Crossword Mysteries: Terminal Descent (2021) - full transcript

WEDNESDAY 3:30 PM

I am so sorry, Mr. Daniels.

Forgive me. I shouldn't
be texting and walking.

- Nothing broken.
. Sorry.

Again, it was lovely to meet you, Tess.

I'm excited to play a part
in making history.

I'm excited to make it with you.

All right, have a great day.

You too.

Okay, well, I'll see you next week.

Thank you.



BB, parking garage, level one, please.

Parking garage, level one selected.

BB, parking garage, level one.

BB, what are you doing?
Level one, please.

Thank you.

BB, stop.

BB, stop!

BB, stop!

BB, stop!

CROSSWORD MYSTERIES
Terminal Descent

SIX HOURS EARLIER

- Done.
- Two minutes and 13 seconds.

Okay, not bad.

Not bad? That's amazing.



But, can I solve a puzzle
faster than a super-computer?

And that's the question.

Kasparov versus Deep Blue at chess.

Jennings and Rutter
versus Watson on Jeopardy!

No wins for humanity to be found.

That's why my money's on BB.

Well, thank you so much
for the vote of confidence, Frank.

"BB"?

It's XCAL Communications'
supercomputer. BigBrain X.

BB, for short.

I don't know. I think Tess has got
something going for her

- other people don't.
- And what's that?

- She's a woman.
! An excellent point.

Have you met my brilliant new assistant?

I have not. Frank Lam.

Frank's the Sentinel's tech reporter.

He's writing a piece about the exhibition.

Sonia Robinson.

Nice Piaget. Altiplano
with the alligator strap, right?

Yeah. Thanks. It was a gift.

Please.

That thing's like a Rolls Royce
for your wrist.

I... I used to work at the
jewellery department at Saks.

Sonia's been helping me out
since Josephine left for grad school.

Speaking of which, do you think
you'd be able to pull together

some research for computer
and tech jargon?

I feel like it'll be fun to tie in a
week of technology-inspired puzzles

- to go along with the exhibition.
- You got it.

Thanks.

- Pleasure to meet you.
- Yeah, you too.

I got to go.

Just enough time to see my aunt
and go meet the competition.

Right. Good luck. You're gonna need it.

Thanks, Frank.

Did you hear that? Sorry.

So you're the youngest of five?

- With four older brothers.
- Wow.

And you came over here from the 112th?

Yeah. I was working Robbery
the last five years.

Good for you.

Well, let me be the first to welcome you.

Thank you.

You know, when they told me
we were going to get

another detective here at the precinct,

I was hoping it wasn't a green newbie.

Yeah, you don't seem like
the hand-holding type.

Patience isn't really one of my virtues.

Logan, get in here!

Or your father's, apparently.

Yeah, yeah. He...

he struggles with that, too.

What's the emergency, Pop?

Trying to order a file from Records.

Can't make heads or tails

of this new computer system
the brass has put in.

- Are you kidding me?
- No.

This coming from you, a guy that can
recall details on cases 20 years ago.

And you're sitting here telling me

you're having problems
with a few clicks of a mouse?

All right. Well, if you are, move aside.

And let the young man help the old man.

Is that your file number right there?

- Yeah.
- Watch this.

Boom, done. You'll have it in an hour.

- Wait, that's it?
- Yup.

- Well, thank you.
- You're welcome.

Used to be a time when you could
pick up the phone,

talk to an actual human being,
and get exactly what you need.

Yeah, well, Pop,
this is way more efficient.

Come on, who says?

I don't know, what was her name?
Everyone.

Maybe, I don't know... maybe I
should consider just hanging it up.

Old dogs, new tricks, ya know?

Remember when you used to always
tell me that texting was impossible?

Now all I get from you, Pop, are emojis.

Come on, are you kidding me?

If you retired, you'd be
so bored out of your mind,

you'd be begging the Commissioner
for your badge back.

I'd give it a week, tops.

- And you know it.
- Maybe you're right.

You know I'm right.

You got plenty of tricks left, believe me.

Hey, how was the opera?

I enjoyed what I saw.

What, did you leave early or something?

I fell asleep.

The overture started
and I was out like a light.

I can't remember the last time I
made it through an entire performance.

You've had season tickets
for a decade.

I know.

I don't know why I keep renewing them.

I guess I thought

that's what people my age do for fun.

"People your age"
can do whatever they want.

You're right.

I need to shake things up.

I need to find something new,
or try something...

Something that doesn't
make you fall asleep.

Exactly.

I feel like I need a bit of fun, too.

You know, between all these deadlines,
and the Crossword Club newsletter,

and the Sentinel's charity gala
that I offered to help plan,

I... I've just been all work, no play.

Well, when you give
everything to everyone,

you leave nothing for yourself, honey.

Yeah. Things will slow down
after next week.

So what's next week?

I'm competing in a crossword
exhibition against a supercomputer.

You're kidding?

- Well, at least your work's not boring.
- Nope.

Tess!

Hey!

Thanks again for agreeing
to be a part of the exhibition.

Absolutely.

And reminding me how long
I spent on your couch

when I first moved to the city, it
was kind of hard to argue with.

And when I brought the whole
thing up with my editor, she...

well, she wasn't going to let me say no.

Well, free publicity
is the best publicity.

Yes. Spoken like the true queen
of public relations.

This is just incredible.

And we're expanding, too.

Morgan bought the building next door,

and we're planning
to cut the ribbon this spring.

That's... that's really impressive.

This is pretty cool, too. Check this out.

Coming to work here is like walking
into a science-fiction movie.

- Hey, BB.
- Hello, Viv.

Second floor, please.

- Second floor selected.
- Okay, that is pretty neat.

And when you're leaving,
P1 for the subway.

Amazing.

Come on.

I wanted to introduce you
to our vice president.

And there he is. Okay, great.

- Tess, this is Paul Redford.
- Hi.

Paul, Tess Harper.

When Viv said
she got the crossword editor

of the Sentinel to participate,
we were delighted.

Well, I just can't believe
you've created a computer

that understands the nuances
of crossword puzzle clues.

Brainchild of our CEO, Morgan Daniels.

Yeah, the guy's a...
well, the guy's a genius.

And not one of those people
you just say is a genius,

he's an actual genius.

Can I give Tess the nickel tour?

Go for it.

Tess? I will see you before you leave.

Okay, sounds good.

So have you been with XCAL long?

Almost seven years
of blood, sweat and tears.

XCAL is everywhere, though.

I mean, every time a computer
boots up at the Sentinel,

- we see your logo.
- Yeah, we're holding our own.

And if Morgan's right with his design,

well, the world's going to be
one step closer

to having an AI system
that can learn, adapt and behave

with the same unique subtleties
and quirks as human beings.

Something our Board of Directors
will be pretty delighted to hear.

You know, considering the expense
and patience they've shown.

That's where the sweat comes in, right?

Yeah, and the tears.

So... how'd you like to meet it?

Say hello to Tess Harper, BB.

She's going to be your competition.

It's nice to meet you, Tess Harper.

Hi.

You wanna test it with
some puzzle clues?

And how exactly would I do that?

We took some voice clips
of yours that were online

and input them into the
computer's voice-recognition system.

- Wow.
- Just ask away.

All right... Cardiac blaze, nine letters.

Heartburn.

Okay, very good. Maybe we'll try
something a little harder.

Deck of cards, major
and minor suits. Five letters.

Tarot.

Is it okay if I back out
of the exhibition, or?

Yeah, you do and we'll cancel
our Sentinel subscription.

Okay, well, just promise me if my
editor offers BB my job, you'll decline.

Deal.

Okay.

Just try...

Morgan would hate
to miss getting to say hi to you.

- So, I'll be right back.
- Sure.

Is this a...

ficus lyrata?

What?

Or did I just get that wrong?

