OPENING SCENE
Jeff and Alan watch the video replay of Lambert shutting Kristen up at $2 Bill's. Jeff laughs loudly, aware that Kristen is standing just s few feet away. Kristen asks, "How old are they, three? Four maybe?" Alan says they're just having a little fun. But Kristen doesn't laugh at this and asks why Alan lets Jeff annoy her like that? Angel now walks up the stairs and tells Kristen she has to stop letting Jeff get to her. Kristen cups Angel's face in her hands and says, "That's me, I can't help it. It's better than hitting him." Angel later reflects he is genuinely feeling badly for Kristen and the way she is being treated.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 13
HQ. Morning Briefing. There are now only six investigators left. Therefore, Gary assigns only two tracks of investigation. Kristen recounts her Killer clue track from the previous night. Gary assigns Track One to investigate the Grady Point Lighthouse and the "Lost at Sea" monument further. They are to meet with the lighthouse keeper, Bradford Ferris.
Gary then discusses the sliding puzzle game found at the crime scene at Leita's house. He says latent fingerprints taken off the back are those of Frank Kovick. Track Two will follow up on Kovick; meeting him at his boathouse and finding out where he was the night Leita Rose-Blodgett was killed.
The group next watches Stacey's "Last Will & Testament" in which she appoints Jeff as the next lifeguard. Later, Angel reflects that he isn't surprised as Jeff "campaigned" for the job. "He's very good at that," Angel observes.
Before Jeff specifies who will go on what track, he gives a little speech to his fellow investigators, observing that he appreciates the diverse personalities of the group and that he certainly likes to be challenged. However, that said, he states rather firmly that he doesn't "respect and will not tolerate anyone who is conniving, manipulating or lying."
Jeff then assigns Kristen and Angel to Track One and the lighthouse, and Katie, Alan and Brian to Track Two and Frank Kovick.
On the boat ride out to the lighthouse, Angel tells Kristen that he feels she has been mistreated by the group and that he won't be a part of that, even at the risk of being ostracized by the group. In an interview, he admits that he's found Kristen to really be a nice woman and that she simply needs somebody she can trust and he senses that he is that person. Angel states that he does not want Kristen to have to feel more hate and anger from the group. He wants to continue to work with her and he refuses to vote for her to go out and play the Killer's game again.
X-Ray, meanwhile, drops Team Two off at Kovick's boathouse. Upon their arrival, they find Frank in mid-argument with his wife Tate, who has packed the car to leave him. She knows of the alleged affair Frank has had and believes the rumor that this woman is pregnant. After Tate leaves, Katie confronts Frank and explains they are trying to solve this murder. Frank says that's exactly what he is trying to do as well. He then gives the investigators his alibi for the night Leita Rose-Blodgett was killed. He says that between 9:30pm and 11:00pm he was at the diner with Sam. From there he went to his boathouse for the rest of the night.
As they walk away Brian and Alan express frustration that they couldn't go into Kovick's boathouse. He very conveniently blocked the doorway the entire time. As they ride away down the dirt road in X-Ray's cab, Thibodeaux's truck suddenly races past them and blocks their way. Thibodeaux jumps out and runs to the cab and agitatedly tells the investigators that one of them should meet him tonight out at the salmon pens by the "Old Sow" whirlpool after eight o'clock. He has "something very important to tell them." He then races off towards town.
Back on the boat, Angel and Kristen discuss Jeff and how they are both on his bad side. As they disembark the boat, Moe suggests that they not take the lighthouse keeper lightly. They find Bradford Ferris atop the lighthouse cleaning the glass. Angel and Kristen climb up and meet him. He is a strange and nervous fellow who speaks in choppy sentences, much like a child. He tells them he knows everything about the "Lost at Sea" monument and the names on it.
Kristen asks him to tell them about the Duchamps. Ferris says it was the spring of 1941, a windy and rough season that saw the loss of many vessels. As for the Duchamps, their boat was lost in a gale and the wreckage of the boat was never found. The entire family was lost at sea, no bodies ever recovered.
Later, in an interview, Angel admits that he now sees Kristen in a different light. He says that he thinks she has taken enough abuse and that he will not vote to send her out to play the Killer's game again. He says that he definitely wants to work with her more.
Upon disembarking from Thibodeaux's boat in the Sunrise Marina, Angel and Kristen's attention is drawn by a commotion coming from a nearby boat docked on one of the piers. A bunch of fishermen are leaning over the boat holding something in the water. One of the men is William Lambert and he starts yelling for some more help.
Nearby, Prudence Connor is cleaning fish on her own small boat. Hearing the cry for help, she picks up some sort of steel rod and runs to the boat. Angel and Kristen follow. Jumping on the boat, Connor holds this rod high above her head and slams it down towards the water. Bang! There is an explosive sound. Lambert quickly follows suit with a rod of his own. Bang. Another shot echoes. The fisherman now have control and pull a 10 foot Mako shark onto the boat.
