01x12 - Ride or Die

[bunniefuu]

Look at her. Teeth capped, I'm sure.

You know, she's got the money.
She can afford to be that much

- prettier than me.
- Oh, my God, please.

That bitch is all about the filters.

There's no way she's prettier than you.

I promise.

I promise.

You know, if you're lying,
I'll have to k*ll you.

[CAT CLYDE'S "SO HEAVY" PLAYING]

♪

[BOTH LAUGH SOFTLY]

♪ - Just to watch it bleed ♪

♪ And it's so heavy ♪

♪ Too heavy to hold ♪

♪

♪ I wash my cup ♪

♪ Love with doubt ♪

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

Ready?

You know what they'd
call you back in Sinaloa?

Huh?

Sicario de nacimiento.

- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
- Sicario.

- Mm-hmm.
- Like my boy Benicio.

- [LAUGHS]
- What's the rest mean?

Natural born, baby.

Natural born.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

How about some bougie tacos?

Remember that place by the PetSmart?

- Oaxaca Flats.
- Love it, see you then.

Can't wait.

Jared?

[GASPS, GRUNTS]

[GROANING]

What the hell?

[GASPS]

Who's prettier now?

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

[GRUNTING]

Synced & corrected by -robtor-
www.addic ed.com

And the hawk wasn't moving.

It was just lying there,
and then stupid Ross

picked up a stick and poked it.

I tried to stop him,
but all the boys just laughed.

And then Ross k*lled it.

That's terrible, sweetheart. So cruel.

Do you want me to call their parents?

No.

I made you some hot chocolate, sweetie.

Somebody needs to talk to this boy.

His behavior is really disturbing.

Maybe I should call the school.

- I don't know.
- [SIGHS]

I have to go. But I promise,

soon as I get back,
we'll take care of this.

I'll think of what to do.
I love you, sweetheart.

Love you too.

[SPOON CLINKS]

[SIGHS]

Connie Romano, , nursing student.

Just before hightailing out
of the High Point Apartment

parking garage in Hamilton, New Jersey.

Presumably in that Hyundai.

Dr. Melissa Alden, , pediatric shrink.

Found with a single mm b*llet
lodged in her skull.

Sadly for her, it wasn't a k*ll sh*t.

She survived the b*llet,
only to be stomped to death.

Witnesses?

Just one functional security camera.

Caught an unidentified white
male with a neck tattoo

exiting a vehicle, carrying
a g*n, sil*ncer attached.

A second unidentified party,
likely female,

- behind the wheel.
- Stomped to death?

- Something personal.
- Local cops talked

to Dr. Alden's fiancé, a plastic surgeon.

Connie Romano is his ex-girlfriend

- as of six months ago.
- I'm guessing Connie wasn't

happy about his engagement to Melissa.

Connie was totally obsessed with Melissa.

Her cloud account's busting
with photos of Melissa

she hacked from the ex-fiancé's Facebook.

She paired them up with photos
of her own with the fiancé

from happier times.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Guess the guy has a type.

BOTH: Melissa's prettier.

They said it first.

Dumped for a more attractive,
more successful version

of yourself? Man, that's rough.

Luckily, most of us get over it.

CID have any evidence
that Connie's fleeing

- the jurisdiction?
- She has a Sinaloa Cartel

connection through
her cousin, Ernesto Cruz.

When she was , Connie
and Cruz were caught in Texas

with handguns in their car.

Cruz did eight years for gunrunning,

- Connie got probation.
- So we're worried she might

run to her Cartel friends
across the border.

That's where I'd go.

Any excuse to get a good mole.

Get a b*at on cousin Ernesto,
put an agent on him.

It was all falling into place.

I had, uh, just got an offer
from a practice in Oahu.

Um, Melissa had scored a job there.

We were gonna get married on the beach.

And we were weeks away. [SIGHS]

I'm sorry, it's just...

she was so kind, she was the...

- We're very sorry, Dr. Pierce.
- Never, in a million years,

did I think Connie was
capable of something like this.

I mean, our... our breakup,
it was... it was amicable.

Amicable means nothing
to somebody like Connie.

Have you spoken to her
since you broke up?

No, not since, um, she moved out.

Now, you told the police that
you didn't recognize any of her

accomplices in the surveillance photos.

Well, you couldn't see very much.

You dated her for two years.

She never mentioned having a
connection to a Mexican cartel?

