Alaska Daily (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 10 - Truth Is a Slow Bullet - full transcript

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Previously on Alaska Daily...

Mr. Crenshaw. You're
being charged with

murder in the first degree in
the death of Gloria Nanmac.

The DNA they found was semen.

Then the signed confession.

So how did he plead not guilty
if he signed a confession?

I need your story
on the arraignment

- and the presser by 6:00.
- It's 4:30.

You can do a Day Two
tomorrow. Keep going.

We've been pushing this
story uphill for months.

Now, suddenly, it's
rolling downhill fast.



Did we just play a part
in the rush to judgment?

Conrad Pritchard
bought these parcels.

He's building a rare earths mine

at Hockley Mountain?

We're planning to
publish tomorrow morning.

Have we gone to him for comment?

Austin's headed over there now.

He's never gonna talk to Austin.

We still have to report it.

What the hell did you do?

You want a war? You got one.

Did you sexually assault Gloria?

I would never do that.

- So, what happened?
- Gloria was mad.



She called, and
I didn't pick up.

There weren't any calls
placed from her phone

the night she went missing.

She left a voicemail.

Toby. I'm sorry
for what I said.

You know I love you.

Please come get me.

This number, the one
she's calling from,

that's not her number.

Could belong to the
person who killed her.

What?

Eileen?

What?

What were you thinking about?

Oh.

My colleague, Bob.

The earnest one.

Yeah.

The earnest one.

You said you enjoyed
provoking him.

In a good-natured way.

I believe I prefaced
my admission with that.

You did, indeed.

So what about Bob?

His wife is sick, and
it's progressing quickly.

Mm. And?

I ran into him in the
bullpen yesterday.

I asked him how he was doing

and he... gave
me a real answer.

What did he say?

He said he was hanging in there,

but it was a very
difficult time.

So he told you the truth.

He didn't cover.

- Did that surprise you?
- No.

But as a general rule,
I don't encourage people

to share their burden with me,

especially people in pain.

Because it makes
you uncomfortable?

No, because I don't
want them to feel like

they have to
reciprocate and ask me.

- Are you in pain?
- That's not the point.

What is the point?

It was out of character
for me to even ask.

I don't do that.

Especially at work.

Why do you think you did that?

I don't know.

Maybe I'm still sideways
from being held hostage.

Or maybe, intentionally
or not, you did want him

to reciprocate and ask
you how you were doing.

Yeah, I don't think so.

Like I said, that's not like me.

People change.

Well, have you had any
panic attacks lately?

No. I haven't.

We listened to Gloria's
voicemail on your phone.

She called from a
different number

than the one Sylvie gave us.

Do you know whose
number this is?

It was hers.

Her other phone.

Sylvie was getting
in her business.

She didn't want her to call me.

So she got a
pay-as-you-go phone.

She had it for a few
weeks before she died.

There's no record of this
number in the police report.

Well, it's hers.

It was hers.

Mm.

You okay?

It sucks in here.

I hate it.

My Change of Plea
hearing is next week.

I thought I could just plead
guilty and that would be it.

But Jimmy says I have
to tell the judge

that I raped Gloria and
that I beat her to death.

It's called an allocution.

Makes it really hard to
claim your innocence later.

I never hurt her.

But I can't get the
deal unless I say I did.

That's messed up.

Yeah.

It is.

You believe me, right?

We're doing everything
we can to find the truth.

I just told you the truth.

Claire, did you write that piece
on the weeping spruce blight

- a couple of years ago?
- I did.

Uh, March, I think, 2018. Why?

Our big blue spruce seems to
have contracted the blight.

The one in your
backyard? Too bad.

My parents lost one
of their spruces,

but they saved the other
one with a fungicide.

If you need a rec, let me know.

A gang of yellow-rumped warblers
hangs out in our spruce.

Colleen says the
fungicide'll poison them.

I'm inclined to save the tree.

Flora or fauna. It's
a Sophie's choice.

- I've never seen that movie.
- It's a riot.

