OPENING SCENE
The telltale green glow of the Killer's camera moves through the dark corridor of Dr. Bowden's office. The Killer's camera takes us into the examination room where G.D. Thibodeaux is sleeping on the table. As the Killer's camera moves in close to Thibodeaux, the end of a bangstick comes into view and points at Thibodeaux's head. Suddenly, Thibodeaux wakes up and sees the Killer. He starts to move but it is too late. Flash. Bang.
The phone rings at Headquarters. Kristen answers to find Dr. Neva Bowden on the other end. Her voice already indicates this is not going to be good news. "I think Thibodeaux's been killed" she says. "He was fine when I left the office last night. I came in this morning and he's gone. There's blood everywhere. I need someone to come over right away."
The investigators jump into action, quickly gathering their investigative kits and heading out the door. Angel and Kristen are greeted by Dr. Bowden at the front door of her office and she takes them back to the room where Thibodeaux slept the previous night. She says she didn't touch anything. The investigators are shocked at the amount of blood on the floor. But there is no body.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 16
Morning Briefing. Angel describes the events of the morning. Their investigation determined that the body was dragged out the back door of the office. Dr. Bowden says that she definitely locked it the previous night. Nothing else seems to have been disturbed.
Angel goes on to report that a very upset Moe Zaleski came by the crime scene and told Angel he is holding the investigators personally responsible for Thibodeaux's death. He then gave Angel an audio cassette that Thibodeaux had given him the night before, instructing Moe to deliver it to the investigators.
Gary has had the tape analyzed and it appears to actually be a video recording made on an old children's video camera. The investigators remember the camera they saw at Thibodeaux's cabin during their investigation on the day of the Flint's funeral. The tape is played for the group.
A scratchy, pixilated black and white image appears. It is Thibodeaux sitting in his cabin, apparently filming himself. He is wearing a plaid hunting shirt over a white T-shirt. Here is the text of his video:
"I'm recording this because I'm… I don't know how much longer I can last. I'm feeling worse every day. There's so much crap in my lungs I can't breathe. I'm spitting blood. I've loved her since I can remember. All I wanted was just to kiss her. Sorry, I'm talking about Connor. She asked me to lie and I did. I lied for her."
The image goes fuzzy for a moment as Thibodeaux moves forward and turns the camera off. A moment later it comes on again. Now, Thibodeaux is standing in full Marine military dress. He continues, his voice cracking with emotion:
"There's something I have to say. Connor killed Nate Flint. The night of the murders we got back from Bangor around 1:00am. She said she had to go see him, Nate. She asked me to cover for her, to lie. She hated him, I know that. I loved Connor. Semper Fi."
The tape ends. Gary asks for comments. Jeff says he still doesn't believe Connor committed the murders. Gary still feels it is important to follow up and find out whether Connor was in love with Nate Flint or whether she hated him.
Referring back to the bank statement reassembled by the investigators, Gary says a search for the company "Enhanced Power, Inc." (The company that issued the checks which Nate Flint had been depositing in his offshore account) revealed that the company is owned by General Hayden DeBeck's Mind/Science Organization. Track Two will investigate why DeBeck was paying Nate Flint $250,000 and why did Nate Flint withdraw the entire amount two days before his death? And finally, where is the money?
Track Two will investigate DeBeck. Today is the Mind/Science Organization initiation day. It is called a "cleansing," the only time they let outsiders into the compound. This team's job will be to attend the cleansing, penetrate the compound, find DeBeck and ask him about the money.
Turning to Brian's "Last Will & Testament," he has chosen Katie as the next Lifeguard. In an interview, Katie comments on the friction between Kristen and Jeff, saying that Jeff was happy he was able to send Kristen out to play the Killer's game because she had burned bridges with him and that there were some things in his mind that couldn't be forgiven. Jeff comments that he doesn't think Kristen has ever had any good friends that tell her the truth about herself. Kristen is more blunt, stating that she doesn't like Jeff and that Jeff doesn't like her. She was not surprised that Jeff sent her out when he was Lifeguard.
1:30pm. Jeff and Alan wait at the bus stop for the bus to DeBeck's compound. They are a bit surprised to find Samantha Larabee waiting as well. She tells them that she thinks it might be helpful for her. "When you go through some tough times," she says, "It helps you get to a good place."
Upon arriving at the compound, the new recruits are commanded to line up, single file and march backwards into the main building. Once inside they stand silently at the foot of a big staircase, surrounded by sweepers. Behind them, a woman wearing a flowing white nightgown descends the stairs and welcomes them. "This is going to change your life," she offers. The woman is Mary Elizabeth.
Jeff comments in an interview that he is not surprised as Mary Elizabeth is "a girl who is very easily influenced in life." Alan lists the myriad of situations he's seen her in: as a stripper, hanging out with Reverend Rusty and now this. "I'm ready for anything in this town the way things are going right now," comments Alan.
The interior of the building is like a shell, with mostly 2 x 4 framing but no solid walls. Hanging everywhere are crossed brooms, logos of the Mind/Science Organization and photos of their leader, Hayden DeBeck. And sweepers. Sweepers everywhere, standing at attention, awaiting instructions.
2:23pm. Next comes the cleansing ritual. Jeff, Alan and Samantha strip down to their underwear and stand in small metal tubs of water and wash themselves with soap and scrub brushes, all to the cadence of "scrub, scrub, keep cleaning, keep scrubbing" coming from one of the sweepers. Mary Elizabeth watches the whole proceeding, which lasts about 45 minutes.
