Original subtitles

[phone vibrating]

- [Colter] Hello. - [Teddi] Where are you right now?

Right now, I am on my way to South Dakota.

Do a little camping, do a little fishing.

[Velma] Good for you, Colter.

It is important to take time for yourself.

You have a job for me, don't you?

St. Louis, Missouri. $20,000 reward to find a witness who saw a murder.

Offered by Stephanie Porter, 16 years old.

She's 16 years old and she's offering a $20,000 reward?

She started a fundraising web page to raise money for her father's appeal.

I find that really sweet, actually.

Her father, Clay Porter, was convicted of murdering his business partner.

A man named Avery Ingram.

Got 30 years.

You mentioned something about a missing witness?

Stephanie says that there's somebody out there

who could help with her father's case,

but there's no proof they actually exist.

It might just be a sweet kid who wants to believe

that her father is someone other than who he is.

Yeah. Okay. All right. You got me. South Dakota can wait. Set up a meeting.

Maybe Reenie could consult? Lots of ins and outs

with this one already having been investigated and tried before a jury.

Okay. Yeah. I'll leave it to you to figure out the split.

I'll call you when I'm in St Louis.

[Stephanie] That's me and my dad.

That's all of us in Florida for spring break.

And that's his business partner, Avery.

See, they were friends.

I just know my dad didn't kill him.

I don't care what anybody says. He wouldn't lie to me.

Mrs. Porter, what do you think?

Please, Debra.

And I admire my daughter's passion.

But I'm worried that you're not gonna find anything.

Mom, he didn't do it.

And you said it yourself

the investigation his legal team did wasn't great.

[Debra] Of course he didn't.

And yes, I think Clay's public defender had limited resources.

But it's been a year.

There's been a trial. No one has come forward

and I think that maybe we did the best we could.

I think Mr. Shaw can help us.

You mentioned a missing witness.

Someone sent me an anonymous message on my fundraising page.

Here, take a look.

"There's a witness that knows your father is innocent."

And you have no idea who sent this?

We don't.

That's what you do, isn't it? Find missing people?

I do.

This is our only chance to save his life.

I want to believe there's a witness out there that can exonerate him too.

With all my heart, I do.

But I worry that we've exhausted every avenue,

and I just wanna do whatever's best for Stephanie.

It's hard to hear things about your father,

about your husband that you feel might not be true.

I know something about that. My father had a lot of secrets.

It was very hard on my mother. It was very hard on all of us.

So,

you're taking the job, right, Mr. Shaw?

Let me see what I can find out about that witness.

[Reenie] You want my opinion?

Clay Porter is guilty. End of story.

But what about him maintaining his innocence?

Colter, you may want to sit down for this,

but, um, people who murder often also lie.

[scoffs]

- What if he's not lying? - Based on what?

Based on the fact that no one saw Clay kill anyone.

Okay, let's review the facts. Shall we? Come.

Come, come, come.

Okay. So,

Clay Porter and Avery Ingram ran a business together.

An asbestos removal company,

homeowners move out while the work is done.

On the night of murder, Clay returns to a home where they're working.

- Guess what he finds? - His business partner, Avery,

running an illegal poker game inside the client's house. I know.

Except he doesn't just find it. Porter blows his top.

You've got... Count one, two, three, four people who independently witnessed

Porter hit Avery, threatened to kill him,

and then, oh, lo and behold, the coroner reports that Avery was dead

due to blunt force trauma to the head an hour after his fight with Clay.

- This is what you call a slam dunk. - No one saw him kill anyone.

No, but his attorney never found any other witnesses.

You're the probabilities guy. You tell me.

What are the chances that Clay Porter is actually innocent, hmm?

Low, very low. But I made a promise to his daughter.

Colter, you find missing stuff for reward money.

You don't exonerate convicted murderers.

Reenie, what's missing is the witness.

I get it.

This is personal.

I haven't forgotten what you told me about your brother and how he...

Okay, let's...

[sighs]

Come on, Reenie. You like this, huh? You kind of like it.

- Just admit it. You like helping people. - It beats filing briefs.

[sighs] And yeah, I kind of like this.

