Elsbeth 1x8

1. I always felt safe in my neighborhood.

2. A tree-lined street in the middle of a big city.

3. It's where my dad put me on a school bus

4. for the first time,

5. where he taught me how to ride a bike.

6. God, I miss my dad.

7. But then, my senior year of high school,

8. something terrible happened.

9. Something that would change my life forever.

10. Something that even my daddy couldn't protect me from.

11. I was attacked by a serial mugger

12. on the street I grew up on.

13. After he took my things,

14. he violently pushed me down,

15. shattering the bones in my left foot.

16. I have to use this cane for the rest of my life.

17. But what hurt me the most

18. isn't that I'll have to limp down the aisle

19. when I get married someday,

20. or that I can never go jogging in Central Park.

21. It's that the man who did this to me

22. had mugged five people within a one-mile radius

23. that same week,

24. and law enforcement didn't send a single warning.

25. That's why I created Cerberus,

26. the neighborhood guard dog.

27. Our app lets users send location-based crime alerts

28. in real time.

29. And guess what— our five million users

30. are reporting thousands of crimes daily,

31. preventing bad guys from attacking good people.

32. And with our IPO just around the corner,

33. the time to invest is now.

34. Quinn Powers. Hey.

35. Josh Johnson from the New York View.

36. That's so sweet. All interview requests

37. have to go through my publicist.

38. Oh, I don't think you're gonna want to

39. tell your publicist about this,

40. except for damage control.

41. But I do think it's too late for that.

42. I don't know what you're talking about.

43. Oh, I-I've been working on a piece

44. for a while now, about you.

45. About Cerberus.

46. And it's gonna be big. I think you know why.

47. This is harassment.

48. Oh, no, you can't play the victim with me, Quinn. See,

49. I know everything.

50. And this article— it goes to my editor in a week.

51. I would love to get a statement from you.

52. I mean, just think about all those people

53. inside that building.

54. They'll want to know why this company

55. they poured their hopes and dreams into

56. just went down the drain.

57. Quinn, is this man bothering you?

58. It's fine. I'm fine.

59. He and his dog just frightened me.

60. I was just leaving, but take my card.

61. That's a great dog.

62. Oh, yeah, her name's Gonzo.

63. She's a purebred border terrier.

64. Purebred? Must have cost a fortune.

65. Well, it's a good investment.

66. Come on. Let's go.

67. I think Cerberus is a good investment, too.

68. If it works.

69. Oh, it'll work.

70. Someone is stealing dogs in Park Slope.

71. Put it at the top of the feed.

72. I haven't seen anything about a dognapper

73. on the police scanner.

74. Well, this guy is clearly dangerous.

75. Look at all these flyers. And see that?

76. Wears a long black coat

77. and steals purebreds.

78. What for? For the money,

79. or something worse.

80. The scariest part:

81. he uses a cattle prod to subdue the owners.

82. Should we ask around for some witness accounts first?

83. We usually have at least ten

84. before anything goes into the system.

85. Lina, this app was built on trust.

86. We have to warn the people.

87. If someone had warned me about the serial mugger,

88. I would have never walked home alone

89. after the One Direction concert.

90. You're right. Sorry.

91. Thank you for the accountability.

92. Hello, everyone.

93. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge

94. we're in New York City,

95. the ancestral and unceded territory

96. of the Lenape people.

97. Quinn, you're on mute.

98. Were you doing the land acknowledgement?

99. It's fine. I should just dive in.

100. Okay, so, as predicted,

101. our IPO is still on schedule.

102. Mm! Yay!

103. Our numbers are up. Churn rate is down.

104. The board is happy and brand trust is better than ever.

105. Oh, and we are crushing our trial partnership with the NYPD.

106. I've prepared a 90-minute presentation

107. about our expansion plan,

108. and it would be so great

109. if you could hold all questions until the end.

110. Seriously, don't interrupt me.

111. I'm looking at you, Toby.

112. Men are 33% more likely to interrupt

113. when a woman is speaking as opposed to another man.

114. Don't be that guy.

115. I will stop the meeting.

116. Okay, so, I'm sharing my screen.

117. Don't read my texts.

118. Can everyone hear me?

119. Sure, yeah. Yup.

120. Expansion is exciting.

121. It's rewarding.

122. It's goals. But leading up to it

123. is a sensitive time.

124. Cerberus is about to take over the country,

125. and you are on the ground floor.

126. You are the dream.

127. My dream.

128. I trust you, authentically, with my whole heart.

129. And I know that you'll be mindful

130. for the sake of our collective success.