Lambert thanks Connor for her help and she leaves. Kristen follows her while Angel stays with Lambert. Connor pushes past the numerous sweepers who are busy sweeping the docks. Kristen asks if the steel rod is for "Catching fish with." Connor replies, "No, it's for killing sharks with." Kristen then asks what it's called. "A bangstick" is the response. Connor continues to prepare her boat for departure while Kristen continues to throw questions at her. She asks, "What does it shoot out to kill the shark with." "What do you think?" is Connor's retort. "I don't know, bullets? Air?" She gets no response.
Upon arriving back at Headquarters Kristen announces that they have discovered what the murder weapon is. She and Angel describe the bangstick. They relate that Moe told them it doesn't shoot a bullet; it doesn't shoot anything at all. It works by pressing the end against a surface.
Later that evening, Alan travels out to the salmon pens to meet Thibodeaux. Upon his arrival he finds Thibodeaux and Connor in a heated argument. Thibodeaux is trying to convince Connor to "come clean". He says that the investigators are here to help. But Connor wants none of that argument. She is mad that he invited Alan out to the pens and thinks Thibodeaux is going to tell some crazy story. As Alan approaches, Connor grabs the bangstick from Thibodeaux's hands and throws it into the water in the middle of one of the pens.
Thibodeaux goes after Connor and tells Moe to take Alan back to shore. As they leave, Thibodeaux continues to argue loudly with Connor. As Alan leaves, Thibodeaux yells after Connor: "What are you hiding? I saw you the way you looked at Jimmy Tinker. What the hell are you doing with Jimmy Tinker? Are you protecting him? What are you protecting? Who are you protecting?" Connor's response is "stay out of this."
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 14
Morning Briefing. The investigators recap their findings from the day before. Gary then assigns the tracks for the day. Track One, Angel and Kristen, will train for a cold water SCUBA dive to recover the bangstick from the salmon pens. Track Two, will follow up on Kovick's alibi that he was at Sam's diner until 11:00pm the night Leita was murdered. Records from the phone company indicate that a phone call was placed from Leita's house at 11:15pm. However, the time stamp on Rev. Crandall's answering machine recorded her call at 10:15pm.
The group decides that this discrepancy should be cleared up right away and they place a call to Rev. Rusty Crandall's residence. But it is not the Reverend who answers, but rather, Mary-Elizabeth Merchant, wet and wrapped in a towel with Rusty taking a shower in the background. This, of course, catches everyone by surprise. Never the less, Gary, talking on the speakerphone, asks Mary-Elizabeth to check what time Rusty's answering machine reads. She says it reads 1:08pm. The investigators quickly point out that the time is currently 2:08pm, a fact that Mary-Elizabeth picks up on herself. The answering machine is one hour slow. We now realize that the phone call - and Leita's murder - occurred at 11:15pm.
This information does not clear Kovick as a suspect as 15 minutes is plenty of time to have left the diner and made it to Leita's house and commit the murder. Track Two is assigned to talk to Samantha Larabee at the diner and see what she remembers about that evening and see how much her story syncs with Frank's alibi.
At the diner, Katie, Alan and Brian are sitting in a booth, just beginning to speak with Sam when Frank Kovick walks in and wants to know what they're talking about. He immediately gets defensive and says he already gave them his story. Brian moves quickly to get Kovick away from Sam and the other investigators by telling him he has a few more questions, and motions for him to come over to the counter. Instead, Kovick asks Brian to come with him to the newspaper office, as he has something to show him.
Brian leaves with Kovick. Once at the office, Kovick reveals that he wasn't completely truthful yesterday, admitting that he had, in fact, been at Leita's house the night of the murder. Evidently, Leita had called Kovick's wife Tate, and told her that Frank was having an affair. Frank says he was furious and went to confront Leita. But he was caught off guard when Leita invited him inside and calmly talked with him about the affair. He tells Brian he didn't do anything to Leita that night. While Kovick has been more forthcoming, Brian notes that he still doesn't have a good alibi.
With sweepers stationed outside the diner, Sam confides in Katie that she is two and a half months pregnant with Frank's baby and says Frank is a "really, really good guy" and that she loves him as a friend, but beyond that she's not sure what to do.
Still in his office with Brian, Kovick offers up one more piece of new information. In his effort to assist the investigation he shows Brian a document that shows that Nate Flint had an offshore bank account. Kovick points out that this would allow him to circumvent US banking laws, making it easier to dump and hide money. Frank further believes there is a second page to this document that Nate might have kept in a small office in his basement.
Katie feels this begins to present them with a potential motive for the murders. Perhaps the Killer was owed money and was seeking revenge, or knew about a stash of money and had greedy intentions. Whatever the case, money, she states, "Is a pretty common motive."
On Track One, Kristen and Angel begin their SCUBA training in preparation for their attempt to retrieve the bangstick. After detailed oom instruction, they don their equipment and get into a swimming pool for the water portion of their training. While Angel takes to it quickly, Kristen struggles with the bulky dry suit and full-face mask breathing apparatus. Ultimately, the instructor feels that in light of these difficulties, it would be unsafe for Kristen to dive in the frigid and unpredictable waters of the bay.
Angel reassures Kristen that although she won't be getting into the water, she is still a big part of the team and that whatever he accomplishes, she accomplishes as well. Kristen, while disappointed, is both accepting and supportive of Angel as well.