Okay. And there you have it.

And the coffee's good. So, okay. Therapy session over.

What's next?

What's next is I go talk to Clay Porter.

[Clay] I knew she was raising money

Said it was to help pay for a better investigation.

You really think there's a witness?

That's why I'm here talking to you.

Let's start with what happened between you and Avery Ingram.

I did not kill Avery.

What happened the night of the murder?

I go to check on this big job we have.

The house is all wrapped, ready for removal.

I go in and there's Avery running a poker game.

Like, not a friendly game,

in a house that we're supposed to do a job in.

That made you mad? So mad you want to kill him?

No, no. I mean, look, I lost my temper. I admit that.

And I said all kinds of crazy stuff, but it was just words.

You were mad that he was cutting you out of poker winnings?

Hell no, man, that is not who I am.

Look, Avery had his side hustle,

but that night he crossed the line

that put the business in danger.

And I busted my ass off to build this business.

And there he goes behind my back.

Avery was always up to something.

Gettin' mixed up in all sorts of shady stuff.

Look, he stayed in his lane and we were cool.

But that night, hell, he messed up. And he knew it, too.

You think he got mixed up with the wrong crowd?

- That's what got him killed? - I don't know.

It's possible. He was running with some pretty heavy cats.

And what do you know about this mysterious witness?

I got no clue.

I thought everybody left.

Me and Avery talked it out and he promised he'd do better.

And then what? What'd you do?

I went home and left Avery to clean things up.

The next morning, the cops roll up, and I'm still here.

If you're lying, you'll break your daughter's heart.

She's never gonna recover.

I would never do anything to hurt her. Never.

I swear to you, I'm innocent.

If there's a witness out there, I'll find him.

Normally, I'd ask Bobby to help me on this one,

but he's helping his mother move into a retirement home in Palm Beach.

- He's gone for the week. - [Velma] We will not bother him

unless we have to.

The anonymous message sent to Stephanie's fundraiser page

came from a burner phone.

Same burner phone received a message yesterday.

"Tomorrow night. Ante at 8:00. 12th and White Oak.

"Enter through parking garage. Gold coin."

Sounds like a poker game.

Guessing the gold coin is some sort of token or password to get in.

[exhales]

I'll figure something out.

I'll need you to make a call for me tonight at about 8:00.

[Teddi] All right.

[man] Go ahead.

Oh, man, feel lucky tonight?

- The hell? - I love poker... I love poker, man.

I just can't wait to get in there. Feeling lucky.

Private party. Invite only.

[man 1] Raise 200.

[man 2] Fold.

Action right out of the gate, huh?

Let's make a mess.

Another grand.

- Out. - Raise to two.

Burn and turn.

Check.

You know what? I'm gonna go all in.

Ooh, it's getting hot in here, boys.

- [chuckles softly] - [man 3] Make that flush, huh?

- Really? - Really.

Yeah, really. You had that with trip-fours.

Six percent chance of hitting. Of course you did.

- The question is, what do I have? - You know what I'm thinking?

You got nothing.

[chuckles] Maybe. Of course. Maybe I've pocket queens.

Fill 'em with fours on the turn. You don't know what to think right now.

[policeman] Hands up! Step away from the table!

[officers clamoring]

- [Reenie clears throat] - Thank you.

Well, thanks for bailing me out again.

I'm starting to think you like some part of this,

either jail or me coming to the rescue.

Maybe a little of both.

Here's what I don't understand.

Teddi and Velma called me to bail you out,

but then asked me to wait a couple of hours

because you hadn't actually been arrested yet?

I needed time with the other players,

so I had us all arrested.

See if any of them were the mystery witness.

[Reenie] And did it work?

- Any of those guys cross with Clay? - Not yet.

Just give me a minute. Wait for me outside. Okay?

Please. Just give me a minute.

[woman chuckles]

Let me guess. You're a cop. Got the game busted.

I'm not a cop.

The only reason I got out of here is 'cause I have a really good lawyer.

- Then what are you still doing here? - I think maybe you could help me.

Define "help."

In this case, "a witness to a murder."

No idea what you're talking about.