If I remember correctly,
weeping spruce blight

is caused by a
non-native species.

Non-native species. The
root problems of all Alaska.

Roz Friendly, ladies
and gentlemen.

To be fair, we
were talking flora.

The fact still
remains, doesn't it?

Roz, coming in hot.

Whoa, is the copier fixed?

It is, in fact, working.

That's excellent.

But I used the last toner
cartridge printing these.

- That's un-excellent.
- Yeah.

Jindaháa and I are doing
the MMIW database together.

Hey.

Yeah, so, these are the calls
I transcribed off the tip line.

These are articles the
paper ran about MMIW

over the past 15 years.

These are cases I
pulled off of CourtView.

And all these boxes
came to us from JCAN.

Alberta dropped
them off yesterday.

How much have you entered
into the spreadsheet already?

About this much.

- We're gonna need some help.
- Yeah. Lots.

All right, so,
uh, Teletrove says

Gloria's burner was
bought with cash

and it wasn't registered.

Since there's no name attached,

they won't turn over records
to Sylvie as next-of-kin.

What about you?

I can't stop listening
to her voicemail.

Gloria tells Toby
that she loves him.

That doesn't sound like a woman

reaching out to a
man who raped her.

And then there's
the other voices.

Other voices?

It's faint, but you can hear
men talking in the background.

Toby, answer your phone.

Can't make out

what they're saying,
but we need to know

- who they are.
- I'm sorry

- for what I said.
- Assuming it's not Toby.

- You know I love you.
- We need a tech nerd.

- This place is bad.
- I got a guy.

You do? In house?

No, strip mall.

A sound guy in this...
This strip mall?

Yeah, Al. He owns
Al's Dank Buds.

Oh, this I gotta see.

Zach's entire extended
family is in Chicago.

He'll have grandparents,
aunts, uncles,

cousins his own
age to play with.

But he won't have his father.

Ah, he'll come for a
stretch in the summer.

A stretch?

This job will allow me to
pay for a better life...

Private school, plus
savings for college.

A... A house with a pool.

You know he's
always wanted that.

You've always wanted that.

He has a great life here.
He loves his school.

You wanna rip him away
from all his friends?

Soccer, hockey?

They have those in
Chicago, and at least

I'll be able to provide him
with a safe environment.

What the hell does that mean?

Okay, let's keep it respectful.

Every time you have him,

you end up bringing
him to that newsroom...

He loves that newsroom.

Where an armed gunman recently

held one of your
colleagues hostage.

What kind of place
is that for a child?

Are you kidding?

We have a custody agreement.

You do.

But if we can't come
to a compromise here,

it'll go back to the court.

And we all agreed we're
trying to avoid that, right?

First time I've been in here.

Yeah, not me.

Hey, look at this.

Matanuska Thunderfunk.

- How good is this guy?
- Good.

Weed's his business,

but this guy's a
next-level audiophile.

I used him to dig out a bad
recording a few years ago.

Groovy.

Roz! Come on back.

Who's she?

I'm Eileen. We're partners.

- Hi, Al.
- Hi, Eileen.

- Any luck?
- Yeah.

I tried to filter
out Gloria's voice

and amplify the background.

I also reduced the
low frequencies.

They were distorting.

Anyway, take a listen.

Daddy, I wanna go.

Is that a kid?

Daddy, I wanna go.

That's a kid.

I can put an audio file
of this on your phone.

Ezra Fisher said
he left Skeeter's

to go get his son that
night, but never went back.

If we can confirm
that that's his kid,

then he didn't
leave before Gloria.

And he loses his alibi.

- Hey, Bob.
- Hey.

Stanley said you have a
contact at Teletrove Cellular.

Yeah, my buddy Gary is
VP of Public Relations.

We founded the home
brew collective

you've heard me reference...

Anchorage Yeasty Boys.

Yeah. Cool.

Uh, do you think that Gary
could help us track down

the records for this number?

It was Gloria Nanmac's.

