to
introduce me to someone,
a writer who needed my help
with a book he was
writing about murder.
Carl.
He didn't tell you.
(sigh) Can't say
that I blame him.
But yeah, your fiance
was a weekly visitor
at the Correction
Center for Women.
According to the warden,
Megan's been a model prisoner.
She runs the book club,
and yes, Carl's visited
her dozens of times,
but our other person of interest
has visited her a
couple times too.
Christopher Bell.
Time to bring him in.
Harding.
Take Bookman, pick this guy
up, and get him in here now.
Bell's first visit
was five months ago.
The second was the week
before Carl's murder.
When's the last time
Carl visited Megan?
Last year, September 15.
That's around the time
he moved back to St. Ben.
Carl didn't tell
you he talked to her.
I need to call my father.
Yeah, I knew.
Carl told me.
[Frankie] You're kidding.
Well he said it was for,
for research, for his book.
Why didn't you
tell me about this?
He asked me not to
tell you about it,
said he'd talk to you about it.
Well, he didn't.
I'm sorry, hon.
But he also said he
was done seeing Megan.
Said that he didn't
feel he could trust her.
Well how'd he figure that out?
(phone rings)
Hang on, Jim.
Huntsman.
Thanks.
Bell's in the interview room.
I gotta go, Pop.
- Francesca.
I'm sorry.
I know.
I'll talk to you later.
Yes, I went to
see Megan Quinn.
Why?
My novel is about
a serial killer.
I went there asking for
advice on my manuscript,
and she gave it to me.
What was her price?
Couldn't it just be for the
pleasure of reading my work?
Chris?
You don't mind if
I call you Chris.
Actually I-
- You remember
when we first met?
Oh, you forgot?
My cousin Chet wanted me
to arrest you for extortion
over you altering
security camera footage.
So imagine my surprise when
Detective Russo tells me that
your alibi for murder hinges
on security camera footage.
Our IT guys are
taking a closer look
at that hotel camera
security footage right now,
the night Carl was killed,
which gives us a
reason to hold you.
Maybe you think
that'd be good press?
But all our cells
are full downstairs,
so we'd have to take you to
county and put you in gen pop.
Might get some insights
from the guys in there too.
What was Megan's price?
She wanted me to crash
Carl's birthday party.
And stab him to death.
- No!
She just wanted me to show up
and come back and
tell her what I saw.
So I did.
Did she give you her insights?
(Christopher laughs)
You didn't like them?
Eh, they were useless.
Yeah, even Pam agreed.
Pam Gelbaum?
My agent, yeah.
Since when is she your agent?
She signed me after
we met at Carl's party.
(knocking)
Mrs. Harper?
- Yes.
I'm Detective Knutsen.
I was here a while back
after the break in.
Oh yes, Detective.
Have you caught the Sandman?
Not yet.
- Oh, shoot.
Well, I don't care
about the jewelry,
but I'd sure like to get back
those photos that he stole.
Do you have a few
minutes to talk?
I'm retired, Detective.
I have all the time you need.
I just brewed this.
It's Sally's dark roast.
Do you go to Sally's?
Only every day.
I had no idea how
important local roasting was
until Sally explained it to me.
Oh, but you didn't come
here to talk about coffee.
I was going back
over your statement,
but the officer never noted
what time you went
to bed that night.
Now, I realize it
was a long time ago.
No, I remember it well.
Or rather I don't,
if you get my drift.
I'm not sure I do.
Well, I can't tell you
exactly what time I went to bed
because I fell asleep with
the TV on, which I never do.
And, well actually,
I fell asleep with my
coffee cup in my hand, and.
Where did you fall asleep?
Well, let me show you.
In my defense, that
is not red wine.
I was having a cup
of decaf coffee
from a special roast
sample Sally gave me.
Oh, here we are talking
about coffee again.
Do you remember what time
you started watching TV
or what you were watching?
The Mariners game.
They were tied with the
Rangers when I fell asleep,
so that should give
you a good idea.
You know, I thought I'd
have trouble sleeping
after the break in,
but I really haven't.
I guess my age has
finally got up to me.
When we had dinner, Pam said
nothing about repping Bell.
The security footage
is her alibi too.
Maybe Pam and Bell
are in it together.
How long for your Iguy to go through it?
A lotta bytes, hopefully
a day or two, he says.
We need to check
Bell's story with Pam.
And with Megan Quinn.
I can go talk to her.
No, we have the
history with her.
(metal rattling)
My my, the agents of
my reckoning. (chuckle)
So do we, do we
begin with hellos,
or shall we dispense
of banal niceties?
Let's.
No gold band on that finger.
Did something happen to your
ever so romantic secret-?
Megan-
- Frankie.
How's your father?
Happily divorced.
Oh! (chuckle)
How I have missed that sharp
tongue of yours, my dear.
I'm not your anything, Megan.
Why did Carl Wiseman
stop visiting you?
Dear Carl.
You know, I've had thousands
of students over the years,
but only one of them went on
to become a very brilliant
and successful writer.
Oh, please don't take that
as a slight to you two,
my praise of Carl.
We'll survive.
You know, I wondered
whether or not you would.
Survive.
Oh, please.
Take it easy,
there's nothing more
dangerous here than a story.
He was discovered by his
fiance, Francesca Quinn.
That must have been
harrowing, Frankie.
I mean, surely you
must realize that
you're the reason Carl
broke off contact with me.
He returned to St.
Ben to reunite with his first great love.
I did tell him she
was spoken for.
But I guess that's
all past tense now.
How'd it feel, Megan,
when your beloved student who'd
been visiting you for weeks
suddenly broke things off?
Wynton.
How did it feel to see Frankie
engaged to another man?
Answer my question.
Quid pro quo.
(scoffs) I felt like a fool.
Your turn.
As you both know, I never
had any children of my own.
Although I did consider all
of my students my children,
which included you both.
And Carl.
The year cancer took his mom,
he wrote to me from college
and said that he was
gonna be all right,
because he still had me.
Did you know that, Frankie?
Well now that you do,
you might imagine how I felt
when he said he wouldn't
be seeing me ever again.
He broke my heart.
Prison logs say that
you were visited twice
by Christopher Bell.
Dear sweet Christopher.
He asked me to read his novel
and give him some notes.
Except he didn't
really take very kindly
to what I had to say,
and he hasn't
contacted me since.
I guess as the jilted protege,
he is a suspect in
Carl's homicide?
You know, it's funny.
He just seems so
pathetic and ineffectual.
But if I have taught
you two nothing else,
I have taught you this:
Who among us isn't
capable of murder?
(tense music)
Detective Ella Huntsman.
Sounds like a fictional
detective's name.
Well, it's real.
Which makes it
perfect for fiction.
Ms. Gelbaum,
I'm helping Detective
Wynton Russo of the SBPD
on the Carl Wiseman homicide.
Okay.
I understand that you
represent Christopher Bell,
and that you signed him after
Mr. Wiseman was murdered.
Detective Ella Huntsman
does her homework.
So how did that go down?
You signing Mr. Bell.
Well, I knew of
Christopher through Carl,
but we never met until
that night at Carl's party.
Neither of us was invited.
Carl was upset with me, and
Christopher was upset with Carl,
which made Carl upset
with Christopher.
It's an emotional field
we're in, Detective.
I can kinda relate.
I'll bet.
Anyway, there we were,
two party crashers.
So I suppose you could say
we bonded over chutzpah.
Christopher already had a
publisher for his novel.
He got that without an agent.
My guy's a hustler.
He gave me his
manuscript to read.
I devoured it that night and
signed him in the morning.
Before or after Detective
Russo told you Carl was dead?
After.
Does that make me
look more guilty?
Sounds like Mr.
Bell and his agent
are both still very
much on the board.
[Frankie] Along
with Kara McRae.
Why do I feel like
we've only gotten further
from figuring this out?
Because we have.
(knocking)
I think my room service is here.
I'll call you in the morning.
You're not room service.
Nope.
Can we talk?
Think we've proven
we're capable of that.
Would you like something
heinously overpriced
from the mini fridge?
I'm fine.
Seeing Megan was-
Awful.
A reminder of something
I was saying to a client
just the other day.
We all have secrets.
Even from the people
we care about.
You have a secret
you wanna share?
(sorrowful music)
Do you think I
stopped loving you?
Frankie, you were
going to get married.
Was I?
You had a ring.
I also had a bracelet.
(knocking)
Hold on.
There's plenty of
food, if you're-
You broke up with me, Wyn.
And you broke
my heart, Frankie.
(scoffs) I will
tell you again,
and you can trust me or not.
There was nothing going
on between me and Carl
at that point.
And yes, when you told me
that you couldn't trust me
and you ended us,
Carl was just there.
And we fell back into what
we had in high school.
And it was nice and easy.
And I needed easy.
And then he proposed.
And I said yes.
But I shouldn't have.
Because I didn't
wanna marry him.
Because I didn't love him.
Not like that.
Carl figured that out.
"Love, Comma, Murder,"
the reason why you got
in a fight at his party?
I read the manuscript last week.
(scoffs) Of course you did.
That fight was
barely even a fight.
It was more just
me feeling awful
because I'd broken his heart.
Like I guess I did yours.
No, it, it wasn't only you.
Carl, he got the ball rolling.
After you left the department,
he sent me, "The Foolish
Policeman," with a personal note.
Dear Wyn, Frankie thinks
this is based on you.
Smart girl, Carl.
