So Help Me Todd (2022) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Every lawyer has one case
that keeps them up at
night, and this is mine.
Can you tell our podcast
listeners about it?
My client, Antonia Suarez,
was wrongfully accused,
and despite my best efforts, convicted
of first degree murder.
She's currently serving a life sentence
for a crime she did not commit.
And where are you in the case right now?
We've used up all of our appeals.
And now, 13 years later,
I'm looking for a new piece of evidence
that can exonerate Antonia.
You're still searching. Why?
Because I believe Antonia
Suarez is innocent,
and Raya Chen's killer
is still out there.
Walk us through the case.
In November of 2009,
Antonia came home from work and noticed
her neighbor Raya's door was ajar.
She went in and found Raya
Chen laying on the ground,
unconscious and bleeding.
Antonia tried to help her,
and held her until Raya died.
Ooh. Trick or treat.
Ooh. Somebody's popular, huh?
Ooh.
Ew! No! Agnes!
Dental floss?
Hey, where's my mom?
Police found Antonia
covered in Raya's blood.
They read her her Miranda rights
and interrogated her in English, but
That sounds like my son
Whoa!
Todd.
Sorry. Sorry, wasn't sure
what was happening in here.
What is happening
- Hi.
- Okay, right. You're Todd.
Exactly as Allison described you.
Oh, Allison? Why? What did she say?
Idiot? Fool? Handsome?
Witty? Charming.
None of those exact words, no.
Oh.
Todd, this is Lea Luna.
She and Allison did undergrad together.
Lea is the podcast host for PDX-Files.
Oh, great.
So what are we podcasting about, huh?
True crime? False crime? Crime crime?
My mom doesn't know podcasts.
Yes, I do. Now I do.
Since Lea reached out to me
about the Antonia Suarez case,
I've been listening to her podcast,
and, uh, I find it captivating. Aw.
So, can we just continue
podding and ignore him?
- Where were we?
- Okay.
The police interrogated
Antonia in English.
When Antonia was arrested, she
predominantly spoke Spanish,
very limited understanding of English.
And law enforcement
used that against her.
They convinced her to sign a confession.
And her fingerprints
and DNA were everywhere.
Well, what was the murder weapon?
Todd, we're recording.
Okay. Fine.
The weapon was never found.
And now, they are about
to transfer Antonia
to a prison in Oklahoma, which
will make it next to impossible
for her daughter Kacey to see her.
So, what is the plan?
We need new evidence to bring a
writ of habeas corpus to the judge.
With new evidence, we can prove
that Antonia's
incarceration was invalid.
So, Margaret, what would you
like to say to our listeners?
If you know anything
about Raya Chen's murder at the
Northwest Trinity apartments,
November 2009,
please call us.
This is our last chance
to free an innocent woman.
Great. That was so great.
I'm just gonna clean all this up,
- and I will get this episode out tonight.
- Thank you.
Hey, Mar, we got to get
over to the prison now.
Of course. Thank you, Lea.
Um, so, can I just go?
Do I need to log out
or un-pod or anything?
Um, no. No, I got it. Um, go ahead.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-mm.
Mm-hmm. Hmm-mm.
So what do you think?
Is Antonia innocent?
Oh, absolutely. I think
it's pretty obvious
to anyone who's been paying
attention that Antoni-o
is 100%, without question, innocent.
Okay. I
- I am speaking to investigator Todd Wright.
- Mm-hmm.
Uh, if Antoni-a didn't kill
Raya Chen, then who did?
Well, I think that's the million
dollar question, isn't it?
But I think if you look really
closely at all the suspects
Just curious. Can you
name any of the suspects?
- Oh, I can name 20.
- Okay.
- There's Jason
- Uh-huh.
Mason Grayson.
This was a huge case for your
mother very early in her career.
I mean, she poured her
whole life into this case.
Surely, you've got to know something.
Of course, certainly.
All the names and particulars are very,
very intimately familiar to me.
But, um, at the time, in 2009,
my mother was very, very
focused on her career,
and we were not so close.
Because she was doggedly pursuing
justice for Antonia Suarez
because she was a a working mother.
Mm, more like a
working-all-the-time mother,
and, uh, while she was doggedly
missing my 18th birthday,
I was having cereal for dinner
and packing for college on my own.
This case haunts your mother.
