- Hello. My name is Detective Avraham.
- This is my son, Vincent.
He's missing.
- When did you last see Vincent?
- Monday?
I'm his tutor, just helping him
with his, uh, writing skills.
- Well, Zack's a writer.
Why is there a letter from Vincent?
- This is what writers do. We channel.
- I don't believe you.
- My feeling is that Vincent never left that building
on Tuesday morning.
He's contained.
- I never made a decision to kiss him.
It just happened.
Vincent told you.
You knew.
- We got a 16-year-old missing boy last seen with you,
a homeless man of questionable mental health--
someone who was broomed from his previous teaching career.
You don't exactly present well, John.
- Why don't you say it? You think he's dead.
- Do you think your son is dead?
- How dare you ask me that?
- His luggage. The large one is not here.
Where's the large? - I don't know.
- He wouldn't run away because of something
that I said or did.
- Why would he run away?
Do you have any idea?
- No.
[moody tone]
* *
[uneasy music]
* *
[faucet running]
[music intensifying]
* *
[door closes]
* *
[chiming noise]
[contemplative music]
* *
[children playing in distance]
- The mother.
We're now seeing his mother in the fish.
- I can't really explain it.
- I'm not gonna ask you to.
You see anything else in there, Avi?
'Cause I will tell you what I see.
I see a fury bordering on a mania
bordering on disorder.
- It's a process.
- Yeah, I'm familiar.
The longer a case goes on, the more intense you get,
the more intense your drawings.
Did your mother draw?
- This is not about my mother.
- Is it about Vincent's?
- How are we doing?
[chuckles]
Late night, I see.
- We got a report that Kids Campus is receiving threats.
I need you to go check it out.
- Meaning what? I'm off this thing here?
- Meaning when a day care in our area receives threats,
we check it out, Earl.
We need to multitask.
Rebecca took the call.
Get the report and go, please.
- We should also circle back to the school,
revisit everyone in Vincent's life.
Benjamin, Hailey Townsend, her boyfriend.
We are not dealing with something random.
I know it.
- Oh.
- Do I need to take you off this case,
put someone else on?
Fresh eyes?
- I'm almost there.
- That's what you keep saying.
By the way, there's someone downstairs
to speak to you and Janine.
- Can we help you?
- Uh, yes.
I'm here about the missing boy, Vincent Conte.
I may have information.
- What sort of information?
- Well, perhaps none.
- What's your name?
- Michael Rosen.
I teach a writing class.
I have a student who's been writing about a missing boy
with similarities to some of the details
I've heard on the news about this Vincent Conte.
Come to learn the student actually lives
in the boy's building.
- What's the student's name?
- Zachary Miller.
- Let's go upstairs.
- As you can see, the material's riveting,
which is what first made me suspicious.
- Why?
- Well, Zack has been consistently mediocre.
His work lacks.
It's like he's on the outside looking in.
He just can't get there.
I actually told him to give up the pursuit of the craft.
That's how uninspiring I found it all.
Then suddenly, within the last week,
he's writing this,
like he's on the inside of it--
well inside.
And that he lives in the kid's building
gives me a very uneasy feeling.
- It's not exactly probative of anything.
- It's too coincidental. Add to that, these people
have been withholding.
He's clearly writing about Vincent's relationship
with his parents. - Even so,
it doesn't make him guilty of anything.
What are we gonna do, arrest him for plagiarism?
- I'm with Avi on this.
They've both been playing hide the ball.
- Okay, let's say this tutor does have something to do
with Vincent's disappearance.
Do we really think that he would write about it?
- He might. Some twisted call for attention.
I'm gonna bring him in.
- On what grounds?
- My suggestion is that we call them in
to help.
If we do some aggressive round up, they'll get lawyers.
So let's just ask them nicely to come in and help us.
I mean, clearly Zack wants to play.
[dramatic music]
* *
- Okay.
- Great. Thank you.
* *
- This morning.
