Girls were last seen leaving Sullivan's Tavern at 1:00 in the morning.
A truck driver spotted the car around 5:30 and called it in.
Look, I only have four deputies.
Only a couple of them have ever seen a body killed in anger.
If what we have here is a homicide, I'm gonna need some help.
Just to be clear, except in special circumstances...
...we don't help out, we take over. You need to be okay with that.
Okay. I guess.
She's not really a morning person.
She'll improve.
Names of the missing women?
Nicole Gilbert and Kara Palmer.
Local girls. Both 21. Work together in a hunting store in town.
Last night was Nicole's engagement party.
- The car was found exactly like this? - Yup... Well, no.
Uh, the door was open just like that. We popped the trunk.
Yup, dead as a dodo. No gas either. They must have left it running.
A different set of tire tracks pulled off the road.
A truck or a big SUV, looks like.
They're still fresh. Must be from the trucker who called in the car.
- Make sure Forensics gets a mold. - Yep.
What's going on with your dog?
He's confused somehow. This behavior?
He's saying, "Hey, look, here they are. Give me my Slim Jim already."
Parker, do you have a better dog close by somewhere?
Sir, this is the best dog in the county.
Come on, Dexter. People are waiting on us.
- Did you look under the car? - Under the car?
- Yeah. - Of course, we looked under the car.
Oh, crap.
One or two?
One.
It's Kara Palmer.
So where's Nicole Gilbert?
Nicole!
Good boy, Dexter. He's got her on lock now.
Any way to tell from the scent how fast Nicole was moving?
Oh, sure. Dexter's detecting skin cells.
They fall off your body all the time at a pretty consistent rate.
- The faster you move, the thinner the trail. - So are we following Nicole on foot...
...or Nicole tied up in the back of a truck? - I don't know.
You said you could tell how fast she was moving.
Dexter can tell. I'm just walking behind him.
- Nicole, can you hear us? - Tell us about Kara and Nicole.
Known them practically their whole lives. Kara was a real sweetheart.
You'll find no one here who'll say a bad word of Kara Palmer.
- Good church-going family. No trouble at all. - Meaning Nicole Gilbert was trouble?
Nicole, well, she had her problems. Drugs and drug-related foolishness mostly.
- Fraud, petty theft. - Any violent offenses?
No, no. She was more of a troubled soul than a bad person. Tough life.
Her mom died when she was 7. Her father raised her on meth and hot dogs.
He's in prison now for drug dealing.
Kara and her family were all the stability Nicole ever had.
So she and Kara were good friends. Odd match.
Real close since they were little.
In a small town, you don't choose your friends.
They're the same age, they're female. That's enough.
- Kyle. Boys, thank you for coming. - Sheriff. Where do you want us?
You know this valley as well as anyone. Just pick your spots.
- Do we know if she's armed? - What do you know about this case?
Uh, same thing as everybody else, I guess.
Badass townie girl got drunk, stabbed her friend to death, and ran off into the woods.
Kara Palmer died from loss of blood. Nicole Gilbert is missing.
Maybe she ran off, maybe she was abducted. We don't know.
Don't assume anything.
Message received and understood, ma'am. All right, fellas.
- You knew Nicole, you think she did this? - Who knows what others are capable of?
She sure had built up a lot of bad karma. But I don't know.
- She seemed to be turning her life around. - Bad karma doesn't have an expiration date.
Uh, actually, it does.
According to traditional Buddhist teachings. I'm counting on it.
Let's go.
People in town are already saying Nicole did this. But I don't believe it.
She will have to tell me herself that she did this, before I believe it.
Nicole loved our daughter.
And we loved Nicole almost like she was our own.
- Well, almost. - Why? Why would she kill her?
She had her troubles, Lord knows, but she wasn't crazy.
Has there been any tension between them recently? Nothing.
- No. None at all. - Well...
- Yes? - That boy, that fiancé of Nicole's?
Jason O'Toole.
We never met him but once or twice, and he seemed nice enough.
