Nobody's Fool

Sami, Molly, and Henry arrive at a five-star hotel in Fuengirola, Spain. They walk on the beach before Sami meets Carlos Osorio, who is now a police commissioner. The memories of Sami’s vacation come rushing back as he approaches the police station. Sami reintroduces himself to Comisario Osorio and reminds the detective of their previous meeting. Osorio vaguely remembers Sami reporting a murder but never finding a body. Osorio tells Sami that foreign students are common targets for scammers, who seduce their mark and rob them. Out of a growing fear of being identified, many scammers have made their ruses more elaborate, with Sami’s situation being among the most extreme. Osorio tried contacting Sami to explain the scam, but he’d already left the country. Sami accuses Osorio of not following through enough, but Osorio defends himself.

Osorio asks what Sami’s questions have to do with the Belmonds, since that’s how Sami secured the appointment. Sami explains that the woman who scammed him was the missing Victoria Belmond. Osorio suspects she could’ve been in a trafficking ring under her handler, Buzz, since the police now know of many groups who force vulnerable men and women into illegal work. The theory doesn’t make sense to Sami, given Victoria’s family wealth. Osorio offers to produce mugshot books where Buzz might appear. Osorio apologizes for not trying harder to contact Sami, which could’ve saved him a life of torment.

Sami walks toward the club where he met Anna. He asks a young man on the street about the club, but the boy is too young to remember the time Sami is asking about. Sami considers how much lighter he feels without his financial burdens, though he hates to admit it. Sami then visits Anna’s old apartment and gets lunch nearby. He talks briefly with Molly on the phone before Osorio calls him back to the station. Sami looks through binders of mugshots and finds Buzz’s photo quickly. Osorio searches the mugshot number and learns that Buzz is Harm Bergkamp of the Netherlands. Buzz was 36 years old at the time of his arrest, which was for assault in apparent defense of his girlfriend Anna Marigold. As Osorio reads the file, Sami searches both names on his phone with no success.

Osorio describes the assault. Anna and Buzz ran another scam on a Frank Ache, and instead of faking her murder, Anna faked an overdose. Frank suspected Anna was acting, so he started beating her up before Buzz arrived. Buzz and Frank fought, and they were both arrested, though the charges were dropped. Anna was taken to the hospital, but Osorio knows there won’t be records of her visit. Sami thinks they can still track Buzz’s current whereabouts.

Sami’s students help him find Buzz in Nashville, Tennessee, where he’s shooting a horror film with self-produced special effects. Sami meets with Buzz—who now goes by Buzzy Berg—under the guise of the Belmonds financing a film. Molly stays behind in Spain. Buzz talks about his work, but Sami directs the conversation to his time in Europe. Buzz eventually recognizes Sami, who says he wants answers for what happened between him and Anna. Buzz smugly relishes his power, but he appears confused by the connection between Anna and the Belmonds.

Buzz explains that he and Anna were partners who came through an agency, Radiant Allure, which disguised itself as a modelling agency. Buzz and Anna robbed tourists together, and they added special effects to make the exploitative work more fun. Buzz was shipped to Spain on the promise of working in film, so he took the opportunity to hone his craft. Buzz worked with four different girls at the same time, and he was under the supervision of someone higher up. Anna told Buzz she had run away from her sister’s abusive household.

Six months after scamming Sami, Anna disappeared for months and returned, which is when the assault with Frank Ache occurred. Frank’s family had mob connections, so the mob tracked Buzz down and cut his Achilles tendon, leaving him with a permanent limp. Buzz never saw Anna again, and he’s happy she got out of the agency’s grip. Buzz describes how Anna tried to postpone the con on Sami because she was falling in love with him. Sami believes Buzz is genuine, so he reveals that Anna is Victoria Belmond. Buzz promises not to speak about his time in Spain, but he thinks Sami should leave the past alone.

After Sami’s interview with Buzz, Polly helps Sami research the Radiant Allure agency. Eunice and Vernon Schultz ran Radiant Allure until 2004, and both are now deceased. Jennifer Schultz, their daughter, works at the Abeona Shelter for women. Sami meets Jennifer at her office, finding it ironic that Jennifer helps vulnerable women after her parents trafficked them all her life. Jennifer pushes back, claiming her parents gave her and her siblings a happy upbringing and provided real modelling services to most of their clients. She admits that Eunice confessed to the trafficking scheme on her deathbed. Jennifer never forgave her mother.

Sami describes Anna and the backstory Anna gave Buzz, which Jennifer can input into a private database. Sami shares a picture of Victoria taken after she reappeared, and Jennifer recognizes her. Sami asks whether Jennifer’s parents would ever kidnap a child, but Jennifer is certain they wouldn’t. She theorizes that Victoria could’ve sought the Schultzes out, knowing they could help her disappear. As Sami leaves, Victoria calls and asks to meet.

Sami meets Victoria in James J. Walker Park, and Victoria asks what Sami found in Spain. Sami catches Victoria’s attention when he mentions Buzz. Victoria confesses that she remembers Sami and Buzz, and she’s happy Buzz is working in film, which was his passion. Victoria apologizes for the scam, though she’s not guilty about scamming the other boys, who she claims deserved it. She admits that she fell in love with Sami because his kindness felt like an escape. Victoria saw Sami’s photo in the news and realized that he had not fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor. Feeling responsible for his derailed life, she visited Sami to prove he didn’t kill anyone. Victoria suddenly makes Sami promise to protect her family. Sami promises, and Victoria explains that she and Buzz split after the assault charges.

Before she can say any more, a bullet grazes Sami’s shoulder and lands in Victoria’s neck. Another bullet hits his back, and he loses consciousness. Victoria bleeds out, and an ER doctor in the park helps Sami. Sami attends Victoria’s funeral five days later. Victoria’s death hits Sami hard, and he sees the effects of grief on the Belmonds, who have lost Victoria for the second time. Archie breaks away from the family to speak with Sami. He regrets digging up the past, and he asks Sami to stop the investigation. Police suspect Tad Grayson hit Victoria while aiming for Sami, but they have no evidence. Sami reveals that Victoria didn’t have amnesia, but this doesn’t shock Archie. Archie becomes defensive and asks Sami to leave the family alone. Talia approaches and tells Sami to keep searching for the truth.

Sami returns to the hospital, and his students visit him. While Sami was recovering, the students continued to investigate with the help of Marty and Jennifer Schultz. They identified who could’ve been present at the party, and they learned that Victoria’s best friend and co-host was Caroline Burkett, who was involved in Sami’s last case before leaving the NYPD.

Marty drives Sami to the Burketts’ massive Farnwood estate. Judith Burkett, Caroline’s mother, whom Sami hates, greets Sami and leads him through her lavish house to a family portrait. Caroline is at a rehab center, but Judith offers insight on how close the Belmonds and Burketts were. She reluctantly agrees to set up a meeting between Sami and Caroline the following day. Judith reveals that she was Talia’s psychiatrist after Victoria’s disappearance. She smugly hints that Talia felt guilty about more than just delaying Victoria’s missing persons report, and she ultimately confesses that Talia was seeing a lover in Chicago. Judith doesn’t feel the need to protect Talia any longer, since Talia didn’t reach out to the Burketts during their time of need.