Happy to ask him.

Cheers. Appreciate it.

Taylor, I just have a few
questions. It won't take long.

I don't want to talk to you.

Then don't. Just listen.

- You're gonna want to hear this.
- What?

A voicemail Gloria Nanmac left

on someone's phone
the night she died.

She was calling from this
drug dealer's house...

Skeeter Redding.

Daddy, I wanna go.

Is that Jackson?

Because if it is, I'd
like to talk to him.

You're not talking to my son.

He's 10. No way.

Taylor, please.
If he was there...

He's got nothing
to do with this.

You show up again,
I call the cops.

Then can you at least
tell me where Ezra is?

Yeah, I can.

Because I have to
see him twice a week,

because I don't
have full custody.

Because my case fell
apart after your article

took down my prosecutor.

Taylor, I know this sucks,

but I don't want an
innocent guy to go to jail.

He just got back into town.

He's laying fiber-optic
cable over on Spenard.

Now unless you want to lose it,
get your foot out of my door.

Bunny, you're with me
coding the ontology.

You have the conceptual schema?

It's mapped, but I'm
still building the engine.

Erica, Trudy, you're
both in charge

of the graphical user interface.

Marsha, you and I are
doing data filing.

Our goal is a working beta
to demo by this weekend.

Seriously?

We don't need full
functionality,

- just proof of concept.
- We can do it.

It's gonna take a few days.

We have a few days. And food.

- And coffee.
- Life's essentials.

But we'll need to stay
on this 'round the clock.

- Any conflicts?
- Well, I have

my parameterized model

of sea-ice dynamics
due in two days.

What's that, and due to who?

Well, it's a model that
hindcasts and forecasts

sea-ice dynamics based on
varying climate conditions,

- and it's due to NASA.
- Wow.

- So you're that kind of smart.
- JINDAHAÁA: She is.

- Can you do both?
- Yeah.

I-I just wanted
to be transparent.

Well, thank you so
much for being here.

All of you, really.

This is very important,
and it's so helpful.

And the clock is
ticking, so let's go.

Taylor listened to it. She
recognized her kid's voice.

So Ezra lied about
leaving Skeeter's

to pick up his kid?

Yeah. And Jackson was with
him, which is screwed up.

Sounds like he got back into
town and is working on Spenard.

I'm gonna try and
track him down.

Back in town from where?

Whatever village he
was working in. Why?

W... He was in Meade for work
when Gloria disappeared, right?

- Installing high-speed Internet?
- Yeah.

And he's been all over
the state for the job,

laying cables in lots of
different villages, right?

Right. Yeah.

So we find out
where he was when...

See if he hurt anyone else.

Try to establish a pattern.

Talk later.

- Hey, Austin.
- What's up?

Need a favor.

Can you pull the stories you've
written about Denali Broadband

installing Internet
service across the state?

Sure. For the Nanmac story?

Yeah. We're trying to track
the movements of a guy

we think might be involved.

Okay. The articles don't
usually mention the names

of the workers.

We're just looking for the dates

that Denali hired workers
in various villages.

- Hard copies please?
- Uh, printer's down,

but I'll pull clips
from the archive.

Eileen, I heard back from
my source at Teletrove.

He said the records
are confidential.

Without a court order,
he can't share them.

Sorry.

Maybe take another run at him.

His answer was pretty firm.

Well, no is easier
than yes, right?

Give him another
push. It's important.

Hey.

How did your custody mediation
thing go this morning?

Wonderful. Smiles all around.

- That bad?
- Yeah, kinda intense.

- Got in my head.
- How so?

I'm starting to wonder
if maybe she's right.

Maybe Zach would be
better off in Chicago.

More family. More
opportunities.

He seems like a happy kid to me.

I know, right?

I mean, he is happy.

But he would be
close to cousins.

Doesn't have any here. I
mean, am I being selfish?

For not wanting to uproot Zach
so your ex can get a better job?

No.

Okay, stop beating
around the bush.

