- My goal is to solve the unsolvable.
Whew.
Testing, one, two, three.
This is "Susie Searches," episode 83.
Hi, my name is Susie Wallis
and ever since I was a young girl,
I've had a very special talent.
- The old oak tree visible through the window.
- The pool boy did it.
- We're only on page 10, Susie.
Besides, most mystery writers create red herrings that-
- Trust me.
- Is this even fun anymore?
- So much fun.
- But you've already figured out
that the sheriff double crossed the FBI-
- I don't care, it's our tradition.
It's okay, mom.
I can do the reading today.
- You sure?
- Absolutely.
- Wouldn't you rather be out with friends?
- The other kids don't like me very much.
- Their loss.
You're special, Susie.
And one day, the whole world is gonna know it.
I'm serious.
You just need to get your voice out there.
- For my new listeners,
I don't mention this childhood talent
for the sake of bragging,
but because I want you to know who I am
and why I chose to do this show.
I wanna solve the unsolvable.
I wanna bring resolution to the most haunting mysteries.
And I think you'll love what we discuss in today's episode.
It's a cold case, August, 1999.
It takes place in a town just like our own.
A shopkeeper's body was found
with two sets of fingerprints on her neck.
Both by men who had been dead for over a decade.
More soon on "Susie Searches."
Once the podcast takes off,
and we can monetize from sponsorships,
I'm gonna find us a new house.
Something with big windows, beautiful views, lots of light.
Okay, love you.
- Hey.
Uh, uh, uh, uh, you can't put that there.
- What do you mean? Why not?
- The red board is for Student Council only.
- Oh, you must be new here.
Susie.
See, I do this every week.
So, I mean, unless you wanna spend a long afternoon
in front of the Extra-Curricular Committee
testifying against why you felt the need to silence
the voice of a passionate student, which I wouldn't suggest-
- Uh, uh, just leave it.
- Good technique, Susie.
Great technique.
Excellent disposal protocol.
- Thanks.
- You know, in a world of swirling chaos,
it's important to control what little we can
and cleanliness matters.
- Yes.
- It matters, you know.
It's what separates us from the animals.
You understand?
- Yes.
- Good, good.
Well, let us return then to our most noble goal,
the nurturing of great future minds.
- Yeah.
- Wow, you're like the most obsessive person I've ever met.
No wonder it's taking you a million years to graduate.
- I'm a part-time student, Jillian.
We can't afford a live-in nurse.
My mother, she's-
- I'm kidding, geez.
Don't need the back story.
I'm just eating a sandwich.
- Hi.
Hello.
Hi.
How can I help?
- I'm kind of busy today.
- I know, that's why I asked.
- And you know, I'm consuming over 300 grams of protein
per day in order to thicken up my posterior delts.
- That sounds dangerous.
- Why are you smiling?
- I don't know, just my natural expression.
- Right, this is a serious place of work.
You know, we're not flipping burgers.
- Oh yes, I would love to learn
whatever it is that you're doing.
- Well, mostly I'm just cataloging evidence
before transferring it to the lab.
You know, on TV shows,
they get the DNA results back in like 48 hours.
But in real life, it can take months.
- Hmm.
- Is that enough instruction for today?
- Mm-hmm.
- All right, why don't you get the Sheriff his coffee.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Over here, hurry.
I think I spotted my first sandhill crane.
- Hi, I'm-
- Shit.
It's just a plastic bag.
My wife's got me into bird watching.
She said with this job, I need some kind of outlet.
- Oh, that's nice.
- I thought so too.
- Yeah.
You should try to incorporate something a bit more active.
Studies show that police officers who suffer
from chronic stress respond well to movement and exercise.
- I'm sorry, what's your name again?
- Susie Wallis.
- Listen, Susie, I'm sure we appreciate
all you do around here, but as you can see,
I'm buried in work, so.
- Hmm, no problem.
Two and a half brown sugars and a splash of cream.
Just how you like it.
- Thank you. - Mm-hmm.
- Sheriff Loggins.
- What is it, Sophie?
- Pick up your phone,
we've got a situation unfolding.
- Is it the mayor again?
- No, sir.
It's about a Wade College student named Jesse Wilcox.
Apparently he's been missing for two days.
- News of their missing classmate
has shaken the students of this intimate college.
- The son of a local real estate magnate,
Jesse built an immense social media following
through his meditation videos.
- And I just wanted to read a poem that I've been writing.
The trees are broken, but Earth is open.
I was hopin' we take a moment.
That's the poem for today guys and-
- As we all know, it's been a week
since the disappearance of Jesse Wilcox,
one of Wade College's most popular students
and no one in Ohio seems to have any answers.
That's why I've begun working on my own investigation.
More soon on "Susie Searches."
- Hey, have you heard about Jesse Wilcox?
He's been missing for over a week.
- That's crazy,
I didn't even know he's missing that long.
- Hey, did you hear about Jesse?
- Yeah, yeah man, that's really fucked up.
- Have you seen Jesse's meditation videos?
