Hello.
Where are you right now?
Right now I am on my way to South Dakota.
Gonna do a little camping, do a little fishing.
Good for you, Colter.
It is important to take time for yourself.
You have a job for me, don't you?
St. Louis, Missouri. $20,000 reward
to find a witness who saw a murder.
Offered by Stephanie Porter, 16 years old.
She's 16 years old
and she's offering a $20,000 reward?
She started a fundraising web page
to raise money for her father's appeal.
I find it really sweet, actually.
Her father Clay Porter
was convicted of murdering
his business partner, a man named Avery Engram.
Got 30 years.
You mentioned something about a, uh, missing witness?
Stephanie says that there's somebody out there
who could help with her father's case,
but there's no proof they actually exist.
It might just be a sweet kid
who wants to believe that her father is someone
other than who he is.
Yeah, okay, all right, you got me.
South Dakota can wait. Let's set up a meeting.
Maybe Reenie could consult? Lots of ins and outs
with this one already having been investigated
and tried before a jury...
Okay, yeah, I'll leave it to you to figure out the split.
Call you when I'm in St. Louis.
That's me and my dad.
That's all of us in Florida for spring break.
And that's his business partner Avery.
See? They were friends.
I just know my dad didn't kill him.
I don't care what anybody says. He wouldn't lie to me.
Mrs. Porter, what do you think?
Please. Deborah.
And I admire my daughter's passion,
but I am worried that you're not going to find anything.
Mom, he didn't do it,
and you said it yourself.
The investigation his legal team did wasn't great.
Of course he didn't.
And yes.
I think Clay's public defender
had limited resources.
But it's been a year.
There's been a trial.
No one has come forward, and I think
that maybe we did the best we could.
I think Mr. Shaw can help us.
You mentioned a missing witness?
Someone sent me an anonymous message
on my fundraising page.
Here.
Take a look.
"There's a witness that knows your father is innocent."
You have no idea who sent this?
We don't.
That's what you do, isn't it?
Find missing people?
I do.
This is our only chance to save his life.
I want to believe there's a witness
out there that can exonerate him, too.
With all my heart, I do.
But I worry that we've exhausted
every avenue and...
I just want to do whatever's best for Stephanie.
It's hard to...
hear things about your father, about your husband
that you feel might not be true.
I know something about that.
My father had a lot of secrets.
It was very hard on my mother.
It was very hard on all of us.
So...
...you're taking the job.
Right, Mr. Shaw?
Let me see what I can find out about that witness.
You want my opinion?
Clay Porter is guilty, end of story.
But what about him maintaining his innocence?
Colter, you may want to sit down for this.
But, um, people who murder
often also lie.
Yeah, what if he's not lying?
Based on what? Based on the fact that no one saw Clay kill anyone.
Okay.
Let's review the facts, shall we? Come.
Come, come, come.
Okay, so...
Clay Porter and Avery Engram
ran a business together, an asbestos removal company.
Homeowners move out while the work is done.
On the night of the murder, Clay returns to a home
where they're working, and guess what he finds.
His business partner Avery running an illegal poker game
inside the clients' house. Yes, I know.
Except he doesn't just find it.
Porter blows his top.
You've got-- count 'em-- one, two,
three, four people who independently witnessed
Porter hit Avery.
Threatened to kill him, and then, oh,
lo and behold, the coroner reports
that Avery was dead due
to blunt force trauma to the head
an hour after his fight with Clay.
I mean, this is what you call a slam dunk.
No one saw him kill anyone.
No, but his attorney never found
any other witnesses.
I mean, you're the probabilities guy, you tell me,
what are the chances that Clay Porter
is actually innocent, hmm?
Low, very low.
But I made a promise to his daughter.
Colter.
You find missing stuff for reward money.
You don't exonerate convicted murderers.
Reenie, what's missing is the witness.
Oh, I get it.
This is personal.
Look, I haven't forgotten what you told me about your brother
and how he... Okay, that's...
Come on, Reenie.
You like this, huh?