Why didn't you
tell me about this?
I don't know, a little
piece of me didn't trust you,
and this made it worse.
He sent these in
the coming weeks.
This one, the last one.
Frankie and I are in love.
Be a man, step aside.
I read that and I drove over
to Carl's to confront him,
and you were there.
Having coffee, nothing more.
Doesn't matter if you
were together or not.
Carl, he was in my head.
But this isn't Carl.
I know you think
he's a sweet guy-
No no no, the handwriting.
It's close, but it's a forgery.
I'm a forensics expert.
I know Carl's handwriting.
He did not write these notes.
Someone was...
Someone was trying
to break us up.
(tense music)
Detective.
- Hey, Tommy.
You call Detective Russo?
Wyn says it probably
wasn't the Sandman
because he's not home.
Neighbor heard the
crash, called 911.
Oh, looks like
they didn't take
any of Wyn's most
prized possessions.
No, just the TV, I think.
But um, there's something
you need to see.
(suspenseful music)
(knocking)
Hey, you're early.
There was a break in
at my place last night.
The Sandman?
A change in his MO.
Listen, Ella just called,
and she wants to meet with
just me at the precinct.
Is she trying to cut me out?
You know what, I'll
ask her myself.
I said just you.
Frankie, can you
please wait outside?
Sure.
What's going on, Bea?
What's going on?
I'm being framed
for Carl's murder.
I have to take
him back to St. Ben.
I'm sorry.
Beatrice!
- Frankie.
Bea's just doing her job.
What just happened?
Beatrice asked
me to call him in;
She had a warrant
for his arrest.
Based on what?
There was a break in at
Wyn's place last night.
In the midst of the search,
Beatrice found some things.
What things?
You need to let this play-
Ella, what things?
The blood matches Carl's.
Wyn's prints are on the handle.
And the cell phone
Carl was using,
and the burner he was texting
to the night he was killed.
No, no, no, no, no.
I'm sorry, Frankie.
I'm as shocked as you are.
He wouldn't do this.
He couldn't.
He's innocent.
I'm gonna prove it.
There is no way Wyn did this.
I know, Pop.
I mean, just forget for a
second that he has a moral code
and murder isn't part of it.
He's too smart to hang
onto evidence of a crime.
He would've
destroyed both phones.
And melted down that knife.
- Agreed.
You coming back to St. Ben?
No, I'm gonna work
a few angles here.
What do you need me to do?
Get back to St. Ben.
Call Mickey Cole on your way.
Yeah.
Detective Huntsman.
Can you let us into
Wynton Russo's room?
(tense music)
Okay, this.
This proves Wyn is being-
All this proves
is that someone is trying
to break you and Wyn up.
Creating a motive for Wyn.
Revenge.
You and Wyn split when?
A year ago.
And I know you're gonna
say, well, why wait?
Why not kill Carl then?
That is what I was gonna say.
The engagement.
Maybe the killer was waiting
for the stakes to be raised.
Oh, that's pretty shaky.
But even if so, why
wait another week
to plant the evidence
at Wyn's house?
Well they needed
him to leave town.
No way they could stage
a burglary with him home.
That's a lotta leaps
with zero evidence.
Not zero.
These books.
Right, yeah,
we'll run the
handwriting analysis.
No, no, no, they're hardcover.
They haven't been out
in hardcover for years.
Okay, see this?
That mean something?
When an author publishes,
they get a bunch of copies,
all numbered as part
of their contract.
So that would mean
this is the 71st?
Yeah.
But doesn't that make the
case that it came from Carl?
Except Carl made a point
of never having his
own books in his house.
So maybe he kept them
in storage somewhere.
Yeah.
With his agent.
(tense music)
She usually this late?
Frankie Quinn.
And Detective Ella Huntsman,
together in my office.
The plot thickens.
We need to talk
to you about this.
Okay, come on in.
Have a seat.
Hang on, you're the
one who bought this?
Bought it?
Yeah, I remember the number.
I sold it to someone
using a pseudonym.
Sold it?
Okay, I'm confused.
How did you get the book?
No, how 'bout you just
tell us who bought it.
Someone emailed me, asked
if I had a hardcover edition,
and offered $1,500 cash.
1500 bucks?
That sounds like a lot.
Not for an out-of-print
first edition.
Anyway, they sent me the
cash and I sent the book.
So you have the name
and address of the buyer?
Let me find the address.
As far as the name,
well, like I said,
it was definitely a pseudonym.
How do you know that?
The name was Will Shakespeare.
Got the address.
Hey, Beatrice.
- Jim.
This is-
- Mickey Cole.
Detective Russo's attorney.
I hope you haven't
questioned him yet.
I haven't.
We're ready when you are.
- We?
This is my paralegal.
Why don't we start the
night Carl Wiseman was killed.
I had to call you a
few times on your phone
from the crime scene
after he didn't answer
your police radio.
As I said that
night, I crashed early.
What time did you go to bed?
Around 10:00.
Oh, I fell, I fell asleep
on the couch, actually.
Did you have a lot
to drink with dinner?
Detective.
Are you trying to impune
my client's character?
I'm trying to understand
my friend's physical
and mental state
the night a homicide took place.
Mickey, it's all right.
I had a glass of wine
with dinner at Carmine's,
just a block down from my place.
Anyone to corroborate that?
Yeah, yeah, my
date, Sally Gibbons.
I'll do the police thing.
(door slams)
[Frankie] Then I saw
someone I'd seen before.
The hat threw me at first,
but then I remembered
where I'd seen him.
Standing behind Megan
Quinn in the prison.
(banging)
- Police, anyone home?
(intense music)
- Hey!
Ew!
Stay down! (yelling)
Easy, Frankie.
He threw a fish at me.
Well, we got him.
Harlan Trent.
You're in big trouble, Harlan.
Wasn't resisting;
She didn't ID yourself as PD.
Yeah, no, I'm not
talking about that.
I'm talking about you
being the personal
assistant to a felon.
How do you think the
warden's gonna feel
about you bringing
packages to Megan Quinn?
I didn't do anything illegal.
Mr. Trent, murder is a crime.
Murder?
The author of those books
you bought, Carl Wiseman?
He was killed.
And we're looking
at you for it, Harlan.
Or should I call you
Will Shakespeare?
No, no, no.
Okay, yes, I got some
of that guy's books
and brought them to Megan.
And what?
Mailed them off for her.
Mailed them where?
- A PO box.
In St. Ben?
Yeah, but I don't even
know who they were going to.
(tense music)
[Beatrice] I'll
get the warrant
to find out who owns the PO box.
I'll meet you at
the post office.
You made good time.
Didn't need to
wait on a warrant.
What's that smell?
Harlan Trent hit
me with some fish.
Tommy, why don't you go
see if Sally's over there?
Wyn said he was
having dinner with her
the night of the murder.
So?
- All right,
let's go check it out.
[Tommy] Sally?
Hey Tommy.
Detective Knutsen
needs to talk to ya.
Okay.
I'm just gonna put
this in the back.
[Tommy] Sure.
(tense music)
(bell jingles)
Where's Sally?
Throwing some trash out back.
Did she see us go
into the post office?
Yeah, she was just here.
It's Sally's PO box.
She's gone.
I need a BOLO
on Sally Gibbons,
and I need uniforms
and SWAT at her house.
What's her motive?
My first question
when we catch her.
Her house.
That's where I'm going.
I'm coming with you.
- Negative.
This is forced entry, cops only.
What about Wyn?
Frankie-
- You know
he's not a part of this;
You have to release him.
Look, I'm not saying give
him his gun and badge back,
but just don't let him
sit in a cell, Bea.
Yeah, they're
processing him now.
Are you comin' here?
I stink like fish.
I'm gonna have a
shower and get changed,
and hopefully by then,
Beatrice will know more.
And have Sally in custody.
That too.
Thanks, Pop.
(door slams)
Okay, talk soon.
[Frankie] Things
were coming together.
We were getting to a conclusion.
And I needed a shower.
(intense music)
How was your shower?
Refreshing.
You look kinda sweaty;
Help yourself.
I'm fine where I am.
How'd you find out
about the PO box.
By being good at my job.
Why'd you frame Wyn?
You tell me.
Thought you were
good at your job.
Speaking of the
detective, he called.
Left a voicemail.
You're gonna call him back.
Tell him to come here.
Tell him you're afraid.
Now.
Put it on speaker.
(phone rings)
- Hey Frankie,
I just called you.
[Frankie] Hey,
I'm at the barn.
Can you come here?
Yeah, I'm actually nearby.
Is, is everything okay?
[Frankie] I'm scared,
but I trust you.
Sally's there.
(sirens)
(intense music)
Sally!
(grunting)
And so, of course,
we were ending where
this had all started.
Janet.
Where's Harlan?
- Sick, maybe.
You've got visitors.
I like visitors.
(door slams)
Surprised to see me?
Maybe you're confused
because you read the article
in yesterday's paper.
I was arrested.
At the St. Benedict's
police department,
we do things by the book.
That's a pun,
Megan, by the book.
'Cause that's how
you did your work.
Excuse me?
Did you clip out the
article of my arrest
like you did for the
article of Carl's murder?
I'm not following you.
There's a new article out
today about Harlan Trent.
[Wyn] Your accomplice.
My what?
I know your
options were limited,
but you didn't pick the
most reliable partner there.
Harlan lied to you, Megan.
And it was that little lie,
done really just to save face,
that undid the methodical,
painstaking months of work
you put into
constructing your plan.
