[bleak music]
* *
- It could be Vincent put it there himself,
like he left his phone behind, not wanting to be found.
- Oh, you don't believe that.
- Why don't you just say it? You think he's dead.
- Mr. Conte, do you think your son is dead?
Parents often have instincts
when it comes to their children.
Do you think your son is dead? - How dare you ask me that.
- I'm sorry. I asked, because sometimes people know things
without knowing them.
- What I know is what I already told you,
that Vincent doesn't have the tenacity
to run away nor to stay away.
He's too weak. You need to find him.
* *
[dramatic music]
* *
- I'm so sorry.
My family in times of crisis,
we come bearing baked goods.
That and if there's anything I could possibly do,
which I say even when I know there isn't.
- Thank you.
Come in.
- I heard about the backpack.
Has here been anything else?
- No, nothing.
- And how's Olivia?
Is she doing okay?
- She's--she's pretty stoic, at least outwardly.
Inside, I don't know. None of us are doing too well.
- I can imagine.
Well, if there is anything I can do,
you will let me know.
- Actually, here, sit.
Has--has Vincent ever said anything
to you or Zach,
I mean, even indirectly about running away or...
- No.
But...
I might have said something to him.
- What do you mean?
- Well, he seemed a little more troubled of late,
and my sense was-- like, forgive me,
my sense was that of, you know, it was something about here.
- Here? What--
- Well, his home life.
I told him you don't have to stay, that--
you know, I asked if there were other places
he could go, like relatives or--
- Wait. You said that to him?
- Well, he shut the idea down completely.
But now as I play it back,
maybe my questions struck a chord.
- Did--did you tell this to the police, Dania?
- No.
Honestly, I didn't think anything of it.
It was such a fleeting question that didn't even seem to land.
But now I'm suddenly wondering,
maybe it did.
Perhaps I planted the seed.
I am so sorry, Nora.
It was not my business.
But I saw him hurting,
and I--I felt-- - Oh, my God.
- He'll come back.
He has to.
- This feels like a harsh place.
- Yeah, it's high school.
That's kind of the point.
It's meant to be Darwinian.
Maybe not the safest place for Vincent.
- Was it for you? Harsh?
- It's partly why I'm a cop.
I had a pretty rough go of it my sophomore year.
I would rush home from school, hole up,
and just watch TV.
- Let me guess, "Law & Order."
- Yeah, I found it comforting.
- Mr. Avraham?
I beg your pardon.
Is it your first name Avraham or your last?
- Both.
- Avraham Avraham?
- My parents liked the name. This is Detective Harris.
- My pleasure. We will summon Master Lafferty,
but best I alert his parent.
- For what reason?
- Well, when the police show up to talk to students--
- He's not a suspect. We just wanna get information.
- Even so, if it were my child--
- Let's pretend that.
That Vincent Conte is your child.
He is missing.
[tense music]
* *
- How you doing, John?
- This is harassment.
- Just keeping an eye on your stuff.
- You've been dispatched by your colleague.
- Yeah, well, we're looking for a missing kid.
- I already told Mr. Avraham that I haven't seen him.
- Well, yeah, I'm here to learn what you did see,
because you notice shit, John.
Hey.
Have a seat.
- It's a bigotry.
Like it's a crime to be homeless.
I'm always a suspect.
- No one's accusing you of anything.
- Nonsense.
Every time there's a broken window,
a jimmied car door, an overturned trash can
eyes turn to me, be it neighbors or officers.
There's a contagion to it,
which I'm not immune to, you know?
The suspicion,
it breeds self-doubt, thoughts which I have to live with.
I, you know, I cannot just-- I cannot just brush them away.
You know, it needs to stop.
- Okay. Okay, hey, but you'd agree--
you'd agree that if a kid goes missing,
it makes sense that we ask around.
- Yeah, but you haven't really asked around, have you?
- Yeah, well, we're just getting started.
- Yeah, with me. And I don't like it.
- Look, look, nobody's accusing you of anything.
We just want your help, okay?
Okay?
You were at the kid's apartment the day he went missing.
People saw you. - People--fucking people--
People are wrong. Look, I wasn't there.
It's you people.
You put bad thoughts into my head,
and it needs to stop 'cause you need--
- Okay, sorry. - It needs to stop.