You kind of like it.
Just admit it, you like helping people.
It beats filing briefs.
And...
yeah, I kind of like this.
Okay, and there you have it.
And the coffee's good.
So, okay, therapy session over?
What's next?
What's next is, I go talk to Clay Porter.
I knew she was raising money online.
Said it was to help pay for a better investigation.
You really think there's a witness?
That's why I'm here talking to you.
Let's start with what happened between you and Avery Engram.
I did not kill Avery.
What happened the night of the murder?
I go to check on this big job we have.
House was all wrapped, ready for removal.
I go in,
and there's Avery running a poker game.
Like not a friendly game.
In a house that we're supposed to do a job in.
That made you mad.
So mad you wanted to kill him?
No, no, I mean, look, I lost my temper, I admit that.
And I said all kinds of crazy stuff,
but it was just words.
You were mad that he was
cutting you out of the poker winnings?
Hell no, man.
That is not who I am.
Look, Avery had his side hustle.
But that night he crossed the line.
It put the business in danger.
And I busted my ass off
to build this business, and there he goes behind my back.
Avery was always up to something.
Getting mixed up in all sorts of shady stuff.
Look, he stayed in his lane
and we were cool.
But that night?
Hell, he messed up.
And he knew it, too.
Do you think he got mixed up with the wrong crowd,
that's what got him killed? I don't know.
It's possible, though.
He was running with some pretty heavy cats.
And what do you know about this mysterious witness?
I got no clue.
I thought everybody left.
Me and Avery talked it out, and he promised he'd do better.
And then what, what'd you do? I went home.
Left Avery to clean things up.
Next morning, the cops rolled up and...
I'm still here.
Now, if you're lying, you are gonna break
your daughter's heart. She's never gonna recover.
I would never do anything to hurt her.
Never.
I swear to you, I'm innocent.
If there's a witness out there, I'll find 'em.
Normally I'd ask Bobby to help me
on this one, but he's helping his mother move
into a retirement home in Palm Beach,
so he's gone for the week.
Yeah, we will not bother him unless we have to.
The anonymous message sent to Stephanie's fundraiser page
came from a burner phone.
Same burner phone received
a message yesterday.
"Tomorrow night. Ante at 8:00.
"12th and White Oak. Enter through parking garage.
Gold coin."
Sounds like a poker game.
Guessing that "gold coin" is some sort
of token or password to get in.
I'll figure something out.
I'm gonna need you to make a call for me
tonight about 8:00.
All right.
Oh, man, feeling lucky tonight?
What the hell, man? Yeah, I love, I love poker, man.
I... I can't wait to get in there.
Feeling lucky.
Private party, invite only.
Raise 200.
Fold.
Action right out the gate, huh?
Let's make a mess.
Bet a grand.
Out.
Raise to two.
Burn and turn.
Check.
You know what? I'm gonna go all in.
Oh, it's getting hot in here, boys.
Really?
Really.
Yeah, really, you had that with trip-fours.
Right? Six percent chance of hitting, of course you did.
Question is, what do I have?
You know what I'm thinking?
You got nothing.
Maybe. Maybe.
Of course, maybe I have pocket queens,
filled them with fours on the turn.
You don't know what to think right now.
Hands up! On your feet!
Step away from the table!
Freeze!
Thank you.
Well, thanks for bailing me out again.
I'm starting to think you like some part of this.
Either jail or...
me coming to the rescue.
Maybe a little of both.
Here's what I don't understand.
Teddi and Velma call me to bail you out
but then ask me to wait a couple of hours
because you hadn't actually been arrested yet?
Well, I needed time alone with the other players
so I had us all arrested,
see if any of them were the mystery witness.
And did it work?
Any of those guys cross with Clay?
Not yet.
Just give me a, um, give me a minute.
Wait for me outside, okay?
Please? Just give me a minute.
Let me guess.
You're a cop, got the game busted.
I'm not a cop.
The only reason I got out of here
is because I have a really good lawyer.