Tell me what you really think.

I will.

Always.

Okay, this might
not be appropriate

to say in the morgue,
but that's hot.

Oh, yeah?

You deserve better.

Do I?

Because I don't think...
I don't... It doesn't...

Okay.

You know I don't want to stop.

No.

To say it, as long as
I've been thinking about

what kissing you would be like,

the kiss exceeded
my imagination.

I mean, expectations can
really bite you in the...

Were you trying to shut me up?

There were just a lot of words
falling out of your mouth.

You're a good person.

I know.

To be continued.

What?

Ezra Fisher?

Do you remember me?

Are you kidding?

You took down Adam
Barnett. You're my hero.

I'll buy you a drink anytime.

Maybe a rain check, but I got
a couple questions for you.

About what?

Do you remember that
case I asked you about?

Gloria Nanmac?

They found her killer.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, an ex-boyfriend.

Guy named Toby Crenshaw.

He confessed.

I think I read
something about that.

Took 'em long enough.

We're doing one last story on
her just to wrap things up.

You said you saw Gloria
that night at Skeeter's,

but you left before her
to go get your kid, right?

Yeah, that's right.

I had to pick him
up from the sitter.

And you never went back?

You never saw her
again after that?

Yeah. No, never saw her.

S'too bad.

Maybe you can clear
something up for us.

Gloria left a
voicemail for a friend

at Skeeter's that night.

A kid's voice is
in the background.

Daddy, I wanna go.

That's Jackson, your son.

Taylor confirmed it.

Why don't you tell me what
you really did that night?

You're not a cop.

I don't have to talk to you.

Hey.

Yeah, hey.

I found what you're looking for.

Over the past 10
years, Denali Broadband

has installed service in 27
villages across the state.

Thanks. Uh, so we call
the police department

and see if there were any
complaints against Ezra.

A lot of those villages don't
have police departments.

- What do you mean?
- He means exactly that.

One in three villages
don't have cops.

- That's insane.
- We call it Alaska.

If they're lucky,
they'll have a VPO.

- What's a VPO?
- Village Police Officer.

- Usually an underpaid...
- And undertrained.

Member of the community.

So, can we get in
touch with these VPOs?

Yeah, probably. We can
call the village stores.

VPOs generally post
their phone number there.

Going deep. Good luck.

Doris Peal? Roz Friendly
with The Daily Alaskan.

Wondering if you ever
dealt with Ezra Fisher

between April and July 2016?

That's right... Ezra Fisher.

Are you sure it
doesn't ring a bell?

No, not Evan
Kirshel. Ezra Fisher.

Yeah, he worked for
Denali Broadband.

- Would've been in Nikolai...
- You just started as VPO.

Did the old VPO
keep any records?

- You sure?
- Thank you.

We still got

12 villages to call.

It's a long shot, but
maybe we'll get a hit.

Eileen Fitzgerald.

Eileen, this is Andy Ward
from The New York Times.

- Good time to talk?
- Sure.

Uh, Andy, just give me a second.

I'm, uh, gonna go grab a coffee.

Do you want one?

I'm good.

What can I do for you, Andy?

Well, I've been
following the work

you've been doing
up there in Alaska.

- It's damn good.
- Thanks.

We were all horrified by what
happened to you, by the way.

I'm sure you read Bret
Stephen's opinion piece

on violence against journalists.

I did. I sent him an e-mail.

Oh. Hopefully
The Daily Alaskan

has beefed up their
security system.

A little, but they
don't really have

the budget for
that kind of thing.

Not surprising, given
the economic realities

of small city papers these days.

Which brings me to my point.

We'd like to offer you
a job here at The Times.

Is that right?

You belong in New York, Eileen.

Have you checked in with
New York about that?

I have.

And, uh, to be honest,
I feel like Rushmi

let you down at The Vanguard,
not the other way around.

That never would have
happened here at The Times.

We would've been
way ahead of it.

You belong on this stage.

I appreciate that, really.