Yeah, well,
we're all a bit haunted.
Todd, are you okay? Is Mom okay?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, all fine.
So you went to college
with this Lea Luna, huh?
You did not have me
paged for dating advice.
I don't need dating advice.
I need to know what
you told her about me.
Todd, I was with a patient
who was bleeding from his ear.
And she's way too good for you.
Oh. Okay. Great. Now I'm
bleeding from my ears.
Great vote of confidence
from my own sister.
If she agrees to go out
with you no chance
just don't use that
weird fake French accent
that you do when you order wine, okay?
Just order beer. She's
super down-to-earth.
And I don't know
just don't be you.
Be more competent.
- Huh.
- And definitely don't go on and on and on
about that weather
balloon conspiracy theory.
Even if the balloons are mobile
listening stations for the NSA?
No.
Antonia, I know a
podcast may seem unusual,
and it may feel invasive,
but they have led to exonerations.
I'm still getting trolled online.
Daughter of the crazy lady
who killed her neighbor?
Kacey, I know that's hard.
But what if this podcast
could pull the real
murderer out of the shadows?
What if it works, cariño?
What if I could walk out of here?
In time for your birthday?
Kacey, please.
It's our last chance.
What have we got to lose?
Okay, fine. Do it.
Just don't pin all
your hopes on this, Mom.
I don't want to see you
get hurt all over again.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I should be working
this case and not him!
Is there a problem with my work?
Of course not. Todd doesn't
know a thing about this case.
My point exactly!
Mom, Lyle knows the knowns
and the known-knowns.
But I am the unknown.
- I'm the one who doesn't know anything.
- About anything.
I'm fresh eyes.
I'm full of new questions
and new theories.
You and this textbook-come-to-life
have been working
this case for 13 years?
And where have you gotten?
You need fresh eyes.
Not stale eyes.
Todd, that is extremely
ill-mannered and oddly logical.
I concur, and I am up to my
own fresh eyes in current cases,
so please take this file box
and go to your nook.
Okay.
Sorry.
You are not just doing
this to impress ?
Lea.
Hey. I'll be the
investigator on this case now.
Lyle had to alphabetize his coin purse.
So, let's pod.
- What's our next move?
- Ignore him.
We need to strategize. Make a plan.
Well, for the next episode,
I wanted to focus on the
compelling characters of the case.
Here's a fresh idea.
Let's introduce Lea to all the
original suspects, aka characters.
Give her a lay of the land,
maybe a meet-and-greet,
or at least a sip-n-see.
A sip-n-see?
According to security cameras,
no one came into or out of the building
around the time of Raya's murder.
So I think that we
you should interview
everyone who was there
that night, starting
with her
Evelyn Wilder, novelist.
Writes British romance-y
kind of things with wrinkled
ascots and stolen ladles.
- Speak three languages.
- But she didn't do it?
She said she was
writing in her apartment,
"in the flow," wearing her
noise-canceling headphones.
- That's not an alibi.
- No.
But there's no evidence that
puts her in Raya's apartment
around the time of the murder.
That's an odd laugh.
And what about him?
Devin DeLeon, accountant.
Long-time resident.
- And he has an alibi?
- No. But Devin's a big cricket fan.
He claims that after
his team lost that day,
he drowned himself in vodka
gimlets and fell asleep.
And last, but not least
Olga Szabo, building super.
In my mind, it was always her.
- Why?
- She refused to speak to the police,
and she lawyered up before my
team had a chance to interview her.
Whoa.
I remember you. You're
that murderer's lawyer.
- Uh, I'm recording this.
- Wonderful.
I'm listening to your sick podcast.
Raya was a beautiful woman,
and you're making her
death into a spectacle.
You moved into her
apartment after she died.
Raya's apartment is a sacred space.
And for someone with such
exquisite bone structure
and delicate fingers to be taken
before their time is a travesty.
Don't make a second episode.
And I don't want to ever
see you outside here again.
Good day.
Okay, we definitely got to break in
and check that guy's
apartment out, right?
- Totally sus!
- Should we go up right now?
Absolutely not.
Not while I'm here.
And if you do but don't
I can't know anything about it.
I am going. Plausible
deniability. Do it tomorrow.
I don't know!
I do not know.
So I guess we'll come back tomorrow?
