- The search for Julie brings Wayne and Amelia together again, Wayne and Roland retrace their investigation to spot missed clues, while one White Finger resident receives a warning.
- Hays recalls his early romance with Amelia, as well as cracks in their relationship that surfaced after they married; ten years after the Purcell crimes, new evidence emerges, giving Hays a second chance to vindicate himself and the investigation.
- In 1990, State Police Detective Lt. Roland West is interviewed by Alan Jones and Jim Dobkins following the development of the Julie Purcell investigation. He says "it's all in the report" but the two questioners say there was not a full accounting before. West recalls the note.
In 1980, a tech fingerprints the note and they have narrowed down the area from where it was mailed. In 1990, Dobkins wonders why West and Hays were so late to show up at the house if they were on nearby neighborhood surveillance. West can't recall why they were delayed.
In 2015, Hays hears results of a CT scan. His blackout and how he ended up on the street in his pajamas has led to a checkup, his son Henry is with him. The doctor and Henry hint at dementia. Henry tells the doctor his dad has been stressed by an old case. Hays gets angry thinking he will be put in a nursing home and says he will kill himself before he allows that.
In 1990, Hays and Amelia sit in their car outside a Walgreens and chat about Julie. He refers to "this thing" between them. Amelia wonders if there were fingerprints found behind the pharmacy counter or just in the store. She offers to talk to the cops herself because of her book. Amelia smiles and suggests they go to a motel.
In 1980, Hays tells West says they are missing something obvious. They ask why the Purcell kids lied about going to play with the Boyle kid. Why? They need to talk to the Boyles and look at the house.
In 1990, West says Hays was right about the kids but his career has been stalled and the mayor has blocked Hays coming to work with his Company D.
In 1980, the cops talk to Ronnie Boyle, watched by his dad and Amelia. Ronnie says he and the Purcell kids weren't too friendly. At the Purcells, Tom admits his kids weren't really best friends with Ronnie. West and Hays ask to revisit the kids' bedrooms. Hays finds some of Julie's artwork, a hand-drawn map, torn slips of paper with names and a shopping bag from the area poultry factory. Lucy Purcell says she worked the line at Hoyt Foods the previous year.
West explains he was friends with Hays but they drifted apart once they stopped working together. He says they never had a dramatic falling out.
Hays takes Henry and Becca to a Walmart while Amelia visits the cops. He is wary and nervous. Amelia pretends to be divorced and flirts with the cops and they show her details. Julie's prints were only on the shelves. Hays buys toilet tissue but when Becca disappears, he becomes frantic. He gets the store manager to call for her on the PA. He demands a store lock-down, but his daughter reappears, explaining she had just wandered off. Hays yells at her and she cries.
In 1980, West and Hays visit the Hoyt Foods plant. The company subsidizes an Ozark Children's Outreach Center. The company has put out a reward for info on Julie, coordinating it with the Prosecutor Larson. Hays wants info on everyone hired at the plant, the Manager agrees to get 700 files prepared. West asks about the owner, Hoyt, who is on a safari in Africa. Hays and West study evidence until late. West takes a phone lead and refers the caller to the FBI. West explains there were three questions; who gave Julie the doll, who played with Will and where did they go after school that day? The State Park, 2,500 acres, was shutdown for more searches by cops and volunteers.
As Amelia walks with Hays as part of the search party, he explains tracking techniques, looking for signs. He chats about the meaning of the poem she was reading at school the day they met. He asks her out for dinner.
In 1990, Amelia comes home happy with her findings and a little tipsy after going for drinks with the detective. Hays is taciturn and upset, he is angry she is giddy with the upset and throws her book across the room. She storms out of the room. He drinks whiskey.
Back in 1980, Hays finds a rocky outcrop and some polygon dice on the ground that he scoops into his handkerchief. He finds more small toys and bloody residue. Backtracking, he comes upon an isolated house. Returning with West, a senior citizen opens the door. According to reports, no police had been there, but the resident says a man in a suit and badge had come the next day. The man also saw a nice brown car with a man and woman and he recalls seeing the kids playing. The homeowner politely tells Hays the will need a warrant to search his house.
In 2015, Elisa Montgomery asks Hays if the initial canvassing was complete with multiple interviews. He says yes but she then replies they have statements from residents saying they were never questioned in 1980. She brings up the nice brown car. Hays is perplexed as more old but new evidence of the new brown car sightings and a black man with a scar is brought out. None of it is in the official report, suggesting a flawed investigation. Hays gets angry being blindsided and terminates the interview.
In 1980, Hays and West and an FBI team gather up the toy evidence, more straw dolls and miniature figures.
Woodard the Trashman is stopped on his rounds by two pickups full of rednecks, who threaten him then beat him, accusing him of being a pedophile. He fights back but is overcome and they tell him to leave town.
In 1990, West arrives at a clean trailer park in his black Trans-Am. Tom Purcell now lives alone. They discuss the update with his daughter. Purcell is grateful to West for what he did a few years earlier, sober for five years, and born-again. Lucy had passed away two years ago. The two men have coffee and pray.
In 2015, Hays stares at Amelia's old files of the Purcell case. He looks at a handgun on the desk, making a statement into a tape recorder. Then he imagines Amelia's ghost behind him talking about parallel universes and timelines. Amelia reminds him of something he left behind in the woods, and tells him he has to finish "it."
In 1990, Hays returns to his cubicle, a low level detective. He gets a message to see a lieutenant.
In 1980, Woodard goes to his garage and recovers a green duffel bag. The Purcells look at the photos of the toys but say they didn't buy them or see them before. Hays looks at a family photo album, stunned to find a picture of Will during his first communion with hands clasped, the same position he was found dead.
West and Hays reconnect in a quiet bar. West is in charge of the new task force and tries to be affable, but Hays is depressed. After a bit of prodding, Hays agrees to join West. They leave the bar together.
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