131. But as a gentle, well-intentioned,

132. humble reminder:

133. do not talk to the press.

134. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak my truth.

135. I think you're making the right decision.

136. Do not give them our truth. Do not let them in

137. on our special, unique journey.

138. Do not leak information.

139. Until we make a killing.

140. Oh!

141. Listing Cerberus on the New York Stock Exchange

142. will be seminal. It's everything we've been working toward.

143. Hell, it's everything every start-up works toward.

144. But only the bravest and the most resilient

145. ever succeed.

146. I believe, earnestly, that we are the bravest.

147. Where is it?

148. We are the most resilient.

149. Where is it?

150. And, without a doubt, we will succeed.

151. Seriously?

152. I am humbled

153. whenever I think about how we will soon

154. show the world that good

155. can prevail in a sea of darkness.

156. Subtle.

157. The world needs Cerberus, especially now.

158. Our work is imperative, and our light will burn bright.

159. Come on, sweetie. It's okay.

160. And as we illuminate the world

161. with our positivity, I promise

162. I will foster a joyful space,

163. free of harm.

164. Cerberus is and always will be

165. a beautiful family.

166. Come... Come on.

167. Get out, you stubborn little bitch.

168. And I know it's kind of ick

169. to talk so much about money,

170. but take solace in the fact

171. that even though we'll be mega-rich,

172. we'll still be doing mega-good.

173. All right, hit me with your questions.

174. Oh...

175. Sorry.

176. Wow.

177. Oh, my gosh.

178. This is the best tomato I've ever eaten.

179. It better be, considering

180. how they chased you out of that co-op.

181. Oh, yeah, thanks for saving me.

182. Why were they so mad?

183. You have to be a member to shop there.

184. Oh, well, that seems exclusive.

185. Mm. Well, Park Slope is bougie like that.

186. I thought Brooklyn was supposed to be edgy and grimy.

187. Well, back in the day, people couldn't afford Manhattan,

188. so they moved to Brooklyn,

189. but now they can't afford Brooklyn, either.

190. Oh, no. So, where do they go?

191. To their parents.

192. Oh. You better get rid of that.

193. Aw, but it cost $12. Mmm.

194. Mmm. This place is gorgeous.

195. Everything is so...

196. precise.

197. Hmm.

198. That's weird.

199. Hmm.

200. Why would someone this organized rip something so carelessly

201. from of the bulletin board? See how the torn paper

202. is left under the pushpin?

203. Well, maybe the dognapper ripped it out.

204. Dognapper?

205. Struck multiple times in the neighborhood.

206. Edwards says

207. there were witness accounts of him entering the apartment

208. late last night on some crime app.

209. Aw. So cute.

210. Hey. Come here.

211. Is that the young woman from all these articles

212. on the bulletin board?

213. Hmm. Looks like it.

214. So, nothing was found that could identify him?

215. Culprit left no trace.

216. Are you absolutely sure?

217. Sorry, yeah.

218. I love your app, by the way.

219. I really think it's gonna change our field.

220. Oh, thank you. That is so sweet.

221. I can work my way around any UI,

222. but some of these dinosaurs better start taking lessons.

223. Well, I hope it just helps you catch

224. the dognapper. This is all so scary.

225. Hi. Oh!

226. Are you a witness? Don't mean

227. to interrupt. Sure you don't.

228. No, not a witness.

229. I've never been here before.

230. I'm a friend of Josh's.

231. He was writing a profile on me.

232. When I saw what happened on Cerberus, I-I rushed over.

233. Yeah, how does that work?

234. You get a crime alert and location pin.

235. Oh, wow.

236. That's lot of alerts about long, black coats.

237. Which makes sense, because everyone in New York

238. seems to wear one.

239. Well, except for me.

240. I prefer a little color.

241. I'm sorry, do I know you?

242. I-I meet so many people these days.

243. Oh, I meet so many people these days, too.

244. I just moved here from Chicago.

245. Elsbeth Tascioni.

246. The consent decree.

247. Love consent. So important.

248. Thank you. Um, and judging

249. from all the articles on Josh's bulletin board,

250. you're important.

251. Quinn Powers is the CEO of Cerberus.

252. The app was the first to report the dognapper in Park Slope.

253. Oh, you live in Park Slope, too?

254. I live downtown.

255. That's where Josh and I would meet

256. for our little interviews

257. because he was always walking his darling little dog.

258. Oh, because like you said,

259. you've never been here before.

