MARGARET: Every lawyer has one case
that keeps them up at night, and this is mine.
LEA: Can you tell our podcast listeners about it?
MARGARET: My client, Antonia Suarez,
was wrongfully accused,
and despite my best efforts, convicted
of first degree murder.
She's currently serving a life sentence
for a crime she did not commit.
LEA: And where are you in the case right now?
MARGARET: We've used up all of our appeals.
And now, 13 years later,
I'm looking for a new piece of evidence
that can exonerate Antonia.
LEA: You're still searching. Why?
MARGARET: Because I believe Antonia Suarez is innocent,
and Raya Chen's killer is still out there.
LEA: Walk us through the case.
MARGARET: In November of 2009,
Antonia came home from work and noticed
her neighbor Raya's door was ajar.
She went in and found Raya Chen laying on the ground,
unconscious and bleeding.
Antonia tried to help her, and held her until Raya died.
Ooh. Trick or treat.
Ooh. Somebody's popular, huh?
(chuckles)
Ooh.
Ew! No! Agnes!
Dental floss?
Hey, where's my mom?
MARGARET: Police found Antonia
covered in Raya's blood.
They read her her Miranda rights
and interrogated her in English, but...
That sounds like my son...
Whoa!
...Todd.
Sorry. Sorry, wasn't sure what was happening in here.
What is happening...
Hi.
Okay, right. You're Todd.
Exactly as Allison described you.
Oh, Allison? Why? What did she say?
Idiot? Fool? Handsome?
Witty? Charming.
None of those exact words, no.
Oh.
Todd, this is Lea Luna.
She and Allison did undergrad together.
Lea is the podcast host for PDX-Files.
Oh, great.
So what are we podcasting about, huh?
True crime? False crime? Crime crime?
My mom doesn't know podcasts.
Yes, I do. Now I do.
Since Lea reached out to me
about the Antonia Suarez case,
I've been listening to her podcast,
and, uh, I find it captivating. Aw.
So, can we just continue podding and ignore him?
Where were we? Okay.
The police interrogated Antonia in English.
When Antonia was arrested, she predominantly spoke Spanish,
very limited understanding of English.
And law enforcement used that against her.
They convinced her
to sign a confession.
And her fingerprints
and DNA were everywhere.
Well, what was the murder weapon?
Todd, we're recording.
Okay. Fine.
The weapon was never found.
And now, they are about to transfer Antonia
to a prison in Oklahoma, which will make it next to impossible
for her daughter Kacey to see her.
So, what is the plan?
We need new evidence to bring a writ of habeas corpus
to the judge.
With new evidence, we can prove
that Antonia's incarceration was invalid.
So, Margaret, what would you like to say to our listeners?
If you know anything
about Raya Chen's murder at the Northwest Trinity apartments,
November 2009,
please call us.
This is our last chance to free an innocent woman.
Great. That was so great.
I'm just gonna clean all this up,
and I will get
this episode out tonight. Thank you.
Hey, Mar, we got to get over to the prison now.
Of course. Thank you, Lea.
Um, so, can I just go?
Do I need to log out or un-pod or anything?
Um, no. (laughs) No, I got it. Um, go ahead.
Thank you. Thank you.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-mm.
Mm-hmm. Hmm-mm.
So what do you think? Is Antonia innocent?
Oh, absolutely. I think it's pretty obvious
to anyone who's been paying attention that Antoni-o
is 100%, without question, innocent.
Okay. I...
I am speaking to investigator Todd Wright. Mm-hmm.
Uh, if Antoni-a didn't kill Raya Chen, then who did?
Well, I think that's the million dollar question,
isn't it? Mm.
But I think if you look really closely at all the suspects...
Just curious. Can you name any of the suspects?
Oh, I can name 20. Okay.
There's Jason... Uh-huh.
Mason... Grayson.
This was a huge case for your mother very early in her career.
I mean, she poured her whole life into this case.
Surely, you've got to know... something.
Of course, certainly.
All the names and particulars are very,
very intimately familiar to me.
But, um, at the time, in 2009,
my mother was very, very focused on her career,
and we were... not so close.
Because she was
doggedly pursuing justice for Antonia Suarez
because she was a... a working mother.
Mm, more like a working-all-the-time mother,
and, uh, while she was doggedly missing my 18th birthday,
I was having cereal for dinner
and packing for college on my own.
This case haunts your mother.
Yeah, well,
we're all a bit haunted.
Todd, are you okay? Is Mom okay?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, all fine.