He works lumber. You know how those fellas are.
Like to play the buck. All but sleep at Sullivan's Tavern.
But, you know, these days you have to look past the piercings...
...and the tattoos and all that, don't you? But Kara didn't think much of him.
- No? - Didn't approve.
- There might have been some tension there. - What was her problem with Jason?
I guess, just a feeling that he wasn't trustworthy, you know?
But Nicole was in love and she thought Kara was just jealous.
- Kara didn't have a boyfriend. - Did Jason ever get violent with Nicole?
Not that I heard, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Nicole's had her fair share of that type.
- Kara didn't have a boyfriend? - Kara could have had anyone she liked.
She had no shortage of suitors. But have you seen the men round here?
It's all drunken lumberjacks and hippie pot farmers.
Kara had...
She had higher standards than that.
What's the problem now, Parker?
Trail's cold, sheriff.
Best dog in the county, huh?
Come on, Dexter.
Nicole!
She can't answer you.
Or doesn't want to.
- Nope, she's a captive, or dead. - How do you know that?
How far have we come? What, five miles?
Nicole would have been barefoot, probably drunk. It was a dark night.
No way she could cover that distance. Someone must have her in a vehicle.
- And Dexter lost the scent. - Okay, you're in charge. What do we do?
Close to evening. Call off the search. Gather everybody together and...
Give up? There's a girl missing.
Tell me, of the men on this search party, which one would you guess...
...is a violent sexual predator? - What kind of question...?
Whose name just popped into your head? Someone's did.
Huh, there's always someone.
This is your method? Asking people to guess who done it?
Strange kind of detective work you guys do.
Jane's being dramatic. But if somebody did victimize Kara and Nicole...
...statistics show they'd be likely to join the search party.
They enjoy the deceit. It's like being the invisible man.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
So gather up the search party, let me have a crack at them.
He gets results.
I know all these guys.
I'll vouch for every one of them.
Well, most of them.
I'll call them in.
- Jason O'Toole? - Get your truck out of my way.
We need to talk about Nicole Gilbert.
- I don't have time for this, guys. - Let's have a little chat.
Where were you going in such a hurry, Jason?
- Back to the woods to find Nicole. - How do you know she was in the woods?
I don't. I hope she's in the woods.
Because if she's not in the woods, she could be anywhere in the world.
- Why not search with the rest of the town? - I cover more ground alone.
Why did Kara drive Nicole home? Why didn't you?
- Because I was too drunk. - Or maybe you two had a fight?
- No. We were celebrating our engagement. - That's right about when the fights start.
We videoed the whole thing. You can watch and see. There's no fighting.
- We'll do that. Where is that video? - It's in my truck.
There's this whole Kara issue we have to talk about.
- Maybe that blew up, huh? - What issue?
Kara didn't like you. Didn't think you were good enough for Nicole.
- Thought you were untrustworthy. - That's funny.
Is that what you do? Try to get me all upset or something, so I look guilty?
Does it upset you? That Kara didn't like you?
- She was trying to undermine you? - I couldn't care less, okay?
Because it's not true anyhow.
Kara liked me well enough. At least, I never heard her say different.
Where were you between 1 and 7 a.m. Last night?
I was here. Passed out on the floor.
We'll regroup in the morning, first light.
Before you go, Patrick Jane from the CBI, would like to have a word with all of you.
Thanks, Sheriff Nelson.
I want you to look at me, all of you. And listen closely.
I'd like you to raise your hands above your heads like this.
Both hands.
You too, sheriff.
And you, Agent Lisbon.
Please.
Good. Very good. One of you...
One of you here killed Kara Palmer and abducted Nicole Gilbert.
I want that person to lower their right hand now.
Uh, okay, okay. Uh, it usually gets a hit.
Forget I even spoke.
Sheriff, we have a 10-28 reported on Nicole Gilbert.
At the gas station convenience store. I repeat, 10-28 on Nicole Gilbert.
Copy that.
She had a nasty blow to her head.