- Okay, sorry. I'm sor--John.
- Benjamin? - Am I in trouble?
- Have you done anything to cause trouble, Benjamin?
- No.
- Vincent Conte is your friend?
- Yes.
- You're Vincent's best friend, according to his mother.
- Yes.
- And you would do what you can to help your best friend.
- Do you know where he is?
- No.
- But you know that he's missing?
- His mother told me.
- She asked you if Vincent was at school on Tuesday,
and you told her he was.
That was a lie, Benjamin.
The school attendance records indicate
that Vincent never arrived at school on Tuesday.
- Why did you tell his mother that he did?
- I just thought that he cut,
and I didn't want to rat him out.
- Benjamin, this is very serious.
There's a police investigation into Vincent's disappearance,
and you've complicated that investigation.
You've obstructed it.
We need you to be truthful with us going forward, okay?
- Where is Vincent?
- I don't know, I promise.
- Did he run away?
- I don't think.
- Has he ever mentioned running away?
- In the past, maybe,
but lately he was in a pretty good place.
- How so?
- Well, for starters, he has a date--
or had one tonight,
He's never had a date before. Ever.
He was looking forward to it, so...
- Who was the date with?
- Hailey Townsend. [coughs]
- You just vomited in your mouth, Benjamin.
And I can see that you've swallowed your vomit.
Are you nervous?
Or is this something you do?
- I don't handle stress well.
- Tell us about this Hailey Townsend.
- She's probably the hottest girl in our class.
Maybe in the whole school even.
Vincent would not pick this week
to run away.
- You're not in trouble, Hailey.
- So you and Vincent had a date planned?
- We were gonna go to a movie.
- If you had nothing else going on,
if you wanted to go out with me or whatever.
- Are you two romantically involved?
Friends?
- Yes. We're in French together.
We talk.
He's a nice person.
Very sweet.
- You seem very contrite.
- I'm so sorry.
- Tell us what you're sorry about.
- Vincent's nice, so nice.
But I don't like him like that.
He asked me to go to the movies, and I said yes.
A little bit 'cause I felt sorry for him.
But also... - Also what?
- To make my boyfriend jealous.
- Did it work?
- Um...a little.
- What's his name, your boyfriend?
- Billy.
Billy Livingston.
- So he knew about your impending date with Vincent.
- I posted it on Instagram.
There were some...
some pretty mean comments.
- Ooh. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.
Did she write all this?
- Other people. - Man.
- Adults got nothing on kids when it comes to cruelty.
- I mean, this would explain him running away.
- Or jumping off the bridge.
You talk to the boyfriend?
- He's on the list.
- How'd it go with Mr. Wentworth?
- He says he didn't see anything suspicious,
complained that we find him suspicious,
says it's bigotry,
and he can't sweep the negative thoughts
out of his-- out of his head.
- I want you to take the boyfriend.
- Great.
- How are we doing on Vincent's phone?
- Yeah, I'm meeting with the tech this afternoon.
Should've made progress by now.
- Let's hope. Hope is good.
[speaking in Hebrew]
- Do you know what he just said?
- Uh, yeah, free agency ruined baseball.
- "And with that, I just laid my head down.
"I did not cry.
"There was no need.
I just laid my head down."
- That was very powerful, Rebecca.
I love the way your broke that last sentence down
into three. - Thank you.
- Who's next? Anyone?
Zach?
- Sure.
[clears throat]
It's called "The Letter."
It's from a son to his parents.
- You shouldn't have to tell us what it's about, Zach.
Just let the piece declare itself if it can.
- Okay.
"Father and Mother,
"I know you've been looking for me.
"I suggest you stop.
"You won't find me.
"You said I disappeared on Tuesday.
"But we know that I went missing long before then.
"I didn't vanish in a single day.
"It was a gradual process,
"one in which you participated.
"You eroded me
"bit by bit by bit
"until you made me gone.
"I ask, why are you looking for me now?
"Perhaps you're afraid. I wonder.
"You must be asking yourselves where I am now,
"where I am writing from.
"And I can only say
"that I am writing from somewhere far away.
"Listening. Watching.
"No longer yours.
[tense music]
Son."
* *
- That was excellent.
- It was?
