Previously…
– Tori offered support to her former coworker Lucy, whom Tori feared could be the victim of domestic violence. Lucy became defensive and upset at Tori’s assumption about her life. 
– Landon was shocked to receive an alert that might allow him to track down Sonja and TJ.
– Spencer and Elly slept together for the first time. In the aftermath, a distraught Travis came to see Elly, and Spencer overheard the two of them discussing some kind of secret.
– Natalie retained Conrad as her lawyer when Brent wanted to question her about the night of Loretta’s murder. Brent revealed that a witness could place a red-haired woman outside the house around the time the poisoning must have occurred.
– Sabrina’s apartment was burned down in an apparent arson.

The hum of the local news broadcast on the television fills the quiet gaps between words that haven’t yet been spoken. Tim Fisher sits forward on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees. Claire perches beside him, her hands wrapped around a cooling mug of tea, though she hasn’t taken a sip in minutes. The air in the room feels thick with anticipation. 

“So you really think this will lead you to them,” Tim finally says.

Landon Esco, who is leaning against the fireplace, nods and adjusts his jacket. “Sure looks like it. Sonja‘s been logging into her cloud account from the same location for the last few days.”

“She couldn’t be faking that, could she?” Claire asks, wincing as if preparing for an answer that she might not like.

“It would be really difficult,” Landon says. He looks over at Tori Gray, who stands nearby with her arms folded; they were having dinner at Bill’s on the Pier when Landon received the alert, and they quickly paid the bill and came to see Tori’s uncle to share the news that there could be a strong lead on finding his ex and their toddler son, who have been missing for months.

“What do we do now?” Tim asks, but he barely gets the question out before the doorbell rings. 

“I’ll get it,” Tori says, springing into action. The other three wait, already aware of who must be arriving. Moments later, Tori returns with her mother in tow.

“I came as soon as I could,” Sarah Fisher Gray, sporting a black leather jacket over grey heathered t-shirt, says. “You found something?”

“I can pinpoint Sonja’s IP address,” Landon explains. “Which means that’s got to be where she and TJ are.”

“Unless she’s somehow faking it or spoofing the address to keep herself hidden,” Sarah counters. “But it’s definitely the best shot we’ve had since Idaho. Where is she, Landon?”

“It looks like they’re further south, near Moscow. Still in Idaho.”

“I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but thank you guys,” Tim says. “If we can finally bring TJ home…” He trails off, absorbed by the possibility.

“This one’s all Landon,” Sarah says. “Great work, Landon. We should get out there ASAP, in case she doesn’t stay put. I need to go back to the house, get Billy all set up for his game tomorrow, and then I can throw together a bag and we can go.” She pauses, having been hit by a thought. “I was supposed to do the carpool for the game, so I need to ask Matt if he can shuffle around–“

“Mom,” Tori interjects. “Wait.”

The others look to the young woman.

“How about instead of making yourself all stressed,” Tori offers, “I go with Landon instead?”

“I can also go alone,” Landon says. 

Sarah considers this, her index finger tapping at her chin. 

“It won’t be dangerous, Mom,” Tori adds. “Sonja’s goal isn’t to hurt anyone.”

“And she’s running because she’s scared of Loretta,” Claire says. “Once she finds out that Loretta can’t hurt her anymore, she might not even fight you.”

“I wonder if she’s seen the news,” Tim says, standing from the sofa in a fit of restlessness. 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Landon says.

“Promise me one thing,” Sarah says as she takes a step toward Landon. He squares his shoulders toward her.

“What’s that?” he replies.

“Make sure nothing happens to my daughter,” Sarah tells him. “But I trust you, and I know Tori can hold her own.”

Landon wraps an arm around Tori’s shoulders, pulling her closer. 

“Then let’s do this,” he says. “Let’s bring TJ back to his dad, where belongs.”

—–

“Can I watch TV before dinner?” Peter Ragan asks as he flies up the pathway to the front door with his backpack bouncing behind him.

“You need to wash up first!” Spencer Ragan calls after his son as he locks the door. “You’re filthy from basketball practice.”