You know, a fiddle-leaf fig.

Yeah, a fiddle-leaf. Right.

Well, it's... it's beautiful.
It's one of my favorites.

Tess?

Morgan Daniels, Tess Harper.

You have created something
so impressive here, Mr. Daniels.

Thank you. That's very nice of you to say.

- Do you mind if I ask you a question?
- Yeah, shoot.

Of all the games and puzzle possibilities

that you could have chosen,
why crossword puzzles?

My father.

About the only time I ever
remember him being content

was while he was settled
into his favorite chair,

the newspaper folded just so,
while he filled in his crossword.

And I bet he used a pen.

He wouldn't think of using a pencil.

Morgan? Can I talk to you for a sec?

You can't go through
with the government bid.

Look, they're going to turn BigBrain X
into Big Brother on steroids.

Please, not now, Jesse.

I know that you have to...

make sure that the Board knows
we can monetize the technology,

but this isn't the way.

If you'll excuse us for one moment.

Let's talk over here for a minute.

I hear what you're saying, Jesse...

You know, I wanted to ask you,
since my voice is in your system,

can I do that cool trick
I saw Viv do with the elevator?

Yeah, you can.

In fact, you could also set off
the alarm systems if you wanted to.

But please don't.

Well, only in case of emergency.

Yeah, we appreciate you being on board.

For what we're hoping will be a historic
match between woman and machine.

No pressure.

I am, um, so sorry, Mr. Daniels.

Forgive me. I shouldn't
be texting and walking.

- Are you okay?
- Nothing broken.

I'm sorry.

Again, it was lovely to meet you, Tess.

I'm excited to play a part
in making history.

Well, I'm excited to make it with you.

All right, have a great day.

You too.

Well, I better take off, because
tomorrow's puzzle waits for no one.

Okay, well, I'll see you next week.

- Thank you.
- All right, bye.

Hey, Tess.

I'll send you an email
with all the details.

- Thanks so much, Viv.
- Okay.

Morgan, could you just... Could you...

BB, parking garage, level one, please.

Parking garage, level one selected.

BB, stop. BB, stop!

What was that?

I don't know.

Okay, thanks.

So since when did Queens become
part of our jurisdiction?

Well, the Mayor put in a call in
to the lieutenant,

requested the detective
with the highest clearance rate.

That'd be you.

And since Winston's out on vacation

and Queens is kind of
my old stomping ground,

your father thought it might make
sense that we partner up on this one.

Well, lucky me.

So I take it our victim had some pull.

Tech titan named Morgan Daniels.

I'm sure he made more
than a few friends Downtown.

- Is he the only fatality?
- Yeah.

All right, was anything...
Did anything look disturbed?

Wires cut or anything like that?

No. But the elevator's
a "Smart" elevator,

so it's connected
to a centralized network.

If it was so smart,
it should've known when to stop?

Yeah. Well, the safety protocols
that would prevent

something like this
from happening were overridden,

and they didn't engage,

so we got Computer Crimes
checking out that system now.

Okay, good. Well, let's let
Computer Crimes do their thing,

check the ones and zeroes of it all.

Let's head upstairs
and have a chat with XCAL,

- shall we?
- Yeah. Take the stairs?

Well, we're not taking this.

Tess.

Logan. Hey.

What're you doing here?

I had a meeting,
and then the crash happened.

What are you doing here?

Well, we are looking into the
cause of the elevator malfunction, so.

What... It wasn't just an accident?

Well, I mean,
it's a little too early to tell, but...

Speaking of, anything...

worth mentioning
that you're... Not really.

Unless you consider
the person servicing the plants

not knowing the genus or species
of a fiddle-leaf fig worth mentioning.

Yeah, no.

That's what I figured.

All right, I'll... I'll let you get to it.

It suits you, though, the...
the new haircut.

Not that the old one didn't.
I mean... Just...

You... you look good.

Thanks. It's good to see you.

You too.

Who's that?

That is Tess Harper.

She's a... she's a friend.

Listen, I need you to start interviewing
some of these employees, okay?

I'm going to head upstairs
and chat with the VP?

Yeah. Sounds like a plan.

So you're saying you've never
had an issue with your elevator?

Never.

Well, all we've determined so far

is that the safety protocols,
they just simply didn't engage.

Well, someone would have to
make those changes

to the system.
It wouldn't just decide to stop.

Okay, and how difficult
would it be to do that?

Only one person had access

to make those kinds of changes
to our AI system's code.

Let me guess, Morgan.

It kind of puts your company
in a tough spot, doesn't it?

I mean, without Morgan...

your system's inaccessible.

It's something that's going to be
very hard to explain to the Board.

Morgan valued control.

You know, and the power
that control gave him.

Right.

But without him,
there may not be an XCAL anyway.

Could someone else have gotten
a hold of Morgan's password,

and made changes that way?

I mean, he could've been hacked, sure.

But someone would have to physically be

at a computer terminal in this office

to make the necessary
alternations to the system.

Yeah? Why's that?

After a few attempts to penetrate
the network from the outside,

Morgan designed
a cyber-security barrier.

You know, works like a moat
around a castle.

Unless you were
on our side of the drawbridge...

You will not have access to it.

Exactly.

Okay.

You think someone may've
done this to Morgan on purpose?

It's a little too early to say, but,
I appreciate your information.

Thank you.

I should call Patricia.

You know, tell her the news.

- Who's Patricia?
- His wife.

Well, Paul, don't worry.
I'm sure we can handle that.

Excuse me.

I know this might seem like
an odd question, but...

how many people does that
company have working in this building?

Why do you wanna know?

Someone wearing that same
uniform gave me some great advice

on taking care of my bamboo
palm, and I... I... I just forgot to ask

how much I should be watering it.

Had to be Steve, he's the only
one that services the building.

- Steve.
- Excuse me.

Yeah. Thank you.

Hey.

Yeah, I figured you'd already left by now.

I just found something out.

You going to tell me
or do you want me to guess?

This is usually the part where
you tell me to stay out of things.

- Have you ever listened?
- No.

Okay, so I've learned to pick my battles.

Come on, what is it?

Right before Morgan got on the
elevator, I had a quick conversation

with someone who was servicing
the plants.

The guy that didn't know
the genus and species?

Yeah, exactly, and I just thought

that was kind of odd
considering it's his job.

Tess, not everybody knows
every minute detail

about everything like you do.

Well, it's basic information.

Okay. If you say so.

Anyway,

I just saw someone over there
wearing the same exact uniform,

but the security guard said

that only one person from that company
services this building.

And it wasn't the guy you were talking to?

No. And he... I don't know,
something was just off.

He seemed kind of nervous, and...

right when I started talking to him,
he was, like, digging around in the soil,

like he was trying to hide something.

- Okay. Show me.
- It's right here.

Plant?

Is that a bug?

Looks like this office has an infestation.

"This is Computer Crimes.
We've confirmed

the elevator's safety protocols
were purposefully altered."

- What?
- Yeah.

And that officially now makes
Morgan Daniels' death a homicide, Tess.

But I thought it was an accident?

Well, someone somehow got
into your guys' security system

and intentionally overrode
the safety protocols.

But I also wanted to ask you about

your voice-recognition
system on your elevator.

Can your computer decipher
between one voice and another?

Well, if their voice has been input
into the computer's memory, then yeah.

So your computer system

would have known that Morgan
was on the elevator. Okay.

Do you guys know if he had
any threats made against him?

We have had a few emails
and calls over the years,

but nothing that caused any concern.

I'm going to need a list of all
your employees here at the company.

- I can put that together for you.
- Great. Thanks.

We also found this listening
device in one of your planters.

I'm sure there's more all over the office.

Do you have any idea who might
want to bug the office?

Eisner Industries.

Our main rival.

They weren't above trying
to get inside information.

Hiring our former employees.