260. I found it!

261. I found the murder weapon.

262. That dognapping devil

263. dumped it in a trash can two blocks over.

264. A cattle prod. Just like Cerberus said.

265. Take this

266. into evidence.

267. Yes, ma'am. Oh, sorry.

268. So, that dognapper

269. used the cattle prod to do what?

270. Subdue owners and steal purebreds.

271. Huh. But why would they

272. throw it away? I mean, wouldn't they need it for the next time?

273. Oh, there won't be no next one. And who are you?

274. Mimi Bladmire. I walk the dogs around here.

275. And I'm gonna find Gonzo. Mark my words.

276. You must really love dogs.

277. Well, they're so much better than people.

278. This must be so hard for you,

279. with so many of them being stolen.

280. Well, Gonzo's the only one that I know that got taken,

281. but when I see those posters,

282. I feel sick

283. over every little missing angel.

284. I mean, you seem like you would know all the dogs

285. in the neighborhood. It's strange

286. that you don't recognize the others.

287. Not necessarily.

288. There's more dogs than people

289. in New York these days. Especially since

290. the pandemic. Oh, look—

291. your cane

292. is the same size

293. as that cattle prod. Huh.

294. I feel...

295. triggered. I... She survived

296. an attack when she was a teen.

297. Oh. Can I get you water?

298. I-I think I need a safe room.

299. I'm sorry. I have to go.

300. Kind of a weird life choice— inventing a crime-focused app

301. if she's triggered by violence.

302. I think it's brave. I hope she's okay.

303. I would love to talk to her some more,

304. once she's had time to recover.

305. Court appearance on Thursday. Yeah, I know.

306. Hey.

307. So this is what Lieutenant Noonan was hiding.

308. Every single FlairAll document has my signature on it.

309. And only yours.

310. This makes you accountable.

311. How close is Celetano

312. to launching a full investigation on me?

313. Oh, gosh.

314. I don't know.

315. I mean, as a lawyer, in your professional opinion.

316. In my professional opinion, you don't have much time.

317. I can't let that happen. Well,

318. if you didn't do this, then the truth... Won't matter.

319. An investigation alone will tank Payne Wagner's Foundation.

320. It'll tank all the hard work

321. that we've done to help those kids.

322. It'll tank Claudia's career.

323. I understand.

324. No, you don't.

325. You talk about the truth?

326. Well, that's not enough for people like Claudia and me.

327. We need to be perfect to be trusted.

328. Especially by those people

329. we need to be around to do what we do.

330. And she did that, she's perfect.

331. And she's doing her life's work.

332. And I'm not gonna let him ruin it.

333. I need to get ahead of this.

334. Maybe you should talk to Lieutenant Noonan.

335. You've known him for so long.

336. I do not know who that man is.

337. The man I thought I knew—

338. the one who was the best man at my wedding,

339. the one who held my kids in his arms

340. when they were born,

341. the one who stood by my side

342. when my father died— that man doesn't exist.

343. Is there anything I can do to help?

344. You've been spying on me the whole time

345. and now you want to help?

346. Edwards is here.

347. Says she wants to talk to you about this dognapper case.

348. Thank you, Lieutenant.

349. Let me introduce you to Cerberus Blue,

350. currently being tried out by qualified

351. members of the NYPD. That's me.

352. This is what now?

353. This advanced version of Cerberus

354. not only reports crimes onto a feed

355. based on witness accounts,

356. it has the ability to analyze

357. thousands of crime scene images, data

358. and soundbites in a matter of seconds.

359. Great. I can get rid of my entire staff

360. and finally live in peace.

361. It's not funny.

362. If you don't keep up with new tech,

363. you won't have a job in five years.

364. Well, that's okay, as long you let me

365. ride in your flying car.

366. Ooh, is it self-driving, 'cause we should

367. really have that by now.

368. Captain, Cerberus Blue has already

369. made a rendering of the dognapper.

370. Impressive. Let's see.

371. So, his neck is

372. a different texture from his face.

373. And it says he's between

374. five, four and six, eight.

375. It's not perfect yet.

376. But it's a start.

377. And I was able to upload

378. all the information

379. on the other missing dogs.

380. Oh, those dogs are fake. Excuse me?

381. Mimi.

382. She said she walks all the dogs

383. in Park Slope,

384. but she only recognized Gonzo, so where did

385. the other dogs on the flyers come from?

386. If they were from Park Slope,

387. Mimi would have known them.

388. You go hang with the crazy dog lady.

389. I'll focus on the data. Let's see

390. who finds the suspect first.