- His ex-girlfriend was heartbroken.
- What kind of a psycho?
- In a missing person's case,
every day that goes by significantly lowers
the success rate of finding them.
- Maybe Jesse just went to like, Vegas
and didn't tell anyone.
- Doesn't fit his behavioral patterns.
Plus, he missed his keynote address
at the new media conference on Friday.
- Hey guys, so before we finish class,
President Andrews wanted me to share with you
a little more information about your classmate,
Jesse Wilcox.
He is a communications major
and his meditation channel on YouTube
has gained a national following.
I'll show you.
- Oh, didn't see you there.
What's up, guys?
I feel something in my head.
Oh yeah, this is my Be Kind beanie.
That's the thing about meditation that I love the most.
There are times where I will just meditate
for hours and hours and hours and hours
and like, I won't even fall asleep once.
My mom's like, dinner's ready.
I'm like, dinner?
Like, I started in the morning.
'Cause there's just too much hate,
there's just too much hate.
Like, on our phones, on Instagram, on TikTok
and like, when the world has a lot of hate,
it's time to meditate and I've been saying that for,
I don't even know, years.
I like to pick a note, mine's C.
Nah, just play it.
I feel better, do you?
Remember, love yourself, laugh a lot, live your life.
Don't get down, be kind.
- And again, that is your classmate, Jesse Wilcox.
And if anyone has any clues to his disappearance,
they're encouraged to call the Taskforce Hotline.
Thank you.
- You may be familiar with the Wilcox name.
Lawrence Wilcox recently made headlines
after his third charge of disorderly conduct.
- In other local news, Selma Peterson's prized
Shetland Sheepdog, Whiskers
Was taken from his yard.
- Lunch break is only 20 minutes, I told you.
- Two weeks involving the disappearance
of a local pet.
- It's so sad.
He totally ate here like, every day.
I've never seen anyone like those gross vegan burgers
as much as he did.
- Have any reporters contacted you?
- Yeah, some for interviews,
but I'm holding out for national news.
- Yeah?
- Absolutely.
My cousin works at Dateline in New York.
Said there's a huge chance this story will explode.
- You think he's dead?
- 100%.
- That's so dark.
- I know.
- Anyway, are you coming to-
- Did you guys hear about Jesse's uncle?
Lawrence Wilcox used to be the Vice Chairman
of the family real estate company up until like a year ago.
He's not even listed on any of the boards.
Jesse's dad must have-
- Wow, you're such a little stalker.
- I'm gonna be famous one day, Jillian,
when I solve this case and become a big hero.
- Okay, awesome.
That will rock, I can't wait.
- As I investigate Jesse's uncle,
clearly the black sheep of the Wilcox family,
the first thing I try to figure out is, who is he really?
I mean, what makes him tick?
- Well, that's, I tell people this all the time,
you have to accept that the market
is like this living, breathing entity.
- If that leads nowhere, does he have any secrets?
What about any abnormal behavior?
What could he be hiding?
Exhaust that road.
I mean, leave no stone unturned.
The internet is vast,
you're bound to find something if you just look hard enough.
- Grab hands, grab virtual hands
and try and connect to the parts of ourselves
that are peaceful.
- Countless interviews have been conducted
in the investigation into the disappearance
of Wade College student, Jesse Wilcox,
according to the special agent in charge.
- Love yourself, laugh a lot.
Live your life, be kind, don't forget.
- But let's stay focused.
One thing that caught my attention is the fact
that Lawrence, along with Jesse's father, Roy,
is a real estate magnate.
He has a bunch of different properties,
all with different names.
A little odd if you ask me.
But one in particular stood out.
Starboard Inc.
And I can't wait to share what I learned
with the Sheriff's department.
- Right? Okay.
Yep, I'm on it.
- How can I help?
- By bugging someone else.
- But I actually think I might have a pretty good lead.
- Really? Then go tell the Sheriff.
- Okay.
- I'm kidding, Susie, don't bother him.
- Why do I think the culprit
is Jesse's uncle, Lawrence Wilcox?
Well, let me count the ways.
First of all, Lawrence is known for his erratic behavior.
Behavior so unreliable that Jesse's dad
had to sever all business ties,
thus giving Lawrence a motive to get back at him
and what would scare his brother most of all?
Taking his most prized possession, his only child.
Secondly, Lawrence has been charged with disorderly conduct
on multiple occasions.
I mean, for someone with his temperament,
kidnapping Jesse wouldn't be so far-fetched.
And lastly, Lawrence has over a dozen unlisted properties
all over the township that no one has looked into.
I know this because I work at the Sheriff's department.
And no one there listened to me.
I have now reached the third property
owned by Starboard Inc.,
one of Lawrence Wilcox's many LLCs.
The site appears to be deserted,
but I will proceed with caution.
Again, I will do nothing to put myself in danger.
I'm not breaking in.
I'm simply collecting information.
Wish me luck.
Haven't found anything yet.
But it's possible...
I'm just not looking in the right place.
