- While retracing the Maitlands' recent family vacation, Holly pursues a possible connection to an eerily similar case and gains valuable insight from local former detective Andy Katcavage; Glory faces increased scrutiny in her daily life.
- Heath and a woman, Maria Ceneles, eat eggs and pancakes at a diner.
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Holly calls Ralph and says that there were two similar murders of twin sisters, and the suspect killed himself in prison. Heath worked at the senior center where Terry's father Peter stayed, and the man was one of Heath's charges. Holly warns that she probably won't get back into the building after what happened the day before, and Ralph goes down his living room and looks at the articles Holly emailed him.
Outside the senior center, Holly waits for Angela to leave. Once she does, Holly follows her home. When Angela gets out of her car and walks to her apartment, Holly follows her and Angela sprays pepper spray in her face. Holly admits that she followed Angela from worker, and insists that she's a PI rather than a reporter. She directs Angela to her ID, and once she checks it Angela takes Holly inside and gives her a wet cloth.
Holly notes that the papers said Heath claimed he was on vacation the time of the murders, and Angela says that he told her he was going to his mother's place. She confirms that he came back to check on his charges from time to time, and doesn't figure Heath killed the girls. Holly says that there have been lots of cases of killers whose close ones never suspected them, and Angela says that when she did see "Heath" back at the senior center, he didn't say anything even though he's usually chatty. The PI writes down the date Angela saw "Heath", and Angela tells her that one of the janitors said he saw "Heath" come out of Peter's suite. The janitor saw "Heath" bump into Terry and scraped Terry's hand, drawing blood.
Angela notes that there were other witnesses who said that they saw Heath with his mother at the time of the murders, Heath's mother Ernestine said Heath never left her side the whole week. The police were interested in Peter after the girls' murders, and Angela tells Holly that she'd have to talk to them about why they were interested in Peter.
Jack goes hunting and kills a deer.
Glory interviews a home-school tutor, Florida, for her daughters. She that the envelopes with all of Florida's references are from different states but all postmarked Atlanta, she writes down an equation and asks Florida to solve it. Florida can't, and Glory figures that she's a tabloid reporter undercover. Florida says that she's trying to write a sympathetic article, and Glory orders her out. She throws Florida's purse out on the sidewalk and a recorder falls out of it. Florida picks up her things and drives off.
Jack loads the dead deer into the forest from his truck and winces at the painful spot on the back of his neck. He then gets into his truck and drives off.
Glory goes to a restaurant to eat with Howard, and people look at her and mutter Terry's name. One man tells Glory that she has a lot of brass showing her face in public, saying that might someone might want to even the score against her daughters. Howard tells the man to stop and the two of them start fighting. The owner tosses the man out, and Glory sits in silence.
Holly calls Ralph and tells her what she found out from Angela, and Ralph knows about "Heath" scratching Terry from what the Maitlands said afterward. Holly notes the discrepancy of "Heath" being there the day after the girls were found day. Ralph calls Yunis and says that he needs to take a look at the footage of Terry from the day of the murder. Yunis warns that it's a tricky request, and Ralph says that he figures something on one of the tapes is a game changer.
Holly pays a nurse to get her in the back entrance of the senior center.
Ralph goes over the tapes from the strip club with Yunis.
Holly goes to Peter's suite and discovers that Alzheimer's has scrambled his memories. He rambles on and Holly asks him if Heath said anything. Peter then says that it wasn't Heath, and figures that "he" fooled all of them.
Ralph goes over the tape and finally locates a shot of "Terry" scratching Claude's hand.
Jack goes to a hardware store and buys lamps of all sizes along with gas containers.
Holly meets with Andy and notes that Heath killed the two girls when Andy was still working homicide. She figures there's a connection between Heath and Terry, and Andy admits that he can talk to some people... if Holly goes out to dinner with him. Holly agrees to dinner, and Andy tells her that he has the strength of ten because his heart is pure. Amused at his joke, Holly chuckles.
Jack drives the lamps and gas containers out to the forest and places them near the dead and rotting deer.
Holly and Andy go to a restaurant for dinner and they talk about how Holly was raised in Pennsylvania. She says that she went to Chicago to start over because her mother died, and her mother was taking care of her. Holly brings up the subject of Peter, and Andy tells her that the police investigated every suite that Heath might have entered. A day later they got a DNA match on one of the girls. The police thought it might belong to Heath's younger brother Aaron, but the DNA didn't match and Aaron OD'd later. They found plenty of DNA evidence and one girl's bloody clothing, all connecting Heath to the murders.
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In the past, Ernestine walks out of her house, gets into her car, and drives away. She speeds up and then drives into a telephone pole, killing herself.