Multiple attempts to penetrate
our security network.

Corporate espionage is a
huge concern in the tech world.

You think they'd be desperate enough
to take out the competition?

I'd like to think
that they weren't... but maybe.

Well, whoever planted this bug,

I'm pretty sure had access
to a computer terminal.

Could've gotten into our network

to alter the elevator's safety protocols.

Based off of Tess's tip,
we pulled a screen-grab

from the office's security footage.

Let's run it through facial recognition,

- maybe we'll get lucky and get an ID.
- All right.

So you were there
when the elevator crashed?

Yeah. If Morgan had heard me ask
him to hold the door, I wouldn't be here.

Anyway, needless to say, they,

they've canceled the exhibition.

Well, since Reed is knee-deep

on a piece about serial robberies
in the Diamond District,

Delevante has asked me
to cover the investigation,

so any firsthand details
you've got, I'd appreciate it.

A person of interest
in the case disguised himself

as someone servicing the office plants.

- That's interesting.
- Yeah.

And I can tell you, he didn't
know the first thing about plants.

- You spoke to him?
- Yes.

And then he kind of disappeared
after everything happened, but...

Logan O'Connor, one of the
detectives, is trying to ID him.

Is there anything about him
you can remember?

He looked a little rough around
the edges,

you know, longish hair,
scruffy beard, and...

Yeah, a fiddle-leaf. Right.

He had a tattoo on his forearm!

I can't believe I forgot
to mention that to Logan.

Well, what was the tattoo of?

It was a wolf, howling.

Yeah, it was howling wolf.

Could be military, maybe? Any of these?

No. None of those match.

All right, I'm trying
"Howling wolves" now.

Maybe it's a sports team?

That's it. Howlin' Wolves Motorcycle Club,
New York City.

It's the same as his tattoo!

If plant guy is a member
of the motorcycle club...

Maybe someone there can identify him.

I'm going to check it out.

All right, thanks.

- Hey.
- Hey.

No hit on facial recognition.

Okay, were they able to pull
a print from the bug?

No luck there either.

Great. for-two, then.

Yeah.

Hey, Tess. What's up?

Hey, Logan. Listen, I... I remembered
something about the plant guy.

- He had a tattoo.
- Okay, that's good.

We can run that
through the system. That's fine.

You know, I looked it up
and the tattoo is an exact match

of the logo to a motorcycle club
called the Howlin' Wolves.

Okay, Tess. Please tell me you're not

- where I think you are.
- I'm at the Wolves' clubhouse now.

Okay, listen to me very carefully, Tess.

These guys are not choir boys, all right?

They're very dangerous people.

- I'll call you later.
- Tess!

That's good.
Yeah, just hung up on me.

Is your friend in trouble?

Yeah.

In more ways than one. I'll...

I'll call you! I'll be back.

Who the heck is that?

You lost, honey?

- This is a private club.
- Right.

Well, tell whoever the owner of that
Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide

that they have got a beautiful bike.

I mean, that Arlen Ness fairing is just...

wow, it's perfection.

That's my ride.
You know your bikes, lady.

Yeah, my uncle used to take me
for rides on his Softail

during the summer growing up.

You know what,
maybe you can help me with something.

I'm looking for someone.

It's a guy who has a tattoo on
his left forearm of the club's logo.

He's got kind of longish
hair, scruffy beard...

I know a lotta people
match that description.

Are any of the club's members
in these photographs?

Maybe.

That's him.

This is the guy I'm talking about.

That's Eric.

Why're you looking for him?

I...

And then when my aunt gave my uncle
the pig she got him for his birthday,

he said, "Well, that wasn't the
kind of hog I was thinking of."

Tess?

Hey, this is a private club, man.

Hey, Logan.

You know this guy?

Yeah. He's a friend.

She makes them
everywhere she goes, it seems.

You know what, I don't get
to talk motorcycles often.

This was fun.

Well, if ever you get an itchin'
for a ride, you gimme a holler.

All right, and thanks
for the information, Hammer.

Anytime.

Okay, see you guys later.

- Bye.
- Let's go.

You know, I really can't do my job

if I'm worried about you
getting yourself in trouble

- all the time.
- Logan, I can take care of myself.

- Really?
- Yeah.

And I got the plant guy's first name.

- You did?
- Yeah. Eric.

Okay, you know, that's... that's good,

since we didn't get a hit
on facial recognition.

Amrita, hey. Do me a favor. Run a list

of all the Howlin' Wolves MC
club members for me.

First name "Eric." Thanks.

You know,
your friend, Hammer, back there?

How d'you think he got his nickname?

- He works in construction, right?
- No.

More like felony assault.
Yeah. With a hammer.

I arrested him back when I was in patrol.

- Really?
- Yeah.

He seems so nice.

He seems nice? Real...
Yes. You got an address?

All right. Bye.

I'm leaving now.

You're welcome!

- Eric Ogden?
- Yeah?

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Turn around.

You know who doesn't run?

Innocent people.

So we found the plant company's
uniform in your van,

but when we called the company,
they confirmed you don't work for them.

As a matter of fact,
you've never worked for them.

So why don't you tell me
who hired you to plant those

listening devices at XCAL?

You think this whole silent routine
is gonna play, pal?

I've got you on criminal trespassing,
illegal surveillance equipment,

and I can even throw in
intellectual property theft

if I'd like. But here's
the cherry on top, Eric.

I've got you on conspiracy
to commit murder.

Murder?

- What murder?
- The murder of Morgan Daniels.

The CEO of XCAL Technologies.

You see, Eric, someone tampered
with that elevator.

And Morgan Daniels dropped 30 floors

to his death, around the exact same
time you were skulking in that office.

I don't know anything about that.

Well, you better start
telling me who hired you,

or you're going to be looking
at a few years to a lifetime behind bars.

Eisner Industries hired me

to get information on
the projects XCAL's developing.

Okay, how long have you been
planting listening devices at XCAL?

- A week.
- A week?

I got bills to pay.

Someone wants a job done, I do it.

And how much
do you charge for murder?

You were in the office.

It would have been really easy for you

to change the computer code,
and you know it.

I didn't go anywhere
near a keyboard in that office.

Really?

Check the security camera
footage if you don't believe me.

I will. I will.

In the meantime, I'd like you to give me

those audio files you compiled
from the listening devices.

You'll tell the DA that I played
nice and cooperated?

You start doing that, maybe I will.

The audio's downloaded directly
to a hard-drive in my apartment.

Good, now we're getting somewhere.

You ready to go?

Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.

- All right.
- I really appreciate

you offering to introduce me
to your friend, Viviane.

Yeah, of course.
She'll get you in front of

anyone at XCAL who wants to talk.

You know, it's been interesting
digging into the history of XCAL.

Morgan started the company
at MIT, with his friend,

Gregory Sackett.

I don't think I met him when I was there.

Nah, you wouldn't have,

because as soon as they launched
their first operating system,

Morgan booted him out of the company.

Right before XCAL went public.

Sackett left the tech world
behind and went into teaching.

So, what do you think caused Morgan
to get rid of his partner like that?

Maybe Morgan wanted
the glory and money all to himself.

So Sackett could have
a couple hundred million reasons

to hold a grudge against his old partner.

Security footage
just confirmed Eric's story.

He never was near a computer.

- Not our murderer, then.
- Apparently not.

Maybe the audio from the
surveillance picked up something else.

I got unis en route to Eric's apartment
to grab the drives.

Did you get anything on the XCAL
employee background checks?

So far, no red flags.

What about Tess's friend.
What's her name... Viviane Banks?

Record's clean.
Great relationship with Morgan.

Doesn't seem to have coding skills either.

This is bothering me, though.

Paul Redford said something earlier.

He said that Morgan was the
only person that would have access

to make changes to the AI system.

Doesn't that seem odd to you?

