Tracker (2024) s03e03 Episode Script
First Fire
1
("ROCK LOBSTER" BY THE B-52'S PLAYING)
Ski-doo-be-dop, ew ♪
Ski-doo-be-dop, ew ♪
- Ski-doo-be-dop ♪
- We were at a party ♪
Ew, ski-doo-be-dop - ♪
His ear lobe fell in the deep ♪
JENNY: Feel sorry for
the trick-or-treaters tonight.
- Wouldn't have stopped me.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
JENNY: Let's hope the patients behave.
(SNORTING, SQUEALING IN DISTANCE)
You hear that?
- Rock lobster ♪
- Ah ♪
- (ROARS)
- (JENNY SCREAMS)
(LAUGHING) You should've
seen your faces.
(LAUGHS) The hell kind of mask is that?
CLARA: My daughter made it for me.
TOM: Maybe we can get
her a spare room in here
- 'cause that thing is demented.
- (SCOFFS)
(LAUGHS)
(GROANS) Blackout.
Generator will kick in.
(TOM SIGHS)
TOM: Any time now.
Shouldn't it be on by now?
Let's follow protocol.
Check on all the patients,
windows, and doors.
TOM: Hope these are charged.
CLARA: I'll check the breaker room.
JENNY: I'll take the A wing.
TOM: I'll go to the B wing.
(PATIENT YELLS IN DISTANCE)
(POUNDING ON DOOR)
(WALKIE BEEPS)
JENNY: Is B wing secure?
TOM (OVER WALKIE): B wing secure.
C wing?
- NURSE: C wing secure.
- (BANGING ON DOOR)
CLARA: I'm in the breaker room.
That just leaves
(GASPS)
Oh, my God. Code 19.
Heston's out. I repeat,
(GARBLED OVER WALKIE):
Heston (STATIC)
Go again?
Call the police, now.
- (SIGHS)
- (STATIC OVER WALKIE)
(SIGHS)
- Let's see what we've got.
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(SCREAMS)
(PHONE BEEPS)
(LINE RINGS, PICKS UP)
Reenie, what's up?
Hey. I just got to the office.
Oh, dang it.
- Hold on. (SIGHS)
- You okay?
I'm just having a slow start
to the morning.
Went to a Halloween party last night
dressed as the Corpse Bride,
and I actually won the costume contest,
believe it or not, but I had
way too many shots of tequila.
- Sounds, uh, you know
- What, not your scene?
Anyway, I had a pretty good
time, to be fair, but I am now
buried at the office today.
I thought you were gonna
get someone to help you out
- while Velma's away?
- I am. I'm working on it.
Actually, I'm interviewing
some people today, in fact.
Hey, did you ever look
at what I sent you
- about the psych ward breakout?
- I did.
Heston Koontz, escaped prisoner,
killed a nurse, right?
Look, I know it's not your normal thing,
but the parents are pretty insistent,
and they're offering
a sizable reward, so
I think it's worth the consult.
Yeah, I'm pulling into Wyndham now.
- You got any other details?
- Yeah.
The facility administrator sent me over
the case file. Heston Koontz,
29 years old, was convicted of
burning a family alive
in their own home ten years ago.
He plead insanity,
and then was sentenced to life
at MCI Cedar Junction.
Looks like he served ten years
without incident,
so they transferred him
to a low-level psychiatric
detainment facility in Wyndham
for good behavior.
Ten years, good behavior?
People usually show you
who they are way before that.
Well, Heston's parents
are pretty worried
about what he's gonna do
if the police don't find him.
Got it. Okay. I'll poke around,
see what I can find out.
- I'll give you a call back.
- Okay.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Mr. and Mrs. Koontz? Colter Shaw.
(SIGHS) Thank you for coming.
Yeah. Looks like the police have
thrown quite a bit of manpower at this.
Well, it's-it's been 12 hours
and there's still no sign of him.
Well, after a big storm
like the one you just had,
hard to trace a footpath.
My best advice is just
let the police do their thing.
I'm sorry, I was told that, for a fee,
that you would help find our son.
I can and I will,
as long as I feel like
I can get a result, but, uh,
before I agree to help you,
I need to know
why is it that you want me
to find him? Is it because
you realize the police will use
maximum force if they do?
Maybe
maybe you're fearful
that he might come home?
LAWRENCE: That's not it.
Look, Heston never should've
been transferred out of max.
I-I know how that sounds,
but it's the truth.
Heston had a normal childhood.
He played baseball, good grades,
but then something changed
in high school.
He refused to come out of his room,
and when he did, he would just
stare and whisper to himself.
That's when the parasomnia started.
Waking nightmares.
We'd find him outside the house
with his face pushed up
against the glass,
strange wounds on his body.
Self-harm?
We didn't think so at first.
We thought the sleepwalking
was from stress at school.
- The kids would make fun of him. Yeah.
- Yeah.
Has a lot of nervous tics.
But one morning
couldn't find Gus.
Our dog.
I thought maybe he was sleeping
in Heston's room.
MOLLY: Heston?
Is Gus in there with you?
(DOG WHIMPERING)
Honey?
MOLLY: And then we heard this sound.
(HESTON GROANING, GROWLING)
(RATTLING DOORKNOB)
Heston! Let us in!
- Oh!
- Heston!
Oh, no.
(HESTON GROWLS)
No. Heston.
COLTER: I'm sorry.
Did he see a psychiatrist?
He did.
The the doctor said that parasomnia
could include acts of violence.
They were trying to assure us
that, you know, most people
with this disorder, that
they're not violent in real life,
and it could be managed with medicine.
- And you didn't believe that.
- MOLLY: No.
So, we searched his room,
and
we found some of his journals
and drawings.
He was fixated on, um,
this girl in the class
below him, Emily Collins.
The sole survivor of the fire?
MOLLY: Mm-hmm.
LAWRENCE: We
tried to do the right thing.
We reported the journals to the police,
but they didn't take it seriously.
MOLLY: A month later,
Heston killed her whole family
and tried to grab Emily.
If the police had listened to us,
no one would've gotten hurt.
We cannot make the same mistake twice.
Did you make sure the police are aware
that he might still be
obsessed with Emily?
LAWRENCE: We did. We made sure of that.
MOLLY: And the lead investigator,
Detective Dundee,
knows that we're hiring you.
We know what our son's capable of.
Find him.
Please.
Before somebody else gets hurt.
Yeah. Okay. I'll do everything I can.
Thank you.
COLTER: Detective Dundee?
That's right.
You must be, uh, Colter Shaw.
Yeah.
Yeah, Heston's parents filled me in.
So you find people who can't be found?
Least that's how the parents sold you.
Something like that, yeah.
Yeah, I can't exactly fault them
for blaming us.
We, uh, fumbled the ball
ten years ago, but
it's a different department now.
So if you, uh, break protocol
or get in the way of our manhunt,
I got no problem pushing you out.
Just so we understand each other.
Did you learn that at Princeton?
The whole "condescension
disguised as formality"
thing you're doing?
What, you looked me up?
Did I look you up? No, I did not
look you up. I saw your ring.
- Look, I'm just here to help.
- (SIGHS) Sorry.
Just nothing about this case is good.
- Mm.
- There's a reason that Heston
was in the secure facility.