Brian convinces Katie and Alan that they should return to the Flint house to search for the page of the bank statement. Duncan accompanies them to the house and into the basement. Duncan tells them he had the water drained and the investigators are able to do a much more thorough search than on their previous visits. After an extensive search, Brian finds a small black wadded up trash bag in a corner, containing shredded papers. To be honest, Brian says he doesn't really believe there is anything useful in the bag and admits it will be a great effort to sort through the shreds. Still, it is all they have and so they take it back to HQ with them.
Meanwhile, out at the salmon pens near the Old Sow whirlpool, Angel is preparing to make his dive into the pen to search for the bangstick Connor got rid of the night before. He states that he knows this is a dangerous but important mission as this could be the actual murder weapon. The water is 34 degrees and in his training he learned that unprotected, a human could survive no more than seven minutes. Based on recent developments, Kristen believes that Connor and Thibodeaux now stand out as the leading suspects in the murders. Angel still feels that Lambert is his leading suspect, though he admits that Connor's recent actions have thrown him for a loop.
Back at HQ, Jeff sees the mess of shredded paper and comments, "what a disaster." Brian, Jeff, Katie and Alan begin the arduous task of piecing together the thousand of shreds to see if a clue lies within.
Angel jumps in and begins a circular search pattern looking for the bangstick. The water is murky and green, visibility about 15 feet. Finally, Angel sees the bangstick but must be careful in his approach as part of the stick is sticking out through the bottom of the net. Reflecting back, Angel describes his need for caution as the wake from his movement might dislodge the stick sending it the bottom of the bay.
Carefully, Angel reaches down and grabs the bangstick. He quickly surfaces and exuberantly hands it to Kristen. Mission accomplished. After training all day for the dive, then successfully retrieving the bangstick, Angel describes the feeling as being "like winning a race."
Sitting at the dining room table, the race is slow for the investigators piecing together the paper until Brian makes a key discovery. Some of the paper shreds are thicker than others. He suggests that they narrow their search for these shreds. The search continues to be painstakingly slow, however their efforts ultimately pay off as they piece the sheet together. It is a ledger of deposits into a Cayman Island Bank account.
The deposits show that Nate Flint had been depositing nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine dollars ($9999) every few days over the course of several months in early 2001 for a total amounting to $249,975.00. In addition, Nate withdrew the entire amount from the account on April 6th, the day before his murder.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 15
In the morning briefing, Gary informs the group that it appears as though Nate Flint was making his deposits for $9,999 in order to keep below the IRS reporting limit. Also, as it says on the statement, the money was coming from a company called "Enhanced Power." He suggests that they do further follow up on this company. Brian feels strongly that Frank Kovick is still a key suspect, in spite of his sudden willingness to help their investigation, as he was alone at the time of both the Flint and Leita Rose-Blodgett murders.
Turning to the evidence brought home by Angel and Kristen, Gary compliments the investigators on an "outstanding job in recovering this weapon." He then explains exactly how a bangstick works. The end is unscrewed and a cartridge containing a gunpowder wad (but no slug) is placed into a chamber and the covering re-screwed back into place. This covering is spring-loaded so that when its tip comes in contact with a fish, the firing pin is released, firing the gunpowder charge. Since there is no bullet in the shell, this firing causes a concussion shock that "damages" or kills the fish.
Gary proceeds to show a video of a test firing of the bangstick on a cantaloupe. When the end of the bangstick touches the melon, it literally disintegrates. The look of shock is clear on the investigator's faces. Katie remarks that she's surprised it didn't blow their heads off. Jeff lets out a big breath at the realization of the power of this weapon.
Gary then calls up Carmen Flint's autopsy photo and states that the nature of her head wound is consistent with the concussion shot of a bangstick. He goes on to tell them that forensics has compared the firing pin marks on the shells recovered as evidence at the two crime scenes and they too are consistent with a bang stick. However, without a slug, there are no rifling marks. Hence, no ballistics. So while they have probably discovered the type of weapon used in the killings, they do not necessarily have the exact bangstick used.
Turning next to the red and black envelopes which the Killer left the night before at a phone booth outside of the Sunset Club, Gary reads the Killer's question: How many sweepers were at the pier when Connor and Lambert killed the shark? As Angel and Kristen were out there at the time, they were the only two with any chance of noticing the sweepers. Angel quickly admits that he didn't count. Kristen, however, did and thinks she remembers that there were twelve sweepers and that she mentioned this when she returned home. She apologizes if she is wrong, but the others tell her not to worry about it and Jeff aggrees they should answer "twelve." Kristen is correct and the group is quite happy. The Killer clears Deanna Harris as a suspect.
In the time between the morning briefing and the red briefing, Angel comments that the "the dark cloud over the group is thickening and people are starting to plot." He tells Alan that he hopes people don't start hating each other. Never-the-less he thinks that tonight they will see some "down, low stuff" coming from people.
The now familiar routine of the red briefing unfolds. In the voting booth, Kristen casts her vote for Brian. Brian in turn votes for Kristen. He bases his opinion on whom he feels comfortable working with. Alan votes for Brian stating that he would be worried about him being around as competition if it came down to them, so it's time to try and take care of that. Katie votes for Kristen again, while Angel feels that Kristen has been through enough and that its "time to send someone else on the Killer's track and let them know what she's been through." We do not see who he votes for.