After the cleaning ritual, the new inductees are dressed in all white and led into a giant, dimly lit meeting hall. Over 100 sweepers are standing along the walls. Jeff, Alan, Samantha and the other recruits are seated facing a podium. On the front of the podium are two crossed brooms and a photo of DeBeck. Behind the podium is a lit triangle with a single eye in the middle.
The next surprise hits the investigators when Rev. Rusty comes out, dressed in an all white suit and in an almost possessed state shouts, "Are you ready to change your life?" Alan admits that he is a bit scared by this. The reverend continues, "The world is merciless and to conquer the world you must be equally merciless."
Next, General DeBeck comes in and tells them that the journey to change their lives will take them through three levels; Order, Strength & Logic. Once they have passed through all three levels, he will meet with them.
Meanwhile, Kristen and Angel are making their way out to Thibodeaux's cabin when they see a large plume of smoke rising up above the house. As they get closer, they see that Prudence Connor is burning something in a bonfire by the water. Sweepers surround her.
Once with Connor, they see that she is crying and burning all of Thibodeaux's things. "I'm conducting a funeral for a friend", she tells them. Kristen feels she is trying to get over the loss of someone close. Angel tells her they are just trying to clear up the mystery about her and the bangstick and why she threw it into the water. She says she won't talk to them in front of all the sweepers and says to meet her later at the Sunset Club at 9:00pm. Angel tries to ask another question, but Connor cuts him off, screaming at him to "get out of here, please!" Angel later reflects that he thinks there are more skeletons in the closets of this small town than there are in all of New York City.
At the compound, Jeff, Alan and Samantha are in the "Order" section of the initiation. They must first put 50 decks of cards together in a specific order while chanting "order, strength, logic." The Reverend is constantly shouting at them to hurry up. Samantha begins to show signs of cracking under the stress. Next, they must test their memory and concentration skills. Jeff reads a word out loud from a stack of flash cards. Alan must then repeat Jeff's word and add a word from his cards. Samantha must repeat both Jeff and Alan's words, then add her own.
The list gets increasingly long and difficult. If one of them messes up, they must start all over again. This task is tough for Samantha who begins to cry under duress from the Reverend. He tells her she is giving in to "weakness" which is a "mind set of lack and limitation." Samantha finally gives up and leaves. Alan later admits that he thought about going with her as his mind felt over-worked. Still, he stayed for the group and the task at hand.
5:11pm. "Strength." Alan and Jeff have moved on to the physical phase of the initiation. They first must run behind a bus down to a peninsula, keeping up with the pace that the vehicle sets. Once at the water, the Reverend tells them to baptize themselves in the frigid bay water. Both investigators dive in to the 34-degree water.
Alan later reflects that besides doing anything necessary to meet the General, he also would do anything to get to compete with Jeff. Their next test is to climb a giant water tower and once on top, hold a broom out in front of them with both arms fully extended at shoulder height. At first this seems simple. But after 15 minutes the strain begins to show. Jeff and Alan are standing back to back and clearly, neither of them wants to give in before the other. At the same time, they must perform mental chores like reciting the alphabet backwards and counting in multiples of seven. Just when it appears they are done, the Reverend decides to add more time to the task. Day is becoming night.
Back in town, Angel and Kristen are walking into the Sunset Club when Connor honks her truck horn and tells them to climb in so she can talk to them away from the sweepers, who have been following her all day. Once inside, Connor tells them that her father was a Master Sergeant in the Army as well as being the foreman at the Kingfisher Cannery. She tells them that her dad owned Dog Island and that when she was eight years old, he ran into some money problems and in order to get a loan from the Cannery, had to put the Island up for collateral. Unable to pay back the loan, he lost the Island and soon began drinking heavily, which led to his death. In Connor's eyes, it's as if the Flint's themselves held a gun to her father's head. She is angry at the Flints' and the town as a whole from taking everything away from her once proud, war hero father. With that, she heads into the club for a beer.
Inside, Connor continues her story to Angel and Kristen. She says that despite her feelings about the Flints, she fell in love with Nate. Apparently, Nate told Connor that he felt badly for what Kingfisher had done. She never told Nate about the photos. Just then, a sweeper stops at the table and grabs Connor by the arm and says, "We want to talk to you." Connor reacts swiftly by grabbing the sweeper by the shoulders and shoving him forcefully through the front door of the club. Glass shatters as the sweeper and Connor fall through to the sidewalk. Connor gets up and drives away. Drew runs the sweeper off and the investigators are left in the aftermath.
9:27pm. Cleansing Initiation - Phase Three: "Logic." Jeff and Alan are now standing inside the giant water tower. They are in the center of a giant triangle, completely surrounded by sweepers. A deafening banging permeates the metallic structure. Jeff is instructed to hold a rope, which is tied (via a pulley) to a bucket filled with water. He must hold this bucket at shoulder height while Alan is asked a series of riddles. For each question Alan answers correctly, a cup of water will be removed from the bucket, lightening the load.
Unfortunately, Alan struggles to answer the questions correctly, getting only a couple right. He later comments that he wishes that Brian or Katie had still been around as they probably would have done much better at this type of test. With Jeff and himself, he says, you have "a hick from Knoxville and a model who's not too sharp trying to answer those questions." Jeff admits that he's never heard any of those brainteasers in his life. When it is his turn to answer the questions, he has no more success than Alan.