You sent an anonymous message.

Clay Porter?

He's in prison for killing his business partner.

Either you know something or you enjoy jerking people around.

[police radio chattering indistinctly]

How'd you know it was me?

Well, it had to be one of the players that was invited to that game.

Spent two hours in a cell with the others,

became pretty obvious it wasn't them.

But they keep women in a different holding cell,

so, process of elimination.

Now I'm hoping that you can make good on that message.

Help an innocent man get out of prison.

Look, I don't know why I sent that message.

I don't want to get involved.

Could it be because you're a good person?

[woman] So you really did all this just to find a witness?

- You're really not a cop? - No.

Who's the witness?

A girl named Mallory.

Don't know her last name, just played poker with her some.

We were both there the night of the murder.

And what did she see?

[sighs] After Clay showed up and fought with Avery, we all split.

She said she stuck around.

She went back inside to help Avery clean up.

She said she was in a back room.

Some guy showed up and killed Avery.

- Did she give you a name? - No. And I didn't ask.

Mallory said the killer got a look at her, but she got away,

and that's why she's been hiding out, on the run ever since.

Whoever killed Avery is still after her.

She knows if she goes to the cops, she's dead.

Hey.

- I got a lead on our mystery witness. - Name?

Mallory. She went back inside the house and saw the murderer.

- Don't suppose you have an address? - No. I'm gonna talk to Clay,

see if he remembers anything about this Mallory.

- You're gonna need me for that, too. - I am?

You'll want a private conference room.

- Attorney-client privilege. - Bingo.

Sometimes I think you're actually learning something from me.

[door buzzes open]

Who's Mallory? From the poker game, the night of the murder?

Don't speak yet.

- Give me a dollar. - I don't have a dollar.

Colter, give him a dollar to give to me.

Do we really need all these legal theatrics?

Half of law practice is theatrics. It's called procedure.

Great. Now I'm officially your lawyer, and this conversation is privileged.

Mallory, the girl Avery was seeing.

She was Avery's girlfriend?

She witnessed the murder.

She saw who killed Avery?

- How come she hasn't stepped forward? - The killer saw her face.

You said it yourself. Avery was mixed up with some bad dudes.

The only way I can help you and protect Mallory is if I find her.

I only met her once when she picked up Avery from a job site.

- What was she driving? - A muscle car.

Pretty sure it was a Dodge Challenger, about five years old, green.

- This is good, right? - It's a start.

Hey, uh, before you go...

Is Stephanie doing okay?

She misses her dad. Wants him home.

Let us get to work on this.

- [knocking at door] - [door buzzes open]

Hey, any luck finding Mallory?

[Teddi] 2017 Dodge Challenger. Kelly Green.

Registered to a Mallory Banks.

[Velma] She went off the grid after the murder.

She left her job, stopped paying the rent. Gone.

She's on the run.

- I doubt she kept the car. - [Teddi] Correct.

The Challenger was sold for cash, at McCabe's Car Zone,

outside of Kansas City.

Be there in four hours.

[groaning]

[gasping]

[alarm blaring]

[EKG beeping]

[knocking on door]

How's he doing?

I told Stephanie she had to stay away.

I don't want her to see him like this.

One of the guards said you and a lawyer visited him.

- Did you find something? - Avery had a girlfriend.

Saw everything that happened that night.

Possibly in Kansas City. Knows your husband is innocent.

There's a real witness out there for me to find.

But this happened to him because of your investigation, didn't it?

- Possibly. - But why?

Why try to kill Clay?

Because whoever killed Avery doesn't want the truth to come out.

The only way we can make sure your husband is safe,

is if we prove his innocence.

- I gotta get to Kansas City. - Please find that witness.

I'll do whatever I can.

I heard about what happened with Clay. It's awful.

Your client was shivved in a prison library.

Request inmate protective custody for him.

Yeah, of course. I'll file a motion right away.

- Great. - Unless you want to.

You're kind of his lawyer now, right?

- Excuse me? - Oh, I just...

I got a message earlier from a friend of mine down at the prison.

Said some woman showed up claiming to be Clay's lawyer.

I assume that was you.