My opinion, he never should've
been transferred here,
but here we are.
- Cameras get anything?
- No.
Storm took down the power line,
whole place went dark.
This is the last image
we have of Heston.
That's him with an orderly.
COLTER: Hmm.
You know, you'd think
a facility like this,
- the patient rooms would be fail-safe.
- That's right.
These locks operate
on a separate battery.
Weren't affected by the blackout.
So how the hell did he get out of here?
That's a good question.
I mean, this whole thing is weird.
It's a crude homage to
a Dirk Bouts piece called
Fall of the Damned.
Title pretty much says it all.
Where'd he get the materials?
DUNDEE: Patients are allowed
art therapy.
Okay.
- These shoe prints?
- DUNDEE: That's Heston's.
Shoes are standard issue at this place.
No sign of forced exit.
We think the door malfunctioned,
crime of opportunity.
Yeah, maybe.
Or maybe he was working with someone.
Well, we looked into it.
All staff were accounted for
at the time of the escape
and the murder.
Heston's Bible.
He collected news clippings.
I was in college when
he burned that family alive.
It changed this town.
COLTER: How did Emily survive?
She wasn't home at the time of the fire.
Parents were right.
He's still obsessed with Emily.
DUNDEE: Yeah, we saw that.
I got a guy stationed
at her house in Millwood.
If he so much as sniffs
in her direction,
- we'll get him.
- COLTER: That's good.
Can I ask you a question?
This whole thing, this, uh
this seem planned to you?
Unless he can control the weather,
the storm did him a lot of favors.
Maybe he waited for the storm,
used it as cover.
Here's what we know:
he's managed to avoid capture
up until now, right?
Which leads me to believe
he knows what he's doing.
Maybe this power outage
wasn't a coincidence.
And I bet if your guys checked
the downed power line right now,
they're gonna find that
it was intentionally cut.
Back to the "he had help" theory.
Can you show me where
the nurse was killed?
DUNDEE: Heston
cornered the nurse in here.
So if this was a crime of opportunity,
why why come here? Why not just run?
Maybe he got lost on the way out?
Wrong place, wrong time for the nurse.
Or maybe they wanted to make sure
the cameras weren't restored.
Why would he care? People were
gonna know when he was gone.
If he was working with someone,
tried to protect the identity
of his accomplice.
That feels like a stretch.
Okay. How'd he kill the nurse?
He strangled her with this.
- Where's the keycard?
- No keycard,
just the lanyard.
Figured he swiped an extra off a desk.
Hmm.
Crime techs have been
all over this place,
but knock yourself out.
Yeah.
This vent's been pried at.
There's your keycard.
(PHONE CAMERA CLICKS)
Okay.
Here's my theory:
our guy, our suspect
broke Heston out with that keycard,
comes here to make sure the nurses
don't restore the cameras,
the nurse fights back, keycard
goes flying off during the struggle,
down this vent.
They're digging at this thing,
they're trying to get it out,
they ran out of time and they took off.
None of the employees
reported a stolen keycard.
If Heston did have an accomplice,
how'd they find one?
Maybe he got help from an employee.
- I'll question the staff again.
- All right.
Will you let me know what you find out?
Yeah.
Randy, you get an ID on the keycard?
Okay, so the keycards are
encoded with access permissions,
but not tied to any specific employee.
So, I cross-referenced the RFIDs
with the employee schedule,
and I found that
this card matched up with this orderly.
Guy named Bill Prugalidad.
He working last night?
Bill Prugalidad was not on the schedule.
He have a history we don't know about?
RANDY: Let me check. (CLICKING TONGUE)
Oh, yeah. Reckless endangerment charge
that he got expunged five years ago.
Send me an address.
(BIRDS SINGING)
(INDISTINCT PREACHING OVER RADIO)
And the Lord said
He would bring judgment.
But first He revealed
His plan to Abraham.
And Abraham,
a man of great faith,
stood in the gap
and he pleaded, "Lord,
"if there are 50 righteous
in the city,
will You then destroy it?"
(HINGES CREAK LOUDLY)
And then Abraham said,
"If there are 40 righteous
in this city,
will you destroy it?"
And God again said,
"No, I will spare it."
And Abraham said, "What about 30,
20, or even ten?"
And God in His mercy said,
"For the sake of ten,
I will not destroy it."
(PREACHING CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
♪
♪
(QUIET CONVERSATION)
REENIE: That's nice. Okay.
And how long did you do that for?
- We did it for two years.
- Wow.
Wow, good for you.
Oh. Um
that is my next interview.
Well, that's all the information
that I think I need from you, so
-Thank you for the opportunity
-Thank you so much.
Yes, of course.
And, uh, we will be in touch.
- Like your tie.
- Thanks.
- REENIE: Hi.
- Hi.
Um, I'm your 11:00, Melanie Day,
- but you can just call me Mel.
- Okay, Mel.
You are early.
- I-I'm happy to wait if you
- No, come on in.
Okay.
My mom was military,
so, you know, "on time"
is five minutes early.
I get it. My dad was Air Force.
Ah.
- So you know.
- I do.
- What branch was your mom in?
- Army.
Logistics officer. Yeah.
Good for her. I'm good, I've got one.
Um, okay, Mel Day
See you've got a B.A.
in criminal justice.
Internship at the district
attorney's office, okay.
How was that?
It was a
an education.
Yeah. Definitely an education.
That was, uh, Abe Kimber, right?
Honest Abe. Yes.
Yeah, he's a prick.
You don't have to sugarcoat
things with me, okay?
Well, you know, he-he taught me to
hold my ground
and, uh, not take things personally,
but, yeah, enough said.
Good spin.
I did learn from him, so, you know,
it's-it's bad with the good, I guess.
Well, you went to a great school, Mel,
and you had a highly coveted
post-grad internship.
You could work for any of the big firms.
So why me?
I've
followed your career.
I know that you got a lot of flak
for leaving Lorber & McDean
right before making partner, but I
I totally get it.
I'm pretty averse to
the bureaucratic machine, too.
And what you did with Luterna Corp?
I mean, exposing all of that corruption,
uncovering Grimes's abuse
It was legit heroic.
I That's
that's the sort of lawyer
that I want to work for.
Well, she's good with the praise. Check.
(BOTH LAUGH)
And, to be honest, I'm-I'm curious
about the rewardist that you work with.
Um, Colter Shaw?
I know that the job description
is for your legal work,
but I just think that's really cool.
- Well, there is definitely some overlap.
- Okay.
Well, I-I can handle
whatever you throw at me.
Okay.
Tell me something about you.
Something that isn't on
this very perfect résumé.
I don't know. I'm into
typical girl stuff, I guess.
Murder podcasts. Um
romantasy novels
Fourth Wing, especially.
Oh, my gosh, so good. Um
Uh, TikTok witches are kind of
my new thing right now.
Okay.
And why are you so averse
to bureaucracy, as you put it?
- You want the truth?
- Oh, I always want the truth.
Okay. Um
My mom died when I was 16.
- In the line of duty?
- No.
She was found in her car.
Shot. In the-the parking lot
of a rest stop.
But, um
they never found out who did it.
So there were no answers.
No justice.
I'm so sorry, Mel.
Yeah. Me, too.
Um But I'm good. I'm sorry.