Finally, their eight hours of initiation is completed and they have earned the chance to meet with DeBeck. They meet him in a small room where they ask him about the $250,000. DeBeck explains very carefully, that he gave Nate Flint $250,000 in cash in exchange for the Kingfisher Sardine Factory land. And just when Nate was going to come through on his end of the deal, he was killed. "And who," he adds, "Do you think wound up with my $250,000? Prudence Connor. And when you see Connor, tell her she can't run forever."
With that he leaves. Alan and Jeff have endured eight hours of physical and mental torture to spend four minutes with DeBeck and listen to him talk almost the entire time. They are quite angry about what little they came away with.
Angel and Kristen meet with Duncan who thinks he has found the sweeper who grabbed Connor. It is the first time a sweeper has ever made physical contact with a townsperson. Duncan takes them down to the end of a pier by the water where a couple sweepers are sweeping. Unfortunately, the one Duncan points out is not the same sweeper from the club.
All of a sudden there is an explosion out on the water. A series of huge, thunderous fireballs explode into the night sky spreading the remains of a boat everywhere. Everyone is startled. Back at HQ, Katie happens to be looking out of the window and screams with fright. Jeff and Alan run to the window. Duncan tells Katie and Angel that it was Connor's houseboat that exploded. Angel comments that if she was on the boat they can cross her off the suspect list.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 17
Morning Briefing. Gary reports that no bodies were found at the explosion site and that they are assuming Connor is still alive. Angel recaps Connor's story and alibi for the night of the Flint murders. She said she was with Thibodeaux until 1:30am. She then went to talk to Nate Flint at his house. She was not aware of the photos. After Jeff showed her the photos, she said they were definitely surveillance photos and she had not idea who took them.
As for DeBeck, following up on the info obtained during the initiation will be Track One. Moe has told them that he's been hired to take DeBeck to Dog Island that evening, apparently to meet with Connor. Gary wants a team to go to the island early and set up surveillance in Connor's cabin to monitor the meeting between DeBeck and Connor. Kristen and Angel will take this track. Track Two, Alan and Jeff, will go examine the wreckage of Connor's boat.
At the wreckage, Alan and Jeff find Frank Kovick taking photos. He tells them that the Coast Guard investigators have found that a C-4 type of explosive caused the explosion of Connor's houseboat. Kovick asks the investigators to come by his office so he can give them some more info. At the newspaper office, Kovick tells them that he's discovered that Lambert tried to pull a similar type of scam on the Gulf Coast of Florida where he made a deal to build a development without having raised enough money. Frank thinks that Nate Flint was on to Lambert.
Just then, William Lambert, Deanna Harris and Chief Duncan walk into the office. Kovick tells them that they were just talking about Lambert. Deanna tells Kovick that she is there to terminate his employment. In response, Kovick states that to do that she "would have to own the paper." She replies, "Mr. Lambert does." Lambert has bought the paper. Kovick is furious, yelling at Lambert that he cannot "own free speech in this town."
Dudley tries to get Kovick to leave, while Lambert and Harris stand by smugly and watch. Kovick grabs his camera and runs out into the street where he starts yelling at Duncan that there is a serial killer in this town and he's wasting his time with something like this. He calls him an idiot and a moron and then takes off.
Alan and Jeff follow Kovick into the diner where Kovick tells them he's disappointed that they lied to him about who was at DeBeck's compound yesterday. Sam has told him that she was there and he feels like while he's been sharing info with the investigators, they have not been sharing with him. Jeff quickly responds that Kovick is being a hypocrite, as he did not tell them he was having an affair with Samantha. Kovick says he would like Alan to talk for a while.
In an interview later, Alan comments that this good cop-bad cop routine made him uncomfortable. Outside the diner, Jeff reveals to Alan his growing frustration with Kovick, pointing out that he does not have an eyewitness or good alibi accounting for his whereabouts during any of the murders.
On Track Two, Angel and Kristen set up surveillance cameras and recorders in Connor's cabin on Dog Island. They are only partly set when Connor arrives. They hide in a nearby shed and watch the video from the cameras. The audio is not working so they cannot hear what's being said.
Much to their surprise, Connor is not alone, and it's not DeBeck she is with. It is Jimmy Tinker. They are frustrated that they can't hear what's being said. What they see, however, is that Prudence Connor and Jimmy Tinker are having a sexual affair, as well as a bag containing a large amount of cash.
Inside the cabin, we see and hear Connor's cell phone ring. It is DeBeck telling her he's not coming to Dog Island but that she should meet him at a different location, Shackford Head, later that evening. Jimmy is distrustful of DeBeck and tries to insist to Connor that she not go out there.
Back at HQ, the investigators try and piece these latest pieces of the puzzle together. Katie wonders if Connor is playing Jimmy or the other way around. Kristen thinks they are both playing the Flints' together.
That night, General DeBeck sits in his limo, being driven by Reverend Rusty Crandall, to the meeting spot with Connor. It is dark and foggy along the road when suddenly the bright lights of an oncoming car temporarily blind Rusty and he swerves to avoid a collision. This causes him to lose control of the limo, which careens off the road and over an embankment, rolling several times before finally stopping upside down on its roof.