Because in fact,
Harlan bought "The Foolish
Policeman" from Pam Gelbaum.
I couldn't find "The
Foolish Policeman,"
so I emailed the agent,
but I told Megan I got
'em at a bookstore.
And Frankie knows this
because she saw the printing
number on the inside cover,
and she confirmed with Pam
that she sent the copy of the
book to Harlan's home address.
Harlan brought
the books to you
and you forged the
nasty messages to Wyn.
Then you had them sent to me
as if they had come from Carl.
And your plan worked.
You came between Wyn and I.
You destroyed us.
I mean, you must have
fantasized for years
about how to get back at us,
just waiting for the
right opportunity.
And when Carl told you he
was moving back to St. Ben,
that opportunity
began to take shape.
What is it you think I did?
Well first, you had Harlan
fall in love with you.
He collected the books;
He brought them to you.
You'd seen Carl's
handwriting for years.
His school papers, the
letters he wrote you.
You wrote those notes to Wyn.
I don't see how you're
gonna be able to prove this.
Harlan loaned me some books;
I returned them to him.
We'll get to the proof later.
The fact is, Megan,
the plan worked.
Your accomplice
reported on our breakup
by sending you short stories
about detective Will Rust
and Private Investigator
Faith Queen.
All the mail sent to
you here at the prison
is read and scanned
by the warden.
He printed everything for us.
Mm.
So you think Harlan
wrote those stories
and mailed them to me.
Oh no, not Harlan.
No, your other accomplice.
The one who murdered Carl,
Sally Gibbons.
Sally who?
Must have been really
satisfying to break us up.
Maybe not as satisfying as
you thought it would be.
Yeah, you probably still had
Carl's betrayal gnawing at you.
It must have really hurt
when Carl's protege,
Christopher Bell,
came to you for guidance.
Yep, we figured it was
when Bell first visited you
that you got your inspiration
to take your revenge
to a darker level.
Which is where things
always go with you, Megan.
Sally, well, she provided
the money for the books
with the Sandman burglaries.
All her victims were
customers that she drugged
with sleep medication in
her special roast decaf.
I thought I'd have trouble
falling asleep after the
break-in, but I really haven't.
And the same
thing happened to me
the night Carl was killed.
But it wasn't because I drank
Sally's special roast decaf.
It was important that
I was fast asleep
the night of Carl's party,
while Sally texted Carl on the
burner, pretending to be me.
She met him at the
restaurant and stabbed him,
then put my prints
on the murder weapon.
Then you just had to
wait for Wyn to leave town
so Sally could stage the
evidence at his place,
staging another break in.
Robbery's one thing,
(scoffs) but murder?
That's another
level of devotion.
The kind of devotion that a
child might have for a parent.
But you don't have kids
though, do you, Megan?
[Wyn] We know Sally's
obsessed with family.
We found all the photos
which she stole from
her Sandman victims.
It always bothered me.
Why steal those?
But it made sense when
we found all the records
of the search she did
for her birth mother.
That search began a year
after her adoptive parents died.
She reconnected with you
three weeks before
Wyn arrested you.
Sally was devastated
to lose her mother.
So devastated, she would
do anything for you.
She told me.
After she confessed to
killing Carl, with no remorse.
Sally's being charged
with six counts of
breaking and entering,
burglary, conspiracy,
and first degree murder.
No.
Please, you cannot do this.
I'm the killer.
But you got your
daughter to hold the knife.
They'll be tried
together, Sheryl.
Thank you, Frankie.
Thank you so much.
[Frankie] Of course.
And thank Wyn.
I will.
Talk soon.
Sheryl says thanks.
So.
So.
Yesterday when Sally had
the gun on you, and you said-
I trust you.
I figured you'd know
something was wrong.
Yeah, you figured right.
So do you trust me?
You know the answer to that.
Yeah, I do.
I do.
[Frankie] We'd
come to a conclusion,
but also what felt
like a new beginning.
And I was all right with that.
More than all right.
(sweet music)
board, we call it.
Lots of pieces of evidence
that hopefully bring
you to a conclusion.
(camera clicks)
But let me back up.
So I said to Jim,
"Honey, I respect your job,
"you respect my job,
"but we have to keep
our date night sacred."
So do you know
what he had to say?
(Rebecca grunting)
- Rebecca!
Do you have a phone?
Call 911!
(camera clicks)
- [Frankie] A heart attack.
Not something you'd see
on a murder board, right?
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
Over the next four
years in St. Ben,
there were some seemingly
unrelated deaths.
A car accident, a
fall down the stairs.
Nothing that would've
seemed criminal.
(camera clicks)
(suspenseful music)
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
(camera clicks)
Then a man went missing,
and that brought us in.
(camera clicks)
Okay, we are gonna
find Chuck Westerly.
[Frankie] My pop, Jim Quinn,
St. Benedict Chief of Police.
State police are
lending us a diving team.
Bill, you're running
point on this one.
You bet, Jim.
[Frankie] Bill Duncan,
my pop's best friend.
And take Wyn with you.
[Frankie] Detective
Wynton Russo.
I've known him
since kindergarten.
Meanwhile, we need a full
forensics workup on his boat.
Frankie.
On it, Pop.
Yours truly, Francesca Quinn.
And I stayed on it, Wyn and me.
We connected all the
seemingly unrelated deaths
and came to a conclusion.
(Frankie sighs)
(sad music)
Hey.
(sad music)
Well, you're in early.
Made progress on the drowning?
This is bigger
than the drowning.
Megan Quinn,
my high school English
teacher who married my pop,
soon to be known as
the St. Ben killer.
So, are we
completely riveted-?
Megan.
- To what you're-?
You have the right
to remain silent.
Anything you say or do
can be used against
you in a court of law.
You have the right
to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one,
one will be provided for you.
Do you understand these rights
as I have said them to you.
[Frankie] But our conclusion
was just the beginning.
My wife has been arrested,
which is why I am resigning
from the police force
effective immediately.
(reporters clamoring)
Detective Russo will
answer any questions
regarding the case.
[Reporter] Who's next in line?
Megan Quinn is being
charged in six homicides
over the last four years.
That'll be all for today.
Thank you for coming.
(reporters clamoring)
You were great out there.
'Cause I knew
you were beside me.
[Carl] Hey, you two.
Carl?
(camera clicks)
Carl Wiseman, my high
school sweetheart.
Successful writer.
He'd come back to write
about Megan and the trial.
(camera clicks)
- Hey.
What are you doing in town?
Came back to cover
this whole thing.
It's good to see you, Frankie.
(camera clicks)
- And I compared
the water samples in
Mr. Dunbar's lungs
with the water
samples in the lake,
and when they didn't match,
I knew he'd been
drowned and moved.
We began to look
at suspicious deaths
in the community, and.
Started to see connections
around the school.
And it was around this time
we realized someone was
accessing our files.
And we discovered that to
be Detective Bill Duncan.
Detective Duncan's actions
led us to take a closer
look at Megan Quinn.
The people who
should be on trial here
are my stepdaughter, Frankie,
and her secret
boyfriend, Wynton Russo.
[Frankie] Megan was convicted,
but her life wasn't
the only thing
that got destroyed
out of all of that.
Wyn and I thought we'd be
happy with Megan locked up.
But a lot has changed
in the past year.
(sad music)
Hey.
Sorry.
Who you texting?
You, actually.
In the middle of my party.
So I read your novel.
So what'd you think?
You can't publish that.
What, you don't
buy the narrative?
It's not the narrative,
Carl, it's my life.
And yours.
And Wyn's?
Couldn't help but notice
the bracelet you're wearing.
Mo anam cara;
My soulmate.
Wyn gave that to you, right?
It's a good detail
for my next draft.
(sad music)
(door creaks)
(sad music)
(lights power down)
Hello?
(suspenseful music)
(blade rings)
(suspenseful music)
(light switch clicks)
Hello?
Carl?
(suspenseful music)
(Frankie screams)
Some night, huh?
Body in the club?
- Yep.
Someone cut the power,
but we just got it fixed.
Murder weapon's gone,
but coroner says it was
probably a hunting knife,
eight inches.
Hey Wyn, hold up.
Deceased is Carl Wiseman.
Okay.
Frankie's in there.
She's the one that found him.
So I was wondering-
Wondering what, Beatrice?
Well, before I got
assigned to St. Ben,
I heard that you and Frankie-
Were together?
We were.
And like you said,
it was before you
were assigned here,
so that would classify
it as ancient history.
I'm sorry, I...
I had a weird night.
I was asleep when you called.
(stammers) Why don't you
take the lead with her, Bea?
I got you.
(tense music)
Hey Frankie.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Can you tell us what happened?
The power was out,
I figured the storm,
so I (stammers) went
to get my phone and.
I'm sorry.
- It's okay.
How'd you get in?
We both had keys.
We'd rented the restaurant
for a birthday party for Carl.
Party was tonight?
- Yeah.
How many people were here?
Around 50.
We'll need all those
names and numbers.
What time did you leave?
It was around 9:00.
And what time did it begin?
8:00.
Short party.
I'm not exactly
sure when it ended.
I left early.
We had to fight, me and Carl.
What about?
"Love, Comma, Murder."
His new manuscript;
That's the title.
Why were you
fighting about it?
It's autobiographical in ways
that made me uncomfortable.
Okay Frankie, I have to ask-
- Alibi?
I, I went driving.