Okay.
Yeah, I suppose we could do that.
Sure.
Yeah, 10:00 is fine.
See you there.
- What's going on?
- Some new developments.
They got some security footage.
They want us to take a look,
see if we recognize anybody.
- Did they say they have an actual suspect?
- No.
[uneasy music]
10:00.
We can drop off Luke at my mother's on the way.
* *
- Thank you so much for coming in.
- Yeah. What's this, uh, new development?
- Well, could be just a blind alley,
but we're turning over every stone.
We just would like for you to look at some stills.
- Earl, take Zack to see, would you?
Janine, you and Dania can go to the spare room.
- You're splitting us up?
- If you and your wife happened to identify the same person,
we don't want his or her lawyer arguing
that the ID was suggestive.
- Follow me, boss.
[tense tone]
* *
- I have to say, I'm getting
a very odd feeling here.
- Well, that's understandable.
We're all unsettled.
A boy is missing.
One might argue it would be more odd
not to have an odd feeling.
You otherwise doing okay?
- Just fine. Can I see these photos please?
- Of course.
Actually, before we get to the pictures,
I thought we might start with this.
[tense music]
* *
- Where did you get these?
- Your writing instructor brought them.
He had concerns...
as now do I.
- What is going on here?
- Well, that's my question for you, sir.
You seem to have an intimate knowledge
of Vincent's insecurities, his fears, his frustrations.
- No, this was a writing assignment.
- It's time to cut the shit, Mr. Miller.
- Careful.
- Don't you have somewhere to be, Earl?
- This is excellent writing.
And from what I'm told, you're not an excellent writer.
Did Vincent write this letter?
* *
- No.
- You clearly had insight as to his state of mind.
You neglected to share this insight with me.
At a minimum, you failed to aid this investigation.
More likely, you obstructed it.
- Obstr--obstructed?
You have treated me like a suspect from the start.
- Whether or not that's true, I certainly
consider you one now,
and your best path to exoneration
is a straight and truthful line.
Are you sexually attracted to Vincent?
- What?
- Some of the emails between you two
suggest a certain intimacy.
- No, I'm not sexually attracted to Vincent.
- His father had concerns as to your sexuality.
- Did he? Did he have concerns?
'Cause I had concerns about him, too.
He was--he was punishing.
He oppressed Vincent at every turn.
Look, a big part of my tutelage of Vincent
was bolstering his esteem.
You are off base and way out of line.
- I don't think so.
You had knowledge of what was going on
with this young man's psyche.
You chose to conceal it.
You're facing a bit of trouble, Mr. Miller.
- It is serious, Dania.
Let's face it: a bit damning. - This is a writing exercise.
He said he was trying to get in Vincent's head.
- I understand.
Clearly, he has an ability to do so.
So why not share that insight with us?
Some of this, as I understand it,
is drawing from Vincent's actual words.
Admissions.
Just explain to me how you chose to sit on that.
How do you reconcile that with claiming to care about him?
You spoke of how vulnerable
you know Vincent to be, and yet--
- I just found out about this.
- But you sat on it.
You didn't tell his parents.
You didn't tell us.
[tense tone]
* *
- Actually--
- Actually what?
Actually what, Dania?
- How many times do I need to say this?
I have no actual knowledge as to what happened here.
- "I have been gone for a long time.
You made me disappear." - I conjured that.
- "I suggest you stop looking because you will not find me."
- I want a lawyer. I want a lawyer.
- It appears you need one.
- Avi.
- We are not done here.
- Now.
* *
[door shuts]
- Dania, please, tell Detective Avraham
what you just told me.
- Which part?
- The part that caused me to say,
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
That part.
- Well... she had asked if--
she asked how I could just sit on what I know, this here.
And I told her I didn't completely sit on it.
I couldn't sleep last night because it was weighing on me.
So I made copies, put them in an envelope,
and slipped them under the Contes' door.
- When exactly did you do this?
