Richie?
I knew you'd find me.
Help! No!
Richie!
- Sweetie. - Sweetie.
- It's okay. It's okay. - What's going on?
You had that dream again?
Hey, it's okay. It's okay.
Hey, come here. We got you. Okay, Scout. We got you.
You wanna talk about it?
No.
*CREDITS*
I'm worried about her.
Ever since they pulled that van out of the lake.
Yeah, I know. I know.
It's been almost a year. I thought she'd be better by now.
She never used to even blink when something scary happened in New York.
I used to think that maybe she was, like, a sociopath or something.
I'm serious.
Look, she was younger then. I think she understood less.
Yeah, or maybe this case just hit a little too close to home.
Maybe we just let her see things a kid her age shouldn't see.
Yeah, well, to be fair, she's the one who keeps looking.
Maybe she just needs a little more balance in her life.
- To stop being such a workaholic. - Yeah.
Yeah. Well, good news is that there is a strong chance,
a very strong chance that she's not a sociopath.
Okay?
Breakfast.
Did anyone else hear a loud explosion or see a bright flash of light last night?
- It was around 2:30 a.m. - Yay, it's Hilde o'clock.
Okay, guys. Who is excited about school starting today?
- Me. - You?
- Yeah. I love school. I love school. Hi. - I love school. I love school.
God, get a room. I almost miss you two fighting all the time.
Really, Dad? A clambake write-up?
Yeah, well, that cereal you're refusing to eat doesn't pay for itself.
So please eat the expensive cereal.
- A clambake? - Yeah.
Work is work, Scout. No, trust me.
We need all the work we can get now that
Pop-Pop's moving in with us for good.
So that's the way it is.
Okay. So, Dad, I was thinking.
Once Pop-Pop gets settled in, we could maybe go back to Portland
and try to figure out who paid the kidnapper.
Maybe we missed something.
Look, Hilde, we spent eight months looking for our angles,
and every lead that we had came up dry.
Sweetie, you did an amazing thing.
You found a piece of evidence that helped Sam get out of jail.
You should be very proud of that.
Yeah, so proud. And your mom and I,
- we've come up with an executive decision. - Yes.
The Richie Fife case is officially closed.
- Thank God. - What?
All right, look. I know how much this means to you.
Of course I do. Look, it means a lot to me too.
But look, your story had national attention, right?
Anyone with a TV or Internet connection,
they would've read it by now, including Richie.
- But, Dad, he might still be out there. - Yeah, well, think about it.
If Richie is still alive,
then he would've read about what happened.
And if he hasn't come home by now, there's probably a good reason for that.
- What do you mean? - Sayin' maybe he doesn't wanna be found.
Maybe he's happy.
Yeah, or maybe your whole theory's wrong and he's D-E-A-D.
- Iz. - Does that mean the fish ate his B-O-D-Y?
Yeah, okay, look.
Either way, you have to start covering new stories.
Really, you need to take a break from this, start doing some normal kid stuff.
You understand?
All right, listen up.
This change in our living situation, it's gonna affect everyone here,
so does anyone have any questions, concerns about Pop-Pop moving in?
- Izzy, come on. Talk to me. - I'm good.
How do you feel about all this?
Ginny, do you have any questions, sweetie?
Is Pop-Pop gonna be okay?
_
You need to take a break from this. You need to start sleeping again.
Understand?
_
Whistler was, like, really boring.
I keep telling my dad we need to go
somewhere warm for the winter. Like, duh.
I'm so glad we did Mexico instead this year.
Hey, Izzy.
Where'd you go for break?
Another photoshopped trip to Paris?
No. We just stayed here.
'Cause my grandpa's sick. So we couldn't go anywhere this time.
But we go to cool places, so...
_
We better get 200 subscribers today.
Hi, have you subscribed to The Magic Hour Chronicle?
There's a student discount on the back.
Hi, have you subscribed to The Magic Hour Chronicle?
There's a student discount on the back.
"Vigilantes for truth"?
She thinks she's such a big deal just because some article she wrote
got picked up by The New York Times.
Actually, it was syndicated by several national papers.
Okay. No one reads newspapers anyways.
Well, I think you'll be happy to know that the war on the press
led to a rise in popularity of investigative journalism.
Right, guys?
On your way to class?
Yes, ma'am.
Have you subscribed to The Magic Hour Chronicle...
Go.