The group's votes are tallied and Brian has been elected to go out. Jeff, as Lifeguard, then makes his selection, stating it's quite easy for him because he believes "everything deals with a lot of karma in life and what goes around comes around." Not surprisingly, he chooses Kristen, then adds, "I know who I want to come back tonight."
Gary cuts open the black envelope and hands the two smaller envelopes to Jeff. Jeff holds them up to Brian and tells him to "pick your future." Brian chooses the envelope in Jeff's left hand. The other is given to Kristen. Brian will be going to the Kingfisher Aquaculture building. Kristen is going to Thibodeaux's cabin.
After the vote, Jeff notices that Kristen had already packed her bag prior to the vote and comments that she is "creating her own reality." Kristen says she doesn't care, she'll just come back again, and then comments that Jeff's self proclaimed Mr. Positive is actually being Mr. Negative again. He asks how that is being negative? She responds that the fact that he was born is negative and that he gives all of these "God speeches" to everyone else, then doesn't live by them himself. "It's pretty pathetic" she finishes.
Meanwhile, Brian tells Katie that what he doesn't like is that nobody said anything to him about voting for him. He adds that Kristen is the luckiest person on the planet and that if she returns, she deserves to win the game. Angel makes a similar comment to Kristen telling her that if she comes back a fourth time from playing the Killer's game that she is "Wonder Woman!"
Brian rides with Moe to his location and Moe asks him if he ever thinks of death while hunting down this Killer. Brian says he has, but he doesn't worry about it stating, "I'd rather spend my energy worrying about what I can do while I'm alive than worrying about what I can't do when I'm dead."
At Kingfisher Aquaculture, Brian climbs some exterior stairs and enters the building. He passes through a large room with piles of fishnets, then through a doorway into a bathroom. He checks the toilet stalls and sees blood pooled on the floor in front of one. He swings the door open and is startled when something comes crashing down to the floor. But there is no Killer.
X-Ray drops off Kristen at the head of the trail to Thibodeaux's cabin. She makes the long walk down to the cabin. After exploring the downstairs, she heads upstairs to the room where the investigators had previously found the shrine to Connor. There is the telltale "X" of Lupine hanging on the wall and below it, a body, Thibodeaux's body. Kristen approaches. As she starts to kneel down to examine Thibodeaux, he suddenly bolts upright and yells. Kristen scream in terror at this.
Meanwhile, back at Kingfisher Aquaculture, Brian walks into another room and through a window on his right, he can see an "X" made of Lupines, hanging in another room. He walks through a door towards the flowers. He quickly grabs the flowers and turns to run out of the room. But he is trapped. As soon as he turns, a green glowing image hurtles towards him. Flash. Bang. Brian is eliminated by the Killer.
Back at Thibodeaux's cabin, Kristen calms a bit and asks Thibodeaux what the matter is. Clearly he is suffering and in pain. She helps him up and walks him out of the woods to X-Ray's waiting cab. X-Ray then drops him off at Dr. Neva Bowden's on the way back to HQ. He then drops Kristen off and up the stairs she walks towards the briefing room. Her arrival is met with applause and laughter, as Jeff simply can not believe that Kristen is back again.
Kristen pulls out the Killer clue, another can of 16mm film. Angel walks over to Kristen with a big smile on his face and pats her on the back. He turns to Alan and says, "This is Wonder Woman!" Jeff walks away without saying a word. She then tells the story about finding Thibodeaux, stating she was scared to death as she thought he was the Killer at that moment.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 16
9:33am. Morning Briefing. Gary shows the fourth 16mm film that the Killer has sent. It appears to be a continuation of the first Burnt Man film they received a few days ago. Here is the text of the latest Burnt Man film:
"The boat was typical for around here, 28 to 30 feet, shallow draft. It wasn't hard to figure out how to do it. I wrapped eight feet of #4 primer cord around the pressure valve of one of her propane tanks. A little six-hour kitchen timer set it off. I watched the explosion from 200 yards away and I could feel the heat from the fire on my face. The boat should have sunk to the bottom, but Oscar was fishing for herring off Dog Island and managed to beach it before he died. They're calling it an accident, but it wasn't. I murdered Oscar Blodgett."
10 suspects and 5 investigators remain.
Jeff and Alan watch the video replay of Lambert shutting Kristen up at $2 Bill's. Jeff laughs loudly, aware that Kristen is standing just s few feet away. Kristen asks, "How old are they, three? Four maybe?" Alan says they're just having a little fun. But Kristen doesn't laugh at this and asks why Alan lets Jeff annoy her like that? Angel now walks up the stairs and tells Kristen she has to stop letting Jeff get to her. Kristen cups Angel's face in her hands and says, "That's me, I can't help it. It's better than hitting him." Angel later reflects he is genuinely feeling badly for Kristen and the way she is being treated.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 13
HQ. Morning Briefing. There are now only six investigators left. Therefore, Gary assigns only two tracks of investigation. Kristen recounts her Killer clue track from the previous night. Gary assigns Track One to investigate the Grady Point Lighthouse and the "Lost at Sea" monument further. They are to meet with the lighthouse keeper, Bradford Ferris.