391. Ooh, a challenge. How fun.

392. Uh-uh. I don't have time for this.

393. Hey.

394. So, I noticed something.

395. This morning, there was a garage collapse

396. in Park Slope with multiple injuries.

397. Plus two manhole fires.

398. Ouch. No, it's terrible.

399. But the dognapper story

400. is still at the top of the Cerberus feed.

401. Huh.

402. It's like Cerberus is pushing

403. the dognapper story.

404. Mm-hmm.

405. Oh!

406. Elsbeth, right?

407. What a surprise.

408. Quinn. I-I'm...

409. surprised you retained my name.

410. Most people don't.

411. Ooh, I love your headband.

412. That pattern is so

413. colorful, like fireworks.

414. Do you always wear one?

415. Oh, this is

416. probably a generational concept.

417. It's a branding thing.

418. How so?

419. I was wearing a headband like this

420. the night that I was attacked.

421. That's why I always have one on

422. when I talk about Cerberus. It reminds people

423. how important the work is.

424. What a powerful story.

425. And brand.

426. I went through a long winter

427. where I tie-dyed all my socks.

428. It ruined my washer,

429. but I learned that the magic of tie-dye

430. is that it never comes out the same.

431. True. I have a rotation.

432. Fans make them for me.

433. Oh, fans. Wow!

434. That's so fun.

435. Well, I love your office.

436. I mean, look at all this cool stuff.

437. It's good for morale.

438. Everyone's working long hours for low pay until the IPO.

439. Oh, I guess you have a lot riding on the growth—

440. ooh— of the company. Well, we all do.

441. Cerberus is more than a business, it's a family.

442. We authentically believe in our mission.

443. That's what, um, I came here to talk to you about.

444. Detective Edwards

445. showed me all the great things

446. that you're doing here.

447. Oh, that is so sweet.

448. But the Cerberus Blue trial is for law enforcement evangelists.

449. You have to pass a technology proficiency exam to qualify.

450. Do you have to pass an exam to be an investor, too?

451. You? Mm-hmm.

452. Oh, well, um,

453. gee, thanks, but at this stage,

454. we're really only courting major institutional investors.

455. Investment firms, banks,

456. major pension funds, that sort of thing.

457. Well, that's great, because I have a lot of connections

458. in finance, especially in Chicago.

459. Chicago?

460. That's an untapped pool.

461. We have been trying to break in for ages.

462. Oh, well, maybe I can help you with that.

463. Shoot. I have to go to a meeting.

464. But Toby, our investment coordinator, would

465. love to talk to you.

466. He is right over there on the yoga ball.

467. You're all so young.

468. Thank you.

469. Can I... can I try this?

470. Just don't hurt yourself, okay? Okay.

471. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation.

472. Oh, yeah, me too.

473. Oh, and, uh, Quinn, before I forget.

474. Why did you make the company meeting virtual

475. on the night of Josh Johnson's murder?

476. Why do you ask?

477. You're so charismatic in person.

478. Someone on the team had COVID.

479. Aw.

480. Okay.

481. I'll see you in a little while.

482. Hi, Toby.

483. Beep, beep, beep.

484. Hi, I'm... Elsbeth.

485. I know. Quinn texted me already.

486. I heard you can hook us up in Chicago.

487. And if you don't mind, please sanitize before contact.

488. Oh, wow.

489. Thanks for the reminder.

490. All good.

491. All hands need to be on deck right now,

492. so we're taking every precaution.

493. Well, that must have been extra stressful when someone

494. on your team got COVID right before the last company meeting.

495. What?

496. Oh, oh, yeah. I mean,

497. everyone on the team tested negative

498. that day, so we figured it had

499. to be the janitor or something.

500. We did all still go out for kombucha after,

501. but we masked between sips.

502. Oh, that sounds

503. refreshing.

504. Do you happen to have a recording

505. of that meeting? I used to

506. represent a lot of big Chicago hedge funds,

507. and I would love to show them Cerberus' exciting,

508. youthful energy in action.

509. Did you say hedge funds?

510. Okay, look,

511. I did secretly record the meeting

512. because I'm making a documentary about Cerberus' rise.

513. I'm gonna sell my stocks after the IPO

514. and pursue my dream of becoming an important voice in film.

515. Like the Wayans brothers.

516. I'll send it to you, but you can't tell Quinn.

517. I won't.

518. Can we shake hands now?

519. Expansion is exciting.

520. It's rewarding. It's goals.

521. But leading up to it... Hey. So,

522. I noticed something else.

523. I love it when you notice things.

524. I have read all of Josh Johnson's articles

525. in the New York View. I liked his style.