DeBeck is badly shaken up. He calls out to Rusty, "Rusty, Rusty what happened?" DeBeck rolls over and looks up. We see him through the green glow of the killer's camera. A look of recognition and fear crosses his face. "Oh…God…No…" DeBeck pleads. "Forgive me…" he cries. DeBeck then looks away as the end of a bangstick is pointed at his head. Flash. Bang.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 18
HQ. The phone rings and Alan answers. It is Bill Thompson, the owner of the Trekker's Motor Lodge where the investigators learned the burnt man had killed himself. Thompson informs them that after their visit, someone broke into the same cabin in the middle of the night and ransacked the place. He saw the person, dressed in black but totally unidentifiable, leave the cabin with an armful of stuff which they threw into the back of a pick-up truck and took off. He said he gave chase in his car and tracked it to the fire road, until all of the stuff started spilling out on the road.
The investigators immediately suspect Connor because of the truck. Kristen points out that Connor hated both the Flints' and Leita Rose-Blodgett, while Thibodeaux only hated Leita, making Connor more of a suspect than Thibodeaux.
At the morning briefing, Gary reports that DeBeck's limo was found near Shackford Head, but that no bodies were found. He also says that the lab was able to retrieve some of the audio off of the surveillance tapes from Connor's cabin. They play it back on their monitor.
The audio reveals that Jimmy Tinker took the surveillance photos of Nate Flint and Connor having sex and that Connor was in on it all along. The pieces now fall into place for the investigators. Clearly, this was all a revenge plan for Connor to get the $250,000 from Nate Flint by blackmailing him. They further feel that DeBeck was in on it somehow as well. Katie conjectures that while numerous people seem to be involved, she feels one person is "playing them all" for their own purposes. Angel agrees, but asks who?
One other piece of info has come to light. When Duncan arrived at the scene of the limo crash, he found a red and a black envelope inside the passenger compartment. Gary proceeds to open the red envelope and reads the Killer's question: What rank was Connor's father?
Kristen thinks she remembers Connor saying he was a Lieutenant. Angel asks Alan what the highest enlisted rank in the Army is? Alan says "Master Sergeant." "That's it. That's it." He is certain. They respond with Master Sergeant and Angel is correct. The Killer removes Samantha Larabee as a suspect.
Before the vote, Kristen, Alan and Angel get together and agree to vote to send Jeff out that night. Jeff has volunteered to go out and Katie knows that if the group votes him out, she will have to pick someone else. It will be a difficult choice for her "as it should be," she adds.
Alan jokes with Kristen that he thinks that Kristen and Jeff will end up together when they get back home. Kristen's sarcastic response is, "Yeah, he's so my type…. I would plow right over someone like that."
At the Red Briefing, the voting begins. In the booth, Angel pulls out Jeff's photo and coolly states, "Things are coming down to the wire, he's been expressing some anger about being in the house. So Let's add some excitement to his life. Let's send him for the Killer clue." Kristen says she won't send Angel because he's been "extremely trustworthy and an awesome guy." Alan, too, does not want to send Angel as he has come up with the answer to three of the Killer's questions and he is too valuable a guy to lose at this point. So tonight he picks Kristen.
Gary tallies the votes and there is a tie between Jeff and Kristen. As Lifeguard, Katie must break the tie. Having both votes now, she decides that the best thing for the group is to send Jeff and Kristen out. She feels the group works better whenever one of them is out of the house away from the other, so by the end of the night, the investigator's group can start over fresh with one of them gone.
Katie holds out the two envelopes to Jeff. He chooses the one in her left hand. The other goes to Kristen. Jeff is going to a storage house behind DeBeck's compound. Kristen is going to a junkyard. Jeff is very excited about getting to go out. If he dies, at least it will be a fast death. Kristen is very business like, saying she'll just have to go out and get the clue again. Angel expresses to Katie that he hopes the Killer takes care of their problems tonight.
On the ride out, Kristen tells Moe she is scared to death. He mentions that when he dropped Lindsey off he heard a gunshot. Kristen does not want to hear this. Jeff, on the other hand, is brimming with confidence and a positive attitude. X-Ray tells him they are ruthless for sending Kristen out again. Jeff laughs at this.
Jeff arrives at the storage house. He is pumped full of energy and yells, "I'm back DeBeck!" He then begins trashing the storage shed as he passes through it from room to room, screaming with excitement all the way. At the junkyard, it has begun to rain. Kristen follows her map to the trailer indicated where she finds another map taped to the door.
At the end of the storage shed, Jeff finds a similar map directing him to the interior of the Logic water tower behind the storage building. This is the same place that he and Alan went through part of their initiation. As soon a Jeff enters the tower there is a burst of light and an explosion.
Kristen's path takes her into an oxygen bottle storage trailer. She winds her way through hundreds of these five-foot tall metal canisters. In the middle of the room she finally finds a Lupine "X." As she reaches for the flowers we see her through the green glow of the Killer's camera. The Killer rushes at Kristen. She screams. Flash. Bang.
Back in the "Logic Tower", the fireball in front of Jeff reveals a giant OSL logo, a vertical sword with a Lupine X across it. The hilt of the sword bears the giant letters OSL. Jeff continues to scream with delight. "OSL Baby, for life!" Jeff's voice echoes off the metal water tower and into the night.