A moderate concussion. Her feet are badly abraded.
And she has a lot of minor scratches and bruises. Mild hypothermia.
Physically, she'll be fine in a day or so. Mentally, it's another story.
When you brought her in, she was in some kind of a psychotic state.
We've medicated her to take the edge off that.
But she's still in deep shock.
She has no memory at all of the events that brought her here.
That's convenient.
If I'd just stabbed my best friend to death, I'd wanna forget too.
Soon as she's well, I'm charging her and taking her to jail.
Sheriff, you have custody of Nicole, but the CBI is leading this investigation.
I decide when to file charges.
- We don't have the full facts yet. - Facts? She's covered in blood.
Carrying what looks to be the murder weapon...
...which the forensic guys say has Kara's blood on it.
What more do you want?
Is she well enough to speak to?
As long as you're gentle with her.
- Have you told her Kara's dead? - No. We don't wanna upset her.
- She's very fragile. - Yeah.
Nicole?
My name's Teresa Lisbon.
I'm with the California Bureau of Investigation.
- Hi. - I wanna ask you a few questions...
...about what happened to you and Kara.
I told the doctor, I can't remember.
That's okay.
What's the last thing you do remember?
My party.
I remember leaving Sullivan's and getting in the car with Kara.
You know where my fiancé is?
Do you remember anything else about the party?
- We had a good time. - Nothing bad or unusual happen?
No. We drank a lot.
Danced.
Where's Kara?
You and Kara left the Sullivan in her car. Then what happened?
I don't know.
I don't know. That's what I'm telling you. Next thing I remember, I was in this bed.
What's wrong with me? What happened?
- Where's Kara? Why won't anyone tell me? - It's okay.
- She's dead. - Jane.
Stabbed to death.
No. No, no.
Why did you say that?
- She was gonna find out at some point. - The doctor said to be gentle.
Ah, doctors.
Open your eyes, Nicole.
Look at me.
Open your eyes.
I told you the truth because you can handle it.
You have to. You will.
Tell me you will.
What you have to do now, you have to remember what happened.
- Close your eyes and remember. - Jane.
Close your eyes.
You were driving with Kara down Flagship Road.
- Pull over. - What?
Pull over.
- Why did you stop? - I was feeling sick.
Hey.
- There's a man. - What does he look like?
I don't know. I can't see. It's dark.
I can hear a loud rushing sound.
Like water.
Then what happened?
I don't know.
- I can't remember. - You have to.
- I can't. - You have to.
I can't remember.
- You have to. - I can't.
What have you been doing to her? Out.
That's bull. She's got amnesia, but not so badly...
...she can't finger somebody else for killing Kara? Rushing water, my ass.
No. She's telling the truth. Something happened.
Something too horrible for her mind to handle.
- Her memory's blocked. - Even if that's true, maybe it's blocked...
...because she killed Kara. - Well, it's possible.
- I don't think so. I think she's a victim. - How can you tell?
It's in her eyes.
Oh.
Well, then. Why didn't you say so? It's in her eyes.
Here's me looking for facts.
Why would she kill her best friend? What's her, uh, motive?
- Why do women kill other women? - Over men.
Could have been fighting over Jason, though he's no Brad Pitt.
- She was covered in blood. - Yes?
But it rained. It rained hard for a good few hours last night.
Only, when they recovered Nicole, she was still covered in blood. So...
She must have been under cover. She must have been indoors.
- She was hiding. - Or she was a captive.
Probably, near the river. Hence, the sound of rushing water.
- Rigsby. - Get park rangers and organize a search...
...of the summer cabins, storage units and sheds within earshot of the river. Caves too.
Oh, and have Van Pelt set up the video Jason shot of the party at Sullivan's Tavern.
You got it, boss.
- Let's go. - Mm. Uh, sheriff?
A man out there needs to silence Nicole before she recovers her memory.
- So you say. - So I say.
No one should enter her room.
Make sure your men keep her safe.
- I know my business. - Yeah.