But I'm... I'm deep in a story
I really care about here.

And the editor, he gave me a
shot when no one else would.

Stanley Cornik, yeah.

Yeah, he's good. A pro.

But all due respect,

how much longer is
he gonna be doing it?

Don't know. Haven't asked.

Okay, look,

I'm gonna text you a
back-of-napkin offer.

It's healthy. Think about it.

It's a chance for you
to tell the big stories

the way you want.

Who was that?

Uh, New York friend.

Did you forget your coffee?

Yep. Any updates?

Yeah, I got a hit.

VPO in Tuxecan remembers Ezra.

- Where's Tuxecan?
- Southeast.

He was seeing a
local girl there.

Um, Julie. Beat her up.

The VPO called the Troopers
and they charged him.

Charged him?

Why don't we see
it on his sheet?

Can we talk to the victim?

VPO said Julie won't talk
to strangers on the phone.

Well, does this VPO have a name?

Um, Sadie.

We going to Tuxecan?

Feels like it.

Stanley's gonna push
back on the cost.

Any chance you could
ask the poet pilot?

Yeah. I could.

Really?

Yeah. Really.

What's up?

I'm wrestling with a dilemma.

Oh. You know I
like me a dilemma.

Lay it on me.

I worry sometimes that
I, professionally,

am too observant of
common social mores,

too considerate of
other people's feelings.

To the detriment of your
work, you're saying?

Yes.

Would I be a better
journalist if I were more...

morally flexible?

More...

Like Eileen?

She and Roz need something
for the Gloria Nanmac story,

something important.

If I asked Eileen for
something, she would get it.

My friend Gary won't help,
and I could press him...

Mm.

Do you think this is something
Gary could do for you?

Yes. I do.

It would be unpleasant
for him, but it's doable.

So maybe dip your toe
in the pushy waters,

see what it feels like.

Hey, hey, hey! No complaining.

These... These are
friends of mine.

We're reporters.
We've heard worse.

Much, but the tail is new.

It's a nice day, huh?

Yeah. It is.

Do you guys ever hang out on
terra firma, or just up here?

What is wrong with up here?

What are you, an
altitudist, Roz?

Sounds like it. She's
a Planet Earther.

No judgment.

Just trying to get
a vector on things.

"Vector." Very nice.

Very nice.

Felt pretty good
about it, myself.

How hard is it to
learn how to fly?

It's surprisingly not that hard.

I mean, if you have the...

You know, you have
the right teacher.

Are you, uh... Are you
a little fly-curious?

Maybe.

Do you ever just fly to fly?

All the time.

If I'm ever stuck with
my writing or my life,

I come up here, let it all go.

Kawdigoo.

What's that mean?

"The water has settled clear."

When life gets tangled,
you follow the river

until the chaos falls away.

Kawdigoo.

I like that.

Does the chaos fall away?

Every single time.

Oh.

Just to say it, if you
guys ever do take your show

to Planet Earth, I'll
totally support it.

You must be the reporters
from The Daily Alaskan.

We are. Sadie Quinn?

Yeah, it's me.
Welcome to Tuxecan.

You must be Roz.

- Yeah. This is Eileen.
- Hi.

We gotta go, if you don't
mind. I just got a call.

Some guy's shooting up a house.

Need to make sure he
doesn't hurt someone.

Ah, Jonah.

What the hell's he doing?

Morris!

Oh, Jesus.

Does someone live here?

No one.

The former owner, Morris,
he died a year ago.

It's been empty since. You
two mind staying in the truck?

Not at all.

Do you have a gun?

Town can't afford to insure me
for one when I'm on the clock.

Morris!

Ain't that a twist?

Morris!

Morris!

Come on. Let's
go back to town.

What is she doing?

Hugging an angry man with a gun.

As one does.

All good?

Mostly.

Jonah's off his meds.

He and Morris were friends and
he's angry at Morris for dying.

That's really heartbreaking.

Sounds like a job for a
professional psychologist.