No, she's not even Mexican.

[SIGHS] This is a nightmare.

Look, am... am I in danger?

We'll post agents here
and outside your home.

[FOREBODING MUSIC]

You know, Connie might
have been stalking you

without you being aware.
Do you remember any incidents

or strangers coming to your office?

♪

Maybe. Uh, a couple weeks ago,

right after we posted our engagement.

I was at the coffee shop
across the street from here,

and this woman came up to me.
She was in a uniform.

A security guard.
And she said that she worked

in Melissa's building,
and that I had the right

to know that Melissa
entertained other men.

- Can you describe her?
- Like, a hat, sunglasses,

I think she was Latin, not too tall.

I didn't think much of it.

Look, maybe if I had taken it

a little more seriously, I...
I could've...

I don't know, I...

Looks like a hurricane hit this place.

Keep hope alive. Denial meets delusion.

Connie wouldn't see
anything to deny or delude

herself about.
To a psychopath, only their

feelings matter.
Whatever the other person might

feel never enters their
calculus, except to manipulate.

"When a Father Leaves."

Ever come across this in your classes?

Not as required reading. More mass market

pop psychology.

[SIGHS]

Mrs. Romano, this is Agent LaCroix.

- This is Connie's mom.
- Come in, Mrs. Romano.

I think somebody made a mistake.

- My daughter's not a bad person.
- Please take a seat.

If anybody made a mistake,
we'll find out.

This is your first time in your
daughter's apartment, isn't it?

Well, between her work and her studies,

Connie doesn't really have time to...

To take care of her own mother?

When was the last time you saw her?

Two months ago. I asked her for help

with my bills, she turned me down.

Where would she go if she was in trouble?

I-I don't really know
who's in her life these days.

- What about her father?
- [LAUGHS]

We haven't seen Mateo in years.

Connie was eight when he left.
I raised her myself.

You've done a good job.

Well, except for that time in Texas.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Yeah, that was my mistake.
I sent her to El Paso

to stay with my sister and her husband.

They have three daughters, and
I thought it'd be good for her.

Instead, she hit it off
with her cousin Ernesto.

- We've been trying to find him.
- Nobody knows where he is.

Just pulled this
out of the laundry hamper.

Looks like someone tried
to get a wine stain out.

No luck on the stain, but
might fit the security guard

who came up to Dr. Pierce.

Mrs. Matos, we were hoping
you could give us some news

about your daughter.
The security company said

she hasn't been to work in three days.

[DOOR CREAKS]

Amber was supposed to pick up
Zoe from my house on Monday.

She never showed, never called.
School starts in a week.

She wants to know where Mommy is.

If you don't know, why are you here?

Your daughter's been
implicated in a m*rder,

along with this woman, Connie Romano.

- That's not possible.
- Her car was at the

crime scene. She's been identified

as the person who harassed
the victim's fiancé.

It's just not possible.

Amber tries to be a good mother.

She stayed in school, she got a good job.

We understand it's shocking.
That's why we need to find her.

Do you think she'd reach out
to Zoe's father?

No. He was deported back to

Guatemala three years ago.

How about friends or relatives?

All our family is in Puerto Rico.

And friends, there's just that one.

You've met Connie.

Never met, but heard plenty.
Connie this, Connie that.

Every free moment, off she went.

- Leaving you to care for Zoe.
- Amber used to take Zoe along

everywhere they went.
But more and more, it was,

- "Mama, can you babysit?"
- What do you think changed?

Boyfriends, maybe?

I never heard Amber talk about that.

Would you mind if we spoke
to Zoe about her outings

with Amber and Connie?

If it helps you find my Amber.

Please.

[HAIR DRYER RUNNING]

Hi, baby, they wanna talk to you.

Hey, Zoe. I'm Jess.

Do you mind if we talk for a minute?

That's a nice house.
It's a school, in the trees.

Oh, I see. That's a duck pond?

- Very pretty.
- You can have it if you like.

Thank you. I love it, thanks.

I'd like to talk to you

about your mommy's friend Connie.

What was your favorite place
you went together?

Getting ice cream and cookie dough bowls

- after going to the doctor's.
- To the doctor's?

- Were you sick?
- No.

- She was a feelings doctor.
- A feelings doctor?

Let's see here.

- Is that her?
- Dr. Melissa!

So you and Mommy and Connie
went to Dr. Melissa

- to talk about your feelings?
- Only Mommy.