So you went to college with this Lea Luna, huh?
You did not have me paged for dating advice.
I don't need dating advice.
I need to know what you told her about me.
Todd, I was with a patient who was bleeding from his ear.
And she's way too good for you.
Oh. Okay. Great. Now I'm bleeding from my ears.
Great vote of confidence... from my own sister.
If she agrees to go out with you-- no chance--
just don't use that weird fake French accent
that you do when you order wine, okay?
Just order beer. She's super down-to-earth.
And-- I don't know-- just don't be... you.
Be more competent.
Huh. And definitely
don't go on and on and on
about that weather balloon conspiracy theory.
Even if the balloons are mobile listening stations for the NSA?
No.
MARGARET: Antonia, I know
a podcast may seem unusual,
and it may feel invasive,
but they have led
to exonerations.
(speaking Spanish)
I'm still getting trolled online.
Daughter of the crazy lady who killed her neighbor?
Kacey, I know that's hard.
But what if this podcast
could pull the real murderer out of the shadows?
What if it works, cariño?
What if I could walk out of here?
In time for your birthday?
Kacey, please.
It's our last chance.
What have we got to lose?
Okay, fine. Do it.
(Antonia laughs softly)
Just don't pin all your hopes on this, Mom.
(exhales) I don't want to see you get hurt all over again.
MARGARET: I don't know what
you're talking about.
I should be working this case and not him!
Is there a problem with my work?
Of course not. Todd doesn't know a thing about this case.
My point exactly!
Mom, Lyle knows the knowns and the known-knowns.
But I am the unknown. I'm the one
who doesn't know anything. About anything.
TODD: I'm fresh eyes.
I'm full of new questions and new theories.
You and this textbook-come-to-life
have been working this case for 13 years?
And where have you gotten?
You need fresh eyes.
Not... stale eyes.
Todd, that is extremely ill-mannered and oddly logical.
I concur, and I am up to my own fresh eyes in current cases,
so please take this file box...
and go to your nook.
Okay.
(whispering): Sorry.
You are not just doing this to impress...?
Lea.
Hey. I'll be the investigator on this case now.
Lyle had to alphabetize his coin purse.
So, let's pod.
What's our next move? Ignore him.
We need to strategize. Make a plan.
Well, for the next episode,
I wanted to focus on the compelling characters
of the case. Here's a fresh idea.
Let's introduce Lea
to all the original suspects, aka characters.
Give her a lay of the land,
maybe a meet-and-greet, or at least a sip-n-see.
A sip-n-see?
According to security cameras,
no one came into or out of the building
around the time of Raya's murder.
So I think that we-- you-- should interview
everyone who was there that night, starting...
...with her--
Evelyn Wilder, novelist.
Writes British romance-y
kind of things with wrinkled ascots and stolen ladles.
Speak three languages. But she didn't do it?
She said she was writing in her apartment,
"in the flow," wearing her noise-canceling headphones.
That's not an alibi. No.
But there's no evidence that puts her in Raya's apartment
around the time of the murder.
(laughs, snorts)
That's an odd laugh.
And what about him?
MARGARET: Devin DeLeon, accountant.
Long-time resident.
And he has an alibi? No.
But Devin's a big cricket fan.
He claims that after his team lost that day,
he drowned himself
in vodka gimlets and fell asleep.
And last, but not least...
Olga Szabo, building super.
In my mind, it was always her.
Why? She refused
to speak to the police, and she lawyered up
before my team had a chance to interview her.
(tires squealing) Whoa.
I remember you. You're that murderer's lawyer.
Uh, I'm recording this. Wonderful.
I'm listening to your sick podcast.
Raya was a beautiful woman,
and you're making her death into a spectacle.
You moved into her apartment after she died.
Raya's apartment is a sacred space.
And for someone with such exquisite bone structure
and delicate fingers to be taken
before their time is a travesty.
Don't make a second episode.
And I don't want to ever see you outside here again.
Good day.
(bicycle bell rings)
Okay, we definitely got to break in
and check that guy's apartment out, right?
Totally sus! Should we go up right now?
Absolutely not.
Not while I'm here.
And if you do-- but don't--
I can't know anything about it.
I am going.
Plausible deniability. Do it tomorrow.
I don't know!
I do not know.
So I guess we'll come back tomorrow?
PODCAST HOST: Kristy could hear
the killer crawling under her bed.
Oh, my Lord.
MAN: And the sailor's disemboweled torso was stuffed
into an empty torpedo.
Good God!