8 Suspects and 4 investigators remain.
The telltale green glow of the Killer's camera moves through the dark corridor of Dr. Bowden's office. The Killer's camera takes us into the examination room where G.D. Thibodeaux is sleeping on the table. As the Killer's camera moves in close to Thibodeaux, the end of a bangstick comes into view and points at Thibodeaux's head. Suddenly, Thibodeaux wakes up and sees the Killer. He starts to move but it is too late. Flash. Bang.
The phone rings at Headquarters. Kristen answers to find Dr. Neva Bowden on the other end. Her voice already indicates this is not going to be good news. "I think Thibodeaux's been killed" she says. "He was fine when I left the office last night. I came in this morning and he's gone. There's blood everywhere. I need someone to come over right away."
The investigators jump into action, quickly gathering their investigative kits and heading out the door. Angel and Kristen are greeted by Dr. Bowden at the front door of her office and she takes them back to the room where Thibodeaux slept the previous night. She says she didn't touch anything. The investigators are shocked at the amount of blood on the floor. But there is no body.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 16
Morning Briefing. Angel describes the events of the morning. Their investigation determined that the body was dragged out the back door of the office. Dr. Bowden says that she definitely locked it the previous night. Nothing else seems to have been disturbed.
Angel goes on to report that a very upset Moe Zaleski came by the crime scene and told Angel he is holding the investigators personally responsible for Thibodeaux's death. He then gave Angel an audio cassette that Thibodeaux had given him the night before, instructing Moe to deliver it to the investigators.
Gary has had the tape analyzed and it appears to actually be a video recording made on an old children's video camera. The investigators remember the camera they saw at Thibodeaux's cabin during their investigation on the day of the Flint's funeral. The tape is played for the group.
A scratchy, pixilated black and white image appears. It is Thibodeaux sitting in his cabin, apparently filming himself. He is wearing a plaid hunting shirt over a white T-shirt. Here is the text of his video:
"I'm recording this because I'm… I don't know how much longer I can last. I'm feeling worse every day. There's so much crap in my lungs I can't breathe. I'm spitting blood. I've loved her since I can remember. All I wanted was just to kiss her. Sorry, I'm talking about Connor. She asked me to lie and I did. I lied for her."
The image goes fuzzy for a moment as Thibodeaux moves forward and turns the camera off. A moment later it comes on again. Now, Thibodeaux is standing in full Marine military dress. He continues, his voice cracking with emotion:
"There's something I have to say. Connor killed Nate Flint. The night of the murders we got back from Bangor around 1:00am. She said she had to go see him, Nate. She asked me to cover for her, to lie. She hated him, I know that. I loved Connor. Semper Fi."
The tape ends. Gary asks for comments. Jeff says he still doesn't believe Connor committed the murders. Gary still feels it is important to follow up and find out whether Connor was in love with Nate Flint or whether she hated him.
Referring back to the bank statement reassembled by the investigators, Gary says a search for the company "Enhanced Power, Inc." (The company that issued the checks which Nate Flint had been depositing in his offshore account) revealed that the company is owned by General Hayden DeBeck's Mind/Science Organization. Track Two will investigate why DeBeck was paying Nate Flint $250,000 and why did Nate Flint withdraw the entire amount two days before his death? And finally, where is the money?
Track Two will investigate DeBeck. Today is the Mind/Science Organization initiation day. It is called a "cleansing," the only time they let outsiders into the compound. This team's job will be to attend the cleansing, penetrate the compound, find DeBeck and ask him about the money.
Turning to Brian's "Last Will & Testament," he has chosen Katie as the next Lifeguard. In an interview, Katie comments on the friction between Kristen and Jeff, saying that Jeff was happy he was able to send Kristen out to play the Killer's game because she had burned bridges with him and that there were some things in his mind that couldn't be forgiven. Jeff comments that he doesn't think Kristen has ever had any good friends that tell her the truth about herself. Kristen is more blunt, stating that she doesn't like Jeff and that Jeff doesn't like her. She was not surprised that Jeff sent her out when he was Lifeguard.
1:30pm. Jeff and Alan wait at the bus stop for the bus to DeBeck's compound. They are a bit surprised to find Samantha Larabee waiting as well. She tells them that she thinks it might be helpful for her. "When you go through some tough times," she says, "It helps you get to a good place."
Upon arriving at the compound, the new recruits are commanded to line up, single file and march backwards into the main building. Once inside they stand silently at the foot of a big staircase, surrounded by sweepers. Behind them, a woman wearing a flowing white nightgown descends the stairs and welcomes them. "This is going to change your life," she offers. The woman is Mary Elizabeth.
Jeff comments in an interview that he is not surprised as Mary Elizabeth is "a girl who is very easily influenced in life." Alan lists the myriad of situations he's seen her in: as a stripper, hanging out with Reverend Rusty and now this. "I'm ready for anything in this town the way things are going right now," comments Alan.
The interior of the building is like a shell, with mostly 2 x 4 framing but no solid walls. Hanging everywhere are crossed brooms, logos of the Mind/Science Organization and photos of their leader, Hayden DeBeck. And sweepers. Sweepers everywhere, standing at attention, awaiting instructions.
2:23pm. Next comes the cleansing ritual. Jeff, Alan and Samantha strip down to their underwear and stand in small metal tubs of water and wash themselves with soap and scrub brushes, all to the cadence of "scrub, scrub, keep cleaning, keep scrubbing" coming from one of the sweepers. Mary Elizabeth watches the whole proceeding, which lasts about 45 minutes.
