Oh. I think… I think you're in the erroneous apartment.
What the… What…
Fuck.
I like the viscosity.
- Let's see how it freezes. - On it.
Hi.
Sorry I'm late.
Hey. How's my favorite food scientist?
Good.
- Just busy, busy. - All right.
Shall we start experimenting?
Yeah.
Good.
Okay, stop.
Tell me what you know.
This is humiliating.
I was going through a break-up.
Trevor DMed me on Instagram.
He was charming, I was lonely, we flirted.
He made me feel good.
And then he asked me if I wanted to video chat and…
So dumb.
No, trust me, I feel the same way and we're not the only victims either.
I'm just trying to figure out what happened.
Obviously, I had no idea he was recording me.
Then one day a guy shows up and he had that video.
- Okay, was this the guy? - Yeah, that's him.
He said he'd leak the video to everyone if I didn't comply.
How much money did he want?
Nothing. I offered him money, but he didn't want it.
He said I'd have to do exactly what he said.
Exactly as he said it.
Or he would ruin my life. He knew everything.
- My family, my friends. I begged him… - Sorry.
…but there was just no way I could get out.
So, sorry, if the blackmailer didn't want money,
then what did he want?
He wanted the specs for a new strain of fast-rising yeast
that we were about to patent.
- Yeast? - It took years to develop.
The patent is easily worth tens of millions in revenue.
You saw that video. That's clearly my office.
My life would have been destroyed.
So I gave him what he wanted.
So that was it? There's nothing else?
A few months later, Northeastern Food Group beat us to the patent.
Stock value plummeted, our whole company's downsizing,
and I'm out of here at the end of the month.
Do you think Northeastern was behind all of this?
I have no idea. All I know is I'm fucked.
If I can't figure this out soon… me too.
I kinda, like, never did this before.
I guess I am kind of cute.
That's right. Eat that banana, you chubby monkey.
Damn, Trevor, you look great.
Fucker.
Angela?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Hi. I'm… I'm Paula.
How did you get my name?
- I'm Paula. - How did you find me?
- Are you a part of this? - No, I really am not.
…wanted some information exclusive to
a client and our company. I wanted it to end.
He didn't want money. He wanted my influence on some votes.
He wanted a bunch of zoning permits.
Fuck.
Crap.
What are you looking for?
A 5'8" prison guard with coffee breath.
Oh, look. Thank you, God.
Thursday 8:15.
Son of a bitch.
Thursday 9:17. Look.
Two Rebecca Hallidays.
Two different signatures.
Oh, yeah.
I'm gonna need the security footage from both these visitors.
And the feed from the parking lot.
- I'm gonna need their cars and plates. - I got it.
Hey. Two lawyers with the same name came to visit Paula.
- She was telling the truth. - Oh, shit.
And Dennis O'Neill is not answering his phone. Straight to voicemail.
I'm on the lawyer.
- You go to Dennis's house. Find him. - All right, I'm on it. But hey, G,
every once in a while, you gotta throw a motherfucking please in there.
Motherfucking please.
Better.
There's my Jennifer.
- What's what? - Everything should be buttoned up.
I met with Paula Sanders. She doesn't know anything.
But she did have Dennis's burner phone which I retrieved.
The only minor wrinkle is there was a single contact on it.
That sounds pretty wrinkly.
Like a linen suit in a duffel bag.
Nah, man, he was a pro. There can't be much exposure.
Look, I'm out of town the rest of this week on a company retreat.
Before I return, find this Paula person,
clean it up, eliminate the threat.
- You understand me? - Yep.
- Sounds like a plan, my man. - Wonderful.
And, hey, don't ever call me while you're fucking eating.
I love it.
Hey.
Pauls.
- You're… You're here. - Yeah, I mean…
The whole way over, I was wondering,
"Is this crazy, my being here?" But…
Today's about Hazel, it's not about me.
It's not in your head. Everybody knows what happened. They all know.
You can't be here. Paula, you realize that, right?
I mean, I… I promised her, so I'm not gonna go.
- I understand, but, Paula, you can't-- - And I'm innocent.
I didn't fucking do anything.
Okay, I believe you.
I also believe that you shouldn't be here, okay?
- It's not going to end well. - Yeah.
You see that, right?
- I mean, you must. - Yeah.
- I don't see how this-- - Reinforcements.
Hey, Paula. How's it…
What are you doing here?
Hey, Mal. You probably want me to go in there, right?
Right? 'Cause then I could cause a scene and then you could win custody.
I wasn't thinking about custody. I was thinking about Hazel.