Where is Lea's podcast?
Ah.
LEA: Raya Chen was bludgeoned to death
at the back of her head.
Autopsy reports say
her skull bone ruptured her cerebral cortex.
(phone ringing)
Hello.
Hello?
MECHANICALLY-ALTERED VOICE: Antonia killed Raya Chen.
Stop the investigation, or you're dead, too.
(call beeps off)
♪ ♪
TODD: What do you mean, this can't be
her first death threat?
She's my mom. Moms don't get threatened.
Well, moms might not,
but lawyers and judges do all the time.
She never told me that.
Well, she's protecting you. From what?
From worrying about her,
or feeling like you have to protect her.
But from a case perspective,
this means we are on the right track.
Huh. Means someone's rattled.
If Antonia did it, then no one would bother
to threaten your mom.
TODD: Okay, 3B. This is Devin's.
I'll knock. If he's home,
I'm Brett from the Portland Water Bureau.
He saw you earlier, but undercover.
I like it. (chuckles)
Okay, I am recording. Go ahead.
Portland Water Bureau!
Here to check your water!
I don't think he's home.
All right, I'm gonna check outside,
see if I can scale the building or something.
Or we could jimmy the lock.
Do you want
to hold my stuff while I break in?
I've been waiting my whole life for someone to ask me that.
That and "Sir, can you fly this plane?"
But this is breaking and entering, you know that.
Yeah. Only if we get caught.
Hello?
(door closes)
Wow.
Oh, hey, hey, hey, that's Raya Chen. Oh, wow.
You know, if I'm remembering correctly,
She would have died right... here,
right where we are standing.
Well, maybe this is the sacred part of his apartment.
But now, we need to find out
where he keeps his mementos,
like teeth and bones, or her delicate fingers.
Here. I'll take the bedroom.
I'll take kitchen. Okay. Mm-hmm.
Oh, oh, oh, oh! Hey, he does ride a bike.
So if he happens to be the last man
in America with a landline, try calling my phone.
Maybe it'll match the number that called my mom's last night.
Oh, come on. You know that call definitely came
from some rando burner phone.
(laughs softly) Yeah, you're probably right.
(liquid spills)
(sighs)
(groans)
Okay. So,
no landline, but I did find a package
for a disposable burner phone.
So... What are you doing? I think there's
an envelope... in the wall.
It's... Ah!
(groans) Spiders. It's the spiders.
There's a-- it's like Temple of Doom back there.
But there's something hidden in that side wall.
Wait. Really? Let me take a look. Yeah.
Killers will sometimes keep hair, or
shoes or...
What's that?
Papers... written in Chinese.
What? I mean, might be Devin's,
but might be Raya's?
Well, I'd say, from the 17 layers of deathly cobwebs,
nobody's been back there for a really long time.
I mean, maybe these are messages, like, from her.
Well, to who?
I don't know. To her family?
Maybe she wrote down her messages,
hid it under her sink behind some sticky paper
because she's paranoid?
Because she thought she was being watched?
Yes! Like by weather balloons.
Wait. Are-are you serious?
Did Allison tell you to say that?
No. Like, the Pentagon basically flat-out admitted
that low-range weather balloons are highly effective...
For short range surveillance! I read that, too!
Oh, my gosh, how'd you know that?
(bicycle bell dings, tires squeak) Wait.
Oh, crap. That's him. What's happened?
Devin. He's, um... he's-he's back!
What? Uh, he's back.
Okay, here. Uh, I got your purse.
Come on. Go, go, go, go.
Hey. What's going on back here?
Oh. Hey. Lea's just backing up her recordings.
Did you know she could pick a lock?
Have you asked her out?
Uh, no, but tonight, we're both strategically free,
so I think it's understood that a date's happening.
Hmm. Don't take her bowling.
What? Why?
Todd, you took me bowling on our first date.
And don't order any beer. It makes you very...
Well, not always. It's the wheat, or the lager,
but that makes everybody...
And you're a very bad bowler.
Charmingly bad. I'm actually very good.
No, you're not. Todd, you bowled into a lady,
knocked her down. We had to drive her to the ER.
Okay, well, those lanes were very slippery.
Impress her. Take her someplace well-reviewed
with dim lights and white tablecloths.
And don't wear what you're wearing.
And don't drive your car.
Oh, and don't talk about that weird weather balloon stuff
that you've been constant...
Uh, too late. She knows they're real.
The Pentagon practically...
And... don't be nervous.
You'll be great.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks.