We'd see Miss Connie after,
at the ice cream store.

And did you meet any other
of Connie's friends?

- Maybe a boy?
- There was Mommy's friend,

the boy with the eye on his neck.

The boy with the eye on his neck?

Can you draw that for me?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[PLASTIC CRINKLING]

Get the nice and easy. Dark mocha.

Oh, ice.

Don't forget the ice. Machine's broken.

Hey, did you talk to your guy in Sinaloa?

The plane's on its way from Juarez?

- It's in the air as we speak.
- And you told them

- how I took her out, right?
- You didn't take her out.

I did.

Come on.

[EXHALES]

[DOOR CREAKS OPEN AND CLOSES]

Otra vez hablando del cártel.

You can speak English,
Marshall Mathers has left

- the building.
- What happens when he finds

out the Cartel isn't in the
market for wannabe assassins

- from South Jersey?
- Don't worry about it.

- What is this for?
- You never know.

Be prepared.

What, do you think that we can trust him?

I know how we can find out.

[SIGHS DEEPLY]

The guy with the neck tattoo
might have been a client

- of Melissa's.
- With this tattoo,

what he needs is a plastic surgeon.

Connie sent Amber and her
daughter on recon missions

to Melissa's office, maybe
to get a fix on her schedule.

Or maybe just for the thrill
of having the upper hand

in a game Melissa didn't
know she was playing.

[QUIET TENSE MUSIC]

♪

This doesn't look good.

Oh, man.

The party never stops with Connie.

I don't know what she's got against fish.

She's just mean.

They targeted patient files H through O.

Tattoo boy probably stole his
file so he couldn't be traced.

Check Melissa's patient
billing accounts against

the files in the drawer,
see which ones are missing.

Somebody peed all over this desk.

I'm guessing Connie marked her turf?

Amber's car was just found
abandoned five miles

- from the m*rder scene.
- Connie's running the show,

- Amber's probably with her.
- Along with Tattoo Boy.

On a road trip to sunny Mexico.

Connie's got impulsive
cruelty, disinhibition.

All the markers of a true psychopath.

If I was on the run with her,
I'd fear for my own life.

Uh, Jared isn't here.
You can't just come in.

Read the warrant.
Your son has been identified

as a suspect in the m*rder
of Dr. Melissa Alden.

But Jared loved Melissa.
He had seen her...

We know his story, Mrs. Locke.

We spoke to his probation officer.

Your lawyers kept Jared
out of juvie hall for burglary

last year on the condition
of regular psych visits.

And reports of improvement,
which Dr. Alden refused

to write.

Jared felt betrayed by her,
isn't that correct?

Jared had a momentary lapse in judgment.

Your son had another lapse in judgment...

this time, it cost Dr. Alden her life.

[SCOFFS]

Welcome to Jared's House of Narco-Horror.

Check out this playlist.

[SONG IN SPANISH PLAYING]

♪

A love song to a drug dealer.

We got scales, baggies, and a pipe.

No weed, but this closet reeks of intent.

That's just for medicinal purposes.

Yeah? And what does this cure?

Got cut PVC pipe, cotton
wadding, duct tape, a drill.

- [DRILL WHIRS]
- Everything you need to make a sil*ncer.

Stop talking about our son
like he's a degenerate k*ller.

- He's just a scared kid.
- You heard it in his voice.

You've spoken to him, haven't you?

We've been in contact.

We text him on his
burner phone, he calls it,

and then, uh, he gets
in touch with us when he can.

I don't have much time.

Yeah, we're getting you home, kiddo.

But you're gonna have to trust us.

Jared, this is Agent Jess
LaCroix of the FBI.

I promised your parents
I'd do everything I could

to get you home safely.

- Do you hear me?
- Uh-huh.

Good.

You're with Connie and Amber,
is that correct?

Yeah, they're around.

You're probably worried
about what'll happen to you

if you turn yourself in.

I give you my word you'll
be treated with more leniency

than Connie and Amber.

They're not the only ones
that... that I'm dealing with.

- You know?
- If you're talking about the

Sinaloa Cartel, we're ahead
of that situation.

- You'll be protected.
- If I snitch on Connie,

I'm done. There's nowhere to hide.

What are you doing, man?

A true narco does
what he needs to survive.

He certainly wouldn't let a
couple of half-cocked females

call the sh*ts on his life.