Kristy could hear
the killer crawling under her bed.
Oh, my Lord.
And the sailor's
disemboweled torso was stuffed
into an empty torpedo.
Good God!
Where is Lea's podcast?
Ah.
Raya Chen was bludgeoned to death
at the back of her head.
Autopsy reports say her skull
bone ruptured her cerebral cortex.
Hello.
Hello?
Antonia killed Raya Chen.
Stop the investigation,
or you're dead, too.
What do you mean, this can't be
her first death threat?
She's my mom. Moms don't get threatened.
Well, moms might not,
but lawyers and judges do all the time.
She never told me that.
- Well, she's protecting you.
- From what?
From worrying about her,
or feeling like you have to protect her.
But from a case perspective,
this means we are on the right track.
- Huh.
- Means someone's rattled.
If Antonia did it, then no one
would bother to threaten your mom.
Okay, 3B. This is Devin's.
I'll knock. If he's home,
I'm Brett from the
Portland Water Bureau.
He saw you earlier, but undercover.
I like it.
Okay, I am recording. Go ahead.
Portland Water Bureau!
Here to check your water!
I don't think he's home.
All right, I'm gonna check outside,
see if I can scale the
building or something.
Or we could jimmy the lock.
Do you want to hold my
stuff while I break in?
I've been waiting my whole
life for someone to ask me that.
That and "Sir, can you fly this plane?"
But this is breaking and
entering, you know that.
Yeah. Only if we get caught.
Hello?
Wow.
Oh, hey, hey, hey,
that's Raya Chen. Oh, wow.
You know, if I'm remembering correctly,
She would have died right here,
right where we are standing.
Well, maybe this is the
sacred part of his apartment.
But now, we need to find out
where he keeps his mementos,
like teeth and bones,
or her delicate fingers.
Here. I'll take the bedroom.
- I'll take kitchen. Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
Oh, oh, oh, oh! Hey,
he does ride a bike.
So if he happens to be the last man
in America with a landline,
try calling my phone.
Maybe it'll match the number
that called my mom's last night.
Oh, come on. You know
that call definitely came
from some rando burner phone.
Yeah, you're probably right.
- Okay.
- So,
no landline, but I did find a package
for a disposable burner phone.
- So What are you doing?
- I think there's an envelope in the wall.
It's Ah!
Spiders. It's the spiders.
There's a it's like
Temple of Doom back there.
But there's something
hidden in that side wall.
- Wait. Really?
- Yeah.
Let me take a look.
Killers will sometimes
keep hair, or shoes or
- What's that?
- Papers written in Chinese.
- What?
- I mean, might be Devin's,
but might be Raya's?
Well, I'd say, from the 17
layers of deathly cobwebs,
nobody's been back there
for a really long time.
I mean, maybe these are
messages, like, from her.
Well, to who?
I don't know. To her family?
Maybe she wrote down her messages,
hid it under her sink
behind some sticky paper
because she's paranoid?
Because she thought
she was being watched?
Yes! Like by weather balloons.
Wait. Are-are you serious?
Did Allison tell you to say that?
No. Like, the Pentagon
basically flat-out admitted
that low-range weather
balloons are highly effective
For short range surveillance!
I read that, too!
Oh, my gosh, how'd you know that?
Wait.
- Oh, crap. That's him.
- What's happening?
Devin. He's, um he's-he's back!
- What?
- Uh, he's back.
Okay, here. Uh, I got your purse.
Come on. Go, go, go, go.
Hey. What's going on back here?
Oh. Hey. Lea's just
backing up her recordings.
Did you know she could pick a lock?
Have you asked her out?
Uh, no, but tonight, we're
both strategically free,
so I think it's understood
that a date's happening.
Hmm. Don't take her bowling.
What? Why?
Todd, you took me
bowling on our first date.
And don't order any
beer. It makes you very
Well, not always. It's
the wheat, or the lager,
but that makes everybody
And you're a very bad bowler.
Charmingly bad. I'm actually very good.
No, you're not. Todd,
you bowled into a lady,
knocked her down. We had
to drive her to the ER.
Okay, well, those lanes
were very slippery.
Impress her. Take her
someplace well-reviewed
with dim lights and white tablecloths.
And don't wear what you're wearing.
And don't drive your car.