Todd is worried about me?
Yeah, about the threats, the call.
Has anything else happened?
No, no, no, no. And there's nothing to worry about.
It is part of the job.
Trust me, I can handle it.
I have been doing this a long time.
Yeah, he mentioned that you missed some of his birthdays
because of-of work, this case.
I would never miss a birthday. He wouldn't say that.
(clears throat)
TODD (recording): Mm, more like a working-all-the-time mother.
And, uh, while she was doggedly missing my 18th birthday,
I was having cereal for dinner
and packing for college on my own.
I just called Jack. He said he could...
Oh, and, uh, Jack is Francey's super-hot boyfriend
who's also a cop.
Todd... What? He is.
Jack said he can get you a warrant
to get you into Devin's apartment
if you have probable cause.
But you haven't already been inside, have you?
BOTH: We were never there.
(garbled radio transmission) Excuse me, Officer.
We're here to see Devin DeLeon.
We have a warrant.
That's going to be a bit of a problem, ma'am.
Mr. DeLeon is dead.
(garbled radio transmission)
Initially, we suspected suicide, but there's no note,
and the trajectory of this fall makes us think he was pushed.
MARGARET: So now you suspect murder?
LUPO: It's early,
but my partner's taking statements
from some of the neighbors.
Uh, afternoon, Officer Kendrick.
I'm Clay with Peaceful Transitions.
I'm here, state mandate,
to hold a space for the recently departed.
Do you mind if I sit? Do what you got to do.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
(clears throat)
Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today
to support our earthly friend Devin
as he passes from this plane to the next.
Now, to some,
Devin was just a random person
who rode a bicycle...
with a weird temperament.
But to God...
he's Devin.
And to me...
(line ringing)
...he's also Devin.
MALE VOICE: YOU-BET-LINE. Want to place a bet
on the horses or the game today?
That apartment is jinxed.
13 years ago, a woman was murdered in that same unit.
Raya Chen. Yeah.
Did you work that case?
Nah, I was just a rookie handling crowd control.
But it stuck in your memory?
All I recall is the two senior detectives arguing
about who was running point.
Do you happen to remember their names?
Like I said, it-it was so long ago.
Ma'am.
So, looks like Mr. Chalk Outline was a gambler.
Ah. Just checked his burner phone,
and he only used it to call his bookie.
Your number wasn't in there, not even in the recently deleted,
so, he is not your creepy caller.
This Officer Lupo has me thinking
about the detectives who ran the original crime scene.
I'm going to go back and talk to Francey.
Why don't you go and talk to the building manager-- Olga.
Olga. See if she can tell you anything about the other tenants
who were here at the time of Raya's death. Okay.
I'll catch up with Lea. Hey, Todd, Todd?
Mm-hmm? Why did you tell Lea
that I forgot your 18th birthday?
I didn't. I got you that camera.
Uh, that was my 17th.
Well, then the Playtime station.
PlayStation?
Uh-huh. Sixteenth.
You missed my 18th birthday, Mom. You did.
Whatever. It's fine.
But when I became a legal adult,
you were... not there.
EVELYN: This is terrible.
We live in a cursed building. Mm.
I want to crawl under my covers
with a tub of vegan ice cream and stay there forever.
Now I'll never be able to rent that apartment again.
Olga, who do you think did this?
I have no idea.
I think now, whoever killed Raya is still out there.
It can't be Antonia, that poor girl in jail.
She's too sweet.
Oh, such a good heart.
Would it be possible for us to get records of who else lived
in the building when Raya was killed?
Not a chance. No. LUPO: Ms. Szabo,
I need a statement from you.
I don't talk to police. Call my lawyer.
And you--
you want to see my records? Uh-huh.
Get a warrant. Not even for PDX-Files?
The number one true-crime podcast
in the Pacific Northwest? You're from PDX-Files?
Yes. Well, no, not me.
But this is Lea Luna.
LUPO: Wow.
My wife is obsessed with your podcast.
Oh.
Uh, you're gonna turn down PDX-Files?
Fine. Follow me to the basement.
I'll show you the files.
But I'm not going to talk about it.
Okay?
Detective Ekert?
Black, two sugars?
Oh, Attorney Wright.
You must need something. (laughs)
Hello, Francey.
We're here about the Raya Chen case,
2009.
That was Police Chief Linton.
He got the boot in 2010, died last year.
What does Linton have to do with the Chen case?
Well, a lot of bad stuff went down on Lousy Linton's watch.
He cut corners on pretty much everything.