Update, I have descended below the house.
Obviously, I can't know for sure,
but I see the faint outline of footsteps.
- I'm Susie.
Susie, Susie Wallis.
It's okay.
Ssh, it's okay.
It's okay.
- And in one of the year's most
remarkable stories, it appears that a local college student
has rescued her kidnapped classmate.
The details are still pouring in.
We fully expect this to be an ongoing store.
- I can confirm that at 1:34 AM last night,
we received a phone call from a farmhouse in Ridley.
It was at that location that we discovered Jesse Wilcox.
He appeared in a state of shock, but without injury.
That's all we are prepared to say at this point.
- Whoa, whoa, what about the student that found him first?
- Well, all credit where credit's due.
We wouldn't have been able to do any of this
without our department intern, who I'm reluctant to name,
given that the suspect is still at large,
but she knows who she is.
- Multiple news outlets have already reported
her name is Susie Wallis.
- I cannot confirm or deny that,
but I would like to reiterate that we are-
- Mom!
- Numerous leads and this department will not rest
until we bring him to justice.
- Why don't you ask the girl for help?
- Isn't it amazing?
- I just wanna take a moment
to thank all of my new listeners
for the outpouring of support.
I promise every one of you that I'll be working just as hard
on my future cases.
This is only the beginning.
More soon on "Susie Searches."
- So, do you wanna get together this weekend
for the new report?
- I'll have to check my schedule.
- Yeah, of course.
- They're running a six-part series
about the Lindbergh Kidnappings
and it's one of my all-time favorites,
even though he was a literal Nazi.
- Hi there, I was just contacted by President Andrews.
They need you right away in Casper Hall.
- Can it wait?
I'm not gonna lie, I'm really looking forward
to mixing tritants and analytes.
- Ah, they said it was urgent.
- There she is.
Aw.
- What's going on?
- Okay, so sorry to spring this on you
but KWST local news called, they had a quick opening
and they wanted to chat with our famous students.
- That's good.
- Great, so why don't you just take a seat
next to Jesse there.
- Hey.
- Listen, Susie, I just-
- No, you...
You really don't have to. - No, listen.
I owe my life to you, okay.
And you just rock, you know.
- What a story.
I don't even know where to begin.
Let's start with you, Jesse.
I can't be the only person
who's fallen in love with you from your videos.
- Oh, stop.
How are you doing?
- I'm good.
I'm real good.
- Fantastic.
Susie, tell us everything from your perspective.
- Um...
You know, I found out on the news, like everyone else did.
- Well, that's amazing.
- And he just seemed like a really good kid
and I was tired of nothing happening.
- Susie is captain humble and...
'Cause you know, I remember
learning about heroes in school, like
like, Mesopotamia, Romans, like the kids in "Hunger Games."
- Oh, I love "Hunger Games," are you kidding?
- But I never thought I'd be sitting next to one.
And I am.
- Wow.
I just got chills.
Did you get chills? I just got chills.
Good, I think that's good. - That's it.
- Fantastic job you two.
Oh my God, wow.
- Okay, really?
That was fun, I think.
- Yeah.
I liked it.
- Oh, thank you.
What are you doing tomorrow night?
Do you wanna have dinner?
- Yes.
- Yeah, they make this mean vegan burger...
You're good?
They make this amazing vegan burger at this place,
House Haven, you know House Haven?
It's amazing, so great.
- Cool.
- Yeah, let's go.
- I'll see you there.
- Okay.
Bye Susie. - Oh.
- Cool, do you want my, you want the thing?
- Celebrity alert, celebrity alert, celebrity alert.
Oh, man, it's our own resident Sherlock Holmes.
I saw you, my lady, on the news today.
- Oh, thanks. - Yeah, yeah.
No, thank you.
I mean, you've done this humble snack bar a huge honor,
Ms. Wallis, so for that I salute you.
- I was just doing my civic duty.
- Civic duty, you're darn right
because it's our responsibility to clean up society's trash,
both literally and metaphorically.
- The guy is a real weirdo.
Don't worry, you still take the cake though.
- Hey. - Susie!
Everyone, this is Susie.
- Hey.
- I mean, duh, not that you need an introduction.
Come sit.
I think you're gonna love this place, it's amazing.
And everybody's so nice here.
Like, they came over and just gave us everything for free.
- Yeah, I think they're so nice
because you're kind of a celebrity now.
- No way.
- Yes, way.
You're a celebrity, dude.
- What do you think Susie?
Are we celebrities? You and me?
- I don't know.
- It's so awesome that you came
'cause I'm sure you're like so busy.
- Yep.
- Yeah, you're like a genuine hero.
- Ray's your biggest fan.
- It's so embarrassing.
- He's your biggest fan, big Susie posters,
he made t-shirts, everything.
- Oh, he's right though.
I've read probably every article about you.
And I just, I have so many questions.
- Look, she probably just wants to relax though.
- Yeah, right.
- Well, what do you wanna know?
- Well, I guess I'm just like still curious
how you found him.