Gary then discusses the sliding puzzle game found at the crime scene at Leita's house. He says latent fingerprints taken off the back are those of Frank Kovick. Track Two will follow up on Kovick; meeting him at his boathouse and finding out where he was the night Leita Rose-Blodgett was killed.
The group next watches Stacey's "Last Will & Testament" in which she appoints Jeff as the next lifeguard. Later, Angel reflects that he isn't surprised as Jeff "campaigned" for the job. "He's very good at that," Angel observes.
Before Jeff specifies who will go on what track, he gives a little speech to his fellow investigators, observing that he appreciates the diverse personalities of the group and that he certainly likes to be challenged. However, that said, he states rather firmly that he doesn't "respect and will not tolerate anyone who is conniving, manipulating or lying."
Jeff then assigns Kristen and Angel to Track One and the lighthouse, and Katie, Alan and Brian to Track Two and Frank Kovick.
On the boat ride out to the lighthouse, Angel tells Kristen that he feels she has been mistreated by the group and that he won't be a part of that, even at the risk of being ostracized by the group. In an interview, he admits that he's found Kristen to really be a nice woman and that she simply needs somebody she can trust and he senses that he is that person. Angel states that he does not want Kristen to have to feel more hate and anger from the group. He wants to continue to work with her and he refuses to vote for her to go out and play the Killer's game again.
X-Ray, meanwhile, drops Team Two off at Kovick's boathouse. Upon their arrival, they find Frank in mid-argument with his wife Tate, who has packed the car to leave him. She knows of the alleged affair Frank has had and believes the rumor that this woman is pregnant. After Tate leaves, Katie confronts Frank and explains they are trying to solve this murder. Frank says that's exactly what he is trying to do as well. He then gives the investigators his alibi for the night Leita Rose-Blodgett was killed. He says that between 9:30pm and 11:00pm he was at the diner with Sam. From there he went to his boathouse for the rest of the night.
As they walk away Brian and Alan express frustration that they couldn't go into Kovick's boathouse. He very conveniently blocked the doorway the entire time. As they ride away down the dirt road in X-Ray's cab, Thibodeaux's truck suddenly races past them and blocks their way. Thibodeaux jumps out and runs to the cab and agitatedly tells the investigators that one of them should meet him tonight out at the salmon pens by the "Old Sow" whirlpool after eight o'clock. He has "something very important to tell them." He then races off towards town.
Back on the boat, Angel and Kristen discuss Jeff and how they are both on his bad side. As they disembark the boat, Moe suggests that they not take the lighthouse keeper lightly. They find Bradford Ferris atop the lighthouse cleaning the glass. Angel and Kristen climb up and meet him. He is a strange and nervous fellow who speaks in choppy sentences, much like a child. He tells them he knows everything about the "Lost at Sea" monument and the names on it.
Kristen asks him to tell them about the Duchamps. Ferris says it was the spring of 1941, a windy and rough season that saw the loss of many vessels. As for the Duchamps, their boat was lost in a gale and the wreckage of the boat was never found. The entire family was lost at sea, no bodies ever recovered.
Later, in an interview, Angel admits that he now sees Kristen in a different light. He says that he thinks she has taken enough abuse and that he will not vote to send her out to play the Killer's game again. He says that he definitely wants to work with her more.
Upon disembarking from Thibodeaux's boat in the Sunrise Marina, Angel and Kristen's attention is drawn by a commotion coming from a nearby boat docked on one of the piers. A bunch of fishermen are leaning over the boat holding something in the water. One of the men is William Lambert and he starts yelling for some more help.
Nearby, Prudence Connor is cleaning fish on her own small boat. Hearing the cry for help, she picks up some sort of steel rod and runs to the boat. Angel and Kristen follow. Jumping on the boat, Connor holds this rod high above her head and slams it down towards the water. Bang! There is an explosive sound. Lambert quickly follows suit with a rod of his own. Bang. Another shot echoes. The fisherman now have control and pull a 10 foot Mako shark onto the boat.
Lambert thanks Connor for her help and she leaves. Kristen follows her while Angel stays with Lambert. Connor pushes past the numerous sweepers who are busy sweeping the docks. Kristen asks if the steel rod is for "Catching fish with." Connor replies, "No, it's for killing sharks with." Kristen then asks what it's called. "A bangstick" is the response. Connor continues to prepare her boat for departure while Kristen continues to throw questions at her. She asks, "What does it shoot out to kill the shark with." "What do you think?" is Connor's retort. "I don't know, bullets? Air?" She gets no response.
Upon arriving back at Headquarters Kristen announces that they have discovered what the murder weapon is. She and Angel describe the bangstick. They relate that Moe told them it doesn't shoot a bullet; it doesn't shoot anything at all. It works by pressing the end against a surface.
Later that evening, Alan travels out to the salmon pens to meet Thibodeaux. Upon his arrival he finds Thibodeaux and Connor in a heated argument. Thibodeaux is trying to convince Connor to "come clean". He says that the investigators are here to help. But Connor wants none of that argument. She is mad that he invited Alan out to the pens and thinks Thibodeaux is going to tell some crazy story. As Alan approaches, Connor grabs the bangstick from Thibodeaux's hands and throws it into the water in the middle of one of the pens.