That's right. Is that... Is there a problem?

No, not at all. I barely have the bandwidth to keep up.

Not enough time, money, or manpower in a public defender's office.

Well, then I assume that we're on the same page

and that we both want Clay Porter to have

every chance at a successful appeal.

Are you referring to the magical witness in Kansas City?

How did you know about that?

[sighs]

[exhales]

Clay's daughter, Stephanie, emails me incessantly.

Thinks if we just look harder, pay for investigators,

we'll find new evidence.

I know about this reward hunter she hired.

Colter Shaw, I believe his name is.

She says that he found this witness in Kansas City,

told me to get the paperwork ready because he's on his way there now.

- I feel for her. - But you don't believe her.

No one would be happier than me if this witness were real.

But we turned over every stone and found nothing that pointed to anything

other than Clay Porter being the murderer.

I will be in touch if there are any new developments and you'll do the same.

It's important I'm kept in the loop

in case you and Mr. Shaw manage to actually find this witness.

Yeah. I can probably do that.

Well...

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Loutreau.

[man speaking indistinctly]

Hold on. I'll call you back.

- Howdy. - Howdy. I'm Rico McCabe.

- Are you buying or selling? - You do both here, right?

You buy, fix and flip, I'm guessing?

You know it.

- I just finished with this baby. - Ooh.

Supercharged V8. Off-road, 20 inch wheels.

And it's a skirt magnet, too.

- You know what I mean? - Is that right? A skirt magnet. Oh.

- Uh, silicone sealant throughout. - Mmm-hmm.

Handle any weather that comes your way.

Pretty nice.

I was actually enquiring about a different car, though.

2017-ish Green Challenger.

- You flipped it a couple months back. - Nothing I can do about that.

If it's sold, it's sold.

It's important that I talk to the person who sold you that car.

Yeah, unless you got a badge or a warrant,

I think we're about done.

A man's life is at stake, sir. Please.

Take a hike.

In you go.

- Hey, son of a... - Couple of minutes. Just be a second.

Hey!

You may have saved a man's life today.

Good job.

[grunts]

Yeah, I got the address for Mallory. I'm here now.

Have you talked to Clay's lawyer?

[Reenie] Yeah. I just got back to my hotel.

I talked to his lawyer, Grant Loutreau.

Said he'd file a request for inmate protective custody,

- get Clay some protection. - Okay, great.

Yeah, I guess so.

It's just I have a bad feeling about this.

What's up?

Loutreau knows you're in Kansas City to find Mallory.

Stephanie told him.

And now suddenly, this case is a priority for him?

- Do you think that's a bad thing? - No, not necessarily.

I just don't like when people know your name, Colter,

or who you're trying to find, especially if someone is after Mallory.

It makes me nervous.

So, maybe I should call the KCPD, make sure you have backup.

No, Mallory might run. It's best if I find her first.

All right, just be careful.

- This isn't the kind of job... - I normally take. Yeah.

I know. I'll be fine.

Hey, Reenie, I gotta go. Mallory just got home.

Mallory.

Hi, I'm Colter Shaw.

- How do you know my name? - I'm not here to hurt you.

I wanna talk to you about Clay Porter.

[man grunts]

Who sent you looking for me?

- I'm working with Clay Porter's family. - That sounds like a lie to me.

You're gonna tell me how you found me,

or Uncle Max here is gonna beat you to death.

And then I'm going to grab my shovel and dig your grave in my back yard.

Leila Kent. You used to play poker with her, right?

Was there that night Avery was murdered.

You told her everything that happened that night, right?

Everything you saw.

She's been sending anonymous messages to Clay Porter's daughter.

Can you prove it?

Yeah, my phone. It's in my left front pocket.

You'll see a number for Stephanie Porter, Clay's daughter.

Call her yourself. Ask her.

I'm just trying to help her get her father out of jail.

What do you want me to do, Mal?

Give me the phone.

If you're lying, Uncle Max goes to work.

Call yourself. Ask her.

Check the call log.

This morning, someone tried to kill Clay in prison.

How is that my problem?

Because whoever is responsible knows I'm looking for you.