Everyone knows. She doesn't.
If you go in there, she will figure it out.
It's unavoidable.
What do you want to happen?
Do you want her to figure this out like this, Paula?
Please. Think about this. Think about what you're doing right now.
No, no one broke my laptop.
It literally just stopped working. It was so weird.
Okay, well, what's the point of having insurance if I--
What the hell?
- Why do you look like shit? - I was attacked with my own bong.
A bong? Are you in middle school?
I think you're missing the headline while trying to mock me.
- I was attacked. - What happened?
Some woman broke into my apartment, brutalized me
and then stole back that burner phone.
The burner phone that you stole from me?
Oh, my God. Yes.
Okay, it's just an endless cycle of criminality.
God, you really focus on, like, the pettiest shit.
All right, why would someone attack me for that phone?
Paula must have been telling the truth.
Except there was nothing on it.
Well, it must have some value, Geri, 'cause…
look at my head.
We need to go tell Paula. Come on.
Sixty-eight percent of me is with you.
But the other 32% is like, "Fuck you" for breaking my laptop.
Well, you lied to me first. Right?
And that actually hurt.
I apologize.
I got caught up in my story and you know how bad I wanted that.
I never should have let it come between us.
Yeah, you shouldn't have.
Close to forgiving me?
I don't know. I'm circling it.
Okay, come on. Let's go.
Okay.
You should put a Band-Aid on your head.
Oh, shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
I guess you missed the art show, huh?
That's too bad. It was like going to the Louvre.
But more Popsicle stick sculptures.
Sorry that I stood you up on our date.
I am assuming you know the reason?
Yeah.
Never heard that one before.
For what it's worth, it's a huge mistake, you know.
I've been presuming your innocence.
Yeah, you always hear you're supposed to do that,
but I've never actually tried it before.
Thank you for trying.
It's, like, more than I can say for anybody else. It's, like, so fucked.
I can't go to work.
I can't go see my own kid's art show. It's…
Unlock your phone.
There we go.
So I just AirDropped you every single masterpiece from the art show.
Thank you.
Look, there's even one of Hazel's deeply nuanced watercolor of…
Is that a parrot?
I think that's Mallory.
Yeah.
The same plumage.
Thank you.
Yeah.
I gotta go.
Okay. See you soon.
Maybe like ten to 20, but wait for me.
The bong attack is awesome.
Wasn't, really.
No, I mean for the article. It's so cinematic.
Wait, you're still writing that?
Suzie's into it. It could be my one shot at breaking in.
One shot?
Do you really think you're not a good enough writer
to come up with, like, other, better stories
that don't hurt your friends?
I honestly don't know.
Okay, well, I do.
I have no doubt.
'Cause underneath that snark, you are a really good person.
You will hate yourself if you do this.
That was shockingly kind.
Fine.
No article.
Yeah?
Shit.
You could make a really good lawyer.
Although you'll probably fail the LSATs.
Well, Ger-Bear,
you back.
Come here.
- Thank you. - I know.
Is Paula's around here?
Yeah, I think it's… little more this way.
- Hey. - Hey, Paula, I don't want to alarm you,
but time is ticking.
We were just assigned a custody hearing date, and it is next week.
Next week? What are you talking about?
I'm out on bail.
That's what I argued, but Judge Narleski ruled
that there will always be extenuating circumstances,
courts are busy, blah-blah-blah.
Oh, my God. How am I supposed to get a fair hearing
when I've just been arrested for fucking murder?
Well, you're innocent and you're a great mom
and we will make both points clear in court.
There's another thing.
- Don't panic. - I'm panicking. What? What?
Karl and Mallory are petitioning for full custody.
Now this isn't just about Idaho anymore.
If they win, they'll control your access to Hazel.
They can't fucking do that!
They can try, and we will try and stop them.
We will get through this. All right? Talk to you soon.
What a shit show.
Hi.
Sorry, we tried calling you.
- Hey. - What? Hi.
Are you okay?
Hey. I'm at the boyfriend's.
No sign of him, but this place is kind of weird.
- Weird how? - Well, there's a broken window,
a broken cactus, and apparently someone has a taste for Pirate's Booty.
Well, I got a visual and plates on the fake lawyer who visited Paula.
- You got an address? - I am on my way there now.
Yeah, I put out an APB on the car.
I knew something was off about this case. I should trust my instincts.
Call you when I get there.
What happened to your head?
- Bong attack. - Long, boring story.
Well, not boring, harrowing actually.
He was beat up. Someone was trying to get the burner phone back.
- Oh, my God. - I was able to hack into it.