- It was around 3:00 a.m.
- Last night?
- Yes.
- The letters purportedly from Vincent.
You slid them under the Contes' door.
- Yes.
- Dania, what would compel you to do this?
- Well, she's my friend.
Or she was my friend.
This is her worst nightmare.
And all I've done is make things harder for her.
- But why the letters?
- Well, I didn't know what else to do.
Zack wanted to keep the letters to ourselves.
But what if something in here could lead Nora to her son?
Slipping the letters under the door
seemed like the best option.
- Does your husband know you did this?
- No.
- Dania, is there anything else you haven't told us?
Because now would very much be the time.
- Mm-hmm. There's more.
- I think Zack knew that I had kissed Vincent.
I--I asked--
I accused him of knowing, and he didn't deny it.
He knew.
- Are you suggesting Zack might have
retaliated against Vincent?
- No.
No, I'm not suggesting anything.
All I can suggest at the moment is,
I don't know my husband anymore.
* *
- This is fucked up.
- So if I'm following,
Nora and Leonard got these letters
supposedly written by their son.
And, what, they've done nothing?
They haven't called it in?
- It means they know he's dead.
- We can't jump to that.
- Yes, we can.
The parents get information that may help in our search.
They choose not to reveal it.
That tells me they know our search to be futile.
They know he's dead.
- That's a lot of assuming.
- Tell me what you think.
- Are the Millers still here? - In lockup.
We're holding them. - On what grounds?
- On whatever.
We can't have them tipping off the Contes
that we know that they know of those letters.
- [sighs]
How do we play this?
* *
- Come with me.
[dishware clattering]
[phone ringing]
- Hello?
- Hey, Nora. Dania.
Any news?
- No.
- How are you holding up?
How's Leonard?
- Leonard is out of town on business for the day.
We're all holding up best we can.
Is there something I can do for you?
- Nora, I know you got the letters from Vincent.
I slid them under your door.
I'm so sorry.
But the thing is, evidently,
Zack has been in touch with Vincent.
And--and possibly still is.
Zack isn't telling me much,
but I sense he knows something.
And I just couldn't bear it any longer.
So that's why I slid them to you.
* *
Nora? Can you-- Are you there?
- I'm here.
- Well, should I give them to the police?
Can you hear me?
- Vincent didn't write those letters.
- What do you mean?
- I mean I know my son's writing.
He certainly didn't write them.
* *
[dial tone beeping]
- Now we wait. If she doesn't report the call
or the letters, that tells us something.
Put her back in lockup.
- Why?
- Because you obstructed our investigation, Dania.
* *
- You okay?
- How long's it been?
- Almost 30 minutes.
- It's possible she's trying to track down her husband,
get his opinion before she--
- Avi, she's guilty.
Of what exactly, maybe we don't know.
But she's guilty.
* *
- Go pick her up.
- Arrest her?
- We don't have enough for that.
Just pick her up.
[tense tone]
* *
- I didn't report any threat.
And I would certainly know if I did.
- Uh, well, somebody, uh, made the call,
a Sarah Sowinsky.
- Uh, Sarah?
[clears throat]
- Hi.
- I told you about it. I--I showed you.
- Yes, you did not tell me you called it in.
- Well I just-- I thought that--
- You showed her what?
- Um--well, I just-- I thought--
- You said you showed her. Showed her what?
- Um, well, when I came in this morning to unlock, I, um--
I found this taped to the window.
- And it wouldn't occur to you to report this?
- It's probably just a prank.
- Hm. That or a credible threat.
Which side do you wanna err on?
- Yeah, what do you expect me to do?
Shut down every time somebody tapes a drawing to my window?
- It's a drawing of a bomb, ma'am.
- Well, if you're looking for suspects...
- Yeah. - I can give you two.
- Okay. - First, my landlord,
who is dying for me to break my lease
so he can double my rent.