_
Promise to be nice and quiet for Mommy while she gets some work done?
It's one of your last days at the office before school starts,
so you gotta work really hard on your artwork, okay?
Hey. Excuse me. Hi.
- Hi. - Excuse me.
Hey, do you mind signing the petition to have Principal Kim Collins removed?
"For harboring a criminal and endangering the lives of our children."
I hope you people are joking.
That's a hard pass for me. Thanks.
Liskos.
Look, I respect your constitutional right to gather signatures,
but do you know if that right extends to my place of business?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Have a good day. Come on, sweetie.
She thinks she's such a big deal just because some article she wrote
got picked up by The New York Times.
Welcome to HQ. This is where we work on our stories.
Pretty cool, right?
You cover enough stories, you stop believing in magic.
- What do you mean? - Nothing, sweetie.
It's a great hideout.
Hey, Hilde. What's up?
My parents think I'm gonna let go of the Richie Fife case.
But I think something happened in this town,
and that's why he got taken.
So we're gonna follow every story,
every lead, until one day we're gonna...
- Finally gonna give up? - No.
It's gonna lead us back to him.
Oh, no.
This is not good.
It's been raining so much. It must've flooded.
- Hilde. - Come on.
Let's get this stuff out of here.
_
Okay. First things first. I wanna see if there are any other reports
on loud booms or flashes of light around town last night.
You mean lightning and thunder? Case closed.
No, it was different from lightning and thunder. It was bigger.
Well, it's been Erie Harbor's wettest season on record.
It's not gonna let up anytime soon.
With climate change,
there's gonna be a lot more superstorms where there shouldn't be.
No, guys. It was different.
It woke me up. It was really loud.
It was like some... It was like some big explosion or something.
- We should call Water and Power. - Good idea.
I'll go talk to Trip.
_
It's unusual for a pressure system moving that far north of the Atlantic.
- Hey, Mr. Morton. - Hey, Hilde.
Got enough right there. You gotta...
No coffee for you, ma'am.
- Hey, Trip. - Hey.
I mean Sheriff Johnson, sir. I mean ma'am.
I need your help.
Why is everybody staring at me like that?
Can you blame 'em?
I mean, look what you did to Sheriff Briggs.
Savage.
Besides, there's a new guy in the office and everyone's on edge.
Who is he?
Look, you should come back later because...
- Sheriff Johnson. - Yeah?
- May I have a word with you? - Sure.
Who do you belong to?
I'm Hilde Lisko. I'm a reporter.
Look, I just need to know if there were any other reports
on a loud boom or a bright flash of light around 2:00 a.m.?
Sheriff Johnson, please tell me you're not leaking information to this...
- small person? - Sir, I'm a member of the press,
- and we have a right... - Of course not.
We were just gonna call her parents to come and get her.
Great.
It was nice to meet you, Mister...
It's Rutherford.
- First name? - Yeah, no.
No, you don't have a first name, or no,
you don't want to give it to me?
Hilde.
Let's go.
Who is that guy?
You can't keep coming in here, Hilde.
I'm sheriff now, and I got a whole new set of things I gotta deal with.
Like what?
Well, for one, there's a lot of egos going on out there.
Is that guy your boss?
The state attorney general sent him in after what happened with Sam's case.
He's here to write a report for the AG.
- And then what? - Ma'am.
Then he gets to decide who keeps their job.
So, yeah. In a way, he's my boss.
First time I get any real power,
and they hired a guy who looks like the other guy to come in above me.
You don't need a boss.
You are the boss.
Okay, then.
So could you just tell me if you have anything on a strange event last night?
I don't have to come to the station.
We can meet up in secret,
- just like All the President's Men. - Look.
Now, you know how I feel about you.
I am so proud of everything that you're doing.
But I can't be your source anymore.
Hilde! Look, I'm sorry.
Really? So you gonna make me chase you out here?
Hilde. Hilde!
Come on. You know how it is.
In this town, you and I, now we may be the first,
but we have to make sure we are not the last.
We are held to a different standard.
Exactly. Which is why we can't back down.
It's a tough time right now.
Rutherford is watching my every move.
If I stopped reporting every time someone scared me,
I would never get a story.
I just... I got what I wanted. You know, for people to start taking me seriously.
And now it's even harder because no one will talk to me.
- You know what I mean? - Yeah. I do.
I'm sorry.