Peter doesn’t give a verbal response as he tries the front door and finds it unlocked. Spencer follows him inside, hearing the sound of the second grader’s footsteps rumbling up the stairs. 

“Nice to see you, too,” Natalie Bishop is muttering when Spencer steps into the foyer. 

“I told him to go clean up for dinner,” Spencer tells her as he slips off his shoes. The mention of cleaning up reminds him of how intensely his encounter with Elly is all over him: physically, mentally, and emotionally. He sucks in a breath, as if pulling the secret inside himself, as well, and then notices that Natalie still has her coat on.

“You just get in?” he asks.

“Um, yeah,” she says, as she pushes a lock of auburn hair behind one ear. “That’s why I said I’d order dinner. It’s on the way, by the way. But this has been a day.”

In spite of their strange relationship, he feels an immediate burst of concern. “Why? What happened?”

“Brent wanted to talk to me again,” she says. She removes her coat, slinging it over the banister. “About… the night Loretta died.”

Spencer’s worry dissolves into a sense of deep irritation. He has had his suspicions about his wife ever since Brent pointed out that Natalie hired the hairstylist during whose appointment Loretta was poisoned. 

“Why?” he asks, teeth clenching. “What did he find out?”

“Nothing!” she insists, instinctively glancing upward to be sure that Peter isn’t listening to them. “He’s just turning over every rock he’s already turned over to make sure he didn’t miss anything.” 

“They wouldn’t have brought you in if they didn’t have actual questions.”

“They’re investigating. I brought Conrad with me just to be safe–“

“You retained a lawyer?”

“It would be stupid not to,” Natalie scoffs. “I wouldn’t put it past Brent to try and trap me just to try and push the case along.”

Spencer’s jaw tightens as he stares at her. “Does he have to try and trap you?”

“What does that mean?”

“Natalie,” he says, his entire body burning with rage. “What did you do to Loretta?”

—–

The black blanket of darkness has fallen over King’s Bay, and the winter chill feels even more aggressive now that the sun has gone into hiding. Jason Fisher steps out of the car first, stretching as he hits the driveway. 

“Man, was that a good dinner,” he says, cracking his neck. “Good food and even better company. Now all we need is the hot tub and some wine.”

“Thanks for being the designated driver,” Sabrina Gage replies as she slips out of the passenger seat. 

Jason smiles at her over the top of the car. 

“We didn’t bring suits,” Alex Marshall says as he gets out of the back seat of the car. 

“You guys can borrow some from me,” Jason replies. “I keep buying new ones for vacations I never get to take.” 

Trevor Brooks steps out of the other side of the back of Jason’s BMW, carrying a bag of leftovers in one hand. “You need to make time for a vacation. In the meantime, though, we won’t turn down a hot tub.”

“Especially since we’re off-duty tonight,” Alex says, rounding the car to grasp his husband’s hand. 

“It was nice of the Chases to take the kids tonight,” Sabrina adds.

“Helen never turns down a chance to have Sophie and Chase at their house,” Jason says with a laugh as he rounds the front of the car to join Sabrina. “And they’ll have fun. So we can all enjoy our double date night and chill the hell out.”

A beep sounds in the night as Jason uses the key fob to lock the BMW.

“That sounds great,” Sabrina says. They all start toward the front door, their pace unhurried, until Sabrina stops dead in her tracks.

“Wait,” she says, her voice tight.

Brows knitted, Jason turns. “What’s wrong?”

Sabrina points toward her car, the older-model sedan parked on the other side of the large driveway. It takes a moment, but thanks to the soft porch light and its shadows, the others finally see it. The windows on the driver’s side are covered, front to back, in jagged red letters spelling out a single word:

WHORE

—–

The front door of Tim’s house clicks shut as the three visitors depart. The house falls into an uneasy silence, save for the distant murmurs from the TV in the other room. 

“I just…” Tim exhales sharply. “I don’t know if I can take another dead end lead. I hate riding this rollercoaster. Every time we think it’s over, something else happens.”

Claire watches him, her heart aching at the visible tension in his shoulders and his face. 

“I know how hard this is,” she says, slipping her hand around his waist.