You mind yours. Whatever in the heck it is.
How's Jason's alibi look?
Alibi's solid. Several people saw him passed out at the bar.
- Damn. Nelson was right. - About what?
Look at Jason's camera work. He's torn between Nicole and Kara.
- I love this girl. I love this girl. - And I love you, baby.
He had a thing for Kara. There's no proof of a motive unless Nicole knew.
Doesn't look like they're feuding over him, does it?
I'm getting married!
Wait. Stop right there. Run it back.
There. The guy at the bar staring at Kara, in the baseball cap.
I can blow it up.
Let's get a better look at that hat.
"Earthly Pure." What is that?
That's the brand of cosmetics we found in Kara's vehicle.
Can we match that image to the DMV database?
I can try.
"Rulon Farnes."
Truck driver for Earthly Pure Cosmetics.
I can call the company, see if I can get a track on him.
- Anything? - Searched every cabin and shack. Nothing.
- Have them drop you back at the station. - Okay, boss.
- Where you going? - For a walk.
How you doing?
People are saying that I killed Kara.
That's why there's a policeman outside. So that I don't escape.
Hmm.
Did you? Kill Kara?
I don't know.
I don't think I did.
- Do you think I did? - No.
Why would you kill Kara?
Yeah. Why would I kill her?
But the thing is, I don't know.
I don't think I did...
...but I don't know.
- Hey. Hey, where you going? - Take your hands off of me.
- Don't make me tase you. - Guys, come on.
- Everybody, just take it down a notch. - Uh, what's going on?
He was trying to sneak in to see her.
I was trying to see my girl. I was just walking through.
Nobody's allowed to see her right now.
Come on.
Wow.
- Are they gone? - Yes.
I'm not ready to see anyone yet.
- You okay? You need me to get the nurse? - No. No, no.
- Don't leave me alone. - I won't.
What was it in particular that scared you just now, Nicole?
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
It's okay. It's not your fault.
Rulon, we need to talk to you about Kara Palmer. Let's go.
Rigsby! Get up! Come on, get up!
Get him up. Let's go.
Nice job, guys.
Daddy, listen.
What?
Yeah, yeah. I'll be there.
So how is it you know Kara Palmer?
This town's on my regular route, and I stop here to eat.
Hunting store's next door to the diner.
One day I walk in there, and a tight little pair of buns caught my eye.
Boy meets girl. So I walk over and I start up a conversation.
- What did you talk about? - Offered her $ 10 to sit in my lap.
She said no.
But she said "no" in that kind of way like I was lowballing her.
Not "no," like, to the general principle.
I guess you could say I've been courting her.
I'm through town, I stop by, I give her some free stuff.
What did you expect from Kara in return?
I gave her a lot of stuff.
So I'm thinking, eventually, some form of sexual congress.
And what did you get?
- I disgust you, don't I? - A little. Yeah.
You're pretty.
How's your lipstick supply?
You beautiful people got no idea what unattractive guys go through.
Don't I have a heart?
Don't I long to be held, to be loved, to be cherished?
Yes, I do.
So I gotta pay for a little human contact every now and then. Shoot me.
- It's not my fault I look like this. - It is, actually. With a low-carb diet...
...and exercise, you could look different. - I got a glandular problem.
How heavy are you exactly?
Two forty-five. I've lost a lot of weight in the last year.
You expected sexual favors from Kara. What did you get?
She was a beautiful woman.
Nothing more beautiful than a beautiful woman.
- What did you get from Kara? - Nothing at all.
In France, they would have called her a "coquette."
But I always held out high hopes. I mean, there's always hope.
There sure is.
Suppose she never did put out for you. How would you feel?
If I killed all the women that had rejected me...
...I'd have killed a lot of women.
We can place you at the same bar where Kara was last seen, the night of her murder.
Heh, so were a whole boatload of other people.
Where were you between 1:30 and 7 a.m. That morning?
- My motel. - Were you alone?
- Yeah, I was. - So you have no alibi.