I don't usually dump this on people,
especially people
that I want to work for.
No, no, no. I asked.
Yeah. I guess I
It just felt like the systems that were
supposed to be there to support her
were more interested in
protecting themselves,
you know?
I do know.
I think
we are gonna get along just fine.
Ooh wait. (GIGGLES)
Does that mean I got the job?
- It does.
- Wow.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.
This is this is awesome.
You won't regret it, I promise.
- I know I won't.
- (MEL EXHALES HAPPILY)
Take a look at this.
Same logo as the one I found
on the Bible in Heston's room.
Prugalidad ran the Bible study
at the facility.
Maybe Heston manipulated him,
and then killed him.
Heston didn't kill this guy.
This guy's been dead for days.
Someone else killed him.
Took his keycard, broke Heston out.
Doesn't make sense.
I mean, Heston's not the sort of guy
who has friends on the outside.
(PHONE BUZZES)
- Randy, talk to me.
- RANDY (OVER PHONE): Okay.
I hacked the sensor camera
on the electric vehicle
that you spotted next door.
A blue minivan left Prugalidad's
property two days ago,
triggered the car-cam,
no vehicles from that direction since.
Got a plate?
Yup, and it was reported stolen.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
- Any idea where it is now?
- Let me see.
(CLICKING TONGUE)
Okay, just went through
a toll station in East Millwood,
like, half an hour ago.
- Emily lives in Millwood.
- He's after her.
Unit four, this is Dundee.
You have eyes on Emily? Over.
Unit four, respond.
Let's go.
DUNDEE: This is Dundee requesting backup
to 20606 Mosley Road in Millwood.
♪
Emily's not here.
They had to ditch the van.
They knew the vehicle was hot.
Any cars reported stolen in the area?
- DUNDEE: No, not today.
- Someone picked them up.
That gives us a third person.
I don't get it. What's in it for them?
- Got an owner?
- Uh
Woman in her 40s, runs a daycare,
reported her minivan
stolen from a church
parking lot during service.
What church?
DUNDEE: Sisters of the Sacred Fire.
It's a local convent.
Take a look at this.
It's the same symbol that I found
on that Bible in Heston's cell
and Prugalidad's garage.
Let's check it out.
Got to be a connection, right?
You get Heston's visitation records?
REENIE (OVER PHONE): Sure did.
Heston had monthly visitations with
a spiritual counselor,
a nun named Sister Carlotta.
It looks like their relationship started
before he was transferred
to Wyndham. Yeah.
About a year ago, at MCI Cedar Junction.
She live near there?
Nope.
Her only address is at
Sisters of the Sacred Fire convent.
- That's quite a trip, right?
- Yeah, and it
seems that she got tired of the commute.
She sent several letters
petitioning for Heston
to be transferred.
So, maybe she developed
feelings for him,
and he took advantage of that.
Manipulated her to help him move
to Wyndham so he could escape.
Yeah, or maybe she was just
trying to help.
- I mean, she's a nun, after all.
- Yeah, well,
think there's more to it than that.
- All right. I'm headed to Sacred Fire.
- Okay.
(CALL BEEPS OFF)
JARED: Excuse me.
- This is private property.
- DUNDEE: We need to speak
to Sister Carlotta. It's urgent.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: It's okay, Jared.
I'll take care of this.
You can go back to your work.
Let me know if you need anything.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: How may I help you?
I'm the Mother Superior here,
Sister Barbara.
COLTER: We're looking
for an escaped patient
from Wyndham Psychiatric, Heston Koontz.
Come inside, won't you?
What does this escaped patient
have to do with Sister Carlotta,
may I ask?
She was, uh, she was counseling him.
We counsel all sorts
through our outreach program.
We believe she may have facilitated
or had knowledge of his escape.
That's quite the accusation.
We know that she visited him
on several occasions,
and that she petitioned
to have him moved to Wyndham.
And I'm sure that's the extent
to which she's involved with him.
Were you aware of her
relationship with him at all?
I teach my sisters to help
where help is needed.
I don't peer over their shoulders.
DUNDEE: If we could just talk to her,
perhaps we could clear this up.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: I'm sure you will.
I haven't seen her this afternoon.
She might be off the grounds.
COLTER: Mm-hmm.
She have a room here we could see?
What for?
COLTER: You're protecting your sister,
and I understand that,
but this prisoner
has murdered two people
since he escaped.
He's recently kidnapped a young lady.
Now, if there's anything in that
room that might help us find her,
we might be able to save her life.
(DRAWERS OPENING)
(SIGHS)
Mr. Shaw.
Detective, is this really necessary?
It feels entirely inappropriate
to rifle through Sister Carlotta's
personal items without her present.
Hmm.
Wait a minute.
Got something.
It's a journal from her time
working with Heston.
"In my heart, I am sure of the path.
"God help us for what
we are about to do,
for I am but a servant."
That's definitely more than outreach.
I don't understand.
DUNDEE: What's that?
COLTER: Let's see what we got.
These are plans for where
Heston was being held.
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: My word.
- She definitely helped him escape.
Why?
Sister Carlotta is a devoted
member of this church.
Yeah, well, things changed.
Maybe, uh, maybe he convinced her,
maybe threatened her.
I can't believe she's capable of this.
DUNDEE: She does have a point.
Prugalidad was a big guy,
a-and there's evidence
of a brutal fight.
No way she overpowered him.
COLTER: She's not working alone.
In this photo here,
you recognize those people?
That's the community outreach group
Sister Carlotta worked with.
That guy.
From outside.
Jared, o-our custodian.
She close with Jared?
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Yes. He experienced
a great deal of trauma in the military.
Sister Carlotta helped him through it,
got him the job here.
He-he lives in the basement
of the convent.
He lives in the basement?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: Yes.
- Can you take us there?
Yes.
Wait right here.
Two people were being held here.
Who'd they take besides Emily?
I don't know.
They were drugged.
Take a look at this.
Same shoe print pattern
we found in Heston's cell, right?
Sure is.
He was being held here.
He didn't escape from Wyndham.
He was abducted.
He's a victim.
(EMILY PANTING)
Sister Carlotta and Jared
were holding Emily and Heston
hostage in here.
They were drugged, kept unconscious.
Not in line with the vows she took.
No. Not at all.
(SIGHS) So, my guess is,
Jared killed the nurse at the facility
and the cop at Emily's.
The question is why?
We found this.
COLTER: It's an altar.
"Fideles."
Means "faithful" in Latin.
Mean anything to you?
I haven't seen one of these
in a long time.
So it's not part of your doctrine?
No, it's not.
It's from a splinter sect
that was stamped out long ago.
They called themselves "Fideles."
What did they believe?
They operated under the guise
of serving God,
hunting down dark things.
COLTER: Dark things?
Witch hunts?
Among other horrors.
Go on.
They believed that people
could be inhabited by demons,
made to do evil.
They took it upon themselves
to hunt down the hosts
to eradicate the bad spirits,
no matter the means.
And how would they do that, exactly?
What are we talking about,
some sort of exorcism rite?
DUNDEE: I got to call this in.
Can you tell me what you know?
- Jared's gone.
- He knows we're onto him.
I put a BOLO out on his truck.
We just saw him.
He can't have gotten far. Got my
guys setting up roadblocks, too.