The explosion was a transformer at my dad's farm, okay?
- Was it an accident? - He doesn't think so. But, Hilde,
there's bigger stuff going on here
besides you and me and our relationship.
If I get caught feeding you information,
I'm out of a job, and nothing we did here means anything.
Everything just goes back to the way it was.
But I can help you and your dad, and I...
Look, no. Hilde, I cannot be your source.
I need to focus on doing this job right and obviously keeping it.
Sorry.
_
Hi, Mr. Johnson. I'm Hilde Lisko.
I know who you are. My daughter talks about you plenty.
Besides, I know your grandfather.
Mind if I take a few pictures for The Magic Hour Chronicle?
Go right ahead.
So you think it got struck by lightning?
Well, that's what they want you to think.
- "They" who? - The guys over at Wott Management.
Been trying to buy my land for the last few months,
but I told 'em I'm not gonna sell.
Not in this lifetime.
Turned 'em down again last week.
Then all of a sudden, they stopped calling.
Next thing I know, they're flying helicopters low,
scaring my animals, trying to intimidate me.
I even found some dead cows over in one of my fields.
Now this.
They can't do that. Force you to sell your own land.
Yeah, you'd think so.
But now they got some fancy legal BS they're trying to pull on me.
Don't suppose you know a good lawyer.
- _ - Okay. So, if you have any questions, call me.
I will have your paperwork ready for you to sign by the end of the week.
Okay? Have a good day.
- Hi. How are you? - Hey. Hi.
I'm good. Good to see you.
- Hi, Junior. - Hi.
Hilde gave me a little bit of background on your case,
which I guess sounds ridiculous since she's a child.
Oh, no.
I know all about little girls who come into this world way beyond their years.
Well, have a seat.
- Come here. - Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay.
You know, my family owned a dairy farm outside of town for,
what is it, going on 50 years, right, Daddy?
- 53 to be exact. - Wow.
And I don't do much farming out there anymore,
but I use the barn for a glorified animal rescue.
A couple months ago,
this company, Wott Management, tried to buy it.
Must wanna build a new subdivision or something.
An offer is always flattering, but...
Holy... Oh, my God. That is a lot of money.
Especially for this area. That's gotta be way above market.
- So, what's the issue? - Me.
I don't wanna sell. Ever.
With all due respect, with the money they're offering,
you could easily buy another farm and have plenty left over.
Well...
It's not about the money.
See, back when my old man bought this place,
it was something for a Black man to have that kind of land. You know?
- Yeah. - And I was born and raised there.
I'm sorry. I didn't realize you grew up here.
No, I didn't, technically.
My grandfather passed away when I was in high school,
so Dad moved us here and took over the farm.
We have a lot of memories there.
It's like that land is our family.
They're not gonna be happy,
but I could draft a letter to reject their offer.
We already did that.
And now they're threatening eminent domain.
Eminent domain?
Are they a government contractor?
Must be.
Do you know anything else about Wott Management?
Never heard of 'em.
Couldn't find hardly anything on the Internet.
But wait, does eminent domain really mean
that they can just pay us a pittance
and throw us off our own land?
Unfortunately, it's possible.
But you and I, we're not gonna let that happen.
- Girls, they're here. Let's go. - Oh, my gosh.
Pop-Pop!
Yeah, okay. Take it easy. Take it easy, please.
Thank you.
- Welcome home, Pop-Pop. - And who have we got here?
Mommy?
Come here, whoever you are.
Let's show Grandpa his new room.
Three, two, one.
What do you think, Pop?
That can't be there.
- What? - No, no.
You'll love it. I tried it out actually.
- It's super comfy. - No.
It doesn't belong there.
Oh, no, no. I gotta move this bed.
- Dad, come on. What are you doing? - It shouldn't be here.
Let me do it. Stop. Come on. Stop it.
Maybe he wants his old room back.
Or he could take Ginny's room, and she could sleep with me?
That's really nice, sweetie, but you know what?
Pop-Pop can't make it up the stairs. It's not safe for him.
- Hey, why don't you go play that record? - Really?
You wanna sit down?
All right.
That's it.
All right?
- Can I get you anything? - No.
- Okay. - You wanna dance, Pop-Pop?
There you go. There you go.
All right.
_
- Is everything okay, Scout? - Yeah.
It's just that I've been thinking about what you said.
That maybe Richie doesn't wanna come back.