Tim lets out a laugh tinged with bitterness, but it is thin, hollow. “You’ve been amazing through this, Claire. I feel grateful to have you here. But TJ is my son, and I feel like I’ve, I don’t know, failed him.”

“How have you failed him? You’ve never given up looking for him.”

“But I’ve let Sonja slip away with him. Multiple times. All that little boy knows is life on the run. He deserves better than that.”

“That’s why you’ve had Sarah and Landon looking for them,” Claire reminds him. She squeezes his side reassuringly. “Once they find him, you’ll never have to feel like this again.”

In return, Tim wraps his arms around her, holding on as if she is the only solid thing in a world that keeps shifting beneath his feet. 

“Thank you,” he says softly. They remain there in the near-silence, the foyer bathed in shadows, as they wait for whatever comes next.

—–

In the foyer of their home, Natalie’s eyes bug out in response to Spencer.

“What did I do to Loretta? Nothing!”

“I don’t know if I believe you,” Spencer says. “God knows I have no reason to.”

“You think I’m a murderer?” she fires back in a loud whisper, conscious of Peter’s presence upstairs. “Brent let me go. That should tell you something, shouldn’t it?”

Spencer frowns, tongue-tied for a moment. Natalie smooths the sleeves of her silky, burnt-orange blouse.

“Besides, Brent said they have a witness who can place someone at the scene,” she adds.

“Wait, what? Really?”

Natalie nods smugly. “They saw a red-haired woman outside our house while Loretta was having her appointment.”

“Oh. A red-haired woman. Whoever could that be?” Spencer holds out a hand to indicate Natalie’s own auburn mane.

“Excuse me, but I have a rock-solid alibi. I left for the party with you and Peter. When would I have had time to double back, commit a murder, and rejoin without you noticing?”

The validity of her words hits Spencer like a sack of rocks. She watches him deflate a little, the air and pomp whizzing out of him. 

“Dinner will be here soon. I’m going to check on Peter,” she says, lifting one stilettoed foot onto the first step of the staircase. “I suggest you fix your attitude before we eat.”

Spencer rolls his eyes and listens to the light creaking of his wife ascending the stairs. His mind flashes back to his afternoon tryst with Elly, her own red hair spilling over the bedsheets — and then he hears Travis’s voice, desperately urging her:

“You cannot even give Rosie a hint about what happened that night.”

“Elly,” Spencer says under his breath. “What the hell did you do?”

—–

The foursome in Jason’s driveway stare at Sabrina’s car in shock. The word scrawled in red has pummeled them all into silence. 

WHORE

“What the–” Jason strides toward the car, his voice rising with alarm.

Sabrina doesn’t move. She stands frozen, hands clenching her simple black dress as her breath quickens. Trevor and Alex exchange a confused but stunned glance as they take in what is going on.

“Is that… paint?” Trevor questions, his voice clouded with disbelief.

“I don’t know,” Jason says before running a hand over his graying hair. 

“We’ll figure this out,” Alex says as he steps forward to place a steadying hand on Sabrina’s arm. “Maybe it’s just some kind of prank.”

But Sabrina shakes her head, her shoulder-length black hair swaying back and forth as she does so. “First the arson… now this…”

“We’ll figure it out,” Jason tells her as he moves over to wrap an arm around his girlfriend. “You’re safe. I’ll call Brent. Nobody go into the house yet.”

The other three look up at Jason’s lovely suburban home, with its brick front and three-car garage. The word on the car glares back at them as Jason takes out his phone, the peaceful promise of the night broken irreparably. 

“We can get this cleaned up tomorrow,” Trevor tries to reassure Sabrina, as he and Alex move closer to her. “It’ll be like it never happened.”

Sabrina brings a hand to her mouth, her body trembling with fear. A few feet away, Jason has his phone pressed to his ear as he phones Brent.

“Someone’s trying to send me a message,” she says quietly, disbelief causing her extremities to tingle. “Someone wants to hurt me.”

END OF EPISODE 1249

Is Sabrina’s life in danger from these threats?
Will Landon and Tori bring Sonja and TJ home?
Should Spencer take action toward Elly?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!

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