What size bag of ice you want?

Biggest one you got,
our machine's broken.

Jared?

Take the offer and b*at the rap.

We can be anywhere within five hours.

Meet me outside Cacciatori
Pizza in Raleigh.

Couldn't get an exact location.

North Carolina,
within miles of Raleigh.

I got a lock on a Cacciatori
in East Raleigh off the .

- Do you like it?
- I'll put it right over here.

Look, I was gonna get...

Hey, yo, uh, I'm getting out of here.

I'm gonna grab some cold beers.

Make sure you put more pictures up...

What about some real relief?

Like... like, maybe a shower? [LAUGHS]

I'm gonna get the beers first.

- You heard what the girl said.
- Mm.

It's your lucky day.
So I'll get the beers.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

[BOTH LAUGH QUIETLY]

[WATER RUNNING]

[SIGHS]

Do you guys mind if I join?

You called your mommy?

- [GASPS]
- [GRUNTING]

- Jared's overdue by an hour.
- "You know what a 'hassa' is?"

It's "Scarface" for a pig
that doesn't fly straight.

- Jared lied to us.
- He was ready to deal.

Something's up.

On the call, he was buying a bag of ice.

He said, "Our machine is broken."

Probably at a motel.

Like, for example, across the street.

Let's go bust some doors down.

Front desk ID'd Connie from the photos.

Room .

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

[WATER RUNNING]

We got a body.

His parents' number. Our boy got made.

Amber seduces, Connie executes.

- Quite a tag team.
- The license plate that was on

Jared's car was just
found in a parking lot

in Emporia, Virginia.

They must've switched plates on the car.

I've been diving into the
sisterhood of the traveling

body count.
Amber's page is all BFF photos

of her and Connie.
Swing over to Connie's page,

and any photo of the two of
them was tagged by Amber first.

That's a one-way girl crush.

So Amber's in love with Connie?

- Or just wants to be Connie.
- Which no doubt feeds into

Connie's narcissism.
What are those posts?

Woodmont Preparatory School.

Some school Amber looked up for her kid.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Barnes, check this out.
The school in the trees.

Mm.

And there's Zoe, headed to
Woodmont with Mom and Connie.

I don't know how Amber
would afford it on a

security guard's salary.

Robbie Pierce, the plastic
surgeon, he could afford it.

Maybe Connie promised to foot
the bill if Amber helped her

- get back with Robbie.
- By k*lling Melissa.

And lucky for Amber,
Connie's not the only one

who can make dreams come true.

[DOOR CREAKS]

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

♪

[SCOFFS]

No, you're bad luck to me.

Eight years of bad luck.
For a stunt you talked me into.

Gunrunning... the hell
were you thinking about?

Money. For me, for you.

- Please, Ernesto...
- Oh, no, don't call me that.

I'm Simon Reyes now.
I worked hard to leave Texas

- and those people behind.
- The FBI's looking for me.

Oh, you'll weasel your way
out, that's what you do.

Look, I didn't k*ll anybody.
He was my ex, the surgeon.

Why are you telling me this?

That's my friend over there,
and we're headed to Mexico.

- But we need somewhere safe to get to.
- [CELL PHONE BUZZES]

- You can help us.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]

Maybe you can get the word
out to someone in Sinaloa.

- Yeah?
- You crazy?

That's not me. I knew one guy down there.

I have money. Little over a grand.

Come on.

There's a guy in Atlanta I met.

Used to run dr*gs for the Cartel.

I gotta call him first.
If he's cool, I'll call you.

But I'm taking this money. Regardless.

Now get out of my bar.

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

- He's gonna help us.
- Oh, okay.

What were you looking at?

Oh, uh, just sh*ts of Zoe.
It's, you know, it's hard.

- I miss my daughter.
- But once we cross the border,

- it'll be okay.
- I know, I just, um...

Just what?

I'm... I'm gonna use the bathroom.

Do you need to go? No?

Okay, just give me a second.

[DOOR OPENS]

[PHONE RINGING]

[KEYS CLACKING]

Woodmont Prep, financial aid.
This is Kelly.

Yes, hi, um, I got a message
regarding my daughter,

Zoe Matos.

Oh, yes. Thank you for calling back.

We have good news.

One of our new students with a
full scholarship for next year

had to withdraw because her
family is leaving the country.

That leaves a spot open
for another applicant.