And then walk two blocks down to the new day care
that just opened, 'cause they're also dying,
in this case, to steal my clients.
So there is no bomb.
Just two groups of vicious, greedy people
doing what vicious, greedy people do.
- Yeah, I'm not entirely s-- - No, and to be honest,
you being here right now-- no offense--
but you look, smell, and ooze police officer,
which is not a good vibe for a day care
when I am in the business of selling happy.
- And I'm in the business of serving and protecting
this community, of which you and these children are a part.
- And I'm just saying that you're not doing that
if you are helping to close my doors.
[mysterious music]
* *
- Do you know why you're here?
Nora?
Do you know why you're here?
- I'm guessing you have new information on the case.
- Yes, there have been some developments.
We received letters ostensibly written by Vincent.
- They were not written by him.
As I told Dania Miller when she called,
that was not Vincent's writing style.
- The point is, you received them and didn't tell us.
- We didn't tell you because we didn't trust you.
We knew you'd just accuse us of hiding them or forging them
or whatever you needed to say to make us look guilty.
- You also hid the fact that Dania believed
Zack might be in touch with Vincent.
Why would you not report that to us?
- Because I didn't believe Dania.
Quite frankly, I don't believe a word she says about anything.
Dania Miller is a sick person.
She--she kissed Vincent.
She's a sexual predator.
For all I know, she wrote those letters.
I--I still don't understand why you haven't arrested her.
- We've been intently looking for your son.
I go to sleep with Vincent in my head.
And I wake up with him in the morning.
You get a phone call from someone
who tells you your husband might know where Vincent is.
And you don't take it seriously.
I don't believe that a mother gets that call
and doesn't take it to her core.
What mother would give up even the slightest chance
that it could be possible?
You and I sat together in his room.
I held your hand.
The reason you didn't call us with this new information:
you know what happened to Vincent.
- [scoffs] - It's not too late to tell me.
- Vincent left for school Tuesday morning,
and he never came back.
I don't know what happened.
- From the start, I've never seen hope in your eyes.
Only grief, despair, resignation.
* *
This is Vincent's class schedule.
I took it off his desk, you'll remember.
According to the schedule for Tuesday,
Vincent should have started the day
with two hours of calculus, followed by an hour of PE,
an hour of sociology, and an hour of literature.
This is a list of the books
that were found in Vincent's bag.
A civics book, a copy of "Antigone," a geology text.
No calculus book.
It seems he packed the wrong books.
Geology, "Antigone"?
Those were classes from last semester.
- I suppose he didn't have any real intention
of going to school that day.
- And if he was running away, best to take his geology text?
Why take any schoolbooks?
Someone other than Vincent packed that bag.
Someone who didn't know his schedule.
Was it you?
- No.
- Was it your husband?
* *
This is your son.
This is also your last chance.
- [exhales]
I don't know what happened.
He--he left, I thought, for school.
And he never came back.
- We found Vincent's body.
- What the fuck?
- [gasps]
- I would be sorry to have to inform you that he is dead.
But you already know this.
- [mouths silently]
- If there are mitigating circumstances, Nora,
now would be the time.
- [exhales]
I don't know. I don't know what happened.
- When your husband lands at La Guardia,
he'll be arrested.
He'll then be told that you informed us
as to what happened.
He will then likely give us his version,
one I suspect puts him in the most favorable light.
You have a daughter.
Your best hope at getting to continue to be her mother
is to get your version out first.
* *
We know they argued
when Leonard came back early from dinner.
The neighbors heard it.
What was that argument about?
- [chuckles weakly, sniffles]
[sighs]
Leon--
Leonard came home.
And, uh...
* *
He walked in on--
on Vincent and Olivia.
* *
Vincent was in her room...
gratifying himself.
* *
[sniffling]
Leonard saw it. He--
he walked in, and he saw him.
He lost it. He just--he lost control.
- No! [grunts]
[Olivia screams]
- And then I came home, and--
and he was dead already.