Oh, and don't talk about that
weird weather balloon stuff
that you've been constant
Uh, too late. She knows they're real.
The Pentagon practically
And don't be nervous.
You'll be great.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks.
Todd is worried about me?
Yeah, about the threats, the call.
Has anything else happened?
No, no, no, no. And there's
nothing to worry about.
It is part of the job.
Trust me, I can handle it.
I have been doing this a long time.
Yeah, he mentioned that you
missed some of his birthdays
because of-of work, this case.
I would never miss a
birthday. He wouldn't say that.
Mm, more like a
working-all-the-time mother.
And, uh, while she was doggedly
missing my 18th birthday,
I was having cereal for dinner
and packing for college on my own.
I just called Jack. He said he could
Oh, and, uh, Jack is
Francey's super-hot boyfriend
who's also a cop.
- Todd
- What? He is.
Jack said he can get you a warrant
to get you into Devin's apartment
if you have probable cause.
But you haven't already
been inside, have you?
We were never there.
Excuse me, Officer.
We're here to see Devin DeLeon.
We have a warrant.
That's going to be a
bit of a problem, ma'am.
Mr. DeLeon is dead.
Initially, we suspected
suicide, but there's no note,
and the trajectory of this fall
makes us think he was pushed.
So now you suspect murder?
It's early,
but my partner's taking statements
from some of the neighbors.
Uh, afternoon, Officer Kendrick.
I'm Clay with Peaceful Transitions.
I'm here, state mandate,
to hold a space for
the recently departed.
- Do you mind if I sit?
- Do what you got to do.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
Dearly Beloved, we
are gathered here today
to support our earthly friend Devin
as he passes from
this plane to the next.
Now, to some,
Devin was just a random person
who rode a bicycle
with a weird temperament.
But to God
he's Devin.
And to me
he's also Devin.
YOU-BET-LINE.
Want to place a bet
on the horses or the game today?
That apartment is jinxed.
13 years ago, a woman was
murdered in that same unit.
- Raya Chen.
- Yeah.
Did you work that case?
Nah, I was just a rookie
handling crowd control.
But it stuck in your memory?
All I recall is the two
senior detectives arguing
about who was running point.
Do you happen to remember their names?
Like I said, it-it was so long ago.
Ma'am.
So, looks like Mr. Chalk
Outline was a gambler.
Ah. Just checked his burner phone,
and he only used it to call his bookie.
Your number wasn't in there,
not even in the recently deleted,
so, he is not your creepy caller.
This Officer Lupo has me thinking
about the detectives who
ran the original crime scene.
I'm going to go back
and talk to Francey.
Why don't you go and talk to
the building manager Olga.
- Olga.
- See if she can tell you
anything about the other tenants
- who were here at the time of Raya's death.
- Okay.
- I'll catch up with Lea.
- Hey, Todd, Todd?
- Mm-hmm?
- Why did you tell Lea
that I forgot your 18th birthday?
I didn't. I got you that camera.
Uh, that was my 17th.
Well, then the Playtime station.
PlayStation?
- Uh-huh.
- Sixteenth.
You missed my 18th
birthday, Mom. You did.
Whatever. It's fine.
But when I became a legal adult,
you were not there.
This is terrible.
- We live in a cursed building.
- Mm.
I want to crawl under my covers
with a tub of vegan ice
cream and stay there forever.
Now I'll never be able to
rent that apartment again.
Olga, who do you think did this?
I have no idea.
I think now, whoever killed
Raya is still out there.
It can't be Antonia,
that poor girl in jail.
She's too sweet.
Oh, such a good heart.
Would it be possible for us to
get records of who else lived
in the building when Raya was killed?
- Not a chance. No.
- Ms. Szabo,
I need a statement from you.
I don't talk to police. Call my lawyer.
And you
- you want to see my records?
- Uh-huh.
- Get a warrant.
- Not even for PDX-Files?
The number one true-crime podcast
in the Pacific Northwest?
You're from PDX-Files?
Yes. Well, no, not me.
But this is Lea Luna.
Wow. My wife is obsessed
with your podcast.
Oh.
Uh, you're gonna turn down PDX-Files?
Fine. Follow me to the basement.
I'll show you the files.
But I'm not going to talk about it.
Okay?
Detective Ekert?
Black, two sugars?
Oh, Attorney Wright.
