Detective Glover and Detective Singh ask to speak with Dylan. Florence tells them that Dylan has gone to the countryside to stay with his father. They tell her they will be in touch and leave.

Now late for her dinner, Florence is unable to get an Uber or a taxi. She hops on a bus, but it terminates at Shepherd’s Bush Green instead of continuing the route. She tries to call Elliot’s assistant, but she gets no response. Florence gives up and returns home to drink alone. She cries in Dylan’s bed.

Florence looks through Dylan’s room and finds the backpack she remembers carrying home. She realizes it’s Alfie’s backpack, not Dylan’s.

Florence looks through the backpack and finds Alfie’s “Feelings Journal.” She finds an entry dated four days prior that reads “Dylan Palmer said he’s going to kill me…” (91). Florence is stunned and wonders what Dylan might have done. She knows if Dylan is involved, she will not have the money to fight legal action from the incredibly wealthy Risbys. After reading the rest of the notebook, she burns it.

The next morning, Florence is cleaning the house when Mr. Foster stops by. He asks about the police car and gives Florence a can of crickets to feed Greta, the turtle. After he leaves, Florence orders flowers to be sent to Elliot to apologize for missing their dinner the night before.

Florence takes a taxi to the Wetland Centre, planning to leave the backpack there, but finds it’s cordoned off by the police. Only officers and reporters are allowed inside. Thwarted, Florence goes to a pub and has a drink. She steals a waiter’s notepad and pencils and attempts to enter the Wetland Centre by posing as a reporter. However, she is recognized by a police officer and stopped.

Florence is held at the police station. Her bag with Alfie’s backpack in it has been taken into custody by the police, but they haven’t yet searched it. Florence calls Jenny for help. A policewoman tells Florence she is not going to be charged, but that they are supposed to hold onto her belongings for processing. Florence sees the policewoman is online shopping and tells the woman she should finish her purchase because items in her shopping cart are not reserved. Pleased with the advice, the policewoman agrees to give Florence back her bag.

Jenny picks Florence up at the police station. They bond over being Americans without friends in London. Florence tells Jenny she was arrested trying to enter the Wetland Centre. When Jenny mentions she once interned for a private investigator, Florence suggests they investigate Alfie’s disappearance themselves. Jenny declines, and they drive to the parents’ meeting.

Florence and Jenny arrive at Ms. Ivy’s mansion, where the meeting is being held. The other parents are already there. Ms. Ivy announces to the group that the school has hired a public relations team to help manage the situation. Police Constable Thompson addresses the parents. He tells them that the investigation is ongoing. They have limited CCTV coverage of the Wetland Centre, but the police are conducting searches of the area. Hope’s husband, Karl Theodor, suggests that the Romanian school caretaker might be involved. Another mother asks if it’s true that Alfie’s “wellies” (rubber rain boots) were found at the Wetland Centre. Jenny asks what the school is doing to ensure the safety of the children, but PC Thompson declines to answer directly. He announces that a vigil will be held at the school that evening.

After the meeting, Jenny is frustrated that the Met police do not seem to be taking the students’ safety or the investigation seriously. She agrees to take a week off work to investigate with Florence.

Jenny tells Florence she needs to return home to relieve her nanny, Belinda. They go to Jenny’s house. Florence searches Jenny’s bathroom for Xanax, but doesn’t find any. Florence compares her “slutty” appearance to the sleek corporate look of Jenny and her home.

Jenny and Florence take Jenny’s twins, Max and Charlie, to the vigil. At the vigil, Hope has Florence work with another mom, Allegra, to hand out electric candles for the event. Alfie’s parents, Rollo and Cleo, speak to the crowd. Florence is shaken by Cleo’s expression of grief and leaves. She runs into the vice principal, Ms. Schulz, in a nearby park and notices she’s been crying. Florence tells Ms. Schulz she and Jenny are investigating Alfie’s disappearance. Ms. Schulz agrees to meet them for tea at the Ritz the following afternoon.

Florence returns home and calls Dylan. She decides not to ask her son why he had Alfie’s backpack.

The next morning, Jenny arrives at Florence’s apartment with a collection of books, like Surveillance Techniques for Dummies, for Florence to read to help with their investigation. Florence feels they do not need textbooks, but rather human understanding and intuition for their investigation. They decide to begin by interviewing Mr. Papasizi, the Romanian maintenance man at the school. Jenny uses her firm’s resources to find his address in Camden.

Jenny and Florence interview Mr. Papasizi, who dislikes Jenny’s aggressive, lawyerly interrogation style. To get her out of the room, Florence tells Jenny to go back to the car and get Florence’s phone. While she’s gone, Mr. Papasizi tells Florence to ask Ms. Schulz about Mr. Sexton, the teacher “who got fired for groping a kid” (148) a few years ago.

Jenny and Florence meet Ms. Schulz at the Ritz for tea. Ms. Schulz tells them she went to grade school with Rollo, Alfie’s father. She tells them that he fathered a child as a teenager and reports that she saw Alfie’s half-brother, Rollo’s “secret son,” at the vigil the night before. She claims she recognized him because he looks like Rollo. She warns the women that the Risbys are a powerful family with connections, and they should be discreet about their investigation.

Florence returns home to find her sister, Brooke, annoyed that Florence is investigating Alfie’s disappearance. She tells Florence to hire a lawyer because Dylan is a suspect in the case. Florence argues with her, insisting Dylan is innocent. Brooke says Florence is “in denial” and insists on spending the night because work is being done at her house.

Around 2:00 am, Florence awakes to the sound of broken glass and Brooke’s scream. She goes into the vestibule between her apartment and Adam’s to find that a cricket ball has been thrown through the front door window. The message “Mind your own business or else!!!” (160) has been attached to the ball. Hearing the commotion, Adam comes downstairs to the vestibule. He tells them that the police will not investigate the vandalism, but he will take the cricket ball into work at the police precinct the next day.

The next morning, Jenny arrives at Florence’s house. She asks about the broken window, but Florence tells her it was “just the neighborhood kids” (163), not wanting to worry Jenny. Jenny tells Florence her plan to find Alfie’s half-brother, Ian Risby, at the building complex where he lives, even though she doesn’t know the apartment number. They disguise themselves as women selling “toddler snacks” door-to-door as an excuse to search the complex.

At one apartment, an elderly lady answers the door, thinking Florence and Jenny are there to repair the television. She recognizes Florence, who explains she was once in a girl group, and the woman asks if they are with Ian, the DJ who lives upstairs. Before they can learn more, a security guard tells them to leave.

Back in the car, Florence feels dejected about their progress. Jenny chastises her for giving up so easily. She tells Florence not to be a “quitter.”