Nobody's Fool

In the car, Sami sends a message to his top students asking them to read up on the Victoria Belmond case—an unsolved kidnapping—for a special class. Arthur invites Sami to the law office on Tad Grayson and Kelly Neumeier’s behalf. Arthur accompanies Sami into the conference room, and Sami silently rages when he sees Tad. Sami refuses Tad and Kelly’s pleasantries and bluntly asks what they want. Tad proclaims his innocence and asks Sami to help him find Nicole’s real killer. Tad knows he can still be retried for the murder, and he agrees to let Sami follow the evidence where it leads. Sami points out that Tad bought a gun while wearing a disguise and using a pseudonym, and this gun turned out to be the murder weapon. Tad tries rebuffing Sami’s argument, but Sami remains convinced that Tad is guilty.

Arthur and Kelly spar about the court’s decision to overturn Tad’s conviction. Arthur believes Sami’s moment of indiscretion was used unjustly to get Nicole’s unrelated murder evidence thrown out. Sami will listen if Tad finds other evidence, but he refuses to work with him. In the elevator, Arthur tells Sami not to completely reject Tad’s idea, since it could allow Sami to keep an eye on him.

At the Academy, the Pink Panthers, led by Polly, present the Victoria Belmond case. Polly explains how 17-year-old Victoria disappeared from a party on New Year’s Eve in 1999. Polly shows a CCTV image of Victoria leaving a pub just before midnight, which was the last time she was seen. Gary finds the timing curious, since it is unlikely a teenager would leave a party early. The Belmonds didn’t report Victoria missing right away because the parents and Victoria’s brother were all away from home. The family contacted the police on January 5, but there was little urgency. Victoria’s mother Talia thought Victoria was angry about an argument they had, so she believed Victoria was staying with a friend. The Belmonds also received several texts from Victoria claiming she was with “C,” though people theorize these texts were sent by her kidnapper.

The family then went 11 years without hearing from or seeing Victoria, during which time documentaries were made about her and people claimed to see her in crowds. The Belmonds withdrew from public life, which led many to conclude that they were responsible for Victoria’s disappearance. Polly shares several tabloid theories, but Sami redirects the presentation back to the facts.

Eleven years after Victoria’s disappearance, a waitress in Maine called the FBI claiming to have seen Victoria in a diner. The woman was bald and refused to talk, but police found a library checkout card on her that appeared to corroborate her identity. The card had Victoria’s name, the dates of her disappearance, and “The Librarian” as the borrower’s name printed on it. The family and police were suspicious of the woman, but a DNA test confirmed her identity. Since then, Victoria has made no public appearances and claims to remember none of her time in captivity. The class questions the waitress’s identity and worries that the case is too cold for their investigation to have any impact. Sami knows there are new developments.

When class is over, Sami asks Marty if he can get the Victoria Belmond case file from the FBI. Lenny and Gary approach as delegates from the class to ask Sami about his apparent personal connection to the case. Sami sprung the investigation after seeing the mysterious woman in class, and he set up a schedule of surveillance in a wealthy Connecticut area, right where the GPS tracker ended up the night before. Gary and Lenny think Sami is a good man and good detective, but they want him to be honest so they can conduct a proper investigation.

At home, Sami worries about his economic instability. He reveals his theory about Victoria and Anna to Molly, describing how he met Anna on a college trip and now believes she was the missing Victoria. Molly comforts Sami and pushes him to consider a deeper connection between Tad Grayson’s release and Anna’s reappearance. Polly texts Sami that she and Gary are tailing Victoria after she left her house, and Sami prepares to meet up with them.

Polly updates Sami on their location, and Sami waits in a bagel shop. Polly follows Victoria on foot through Times Square. On a conference call, Gary updates that Victoria’s driver parked and is heading in her direction. Sami swerves through a crowd of costumed people in Times Square and sees Victoria and her security, Gun Guy, in front of a theater. Victoria enters the theater for a musical performance.