Thibodeaux goes after Connor and tells Moe to take Alan back to shore. As they leave, Thibodeaux continues to argue loudly with Connor. As Alan leaves, Thibodeaux yells after Connor: "What are you hiding? I saw you the way you looked at Jimmy Tinker. What the hell are you doing with Jimmy Tinker? Are you protecting him? What are you protecting? Who are you protecting?" Connor's response is "stay out of this."
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 14
Morning Briefing. The investigators recap their findings from the day before. Gary then assigns the tracks for the day. Track One, Angel and Kristen, will train for a cold water SCUBA dive to recover the bangstick from the salmon pens. Track Two, will follow up on Kovick's alibi that he was at Sam's diner until 11:00pm the night Leita was murdered. Records from the phone company indicate that a phone call was placed from Leita's house at 11:15pm. However, the time stamp on Rev. Crandall's answering machine recorded her call at 10:15pm.
The group decides that this discrepancy should be cleared up right away and they place a call to Rev. Rusty Crandall's residence. But it is not the Reverend who answers, but rather, Mary-Elizabeth Merchant, wet and wrapped in a towel with Rusty taking a shower in the background. This, of course, catches everyone by surprise. Never the less, Gary, talking on the speakerphone, asks Mary-Elizabeth to check what time Rusty's answering machine reads. She says it reads 1:08pm. The investigators quickly point out that the time is currently 2:08pm, a fact that Mary-Elizabeth picks up on herself. The answering machine is one hour slow. We now realize that the phone call - and Leita's murder - occurred at 11:15pm.
This information does not clear Kovick as a suspect as 15 minutes is plenty of time to have left the diner and made it to Leita's house and commit the murder. Track Two is assigned to talk to Samantha Larabee at the diner and see what she remembers about that evening and see how much her story syncs with Frank's alibi.
At the diner, Katie, Alan and Brian are sitting in a booth, just beginning to speak with Sam when Frank Kovick walks in and wants to know what they're talking about. He immediately gets defensive and says he already gave them his story. Brian moves quickly to get Kovick away from Sam and the other investigators by telling him he has a few more questions, and motions for him to come over to the counter. Instead, Kovick asks Brian to come with him to the newspaper office, as he has something to show him.
Brian leaves with Kovick. Once at the office, Kovick reveals that he wasn't completely truthful yesterday, admitting that he had, in fact, been at Leita's house the night of the murder. Evidently, Leita had called Kovick's wife Tate, and told her that Frank was having an affair. Frank says he was furious and went to confront Leita. But he was caught off guard when Leita invited him inside and calmly talked with him about the affair. He tells Brian he didn't do anything to Leita that night. While Kovick has been more forthcoming, Brian notes that he still doesn't have a good alibi.
With sweepers stationed outside the diner, Sam confides in Katie that she is two and a half months pregnant with Frank's baby and says Frank is a "really, really good guy" and that she loves him as a friend, but beyond that she's not sure what to do.
Still in his office with Brian, Kovick offers up one more piece of new information. In his effort to assist the investigation he shows Brian a document that shows that Nate Flint had an offshore bank account. Kovick points out that this would allow him to circumvent US banking laws, making it easier to dump and hide money. Frank further believes there is a second page to this document that Nate might have kept in a small office in his basement.
Katie feels this begins to present them with a potential motive for the murders. Perhaps the Killer was owed money and was seeking revenge, or knew about a stash of money and had greedy intentions. Whatever the case, money, she states, "Is a pretty common motive."
On Track One, Kristen and Angel begin their SCUBA training in preparation for their attempt to retrieve the bangstick. After detailed oom instruction, they don their equipment and get into a swimming pool for the water portion of their training. While Angel takes to it quickly, Kristen struggles with the bulky dry suit and full-face mask breathing apparatus. Ultimately, the instructor feels that in light of these difficulties, it would be unsafe for Kristen to dive in the frigid and unpredictable waters of the bay.
Angel reassures Kristen that although she won't be getting into the water, she is still a big part of the team and that whatever he accomplishes, she accomplishes as well. Kristen, while disappointed, is both accepting and supportive of Angel as well.
Brian convinces Katie and Alan that they should return to the Flint house to search for the page of the bank statement. Duncan accompanies them to the house and into the basement. Duncan tells them he had the water drained and the investigators are able to do a much more thorough search than on their previous visits. After an extensive search, Brian finds a small black wadded up trash bag in a corner, containing shredded papers. To be honest, Brian says he doesn't really believe there is anything useful in the bag and admits it will be a great effort to sort through the shreds. Still, it is all they have and so they take it back to HQ with them.
Meanwhile, out at the salmon pens near the Old Sow whirlpool, Angel is preparing to make his dive into the pen to search for the bangstick Connor got rid of the night before. He states that he knows this is a dangerous but important mission as this could be the actual murder weapon. The water is 34 degrees and in his training he learned that unprotected, a human could survive no more than seven minutes. Based on recent developments, Kristen believes that Connor and Thibodeaux now stand out as the leading suspects in the murders. Angel still feels that Lambert is his leading suspect, though he admits that Connor's recent actions have thrown him for a loop.