After the cleaning ritual, the new inductees are dressed in all white and led into a giant, dimly lit meeting hall. Over 100 sweepers are standing along the walls. Jeff, Alan, Samantha and the other recruits are seated facing a podium. On the front of the podium are two crossed brooms and a photo of DeBeck. Behind the podium is a lit triangle with a single eye in the middle.
The next surprise hits the investigators when Rev. Rusty comes out, dressed in an all white suit and in an almost possessed state shouts, "Are you ready to change your life?" Alan admits that he is a bit scared by this. The reverend continues, "The world is merciless and to conquer the world you must be equally merciless."
Next, General DeBeck comes in and tells them that the journey to change their lives will take them through three levels; Order, Strength & Logic. Once they have passed through all three levels, he will meet with them.
Meanwhile, Kristen and Angel are making their way out to Thibodeaux's cabin when they see a large plume of smoke rising up above the house. As they get closer, they see that Prudence Connor is burning something in a bonfire by the water. Sweepers surround her.
Once with Connor, they see that she is crying and burning all of Thibodeaux's things. "I'm conducting a funeral for a friend", she tells them. Kristen feels she is trying to get over the loss of someone close. Angel tells her they are just trying to clear up the mystery about her and the bangstick and why she threw it into the water. She says she won't talk to them in front of all the sweepers and says to meet her later at the Sunset Club at 9:00pm. Angel tries to ask another question, but Connor cuts him off, screaming at him to "get out of here, please!" Angel later reflects that he thinks there are more skeletons in the closets of this small town than there are in all of New York City.
At the compound, Jeff, Alan and Samantha are in the "Order" section of the initiation. They must first put 50 decks of cards together in a specific order while chanting "order, strength, logic." The Reverend is constantly shouting at them to hurry up. Samantha begins to show signs of cracking under the stress. Next, they must test their memory and concentration skills. Jeff reads a word out loud from a stack of flash cards. Alan must then repeat Jeff's word and add a word from his cards. Samantha must repeat both Jeff and Alan's words, then add her own.
The list gets increasingly long and difficult. If one of them messes up, they must start all over again. This task is tough for Samantha who begins to cry under duress from the Reverend. He tells her she is giving in to "weakness" which is a "mind set of lack and limitation." Samantha finally gives up and leaves. Alan later admits that he thought about going with her as his mind felt over-worked. Still, he stayed for the group and the task at hand.
5:11pm. "Strength." Alan and Jeff have moved on to the physical phase of the initiation. They first must run behind a bus down to a peninsula, keeping up with the pace that the vehicle sets. Once at the water, the Reverend tells them to baptize themselves in the frigid bay water. Both investigators dive in to the 34-degree water.
Alan later reflects that besides doing anything necessary to meet the General, he also would do anything to get to compete with Jeff. Their next test is to climb a giant water tower and once on top, hold a broom out in front of them with both arms fully extended at shoulder height. At first this seems simple. But after 15 minutes the strain begins to show. Jeff and Alan are standing back to back and clearly, neither of them wants to give in before the other. At the same time, they must perform mental chores like reciting the alphabet backwards and counting in multiples of seven. Just when it appears they are done, the Reverend decides to add more time to the task. Day is becoming night.
Back in town, Angel and Kristen are walking into the Sunset Club when Connor honks her truck horn and tells them to climb in so she can talk to them away from the sweepers, who have been following her all day. Once inside, Connor tells them that her father was a Master Sergeant in the Army as well as being the foreman at the Kingfisher Cannery. She tells them that her dad owned Dog Island and that when she was eight years old, he ran into some money problems and in order to get a loan from the Cannery, had to put the Island up for collateral. Unable to pay back the loan, he lost the Island and soon began drinking heavily, which led to his death. In Connor's eyes, it's as if the Flint's themselves held a gun to her father's head. She is angry at the Flints' and the town as a whole from taking everything away from her once proud, war hero father. With that, she heads into the club for a beer.
Inside, Connor continues her story to Angel and Kristen. She says that despite her feelings about the Flints, she fell in love with Nate. Apparently, Nate told Connor that he felt badly for what Kingfisher had done. She never told Nate about the photos. Just then, a sweeper stops at the table and grabs Connor by the arm and says, "We want to talk to you." Connor reacts swiftly by grabbing the sweeper by the shoulders and shoving him forcefully through the front door of the club. Glass shatters as the sweeper and Connor fall through to the sidewalk. Connor gets up and drives away. Drew runs the sweeper off and the investigators are left in the aftermath.
9:27pm. Cleansing Initiation - Phase Three: "Logic." Jeff and Alan are now standing inside the giant water tower. They are in the center of a giant triangle, completely surrounded by sweepers. A deafening banging permeates the metallic structure. Jeff is instructed to hold a rope, which is tied (via a pulley) to a bucket filled with water. He must hold this bucket at shoulder height while Alan is asked a series of riddles. For each question Alan answers correctly, a cup of water will be removed from the bucket, lightening the load.
Unfortunately, Alan struggles to answer the questions correctly, getting only a couple right. He later comments that he wishes that Brian or Katie had still been around as they probably would have done much better at this type of test. With Jeff and himself, he says, you have "a hick from Knoxville and a model who's not too sharp trying to answer those questions." Jeff admits that he's never heard any of those brainteasers in his life. When it is his turn to answer the questions, he has no more success than Alan.