He was lying there on the floor
with his eyes open, but he--
there was nothing there. He...
* *
- And what did you do?
- I hugged him.
[sobs] I hugged him.
I just went down on the floor, and I hugged him.
* *
And Leonard-- [sighs]
Leonard was convinced that he'd go to jail
and that they would take Olivia away from us.
So we decided to make it seem like--
like he ran away, he was--
[exhales]
- And the body?
- Leonard took him out in the middle of the night.
[sobs weakly]
- Took him out how?
- But if you--you--
you found him, you knew, obviously.
- The large suitcase.
* *
[somber tone]
* *
[music intensifies]
* *
- [praying in Hebrew]
- ...river. We now take you
to our onsite reporter with an update from the scene.
- Tragic news out of Brooklyn
in the disappearance of minor Vincent Conte,
whose body was retrieved
this evening from the bottom of the East River.
The grisly discovery made by NYPD
after the parents of the victim confessed
to the accidental killing of their son,
then disposing of the body.
- Officials
at the Environmental Protection Agency...
[knock at door]
...determine how much and just what kind of metal...
- [shuts TV off]
- [sighs] I need a beer.
- I don't have any.
- Well, then we have to go to a bar.
- Okay.
[light piano music]
* *
- And the sister maintains that nothing happened.
The psychologist thinks she's either protecting Vincent,
or, more likely, she's blocking it out.
[upbeat rock music playing]
You okay?
- I felt I knew him.
That's... not the boy I knew.
- Professionally speaking, Avi, today was a really good day.
You broke the case.
- I misread everything.
- No.
You misread her.
Everything else, you were spot on.
I mean, the father, that it happened in the building.
But you did misread her.
- Is the point of this beer to critique me?
- Would you like me to?
- Yes.
- Okay, well, as I said,
gold star for breaking the case.
Um, your drawings turned out to be more accurate than not.
- But?
- You--you lost your way some.
You believed in her a little bit too hard.
You got to the truth, due in part to your compass,
but also in spite of it.
I mean, it's a truth that's devastated you,
not just because Vincent's dead,
but because this woman you desperately wanted
to be innocent
turned out not to be.
- I think it should be me who learns from you.
- Maybe we learn from each other.
- L'chaim. - L'chaim.
[laughs]
[The Monkees' "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day"]
- * Tomorrow's gonna be another day *
* Hey, hey, hey, hey *
* And I don't care what you say *
* Tomorrow's gonna be, tomorrow's gonna be *
* Tomorrow's gonna be another day-ay-ay *
* Hey, hey, hey, hey *
* Another day *
- Oh, I know. You're okay.
[baby babbling] Yeah.
- I suppose you've come to apologize.
[baby crying] - For?
- For--for everything.
My innocence, to start with.
And you know what?
For being right about everything that I wrote,
which was excellent writing, by the way,
so much so that I caused my own wife
to believe every word of it,
which occasioned her to give my materials to the Contes,
which occasioned you to lay a trap and solve the case.
For all your investigating, it was the power of my writing
that actually led to the break.
- Perhaps, in addition to an apology,
I should offer my gratitude.
- You are a--
an arrogant man in sheep's clothing is what you are.
- That would not be the metaphor I'd expect
from an excellent writer.
- You know what I'm working on now?
- What? - A poem.
It's going to be called "And He Walked Away with Dignity."
Which is what I'm going to do right now.
I'm going to walk away from you.
Come on, Luke.
Let's go play on the swings,
away from this nasty man, okay?
Yeah.
- Heard they made bail, Leonard and Nora.
I saw it on the news.
Guess I'm getting my neighbors back.
- For now.
How are you and Zack doing?
- Oh...
- That well, huh?
- Still don't feel like I know who he is.
Not completely.
Of course, I'm having trouble trusting myself
to trust or know anybody.
But I guess that can happen when the world shifts
too much beneath your feet.
- It can.
- I'll tell you this, though.