- Um, well, I learned in the county registrar
that Lawrence had three foreclosed properties
and they were all located in the same area-
- Wait, also that, why do you use the same exact wording
in every interview I've heard?
- Chill out.
Why are you grilling her?
Susie, I think Ray is very jealous
he didn't solve it himself.
- I don't know, maybe I'm just anxious in general
'cause you know, your uncle is still out there.
What if he comes back?
- Well, he's not a bad guy.
I think he just has anger issues
and you know, he pulled a prank that he took a little far.
- What do you think, Susie?
I mean, you're the expert.
- Hey Jesse.
Hey, look, I know that this is really tough for you.
I do, but it'll all be over soon.
- Whoa, you okay?
- I am...
I have to go.
- Oh no, are you sure?
- I have French history tomorrow and it's just,
it's a lot, yeah.
- Okay, I'll walk you to your car.
- It was really nice to meet you guys.
- What's your problem?
- This is really nice, but you didn't have to.
- Oh, yes I did, you needed protection.
- I carry pepper spray and a butterfly knife.
- You do?
- Yeah.
- Of course you do.
Well, you should 'cause there's people
getting kidnapped out here, so.
Hey Susie, wait.
Can I tell you something?
- Yeah, of course.
- I think about you every hour.
I wouldn't be here without you.
I wouldn't be walking around
and I wouldn't be breathing the air and looking at the sky
and I mean...
Thank you, thank you.
You get the idea, sorry.
- It was a fluke thing.
- No it wasn't.
BS, I've listened to every single one
of your podcast episodes.
Every single one.
- Really?
- It blows my mind actually.
But I wanted to ask you,
like, why are you so obsessed with true crime?
- Um, well, growing up,
my happiest memories were of my mom reading to me
and they were always detective novels.
But the thing was, I could always guess the real culprit
like, every single time.
She said that I had a gift and that I should be famous.
- She's right.
- I mean, ever since she was diagnosed with MS,
I told myself that I would prove her right.
Yeah, I'm not really sure
she even knows what's going on anymore.
- You know what, I'm sure she does.
- Anyways, I love your videos.
- Stop.
- No, really, my mom always said
kindness is the most valuable currency.
- So true.
- Yeah, sometimes she would shout, be kind,
when she would drop me - She would?
- Off at school. - That's incredible.
- Yeah. - She stole my line.
- Yeah.
Jesse, you just have this thing
where you communicate with people so naturally.
There was this FBI agent in the 1930s, Charles Winstead,
and he had the same thing and he was kind of a legend
in his department.
He was very well respected.
- That's so cool.
You see, like who's Charles Winstead?
That's so cool,
you're so smart. - But I just told you.
- Since your story broke,
applications are up 300%.
Local awareness is at an all-time high
and alumni donations have doubled.
- That's cool.
- I mean, who would've thought that this true crime stuff
was so big with your generation.
But this, this could really change things.
Are you ready for some more big news?
- Sure, yeah.
- We have been contacted by a national morning show
They wanna interview you this weekend.
- I mean, do...
Do we think that's like a little much?
- Jesse, you've just suffered a terrible ordeal.
Am I right?
If Susie's heroism could inspire even one person
to make a difference, hmm, hmm,
isn't that worth it?
- Yeah, of course.
- Yes, of course.
So the studio's located in Cincinnati,
of course, they'll cover all your travel and hotel expenses.
Just make sure to mention that Wade College
is currently ranking number 12 for pre-med in Ohio.
So Susie, what do you think?
- Oh, I'm...
I'm so happy.
- Ah, that is terrific.
- Jillian, why do you think I'm talking to you?
- I don't know.
- Well, because I found several wild berry flavored
water bottles on the top shelf.
- Yeah. - Of the storage cabinet.
- Exactly, right next to the other water bottles.
- No, no.
Okay, flavored water is on the shelf below except for lemon.
- You're insane.
- No, I'm not, I just have a system.
- Okay, well maybe you just need to loosen up.
- Disorder means chaos.
If everybody does what you do,
the fucking world is gonna fall apart.
Just do what I'm saying.
- Susie.
Did you see that shit?
- What?
- Edgar, he practically assaulted me
and this isn't like the first time either.
The other day-
- Can we chat?
- Uh, I guess.
- I'm talking to Susie, I don't know who you are.
- Oh.
Yeah, fine whatever
but this definitely counts as your lunch break.
- It's embarrassing.
- What is?
- The reason I called you here.
I wanna talk to you about Jesse's uncle.
- Lawrence.
- I know his name.
No one can find him.
I mean, the state has officials looking into it,
but I wanna prove myself.
- I'm sure you'll find him.
- I appreciate everything you've done, you know,
but it's only a matter of time
before people start pointing fingers,
wondering why I haven't been more effective.
- Of course I'll help.
- Thank God.
Can I tell you something?
- Sure.
- But I don't want you to take it the wrong way.
- Okay.
- There's this kind of bird native to New Zealand, the Kea.
It's the most curious in the world, super smart too.