- Nope. Doesn't look good for me, does it? - You seem fine with that.
You know, I read that prosecutors are not real happy with juries nowadays.
Because those folks watch a lot of crime shows on TV.
And they walk in there expecting every crime scene...
...to have, like, DNA, hair, whatnot.
And if that prosecutor does not hand them the defendant's spit on a plate...
...not guilty. - You saying you're innocent or careful?
You'll never know.
He has no alibi, but we have no proof. I can't find an angle to get at him.
- He's shameless. He likes the attention. - Maybe we should let Jane at him.
Hey, Jane, wanna have a crack at him?
Jane?
Oh, him...? Oh, let him go.
- Let him go? - What for?
- We had to fight to catch him. - You're such policemen. Yes. Let him go.
- Set him free. He's telling the truth. - You know this, how?
He liked Kara. Why would he kill her and kidnap Nicole? Doesn't make any sense.
Besides, he blushed when he lied about his weight.
Innocent.
Kara, not quite as innocent as she's been painted.
- By the word of a creep. - An honest creep, whose stuff she took...
...knowing what kind of a man he was. - Free eyeliner doesn't make her a whore.
And a man blushing, embarrassed by his weight, hardly makes him innocent.
It makes him sensitive about his weight.
I think he's a good prospect. We should keep him close.
- Hey, is that Kara's MP3 player? - Yeah.
What are you doing with it?
- Uh, listening to music. It's pretty good. - That's evidence. You can't play with that.
- Evidence of what? She likes music? - It's in the log as physical evidence.
- It's evidence. - Okay. What's with her?
Seriously, if it's in the log, it's in the log. You can't touch it.
Really? All right. Well, uh, ahem, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a sacred thing.
I'll put it right back. You gonna release Rulon, or what?
I don't want to. But I don't have enough to hold him on.
Let him go. We'll keep him under surveillance.
Put that back.
Rulon, you can go. Sorry about the inconvenience.
There it is.
Nicole.
Hey.
You wanna get out of here?
Put these on as quick as you can.
Quick as you can.
Hi.
If I may?
Thank you.
I'll be right back.
Hey.
Hey!
There's nothing left to eat. You cleaned us out this morning.
Listen.
- Cars. - The flow of them. It's like a hum.
What if Nicole didn't hear water that night? What if it was the flow of traffic?
Then we should have been searching cabins on this side of town. Near the highway.
We'll split up. I'll get a ranger, search the likely spots.
You stay with Rulon.
Where are we going?
You trust me, Nicole?
Yes.
I'm gonna help you remember what happened to you that night.
- I don't wanna remember. - You have to.
Wherever you go, until you know the truth of what happened, you'll be haunted.
Until you see Kara's death redeemed, you will be haunted.
You have to know the truth.
It makes me feel sad.
It's the same music that was playing in Kara's car that night.
Yes.
Yes. How did you know that?
- Are you psychic? - No.
These machines have clocks.
They log in their memory what was played when.
Kara told you a secret, didn't she?
A terrible secret she'd been keeping from you.
But she had to tell you. She had to be honest.
- I'm gonna be sick. - Okay.
She said that I shouldn't marry Jason, because he's no good.
And I said she was wrong.
And then she said that she knows he's no good...
...because she and him were sneaking around behind my back.
Hooking up.
I'm sorry.
Nicole, then what happened?
No.
- No, I don't wanna remember any more. - You must.
No. I'm scared.
I've been where you're going.
I know how you feel.
I know.
But you have to be brave.
I'm here.
I won't let anything bad happen. I promise.
Nicole, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Nicole, get back in the car.
Go screw yourself!
Get in the car.
Hey, mister, you looking for a good time? Because my friend here is a cheap whore.
- And I'm sure she'd be happy... - Nicole.
Kara died trying to save me.
I'm being carried now.
I can hear the engine. It's vibrating.
- Gasoline or diesel? - Sounded like a diesel.
Where is he taking you? Is it a long journey?