You must need something.
Hello, Francey.
We're here about the
Raya Chen case, 2009.
That was Police Chief Linton.
He got the boot in 2010, died last year.
What does Linton have
to do with the Chen case?
Well, a lot of bad stuff went
down on Lousy Linton's watch.
He cut corners on
pretty much everything.
The police report said that you
and Detective Walsh were
first to process the scene.
No, it was just Walsh.
I was there for a second,
and then got called to a
robbery around the block.
There's supposed to be
two names on every report,
but Linton told us to fudge it.
A woman is serving a life sentence,
and now you're telling
me about cut corners?
- Thanks for the coffee.
- No, wait.
I need to find Walsh.
He's on death's door
himself, in some hospice.
Let him be.
We are calling every hospice in the area
- until we find him.
- Yep.
The next file belongs to
Ah. Uh, François Gagnon.
Hmm.
It looks like he lived here
In 2012, and then he worked
for zee telephone company.
So, um,
after Allison jetted off to college,
it was just you and your nom at home?
Yeah, yeah, Allison and
Lawrence were both at U of O,
and I was a freshman in
high school when my dad died.
And that's when your mom
started working all the time?
Working and law school,
passed the bar, made partner,
and then became the Margaret Wright.
Hey, hey, this is Raya's file!
- Wait. Really?
- Uh-huh.
Oh, wow.
Looks like she was constantly
filing complaints with
the city's inspector.
Wait. Look at all of these.
Mm, leaky furnaces and
flies, faulty smoke detectors?
Wait. Maybe Olga was worried
that she'd get the building condemned.
So Olga killed Raya over
leaky furnace complaints?
No way. Olga is so not the murderer.
I don't know. It could be her.
I could build an episode around that.
"Olga: Landlord or Deathlord?"
You can't just go announcing
to the world that
somebody killed somebody.
Oh, 'cause you've never jumped
to a single conclusion
in your whole life?
Well, I don't have a podcast.
If I wrongfully accuse somebody,
it's just me in my shower
being like, "He did it."
Okay. Well, my job is
to craft a narrative
using one suspect and then another
until we uncover the truth.
Wait. Even if that narrative is
wrong or made up or filled with lies?
Oh, you're opposed to lies?
Brett from Portland Water Bureau?
Oh, hey. Hey, hey, hey,
I will have you know
- that Brett is not a liar.
- Oh.
- He's a churchgoer.
- Mm-hmm.
And he spends his weekends
mowing lawns for old ladies.
Oh, sounds kind of sad and lonely.
He's doesn't get lonely.
- He has his lawnmower and the old ladies.
- Oh.
Maybe some commitment issues,
maybe some mommy issues?
Uh, yeah, maybe.
But he just met this girl
who makes up dark and
disturbing stories all the time.
And maybe she secretly wants
to get trapped in a basement
with some charming dude who
wants to take her out to dinner.
Like, maybe on Saturday,
7:00, Pacific Standard Time?
Um
- Oh, uh, podcast deadline.
- Uh-huh.
So why don't we just take
the rest of these files,
and then we can sneak
them back in later?
Okay.
Did you close this door up here?
No.
Uh, 'cause it's locked.
Well, do you have your jimmy kit thing?
Yeah, but the lock is on the outside.
Here. Let me look.
Okay.
Something's against the door out there.
We're jammed in.
You know what? I'm gonna call my mom.
- Ah, no! No service!
- Yeah.
Okay, uh, you know what?
There's got to be
another way out of here.
We just got to look around, and
And, oh, family dinner's tonight.
So my mom and sister will
freak out if I'm not there,
and they will definitely
send someone to find me.
Oh. Supple.
- Mm.
- Earthy.
Plummy, with
a hint of black currant.
You know, I am positive
- I did not forget Todd's 18th birthday.
- Mom, you forgot.
- I remember.
- People forget birthdays all the time.
It's not a big deal.
Allison forgot mine last year when
I was coming off of a double shift.
And Lawrence forgot
Clem's second birthday.
- Because he's working!
- See, that's bad.
He is the chief of staff
for the governor of Oregon!
- Mm-hmm.
- And I was working back then, very hard,
to help Todd through college.
Mom, nobody is scarred for
life, especially not Todd.
Where is he, by the way?
He's probably at our house
wondering where we all are.