Some say it outscores even apes in intelligence exams.
But it's mischievous, always causing trouble.
- What are you saying?
Are you calling me a Kea?
- I don't know.
Probably just reading too many bird books.
- Bet you think you're big shit now.
- No, not really.
- Sheriff says I should be more accommodating,
so I'm adding you to the internal mail server.
- Amazing.
- Don't get too excited,
it doesn't have anything confidential,
but at least you'll be up to date.
I'll also start handing off more responsibilities.
- Like organizing evidence?
- I'm not a fucking idiot, but I'll teach you more about it.
- I would love that.
- Oh, time to build some boulder shoulders.
Ah, get outta my chair.
- Ray.
- Oh, Susie.
- Hey, why are you following me?
- Um...
- That's not an answer.
- Jesse, he gave me shit for not being nice enough to you.
- Oh, that's sweet.
- Yeah, well, he's a sweetheart.
Just don't fuck with him.
- I don't understand.
- Look, I know he seems super vanilla, right?
Mr. Be Kind.
But he's a lot more complicated than that.
And he only needs people in his life right now
that he can trust.
- He can trust me.
- Okay.
It's good to see you.
- I think about you every hour
and I wouldn't be breathing the air and looking at the sky
and I mean, I wouldn't be here without you.
- This is really crazy.
- Yeah.
- But it's good too, I think.
- Yeah, totally.
- I love your outfit by the way.
- Oh. - Love.
- Thank you, you look good too.
- Thank you.
Do I?
- Yeah, it looks good.
You know, these interviews,
they sometimes lead to even bigger shows reaching out.
- Honestly, I'm fine with just like-
- And I mean, like "After Hours with Hayden Powers" big.
I read once that if Hayden Powers
mentions your book just once on their show,
it instantly becomes a Best Seller, like that.
So just think about us.
- You mean, like all the good we could do?
- Exactly. - Yeah.
- So happy to have you guys here.
- Well, I'm just lucky to be anywhere at all.
- Amen.
- Let's start with Susie, Ohio's own Nancy Drew.
- If any of our viewers can even get that reference.
- So, take us through your investigation.
- Well, I know Jesse from around campus,
he was like our local celebrity.
He's cute too, so.
- What? I didn't know you thought that.
- Yeah.
- Well, I think most of America agrees with you, Susie.
- Can I say something?
This whole ordeal was really terrible,
but honestly it's been worth it
to have gained someone like Susie in my life.
- Wow, wow.
- Well, I have to ask, what is your next case, Susie?
- Passing chemistry 402.
- That was so fun.
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- Is it wrong that it felt so fun?
- I don't think so.
- Okay, good 'cause it was really fun.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm loving your hair, it looks so good.
- Thank you.
- That makeup artist is a genius, I love what she did.
- Thanks.
- Oh my God.
It's so nice to eat again.
- What do you mean?
- Um...
I've had a little bit of trouble since it all happened.
- I made you a vegan patty with some brown rice.
It's not very warm, but it should still be good.
- Somebody help me!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey. - Help me!
- Hey, hey, hey, we're too far away, no one can hear you.
I don't want you to stress yourself out.
Hey, relax.
No one is gonna hurt you.
I need you to start eating, okay.
You just hang in there.
Everything's going to be okay.
It's like my mom always used to say,
whenever you're anxious, just take three deep breaths
and imagine an ocean breeze.
- What's wrong?
- What?
- You okay?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I'm good, I'm fine.
So what should we do tonight?
- I don't know, what do you wanna do?
- What do you wanna do?
- I don't...
- You know what we could do, is we could go,
just try and find a movie, like movie theater around here.
Yeah, that's cool.
- Oh, you know what we could do?
We could sneak up to the roof
and just lay down and look at the stars.
- I would love that.
- Dad, the interview went so well
and like, you couldn't see my pimples at all
on the left side.
The makeup lady had this great...
What?
No.
Oh shit.
Holy shit.
Wait, slow down.
Um...
Okay, yeah, I'll call you back.
Yeah, I'll call you back.
- What is it?
- Oh my God, check the news.
Do you know what this means?
This means my uncle wasn't the kidnapper.
- It's an early report.
- No, he's been in Peru for the last six months.
- We should wait for more information.
- I gotta go, I have to go.
I owe him an apology.
Hey, I'm really sorry.
You didn't have to come back with me.
- It's okay, wouldn't have been much fun by myself.
- What?
- Nothing.
- We'll do a rain check.
- Yeah.
- All right.
Good?
Good night.
- Good night.
- See you soon.
- Mom?
Are you still up?
- Easy Susie.
I thought you were spending the night in Cincinnati.
- I'm calling the cops.
- Don't.
- Stay back.
- I just wanna talk this out, okay.
- Stay back.
- I promise, I'm not gonna tell anybody what I found.
- I have no idea what you're talking about.
- Jesse was wearing this hat the day he disappeared.
- Put it down.
- You can tell me what happened.
- Put the hat down.
- I've been watching you for weeks, all right.