Well, he had to settle
for this amateur one.

Jack-of-all-trades.

I do my best.

What are the cots for?

Anyone who needs a
safe place to sleep.

Do, uh, people just call
you when they need help?

Who else are they gonna call?

911?

If you call 911 out here,

you get transferred
to a 1-800 number

which then connects you to a
call center way up in Wasilla.

Wasilla? That's, um...

That's like calling
Miami to get the police

to come out in Chicago.

That's Alaska.

Gary?

Bob?

What are you doing here?

I need to talk to you, Gary.

Is this about the phone records?

C'mon, Bob. I told
you my hands are tied.

You got time for a beer?

I have a new malted
barley brown roast

that's very toasty and rich.

That's kind of you, Gary, but
this visit's all business.

At my home?

You didn't call me back.

I can't give you
those phone records.

A leak like that
could get me fired.

I wouldn't be asking if
it wasn't important, Gary.

You wouldn't be breaking
anyone's confidence.

The owner of the
phone passed away.

A murder victim, actually.

It could help bring
her killer to justice.

You should do this, Gary.

I'm done with this, Bob.

Please leave.

Now.

You know, we did a
reader survey recently

tracking customer satisfaction

of Alaskan cellphone providers.

Guess who came in dead last?

Teletrove.

I'm just following the rules.

I'll pass that along to
Gloria Nanmac's mother,

who's desperately
hoping to find out

who killed her daughter
before she succumbs to cancer.

You can't put that on me.

We're prepared to
publish an article

detailing Teletrove's failure to
respond to consumer complaints.

But I'd much rather
write an article

about how some unnamed
Teletrove Cellular executive

did the right thing and
helped solve a murder.

You're kinda being a dick, Bob.

I know.

But if I'm being honest,
I don't see any other way.

I met Ezra at Crystal's,
a bar in town.

The whole village was excited

about finally getting
high-speed Internet.

People were always buying
the Denali guys cocktails.

He was fun...

at first.

What changed?

Sometimes when he
drank, he turned mean.

Didn't really
bother me at first.

I was kinda wild
back then myself.

When did he hurt you?

One night, he just... snapped.

Beat me up pretty bad.

I played dead to survive,
and then when he passed out,

I crawled over here.

When I got over there,
Mr. Fisher was still passed out,

so I restrained him.

Troopers came the next morning.

They arrested him and took him
to the courthouse in Sunrise.

Did the DA ever call you?

Never heard from them.

Next thing I knew, the charges
were dropped and he was gone.

Do you have any other
pictures or notes

or evidence in that drawer?

I keep notes on
everything that happens.

We need to figure
out what happened

at the courthouse in Sunrise.

How far away is it?

60 miles or so.

I'm happy to drive you.

We keep all our local
records on... there.

Go ahead. Just type in a name.

That was quick. There it is.

Felony assault and
domestic violence.

April 2018. Ezra Fisher.

It's just like Sadie
and Julie described it,

so why haven't we
seen this before?

Excuse me?

Why isn't this
charge on CourtView?

Let me see.

Oh, that's because the
DA dropped the charge

a month and a half later.

So? It should still be
available on CourtView.

Not true. A few
years back, the...

They passed a law
that prohibits us

from publishing domestic
violence or other charges

that were dropped or dismissed.

Including sexual assault?

Yeah.

I guess the thinking behind
it is, one false accusation

can ruin a guy's life, you know?

Ezra could've been stopped if
this information was available.

So the only clue that
Ezra has a history

of violently attacking women
is hidden on this one computer.

The question is how
many other charges

against violent abusers are
hidden in dusty courthouses?

Why does it smell
vaguely exotic in here?

Did you bring that ferret back?

No. They've been
here since yesterday.

Well, I admire the dedication.

Yeah, very curious to see
what it's gonna yield.

- How'd it go in Tuxecan?
- Good.

And bad, depending on
your point of view.

Listen to this.

So, I made some calls to
some of the other courts

after Roz told me what
happened in Sunrise,

and they all said
they couldn't give me

the information over the phone.