And if I could find you, he sure as hell could find you, too.

And whether they kill Clay first or you, it doesn't matter to them.

In fact, there's a 95% chance they're on their way here right now.

Who are you so afraid of?

[breath trembling]

Caesar Ashford.

[clears throat]

He's the one who killed Avery. I was there.

I was in the back helping clean up after the game.

And then I heard Caesar come in and he was pissed.

- So you hid? - Yeah.

But I could still see them in the other room.

Tell me what you saw.

Caesar started accusing Avery of stealing money.

And Avery tried to explain, and then he just...

He grabbed him and smashed his head into a desk again and again.

How did you get out of there?

I ran out another door, got to my car as Caesar was coming out the front,

and he got a good look at me as I drove off.

He's just not the type of guy that you testify against

and live to tell about it.

You think Caesar's on his way here?

Yeah, I do.

You gotta make a choice.

What are her options?

Well, you could keep running,

looking over your shoulder the rest of your life.

Or I go with you and tell the cops Caesar killed Avery.

Hope Cesar doesn't kill me first?

I'm not gonna let that happen.

You have my word.

What do you think?

I spend every moment of every day worrying about you.

I don't think you'll have a better chance than this.

Only you can end this for you and for Clay.

But it's gotta be your decision.

What do you wanna do?

I got her, the witness. I'm taking her to St. Louis first.

The job is done, Colter. You did your part.

- Collect the reward. - I promised I'd keep her safe.

- From whom? - Caesar Ashford.

He's the one who killed Avery, not Clay.

Oh, yikes! This guy looks like bad news.

Okay. Five years for aggravated assault and armed robbery in Knoxville.

Domestic violence.

We got gambling.

He was questioned in connection with three murders in the St. Louis area.

But nobody would testify against him.

She's been running from him ever since.

All right. I'll share this with Reenie.

All right.

How did you get into poker?

Never really saw myself driving kids to little league

or baking brownies for some husband's office party.

I just wanted a life with more excitement, I guess.

- Sounds like you found that. - [sighs]

Yeah, baking brownies sounds pretty good right about now.

I'll get you out of this.

[tires screeching]

[grunts]

[Mallory] What are you doing?

[tires screeching]

[air hissing]

- Reenie? - I think you're in danger.

Yeah, I got that. Caesar found us.

Not sure how, but I took care of it.

I think I know who tipped him off to you and Mallory. It was Loutreau.

- Clay's lawyer? - That's the one.

I was at the courthouse to look into the Caesar guy you texted me about?

I came across a drug charge against a local goon that worked with Ashford.

And get this. Loutreau appears to be Caesar's lawyer.

So Loutreau threw Clay's case,

so no one would go after Caesar for Avery's murder?

Loutreau must have told Caesar about the witness.

I just knew there was something off about this guy.

Get in contact with the ADA.

Tell him we're on our way back right now and get protection detail for Mallory.

That's my next call.

Reenie?

[line disconnects]

You've been following me, haven't you? You creep.

Sorry, Ms. Greene, but you need to come with me.

[grunts]

[phone dialing]

- She's not answering. - [cell phone ringing]

- Reenie. - [Loutreau] Colter Shaw.

Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

We have ourselves a bit of a conundrum.

Say hello to your friend.

- [Colter] Reenie? Reenie? - [Reenie panting]

Don't listen to this wacko, Colter.

- Anything happens... - Let's not muck this up with feelings.

Here are the facts.

I have something you want and you have something I want.

All the pieces we need for a trade.

- You don't wanna do this. - Let me stop you there.

If you ever want to see Reenie alive, you will do what I tell you.

You call the cops and she dies.

Let's talk this through. We can come to a solution.

Oh, we will, when you bring Mallory to me.

I'm not gonna do that.

When you change your mind, there's a warehouse.

South end of the Archway River Port

off Hickory and Eighth Avenue. Top floor.

Call me for further instructions when you get there.

[Mallory] What is it?

He said to go to the warehouse and that he'd call me when I got there.

How is he gonna know when I'm there?

He must be tracking my location.

He has Reenie's phone.

He's tracking me with her phone. He knows my location.