The police report said that you
and Detective Walsh were first to process the scene.
(sighs heavily)
No, it was just Walsh.
I was there for a second,
and then got called to a robbery around the block.
There's supposed to be two names on every report,
but Linton told us to fudge it.
A woman is serving a life sentence,
and now you're telling me about cut corners?
Thanks for the coffee. No, wait.
I need to find Walsh.
He's on death's door himself, in some hospice.
Let him be.
We are calling every hospice in the area
until we find him. Yep.
The next file belongs to...
(French accent): Ah. Uh, Francois Gagnon.
Hmm.
It looks like he lived here
(French accent): in 2012, and then he worked
for zee telephone company. (laughs)
(normal accent): So, um,
after Allison jetted off to college,
it was just you and your nom at home?
Yeah, yeah, Allison and Lawrence were both at U of O,
and I was a freshman in high school when my dad died.
And that's when your mom started working all the time?
Working and law school, passed the bar, made partner,
and then became the Margaret Wright.
Hey, hey, this is Raya's file!
Wait. Really? Uh-huh.
Oh, wow.
Looks like she was constantly
filing complaints with the city's inspector.
Wait. Look at all of these.
Mm, leaky furnaces and flies, faulty smoke detectors?
Wait. Maybe Olga was worried
that she'd get the building condemned.
So Olga killed Raya over leaky furnace complaints?
No way. Olga is so not the murderer.
I don't know. It could be her.
I could build an episode around that.
"Olga: Landlord or Deathlord?"
You can't just go announcing
to the world that somebody killed somebody.
Oh, 'cause you've never jumped
to a single conclusion in your whole life?
Well, I don't have a podcast.
If I wrongfully accuse somebody,
it's just me in my shower being like, "He did it."
Okay. Well, my job is to craft a narrative
using one suspect and then another
until we uncover the truth.
Wait. Even if that narrative is wrong or made up
or filled with lies?
Oh, you're opposed to lies?
Brett from Portland Water Bureau?
Oh, hey. Hey, hey, hey, I will have you know
that Brett is not a liar. Oh.
He's a churchgoer. Mm-hmm.
And he spends his weekends mowing lawns for old ladies.
Oh, sounds kind of sad and lonely.
He's doesn't get lonely. (laughs)
He has his lawnmower and the old ladies. Oh.
Maybe some commitment issues, maybe some mommy issues?
Uh, yeah, maybe.
(laughs) But he just met this girl
who makes up dark and disturbing stories all the time.
And maybe she secretly wants to get trapped in a basement
with some charming dude who wants to take her out to dinner.
Like, maybe on Saturday, 7:00, Pacific Standard Time?
Um...
(watch chimes)
Oh, uh, podcast deadline. Uh-huh.
So why don't we just take the rest of these files,
and then we can sneak them back in later?
Okay.
Did you close this door up here?
No.
Uh, 'cause it's locked.
Well, do you have your jimmy kit thing?
Yeah, but the lock is on the outside.
Here. Let me look.
Okay.
Something's against the door out there.
We're jammed in. (scoffs)
You know what? I'm gonna call my mom.
Ah, no! No service! Yeah.
Okay, uh, you know what?
There's got to be another way out of here.
We just got to look around, and...
And, oh, family dinner's tonight.
So my mom and sister will freak out if I'm not there,
and they will definitely send someone to find me.
(laughter)
(sniffs) Oh. Supple.
Mm. Earthy.
Plummy, with...
(sniffs) ...a hint of black currant.
You know, I am positive
I did not forget Todd's
18th birthday. Mom, you forgot.
I remember. CHUCK: People forget birthdays
all the time. It's not a big deal.
Allison forgot mine last year when...
I was coming off of a double shift.
And Lawrence forgot Clem's second birthday.
Because he's working! See, that's bad.
He is the chief of staff for the governor of Oregon!
Mm-hmm. And I was
working back then, very hard,
to help Todd through college.
Mom, nobody is scarred for life, especially not Todd.
Where is he, by the way?
He's probably at our house wondering where we all are.
He's with Lea, the podcast host.
Lea Luna? From the PDX-Files?
Mm-hmm. My co-workers are always talking about that podcast.
Podcasts are the death of journalism, all right?
People would rather be entertained than informed.
I just listened to... Oh.
Did you know that a woman
in Pensacola ate her own daughter?
Don't get any ideas. No, these podcasts
are just horrifically fascinating.
There's the man in Idaho with a secret family
in the walls of his vacation home.