Then what are you still doing here?
Think maybe you can help me.
Define help.
In this case...
witness to a murder.
No idea what you're talking about.
You sent an anonymous message.
Clay Porter?
He's in prison for killing his business partner.
And either you know something about a witness,
or you enjoy jerking people around.
How'd you know it was me?
Well, it had to have been one of the players
that was invited to that game.
I spent two hours in the cell with the other guys.
It became pretty obvious it wasn't them.
But they keep women in a different holding cell,
so process of elimination.
Now, I'm hoping that you can make good on that message
and help an innocent man get out of prison.
Look, I don't know why I sent that message.
I don't want to get involved.
Could it be because you're a good person?
So you really did all this just to find a witness?
You're really not a cop?
No.
Who's the witness?
A girl named Mallory.
Don't know her last name, just played poker with her some.
We were both there the night of the murder.
Well, what did she see?
After Clay showed up and fought with Avery, we all split.
She said she stuck around.
She went back inside to help Avery clean up or whatever.
Said she was in a backroom, some guy showed up
and killed Avery. Did she give you a name?
No. And I didn't ask.
Mallory said the killer got a look at her,
but she got away.
And that's why she's been hiding out.
On the run ever since.
Whoever killed Avery is still after her.
She knows if she goes to the cops, she's dead.
Hey. Got a lead on our mystery witness.
Name? Mallory.
She went back inside the house, saw the murderer.
Don't suppose you have an address.
No. I'm gonna talk to Clay,
see if he remembers anything about this Mallory woman.
Well, you're going to need me for that, too.
I am?
Yeah, you're gonna want a private conference room.
Attorney/client privilege. Bingo.
Sometimes I think you're actually
learning something from me, Colter.
Who's Mallory?
From the poker game, night of the murder?
Don't speak yet. Give me a dollar.
I don't have a dollar.
Colter. Give him a dollar to give to me.
You really need all these legal theatrics?
Half of law practice is theatrics.
It's called procedure.
Great. Now I'm officially your lawyer
and this conversation is privileged.
Mallory, the girl Avery was seeing?
She was Avery's girlfriend?
She witnessed the murder.
Well, if she saw who killed Avery,
how come she hasn't stepped forward?
'Cause the killer saw her face.
You said it yourself,
Avery was mixed up with some bad dudes.
The only way I can help you and protect Mallory
is if I find her.
I only met her once when she picked up Avery from a jobsite.
What was she driving?
A muscle car.
Pretty sure it was a Dodge Challenger,
about five years old, green.
This is good, right?
It's a start.
Hey, uh, before you go,
is Stephanie doing okay?
She misses her dad.
Wants him home.
Let us get to work on this.
Hey. Any luck finding Mallory?
2017 Dodge Challenger, Kelly green,
registered to a Mallory Banks.
Looks like she went off the grid right after the murder.
She left her job, stopped paying the rent. Poof, gone.
She's on the run. I doubt she kept the car.
You are correct.
The Challenger was sold for cash
at McCabe's Car Zone outside of Kansas City.
Can be there in four hours.
How's he doing?
I told Stephanie she had to stay away.
I don't want her to see him like this.
One of the guards said
you and a lawyer visited him.
Did you find something?
Avery had a girlfriend,
saw everything that happened that night,
possibly in Kansas City,
knows your husband is innocent.
There's a real witness out there for me to find.
But this happened to him because of your investigation.
Didn't it?
Possibly. But why?
Why try to kill Clay?
Because whoever killed Avery
doesn't want the truth to come out.
The only way we can make sure
your husband is safe
is if we prove his innocence.
I got to get to Kansas City.
Please find that witness.
I'll do whatever I can.
Yeah, I heard about what happened with Clay.
It's... It's awful.
You client was shivved in a prison library.
You need to request inmate protective custody for him.
Of course, I'll file a motion right away. Great.
Unless you want to, you're...
kind of his lawyer now, right?
Excuse me?
Oh, I just...