I understand you.
I know that you were probably just lonely
and you didn't mean to hurt anybody.
- Be careful, Ray.
- Please, we can find you some help.
- I don't need help.
Oh my God.
Fuck.
Culprits reveal themselves in all sorts of ways,
but most of their mistakes occur
within five minutes of the crime.
It takes a certain kind of mindset,
a specific level of cool not to panic,
not to panic, not to panic.
Stay composed.
Stay composed, stay composed.
Not to let one's emotions overpower their actions.
So often, the criminals err in their disposal protocol.
This only gives them more rope to hang themselves with.
Speaking of which, suicide is still the most common
and effective cover up.
It's estimated that more than 10,000 murders
have been misidentified in the past century.
But of course, we can't ever be sure.
- Mistakes occur within five minutes of the crime.
Just a few skin cells can crack open a case.
DNA evidence...
Hello?
- Susie.
- Jesse?
- Did I wake you up?
- No.
No, of course not.
Did you speak to your uncle?
- No, not yet.
He's kind of freaked out by all the media attention.
- Yeah.
- Honestly, I feel pretty bad for him right now.
Anyway, this sounds weird but have you heard from Ray?
- No.
Why would I?
- Well, he's not answering his phone
and I don't know,
we were supposed to meet up this morning, so.
- I wouldn't worry, I'm sure he's fine.
- Just as our campus has been celebrating
the return of Jesse Wilcox, a new tragedy has struck.
Police have identified a body
at the bottom of Suicide Gulch, Ray Garcia,
a senior history major and immigration advocate
here on campus.
- I'm gonna pass out.
- It's okay.
- This can't be real. - Ssh.
- I can't go in.
- Yes, you can, you can do it, you're just in shock.
I can give you some alone time with him, if you want.
- No, let's go together.
I need you with me.
I mean, he was just here a few days ago.
- He'll always be with us.
- I just don't get it.
I don't get it.
It just doesn't make sense, I don't get it.
- Susie.
I'm so glad you could come.
Thank you.
- Yeah, of course.
I wouldn't-
- Such a shame what happened to Ray.
It certainly doesn't help our diversity initiative.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
By the way, favor to ask you, if you don't mind.
When you leave the funeral parlor,
would you mind going out the main entrance?
There are some reporters outside.
I thought it would be a good idea
if they all saw our star student.
- Yeah, okay.
- That's terrific.
- Susie!
Is anyone watching us?
- No, I don't think so.
- Susie.
The more I think about Ray, the more frightened I get.
- Jesse, it was a suicide.
I know that's, it's horrible but these things happen.
- I don't think it was.
Actually, I know it wasn't.
- You know, they say that
you can't truly know another person.
- I knew Ray.
I knew Ray better than anyone else in the universe.
He...
He was my boyfriend.
- What?
Um...
But no one...
No one knew or?
- Yeah, we didn't tell anyone, of course not.
His parents are super religious, have you met them?
- Yeah but that doesn't mean that
he wouldn't commit suicide.
- Literally this weekend, we were gonna go to Big Mountain
and celebrate our one-year anniversary.
We had like a whole thing planned and he planned it.
He made the arrangements, he planned our meals.
Why would he do all that?
What if the guy who was behind my kidnapping
is somehow responsible for this?
I mean, like I don't know if he was just some
like fucking psycho or something,
but he definitely knew what he was doing.
He did.
And I just know with your gift, you can help me find him.
- The police are investigating.
- Well, the police didn't find me.
You found me.
You saved my life.
Please, Susie.
- I'm flattered that you would believe in me, but
I worry that I'm too close to the case.
- That's okay.
- I'm sorry.
I really liked him.
And I thought he liked me too.
But I guess it was all a lie.
Feels like yesterday, I was getting everything I ever wanted
and now I'm losing it all.
But I'm still doing great, so don't go worrying about me.
I really wish you could give me advice right now.
- In these dark times, I've started doubting everything,
everything I've ever believed in, except you.
Susie, you have to help me find who's responsible for this.
Try to sink into your happy place.
Deep breath.
- Hello?
- Hi, it's Susie Wallis.
I..
Sorry, I'm calling you so late.
- That's okay.
I didn't know you had my phone number.
Anyway, I'm still at the office.
My wife's gone on business,
so I'm just burning the midnight oil.
- Oh.
- I'm also watching Jesse's meditation videos.
They're not that bad.
- Yeah, that's good to hear.
- I gotta be honest, we moved to Wade to escape the stress.
You know, big city life wasn't for me.
Anyway, now...
- Do you think that Ray Garcia really killed himself?
- Why wouldn't I?
- You don't have any suspects or anything?
- Should I?
- No, I mean, I don't know.
I'm just trying to learn more about suicide and depression.
- This should serve as a reminder,
you know, when you're feeling down, don't stay down.
In the words of Jesse, be positive, homie.
- Thanks.
Yes, loyal listeners, this is a call to arms.
I want your best theories, your most random,
your most absurd and in the upcoming weeks,
we'll be delving into some on this podcast.