How are they justifying all this murder?
They think they're
doing something righteous.
Makes them even more dangerous.
I've heard stories
about the Fideles. I thought
it was just local mythology.
Why are they targeting
Heston specifically?
His parents said that
the violence came on suddenly,
when he was in a sleep state.
Right? That he didn't
sound like himself.
So, maybe Sister Carlotta
thought that those symptoms
pointed to demonic possession.
What's that got to do with Emily?
Mother Superior said they would
need her for the ritual.
- Why?
- She's the emotional tether.
This sect, they believe that
a demon can only enter a host
if it's unlocked by an emotional tether.
Unlocked?
Meaning the plan is to kill
both Heston and Emily.
This sect was associated
with the original site
of the Sacred Fire church.
We thought that place
was haunted as kids.
Rumors of all kinds
of unexplained phenomena.
I'd bet that's where
they're doing the ritual.
Get in. I'll drive.
All right. We blocked the road
to the original church.
- No sightings of Jared's truck yet.
- (PHONE BUZZES)
- (PHONE BEEPS)
- Randy,
did you locate Jared's phone?
He was headed east, but then
he got wise and removed
the SIM, like, 15 minutes ago.
Wait, you said it was moving
east, not west?
The original church is west.
You know, the last text he got
from Sister Carlotta reads,
"Go to the first fire."
That mean anything to you?
Church is called
Sisters of the Sacred Fire.
First fire has to be
the original church.
Then why would he be moving
away from the church?
Unless
All right, Randy.
- Thanks.
- All right. I got you, man.
(PHONE BEEPS)
(SIGHS)
REENIE: Hey, Randy.
I want to introduce you
to my new assistant, Mel.
- Hey.
- RANDY: Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Please, don't get too used to me.
This face, okay?
Don't even, don't even do it.
All right? I'm just here
on a temporary basis.
You know. Freelance tech support.
Mm. Gotcha.
I don't know why you keep
saying that. He's staying.
- I am?
- REENIE: Yes, you are.
Oh, okay. Good to know.
(WHISPERS): Just trying
to keep my options open.
- (CHUCKLES)
- Oh. What is this?
- Oh. Um, this is, uh
- Oh. Sorry.
She's good, Randy.
She's done quite a bit
of homework on what we do.
Oh, yeah?
REENIE: Yeah, Colter's running down
a patient from a psychiatric prison.
- Escaped?
- REENIE: Abducted, actually,
alongside a young woman.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah.
- Can I ask why?
- REENIE: We're not sure.
Well, Colter's not sure.
But it's not good.
RANDY: Yeah.
Gonna need a lot of sage
for this office after this case.
I'm not even into all the woo-woo stuff,
it's just I don't know.
Stuff like this makes you wonder.
- REENIE: Yeah.
- You know, I recommend palo santo.
It translates to "holy wood" in Spanish.
It's really good for warding
off the bad energy, I think.
Yeah, that.
I'll take a truckload of that.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Okay. Well, you know, I can run
- to the store right now if you want.
- Uh, he's good.
- I am?
- Yeah. Um, I will send you an e-mail
with all the information
- that you're gonna need for your first day.
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Sounds good.
Thank you so much. Uh, it was
- nice to meet you, Randy.
- You, too. - (DOOR OPENS)
Thank you again for the opportunity.
- Of course. Bye.
- I'm excited. Bye.
- Good choice. Good choice.
- Right?
- I mean, she checks out.
- Yeah. I mean,
everybody I sent you checks out,
but I figured you two would
especially get along.
Okay. I just needed to do my process.
Yes, process is fine, as long as
it includes good digital hygiene.
Well, you can lecture Mel
all about it on her first day.
- I will.
- Just
- keep me posted on Colter.
- I will.
What is it?
Feel like we're missing something.
Why would Jared be driving away
from the church?
He could've tossed his phone,
throwing us off?
Eh, your roadblocks
would've caught 'em by now.
Mother Superior said
it's important that the ritual
be personal, right?
We're going to the wrong place.
First fire
It's the first fire that Heston set.
Right? The one that killed
the Collins family.
That would be personal
to Emily and Heston, right?
That east of here?
Sure is. We're not far.
I mean, that place has been
vacant since the tragedy.
Pull a U-y.
All units, suspect is headed
to the Collins property
- on Lombard Drive.
- OFFICER: Copy. En route.
(EXHALES)
Why are you doing this?
Who are you?
EMILY: Stop this.
CARLOTTA: It's okay. Today,
you have the opportunity
to give your life for a greater purpose.
EMILY: Please!
(CRYING): Don't do this!
CARLOTTA: Shh
You'll be free soon.
EMILY: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- No, no, no. Don't do this.
- (GRUNTING)
- (HESTON GROANING)
- EMILY: Please!
- (PRAYING INDISTINCTLY)
- Somebody help me!
- We should wait for backup.
- We don't have time for that.
In my experience, every second counts.
Okay, let's split up. I'll
clear the camper.
I'll meet you in the house.
Be safe.
♪
EMILY: Please
(WHIMPERING)
(SCREAMING)
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
HESTON: Let her go!
Let her go!
(SCREAMING)
CARLOTTA: Stop him!
(GUNSHOT)
Drop it.
(GRUNTS)
(CRYING): No!
Please!
Please. (SCREAMING)
EMILY: No, don't!
EMILY: No!
- Liar.
- (CHOKING)
You're a liar!
(EMILY SOBBING)
(EMILY SCREAMING, SOBBING)
I got you. Come on. (GRUNTS)
- (GRUNTS) You all right?
- I think so.
- Yeah?
- Thank you.
We'll get you out. Hold on.
All right. Come on. Let's go.
- (COUGHING)
- Let's go.
♪
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
How you doing? Gonna be all right?
Yeah. Imagine I'll be down for a bit,
but yeah, I'll be okay.
Good. Glad to hear that.
What about her?
You think she'll be all right?
COLTER: Yeah.
Yeah, she's strong.
I think she'll be all right.
All behind her now.
Sister Carlotta got her
her beliefs mixed up.
Thought she was fighting a holy war.
Yeah, but it didn't start out that way.
Something touched her,
and it wasn't good.
I don't know.
So much darkness out there.
I'm not saying demons,
but things that are capable
of bringing true evil into the world.
And Heston
Yeah.
I don't know what
I'm gonna tell his parents.
They lost him a long time ago.
Doesn't make it easier, though.
DUNDEE: Irony is,
Heston breaking out
of his restraints ended up
saving Emily's life.
- Poetic justice.
- The universe
slipped up and accidentally
did something fair.
Yeah.
The longer I'm on this job,
the more rare that seems.
You do a lot of good
for this town, you know that?
They're very lucky to have you.
I'll see you around, Colter.
Not if I see you first.
(SOFT CHUCKLE)
LAWRENCE: Mr. Shaw?
Here.
I collect only in success.
I wasn't able to bring your son back.
Why don't you, um
Why don't you give that money to Emily?
She can do something good with it.