I got a message earlier
from a friend of mine down at the prison,
said some woman showed up claiming to be Clay's lawyer.
I... I assume that was you.
That's right.
Is that-- Is there a problem?
No, not at all.
Barely have the bandwidth to keep up.
Not enough time, money or manpower
in a public defender's office.
Well, then I assume that we're on the same page
and that we both want Clay Porter
to have every chance at a successful appeal.
Are you referring to the magical witness in Kansas City?
How did you know about that?
Clay's daughter, Stephanie, emails me incessantly.
Thinks if we just look harder or pay for investigators,
we'll find new evidence.
I know about this, um, reward hunter she hired,
uh, Colter Shaw I believe his name is?
She says that he found this witness in Kansas City,
told me to get the paperwork ready,
because he's on his way there now.
I feel for her. But you don't believe her.
No one would be happier than me if this witness were real.
But we turned over every stone and found nothing
that pointed to anything other
than Clay Porter being the murderer.
I will be in touch if there are any new developments.
And you'll do the same?
It's important that I'm kept in the loop in case
you and Mr. Shaw manage to actually find this witness.
Yeah. I can probably do that.
Well...
Okay.
Thank you, Mr. Loutreau.
Hold on, I'll call you back.
Howdy. Howdy.
I'm Rico McCabe.
You, uh, buying or selling?
You do both here, right?
You buy, fix and flip, I'm guessing?
You know it.
Just finished with this baby. Ooh.
Supercharged V8, off-road 20-inch wheels.
And it's a skirt magnet too, huh, you know what I mean?
Is that right?
It's a skirt magnet?
Oh.
Uh, silicone sealant throughout.
Mm-hmm.
It'll handle any weather that comes your way.
Pretty nice. Pretty nice.
I was actually inquiring about a different car, though.
2017-ish.
Green. Challenger.
You flipped it a couple months back.
Nothing I can do about that.
If it's sold, it's sold.
It's just really important that I talk to the person
who sold you that car.
Yeah, well, unless you got a badge or a warrant,
I think we're about done.
A man's life is at stake, sir.
Please.
Take a hike.
In you go. Hey, hey!
Son of a... Couple minutes.
Just be a second.
Hey!
Hey, where are you going? Come back here!
You may have saved a man's life today.
Good job.
Yeah, I got the address for Mallory.
I'm here now.
You talk to Clay's lawyer?
Yeah. Just got back to my hotel.
Talked to his lawyer, Grant Loutreau.
Said he'd file a request for inmate protective custody.
Get Clay some protection.
Okay. Great.
Yeah. I guess so.
It's just, I have a bad feeling about this.
What's up?
Well, Loutreau knows you're in Kansas City
to find Mallory.
Stephanie told him.
And now, suddenly this case is a priority for him?
And you think that's a bad thing?
Not necessarily. I just...
I don't like when people know your name, Colter,
or who you're trying to find,
especially if someone is after Mallory.
It makes me nervous, so...
maybe I should call the KCPD, make sure you have backup.
No. Mallory might run.
It's best if I find her first.
All right, just...
be careful.
This isn't the kind of job...
That I normally take. Yeah.
I know. I'll be fine.
Hey, Reenie, I got to go.
Mallory just got home.
Mallory.
Hi. I'm Colter Shaw.
How do you know my name?
I'm not here to hurt you.
Just want to talk to you about Clay Porter.
Who sent you looking for me?
I'm working with Clay Porter's family.
That sounds like a lie to me.
You're gonna tell me how you found me,
or Uncle Max here is gonna beat you to death.
And then, I'm gonna grab my shovel
and dig your grave in my backyard.
Leila Kent.
You used to play poker with her, right?
Was there that night Avery was murdered.
You told her everything that happened that night, right?
Everything you saw.
She's been sending anonymous messages
to Clay Porter's daughter.
Can you prove it? Yeah.
Yeah, my phone. It's...
My left front pocket.
You'll see a number for Stephanie Porter.
It's Clay's daughter.
Call her yourself, ask her.