And
the grade school teacher
from Arizona!
(knocking on door)
Thank God.
Who electrocuted two husbands,
and then slowly,
methodically poisoned 27...
Good evening, Mrs. Wright.
This just came for you.
Ah, thank you, Steven. Do you know who dropped it off?
I'm not sure. Sorry.
Thank you.
(door closes)
Mom, what is that?
Oh. I have no idea.
Someone sent you a piece of crime scene tape?
"You're next"?
Apparently so.
There has to be another way out of this place.
You'd think someone would have stored
a giant box fan down here.
It's hot, right? Or is it me?
No, it's hot.
What's behind there?
Wait a second.
Okay, there's no way we can fit in there. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can't, and there's no cell service down here,
but maybe at the top of the dumbwaiter...
And in case this text doesn't send,
I will set an alarm that will go off every two minutes
till someone finds this phone.
Or the battery dies, and our corpses rot in this basement,
and then we ironically become
the posthumous subjects of my podcast. Yeah.
Win-win. (laughs)
(whirring)
Oh. That worked. Okay.
Now we just... wait.
I have the original detective interviews
of all the tenants who were home at the time of Raya's death.
Mm-hmm. Do you want
to listen to them while we wait to die?
(laughs) Sure.
Thank you so much for coming.
(scoffs) I feel so silly.
I mean, I-I've had threats before.
I just... I didn't want to worry the kids,
and I didn't want to be alone.
No, it just... it just means we're closing in.
Someone's trying to scare you.
Someone who knows where I live.
Jack said he can get the lab to run that for prints tomorrow.
Can I ask you something? Mm-hmm.
Do you remember what we were doing 13 years ago?
You were Song's assistant
and studying for your law boards. Mm-hmm.
And I was the receptionist and going through a divorce.
Why? Oh...
Because Todd has accused me
of forgetting his 18th birthday.
Uh, 18-- it's-it's such a big birthday. (phone buzzing)
It's huge. I-I refuse to believe
that I didn't do something for him. Maybe a...
What is it?
Walsh. We found him.
He's at a hospice in Eastmoreland.
Okay, for this last interview, we have Detective Walsh
with someone named...
GERMAINE: Germaine Gulrench.
WALSH: It's okay. I can tell you're nervous.
We're just gonna ask you a few questions.
GERMAINE: Oh. You can tell that I'm nervous? (laughs)
(Germaine laughs, snorts)
Wait a minute.
I know that laugh. That's that woman...
who lives here, the writer lady.
Uh, Eve-alyn, Evelyn W-Wilder? Wilder.
No, this is Germaine Gulrench.
I mean, it's... She just said her name.
Wait a second. I remember Germaine Gulrench from before.
Here.
Let's see. Yes.
This explains why we couldn't find Evelyn's file.
Okay. "Germaine Gulrench."
Okay. Same apartment number as Evelyn Wilder.
See? It's her.
So, Germaine was a waitress,
and when she finally made it as a writer,
she changed her name to Evelyn Wilder.
I don't know. It is so hot in here.
I know. And I can't really think.
And it's been three hours since Operation Dumbwaiter, and...
Um, Todd?
What? (loud hissing)
Someone's trying to cook us down here.
Okay, we got to get out of here.
Uh, help! Help! Uh, help! Help!
Hello? Hello! Help!
Detective Walsh? (clears throat)
Thank you so much for meeting me.
That PDX podcast.
I listened to some of it last night. (laughs)
I don't quite get these armchair detectives.
(both laugh softly)
But I can tell you, um,
that my boss at the time, Police Chief Linton,
was the kind of guy who gave cops a bad name.
Had a conviction quota, liked to hand out
pink slips if he didn't get his way.
I had a wife, three kids.
Whatever I did at the time,
I did it for them.
Detective, the woman serving a life sentence for this crime,
Antonia, is also a mother.
And her daughter, Kacey, has grown up without her.
I took this case
because I believe in my heart
that Antonia was innocent.
But that belief took me away from my own child.
I'm still on the case,
I still believe it.
So if there's anything that you know, anything at all,
please, I'm begging you, help me.
There was a box of stuff we picked up at the crime scene
that we never logged into evidence.
Linton told me to torch it,
but I couldn't.
What was in the box?
I never looked. If I'd have looked then,
it would have haunted me.
(voice breaking): I don't even know where that box is.
(door opens)
Hello?! Hello!
Wha...? (gasps)
(gasps) Why is the door wedged shut?
And why is this phone screaming at me all night long?