He's with Lea, the podcast host.
Lea Luna? From the PDX-Files?
- Mm-hmm.
- My co-workers are always
talking about that podcast.
Podcasts are the death
of journalism, all right?
People would rather be
entertained than informed.
I just listened to Oh.
Did you know that a woman
in Pensacola ate her own daughter?
- Don't get any ideas.
- No, these podcasts are just horrifically fascinating.
There's the man in Idaho
with a secret family
in the walls of his vacation home.
And the grade school
teacher from Arizona!
Thank God.
Who electrocuted two husbands,
and then slowly,
methodically poisoned 27
Good evening, Mrs. Wright.
This just came for you.
Ah, thank you, Steven. Do
you know who dropped it off?
I'm not sure. Sorry.
Thank you.
- Mom, what is that?
- Oh. I have no idea.
Someone sent you a piece
of crime scene tape?
"You're next"?
Apparently so.
There has to be another
way out of this place.
You'd think someone would have stored
a giant box fan down here.
It's hot, right? Or is it me?
No, it's hot.
What's behind there?
Wait a second.
- Okay, there's no way we can fit in there.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can't, and there's no
cell service down here,
but maybe at the top
of the dumbwaiter
And in case this text doesn't send,
I will set an alarm that
will go off every two minutes
till someone finds this phone.
Or the battery dies, and our
corpses rot in this basement,
and then we ironically become
- the posthumous subjects of my podcast.
- Yeah.
Win-win.
- Oh.
- That worked. Okay.
Now we just wait.
I have the original detective interviews
of all the tenants who were
home at the time of Raya's death.
- Mm-hmm.
- Do you want
to listen to them while we wait to die?
Sure.
Thank you so much for coming.
I feel so silly.
I mean, I-I've had threats before.
I just I didn't
want to worry the kids,
and I didn't want to be alone.
No, it just it just
means we're closing in.
Someone's trying to scare you.
Someone who knows where I live.
Jack said he can get the lab
to run that for prints tomorrow.
- Can I ask you something?
- Mm-hmm.
Do you remember what we
were doing 13 years ago?
You were Song's assistant
- and studying for your law boards.
- Mm-hmm.
And I was the receptionist
and going through a divorce.
- Why?
- Oh
Because Todd has accused me
of forgetting his 18th birthday.
Uh, 18 it's-it's
such a big birthday.
It's huge. I-I refuse to believe
that I didn't do something
for him. Maybe a
What is it?
Walsh. We found him.
He's at a hospice in Eastmoreland.
Okay, for this last interview,
we have Detective Walsh
with someone named
Germaine Gulrench.
It's okay. I can tell you're nervous.
We're just gonna ask
you a few questions.
Oh. You can tell that I'm nervous?
Wait a minute.
I know that laugh. That's that woman
who lives here, the writer lady.
Uh, Eve-alyn, Evelyn
W Wilder? Wilder.
No, this is Germaine Gulrench.
I mean, it's She just said her name.
Wait a second. I remember
Germaine Gulrench from before.
Here.
Let's see. Yes.
- This explains why we couldn't find Evelyn's file.
- Okay.
"Germaine Gulrench."
Okay. Same apartment
number as Evelyn Wilder.
See? It's her.
So, Germaine was a waitress,
and when she finally
made it as a writer,
she changed her name to Evelyn Wilder.
I don't know. It is so hot in here.
- I know.
- And I can't really think.
And it's been three hours since
Operation Dumbwaiter, and
Um, Todd?
What?
Someone's trying to cook us down here.
Okay, we got to get out of here.
Uh, help! Help! Uh, help! Help!
- Hello?
- Hello! Help!
Detective Walsh?
Thank you so much for meeting me.
That PDX podcast.
I listened to some of it last night.
I don't quite get these
armchair detectives.
But I can tell you, um,
that my boss at the
time, Police Chief Linton,
was the kind of guy who
gave cops a bad name.
Had a conviction
quota, liked to hand out
pink slips if he didn't get his way.
I had a wife, three kids.
Whatever I did at the time,
I did it for them.
Detective, the woman serving
a life sentence for this crime,
Antonia, is also a mother.
And her daughter, Kacey,
has grown up without her.
I took this case
because I believe in my heart
that Antonia was innocent.
But that belief took me
away from my own child.