I was alone;
No one to verify that.
Got home after 11:00,
decided to call Carl,
and realized I left
my phone at the party.
I thought you
stopped wearing that.
I did.
I started again.
I'm sorry, Allison.
Do you know who she is?
Josie Neusted, pharmaceutical
rep from the Twin Cities.
It's all in my report.
(sad music)
What am I supposed
to do, Frankie?
Well, if you wanna file
for divorce, you have cause.
We have two kids.
19 years, we've been married.
I, I just-
- Hoped you were wrong?
How could this have happened?
We all have secrets.
Things we hide.
Even from the people we trust.
And love.
So you think everyone
keeps secrets from
the people they love?
Don't you?
When I met your stepmother-
Ex-stepmother.
Megan.
On our first date,
she actually said,
"Secrets are how to keep
a relationship alive."
You never told me that.
Yeah (chuckle) well,
can you blame me?
I mean, she was laying it
out right from the start.
Of course, I thought
she was talking about
secret shopping trips
or, I don't know.
Anyway, what she said on that
first date came back to me
when you and Wyn
walked me through
the secret she'd been keeping.
Two years, two years.
Think I'd be able
to talk about it.
You are talking about it.
Still bothers me
that I never suspected.
I mean, what kind of cop?
The kinda cop who
trusted his wife.
Top you off, Jim?
Thanks, Sally.
Another Americano, Frankie?
Tempting, but I'm working
on knowing my limits.
(chuckle) Ah, that sounds
like great advice for all of us.
Speaking of secrets, did
you hear that Sally and-?
Wyn.
Yeah.
Who told you?
Sally.
I guess she didn't
know that Wyn and I.
For what it's worth, I don't
think it's goin' anywhere.
How you doing, honey?
Ah, you know, pretty terrible.
Sheryl Wiseman called.
She wants to meet
me at the office.
Carl's sister.
You think she-?
- Wants to hire me?
Yeah, I do.
You wanna know what
I think about that?
That I'm too close to
the case to investigate it.
And Wyn isn't?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I told him that
already, but he didn't listen.
And I guess you won't either.
(tense music)
(door opens)
(door slams)
Did I get the time wrong?
I'm early.
You look good, Frankie.
So do you, Sheryl.
I don't, but you're
sweet to say so.
Come on in.
Here, take a seat.
I know you think you
should stay out of it
because you and
Carl were engaged,
or because you and Wynton
used to be together.
But that's exactly why
you should be involved.
Because you're invested.
Or maybe you're not.
Carl said you probably weren't
gonna go through
with the marriage.
He did?
At his party.
He said you were really upset
about the new manuscript
and what it implied.
He was so in love
with you, Frankie.
I know.
Were you?
Gonna break things off with him?
Does it matter now?
I guess not.
But either way, can I hire you
to find out who killed him?
No.
I'll do it for free.
(sigh) Thank you, Frankie.
I'll be in touch, okay?
(tense music)
Yeah, I'd already been
working on Carl's murder.
But it helped to have a client,
along with three suspects.
Kara McRae, Carl's ex-wife.
Pam Gelbaum, Carl's
agent that he'd fired
right before he was murdered.
Christopher Bell,
Carl's former protege
who showed up uninvited
to Carl's party.
(knocking)
It's open.
Guess my pop called you.
Sheryl hired me.
I'll be heading
to the Twin Cities
to interview Pam Gelbaum
and Christopher Bell.
Both had motives.
Both were cleared by hotel
security camera footage.
They were in their rooms
at the time of the murder.
Did you get an
alibi for Carl's ex?
Kara McRae was
hosting a fundraiser
for KM Foundation
in Minneapolis.
Multiple eyewitnesses.
Yeah, she's rich, she
could have hired a hitman.
Carl was home by 10:25.
Neighbor walking his
dog verified this.
Someone lured him back to the
restaurant half an hour later.
Kinda thing a hitman would do.
D'you ever find Carl's phone?
[Beatrice] No, but we know
that he was texting a burner
with an unlisted number.
You subpoenaed the
contents of the text?
We only got Carl's part.
The burner was encrypted.
Oh, you mean the kind of thing
that a professional
killer could pull off,
as well as cutting off
power to the restaurant
so that no security cameras
would capture the murder?
But what would
be Kara's motive?
Wyn knows the answer to that.
Jealousy.
Carl had divorced her.
And was engaged to his
high school sweetheart.
Yep.
Kara said she
never heard of you.
She didn't even know
Carl was engaged.
She look like she
was telling the truth?
I spoke with her on the phone.
She flew to Europe the
day after the murders.
And that wasn't suspicious.
What do you want, Frankie?
You wanna join forces?
He tell you about the last
case we worked together?
Of course, the St. Ben killer.
But Frankie, you're a
material player in this.
I was a material
player in that.
So was Wyn, who's also a
material player in this!
Frankie, we're doing
all we can to solve it.
You just have to trust me.
I just have to trust you.
You're throwing
that back at me now.
Come on, Frankie, I didn't-
- You should go.
Wyn.
You wanna tell me
what that was about?
During Megan's trial,
she tried to cast
doubt on me and Frankie
by outing our relationship.
Lovely.
We're lucky it
didn't hurt the case.
We shouldn't have
kept it a secret.
Anyway, after
Megan's conviction,
Frankie thought it would be
best if she left the department.
I couldn't help but notice
it was the same time Carl
moved back into town.
I had reason to believe
it wasn't just
platonic between them,
so I confronted
her, she denied it,
and she said, "You
have to trust me."
So when you said
that back there-
Thought I was mocking
her, yeah, but I wasn't.
You didn't trust her.
So Frankie's not wrong
about you being connected.
You know I knew Carl,
I already told you that,
but I haven't had anything to
do with him in a long time.
And we are going to
catch his killer.
Francesca.
- Hey Pop,
I'm working this divorce case
and I need someone to
handle surveillance.
You free for a few days?
[Jim] So Sheryl hired you.
She did.
I'm on my way to
the Twin Cities.
What do you say?
Whatever you need, honey.
Thanks, Pop.
Morning.
Hey.
You wanna have
Sally's for coffee?
We've got a new 1082.
Sandman?
- Yep.
All right.
And you heard
nothing, Mr. O'Connor?
Well, like I
told the officers,
I'm usually a light sleeper,
but with Paula
and the kids away,
I guess I musta
crashed really hard.
I notice you have
an alarm system.
Right.
I usually put it on
before I go to bed.
Guess I forgot.
Do you remember what
time you fell asleep?
Around 10:00, maybe?
I was watching a movie
and then I fell
asleep in my recliner.
Listen, I've been reading the
paper about this Sandman guy
who robs people while
they're at home sleeping.
You think this is him?
Could be.
You know one weird thing?
Whoever it was stole
some of my family photos.
(tense music)
Hi, Kara in?
Yes, do you have an?
Wait, you can't do that!
How's it going, Kara?
I'm Frankie Quinn.
Miss McRae, I am so sorry.
It's cool, Janine.
I'll call Bill.
- Thanks.
So do you know who I am?
Sure.
Then why'd you tell police
you'd never heard of me.
Because I hadn't.
Obviously I know who
the St Ben killer is
and Carl's connection to her,
but Carl never mentioned
that Megan Quinn
had a stepdaughter
who'd been his high
school sweetheart.
Carl liked to keep secrets.
I'm sure you know that.
So you're claiming
you had no idea Carl
and I were engaged.
No idea.
And you were at a fundraiser
the night that he was killed.
I was.
- What time did it end?
Around 9:00?
You still coulda got to
the restaurant by 11:20.
Yeah, except I
went straight home.
Can anyone vouch for that?
My head of security.
Here he is.
Uncle Bill?
Frankie's dad
and I were close.
Until we weren't.
You happy someone
here knows you?
Bill.
Let's go, Frankie.
You're throwing me out?
Bill asked nicely.
But if you'd like to be thrown.
Don't you care
about who killed Carl?
That's what the
police are for.
Should I call them and tell
them that you're trespassing?
Frankie.
My dad know you're working
as a bouncer to an heiress,
Uncle Bill?
Give me some credit, Frankie.
I'm a little more than that.
And you know your old
man hasn't talked to me
since what happened.
But I don't blame him.
Or you, for that matter.
But it is good to see you.
While you're throwing me out.
Doing my job, same as you.
You do realize that your
boss has something to hide.
Who doesn't?
But I didn't kill your fiance.
And I'm sorry that
he was taken from-
Save it.
I'll see you.
(tense music)
(phone rings)
This is Pam Gelbaum.
Hi Pam, this is Frankie
Quinn, Carl Wiseman's-
Frankie, of course.
How are you?
Hangin' in there, thanks.
Listen, I'm in the Twin
Cities on some business,
and I know this is last minute,
but would you be free to talk?
[Pam] I'm booked 'til 6:00,
but do you wanna do dinner?
Good for me.
[Pam] I'll text
you the address.
See you tonight.
(engine starts)
(tense music)
Every house he's hit, the
Sandman's stolen family photos.
In addition to
thousands of dollars
in jewelry, cash, and goods.
I know, but why
bother with the photos?
Usuals.
Wyn.
Wyn, you paying?
Sorry.
You okay?
Yeah, fine.
Just a lot on my mind.
Right.
Well hey, if you, um,
if you ever wanna talk.
Got your number.
My professional opinion?
She'd like you to
ask her out again.