I'm just trying to help her get her father out of prison.
What do you want me to do, Mal?
Give me the phone.
If you're lying,
Uncle Max goes to work.
Call her yourself. Ask her.
Check the call log.
This morning,
someone tried to kill Clay in prison.
How is that my problem?
Because whoever's responsible knows I'm looking for you.
And if I can find you,
he sure as hell can find you, too.
And whether they kill Clay first or you,
it doesn't matter to them.
In fact, there's a 95% chance
they're on their way here right now.
Who are you so afraid of?
Caesar Ashford.
He's the one who killed Avery.
I mean, I was there.
I was in the back, helping clean up after the game.
And then...
I heard Caesar come in, and he was pissed.
So you hid?
Yeah.
But I could still see them in the other room.
Tell me what you saw.
Caesar started accusing Avery of stealing money,
and Avery tried to explain,
and then he-he just...
You know, he grabbed him and smashed his head
into a desk again and again.
How'd you get out of there?
I ran out another door.
Got to my car as Caesar was coming out the front,
and he got a good look at me as I drove off.
He's just not the type of guy that you testify against
and live to tell about it.
You think Caesar's on his way here?
Yeah. I do.
You got to make a choice.
What are her options?
Well, you could keep running,
looking over your shoulder the rest of your life.
Or I go with you and tell the cops
Caesar killed Avery.
Just hope Caesar doesn't kill me first.
I'm not gonna let that happen.
You have my word.
What do you think?
I spend every moment of every day worrying about you.
I don't think you'll have a better chance than this.
Only you can end this for you and for Clay,
but it's got to be your decision.
What do you want to do?
I got her-- the witness.
I'm taking her to St. Louis first.
The job is done, Colter.
You did your part.
Collect the reward.
I promised I'd keep her safe.
From whom?
Caesar Ashford.
He's the one who killed Avery, not Clay.
Oh... Yikes.
This guy looks like bad news.
Okay, five years for aggravated assault
and armed robbery in Knoxville.
Domestic violence.
We've got gambling.
He was questioned in connection with three murders
in the St. Louis area,
but nobody would testify against him.
And she's been running from him ever since.
All right. I'll share this with Reenie.
All right.
How'd you get into poker?
Never really saw myself driving kids to Little League,
or baking brownies for some husband's
office party.
Just wanted a life with more excitement,
I guess.
Sounds like you found that.
Yeah, baking brownies sounds pretty good
right about now.
I'll get you out of this.
What are you doing?
Reenie. I think you're in danger.
Yeah, I got that.
Caesar found us, not sure how,
but I took care of it.
I think I know who tipped him off to you and Mallory.
It was Loutreau.
Clay's lawyer?
That's the one. I went to the courthouse to look into
this Caesar Ashford guy you texted me about,
and I came across a drug charge
against some local goon that used to worked with Ashford.
And get this,
Loutreau appears to be Caesar's lawyer.
So, Loutreau threw Clay's case
so that no one would go after Caesar
for the murder of Avery.
Loutreau must've told Caesar about the witness.
I knew that there was something off about this guy.
I just knew it.
Get in contact with the A.D.A.
Tell him we're on our way back right now,
and get protection detail for Mallory.
That's my next call. Okay.
Oh. Reenie?
You've been following me, haven't you?
You creep.
Sorry, Ms. Greene,
but you need to come with me.
- She's not answering. - Something's wro--
- Reenie? - Colter Shaw.
Pleasure to make your acquaintance.
We have ourselves a bit of a conundrum.
Say hello to your friend.
Reenie? Reenie?
Don't listen to this wacko,
Colter. If anything happens to her...
Let's not muck this up with feelings, here are the facts.
I have something you want and you have something I want.
All the pieces we need for a trade.
You don't want to do this. Let me stop you there.
If you ever want to see Reenie alive,
you will do what I tell you.
You call the cops and she dies.
Let's talk this through. We can come to a solution.
Oh, we will, when you bring Mallory to me.
I'm not gonna do that.