I'm still on the case,
I still believe it.
So if there's anything that
you know, anything at all,
please, I'm begging you, help me.
There was a box of stuff we
picked up at the crime scene
that we never logged into evidence.
Linton told me to torch it,
but I couldn't.
What was in the box?
I never looked. If I'd have looked then,
it would have haunted me.
I don't even know where that box is.
Hello?! Hello!
Wha ?
Why is the door wedged shut?
And why is this phone
screaming at me all night long?
It's mine!
Someone locked us in
and tried to cook us!
Somebody must have accessed
the furnace remotely.
I have a question. Evelyn Wilder.
Did her name used to
be Germaine Gulrench?
Yeah. Then she became fancy
writer, and she changed it.
- Long time ago.
- Is she home?
No, she left about an hour ago.
Can you believe it?
13 years of work,
13 years of prison for Antonia
just because one man didn't
want to look in a box.
- Just unbelievable.
- It breaks my heart.
Margaret, look.
I just wanted to look
you in the eye and
say that I'm sorry.
I found it.
And I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner.
Detective Walsh, thank you.
It's the
It's the murder weapon.
Come on, come How long does
it take to run a set of prints?
Jack said he would
give us a call as soon
as he knows something. How could
they hide the murder weapon?
- Why would anyone want to ?
- It's what Walsh said.
They have conviction
quotas, they cut corners.
Antonia is found covered in blood,
she doesn't speak English,
so assumptions are made.
Bang. She's the murderer.
And how do you simplify a case?
They get rid of the murder weapon.
You wanted me?
Yeah, come on, come in. Uh,
these papers seem very similar
to the ones that Todd and Lea
found in Devin's apartment.
- What do you make of 'em? Is this
- Chinese?
Must've been close to the body.
- There's a little blood spatter here.
- Mm-hmm. Hmm.
- I think Attorney Yang reads Chinese.
- Hmm.
Feel free to read out loud.
Oh, sorry. It's just
really romantic, actually.
"May Washingdwen knew her
life would never be the same.
She stood at the cliff.
Was she really going to meet
the man who broke her heart?"
Please, keep reading.
"May took two steps forward,
Then two steps back.
She threw down the lilac bouquet
and ran into the stormy night."
Google found duplicate text
to what you're translating.
It looks like it's
some kind of story in a
lit magazine published 13 years ago
by someone named Evelyn Wilder?
She's one of the suspects in our case.
But why would Raya have
Evelyn's story in her apartment?
Maybe Raya was doing
the Chinese translation?
But Evelyn speaks Chinese.
Why would she need a translation?
That was Jack. The fingerprints
on the murder weapon
match the fingerprints
on the crime tape that was
delivered to your condo.
But her prints aren't in
the system. No matches.
We need to find Evelyn
and get her fingerprints
as soon as possible.
It's Todd.
Oh, I can't read it. I
don't have my glasses on.
"Mom. Mom. Seriously. I
need $18 for a sandwich."
No. Scroll down. Scroll down.
"Evelyn Wilder used to
be Germaine Gulrench.
Evelyn Wilder is her made-up
name, her pen name or whatever.
My battery is dying.
Ouch, I hit my knee.
I'm using talk to text
hippopotamus." Oh, no, no.
"Evelyn is doing a reading today
at Matchstix Books. Meet me there."
- Hippopotamus?
- Lyle, Susan, you find out
whatever you can about these documents
and this Germaine Gulrench,
and Francey, let's go.
Matchstix Books. Let's go!
Oh, there you are!
You are filthy! Oh,
God. And you smell awful.
Sorry, yeah, but we didn't
have time to freshen up
because we almost died.
Just a reminder I am
recording all of this.
Okay, just so you know,
I've had several more death
threats since you were gone,
so don't come crying to me about
I'm not competing with you
about who came closer to death.
- It was me.
- Mm.
Listen, Evelyn Wilder is
Germaine Gulrench. We already know that.
- Are they always like this?
- Okay, Counselor.
But what you might not know
is that the reason she changed her name
is because Germaine Gulrench
was a terrible writer.
The reviews of her work were
horrible. Truly horrible.
And then, one week
before Raya was murdered,
new writer Evelyn Wilder was
published to rave reviews.
So Germaine stole Raya's work.
Is that what you're saying?