Sami follows Victoria, but he is blocked from going into the performance. Polly watches Gun Guy, Gary watches the parked car, and Sami waits on the street outside the theater. Sami considers the Belmonds’ use of their wealth to ensure Victoria’s privacy. Tabloids aren’t interested in her story anymore, so she can roam the city now with relative ease. Sami wonders what Victoria’s life has been like and whether her amnesia is real. He is still haunted by that day in Spain, and when he returned home from the trip, he developed an alcohol dependency and gave up on his dream of becoming a physician.

Sami enters the theater and convinces an employee to let him look at the gift shop. He feigns interest in the souvenirs before surveying the crowd. Sami worries Victoria will run away again, but he knows she must be interested in meeting him, since she sought him out first. Spotting Victoria in her seat, he approaches and confronts her. She claims not to know who he is even when Sami tells the story of how they met in Spain. Victoria avoids his questions, but she appears interested in Sami’s story. She takes Sami’s business card and asks Sami not to tell anyone he saw her.

Gary drives Sami to Marty’s apartment. Sami takes the opportunity to learn Gary’s history. Sami asks what brought Gary to his class, since he seems out of place on the Lower East Side. Gary looked Sami up before taking his class and learned about his professional indiscretions. Sami confirms that he endangered a witness and that his actions led to a death. He resigned and lost his pension to avoid prosecution. Gary’s life also fell apart because of bad decisions. He used to own a hedge fund and live in a ritzy neighborhood, but now he’s divorced, unemployed, and his kids are embarrassed to be seen with him.

Gary and his wife Wendy were members of the exclusive Vine Ridge golf club. Wendy had grown up in the club through her grandfather’s and father’s memberships, since women can’t officially become members. The couple’s social life revolved around the club. Three years ago, Gary made the finals of a club championship and was battling his rival, Richard, who had beaten him the year prior on a controversial call. By the final hole, Gary and Richard were tied, and Gary’s final shot hit a tree and bounced out of sight. Gary had five minutes to search for the ball, or he would receive a penalty and lose.

Gary couldn’t find his ball, so he secretly dropped a second ball. Richard’s caddy found the ball, and Gary chipped it onto the green. Richard putted from 30 feet away and came up short, but when he approached to tap his ball in, he discovered Gary’s original ball was already in the hole. Richard showed the ball to the crowd, outing Gary as a cheater. Gary’s social life fell apart, and he was thrown out of the club. Rather than start fresh, Wendy divorced Gary, and his clients took their money out of his hedge fund. He doesn’t golf anymore, but he still wears golf clothes as a reminder of the severe consequences that can come from small mistakes. Sami thanks Gary for being a part of his class.

Sami arrives at Marty’s penthouse apartment. Marty explains that Victoria’s FBI file is heavily restricted for privacy concerns. Crucial evidence was lost due to the investigation’s delayed start, and key witnesses from the party lawyered up. Victoria had a boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, but Marty doesn’t believe a high school kid could hold Victoria hostage for 11 years. The pub that hosted the Y2K party allowed the teens to drink, and Victoria’s older brother Thomas legally signed the rental agreement for her. Thomas has several DUIs, but he’s now a family man who works for the Belmond company. Sami recognizes Thomas as one of the men who threatened him in Connecticut.

Later, Sami attends a family dinner with his father at a Chinese restaurant. Molly takes Henry to the washroom so Sami and his father can speak privately. They briefly discuss Tad Grayson’s release before Sami explains Anna’s reappearance and his theory about her being Victoria Belmond. Sami remembers when he first called about Anna’s death. His father urged him to leave on the next flight, and he arranged for Sami to stay with relatives in case the Spanish police came calling.

Sami’s father wonders if Victoria’s kidnappers drugged her and coerced her into participating in illegal activity. At the time, Sami thought it was odd that Anna’s only friend was her drug dealer, Buzz, but he didn’t look too deeply into their relationship. Buzz was the person who found Sami and told him to run. Sami’s father advises Sami to forget about his past now that he knows Anna is alive. He proposes that Sami move to Florida, where he can work in private security. Sami says he’ll talk it over with Molly, but he doesn’t want to run away.