Oh, my God. Are you serious?

Yes. I see you were looking

for a spot for next spring.
This would be for the fall.

Would that be a problem?

No, no, it's... that's not a problem.

We can definitely make that work.

It's not a problem at all.

Awesome.

We'll get Zoe in
for a face-to-face tomorrow?

Um...

Uh, can my mom bring her in?

Afraid not.

We need parent signatures.

Oh, I'm out of town for work right now,

- so I can't really make that.
- I can talk to my director.

Uh, maybe if you designate
your mother as guardian,

we can send a form.
Hang on a few minutes.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

- Amber, we gotta go.
- I-I have to...

I have to go right now.
Um, please, please, please

hold this spot for my daughter,
so maybe she...

she's really a smart kid.
She really needs this

right now, so let me...
let me just call you back.

All right, the signal's
just outside Charlotte,

near Old Monroe Road in Stallings.

It's on the move, heading south.

Get all local units on it.

[HELICOPTER ROTORS BUZZING]

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Just come this way, agents.

We found it abandoned.
There's a phone left

- on the passenger seat.
- It's the same make

of Jared's car. Different license plate.

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

Found the phone. Looks like Amber's.

Connie left it to send
us another message.

Hope it's not bad news for Amber.

[GRUNTS]

A prescription for Connie.

Check out the prescribing doctor.

You wrote the prescription
for Connie three days before

Melissa d*ed.
So much for your clean break.

[SCOFFS]

Okay, before I was Connie's
boyfriend, I was her doctor.

After we broke up, I couldn't
abandon her medically,

so, whatever, yes.
I wrote the prescription.

Then why not tell us?
I mean, beside the optics of,

uh, sleeping with your ex
right before she ex*cuted

- your fiancée.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, yourself.
You double down on your lie

and you make us check
the video surveillance

at your apartment building,
the only way you'll see Hawaii

is by postcard.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

It was only the once.

After Connie found out about Hawaii,

she came by to drop off
a going-away present.

- I felt sorry for her.
- Pity sex, that's your excuse?

This doesn't change anything, though.

I was still in love with Melissa.

I... I was still leaving.
I told Connie as much.

You gave Connie hope. You set her off.

Now you're gonna make it right.

Thanks.

Connie. Okay.

You're not gonna talk to me? Connie?

You're an idiot, Amber.
A scholarship from the sky?

Do you know what you almost
gave up with that call?

They could've traced it,
and seen our car.

- You're so lucky to be with me.
- Mm-hmm.

[BREATHES SHAKILY] We're low.

What do you mean we're low?
You said we had enough.

Well, , went to Ernesto,
and another grand went to his

guy in Atlanta, so we need cash.

[SIGHS]

I saw a motel nearby.

I'll negotiate a price
to cover the room, okay?

Okay, I'll wait here with our stuff.

All right, and don't worry about

any rough stuff, all right?

I still have the g*n,
so I'll be close by, okay?

- Don't worry.
- Are you asking me to...

I'm not asking, Amber. It's your fault

that we had to give up the car.
Now it's your turn

to make up for it.

- Please don't make me do this.
- Suck it up, Amber.

Let's go.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING IN EARBUDS]

[MAN GRUNTING]

[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

The Connie I know is far from perfect.

But I just don't believe
she k*lled Melissa.

She's not evil. Now, Melissa's patient,

Jared Locke, he was
the one with the grudge.

I-I think that Connie tried to stop him.

And now she's scared.

Robbie, if you could talk
to Connie, what would you say?

Stop running, Connie.

I think you know how I feel about you.

I will stand by you,
I will get you a lawyer.

Just... just reach out, any way you can.

It came in ten minutes ago
to Robbie Pierce's Instagram.

Hey, you don't know me,
but I know your girl Connie.

I saw you on TV.

I think I can help you
get in touch with Connie,

but it'll take some effort from you.

Paid effort. Call me back.

You heard him. Hit him back.

Set a meeting. And drill his phone.

I want every message
he sent in the last week.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

[GRUNTS]

- Can I help you?
- You tell us.

- Dr. Pierce couldn't make it.
- Son of a bitch.

We're not interested
in putting you back in jail,

Mr. Cruz. We want your cousin Connie.

- I don't know where she is...
- We've got you texting

back and forth with her,
on and on about getting a known

- fugitive across the border.
- Bitch.

She's all about going to Mexico.