(Wyn scoffs)
Listen, while we're
waiting on forensics
for the probable
Sandman burglary,
what do ya say we go meet
with Kara McRae in person?
You know, I have a
contact in Minneapolis.
(phone rings)
[Christopher] Hi,
Christopher Bell.
You know what to do.
(beep)
Hi Christopher,
this is Frankie Quinn.
We met at Carl Wiseman's party.
If you can give me a call, my
number is 3-1-05-5-50-1-9-1.
Thank you.
(phone clanks)
(knocking)
Sorry, didn't
mean to startle you.
Beatrice Knutsen.
- Ella Huntsman.
This guy, I know.
Good to see ya, buddy.
You as well.
Thank you for welcoming
us to your jurisdiction.
Yeah, it's the least I can do.
He tell you he got me special
commendation once upon a time?
Yeah, well he did,
with the help of a
forensics investigator.
How is Frankie, by the way?
You two ever figure out you
were made for each other?
Yeah, it's late.
We, we should get goin', huh?
Okay.
Follow me.
(car starts)
(tense music)
Can I help you?
Detective Huntsman,
Minneapolis PD.
We need to speak with Ms. McRae.
Lemme see if she's available.
That wasn't a request.
Is she back this way?
Bill?
Well, deja vu all over again.
Your better half was
here a couple hours ago.
My-?
- Frankie.
She had the same look on
her face when she saw me.
Detective Huntsman,
Knutsen, Bill Duncan.
He used to be on the job.
We need to talk to your
boss about Carl Wiseman.
You're a little outside
your jurisdiction.
That's what I'm here for.
Minneapolis PD.
Fine.
But she'll tell you the
same thing she told Frankie.
She has an alibi.
And you're looking at him.
Then I guess we'll
be talking to you both.
(tense music)
Frankie.
I wasn't sure you'd
wanna meet with me.
Because Carl fired me?
I was at his birthday
party, wasn't I?
Besides, he never
put it in writing,
so contractually, I'm still
the agent for all his work,
including his soon-to-be
published final novel.
What novel?
"Love, Comma, Murder."
It's about a woman
in love with two men-
Yeah, I know what it's about.
That's a first draft.
Well I know, but since
what happened to him,
there's a huge
demand for his work.
WeHo Press are re-releasing
all of his titles in hard cover
for the first time since
the original printing.
But they don't have the rights
to "Love, Comma, Murder,"
so I'm gonna stage a
bidding war for them.
Thank you.
Everything here is great.
And this is on me.
(tense music)
And as I told you
when you called,
I went straight home from
the benefit around 9:00.
And you were with
her for how long?
All night.
Bill lives at my place.
For my security?
And you also have
security cameras there?
Sure.
But the drive gets
written over every week.
Guess you'll just
have to trust me.
(Wyn scoffs)
Is Duncan a dirty cop?
Not so much dirty as weak
and easily manipulated
by a very bad woman.
I knew I knew his name.
He's the cop who was spying
on your investigation,
feeding intel of
the St. Ben killer.
Copped a plea to
get outta jail time.
That's him.
The irony is that was
her biggest mistake.
Once we figured out
what Bill was doing
and who he was doing it for,
we started looking
at her as a suspect.
Wasn't easy for Frankie.
You know, she grew up with him,
called him Uncle
Bill and everything.
So is this just a coincidence
that Frankie's working
the Wiseman homicide?
Carl Wiseman was
Frankie's fiance,
and his sister just hired her.
So I guess that answers
my earlier question
about the two of you.
Although it does
raise the question,
are you the guy to be
finding Wiseman's killer?
Was hoping we could
all do that together.
You mind if I stay
another night?
I got a sofa with
your name on it.
Thanks Ell, but that works.
I'll call you in the morning?
Yeah, talk then.
Beatrice, pleasure.
All mine.
We could get you a rental.
I can stay, Wyn.
The Sandman is obviously
still active, so, you know,
we shouldn't both be
away from St. Ben.
(gentle music)
So why did Carl fire you?
He didn't tell you?
He thought I passed
up an opportunity
for him to be published
by Rooney & Austin.
It wasn't true, of course.
Where'd he get that idea?
He seemed to develop
some trust issues.
You know anything about that?
Frankie, I know you read
"Love, Comma, Murder."
I'm assuming you were or still
are in love with another man.
How was yours?
Mine was delicious.
Oh, you're the second person
to check in today from St. Ben.
Frankie Quinn?
She's a colleague.
Oh, nice.
Well, the room next
to her is available.
Would that work for you?
Sure.
All right, and there you are.
Thank you.
[Frankie] Hi again.
I counted;
This is the 19th voicemail
I've left since, you know.
Anyway, I'll give you
what you seem to want.
This'll be my last message.
I, I do love you.
But if you don't trust
me, well, anyway.
I, I hope that whatever
you're doing, you're happy.
(door squeaks)
(creak)
Hello?
Hey!
(crash)
(intense music)
Wyn?
Someone broke into my room!
I got him.
- I'll cut him off.
(intense music)
Stop, police!
(Wyn grunting)
Freeze!
Christopher Bell?
How'd you get
in Frankie's room.
I have my ways.
What were you doin' in there?
She called me;
She wanted to talk.
I told you to
call me on my cell,
not break into my hotel room.
I saw from the caller ID
that she was staying here.
I didn't trust her.
- Why?
Carl was committed to
blurbing my first novel.
His endorsement was
critical to my deal.
And when he pulled it,
my publishers became far
less committed to my work.
What, and you think I told
Carl to stop supporting you?
Yeah, I do.
I was looking for the
blurb on your computer.
He never sent.
My computer's
password protected.
Yeah, is it, though?
I never saw Carl's blurb,
and I certainly didn't
tell him to pull it.
Yeah, right.
Why not just confront Frankie
of your suspicions of her
at the birthday party?
Well I didn't
suspect her then.
When did that start?
Like I said, when
I got your message
and I saw from the caller
ID that you were in town,
I realized it must be
because you found out
that my book was
coming out after all.
I didn't know that.
Now, maybe you think it's
immoral, or motive for murder,
but I have an alibi.
The security
cameras in my hotel.
(chuckle) You know,
Detective, it dawns on me
that it would make for a great
publicity angle for my book
if you were to have the
Minneapolis PD arrest me.
Oh, you're under arrest.
(Christopher chuckles)
Come on.
[Frankie] Not gonna lie,
it felt good to be
working alongside Wyn.
Good that we had each other's
backs, at least for a minute.
And then the clerk saw my ID,
and they saw that
I was from St. Ben,
and they mentioned that
someone else from St. Ben
had just checked in.
And then you asked
to be put next to me.
Maybe it was the
only room available.
And I'm supposed
to believe that?
Not really.
Would you believe that it was
the clerk's suggestion?
- No.
(chuckle) It, it was.
(laugh) It was.
We can go confirm
that right now.
Yeah, yeah?
- Okay.
All right, (laugh) all
right, I believe you.
You know, I'm glad
you're next door,
because when someone
breaks into your room,
I'm there to rescue you.
Sounds like a plan.
Hey listen.
Thanks for hearing
me out this morning.
And I appreciate
you pushing me.
But you know what
I'm gonna say now.
That I should go back
to St. Ben tomorrow.
And you know what
I'm gonna say now.
That if you
didn't get involved,
I'd still be in St. Ben.
And it is impossible for
you to deny the truth of this.
So you'll say nothing,
and just stare deeply
into your wine glass.
(both laugh)
Tomorrow comes early.
That it does.
Night, Wyn.
(bluesy music)
I'm the biggest pretender
You should go
You should go
Okay, thanks.
I'll see ya in a few.
Morning.
Hey.
I'm meeting Ella in a half hour.
Uh, you mean
we're meeting Ella.
So, I did a public
records deed search
to find out where
Kara McRae lives.
Ella can pull her
driver's license.
Well sure, but
I'm glad I did this,
because guess what.
Do I have to?
No, I'll just tell you.
Kara McRae doesn't own
property in Minneapolis.
So she's in the suburbs.
Well that was
my first thought,
but then I checked to see
who owned the foundation
building across the street.
And?
Owner is Lucian McRae,
her billionaire daddy,
who also owns the McMansion
at 212 Crestview Drive.
Wanna guess who lives there?
Kara McRae.
Found some old society page
photos of her out the front,
but also this.
Father's selling her house.
And he's selling the
foundation building.
Looks like all is not
well in McRae land.
Maybe, but I'm not sure
how all this is
connected to a homicide.
Me neither.
But like they say in
my favorite movie.
Follow the money.
(mellow music)
Morning, Beatrice.
Hey Jim.
Been a minute. (chuckle)
I was just across the
street at the post office.
I saw you coming in, thought
I'd pop over and say hi.
Mornin' folks.
Sorry, it's been busy.
What can I get ya?
Usual, Sally.
- Wyn too?
No need, thanks.
- Jim?
I'm already
sufficiently caffeinated,
but I will take
one of your scones.
Coming up.
Wyn okay?
Ah yeah, he's just outta town.
Aren't you working two cases?
Yeah, he's on one of
them in Minneapolis.
Frankie's in Minneapolis.
I'm aware.
I got your coffee.
Thanks, Jim.
Take care, Sally.
- See ya.
Did I hear that Wyn and Frankie
are in Minneapolis together?
Uh yeah, yeah,
it's just, it's
just a work thing.
I know you and Wyn-
- It's fine.
(machine beeps)
Enjoy your scone.
Hi.
- Hello.