While I can't claim to truly have known Vincent Conte,
I sensed him, and I felt him through and through.
And what they're saying about him and his sister?
Not a fucking chance.
It was not within that boy to do
what he's being accused of.
- Leonard saw it.
He walked in on Vincent and Olivia.
- Not a fucking chance.
- I need to speak to your daughter.
- Why?
- It would be helpful to the investigation.
- Well, I would need to be present.
- The psychologists think she's either protecting Vincent...
- No! [grunts]
[Olivia screams]
- Or, more likely, she's blocking it out.
[tense music]
[knocking]
- What's going on?
- I came to brief you on some closing details.
We also have a few follow-up questions.
- Are you kidding me? I'm represented by counsel.
- It's just to fill you in on a few things.
- [sighs]
Olivia, why don't you go to your room for a second,
Okay, hon?
- Actually, it's fine that she hears.
It's probably best, even.
First, I again want to convey my sympathies
for these very difficult circumstances to lose a child,
to discover that your child had been inappropriate
with his sibling. - Yeah, what are these
closing details, please?
- Mainly that our discovery was inaccurate.
The discovery that Vincent was inappropriate
with his sibling?
He wasn't.
- What the hell are you talking about?
I saw it. - Yes.
We have your word that you saw it.
Are you able to reconcile who you knew Vincent to be
just with your husband's word?
[tense music]
- What's going on?
* *
- I'm told we still have yet
to get your word on this, Olivia.
- You are out of line.
- What's going on?
- Perhaps you've blocked out the memory,
as the psychologists suggest.
- You need to get the hell out of this house
right now. - What is going on?
- Our daughter's been traumatized enough.
- Yes. My question is by who.
- What is happening here?
- Your husband didn't walk in on your son with Olivia.
* *
Your son walked in on your husband.
- That is a fuckin' lie. - Is it?
* *
- Oh, my God.
Olivia. Stop.
Olivia, you tell me the truth.
- [chuckles]
- Okay, tell me the truth.
* *
Olivia, honey. It's okay.
Olivia, honey.
Tell me the truth.
* *
Oh, my God.
* *
- It's a lie. It's fuckin' bullshit.
- Where do you think you're going?
- Fuck off. I'm calling my lawyer right now.
- Leonard. I wasn't quite finished.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to re-arrest you.
[cocks gun] - He's got a gun!
- Leonard.
[intense music]
- Nora, please take Olivia to her room and stay there now.
This is not how you want it to end, Leonard.
- Well, what about this ending? Do you like this ending?
- Drop that fuckin' gun! - Do you like this ending?
- Let's stay calm. - Drop the fuckin' gun
- Let's stay calm! - Shut up!
- Nobody here wants anybody to die.
- Shut the fuck up. - Avi--
- You are not a homicidal person.
- Stop. Stop talking. - We all know
what happened with Vincent. You didn't mean to kill him.
- Just shut the fuck up.
- It happened in an instant.
- Leonard, drop the fucking gun.
- Shut up! - Avi.
- He initiated the confrontation.
- I said shut up! - There's no malice
in your heart. - You're not gonna fuckin'
talk me down with clever.
[grunting]
[blow lands] [groaning]
[struggling efforts]
[handcuffs clacking]
[groaning]
[panting]
* *
- You okay? - That is not the way, Avi.
Taking on armed suspects like that.
It is not sustainable.
- I damn near killed the guy.
- We're all fine.
* *
- [knocks]
I'm sorry.
- Please just go.
* *
- Let's give them a little longer together.
- She knew.
Nora knew.
- At some level, she knew. Yes.
[clears throat]
- Can we just get five more minutes?
- [exhales]
* *
- Dad?
[grunting]
[Olivia screams]
[sickening thuds] [grunting]
* *
[somber music]
* *
[metallic whirring]
[crackling]
[dark tone]
* *
[timer beeping]
* *
[zipping]
[music intensifies]
* *