Lies He Told Me

Marcie wakes in the early hours of the morning. She hears David talking downstairs, but his cell phone is still on the nightstand. David claims he was talking to a private security company on the landline.

Camille looks out of her apartment window, reflecting on the challenges of being “in love with a married man” (85). She waits for David’s arrival, knowing he will park some distance away and wear a cap to avoid being recognized.

Marcie drives to Hemingway’s Pub to see David. Discovering he is out, she texts him to say she may stop by for lunch. David replies, claiming the pub is too busy for him to take a break. Outside, it begins to snow. As Marcie leaves, a staff member advises her to be careful: “Something bad’s coming our way” (89).

Camille insists that David must tell Marcie everything.

Kyle learns that the Bowers family has reported a dead rat in Lincoln’s trick-or-treat bag. He searches the internet and watches an old news video reporting that Cagnina received a 16-year prison sentence. Cagnina was suspected of organizing the Halloween Massacre in which three witnesses who were due to testify against him were assassinated, and several federal marshals were also killed. As the FBI was unable to secure evidence of murder, the mob boss was convicted on the lesser charge of tax evasion. Kyle knows Marcie represented the witness, Silas Renfrow, and always suspected that her involvement in the case prompted her return to Hemingway Grove. Kyle realizes that Cagnina was recently released from prison.

Agent Blair works for the FBI’s Organized Crime unit in Chicago. A coworker tells Blair that he needs to forget about Cagnina. Blair points out that while he put the mob boss behind bars, Cagnina should have received a life sentence.

Marcie reflects on how, 15 years earlier, she delivered a plea offer to Silas. Pointing out that Marcie graduated at the top of her class from university and could have worked for any law firm, Silas asked why she chose to go into criminal defense. He suggested Marcie wanted “to live vicariously” (100) through her criminal clients. Marcie told Silas he was “a monster.” Nevertheless, she would defend him in court and win.

Agent Blair enters a warehouse undercover to meet a contact involved in a criminal theft ring. The tall Black man is with his young daughter, who has Down Syndrome. The girl tells Blair she came to work with her father as her mom is in the hospital receiving cancer treatment. Returning to his team, Blair claims the contact was short and white.

Marcie meets with Diane to discuss launching an appeal. Although family law is less challenging than criminal defense, Marcie enjoys representing needy clients like Diane and often halves her fee. Marcie asks how Diane first knew that her husband was cheating on her. Diane reveals she discovered he had a burner phone.

Sitting in a booth at Hemingway’s Pub, Tommy watches David collect the receipts from the cash registers and take them to his back office. Tommy tells David he recognizes him from the viral video and asks to take a photograph. David politely refuses, offering Tommy a free drink instead. When Tommy leaves the pub, he removes an “eye” device he planted at the rear of the building to capture the alarm code.

Agent Blair visits former coworker Becky Crandall, who works in the IRS’s criminal division. He asks Becky to investigate David’s finances.

On Marcie’s fourth visit, Silas asserted that Cagnina would not allow him to survive long enough to testify against him. When Silas suggested he should “pull a heron” (120), Marcie was confused. She guessed it was a term for suicide.

Marcie notes that David is uncharacteristically bad-tempered with the children. She suggests going for a walk.

Camille chats with her friend on the phone while watching David and Marcie leave their home through a telescope. She confirms that her married lover knows about her pregnancy and is going to leave his wife.

When Marcie confronts him, David denies that he is having an affair. He tells Marcie he has financial problems and went to the bank to refinance his loan. He assures Marcie that she and the children are his world.

Marcie assures David they will solve their money issues together.

Marcie recalls learning that Silas and two other witnesses had been shot, decapitated, and set alight at the secret government detention center. When Marcie repeated Silas’s comment about “pulling a heron” (135), Howard was shocked and told her not to repeat this information to anyone. Afterward, Marcie researched the internet and finally understood what Silas meant.

Tommy returns to Hemingway’s Pub at two in the morning, entering the building using the code he captured with an “eye” device. In David’s office, Tommy notes three piles of receipts, but there are only two cash registers in the bar. The third cash register is hidden in David’s office. The discovery confirms Tommy’s theory that David is laundering money.

Marcie wakes early to see an SUV parked outside the house. The vehicle speeds away when she walks to the window with her phone.

David dismisses Marcie’s suggestion that they report the suspicious SUV, pointing out they do not have the car’s license plate.