When you change your mind, there's a warehouse.
South end of the Archway Riverport,
off Hickory and 8th Avenue, top floor.
I'll call you with further instructions when you get there.
What is it?
He said to go to the warehouse
and that he would call me when I got there.
How's he gonna know when I'm there?
He must be tracking my location.
He has Reenie's phone.
He's tracking me with her phone.
He knows my location.
What should we...? We should throw your phone out the window.
No. No, no, no.
I want him to think he's a step ahead.
That's how we tip the cards in our favor.
What's your plan?
You're gonna give me up, aren't you?
Oh, I knew this was gonna get me killed.
It's not gonna happen.
Okay. Where are we going?
We're going to the meet location.
I have to save her.
They're gonna kill me as soon as they see me.
They're gonna try.
I know I've asked a lot of you.
You got to trust me.
I can get us all out of this.
Okay.
I sure hope so.
Is this your thing?
A mob lawyer?
A pawn for Caesar?
I guess it didn't bother you
to let Clay Porter be sent to prison for murder
even though you knew he was innocent.
Yeah. I thought he was guilty.
At least at first.
All the evidence pointed to Clay.
But then you found out about the witness.
I'd defended one of Caesar's guys before.
I got the Porter case, and
Caesar gave me 20 grand.
Caesar Ashford is looking at life in prison,
and you're gonna join him.
Unless you cut your own deal.
You can still do the right thing.
What are you talking about?
Nothing really.
Just let me go.
There's-there's still time to call this thing off,
for both of you.
Okay, I could help you make a deal.
I thought you should know
I've decided to kill you no matter what.
Remember, they know we're here.
Open your phone and give it to me.
Okay.
They're inside.
At the front.
Good.
Let's go get our girl
and end this.
Let's just hope your friend doesn't decide to play hero.
Call your phone from mine.
When he calls my phone,
I want you to answer. Don't say a word.
Just merge the call, okay? Okay.
Then, you're gonna go hide
right over there. Do you see that? Yeah.
Okay. Great. Here.
Take this with you in case you need it.
Point and shoot, okay?
Where are you going? Just do what I told you.
Okay? Yeah.
Still with me? You okay?
Stay hidden. When he realizes
that we're not here, he's gonna circle back around to the front.
And when he does, I'll be waiting for him.
Crap. He's calling.
Deep breath.
Answer the call. Don't say a word.
Just merge the call with me. Put the phone down
and hide where I told you.
Loutreau.
Welcome, Colter. Looking forward
to seeing you in person.
I'm here now. What next?
Walk straight ahead towards the emergency exit.
We'll meet you there.
Since you know where I'm at,
why don't you come to me?
I want to see Reenie first. Proof of life.
Fine. We do it your way.
They should be right here.
Damn it.
There you are.
Reenie?
You okay? Yeah.
Come here.
Oh, God.
Out the door, that way. Go, go, go. Yeah? Yeah?
I'm fine.
Hey. Hey. I'm with Colter. I'm with Colter.
Well, it's safe to say,
Grant Loutreau will no longer be defending you.
The appeals board
is meeting next week.
Our new lawyer and the district attorney says
that with Mallory's testimony,
your conviction will be overturned quickly.
And you've been approved for inmate protective custody
so you can continue to heal here at the hospital.
You're not going back to prison.
I-I-I can't believe it. I don't know what to say.
You're coming home, Daddy.
You're coming home.
I can't thank you enough.
For everything.
Don't thank me. Thank Stephanie.
Mr. Shaw. Yeah.
You saved my life.
You gave me a second chance.
You have an amazing family here, sir.
Enjoy each other.
Oh, yeah. I see how it is.
Just skipping town without saying goodbye.
Typical.
What's gonna happen to Mallory?
New name, new location, new life.
She's gonna get a fresh start, and she'll be safe.
Good.
Well...
You know, I'm really glad they didn't kill you.
Wow. Okay. Thank you.
That's so sweet of you,
'cause I'm glad they didn't kill you, either.
Until next time.