Yeah. Wouldn't give the company
a lot of options

- if something happened to him.
- Right?

I mean, you have this
successful company like XCAL,

you want to see it last a long time,

even after you were gone.
It just doesn't...

make any sense...
Did Jesse Alexander call you?

- No. Nothing yet.
- Wonderful.

I mean, we do know that
she's XCAL's lead coder,

so, hopefully, when we talk to her,

she can tell us who Morgan
gave access to.

Or if she had access,

she definitely has the know-how
to alter the safety protocols.

That's a very good point.

Very good point.

Which means I think she's,
due for a special visit.

What's going on in there?

The Commissioner
doesn't make house calls.

He's been with your dad
for the last 30 minutes.

It looks serious.

What is it?

No, I just, Chauncey's
floating the idea of retiring.

Well, he's put his time in.

Why not enjoy the rest life has to offer?

Retirement's all my dad talks about.

Well, unfortunately, Chauncey would be
lost without this job.

Looks like your dad's made up his mind.

Jesse?

It's Detective O'Connor, NYPD.

I just wanted to ask you a few questions.

Excuse me.

Have you seen anyone go in
or out of apartment four?

Saw her leave a few hours ago.

Had a duffle bag with her.

She in some sort of trouble?

Listen, if you see her again,
have her call me.

Detective Logan O'Connor, NYPD,
at that number, okay?

Great. Thanks, brother. Appreciate it.

Don't you have an office to work in?

Hello there.

- Hello.
- Hi.

I brought Frank to meet Viv, because
he's doing a story for the paper,

and I have a puzzle due in two
hours, and I'm nowhere near finished.

Well, that's what I admire
about you most, Tess,

you always put other people
before yourself.

Well, my aunt would probably argue
that I'm spreading myself too thin.

Hey, is there... is there
any update on the case?

Well, Eric Ogden
is not our guy, unfortunately,

so I figured I'd circle back to XCAL,

have a chat with some of the employees,

see if they can guide me

to figure out where
Jesse Alexander disappeared to.

You think she's on the run?

It made me pull
her credit card records, phone,

and she hasn't used either one of them
after Morgan's death.

We've also got a BOLO out for her,

so if she wants to skip town
on a bus, or train, or a plane,

we'll find her.

Maybe she's uneasy about her last
interaction with Morgan.

What do you mean?

Well, she definitely didn't agree with him

putting in a bid
on the government contract.

- Did it get heated?
- No. It was just awkward.

Well, she definitely left her apartment.

With a duffle bag.

Now, I don't know about you, Tess,

but that's not exactly
the kind of behavior,

when you skip out of town,
of someone filled with regret. So...

But it's always nice to see you
give people the benefit of the doubt.

Now, I mean, if I didn't,
you and I wouldn't be friends.

What?

What are you talking...
What do you mean?

You saying I don't make
a good first impression?

I'm saying that you, you know...

- you grow on people.
- I grow on people! Wow!

So, I'm like fungus now.

You really know how to
flatter a guy, Tess, thank you.

Yeah, that's a better way to say it.

No, what I mean is, I think you...

I think you put up a tough act
to keep people at arm's length.

You know what... I don't know about you,

but I'm a people person.

Detective O'Connor?

- Yeah.
- Hi.

Frank Lam, with the Sentinel.

I would love to get a quote from you

about the investigation,
if you've got a second.

Yeah, you can just put my usual down.

Okay. Which is?

"No comment."

You know, Tess warned me about you,

- and I still walked right into that one.
- Yes, you did.

Thanks for your time, Ms. Banks.
Take care.

- Come on in.
- Yeah.

No, I don't know
who he spoke to. Absolutely not.

What's all that about?

Paul's on with the Board.

Apparently, Eisner Industries
made an offer on the company.

Really? Didn't waste any time, did they?

Sharks smell the blood in the water.

Let me guess. Paul doesn't wanna sell.

It's a hard case to make,
considering we had to pull the bid

on the government contract.

- Why's that?
- All the work for the project

was on Morgan's personal hard-drive.

Took it everywhere he went.

It's probably in a thousand pieces
at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

Which is a tragedy, since

that contract could've
netted the company a fortune.

Well, I don't want to make any promises,

but I'll talk to the crime scene people,

see if they can keep
their eyes out at the scene.

Maybe we'll get lucky, you know?

- That'd be amazing.
- All right.

- Sorry, Detective. I've got to run.
- Yeah, that's fine. Thanks.

Hey, what's up?

You got 'em? All of 'em?

That's fantastic.
Okay, listen, I'm on my way.

Someone's stepping
off the clutch too quickly.

How can you tell?

My dad gave me driving lessons
on a stick shift,

and the sound of one stalling
is forever seared into my mind.

Viv. Hi. Do you need some help?

Morgan's wife asked if someone
could drive his car back to their house.

Thought a task might
be a nice distraction from everything.

Didn't realize it would be a manual
transmission when I volunteered.

Well, I drive stick,
if you don't mind the company?

You're the best.

I'll meet you back at the office.

You know, I...

saw you with the Commissioner earlier.

Yeah.

Something going on?

Yeah, You remember Lieutenant Hanna?

Yeah, I know, of course. You guys
came up through the Academy together.

Dropped dead last night
at his desk. Heart attack.

Pop, I'm sorry.

You know,
Jimmy never got his gold watch.

Never got the recognition he deserved

for putting in so many years on the job.

You know?

Last time I talked to him,
he was... so excited

about spending his retirement
spoiling his grandkids.

- Listen Pop, I'm sorry. You...
- Excuse me, guys.

- Yeah.
- I don't mean to interrupt, but,

there's a problem with the audio files.

What are you...
what are you talking about?

- What kind of problem?
- It's empty.

Erased, more than likely.

Do you think Ogden is playing us?

No. I mean, come on,

Pop, he told us where the files were.
It doesn't make any sense.

Our killer's cleaning up after themselves.

Yeah.

So...

You're positive there was audio
on those files?

Yeah.

I checked before I went back
to the XCAL offices.

Do you have any backup copies?

How many people at Eisner Industries
know what you were up to?

Only the person who hired me.

And who might that be?

Eric, remember all the nice things
I said to the DA about you?

Well, they can easily be unsaid.

Keith Eisner.

The CEO?

He and I go back to grade school, man.

He needs stuff done off
the books, he comes to me.

Was there anything on those audio files

he might not want the world to hear?

It was mostly techy business talk

and employees blabbering
about the weekend.

What about arguments?

Anything of that nature
that might implicate Eisner?

No.

You know, Eric, the DA's office
is just down the hall.

So I suggest you start thinking fast,
or you can say goodbye to that deal.

All right, you know, hold up.

That Daniels guy got pretty heated
with somebody on the phone.

They were talking about a deal
or a contract or something.

He was talking
with somebody named Patricia.

What'd he say?

He said he'd sign the papers
over his dead body.

Hang tight.

- You watching through the two-way?
- Yeah.

Who's this Patricia
he keeps talking about?

That would be Morgan's wife.

Daniels has got to be worth
a few million bucks?

Yeah, try a few hundred million, Pop.

He's threatening to cut her off.

Yeah, a pretty good motive
to want to see him dead.

Wait, does she have a computer
background?

No, I guess he was
a lawyer-turned-socialite.

Whoever caused the elevator to crash

had to know their way around
writing computer code.

I don't know, maybe
she teamed up with someone.

Jesse, maybe?

What about the VP.
what's his name? Paul Redford?

No. I looked into him. There's no priors.

His record's clean.

Besides, with Morgan dead, XCAL
would have lost out on a huge contract,

so, he had every reason
to want Morgan to stay alive.

I'm gonna have Amrita look into
a possible Patricia-Jesse connection.

Yeah, I'm going to go to Westchester,
talk to her myself.

Very good.

I...