TODD: It's mine!
Someone locked us in and tried to cook us!
Somebody must have accessed the furnace remotely.
I have a question. Evelyn Wilder.
Did her name used to be Germaine Gulrench?
Yeah. Then she became fancy writer, and she changed it.
Long time ago. Is she home?
No, she left about an hour ago.
MARGARET: Can you believe it?
13 years of work,
13 years of prison for Antonia
just because one man didn't want to look in a box.
Just unbelievable. It breaks my heart.
Margaret, look.
I just wanted to look you in the eye and...
say that I'm sorry.
I found it.
And I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner.
Detective Walsh, thank you.
It's the...
It's the murder weapon.
Come on, come... How long does it take to run a set of prints?
Jack said he would give us a call as soon
as he knows something. How could they hide the murder weapon?
Why would anyone want to...? It's what Walsh said.
They have conviction quotas, they cut corners.
Antonia is found covered in blood,
she doesn't speak English, so assumptions are made.
Bang. She's the murderer.
And how do you simplify a case?
They get rid of the murder weapon.
You wanted me?
Yeah, come on, come in. Uh,
these papers seem very similar
to the ones that Todd and Lea found in Devin's apartment.
What do you make of 'em?
Is this... Chinese?
Must've been close to the body.
There's a little blood spatter here. Mm-hmm. Hmm.
I think Attorney Yang reads Chinese. Hmm.
(sighs)
Feel free to read out loud.
Oh, sorry. It's just really romantic, actually.
"May Washingdwen knew her life would never be the same.
"She stood at the cliff.
Was she really going to meet the man who broke her heart?"
(computer beeps)
Please, keep reading.
(phone buzzing) "May took two steps forward,
LYLE AND SUSAN: "then two steps back.
"She threw down the lilac bouquet
and ran into the stormy night."
Google found duplicate text to what you're translating.
It looks like it's some kind of story in a
lit magazine published 13 years ago
by someone named Evelyn Wilder?
She's one of the suspects in our case.
But why would Raya have Evelyn's story in her apartment?
Maybe Raya was doing the Chinese translation?
But Evelyn speaks Chinese.
Why would she need a translation?
That was Jack. The fingerprints
on the murder weapon match the fingerprints
on the crime tape that was delivered to your condo.
But her prints aren't in the system. No matches.
We need to find Evelyn and get her fingerprints
as soon as possible. (phone chimes)
It's Todd.
Oh, I can't read it. I don't have my glasses on.
"Mom. Mom. Seriously. I need $18 for a sandwich."
No. Scroll down. Scroll down.
"Evelyn Wilder used to be Germaine Gulrench.
"Evelyn Wilder is her made-up name, her pen name or whatever.
"My battery is dying. Ouch, I hit my knee.
I'm using talk to text hippopotamus." Oh, no, no.
"Evelyn is doing a reading today at Matchstix Books.
Meet me there."
Hippopotamus? Lyle, Susan, you find out
whatever you can about these documents
and this Germaine Gulrench, and Francey, let's go.
Matchstix Books. Let's go!
Oh, there you are!
You are filthy!
Oh, God. And you smell awful.
Sorry, yeah, but we didn't have time to freshen up
because we almost died.
Just a reminder-- I am recording all of this.
Okay, just so you know,
I've had several more death threats since you were gone,
so don't come crying to me about...
I'm not competing with you about who came closer to death.
It was me. Mm.
Listen, Evelyn Wilder is...
Germaine Gulrench. We already know that.
Are they always like this? Okay, Counselor.
But what you might not know
is that the reason she changed her name
is because Germaine Gulrench was a terrible writer.
The reviews of her work were horrible. Truly horrible.
And then, one week before Raya was murdered,
new writer Evelyn Wilder was published
to rave reviews.
So Germaine stole Raya's work. Is that what you're saying?
That's exactly what I'm saying. And when Raya found out...
She confronted Germaine. TODD: Aka Evelyn.
And Evelyn... Killed Raya. (grunts)
I love murder!
I mean, solving it.
"They had fought long and hard for what they had built."
(Evelyn continues indistinctly) (quietly): Okay, come on. Here's the plan.
Todd, we have the murder weapon,
but I need you to get her prints. Got it.
Francey, pull up those horrible reviews. Okay.
And, Lea, keep recording. Don't miss a word.
"And Mildred and Algernon
"watched the sunset over Belle Manor
"for the first time...
as husband and wife."
Thank you so much.
I'm happy to answer any questions?