I told her I'll hook her up with a dude

- who could make it happen.
- Cartel associate.

Yeah, who's been dead five years.

I was playing her, man. The cartel stuff?

I told Connie that when
she was , to impress her.

I got no connects with the cartels.

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

You do now.

[THUNDER CRACKLING]

♪

Hey. Esta la chica.

She's going. Stay there.

[BOTH PANTING]

[ALL GRUNT]

[PANTING]

Nine mil. Looks like the m*rder w*apon.

You're just making things
worse for yourself, Amber.

Why don't you tell us where Connie is?

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]

Chesterfield Motel.

Front room is clear.

[MUFFLED SOBBING]

Oh, thank God!
I really thought she was gonna

- k*ll me this time.
- Who?

Amber. You know, she k*lled Melissa.

I saw her. I tried to save her,

I really did, but then Jared,
he had a g*n.

Okay, take it easy. Take it easy.

You know, they forced me
into the car, they said

that I had to take them to Mexico.

After I sent the video, I just prayed

- that someone would find me.
- What video is this?

The one I posted to Facebook.
Did it not go through?

My name is Connie Romano.

I'm being held against
my will by Amber Matos.

She's in the next room,
hooking up with some guy.

I'm in a motel somewhere in Georgia.

Please, please help me.

I did not k*ll Melissa Alden.
Amber Matos did.

And she k*lled Jared Locke.
And if somebody doesn't

find me soon, I'm gonna be next.

Please contact the police
and tell them that...

[GASPS]

You buy it? She could've tied herself up.

Her plastic ties seemed a bit loose.

She could've slipped out
whenever she wanted to.

[FOREBODING MUSIC]

I did not k*ll Melissa Alden.

Amber Matos did.
And she k*lled Jared Locke.

And if somebody doesn't find me soon,

I'm gonna be next. Please contact the...

Ms. Matos, I advise you
not to say anything.

Not even to deny what her friend said?

It's obviously a self-serving statement

- with no probative value.
- I wouldn't be so sure.

There's no evidence to suggest
that Connie was anything

but an interested bystander
in the m*rder of Melissa Alden.

Amber had the m*rder w*apon
on her when we arrested her.

There's evidence Amber had
a prior relationship with the

sh**t Jared Locke.
And evidence she was in the

shower with Jared when he was k*lled.

A jury will likely find
her guilty of both murders,

while odds are Connie will walk.

Is that the backup plan, Amber?

We find you at the park,
and you take the blame

for everything to save Connie?

I need to talk to my client.

Let me give you something to talk about.

[SIGHS]

I'm sure Connie promised you
that once she got back

with Robbie, she'd hire the best lawyers.

I'm sure she promised you
she'd use Robbie's money

to get Zoe into Woodmont.
We spoke to Robbie.

It's not gonna happen.

Connie sold you a lie.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

There's only one reason I'm here,
and it's the choices I've made.

[SCOFFS]

What about Zoe's choice?
What about her choices?

Huh? What do you think she'd choose?

To go to a fancy school or to
have her mother to hold her?

Because if you do what Connie wants,

you'll be out of her life forever.

♪

[SNIFFLES]

I know Connie makes you feel special.

But she doesn't value you. She uses you.

That's her nature.
She used you when she sent you

to talk to Robbie.
She used you when she sent you

to the park today.

This right here, your daughter.

This is all that matters.

It was me, I did everything.

[SNIFFLES] It was me.

Between the video and Amber's statement,

Connie could hang the jury.
With a half-decent lawyer,

she can cut herself a pretty sweet deal.

While Amber does life for two murders.

- It's wrong.
- She thinks she's giving

her child a chance at a better life.

Connie's lucky she found a
weak person to even take the fall.

Psychopaths don't just prey on the weak.

Connie gave Amber what every
human being wants... a connection.

Sense of belonging. It's very powerful.

Amber probably thinks the day
she met Connie was the second

best day of her life, and
Connie won't let her forget it.

She needs a sycophant
to control, to manipulate.

[CELL PHONE BUZZES]

Otherwise her outsized sense
of self would crumble.

The Monmouth County DA's
office started the extradition

process against Connie and Amber.

They're gonna have a mess on their hands.

Dig up all you can on Connie's father,

the one that abandoned her
when she was a kid.

We can't do it.

We can't just kick the can down the road.

We have to sort this out now.
We have to try.