- Why not?
- It's policy.

You have to ask for
the records in person.

Obviously, we can't fly to
every village and do that.

So what's the workaround?

Well, I called the people
from each of the villages

who sent in tips about
missing relatives.

They were more than happy
to make the requests for me.

And?

And I got two more DV charges
against your boy, Ezra.

One dropped, one dismissed.

So neither charges
were ever made public.

So it's a pattern
of violent behavior

that's been virtually
erased from the system.

Listen, I gotta deal with this.

- Thanks, Austin.
- Yeah!

Maybe I should take another shot
at Taylor before we go to print.

Yeah. Good. The new information
on Ezra might be enough

to make her reconsider and
let us talk to her kid.

Hey. Um...

Look, I'm...

I'm so sorry about
how contentious

our last mediation session was.

I know you care about Zach's
safety as much as I do.

Yeah.

You know, there are crazy people
with guns in Chicago, too.

Yeah. I know. You're right.

But there's also
newspapers there as well.

And magazines and
even TV stations.

- Anna...
- Zach needs his father,

but his father doesn't
need to be in Alaska.

Not forever.

Right?

Just come, okay?

Get your own place.

Be a journalist, be a father.

You can do those
things in Chicago,

and we can give Zach
the life he deserves.

Think about it?

I don't have to.

Zach has a good life
here, a unique life,

and he loves it.

And I have a life
here that I love.

You're the only one who's
dissatisfied with Alaska,

but I am not going to willingly
uproot myself or Zach.

Okay. Well, then, I guess
I will see you in court.

Taylor, please,
just hear me out.

I'm sick of you.
Just leave me alone.

He's hurt other women!

Three that I know of so far.

Four if you include Gloria.

How come I don't
know about this?

Because Alaska's more
worried about protecting

the reputation of abusers than
the safety of their victims.

This is Julie from Tuxecan
after Ezra was through with her.

Tuxecan?

He worked there
for a few months.

Yeah, I remember.

This is hard. I get it.

But it's real,

and we need to figure
this out together.

I need to talk to Jackson.

Please.

Hi, Jackson. I'm Roz.

Hi.

I want to talk to you about
something very important.

But first, I want you to know
you're not in any trouble, okay?

- Are you the police?
- No.

I'm a reporter for
The Daily Alaskan.

Kinda like the
guy on your shirt.

He works for the
Daily Bugle, right?

Yeah, but he's a
photographer, not a reporter.

Good point.

Do you remember visiting your
dad up in Meade two years ago?

Did he take you to
a grown-up party?

You can tell us the
truth. I won't be mad.

Did he ask you to
not tell anyone?

Yeah.

Jackson, do you
remember this woman?

She used crutches.

Do you remember her, honey?

Do you know what happened
to her that night?

I think she got hurt.

Daddy had to drive her home.

She was sleeping.

Were you with them
when he drove her home?

No.

He... He left me at the party.

Are you sure?

Is that true?

He told me not to tell anyone.

He said I'd get in trouble.

You're not in trouble, Jacks.

You're not.

DA David. Got a minute?

Ms. Friendly.

If this is about Toby
Crenshaw, I have no comment.

It's not about Toby.
It's about Ezra Fisher.

He was a person of interest
in the Gloria Nanmac case.

Yeah, I know. He
had a solid alibi.

Ezra was arrested three times

for felony domestic
assault around the state.

Because of Rule 40, those
arrests were never made public.

We pulled the records
from the villages.

Like I said,
Mr. Fisher had an alibi

for the night Gloria
Nanmac went missing.

That alibi fell apart.

We just talked to
his 10-year-old son,

and he told us that Ezra
left Clarence Redding's

the night Gloria went missing.

He said she was sleeping.

Even if it's true... And
testimony from children

is historically unreliable...

All it proves is that Ezra
left a location with Gloria.

You're not gonna do
anything about it?

I have a signed confession
from Toby Crenshaw.