526. I mean, he was a little mean sometimes,

527. but always honest, had real integrity.

528. But something felt off about his profile on Quinn.

529. The one that was found on his computer?

530. What was wrong with it? Well, it sounded

531. exactly like him, it just didn't

532. feel like him. Does that make sense?

533. Yeah, like those AI remixes

534. of pop songs. They lack—

535. ooh, what's the word— a soul.

536. Yep. So, I ran Josh's article through an AI detector

537. and, sure enough, SmartCheat

538. was used. He plagiarized?

539. Not in any of his other articles, just this one.

540. The man was a

541. Pulitzer finalist. I trusted him.

542. But her, I don't trust.

543. Me either.

544. She said she would stop the meeting

545. if she was interrupted,

546. but Toby tried to three times.

547. Who's Toby?

548. Oh, he's an aspiring filmmaker.

549. Hm. But Quinn didn't even flinch.

550. Uh, Quinn... It's like she didn't hear him.

551. Something's off.

552. Yeah, she seems a little fake.

553. Like a girl in a commercial.

554. Like a brand.

555. We'll still be doing...

556. The headband.

557. What headband?

558. Exactly.

559. She had one when the meeting started

560. and now it's gone.

561. And it looks like she knew it.

562. Hi. Oh.

563. I thought the "family"

564. could use a little snack.

565. It's banana bread.

566. I don't know why it turned out so green.

567. Were the bananas green?

568. No.

569. But that is a good question.

570. I found the recipe on a website.

571. Ooh! Maybe it was written by AI.

572. You can't always trust information you find online.

573. Hmm.

574. How can I help you, Elsbeth?

575. Oh, I just had a question

576. followed by a revelation.

577. Um, are you familiar with SmartCheat?

578. Sure. I wouldn't know how to use it.

579. I actually loved writing my own papers in college.

580. Oh, good for you.

581. Well, the revelation is Josh Johnson's article

582. was written by SmartCheat.

583. Oh, my God. Are you sure?

584. The writing on that was incredible.

585. Oh, you've read it?

586. He showed me a draft.

587. Out of all the profiles written on me,

588. it's actually my favorite.

589. Don't tell The Times.

590. Oh, I won't.

591. Um, but didn't you think it was a little too glowing?

592. No, I've worked very hard to get to where I am.

593. I took my trauma

594. and I turned it into something beautiful.

595. That's exactly what the article said,

596. almost word for word.

597. Probably because everyone writes that about me.

598. SmartCheat produces content

599. by collecting vast data and analyzing patterns online.

600. I thought you didn't know how to use it.

601. I don't. Everyone knows that.

602. Everyone young.

603. You know, I've dated men in the media space.

604. A lot of them are drug addicts.

605. Maybe Josh was involved with some bad people.

606. Like the dognapper.

607. You think the dognapper

608. was Josh's drug dealer?

609. Well, the police didn't find anything

610. in his apartment to indicate

611. he had a problem.

612. Well, they didn't find any evidence right?

613. So frustrating. Poor Josh.

614. Obviously in a bad place,

615. cutting corners in his work.

616. Or maybe Josh was on to something.

617. Like a dog with a bone.

618. His office had all this

619. meticulous research about Cerberus.

620. About you.

621. It's almost as if he was working on

622. something big right up until

623. the moment he died.

624. I wouldn't know.

625. I've never been inside his apartment.

626. Yeah, you mentioned that.

627. Twice, I think.

628. Oh, three times, now.

629. I don't remember doing that,

630. but if I did, I have been in shock

631. over the loss of a friend.

632. I could have said anything to you.

633. Well, I'm gonna go back and see if I can find

634. anything else. And I will

635. keep you updated,

636. since you were friends.

637. I appreciate it.

638. Violent crime has taken so much from me.

639. Hey, Mimi.

640. Hey.

641. Justice for Gonzo.

642. Yes.

643. So, I think Quinn came back here

644. the day after the murder

645. to see if her headband had been collected as evidence.

646. If we can get it...

647. We can get her. I'll start with the bedroom.

648. Hey, is there a way to get into this?

649. No, it's an IR camera, so it's protected with

650. a facial recognition scanner.

651. Yeah. See? So,

652. hypothetically, if Quinn

653. wanted to replace Josh's original article

654. with her plagiarized one,

655. could she have scanned Josh's face

656. even if he was...

657. Easily. I mean, this thing isn't heavy

658. and his body was right here.