Morgan wasn't much
for cleanliness, was he?

His mind was always working towards
the next big idea.

Guess he didn't have
a lot of time for the little things.

The only thing
that he seemed to make time for

was his standing Wednesday
appointment.

And what was so important
that he couldn't miss it?

I have no clue.

Well, he certainly spent a lot
of time at New York General.

Could he have been sick?

If he was, I didn't know about it.

The only person he seemed
to confide in was Jesse.

Yeah, and she certainly seemed
comfortable enough

to give him an honest opinion.

When Morgan announced that XCAL
would be putting in a bid a few days ago,

it took the office by surprise.
Everyone was excited.

Everyone except Jesse.

She was against it from the beginning.

She thought Morgan was
putting money before his morals.

I'm very sorry
for your loss, Mrs. Daniels.

Morgan was a brilliant man, Detective.

But he did not make the best husband.

Still, I heard he was pretty
upset that you filed for divorce.

Refusing to sign the papers.

He didn't like that
I started seeing someone.

Paperwork wasn't even signed yet.

Can't blame the guy.

I never wanted to hurt Morgan.

With the relationship starting
so close to our marriage ending,

I knew how much
pain it would cause him.

Despite taking every precaution,
he found out about us anyway.

So I take it he was going
to turn this divorce

into a knock-down, drag-out battle?

We didn't have a prenup.
I wanted what I was owed.

So the guy you're seeing,
it must have been

pretty hard on him to watch you
go through the anguish

of a drawn-out separation.

So you think that he killed Morgan?

I don't know. I'm looking forward
to the look on his face when I ask.

Who he is isn't relevant, Detective.

Okay, well, let's look at it this way,

if Morgan could find out
who you were seeing,

imagine how long it's going to take

someone with the resources
of the entire New York City

Police Department at his disposal.

Keith Eisner.

Your husband's main competitor?

It wasn't my choice
to fall for Keith. But I did.

In spite of how it might look
to some people.

Okay, when was the last time you
actually visited Morgan at his office?

A year ago, maybe more.

Can you remember offhand
if Eisner ever went over to XCAL?

You'd have to ask him.

I plan to.

Thank you for your time.

Yes, hi. I've been on hold for Keith
Eisner for, like, ten minutes now.

I was wondering if... Hello?

Hello? Good. Thank you. Nice chat.

Tess.

Logan. What're you doing here?

I don't know.
My job. What's your excuse?

She was helping a woman in distress.

- Thanks, Tess.
- Of course.

Remember, you just have to
ease your foot off the clutch.

Okay.

- Bye.
- Bye.

So you're giving driving lessons now?

- I thought you had a puzzle to finish.
- I did.

She was just having trouble
getting Morgan's car going.

Sounds a lot like this investigation.

- Is it not going well?
- One step forward, two steps back.

- Well, this might help.
- Okay?

Apparently, Morgan was stopping
by New York General Hospital

every Wednesday at the same time.

- Was he undergoing treatment?
- I don't know.

But if you give me a ride back to
the city, we could stop by and find out.

I don't know, Tess.
I might have to get you a cab.

Logan!

Kidding. Come on, let's go.

But I gotta make a pit stop. I'm starving.

Good. Me too.

Might have to make another pit stop, too.

I need some gas.
You got any extra cash?

Can't help you there.
Sorry about that.

- Patricia and Eisner are dating?
- Said so herself.

Do you think they could've
plotted to have Morgan killed?

Well, this is what I'm thinking.
I mean, go with me here.

You've got two companies, all right?

Each one of them are jostling
for this big government contract,

and Eisner says to himself,

"You know what, I don't think
I'm getting the upper hand here

by planting all these bugs."

"So I'm going to go kill Morgan,

and then I'll make an offer
to buy the company wholesale."

- It's a good theory.
- Thank you. I try.

The thing is...

Paul already pulled the XCAL bid.

Help yourself.

What? You were finished.

Well, I am now,
because you just took my last fry.

So why did Paul pull his bid?

Because all the work that Morgan
put into the bid is on this hard-drive.

The exact same hard-drive
he took on the elevator.

And it's destroyed?

Well, I've got Amrita,
actually, on the lookout for it,

but yeah, I'm afraid it's toast.

All right, talk to me.

Was that not the best patty melt
you've ever had in your life?

I mean it's... it's the most
patty melt I've ever eaten.

No, it was... It was really amazing.

Yeah. Yeah, my dad and I,
when we're out this way,

we always pop in here, so.

- How is Chauncey?
- How is Chauncey... Well,

I think my dad is weighing retirement.

- Good for him.
- Really?

- Yeah.
- I don't know.

I mean, if he needs a hobby,

he and my aunt could find
something to do together.

Okay. How about lunch?

Well, I don't...
I don't think eating is a hobby.

I mean, why doesn't your aunt Candace
ask Chauncey out to lunch?

Why?

Because I want to see how serious
he is about putting his papers in.

- Logan.
- What?

- Why not ask him yourself?
- Because...

my dad would never in a million
years tell me what he's really feeling.

Us O'Connor men
play things close to the vest.

Besides, I think he would open
up a lot easier to Candace.

Fine. I will find out
if she wants to be your go-between.

Thank you.

This was really great.

Thank you for showing me this place.

- Yeah, it's a cool place.
- Yeah.

And thank you for still
being able to drive stick shift.

It's a... it's a dying art form.

And you know what,
it had actually been a while.

- Really?
- Let me think, the last time...

the last time was when
I was supposed to go to France.

Yeah.

I had this theory. Romantic notion

of driving an old VW Bug
through the countryside.

"Supposed to go"? What do you mean?

It was going to be a holiday
with my fiancé,

but I called it off, so, no more
fiancé, no more trip to France.

I never knew that you were engaged.

You know, I just
couldn't shake the feeling

that... marrying him
was gonna be a big mistake.

And...

he wasn't the person I...

wanted to spend my life with.

Yeah. I mean, you know...

Excuse me.

Hey, Amrita. What's up?

Really? Nothing?

Okay. Thanks.

There is no apparent link
between Jesse and Patricia.

Yeah, and Morgan's assistant

said that Patricia hadn't been
in his office in over a year.

So Patricia probably didn't kill Morgan?

No, it doesn't look that way, no.

And they didn't have a prenup,
so she was going to get

- what she was owed anyway, so.
- You're right.

One step forward, two steps back.

Excuse me.

Hi, Detective O'Connor, NYPD.

I was wondering if you...

remember ever seeing this man?

Came on Wednesdays, around
2:00 p.m., for the last couple of weeks.

Yeah. He came to visit a friend.

Good. You wouldn't happen
to be able to tell us

the name of the patient
he was seeing, would you?

You know I can't, Detective.

Yeah, well...

Yeah, you can't blame a guy
for trying, though, right?

Thanks for your help.

Okay, so it must be someone
who was really close to Morgan

if he came every week.

Maybe a family member?
Or did he have any kids?

No, he had no kids.

Hey, Amrita. What's up?

Are they sure?

Great. Okay, yeah. Thanks.

What is it?

No sign of Morgan Daniels'
hard-drive in the elevator wreckage.

Okay, so maybe he...

maybe he left it in the office?

No, because his assistant said
that she saw him

put it in his pocket
when he left his office.

Right.

Someone stole themselves a
hard-drive that could be worth a fortune.

So, it had to be taken between
the office and the elevator.

Okay, Tess, you were
one of the last people

to see this guy alive, okay?
Do you remember seeing anybody

that could've gotten close enough
to do that?

No. I mean, a...

a woman did bump into him while
he was looking down at his phone.

She could've pickpocketed it off him.

Would you recognize her?

- I think so.
- Really? Okay. Good.

You said this woman had a pink streak

- running through her hair, right?
- Yeah, but I'm not seeing her.

Let's check with Viv. See if...