Oh, Hilde. Please, come on.
- Please. - But what if that's not it?
What if...
What if he's already here?
What are you talking about?
Do you ever feel like somebody's just watching you?
I just mean, like a feeling.
No.
Okay.
Yeah, what are you working on, anyway?
_
"How to be a kid."
What about you?
_
Just another crab story.
I thought it was clams.
Yeah, clams. That's what I said.
Yeah, right.
Excuse us.
Hi. Who are you guys?
I'm Hilde Lisko. This is Donny, and this is Spoon.
We kinda got our old librarian fired for helping a kidnapper,
but we hope to get off on a better foot with you.
Unless you've been convicted of a felony,
in which case, you should probably consider quitting.
Well, I really like your paper.
- You do? - Yep.
I studied library sciences in college, so... pretty weird.
Cool.
So what can I do for you?
I'm looking into a company called Wott Management.
I couldn't find anything online.
Strange.
Let's split up.
Junior thinks these Wott people are trying to scare him off his land.
He says they blew up his transformer.
He thinks they killed some of his animals too.
But who's Wott Management?
And why do they want his land?
They're trying to use eminent domain to kick him off his land.
Why would they want it?
Well, what else is around there?
Right next door is this fancy mansion.
It's called the Catherine Woodruff Mansion.
I wonder if they're trying to buy that place too.
Hilde. What are you doing?
Shouldn't you be in class right now?
You are so smart, and so driven.
- But your grades really... - Suck?
Technically, I am not supposed to say it like that,
but I talked to your parents.
Last semester, you missed several days of school,
and your grades really suffered.
I know. And I promise I'll try really hard not to let it happen again.
That's an interesting choice of words.
"I promise I'll try" and not "I promise I will."
And since you are a writer, I am going to assume that was intentional.
So, I'll be watching you.
Yes, Principal Collins.
Are you okay?
You know, after all the holidays and stuff,
my dad says that people that have
loved ones in prison need extra support.
Go back to class.
What are you doing?
Studying.
No, you're not.
Just put my books away.
Why would you put your books away
if you're not finished with your lunch?
God, okay, Benedict Cumberbatch, I get it. I'm lying.
- Are you hiding from someone? - No.
Just...
I don't know. It just feels weird being here without Ethan, you know?
Not really.
I mean, like...
I didn't really realize how many friends I don't have until I got here.
Jessica Fife is trolling me.
Like, she keeps DMing me, but I just keep ignoring her.
How's that trolling?
Because I've spoken to her approximately twice.
And the second time ended with me punching her in the face.
Maybe she wants to be friends with you now.
God, Hilde, look.
I know you're like this, like, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist,
but you literally suck at human people.
No, I do not think she wants to be friends.
Well...
I may not know people, but I know you.
And in my opinion,
you're the best, coolest,
smartest sister in the whole wide world.
And anybody would be lucky to be friends with you.
You know what I do when I get scared or nervous?
I put my head down and I work.
It always makes me feel better to know
that no matter what, I'm a journalist.
No one gave that to me, so no one can take it away.
And you don't have no friends.
You have me.
Thanks.
_
God, that was like a horror movie.
Why do you keep blocking me?
Well, why you trying to follow me?
I was trying to invite you to my sweet 16,
but now I have to do it in person
with a paper invitation like it's the '90s or something.
_
Yeah, I know, super gross.
My mom made me get them so she could,
like, scrapbook them or whatever.
You want me to come to your birthday party? Why?
I guess your family did a lot for my family, or whatever.
But thank you.
Thanks.
You know, I don't think I've ever actually talked to you for this long before.
Okay, I'm not gonna lie. When you first came here,
I thought you were gonna come in and try to, like, take over the entire school.
- Wait, are you kidding? Me? - I don't know.
I honestly thought maybe you thought you were better than us or something,
just because you're from Brooklyn.
And I have always wanted to go to New York.
Well, yeah, it's the best.
Okay, look, if I come to your birthday,
you're not gonna, like, pour a bucket of pig's blood on me, are you?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
It's from a movie. Carrie?
Whatever. Besides, I'm a vegetarian.
I'll see you later?
Yeah.
_
Why do you even wanna go to this thing anyways?
Did you know that sweet 16s were invented
so girls could dress up and find rich husbands?
There are so many things wrong with that.
I don't even know where to start.