659. Ew. Yuck.

660. Any luck with the headband?

661. No, but I did find this yearbook.

662. Ooh, that's where Quinn went to school.

663. He was really thorough with his research.

664. What is the sticky?

665. Oh, he cut out half of page 87.

666. This paper...

667. looks like the piece left under the pushpin.

668. The missing page must have been pinned to the bulletin board.

669. Whoever was here that night tore it down.

670. But why?

671. Do you like a field trip?

672. We have every yearbook

673. preserved in the archives

674. dating back to 1901.

675. Well, that's incredible.

676. Well, if you need something,

677. ask a librarian.

678. Page 87. There.

679. Ooh. Ooh!

680. I recognize this photo. It was

681. hanging up at Cerberus. Except in that one, there was

682. no Ellen Davis.

683. Like she was photoshopped out?

684. Yes. Photoshop. Good call.

685. But why would Quinn

686. want to make this girl disappear?

687. And why would a dognapper

688. want to hide this picture?

689. Um, excuse me, Agnes?

690. Um, do you remember anything

691. about these girls?

692. Hmm. Oh, yes.

693. They were an odd pair.

694. Yeah, they were always together.

695. You know, best friends.

696. I heard they hate each other now.

697. Why? What happened? Well, I'm not

698. too sure, but you should ask Ellen.

699. Well, we would love to.

700. Do you know where we can find her?

701. Well, if you need something,

702. ask a librarian.

703. Funny. This is the second time this month

704. that someone's contacted me about Quinn Powers.

705. We're so sorry to bother you, Ellen.

706. I mean, we don't talk anymore for a reason.

707. Do you mind telling us

708. what that reason is?

709. I'm the one who created Cerberus.

710. I came up with the idea

711. after Quinn was attacked.

712. I mean, she has this quality that makes you

713. feel like you want to protect her.

714. I've noticed.

715. Have you seen her get triggered?

716. Yes. Sure did.

717. Well, I think it's intentional, but whatever.

718. I felt so angry on her behalf,

719. angry that the law enforcement failed her,

720. angry that nobody in her neighborhood was warned

721. about her attacker. I mean, how careless

722. and incompetent.

723. No offense.

724. None taken.

725. I worked out all the coding

726. while Quinn perfected the pitch.

727. But by August, I realized that

728. Cerberus' data system was flawed.

729. It could never distinguish

730. good information from bad.

731. Garbage in, garbage out.

732. That's a great way to put it. You're so smart.

733. Thanks. But the app wasn't.

734. It could quickly raise awareness

735. about crimes, but there was no way to

736. actually verify them.

737. Anyone can leave

738. a witness account. People could send in warnings

739. about real crimes, but they could also

740. create hysteria over fake ones.

741. Like a dognapper.

742. I decided to scrap it for ethical reasons.

743. Good for you.

744. And how did Quinn react? Disappointed.

745. She really thought that she was gonna be a star.

746. And then she ran off to Stanford,

747. like rich girls do, and stopped returning my texts.

748. And now she is a star for an app you created.

749. That limp, by the way?

750. Super exaggerated.

751. She only needed that cane

752. for a couple of months.

753. I guess she just liked the attention.

754. And did you tell Josh all this when he came to see you?

755. I have no interest in being branded

756. a sour grapes whistle-blower, so no.

757. But he didn't need me.

758. He was already onto everything.

759. Too bad he died.

760. I was really looking forward to watching her go down.

761. But I guess people like Quinn always win.

762. So far.

763. Namaste. Elsbeth. Hi.

764. Again.

765. This is my only break the entire day. Oh!

766. Well, I'm glad I caught you, then,

767. because I wanted to tell you this in person.

768. So, Toby and I have been setting up meetings

769. in Chicago with my former clients

770. and I've decided to invest myself

771. when you go public. That's great.

772. How did you decide?

773. Oh, I just found out there's an ex-con

774. living in my building.

775. A former circus clown

776. who did despicable things to acrobats.

777. That is so scary.

778. And not just the clown part.

779. I know. And I had to find out from a neighbor

780. after I'd already moved in. But Cerberus

781. would have warned you immediately.

782. Exactly.

783. Oh, I really, really believe in your mission, Quinn.

784. I think you're a star.

785. Thank you. That is so sweet.

786. Will you put the clown guy on the app?

787. I just think people need to know.

788. Sure. After everything is

789. checked and verified, of course.

790. Great.

791. And, um, my accountants will be in touch with Toby.

792. I can't wait.

793. By the way...

794. you said you were going back to Josh's apartment.