No. No, not long. Short.
A bumpy road.
Agent Lisbon.
Your man Jane just kidnapped Nicole Gilbert from the hospital.
- Oh, no. - Oh, yes.
And I'm not happy. In fact, I'm mad as hell.
You people are my guests.
You can't come in here and abduct my suspects.
Sheriff, I will fix this. Let me get on it right away.
- Son of a bitch. - What's up?
Personnel issues. Pick up your phone, damn it.
We're stopping now.
It's like an old shed.
It's small and dark, and cold and dusty.
I'm scared.
Somebody help me!
- The door won't open. I can't get out. - You will.
- I can't get out. - It's gonna be fine.
The door will open. It will open.
Is it bolted?
Somebody help!
No.
- Chained? - No, I don't think so.
I'm trapped. I'm gonna die. I can't get out of here. I'm gonna die.
Nicole, you can open it. It's your choice. The door is unlocked if you want it to be.
Open the door, Nicole. Open it.
- It's cold up here at night, huh? - Yeah. And broiling during the day.
Worst of both worlds.
He's got a knife on me.
No.
He's trying to rape me, but I won't let him.
Where the hell are you?
Nicole remembered everything. She can describe the suspect.
We're looking for a tall, well-built man, with brown hair and glasses.
- Mid-thirties. - That's it?
- That describes half the men in California. - Yeah, that's it.
But at least we know it wasn't her that killed Kara.
And it wasn't Rulon Farnes.
Nice work. For this, you illegally abducted her from the sheriff's custody?
Yeah, I was gonna tell you about it. But I figured, seeing that it's illegal...
...best to keep you out of it, so you have deniability.
Oh, how considerate of you.
Listen to me carefully, and do exactly as I tell you.
Take her back to the hospital right now, and sincerely apologize to Sheriff Nelson.
Wow, what was all that about?
My bad karma.
- How's she doing anyway? - Who?
That girl. Nicole. How's she holding up?
Okay, considering.
She remember anything yet?
- We're doing what we can. - Good.
Is there anything else, anything specific that you can remember about him?
That's what he looked like. That's all I remember.
It doesn't matter how small it is. Little things.
Like what his voice sounded like or what did he smelled like or?
Pineapple.
That's great.
Is this the last place to check?
- No, there's one more place. - All right, let's go.
- Hey. - Pineapple.
He smelled like pineapple.
Pineapple? What the hell? Go...
Okay. Good.
Listen, tell Rigsby, Teresa needs his help.
Me? I'm at the Eagle Pine Lodge off Route 6.
Okay.
Kyle, let's stay calm and think this through.
Heh. Think what through?
I really don't wanna shoot you, but I do have to take you into custody...
...for killing Kara Palmer. What are we gonna do about that?
It's not like I set out to hurt anyone.
I just wanted to talk to Nicole.
Before she ran off and got married?
I've noticed her around town for a long time.
I didn't want her marrying that guy Jason. She's too good for him.
Please, Kyle. I really and truly do not wanna hurt you.
You like your chances, do you?
Uh, Lisbon?
Lisbon?
- Lisbon? - Shh!
- You all right? - Yeah. Did you call Rigsby?
Yeah, he's on his way. Listen, I have an idea.
Lisbon, be careful.
Drop it.
Really. Drop it.
On your knees.
Your hands. Come on.
Let's go.
Nice work, Jane.
I was hoping I'd find you here.
Yeah, we're, uh, just about to hit the road.
Thank you.
It's okay.
You know, uh, eventually, you'll start to remember the good things.
Yeah.
- Goes without saying. - You're welcome.
You ready to go?
- Goodbye. - Bye.
Hey, can you believe he fell for that old cell-phone gag?
Old cell-phone gag? I invented that right there and then.
- Rather brilliantly, I thought. - Oh, please.
I've seen that done a dozen times.
- What do you mean? Where? - On TV.
Oh, on TV. Well, anything can happen on TV.
The question is, where have you seen that done in real life?