- Great, then don't. - What?
Start.
What about this one?
No. I need something that, like, an annoying Instagram influencer
would post in, like, a flower crown filter or something.
The theme is Coachella.
You know?
It's basically like a veiled excuse for underage drinking and drug use
in a place where it'd take a very long time to get competent medical care.
See? I told you Jessica wanted to be friends.
Yeah, I don't know. It still feels weird.
Where is this thing, anyway?
Some fancy house, I guess.
The Catherine Woodruff Mansion.
Catherine Woodruff?
You mean the mansion right next to Trip's dad's farm?
Yeah, okay. I'm gonna take that as a personal point of pride
that I have no idea what you're talking about right now.
Could you text Donny? "I have a plan..."
No.
Here.
Thank you.
So what are we doing?
We're gonna crash a party to see if the Woodruff Mansion has
anything to do with what's been going on at Junior's farm.
Party? Let's do this.
Find anything on Wott Management?
Hi. How are you?
You got, I don't know, schoolwork...
- School. I think there was school. - ...or homework...
or anything that kids... normal kids do?
Actually, I'm going out later with Donny and Spoon to a par...
Where are you going later?
Nowhere.
To Donny's. To Spoon's.
There will be adults there.
Adults.
God, you are such a bad liar. What are you up to?
All right, Iz. Let's see what you got.
Oh, honey.
- Wow. - Did you try it on?
Yeah.
Yeah, I know it's, like, kinda weird, and it definitely doesn't fit,
and the fabric's, like, totally gross.
But I don't know, there's just, like, something about it.
- Matt. - Dad, shut up.
- I like it. - Stop.
- God, did I make a horrible mistake? - No, you did not.
You know what? Let's Pretty in Pink it.
What's Pretty in Pink?
You pick. Pink or green?
- Pink. We gotta do pink, right? - Pink.
Okay, okay. So this is a pretty big older kid party.
So I don't want you drinking anything you didn't pour for yourself.
You know what, scrap that.
I don't want you drinking anything at all, all right?
Remain dehydrated at all times.
I'm serious, no liquids.
- Deal? - Yes, deal.
- Okay. - Geez, Dad. You okay?
You seem more nervous than I am.
Look, just call me, please. All right? You call me.
You call me if anything happens. You need a ride home, you call me.
Just call me, all right?
- No questions asked, just call me. - Okay. Okay.
Dad, we used to live in Brooklyn.
Okay, you let me ride the bus by myself when I was, like, 13.
Yeah, yeah. And I've been regretting it ever since.
- So what is your point? - I'll be fine, Dad.
Will you just please drop me off over there instead?
- Have fun, honey! - Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Dad, has she really been on speakerphone the entire time?
Make good choices!
Oh, my God. Dad! Why?
- Bye. - I love you, Iz!
We love you! You look amazing.
Yeah, and I will kill anyone who even looks at you, all right?
- Stop. - No, sorry.
I mean, I will teach you to kill them!
'Cause you are a strong and powerful woman!
Yes!
Yes. Oh, my God. What is happening right now?
I thought you said we weren't wearing costumes.
This isn't a costume. It's a conversation piece.
- Hey, Izzy, you came. - Oh, my God, Jessica.
I'm so sorry. I didn't even know they were coming.
I shouldn't even have told her about it in the first place.
This is it. This is my pig's blood.
No, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Everyone here thinks she's, like, too big for her britches or whatever.
Give me one second.
Uh-oh. Incoming.
Hey, you guys. Do you mind if we get a photo?
- Got it. - You guys have fun tonight, okay?
Well, let's go. We've got work to do.
Come on.
No offices or file cabinets anywhere.
We need to find out who owns this house
or why this land is so valuable.
Wait, look. Who's that guy?
I don't know.
Drawers.
Guys, look.
Wait. What do you think is in there?
No! No, thank you. I am not going down there.
But we have to figure out what's there.
Or we could just leave.
There could be a whole vault of secret files down there.
Or not.
Fine, I'll go.
Wait, Hilde.
- Here. - Thank you.
_
Hello? Someone out there?
Someone doesn't want us down here.
Guys, did you hear that sound? Guys?
Guys, I need your help!
- Hilde! - Guys!
- No, what? What is happening? - Go. Come on.
Hilde, what's wrong?
What did you see down there?
I don't think Richie Fife's the only secret in Erie Harbor.
_
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