795. Did you find anything else?

796. Ugh. Nothing that would identify the killer. Yet.

797. So frustrating.

798. I fed Quinn fake information about an ex-con clown

799. and she put it on the app within five minutes.

800. Ellen was right.

801. Ex-con clown? Ellen who?

802. What is happening?

803. I read the fine print in the Cerberus agreement.

804. They say they need at least ten witness accounts

805. or police verification

806. before it even goes in the system.

807. But the "criminal"

808. displayed here isn't real.

809. I made him up.

810. So, who's this supposed to be?

811. This also looks like AI.

812. See how the texture of his face is

813. different from his neck?

814. Like the rendering of the dognapper.

815. Wait, was this behind a paywall? Mm-hmm.

816. Cerberus is amplifying crime data and profiting

817. by having users pay to see fake criminals.

818. That's exactly what I was thinking.

819. Well, this proves

820. that Cerberus was running a scam,

821. which Josh knew about weeks before the IPO.

822. Guess the app is a flop. Mm.

823. You were right.

824. I was what?

825. You were right

826. about the other dogs being fake.

827. I wouldn't be surprised

828. if Josh's dog never existed either.

829. Oh. Who's that?

830. I d... I don't have time for this.

831. Shut the door on the way out.

832. I found her! I found Gonzo!

833. She was safe in the brambles.

834. I gave her all the food I had in my pants,

835. but she needs love

836. and shelter for the night.

837. I can't take her home. I already have five dogs.

838. I'd happily take a sixth,

839. but my partner said she'd move out.

840. I considered it, but...

841. I think I have to choose her this time.

842. Well, I don't think I can look at another dog ever again.

843. I would love to, but I-I got a new couch.

844. Welcome home.

845. Mwah.

846. Oh, you're such a good girl.

847. Who's a good girl?

848. Oh, yeah, Tom would have been so jealous

849. if he saw me petting you.

850. He was my chihuahua.

851. Yeah. Ah.

852. You must be hungry.

853. Let's see what I have for you.

854. I hope you like rotisserie chicken.

855. Hey. Where'd you go?

856. What are you doing with that?

857. Where are you going?

858. Oh... You like to hide things.

859. Do you? Do you?

860. Let me have that. Give it to me.

861. As for our run, it continues to be impressive.

862. And as you can see, we've

863. already surpassed our goal.

864. Elsbeth.

865. Okay, I'm gonna need to draw a boundary.

866. I'm in the middle of something pretty important.

867. Oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt.

868. But I have something pretty important to share, too.

869. Oh, hi, Toby!

870. Do you mind playing the recording

871. of the company meeting that you gave me?

872. You know, the virtual one that Quinn had

873. on the night Josh Johnson was murdered?

874. You gave her what?

875. Oh, no. Don't be mad at him.

876. I made him do it.

877. Go ahead. It's all right.

878. And could you give

879. Officer Blanke

880. the remote, please?

881. What is happening? You can't just

882. march in here and take over.

883. I'm looking at you, Toby.

884. Men are 33% more likely

885. to interrupt when a woman is speaking

886. as opposed to another man.

887. Don't be that guy. I will stop the meeting.

888. You made a really big deal

889. about not wanting to be interrupted

890. during your presentation.

891. Do not let them in...

892. Uh, Quinn, about the cap table, I...

893. Do not leak information... But there—

894. Toby interrupted you for the third time,

895. and you were completely unbothered.

896. As if you didn't even hear him.

897. I noticed that, too. Shut up, Chad.

898. I turned the sound off

899. on my computer to focus.

900. Oh, come on. We both know you're lying.

901. And you are very

902. good at not telling the truth.

903. Like when you said that someone had COVID

904. during the meeting. That was very clever.

905. Seriously? I took Paxlovid for nothing.

906. Okay, fine.

907. I take full accountability

908. for the COVID fib.

909. And I want to sincerely

910. apologize for the harm

911. I may have caused.

912. Please,

913. let me explain in the spirit of honesty

914. and authenticity.

915. The stress of the IPO was getting to me.

916. I wasn't sleeping.

917. I was losing clumps of my hair.

918. I needed a mental health break.

919. So I prerecorded the meeting,

920. pressed play and took a bath.

921. I am so sorry.

922. Feel free to check the location on my phone

923. to verify I was at my apartment.

924. So you're saying you prerecorded

925. the entire meeting.