Nice to get the
band back together.
So your intruder, Mr. Bell,
made bail this morning.
He turn it into
a publicity stunt?
Oh, guy's piece of work.
And I've got history with him.
Five, six years ago,
he worked for my cousin Chet
who wanted me to arrest him
for attempted extortion.
Christopher Bell
was the computer guy
at Chet's security company.
Yeah, he hacked my
key card and laptop.
Yeah, he's good.
Anyway, he claimed
he found a way
to hack the feed from security
cameras to the hard drive
and alter security footage.
He told Chet to pay up or
he'd start telling customers.
Bell had no record.
That's because they
didn't arrest him.
There was no evidence.
It was just his
word against Chet's.
But I made it clear
there'd be no extortion.
Bell's alibi for the
night of the murder
was the hotel security camera.
(phone buzzes)
Uh, excuse me.
[Beatrice] So are
you going after Bell?
Lucian McRae first.
Hey, do me a favor.
Upload the hotel camera footage
to the Minneapolis PD server.
Ella's got an IT whiz here
who can see if it was
tampered with or not.
On it.
So, can we talk
about the Sandman?
Yeah, what's up?
I was reading back
over the statements
in the Sandman burglaries
from last year,
and four outta the five victims
reported they fell asleep early.
Like with Mr.
O'Connor yesterday.
I know it's not much,
but I thought I'd see
if the same was true for the
first victim, Rhonda Harper.
That's a good plan.
'Kay, I gotta jump.
I'll call you later.
Hey, Beatrice is
uploading the footage.
Good.
Onto Lucian.
Is it cool if I
leave my truck here
while I ride with you guys?
Frankie, you're gonna
have to sit this one out.
Oh come on,
I'm the one who brought you
this Lucian information.
You did, but Wyn's right.
When we find out who killed
Carl and bring it to trial,
you'll be glad you
didn't hand the defense
the angle of the fiance
who was inappropriately
influencing the case.
Thanks for making
time for us, Mr. McRae.
You're the police,
what else would I do?
Fair enough, sir.
Detective Russo and
I are looking into
the murder of Carl Wiseman.
Horrible business.
I adored Carl, but I'm
not sure how I can help.
Well this may sound odd,
but can you tell us why you're
selling your daughter's house
and her foundation property?
The foundation my daughter
founded is floundering.
As is my daughter.
I've grown tired of the
aimless extravagance.
Three months ago, I
cut off her allowance
in an effort to force her to
make something of herself.
But as fate would have it,
she now has a fallback.
Sorry to bother
you, Ms. McRae.
Yeah, we hate to interrupt
your absorption of sunlight.
You bring your
trunks, detective?
(phone dings)
Excuse me.
Actually, Bill, we
need to talk to you too.
And I need to deal
with an intruder.
Look familiar?
I'll be right back.
Don't worry.
Won't jump in without you.
Frankie.
Are you attempting to get
arrested for trespassing?
I think the doorbell's broken.
Ella told you to
sit this one out.
Well technically she told me
to sit out the Lucian interview.
How'd that go?
Frankie.
Wyn, I'm a
licensed investigator
with a client who hired me
to find out who
killed her brother.
I'm not going anywhere.
And if that means you
have to arrest me,
then go-
- Stop.
Come on.
Okay, why don't we
drop the introductions
and any further pretense.
Ms. McRae, Detective
Huntsman and I,
we met with your father
about an hour ago.
He said he cut you
off financially,
but you're not sweating it,
'cause you have a fallback
plan as Carl's next of kin.
No, she wouldn't be his
next of kin, they're divorced.
Well, that's what he
told you and everyone else,
but she never signed
the paperwork,
which certainly
gives you motive.
I just never got around to it.
You didn't know
that she'd been kicked
off the gravy train?
Did you know that daddy
won't be giving her
a cent from the
sale of this house?
That looks like a no.
You might wanna update
your resume, Uncle Bill,
and start looking for
a new place to live.
Carl was successful, but
he wasn't a billionaire,
and I suspect she'll burn
through his estate fast.
Am I under arrest?
Right.
Thought so.
Bill?
Frankie's right, Bill.
That woman will drop you
without a second thought,
so why lie to protect her?
I wasn't lying about
the security tapes.
They're wiped.
You've got more
to say, don't you?
Come clean, and we'll try to
keep your name outta things
until you've found a new gig.
She asked me to stay at a
hotel that night at the benefit.
I thought maybe she
wanted some privacy.
Wouldn't be the first time.
But before going to bed, I
realized I forgot my insulin.
So I came back.
I got my own
entrance over there,
so I figured shouldn't
be a big deal.
But I get here, and
the house is dark.
Check the garage,
her car was gone.
What time was that?
Midnight.
I go back to the hotel.
When I show up for
work the next morning,
she tells me to wipe
the security tapes
and not to look at them.
But you did look
at them, didn't you?
She got in after 2:00 am.
That's enough time to
get to St. Ben and back.
Yes it is.
Thanks, Bill.
I should have said
something yesterday.
And listen, Frankie.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I didn't know Carl very well,
but he recommended
me for this job.
Whoa, how did that happen?
You don't know?
Your stepmother introduced us.
Megan?
When?
After her conviction.
You visited Megan in prison.
Bill, when was the last time
you made contact with her?
That visit.
You can check the prison
log if you don't believe me.
Why did you go see her?
She asked.
And I saw no harm.
She's a psychopath
who murdered six people.
None of them were innocent.
That's up for
the law to decide.
What did Megan want?
You really don't know?
Know what?
She wanted to
introduce me to someone,
a writer who needed my help
with a book he was
writing about murder.
Carl.
He didn't tell you.
(sigh) Can't say
that I blame him.
But yeah, your fiance
was a weekly visitor
at the Correction
Center for Women.
According to the warden,
Megan's been a model prisoner.
She runs the book club,
and yes, Carl's visited
her dozens of times,
but our other person of interest
has visited her a
couple times too.
Christopher Bell.
Time to bring him in.
Harding.
Take Bookman, pick this guy
up, and get him in here now.
Bell's first visit
was five months ago.
The second was the week
before Carl's murder.
When's the last time
Carl visited Megan?
Last year, September 15.
That's around the time
he moved back to St. Ben.
Carl didn't tell
you he talked to her.
I need to call my father.
Yeah, I knew.
Carl told me.
[Frankie] You're kidding.
Well he said it was for,
for research, for his book.
Why didn't you
tell me about this?
He asked me not to
tell you about it,
said he'd talk to you about it.
Well, he didn't.
I'm sorry, hon.
But he also said he
was done seeing Megan.
Said that he didn't
feel he could trust her.
Well how'd he figure that out?
(phone rings)
Hang on, Jim.
Huntsman.
Thanks.
Bell's in the interview room.
I gotta go, Pop.
- Francesca.
I'm sorry.
I know.
I'll talk to you later.
Yes, I went to
see Megan Quinn.
Why?
My novel is about
a serial killer.
I went there asking for
advice on my manuscript,
and she gave it to me.
What was her price?
Couldn't it just be for the
pleasure of reading my work?
Chris?
You don't mind if
I call you Chris.
Actually I-
- You remember
when we first met?
Oh, you forgot?
My cousin Chet wanted me
to arrest you for extortion
over you altering
security camera footage.
So imagine my surprise when
Detective Russo tells me that
your alibi for murder hinges
on security camera footage.
Our IT guys are
taking a closer look
at that hotel camera
security footage right now,
the night Carl was killed,
which gives us a
reason to hold you.
Maybe you think
that'd be good press?
But all our cells
are full downstairs,
so we'd have to take you to
county and put you in gen pop.
Might get some insights
from the guys in there too.
What was Megan's price?
She wanted me to crash
Carl's birthday party.
And stab him to death.
- No!
She just wanted me to show up
and come back and
tell her what I saw.
So I did.
Did she give you her insights?
(Christopher laughs)
You didn't like them?
Eh, they were useless.
Yeah, even Pam agreed.
Pam Gelbaum?
My agent, yeah.
Since when is she your agent?
She signed me after
we met at Carl's party.
(knocking)
Mrs. Harper?
- Yes.
I'm Detective Knutsen.
I was here a while back
after the break in.
Oh yes, Detective.
Have you caught the Sandman?
Not yet.
- Oh, shoot.
Well, I don't care
about the jewelry,
but I'd sure like to get back
those photos that he stole.
Do you have a few
minutes to talk?
I'm retired, Detective.
I have all the time you need.
I just brewed this.
It's Sally's dark roast.
Do you go to Sally's?
Only every day.
I had no idea how
important local roasting was
until Sally explained it to me.
Oh, but you didn't come
here to talk about coffee.
I was going back
over your statement,
but the officer never noted
what time you went
to bed that night.
Now, I realize it
was a long time ago.
No, I remember it well.
Or rather I don't,
if you get my drift.
I'm not sure I do.
Well, I can't tell you
exactly what time I went to bed
because I fell asleep with
the TV on, which I never do.
And, well actually,
I fell asleep with my
coffee cup in my hand, and.
Where did you fall asleep?
Well, let me show you.
In my defense, that
is not red wine.
I was having a cup
of decaf coffee
from a special roast
sample Sally gave me.
Oh, here we are talking
about coffee again.
Do you remember what time
you started watching TV
or what you were watching?
The Mariners game.
They were tied with the
Rangers when I fell asleep,
so that should give
you a good idea.
You know, I thought I'd
have trouble sleeping
after the break in,
but I really haven't.