Viv. Viv.

Do you know the name
of a woman who works here,

pink streak in her hair?

Layla Barnes. Why?

Is she here today?

She was just a temp hire,
just filling in for a few days.

Were temps on that list of
all your XCAL employees you sent over?

No.

Excuse me.

Hey, Amrita, it's me.
Hey, listen, do me a favor.

Run a name for me
through the DCJS, okay?

- Yeah. Hit me.
- Layla Barnes.

Layla Barnes...

She's got a sheet.

Larceny, breaking-and-entering,
pickpocketing... You got an address?

Yeah. Sending it now.

Listen, do you guys require
background checks

on all your potential employees?

Most of the time. But...

What?

Layla came with a solid recommendation.

- From who?
- Jesse.

- Thank you for your time.
- Thanks.

Well, I think...

Jesse's working with Layla.

She gets Layla
to steal the hard-drive off Morgan, right,

uses the elevator crash to cover it up.

And then she gets away
with a program that's worth a fortune.

Right? I mean, Jesse,
we know is in the wind,

but maybe Layla's not that smart.

What do you think?

The way that Logan can rush
head-first into a dangerous situation,

yet, go to such lengths to
avoid conflict with his father...

is something he should maybe
consider working on.

He thinks he's more likely
to open up to you

- about how he's really feeling.
- Maybe.

Chauncey and I are overdue
for a get-together.

Well, on behalf of Logan, thank you.

What about you? Do you ever...

- do you ever think about retirement?
- Me? No.

It's outside of work that's in need
of a reinvigoration.

Well, since you've given up
on your opera,

is there something else that you
want to do that you haven't done before?

Skydiving.

Skydiving?

What?

- Tess, I'm pulling your leg.
- Okay, good.

But there is this little
Italian cooking class

I've been thinking about down the street.

That sounds like fun, and delicious.

If you need a recipe taster,
I'm your girl.

You're on.

Sorry, just one sec.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Guess who I managed to find?
Gregory Sackett.

Morgan's old business partner.

Yeah, he's in town for some kind
of medical treatment.

And while he's been denying
press requests, a certain reporter

was able to convince him
to give an exclusive.

How did you manage that?

Just charm, reputation,
an innate talent

to make my subjects feel at ease.

And it turns out that my father did
some business with Sackett's brother.

He vouched for me.

I'm gonna go see him tomorrow,

so meet me back at the office,
and we can go together?

Yeah, that sounds good.

- All good?
- Great.

Layla Barnes...

There you go.

- Logan!
- Yeah?

- You all right?
- Pop, I'm fine.

Trust me, I'm okay.
I just got a splitting headache

and a welt the size of a golf ball.

All right, talk to me. What do we got?

Layla Barnes died from a single
gunshot wound to the chest.

We're checking
with building management

about security cameras.
And we're canvassing to see

if anyone spotted the shooter
fleeing the scene.

But so far, nothing.

Any sign of Morgan's hard-drive?

We've got Layla's laptop and
a cache of burner cell phones.

But, no hard-drive.

All right. Good job. Thanks.

You sure you're okay?

I'm fine, Pop.

And you think Morgan was
visiting Sackett in the hospital?

Well, I mean, it makes sense, right?

You said that Sackett was
in town for medical treatments.

Well, if that's true, that must

mean that they patched things up
after all these years.

Maybe Morgan divulged something
to his old partner

that he never told anyone else.

I just can't believe he's gone.

But I am grateful that he...

reached out after our 20-year cold war.

Do you know why Morgan
did that, after all these years?

Morgan was experimenting
with XCAL's AI program.

Integrating a data collection.

Perhaps he was feeling nostalgic.

Plugged my name in as a test.

Wanted to see how much data
it would collect.

It knew...

that I was suffering
from kidney failure...

how many doctors I was seeing.

That's incredible technology.

Kind of terrifying
that a computer could...

learn such personal details
about you, isn't it?

In the wrong hands, absolutely.

Morgan had taken
the seeds of our ideas and...

created something more powerful
than I could have ever imagined.

Besides, it brought us
back together one more time.

I'll always be grateful of that.

And was this data-collection program

part of the government contract
he was about to bid on?

Yeah, he didn't talk too much about that.

He... he was worried
it would bring him bad luck.

A man of science.

Believing in the phenomenon of luck?

Gwen always said...

things that make
humanity most interesting...

contradictions.

Gwen?

The third member
of our little Round Table.

Guinevere Rice.

She and Morgan were together

when we created
XCAL's first operating system.

Which is named after Excalibur.

The sword in the legend of King Arthur.

Guinevere was King Arthur's wife.

The company's name was a nod to her.

Do you know where Ms. Rice is now?

After I left the company,
I heard they split up.

That's a great idea, Candace.

I look forward to it. Bye-bye.

So where're we at?

Well, we pulled some of the numbers
from those burner phones we found

in Layla Barnes's apartment.

Every number corresponded
to a different big tech company.

Makes sense. Layla stole the hard-drive,

she was reaching out to find a buyer.

Most of the calls lasted
less than a minute,

probably thought
she was some crank caller.

But there was one that took
that call a little more seriously.

Almost lasted eight minutes.

Eisner Industries.

Bingo.

There's so much smoke around
Eisner, I'm starting to choke.

You... you think he might've bought it?

Or he thought the price was too high

and decided to kill her for it instead.

I'm heading over
to Eisner Industries now.

- Keep me posted.
- Will do.

Where's Eisner's office?

Do you have an appointment?

Don't need one.

What's going on?

Someone hacked in
and hijacked our entire network.

Shut the whole network down.

Someone's trying to destroy
my company, Detective.

Do you think we could do this
at another time?

No, actually, I think
this is the perfect time.

Especially if you feel compelled to...

confess to something.

If you're asking me if I killed
Morgan Daniels, the answer is no.

And the bugs found in XCAL's office

turned out to be an overzealous
employee trying to win favor with me.

What about Patricia?

Patricia is a special woman.

One Morgan should've appreciated
more when they were still together.

- Now, if that's all, Detective...
- No, it's not all, Mr. Eisner.

You see, a lady by the name of Layla
Barnes called you at 10:43 yesterday.

- I don't know anyone by that name.
- Really?

Well, Layla Barnes
was an employee at XCAL.

She stole a hard-drive off Morgan Daniels
right before his death.

Her phone records confirm that
she called your cell directly.

Now, does that ring any bells?

I did receive a call yesterday
morning from an unknown number.

The person never identified themselves.

Even used a voice scrambler.

I couldn't tell you
if they were male or female.

But you certainly spoke for a while.

I think it was almost eight minutes.

Well, I wanted to hear them out.

I think you were considering
making a deal.

No, Detective.

I wanted to hear them out
so I could give the police

as many details about them as I could.

The police?

Purchasing stolen work product is illegal.

I reported the approach to the
Robbery Division of the NYPD.

You do realize I'm going
to check up on that, right?

Then you'll see I'm telling the truth.

Detective, Morgan and I were rivals,

but we pushed each other to think bigger.

His death is not only a loss for
all he had left to give to the world,

but for what those ideas
would've inspired in me.

Now, if you'll excuse me, Detective...

I'd like to try to save my company now.

Right. Okay. Thanks for your time.

Before I moved over to homicide,
I worked in the robbery division.

We get called out to a bank robbery,

and I'm interviewing a teller
who handed the money over.

I ask if she can remember
any details about the suspect.

She proceeds to tell me the guy's name,
address, phone number.

Wait, how could she know all that?

The same guy who robbed the bank

came in 20 minutes earlier
to update all his account information!

No! Come on!

He ended up robbing the same
teller he gave all his account info to.

Wore a ski mask, but didn't
even think to change his clothes.

I mean, come on.

Easiest collar I ever made.

If only everything in life
were that simple?