First, let me say how relieved we are

we got to you in time.
It must've been hell.

I'm just glad that
someone finally heard me.

You have our full support.
Before we go on,

we heard you didn't want a lawyer.

I don't need one. I'm the victim here.

Well, you're certainly
intelligent enough to know

if you'd need one or not. So, no lawyer?

- No lawyer.
- Okay.

After all you've been
through, is there anyone we can

call for you? A friend?

I heard what Robbie did,
what he said on my behalf.

I'd like to see him.

Oh, well, nobody told you?

Yes, I know it was you
behind the interview.

But I could tell...
what he said, he meant.

No, no, no, no.
We scripted the whole thing.

Had to force Robbie to do it, actually.

Truth is, he said he wants to stay
as far away from you as possible.

He's just scared.

[LAUGHS] I'm sure he'll get over it.

You say that because he had sex
with you right before Melissa d*ed?

Yeah, he told us he felt sorry for you.

Pity sex is what he called it.

- Pity sex?
- Mm.

- Yeah.
- Pity sex.

Maybe we could call somebody else.

Not your mother, we know
there are complications there,

but maybe your dad.

- I'm sorry, who?
- Your father, Mateo.

Took us a while to find him.
He shortened his last name,

anglicized his first.
He goes by the name...

- Matt Roman.
- Matt Roman.

We had to use his social to find him.

It's a nice looking family.
His second family.

[QUIET DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Is that the first time
you've seen his page?

♪

I never looked for it.

No, of course, there's...

nothing of interest to you here.

It's just him and his wife
and his kids...

beautiful kids.
Not one picture of you, though.

Didn't your mother send him
pictures of you growing up?

How old were you when he abandoned you?

- Eight.
- Eight years old.

So he really knew who he was leaving.

Were you at home when he left?
You watch him drive away?

[SCOFFS]

I stopped caring a long time ago.

Yeah, I used to tell
myself the same thing.

My dad's a real bastard too. [SIGHS]

You try to k*ll off
those feelings, but you can't.

It's kinda like when Robbie
tried to go to Hawaii,

and you did everything
you could to stop him.

I told you. That was all Amber.

I wouldn't rely too much on Amber.

Once she hears no one's paying
for her daughter's school,

she'll wise up.

We spoke to your father.

Told him his daughter was in trouble.

He was in a total panic.
What father wouldn't be?

But he thought we were
talking about Sara,

your stepsister who's away at college.

And when we told him
it was you in trouble,

he couldn't wait to get off the phone.

He told us he had nothing to do with you.

But you and I both know he had
everything to do with you.

Everything to do with your pain,

everything to do with your anger.

I look at this picture...

At this piece of crap father...

And I think to myself I would
do anything I could to wipe

that self-satisfied smile off his face.

Hmm?

Wouldn't you like to do that? I would.

It's not fair that he's gonna
go on living his life

without anybody knowing
the chaos he left behind.

You think his wife, his kids
know that he left you

and your mother to struggle?
You think they know that

everything you did was
because he made you do it?

- He made you.
- Shut up, shut up,

and get the hell out of my head.

It's not me in your head.

It's your father in your head.

Is that whose face you saw
when you crushed Melissa's?

Come on, Connie.
Put the blood on his hands.

Where it belongs.

[SNIFFLES]

Melissa d*ed quick.

He doesn't deserve that much mercy.

If it was him instead of her,
I would've taken my time.

You can tell him that
when you talk to him.

I'm his daughter. I'm his daughter.

And this is what I did.

And he should feel ashamed
for hurting me.

- We got everything on tape.
- Now Jersey can have her.

Can you send me the number
for that school?

Maybe there's a program Amber's
daughter can qualify for.

She had nothing to do with any of this.

Maybe she can have a soft landing.

[BRUSH DABBING ON WOOD]

- Hey, Dad.
- Hi, sweetie.

I'm, uh, I'm almost
finished with the bat box.

Looks good.

[WOOD BLOCK SCRAPING]

Hey, did you get the texts
I sent you about that boy?

Uh-huh. But I worked it out.

I told Ross I didn't want
to play with him anymore.

And then he apologized.

He said he felt bad about the hawk.

Well, that's good.
I thought when you told me

about it, you wanted
my help resolving it.

No, I was just upset.

- But thanks for listening.
- Sure.

[GENTLE MUSIC]

Anytime.

Hot chocolate helped too.

♪