Okay.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
("(DON'T FEAR) The Reaper"
by Blue Oyster Cult playing)
All our times have come ♪
Here, but now they're gone ♪
Seasons don't fear the Reaper ♪
Nor do the wind,
the sun, or the rain ♪
We can be like they are ♪
Come on, baby,
don't fear the Reaper ♪
("ROCK LOBSTER" BY THE B-52'S PLAYING)
Ski-doo-be-dop, ew ♪
Ski-doo-be-dop, ew ♪
- Ski-doo-be-dop ♪
- We were at a party ♪
Ew, ski-doo-be-dop - ♪
His ear lobe fell in the deep ♪
JENNY: Feel sorry for
the trick-or-treaters tonight.
- Wouldn't have stopped me.
- (BOTH LAUGH)
JENNY: Let's hope the patients behave.
(SNORTING, SQUEALING IN DISTANCE)
You hear that?
- Rock lobster ♪
- Ah ♪
- (ROARS)
- (JENNY SCREAMS)
(LAUGHING) You should've
seen your faces.
(LAUGHS) The hell kind of mask is that?
CLARA: My daughter made it for me.
TOM: Maybe we can get
her a spare room in here
- 'cause that thing is demented.
- (SCOFFS)
(LAUGHS)
(GROANS) Blackout.
Generator will kick in.
(TOM SIGHS)
TOM: Any time now.
Shouldn't it be on by now?
Let's follow protocol.
Check on all the patients,
windows, and doors.
TOM: Hope these are charged.
CLARA: I'll check the breaker room.
JENNY: I'll take the A wing.
TOM: I'll go to the B wing.
(PATIENT YELLS IN DISTANCE)
(POUNDING ON DOOR)
(WALKIE BEEPS)
JENNY: Is B wing secure?
TOM (OVER WALKIE): B wing secure.
C wing?
- NURSE: C wing secure.
- (BANGING ON DOOR)
CLARA: I'm in the breaker room.
That just leaves
(GASPS)
Oh, my God. Code 19.
Heston's out. I repeat,
(GARBLED OVER WALKIE):
Heston (STATIC)
Go again?
Call the police, now.
- (SIGHS)
- (STATIC OVER WALKIE)
(SIGHS)
- Let's see what we've got.
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(SCREAMS)
(PHONE BEEPS)
(LINE RINGS, PICKS UP)
Reenie, what's up?
Hey. I just got to the office.
Oh, dang it.
- Hold on. (SIGHS)
- You okay?
I'm just having a slow start
to the morning.
Went to a Halloween party last night
dressed as the Corpse Bride,
and I actually won the costume contest,
believe it or not, but I had
way too many shots of tequila.
- Sounds, uh, you know
- What, not your scene?
Anyway, I had a pretty good
time, to be fair, but I am now
buried at the office today.
I thought you were gonna
get someone to help you out
- while Velma's away?
- I am. I'm working on it.
Actually, I'm interviewing
some people today, in fact.
Hey, did you ever look
at what I sent you
- about the psych ward breakout?
- I did.
Heston Koontz, escaped prisoner,
killed a nurse, right?
Look, I know it's not your normal thing,
but the parents are pretty insistent,
and they're offering
a sizable reward, so
I think it's worth the consult.
Yeah, I'm pulling into Wyndham now.
- You got any other details?
- Yeah.
The facility administrator sent me over
the case file. Heston Koontz,
29 years old, was convicted of
burning a family alive
in their own home ten years ago.
He plead insanity,
and then was sentenced to life
at MCI Cedar Junction.
Looks like he served ten years
without incident,
so they transferred him
to a low-level psychiatric
detainment facility in Wyndham
for good behavior.
Ten years, good behavior?
People usually show you
who they are way before that.
Well, Heston's parents
are pretty worried
about what he's gonna do
if the police don't find him.
Got it. Okay. I'll poke around,
see what I can find out.
- I'll give you a call back.
- Okay.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Mr. and Mrs. Koontz? Colter Shaw.
(SIGHS) Thank you for coming.
Yeah. Looks like the police have
thrown quite a bit of manpower at this.
Well, it's-it's been 12 hours
and there's still no sign of him.
Well, after a big storm
like the one you just had,
hard to trace a footpath.
My best advice is just
let the police do their thing.
I'm sorry, I was told that, for a fee,
that you would help find our son.
I can and I will,
as long as I feel like
I can get a result, but, uh,
before I agree to help you,
I need to know
why is it that you want me
to find him? Is it because
you realize the police will use
maximum force if they do?
Maybe
maybe you're fearful
that he might come home?
LAWRENCE: That's not it.
Look, Heston never should've
been transferred out of max.
I-I know how that sounds,
but it's the truth.
Heston had a normal childhood.
He played baseball, good grades,
but then something changed
in high school.
He refused to come out of his room,
and when he did, he would just
stare and whisper to himself.
That's when the parasomnia started.
Waking nightmares.
We'd find him outside the house
with his face pushed up
against the glass,
strange wounds on his body.
Self-harm?
We didn't think so at first.
We thought the sleepwalking
was from stress at school.
- The kids would make fun of him. Yeah.
- Yeah.
Has a lot of nervous tics.
But one morning
couldn't find Gus.
Our dog.
I thought maybe he was sleeping
in Heston's room.
MOLLY: Heston?
Is Gus in there with you?
(DOG WHIMPERING)
Honey?
MOLLY: And then we heard this sound.
(HESTON GROANING, GROWLING)
(RATTLING DOORKNOB)
Heston! Let us in!
- Oh!
- Heston!
Oh, no.
(HESTON GROWLS)
No. Heston.
COLTER: I'm sorry.
Did he see a psychiatrist?
He did.
The the doctor said that parasomnia
could include acts of violence.
They were trying to assure us
that, you know, most people
with this disorder, that
they're not violent in real life,
and it could be managed with medicine.
- And you didn't believe that.
- MOLLY: No.
So, we searched his room,
and
we found some of his journals
and drawings.
He was fixated on, um,
this girl in the class
below him, Emily Collins.
The sole survivor of the fire?
MOLLY: Mm-hmm.
LAWRENCE: We
tried to do the right thing.
We reported the journals to the police,
but they didn't take it seriously.
MOLLY: A month later,
Heston killed her whole family
and tried to grab Emily.
If the police had listened to us,
no one would've gotten hurt.
We cannot make the same mistake twice.
Did you make sure the police are aware
that he might still be
obsessed with Emily?
LAWRENCE: We did. We made sure of that.
MOLLY: And the lead investigator,
Detective Dundee,
knows that we're hiring you.
We know what our son's capable of.
Find him.
Please.
Before somebody else gets hurt.
Yeah. Okay. I'll do everything I can.
Thank you.
COLTER: Detective Dundee?
That's right.
You must be, uh, Colter Shaw.
Yeah.
Yeah, Heston's parents filled me in.
So you find people who can't be found?
Least that's how the parents sold you.
Something like that, yeah.
Yeah, I can't exactly fault them
for blaming us.
We, uh, fumbled the ball
ten years ago, but
it's a different department now.
So if you, uh, break protocol
or get in the way of our manhunt,
I got no problem pushing you out.
Just so we understand each other.
Did you learn that at Princeton?
The whole "condescension
disguised as formality"
thing you're doing?
What, you looked me up?
Did I look you up? No, I did not
look you up. I saw your ring.
- Look, I'm just here to help.
- (SIGHS) Sorry.
Just nothing about this case is good.
- Mm.
- There's a reason that Heston
was in the secure facility.
My opinion, he never should've
been transferred here,
but here we are.