Finally, their eight hours of initiation is completed and they have earned the chance to meet with DeBeck. They meet him in a small room where they ask him about the $250,000. DeBeck explains very carefully, that he gave Nate Flint $250,000 in cash in exchange for the Kingfisher Sardine Factory land. And just when Nate was going to come through on his end of the deal, he was killed. "And who," he adds, "Do you think wound up with my $250,000? Prudence Connor. And when you see Connor, tell her she can't run forever."
With that he leaves. Alan and Jeff have endured eight hours of physical and mental torture to spend four minutes with DeBeck and listen to him talk almost the entire time. They are quite angry about what little they came away with.
Angel and Kristen meet with Duncan who thinks he has found the sweeper who grabbed Connor. It is the first time a sweeper has ever made physical contact with a townsperson. Duncan takes them down to the end of a pier by the water where a couple sweepers are sweeping. Unfortunately, the one Duncan points out is not the same sweeper from the club.
All of a sudden there is an explosion out on the water. A series of huge, thunderous fireballs explode into the night sky spreading the remains of a boat everywhere. Everyone is startled. Back at HQ, Katie happens to be looking out of the window and screams with fright. Jeff and Alan run to the window. Duncan tells Katie and Angel that it was Connor's houseboat that exploded. Angel comments that if she was on the boat they can cross her off the suspect list.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 17
Morning Briefing. Gary reports that no bodies were found at the explosion site and that they are assuming Connor is still alive. Angel recaps Connor's story and alibi for the night of the Flint murders. She said she was with Thibodeaux until 1:30am. She then went to talk to Nate Flint at his house. She was not aware of the photos. After Jeff showed her the photos, she said they were definitely surveillance photos and she had not idea who took them.
As for DeBeck, following up on the info obtained during the initiation will be Track One. Moe has told them that he's been hired to take DeBeck to Dog Island that evening, apparently to meet with Connor. Gary wants a team to go to the island early and set up surveillance in Connor's cabin to monitor the meeting between DeBeck and Connor. Kristen and Angel will take this track. Track Two, Alan and Jeff, will go examine the wreckage of Connor's boat.
At the wreckage, Alan and Jeff find Frank Kovick taking photos. He tells them that the Coast Guard investigators have found that a C-4 type of explosive caused the explosion of Connor's houseboat. Kovick asks the investigators to come by his office so he can give them some more info. At the newspaper office, Kovick tells them that he's discovered that Lambert tried to pull a similar type of scam on the Gulf Coast of Florida where he made a deal to build a development without having raised enough money. Frank thinks that Nate Flint was on to Lambert.
Just then, William Lambert, Deanna Harris and Chief Duncan walk into the office. Kovick tells them that they were just talking about Lambert. Deanna tells Kovick that she is there to terminate his employment. In response, Kovick states that to do that she "would have to own the paper." She replies, "Mr. Lambert does." Lambert has bought the paper. Kovick is furious, yelling at Lambert that he cannot "own free speech in this town."
Dudley tries to get Kovick to leave, while Lambert and Harris stand by smugly and watch. Kovick grabs his camera and runs out into the street where he starts yelling at Duncan that there is a serial killer in this town and he's wasting his time with something like this. He calls him an idiot and a moron and then takes off.
Alan and Jeff follow Kovick into the diner where Kovick tells them he's disappointed that they lied to him about who was at DeBeck's compound yesterday. Sam has told him that she was there and he feels like while he's been sharing info with the investigators, they have not been sharing with him. Jeff quickly responds that Kovick is being a hypocrite, as he did not tell them he was having an affair with Samantha. Kovick says he would like Alan to talk for a while.
In an interview later, Alan comments that this good cop-bad cop routine made him uncomfortable. Outside the diner, Jeff reveals to Alan his growing frustration with Kovick, pointing out that he does not have an eyewitness or good alibi accounting for his whereabouts during any of the murders.
On Track Two, Angel and Kristen set up surveillance cameras and recorders in Connor's cabin on Dog Island. They are only partly set when Connor arrives. They hide in a nearby shed and watch the video from the cameras. The audio is not working so they cannot hear what's being said.
Much to their surprise, Connor is not alone, and it's not DeBeck she is with. It is Jimmy Tinker. They are frustrated that they can't hear what's being said. What they see, however, is that Prudence Connor and Jimmy Tinker are having a sexual affair, as well as a bag containing a large amount of cash.
Inside the cabin, we see and hear Connor's cell phone ring. It is DeBeck telling her he's not coming to Dog Island but that she should meet him at a different location, Shackford Head, later that evening. Jimmy is distrustful of DeBeck and tries to insist to Connor that she not go out there.
Back at HQ, the investigators try and piece these latest pieces of the puzzle together. Katie wonders if Connor is playing Jimmy or the other way around. Kristen thinks they are both playing the Flints' together.
That night, General DeBeck sits in his limo, being driven by Reverend Rusty Crandall, to the meeting spot with Connor. It is dark and foggy along the road when suddenly the bright lights of an oncoming car temporarily blind Rusty and he swerves to avoid a collision. This causes him to lose control of the limo, which careens off the road and over an embankment, rolling several times before finally stopping upside down on its roof.