Oh, I have a question.
I am fascinated with your stories.
Tell me, Evelyn, where do you get your inspiration?
Thank you. Uh...
I have been accused of having a fantastical imagination.
(laughter) Next question.
I'm sorry, can you just clear up one thing for me?
Do you write under a pen name?
I had my name changed.
Legally, for personal reasons. Next.
MARGARET: And did that name change have anything to do
with your horrible reviews as Germaine Gulrench?
(crowd murmuring)
Here we go.
"The excruciatingly insecure prose
"of Germaine Gulrench
leads one down a confusing path of drivel--"
Stop talking!
You have no idea what you're talking about.
I'm talking about Raya Chen.
You'd never understand.
You're just some rich bitch
who lives in a condo with a doorman.
Which you would know because you delivered
a death threat to my condo.
You stole Raya's work.
I helped her!
And then you murdered her...
Oh! ...because her writing was good
and yours wasn't.
And you let an innocent woman
serve your time in prison
because you're a coward.
And I suspect
you murdered Devin because he was onto you.
You bitch!
TODD: Hey! Wait.
MARGARET: Someone stop her.
EVELYN: You don't understand!
I gave her work to the world!
And you've given us more than enough evidence
to reopen the case
with these recorded confessions.
And these prints should match
the ones on the murder weapon perfectly.
MARGARET: And you'll have more than enough time
to write something original in prison.
(shaky breathing)
I hereby move
that Antonia Suarez's conviction
be vacated with prejudice
and a new trial be set
by the People against Evelyn Wilder.
Thank you, Your Honor.
(chuckling)
♪ All of this time you got in front of you ♪
13 years.
(laughing)
(chuckling): We have to tell Kacey.
Way to go.
♪ Nothing alive can see the way you do ♪
Mom?
My baby...
(both laughing)
We did it.
The podcast helped.
♪ Time ♪
Oh, did you get the...? Oh, yeah.
(sighs) Thank you.
(speaking Spanish)
(laughing)
♪ Time to feel ♪
♪ The space in you ♪
♪ Time... ♪
So, did you get everything you need?
I did. Yeah.
I think this is gonna be an amazing
series of episodes.
So, what about like, another date?
Sometime, you know, without the furnace
and someone trying to kill us. (chuckles)
You know, I didn't really mind
the danger part of it.
Switching things up,
fighting for our lives.
Made for pretty good material.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah? Yeah, let's, let's do that date
when I get back from my next podcast
in Portland.
Maine. Huh...
But, uh...
you want to keep this for me till I get back?
Your jimmy kit thing? (chuckles)
Seriously? What if you need it?
Oh, that's just my back-up kit.
(kisses)
Bye, Todd.
♪ You got in front of you ♪
Bye, Lea.
♪ Come with me ♪
♪ Together... ♪
She was totally into me. Oh, my God.
And when she gets back from Maine,
we're gonna hang out. Oh...
What? Look over there.
♪ ♪
Happy birthday, Todd.
(Todd chuckles)
Retroactively. Thank you.
"Just 18 In Blue"? Okay.
That's what I told them I wanted it to say.
Just "18," in blue.
But it doesn't matter. It is your favorite.
It's chocolate cake and vanilla frosting.
From your favorite place.
Okay, blow it out? Yes.
Yeah. Okay.
ALLISON: Yay!
Todd is 18.
(laughing): Are you kidding me?
I am so sorry I missed it. (chuckles)
Okay, let's just cut the cake.
Mom, wait. Listen.
I...
I didn't realize back then
how important what you were doing was.
And I'm...
Well, I just...
I'm really proud to be your son.
And this actually means-- ALLISON: Can we stop
Hallmark Carding
and eat the cake? Sure.
I thought you were doing a joke.
I thought that was a bit. No, no, I wasn't joking--
(phone chimes) Oh, hey, hey, hold on a second.
Lea's podcast just dropped.
(chuckles) Just save it...
(theme music playing over speakers)
Wait, you can hear...
You can put that from your phone to my speakers?
Yeah, you have a state-of-the-art sound system,
Mom. Shush. Listen.
LEA (recording): We all remember
different versions of every story.
But maybe the most
important thing is that we remember.
We may not recall every detail perfectly,
but in remembering,
we can keep people and memories alive.
♪ ♪
Margaret and Francey never let anyone forget
the story of a wrongfully convicted woman.
And tonight,
because of them, Antonia Suarez is free.
Captioning sponsored by CBS
and TOYOTA.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org