- Yes, it had intrigue, suspense.
I wanna know more. Is there more?
- I was planning to continue with it.
- I really think you should.
* *
- Hey. - Hey.
So I gotta ask you a question,
and I'd appreciate an honest answer.
This detective, are you attracted to him?
- What? - I can sense it.
- What would make you ask such an obscene thing?
- Because I can sense it.
- Our son is gone, and this is what you're feeling?
Jealousy?
- People don't choose their feelings, Nora.
They tend to come and go on their own accord.
You're drawn to him. Don't tell me you aren't.
And you think he's gentle and kind and whatever else.
But let me tell you something before you get too smitten.
This detective thinks we're guilty people.
Whatever he thinks happened to Vincent,
he thinks you and I are responsible,
especially me. - Why do you say that?
- Because of the questions he asks me.
Because of the way he looks at me.
He's not out there looking for Vincent.
He's here talking to us, calling us down to the station.
- They found his backpack.
- I'm just saying, he comes here,
and he sits on Vincent's bed staring at the wall
waiting for some kind of fuckin' spiritual intervention.
What the hell is that?
- You used to be kind and gentle.
- Oh, see, that kind of disgust right there,
he picks up on that, doesn't he, this detective?
- You know, I not only long for Vincent.
I long for you, too.
I sometimes pray for the man I married
to return, the man I fell in love with
to somehow, miraculously reappear.
- Okay.
- You know what? You're right about one thing, though.
You do disgust me,
how you constantly undermine Vincent and me.
God, I lie so much. I'm done.
I'm done lying to you, to the detective, to me.
Just stop it. Stop.
[door slams]
[tango music playing]
- Okay, everybody, I want to see you dance.
Okay, show me your steps.
[speaking Spanish] Yes, good.
Those are strong.
* *
Good. Feel the moment, yes.
Feel that moment. Let it last.
* *
Can you move your arm a little more around her body?
- Okay. - Yes, and you work,
embrace her. - [laughs]
- Very good, everybody.
I love it. Very good. Very good.
Yeah, I'm glad your smiling. Yes, yes.
You're doing much better, yes?
* *
[both giggling]
- How'd it go?
- He was the most perfect little angel.
Almost makes me want to have a baby.
- Oh, God.
- He went down about 8:00 without a fuss.
- Oh. - How was it, the dancing?
- Let's just say it was much needed. Cash?
- Venmo is good. - Thanks, Angie.
- Okay, well, I'll call you about Saturday.
- Okay. 'Night.
- [sighs]
I really enjoyed that.
- Me, too.
- * Our love is a lie *
* And so it begins *
* Foolishly laying our hearts on the table *
* Stumblin' in *
- Hey, Billy.
Hope you're not playing for money.
And on a school night.
- Who are you?
- I always go to the "what" before the "who."
This is a badge. That's a beer.
- You're gonna hassle me over a beer?
- No, dipshit.
I'm gonna hassle you 'cause Vincent Conte's missing.
- * Whatever you do *
- Let's talk.
- Look, I'm telling you I didn't even know the kid.
- Well, you knew him well enough to threaten
to kick his ass for talking to your girl.
- Yeah, well, I was messing with him,
and I didn't do it.
- You know he had a date scheduled with her, right?
- Yeah, well, a lot of guys are after my girlfriend.
I mean, a few I gotta worry about.
Vincent Conte doesn't make the list.
- Well, Hailey evidently saw something in him.
- Okay. Talk to her.
- We have.
- What'd she say?
[bluesy rock music]
- Let's focus on you. Yeah?
- [muttering]
Boom. Found you.
[bell jingles]
Earl told me you like to eat here.
- Did he tell you I like to eat alone?
- Don't be like that.
Being a loner isn't good for you in the long run.
- In the short run, it can be.
Solitude helps me think.
- I guess this answers my question
about you keeping kosher.
- "NYPD officers should avoid discussing the religious
or cultural practices of their colleagues,"
quote, unquote.
If you're gonna pass the lieutenants exam,
you should know this.
- How do you know I'm studying for it?
- Lieutenant is the next rung on the ladder.
You're ambitious, also impatient.
You just made detective.
- Tech found some nuggets on his phone.
Vincent's.
First, Hailey Townsend.