You know, there's a rumor going around
that you're thinking about retiring.

- Yeah?
- Logan told Tess.

I've been giving...
some thought to the idea, yes.

Logan's having a difficult time
thinking about you doing anything else.

Well, to be honest, so am I.

But that's also kind of
the exciting part, isn't it?

Have you given any thought
as to what you might do

when it's time to hang things up?

I had this romantic notion
of traveling up and down Italy,

taking cooking lessons along the way.

Sounds great.

In fact, I got a jump-start on it today.

I signed up for an Italian cooking class.

You did? Wow.

I could save a fortune
if I learned how to make

a decent plate of pasta at home.

Yeah!

Do you think there might be...
an open spot in the class?

I'll check.

Great.

Change is never easy, Chauncey.

Especially at our age.

But with age comes wisdom.

Whatever you decide,
I know it will be the right decision.

Yeah. Thank you very much
for your time, ma'am.

Thank you. Bye.

No luck finding Gwen?
Big old goose egg so far.

Well, Gwen and Morgan and
Gregory all went to MIT, right?

Yeah.

Their alumni office might be able to give
you her current contact information.

Tess, you're a genius.

Well... I don't know about that.

Don't thank me
before this goose egg hatches.

- MIT Alumni.
- Hi. Hi, yes.

I was trying to get
some contact information

for an alumna of yours, Guinevere Rice.

We don't disclose that information.

You don't give out that kind of
information, of course, but, I...

I'm calling because...

I... I recently purchased a house
that Gwen once owned

and I found some boxes
that she left behind in the attic

and I would just really
love to give them back to her

if you could give me
any information that would...

Gwen was in a car accident
and passed away.

I... I'm so sorry to hear that.

But I can pass
on her daughter's number.

Her daughter's number?
Yes, that would be...

That would be great. What's that?

All right, thank you for the help.

Gwen died in a car accident in 1993.

That must have been right after
her and Morgan broke up.

They gave me
her daughter's number, though.

Maybe she has some information

on the relationship
between Gwen and Morgan.

Yeah. It's worth giving her a call.

Right.

You've reached Jesse Alexander.

You know what to do.

What is it?

I think Jesse Alexander
is Gwen's daughter.

Hey. Hey, Pop. What's up?

have you heard back from Robbery yet?

Eisner filed a report
right after his call with Layla.

So he was telling the truth.

Maybe this'll turn your frown
upside down.

Layla Barnes and Jesse Alexander

were in the same
work-release program together.

What? Jesse did time?

"Jesse" didn't,
but Stephanie Rice did ten months

for hacking into the DOJ, NSA, and DOD.

So she changed her name.

That's why it took so long
to pull her file.

Didn't want her record muddying
the waters for jobs in the tech sector.

Right.

Do you think she might've
killed Morgan to halt the bid?

Come on, Pop.

I mean, she clearly wasn't a fan
of government institutions, right?

And was very upset that Morgan
was pursuing a deal.

She's been in the...
the wind ever since the crash.

I mean, come on, I think
we have a good case here

to get a warrant to search her place?

I'll get Amrita to get a judge's
john hancock on it right away.

- Great.
- Son.

Yeah?

I wanted to let you know...

I've given a lot of thought
to retirement...

and I think it's time.

Listen, Pop,

if this is something you wanna do,

I'm behind you 100 percent, all right?

Hey, once we wrap this case up,
let me take you out to celebrate.

- I would like that.
- Okay.

I don't know why you're following me,

but maybe you'd like
to explain it to the police.

Please, don't.

Jesse?

I gotta tell you, hacking into the
Department of Defense is no small feat.

If she could get past their security...

Safe to assume she can
get into XCAL's security system

and change the safety protocols.

- Logan?
- Yeah?

Is that Morgan's missing hard-drive?

Fantastic. One second.

Detective O'Connor.

Yeah.

Really? When did you find this out?

Well, okay then. Thank you.

That was Computer Crimes.

They just went through
the whole XCAL security system.

Morgan wasn't the only one
who had access to the AI system.

Turns out that he authorized
Jesse Alexander

a week ago.

- Really?
- Yeah.

A lot of people are looking for you.

I know.

Your detective friend
came to my apartment the other day.

I called Viv to find out what
he wanted to talk to me about.

She said that you two know each other.

You have to tell him
that I didn't kill Morgan.

Why not tell him that yourself?

Because I'm trying to find out who did,

and some of the ways that I'm
doing that aren't exactly legal.

You cared a lot about Morgan,
didn't you?

I found out your mom and Morgan dated.

XCAL's name is a reference to her.

Morgan was my father.

What? I... I'm so sorry...

No one else knew that, did they?

No... No, but...

I found out when I was a teenager.

He's why I got into computers.

But he had no idea
you were his daughter?

No, he hired me at XCAL without
any idea that Gwen was my mother.

But... a few weeks ago,
he pulled me aside,

asked me if my real name
was Stephanie Rice.

Because he put "Jesse Alexander"

into the data-collection program.

Scrubbing my identity wasn't easy,

but Morgan's program,

just as it did with
Patricia and Gregory Sackett,

connected the dots, which is...
which is exactly why I think

it is too dangerous
to sell to the government.

I regretted the fact
that I hadn't told him myself.

He was kind...

and supportive.

I was just... I was just starting
to get to know him.

- Detective O'Connor?
- Yo?

Jesse Alexander's been spotted in a
park, talking to an unidentified woman.

All right, tell the patrolman

not to let them
out of his sight. I'm on my way.

Do you really think Eisner killed Morgan?

Well, he's the only one that makes sense.

You have to go to the police. You have
to tell them everything you know.

I can't do that, Tess.

Because she doesn't want to get
arrested for the murder of Layla Barnes.

Wait... What are you talking about?

Jesse, please stand up.

You know, you and I are going to have
a long conversation about what it means

to interfere in an ongoing investigation.

Jesse Alexander,

you have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

An attorney will be appointed
to you if you cannot afford one...

So were you the one that recommended
Layla Barnes for a job at XCAL?

Yes.

Did you also conspire with her

to steal Morgan's hard-drive
out of his office before he died?

What? No. I didn't even know
that Layla took it.

I just assumed that
it was destroyed in the crash.

But it's funny, we found it
in your apartment, Jesse.

All in one piece.

Okay... no, no, no, no.

Someone is trying to frame me.
I have no idea how it got there.

Didn't Morgan also have plans to
sell XCAL's data-collection technology

to the government? Which you didn't like

the whole idea even from the start.

I mean, I heard you even, you know,

let everybody know about it
in the office, right?

I made my case, okay?

But it was always gonna be
Morgan's decision.

Morgan was my father... And
nobody knew about that, did they?

You know, Jesse, it must have
upset you, hurt you, for that matter

that your own father
wasn't willing to tell the world

that you were his daughter.

We were trying to figure it out
the best way that we could.

I was just beginning to build...

a relationship with him,
why would I want to kill him?

Because, Jesse, if Morgan sold
that technology to the government,

then he would be betraying everything
you ever stood for, now, wouldn't he?

No, no. Look, it had to be Eisner.

He hated my father.

Is that why you hacked into his network,

and wrote that whole
"Confess" message for him?

I've got to be honest, a smart move.

It makes you deflect suspicion
from yourself.

I'd like to call a lawyer.

Okay.

Okay.

Tess. Tess.

I'm not sure this is
the best place for you to be.

I... I just want to explain
to Logan what happened.

Jesse is a suspect
in at least one homicide.

As soon as you made contact
with her, you should've let us know.

If anything...

anything were to happen to you,

Logan would never forgive himself.

And I can't blame him.

If whoever it was that knocked Logan out

decided to pull the trigger instead, I...

Wait, what happened to Logan?
Is he okay?

Layla Barnes' murderer
took him by surprise.

He could've been killed.

I had no idea.