That's exactly what I'm saying.
And when Raya found out
- She confronted Germaine.
- Aka Evelyn.
- And Evelyn
- Killed Raya.
I love murder!
I mean, solving it.
"They had fought long and
hard for what they had built."
Okay, come on. Here's the plan.
Todd, we have the murder weapon,
- but I need you to get her prints.
- Got it.
- Francey, pull up those horrible reviews.
- Okay.
And, Lea, keep recording.
Don't miss a word.
"And Mildred and Algernon
watched the sunset over Belle Manor
for the first time
as husband and wife."
Thank you so much.
I'm happy to answer any questions?
Oh, I have a question.
I am fascinated with your stories.
Tell me, Evelyn, where do
you get your inspiration?
Thank you. Uh
I have been accused of having
a fantastical imagination.
Next question.
I'm sorry, can you just
clear up one thing for me?
Do you write under a pen name?
I had my name changed.
Legally, for personal reasons. Next.
And did that name change
have anything to do
with your horrible reviews
as Germaine Gulrench?
Here we go.
"The excruciatingly insecure
prose of Germaine Gulrench
leads one down a confusing
path of drivel "
Stop talking!
You have no idea what
you're talking about.
I'm talking about Raya Chen.
You'd never understand.
You're just some rich bitch who
lives in a condo with a doorman.
Which you would know
because you delivered
a death threat to my condo.
You stole Raya's work.
I helped her!
And then you murdered her
- Oh!
- because her writing was good
and yours wasn't. And
you let an innocent woman
serve your time in prison
because you're a coward.
And I suspect you murdered
Devin because he was onto you.
You bitch!
Hey! Wait.
Someone stop her.
You don't understand!
I gave her work to the world!
And you've given us
more than enough evidence
to reopen the case with
these recorded confessions.
And these prints should match
the ones on the murder weapon perfectly.
And you'll have more than enough time
to write something original in prison.
I hereby move
that Antonia Suarez's conviction
be vacated with prejudice
and a new trial be set by the
People against Evelyn Wilder.
Thank you, Your Honor.
13 years.
We have to tell Kacey.
Way to go.
Mom?
My baby
We did it.
The podcast helped.
- Oh, did you get the ?
- Oh, yeah.
Thank you.
So, did you get everything you need?
I did. Yeah.
I think this is gonna be an
amazing series of episodes.
So, what about like, another date?
Sometime, you know, without the furnace
and someone trying to kill us.
You know, I didn't really
mind the danger part of it.
Switching things up,
fighting for our lives.
Made for pretty good material.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, let's, let's do that date
when I get back from my
next podcast in Portland.
- Maine.
- Huh
But, uh
you want to keep this
for me till I get back?
Your jimmy kit thing?
Seriously? What if you need it?
Oh, that's just my back-up kit.
Bye, Todd.
Bye, Lea.
- She was totally into me.
- Oh, my God.
And when she gets back from Maine,
- we're gonna hang out.
- Oh
- What?
- Look over there.
Happy birthday, Todd.
- Retroactively.
- Thank you.
- "Just 18 In Blue"?
- Okay.
That's what I told
them I wanted it to say.
Just "18," in blue.
But it doesn't matter.
It is your favorite.
It's chocolate cake
and vanilla frosting.
From your favorite place.
- Okay, blow it out?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Yay!
Todd is 18.
Are you kidding me?
I am so sorry I missed it.
Okay, let's just cut the cake.
Mom, wait. Listen.
I
I didn't realize back then
how important what you were doing was.
And I'm
Well, I just
I'm really proud to be your son.
- And this actually means
- Can we stop Hallmark Carding
- and eat the cake?
- Sure.
I thought you were doing a joke.
- I thought that was a bit.
- No, no, I wasn't joking
Oh, hey, hey, hold on a second.
Lea's podcast just dropped.
Just save it
Wait, you can hear
You can put that from
your phone to my speakers?
Yeah, you have a state-of-the-art
sound system, Mom.
- Shush. Listen.
- We all remember
different versions of every story.
But maybe the most important
thing is that we remember.
We may not recall
every detail perfectly,
but in remembering,
we can keep people and memories alive.
Margaret and Francey
never let anyone forget
the story of a wrongfully
convicted woman.
And tonight,
because of them, Antonia Suarez is free.