It wasn't just French study pals
going to a movie.
She was sexting him.
- She sent him these? - Mm-hmm.
They were deleted, but we were able to retrieve them
from his cloud.
- Did he reciprocate?
- Not as far as I can tell.
A lot of correspondence
between him and his tutor, Zack Miller.
Seems like their relationship is a little more than academic.
Here's one that we can't source.
"I'm always here to talk."
The number traces back to a prepaid burner phone.
No registered account holder.
Here's another from the same number.
It says, "That shouldn't have happened."
- When did he receive that? - On Sunday.
- So something happened on Sunday.
- We tried calling, but it appears to be disconnected.
- These are more than nuggets, Janine.
- Oh, here's the most dramatic.
"You need to die already."
Let's hope that's not too on point.
- Do we know who sent him that?
- We do.
[knocking]
- I need to speak to your daughter.
- Why?
- It would be helpful to the investigation.
- She doesn't know anything.
Oh, right, sometimes people can know things
without knowing.
- I would think we're all on the same side, Mr. Conte,
that we all want to find Vincent.
Do I have it wrong?
- Well, I would need to be present.
- "You need to die already."
That's a pretty aggressive text,
don't you think?
- Why would you send him-- - Mrs. Conte.
Do you wish your brother harm?
- I text him stuff like that all the time.
- We searched his phone.
We found no such other texts from you like this.
We found this one on Monday.
What happened on Monday?
- We argued.
- What about?
- I--I honestly don't remember.
- For you to text him that he should die,
I would think you would recall.
- Well, my brother isn't really that popular at school,
and he doesn't make it any easier for me to be liked.
We fight about that.
- You fight to persuade him to be more popular.
- No, I wanted him to be less embarrassing,
to me, if not to himself.
Specifically on Monday, I told him my life would be
a lot easier if he would just crawl under a rock.
And then he said something back.
Don't remember exactly what. Probably meaner.
And then I said something back. Don't remember exactly what.
Probably meaner.
Sibling love.
- Do you not love Vincent?
- Of course I do. He's my brother.
[ominous music]
He--he wouldn't run away because of something
that I said or did.
- Why would he run away? Do you have any idea?
* *
- No.
- The argument that Vincent and your father had
Monday night, did you hear what it was about?
- I told you it was about college.
- Did you overhear the argument, Olivia?
- No.
When they get into it, I just put my headphones in.
- Do they get into it a lot?
- Okay.
I think that's enough.
- I'll walk you out.
[train rumbling]
- You gonna let me in?
- No, this is a gated community.
Closes at 9:00.
So now we can say it rises to harassment.
- "Hokusai Says." You know this poem?
- Roger Keyes. - Yeah, Keyes.
You taught Keyes at Rockefeller.
- Well, I've already been canceled for what I taught,
if you're looking to pile on.
- "His strength is life living through you.
"He said don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid."
- We found that on Vincent Conte's phone.
- "Let life take you by the hand.
And let life live through you."
- Bit of a coincidence, don't you think,
that the missing boy quotes a poet
that you used to teach?
- Well, it's a well-known poem by a well-known poet.
- Mm-mm, even so.
[horn honks]
- You know what would be on my syllabus
if I was still teaching today?
- Who?
- Harry G. Frankfurt.
Yeah, he wrote an essay "On Bullshit."
[train rumbling]
- On what? - "On Bullshit"!
How it's a--
how it's a particular form of falsity,
which is exponentially more dangerous than lies.
Now...
you might like Frankfurt, Detective.
- 'Cause I'm full of shit?
- I have never met your missing boy.
- Hey, listen to me.
You told Avi the kid seemed sad.
Now, did you pick up on anything else?
[tense music]
- Yeah.
Yeah, he seemed sweet.
But don't we all?
* *
[train rumbling]
- Okay, so here's what I got.
She says it was just harmless
and that this is what high school girls do sometimes.
- They sext unsuspecting boys?
- Yeah, it's kind of like sharing pictures
from "National Geographic."
"Here's a pretty place you'll never get to see."
The plot does thicken, though,
because Benjamin thinks that they kissed.
- Vincent and Hailey?
- Yeah, evidently they had a bet,
Vincent and Benjamin.