Back at HQ, Jeff sees the mess of shredded paper and comments, "what a disaster." Brian, Jeff, Katie and Alan begin the arduous task of piecing together the thousand of shreds to see if a clue lies within.
Angel jumps in and begins a circular search pattern looking for the bangstick. The water is murky and green, visibility about 15 feet. Finally, Angel sees the bangstick but must be careful in his approach as part of the stick is sticking out through the bottom of the net. Reflecting back, Angel describes his need for caution as the wake from his movement might dislodge the stick sending it the bottom of the bay.
Carefully, Angel reaches down and grabs the bangstick. He quickly surfaces and exuberantly hands it to Kristen. Mission accomplished. After training all day for the dive, then successfully retrieving the bangstick, Angel describes the feeling as being "like winning a race."
Sitting at the dining room table, the race is slow for the investigators piecing together the paper until Brian makes a key discovery. Some of the paper shreds are thicker than others. He suggests that they narrow their search for these shreds. The search continues to be painstakingly slow, however their efforts ultimately pay off as they piece the sheet together. It is a ledger of deposits into a Cayman Island Bank account.
The deposits show that Nate Flint had been depositing nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine dollars ($9999) every few days over the course of several months in early 2001 for a total amounting to $249,975.00. In addition, Nate withdrew the entire amount from the account on April 6th, the day before his murder.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 15
In the morning briefing, Gary informs the group that it appears as though Nate Flint was making his deposits for $9,999 in order to keep below the IRS reporting limit. Also, as it says on the statement, the money was coming from a company called "Enhanced Power." He suggests that they do further follow up on this company. Brian feels strongly that Frank Kovick is still a key suspect, in spite of his sudden willingness to help their investigation, as he was alone at the time of both the Flint and Leita Rose-Blodgett murders.
Turning to the evidence brought home by Angel and Kristen, Gary compliments the investigators on an "outstanding job in recovering this weapon." He then explains exactly how a bangstick works. The end is unscrewed and a cartridge containing a gunpowder wad (but no slug) is placed into a chamber and the covering re-screwed back into place. This covering is spring-loaded so that when its tip comes in contact with a fish, the firing pin is released, firing the gunpowder charge. Since there is no bullet in the shell, this firing causes a concussion shock that "damages" or kills the fish.
Gary proceeds to show a video of a test firing of the bangstick on a cantaloupe. When the end of the bangstick touches the melon, it literally disintegrates. The look of shock is clear on the investigator's faces. Katie remarks that she's surprised it didn't blow their heads off. Jeff lets out a big breath at the realization of the power of this weapon.
Gary then calls up Carmen Flint's autopsy photo and states that the nature of her head wound is consistent with the concussion shot of a bangstick. He goes on to tell them that forensics has compared the firing pin marks on the shells recovered as evidence at the two crime scenes and they too are consistent with a bang stick. However, without a slug, there are no rifling marks. Hence, no ballistics. So while they have probably discovered the type of weapon used in the killings, they do not necessarily have the exact bangstick used.
Turning next to the red and black envelopes which the Killer left the night before at a phone booth outside of the Sunset Club, Gary reads the Killer's question: How many sweepers were at the pier when Connor and Lambert killed the shark? As Angel and Kristen were out there at the time, they were the only two with any chance of noticing the sweepers. Angel quickly admits that he didn't count. Kristen, however, did and thinks she remembers that there were twelve sweepers and that she mentioned this when she returned home. She apologizes if she is wrong, but the others tell her not to worry about it and Jeff aggrees they should answer "twelve." Kristen is correct and the group is quite happy. The Killer clears Deanna Harris as a suspect.
In the time between the morning briefing and the red briefing, Angel comments that the "the dark cloud over the group is thickening and people are starting to plot." He tells Alan that he hopes people don't start hating each other. Never-the-less he thinks that tonight they will see some "down, low stuff" coming from people.
The now familiar routine of the red briefing unfolds. In the voting booth, Kristen casts her vote for Brian. Brian in turn votes for Kristen. He bases his opinion on whom he feels comfortable working with. Alan votes for Brian stating that he would be worried about him being around as competition if it came down to them, so it's time to try and take care of that. Katie votes for Kristen again, while Angel feels that Kristen has been through enough and that its "time to send someone else on the Killer's track and let them know what she's been through." We do not see who he votes for.
The group's votes are tallied and Brian has been elected to go out. Jeff, as Lifeguard, then makes his selection, stating it's quite easy for him because he believes "everything deals with a lot of karma in life and what goes around comes around." Not surprisingly, he chooses Kristen, then adds, "I know who I want to come back tonight."
Gary cuts open the black envelope and hands the two smaller envelopes to Jeff. Jeff holds them up to Brian and tells him to "pick your future." Brian chooses the envelope in Jeff's left hand. The other is given to Kristen. Brian will be going to the Kingfisher Aquaculture building. Kristen is going to Thibodeaux's cabin.
After the vote, Jeff notices that Kristen had already packed her bag prior to the vote and comments that she is "creating her own reality." Kristen says she doesn't care, she'll just come back again, and then comments that Jeff's self proclaimed Mr. Positive is actually being Mr. Negative again. He asks how that is being negative? She responds that the fact that he was born is negative and that he gives all of these "God speeches" to everyone else, then doesn't live by them himself. "It's pretty pathetic" she finishes.