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Andy notes that Ernestine, Aaron, the girls, her mother, and their grandfather, all died. He tries or order but Holly just wants a drink and Andy has the same.
At the Peach Crease, Ralph comes over and asks Claude how he's doing. The detective says that he's not there to jack Claude up, and asks if Claude remembers "Terry" scratching him on the wrist when he came in the night of the boy's murder. Claude doesn't remember anything new from that night, and Ralph leaves.
Andy walks Holly back to her apartment, and she admits she has no idea how tall she is even though she can calculate anyone else's height. He invites her to have a nightcap at the bar beneath, and Holly says that she can't because she has to work. She impulsively kisses Andy and walks inside, goes to the bar, and looks over her notes. She tells the bartender what happened and the bartender wonders who gave the "murder virus" to Heath.
Holly gets a coffee to go, visits Angela, and asks if Heath took any trips out-of-state in the last year. Angela remembers that Heath went to New York City but doesn't remember where he went. She tells Holly that Heath sent her a postcard and shows it to Holly. Holly takes photos of it and gives it back to Angela, then back at her apartment does a Google search of crimes in NYC just before Heath visited. She finds a report of a midtown bartender, Maria Ceneles, arrested because of a child slaying. On the postcard Heath says that he met a girl.
The next morning, Holly calls Ralph and says that she has to go to NYC to investigate a child killer who crossed paths with Heath at the hotel he was staying at where she worked. Maria is alive on Riker's Island, awaiting trial, and the lawyer has always gotten permission for Holly to meet with Maria. Ralph agrees to talk to Howard who is covering expenses.
At the station, Tamika hands out invitations to her newborn's christening. Jack is staring at a blank arrest report. Tamika hobbles into Jack's office and asks if he's mad at her because he didn't look her way when she was talking about the christening. She points out that Jack hasn't done anything, and Jack promises that he'll be at the party.
Holly takes a taxi to Riker's and remembers being MRI'd as a child, and her mother being there to comfort her and putting a small fetish doll in her hand. The taxi arrives and Holly stays in the back, remembering, as long as she can. She then takes the bus to Rikers.
A detective, Don Harrier, calls Ralph and says that a kid came in and said he needs to talk to Ralph. Ralph has Don get the boy, Merlin, to Howard.
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A man calmly gets up from his desk and leaves.
Two men drink at a bar, joking with the waitress.
The man drives through the streets of NYC.
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Holly arrives at Rikers and meets with Maria. Maria asks what Holly knows about the boy she supposedly touched but she never met, and Holly shows her a photo of Heath and explains that he was staying at the hotel Maria was working at and he said he met a girl. Maria finally remembers that she went out for breakfast with a guy who looked like Heath, but she's not into guys and blew him off the next morning.
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After breakfast, Heath and Maria have sex.
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Holly explains that Heath was arrested for torturing and murdering two girls in Ohio a month ago, and says that he was innocent like Maria was. Maria insists that she didn't kill the boy and figures she's in Rikers because God wants her there. When Holly says that Heath killed himself in prison, Maria explains that the women in Rikers tried to kill her but she was too tough and they let her be.
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The man goes into the bar, says he's the grandfather of the boy Maria killed, and shoots the two men--Maria's father and uncle--dead.
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Maria says that they wouldn't let her go to her father's funeral and insists that she was innocent, and Holly tells Maria that she knows. Maria realizes who framed her, but says that no one can help her because what the killer does can never be undone. Later, Holly discovers that one of the women in the reception area overheard her and left Holly a piece of paper with an address.
In Howard's office, Merlin meets with Ralph and says that he left the van in the parking lot. He didn't tell Ralph about the man who took it because Merlin was scared of the man.
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The man in the hoodie stares at Merlin from across the lot and says nothing.
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Ralph asks Merlin to try and draw the man he saw, and Merlin starts sketching.
Holly goes to the address and meets with the visitor, Idilys Castro, who says that she overheard what Maria told Holly. She asks if Holly believes in one devil or many, and explains that in Cuba she was told that El Coco would come for her and ate her if she misbehaved. Her grandmother was told the same when she was a child, and the legend of El Coco goes back many generations. A Russian woman once told Idilys that El Coco was Baba Yaga, the boogeyman, Idilys warns that El Coco can look like a person if it wants. She says that the creature is known as the Grief Eater because it stays behind and feeds on the pain and anguish of the families of victim and framed killer.
Merlin finishes his sketch and shows it to Ralph. The man's face is crude and unfinished.
Back in her hotel room, Holly sits in her bathtub, drinks, and looks up El Coco on the Internet. There are pictures of the inhuman monster in cultures and legends across history, always feeding on children. After a moment, Holly lays back and submerges her head beneath the water.
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