$50 to whoever gets French-kissed first.
On Monday, Vincent sent Benjamin a text.
"You owe me 50 bucks,"
which we have a record of.
And remember on Sunday,
Vincent got that mysterious text.
"That never should have happened."
So maybe Hailey's the one with the burner phone.
* *
Avi?
- Of course.
Of course.
- Of course what?
* *
[knocking]
- Would it be possible to see Vincent's closet again?
- Yes.
- Did he have the large?
- I'm sorry?
- His luggage. The large one is not here.
Where's the large?
- I don't know. - He had it?
- Yes. Yes, he has the whole set.
He didn't have it when he left.
I would have seen it.
He just left with his backpack.
- But if he was planning to run away,
he may have packed it and moved it out sooner.
I need you to check again for cherished possessions,
any pictures, favorite books, letters that are missing.
- So you think he ran away?
- Does the building have a basement?
Anywhere it could be in storage maybe?
- I don't think.
- Do think, Nora.
This is very important right now.
- No, no, no, no, it just--it would be here
in his closet with all the other pieces.
[breathing heavily] Oh, God. Sorry.
- Are you all right?
- Just, I've had this feeling from the beginning,
that he's dead, and I don't know how or why.
I just--I just know it.
[door slams] - [clears throat]
- I just feel it.
And you know I feel it, don't you?
And you feel it too?
- I feel something awful has happened.
But I don't feel that he's dead.
[ominous music]
* *
- [sobbing] My son.
- Well, look who's back and hugging my wife.
You wanna tell me what the fuck's going on?
- He's filed a formal complaint,
and, Avi, he is not wrong to do so.
- It's not unusual for an officer
to extend comfort to a family member
of a crime victim.
- Uh-huh, and before that, you held her hand.
You sat on a bed together holding hands.
- Mr. Conte told you this?
- No, evidently, she told him.
You sat on the bed to better feel Vincent,
and you held her hand.
Avi--
- My feelings sometimes serve me.
- And sometimes they clearly do not.
You held her hand.
You embraced her.
Are you attracted to this woman?
- You know me better than that. - No, I barely know you at all.
Point me to anyone out there who does.
Leonard Conte is convinced that his wife has feelings for you.
He's been made uncomfortable by the vibe he gets
from the two of you in the same room together.
- This is an insult.
- To me as your captain, if there's even
a shred of truth to it-- - There isn't.
- [exhales]
- Are you being your best detective self
on this case?
Because from where I sit...
[groans]
- Finish it.
- We've lost a full day on this investigation,
the most critical day, because we got it wrong
as to when Vincent disappeared.
We thought it was Tuesday after school,
when in fact he never arrived at school on Tuesday morning.
We got it wrong
because you took the mother at her word
without getting any confirmation.
Now, that is not like you, Avi,
and it certainly isn't you being your best detective self.
So are we dealing with a blind spot here?
Are you dealing with one? - I'm not.
- I'm not sure how to proceed here.
- It's quite simple.
I'm your most skilled detective.
If the goal is to find Vincent--
I'm guessing it still is-- I'm your best option.
- Yeah, when you're doing your best work,
which right now you are not.
How do I know this?
Not because you're out there hugging victims' mothers,
but because we are three days into this investigation,
and we're fucking nowhere.
There's a 16-year-old boy out there missing.
You don't have a clue.
[tense music]
* *
- "You need to die already."
That's a pretty aggressive text,
don't you think?
Do you wish your brother harm?
- I text him stuff like that all the time.
- We searched his phone.
We found no such other texts from you like this.
We found this one on Monday.
What happened on Monday?
[all singing in Hebrew]
* *
[phone buzzing]
[tense music]
* *
- I needed to apologize for my husband.
And to my husband, which I've already done.
- To your husband?
- Because what he said, it wasn't unfounded.
For whatever reason,
I am, uh, drawn to you.
I think you represent a certain compassion
and sensitivity that's gone missing from my life.
And I am not saying this to be untoward
or to make any kind of advance,
but just to mitigate whatever animosity you may have
towards my husband.
He was off-base to accuse you, but not to accuse me.
Also, he wants you off the case,
and I am here to ask you-- to beg you
to please stay on it.
- Because?
- Because you're a good detective
who feels my son.