DeBeck is badly shaken up. He calls out to Rusty, "Rusty, Rusty what happened?" DeBeck rolls over and looks up. We see him through the green glow of the killer's camera. A look of recognition and fear crosses his face. "Oh…God…No…" DeBeck pleads. "Forgive me…" he cries. DeBeck then looks away as the end of a bangstick is pointed at his head. Flash. Bang.
INVESTIGATIVE DAY 18
HQ. The phone rings and Alan answers. It is Bill Thompson, the owner of the Trekker's Motor Lodge where the investigators learned the burnt man had killed himself. Thompson informs them that after their visit, someone broke into the same cabin in the middle of the night and ransacked the place. He saw the person, dressed in black but totally unidentifiable, leave the cabin with an armful of stuff which they threw into the back of a pick-up truck and took off. He said he gave chase in his car and tracked it to the fire road, until all of the stuff started spilling out on the road.
The investigators immediately suspect Connor because of the truck. Kristen points out that Connor hated both the Flints' and Leita Rose-Blodgett, while Thibodeaux only hated Leita, making Connor more of a suspect than Thibodeaux.
At the morning briefing, Gary reports that DeBeck's limo was found near Shackford Head, but that no bodies were found. He also says that the lab was able to retrieve some of the audio off of the surveillance tapes from Connor's cabin. They play it back on their monitor.
The audio reveals that Jimmy Tinker took the surveillance photos of Nate Flint and Connor having sex and that Connor was in on it all along. The pieces now fall into place for the investigators. Clearly, this was all a revenge plan for Connor to get the $250,000 from Nate Flint by blackmailing him. They further feel that DeBeck was in on it somehow as well. Katie conjectures that while numerous people seem to be involved, she feels one person is "playing them all" for their own purposes. Angel agrees, but asks who?
One other piece of info has come to light. When Duncan arrived at the scene of the limo crash, he found a red and a black envelope inside the passenger compartment. Gary proceeds to open the red envelope and reads the Killer's question: What rank was Connor's father?
Kristen thinks she remembers Connor saying he was a Lieutenant. Angel asks Alan what the highest enlisted rank in the Army is? Alan says "Master Sergeant." "That's it. That's it." He is certain. They respond with Master Sergeant and Angel is correct. The Killer removes Samantha Larabee as a suspect.
Before the vote, Kristen, Alan and Angel get together and agree to vote to send Jeff out that night. Jeff has volunteered to go out and Katie knows that if the group votes him out, she will have to pick someone else. It will be a difficult choice for her "as it should be," she adds.
Alan jokes with Kristen that he thinks that Kristen and Jeff will end up together when they get back home. Kristen's sarcastic response is, "Yeah, he's so my type…. I would plow right over someone like that."
At the Red Briefing, the voting begins. In the booth, Angel pulls out Jeff's photo and coolly states, "Things are coming down to the wire, he's been expressing some anger about being in the house. So Let's add some excitement to his life. Let's send him for the Killer clue." Kristen says she won't send Angel because he's been "extremely trustworthy and an awesome guy." Alan, too, does not want to send Angel as he has come up with the answer to three of the Killer's questions and he is too valuable a guy to lose at this point. So tonight he picks Kristen.
Gary tallies the votes and there is a tie between Jeff and Kristen. As Lifeguard, Katie must break the tie. Having both votes now, she decides that the best thing for the group is to send Jeff and Kristen out. She feels the group works better whenever one of them is out of the house away from the other, so by the end of the night, the investigator's group can start over fresh with one of them gone.
Katie holds out the two envelopes to Jeff. He chooses the one in her left hand. The other goes to Kristen. Jeff is going to a storage house behind DeBeck's compound. Kristen is going to a junkyard. Jeff is very excited about getting to go out. If he dies, at least it will be a fast death. Kristen is very business like, saying she'll just have to go out and get the clue again. Angel expresses to Katie that he hopes the Killer takes care of their problems tonight.
On the ride out, Kristen tells Moe she is scared to death. He mentions that when he dropped Lindsey off he heard a gunshot. Kristen does not want to hear this. Jeff, on the other hand, is brimming with confidence and a positive attitude. X-Ray tells him they are ruthless for sending Kristen out again. Jeff laughs at this.
Jeff arrives at the storage house. He is pumped full of energy and yells, "I'm back DeBeck!" He then begins trashing the storage shed as he passes through it from room to room, screaming with excitement all the way. At the junkyard, it has begun to rain. Kristen follows her map to the trailer indicated where she finds another map taped to the door.
At the end of the storage shed, Jeff finds a similar map directing him to the interior of the Logic water tower behind the storage building. This is the same place that he and Alan went through part of their initiation. As soon a Jeff enters the tower there is a burst of light and an explosion.
Kristen's path takes her into an oxygen bottle storage trailer. She winds her way through hundreds of these five-foot tall metal canisters. In the middle of the room she finally finds a Lupine "X." As she reaches for the flowers we see her through the green glow of the Killer's camera. The Killer rushes at Kristen. She screams. Flash. Bang.
Back in the "Logic Tower", the fireball in front of Jeff reveals a giant OSL logo, a vertical sword with a Lupine X across it. The hilt of the sword bears the giant letters OSL. Jeff continues to scream with delight. "OSL Baby, for life!" Jeff's voice echoes off the metal water tower and into the night.
8 Suspects and 4 investigators remain.