Those Empty Eyes

Byron Zell, now accused of possessing child pornography, contacted another law firm to try to get these new charges dismissed. He has evidence that he couldn’t have been at his computer when the incriminating email was sent to Lancaster & Jordan. Even so, he’s distraught by the exposure of his child pornography addiction; he copes with this stress by continuing to masturbate to child pornography. After he masturbates alone in his apartment one night, an intruder kills him and throws photos of child pornography over his corpse.

Tracy Carr is sent on assignment to McCormack University to investigate rumors that Laura McAllister’s death might be connected to Larry Chadwick.

Jacqueline Jordan—the other name partner at Lancaster & Jordan—takes on the case of Matthew Claymore, Laura McAllister’s boyfriend, who is in position to be the lead suspect in the case of her disappearance. Matthew tells Jacqueline that the police have already started contacting him, but he wants representation before responding; Jacqueline confirms that this was the right impulse.

Alex sees in the news that Bryon Zell was found dead. She receives a call from Garrett that the firm has taken on new cases and that her help is needed. Alex asks Garrett if he’s seen the news of Zell’s death; Garrett confirms that he has and tells Alex to steer clear of anything related to Zell, given her recent intrusion into his apartment.

At Matthew Claymore’s apartment, Alex questions him about Laura’s disappearance. Matthew claims that he had nothing to do with it and tells Alex that Laura’s investigation would have made enemies of both the men she planned to expose and the university administration, though he can’t provide any specific names. Alex impresses on Matthew that he must tell her the full truth because she will comb through his whereabouts and discover whether he’s lying, and Matthew reiterates that he’s telling the truth. They piece together the timeline of his whereabouts in the hours before Laura’s disappearance.

Alex assembles and presents her research on Matthew to Jacqueline, expressing her opinion that Matthew was completely uninvolved in Laura’s disappearance. Jacqueline tasks Alex with returning to McCormack and finding more information on Laura.

Annette Packard meets with Larry Chadwick and tells him that because of Laura McAllister’s disappearance, the president is having second thoughts about his Supreme Court nomination. This news distresses Larry, and he asks Annette to convince the president to wait another week before deciding.

Alex meets with Matthew after the first time the police question him. She presses Matthew on what he knows about Laura’s investigation; he tells her that he doesn’t know much and that Laura’s lack of willingness to share any information led them to fight in the hours before she disappeared. He adds that Laura received information through an anonymous email tip system.

Alex breaks into Laura’s apartment and accesses her emails. She finds that the anonymous tip about fraternities using date rape drugs came from someone named Ashley Holms.

Alex locates Ashely and discovers that Ashley gave Laura the tip on behalf of her friend who was raped at the Delta Chi fraternity. When pressed, Ashley admits that her friend believed Duncan Chadwick had raped her. Ashley knows that Laura had finished her investigation and stored the report on a hard drive in McCormack’s locked recording studio.

Alex heads toward the recording studio and, on her way across campus, locks eyes with the reporter Tracy Carr, who seems to recognize her despite her altered appearance. Unnerved, Alex continues to the recording studio, breaks in, and retrieves Laura’s last saved document from the hard drive.

A McCormack professor, Martin Crosby, out for a run, discovers a body in the woods. When the police arrive, they identify the body as Laura McAllister’s.

Alex heads to a bar, where she meets Buck and his friend Hank Donovan, a retired detective. Alex and Buck press Hank for what he knows about the Byron Zell murder. Hank doesn’t know much but reveals that the police found photos of child pornography scattered on Zell’s corpse—a detail that disturbs Alex because it recalls the method of her family’s murder.

Annette Packard, sitting in the same bar that Alex just left, chats with her old friend Hank Donovan. Annette grabs the water glass that Alex just used. She intends to tap Alex for information about Larry and Duncan Chadwick but, before doing so, wants to run a background check on Alex.

Back in her apartment, Alex adds a photo of Byron Zell to the board she uses to collect information about her family’s murder. Jacqueline arrives at the apartment and tells Alex that Laura’s body was found and Matthew was detained for questioning because his backpack was found by the body. Laura’s corpse is being tested for DNA evidence, which will provide more definitive information about Matthew’s involvement. Alex shares what she learned about Laura from the pilfered report: Laura assembled evidence linking Duncan Chadwick to the rape.

While in the apartment, Jacqueline sees Laura’s board and tells her that her work investigating her family’s murders is important and she should continue.

Alex heads to a café to continue her work, where she’s interrupted by Annette Packard. Annette introduces herself and tells Alex that since she’s working on an investigation into Larry Chadwick and knows that Duncan is potentially involved in the scandal surrounding Laura, she wants to get information from her about Laura McAllister. Annette knows that Alex has information because she saw Alex break into Laura’s apartment. She also reveals that she knows about Alex’s past because of the background check she ran. Annette says that if Alex gives her information, she’ll use her sway at the Justice Department to return the favor, however Alex wishes.

As Tracy Carr reviews the footage from McCormack, she realizes that the woman she made eye contact with on campus was Alexandra Quinlan.

Jacqueline calls Alex, alerting her to a breaking news story: A man named Reece Rankin, a mechanic from Maryland, has been arrested in the case of Laura McAllister’s murder. His DNA was found all over her body. This arrest doesn’t make sense to Alex because Rankin has no connection to Laura, but Jacqueline tells her that the firm’s only commitment is to Matthew, who is no longer a suspect.

Two weeks after Rankin’s arrest, Alex, still unconvinced of his guilt and unsure why Matthew’s backpack was at the crime scene, meets Annette at the café. Alex expresses her doubts about Rankin and tells Annette that she has Laura’s report linking Duncan to the rape allegations. All the police need to do is test Duncan’s DNA against the rape kit that Ashley’s friend did the morning after her rape. Annette is swayed by this evidence and asks what Alex wants in exchange. Alex reveals that she’d like Annette to help her solve her family’s murders. She takes Annette to her apartment.

Alex shows Annette her board. Annette recognizes some of the faces connected to her family’s murders—Roland Glazer’s and Byron Zell’s. The patterns Alex has uncovered intrigue Annette, and she puts Alex in contact with Lane Phillips, who specializes in uncovering patterns in serial killings.

Annette calls Lane and explains what Alex has discovered so far about her family’s murders. Lane agrees to help on the terms that if he helps solve the case, Annette quits her job at the FBI and comes to work for the company he runs, which makes software to help identify serial killers by finding patterns.