I guess my age has
finally got up to me.
When we had dinner, Pam said
nothing about repping Bell.
The security footage
is her alibi too.
Maybe Pam and Bell
are in it together.
How long for your Iguy to go through it?
A lotta bytes, hopefully
a day or two, he says.
We need to check
Bell's story with Pam.
And with Megan Quinn.
I can go talk to her.
No, we have the
history with her.
(metal rattling)
My my, the agents of
my reckoning. (chuckle)
So do we, do we
begin with hellos,
or shall we dispense
of banal niceties?
Let's.
No gold band on that finger.
Did something happen to your
ever so romantic secret-?
Megan-
- Frankie.
How's your father?
Happily divorced.
Oh! (chuckle)
How I have missed that sharp
tongue of yours, my dear.
I'm not your anything, Megan.
Why did Carl Wiseman
stop visiting you?
Dear Carl.
You know, I've had thousands
of students over the years,
but only one of them went on
to become a very brilliant
and successful writer.
Oh, please don't take that
as a slight to you two,
my praise of Carl.
We'll survive.
You know, I wondered
whether or not you would.
Survive.
Oh, please.
Take it easy,
there's nothing more
dangerous here than a story.
He was discovered by his
fiance, Francesca Quinn.
That must have been
harrowing, Frankie.
I mean, surely you
must realize that
you're the reason Carl
broke off contact with me.
He returned to St.
Ben to reunite with his first great love.
I did tell him she
was spoken for.
But I guess that's
all past tense now.
How'd it feel, Megan,
when your beloved student who'd
been visiting you for weeks
suddenly broke things off?
Wynton.
How did it feel to see Frankie
engaged to another man?
Answer my question.
Quid pro quo.
(scoffs) I felt like a fool.
Your turn.
As you both know, I never
had any children of my own.
Although I did consider all
of my students my children,
which included you both.
And Carl.
The year cancer took his mom,
he wrote to me from college
and said that he was
gonna be all right,
because he still had me.
Did you know that, Frankie?
Well now that you do,
you might imagine how I felt
when he said he wouldn't
be seeing me ever again.
He broke my heart.
Prison logs say that
you were visited twice
by Christopher Bell.
Dear sweet Christopher.
He asked me to read his novel
and give him some notes.
Except he didn't
really take very kindly
to what I had to say,
and he hasn't
contacted me since.
I guess as the jilted protege,
he is a suspect in
Carl's homicide?
You know, it's funny.
He just seems so
pathetic and ineffectual.
But if I have taught
you two nothing else,
I have taught you this:
Who among us isn't
capable of murder?
(tense music)
Detective Ella Huntsman.
Sounds like a fictional
detective's name.
Well, it's real.
Which makes it
perfect for fiction.
Ms. Gelbaum,
I'm helping Detective
Wynton Russo of the SBPD
on the Carl Wiseman homicide.
Okay.
I understand that you
represent Christopher Bell,
and that you signed him after
Mr. Wiseman was murdered.
Detective Ella Huntsman
does her homework.
So how did that go down?
You signing Mr. Bell.
Well, I knew of
Christopher through Carl,
but we never met until
that night at Carl's party.
Neither of us was invited.
Carl was upset with me, and
Christopher was upset with Carl,
which made Carl upset
with Christopher.
It's an emotional field
we're in, Detective.
I can kinda relate.
I'll bet.
Anyway, there we were,
two party crashers.
So I suppose you could say
we bonded over chutzpah.
Christopher already had a
publisher for his novel.
He got that without an agent.
My guy's a hustler.
He gave me his
manuscript to read.
I devoured it that night and
signed him in the morning.
Before or after Detective
Russo told you Carl was dead?
After.
Does that make me
look more guilty?
Sounds like Mr.
Bell and his agent
are both still very
much on the board.
[Frankie] Along
with Kara McRae.
Why do I feel like
we've only gotten further
from figuring this out?
Because we have.
(knocking)
I think my room service is here.
I'll call you in the morning.
You're not room service.
Nope.
Can we talk?
Think we've proven
we're capable of that.
Would you like something
heinously overpriced
from the mini fridge?
I'm fine.
Seeing Megan was-
Awful.
A reminder of something
I was saying to a client
just the other day.
We all have secrets.
Even from the people
we care about.
You have a secret
you wanna share?
(sorrowful music)
Do you think I
stopped loving you?
Frankie, you were
going to get married.
Was I?
You had a ring.
I also had a bracelet.
(knocking)
Hold on.
There's plenty of
food, if you're-
You broke up with me, Wyn.
And you broke
my heart, Frankie.
(scoffs) I will
tell you again,
and you can trust me or not.
There was nothing going
on between me and Carl
at that point.
And yes, when you told me
that you couldn't trust me
and you ended us,
Carl was just there.
And we fell back into what
we had in high school.
And it was nice and easy.
And I needed easy.
And then he proposed.
And I said yes.
But I shouldn't have.
Because I didn't
wanna marry him.
Because I didn't love him.
Not like that.
Carl figured that out.
"Love, Comma, Murder,"
the reason why you got
in a fight at his party?
I read the manuscript last week.
(scoffs) Of course you did.
That fight was
barely even a fight.
It was more just
me feeling awful
because I'd broken his heart.
Like I guess I did yours.
No, it, it wasn't only you.
Carl, he got the ball rolling.
After you left the department,
he sent me, "The Foolish
Policeman," with a personal note.
Dear Wyn, Frankie thinks
this is based on you.
Smart girl, Carl.
Why didn't you
tell me about this?
I don't know, a little
piece of me didn't trust you,
and this made it worse.
He sent these in
the coming weeks.
This one, the last one.
Frankie and I are in love.
Be a man, step aside.
I read that and I drove over
to Carl's to confront him,
and you were there.
Having coffee, nothing more.
Doesn't matter if you
were together or not.
Carl, he was in my head.
But this isn't Carl.
I know you think
he's a sweet guy-
No no no, the handwriting.
It's close, but it's a forgery.
I'm a forensics expert.
I know Carl's handwriting.
He did not write these notes.
Someone was...
Someone was trying
to break us up.
(tense music)
Detective.
- Hey, Tommy.
You call Detective Russo?
Wyn says it probably
wasn't the Sandman
because he's not home.
Neighbor heard the
crash, called 911.
Oh, looks like
they didn't take
any of Wyn's most
prized possessions.
No, just the TV, I think.
But um, there's something
you need to see.
(suspenseful music)
(knocking)
Hey, you're early.
There was a break in
at my place last night.
The Sandman?
A change in his MO.
Listen, Ella just called,
and she wants to meet with
just me at the precinct.
Is she trying to cut me out?
You know what, I'll
ask her myself.
I said just you.
Frankie, can you
please wait outside?
Sure.
What's going on, Bea?
What's going on?
I'm being framed
for Carl's murder.
I have to take
him back to St. Ben.
I'm sorry.
Beatrice!
- Frankie.
Bea's just doing her job.
What just happened?
Beatrice asked
me to call him in;
She had a warrant
for his arrest.
Based on what?
There was a break in at
Wyn's place last night.
In the midst of the search,
Beatrice found some things.
What things?
You need to let this play-
Ella, what things?
The blood matches Carl's.
Wyn's prints are on the handle.
And the cell phone
Carl was using,
and the burner he was texting
to the night he was killed.
No, no, no, no, no.
I'm sorry, Frankie.
I'm as shocked as you are.
He wouldn't do this.
He couldn't.
He's innocent.
I'm gonna prove it.
There is no way Wyn did this.
I know, Pop.
I mean, just forget for a
second that he has a moral code
and murder isn't part of it.
He's too smart to hang
onto evidence of a crime.
He would've
destroyed both phones.
And melted down that knife.
- Agreed.
You coming back to St. Ben?
No, I'm gonna work
a few angles here.
What do you need me to do?
Get back to St. Ben.
Call Mickey Cole on your way.
Yeah.
Detective Huntsman.
Can you let us into
Wynton Russo's room?
(tense music)
Okay, this.
This proves Wyn is being-
All this proves
is that someone is trying
to break you and Wyn up.
Creating a motive for Wyn.
Revenge.
You and Wyn split when?
A year ago.
And I know you're gonna
say, well, why wait?
Why not kill Carl then?
That is what I was gonna say.
The engagement.
Maybe the killer was waiting
for the stakes to be raised.
Oh, that's pretty shaky.
But even if so, why
wait another week
to plant the evidence
at Wyn's house?
Well they needed
him to leave town.
No way they could stage
a burglary with him home.
That's a lotta leaps
with zero evidence.
Not zero.
These books.
Right, yeah,
we'll run the
handwriting analysis.
No, no, no, they're hardcover.
They haven't been out
in hardcover for years.
Okay, see this?
That mean something?
When an author publishes,
they get a bunch of copies,
all numbered as part
of their contract.
So that would mean
this is the 71st?
Yeah.
But doesn't that make the
case that it came from Carl?
Except Carl made a point
of never having his
own books in his house.
So maybe he kept them
in storage somewhere.
Yeah.
With his agent.
(tense music)
She usually this late?
Frankie Quinn.
And Detective Ella Huntsman,
together in my office.
The plot thickens.
We need to talk
to you about this.
Okay, come on in.
Have a seat.
Hang on, you're the
one who bought this?
Bought it?
Yeah, I remember the number.
I sold it to someone
using a pseudonym.
Sold it?
Okay, I'm confused.