Meanwhile, Brian tells Katie that what he doesn't like is that nobody said anything to him about voting for him. He adds that Kristen is the luckiest person on the planet and that if she returns, she deserves to win the game. Angel makes a similar comment to Kristen telling her that if she comes back a fourth time from playing the Killer's game that she is "Wonder Woman!"
Brian rides with Moe to his location and Moe asks him if he ever thinks of death while hunting down this Killer. Brian says he has, but he doesn't worry about it stating, "I'd rather spend my energy worrying about what I can do while I'm alive than worrying about what I can't do when I'm dead."
At Kingfisher Aquaculture, Brian climbs some exterior stairs and enters the building. He passes through a large room with piles of fishnets, then through a doorway into a bathroom. He checks the toilet stalls and sees blood pooled on the floor in front of one. He swings the door open and is startled when something comes crashing down to the floor. But there is no Killer.
X-Ray drops off Kristen at the head of the trail to Thibodeaux's cabin. She makes the long walk down to the cabin. After exploring the downstairs, she heads upstairs to the room where the investigators had previously found the shrine to Connor. There is the telltale "X" of Lupine hanging on the wall and below it, a body, Thibodeaux's body. Kristen approaches. As she starts to kneel down to examine Thibodeaux, he suddenly bolts upright and yells. Kristen scream in terror at this.
Meanwhile, back at Kingfisher Aquaculture, Brian walks into another room and through a window on his right, he can see an "X" made of Lupines, hanging in another room. He walks through a door towards the flowers. He quickly grabs the flowers and turns to run out of the room. But he is trapped. As soon as he turns, a green glowing image hurtles towards him. Flash. Bang. Brian is eliminated by the Killer.
Back at Thibodeaux's cabin, Kristen calms a bit and asks Thibodeaux what the matter is. Clearly he is suffering and in pain. She helps him up and walks him out of the woods to X-Ray's waiting cab. X-Ray then drops him off at Dr. Neva Bowden's on the way back to HQ. He then drops Kristen off and up the stairs she walks towards the briefing room. Her arrival is met with applause and laughter, as Jeff simply can not believe that Kristen is back again.
Kristen pulls out the Killer clue, another can of 16mm film. Angel walks over to Kristen with a big smile on his face and pats her on the back. He turns to Alan and says, "This is Wonder Woman!" Jeff walks away without saying a word. She then tells the story about finding Thibodeaux, stating she was scared to death as she thought he was the Killer at that moment.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 16
9:33am. Morning Briefing. Gary shows the fourth 16mm film that the Killer has sent. It appears to be a continuation of the first Burnt Man film they received a few days ago. Here is the text of the latest Burnt Man film:
"The boat was typical for around here, 28 to 30 feet, shallow draft. It wasn't hard to figure out how to do it. I wrapped eight feet of #4 primer cord around the pressure valve of one of her propane tanks. A little six-hour kitchen timer set it off. I watched the explosion from 200 yards away and I could feel the heat from the fire on my face. The boat should have sunk to the bottom, but Oscar was fishing for herring off Dog Island and managed to beach it before he died. They're calling it an accident, but it wasn't. I murdered Oscar Blodgett."
10 suspects and 5 investigators remain.
LEITA ROSE-BLODGETT
Owner, Sunrise Mail Center
EMERSON BOWDEN
Mayor, City of Sunrise
DREW CHAMBERS
Owner, Sunset Club
PRUDENCE CONNOR
Owner, Connor's Garage
REV. RUSTY CRANDALL
First Church Of Sunrise
GEN. HAYDEN DEBECK
Leader, Mind/Science Inc.
DUDLEY DUNCAN
Chief of Police
DEANNA HARRIS
Attorney At Law
FRANK KOVICK
Reporter, Sunrise Herald
WILLIAM LAMBERT
Flint's Business Partner
SAM LARABEE
Owner, Larabee Diner
MARY-ELIZABETH MERCHANT
Abby Flint's Best Friend
G.D. THIBODEAUX
Ferryboat Captain; Former Flint Employee
JIMMY TINKER
Abby Flint's Boyfriend
X-RAY
Owner, Sunrise Taxi
Owner, Sunrise Mail Center
EMERSON BOWDEN
Mayor, City of Sunrise
DREW CHAMBERS
Owner, Sunset Club
PRUDENCE CONNOR
Owner, Connor's Garage
REV. RUSTY CRANDALL
First Church Of Sunrise
GEN. HAYDEN DEBECK
Leader, Mind/Science Inc.
DUDLEY DUNCAN
Chief of Police
DEANNA HARRIS
Attorney At Law
FRANK KOVICK
Reporter, Sunrise Herald
WILLIAM LAMBERT
Flint's Business Partner
SAM LARABEE
Owner, Larabee Diner
MARY-ELIZABETH MERCHANT
Abby Flint's Best Friend
G.D. THIBODEAUX
Ferryboat Captain; Former Flint Employee
JIMMY TINKER
Abby Flint's Boyfriend
X-RAY
Owner, Sunrise Taxi