I lied to you. I'm sorry.
I'm also really sorry for not believing you.
Wait, you got into the phone? What was on it?
Nothing, just the address of some random woman who works at Yale.
And she said she doesn't remember meeting anyone.
I mean, she's probably lying.
If she was in Dennis's phone, she's…
I bet she was one of his targets.
Who's Dennis?
You guys should come upstairs.
This is Dennis O'Neill.
Dennis killed Trevor because of the small-time scam that he pulled on me
which put the bigger thing that the two of them were doing together in jeopardy.
What was the bigger thing?
So, Dennis, I think, identifies, like, vulnerable, high-value people
and then Trevor would reach out to them.
He would DM them, he would flirt with them, whatever.
And they would video chat,
so then they would have this compromising sexual material
that then Dennis would use to blackmail all of these people.
- For how much? - That's the thing.
It was never about money.
So this guy, they pressured him
into giving up the patent for some kind of special yeast for pizza dough,
and then they sold it to a competitor.
- Sorry, they blackmailed him for pizza? - Yes, like all kinds of things.
So this woman was on the Amagansett town zoning board,
she got strong-armed into building a chemical plant on some wetlands.
This guy got forced into granting mining rights in North Dakota.
And this guy got his union to support a candidate in an election in Ohio.
This is like some Epstein file, Joe Rogan-level conspiracy.
So, Dennis and Trevor, they orchestrated this all?
I don't think so,
because Trevor was just a camboy, and Dennis, I think, is like a middleman.
I think they're working for somebody bigger.
- Like who? - That's what's so frustrating.
I don't know.
And that person would definitely know that I was innocent.
They would be able to get me out of this, but who's gonna, like, benefit
from zoning permits, mining rights, and fucking yeast?
None of these people knew anything when I talked to them.
You haven't spoken to Geri's Yale lady.
What's her address? Do you have it?
I do, yeah.
Great. I'm going right now.
Hey, we'll come with you. You're not doing this alone.
Yeah. A hundred percent. Absolutely.
We have your back.
Let's go, hands in. "Paula's innocent" on three.
One, two, three.
Paula's innocent.
I didn't love it. Let's not do that again.
I'm liking the stroke, but you're dragging your left heel, just so you know.
Can I help you?
- I sure hope so. - Do you remember me, Joyce?
I came to your office and asked if you had met with a man.
Yeah, this guy, right here.
Dennis O'Neill.
I remember not remembering anything.
Please. Okay.
My friend could go to jail.
She could lose custody of her kid.
Like, she's in real trouble here.
Yeah, that has nothing to do with me.
Actually, it might. 'Cause we might be in the same boat.
Who are you people?
Do I need to call security?
No, just…
Okay, it's super frustrating
that you can't just, like, be a real human being right now
and tell us what you guys talked about. Very simple.
- That's none of your business. - So you did meet with him?
- This is ridiculous. - Just tell us.
- Leave me alone. - For Christ's sake, just tell us!
This conversation's over.
Why does everyone think that I can just be, like, ignored? Huh?
Like, I'm just some loser who can just be pushed around.
- Fuck it. - Rudy.
- What? - Hey.
Hey!
- You can't just ignore me, okay? Hey! - Rudy!
- No. - Fuck it.
Rudy, no!
I am 6'5" and I'm fucking jacked.
Rudy!
So we need to know what you guys talked about, okay?
And you need to tell us.
Tell us or I'm gonna do something bad, okay?
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Do not test me, Joyce. Do not test me, okay?
I will be the end of you.
Okay, just stay away from me. Okay?
Start talking.
I just…
I crossed some lines at work.
That guy found out about it
and threatened to expose me if I didn't get this kid admitted into Yale.
The end.
What was the kid's name?
Vanderwalle.
Okay? Blake Vanderwalle.
Holy shit.
Wow.
Let's get out of here.
I will be the fucking end of you.
- I am putting that on your tombstone. - Yeah, or above the toilet at work.
I feel like Aquaman.
Blake Vanderwalle for the fucking win.
Now we have to find out who the fuck Blake Vanderwalle is.
Thank you, sir. We'll be in touch.
Bax, talked to the owner of the red Prius,
he's about 137 and has cataracts.
He thought the car was in his garage since April.
So she stole a car no one thought would be stolen.
Smart.
She may be smart, but we're lucky.
Just got a hit on the Prius going through E-ZPass on the Throgs Neck.
I'm coming up on the bridge now.
Good. Let me know when you find her.
Freeze! Police!
Drop the weapon.
Now, or I will fucking shoot you.