- Cameras get anything?
- No.
Storm took down the power line,
whole place went dark.
This is the last image
we have of Heston.
That's him with an orderly.
COLTER: Hmm.
You know, you'd think
a facility like this,
- the patient rooms would be fail-safe.
- That's right.
These locks operate
on a separate battery.
Weren't affected by the blackout.
So how the hell did he get out of here?
That's a good question.
I mean, this whole thing is weird.
It's a crude homage to
a Dirk Bouts piece called
Fall of the Damned.
Title pretty much says it all.
Where'd he get the materials?
DUNDEE: Patients are allowed
art therapy.
Okay.
- These shoe prints?
- DUNDEE: That's Heston's.
Shoes are standard issue at this place.
No sign of forced exit.
We think the door malfunctioned,
crime of opportunity.
Yeah, maybe.
Or maybe he was working with someone.
Well, we looked into it.
All staff were accounted for
at the time of the escape
and the murder.
Heston's Bible.
He collected news clippings.
I was in college when
he burned that family alive.
It changed this town.
COLTER: How did Emily survive?
She wasn't home at the time of the fire.
Parents were right.
He's still obsessed with Emily.
DUNDEE: Yeah, we saw that.
I got a guy stationed
at her house in Millwood.
If he so much as sniffs
in her direction,
- we'll get him.
- COLTER: That's good.
Can I ask you a question?
This whole thing, this, uh
this seem planned to you?
Unless he can control the weather,
the storm did him a lot of favors.
Maybe he waited for the storm,
used it as cover.
Here's what we know:
he's managed to avoid capture
up until now, right?
Which leads me to believe
he knows what he's doing.
Maybe this power outage
wasn't a coincidence.
And I bet if your guys checked
the downed power line right now,
they're gonna find that
it was intentionally cut.
Back to the "he had help" theory.
Can you show me where
the nurse was killed?
DUNDEE: Heston
cornered the nurse in here.
So if this was a crime of opportunity,
why why come here? Why not just run?
Maybe he got lost on the way out?
Wrong place, wrong time for the nurse.
Or maybe they wanted to make sure
the cameras weren't restored.
Why would he care? People were
gonna know when he was gone.
If he was working with someone,
tried to protect the identity
of his accomplice.
That feels like a stretch.
Okay. How'd he kill the nurse?
He strangled her with this.
- Where's the keycard?
- No keycard,
just the lanyard.
Figured he swiped an extra off a desk.
Hmm.
Crime techs have been
all over this place,
but knock yourself out.
Yeah.
This vent's been pried at.
There's your keycard.
(PHONE CAMERA CLICKS)
Okay.
Here's my theory:
our guy, our suspect
broke Heston out with that keycard,
comes here to make sure the nurses
don't restore the cameras,
the nurse fights back, keycard
goes flying off during the struggle,
down this vent.
They're digging at this thing,
they're trying to get it out,
they ran out of time and they took off.
None of the employees
reported a stolen keycard.
If Heston did have an accomplice,
how'd they find one?
Maybe he got help from an employee.
- I'll question the staff again.
- All right.
Will you let me know what you find out?
Yeah.
Randy, you get an ID on the keycard?
Okay, so the keycards are
encoded with access permissions,
but not tied to any specific employee.
So, I cross-referenced the RFIDs
with the employee schedule,
and I found that
this card matched up with this orderly.
Guy named Bill Prugalidad.
He working last night?
Bill Prugalidad was not on the schedule.
He have a history we don't know about?
RANDY: Let me check. (CLICKING TONGUE)
Oh, yeah. Reckless endangerment charge
that he got expunged five years ago.
Send me an address.
(BIRDS SINGING)
(INDISTINCT PREACHING OVER RADIO)
And the Lord said
He would bring judgment.
But first He revealed
His plan to Abraham.
And Abraham,
a man of great faith,
stood in the gap
and he pleaded, "Lord,
"if there are 50 righteous
in the city,
will You then destroy it?"
(HINGES CREAK LOUDLY)
And then Abraham said,
"If there are 40 righteous
in this city,
will you destroy it?"
And God again said,
"No, I will spare it."
And Abraham said, "What about 30,
20, or even ten?"
And God in His mercy said,
"For the sake of ten,
I will not destroy it."
(PREACHING CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
♪
♪
(QUIET CONVERSATION)
REENIE: That's nice. Okay.
And how long did you do that for?
- We did it for two years.
- Wow.
Wow, good for you.
Oh. Um
that is my next interview.
Well, that's all the information
that I think I need from you, so
-Thank you for the opportunity
-Thank you so much.
Yes, of course.
And, uh, we will be in touch.
- Like your tie.
- Thanks.
- REENIE: Hi.
- Hi.
Um, I'm your 11:00, Melanie Day,
- but you can just call me Mel.
- Okay, Mel.
You are early.
- I-I'm happy to wait if you
- No, come on in.
Okay.
My mom was military,
so, you know, "on time"
is five minutes early.
I get it. My dad was Air Force.
Ah.
- So you know.
- I do.
- What branch was your mom in?
- Army.
Logistics officer. Yeah.
Good for her. I'm good, I've got one.
Um, okay, Mel Day
See you've got a B.A.
in criminal justice.
Internship at the district
attorney's office, okay.
How was that?
It was a
an education.
Yeah. Definitely an education.
That was, uh, Abe Kimber, right?
Honest Abe. Yes.
Yeah, he's a prick.
You don't have to sugarcoat
things with me, okay?
Well, you know, he-he taught me to
hold my ground
and, uh, not take things personally,
but, yeah, enough said.
Good spin.
I did learn from him, so, you know,
it's-it's bad with the good, I guess.
Well, you went to a great school, Mel,
and you had a highly coveted
post-grad internship.
You could work for any of the big firms.
So why me?
I've
followed your career.
I know that you got a lot of flak
for leaving Lorber & McDean
right before making partner, but I
I totally get it.
I'm pretty averse to
the bureaucratic machine, too.
And what you did with Luterna Corp?
I mean, exposing all of that corruption,
uncovering Grimes's abuse
It was legit heroic.
I That's
that's the sort of lawyer
that I want to work for.
Well, she's good with the praise. Check.
(BOTH LAUGH)
And, to be honest, I'm-I'm curious
about the rewardist that you work with.
Um, Colter Shaw?
I know that the job description
is for your legal work,
but I just think that's really cool.
- Well, there is definitely some overlap.
- Okay.
Well, I-I can handle
whatever you throw at me.
Okay.
Tell me something about you.
Something that isn't on
this very perfect résumé.
I don't know. I'm into
typical girl stuff, I guess.
Murder podcasts. Um
romantasy novels
Fourth Wing, especially.
Oh, my gosh, so good. Um
Uh, TikTok witches are kind of
my new thing right now.
Okay.
And why are you so averse
to bureaucracy, as you put it?
- You want the truth?
- Oh, I always want the truth.
Okay. Um
My mom died when I was 16.
- In the line of duty?
- No.
She was found in her car.
Shot. In the-the parking lot
of a rest stop.
But, um
they never found out who did it.
So there were no answers.
No justice.
I'm so sorry, Mel.
Yeah. Me, too.
Um But I'm good. I'm sorry.
I don't usually dump this on people,
especially people
that I want to work for.