That's a hell of a lot more
convincing than three arrests

that resulted in not one
prosecution of Ezra Fisher.

What if we write an article

about how Rule 40
protects domestic abusers?

That's wildly inaccurate.

Is it? Under Rule 40, if charges
against an alleged abuser

get dropped or dismissed,

the courts don't have
to log those arrests

into the statewide database.

Men accused of violent crimes
are hiding in plain sight.

Like Ezra.

So a prosecutor in
Anchorage would have no idea

if a suspect in Scammon
Bay or Russian Mission

had been charged with assault.

Innocent until proven guilty.

It would be highly
prejudicial to leave an arrest

on someone's record if
charges are dropped.

It's also highly prejudicial
to charge the wrong man

with Gloria Nanmac's murder.

Toby's taking a plea
in less than a week.

Off the record, the
Governor is satisfied

that justice is being
served, and so am I.

This train has left the station.

Goodbye.

- Fill me in.
- The good news is,

we're pretty sure we
know who killed Gloria.

The bad news is, it's not
the guy going to prison.

And we can't do a
damn thing about it.

Ezra was right.
We're not the cops.

We can't touch him.

Our stories aren't
moving the needle.

Toby's rotting in jail, and
the DA won't listen to us.

He may not be listening,

but the rest of the state is.

Whether you realize it or not,

you're having a
dialogue with Alaskans.

The truth is a slow bullet.

Don't stop.

Go. Write your story.

This reads well.

Yeah, it's good.

Uh, few small things.

Check it.

You okay?

I hate it when I lose
faith in what we're doing.

Well, Alaska's a good place to
lose it, for what it's worth.

Does that mean you're
gonna take the job

at The New York Times?

If I'm being honest,
I haven't decided.

Well, if I'm being honest,
I'd want redemption, too.

After what you went through,

walking into The New York
Times, everyone watching...

I do like the idea of punching
cancel culture in the face.

So I came clean.

Your turn.

You taking the WaPo offer?

How'd you know?

They called me as a reference.

Well, at least someone's paying
attention to our stories.

So? You going?

I haven't decided either.

Getting an offer from
The Washington Post

ain't no small feat.

It's impressive.

And deserved.

I suppose so.

I always thought I'd jump at
it, but now... I don't know.

How you gonna decide?

Guess I'm waiting for a sign?

Let me know when you see it.

Sorry to barge in,

but we have something
we want to show you.

Hi, everyone.

Well, first, I want
to thank Jindaháa

and his talented
and generous friends

for putting in the time
to help with this project.

And of course, we
wouldn't be standing here

if it weren't for Eileen
and Roz's MMIW series.

So, here goes.

For context, I have to point
out that Alaska Native women

experience the highest
rate of sexual assault

of any demographic
in the United States.

This is the first
case we entered.

We all know her by now.

Gloria.

These women went missing
in the last year.

This is the past five years.

10 years.

15 years.

In the past 100 years,

literally thousands of Native
women have disappeared.

Still today, in 2023,

at least one woman goes missing
weekly from Anchorage alone.

Extraordinary work.

Special delivery.

Is this what I think it is?

The records for
Gloria's burner phone.

Thanks, Bob.

How'd you get your pal
to change his mind?

I channeled my inner Fitzgerald.

That sounds painful.

It was, a little.

But it worked.

Thank you.

Look at the date of
the last call she made.

November 30th, to 911.

She disappeared the 28th.

Sylvie reported her
missing the next morning.

If Ezra left Gloria
on the tundra

on the night of the 28th,

she was alive for at
least two more days.

So while the police
refused to search for her,

while they did
absolutely nothing...

Gloria was making desperate
calls, including one to 911.

There has to be a recording.

And we gotta hear it.

♪ Into the fire ♪

♪ Feel more alive
than I've ever been ♪

♪ Heart of a fighter ♪

♪ Made in the flames ♪

♪ I know when I get
to the other side ♪

♪ I'll be better for it ♪