And if he's still alive, if he can still be found,
you're my best chance.
* *
Please.
- That's pretty fucked up, Avi.
Are you sure she wasn't trying to make a pass at you?
- She wasn't.
- Okay, so where exactly are we at this point?
- I'm afraid the captain may be right.
We're much closer to nowhere
than we are solved. - We're not nowhere.
After the shift, let's go out and have a think and a drink.
- Earl thinks better out of the office.
- Everyone does.
The default network in the brain works better
when it's off the clock.
Bob Dylan wrote all his best songs
after he retired as a songwriter.
- Is that true? - Google it.
First round's on me.
- Okay, okay, okay, so you say unhappy home.
Fine. Maybe that's true.
But maybe Vincent is the source of that unhappiness.
Teenage boys, they can be these Olympian brooders.
And where does teenage unhappiness come from most,
statistically speaking, right?
From school.
This kid, he was an outsider.
He was bullied. He was sexually taunted.
And that girl's boyfriend, ugh.
He struck me as bit of a powder-kegger.
And that's two in his life, if you count his dad.
So that's two powder-keggers and counting.
And let's not forget about our friend Mr. Wentworth,
who was in the area at the time
with all his, you know, mental health issues.
So we've got bits and pieces here.
We got clues. We're not nowhere.
- I'm not a mother, okay,
although I would like to be one one day.
- Aww.
- Okay, I'm going somewhere with this.
Whenever that day comes, I don't know,
something tells me I'll be discovering
just the beginning of the beginning
of what it means to truly and unconditionally
love another person.
And should something, God forbid, happen to my child,
like should he or she go missing,
I just--I don't think I would have it within me
to tumble to the feeling that he's dead,
like Nora's doing.
No, I mean, you would think the opposite, right?
Denial would rear up
and demand for any and every other possibility.
So she could fear that he's dead, sure.
But for her to feel it, I think,
she has to somehow know it.
Even if it is knowing without knowing,
as you like to say.
So yes, I think we have made progress.
We may not have found him,
but he's most likely dead.
And how do we know this?
His mother's telling you, Avi.
Any notes, feedback?
I do do well with positive reinforcement,
FYI.
- I'll think about it.
- * The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout *
* Down came the rain and washed the spider out *
* Up came the sun *
* Dried up all the rain *
* The itsy bitsy spider went up the spout *
[yawning] Again.
* Went up the water spout *
* And dried up all the rain *
* The itsy bitsy spider *
* Went up the spout again *
* The itsy bitsy spider *
* Down came the rain *
* And washed the spider out *
* Up came the sun and *
"Mother and Father."
"You want me to be unheard.
"But I am heard.
You wish me to be unfelt..."
- "But I am felt.
"You thought you made me gone.
"But you failed.
"I'm here, and I will haunt you.
I will not be gone."
[eerie music]
* *
- What are you going?
What are you doing? - I--
I was curious
as to your writing project, so...
why is there a letter from Vincent
to his parents?
What's going on? - I--I wrote that.
- No, these are handwritten by him.
I know Vincent's handwriting.
"I will not be gone. I will haunt you."
- I--I can explain that.
- Really? - Yes.
- Well, you better start.
- The handwritten materials were written by Vincent, yes.
We were going over his college essays,
and I was encouraging him to, you know, dig a little deeper,
which you can obviously see that he did.
The stuff on the computer, I wrote that.
- Why?
- For class.
- For class?
- Yes, Michael wanted me to be more authentic.
He told me that my writing didn't feel real,
so I just appropriated some of Vincent's feelings,
some of Vincent's thoughts, and I used them in my--
put them in my...you know?
- I don't understand.
- You don't underst-- look, I just--
I needed to...climb into the inside of something,
so I decided to get inside Vincent,
to figure out, if he ran away, why he would run away.
It's fiction. Honey, I made it up.
It's nothing. - This is sick.
- This is what writers do. We channel.
Kafka, Sondheim.
They look into the souls of themselves,
into the souls of others, and they channel.
That's what I was trying to do with Vincent,
to feel what he might be feeling.
To get the reader to feel that. That's all, baby.
It's okay. That's all.
[suspenseful music]
- I don't believe you.
You've done something.
You've done something to Vincent.
* *