Tess. What're you doing here?

Logan, I just...

I came here to apologize.

You were possibly
sitting across from a killer,

who could've done who knows what
if she was cornered.

- You understand?
- I'm sorry.

I'm really, really sorry.

How'd it go with Jesse?

She lawyered up.

I... I just don't think Jesse's the
kind of person who could do all this.

Well, you'd be surprised
what people are capable of doing

with the right circumstances.

Jesse's too smart to keep a stolen
hard-drive at her apartment.

That stolen hard-drive, Tess,
is worth a fortune.

She probably didn't want it
out of her sight.

Amrita. Have you figured out
Layla's password yet?

No.

We gotta get in there. If we can get in,

we can maybe find some communication
between Layla and Jesse,

proving that they were working together

to steal Morgan's hard-drive, right?

Computer Crimes was able to
determine it's a seven-digit password.

I know this sounds silly,

but have you tried one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven.

It's consistently one of the most
common passwords people use.

Okay. Hey, it's worth a try. Let's go.

- No.
- What about words?

I mean, how many
seven-letter words are there?

There's over 33,000
in the English language.

Words are kinda my thing.

Yeah.

You know, I keep a list
of the passwords I use

on a little notepad near my desk.

Did we find anything like that
in her apartment?

Yeah. A list of everything we've collected
and bagged out of her apartment.

It's all over there.

Okay, what have we got here?
We've got...

A five by three spiral notebook.

- Amrita. Amrita, do me a favor.
- Yeah.

Try one of those seven digits.

Try the next one.

- We're in.
- We're in.

Well, it's good to know
people under 50 have trouble

remembering their passwords, too.

Come on, Pop.
You're gonna miss this feeling

of cracking a case wide open,
you know it.

I'm not gonna take the bait.

I should probably take off.
Sure, yeah, right.

Bye.

Tess!

Hey, Tess.

Hey, I was just on my way to take
Morgan's hard-drive back to XCAL.

I don't know if I could
give you a lift home?

Yeah, that'd be...
That'd be great, thanks.

Isn't the hard-drive considered...

- considered evidence?
- Normally, it is, yeah,

but your friend, Viv,
made a call in to the Mayor's office

to nudge the DA for a speedy release, so.

They're probably itching
to put the bid back in

for the government contract.

Yeah.

It's nice to have friends in high places.

I wouldn't know.

I only hang out
with riff-raff like you, so.

- Hey.
- What?

It's... it's my editor.

Go ahead and take it.
I'm just gonna be a minute.

Hi. Yes, I was actually just about
to hit send on tomorrow's puzzle.

Hey, Paul. Is... is Viv around?

I told her to head out.

There's no reason
for the both of us to stay late.

Guess you're right. Well, this is yours.

Thank you for bringing it home.

- No problem.
- So...

Jesse's really responsible
for Morgan and Layla's deaths?

It's certainly looking like she is, yeah.

Excuse me.

Hey, what's up?

You'll never guess what I found
on Layla's computer.

Copies of Eric Ogden's audio files.

She must've been the one that went in

and erased them
before we got there, right?

Lucky for us, not before making copies.

She probably needed
an insurance policy,

in case someone thought
she was a loose end.

Yeah, well, I started listening
to some of them,

and one was a conversation
between Morgan and Paul

the night before he died.

- About what?
- The data-collection program.

Anything interesting?

Yeah.
Morgan actually agreed with Jesse.

He told Paul that he was gonna
inform the Board of Directors

that he was pulling out of the bid.

Erasing a huge payday for everyone.

And after Morgan left,
Paul made a call.

- To who?
- No, not sure.

I could only hear
Paul's side of the conversation.

But whoever it was, he asked
to meet them later that night.

Do me a favor.

Keep going through those files
for me, okay?

All right, bye.

Hey, Paul.

You... you made a call the
night before Morgan's murder.

You don't recall to who, do you?

I think I arranged
to meet a colleague for a drink,

but I'll check my phone.

Must be pretty nice to have
that hard-drive back?

Now you can follow through with that bid.

It was lucky someone stole it
before the crash.

You know, this...

thing would have been a lot simpler

if Layla just took
the money I offered her.

Instead, she thought she could sell
the hard-drive to the highest bidder.

So you killed her, didn't you?

Spared your life, though.

And that's not a mistake
I'm not going to make twice, Detective.

Stay out of it, Tess. Just... Yeah.

Take your gun out.

Slowly.

Place it on the ground.

Kick it over to me.

You're going to walk backwards, slowly,

around the corner, towards the stairs.

You know, Paul,
my boss knows I came here, so.

You'll have the whole force
after you. You know that, right?

By the time they come looking,
I'll be touching down

in a country
without an extradition treaty.

While it's not
the billions it should've been,

the few hundred million I'm gonna make

from selling the technology
on the black market

will make for... pretty decent living.

That's it. Keep going. Nice and easy.

All the way to the stairs.

You don't have to do this.

You could even set off
the alarm systems if you wanted to.

BB, activate the alarm!

Hey, BB, shut off the alarm.

Nice try.

Logan.

Give me the gun, Tess.
Give me the gun. Now, Tess!

- You okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

So the hard-drive was empty?

Yeah, Morgan must've deleted
the program before he died.

All this death for nothing.

So how did Paul change the safety
protocols if he didn't have access?

Well, he watched Morgan sign in
one day and memorized the password.

- Human error.
- Yeah.

Well, I'm glad you two are all right.

It was Tess here who came to my rescue.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

And I couldn't be more grateful for it.

Thank you.

Of course.

Didn't you say
the reservation was at 7:00?

Yeah, no, it is, Dad. I just...
I forgot my wallet on my desk.

No, no, no, no.
You didn't forget your wallet.

I know what you're up to.

- Really?
- When you told me it was your treat,

I started putting two and two together.

Okay?

You are throwing a surprise
retirement party for your old man.

Pop,
I'm not throwing you any party, okay?

But I agree,
you do deserve to be celebrated.

Though that may be true,

I've had some second
thoughts, and I'm...

well, turns out you were right.

What's that? I'm sorry. I didn't hear
you correctly. Can you repeat that?

You were right.

That feeling of the chase.
The whole thrill,

rush of putting together a case,
I'm not quite ready to give that up yet.

Well, Pop, I always knew
you weren't ready.

What, you knew?

I can see it in your eyes.

Which is why I'm not
throwing you a retirement party.

Okay? Come on.

I'll get my wallet.

Surprise!

An "Unretirement" party. Fantastic!

To all that lies ahead.

To spaghetti pomodoro, linguini
and clams, and penne arrabbiata!

Hi, Everyone, if I can just have
your attention for a moment.

A toast to the man of the hour...

- No...
- You're not going to do this.

To your distinguished...
and ongoing career.

You make the department, the city,

and your family very proud
every single day.

We love you, Pop.

To Chauncey!

To Chauncey!

This is lovely.

And... you're very sweet.

Well.

I mean, when you want to be.

Don't... don't let it get out.

Okay.

Listen, Tess...

I know I'm not the most...

open person with my emotions.

I think it's this job that teaches you
to compartmentalize...

which can put a lot of strain
on relationships.

I have...

already lost one marriage because of it.

- I had no idea.
- Yeah.

You know, after my brother was killed...

my ex was adamant that I should quit.

She said, "You know what,
I can't cope with seeing you

put yourself in harm's way
each and every day."

And I told her, I said, "Look,

all I've ever wanted
to do with my life was be a detective.

And so...

I chose my job over my marriage.

I wanted to tell you this when you
were telling me about your fiancé.

I mean, I did, but I was, like...

"The O'Connor men
keep things close to the vest."

Yeah. Too close, I'm realizing.

But I'm also seeing...

the upside of letting people in...

instead of keeping people
at arm's length.

And that...

is because of you. So, thank you.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.