If Lawrence isn't the kidnapper, then I wanna know who is.
- I am so sorry, I did not mean to startle you.
- Is everything okay?
- Oh yeah, of course.
I just wanted to formally say hello
since we've never seen each other outside the office.
- You following me?
- Yes.
Yes, I am.
But oh, don't worry, no, no, no.
It's nothing bad on your part, Susie.
No, we're just trying to protect you
in case the kidnapper shows up again, yeah.
I mean, to be honest,
you're kind of the first person he'd go after.
- If he does, he better watch out.
- Hmm, yeah, yeah.
Well, you enjoy your day.
- Hey Susie.
So Terriers and Pomeranians have been going missing
on this street for months.
Spooky.
- Someone keeps taking a huge dump in my private bathroom.
Now I'm not saying it's a mystery kidnapper,
but it could be.
- So I don't have like a tip necessarily,
but I've just been like lonely.
Like, are we alone?
Because like aliens, you know.
- Two days ago, I saw the Monahan boys
steal $5 out of the tithing dish.
- I noticed the owner of the crazy house
was digging a super deep hole in his side yard.
- I've had this really strange and bizarre feeling
about my neighbor, Edgar Cabot.
Last week, I saw him try to hit a raccoon with his car.
- According to former Police Chief,
Jefferson Gray of Cleveland, Ohio,
it doesn't matter if you have five suspects or 500.
More often than you think,
the culprit is right under your nose.
Jillian, we need to talk.
- Okay.
Oh my God, are you wearing makeup?
- Um...
- It looks really good, I swear.
- We need to discuss Edgar.
- Ugh, finally.
- You said that he's like a-
- Psycho, yeah, for sure.
- Right, but there's you know,
a lot of odd people in the world.
- Yeah, this is different than that.
So, my stepsister went to school with him
like a million years ago
and she said that Edgar attacked another student
and then the board like hushed it up
'cause apparently, his dad is like loaded.
- If he's so rich, why does he work at the snack bar?
- I don't know.
You're the detective.
- Psychopathic behavior usually presents itself
at an early age.
Antisocial tendencies, reoccurring problems with the law
and cruelty to animals are all early warning signs.
Hey.
Everything okay?
- Yes. - So I think I found
a potential lead-
- Susie, I'm not gonna lie.
For the past week, I haven't been able to meditate,
like at all.
I've tried, get on my app and I close my eyes
and try and unplug but all I can see is death.
Bodies and limbs and stuff like that.
But then this morning, I woke up and I have no idea why
but I had this newfound clarity.
I just felt more present and more centered
than I ever have in my whole life, ever.
And as if on cue, hello universe, it listened to me.
I just got an email.
They found more DNA evidence
from deeper inside the basement.
Apparently there are two entrances.
- Really?
- Yes, it's just like your podcast said,
you can be the best criminal in the world,
but you cannot outrun science.
They found more DNA evidence.
DNA evidence, DNA evidence.
You okay?
- Yeah.
- I just can't wait for this to all be over.
- There's a lot of debate about behavioral signs of guilt,
whether a criminal will turn insomniac or sleep like a baby,
whether they'll develop facial ticks,
constantly touch their hair
or adopt new body postures.
Even shoulder shrugging can be a sign of guilt.
But at the end of the day,
none of that really matters to police.
What matters is cold, hard evidence.
Facts that tie the suspect to the murder scene.
Stick to a routine.
Just stick to a routine.
- Morning.
- Looking forward to that report, Susie.
- What report?
- The one on oxidation-reduction reaction.
No, don't tell me that your fame
is getting in the way of your studying.
- Oh my God.
- Oh, don't worry, get it to me later.
- No, this is unacceptable, I should face the consequences.
- You know what I love about you, Susie?
- No, I don't.
- What you see is what you get.
With everybody else in the world,
well, everyone I know, they wear masks.
Not with you.
Never change, okay?
- Okay.
Hello listeners.
It's no secret, I've been a bit stuck on this case,
but don't worry, I won't give up.
I'll never change who I am.
Life takes unexpected twists,
even the most perfect plans don't always work out,
but never lose faith.
Every obstacle is really just an opportunity to dig deeper.
Eventually, a solution will present itself.
It always does.
More soon on "Susie Searches."
- I'm gonna need to leave early today,
so can you cover for me?
- Hmm.
- I said, I'm gonna need to leave early today.
So can you cover for me?
- Yeah, of course.
- Yeah, it's a date.
No, I'm not gonna answer any questions, okay.
You know, Susie, I was wrong about you.
Even though you saved the day,
you still have no social life.
Okay, I think I'm gonna go and change,
I feel weird about this shirt.
- I like it.
- You do?
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay, yeah I'm definitely gonna change.
Bye.
- You said there was an emergency.
- Um, yeah, someone broke into the back cabinets.
- Why was the storage closet left open?
- I...
I don't know.
- Well, ah, ah, ah, ah, I know the rules, I know the rules.