No, no, no. I asked.
Yeah. I guess I
It just felt like the systems that were
supposed to be there to support her
were more interested in
protecting themselves,
you know?
I do know.
I think
we are gonna get along just fine.
Ooh wait. (GIGGLES)
Does that mean I got the job?
- It does.
- Wow.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.
This is this is awesome.
You won't regret it, I promise.
- I know I won't.
- (MEL EXHALES HAPPILY)
Take a look at this.
Same logo as the one I found
on the Bible in Heston's room.
Prugalidad ran the Bible study
at the facility.
Maybe Heston manipulated him,
and then killed him.
Heston didn't kill this guy.
This guy's been dead for days.
Someone else killed him.
Took his keycard, broke Heston out.
Doesn't make sense.
I mean, Heston's not the sort of guy
who has friends on the outside.
(PHONE BUZZES)
- Randy, talk to me.
- RANDY (OVER PHONE): Okay.
I hacked the sensor camera
on the electric vehicle
that you spotted next door.
A blue minivan left Prugalidad's
property two days ago,
triggered the car-cam,
no vehicles from that direction since.
Got a plate?
Yup, and it was reported stolen.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
- Any idea where it is now?
- Let me see.
(CLICKING TONGUE)
Okay, just went through
a toll station in East Millwood,
like, half an hour ago.
- Emily lives in Millwood.
- He's after her.
Unit four, this is Dundee.
You have eyes on Emily? Over.
Unit four, respond.
Let's go.
DUNDEE: This is Dundee requesting backup
to 20606 Mosley Road in Millwood.
♪
Emily's not here.
They had to ditch the van.
They knew the vehicle was hot.
Any cars reported stolen in the area?
- DUNDEE: No, not today.
- Someone picked them up.
That gives us a third person.
I don't get it. What's in it for them?
- Got an owner?
- Uh
Woman in her 40s, runs a daycare,
reported her minivan
stolen from a church
parking lot during service.
What church?
DUNDEE: Sisters of the Sacred Fire.
It's a local convent.
Take a look at this.
It's the same symbol that I found
on that Bible in Heston's cell
and Prugalidad's garage.
Let's check it out.
Got to be a connection, right?
You get Heston's visitation records?
REENIE (OVER PHONE): Sure did.
Heston had monthly visitations with
a spiritual counselor,
a nun named Sister Carlotta.
It looks like their relationship started
before he was transferred
to Wyndham. Yeah.
About a year ago, at MCI Cedar Junction.
She live near there?
Nope.
Her only address is at
Sisters of the Sacred Fire convent.
- That's quite a trip, right?
- Yeah, and it
seems that she got tired of the commute.
She sent several letters
petitioning for Heston
to be transferred.
So, maybe she developed
feelings for him,
and he took advantage of that.
Manipulated her to help him move
to Wyndham so he could escape.
Yeah, or maybe she was just
trying to help.
- I mean, she's a nun, after all.
- Yeah, well,
think there's more to it than that.
- All right. I'm headed to Sacred Fire.
- Okay.
(CALL BEEPS OFF)
JARED: Excuse me.
- This is private property.
- DUNDEE: We need to speak
to Sister Carlotta. It's urgent.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: It's okay, Jared.
I'll take care of this.
You can go back to your work.
Let me know if you need anything.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: How may I help you?
I'm the Mother Superior here,
Sister Barbara.
COLTER: We're looking
for an escaped patient
from Wyndham Psychiatric, Heston Koontz.
Come inside, won't you?
What does this escaped patient
have to do with Sister Carlotta,
may I ask?
She was, uh, she was counseling him.
We counsel all sorts
through our outreach program.
We believe she may have facilitated
or had knowledge of his escape.
That's quite the accusation.
We know that she visited him
on several occasions,
and that she petitioned
to have him moved to Wyndham.
And I'm sure that's the extent
to which she's involved with him.
Were you aware of her
relationship with him at all?
I teach my sisters to help
where help is needed.
I don't peer over their shoulders.
DUNDEE: If we could just talk to her,
perhaps we could clear this up.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: I'm sure you will.
I haven't seen her this afternoon.
She might be off the grounds.
COLTER: Mm-hmm.
She have a room here we could see?
What for?
COLTER: You're protecting your sister,
and I understand that,
but this prisoner
has murdered two people
since he escaped.
He's recently kidnapped a young lady.
Now, if there's anything in that
room that might help us find her,
we might be able to save her life.
(DRAWERS OPENING)
(SIGHS)
Mr. Shaw.
Detective, is this really necessary?
It feels entirely inappropriate
to rifle through Sister Carlotta's
personal items without her present.
Hmm.
Wait a minute.
Got something.
It's a journal from her time
working with Heston.
"In my heart, I am sure of the path.
"God help us for what
we are about to do,
for I am but a servant."
That's definitely more than outreach.
I don't understand.
DUNDEE: What's that?
COLTER: Let's see what we got.
These are plans for where
Heston was being held.
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: My word.
- She definitely helped him escape.
Why?
Sister Carlotta is a devoted
member of this church.
Yeah, well, things changed.
Maybe, uh, maybe he convinced her,
maybe threatened her.
I can't believe she's capable of this.
DUNDEE: She does have a point.
Prugalidad was a big guy,
a-and there's evidence
of a brutal fight.
No way she overpowered him.
COLTER: She's not working alone.
In this photo here,
you recognize those people?
That's the community outreach group
Sister Carlotta worked with.
That guy.
From outside.
Jared, o-our custodian.
She close with Jared?
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Yes. He experienced
a great deal of trauma in the military.
Sister Carlotta helped him through it,
got him the job here.
He-he lives in the basement
of the convent.
He lives in the basement?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: Yes.
- Can you take us there?
Yes.
Wait right here.
Two people were being held here.
Who'd they take besides Emily?
I don't know.
They were drugged.
Take a look at this.
Same shoe print pattern
we found in Heston's cell, right?
Sure is.
He was being held here.
He didn't escape from Wyndham.
He was abducted.
He's a victim.
(EMILY PANTING)
Sister Carlotta and Jared
were holding Emily and Heston
hostage in here.
They were drugged, kept unconscious.
Not in line with the vows she took.
No. Not at all.
(SIGHS) So, my guess is,
Jared killed the nurse at the facility
and the cop at Emily's.
The question is why?
We found this.
COLTER: It's an altar.
"Fideles."
Means "faithful" in Latin.
Mean anything to you?
I haven't seen one of these
in a long time.
So it's not part of your doctrine?
No, it's not.
It's from a splinter sect
that was stamped out long ago.
They called themselves "Fideles."
What did they believe?
They operated under the guise
of serving God,
hunting down dark things.
COLTER: Dark things?
Witch hunts?
Among other horrors.
Go on.
They believed that people
could be inhabited by demons,
made to do evil.
They took it upon themselves
to hunt down the hosts
to eradicate the bad spirits,
no matter the means.
And how would they do that, exactly?
What are we talking about,
some sort of exorcism rite?
DUNDEE: I got to call this in.
Can you tell me what you know?
- Jared's gone.
- He knows we're onto him.
I put a BOLO out on his truck.
We just saw him.
He can't have gotten far. Got my
guys setting up roadblocks, too.
How are they justifying all this murder?