926. And meditated in the water.

927. So, why was the intro live?

928. Quinn, you're on mute.

929. Were you doing the land acknowledgement?

930. It's fine. I should just dive in.

931. See that?

932. That's a time stamp.

933. The Q and A in the outro was live, too.

934. Well, of course the Q and A was live.

935. I never said it wasn't.

936. Um, you kind of did.

937. Okay. Here's my theory.

938. I think you used your own app

939. to create a fake villain: the dognapper.

940. This was very smart, because it made Cerberus seem

941. very credible. But it's not credible, is it?

942. And Josh knew that.

943. So you bought the same weapon that you'd

944. created hysteria around:

945. the cattle prod.

946. You knew you could handle it well

947. after years of carrying this cane around.

948. Then, to create

949. a fake alibi,

950. you held a virtual meeting,

951. switched to a prerecorded presentation,

952. left your apartment,

953. murdered Josh— bzz!--

954. replaced his article

955. exposing Cerberus' data flaws

956. with your AI-generated version—

957. nice touch, by the way— and then got back

958. to your apartment just in time for the Q and A.

959. You made me put the dognapper

960. in the system. You lied to me.

961. No, I didn't. This is so offensive.

962. Do people really believe

963. I could kill a man? With my injury?

964. Wow.

965. I will say it again.

966. You are very, very good at telling lies.

967. But you made one mistake. You told the wrong lie.

968. You said that you had never been to Josh's apartment.

969. But you left your headband there

970. the night of the murder, didn't you?

971. See how you're wearing it at the start of the lecture

972. and how it's gone at the end?

973. I misspoke because this unmerited interrogation

974. is causing me trauma.

975. You're absolutely right.

976. I only prerecorded the presentation.

977. And then I took my headband off in the bath.

978. So you can show me

979. where your tie-dye headband is,

980. the one you were wearing that night,

981. when I search your apartment?

982. You need a warrant to search my apartment.

983. Oh! I have one.

984. How?

985. Come here! Oh, good girl!

986. All I had to do

987. was let Gonzo show me where she hid things.

988. That's right.

989. Underneath Josh's stove, in case you're interested.

990. I think she must have taken it

991. when you were using Josh's face

992. to get into his laptop

993. after you killed him. Yuck.

994. How do you know it's even mine?

995. The headband was an exact match

996. to the one in the recording.

997. Tie-dye never comes out the same, remember?

998. Well, Josh probably stole it.

999. He was obsessed with me.

1000. Why would I say I'd never been to the apartment

1001. if I knew my headband might be there?

1002. Because you didn't know that Toby recorded the meeting.

1003. But he did. Oh, and, Quinn,

1004. the headband had Josh's blood on it.

1005. That could only have happened

1006. the night of the murder.

1007. Quinn Powers, you're under arrest

1008. for the murder of Josh Johnson.

1009. You have the right to remain silent.

1010. This is the footage of a lifetime.

1011. I'm going to Sundance.

1012. I don't think I'm interested in Cerberus anymore.

1013. Seems like a bad investment.

1014. Oh, shut up.

1015. If I can convince a bunch of strangers

1016. to give me millions of dollars,

1017. I can convince a jury I'm innocent.

1018. I am a star.

1019. Oh, well, um...

1020. You might need this, then.

1021. So, you really didn't know? No.

1022. I tried to blow the whistle

1023. on FlairAll for months, but you never believed me.

1024. Why should I believe you? Mr. Wali, I worked hard

1025. to get where I am.

1026. I will not put my future, my foundation

1027. or my family in jeopardy.

1028. Not for anyone.

1029. Then why did you turn me away?

1030. Because I was being lied to.

1031. By someone I thought I could trust.

1032. Now, look, I know you're looking at me like I must be

1033. one of two things: a liar or a fool.

1034. I will look you in the eye

1035. right now and tell you I was a fool.

1036. I couldn't see what was right in front of me,

1037. and I'm a detective. I should have known.

1038. I'm sorry.

1039. But I'm gonna listen to you now.

1040. I'll fix this.

1041. Just tell me everything that's happening.

1042. The FlairAll warehouse is a sweatshop.

1043. The clothes that you give away at your fancy galas?

1044. They're made from synthetic scraps.

1045. It's garbage in, garbage out.

1046. People are working long hours for low, illegal wages.

1047. There's no heat in the winter,

1048. there's no cool air in the summer.

1049. It's all misery.

1050. It's being covered up in your name.

1051. That all gonna end right now. I give you my word.

1052. So, you'll back me up at the DOJ?

1053. It's not that simple. But I have a plan.

1054. And Lieutenant Noonan

1055. is going down.

1056. Captioning sponsored by CBS

1057. and TOYOTA.