You don't know the rules.
What are you, some kind of an idiot?
Well, I guess they didn't take anything.
- Hi.
- Thought you were off duty tonight.
- Oh, I am.
Bonanza Burger makes these delicious
chocolate protein shakes, my mom loves them.
They've helped her put on some weight.
- Really?
- Yeah, and I remembered,
you said you were trying to put on mass too.
So I thought I'd bring you one on my way home.
- So, is she seeing any gains?
- Yes, big gains.
- Do you know if it is an isolate or concentrate or?
- Oh, I don't really know the terms,
but they did say to drink it slowly
or it could give you indigestion.
- One time in college,
I ate six cheese logs and chased it with warm beer.
Ah.
It's not a problem.
- Okay, well have a good night.
- Mm-hmm.
Hmm.
Oh.
Ah.
Oh.
- Just one last thing.
Just one last thing.
- Boo.
It's me.
- Hi. - It's me.
- What's up? - Hey.
- What's up? I've been looking for you.
- Oh, I'm just, I'm headed home.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- Do you wanna grab a bite or can you?
- God, you know I would, but I...
There's this-
- Oh, you don't have to if you're busy,
you got something going on.
There's a lot of fakes in world, Susie.
I should know, I'm one of them.
You know, I don't even know that much about meditation.
Like, I mean, I try to do it, but it doesn't really help.
Like honestly, I'm probably the most anxious person
you've ever met.
Seriously.
- That's normal.
- Yeah but I obsessively check my YouTube subscribers
and my IG and my TikTok, everything like,
and if any of those numbers goes down, I get so sad.
Not just normal sad, I get like...
I get so sad, I'll just start punching the walls
until my knuckles start bleeding.
- Why are you telling me this?
- Because you would've figured it out anyway.
You know, maybe when they get this guy in custody,
you can teach me how to be more like you.
- This is Susie Wallis with a late breaking report.
After weeks of fruitlessly searching for Jesse's kidnapper,
I think I finally have a solid lead.
Edgar Cabot, the son of Wade College mega donor Frank Cabot.
Yes, in case you're wondering, that is the same Cabot
of Cabot Dining Hall
but I'll get into the specifics of that later.
Right now, I'm off to investigate.
But if something happens to me,
I will be leaving my recorder in my car as proof.
Oh my God.
- Hi, Susie.
- I think I'm in the wrong house.
- Yeah, come on, we both know that you're smarter than that.
- No really, it's a mistake.
I can just leave and not mention...
- What? My practice?
Are you kidding?
Honestly, I'm just glad that somebody's gonna get
to see my work.
You know, these pets can only spread disorder and chaos.
Not to mention, disease.
- I called your psychiatric hospital.
- What?
- They said, your dad pulled you out
before you were healthy.
- Oh.
- He said, you just needed a steady day job.
- Oh, well dad was right.
- No, you're not well.
- You are a pest.
You are a pest, Susie and pests make the world unclean.
Pests make the world unclean.
Unclean!
Whoopsie.
Hey, where are you going?
Oh.
This is kind of fun.
Susie, where are you going?
Susie.
You got blood on my machete.
Open up.
Susie, it's locked.
- 911, what's your emergency?
- Hello? Hi, can you track-
- Susie, the door's locked. - Track this phone.
I'm being attacked
- Susie. - By Edgar Cabot.
I need a rescue team-
Fuck.
- Susie, open this door.
- Please hang up and try your call again.
- Don't worry about it, I'll make it quick, all right.
I got it open.
No thanks to you.
- Please.
Please, I'm sorry.
- Gordon, give me a sec.
There you go.
This oughta cheer you up a little.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- I mean, for everything.
- You were my prime suspect, you know.
Had my guys following you for weeks.
Never been so happy to be proven wrong.
To the Kea.
- This must be the story of the year.
Wow, that's all I can say.
- I'll second that,
I've never heard anything like this before.
So not only did you save your classmate,
you then went out and caught the real kidnapper
as proven by a DNA link.
- You're too kind.
- But on a more sober note,
I really can't imagine what you must have gone through
at Edgar Cabot's house.
I mean, were you ever frightened?
- Yes, but I needed to know the truth.
- Hmm, spoken like a true detective.
- She is truly, she's unique, right?
- That's right, give it up for them.
Okay, take me through that horrific night
unless it's too traumatic.
- No, no, of course not.
Well, if it weren't for the brave actions
of Sheriff Loggins, I probably would've died
in that basement.
- Oof.
Okay, so there you are, you're trapped in the basement
with a crazed killer breaking down the door.
- Yeah, I guess it sounds like a horror movie.
- It is a horror movie and I mean, this is a bad guy.
This is an individual with a history of violence
towards animals and sociopathic tendencies.
How'd you get through it?
- Well...
I remembered something my mother always said,
if ever you're anxious, just take three deep breaths
and imagine an ocean breeze.
- Wait, what did you just say?
- I said, if ever you're anxious,
just take three deep breaths and imagine an ocean breeze.