They think they're
doing something righteous.
Makes them even more dangerous.
I've heard stories
about the Fideles. I thought
it was just local mythology.
Why are they targeting
Heston specifically?
His parents said that
the violence came on suddenly,
when he was in a sleep state.
Right? That he didn't
sound like himself.
So, maybe Sister Carlotta
thought that those symptoms
pointed to demonic possession.
What's that got to do with Emily?
Mother Superior said they would
need her for the ritual.
- Why?
- She's the emotional tether.
This sect, they believe that
a demon can only enter a host
if it's unlocked by an emotional tether.
Unlocked?
Meaning the plan is to kill
both Heston and Emily.
This sect was associated
with the original site
of the Sacred Fire church.
We thought that place
was haunted as kids.
Rumors of all kinds
of unexplained phenomena.
I'd bet that's where
they're doing the ritual.
Get in. I'll drive.
All right. We blocked the road
to the original church.
- No sightings of Jared's truck yet.
- (PHONE BUZZES)
- (PHONE BEEPS)
- Randy,
did you locate Jared's phone?
He was headed east, but then
he got wise and removed
the SIM, like, 15 minutes ago.
Wait, you said it was moving
east, not west?
The original church is west.
You know, the last text he got
from Sister Carlotta reads,
"Go to the first fire."
That mean anything to you?
Church is called
Sisters of the Sacred Fire.
First fire has to be
the original church.
Then why would he be moving
away from the church?
Unless
All right, Randy.
- Thanks.
- All right. I got you, man.
(PHONE BEEPS)
(SIGHS)
REENIE: Hey, Randy.
I want to introduce you
to my new assistant, Mel.
- Hey.
- RANDY: Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Please, don't get too used to me.
This face, okay?
Don't even, don't even do it.
All right? I'm just here
on a temporary basis.
You know. Freelance tech support.
Mm. Gotcha.
I don't know why you keep
saying that. He's staying.
- I am?
- REENIE: Yes, you are.
Oh, okay. Good to know.
(WHISPERS): Just trying
to keep my options open.
- (CHUCKLES)
- Oh. What is this?
- Oh. Um, this is, uh
- Oh. Sorry.
She's good, Randy.
She's done quite a bit
of homework on what we do.
Oh, yeah?
REENIE: Yeah, Colter's running down
a patient from a psychiatric prison.
- Escaped?
- REENIE: Abducted, actually,
alongside a young woman.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah.
- Can I ask why?
- REENIE: We're not sure.
Well, Colter's not sure.
But it's not good.
RANDY: Yeah.
Gonna need a lot of sage
for this office after this case.
I'm not even into all the woo-woo stuff,
it's just I don't know.
Stuff like this makes you wonder.
- REENIE: Yeah.
- You know, I recommend palo santo.
It translates to "holy wood" in Spanish.
It's really good for warding
off the bad energy, I think.
Yeah, that.
I'll take a truckload of that.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Okay. Well, you know, I can run
- to the store right now if you want.
- Uh, he's good.
- I am?
- Yeah. Um, I will send you an e-mail
with all the information
- that you're gonna need for your first day.
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Sounds good.
Thank you so much. Uh, it was
- nice to meet you, Randy.
- You, too. - (DOOR OPENS)
Thank you again for the opportunity.
- Of course. Bye.
- I'm excited. Bye.
- Good choice. Good choice.
- Right?
- I mean, she checks out.
- Yeah. I mean,
everybody I sent you checks out,
but I figured you two would
especially get along.
Okay. I just needed to do my process.
Yes, process is fine, as long as
it includes good digital hygiene.
Well, you can lecture Mel
all about it on her first day.
- I will.
- Just
- keep me posted on Colter.
- I will.
What is it?
Feel like we're missing something.
Why would Jared be driving away
from the church?
He could've tossed his phone,
throwing us off?
Eh, your roadblocks
would've caught 'em by now.
Mother Superior said
it's important that the ritual
be personal, right?
We're going to the wrong place.
First fire
It's the first fire that Heston set.
Right? The one that killed
the Collins family.
That would be personal
to Emily and Heston, right?
That east of here?
Sure is. We're not far.
I mean, that place has been
vacant since the tragedy.
Pull a U-y.
All units, suspect is headed
to the Collins property
- on Lombard Drive.
- OFFICER: Copy. En route.
(EXHALES)
Why are you doing this?
Who are you?
EMILY: Stop this.
CARLOTTA: It's okay. Today,
you have the opportunity
to give your life for a greater purpose.
EMILY: Please!
(CRYING): Don't do this!
CARLOTTA: Shh
You'll be free soon.
EMILY: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- No, no, no. Don't do this.
- (GRUNTING)
- (HESTON GROANING)
- EMILY: Please!
- (PRAYING INDISTINCTLY)
- Somebody help me!
- We should wait for backup.
- We don't have time for that.
In my experience, every second counts.
Okay, let's split up. I'll
clear the camper.
I'll meet you in the house.
Be safe.
♪
EMILY: Please
(WHIMPERING)
(SCREAMING)
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
HESTON: Let her go!
Let her go!
(SCREAMING)
CARLOTTA: Stop him!
(GUNSHOT)
Drop it.
(GRUNTS)
(CRYING): No!
Please!
Please. (SCREAMING)
EMILY: No, don't!
EMILY: No!
- Liar.
- (CHOKING)
You're a liar!
(EMILY SOBBING)
(EMILY SCREAMING, SOBBING)
I got you. Come on. (GRUNTS)
- (GRUNTS) You all right?
- I think so.
- Yeah?
- Thank you.
We'll get you out. Hold on.
All right. Come on. Let's go.
- (COUGHING)
- Let's go.
♪
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
How you doing? Gonna be all right?
Yeah. Imagine I'll be down for a bit,
but yeah, I'll be okay.
Good. Glad to hear that.
What about her?
You think she'll be all right?
COLTER: Yeah.
Yeah, she's strong.
I think she'll be all right.
All behind her now.
Sister Carlotta got her
her beliefs mixed up.
Thought she was fighting a holy war.
Yeah, but it didn't start out that way.
Something touched her,
and it wasn't good.
I don't know.
So much darkness out there.
I'm not saying demons,
but things that are capable
of bringing true evil into the world.
And Heston
Yeah.
I don't know what
I'm gonna tell his parents.
They lost him a long time ago.
Doesn't make it easier, though.
DUNDEE: Irony is,
Heston breaking out
of his restraints ended up
saving Emily's life.
- Poetic justice.
- The universe
slipped up and accidentally
did something fair.
Yeah.
The longer I'm on this job,
the more rare that seems.
You do a lot of good
for this town, you know that?
They're very lucky to have you.
I'll see you around, Colter.
Not if I see you first.
(SOFT CHUCKLE)
LAWRENCE: Mr. Shaw?
Here.
I collect only in success.
I wasn't able to bring your son back.
Why don't you, um
Why don't you give that money to Emily?
She can do something good with it.
Okay.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
("(DON'T FEAR) The Reaper"
by Blue Oyster Cult playing)
All our times have come ♪
Here, but now they're gone ♪
Seasons don't fear the Reaper ♪
Nor do the wind,
the sun, or the rain ♪
We can be like they are ♪
Come on, baby,
don't fear the Reaper ♪