Should we... We should... Throw your phone out the window!

No. No, no, no.

I want him to think he's a step ahead.

That's how we tip the cards in our favor.

What's your plan? You're gonna give me up, aren't you?

[chuckles nervously and sighs]

- I knew this was gonna get me killed. - It's not gonna happen.

- Okay. Where are we going? - We're going to the meet location.

I have to save her.

They're gonna kill me as soon as they see me.

They're gonna try.

I know I've asked a lot of you, but you've got to trust me.

I can get us all out of this.

Okay. I sure hope so.

Is this your thing?

Huh? Mob lawyer?

A pawn for Caesar?

I guess it didn't bother you to let Clay Porter

be sent to prison for murder, even though you knew he was innocent.

Yeah, I thought he was guilty. At least at first.

All the evidence pointed to Clay.

But then you found out about the witness.

I had defended one of Caesar's guys before.

I got the Porter case, and Caesar gave me 20 grand.

Caesar Ashford is looking at life in prison and you're gonna join him

unless you cut your own deal.

You can still do the right thing.

- What are you talking about? - Nothing, really.

Just let me go.

There's still time to call this thing off for both of you.

Okay? I can help you make a deal.

[winces]

[breathing heavily]

[groans]

I thought you should know,

I've decided to kill you no matter what.

[Reenie grunts]

[Colter] Remember, they know we're here.

Open your phone and give it to me.

Okay.

[Grant] They're inside.

- At the front. - Good.

Let's go get our girl and end this.

Let's just hope your friend doesn't decide to play hero.

[Reenie grunts]

[Colter] Call your phone from mine.

When he calls my phone,

I want you to answer, don't say a word. Just merge the call, okay?

- Okay. - Then go hide right over there.

You see that?

- Yeah. - Okay. Great.

Here, keep this with you, in case you need it. Point and shoot.

Where are you going?

- Just do what I told you. Okay? - Yeah.

[phone rings]

[Colter] You still with me? You okay?

Stay hidden.

When he realizes that we're not here, he'll circle back around to the front,

and when he does I'll be waiting for him.

Crap. He's calling.

Deep breath. Answer the call. Don't say a word.

Just merge the call with me, put the phone down

and hide where I told you.

- Loutreau. - Welcome, Colter.

Looking forward to seeing you in person.

I'm here now. What next?

[Loutreau] Walk straight ahead towards the emergency exit.

I'll meet you there.

Since you know where I'm at, why don't you come to me?

I want to see Reenie first. Proof of life.

Fine. We'll do it your way.

They should be right here.

Damn it.

[clanging]

There you are.

[yelps]

[Mallory yells]

[grunts]

[Reenie grunts]

- Reenie. You okay? - Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, my God.

Come here. Come on.

[Reenie groans]

Oh, God. Out the door, that way! Go! I'm fine.

[panting]

[grunts]

- Hey, hey. - [gasps]

I'm with Colter. I'm with Colter.

[both grunting]

[gasps]

[yelling]

[body thuds]

[both gasp]

[exhales]

[Colter] It's safe to say

Grant Loutreau will no longer be defending you.

[Debra] The appeals board is meeting next week.

Our new lawyer and the district attorney says that with Mallory's testimony,

your conviction will be overturned quickly.

And you've been approved for inmate protective custody,

so you can continue to heal here at the hospital.

You're not going back to prison.

[chuckles]

I can't believe it. I don't know what to say.

[Stephanie] You're coming home, Daddy.

You're coming home.

I can't thank you enough.

For everything.

Don't thank me.

Thank Stephanie.

- Mr. Shaw. - Yeah.

You saved my life.

You gave me a second chance.

You have an amazing family here, sir.

Enjoy each other.

Oh, yeah, I see how it is.

Just skipping town without saying goodbye. Typical.

What's gonna happen to Mallory?

New name, new location, new life. She's gonna get a fresh start.

And she'll be safe.

Good.

Well... Hmm...

You know, I'm really glad they didn't kill you.

Wow. Okay. Thank you. That's so sweet of you

'cause I'm glad they didn't kill you either.

Until next time.

Until next time.