How did you get the book?
No, how 'bout you just
tell us who bought it.
Someone emailed me, asked
if I had a hardcover edition,
and offered $1,500 cash.
1500 bucks?
That sounds like a lot.
Not for an out-of-print
first edition.
Anyway, they sent me the
cash and I sent the book.
So you have the name
and address of the buyer?
Let me find the address.
As far as the name,
well, like I said,
it was definitely a pseudonym.
How do you know that?
The name was Will Shakespeare.
Got the address.
Hey, Beatrice.
- Jim.
This is-
- Mickey Cole.
Detective Russo's attorney.
I hope you haven't
questioned him yet.
I haven't.
We're ready when you are.
- We?
This is my paralegal.
Why don't we start the
night Carl Wiseman was killed.
I had to call you a
few times on your phone
from the crime scene
after he didn't answer
your police radio.
As I said that
night, I crashed early.
What time did you go to bed?
Around 10:00.
Oh, I fell, I fell asleep
on the couch, actually.
Did you have a lot
to drink with dinner?
Detective.
Are you trying to impune
my client's character?
I'm trying to understand
my friend's physical
and mental state
the night a homicide took place.
Mickey, it's all right.
I had a glass of wine
with dinner at Carmine's,
just a block down from my place.
Anyone to corroborate that?
Yeah, yeah, my
date, Sally Gibbons.
I'll do the police thing.
(door slams)
[Frankie] Then I saw
someone I'd seen before.
The hat threw me at first,
but then I remembered
where I'd seen him.
Standing behind Megan
Quinn in the prison.
(banging)
- Police, anyone home?
(intense music)
- Hey!
Ew!
Stay down! (yelling)
Easy, Frankie.
He threw a fish at me.
Well, we got him.
Harlan Trent.
You're in big trouble, Harlan.
Wasn't resisting;
She didn't ID yourself as PD.
Yeah, no, I'm not
talking about that.
I'm talking about you
being the personal
assistant to a felon.
How do you think the
warden's gonna feel
about you bringing
packages to Megan Quinn?
I didn't do anything illegal.
Mr. Trent, murder is a crime.
Murder?
The author of those books
you bought, Carl Wiseman?
He was killed.
And we're looking
at you for it, Harlan.
Or should I call you
Will Shakespeare?
No, no, no.
Okay, yes, I got some
of that guy's books
and brought them to Megan.
And what?
Mailed them off for her.
Mailed them where?
- A PO box.
In St. Ben?
Yeah, but I don't even
know who they were going to.
(tense music)
[Beatrice] I'll
get the warrant
to find out who owns the PO box.
I'll meet you at
the post office.
You made good time.
Didn't need to
wait on a warrant.
What's that smell?
Harlan Trent hit
me with some fish.
Tommy, why don't you go
see if Sally's over there?
Wyn said he was
having dinner with her
the night of the murder.
So?
- All right,
let's go check it out.
[Tommy] Sally?
Hey Tommy.
Detective Knutsen
needs to talk to ya.
Okay.
I'm just gonna put
this in the back.
[Tommy] Sure.
(tense music)
(bell jingles)
Where's Sally?
Throwing some trash out back.
Did she see us go
into the post office?
Yeah, she was just here.
It's Sally's PO box.
She's gone.
I need a BOLO
on Sally Gibbons,
and I need uniforms
and SWAT at her house.
What's her motive?
My first question
when we catch her.
Her house.
That's where I'm going.
I'm coming with you.
- Negative.
This is forced entry, cops only.
What about Wyn?
Frankie-
- You know
he's not a part of this;
You have to release him.
Look, I'm not saying give
him his gun and badge back,
but just don't let him
sit in a cell, Bea.
Yeah, they're
processing him now.
Are you comin' here?
I stink like fish.
I'm gonna have a
shower and get changed,
and hopefully by then,
Beatrice will know more.
And have Sally in custody.
That too.
Thanks, Pop.
(door slams)
Okay, talk soon.
[Frankie] Things
were coming together.
We were getting to a conclusion.
And I needed a shower.
(intense music)
How was your shower?
Refreshing.
You look kinda sweaty;
Help yourself.
I'm fine where I am.
How'd you find out
about the PO box.
By being good at my job.
Why'd you frame Wyn?
You tell me.
Thought you were
good at your job.
Speaking of the
detective, he called.
Left a voicemail.
You're gonna call him back.
Tell him to come here.
Tell him you're afraid.
Now.
Put it on speaker.
(phone rings)
- Hey Frankie,
I just called you.
[Frankie] Hey,
I'm at the barn.
Can you come here?
Yeah, I'm actually nearby.
Is, is everything okay?
[Frankie] I'm scared,
but I trust you.
Sally's there.
(sirens)
(intense music)
Sally!
(grunting)
And so, of course,
we were ending where
this had all started.
Janet.
Where's Harlan?
- Sick, maybe.
You've got visitors.
I like visitors.
(door slams)
Surprised to see me?
Maybe you're confused
because you read the article
in yesterday's paper.
I was arrested.
At the St. Benedict's
police department,
we do things by the book.
That's a pun,
Megan, by the book.
'Cause that's how
you did your work.
Excuse me?
Did you clip out the
article of my arrest
like you did for the
article of Carl's murder?
I'm not following you.
There's a new article out
today about Harlan Trent.
[Wyn] Your accomplice.
My what?
I know your
options were limited,
but you didn't pick the
most reliable partner there.
Harlan lied to you, Megan.
And it was that little lie,
done really just to save face,
that undid the methodical,
painstaking months of work
you put into
constructing your plan.
Because in fact,
Harlan bought "The Foolish
Policeman" from Pam Gelbaum.
I couldn't find "The
Foolish Policeman,"
so I emailed the agent,
but I told Megan I got
'em at a bookstore.
And Frankie knows this
because she saw the printing
number on the inside cover,
and she confirmed with Pam
that she sent the copy of the
book to Harlan's home address.
Harlan brought
the books to you
and you forged the
nasty messages to Wyn.
Then you had them sent to me
as if they had come from Carl.
And your plan worked.
You came between Wyn and I.
You destroyed us.
I mean, you must have
fantasized for years
about how to get back at us,
just waiting for the
right opportunity.
And when Carl told you he
was moving back to St. Ben,
that opportunity
began to take shape.
What is it you think I did?
Well first, you had Harlan
fall in love with you.
He collected the books;
He brought them to you.
You'd seen Carl's
handwriting for years.
His school papers, the
letters he wrote you.
You wrote those notes to Wyn.
I don't see how you're
gonna be able to prove this.
Harlan loaned me some books;
I returned them to him.
We'll get to the proof later.
The fact is, Megan,
the plan worked.
Your accomplice
reported on our breakup
by sending you short stories
about detective Will Rust
and Private Investigator
Faith Queen.
All the mail sent to
you here at the prison
is read and scanned
by the warden.
He printed everything for us.
Mm.
So you think Harlan
wrote those stories
and mailed them to me.
Oh no, not Harlan.
No, your other accomplice.
The one who murdered Carl,
Sally Gibbons.
Sally who?
Must have been really
satisfying to break us up.
Maybe not as satisfying as
you thought it would be.
Yeah, you probably still had
Carl's betrayal gnawing at you.
It must have really hurt
when Carl's protege,
Christopher Bell,
came to you for guidance.
Yep, we figured it was
when Bell first visited you
that you got your inspiration
to take your revenge
to a darker level.
Which is where things
always go with you, Megan.
Sally, well, she provided
the money for the books
with the Sandman burglaries.
All her victims were
customers that she drugged
with sleep medication in
her special roast decaf.
I thought I'd have trouble
falling asleep after the
break-in, but I really haven't.
And the same
thing happened to me
the night Carl was killed.
But it wasn't because I drank
Sally's special roast decaf.
It was important that
I was fast asleep
the night of Carl's party,
while Sally texted Carl on the
burner, pretending to be me.
She met him at the
restaurant and stabbed him,
then put my prints
on the murder weapon.
Then you just had to
wait for Wyn to leave town
so Sally could stage the
evidence at his place,
staging another break in.
Robbery's one thing,
(scoffs) but murder?
That's another
level of devotion.
The kind of devotion that a
child might have for a parent.
But you don't have kids
though, do you, Megan?
[Wyn] We know Sally's
obsessed with family.
We found all the photos
which she stole from
her Sandman victims.
It always bothered me.
Why steal those?
But it made sense when
we found all the records
of the search she did
for her birth mother.
That search began a year
after her adoptive parents died.
She reconnected with you
three weeks before
Wyn arrested you.
Sally was devastated
to lose her mother.
So devastated, she would
do anything for you.
She told me.
After she confessed to
killing Carl, with no remorse.
Sally's being charged
with six counts of
breaking and entering,
burglary, conspiracy,
and first degree murder.
No.
Please, you cannot do this.
I'm the killer.
But you got your
daughter to hold the knife.
They'll be tried
together, Sheryl.
Thank you, Frankie.
Thank you so much.
[Frankie] Of course.
And thank Wyn.
I will.
Talk soon.
Sheryl says thanks.
So.
So.
Yesterday when Sally had
the gun on you, and you said-
I trust you.
I figured you'd know
something was wrong.
Yeah, you figured right.
So do you trust me?
You know the answer to that.
Yeah, I do.
I do.
[Frankie] We'd
come to a conclusion,
but also what felt
like a new beginning.
And I was all right with that.
More than all right.
(sweet music)